Tongue Tied

"I can't get the time off work or I would." Alex frowned at her laptop.

She was Skyping with Zach, Leah, and Jo. They were trying to convince her to come home for Christmas break. She wished she could. She knew she could request the time off now, but she wouldn't get it. It was rare for first years at her office to get their wanted time off. Leah frowned, looking back at Jo. He looked at Zach who was on his phone. Zach looked up with a smile.

"We could come out there?" He suggested.

"Would you?" Alex gasped.

"I mean, why not?" He shrugged.

"I'd probably honesty cry." She laughed.

"You always cry." Jo teased.

"No, but if you're seriously going to come out here, I can get my aunt to get the guest rooms set up." She piped up.

"I'm all for it." Leah smiled. "But who else do we ask?"

Alex counted in her head. There were six rooms in her aunt's house. One was her aunt's and uncle's, one her cousins, and one hers. The other three were guest rooms. She knew none of them had problems with sharing rooms. She was aware that not everyone would make it, but she was hoping most would.

"I have three empty rooms plus I'll share mine if necessary." She explained.

"We'll message the clan and let you know." Zach told her.

"I love all of you so much." She sighed.

"Love you too. Watch my game against the Habs tonight." Jo waved before the chat ended.

Erica walked in with the guys behind her just as Alex closed her laptop. Erica gave Alex a look as she tossed her jacket. She dropped on her bed. Gabe dropped beside her. Tyson waved to Alex before he closed the door and crossed the hall. Matt trailed in and sat beside Alex. She was laying back, her head against the wall so she was partly sitting up.

"Tyson doesn't love me anymore. We used to be like this." She said, crossing her fingers.

"He's in love." Gabe sang.

"He should be in love with me." She growled.

"Speaking of people in love with you," Matt spoke up. "Why does Nathan look like he cries himself to sleep while listening to Blood On The Dance Floor?"

Everyone burst into laughter. Matt just shook his head at them. Alex finished her laughing fit. She took a deep breath and looked at Matt. He looked completely serious. She frowned at his serious expression. It scared her how easily he could tell something was up. She took a deep breath and sat up. He turned towards her more. He needed to hear this.

"He came by that night Jared was here, faked some sob story, took me to some diner, told me he was still in love with me, and I lost it." She explained. "I might have told him to stay out of my life and that I hated him."

"You killed him!" Erica yelled.

"You just stabbed him in the heart, ripped it out, and stomped on it!" Gabe added.

"No, I meant it." Alex hissed. "Nothing but grief has come from him since he came back."

"Al, I know he hurt you, but no one deserves that." Matt sighed.

"Yes, he does." She shot back. "It's easy to say when you haven't gone through all the shit."

He nodded. "You're right, I haven't. I just know you aren't happy with what you've done and I don't think you will be until you make up with Nate."

"I'm happy." She reassured him. "And it's a week, regardless. It's too late to apologize."

"He'd still accept your apologies if it were a year later." Gabe rolled his eyes. "He loves you, he's just a fuck up."

"I'm done with this. I don't want to talk about it anymore." She whined. "Are we going for dinner?"

"Nate's gonna be there." Gabe warned.

"The entire team is gonna be there. I can avoid him." She shook her head.

There was a giant team dinner for Thanksgiving. Considering more than a third of the team were Canadian, it was weird for them to have such a late Thanksgiving dinner. Alex stayed by Matt and Gabe's sides the entire night. Erica was a social butterfly. Alexa and Kya were with their boys. When they sat down to eat, that was the first time Alex caught a glimpse of Nathan. He was on the opposite end of the table from her.

She looked him over. He had a beanie on his head. He was dressed in a nice shirt with some dress pants. He looked good, asides from how tired he seemed. She held back the frown she felt within. She didn't want anyone on the team to think she was crazy. Matt sat down beside her. Erica was on her other side. Erica grabbed Alex's plate, offering to grab her food from the buffet. Suddenly, the table was near empty and she had a clear view of Nathan.

He kept his head down and played on his phone. Alex decided to do the same. She opened Instagram. She had some likes on the photo she had posted. It was her and Matt. The caption was exactly what Gabe said before he took it. She had a hand around Matt's waist, and one covering her mouth as she laughed. He was laughing hard, with one hand around her and his other in his pocket.

"Ass and asshole want a picture together.” - Gabriel Landeskog

Of course, because it was the Matt Duchene, she had thousands of likes and comments. Some were rude, but she was accustomed to that. She saw her notifications pop up again. She clicked it and saw Nathan had liked the photo. Her eyes shifted to him and he was still on his phone. She sighed quietly, going to twitter. She scrolled while waiting for everyone to return.

@MacKinnon9: thanksgiving dinner with the team... #imcanadian?

Alex smiled and favourited it. She knew that was how most of the guys felt. She scrolled and saw most of the guys had sent out tweets about it being Thanksgiving, regardless of where they were from. Erica finally came back. She sat down a plate in front of Alex before she slid in beside her.

"Are you alright?" Erica whispered to her.

"I'm fine." Alex smiled. "Just hungry."

They began to eat. Matt came back and sat down beside her. She looked up at him. He smiled at her. Once they finished and everyone began chatting, Alex eased up a bit. Matt was turned towards her. He had his arm resting on the back of her chair as he talked to the guys down the table. Alex pretending to pay attention, but she was in her own world. That world consisted of her, nonchalantly, watching Nathan. He wasn't really in the conversation either.

The night ended shortly after that. Everyone said their goodbyes. Alex made her rounds to the players she knew. She stood by the door, waiting for her friends and their ride. She heard someone coming towards her and looked up. Nathan was looking her dead in the eyes as he slowed down. She didn't know why he was coming over.

"Uh, excuse me?" He stuttered.

She furrowed her eyebrows before realizing she was in the doorway. "Shit, yeah! Sorry." She apologized as she moved.

He nodded and walked out of the room before he stopped. "Hey, Al, you and Matt are pretty cute together." He complimented.

Alex felt all the blood drain from her face. "Matt and I aren't t,"

Nathan chuckled. "I know. I was just kidding around." He explained. "Have a good night, Alex."

"You too." She nodded at him before he walked away.

Kya walked over slowly with Tyson behind her. "That must've been awkward." She frowned.

Alex nodded. "Just a bit."

"Well, Ty said he'd take you and I home, if you're ready to leave?" Kya suggested.

Alex nodded furiously. "More than ready."

Notes