Don't Let Me Down

Aria got to the door leading to her apartment and dug through her bag to find her key, cursing under her breath as it was buried at the bottom. She finally grabbed the key and shoved it into the lock, opening the door. Aria ran up the stairs to get to her apartment and pushed the door open, exhausted. She threw her bag down on the floor and moved into the living room, collapsing on the loveseat couch in the corner. She was able to close her eyes for ten seconds before the quiet was interrupted by Tara running into the room.

“It’s about time you got home!”

Aria sighed and opened her eyes, staring at her best friend with an expressionless look on her face.
“Yeah, it’s been a long day.”

Tara fell onto the couch next to her and smiled.

“Did you guys raise enough money to get to D.C.?”

Aria bit her lip and looked down for a moment, thinking about Mats and the money he had given them. It would’ve been more work for her if he hadn’t done that, and she couldn’t help but feel a sense of gratefulness. She hadn’t properly thanked him and felt a bit of guilt coming on, but shook it off as she figured she wouldn’t see him again anyway. Tara had begun to furrow her eyebrows as she waited for a response, so Aria cleared her throat and nodded.

“Uh, yeah. We did. The girls did really well.”

Tara nodded and got up off of the couch, a hint of confusion still present on her face. She clapped her hands and pulled Aria up as well, despite her protests. Tara shook her friend by the shoulders and started to scream with excitement.

Aria walked over the refrigerator and took out a water bottle, taking a sip as Tara continued to yell.

“Come on, Aria. We have to get ready to go out. It’s been way too long, and have I mentioned that the Rangers are supposedly making an appearance at the club we’re going to?”

Tara had raised her eyebrows in a suggestive manner, thinking that she would get some excited response from Aria. Instead, Aria coughed up the water she had been drinking, spitting water all over, just missing Tara. Tara opened her mouth and quickly shut it, taking a step back without taking her eyes off of Aria.

“You okay? I thought you’d be excited.”

Aria wiped her chin and grabbed some paper towels from the counter to clean up the mess she had made. She bit her lip and threw out the damp paper towels, looking up at Tara.

“I have more to tell you about my day.”

Tara looked at her with a confused look on her face, wondering if she should call in assistance, since nothing Aria was saying was making any sense. However, she went along with it and nodded her head, following Aria back over to the couch.

“I told you that we made enough money to go to D.C., but I didn’t tell you how we made it.”

Tara’s facial expression hadn’t changed and by now, her arms were crossed over her chest as she anxiously waited for Aria to get to the point.

“You sold hot chocolate outside of Madison Square Garden, I got that.”

Aria sighed and tried to fight off the smile she felt breaking out onto her face.

“Yeah, we did. But after everyone left we were down $300. So a...generous man made a donation to us.”

Aria watched as Tara stared at her, shaking her head in confusion.

“Aria, if you’re not feeling well--”

“It was Zucc. He gave us the $300 we needed.”

There was silence and Aria waited for Tara to react to what she had said, knowing it was going to be somewhere between disbelief and excitement.

“Wait, you’re telling me that Mats Zuccarello just walked up to you, saw you selling hot chocolate, and gave you $300?”

“Well, no. He saw me on the rink, and then he came over after the game and we were talking and--”

“You talked to him?”

It was then that Tara was shifting from disbelief to excitement.

“Yeah, we talked for a bit and then he waited with me until all the girls’ parents had come and picked them up. He actually invited me to the bar but I said I had plans with you.”

Aria moved her hands to her ears and cringed as Tara’s screaming filled their too tiny apartment.

“Oh, my god. My roommate is going to date a New York Ranger. Then you’ll fall in love and get married and live the most perfect life!”

Aria rolled her eyes and patted Tara on the shoulder before heading down the hallways towards her bedroom, Tara trailing behind her.

“Wait, where are you going? Now we have to go to the club!”

“I’m getting dressed, because I know there is no way I could avoid going with you.”

“Damn right!”

Aria chuckled to herself and went into her room, grabbing a pair of dark skinny jeans and pulling them on. She walked over to her closet and pulled out an olive green, high neck tank top, pulling it over her head. She stepped into a pair of heeled boots and shook her blonde hair out, looking at herself in the mirror. She had never been one to wear traditional “club” attire. She grabbed her purse and placed it over her shoulder, closing her bedroom door behind her. She went out into the hallway to see Tara standing there in a skin-tight silver dress, putting on hoop earrings. Tara looked over at Aria and smirked.

“That’s what you’re wearing?”

Aria smiled and nodded.

“Yeah, still want to go with me?”

Tara shook her head and sighed.

“Yeah, because you’re my ticket to the Rangers.”

For what seemed like the millionth time that night, Aria rolled her eyes at Tara. She pulled a nude lip gloss out of her purse and put it on before tossing the bottle back into her bag. Tara stomped down the hallway in her heels and grabbed her clutch off the couch, walking over to their apartment door.

“Ready?”

Aria nodded and walked out of the open door, Tara following and shutting the door behind them. They walked down to the lit Manhattan street and walked over to the curb. Tara reached out her arm to hail a cab and within seconds, the yellow vehicle was stopping for them. They slid into the backseat and Aria took a deep breath, unsure of the feeling in her stomach. Out at the hot chocolate stand, she had been confident. She was in control, and it was just Mats she had to be around. The club, though, that was unknown territory.

Notes

Chapter 3!

Sorry this has taken a bit, I'm a senior in college and school has been crazy lately!

Thank you so much to everyone who has read/commented/subscribed. This is for you!

Let me know what you think!

xoxo - Erin