Sky Full of Stars

The one night she's spent so much time trying to forget is now constantly at the forefront of her mind. She dreams about it every single night. The arrogant smirk that had been plastered across his face she sees every time she closes her eyes and the words he'd spoken replay in her mind for weeks.

Sorry, I don't do fat chicks.

She can still hear his friends and the other random passers-by erupt in loud drunken laughter, still feel that same tightness in her chest as she did when she realized that he had only been flirting with her, kissed her, for the entertainment of himself and his friends. A game. She'd never felt lower than she did in that moment but he'd just smirked the whole time he watched her absorb that information and then leave the bar in complete humiliation. How he could have been that way back then and somehow got to the point of asking her out on a date is beyond her. She can't even pretend to understand how it happened and she has an even harder time understanding why she'd turned him down.

She likes him. She's come to terms with that fact, albeit with some difficulty, and even though she's still not even completely over Jordie yet, she's admitted that fact to herself. Regardless, she still just can't wrap her head around the fact that he would actually like her back. He's Tyler Seguin. He likes tiny brunettes with modeling contracts and fitness blogs, the complete opposite of someone like her. Every instinct in her body is telling her it's wrong, that it's not possible, but then he'd looked genuinely hurt when she told him as much.

She hasn't spoken to him in almost a week. Ever since the night he left her apartment, it's been complete radio silence, not that she's actually expecting him to be the one to initiate contact first. That just wouldn't be fair, but every time she's tried to text him, she ends up chickening out. Instead, she fills her time with work and the Parker-Foster family. Felicity can tell immediately that something is off, but she never asks which gives Calista a much needed break from thinking about it so much. It feels good to not have to worry about Tyler, or Jordie, or anyone else but herself for a change.

Felicity occupies her time even further by asking her opinions on a new routine she's working on so they spend a lot of time in the studio. Sometimes Violet is there and sometimes she stays with her grandmother, but Nick is always there to be a pain in the ass. They bicker over music in the empty studio while Felicity is in the next room teaching a class. They can't agree on steps even though Calista's been practicing the routine with Felicity every day. "Fine," she finally huffs, planting her hands on her hips. "Show me then." Nick presses play on the laptop set up in the corner and after the music starts, he does the part of the routine that they're arguing over; when he's done, she's having a hard time not laughing at him. "You look ridiculous doing those moves just so you know. Also, you missed a step."

"I did not," he retorts but then breaks into a grin. "Also, shut up."

"You did! Here, do it again."

Nick replays the song and as he's told, this time with her following along with his motions until they get to the part they disagree on. He misses the extra step which makes him finish a second before her, but he's instantly arguing his case. "Where did that even come from? That wasn't in the routine last week when we went over it. Did y'all add it after I left to pick up the kid?"

"It's always been in there, Nick."

"No, it definitely wasn't."

"It so was. You were just obviously not paying attention."

"Hey, babes," Felicity greets as she walks into the room, all sweaty from just finishing her third class of the day. "Are we arguing?"

"Calista's adding extra steps."

"You're leaving out steps!" she protests.

"Alright, children, settle down. We'll figure this out. Start it over." He obeys his girlfriend and replays the song a third time, this time all three of them going through the motions. When they get to the part under question, Calista and Felicity both do the step that Nick leaves out and he just stops, huffing in annoyance without finishing the rest of the routine. "Sorry, babe," Felicity shrugs. "It's you."

"You totally added that after I left!"

"Just admit you're a sore loser, Nicholas. It's not Calista's fault you're wrong." He grumbles to himself as he stretches out on the studio floor, throwing his arm up over his eyes dramatically and Felicity just kicks his foot with hers, laughing, before she looks back at Calista. "You should probably go take a break."

"Why?"

Felicity nods her head toward the far corner of the room and when Calista glances over her shoulder, she finds Tyler standing in the doorway, hands shoved into the pockets of his leather jacket. She lets out a heavy breath and slowly crosses the room to where he's standing, a small smile on his face like he's unsure that coming was a good idea.

"How long have you been standing there?" she asks, her face probably turning pink because knowing he's watched Felicity's studio videos is embarrassing enough but the fact that he actually just did catch a live show is even worse.

"Long enough," he says, and the corners of his mouth twitch like he wants to smile wider but he contains himself.

"How'd you know I was here?"

He bites his lip, nodding his head toward the room she just came out of and when Calista looks back over her shoulder, Felicity jumps into action trying to look busy like she wasn't watching them like a hawk two seconds before. Calista rolls her eyes before she turns back to Tyler and then she silently motions toward some dark blue chairs right next to them in the waiting area. He walks over to sit down and she grabs her hoodie off the hook, pulling it on over her tank top before she follows to sit across from him. It's quiet for a few moments, except for the music Felicity is now blasting from her laptop, and Calista just chews on her bottom lip, not really sure what to say.

"I don't like not talking to you," he finally blurts out and then he takes a deep breath like that's something he's been dying to say for awhile. "You've somehow become this big part of my life, and when you're not there...."

She swallows down the sudden rush of stupid feelings and nods slowly. "I'm sorry for the way I snapped at you the other night. I was-....surprised, I guess, after everything-....I don't know, but-...."

"Well, I'm sorry if I made things awkward for you. I'm okay with just being your friend if that's what you want."

"No," she says quietly, shaking her head, and she doesn't miss the look of confused disappointment that flashes across his face before she finishes. "I'd like to-...I mean, I don't know if you're even still interested, but-"

"Yeah, of course! Hell yeah."

He doesn't even seem embarrassed about interrupting her with his enthusiasm, but it doesn't stop her cheeks from heating up again. "Okay."

"Is tonight too soon?"

She smiles. "No, I think that'll work."

"Good," Tyler nods as he stands up from his seat. "I'll pick you up at 8?"

"Sure."

"And Calista?"

"Hmm?"

"Those were some pretty sweet moves in there." He grins when she blushes, tugging her hoodie closer to her body. "See you tonight," he says and then he's turning to leave, peeking his head in to wave goodbye at Felicity and Nick on his way out.

-

It's a little weird at first. When he shows up at her door at 8 o'clock on the dot with an armful of red roses, tripping over words as he tells her how 'amazing' she looks, it's a little hard to believe. Kind of like a dream almost, like any second she's going to wake up in her bed and this'll just be some distant thought she's too embarrassed to even remember. Then they get into his super nice black sports car and head uptown. She tries to focus on her breathing while she watches the city lights out her window and he fiddles with the radio, trying to find something he knows she likes.

Of course he takes her to the most expensive restaurant in Dallas. She protests immediately as they pull up to the valet, insisting that it's too much and it's not necessary, but he just laughs at her as he climbs out of the driver's seat. He hands off his keys and goes around to the other side to meet her since she didn't wait for him to open her door for her and he grabs her hand, lacing it through his arm as he leads her through the tall glass doors of the restaurant.

Luckily, they're seated at a more private table nestled in the back but that just means that they have to walk all the way through the busy main dining area. Maybe it's just her mind playing tricks on her but Calista feels like they're all staring, probably wondering how someone like her scored a dinner date with someone who looks like him. She just thanks her lucky stars that he's not as recognizable here in Dallas as he was in Boston because, worried as she is about the looks, she knows she doesn't have to worry about this being news and public gossip tomorrow like it would be if he were still a Bruin.

Calista can tell just by the menu that this meal is probably going to cost Tyler a fortune because it's so fancy that the prices aren't even listed. The first thing he does is order their best pinot noir because of course he happens to remember that it's her favorite and she shudders to think how much that costs just by itself. Once they've ordered and gotten their drinks, the waiter leaves them alone for a bit and that's when it finally starts to feel a little more normal. She can ignore the ornate chandeliers giving off dim light and the clinking of dishes and all the other people around them dressed in semi-formal attire and the soft strums of a harp somewhere in the background and then it's just her and Tyler sitting at a table having a meal and that's not such a foreign concept anymore.

The conversation comes easily after that. They talk about anything and everything but they mostly stay away from hockey, and Jordie, and Jamie. He keeps asking her questions about the most random things like he wants to know everything there is to know about her and by the end of the night, he feels like he could give Jamie a run for his money on his Calista knowledge. She feels like she gets to know him a lot better too since she turned every single one of his questions back around on him. He's a lot less intimidating when she knows that he wore spiderman pajamas til he was thirteen and that he cried when he first moved away from his family to play hockey in juniors.

It isn't until they're back standing in the doorway of her apartment, him chewing on his bottom lip with his hands stuffed into the pockets of his dress pants while she fiddles with her key ring, that things go back to weird and surreal. When he moves in close and presses his lips to hers, his hands moving up to cup her face, it all feels very dreamlike. It's better than New Year's, which was a hard kiss to beat in the first place, and the fact this is all happening after they've just gone out on a fucking date makes her feel like she needs to pinch herself to wake up. Her hands drift up to rest against his sides, and they stay there kissing for maybe mere seconds or possibly hours. She wouldn't be able to tell.

He pecks her lips once before he lets her go and walks back to the door still standing ajar while she tries to keep herself upright and not sway on her tall heels. "Goodnight," he calls, and he smiles brightly before he closes the door behind him.

-

Canada wins gold at the Olympics. Jamie wins a fucking gold medal and then they cry together on the phone afterwards. She's always been proud of him but the fact that he's so happy about winning makes it all that much sweeter. She shares his photo on her instagram because of course she has to brag on him and when Jordie likes the post, it only dampens her mood for a moment before she realizes that it doesn't actually hurt so much anymore. She doesn't get the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach when she sees his picture or hears his name or thinks about him. That's definitely a step in the right direction.

Jamie's exhausted when he finally gets home and the time zones really fuck with his sleep schedule so he's basically passed out the rest of the day and that night until he's no longer a zombie and feels ready to rejoin civilization the next morning. He has plans to eat breakfast with Jordie on his first morning back but then he goes down to Calista's apartment to spend the afternoon with her since he's been practically absent for almost a month. He tells her all about his Olympic experience in Russia while they watch shitty television and then she catches him up on her life strategically leaving all things Tyler out of the conversation.

Things are spectacular and back to normal and she's thoroughly enjoying it until there's a knock on her door while Jamie's gone to the bathroom. As soon as she pulls the door open and sees Tyler there, she feels trouble coming on. She doesn't want him to be here because she hasn't told Jamie about them and she doesn't want Tyler to be the one to do it. Just his presence is enough to set her on edge now that they've gone on a fucking date and Jamie doesn't know.

"What are you doing here?"

"Jamie's back," he says like that's actually a legitimate reason for him standing there at her door. "Jordie said he was here."

"Yeah, he is."

"I was thinking we should tell him about us."

"Us?" she repeats questioningly because what exactly does he mean by that? There are a thousand different things about them that they could tell Jamie. "What part?"

"All of it. The other night, New Year's, Boston-"

"No," she interrupts, shaking her head firmly. "No way. We're not telling him about Boston."

"Why not? Calista, c'mon, it'll be fine."

"Tyler, no. I told you already, he can't find out it was you."

"It was a long time ago. I'm sure he's let it go by now, even if he was-"

"No! Now you need to go. We can't talk about this right now. He's right down the hall and I don't want him to find out."

"Find out what?"

Calista's head whips around at the new voice and she finds Jamie standing at the end of the hallway next to the sofa, looking between her and Tyler confused. She swallows hard and looks back at Tyler with pleading eyes, shaking her head ever so slightly at him, but he ignores it completely as he steps around her to face his friend fully.

"We knew each other in Boston."

And there it is. No beating around the bush, no gentle build up, nothing. Just blurting it out. He doesn't even start with the more recent news of their date, which would have been received a hell of a lot better than this is about to.

"Really?" Jamie asks skeptically. "Lissy, you said you only knew a couple of their players and he wasn't one of them. Why'd you lie to me?"

"Because I was an asshole to her," Tyler responds before Calista can.

"Tyler, shut up!" she snaps, already trying to think of a way to turn this around so her best friend doesn't have to find out.

Jamie looks even more confused as he glances between the two of them. "Okay, what's going on?"

"It wasn't that well," Calista says, trying to at least downplay it. "Marchand was dating my roommate, Sabrina, you remember? That's all. It was nothing."

"It wasn't nothing," Tyler counters immediately. "Come on, Calista."

He shoots her a pleading look but she just glares at him in return. She doesn't understand why it's so important for him to tell Jamie about what a colossal asshat he had been back then. When she finally looks up at Jamie, he's standing there with his arms crossed and that stupid big brother-y disappointed kind of look on his face. "Stop lying to me."

She shakes her head, letting her eyes close for a moment to prepare herself for the bomb she's about to drop on him. She knows the truth is only going to hurt him, make him feel worse for something that wasn't even his fault in the first place, but Tyler is insistent, and so is he. "You remember the guy I told you about? From the bar, on St. Patrick's Day?"

The mention of St. Patrick's Day immediately sends the cogs turning in his head and he thinks of all the things that happened that night almost three years ago, which makes him tense up immediately. It takes him a moment to think past all the events that happened after the bar before he can finally remember what she had told him about what happened while she was there.

Calista waits for him to confirm that he does remember the guy she told him about before she sighs heavily and shifts her eyes to Tyler, who just stands there with his head down and his hands shoved into his pockets. He knows what he did that night and even he's disgusted by the person he used to be, but he hates lying to his friend, and this is the only way to come clean. He expects Jamie to be mad at him for the way he treated Calista and the things he said to her. What Tyler doesn't expect is the words that come after his friend's initial shock.

"That was you?" he asks in disbelief, but then he's suddenly angry, taking a few threatening steps forward as his fists clench at his sides and he glares at his teammate with fire in his eyes. "You son of a bitch! She almost fucking died because of you!"

"Jamie," Calista scolds gently, moving in between him and Tyler to press her hands against his solid chest. His heart is thumping wildly under her palms. "That wasn't his fault. I still made my choice."

Tyler is more confused than ever as he watches the two childhood friends stare each other down. Eventually Jamie lets out an unsteady breath and drops his menacing stance to turn and go sit down on the sofa, running a hand through his hair roughly. "I promised Cori I'd take care of you, protect you, and I fucked up with Boston. Now you're here, in the same city with me, in the same goddamn building with me, and what do I do? I throw you into spending every waking minute with the guy responsible for Boston."

"He's not responsible for Boston," she counters quietly. He shakes his head, but doesn't argue with her as he drops his face into his hands, and her heart sinks at seeing how upset he is over this. She knew it was a bad idea to tell him but someone just couldn't leave well enough alone. She only briefly glances over at Tyler, who's standing frozen in his spot, looking a mixture of surprised, embarrassed, and guilty all at once. "You can go now," she grumbles, and she doesn't wait for him to say anything in return before she goes over to sit next to Jamie.

Tyler can't bring himself to leave right away. Instead, he watches as Calista gingerly reaches out to touch Jamie's shoulder and as soon as he feels her hand, he sits up to throw his arms around her in a tight hug, crushing her to his chest. Tyler isn't close enough to hear what Jamie mumbles into her long auburn waves but he does hear Calista's response.

"You didn't let her down."