Everything Can Change

“Cecily?” a voice asked behind me. I turned around to see none other than Tyler Seguin standing behind me.
“Tyler?” I asked, surprised. Boston was a big city. This shouldn’t have been happening.
“What’re you doing here?” he asked, grinning at me.
“My brother plays for the Eagles. What are you doing here?” I demanded.
“I’m meeting a couple of visiting high school friends here,” he explained, dropping into the empty seat to my right. He made himself comfortable as I looked on skeptically.
“Can I help you?”
“Which one is your brother?” he asked, ignoring my question.
“Kogan,” I answered reluctantly. “Number 35.”
“Kogan? No shit, that kid’s legit,” he mused. I smiled proudly and nodded.
“So does that make you Cecily Kogan?” he asked. I smiled slightly, and said,
“I’m impressed, Sherlock, you’ve cracked the code. Yes, that is my full name.”
“I can find you on facebook now,” he stated, glancing over at me and smiling.
“Why would you do that?” I laughed.
“Well, we’re practically best friends in real life. We should be friends on the internet too,” he told me matter-of-factly.
“That’s a bit of a stretch,” I said, furrowing my eyebrows.
“You practically stalk me.” He smirked at me.
“I stalk you? You followed me to my brother’s hockey game, and are currently planning on looking me up on the Internet,” I replied.
“You followed me to my hockey game,” he returned. I narrowed my eyes at him, not sure how to respond. He sensed that I was at a loss for words, and smiled victoriously.
“Do you want to grab a drink with me tonight?” he asked.
“I’m 20,” I replied. “Not legal.”
“You look older,” he mused. Once again, I narrowed my eyes at him. He laughed at my expression, and said,
“I’m not insulting you. Just calling ‘em as I see ‘em.”
“Don’t you have friends you’re supposed to meet or something?” I asked.
“They can wait. They’re here for the next couple of days; I don’t know when I’m going to see you next. You like keeping me on my toes,” he said, watching the hockey game. I turned my attention to the game to, just in time to see Connor slap the puck past the goalie and into the net. Third goal of the night, he was going to be pumped to have gotten a hattrick.
“Go Connor!” I cheered, jumping to my feet and clapping wildly. I gave high-fives to the people around me, cheering wildly for my little brother, caught up in the excitement of the stadium. Connor was swarmed by the other four teammates of his that were on the ice, and even from where I sat I could see the excited look on his face. After another minute or so, I sat down with the rest of the crowd. Tyler was smirking at me, and I got defensive.
“What?” I asked.
“You’re a super fan, huh?” he teased.
“You could say that,” I said, brimming with pride. Connor was just as good as the hype said. In my opinion, he was better.
“Did you cheer for me like that when I got a goal?” he asked, referring to the game I’d been at. He had, in fact, scored. And I had gone pretty crazy, but only because it was the winning goal.
“You’re not my brother,” I replied.
“Thank god for that.” He smirked when I blushed, and I shook my head.
“Your friends are probably wondering where you are,” I said. He shrugged, and said,
“You’re better company.” I smiled slightly at that, but tried to hide it by focusing intently on my hands folded in my lap.
“Since you’re ‘not legal’,” he started, mocking me slightly. “Would you like to go out with my friends and I after the game? I can get you into a bar no problem, and you don’t have to drink.”
“I don’t know,” I said, shrugging. “I don’t usually go out with professional athletes. Shit probably gets pretty real with you guys,” I said. He laughed loudly, and asked,
“Don’t you go out?” I shrugged and said,
“Yeah. But not often, I leave that to other girls.”
“Not a partier, huh?”
“You could say that,” I said.
“What if we called this a date, then?” he asked. My eyes widened, and once again my eyes went to where my hands were folded in my lap. This wasn’t real. This was a bet, his friends were probably two rows back and had put him up to this. There was really not a better explanation. However, the devil on my shoulder was insisting quietly, that maybe, just maybe, he was sincere?
“I don’t date too often either,” I murmured.
“What, you a bookworm?” he asked, seemingly surprised.
“I’m an art student, remember? Not much of a need to hit the books,” I said. “I just really don’t get asked out a lot,” I continued.
“I don’t believe you,” he said. I raised my eyes to glance at him, and he didn’t look like he was bullshitting me.
“I don’t have much of a reason to lie, now do I superstar?” I asked rhetorically. “If it’ll get you to leave me alone, I’ll go out with you and your friends. But I have two conditions,” I told him.
“And those are?” he asked.
“I can bring my friend Lexie. She’s the blonde girl I was sitting with at your game,” I started. “And this is as friends. Strictly friends. This isn’t a date in any sense of the word.”
“You make going on a date with me sound horrible,” he laughed. “I’ll have you know I’m quite romantic.”
“Save your charm for someone else. I don’t care for it. Is that a yes or a no to my conditions?” I asked.
“It’s a yes,” he told me.
“Great,” I sighed, relaxing back into my seat.
“Can I have your number?” he asked, unlocking his phone and passing it over to me. I reluctantly typed it in, and he grinned victoriously.
“I knew you’d come around,” he said as he stood.
“This doesn’t mean I like you. This means I got you to leave me alone,” I said, but my words lacked conviction. He was just as charming as he thought he was.
“I’ll see you later,” he told me. I nodded slowly, and as soon as he turned and walked away, I called Lexie.
“Hey Lex?” I asked.
“Si, chica?” she returned.
“You free tonight?” I inquired.
“Um, yeah, I think,” she said.
“Want to go out with me? And a couple other people?” I asked her.
“Who?” I was silent for a long stretch of my town, and I could hear her curiosity when she repeated, “Who?”
“Tyler Seguin,” I muttered.
“What?”
“Tyler Seguin,” I repeated. She let out an ear-splitting screech, and I winced, pulling my phone away from my ear.
“Oh my god! How did this happen?”
“He was at Connor’s game with some of his high school friends who’re visiting Boston. And he saw me, and he came over and started talking to me, and then invited me to out with him-”
“He’s so into you. This is so cool, you’re practically dating a Bruins player-”
“No, no, no,” I said firmly. “This is as friends. I told him just that.”
“You’re such a buzz kill. Come back to the apartment and change, you have to look good,” she said.
“But Connor’s game isn’t over,” I pouted.
“He’ll understand.”
“I’m coming to the apartment, but only to pick you up,” I told her. She giggled, and said,
“See you soon.”
“Bye,” I replied, hanging up my phone and getting out of my seat. I made my way out of the rink and towards where my car was parked. As soon as I got to the apartment, I was dragged by Lexie to her room.
“What the hell?” I demanded as I was thrown into a chair.
“We’re making you look like you didn’t just come from your little brother’s hockey game,” she told me.
“No! You can’t,” I told her.
“And why the hell not?” she demanded impatiently.
“I can’t show up in new clothes and makeup. That’ll make me look like I’m trying. I have to be… What’s the word? Coy,” I said, playing to the side of her that wanted Tyler and me to hook up. I wasn’t going to be coy. I didn’t even know how to be coy.
“Of course you’re right,” she sighed, giving me a look. “But I expect some serious flirting.” I glanced down at my outfit; kind of glad I didn’t totally look horrible. I was wearing dark wash skinny jeans and a plain black long sleeved t-shirt. I also had on a necklace that Jill had given me, a plain gold chain with a heart-shaped pendant on it.
“Do I look okay?” she asked a couple minutes later, stepping out of her closet.
“Like always, yes,” I laughed, smiling at my friend and extending a hand, allowing her to pull me out of my chair. Lexie was blonde, tall, leggy, and beautiful. She could wear a nun’s outfit and look good.
“Awesome. Has he texted you yet?” she asked me.
“How do you know he even has my number,” I muttered, reluctantly reaching for my phone.
“Don’t be stupid,” she snorted, snatching it out of my hands. “Your boobs look good in that shirt, by the way,” she told me casually, not glancing up from my phone. I looked down, then back up at her.
“Thanks,” I said drily.
“And the black makes your eyes look really gray,” she told me. “Black’s a good color on you.” For the first time in a while, I agreed with her on something about how I looked. If there was one feature I actually really liked about myself, it was my eyes. They were a light, light gray that stood out against my pale skin and dark hair.
“Alright, I’ve got the bar. You ready to head out?” she asked, grabbing her stuff.
“Sure,” I sighed.
“Try to sound a little more excited, please,” she laughed. “We’re going out with one of Boston’s finest. Cheer up!” I made a face, and she grinned.

Notes

Here ya go :) vote, comment, and subscribe!!!! If I get two+ votes by new years, I'll have a new chapter up ;) ~Candi