Promises to Keep

They were out to redeem themselves. The Dallas Stars couldn't fare any worse in game two than they did in game one... could they?

"They're going to play a much better game tonight" Tayla announced before the puck dropped. "I'm not sure if I think they'll win necessarily, but they'll be better at the very least" she chewed her bottom lip out of nervousness.

"I agree with you" Cassidy spoke up, nodding her head. "Though not if Tyler has anything to do with it" she added, and Tayla nodded, agreeing.

"Yeah, when I talked to him before the game he seemed more focused than usual" Tayla commented, and the puck dropped. Nick sat to her right, feeling a little on edge. He was feeling a little uneasy about the relationship Tayla and Tyler shared. The more days that passed, the more he felt it. This trip was like the icing on the cake for him. The conversation he had had with Tyler only raised his suspicions. Was the reason why Tayla didn't disclose her past with Tyler because something had happened romantically between them? The questions plagued his mind throughout the game continuously; he didn't even notice the first period had ended.

"Could have been better, but could have been worse" Tayla turned to Nick and smiled. "You ok? You seemed kind of lost in your own thoughts for the whole period" she then asked, cocking her head to the side.

"What? Oh no, I'm just really into the game" Nick lied, though he was certain Tayla wasn't buying it.

"Jamie's penalty was pretty stupid, wasn't it?" Tayla asked, trying to call Nick on his bluff. If he was truly paying attention and getting really into the game, then he would know Jamie had drawn a penalty against him, but did not indeed get a penalty.

"Really though. These refs might need to read the rules again" Nick scoffed.

"Jamie didn't get a penalty..." Tayla trailed off slowly. "So, what's up?" she asked. "Is everything okay?" she then added with worry.

"Everything is fine" Nick snapped, making Tayla jump at the aggression found in his voice. Cassidy and Katie eyed each other before getting up quietly from their seats to take a small walk, in order to give Tayla and Nick some time to talk.

"Clearly it's not" Tayla snapped right back.

"Just drop it, okay?" he replied back, shaking his head.

"What's up with you? Ever since we got here you've been acting really strange" Tayla commented, remembering the night after the game when he had come back drunk from the bar.

"There's nothing up with me" he hissed, still avoiding eye contact.

"Holy shit, there's clearly something up otherwise you would not be acting like a total jackass right now" Tayla snapped again, getting frustrated.

"Oh I'm the jackass?" Nick scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Sure. Make me the bad guy"

"What do you mean? I never said you were a bad guy" she hissed, trying to keep her voice down. The last thing she really wanted to be doing was having an argument in Las Vegas, with only five minutes to go until the second period was about to start. Luckily, most people from around their section had gotten up to take a walk around.

"It was implied" Nick replied weakly.

"Oh give it up!" Tayla said, exasperated. "What is your problem? Why are you being such a dick?"

"The only one being a dick here, is you" Nick said, causing Tayla to gasp.

"Are you serious? What the hell did I do?" she asked, feeling like running out of the arena, but forcing herself to stay put in her seat.

"It's what you didn't do" Nick retorted.

"That's a classic line" Tayla snorted, rolling her eyes.

"Why don't you ever tell me about your past? What's so bad that you don't want me to find out about?" Nick asked, trying to keep his voice down, but it was difficult.

"I don't understand what you-"

"And Tyler. Tyler, Tyler, Tyler" Nick interrupted her. "You talk about him non-fucking stop. What's your deal with him? What's his deal with you?"

"What do you mean, 'my deal', or 'his deal'?" Tayla asked, it being increasingly harder to keep her voice down; she was absolutely livid. "He's my best friend. He's been there ever since I can remember! We've always been close. You knew that before we even started dating" she defended herself, though she did not feel as though it was warranted.

"You won't ever talk about your relationship with him. He wouldn't even talk about it with me" Nick let slip.

"What do you mean that he wouldn't even talk to you about it?" Tayla asked, the horn signalling the end of the intermission, and the puck was about to drop. "You questioned him at the bar that night- didn't you!?" she asked, just as the puck dropped, and the crowd roared. Cassidy and Katie had taken back to their seats, and could sense the tension in the air. "Unbelievable" she muttered, turning her attention back to the game. She had to pay attention; she had an article to write post game.

"And now you're just going to turn back to the game?" Nick asked, amazed.

"What do you want me to do? Forget my job? Get fired?" Tayla scoffed, turning away from Nick and folding her arms. "I'm not the one who tried to get dirt on you from my best friend because they're what- insecure??" she rolled her eyes, furiously.

"Fuck this" Nick rolled his eyes, getting up from his seat at the next whistle. "I'll see you at home" he added, before he disappeared into the crowd of people.

Neither of the girls spoke until the horn sounded to end the second period. At least this period was a good one for the Stars; they were up 1-0 after two periods of play.

"So..." Cassidy trailed off, biting her lip, and eyeing Katie anxiously. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine" Tayla made no attempt to disguise how she truly felt. "Can you believe it? He actually tried to question Tyler about my past instead of just asking me himself" she scoffed. "Unbelievable!"

"That's pretty low" Cassidy agreed, and Katie nodded in agreement.

"I don't talk about Tyler that much- do I?" she then asked, a little paranoid.

"You talk about the Stars a lot" Katie told her honestly. "But that's your job. So no, you don't overly talk about Tyler unless he somehow gets mentioned in conversation somehow"

"And we hardly talk about my lame brother" Cassidy teased, and Tayla laughed.

"I really wonder if he meant it when he said he would see me at home" Tayla rolled her eyes.

"If he managed to get his plane ticket changed to fly home tonight, that's next level shit" Katie concurred.

"You're telling me" Tayla responded, though in her heart, she had a sinking feeling that when she would return to the hotel room, he would be gone.