Sky Full of Stars

16

Waking up with a hangover would have been more pleasant.

Calista rolls over onto her back to stare at the ceiling, last night's event fresh in her mind. She obviously hadn't drank enough alcohol at the party but one tiny little shred of her still has hope that maybe by some chance, Tyler did. Maybe he won't remember how he'd pulled her into his solid body or how she'd so eagerly accepted his lips on hers or the feeling of his warm hand carefully cupping her nearly frozen cheek. He'd be lucky if he doesn't, because she sure as hell can't stop running through the whole thing on repeat in her mind, and it's torture.

She would welcome the splitting headache or the nausea or the sensitivity to light and sound and basically any other stimulation over this feeling she's experiencing now- this gross fluttering in the pit of her stomach and the slightly elevated heart rate and the permanent blush she can feel heating her cheeks. It makes her cringe, especially because it was Tyler that caused it. She hates him when she thinks about how he was in the past, but her brain keeps reminding her that the Tyler she kissed last night didn't even feel like the same Tyler she knew in Boston. They feel like two completely separate people and she almost hates that more because what the fuck is she supposed to do with all this weird conflicting shit she's feeling?

After climbing out of bed and going directly across the hall to get into the shower, she dries her hair, pulls on some jeans and a comfy sweater, and grabs some things out of her fridge before heading up to Jamie and Jordie's apartment. It's just past nine and she knows that no matter how hard they may have partied last night and how hungover they may be today, they will soon be waking up grumpy and ravenous. She lets herself into their apartment and goes straight to the kitchen, setting everything out that she needs to get started cooking.

Thirty-six minutes later, there are large bowls of scrambled eggs and hash browns, a huge stack of pancakes, and a plate piled high with piping hot bacon set out neatly on the kitchen island. She puts the last pot into the sink to be washed before retrieving both the cartons of milk and orange juice from the fridge and getting a couple of clean glasses from the cabinet. There's still no sound coming from upstairs so she decides to tip toe quietly up to their rooms to wake them. She knows they'd rather be woken up to eat while it's still hot than wake up on their own and eat cold food.

Jordie's room is first on the hallway but she keeps going past to wake Jamie first; Jamie is always easier to rouse from sleep than Jordie is. She pushes his bedroom door open and slowly creeps into the room before sliding onto the mattress next to him. He's lying on his stomach with his face buried in his pillow and she reaches over to grab his bare shoulder and gently shake him. He offers only a grunt in response so she shakes him again, this time a little harder. When he finally picks his head up from the pillow to look at her, his eyes are bleary and bloodshot and he pretty much looks like death. She smiles at him. "Morning! I made breakfast." That seems to rouse him a little more because he props himself up on his elbows and rubs his eyes with the ball of his hand. "Come on, get up," she says, pressing a kiss to his forehead before she slides off the bed and leaves his room to go down the hall and try waking his brother.

This is the hard part. Calista quietly opens the door and tip toes into his room, avoiding various items of clothing strewn about the dark wood floor. He's lying on his side with his back to the door so she creeps around to the other side where a little bit of sunlight is shining through the windows and kneels down next to the bed. She calls his name softly but it does nothing to stir him so she tries again, this time reaching up to gently brush her fingertips against the scruff on his cheek. He makes a noise of protest and turns his face more into his pillow as he throws his arm up over his head, but she just wraps her hand around his wrist and slowly tugs it back town, keeping a loose hold on it as she says his name again.

"I'm too hungover to be awake right now," he grumbles hoarsely, squeezing his eyes shut tighter against the sunlight.

"But aren't you hungry? All that hot food in the kitchen isn't going to eat itself."

His stomach growls in response and she chuckles, making him finally squint his eyes open. "Hi," he says quietly with a little smile.

"Hi," she smiles in return before jumping back up to her feet. "C'mon, Jamie's probably already down there!"

She leaves before she thinks too much about being back in that bed with him and makes her way back downstairs where she finds Jamie has already made himself a plate and taken a seat at the table to stuff his face. Calista does the same for herself, grabbing a pancake and a couple of slices of bacon before she picks up the maple syrup and heads over to join him. He didn't even bother getting dressed before he hauled his ass downstairs to eat and she shakes her head at him sitting there in just his boxers, shoveling food into his mouth with impressive speed.

Jordie joins them a few minutes later and at least he had the decency to throw on some flannel pajama bottoms, though his lack of shirt is still more than a little distracting. He fills a plate for himself before joining them at the table, sliding into the seat next to his brother and immediately digging in. There's not really much talking going on since both of the boys seem to be so hungover from last night's celebration, and Calista doesn't mind it because at least they're not asking her about her night. She knows she'd have zero chill and end up blurting something stupid about Tyler and that would be the end of the fucking world.

She gets up to put her empty plate into the dishwasher when she's finished and as she's pouring herself a glass of orange juice, the front door opens. All three of them look up at the sound and are met with Tyler shuffling into the apartment, looking like he just rolled out of bed. He's wearing gray sweatpants and a Stars tee shirt, his hair is a ruffled mess, and his eyes are still puffy and squinted from sleeping. He makes only the slightest movement of greeting to the boys as he walks right past them to get to the kitchen.

"What are you doing here?" she asks suspiciously, but she knows that Jamie had probably texted him to invite him down for the feast she's prepared.

He grins and looks down at the multiple breakfast items laid out across the island. "I heard there was food."

She rolls her eyes but turns to retrieve him a plate out of the cabinet behind her and she hands it over to him before asking his drink preference. By the time she finishes pouring a glass of orange juice for him, he's done fixing his plate and she hands it to him before heading back to the table with her own, him right on her heels. He slides into the seat beside her, across from Jordie, and begins to eat his breakfast, groaning in approval with his first bite.

After all three boys go back for seconds, she gets up from the table to begin washing the dishes that won't fit in the dishwasher. Jamie and Jordie thank her when they bring their empty plates into the kitchen, but all they do is go straight for the ibuprofen and then head over to the living room to fall onto the sofa. Tyler however brings his plate in and rinses it off before sticking it into the dishwasher and picking up the dish towel sitting on the counter to wait for her to rinse the pot she's washing. She hands it over to him to dry when she's finished with it and she can't help but notice how close he's standing.

Even as he's drying and she picks up another pan to wash, he still stays in her space, their elbows constantly bumping. She wonders if he's totally clueless or if he's doing it on purpose but then he looks over at her and catches her watching him in confusion and he grins. Yeah, he's definitely doing it on purpose. She's trying to decide if she's okay with that.

She totally is.

--

There's a game against Montreal tonight and it's almost time for his pre-game nap but Tyler's got plans and he knows he won't be able to sleep until he completes the task at hand. Calista's at work, he knows because he texted her, and he wants to ask her out on a date. It's pretty much guaranteed that it's a bad idea because she's Jamie's best friend and she's Jordie's ex fuck buddy and she's an employee of the organization for God's sake, but somehow none of that matters. He doesn't care because he's realized that he wants her that badly. It's honestly ridiculous how much.

He makes his way though the maze of hallways that are now familiar since he had to come by for the photo shoot with Jamie and Jordie a few weeks ago, earning many questioning looks as he passes cubicle after cubicle. Finally, at the end of the longest hall, sitting slightly to the left of a big frosted glass door, is the desk he's looking for. The young blonde intern is sitting behind it, phone tucked between her ear and her shoulder as she types something into her computer. She looks up when he approaches and smiles, holding up a finger at him and then politely agreeing with whomever is on the other line before saying goodbye and hanging up.

"Hey, Tyler. Whatta ya need?"

"I was actually dropping by to see Calista. Is she here?"

"She just went down to one of the other offices to get some files but she should be back any second. You can wait in her office if you want."

"She won't mind?"

"You know her better than I do," Miranda replies. "But that's what she usually tells me to say when people come to her office to see her."

"Alright, thanks," he says, and he walks over to the heavy door, pausing for a moment with his hand on the long silver handle before he finally pushes it open and steps inside.

Her office isn't really how he pictured it would be. He'd expected it to be more homey, but it's pretty much the same sterile office that everyone else probably has. The walls are an average boring white but at least she has one personal touch: there's two huge signed posters framed on one wall, one of Jamie and one of Jordie. File cabinets and tall black bookshelves line the other wall and behind her huge desk is a set of floor-to-ceiling windows. There are two black straight chairs sitting facing the desk and he takes a seat in the one closest to the door, looking around at the new surroundings.

The only other personal touch in the room is that next to the pristine white Mac on the corner of her desk there are a whole line of picture frames. He glances over his shoulder at the open door before he picks up the one closest to the computer. It's a picture of her holding a baby, standing under the arm of a tall man with a thick beard and long dark hair pulled into a bun. He's never seen the man or the baby but he's pretty sure he'd heard Jamie mention a brother and a nephew when they were talking about her going home for Christmas.

He replaces the frame and picks up another. These people he actually recognizes: little Violet and her parents and Calista are all piled up on the sofa in matching pajamas and big cheesy smiles. There's one of her with an older couple whom he assumes to be her parents, one of her from at least a few years ago with a pretty brunette he doesn't know, one of her with Jamie after a game from when he was still playing up in Kelowna, and one of her with Jordie on a beach somewhere. Even though her eyes are covered by a pair of bright blue sunglasses, Tyler still can't help but notice how happy she looks with Jordie's arm draped around her shoulders. He also can't help feeling a little disappointed that the bathing suit she's wearing is a pretty conservative one piece.

After spending a ridiculous amount of time looking at that photo, he puts it back and picks up the last frame on the end, but it almost slips from his hands when he turns it around and sees the picture inside. His mouth immediately goes dry, his tongue feeling like sandpaper as he swipes it over his bottom lip. That feeling he got the first time Jamie introduced them in her apartment is back in the pit of his stomach-- the one that feels like he's on a roller coaster, just beginning to slip over the edge and plummet straight down because there she is decked out in yellow and black, sipping from the top of a very familiar silver trophy. The girl standing next to her, her arms up in the air as she apparently cheers her friend on, is immediately familiar and of course he knows the guy who's holding the bottom of the trophy for her while she drinks, his grin as big as ever.

He's so focused on staring at the photo, feeling the anger inside him grow and the burn of shame at the memories with her in Boston, that he doesn't even hear her enter the room behind him.

"Hey, Tyler. What are you doing up here?"

Not worrying about the fact that he's in her office without her permission and touching all her stuff, again, without her permission, he spins around to face her, still clutching the frame. "It was you."

"What?" she asks, chuckling, but then she looks up from the file in her hands and her eyes immediately shift down to what he's holding. "Oh. Fuck."

"It was you! Fuck, I knew I recognized you!"

Calista glances over her shoulder, knowing Miranda probably heard his outburst, and she shuts the door before she goes over to him and rips the frame out of his grip. "You shouldn't even be in here," she snaps, suddenly angry as she clutches it to her chest.

"Don't turn this around on me, Calista. You knew it was me, didn't you?" She drops her gaze from his fiercely irritated one and presses her lips together firmly to avoid speaking because she knows she doesn't want to have this argument with him and she especially doesn't want to have it in her place of work. "Didn't you?" he presses, closing the space between them so that he's right in front of her, so close that his chest brushes up against the back of her hand.

"Yes, okay?" she snaps, but she automatically takes two steps back to put some distance between them again. "Yes, I knew it was you. Of course I knew. I found out you were coming to Dallas as soon as you did. Why do you think I fled the country for three months?"

"Why'd you pretend like you didn't know me?"

"Because the team was too important."

"Wait, what?" he asks, confused.

Calista rakes her free hand through her long waves and lets out a heavy sigh. "You and Jamie became really close, really fast. You've got this great chemistry on the ice and you play so well together and you've become really good friends, but that never could've happened if I'd acknowledged that I knew you already."

"What does Jamie have to do with us and Boston?"

"He knows what happened, Tyler. He doesn't know it was you, but everything else-....If I'd told him the whole truth, he never would have liked you the way he does. Things wouldn't be the same. And obviously I wasn't going to do anything that would fuck with the team."

"Why didn't you tell me at least?"

Calista frowns and looks down at the picture in her hands for a moment before stepping around him to replace it in its rightful spot on her desk. "I was banking on the fact that you were too self centered to recognize me. And when you didn't seem to, I was relieved. I thought a fresh start would be best for everyone."

"You mean easier for you," he mutters bitterly.

"Fuck, seriously?" She shakes her head as she walks around to the other side of her desk to put as much distance between herself and Tyler as possible because the anger inside her is getting ready to boil over and she can't even stand to be close to him right now. "You are the one who came here with a bad reputation, not me. It wasn't even just a reputation either! You fucking proved to me that that's who you really were. You humiliated me, Tyler. So don't you fucking dare say any of this has been easy for me."

Her voice cracks and hot, angry tears begin pooling in her eyes so she quickly spins around to face the window, turning her back to him so that she can swipe her hands across her cheeks without him seeing. Of course he can tell that's what she's doing anyway. "You know what would've been easy for me? Telling everyone, letting them know that everything they'd heard about you was true. See, these people here are my friends; they would've hated you from the beginning if I'd done that. That would've been the easy thing. Instead, I bit my tongue and I let them form their own opinions of you. I let Jamie bring you around me and become your new best friend because this is a huge opportunity for the team and for him. And I couldn't ruin anything else for him."

She dabs at the tears in her eyes again before she turns to face him but he's just standing there looking dumbfounded. He blinks slowly and swallows hard. "I don't-....I don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything," she replies quietly. "Just get out."

"Calista-"

"Tyler, I need you to leave. Please." Her gaze drops from his as her bottom lip starts to tremble and she clenches her jaw to try and stop it but he's watching her too carefully not to notice. She stares at her desk between them, biting down hard on her bottom lip and blinking a few times to keep the tears from falling, and Tyler's whole body sags in resignation. Finally, he turns to walk back to the heavy glass door with his head down and shoulders slumped and he glances back at her one more time before he pulls it open and disappears from her office, the reason he was there in the first place long forgotten.

Calista silently counts to ten in her head before she goes to peek out the door to make sure he's gone, but when she does, Miranda is sitting completely rigid at her desk, looking like she's seen a ghost. "I guess you heard all that," Calista mutters even though she already knows the answer.

The younger girl shakes her head and immediately goes back to typing. "Nothing. I didn't hear anything."

"Well, everything you didn't hear, I just have to ask that you please keep it to yourself."

"Absolutely, of course. But I didn't hear anything." Calista actually cracks a small smile at that and turns to go back into her office but Miranda calls her name, causing her to pop her head back out the door. "Look, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to cause any trouble. I thought you guys were friends so it wouldn't be a big deal if-"

"It's fine, Miranda. You didn't do anything wrong. Just....in the future, if he comes back....send him away."

"You got it," the blonde agrees, nodding enthusiastically.

Calista mumbles her thanks before she retreats back into her office, shutting the door behind her, and sinks down into her comfy leather desk chair. The line of pictures on top stares back at her mockingly and she picks up the one on the end, the one that just caused a whole bunch of new drama. She, her old roommate Sabrina, and Sabrina's boyfriend Brad had all been so excited that night in the visitors' locker room of Rogers Arena; Brad has scored two of the night's goals in their game seven win and he was on a whole other level of happiness but he'd still taken the time to make sure she got a drink of champagne out of the Cup.

This whole thing is going to cause so much trouble and she's already dreading the coming storm. She doesn't care that Tyler is mad at her for not telling him. She doesn't even care at the moment that she's a thousand times angrier at him than he is at her or that she'd slipped and let him see her vulnerable. Her eyes shift two picture frames down to the one person this is going to hurt the most and she knows that she has to swallow her pride and go talk to Tyler again.

She can't let Jamie find out.
♠ ♠ ♠
Calista's first outfit and he office outfit.

So, there we have it, guys. Now he knows.

What does everyone think??? Please let me know here!!