LIFE IN PIECES.

1. PAYTON MEETS THE TEAM!

MEETING THE PEOPLE YOUR SIGNIFICANT OTHER LOVES, can either make or break your relationship. That thought ran through Payton's head as she sat quietly, taking sips of her water, William's hand placed calmingly on her knee.

"So," Zach started, directly across from the couple. "Payton, you going to school?" He questioned, taking a sip of his beer.

Payton blinked a few times, taking a shaky breath as everyone's attention became fixated on the brunette. "Um, not exactly. I'm still young, if I'm being honest, I have no idea what I want to do. So I'm working at Starbucks."

William patted her knee reassuringly, taking a sip of his water. Zach nodded approvingly, "thats good. Pays the bills," he smiled.

Faking a smile while playing with her hands under the table, Payton nodded, "exactl-"

"Hey, sorry I'm late." Payton shot around, the voice very familiar. In rushed an out of breath Harrison, sporting a white v-neck t-shirt and nice, blue jeans. The black windbreaker he was wearing, contrasted nice with his LA Kings snapback.

Rolling her eyes, Payton glared at her best friend. "Harrison. What the hell are you doing here?" She asked lowly, her teeth grinding together in annoyance.

Offering her his signature grin, he shifted his gaze so he got a good look at all the players before his gaze rested on Willy. "Will Nye beside 'ya invited me. At least someones nice."

Clenching her jaw, she watched as Harrison found an empty seat on the other side of William. "Oh yay," she mumbled out as he immediately grabbed a piece of bread out of the basket, and started eating it.

"I thought it'd be nice for the team to get to know him too. I think they'll like him," William whispered, knowing Payton wasn't completely sold on the idea of her best friend meeting her new boyfriends, friends.

Leaning over to whisper in Willy's ear, she eyed Harrison cautiously. "You really shouldn't have."

✿

"So," Harrison leaned forward in his seat so he could see Payton. "Payton, you should tell everyone how you two first met."

Furrowing her eyebrows, she leaned forward to meet his gaze. "We met at a bar."

Smirking, Harrison continued, "and then what happened? You know, when you two left?" He questioned, fluttering his eyelashes with fake curiosity.

Payton's mouth dropped open, realizing what the boy was getting at. She wasn't really in the mood to talk about what went down that night. Connor Brown, Mitch and Auston all stifled their laughter, understanding what Harrison was talking about. Everyone else looked expectedly at the couple with quirked eyebrows and confused expressions on their faces.

"Well?" Tyler asked, glancing around the table as everyone waited quietly.

Harrison chuckled, clearly not afraid to embarrass and leave a bad impression on the team. "Willy and my dear friend Payton over here, came back looking for some privacy. Of course me, being the chick magnet I am, already had a guest over."

With a clenched jaw, Payton spoke with her fists clenched, under the table. "In my house, on my couch. And you wouldn't leave."

Harrison smirked, swatting the air. "Useless information, useless. Anyways..."

"Then, still having the desire for each other, they came back to Willy's place. Where we were watching a movie." Mitch added, recalling the night three weeks ago.

"We didn't leave, because, we were watching a movie," Auston clarified.

Mitch butted in, "which we paid seven dollars for!"

This was Connor's turn to speak. "So, them being the young, lust seekers they are, went down to Willy's car. I thought I saw two people jump in there, but when the car never left the parking lot, I decided to go check it out. Sure enough, there they were, making babies - I mean making out."

By now, the couple's face was bright red as they recalled what happened that night to the whole team. Being the only girl was intimidating enough, let alone them picturing that night.

As everyone laughed quietly, Morgan grinned before gaining everyones attention. "Guys, guys. C'mon guys, that night must've been so sexually frustrating for them, the least we can do is not remind them about it."

Breathing out through her nose, Payton didn't take her eyes off the ground. "Thank you, Morgan."

"Yeah," Harrison nodded his head as he placed his cup back on the table. "Mo's right. We shouldn't recall that tragic night where they didn't do it." William nodded shyly in agreement, his cheeks a flaming red colour. "So, what happened the next time you guys hung out?"

Freddie snorted from beside Harrison, mumbling under his breath. "Auston and I had to leave the place, that's for sure."

Auston chuckled slightly at his goaltender, "you thought it was the movie they were watching."

Freddie shook his head, smiling slightly, his cheeks turning their own shade of red. "That was one loud movie."

"Okay!" William shouted, his eyes widening in disbelief. "Here Payton is, trying her damn best to get you guys to like her. And here you are, making a terrible first impression." Everyone seemed to quiet down, looking down at the ground, hanging their heads with guilt. Some even muttered apologizes even though they didn't do anything.

Clearing his throat awkwardly, Harrison kept his head down, but his eyes peeked up. "Yeah, c'mon guys."

Taking a deep breath through her nose, Payton glared at the boy, "Harrison."

"Sorry, sorry." He paused, not a word being said. "So, the Kings won last night!" He perked up, pride radiating through the boy as that's where he's from.

Confused, Nazem glanced around at the boys who hadn't moved their gaze up from the ground.  "We know. We played them last night."