Absolute
May 13th, 3012
Calder
"Heather why are you dragging me to this?" I moaned. "For fucks sake just the hell up this won't take that long." My roommate barked at me. I could tell I was starting to really get on her nerves. The only reasons why I was picked to be dragged to this thing was because first of all, I was her best friend, and second of all, I shared the same love for hockey as she did… just not… Blackhawks hockey. I was a Capitals fan who had no interest in meeting a rival.
Heather with some incredible luck found two cheap ass tickets to a Blackhawks meet-and-greet on Stubhub. She cried for like two hours straight and then proceeded to invite me like the tickets were for an all inclusive trip to Hawaii. I tried to act as grateful as I could when honestly I couldn't have cared less about going.
As time passed and the date of the meet-and-greet creeped closer, I kept dropping subtle hints for Heather to try to invite someone else. "I'm just not worthy of going… I'm sure there are some real Blackhawks fans here who would be way more appreciative of the ticket!" As Heather proceeded to insist on me attending, my "subtle hints" became less and less subtle as I physically refused to go and then Heather threatened to burn my Capitals jersey while I was sleeping.
"There they are!" Heather squealed. The event was at a small convention center in the heart of the city. They usually rented it out for boat shows and Sweet 16's. The Blackhawks were standing on the small stage parallel to the entrance. I took a real look at all of them. They were all standing together on the a small stage, huddling awkwardly like penguins. There was Patrick Kane, (who I recognized from the drunk speech he gave during the Stanley Cup parade in the city), Patrick Sharp (which I recognized from all the posters of him on the wall above Heather's bed in our dorm), a few other faces that looked familiar but I couldn't put names to… and then, of course, Jonathan Toews.
Jon
The boys and I were standing on the stage of the convention center in an uncomfortably tight clump. I was testing Marie, our events coordinator (or more like the hockey mom of the Blackhawks), to see how long I could get away with playing Doodle Jump on my iPhone until she scolded me. It was about ninety-two seconds until my last bit of entertainment this morning was snatched away from me. "I'll give this to you after the event Jon… try to stay focused here." I rolled my eyes as Marie put my phone in her pocket and straightened out my tie. "These people payed a lot of money to spend time with you for some reason." I let out a little laugh which seemed to let Marie relax. "By the way… there was a very pretty girl looking at you just a few minutes ago… maybe you should go and try to say hi when you get down there." Marie smiled, giving me a final pat on the chest before organizing my other teammates.
The second I looked out into the crowd of thirty, my eyes gravitated towards a girl in a loose red T-shirt and sweatpants. I really don't know how I knew it was her that Marie was talking about… but I was so sure that I knew the moment I got off this stage I was going to go over and find out her name.
Calder
I wanted to go get some of the free bagels they were serving but Heather made me sit down in one of like six awkward tables spread out in front of the stage. There were like 35 people here tops… which was weird because it seemed like the fans were barely outnumbering the players. Heather liked it like that though, and her face was red from disbelief at this whole situation. I was calmer and honestly just really craving a bagel.
We sat at the table for a few more minutes until a cute older lady appeared onto the stage. All the players clapped and then the crowd joined in. She took the mic and began to speak, "Thank you all for coming. Please eat and feel free to talk to the players! Socialize and have fun!" Everyone clapped again and the players uncomfortably filed off the stage.
Jon
I realized that the moment after Marie had exited the stage, the girl headed straight to the buffet. She was the only person there actually headed in that direction, all of the other fans were too busy crowding around the stairs trying to finally communicate with their favorite player. I pushed passed all the buzzing fans and without even thinking twice I walked straight towards the girl.
Calder
There was literally no one else at the buffet table except me, and I knew Heather would hate me for this afterwards. The minute the players motioned towards the stairs Heather dashed towards Patrick Kane, and I sprinted at the same speed towards the bagels. I was merrily spreading cream cheese on my delicious circle of carbs when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I spun around with the plastic knife in my hand to see Jonathan Toews, standing right in front of me.
"Uh… hi." I said. The unamused expression on my face must have caught Jonathan off guard because he didn't talk for another twenty seconds. I wasn't going to drop on my knees and worship him, and the fact that he just walked right up to me was kind of making me uncomfortable. I didn't really see him as anything more than another guy trying to hit on me… and trying being the key word here. Yes, he was gorgeous, but I was not interested in dating a cocky airhead that just happened to be born with incredible talent.
"What's your name?" He finally said. That took a while. I guess he assumed I was going to do more of the talking. Oh, Mr. Toews! I've always wanted to meet you! You are sooooOOOO good at hockey! Are you excited for the playoffs? Are you guys going to win a second Cup? Are you single?" This poor boy usually gets girls with no effort on his part. All he has to do is score goals and girls come crawling to him like hungry dogs.
Jonathan began to turn red with embarrassment and all of my hate suddenly washed away. Watching the Captain blush made him seem more human. I started to look past who he was, The Stanley Cup winning captain of the Chicago Blackhawks, and under that I realized Jonathan was just a regular guy.
"I'm Calder."
"Like the cup." He said, with a small smile on his face.
I couldn't help but smile at him. His eyes were sparkling like I was the famous person he was lucky enough to talk to.
"Yeah," I smiled back, "like the Cup."
Jon
We talked for what seemed like days… and I wanted to talk to her forever, never leave her side. She everything… and we didn't speak one word to each other about hockey. We talked about work and television and our families. I could just be myself… which was something I really hadn't been able to be since we had won the Cup last year.
I could see Marie start to walk over in my direction with a satisfied smirk on her face. She pulled me away from Calder and told me to go talk to other fans. That's when Calder and I exchanged numbers.
"We should hang out soon." I said.
Calder nodded.
I could feel a pit in my stomach start to grow as I left her side… the longer I was without made me realize how much more I wanted to be with her.
Calder
As Jonathan walked away I tried to process what had just happened. Did Jonathan Toews just walk up to me and ask for my number…? What was going on? I turned back around the buffet with butterflies in my stomach. The more times I rolled over the conversation in my head, the more I realized I liked him… and I hated myself for that.
For all the shit I used to talk about the Blackhawks, how much would my friends judge me for going out with one…?
I finished putting cream cheese on my bagel and sat back down at a table. The rest of the crowd and the players started slowly moving over towards the food, so I was now the only person sitting down. I couldn't see Heather in the clump of people and players, but I did manage to spot Jonathan Toews. Fans surrounded him, they all looked up at him with those sparkling eyes that he had given me and that I just couldn’t give him.
I know the memories are rushing into mind
I wanna kiss your scars tonight, baby
'Cause you gotta try
You gotta let me in
-Heartbeat, The Fray
"Heather why are you dragging me to this?" I moaned. "For fucks sake just the hell up this won't take that long." My roommate barked at me. I could tell I was starting to really get on her nerves. The only reasons why I was picked to be dragged to this thing was because first of all, I was her best friend, and second of all, I shared the same love for hockey as she did… just not… Blackhawks hockey. I was a Capitals fan who had no interest in meeting a rival.
Heather with some incredible luck found two cheap ass tickets to a Blackhawks meet-and-greet on Stubhub. She cried for like two hours straight and then proceeded to invite me like the tickets were for an all inclusive trip to Hawaii. I tried to act as grateful as I could when honestly I couldn't have cared less about going.
As time passed and the date of the meet-and-greet creeped closer, I kept dropping subtle hints for Heather to try to invite someone else. "I'm just not worthy of going… I'm sure there are some real Blackhawks fans here who would be way more appreciative of the ticket!" As Heather proceeded to insist on me attending, my "subtle hints" became less and less subtle as I physically refused to go and then Heather threatened to burn my Capitals jersey while I was sleeping.
"There they are!" Heather squealed. The event was at a small convention center in the heart of the city. They usually rented it out for boat shows and Sweet 16's. The Blackhawks were standing on the small stage parallel to the entrance. I took a real look at all of them. They were all standing together on the a small stage, huddling awkwardly like penguins. There was Patrick Kane, (who I recognized from the drunk speech he gave during the Stanley Cup parade in the city), Patrick Sharp (which I recognized from all the posters of him on the wall above Heather's bed in our dorm), a few other faces that looked familiar but I couldn't put names to… and then, of course, Jonathan Toews.
Jon
The boys and I were standing on the stage of the convention center in an uncomfortably tight clump. I was testing Marie, our events coordinator (or more like the hockey mom of the Blackhawks), to see how long I could get away with playing Doodle Jump on my iPhone until she scolded me. It was about ninety-two seconds until my last bit of entertainment this morning was snatched away from me. "I'll give this to you after the event Jon… try to stay focused here." I rolled my eyes as Marie put my phone in her pocket and straightened out my tie. "These people payed a lot of money to spend time with you for some reason." I let out a little laugh which seemed to let Marie relax. "By the way… there was a very pretty girl looking at you just a few minutes ago… maybe you should go and try to say hi when you get down there." Marie smiled, giving me a final pat on the chest before organizing my other teammates.
The second I looked out into the crowd of thirty, my eyes gravitated towards a girl in a loose red T-shirt and sweatpants. I really don't know how I knew it was her that Marie was talking about… but I was so sure that I knew the moment I got off this stage I was going to go over and find out her name.
Calder
I wanted to go get some of the free bagels they were serving but Heather made me sit down in one of like six awkward tables spread out in front of the stage. There were like 35 people here tops… which was weird because it seemed like the fans were barely outnumbering the players. Heather liked it like that though, and her face was red from disbelief at this whole situation. I was calmer and honestly just really craving a bagel.
We sat at the table for a few more minutes until a cute older lady appeared onto the stage. All the players clapped and then the crowd joined in. She took the mic and began to speak, "Thank you all for coming. Please eat and feel free to talk to the players! Socialize and have fun!" Everyone clapped again and the players uncomfortably filed off the stage.
Jon
I realized that the moment after Marie had exited the stage, the girl headed straight to the buffet. She was the only person there actually headed in that direction, all of the other fans were too busy crowding around the stairs trying to finally communicate with their favorite player. I pushed passed all the buzzing fans and without even thinking twice I walked straight towards the girl.
Calder
There was literally no one else at the buffet table except me, and I knew Heather would hate me for this afterwards. The minute the players motioned towards the stairs Heather dashed towards Patrick Kane, and I sprinted at the same speed towards the bagels. I was merrily spreading cream cheese on my delicious circle of carbs when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I spun around with the plastic knife in my hand to see Jonathan Toews, standing right in front of me.
"Uh… hi." I said. The unamused expression on my face must have caught Jonathan off guard because he didn't talk for another twenty seconds. I wasn't going to drop on my knees and worship him, and the fact that he just walked right up to me was kind of making me uncomfortable. I didn't really see him as anything more than another guy trying to hit on me… and trying being the key word here. Yes, he was gorgeous, but I was not interested in dating a cocky airhead that just happened to be born with incredible talent.
"What's your name?" He finally said. That took a while. I guess he assumed I was going to do more of the talking. Oh, Mr. Toews! I've always wanted to meet you! You are sooooOOOO good at hockey! Are you excited for the playoffs? Are you guys going to win a second Cup? Are you single?" This poor boy usually gets girls with no effort on his part. All he has to do is score goals and girls come crawling to him like hungry dogs.
Jonathan began to turn red with embarrassment and all of my hate suddenly washed away. Watching the Captain blush made him seem more human. I started to look past who he was, The Stanley Cup winning captain of the Chicago Blackhawks, and under that I realized Jonathan was just a regular guy.
"I'm Calder."
"Like the cup." He said, with a small smile on his face.
I couldn't help but smile at him. His eyes were sparkling like I was the famous person he was lucky enough to talk to.
"Yeah," I smiled back, "like the Cup."
Jon
We talked for what seemed like days… and I wanted to talk to her forever, never leave her side. She everything… and we didn't speak one word to each other about hockey. We talked about work and television and our families. I could just be myself… which was something I really hadn't been able to be since we had won the Cup last year.
I could see Marie start to walk over in my direction with a satisfied smirk on her face. She pulled me away from Calder and told me to go talk to other fans. That's when Calder and I exchanged numbers.
"We should hang out soon." I said.
Calder nodded.
I could feel a pit in my stomach start to grow as I left her side… the longer I was without made me realize how much more I wanted to be with her.
Calder
As Jonathan walked away I tried to process what had just happened. Did Jonathan Toews just walk up to me and ask for my number…? What was going on? I turned back around the buffet with butterflies in my stomach. The more times I rolled over the conversation in my head, the more I realized I liked him… and I hated myself for that.
For all the shit I used to talk about the Blackhawks, how much would my friends judge me for going out with one…?
I finished putting cream cheese on my bagel and sat back down at a table. The rest of the crowd and the players started slowly moving over towards the food, so I was now the only person sitting down. I couldn't see Heather in the clump of people and players, but I did manage to spot Jonathan Toews. Fans surrounded him, they all looked up at him with those sparkling eyes that he had given me and that I just couldn’t give him.
I know the memories are rushing into mind
I wanna kiss your scars tonight, baby
'Cause you gotta try
You gotta let me in
-Heartbeat, The Fray
Notes
I hope you guys like it so far. I think I'm going to update once a week :)The chapters will go in order for now on by the way. I mean last chapter was October 27th... and this chapter takes place in May, but it will eventually catch up to October 27th!!! sorry if it's confusing... it will make more sense as the story goes on!
