Forever Chicago

Abby’s POV*

It had been a month since I had seen Arianna and to say I missed my best friend was an understatement. No one but me knew when she was coming home since she’d pushed her return date off by 2 weeks and needless to say, Jon wasn’t happy about it.

-Flashback 2 weeks ago-

*Abby’s POV*

“Hey Jon, what time is Arianna getting in tomorrow night?” Patrick asked as Jon walked into our apartment in a weird mood.
“She’s not.” He said as he sat down on the couch next to Patrick and across from me.
“What do you mean?” I asked as I put down the magazine I had been reading about weddings.

“She called and told me she was pushing off coming home and she wasn’t sure how long it was gonna be. Apparently she’s very busy with wedding planning.” He said making some gesture with his hands and then went back to crossing his arms over his chest and sulking.

“Jon stop sulking.” I said as I looked at him and rolled my eyes.

“No! She’s been gone for 2 months and even though we had games in Boston, I never got to see her! Now, she calls me the day before she’s supposed to finally come home and says she’s too busy to come back home. I mean we’re going to Winnipeg for Christmas and I don’t even know when she’s coming back. We’re supposed to leave in 3 weeks and I don’t know if she’ll be back then. For all I know she decided to spend Christmas in Boston and is using the wedding as an excuse.” He said in a raised voice. I could tell he wasn’t mad- he was hurt and upset. He wanted Arianna home more than anything and anyone.

“I just miss her. I’ve barely seen my fiancée in 2 months and I was so excited for her to come home so I could see her and spend time with her and now she’s gonna be gone even longer and I just don’t know how much more of this I can take. I knew her being gone would be hard, but I didn’t know it would be this hard.” Jon said now on the verge of tears.

“Jon, I know how much you miss her. She’s my best friend and I miss her too. I know you want her to come home and I know her postponing the trip and staying in Boston longer really sucks and isn’t ideal especially this close to Christmas, but weddings are hard to plan. I mean I’m planning mine mostly by myself and it’s really hard Jon. Believe me, she was smart going home for help because she’s be going crazy now and having crazy and insanely stressed Arianna here planning a wedding isn’t fun, but happy Arianna after 2 months in Boston with help planning the wedding is an Arianna I can’t wait to see whenever she comes home. And you know she won’t let you down- she’ll be home in time to go to Winnipeg with you.” I reassured as I rubbed his back the same way I did with Pat when he was stressed.

“Abby’s right Jon. Planning a wedding is hard, I see Abby doing it every day and when she comes home she’ll be happy knowing she got a lot done at home and then you guys can do some of the stuff together because some of it needs to be done together apparently and if she needs to go back home, don’t fight with her about it. Just remember Jon, she’s marrying you and she loves you and this is all for the day when you get to make it official that she’s Mrs. Arianna Toews. This is all for you.” Patrick added as he held onto Jon’s arm.

The boys then started talking about the season and I went off to call Arianna to find out what was going on because I was furious that she hadn’t told me she wasn’t coming home. She picked up after about three rings and I could hear Marchy and Tuukka in the background.

“Hello?” She asked as she answered.

“Arianna what the hell is going on?” I asked getting mad. I was in the bathroom in my bedroom so Jon and Patrick couldn’t hear me if I started yelling.

“What do you mean?” She asked. “Guys shut up I’m on the phone. Yes I want cake you better not eat it all. Looch you know I’ll kick your ass if you do and if I don’t, Brit will.” I heard her say to the guys as she took the phone away from her mouth. “Sorry Ab, what were you saying?” she said as she put the phone back to continue our conversation.

“I mean Jon came over here pissed because you decided to extend your trip and was about to start crying because he misses you like crazy and wants you to come home just like the rest of us.” I said a lot harsher than I intended and the silence on the other end told me I’d hurt her.

“Abby, I know you want me home and I know Jon does too. But you guys don’t understand… you’re doing great planning your wedding yourself, but I can’t do that. I need help with it and I’m getting it here. I’m sorry I pushed coming back off but I’ve got a few appointments next week about flowers and my dress fitting and I need to get it done before I leave because I won’t be back here for a couple of months.” She finished.

“Wait, you’re going back? For how long this time?!” I yelled. I was getting more and more mad by what she was telling me and deep down I knew she needed to because her and Jon were getting married a few months before me and Patrick and she had a lot to do but we all wanted her back in Chicago.

“Abby this is exactly why I didn’t wanna tell you. You need to realize I have a shitload of stuff to do in less time than you. I’m getting married in 5 months and I still haven’t done half of what needs to get done. I’m coming back in March and I’ll be here until about a week or two before the wedding. I’m coming home in a couple of weeks and I’ll talk to you then but just leave me alone for now Ab.” She said and the last part killed me.

“Arianna wait, I’m sorry.” I said before she could hang up.

“I know Ab, but being a bitch to me isn’t something I’m gonna deal with right now. I already have to deal with Jon going ballistic that I pushed coming home off and I haven’t even told him I’m coming back yet so I don’t need shit from you too. I gotta go, I’m hanging out with the boys… I’ll call you when I’m ready to talk to you.” And then she hung up.

-End flashback-

I spent the next half an hour after that crying in our bathroom and then pulled myself together and went out to spend time with Jon and Patrick. A couple of day ago, Arianna had called me for the first time since our fight and asked if I could pick her up at the airport and I was overjoyed so I said yes. I had been waiting in the main part of the airport for about 15 minutes when I finally saw her. I ran at her, but when she was me she just kept walking, a smile on her face.

“Hey!” I said as I hugged her and she returned the greeting just as enthusiastically. “I missed you so much!” I said as I finally let go of her. “I miss you too.” She said as we got to the car. Once she got in the passenger seat, I saw she had a huge folder on her lap. “Wedding stuff.” She said as she saw me staring at it. “Oh…” “So are we going home or to the arena?” She asked as we started out of the airport. “Well all of the guys are dying to see you and they don’t know you’re back so I think it would be a nice surprise to show up at the arena. Jon had been going nuts lately since you wouldn’t tell anyone when you were coming home.” “So let’s go.” She said beaming. We got to the arena about 10 minutes later and headed down to the locker room since practice wasn’t starting for about 10 more minutes. We ran into Brent in the hallway and I don’t think I’d ever seen him so happy to see someone.

*Arianna’s POV*

“Seabs!” I yelled as I saw Brent turning to head towards the locker rooms. It was far enough away so no one would hear me yelling because I wanted it to be a surprise that I was back. “Oh my god I missed you so much!” He said lifting me off the ground as he hugged me. We all went back to the locker room and Seabs told me to stay behind him and hide. “Hey guys, I brought a surprise with me.” Abby came out from behind him to reveal herself. “Abby isn’t a surprise.” Patrick said as she headed over to give him a kiss. “Yeah now if you brought Arianna with you, that would be a surprise.” I heard Sharpie say from his stall. None of the guys were looking over so I looked at Seabs and he told me to come out. “Well then I guess it’s a surprise.” I said as I stood in full view of all of them. Everyone had a look of shock and happiness on their face, especially Jon. After about 5 seconds of everyone staring, Jon came rushing over to me like he was going to die if he waited any longer and kissed me. It was a pretty long kiss, but no one minded. “I missed you so much.” He whispered in my ear as he hugged me. It sounded like a sigh of relief escaped him as he said it, and I couldn’t blame him. I knew I’d drove him crazy by not telling him when I was coming home. “I missed you too babe. But I’m home now.” I said smiling as he finally let me go. “And that’s right where I want you.” He said smiling at me. I took in his familiar scent- oranges and ice and smiled to myself. I missed this. Everyone then proceeded to hug me, Shawsy taking extra-long because he was like my brother and I missed him just as much as he missed me. I even got a hug from coach because, well, he had always liked me. Abby and I watched the guys practice and once they were done and Jon was ready to leave, we got my bag out of Abby’s car and headed home. We hadn’t been in the door for more than 10 seconds when he had me up against the wall and was kissing me like he never had before.

About 3 hours later we were in bed, our fingers intertwined and him drawing circles on the exposed part of my stomach. “God I missed doing that.” He said as he laughed. “I missed doing it too.” I said looking up at him and laughing. “We do need to talk though Jon.” I had decided telling him about me going back needed to be done sooner rather than later. He put his elbows behind his head and looked up at me as I straddled him with the sheet covering me. “I’m going back to Boston. It’s not until March, but I still have stuff to do there that I need help with, and I can’t do it here.” I said biting my lip as I prepared for a screaming match. But I was surprised when he just closed his eyes, leaned his head back and said, “I know. I’m not happy about it because I miss you insanely when you’re gone, but it’s for the wedding and I’m fine with it.” He said as he looked back up at me. “Well I’m shocked by that answer… but in a good way. Thank you.” I said and leaned down to kiss him. He smiled and then rolled us over so he was on top and then kissed me again. “You up for round 2?” He asked kissing my neck. “Jon please, I’m good for round 5.” I teased and then we were off.

Notes