Tongue Tied

Alex woke up to the sound of the door closing. She opened her eyes slowly, realizing she was in bed alone. She took a deep breath, rolling onto her stomach. She didn't entirely mind Nathan not being there, it meant more space for her. She stretched out and dosed back off. She woke up a little while later to the sound of the TV. She rolled onto her back, bumping into Nathan.

"Enough sleep?" He teased.

She shook her head as she sat up beside him. "Never."

"I've gotten ready for my practice, went to it, came back from it, cleaned up after it, and watched an hour of Food Network and you slept." He listed, tossing an arm around her.

She leaned into him. "I need my sleep." She stated.

"Yeah, you live such a hard life." He mocked.

"Putting up with you is pretty hard." She smirked.

"So, what should we do today?" He asked, pressing his lips to the side of her head. She shrugged. "Anything you want."

"I'm completely content with doing this all day." She explained as she wrapped her arms around his torso.

"Then it's set. We stay in bed all day." He declared and wrapped his other arm around her.

For the next three hours, after Alex had showered, they laid around in bed. Their day consisted of watching Food Network and planning on making the things being cooked, or taking trips to the restaurants shown. Nathan also took the liberty of ordering room service. He had to beg his parents first, but when he lied, saying Alex wanted it, they gave in.

They were cuddled together, per usual. Alex was sitting up while Nathan used her as a pillow. She played with his hair, something that had become a habit between them. A knock on the door caused the couple to growl in sync. He looked up at her, trying to plead her into getting the door. She laughed, shaking her head at him. He sighed and rose, walking to the door. He opened it to reveal his teammates.

"What?" Nathan spat.

"We're going to wander. Do you two wanna come?" Mack asked.

Nathan shook his head. "I was just about to go for a nap." He confessed. He looked over at Alex who looked interested. "Do you want to go with them?"

"If you're staying here, I'll stay with you." She said.

"Al, if you wanna go check shit out, it's fine." He told her.

"Okay, then I'll go." She smiled, standing up. "Just let me change."

Nathan smiled at her. She went to her suitcase, grabbing clothes, before she made her way to the washroom. He turned back to the guys outside of his room. He stepped forward, closing the door. His smile had fallen. He looked demon-like.

"I swear to god, if anyone talks about girls before Alex, or makes passes at her, or an,"

"You realize Alex is like my little sister, right?" Stefan cut him off.

"We all respect her and you too much to pull that shit." Darcy added.

Jo rolled his eyes, grabbing Nathan's shoulder. "Give the guy a break. He's barely without her. He's bound to be a little crazy protective."

Alex finished getting ready. She walked over to her suitcase, putting her clothes in it, before she looked to the door. The closed door. She slid on a pair of sandals as she walked towards the door. She grabbed Nathan's Mooseheads jacket as she did so, sliding it on. She opened the door. Jo was grabbing Nathan's shoulder while all the other guys were staring at them. She furrowed her brows.

"It looks like there's an intervention going on." She joked as she stepped beside Nathan.

"There is. You're the drug." Stephan said.

Her smile fell. "Oh." She didn't pick up on the joke.

Nathan frowned, wrapping his arms around her. "They're just kidding. You're not a problem." He reassured her, kissing the side of her face.

"Shit, Alex, I was totally kidding." Stephan sighed. "We love you. We love how Nate acts around you."

She smiled a bit. "Well that's a relief." She chuckled.

Nathan took her hand, pulling her back into the room. "If they start pissing you off, text me and I'll come get you."

She shook her head. "They won't piss me off. Calm down, Crazy." She laughed, grabbing his face. "I love you and I'll see you in a bit."

She kissed his lips and then pulled the door open. Brendan stumbled forward, into the room. He had his ears pressed to the door and was eavesdropping, heavily. Alex shook her head, shoving him out of the room. The door closed and Nathan exhaled slowly.

He was being dumb, he knew it. With his team though, he had reason to be. Before Alex had come along, he was pretty notorious with the hook ups after games. Most of the guys were, but he was one of the worst. He knew the guys cared about Alex to the point where they wouldn't tell her things hat would upset her. He also knew they had big mouths and couldn't always control what was coming out of them.

Alex held her stomach in pain as she laughed at something Mack had done. She had been laughing the entire time she was out. She knew they were all funny but not this funny. Mack stood up from the tumble he had taken. He continued running down the streets. She shook her head. An arm swung over her shoulders and she looked up at Stefan.

"How's your first day away from Nathan in the last year?" He asked.

She rolled her eyes. "I've been away from him in the last year." She argued.

He shook his head. "We both know that's a lie." He smirked.

"It isn't that I can't be away from him, I,"

"You like being around him." He answered for her. "I get it."

She felt her cheeks flush. She looked away from him. Stefan smirked to himself. He pulled her into him, squeezing her shoulders against him. She smiled, her cheeks red. They walked in silence for a bit longer before he took a deep breath.

"Honestly, if any of the guys seriously give you or Nate a hard time for always being together, it's because they're jealous." He began. She furrowed her eyebrows. "Every guy on this team wants what you and Nathan have. None of them will admit it, but it's the truth."

She scoffed. "Why?"

"Because we all want someone who cares as much as you. We all want someone who cares in general. Someone who cares about us. Not just how high we're going at the draft or what team we're going to. Someone who legitimately cares about our feelings and our thoughts and everything but our hockey." He confessed.

"I care about all of you like that." She frowned.

"But you're not dating all of us. It's different." He smirked, ruffling her hair.

She nodded in understanding. Hearing Stefan talk like that almost broke her heart. She never thought that he was the type of guy to really want a girl. He was a great guy, but he was a hook up guy. Most of the guys on the team, in the league, were. She knew Nathan had his share before her, and at times it made her really insecure, but then she realized where she was compared to where the girls from his past were.

He dropped his arm from her shoulders as she went to speak. "Stef, if you want someone like me, why do you act the way you do with girls?" She quizzed as they walked behind the group.

"They're not interested in anything else, Alex." He explained. "I mean, I could probably find a great girl if I tried but it's my last year in Halifax so what's the point?"

Alex frowned again. She knew he was right. She also realized this could be Nathan's last year too. He was talked to be in the top spot for the draft. It made her stomach turn. She hoped he'd go somewhere close or somewhere she could get to without trouble. Truthfully, she didn't want him to leave but she knew it was the best.

She watched the guys she was with act like children and it blew her mind. It blew her mind that some of these children would be getting drafted, some traded, and some just too old for the league. It made her question where she'd go next year. She had a year of high school left so she couldn't travel far, unless she continued with the online schooling. She knew where she wanted to go, but she knew she also wanted to be with Nathan. Deep down, she prayed he'd stay one last season before playing in the NHL. She knew there was slim chance of that.

Alex sighed as she continued down the hall to hers and Nathan's room. She had done way too much thinking since her talk with Stefan. She thought herself to the point of exhaustion and nausea. She got to the door and took a deep breath. She knew Nathan was going to know something was wrong and he was going to make her talk. She slid the keycard and walked in.

Nathan was sitting up on the bed, his hands behind his head as he watched TV. He looked towards the door as it opened. Alex walked in slowly, staring down at her feet. A small smile spread across his face as she walked further into the room. She paused at the end of the small hall. He saw how sad she looked and his smile fell. She crossed her arms and flicked her hair behind her shoulder. He sat up.

"We need to talk, Nathan." She breathed out.

He rose slowly. "What did the guys say?" He growled.

"Just stay there, okay?" She said, holding out her hands. "It was nothing about your past, it was nothing about you. It's just things I've been thinking about."

"With us?" He asked as he slowly sat.

She nodded. "What happens when you get drafted?" She licked her lips, looking at him across the room.

"It depends on a lot of things." He shrugged.

"Like?"

"What team I get drafted to, if they think I'm ready to play for them, if they want me to play for their affiliate for a bit, if they let me stay here for another season. I don't know, Al." He sighed

"Say they want you to go play away from here," She paused. "What happens with us?"

"Nothing. We stay the exact same." He stated.

"But it won't be the same and we've never really done long distance." She rubbed her arms.

"We did World Juniors." He argued.

"That was a few weeks, not an entire season." She pointed out.

"You don't think we're strong enough for long distance." He almost whispered, looking down at his hands.

"No, I know we are. I just don't want to distract you while you're in the major league." She admitted.

"You've been the furthest thing from a distraction. You keep me sane." He confessed, looking back up.

She walked over to him, stopping in front of him. He looked up at her, a frown on his face. She grabbed his face and leaned down to kiss him. His arms wrapped around her thighs as she did so. She stood up straight, hugging his head.

"You know we'll be fine, babe." He mumbled into her body. "Nothing's gonna fuck us up."

"You're gonna make me cry." She whined, sitting down beside him.

"You almost made me cry!" He yelped.

She smiled at his before leaning forward. She kissed him, her hands resting on his thigh. She moved her hands up slowly. He pulled away, keeping his face close to hers. She grinned at him as her hand moved up. He grabbed it.

"What are you doing?" He huffed.

"Are your parents next door?" She smirked against his lips. He shook his head. "Then I'm doing you."

Notes