Chapter Five;

Day Two ;


 It was one in the afternoon by the time Emily had finally woken up the next day. It was a long night for everyone that went to D&B’s the previous night. But a very good one for almost every one of them. It was nearly three in the morning by the time they all went back home.
 Emily rubbed her eyes and let them adjust to the light that was entering her room through the window. She didn’t feel hung over, thankfully. She had a slight headache though. Throwing her covers off of her body, she got up off of the bed and staggered towards her bathroom. She figured a shower would be the best thing for her now and wasn’t planning on leaving her room until she got one.


 “Alright boys, run that one once more and then you’re done.” Coach Bylsma announced to his team that afternoon at practice. It started at eleven and was nearing an end now that it was almost one. Though some of the guys weren’t in the best condition for being out there today due to the party last night, they weren’t going to skip for a few reasons. One, they had a game tomorrow and needed to work on some things. Two, if Coach knew they were out drinking and partying late they’d be sure to get in some sort of trouble. They needed to focus on their game, but there were a couple of guys that just couldn’t do that at the moment.
 “So what’d I miss last night?” Kris asked Sidney while they waited in line for their turn at the drill.
Sid shrugged his shoulders.
 “Not too much. Max drank a lot,” He noted with a grin as Max skated past with a pained expression on his face from his head ache, “I met a really great girl,” He smiled big when he thought about Ashlen, “Oh and Geno and Emily hooked up.”
 Kris didn’t think he’d heard that last one right, “Wait, what do you mean they hooked up?”
 “Like, they’re together. You know, boyfriend and girlfriend? Kissing and holding hands and stuff.”
 “Are you serious?” Kris asked, utterly in disbelief. Sid just had to be kidding.
 “Yeah, a hundred percent. Ask anyone.” Sid said, not realizing how much that destroyed Kris to hear, and skated down the ice towards the net since it was his turn.
Kris just stood there, a puzzled and hurt look on his face.
 “Tanger, you’re up, man.” Craig Adams pointed out, but Kris didn’t care. He just stood there as the puck that was intended on being a pass for him flew by his stick.
 “Kris, what are you doing?” Coach Bylsma shouted. He was holding up the whole drill, just standing there. He didn’t reply. “Boys, keep going.” Bylsma signaled the rest of the team as he skated over to Kris’s side. “What’s the problem? Are you hurt? What’s wrong?”
Kris shook his head. “I’m fine. Can I go to the locker room?” He said, not wanting to be out on the ice any longer. It didn’t help having to see Evgeni and knowing he had the one thing Kris wanted most.
 “Yeah, you sure you’re alright? You don’t look too good.” He said, noticing the pain in Kris’s eyes.
 “Yeah I’m just a little out of it today.” He told him and skated off the ice.
When he got to the locker room, his anger overtook the rest of his emotions. He threw his helmet on the ground and smashed his hockey stick against the wall. It broke with a cracking sound, but no one was around to notice. Kris dropped it on the ground and went over to where his stuff was. After taking off most of his gear, he dug through his bag for his phone, pulled it out and quickly dialed Emily’s number without thinking. It rang, and rang, and rang. But there was no answer. Kris sighed and hung up before the voicemail machine could get an automated word out. Where was she? Why didn’t she answer? Was she mad at me? All kinds of thoughts were running through his head. He didn’t know why he was so furious about it. Emily was his best friend and he should be happy for her and who ever she chose to be with. Key word, should be.

To: Emmm!(:
I need to talk to you.

Kris typed and pressed send. He waited a minute and dialed her number again. No answer. Again and again he listened to the phone ring without any luck. He didn’t know what he would say if she actually answered, but he kept trying. He just wanted to hear her voice tell him that what Sidney said wasn’t true. But that didn’t seem like it would be happening.
It wasn’t long before the rest of the guys began to come into the room. Ready to get off the ice and shower after a long practice. Eaton, Talbot, Gonchar, and Kunitz filed in first.
 “Whoa man, who sunk your battleship?” Max jokingly asked Kris after noticing the broken stick laying on the ground.
 “Did you know about this?” Kris asked him, not cracking even a hint of a smile.
 “About what?” He replied as he unlaced his skates.
 “Geno and Emily.” Kris stated, “Are they really together?”
Chris, Sergei, and Mark could tell Kris was upset and they went to shower to give Max and him some privacy. Max could tell Kris had feelings for Emily. It wasn’t hard for him to see.
 “Yeah, they are.” He nodded.
 “Shit.” Kris said under his breath, “How did that happen?”
 “Honestly?” Max asked him, seeing if he wanted to know what Max truly thought. Kris nodded, “I think it’s just cause he was there, and you weren’t.”
Just then the rest of the team started coming in the room. Kris stood up, grabbed his bag and was about to walk out of the room as Geno walked in with a smile on his face. It disgusted him.
 “Tanger, aren’t you gonna shower?” Max asked him as he started to strip down himself.
 “No.” He said frankly and left without even bothering to put on his shoes.
 “What’s his problem?” Jordan asked once Tanger had exited the room.
 “He’s not feeling very good.” Max covered for him.
 “Ha, what about you? Still feeling the booze from last night?” Jordy joked. Max cracked a smile.
 “I wouldn’t be talking if I were you. We all know you drank your share. Tryin’ to sneak it when we weren’t looking. Nice try.” Max said and the rest of the guys laughed.
 “Oh shut up.” Jordan smirked at him.
 “By the way, thanks for ditching out on us, Eric.” Max added, bringing Godard into it.
 “Hey man, I had better things to do than sit at the bar with you and watch the rest of yinz kissing your lady friends all night.” Eric laughed, pulling off all of his pads.
 “Yeah, you’re just jealous.” Sid shot back. He was topless.
 “So I take it Maxy picked you out a winner, eh?” Eric said, raising an eyebrow.
 “Sure did. Name’s Ashlen. She’s incredible.” Sidney gushed and the guys laughed at him for sounding like a teenage girl talking about the Jonas Brothers.
 “And Geno’s finally gettin some action.” TK said making Evgeni grin.
 “Oh really? With who?” Gonchar asked as he walked backed into the room with a towel wrapped around his waist.
 “Emily.” Geno smiled as her name left his lips. Philippe’s eyes widened. Being best friends with Kris and knowing how he felt about her, he realized why he freaked out and left practice the way he did. His eyes met with Max’s. They were the only ones who really knew about how Kris felt, but they both knew there wasn’t much they could actually do to help.


 “Oh my gosh. I have to get that!” Lauren exclaimed as her and Leah walked by a window display with the cutest dress Lauren had ever seen.
 “It’s adorable, but would you really spend… 359 dollars on it?” Leah laughed. Lauren sighed.
 “Maybe some other time.” She said. The two girls had arrived at the mall a little over an hour ago. It was almost one o’clock now and they each only had one bag in their hands.
 “You think Em’s up yet?” Lauren asked after noticing the time. Emily had the habit of sleeping in late whenever she got the chance.
 “Depends, how late were yinz out last night?” Leah laughed.
 “Ah, only till about three.” Lauren giggled thinking about the night. “You really should come with us sometime, Leah. It’d be a lot of fun!”
 “Well, I don’t know…”
 “We could find you a super cute boyfriend!” Lauren added and Leah smiled.
 “Okay, maybe I could come one time.” She said and they laughed.
 “That would be perfect! Then me, you, Ashley, and Em could all like, quadruple date!” Laur said, already thinking of places to go.
 “I still can’t believe Em’s with Geno.” Leah admitted, “Not that they aren’t cute together, but I never really pictured them as a couple.”
 “Well, they sure seemed to like each other last night. It was the cutest thing! They were all over each other.”
 “Speaking of cute things…” Leah began, hesitating, but smiled as she finished her thought, “Is Max still single?”
 “Oh my gosh! You like Max?!” Laur was shocked. Max and Leah seemed like complete opposites. Leah hated partying and clubs, but Max lived for them. Leah was sweet and innocent, while Max, well, Max just wasn’t. It was like day and night. Fire and ice. Summer and winter.
 “Well, no. Kinda. Ugh, yes!” She admitted with a laugh. “But don’t tell him! He would never like me back.”
 “Wow, when did you start liking him? And don’t worry, I won’t say a word.”
 “I don’t know. I guess I always thought he was kinda special, ya know? He’s funny and nice and cute. And I don’t know, I just sorta have a tiny little crush on him.” She shrugged, feeling a bit embarrassed.
 “Well, I know what you mean. And who knows, maybe you two will hook up.” Lauren said, giving her friend hope. “Stranger things have happened.”