Aurora hauled out her last cardboard box from the old pickup that belonged to Carly's grandfather, who was helping them settle in in their downtown apartment. She lugged the box up the flight of steps and into their spacy two bedroom apartment that was conveniently(or rather inconveniently) located above a Thai food place. It would be hard to have some self control on the food that was literally only a few doors away. She'd have to, though, if she wanted to keep her contract with the modeling agency intact.

It had been a wild ride ever since Aurora was discovered working a shift in an Orange Julius in her hometown of Drummondville. They had asked her to drive up to Montreal almost every weekend for two years now to complete minor shoots and shows, and her managers had decided she was ready for the big leagues. So they paid for an apartment in the heart of Montreal and here she was with Carly, newly turned 20 and about to start McGill University in Literature with a budding modeling career. It was going to be one hell of a ride, but Aurora had herself strapped down and prepared for whatever came to her.

"You gonna stand and enjoy the view or are you going to help me get this god damn place straightened up?" Carly asked, her hands on her hips as she grinned at Aurora with her winning smile. Without a doubt, Carly was the prettiest girl Aurora had ever come across. With chocolate skin and wild, curly hair, and the body proportions that beat even Marilyn Monroe's, it wasn't hard to see why every boy drooled over her. Aurora was still weirded out that they wanted her to be a model and not Carly, who Aurora personally thought would be much better suited. But modeling was a talent that her management team had awakened and made blossom within the petite brunette.

Aurora quickly snapped out of it and let out a laugh, excusing herself before she set on helping her best friend place their apartment in an acceptable way. Two hours, a case of beer and an infinite amount of rearranging later, their place seemed to be completely transformed. Everything was neat and pretty, except for a huge pile of discarded boxes by the door.

"I'm feeling like a Netflix and Internet kind of night to celebrate all of our hard work," Aurora suggested, stretching out her aching back and wincing.

"I knew there was a reason we were best friends," Carly said as she ran into both of their rooms to grab the computers then sitting on the couch, waiting for Aurora to set up the TV and Netflix. Soon, the girls were in the middle of watching some Mark Wahlberg movie. Aurora was busy drooling over her celebrity crush while Carly logged on to twitter on her laptop. She clicked through her mentions, shaking her head with a smile. She was getting a quite steady influx of Twitter followers thanks to her best friend becoming present in the modeling scene, which was quite small in Quebec. Speaking of, she decided to click on Aurora's profile, and gasped. Aurora turned her attention to Carly, an eyebrow raised. The best friend turned her laptop so Aurora could see the screen. She looked, trying to find what was different, when she saw it. A little blue check by her name.

"Oh my god you got verified!" Hollered Carly as they screeched. It didn't seem like much, but it was like confirmation that Aurora was becoming more than some waitress from Drummondville. And that was enough for both of them.

***

"Man, this is just pathetic," Alex moaned as he walked into Brendan's room with Josh in tow.

"He's been this way the past week. I'm pretty sure she left with his balls and his testosterone," Josh whispered as they eyed a bleary eyed Brendan, shoveling spoonfuls of Ben and Jerry's in his mouth as he watched Hercules. Alex shook his head in desolation, stepping in through the clutter that had accumulated and shut off the television, standing in front of it with crossed arms. Josh sighed, leaning against the door frame, watching the scene unfurl in front of his pale eyes.

"The fuck do you think you're doing? Training camp is in a week and you're sitting your fat ass down and eating your feelings?" Alex said bluntly. That was just how he went, there was no beating around the bush with the buff Canadiens player.

"I loved her, Chucky. I really did. And she was only after the money," Brendan said, bowing his head as his grip tightened on the spoon in his hand. Alex sighed at his words, softening up slightly for the burly ball of emotions that was also his best friend. "You can't live a life without meeting a few of those, bud. Especially not in our line of work. Speaking of work, you can't let this affect you. Pull it together. Can't knock the hustle, right?" Alex taunted. Brendan smiled at that, nodding.

He had been in a total wreck ever since he caught his long-time on and off girlfriend speaking to her friend on the phone talking behind his back and speaking of talking him out of a prenup to cheat him out of his money a week and a half ago. She had wanted nothing to do with him when Lauren was everything he had ever wanted. Apparently, that was all an act. It had been a tough pill to swallow, and he definitely let himself go the past week. Looking around at his messy room and at his two concerned friends trying to make an intervention, Brendan could understand what they were trying to say, even if he felt like he needed time to heal. Unfortunately, Alex was right and there was no time to waste. He had to bury his emotions deep back where they had come from, at least until training camp was over and he had his renewed contract safely under his belt. With a sigh, he heaved himself off the bed, stretching.

"C'mon, asshole, let's hit the gym," Brendan said, his trademark grin back on his face, even though it was clearly forced, Alex accepted it. It was better than nothing, at least.

Notes

A/N: Hi guys!! This is the first fan fic I ever post so I'm still kind of testing the waters here, you feel me? ...Seeing if this catches interest and setting up the scene and characters for further development. Anyways, that's enough of me babbling for now!! I'd love some reviews, comments, votes, subscribers, messages...everything! I want everything! I'm planning on updating this something like weekly or pretty much whenever I find the time through college! Love you all xx