Chapter 1- Game Day

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"My advice for girls who are waiting for their Prince Charming is to be open for anything. Be open to new experiences, be open to the idea that it may take longer than you want, but if you're open to meeting new people and new adventures, then love will come along." -Lily Collins

Jonathan's P.O.V

The sun pouring into my Lincoln Park home woke me abruptly. I rushed out of bed, searching for Patrick before remembering he was at Amanda's house again. It wasn't like I was mad he was there because I would kill for a relationship like theirs. Amanda was extremely sweet and I believed he was good for her. He treated her better than any of his exs. The only problem with their relationship was that when he wasn't here, this place was miserable. Everything seemed so empty and bland without his yelling. Even when Lindsey was here it was slightly better, even though I was glad that ship had sailed.

Instead of mopping around, I pulled on a pair of joggers and made my way to my neighbor's house. She was a widow who was nearly 80 and Patrick and I seemed to be her only form of entertainment. Unless you counted her black lab, Molly.

"Hey Barbra. I'm going for a run. Do you want to take Molly?"

"That would be great dear, let me go get her leash. Come on in." I made my way into her gigantic kitchen and grabbed a water from her fridge. It was well stocked so I grabbed a banana as well. I pretty much lived here in my free time since she made Pat and I food every time we came over. We both were awful chefs so it was nice to have good food once in a while. Barb was pretty much an additional grandma to me.

Barb came back minutes later, Molly on a leash and hot coco in her hands. She claimed 'it was way too cold to be out without a warm drink.' Which didn't make much sense seeing as it was late March. A warm one at that. I thanked her anyway and continued on my walk. I stopped by Sharp's house so Madelyn could play with Molly for a while and I could talk to Patrick about the game tonight.

The pit-stop at Sharpie's house was brief. Turns out Mads doesn't like big dogs, or any dog that wasn't Shooter. Abby was friendly as always and was bringing the kids to the game again tonight. I made my way back to Barbra's around noon.

"And then I go 'No Jonny, I'm not passing to you unless I get a salary boost' and I got one!" Barbra's laugh filled her large house at Patrick's joke, which may I add, didn't even happen. He was full of shit. They both sat in the kitchen, Patrick shoveling pancakes in his mouth while Barb struggled to kill his hunger.

"That never happened Pat." I lightly shoved his arm, purposely avoiding his shoulder. He rolled his eyes at me for the hundredth time that month. For the past few weeks he promised me he wasn't hurt anymore, but I wasn't taking any chances. We desperately needed him when playoffs rolled around.

"Ooh kiddos, I can't make it to your game tonight!" Barb cried out. She'd been coming to almost every home game since I'd met her a few years back and she hadn't missed one in nearly a month. I was beginning to think she was our good luck charm, even though the team hadn't been playing great recently.

"Who are Amanda and I supposed to sit with?" Patty asked, frowning heavily. He was trying to be extra dramatic, but I knew it didn't really matter to him. We liked Barb there for luck and he clearly wasn't playing so he didn't mind her not going. I on the other hand desperately wanted her there. I was going through a bit of a slump.

"Well my granddaughter is here. She's a huge hockey fan."

Barb rushed up the stairs, way faster than her age should've allowed. I shot Patty a look, knowing he was just going to have to babysit at the game. Which may I add, was his least favorite thing. Let's just say Pat wasn't a big fan of kids. She returned a few minutes later, her granddaughter in tow.

Except her granddaughter wasn't 15 like I originally expected. Instead, was around our age. Her dirty blonde hair was thrown up in a messy ponytail and she wore leggings and a plain gray hoodie. She had piercing blue eyes and soft pink lips.

"This is Natalie, Nat this is Jo-"

"Tazer and Kaner. Of course I know them Nana." Natalie gave me a small smile and sat down next to Pat. "Mind if I snag a few pancakes?"

"Nope, go ahead. I should probably lay off the sweets for a bit." He joked, patting his stomach.

"You look great Patty. Don't listen to the haters." She said messing up his hair. We said our goodbyes and Pat agree'd to pick her up at 6 to head to the UC. We had a few things to do before, but Amanda could entertain her for a while.

"So Nat was pretty cute, huh?" Kaner asked. I just shrugged, not wanting him to know that I was attracted to her. Knowing him, he would tell her the first moment he saw her again. Plus I didn't even know her. Didn't want her finding out there was a chance I thought she was cute before I even knew myself.

"She's got the same eyes as you." I nudged my best friend, forcing him into the street. We crossed quickly before Patrick answered.

"Must mean you love her. I mean you're always hitting on me because of eyes." I shoved him again, this time with a purpose. He'd forgotten his key once again. Thus meaning, I had to unlock the door for the both of us. The silence of our house washed over the both of us.

"We should get a dog." I said, glancing around. "Maybe like that dog Obama has. It's so cute."

"You sound like a woman. Who's gonna take care of the dog when we leave?"

"I don't know? Barb or something. Or we drop it off at Sharpies for Abby to take care of."

"We can wait till Playoffs are over. It's just cruel to leave it home alone when it's a puppy." I nodded, he had a point. I honestly just wanted someone to hang out with when Patty wasn't there. He was still hurt so he never wanted to go skating or go for runs. I needed a new best friend to hang out with.

"You've been watching tapes, ay? Is Quick still on fire?"

"Yeah you're fucked. Good luck man." He said, slapping my back and making his way to the bathroom adjacent to his bedroom. I sighed, knowing tonight's game was going to be hell. The King's were such an underrated team right now. Somehow they were terrible at playing teams their own strength, but always killed teams with better records than theirs. And we just so happened to have a better record than them. There was a knock on my door, most likely Saader for our carpool. Ever since Patty got hurt, Brandon and I drove together. It was slightly out of his way, but we were the only ones who liked getting there early.

"Hey man, let me just grab my bag and we can go." He nodded, walking back into his Jeep. Patrick was in the shower when I passed by so I didn't have a chance to say goodbye. I'd just have to talk to him at the game. I quickly grabbed my bag and hopped into Brandon's car. We sped to the UC, getting there right after Q.

"Hello boys. Jonny can we talk real quick?" Coach Q asked. We waved Saader off who had already begun talking to Teuvo.

"I'm going to Darling a shot tonight. Can you let Crow know?" I nodded and jogged up to T and Saad. We engaged in conversation about the game and about how quick Patty was going to come back. None of us wanted to jinx his return because without him we'd be screwed first round. Before I knew it, we were all stepping onto the ice, ready to face the Kings.

This is my first hockey fanfic woot! So I thought we'd do some Q/A each chapter to get to know each other. I'm Katie btw and I'm 15 from Chi Town.

Q: Favorite players on the Hawks?

A: Saad, Teuvo and Raanta (when he plays lol)

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