Time Stands Still

On the highway, just outside of Downtown Boston….

"So, we need a plan. Whatdoya suggest, Katie?”

A short, rather beefy-looking female turned in the direction of a six-foot tall man. She wore a #63 Boston Bruin jersey (Brad Marchand’s). Her light hazel eyes flashed with anxiety. "We gotta get ta the Garden! We’re gonna be late for the signings!" She spoke with a thick Bostonian accent, much like her male partner.

"But how? Traffic's slowah than my Uncle Johnny!"

"Shut up Tommy! We'll make it! Just watch." Katie slammed her foot down hard on the pedal, causing the vehicle to lurch forward, jumping from lane to lane.

Up ahead, the grand bridge rose up, marking the entrance to the city of Boston. Downtown Boston, that is. And just beyond the cool canopy look of white streamer-columns, was the massive building that all die-hard sports fans in the city knew as, The Garden (or The Gahden).

"See?" Katie grinned, as they zoomed down the ramp, "I told ya I could get us here in time!"

"Yeah, yeah, save it!" Tommy moaned and folded his arms across his chest, where the common "Spokked B" symbol of the Boston Bruins was on his fan jersey. His was also a Brad Marchand #63. He leaned back in his seat, frowning.

They continued to weave through traffic, heading for a parking garage that was empty. The streets were jam packed with people and fans and even the common pedestrian. It was difficult, but Katie seemed to be a professional scouter and she quickly found one.

"What's the plan again?" Tommy finally piped up.

"Tommy, seriously? We both want ta hang out with Brad Marchand....right?"

"Brad Marchand? Right!" Tommy cried, energetically like a little kid getting ice cream.

"So we ah! We're gonna, you know, "talk to him" and all that, remember?!" Katie explained, rubbing her fingers together mischievously. She giggled, but her pitch deepened in sound and she ended up cackling like a villainess.

"Oh, of course! What if he doesn't show, though?"

"Oh, trust me, Tommy, he'll show! Supposin' he’s there, that is!"

"You sayin' he won't?"

"Not at all, Tommy! I'm sayin' that Marchy likes ta party. If he seriously cares about his fans, we're in the clear and he’ll show, but if he doesn’t, then why would he show up at all?"

“True. True.”

“Now let’s get ta the Garden! We got thirty minutes ta get “settled into our seats” and set the plan in motion,” Katie sighed, as she rapidly swung the wheel around and parked the car into an open spot on level one of some parking garage about two miles away from TD Garden.

They got out of the car and briskly walked toward the massive New England arena. They passed between two buildings, where all of the bars and restaurants were for the remaining fans, who couldn’t get into see the game live. Or for the families, who were catching a quick bite to eat. Up ahead they spotted the gate for the private player’s lot and just adjacent to that, was the symbolic Bobby Orr statue.

The two bolted past the bronze statue and entered the side doors. Signs littered the inside, directing everyone on where to go for the signings. They skidded to a halt.

“We gotta get backstage (back ice?)!” Katie stated. She snapped her head around, looking for the “secret entrance.” She finally spotted it. She gestured to her partner and they crept to the open door. the security man was busy with some other rambunctious fans and they slipped in. They put on the fake IDs that they had made, fitting the necklaces over their heads and around their necks. Then they continued onward, at a normal stride.

No one stopped them. They passed by a lot of the backstage scenes, like the equipment room, various staff offices, Jack Edwards’ main office, and other such small rooms. As they ventured down farther, a door was wide open. Inside they spotted Brad Marchand talking to two of his teammates, Torey Krug and Gregory Campbell. He was laughing with them and he punched Gregory’s arm.

“Oh, we’ll have to see about that!” the fourth line centerman joked.

“Bingo!” Katie muttered, as they slipped to the side of the doorframe.

Tommy peered in, occasionally. After a few minutes, Gregory and Torey left Brad alone.

“I’ll be out in a few minutes! I need to send a reply to Tyler! That kid has been pestering me non-stop the whole summer!!”

“Don’t be too long there, buddy! People might think badly about you, if we show up sooner than you!” Gregory teased, slapping Torey on the back. “Way sooner!”

“I won’t Soupy! Just go warm them up!”

There was a quiet door slam behind them. Tommy and Katie snapped their heads to the side and saw the two walking the opposite way, conversing and completely unaware that there were two harmful fans awaiting the right moment to strike.

“Go lock the other door, I’m gonna go in and start the talk. Join me when you ah ready. Okay Tommy?” Katie fluffed her hair out and fixed herself up a little bit, as though she were trying to impress a date. She even pushed her breasts up a little to give them more of a perk, underneath the jersey. Like it made any kind of difference.

The young adult male gave a curt nod and snuck off, heading to find the second door. Katie meanwhile, sighed and stepped into the door frame. She saw Brad on his phone. He was chuckling to himself, as he tapped the screen. “Oh Tyler, you’re so funny!”

Suddenly, his expression darkened and he frowned. Had Tyler upset him? If that was the case, Katie did not like it. She stepped forward and the small winger glanced up, spotting her.

“You’re not supposed to be back here, Miss!”

Miss? Ha, like he really knew who she was. It was cute, his ignorance. The Bostonian female paced forward, pursing her lips and purposefully moving in a sexy way. She slowly closed the door to the room behind her, leaving it slightly cracked, so Tommy could still come in.

“Talking to Tyler Seguin still, I see?” She mused, reaching out and touching his face with her hand, as she slowly rounded him.

“That’s um...wow, this is not right! I should call security….!”

“But you can’t, because you know that we can make our move, right?” She stood behind him and put her arms over his shoulders, dangling them down, over his torso. He didn’t dare move, but he turned his head slowly to look at her.

“We?”

He looked so bewildered, it was adorable. Katie’s right hand grabbed her left wrist and she squeezed him gently, around the neck. He yelped, but still didn’t move. He didn’t attack her or push her away. He could smell her pink orchid perfume. And she could tell that he was entranced by her.

She spun him around to face her, his big brown eyes glittering with confusion. It was funny because she was actually a few inches tall than him. He knew that, staring up at her, clueless as to her plan.

“We?” He choked out again.

Was he scared? Was the fierce superpest forward scared of her? She looked him right in the eyes and smiled sweetly. “My boyfriend and I. We ah huge Marchy fans!”

“But you fans aren’t allowed back here and you certainly aren’t allowed to invade our privacy and touch me!” He still sounded frightened.

“We needed ta see ya, ta speak ta ya!”

“About what? Me talking to Segs?”

“Nah! Segs hurt ya mightily, didn’t he? He stabbed ya in the heart, by tryin ta get traded away. His “trade party” was no accident, was it? Neither were any of his actions! He broke the rules on purpose, didn’t he, Bradley?”

Brad finally frowned in irritation and narrowed his eyes. He lifted his arms up and knocked Katie’s to the side, off of him. “You cannot speak of Tyler like that! Segs is a good man, a good player… no, a talented player! I was hurt briefly, but I am happy for him. We still see each other and we still hang out. He is still my buddy and my bestie! Nothing will change that!”

“But he hurt ya. And we don’t let nobody do that ta ya, Marchy!” Katie stated, putting her hands onto her hips now.

“Who are you, my angels? My guardians?”

“We ah called the B.M.E.P.!”

“B.M.E.P.?”

“Brad Marchand Emotion Protectors! If someone hurts ya, we threaten their life! Tyler’s actually been on our radar for a long time now!”

“Don’t threaten Segs, I’ll warn him! I’ll tell him!”

“It’s too late for that! You must know that this is for your own good, Bradley!”

“By hurting Tyler? That’s not doing me good, that’s going too far! Leave Segs alone and let me go welcome my fans!” The small winger looked taken aback and annoyed. He wasn’t having the idea. He lifted his arm up with his phone.

Katie saw him and rapidly snatched the device from him. “No!”

“Give me my phone back, lady! If you were really my fan, you wouldn’t threaten to hurt Tyler Seguin!”

“We’re going ta anyway! He’s already gotten way ta many strikes against him! Oh, and he just dissed Boston on Twitter!”

“I saw that, but I’m sure it’s justified! Gimmie my phone!”

“Nah, this is now mine!”

“It’s not your phone, it’s mine! I need to go greet my real fans! Give it to me!”

That stung. Katie slipped the small device into her jeans’ pocket. He stared at her, his mouth wide open in shock.

“I don’t want to hurt you, Miss!”

“Please, call me Katie!”

“Katie, I will call security!”

“No you won’t!”

“I will!” He opened his mouth back up to scream the signal, but someone tackled him from behind, grabbing him over the mouth, muting his shouts. It was Tommy.

“Tommy, I got the phone! Let’s get outta here! Leave the pest, be! We aren’t here ta hurt him! That wasn’t the plan!”

Tommy sharply dropped his head downward in a nod, as he struggled with Brad. The Bostonian male eventually released the fiery winger, shoving him to the side, into a table. the hockey player knocked over the table, but recovered quickly. He took off, chasing after Katie and Tommy, who retraced their steps. They dodged the security men, who rushed to the aid of their celebrity athlete, who had been attacked.

“They stole my phone and threatened Tyler! You have to catch them!”

Brad didn’t rely on their help and continued to chase after the younger adult fans. They emerged back into the main area of the Garden, right before the staircase. More fans had entered and the two disappeared into the mass, pushing their way to the door. The Bruin forgot that he was rather famous for a second and attempted to follow them into the crowd, but he was jumped by a hoard of teenage girls, who screamed and grabbed him. He fought to get free, but couldn’t.

“Marchand, you’re a squirrel!” someone howled, over the high-pitched female screams.

“No, he’s a pest!” another retorted.

“No, he’s a rat!” yet another barked.

“No, he’s wicked awesome! Whatahya, wicked retarded?!?! I love ya, Marchy!” Katie shouted back, as Tommy dragged her out the exit. “Don’t ever change!”

The two left the Garden, darting back to their car in the garage. Brad attempted to chase after them still, finally pulling free, but when he stepped outside, they were long gone. He let out a loud howl in frustration and dropped his head. He scurried back inside and made his way to the table, where Gregory and Torey were. They cheered him up, knowing not to make him anymore depressed. They wouldn’t do that to him. They weren’t that mean!

But how could he let Tyler Seguin know about these two insane people?