Jonathan Toews cheeks hurt from smiling so much, but he couldn’t deny that he was more than happy to do it.  Another jersey slid across the table, adorned with his own last name.  He swiped his black Sharpie across the white number nine, signing his autograph accompanied by a small nineteen.
 
“Thank you.”  The little boy blushed, looking up at his hero shyly.
 
“What’s your name?”  Jonathan smiled politely at the kid who looked like he was going to burst any moment.
 
“Charlie.”  The boy grinned as his father stood behind him, placing a strong hand on Charlie’s shoulder.
 
“Keep skating, Charlie.”  Jon smiled as his Dad scooted him along now that the convention was winding down.  People had turned out in record numbers for the two-thousand twelve Blackhawks convention since their victorious Stanley Cup run in two-thousand eleven.
 
Jon looked down at his horribly expensive watch, a twenty-third birthday present from his best friend, Patrick Kane to see that the signing would be winding down soon.  This could also be told from the lines that were now dwindling down to the last few handfuls of people.
 
“Hey.”  He grinned charmingly at the little girl who was probably eleven or twelve.
 
“Sup.”  She replied roughly as he reached for his silver sharpie that would show up better on the puck she set on the table.  She, too, was entranced by the gaudy watch on his wrist and as she finally tore her eyes away from the diamonds and focused on the time itself.  “Oh shit!”  She gasped, swiping the puck off of the table.  “Gotta catch the bus!”  She said, taking off through the lobby of the hotel, leaving Jon quite stunned.  He hadn’t even got to sign the puck and she was tearing away through the room with no adult with her.
 
[i]What the…[/i] He frowned, very confused by this spunky little kid.  He finished up his line, taking a few photos with a few more fans before wandering over to the lounge of the hotel lined in large picture windows overlooking the city.  He grabbed a free Powerade from the table, cracking off the top and taking a large gulp as he noticed a figure sitting on the curb of the street near the bus stop.
 
His curiosity got the best of him and he stripped off his jersey, setting it on the table to leave him in a button-up before pulling his baseball ‘Hawks cap down over his eyes.  Wandering outside, he didn’t want to make it so obvious that he was watching the little girl who sat near the busy sidewalk alone.  It was almost eight now and getting dark quickly.
 
He took in a courageous breath before taking a few steps closer and pretending to look down at her casually.
 
“Miss your bus then?”  He asked, not gaining her attention at first, but shortly she realized he was talking to her.
 
“Yeah something like that.”  She nodded, not looking up to meet the eyes of the man with the ugly watch.
 
“Waiting for the next?”  He asked, his eyes skimming over the posted schedule on the glass enclosement a few feet away.
 
“You trying to follow me home or what?”  She narrowed her eyes, looking up at Jon with a tough look.
 
“No, but I thought you should know there are no more stops here tonight.”  He said nonchalantly, watching as she barely let her shoulders falter at the news.  She got up from the curb, brushing off her jeans that hung oddly from her hips, looking more like boy jeans than what you’d typically see on a girl her age.
 
“Well then, smell ya later.”  She said, pushing up the sleeves of her hoodie and heading down the block.  Jon frowned and instantly tailed her.
 
“What are you going to [i]walk[/i] home?  How far away do you live, kid?”  He asked as she picked up her pace.
 
 “Close enough.”  She replied stiffly, her voice barely audible over the hustle and bustle of the busy streets.
 
“Look can I give you a ride?  Or at least money for a cab?”  He asked, knowing he was being strangely forward and that his agent was probably shitting a brick back at the hotel due to his absence as he wandered further and further away.
 
“I’m good.”  She replied as they stopped at the intersection, the [i]Do Not Walk[/i] light flashing obnoxiously.
 
“It’s no trouble, really.”  He insisted, scratching the back of his neck as he entered her personal space.
 
“[i]Look, Chester, can you put some inches between us?[/i]”  She all but screeched to gain the attention of the people around them.  The surrounding crowd instantly took note and three people wearing Blackhawks jerseys, no doubt for photos and autographs quickly approached Jon.  He of course signed them politely and patiently and waited for an elderly woman to figure out how to operate her granddaughter’s camera.  By the time he had finished, he turned to talk to the girl again only to see that she was clear down the way, at least two blocks away.
 
Jon frowned, taking off his cap and pushing his hand through his hair before replacing his cap and making his way back to the hotel.  Was it bad that he just let a kid who didn’t look a day over eleven walk through the city alone for God knows how many blocks?  Sure, he wasn’t raised in the city, but there had to be a limit to how far kids that young should be travelling in the city alone.
 
He shook the idea from his head, but the guilt sat at the bottom of his stomach.  Should he have followed her further?  Pressed her to see how far away she actually lived?  He sighed as he entered the hotel again, knowing he’d have to clear his head to finish up his promised tasks.
 
Besides, it’s not like he’d ever see her again.
 
 
[size=200]···[/size]
 
 
A week later, Jon was walking through his local Whole Foods, clad in basketball shorts and a zip up, the thick, heavy hood pulled up over his head.  It was almost midnight and he found that when he did have to buy food, he liked to go late at night to ensure peace and tranquility as he purchased his bananas and Powerade.
 
He held onto the handles of the basket in his hand, scanning the cereal shelves for his usual box of Captain Crunch.  Just as he was ready to check out, the clerks giving him a dirty look for keeping them late seeing as the store would only be open for ten more minutes, he walked back to produce to get some more berries to mix in with the putrid protein shakes he made.
 
However, his eyes quickly narrowed in on the familiar little girl.  He recognized that scraggly sandy blonde hair and those same awkward jeans anywhere, and for a moment, sighed a breath of relief to know she wasn’t attacked and murdered the other night when she so expertly gave him the slip.
 
“Hey.”  He called, looking at the odd way she was hunched over a table full of grapes that were on sale.
 
“Jesus!”  She clutched her chest, falling back on her ass as a small bag of grapes tumbled out from under her hoodie, making Jon’s eyes widen.  “Are you trying to get me caught or what?”  She hissed, her small frame shaking as she stood up and shoved the bag back into the sweatshirt.  “Oh my [i]God[/i] it’s [b]you[/b]!”  She said, her tiny jaw dropping as she looked around.  “You [i]are[/i] following me!”  She insisted, walking right up to Jon and poking him in the chest, which looked rather awkward coming from her 4’10 stature.
 
“I’m not following you.”  He frowned.  “Are you stealing those grapes?”  He asked, bewildered.
 
“Did the Fogley’s have you tail me or what?”  She asked, eyeing him as she moved through the aisles, giving Jon a hard time.
 
“I don’t know who the [i]Fogley’s[/i] are, but I’m not tailing you!”  He insisted, following her through the store.
 
“Sure looks like it to me.”  She threw over her shoulder, making him stop in his tracks as he considered the situation.
 
“Let me buy those, you’ll get in trouble if you get caught.”  He sighed, sticking his hand out.  The girl sighed, looking from side to side and up to the ceiling for cameras before pulling the grapes out of her sweatshirt.
 
“It’s not like I owe you or anything.”  She said sharply, slapping the bag in his outstretched hand.
 
“No.”  He shook his head, quick to agree with her, somewhat intimidated by the scrappy kid.  The quickly checked out, one of the cashiers eyeing the girl narrowly as she stood next to the man, smiling up at the clerk with a sickeningly sweet grin.
 
Soon the pair were standing outside of the Whole Foods awkwardly as Jon fished through the bag for her grapes.
 
“So what’s your name anyways?”  Jon asked, genuinely curious.
 
“Jordyn.”  She replied gruffly, taking the bag of grapes and sticking them in the kangaroo pocket of her sweatshirt.
 
“Fogley?”  He asked, remembering the name she had brought up earlier.
 
“The Fogley’s are not my parents.”  She responded sharply, her big blue eyes taking on an intimidating look.  “It’s just Jordyn, you know, like… Cher, or Prince.”  She insisted, digging her sneaker into the ground roughly.
 
“Just Jordyn.”  Jon nodded subtly.
 
“What about you, Lurch?”  She asked, looking up at him as he suppressed a small grin.
 
“I thought my name was Chester?”  He asked smartly.  He watched as the small girl rolled her eyes before replying.
 
“Yeah well, one of us missed the day in kindergarten where we learned about our bubbles.”
 
“I didn’t mean to freak you out.”  He insisted.  “My name is Jon.”  He added as an afterthought.  “So can I give you a life home or something, it’s late.”  He insisted.  Jordyn sighed, looking up at the stone clock on the tower over her shoulder, seeing that it was now past midnight.  “Or are you parents coming…?  I mean, it’s not really a time for kids to be out in the city alone.”  He added.
 
“My parents aren’t coming.”  She stated with narrow eyes.  “I don’t need a ride, I can walk.”  She finished.
 
“Please, let me drive you home.”  Jon asked as she motioned to turn away.  “I’d consider it a personal favor.”  That got her attention.
 
“A favor?”  She asked, a lock of her sandy blonde hair falling into her face as he pulled his car keys from the pocket of his shorts.
 
“Yeah of course.”  He nodded, feeling that he would pretty much say anything to get her into his car, knowing she’d be much safer with him than walking through the city alone.
 
“You’d owe me.”  She reminded as he turned the corner, making sure she was following him.  They turned the corner to where Jon’s SUV was parked and he opened the door for her, watching as she snapped her seat belt before he walked around to his door.
 
“So uh, can I ask why you’re stealing grapes from a Whole Foods downtown at midnight?”  He asked, turning the radio down low to provide a neutral background noise.
 
“Can I ask why you go grocery shopping at midnight?”  She retorted quickly, taking out her bag of grapes and popping them into her mouth as fast as she could.
 
“I like my privacy.”  He shrugged.  “You ignored my question.”  He added.  “Where am I going, by the way?”  He asked, sitting at the light of the intersection.
 
“Left.” She spoke up through a mouth full of fruit.  “And I was getting food because I was hungry… duh?”  She added smartly.  Jon wanted to grin and roll his eyes simultaneously.  He never could have talked to his parents or adults like that when he was her age.  “Left again.”  She insisted, staring at all the buttons and knobs of the expensive looking car radio.
 
“Let me know if this is an obvious question, but do your parents not feed you?”  He asked, not particularly liking the way the road was twisting into a rough part of town.
 
“I told you, the Fogley’s aren’t my parents.”  She sneered, silencing him right away.  She gave him a few more directions until they pulled up to a small blue house.  Even in the dark of the night he could tell it was beyond dilapidated and that there was no way it was suitable for kids to be living in.  There were children’s toys scattered in front of the house on the lawn and parts of the fence were broken into jagged pieces of wood.  “This is my stop.”  She sighed, moving to open the door.
 
“This is it, huh?”  Jon asked, glancing all around, wondering if he should walk her to the door.
 
“Makes the Taj Mahal look like an outhouse, right?”  She said, standing in the open door of the car, grabbing her bag of grapes.  “See ya later, Jon.”  She waved, walking down the sidewalk.
 
Jon watched as she passed the front door, walking around to what he assumed was the back of the house, disappearing from sight.  He had a hard time driving away from the home, wondering where she should be sleeping inside of the shack.  This wouldn’t be the last time Jon would run into Jordyn.

Notes

This a repost of a story originally from Mibba.