The Hockey Life - A Patrick Kane Fanfic

Part Twenty-Four - Popsicles and the Friend Zone

PART TWENTY-FOUR: POPSICLES AND THE FRIEND ZONE

In Dylan’s P.O.V.

This was it. I had to fix things with Lena. I had been afraid that she wouldn’t want to talk to me anymore, but here I was, video chatting with her. She became clear on my laptop screen and I realized I would have to speak. Wow, this might be more difficult than I had anticipated.

“Hey there,” she said awkwardly to me.

“Hi.” I answered the girl on my laptop who I hadn’t really spoken to in a week.

“I’m sorry about barging into your practice last week. I wanted to fix everything but instead I just made it all worse,” Lena apologized.

“No, I’m sorry. I was being a total dick to you. None of it was your fault,” I admitted. It was nice that she was apologizing and that she cared so much about it all, but I had been way too dramatic about everything. Everything could have been fine if I would have just pretended not to like her. Unfortunately, I wasn’t convinced that I could ever be a very good actor.

“It’s okay. I really wish I would have realized how you felt, though. I honestly would have talked to you about the whole relationship thing before saying yes to Patrick if I had known,” Lena said.

“I know, it’s fine. Don’t feel bad about it, okay? It’s over with, now.”

“And you’re okay?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“No, seriously Dylan. Are you okay with Patrick and I being together?” Lena suddenly seemed so serious. As serious as Jonathan Toews, actually. It was scary, almost.

“Yes, Lena. I’m fine with it. I know he makes you happy, and as long as you’re happy, I’m happy,” I said. I thought I couldn’t pull off acting, but apparently I was wrong, because my voice didn’t crack. I sounded strong, actually, as if I was confident in my answer, but the whole thing was a lie. I wasn’t really fine with it. It would be hard for me to see her with him, I knew it. I did want her to be happy, and I was glad to see that she was in a good place in her life, but I really wished she could be happy with me. I wouldn’t let her know that, though. If I had been able to hide my feelings for her for two weeks without even trying to, then I could definitely hide this.

“Okay. Well, I’m glad we could settle this. Friends?” Lena asked.

“Friends,” I answered, letting the fact that I had been completely friend zoned sink in. We talked for a little longer, though. I knew I should be grateful that we were still talking and that I hadn’t completely lost her, so I tried my best to be just that. When we ended the video chat, I immediately grabbed my hockey bag. A little extra practice couldn’t hurt.

In Lena’s P.O.V.

“Who were you just talking to?” Tess wondered, walking into my room with a box of popsicles in her hand right when the video chat with Dylan ended.

“Dylan. He was ready to talk, so we did. We both apologized to each other. Everything seems to be better now. After we talked things out, we had a pretty normal conversation. It was almost like nothing had happened,” I admitted. It had all gone much smoother than I had expected, so I couldn’t complain.

“That’s awesome, Lean! See, I told you he just needed time,” Tess said.

“Um, actually I was the one who said he needed time. You just agreed with me…” I corrected her.

“Same thing.”

“So what could have possibly compelled you to feel the need to eat a whole box of popsicles?” I asked, still eyeing the box in her hands.