Love Rivalry (A Gabriel Landeskog and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Fanfiction)

Chapter 25 - Crossing Boundaries

February 11th

Ashley's POV

My alarm hit me like a freight train at 10:30.

I spent most of the night crying on the couch at my friends' house.

Well my house too, but I had spent most of the past few months living with the boys.

I didn't realize how bad this fight was.

This was worse than Halloween.

This might have been the worst thing that could have happened for my relationship with Ryan.

Ryan.

I hadn't grown accustomed to being without him.

I mean sure, he went on the road at times, but at least I had Natalie. At least Ryan would text me. Tell me how much he missed me.

How much he loved me.

There was a dark silence as I stirred from the couch. No one was awake yet.

Part of me was happy I didn't spend a lot of time here.

When they didn't work, they partied. Apparently, somehow, with very little connections, they threw a huge party a few weeks back.

It was whatever. I guess my time with Ryan has matured me a little bit. Had I not met him, I probably would have enjoyed that party.

I guess his maturity rubbed off on me.

I didn't drink nearly as much, I wouldn't stay up terribly late, and I was always watching the boys back at home.

I missed them already.

It hadn't even been a day, and I missed all of them.

I missed the jokes. The gags. The pranks. Even the fighting was entertaining sometimes, because I knew they cared about each other.

And now, who knows if I'll ever be able to enjoy that again.

I walked into the bathroom and turned the bath and pulsating jets on. Figured I'd try and relax a little bit before I do the dumbest thing in human history.

Go on vacation with a boy that I wasn't dating.

Gabe.

Gabriel.

The boy whom I had met in Columbus.

The boy who I didn't think anything of other than he was a hot hockey player.

I stepped into the tub and allowed my body to acclimate to the water temperature. The hot water surrounded my body as the jets massaged my body.

It was relaxing, given the stress of the last 15 hours.

I still couldn't believe I was going all the way to Denver.

And Gabe was paying for it.

He told me last night he handled everything, and not to worry about it. I felt horrible. He was paying for me to go with him. I tried to tell him I'd pay for it myself, but he refused.

I looked at the clock and it was already 11:00. I stepped out of the tub and felt the cold air hit me and the freezing tile under my feet. I grabbed a towel and headed into my old room for when I stayed here.

Nicole was asleep on the bed, so I remained quiet while picking my outfit for the plane.

I had pack everything when I got here last night. I put on a pair of jeans and and purple sweater, knowing it would be cold in Denver. I did my makeup quicker than usual and headed back out into the living room. I put on my Uggs and headed out to my car, grabbing my suitcase and quietly closing the door.

I drove to the airport in silence.

No music.

Nothing.

Just myself and my thoughts.

I realized I was well past the point of no return. Gabe did all of this for me, and there was no way I was going to back out now. The least I could do for him is show up and try to have fun while in Denver. I guess I owed him that much for going through all the trouble of getting me a ticket to head back with him, not to mention to fly me back to Edmonton.

Gabe had told me where to park, and I left my car in the parking garage before heading into the airport. Apparently, Gabe was already waiting in the terminal, so I figured I should get through security and customs to meet him as quick as possible. I put my luggage through security, and I went through shortly after without an issue.

I grabbed my things and headed to the International terminals, the States being the first set of gates for the area.

I looked at Gabe's text and it said he was waiting at gate 3. I walked with my things to the gate and looked around.

I spotted him straight away.

You couldn't miss him.

Sunglasses, sports jacket, shirt and tie. Blonde hair, slightly spiked up. The only thing missing were his blue orbs, concealed by his aviators. He was scrolling through his phone and he hadn't noticed me. I slowly approached him, his eyes locked on his phone.

As I got closer, he looked up and saw me. His flawless white smile showed as he pulled off his aviators, exposing his mesmerizing eyes. You could be lost in them forever.

"Ashley!" He smiled, getting up from his seat to greet me.

"Hi, Gabe." I smiled back, hugging him tight.

"I'm really glad you made it! I'm really excited for this." He said, as we parted from our hug and sat down.

"I'm still mad you didn't let me pay for this. I feel terrible!"

"Don't worry about it! It didn't cost me anything! The team pays for all this."

"That doesn't make me feel any better, Gabe." I laughed.

"Don't worry about it, it'll be worth it."

We waited in the gate for around forty-five more minutes before they started to call business and first class onto the plane. We were in private first class. Perfect. No distractions for a few hours.

I sat in the window seat, while Gabe took the aisle. I browsed through my phone for a few minutes until takeoff. I turned my phone off and waited as the plane began to depart from the gate.

"Are you excited?" Gabe asked with a smile.

"Honestly? Yes." I smiled back. "This is just what I need. This should be a nice couple of days."

"I hope so, too." Gabe said as the plane began to speed down the runway. I could feel the life as the plane continued it's climb to cruising altitude. I pulled my phone back out and opened my camera to take a picture, as the sky was as clear as a crystal. I took a few before heading into my camera roll to look at them.

They looked really nice, as I swiped through a few. I continued on though until I came across a picture of Ryan and I.

Just a simple picture after on of the Oilers' wins before the All-Star break. He was wearing his usual suit and tie combo while I proudly displayed his number 93 on my back and sleeves.

I looked happy. So did he.

But I didn't recognize either of the people in that picture.

It seemed as if only memories were what was left of Ryan and I.

Author's Note

Not to ask a stupid question but...

Team Ryan or Team Gabe?

I hope you guys enjoyed! Thanks for the reads and the votes and all of the kind comments! You guys make my day with things like that! I'll be updating All it Takes next!

Brooke.