Moving Mountains (Patrick Kane)

Inhuman .29

Patrick

How do you convince a introverted gloomy loving girl to come to a crowded and bright hockey game? Apparently all you need is food but it took quite a few offers and a few pounds of sushi. But we got here.

It's not that she didn't want to come watch me. She's a curious girl and often times wondered where I run off to all the time. What I'm doing. So I convince her to come out to a game, my family is in town so they will keep her company while the game is going on. Answer the millions of questions I know she will have.

I go up to her place with a bag in my hand. For some reason I was nervous. What if she hates hockey? What if she sees this and thinks I'm not worth the craziness that comes with this game and this team? I mean she has given up on practically everything else for a lot less. But this is a big part of my life and who I am. So if she wants to know me she will have to at least attend a game.

"Come on in" she offers as she moves to the side.

I walk in and it's nothing I haven't seen before. She doesn't like to hang out here because she thinks my place is better. But I always have a sense of peace in her apartment. It's dark and it looks like a show apartment with the lack of decorations but it feels like home. She made sure of it.

"Here. It's for tonight" I say handing the bag to her.

"What is it" she mumbles. Should have known this is the reaction I would get.

"Open it up and find out" I say.

She gets into the bag and pulls out a long sleeved Blackhawk's shirt. But this one was all black with the name on the front in white in cursive. Though she doesn't know much she expressed her feelings about having Native American stuff on merchandise. Making money off of them even though their people had already suffered enough. So I made sure that one: the shirt was black because that's all she wars. And two: that it didn't have any images she wouldn't approve of.

"You did good" she smiles as I let out a sigh.

"Good. You want to get changed and we can go" I say as she nods.

She takes off to her room and I wait by the door. My eyes scan my surrounding and for the most part they were familiar. That is until my eyes land on her fridge. I see a picture and I raise my eyebrow, this is new.

So I walk over to get a closer look. I see it was a picture of the both of us on top of the mountains. It's the only picture I could get her to take with me. But I have the picture too. It was actually my Lock Screen on my phone.

I reach out and pick up the picture as I smile to myself. Glad to see that these feelings I have aren't just mine, but ours together.

"I had a coworker print it off for me" a soft voice says and I turn around. I see Valerie in her shirt and black jeans, she looked incredible. As always.

"It's a great picture" I admit.

"I'm not one for taking pictures. As you learned after I yelled at you for twenty minutes before we took this. But I'm happy we did" she says with a small smile.

"Me too" I admit.

We make it to the United Center and I give her the basic run down. I mean she couldn't care less about the locker rooms or seeing the underbelly of the United Center. It's history meant next to nothing to her. But she still has questions.

"Grown men spend hundreds of dollars to come watch you play and if you do bad they yell at you even though they would never be good enough to step foot on the ice" she asks.

"Yeah pretty much" I shrug.

"I think I understand even less about humans now. Why do people care so much about something that has nothing to do with them" she wonders.

"I think that's what makes us human. This kind of stuff brings people together. And they can't change the outcome, no matter how hard they cheer or how much money they spend. But they do it anyway because as much as I love playing they love watching me. It makes no sense, but it's human nature. They're doing what makes them happy. Even when it shouldn't, even when it doesn't. They still show up day after day. Sure the fans aren't out there playing but they're the reason we are" I explain.

"I guess that's why people think I'm not human" she teases.

"Who says that" I question.

"My teachers. My classmates. Co-workers, bosses, the lady at the coffee shop around the corner from me who doesn't know how long to steam a latte" she lists off.

"They don't know you though. Not that you gave them a chance" I admit.

"But you know me. That's why you think I'm human" she challenged.

"Precisely. Because if you were inhuman, then you wouldn't have a picture up of us on your fridge" I tease.

"See this is why I don't tell you these things" she laughs.

"Sure" I shake my head.

I get her to my parents then return to the locker room to get into game mode. I have not been nervous for a game since 2010. But knowing she's out there made my heart race.

So this is love?

"Haven't seen you this prepared for a game in a while" Jonny says as he tossed his things in the locker next to me.

"Yeah well Valerie is here" I say.

"You got Valerie... to come to a hockey game" he gasps.

"Try not to act so surprised" I mumble.

"Did you at least have her watch a game so she has a idea of what is going to happen" he asks. Hockey can be quite a shock to a new comer.

"We don't really talk about hockey when we hang out, I guess it never came up" I shrug.

"Oh" he says seductively. "What do you talk about" he asks lowly.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with. And for your information she's sitting with my family so she's in the best hands out there" I defend.

"If I knew she was coming I would have Kiley reach out" he admits.

"I don't want her with the girls. Not right now" I beg.

"I know. But she needs friends in this business" he tries.

"I appreciate the concern Jonny. But I don't think what happens here tonight matters much. Yeah I want it to go well. Yeah I want her to like hockey to some extent. But it's not make or break. My heart-or my mind is made up about her" I say.

"You have a lot of faith in your relationship" he noticed.

"I l- I adore her. I think she is strong and sweet and hard headed and harsh at times. But no matter what I think I know I don't want her to change. Not for anything.

I think the scariest thing in the world was the thought of someone falling in love with the idea of me. Their version of who they want me to be. I was acting so much it was bound to happen. Someone would fall in love with this idea of who they want me to be. And I would have to pretend just to be loved.

But I just don't feel that way with her. If she falls for me, it'll be the only form of myself that I ever loved as well. For someone to see me the way she does, and convince me that I don't have to be all these amazing things to be deserving of love. No one else makes me feel that way. No one else helped me see my worth, who's relationship with me give me worth as well" I say.

He just stares at me with a blank expression. I couldn't make it out if my life depended on it. But a smile creeps up as he starts to nod. Without a word he turns away because everything he wanted to hear, I just told him.