The Sake of the Show

Blair wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep a brave face. After the meltdown at the Sharps’ Christmas party, she’d felt as if she were emotionally deteriorating as the days wore on. She’d fallen into a post-holiday numbness as she returned to work, the New Year already past with no promise of change with the dark haired man that occupied her thoughts. It was well into January, which meant over two weeks without seeing him.

The last time she saw him, the NHL lockout was still in effect. Now, the league had come to an agreement and in less than a week, some of her friends would finally be going back to work. Yet, she was still not speaking to her favorite hockey player.

She wanted so badly to call him, in hopes that maybe he would apologize and she could get her Corey back. Blair didn’t know how much she needed him until he wasn’t around anymore. There were many things to miss about Corey’s company; his laugh, the faces he made at her, but most of all, that one time when their lips had brushed...

She instantly shook that thought from her mind. She refused to entertain the notion that her and Corey could ever truly be more than friends. She’d seen photographs of his ex-girlfriends, and Blair came nowhere close to the drop dead gorgeous girls that he’d dated. She stood no chance. And if there was one thing about Blair Bailey, it was that she didn’t play this sort of game with people of the opposite sex. It was a game she never entertained, not even when she was young and dumb in secondary school.

She made her way to the Sharp household; Abby had been making it a thing to invite her over on the weekends, which Blair was sure had to do with the fact that everyone thought she was on the verge of a mental breakdown. Surely, they wanted to keep tabs on her to make sure she wasn’t spending her days in front of the TV moping over her favorite shows.


“Blair!” Abby greeted her at the door, a pleasant smile on her face as she juggled her daughter on her hip. “I was wondering when you’d get here.”

“Sorry. I wish I had a better excuse, but honestly, it took forever for me to get out of bed this morning.” Blair complained as she reached out, taking the smiling baby from Abby’s arms. Abby shot her a look, and she rolled her eyes. “It wasn’t because I was moping. It’s cold and I was tired, leave me alone.”

“B, I worry. Mother’s instincts.” Abby smirked as she guided me into the living room.

“I left my mother in England for a reason, Abs.” Blair told her jokingly, sitting down on the couch and propping Madelyn on her lap. She giggled at Blair as she beamed at her, tickling her sides lightly as she screeched.

Sunday was just like every other Sunday; Abby and Blair drank coffee with the television on low volume, while the baby Sharp crawled around on the floor with her noisy toys. The conversation shockingly covered a variety of topics, none of which were Corey.

“So, I know your sister visited you around Thanksgiving I remember. Is she coming back soon? Or any of your other family members? It must be tough with everyone so far away.” Abby sympathized. “It’s hard enough with all of my family and Pat’s family so far away.” 


“Yeah, she wanted to come and visit before she was too far along in her pregnancy. I think she’s due next month,” Blair shrugged. “I’ll probably fly out and see all of my family after the baby is born. I’ve always liked the distance from my parents. I was never super close with my sister, but my parents and I never really saw eye-to-eye. They’ve never been thrilled that I chose to settle down in the states, especially since I’m not working in the field I went to university for.”

“I get that.” Abby nodded. “You like your job though. Doesn’t mean you can’t do something with fashion later.”


“Exactly. I just love this city, so much. I miss Manchester more than anything, but I can’t see myself going back anymore.”

“Because of Corey?”

Blair rolled her eyes. “Abby, drop it. Don’t even go there.”

It was clear that Blair’s attitude had caught Abby by surprise. Normally, Blair found a way to smile and flit her way through every uncomfortable interaction involving him, but this time she’d snapped. It was uncharacteristic for her.

“C’mon, B. I’m not trying to be that person, but it’s clear that you two both just need each other. You know Corey’s crazy about you. He’s just being a man about everything.”

“I wish it were that simple,” Blair answered tersely, sipping her coffee again. “It’s whatever. I’m not going to stress about it.”

“It’s not whatever,” Abby told her. “You can’t just brush it off.”

Blair set down her cup, a tight-lipped smile on her face “Y’know, I think I’m going to head home. I’m not feeling well.”

“B-”

“No, don’t worry about it Abby. It’s fine. I’m not upset, I just want to go home.” Blair mumbled, gathering her coat and her purse as she walked to the foyer. She slid her feet into her ankle booties, buckling them efficiently. She bowed out of the Sharp home with a tense goodbye, shutting the door lightly behind her.

The fierce Chicago winds whipped at Blair’s face as she made the short journey back to her apartment building, which was only a few city blocks away from where the Sharps stayed. Normally she didn’t mind the walk, but the cold was so bitter she felt her eyes tearing up. She sped up her footsteps, her apartment building shining like a golden beacon once it was in view.

She stepped inside, exhaling deeply as the warm air made her skin tingle. She waved at one of her departing neighbors as she stepped into the elevator, allowing her eyes to close as her body warmed up. She already felt guilty for behaving the way she did with Abby. It wasn’t as if the woman was trying to be rude; everyone was attempting to make sense of Blair’s situation, but no one really knew Blair’s situation. She felt like she was living a lie.

When the elevator opened onto her floor, Blair stepped out and immediately noticed that there was something sitting in front of her door. She approached anxiously, frowning down at the box at her feet.

Blair grabbed the box, uneasily turning it over in her hands. The envelope stuck to the top was clearly Corey’s writing, and she wasn’t quite sure she was ready to read anything he had to say. She let herself into her apartment, still feeling uncomfortable as she kicked off her shoes. Once she was situated, she ripped the envelope off of the package before she pulled the wrapping paper off. She stared at the box for a moment, still pondering if she should even actually open whatever the box was.

After about five minutes of debate, she opened the box. When she saw the contents, she sucked in a heavy breath. She reached inside, gingerly pulling out the gorgeous Blackhawks sweater. Blair flipped it over, the tears already burning at her eyes before she even saw his name on the back of the jersey.

She sat there for some time, staring down at the jersey as the tears silently fell down her cheeks. Truthfully, Blair missed Corey so much that it physically hurt. She could hardly breathe past the lump in her chest. Everything in her wanted to call him, but she still felt so conflicted.

She shakily picked up the envelope, tearing it open hastily and pulling out the card. She rolled her eyes at the cheesy Christmas greeting on the front of it, opening it to discover his sloppy scrawl.



The message both made her heart swell, yet made her angry as well. In fact, Blair was so incomprehensibly angry that she wanted to scream. She dropped the card as if it were burning her fingers, letting out a growl as she snatched her phone. She sat there for a moment, staring at the dark screen as she allowed her thoughts to process.

Corey wasn’t allowed to just leave her Christmas gift on her doorstep without showing his face. He wasn’t allowed to scrawl a simple, stupid message. He wasn’t allowed to apologize in a pathetic excuse for a Christmas card, and he certainly wasn’t allowed to have this effect on her. She absolutely hated him for making her want to call him. Blair Bailey was above tossing away some of her dignity for a guy. Her mother had raised her much better than that.

Instead, she picked up the phone and called Patrick. He dutifully answered on the third ring as he always did, something Blair was convinced that he planned. “Good afternoon, beautiful. Do you miss me?”

“Pat,” Blair wailed into the phone, her head between her knees with her free hand knotted into her blonde hair. “Please make this stop. I hate him so much, I swear to god.”

“Jesus B, are you okay? What did he do?” Patrick’s tone instantly shifted to a defensive one. Blair sighed shakily, feeling herself emotionally crumble as she stared at the abandoned jersey.

“He left my damn Christmas present on my door step. It’s his bloody jersey, Pat. How am I supposed to not call him? I’m so pissed and-”

“And?” Patrick prompted Blair to continue when she stopped speaking, the words getting lost as she struggled with something in her chest that she couldn’t comprehend. She also had to watch how she worded things, because Patrick was still not aware that she and Corey were suffering damages from a faux-breakup, which made the situation all the more worse. Not to mention, ridiculous.

It was also more ridiculous, that Blair struggled with this certain emotion. In all the years that she’d walked the Earth, and the boys she had encountered, not one had given her such a frustrating complication of emotions. She hadn’t noticed at first, but now that she missed Corey everything was starting to surface.

“I just don’t like this feeling.” Blair huffed, the closest she could come to a confession. “I just miss him, Pat. I miss him like hell.”

He didn’t answer her at first, which worried her. She was beginning to think she’d lost Patrick when he cleared his throat. “Give me a moment, I’ll call you back.”

Blair couldn’t even get as much as a word in edgewise before he hung up on her rudely.



Corey was a mess of nerves. With every minute that passed, he seemed to regret the decision even more to leave Blair’s Christmas present on her doorstep. But truth be told, he just couldn’t handle the guilt of seeing it sit on his kitchen counter any longer. Every time he saw it, he just thought of the Sharps’ Christmas party and then he wanted to curl up in a hole. He’d come to realize that he’d been a gigantic ass, and all he wanted to do is get back to the way that it was with Blair.

He missed her like hell, and he felt like absolute garbage that he’d pushed her to be so upset. The fact that Blair had told him she hated him weighed heavily on his chest, driving him to sleepless nights because he could never hate her. In fact, he was so enamored with her it made him sick to think about. He was sure there was an award to be won for how badly he’d screwed things up.

Just as he was contemplating speeding back over to Blair’s apartment to snatch the gift before she could get it, his phone rang. His heart jumped into his throat as he snatched it from the sofa beside him, quickly pressing the receiver to his ear. Before he could even get out a word, the other person spoke.

“Listen, I’m still not above decking you. Or kicking your ass. You’re being an asshole and I’m only doing this because B is my best friend.” Patrick Kane informed him snottily. “I just got off the phone with my best friend, and she’s crying. Because of you. I’m telling you this because you need to stop at the store, get her favorite flowers, and show up at her house and make it right or else I will kill you. Fucking get over your shit ego and apologize, now.”

“I don’t-”

“Don’t take my threat lightly Corey because anything is possible. I’m pissed and you keep pushing my buttons. Quit being an asshole to my best friend, or I might make good on this threat.”

With that, the line disconnected. Corey laughed incredulously, sitting there for a moment with the phone still in his hands. First Jon had threatened him, and now Kaner. His life seemed to become more and more of a joke, it seemed. However, Corey took this moment as a blessing. He jumped to his feet frantically, his mind moving much faster than he could handle.

He did a lot of things wrong, but he wouldn’t muck this up. Especially not when Patrick had put the ball into his hands. Corey left his place in a hurry, rushing to the first place he drove past that sold flowers. He felt like a teenage dweeb as he purchased the gigantic sunflowers, hoping that he was doing the right thing by taking Patrick’s advice. He reckoned Blair was the type of girl who liked to receive flowers, but he wasn’t sure that was the case in this situation.

Once he arrived at her apartment, he sat in his car for a few beats in hesitation. He kept replaying her angry expression and the tears that he’d accidentally seen, and then suddenly, thinking of Blair in tears was enough motivation to make him nearly jog into the building.

He knocked on the door, nervously gripping the bouquet in his sweaty hands. Nearly two minutes passed before she opened the door, wearing one of those matching hoodie and lounge pant combinations and a bun on her head. She looked so comfortable, Corey wanted to hug her right there on the spot.

“Um,” Corey stammered, his cheeks flaring up as she stared at him relentlessly. “Uh, these are for you.”

He held the flowers out toward her, feeling every bit like an idiot as she cautiously took them from him. She avoided his eyes, her grey ones focused on the ground as she moved further into the apartment. She mumbled, “Come on in.” 


Corey awkwardly made his way to the living area as Blair busied herself in the kitchen, more than likely finding a vase to put her flowers in. She joined him a few moments later, looking tired and out of place as she sat on the furthest cushion away from him.

“Blair, I’m so fucking sorry. I feel like shit right now. I’m just really sorry,” Corey admitted suddenly, letting out a breath as the words came rushing out of him. “I miss you so much. I know how badly I messed up. I don’t know why I pushed you away like that.”

Corey knew why he pushed Blair away; the fact that he was dangerously teetering on the edge of falling in love with her. That was the elephant in the room that only he seemed to notice.

“I miss you too,” She mumbled, finally picking up her gaze to look at him. “I don’t hate you, Corey. It just hurts. I want things to be the way they used to be, y’know?”

“They will be, I promise. I won’t make that mistake ever again. I don’t want to hurt you like that. I feel so bad.” Corey sighed. “Please-”

“I forgive you Corey.” Blair cut him off, poking at the bun on the top of her head. It wobbled dangerously. “I understand. I just want us to be friends again. I can’t keep going on like this. It sucks.”

Corey’s heart jumped painfully. He wished that the words meant more coming from Blair, but he was going to take them at face value. He’d rather have something with her than nothing at all.

Blair practically launched herself at him, throwing her arms around his neck and holding onto him tightly. He let out a laugh, feeling his entire body relax as he pulled her close to him and took in the familiar scent of her sweet perfume. He’d been yearning for this for quite awhile. He missed her hugs.

“Thank you, B. I’m so sorry.” Corey muttered as she shook her head, continuing to hug him. “Does this mean you’ll wear the jersey on Tuesday for the home opener? I could use a cheerleader to help kickstart the season off the right way...”

“Of course, Cor, I’d love to. Thank you so much!” Blair exclaimed, grinning widely as she finally untangled herself. She was still halfway onto his lap, her eyes finally sparkling in the way they normally did.

Corey felt like he was on top of the world. Listening to Patrick easily ranked one of the top five best things he’d done in the last five months or so. Apologizing had been a lot easier than he expected it to be. Blair perked up as if she’d just remembered something, practically running out of the room as if hell were on her heels. She bounded into the room a minute later, a small gift bag in her hand.

When Corey took it, he was amused at how heavy it weighed despite the visual size. He couldn’t help but chuckle at the glittery tissue paper as he pulled it out of the bag, Blair watching his every move closely. He couldn’t control the smile that spread onto his face as he pulled out the thick, red picture frame. Inside the frame was his favorite picture of himself and Blair at the Champs for Charity game, her first hockey game.

“Do you like it?” Blair asked eagerly. “I was afraid it was too cheesy...”

“No, b-” He caught himself, he was almost going to say something that he would instantly regret. “Blair, it’s perfect. I love it. I know exactly where I’ll put it in my house.”

She giggled at him as she pulled the jersey onto her lap, admiring it as he watched her. “I’m so excited about this jersey. I can’t wait to wear it to the game. Pat will be so jealous.”

There was a painful pang again, one Corey assumed he would feel for the rest of his life. It didn’t take long for the mention of Patrick again, which he knew he couldn’t be surprised about. Patrick didn’t spend the last handful of weeks acting like a horse’s ass, so it was deserved.

“Would you like some tea? Elina got me a container of this delicious white tea for Christmas, it’s to die for.” Blair rambled. “You like blueberry, right? It’s such a sweet tea.”

“I thought you didn’t like blueberries?” Corey chuckled, watching as she stood up and made her way to the kitchen. Blair shrugged, shooting him a grin.

“It was a gift, so I had to give it a go. It’s a lot better than I thought. I’m warming up to them, I guess.” She mused, filling up her tea kettle before setting it on the stove. “Adam made me try blueberry pancakes too, and they were actually pretty delicious.”

“Adam?” Corey raised a brow, curious at the mention of his least favorite Sharks player. Blair shot him an unreadable expression as she began gathering her teacups.

Corey remembered spotting Adam at the Christmas party, and how he’d glued himself to her side. Not that he could blame Adam- most men gravitated to Blair, but it still made him irrevocably angry. Guys like Adam didn’t like girls like Blair for the right reasons, and to think of that slime ball attempting to weasel Blair into his bed for bragging rights made him nauseous.

“Oh, yeah. Adam came down from Wisconsin a few times before the lockout ended so we hung out here and there. He’s fun.” Blair remarked nonchalantly.


“Was that actual hanging out, or was it a date?” He asked lightly. She rolled her eyes as she pulled out the tea, preparing two tea infusers.

“It wasn’t a date. Adam isn’t my type.”

Corey knew he was treading into dangerous waters again, but the conversation was running too smoothly for him to drop the subject. “What is your type, then?”

The tea kettle whistled, and Blair was wearing a teasing smirk. She leaned over the counter separating the kitchen from the living room, her eyes locking with Corey’s. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

Corey chuckled, unable to tear his eyes away from hers as she stared at him. He wished he had the audacity to cross the room, grabbing her by the face and kissing her until she forgot who she was. Instead, he leaned back against the couch, sending her a wink. She grinned, finally turning around to grab the kettle off of the stove so she could prepare their tea.