Promises to Keep

"Someone partied too hard" Jamie pointed out the next day at practice. Tyler grumbled, plopping down in his stall, running his hands through his hair and leaving his head in his hands for a moment. He looked visibly distressed and upset; Jamie could only guess why. "You okay dude?"

"Fine" Tyler murmured back, letting out heavy sigh.

"Okay that's fine, lie to your bestfriend. Whatever, that's cool" Jamie replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He tied up his left skate lace, looking over to Tyler.

"Tayla hates me I think" Tyler grunted finally. Jamie rolled his eyes.

"She doesn't hate you" Jamie tried to reason. "She's just... you know, incredibly disappointed and mad at you for being a jackass" he added bluntly. Tyler glared at Jamie, who simply shrugged. "I'm just letting you know the truth, dude"

"I know, I know" Tyler shook his head, clearly angry with himself.

"Look, I know you have feelings for her. And I know seeing her with Nick makes you angry. But if you keep doing this, you'll just be pushing her away" Jamie stated the completely obvious.

"I know that" Tyler snapped.

"Clearly, you don't" Jamie snapped right back. "Otherwise, we would not be having this conversation right now" he added, before standing up. "And there's no need to be hostile with me; I'm only trying to help you" he added in a hushed tone.

"I know- dude, I'm sorry" Tyler sighed, apologizing.

"It's not me who you should be apologizing to" Jamie pointed out, before disappearing out of the dressing room, leaving Tyler with his thoughts. Though there were others getting ready for practice, it was mostly silent. Tyler knew he had to patch things up with Tayla; that much was obvious. She was right; he had asked her to uproot her life and now was treating her like garbage and over what? He knew he had to make things right, and fast.

Tayla sat in her office, lips pursed. She had interviewed Jamie post game (well, technically at the party), to tell the story of the Stars, who were in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. She talked about their last season, where they had spent the majority of their time in a playoff spot, only to fumble in the most important part of the season to miss out. The team had missed the playoffs 3 out of the 4 past seasons, previous to the current season, so making it was a huge sigh of relief.

As she was rereading her article, she heard a soft knock at the door. Looking up, she noticed Tyler, looking distraught, holding a bouquet of fruit in his hands. Tayla rolled her eyes, trying to hide her smirk, waving him into her office. He closed the door behind him, and sat the bouquet on the desk before taking a seat.

"This looks delicious" Tayla commented, taking a chocolate covered strawberry and taking a bite. "And it is delicious" she confirmed after her first bite.

"I'm glad" Tyler answered, feeling awkward. "Look, I have to apologize to you..." he trailed off, and he waited for her to intervene. When she didn't, he coughed before continuing. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for the way I've treated you; you don't deserve that" he finished.

"That's it?" Tayla asked, eyebrow raised.

"No... No, No" Tyler stuttered, eyes going wide. "You mean the world to me, Tay. And I know being stressed isn't an excuse to treat you the way I did. I just..." he trailed off, shaking his head. He didn't want to admit his true feelings towards her; he couldn't. Things with Nick seemed to be going well; and what if she wanted nothing to do him? "I wanted you to move here because you mean so much to me; because we are so close. I can't picture my life without you"

"Jeez Ty, don't need to get so sappy" Tayla teased, though she was deeply touched by his words. Tyler smirked, knowing he was forgiven without her even having to say it. "Just don't be a douche again, aight?" Tayla asked, and Tyler nodded, relief washing over him. In truth, she was still hurt by his actions, but stress was able to get the better of people in many situations, and wouldn't doubt the stress of the playoffs would turn any hockey player on edge. She didn't realize this was far from the real truth.

"Aight" he replied, letting out a breath. "The article was good" he then commented, wanting to change the subject.

"Yeah, it was nice to write; I'm happy you guys made it" Tayla commented, closing her laptop to focus her full attention on Tyler.

"We are too" Tyler replied, feeling the air in the room as being awkward for a reason he could not explain. He didn't like this; it was strange feeling this way about the person he considered himself the closest to.

"I never got the chance to say congratulations! I'm super proud of you" Tayla gushed, and the atmosphere in the room immediately changed. "But please, by god, do NOT give me multiple heart attacks this year, hmm?" she laughed, remembering his Stanley Cup run and victory with Boston.

"There's no promises" Tyler replied with a laugh. "But you know, I'd like to not give anyone a heart attack; my team included" he added.

"Nervous?" she asked, cocking her head to the side, and he nodded.

"I know it's not for a few weeks, and I don't even know who we're playing yet" Tyler told her honestly.

"It's looking like you'll be playing the Knights" Tayla informed him. "They're first in the West, and you guys are in a wild card spot, and judging by what games are left for the teams still in contention, that's my best educated guess" she rattled off, Tyler looking slightly surprised. "What? I do my job" she defended, laughing.

"You always were brilliant at it" Tyler gleamed with pride at his best friend.

"I know" Tayla smirked, feeling cocky.

"Oh! Speaking of which, I think my sister is coming into town-"

"Cass is coming!? Yaaaas!"!" Tayla celebrated, clapping her hands. "I miss her! When's she coming!?" she asked him, becoming more excited.

"Next week I think?" Tyler thought aloud.

"How long is she staying for?" Tayla asked him.

"Two weeks I believe" Tyler cited, remembering their conversation from last night, when she confirmed she was coming.

"I can't wait!" Tayla squealed, and was about to continue when Nick walked in, with a bouquet of red roses in his arms. "Awh, babe!" Tayla gushed, Tyler wincing at her choice of words.

"Ready for lunch?" Nick asked, turning to Tyler. "I'm Nick- it's great to finally meet the great Tyler Seguin I've heard so much about" he then added with a laugh.

"It's nice to meet you too" Tyler replied, though he was lying. He was not excited to meet Nick; it was definitely quite the opposite. But here he was, showing up at his best friend's office with roses; he definitely seemed like a nice guy.

"I'm ready. I'll see you later Ty?" Tayla asked, and Tyler nodded somberly.

Buhdamn. He thought, sighing heavily.