Sky Full of Stars

After being gone all week, the boys are finally home for a few days and of course they have to celebrate that by stealing her from the parking lot of her office as she's about to leave and taking her to a late lunch at the diner. Thankfully, it's only Tyler and Jamie; apparently Jordie made up some excuse to them so that he could get out it it and Calista is relieved to not have to see him. The waitress however notices his absence and asks why he isn't there and Calista feels a little twinge of guilt because she know's she's the reason why.

As soon as the waitress walks away from the table with their orders, Jamie turns his gaze to Calista and grins widely. "So guess what I caught Tyler doing in our hotel room the other night."

She scrunches up her nose and shakes her head. "Gross, I don't want to know."

"Ew, nothing like that," he groans when he realizes how his sentence must have sounded to her. Tyler just rolls his eyes, looking offended that they're both so disgusted.

"Oh," she laughs, blowing on the surface of her coffee to cool it a little. "Then what?"

"He was watching Felicity's studio videos on youtube."

Her eyes shift over to Tyler across from her, who's leaning against the back of the booth with his arms folded over his chest and looking a little bit embarrassed. "Wow, you actually dug those up?"

"They weren't that hard to find," he says defensively before shooting Jamie a glare. "And she told me to."

"Uhh, really?" she counters, an amused grin playing on her lips. "Because I don't recall the conversation going that way. I do remember you propositioning that I show you in person...."

"Dude!" Jamie yelps, his eyes widening, and he punches Tyler's arm as hard as he can.

"Fuck, ow!" Tyler protests loudly. "I was joking!"

Jamie gives him an unamused look. "No, you weren't."

"Okay, no, I wasn't, but-.... I mean...."

The stuttering, plus the fact that Tyler's eyes shift over to look at her, do nothing to soothe Jamie's obvious worry over the whole thing but Calista just chuckles and shakes her head. "It's nothing to worry over, Jamie. He was probably too focused on Tasha and Fifi the whole time to even notice me in there."

"Who?" Tyler asks.

"Tasha and Fifi. The other two....in the video....." The blank look on his face tells her that, yeah, he probably didn't actually notice the other two girls at all, and she groans. "Good God, Seguin, help me out here!"

"Sorry," he shrugs apologetically and she just shakes her head. The fact that he went and probably spent a good bit of time searching for those videos is pretty amusing to her, but at the same time, it makes her feel extremely self conscious. Those dance classes had horrified her when she first started going but she'd eventually gotten comfortable with it and grew to enjoy them. Knowing that Tyler of all people has not only seen the videos of the dances, but had also been so engrossed in watching her that he hadn't even noticed the other women in them is very unnerving.

The more she thinks about it, the more embarrassed she feels and she's sure she had to be blushing by now as she sips her coffee and avoids eye contact with the boy across the table. Thankfully, whether he realizes it or not, Jamie saves her by changing the subject and she's more than happy to answer his question if for no other reason than because it has nothing to do with those videos.

"How was your week at home all alone?" he asks teasingly. "Did you miss us?"

"It was actually really good. I got a lot of work done without you guys around."

"Gee, thanks."

"Oh, it does remind me though, and Tyler, you need to listen to this too." She glances over at him and he looks up from his phone screen curiously so she quickly turns her attention back to Jamie again. "Mostly everything for my project is done except one minor little detail."

"And what's that?"

"The interview part."

Jamie groans. "There's an interview?"

"Of course there's an interview," she laughs. "What, are you new here?"

He rolls his eyes at her but she just grins innocently at him until he sighs. "Fine. When are we doing it?"

"Oh, it won't be me actually. It'll be my intern."

"You have an intern?" Tyler pipes up, nodding his head approvingly. "Nice."

"Yes, and both of you had better be nice to her. She's already really nervous about it as it is."

Jamie looks offended at the implication. "Of course we'll be nice."

"You better," she retorts, giving him a serious look. "Just let me know whenever you want to do it and I'll check and make sure it doesn't interfere with her classes. Oh, and sorry to say, but you'll have to meet with the photographer too. We're going to need a few pictures."

"Seriously?"

"Don't give me that look, Benn," Calista scolds. "This is the first opportunity I've been given to do something this huge on my own without any supervision from Mr. Lennox. Would you really make me fall on my ass with this?"

"You know I wouldn't," he says seriously, reaching up to squeeze her shoulder. "Of course I'm gonna do whatever you need. I just really hate photo shoots."

She cracks a smile at that, thinking back on all those times she's seen him during photo shoots where he just seemed so stiff and uncomfortable. The boy is no doubt awkward in front of a camera but at least one of his partners for this project is going to be Tyler, who eats up every bit of attention he gets. Photo shoots are right up his alley.

"I know you do," Calista replies sympathetically. "But at least this time you'll have pretty boy over there along for the ride."

"Aww," Tyler grins. "You think I'm pretty?"

Jamie and Calista both at the same time tell him to shut up but he just laughs, unaffected, as the waitress makes her way over to the table with their plates.

-

After the boys drop her off back at her car, she drives home and goes straight into her bedroom to trade the constricting green dress and heels she'd worn to work for a ragged old Texas Rangers tee and a pair of comfy leggings. She settles down in the middle of the sofa in her living room with her laptop to finish the last couple of hours' worth of work that has to be done for the web page she designed. It takes longer than it's supposed to and by the time she's finished with it, the sun is beginning to set outside her window so she closes her laptop and sets it aside then goes into the kitchen and heats up some leftovers from dinner the night before.

Calista sits down to eat her pasta with netflix loaded on the television screen and she clicks on her favorite show, letting it load before she hits play on the episode she stopped with last time. There are a few texts from Felicity throughout the evening and one or two from Jamie but it's mostly all quiet on the friend front and she spends the rest of her night making her way through the last few episodes of season three. It's around nine when her phone vibrates against the hard surface of the coffee table and she pauses the show before reaching up to grab her phone. Glancing at the screen tells her it's an instagram notification.

A direct message is waiting for her when she opens the app and, to her surprise, it's from Tyler. The photo he's sent is a screen shot of one of those old youtube videos of Felicity's and she can be thankful at least that he didn't capture it at some ridiculous facial expression or something. Even though she's alone in her apartment, she can't help blushing because she remembers just by looking at the outfit she was wearing in the video what dance it is that he's apparently watching again. The song had been chosen by Felicity as sort of a joke but then she'd gone and posted the video on her studio's channel anyway. The message he sent along with the photo is simple but she has to read over it at least three times.

tseguin92
You really are good in these

clarkcalista
Stooooooop watching that!!

tseguin92
Nope sorry can't

She thinks to herself that it's an incredibly good thing he hasn't found the videos posted from Tasha's striptease classes.....yet. She'll have to remember to beg Tasha to take those down before he can see them.

clarkcalista
So why exactly are you talking to me through instagram?

tseguin92
I don't have your number

clarkcalista
Jamie does? Jordie, Eaks, Dilly, Roussel, etc.

tseguin92
You honestly want me to ask any of those guys

clarkcalista
Fair point

tseguin92
What are you doing right now?

clarkcalista
Getting reacquainted with my good friends in Tree Hill, why?

tseguin92
You should come up

clarkcalista
Why would I do that?

tseguin92
You and me haven't really had a chance to hang out

clarkcalista
We hang out all the time, Tyler

tseguin92
Yeah with Chubbs...

clarkcalista
And?

tseguin92
Idk I feel like I should get to know you better than I do now

Calista knows he's just making shit up now because when he confronted her about liking Jordie, he'd basically decided that he knew her well enough to do that. Instead of calling him out, she just ignores his last message altogether.

clarkcalista
Well sorry but I'm already in my pajamas for the night

tseguin92
So am I. Just come on

clarkcalista
You're going to keep doing this until I agree, aren't you

tseguin92
Pretty much

clarkcalista
Ugh fuck you

tseguin92
See you in a few :)


Calista drops her phone on the table in front of her and leans back against the sofa cushions, running her hands down her face with a loud groan. She's been afraid of this all along, worrying about finding balance in how she acts toward him. She never wanted to be so cold that Jamie figured out that something was up, but she also never wanted to be too nice to him and end up the way she is now. She knows she's gotten herself into a huge mess now because he actually wants to hang out with her and that was never ever supposed to happen.

She begrudgingly pulls on a hoodie over her tank top and slides her feet into some flip flops before grabbing her keys and phone and a new unopened bottle of wine on her way out the door. She tucks the bottle under her arm so that she can text Felicity during the elevator ride up to Tyler's floor but her friend offers no sympathy, instead finding the situation funny. Calista meanders down the hallway to his apartment and ends up standing there for almost ten minutes just staring at the numbers on his door. Two times, she almost turns away to walk back to the elevator but then her phone vibrates in her hand and she pulls it out to see another instagram message.


tseguin92
Did you get lost on the way?

Calista lets out a heavy breath and raises her fist to knock three times on the door and it opens almost immediately, making her wonder if perhaps he saw her standing out in the hallway debating with herself on whether or not to go through with this. He's standing there leaning his shoulder against the door with a little grin on his face and nothing on but a pair of black basketball shorts hung dangerously low on his hips. She tries really hard not to look at his bare torso but the smug look that clouds his features tells her she didn't exactly succeed.

"Pajamas, my ass," she finally says, trying to break the tension. "You're barely wearing anything at all."

"Well, technically this is what I sleep in so...." Calista rolls her eyes and he chuckles. "Come on in. You want something to drink?"

"I brought my own," she says as she holds up the unopened wine bottle and walks past him through the door.

"Nice," he chuckles, taking it from her hands and telling her to make herself comfortable before he goes into the kitchen.

Calista kicks her shoes off at the door then looks around as she walks into the living room, which is a lot further than she'd come into the apartment before. She awkwardly takes a seat on the very end of the plush dark brown sofa as she waits for Tyler to come back from the kitchen with the wine that she so desperately needs in order to deal with him for the rest of the night. The same large chocolate lab from the last time she was there comes trotting down the stairs and directly over to her, sniffing the hand she extends to him before nudging it with his nose. She pets him carefully but then he flops his big body down across her feet, making himself comfortable, and she chuckles quietly as she leans down to scratch his belly.

"Marshall, get off her," Tyler says from the kitchen doorway, and when she looks up, he's making his way over with a glass of wine and a freshly opened beer bottle. The dog at her feet doesn't even acknowledge him and Tyler laughs as he hands over the glass to her before taking a seat on the opposite side of the sofa. "He never listens to me."

"Smart dog," she retorts, taking a sip from her glass. "Is he allowed on the furniture?"

"Sure," Tyler shrugs.

Calista sets her glass on the table next to the arm of the sofa and pats the cushion next to her. "Marshall, come here, buddy." The big dog gets up from his spot on her feet and hops up onto the sofa next to her, laying halfway on the cushion and half on her. He licks her hand before dropping his head to lay on her thigh and she smiles as she rubs the soft dark fur of his back. Tyler just watches her until she finally looks up and catches him and even though she blushes a little, she keeps on petting and smiling down at the dog. "He's a sweetheart."

"Yeah, he gets it from his dad."

She rolls her eyes but he just laughs.

"Come here, Marshall," he calls, patting his legs. "Come here, boy."

The dog only lifts his head to look up at his owner for a moment before he nudges his nose under Calista's hand and nuzzles his face in her leg, closing his eyes again. "Good boy," she coos, scratching him behind the ears.

Tyler watches her with a huge grin. "I think he likes you better than me."

"Well, sure," she replies. "Who doesn't?"

He leans over, propping his elbow on the cushion that sits between them and he starts petting the dog too. Calista feels suddenly crowded with him too close for comfort. She knows it's a bad idea to ever be close enough that she can actually smell his cologne, but Good God Almighty does he smell good. She shifts back in her seat, leaning as far away from him as possible without looking too obvious and they both just stroke the dog's soft fur for a few minutes while she tries not to look at his body.

"Oh yeah," Tyler says, finally breaking the silence as he digs into the pocket of his shorts and pulls out his phone before handing it over to her. "Your number."

Calista takes it and opens up his contacts to add herself. "Wow, look at me in Tyler Seguin's contact list. I'm so special."

"You are," he agrees. "It's pretty exclusive in there. Not just anyone gets put in."

"Yeah, okay," she says sarcastically. "You know what's even more exclusive?"

Tyler raises his brows curiously until she holds up her phone for him to see and then he grins, moving to snatch it from her hand, but she's quicker and she quickly shoves it back under her thigh before he can get it. He only grins wider. "You think that's gonna stop me?"

She narrows her eyes at him as he gets up into a position like he's going to pounce. "Seguin, don't you fucking dare." She knows she has a whole shit ton of stuff on her phone that she doesn't want him seeing, like lots of old photos from Boston and a few Boston players' numbers still in her contact list. Letting Tyler get a hold on her phone is a bad idea and she wants to smack herself for even bringing it up in the first place.

"C'mon," he chuckles. "I gave you mine."

Without a second thought, she tosses his phone back at him and it bounces off his bare chest before landing on the cushion, just narrowly missing the big lump of dog between them. "It's not like I saw anything, but there, now you have it back."

He shakes his head at her but smirks a little as he picks his phone up and looks down at the screen, typing something. "Alright fine, but I'm at least gonna make sure you didn't give me a fake number."

Less than ten seconds later, her phone chimes under her thigh and when she pulls it out just enough to look at the screen, she sees the text Tyler sent her. No words, just about twenty winking smiley face emojis. She gives him an unamused look. "Are you satisfied now?"

"Not even close," he grins. "But it'll have to do for now, I guess."

"Yes, it will."

Calista turns her attention to the huge flat screen television on the wall opposite them to see a Bruins game from the previous night playing. She suppresses a groan as she slouches down a little and Tyler falls back against the armrest on his side, propping his legs up in the empty space between them next to his dog while he begins typing on his phone again. She wonders if he's up to something, but a few minutes pass and nothing happens so she shrugs it off and goes back to rubbing Marshall's silky fur.

"So....."

And there it is.

She looks over at him, raising her brows expectantly and waiting for him to continue, but he looks skeptical, almost nervous about what he's going to say next.

"This thing with you and Jordie...."

"Oh no, no, no," she says immediately, sitting up straight which jostles the dog and makes him pick his head up to look at her questioningly. "I am not talking about him with you."

"Why not?"

"Because it's none of your business, first of all."

"Okay, but Calista, come on. You were really upset that night. I mean-"

"I was drunk, Tyler. I was upset over something stupid."

"Didn't seem like it," he mumbles. "And I saw you go out onto the patio with him right before that."

"It was nothing."

"But you like him," he presses.

"No, I-....." Calista pauses and lets out a heavy sigh. It won't do any good to lie to him because he already knows the truth. About that, anyway. "Not anymore. Okay?"

She glances over at him and he seems surprised that she's actually admitting it, even if only halfway. He nods wordlessly and she turns her attention back to the game while he takes a few moments to think that over. The silence between them is deafening and she's beginning to feel anxious with him looking at her but she doesn't take her eyes off of the television where her old friend Brad is moving the puck out of the neutral zone.

"You still wear his jersey though," Tyler says out of the blue.

Calista nods weakly. "Every other home game."

"Why?"

"He's still my friend."

"Okay, well....I'm your friend," he starts and she looks over at him suspiciously but he's cracking a smile again and she knows he's done being serious thank God. "What's it gonna take to get you in a Seguin jersey?"

Calista doesn't even miss a beat. "Flying pigs probably."

Tyler scoffs, placing his hand over his heart but now he's got a full blown grin on his scruffy face. "That hurts me, Calista."

"I'm sure thousands of other girls out there in Seguin jerseys would be more than willing to kiss it better."

"Maybe. But not all of them can pull off a dance to The Weeknd like you can."

She freezes immediately, looking over at him with wide eyes but he's full on smirking at her now. So he did find Tasha's videos too. That's just fucking great.

"Oh my God," she groans, throwing her hands up over her face to hide her complete and total shame and embarrassment. "I'm taking the internet away from you."

"Well, that's hardly fair since you already said I don't get to catch the live show."

"Okay, you know what? I gotta go now."

"Calista, come on," he laughs, watching her gently move Marshall's head from her lap. "Don't go. You just got here like thirty minutes ago."

"Yeah, but thirty minutes is all of you I can handle," she retorts as she stands up and grabs her phone. Her unfortunate choice of words makes him smirk for the millionth time since she arrived and she rolls her eyes at him before petting the dog's head one more time. "If you say one more fucking word, I'm taking this sweet puppy with me. He shouldn't be subjected to you either."

Tyler laughs and she smacks him on the back of the head when she walks by but it only makes him laugh more. She slips her flip flops back on at the door, not even attempting to rescue her still mostly full wine bottle in his kitchen and then she's on her way out of there.

"I'll text you!" he yells just before she shuts the door behind her.

-

She's been lying in bed staring at the ceiling for a good fifteen minutes, the bright sunlight streaming in her window and the numbers on the alarm clock atop the nightstand telling her it's just after eight. A sudden firm knock on the front door makes her jump in surprise and her hand flies to her heart, now beating wildly in her chest. She throws the duvet off her legs and slides off the edge of the bed, standing up to stretch before she opens the bedroom door and makes her way into the main living area, over to the door.

There's nobody there when she opens it but when she looks down, there's a big black box sitting at her feet, a blank ivory piece of paper sitting on top of it. She glances both ways down the hall before picking up the box and carrying it back into the apartment, setting it down on the kitchen counter before she picks up the slip of thick paper. It's blank on the one side, but when she turns it over, she's met with a drawing of an actual tiny pink pig with cute little wings, and under it, a few words written in unbelievably sloppy scrawl.

Can't fight this little guy, right?

Calista furrows her brows as she sets the card to the side and picks up the box, sliding her finger under the edges to break the tape seal before lifting the lid off. The feel and color of the fabric inside are immediately familiar and even though she definitely knows what it is now, she can't help pulling the victory green jersey all the way out of the box and holding it up to see the number 91 on the back.