Start of Something Good

Matthew Duchene was a good guy. At least that’s what everyone always said. Ever since he was a kid he was painted as “mr nice guy” and it didn’t bother him too much - he liked treating others well and being friendly, so he couldn’t see why it would be a reason to mock him. 
Then he got drafted by the Colorado Avalanche and everything changed. Being a rookie in the NHL meant you had to learn how to stand up for yourself, and Matt hadn’t had to care about that up until this point. 
He was loving every day of living in Denver, mostly because it wasn’t that different from his hometown of Haliburton, Ontario, but also because he had found something he hadn’t expected - a girl. She was a photographer for one of the local sports sections, and Matt had seen her at every home game since the season started in October. 


Sadly, the Avalanche had been knocked out by the San Jose Sharks, and the locker room was now in the process of being cleaned out. Earlier in the day the room had been packed with all kinds of media - TV, journalists and photographers, all wanting their own piece of the players’s thoughts on the season. 
Matt had been done pretty quickly and had spent the remaining time in his stall, watching the others. He had recognized a couple of reporters and photographers from previous games and several TV-stations, and after a while he started looking for her - the short brunette with her Canon camera always at the ready.

But he hadn’t seen her, and he cursed himself for not asking for her name those times they had met during the regular season. He was pretty sure she knew his name, because 1 - his last name was on the back of his jersey, on his stall and on the lineup all media received before the game, 2 - because she was working for a sports section and 3 - because all of Denver knew the players of the Avalanche. Matt wasn’t trying to be cocky or anything, but that was the truth. 
He had a lot of things to be proud of this last year - he had been drafted by his favorite team and he had gotten to play with them in the NHL AND in the playoffs. He should be feeling proud and extremely honored, and yet all he felt was empty. He barely even knew the girl but he had let himself fall for her - her brown hair, her blue eyes, the way she was always so focused while working… And that smile. It could cheer him up even when he was at his worst. It hurt him that he didn’t know her name, where she was from or even if she would be in Denver next season. 
Matt cursed under his breath and got up from his stall, grabbed his bag and headed for the door. As he took once last glance around the Avalanche locker room, he leaned against the doorframe and sighed. It was gonna be a long summer.

-

Driving home to Haliburton from Denver wasn't the highlight of Matt's year, but he couldn't wait to see his family again. He had seen them briefly at Christmas, but it had been way too long since they had a chance to just sit around the table together and hang out. As much as he loved his teammates and enjoyed spending time with them - family is family. The trip would take a little over a day and he would have to stop a couple of times along the way, but he usually didn't mind driving alone. He could crank up the music as loud as he wanted and sing along, something that he had always loved to do. He always said that if his hockey career didn't pan out he'd become a rock star.

"Hey man, you leaving now?" Paul Stastny woke Matt from his thoughts and he nodded.

"Yeah, just about…" Sighing, Matt looked over the empty parking lot and leaned against his car.

Paul looked at him, "Dude, are you still sulking over her? I'm sure she's gonna be here when we have our training camp in the fall. You can do plenty of flirting with each other then."

"Right, as if she's even slightly interested…" Matt rolled his eyes. "I gotta get going, I'll see you. And oh, let me know if you're ever in Ontario."

"Will do, not very likely that I will be though." Paul laughed, getting into his own car. "See you later."
Matt watched him drive off, and his thoughts wandered back to her. He couldn't help himself, he was fascinated by this girl. Not once had he had the guts to ask her name or who she worked for. Nothing. And he didn't want to embarrass himself by asking one of the guys, that was just a no-go. He finally decided to get in the car and start his long journey home. He turned the radio up and slowly she disappeared from his mind. He figured it was best not to dread on it for an entire summer: he'd just go insane thinking about it.

Exhausted was a good way to describe how Matt was feeling when he pulled up to his childhood home in Haliburton, and he got out of the car and into the house without even bothering to bring his packing with him. It was 10 pm and the lights were, luckily, still on in the house his parents were living in with his younger sister.

"Mom? Dad?" Matt called out as he walked through the door. "I'm hooome." He walked into the living room where his parents were sitting together. The TV was playing a rerun of one of the Avalanche's games from the past season, and Matt shook his head at the sight. "Did we win this one?"
He sat down as if he had just gotten back from the store or something. It felt like he had never left, like he hadn't been gone for almost a year, and he loved it. As the game drew near the end, Matt's mother turned around in her chair to tell him something, only to realize her son had fallen asleep. She smiled a little, getting up to get him a blanket. Putting it over him, she kissed his forehead and whispered,
"Welcome home" before turning off the TV and heading to the bedroom.
-
The girl Matt had been thinking of was photographer/journalist Emma Ahlm, who hadn't been in Denver too long when she had first laid eyes on Matt. She had found him attractive and very charming, but her new job stopped her from revealing the feelings she was starting to develop towards him. And yet every time she saw him she relished in the fact that there was never a girl by his side. She felt badly about it, for about ten seconds, and then she started imagining things that would never happen. Sure, it didn't exactly make her feel good, but since her last relationship had been hell on earth, she felt she needed to at last imagine happiness for once.
Seeing as the hockey season was over, Emma's boss had given her about a month off from work, and she was going to spend it in Toronto with one of her closest friends. She had always wanted to see Canada, and now that she was so close it seemed silly not to go there. Packing the final things into her bag, she got in a cab and made her way to the airport for her flight. About twenty minutes after they had taken off, she fell asleep and woke up again as the plane touched down in Canada. With a confused look upon her face, she looked out the window only to see that it was raining - great. Emma sighed, she hated getting off planes. Everyone was always in each other's way, trying to get their carry-on's down from the space above their heads and just generally being slow. She used to sit for as long as possible waiting for everyone to finish, it's not like they opened the doors right away anyway.

Seeing people finally starting to move forward, Emma got off her seat and followed them through the plane. She nodded and thanked the crew before she got off, and then she made her way down to the airport. She spotted her friend, Isabella, right away and ran over to hug her.

"I missed you!" They both exclaimed at the same time, laughing when they realized what had just happened. "Let's go get my bag…" Emma said, shaking her head at her best friend. They were so alike it was kind of creepy sometimes.

"Sure! Oh and I have some news to share when we get back to my apartment."

"Oh really?" Emma smiled. "You do know that I'm gonna nag you about it the entire trip there now, right?"

Isabella shook her head, "Yep, but I'm not caving. It's something I have to show you."

"Fiiine…" Emma sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Where the hell is my bag, I hate these things…"