Avalanche to the Heart

Ever since Nathan and Lillian became boyfriend-girlfriend and he had gave her a pretty sapphire necklace for their second date, she wore it everyday. In Late November, around Thanksgiving, they both went out for a few more dates. And it was official that they had become a couple. Destiny found out and was super excited for them. Her and Val often teased them both, knowing that they had the hunch this was going to happen sooner or later.

Now it was just past Black Friday and the family was over at the MacKinnon's for a barbeque in their backyard. Their moms wanted to get to know each other better. So they were sitting on the couch watching TV. It was getting late, so Lillian’s family decided to leave. She went over to Nathan's mother, who was busy in the kitchen, and thanked her for having them over.

"No problem. You're always welcomed at our house. I'm so glad that Nate's met someone as wonderful and pretty as you," she said happily.

Nathan walked the Kinnan girl out to the front door. She stood there, facing him for a little bit. "I'll see you in school tomorrow," she told him.

Nathan stepped forward and hugged her, then he kissed her on the lips. He tasted like peppermint, and she could never get enough of it.

Ever since school started, she was up to her eyeballs in homework every single night. They had Spanish together, but that was it. They were in the same lunch, but didn't sit by each other. He sat with the hockey team and she sat with her friends. Everyone thought that they were the cutest couple, except for a few girls that wished they were with the blond-haired beauty named Nathan MacKinnon instead.

To be honest, December couldn't come soon enough. The Halifax hockey player was over at her house that night and they were working on their Spanish homework in the living room. Homecoming had occurred on Friday and also, the Hockey season was in full swing, but slowly winding down. Speaking of homecoming, Nathan went above and beyond in coming up with a way to ask her to go with him.

Just two weeks ago, Lillian went into her English class to see a huge cookie cake on her desk. The letters, H-O-M-E-C-O-M-I-N-G-?, were written in burgundy and blue frosting. There was even a picture of Nathan, shirtless in the Locker Room on it. It was the cutest thing ever. And it made me really red in the face, having to hear the “oohs” and “awes” from the class, as they too saw my boyfriend shirtless on the cake. And did she say yes to him? You bet she did. How could she not?

"You're going to the game on Friday, right?" Nathan asked, as they were finishing up the last question on their packet in the house.

"Definitely. I can't wait to see you guys play Dartmouth. They're getting their asses kicked, that's for sure," Lillian proclaimed.

Nathan laughed at her comment. They both knew that Lillian Kinnan normally never swore, but in this case, it was necessary. “I’ll hold you to that.”

Mrs. Kinnan insisted that Nathan stay for dinner, so he did. Naturally. They were eating spaghetti on the couch and she decided to turn the TV on. The Boston Bruins were playing the Pittsburgh Penguins! It was the last period, but at least the game wasn't over yet. She watched as some guy with the last name of “Bergeron” maintained the puck, speeding past an aggressive Penguins’ forward. He passed it to some guy named “Marchand,” who was standing near the goal. This guy shot, aiming for the upper right corner, and they scored!

"Hey that’s the Moosehead player..Bryan...no, Brad! Brad Marchand!" she shouted and clapped her hands, energetically. “That’s going to be you someday. You’ll be on some big NHL team, scoring goals like that!”

“I’ll hold you to that too!” he chuckled, as they remained watching the intense game, with the Bruins pulling off the major win against the Penguins.


It was finally Friday. The school halls were buzzing with excitement for the football (and hockey) game tonight. Lillian was at her locker after school when Nathan came over. He had on a Halifax Mooseheads snapback cap, that was faced backwards on his head. His golden locks curled from under it and he looked kind of sexy like that. He took off his hoodie and handed it to her.

"Wear this to the game tonight. It'll keep you warmer than my jersey will," he said. He kissed her before heading to his locker.

Nathan's hoodie was white and it had the name of the hockey team on the front in crimson letters and his last name on the back. He must've washed it this morning because it smelled like laundry detergent.


That night, Lillian and her friends were over at her house, getting ready for the game. It was pretty cold, but at least the skies were clear. It wouldn’t matter though, since they were going for the hockey game, which was indoors. Nathan and the others had already left because they had to get there early, being that they were the vets of the team and one of them was the captain.

When they got to the arena and stadium lot, the whole place was packed. They rushed into the building and got their seats, behind the bench, where they almost always were. Nathan skated up and leaned against the back of the bench, where there were no boards. He leaned out to Lillian.

"Good luck, you guys will play great," she stated to him. She gave him a hug then turned to see Destiny giggling.

"My sweatshirt looks so good on you," he remarked.

She smiled then kissed him on the cheek. "Go get 'em!" She had gotten a lot more talkative, now that she was more comfortable around him. She was also a lot spunkier and not so sarcastic as she had once been, trying to play “hard to get.”

Nathan winked at her and skated off. He joined Val, who had waved to Destiny, making her sigh and blush.

Once the game was about to begin, Lillian, Destiny and a few other of their friends stood up and cheered the team on with various cheerleading chants. Nathan was apparently going to have an after-party at our house. And tomorrow was the homecoming dance, and there would be an after-party for that, too. Val was hosting that. Destiny and Lillian already went dress shopping for the dance last weekend.

Halifax dominated the first period, scoring a total of four goals, led by offensive machine Nathan MacKinnon and his partner-in-crime Valeri Nichushkin, the Russian Canadian. Dartmouth caught up in the second period, but by the end of the third period, they had defeated them. It was all thanks to Nathan MacKinnon's ground-breaking third goal, during the final fifteen seconds. A natural hat trick that had him celebrating like Patrick Kane in the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals. Everyone stood up and cheered for the boys.

Lillian drove her friends back home after the game. They would be sleeping over at her house and tomorrow, they'd all get ready for the dance together. When they arrived, several cars were parked in their driveway and along the streets. The whole team was there with their girlfriends. She invited a ton of people in their grade too, even some of the “preppy kids.” They actually weren't that bad once you got to know them. And none of them brought up the fact that she was a “Kinnan” anymore. That whole stereotype had vanished.

The party lasted until two in the morning and boy, was it wild. Nathan’s parents shooed everyone out before they could get too drunk and not be able to drive home. Lillian and her friends eventually made it back to her house. All of them were too tired to change, so they went to bed in their regular clothes. Lillian still had Nathan's sweatshirt on and she didn't even know it. She could just return it to him tomorrow, she thought.


The next day was spent on getting ready for the dance. Lillian decided to curl her hair, since it was normally straight all the time. Her dress was strapless and a light purple in color, with silver rhinestones adorning the neckline. Destiny had a gorgeous blue gown on. They looked like Disney princesses and were once more mimicking Elsa and Anna from Frozen with their looks. They left their nails plain. Besides, it was just homecoming, not prom. And they didn’t feel like it.

Nathan, Val and their friends arrived around 6:30 to pick them all up. He looked so dashing and handsome in his white button-up shirt, tie, and black dress pants. Right when they were about to leave, she remembered that Nathan's hoodie was still in her room. She ran upstairs and grabbed it from her bed, then handed it to him at the door.

"So that's where my hoodie was last night. I forgot I gave it to you," he said. "By the way, you look beautiful, like a Disney princess." Nathan wrapped his arm around her shoulder and they walked over to his car.

"You don't look too bad yourself," she teased, smiling up at him.


The Halifax gymnasium was decorated extravagantly with red and white banners protruding from every corner, converging as an explosion of color in the center. Young adults clothed in fancy dresses and suits covered the floor dancing wildly to the band that was performing on the stage.

Lillian looked across the dance floor one more time, and for the umpteenth time that night she met the gaze of most beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen. Her heart rate picked up, her palms started sweating, and her thoughts were completely scattered. The only thing she knew in this moment was that his eyes were the most beautiful things she had ever seen. The only thing that could compete with those eyes was the man that they belonged to: Nathan MacKinnon.

"Lilly!" Destiny yelled and waved her hand in my face, trying to draw me back to reality. "What are you staring at? You have been spacing out all night."

"Sorry Des, it's nothing." Her face was already turning six shades of red and there was no way she could bare let her friend know what had been catching her attention all night. She needed to distract her. "Where's Val, weren't you guys supposed to go to the after party together? You know the whole king and queen thing?"

Destiny just rolled her eyes, tugging at her braided white hair and gave her an exasperated sigh. "He's off chatting up some teammates somewhere. I swear I don't know why it had to be him, there are like at least six other guys that could have made a better homecoming king, but that’s just my Nichy. Talkative little manslut!"

Lillian knew it was a low punch, but she needed some way to distract her friend. In the moment of panic the only thing she could come up with was her serendipitous relationship on Valeri Nichushkin. He was the alternate hockey captain, as well as the biggest meathead and ladies’ man at the school, not to mention Destiny's reluctant prince charming. Only Val could have the hottest girl to ever attend Halifax High on his arm and still be flirting with the random chicks and it still be okay with Destiny. Was that healthy? They both looked over to see the Russian Canadian talking to one of the boys, “Jordy,” who had his hand wrapped around his date and Lillian just knew Destiny would be unbearable the rest of the night.

"I can't believe that guy! He’s such a ham!" Destiny giggled, and she knew that she’d made a huge mistake bringing up the “Val Nichushkin conversation.” There was now zero chance that she would get a chance to talk to the man, whose eyes shimmered like the cloudless blue sky. She wanted a private moment with him and she didn’t want Destiny hanging on her like a parasite.

The white haired girl just kept ranting. "Now everyone is going to think that I can't keep a man! And it's not like he's talking to someone decent. No! He's talking to that freaking--muggle! You know the only reason he's even talking to her is because he knows there is no way he is ever going to get any from me. God, he couldn't be talking to someone decent like you. Heck at this rate I would even take--!" At this point she was loud enough for the remaining people in the gym to hear that included Val, who immediately looked over at her with a look of confusion crossing his face.

He bid farewell and came over to them. He grabbed Destiny. “Des, quit making a scene. Come on, let’s go somewhere and make-out. That’ll make you happy right?”

She send the brunette a wink and clever grin, before putting on her “poor me” façade. They linked arms and walked off. Lillian shook her head. That was Destiny Miller.

Finally, Lillian was able to break away and make her way over to her date. She saw Val and Destiny grab one another and lock lips, as soon as they were away from the main party. They disappeared behind a wall, making-out. She tapped Nathan on the shoulder.

And before she knew it, he had whisked her onto the dance floor, to the sound of “Nothing Left Behind Us.” He sang along with her in a duet, as they twirled around, impressing a gathering crowd. Luckily no one they knew was apart of the group, as they were all scattered about and it wasn’t like they were exactly professional dancers and “tearing things up.”

But they made do, as they danced and had fun, enjoying themselves.


After the dance, everyone drove to Val's house for the post-party. He only invited people in the senior class. Destiny chatted him up, while Lillian talked to Nathan. They were close friends, but she was still his girlfriend. At one point, Nathan got really drunk. Lillian was talking to her friends when he walked over and grabbed her arm. He pushed her up against a wall and started kissing her neck. His hands were sliding up and down her waist.

"I've been wanting to get my hands on you all night," he said in between kisses. She moaned quietly when she felt his lips glide across her collarbone.

Nathan tried to slip his hand under her dress, but she pushed him away. She watched as he stumbled over to his friends, laughing to herself. Drunk people, especially guys were always hilarious.

Everyone had a great time, and soon, it was time to leave. When she got home, she collapsed onto the couch. She fell asleep right then and there.


Before Lillian knew it, her 20th birthday arrived. It was two weeks after Easter. She woke up in the morning to the smell of food coming from the kitchen. She ran downstairs to see her family eating breakfast. Her mom had made her a huge stack of chocolate chip pancakes! And there was even a chocolate mousse cake to top it all off! Man, it looked so good, but incredibly sugary.

"Happy birthday, dear," her mom said, wrapping her daughter into a huge hug.

"Thanks mom, you're the best!" Lillian replied.

After they all finished eating, she went to the living room to see what presents her family had gotten her. Her father handed her a small bag, and she reached her hand inside. She pulled out a small red and white box that contained...a hockey-themed phone case! It had a giant maple leaf on it, for Team Canada!

She screamed and gave him a huge hug. Aside from that, she got a Colorado Avalanche hockey sweatshirt from her brother in Colorado and a pretty new sun-dress from her mom. These were by far, the greatest gifts she could ever ask for.

She and Destiny went shopping and they ate out for her birthday. The snowy-haired girl treated. That night, she was getting ready for her dinner with Nathan, who had plans for her. He had gotten them reservations to The Melting Pot, a fancy fondue restaurant. It was located downtown, too. She decided to wear a pair of jeans with a sweater and scarf.

"Happy birthday, Lilly!" Nathan said, when she opened the door for him. He wore a pair of dark blue jeans and a black coat. She thanked him then they stood there, kissing, before heading out.

They quickly ate and then went back to his place. It was a magical time, as “Endless Summer Nights” played in the background.


However, when they left the restaurant, he turned to her and gazed into her eyes. He looked happy, but also disappointed.

“What’s wrong?” Lillian asked.

“Lilly, I hate to tell you this, but on Monday, I’m leaving Halifax.”

“For vacation?”

“No. I got accepted to the NHL draft! And I talked to the Colorado Avalanche...they want me!” His eyes sparkled in the moonlight as she stared at him.

Something in her snapped. She wasn’t sure why, but Nathan obviously didn’t want to be with her. He was leaving in two days and he waited to bring the news to her now, on her birthday. She knew that he had known a week ago and he could’ve told her earlier. “And you thought now would be the ideal time to bring that up! Let alone when we only have two days left together?” she snapped at him, pushing him away. “Just go…”

“But Lilly…”

“No, Kinny, we are done. We won’t be able to see one another anymore anyway. Just get away from me and leave me alone!” she broke into tears, turning away.

Nathan put his hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry. I want to be with you, but…”

“...but hockey’s more important to you!”

He dipped his head, gazing downward, mumbling his response. She shook her head in disbelief, smacking him on the shoulder.

“I’m going to call my parents to come and get me. Have fun in Colorado, Nathan.”

With those last words, I never saw Nathan MacKinnon again.

Notes

Oh...so that's why....
Poor Lillian, see this is what happens when you date a talented hockey player, who could end up in the NHL. If you aren't ready for surprises and long-distance commitments...well might as well just end it...

Next up: We come back to the present and learn about Jeremy, remember him. He's important.