The Hockey Life - A Patrick Kane Fanfic

Part Nineteen - Separation

PART NINETEEN: SEPARATION

The next week was surreal. I had already told myself before that dating Patrick could be difficult. He would be gone a lot and seeing him wouldn’t be easy, especially when we each had schedules we had to plan around. However, the whole thing still hit me like a brick wall.

We texted each other everyday. Knowing that I would at least be able to talk to him made things better. From my past experience, I had learned that guys were the worst texters ever. They didn’t usually put much effort into conversations on the phone. I knew when I was talking to Patrick though, that he actually wanted to make an effort. We could talk for hours if we had that much time. After only a few days, it seemed like we had known each other for years. Conversation came naturally for us, and whenever my phone lit up, my face did too. Tess could tell that I was being seriously affected by him. She lived with me, though. She saw me every day, so that wasn’t a big deal. The real wake up call came when even Brian and my parents could tell that I was acting differently. Brian and I only texted and Skyped, and my parents and I only talked on the phone, yet they could sense something in my voice when I mentioned my favorite player. By then, they had found out about our date, and their favorite thing to do was to tease me about my giant crush that was starting to seem more meaningful than just that.

I thought that I might at least be safe at hockey practice, but I wasn’t. Tess told everyone on the team everything that happened and before I knew it, they were putting more effort into embarrassing me than they put effort into drills. During games was the only time I was able to escape from everything, because my team and I were all focused on playing good hockey then.

It only took half a week for me to realize all of this. I still had a few days left before there was another home game for the Hawks, but I realized that I didn’t want to just talk to Patrick anymore. I didn’t want to just look at a picture. I wanted to physically be with him and feel his presence. Oh no. I was sounding like someone who was in a serious relationship. Patrick and I weren’t, though. We had only kissed a few times and gone on one date. It had never been confirmed that we were a couple, but I was acting like we were one. What if he had realized that I wasn’t worth a second date, let alone a long term or even short term relationship? I had to snap out of this daze I was in, because I had won the final competition of the Blackhawks internship. If I let my favorite player break my heart, I would never be able to go back to the UC, no matter what kind of offer they gave me, because I probably would never fully heal from something like that.

I thought about all that one night while laying in bed. It was one in the morning and even though I had a morning class, I was still awake to text Patrick. The things I did for him already. I had finally found a cozy position to lay in and as soon as I got warm, I had to go to the bathroom. If I had just gone to sleep at a normal time, I wouldn’t have had to go through such annoyances.

I got up and went to the bathroom, and once I got back in bed, I had a text from Tess, the girl who was literally only a few feet away from me and only separated from me by a wall.

>Why are you still up?

Tess slept with her door open just a crack, so whenever the bathroom or hallway light came on, it would light up her room. I never understood how anyone could sleep with their door open since I had to be in complete darkness when I slept, but I had to accept it. Apparently she was still awake and she noticed the light.

<I’m texting Patrick. Why are YOU still up?

>My class is late, so I have every right to be up all night browsing Pinterest. Why are you talking to him again? It’s 1 am. Shouldn’t he be resting up for a morning skate?

<They just got off the plane a few minutes ago. They’re only just now getting to their hotel

>Doesn’t he know that you have a class in the morning? I mean, he should have realized a while ago that someone with a face like yours needs EXTRA beauty sleep