More Than Meets the Eye

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Addison's Point of View

"So, no closer to a decision then, eh?"

I sigh at the question. Aubrey, Liv and I are all seated at Scotiabank arena, seated a few rows up from the glass right at centre ice. We were a few rows down from where Auston's parents usually sat, though tonight they wouldn't be in attendance. Auston was last minute coming back from injury, and coupling that with high flying restrictions they weren't able to make it. That didn't stop them from asking me to keep them updated, despite being able to watch from the comfort of their own home.

"Of course she's not!" Liv snaps at Aubrey for her insensitive comment. "We're not going to talk about that tonight" she insists, giving Aubrey a side glance. Evidently, they agreed to not bring up the topic of my love life, and also evidently, Aubrey had already forgotten.

"You guys, it's fine" I say, but that's the biggest lie I could have told. "We don't need to avoid talking about them, I'm not glass; I'm not going to break" I add, but it was how I felt. I did feel like glass. I did feel like I was going to break.

"Your words say that, but your tone and face say otherwise" Aubrey points out with a frown. "We're just worried about you, that's all" she says defensively.

"You have no reason to be worried" I try and have my facial expression and tone match my words; to which I fail again; they don't.

"Oh, honey" Liv pouts, and I just want to melt into my seat. They obviously have been discussing this behind my back, so what was their opinion?

"Okay, who do you say I go for?" I turn to Aubrey and ask her first.

"I- uh, what?" She asks, a little taken aback.

"You guys obviously talk about this, so who do you think I should pick?" I ask again, my tone a little tougher. I shouldn't be so aggressive but I can't hold it in much longer.

"I- well, you're really going to make me say?" Aubrey asks, and I nod; she clearly knew who she thought I should pick. "Freddie" she says in a soft whisper. I'm slightly surprised at this, and intrigued. Why?

"Why?" I ask, genuinely curious. She wastes no time in launching herself into an explanation.

"The other night when you guys kissed really sealed it for me" she tells me, looking hopeful. "He's seriously the sweetest guy in the world. You two are adorable together. He's always had your best interest at heart. He is so selfless, so charming, and you guys have a lot of common ground. When you talk about him your face lights up. When you think about him you smile. When he's around, you just seem happier."

I have to take a moment to think about everything she says. And, just as she says,  I smile when I think about him. He is a genuine guy; he truly cares. He always is thinking of others, never himself. We had amazing chemistry, and a great deal in common.

"Hold up" Liv interrupts my train of thought. "I disagree" I let my mouth hang open for a moment, but nothing comes out. She takes this as an invitation to expand on her point. "He actively sought you out when you were with Auston. Who does that to their best friend? He also dumped on to you the fact he had feelings when you were still with Auston; that's not selfless thinking" she points to Aubrey.

"But he knew they weren't a legitimate couple" Aubrey defends.

"Not when he started getting feelings" and she's right. He confessed his feelings to me the same night I told him Auston and I weren't real. "I think Auston is the right choice" she adds, and Aubrey clearly disagrees.

"Really? After everything?" She asks, and Liv nods, continuing.

"Like you said, he never cheated because you were never together. He never would have been with Jess if you guys were. You guys clearly both wanted it to be real, for quite some time even if neither of you realized it. You make him better. He loosens you up. He completes you in ways Freddie never could, or can" she shifts her gaze to Aubrey for a second, waiting for her to jump in. "You guys belong together, I think he's the right choice. Fred's a good friend, that's all he ever will be" her words are harsh.

"He hurt her. A lot" Aubrey says in Freddie's defence. "And Fred- well there's no telling what his motivations were when he told Addie his feelings. Maybe if Auston never slept with someone else for the entirety of the relationship he never would have said anything" her eyes narrow. I think this might be a touchy subject for them both. Despite them both telling me I'd figure it out, they both seemed to have figured it out for me.

"This is a lot" I say, swallowing hard. "I- I didn't realize you guys picked sides" I mumble softly.

"We didn't mean to upset you" Liv says, clearly feeling guilty for getting so heated with Aubrey.

"Yeah Addie, we were just trying to help, not make it harder" she frowns. I know their intentions are in the right place, but it does nothing to help me with how I feel. They could feel however they wanted; but it was my feelings that mattered. "We'll obviously support you regardless of who you pick; or if you pick either of them"

"That's an option too" Liv pipes up, not realizing it was the option I had been considering the most heavily. We remain silent for a moment, as the lights dim, indicating they were about to skate onto the ice. We were in such a heated debate we had missed all of warmups.

"But as you said, let's not talk about it and enjoy the game" Aubrey instructs, and I want to listen to her. It's too bad I know it's all I'm going to think about all game.

                                         ******

The return of Auston Matthews to the lineup proves to be just what the leafs need. In an amazing group effort, the leafs beat the Sens 6-1. Auston got two goals, including the game winner, Freddie making 30 saves of the 31 shots he faced. All in all it was a great win, and going into the dressing room after proved this to be the case.

After the media left, some of the guys stayed behind, hollering and cheering. It had been a long couple weeks, where they had found little success; this win meant something huge to all of them; it was obvious they all felt a surge of confidence in their games.

"Hey! Great game, Freddie!" I say, walking up to the smiling ginger. Auston was busy talking to Mitch, and Aubrey and Liv went off to find Willie and Mo. Everyone was beginning to leave the dressing room, so I followed suit, walking beside Fred, who was still beaming with pride.

"Thanks! I think it's what we all needed" he says, looking at the teammates that surrounded him. "Couldn't have gone any better"

"No, really could not have" I have to agree with him. It was virtually the perfect game played by the Leafs; certainly their best effort of the season. "Glad I was able to witness it"

"Me too" he says softly, and we fall into a comfortable silence. We stop where the elevator is, waiting for it to come when the rest of the group catches up to us.

"Addie! You coming over to celebrate?" Auston asks, looking slightly jealous I was standing beside Freddie. He didn't let it show for long though, his smile from the victory covering up any other emotions he may have been feeling.

"Wouldn't miss it" I say with a grin, though in all reality, I kind of do want to miss it. As much as both Fred and Auston assured me they were cool, there was a part of me that just didn't believe them.