~Story that I wrote with the inspiration of the song "Payphone" by Maroon 5. I'm a hockey fangirl, so I wrote it about my favorite team, the Pittsburgh Penguins. A love story between myself and defenseman Kris Letang ;) I don't own any of the franchise or the song, so all goes to respectful owners. Enjoy!~~

-Hockey Heartbreak

-"I'm at a payphone trying to call home

All of my change I spent on you

Where have the times gone, baby it's all wrong

Where are the plans we made for two?"

"Yeah I know it's hard to remember, the people we used to be.

It's even harder to picture, that you're not here next to me..."- - Payphone, Maroon 5

-"I really don't want to talk about it guys..." I said quickly,looking up to my friends for a few minutes before burying my face back against my knees pulled tightly to my chest.

Aren sat across the table with her boyfriend, Penguins forward, Tyler Kennedy and beside him was one our closest friends, James Neal.

"I didn't hear this story...can I please be informed?" James piped up, looking to the others. Aren shakes her head warningly, knowing that I wouldn't take this lightly.

I pulled my head up again to look at him,"Kris left me...it's that simple." I said looking to him,"If you want a detailed report, I'm sure he'll tell you guys."

"It still doesn't make complete sense to me...I mean he was super happy with you,and it showed." Tyler added quickly.

"Well, he clearly didn't tell you how he knocked up Catherine..."I mumbled again angrily.

James looked over to Tyler and Aren, now the whole table was speechless.

"I'm calling him tonight...he's definatley got some explaining to do." James replies quickly.

Tyler nodded,"Yeah we will get down to the bottom of this!"

Aren shook her head,"Tyler, no, your not getting involved." she soon looked to Kerry,"Why don't we go on a little vacation? Chicago for the week?" she said with a slight smile.

"I don't know guys..." Kerry replied.

"Doesn't matter...you are coming for sure. You've got to get away from...this." Aren said laughing slightly as she gestured to the two hockey players.

"Okay fine, I'll go to Chicago with you."I said quickly, finally smiling. Maybe just time with friends would be exactly what I need.

"Great! We will leave tomorrow morning!" Aren said with an eager smile.

And the next morning, they packed the car to head to the airport and off to Chicago.

As they unloaded their stuff and started to explore the city, I hesitantly looked back at my cell phone. It had officially been a full two days since speaking with Kris last.

Aren looked to me,"C'mon I want to show you all my favorite places! Plus, we are gonna go hang with the Blackhawks. Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp of good friends of Tyler, and he told them we would stop by."

Shoving my phone back into my jacket pocket, I forced a smile on my blank face, "Awesome! That would be fun."

-"Now I'm paralyzed,

Still stuck in that time,

When we called it love,

But even the sun sets in paradise"-

Kris got a call from James Neal and Tyler Kennedy stating that the three of them should hang out. So as the girls were spending time in Chicago,the guys met up one night after practice.

"So..." James stated a bit awkwardly looking to Kris as they sat at a local bar,"What happened with this whole relationship...thing?"

TK sat next to Kris on the other side and looked to him as well, exchanging a glance to James as well.

Kris looked to the two of them and sighed,"It's a lot...trust me." he said with a pause, running a few fingers through his long hair,"Catherine found out she was pregnant, so I was put into this situation to make a choice. I wanted to be there to support Catherine because it's my kid, but I also wanted to stay with Kerry. She's different,beautiful and just...something special that no other girl is." he added simply, his French accent playing off his words.

James quickly looked to the bartender to order a round of beers for the guys, soon looking back to Kris,"Continue..."

"When I told Kerry about Catherine, she didn't say anything right away, but a few days later you could tell it ate at her a bit. At the time, I felt horrible but I knew in the long run, it was my fault and responsibility." he paused again as he took a sip of the drink,"But as much as I care so much about Kerry, I decided I had to be there to give my support to Catherine. For the baby, ya know."

James looked to him again,"Huge decision man..."

TK then spoke up,"I know it was hard but man, you should have seen her a few days ago. She was a complete and utter mess."

Kris shook his head, soon taking another swig of the beer that sat in front of him, "I'm horrible...I don't blame her for being heartbroken." he said with a pause, "Once she walked out that door, I'll be honest, it sucked. I feel like my heart's basically been ripped out of my chest..."

"Then why don't you tell Kerry that? You clearly still care about her..." James asked looking to him.

"She won't want to talk to me even if I was the last person on this Earth. Besides, Catherine's been super moody lately, and if I bring her up...Well, you guys know how Catherine can be." Kris replied,"I just can't help but think I might have made the biggest mistake of my life..."

-"You can't expect me to be fine,

I don't expect you to care

I know I've said it before,

But all of our bridges burned down"-

It had officially been a week, and being in Chicago did get my mind off of the heartache. I woke up one morning,and seeing my cell phone sitting on the nightstand. Two unread messages, three missed calls...All from Kris. Instantly the pain in my chest was back as I quickly pushed the phone away without looking at the messages. I got ready, hoping I could shake the feeling with spending another day out in the city with my best friend.

-"If "Happy Ever Afters" did exist,

I would still be holding you like this."-

Kris quickly got into the drivers seat of his black Range Rover. 7:30 in the morning...heading out to practice...on a Saturday. He checked his phone before leaving, nothing from Kerry but there was a few texts from his fellow teammates and texts from Catherine reminding him to pick up a few things on the way back.

All of that was unimportant, he just wanted to hear something, anything from her just to reassure his mind that she was at least okay. As he drove, he reminisced on the very first time he met Kerry, at a small signing he did for the Penguins. He remembered laughing slightly when she came up, as she was a complete fangirl, alongside her best friend. But even in the chaos of their first meeting, he felt that they had a connection somewhere.

As they met again, a little more casually after a game, she told him about her drive to go to medical school and how she wanted to make a difference in the medical field. She had passion for what she was doing, and that was what made her stand out to him.

For a third time, they met again running into each other at one of the team's favorite restaurants, Patron's. He remembered being there with TK after practice and he noticed her come in with Aren. Kris remembered that he watched as the two girls were seated the table behind them. As they continued their meal, Kerry got up from the table to head to the bathroom walking past the two boys. Being the clutz that she is, she tripped right in front of the NHL players. He remembered that he stood up to lend her his hand to pull her back up, that was when she finally recognized him. He remembered that he invited her to sit with them along with Aren, as she was crazy over Tyler, and still is. Kris remembered that he told her that secretly, all hockey players are clumsy off ice, and this made her laugh and smile.

Oh how he loved that smile, if only he could see it again. As he thought about it, he felt this pain hit his chest, something was clearly missing. His fangirl, his puck bunny, the girl he loved. And he had to do so much more than apologize to get her back in his life.

Back in Chicago, I finally gave in to listen to the voicemails Kris had left me. He seemed down, his voice very soft and shaky, not the usual for the strong defenseman. As the message dragged on,you began to hear a woman speaking French in the background. Catherine mouthing off something to him. As I knew I would be leaving the city in the afternoon, I only had a few hours to spend with my best friend and our Blackhawk friends before going back to catch a plane home.

After spending a fun day out with Aren, Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp full of adventure and getting their famous burritos, the girls headed off to the airport to leave Chicago.

"Our flight has been delayed." Aren said a little down looking to her best friend,"We will have to wait another hour or so."

I looked to her, "It's fine. We can find something to do around the airport." I said with a slight laugh, trying to be optimistic.

As we waited, Aren decided to call Tyler and James, as we both were curious if they had any crazy parties in our absence.

As she was on the phone, I heard my cell phone ring and I instantly picked it up,"Hello?"

And then it hit me instantly like a train wreck. It was his voice.

-"No baby don't hang up

So I can tell you what you need to know,

Baby I'm begging you, just please don't go,

So I can tell you what you need to know."-

"Heard you were in Chicago, have fun?" Kris asked curiously.

It took me a few minutes to catch my breath and to reply, hoping my voice wasn't sounding too shooken up,"Yeah...yeah, it was a lot of fun." I managed to choke out.

"Glad to hear you guys had fun. I bet you two visited the Blackhawks players, right?" he asked.

"Yeah we did. We spent a few days hanging with Patrick Sharp and Kane." I replied quickly.

A few seconds of silence soon separated their conversation, which to me, seemed like an eternity.

I cleared my throat again before speaking,"It's kinda weird that we are actually talking again...but I like it." I said with a soft smile.

I could hear him laugh slightly,"Well, when you get back...we can go back to talking a whole lot more."

"What about Catherine? You've kind of got a commitment there...remember?" I asked quickly.

I heard Kris let out a small sigh, "I know it's tough...but I just can't bring myself to completely push you out of my life..."

I stayed quiet for a few seconds before swallowing hard to keep myself together. With him saying that,all the feelings that I have had buried down the past week came racing to the surface. Suddenly, I found myself sitting in the Chicago airport terminal on the phone, now crying as a few tears escaped my eyes.

"Kerry...?" He asked softly.

I wiped away the few tears from my face before replying, "Kris, I can't lose you. You know I love you...so much." I managed to finally blurt out,"These last few days in Chicago have been rough..."

"Trust me...I know how you feel." He replied softly,"But somehow I think you'll want to stay in Chicago a little longer..."

I let a few seconds slip by,"I know I know..., you and Catherine are pretty serious now...I guess she'll get pissed with us talking right?" I replied, "Maybe I should stay away a little longer..."

I waited for a few minutes, "Kris?" I asked quickly. Must have lost reception.

My heart sank again, that might have been the last conversation with him.

Aren soon came running back, "Wanna come with me to grab a bite to eat before boarding our flight?"she said with a slight smile.

"Sure, that's fine with me." I replied quickly, soon following her throughout the airport.

We soon sat down at a small Café together and ordered some food.

"So did Tyler say anything interesting?" I asked curiously as I looked to her from across the table.

Aren smiled,"Actually, I was surprised...they had a pretty low-key week."

I took a sip of my tea and soon replied,"Always good to hear." I said with a smile looking to my best friend.

Then all I saw was darkness. Two large masses covered my eyes. With my hands, I instinctively felt what was covering my eyes.

Soft,warm with creases and a few calluses...hands?

I tried to pry my eyesight free from my captor, but there was definite strength to their being.

Then their was the voice, "Told you you wouldn't want to leave Chicago yet..."

Then instantly, all I could see was this sheepish grin on both my best friend and the long haired French Canadian defenseman.

My mind went wild. 'Kris...here...KRIS...IN CHICAGO...'

I wanted to hide my huge smile, but it was no use. I truly did miss him...but why was he here?

Once I built up the courage to actually look at him, I spoke,"What in the hell are you doing here...?"

He smiled again,"Oh you know...was in the neighborhood. Hockey stuff..."

"Still...doesn't explain why you're...here here." I said, gesturing slightly to the Cafè surrounding us in the airport.

"Oh...I can definitely explain that part." Kris replied, quickly pressing his lips to mine in a soft kiss, his hands soon falling to my waist. As he pulled away, he looked to me again, "I left this amazing girl a few weeks ago, and I realized it might have been the biggest mistake of my life. I'm happy with her, we have fun together and most of all...I love her. Kerry...I love you."

It all came rushing in, pure emotion. I fought back a few tears, "But wait...what about Catherine?" I asked curiously.

"Don't worry, I'll deal with Catherine okay? We'll figure something out...with her and the baby." He replied, his dark eyes matching up with mine. You could see the seriousness in his eyes, he definitely wanted to fix this.

I finally let a smile spread across my face,"Okay. Now...come here." I said slowly out stretching my arms to wrap around his muscled body in a warm embrace.

It felt right. I felt good again, like that gaping whole in my chest wasn't full of pain and hate.

He was here...Kris was here,with me. His warm body pressed up against mine like so many times before.

As all the emotions kept running through my head, I vaguely made out Aren's voice talking to me. Instantly, I turned my head to look at her to pick up on what she was saying.

"So...we gonna catch the flight back home? It boards in 15 minutes..." Aren stated calmly, looking to me and Kris, soon letting a friendly smile spread across her face.

I soon felt Kris's arm wrap around my shoulders as he stood next to me, definitely one of the many things I missed about him.

I looked to Aren,"Yeah, I will be there. We really should be getting back."

"Or..." Kris soon spoke up looking to Aren, then glancing over to me," You can let Aren head home, because I know for a fact TK is missing her." he said with a smile, soon looking back to me,"And you and I could stay and extra day or so..."

Aren smiled,"He does have a good idea...I mean, it's a good plan if you two truly are going to get back together." she said looking to Kris then shifting her gaze to me.

Kris soon looked to me again, his head cocked slightly to the side as his long hair shifted with his movements,"Well? What do you say?" he asked calmly, waiting for an answer.

I soon smiled, and reached up to place a small kiss against his lips, "I guess staying a few extra days won't hurt."

He smiled wide as I agreed to staying in the city with him. Kris soon looked to Aren and spoke,"Thank you. Without you, I wouldn't be standing here with the girl I love. You were there every time when we met, started dating and now...getting us back together." he added with another smile.

I laughed, it definatley was true. Aren was there through it all. A true hockey loving best friend and I thank her for it.

Aren smiled,"You're so welcome Kris. Kerry needs you I think more than you need her. You two are truely perfect." she said soon pausing to grab her bags,"I've got a plane to catch. You two lovebirds have fun." she added with a wink soon walking off to board her plane.

After Aren was out of sight, the tall defenseman turned to me once more,"Oh I almost forgot, I have another surprise for you..." he said quickly.

I looked at him a bit curiously, "A bigger surprise than you showing up here out of nowhere?" I asked with a slight laugh.

Kris laughed and then looked to me as we started to walk out of the airport,"Maybe not that big...but still a surprise indeed." he said with a smile. Once outside he walked me to his car and pulled out a box with a ribbon on it.

"Open it." He said with a slight grin, soon handing me the box.

I looked at him once more before slowly tearing into the box. I pull off the lid and start laughing.

"Skates? Hockey skates...are you kidding me?" I said still laughing, looking to him,"You know I can't skate...I'm way too clumsy."

Kris just smiled and wrapped his arm around my shoulders,"Well, while we have a few days here in Chicago I thought I could teach you some things." he said soon laughing at my slightly annoyed expression,"Besides I talked to a few guys on the Blackhawks and they are letting us take over their ice for the day."

"No way!" I exclaimed looking to him,"We are going to be skating in their arena?"

He smiled now at my excitement,"That's the plan." Kris said quickly pausing,"And I don't know how much skating you will do, but I will be tearing it up..." he added soon laughing.

I shot him a slight glare before laughing as well,"Hey, you said you would teach me..."

"And I will." he replied soon taking my hand and pulling me close against his chest,"We could call it a official date even."

"I like the sound of that." I replied with a smile. It was the perfect moment, I was with the man I loved more than anything, close to him with his arms around me and we were going on a date tomorrow.

I smiled again before pressing my lips against his again, "It's a date."

-I know, very fangirly, but that's me. Please review or follow some of my other stories! Thanks!

Notes

- Inspired by the song "Payphone" by Maroon 5 and of course, my love for the Pittsburgh Penguins! All rights go to respected owners as I don't have any hold on the song or sports franchise.

-- Also, same story is on my Wattpad account, come follow me there under CaribbeanKitty2 for non-hockey related reading! :)