'Kieran's POV'

Days came and went as the Stars schedule picked up I spent more time watching Marshall and talking to Tyler and sometimes Jamie via Facetime. Towards the end of October I started volunteering to coach volleyball at my old club in Carrollton, the 45 minute drive on Wednesdays was well worth it to get back on the court. Assistant coaching the 17u level with one of my old coaches I was there to prepare the girls for what college volleyball was like. After their first day of practice I'm sure they all wished I would've just stayed in Dallas.

When I let the girls ask me questions at the end of practice I was only expecting them to ask about my volleyball life or what I did for a job, I definitely wasn't prepared when a girl piped up and asked "Aren't you dating Tyler Seguin?" There were squeals, and "No Ways" as I laughed, "Uh, no I'm not dating Tyler, he is my neighbor though." Telling a bunch of teenage girls that probably wasn't a good idea either, because it was followed by a lot of "So do you think he would come to one of our games?" "You should bring him here." "He's so cute!" I smiled at my group of girls, "He's kinda busy, but you never know maybe I'll drag him in one of these days."

When I told Tyler that my volleyball team was in love with him he replied with an always arrogant "duh." But he did agree to come to a practice with me as long as I got out on the court and showed him my "skills".

So here we are a week later Tyler and I making the drive to Carrollton for practice, I had a strong feeling Tyler has no idea what he's about to see. When I pulled into the facility parking lot Tyler gawked out the window, "You have to be kidding me? This place is huge." I smiled, "Welcome to the #1 training facility in Texas." Grabbing my bag from the backseat we headed into the building, immediately after walking in the door I was met with a lot of "Coach K's" and "Oh my Gods" I waved the girls off, "Everyone will get to meet him later, on the court in 15 ladies." I told them walking towards the gym my team had for the night.

Tossing my bag on the floor I pulled off my sweatpants to reveal a pair of black and white polka dot Nike Pro shorts and red and white Nike Elite socks. Tyler sat next to me and watched at stretched and put on my ankle braces and kneepads. "You look like you're about to go play a legit game Kier" I stuck my tongue out at him, "Dress well, play well." I said in a smartass tone. I laced up my Nike court shoes from college and pulled the Dallas Stars hoodie I had stolen from Tyler off leaving me in a grey long sleeve born to play shirt and a red sports bra underneath. As I waited for all of my players to arrive I got out the ball carts and checked the net for the proper height and tightness.

'Tyler's POV'

I watched as Kieran's stood at a line she referred to as "the attack" line and did her approach to an invisible ball, she then lined herself up and did a vertical jump block putting her arms all the way over the top of the net, white girl had hops. She introduced me to the head coach who was an older man that had coached Kieran when she was 16, he was also a hockey fan and was really glad to have me. After all the players arrived and were suited up Kieran called me over to her group, there was a lot of gasping and blushing going on and some whispering.

Kieran laughed at the group of teens, "Alright ladies, you asked and I delivered. This is my loser of a neighbor but ya'll might know him as Tyler Seguin." I waved at them all, "You're coach here says you all are a strong group so I'm excited to see what you've got. But I also want to see if your old coach here still has it in her to play too." The group perked up and said they also wanted to see what Kieran had. Kieran shoved me out of the circle before getting into coach mode, "Alright go away Segs," turning back to the group of girls she clapped her hands, "Alright, everyone 3 lap sprint and line up for dynamic. I catch anybody staring at the dork and you'll run more. GO!"

Watching Kieran coach was intimidating she worked them hard, but she was also a really good teacher. I guess you don’t get to be all SEC without knowing a thing or two. Towards the end of practice she jumped into hitting lines with the team and I felt sorry for the girls trying to pass on the other side of the net. She hit hard, and with trick shots never knowing where the ball was going to land. She let her players hit at her and she blocked almost everyone, I had never noticed how huge her hands were.

Watching Kieran play made me realize that volleyball was no sissy sport with skimpy shorts, it was serious business and it looked painful. While I watched I sent snapchat videos of Kieran playing to some of my teammates and friends back home and in Boston. Most were just intrigued by the shorts but some were impressed with her skill. The final exercise was serving and Kieran even took that to the next level. With her height I didn’t think that she really needed to jump serve but she was damn good at it. The ball barely moved as it said through the air landing in a different zone each time, she was unpredictable and it was awesome.

I was concentrating on watching the balls sail through the air when Kieran called me out on the court. I walked out dodging the flying volleyballs, "What's up coach?" she tossed me a ball, "This is the only thing you can do without getting hurt, so serves up Seguin." I moved the ball around in my hands, "Uh how?" I asked and she giggled, "This is how we teach the volleytots." She told me to bounce the ball and spin it in my hands before taking a step back and holding the ball out in front of me. In one swift motion Kieran tossed the ball and drew her arm back stepping through and launching the ball clean over the net. I followed her motions and watched as my ball clipped the top of the net and fell backwards, she tossed me another ball and I tried again, eventually getting it over the net.

When practice finished I took pictures with the players while Kieran took down the net, this was definitely her happy place. On the drive back to Dallas I decided that I had to teach Kieran how to play hockey now that she had shown me somewhat how to play volleyball. She was concentrating on the road and mumbling along to the radio, "You know it's my turn to teach you something now right?" She stopped singing, "I can already skate Ty" I smiled at her, "You can barely skate, so I'm going to teach you how to go fast and how to shoot." She laughed, "Yeah that'll be the day, I'm too uncoordinated" "You're right I might need some help, but I think I know a couple guys."

Notes

Filler chapter, showing Kieran's happy place and her friendship with Tyler! More Jamie and Kieran coming soon! Thanks for reading xoxo - Ally

Kieran's Volleyball Outfit