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

Chapter 6 - Just a Bit More

Ashley's POV

"Leave him alone!" I yelled to the man. He had Ryan at gunpoint. He turned to face me.

"Shut up." He said, before pulling the trigger and shooting me in the knee. I gasped and fell over, with all of the pain rushing to my leg. Ryan was bleeding from the leg, too.

"Alright, make a decision, who dies now, and who watches as the other suffers, knowing you'll never see each other again." My life meant nothing, but Ryan's was filled with potential. I needed to make a decision. Before I could say anything, someone spoke up.

"Leave her, shoot me." Ryan said. I broke down.

"NO! ME! SHOOT ME!" I pleaded to the man.

"Sorry, my mind's made up." He said facing me. He pointed the gun at Ryan's head and pulled the trigger.

***

"NO!" I yelled. I was gasping for air. It was only a dream. A horrible, terrifying, dream. Ryan shot up and looked over to me, with a ton of fear in his eyes.

"Ash, what's wrong?!" He asked in a panicked state. I knew losing him would torture me. I didn't want to cry in front of Ryan, but I broke down and began sobbing into his chest. The dam broke because I was crying uncontrollably. Nothing was going to console me for a while, not even Ryan. I just sat in Ryan's arms and cried. "Shhhh, it was just a bad dream, you're going to be ok." He said softly.

"I-it's not me I'm worried about." I was barely able to get out through the tears.

"Then what are you worried about?" Ryan whispered. His voice calmed me down a little bit, but I was still sobbing.

"Y-you." I said. Well, if he didn't already know I liked him, he sure did now. Saying that made me cry harder. Ryan didn't say anything for a moment, he just held me.

"Why are you worried about me? I'm ok, see?" I looked into his eyes. I knew he was ok, but I still couldn't shake the awful nightmare that had just occurred. I continued to cry, but I didn't look at Ryan, just down to the bed. Ryan pulled me in closer to him and I wrapped myself around his torso. My crying subsided slightly, but I was still shaken and sobbing a bit. I decided to answer his question. I knew it could ruin everything, but I knew it could also be a life changer.

"B-because I like you, Ryan. A lot." I said, looking into his eyes. He wasn't confused or anything, but he understood.

"I know." He knew? For how long? Oh God, I hope he feels the same. I'll end up running into the pouring rain if he doesn't.

"You knew? How?" I asked.

"It's complicated, Ash. I just sorta found out." He said.

"From who?" I questioned.

"I probably shouldn't say, but your friend told me. I'm not sure which one." He said. I wiped my eyes. The silence was awkward, but Ryan broke it.

"And honestly, I like you too Ashley, a lot." He said, smiling. I lit up as soon as he said that. I never thought I would have something like this, but now I do. I never thought I would be like Alyssa and have someone care about me. The feeling is like no other. I wrapped my arms around Ryan, and I stopped crying. Words weren't needed to describe the moment. It was pure bliss. After a minute, Ryan spoke up.

"Do you feel better?" He asked. He had no idea.

"Ryan, I've never felt better." I said.

"I bet you will in a few seconds. Ashley, will you be my girlfriend?" I could feel the tears coming, and they weren't going to be stopped. I threw myself around Ryan, and I think he knew the answer.

"Yes!" I told him in a yelling whisper. I was crying my heart out, but I knew Ryan didn't care. I detached myself from Ryan and looked at him. "You were right." I said, kissing his cheek.

"Why don't you get some sleep. You must be exhausted." Ryan suggested.

"Only if you hold me." I said with a kind smile. He nodded as I moved myself closer to Ryan. He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me into his chest. I nuzzled my head under his neck, and fell asleep in my boyfriend's arms.

I woke up in Ryan's arms at around 9:00. I didn't want to wake him up, so I decided to stay there and enjoy his company. While I laid there, I thought about last night. How al of those random factors played into Ryan asking me to be his girlfriend. How I was freezing on the couch and he offered me his room. How I had the awful nightmare. All of that had to happen for Ryan to ask me to be his girlfriend. It's amazing. My thoughts were broken when there was a knock at the door. I turned to Ryan, but he didn't move. The door opened, and it was Taylor.

"Ryan! Wake up! You're late! You need to be at Rexall in 5 minutes!" Taylor yelled, making Ryan fall off the bed.

"Oh, shit, I forgot to set my alarm. Fuck!" Ryan panicked as he bolted up from the floor.

"Hurry, dude, Ebs and I are taking my car, I'll see you there." Taylor said as he departed from the room. I was still struggling to get out of bed.

"Ash, why don't you stay here, I'll take you home after I get back." He said. I figured it was for the best. Ryan quickly threw on a t-shirt and sweat pants and fumbled through his pockets looking for his keys.

"Ok, Ryan. That's fine. Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yea it's fine. Look I need to go, I'll see you in a little bit." He said, kissing me on the cheek, making me blush a bit. I decided to go back to sleep. I was still pretty groggy. If I got up before the boys got back, I'd make them breakfast. I went back into Ryan's bed, and his scent pacified me as I quickly fell asleep.

I woke up about an hour and a half later. The boys still weren't back yet, so I decided to make them bacon and eggs. I threw some eggs in a bowl and beat them and took out some bacon and let it cook. I grabbed some pepper and seasoned the eggs with it, and after about 20 minutes, it was done. As I took the eggs off of the stove, I heard the door open. I turned around to see Taylor and Jordan.

"Wow, it smells really good in here. What did you make?" Jordan asked.

"Just some bacon and eggs, nothing special. I want you boys to eat so you can get something in you before the game tonight." I said.

"Wow, thanks. This is awesome. Usually we just heat something up. This looks really good." Taylor said. I had noticed something. My boyfriend wasn't there.

"Where's Ryan?" I asked them. I figured Jordan didn't want to answer, so I looked at Taylor, who was also hesitant.

"He had to stay back. He got yelled at for being late by 3 minutes. Coach Eakins wasn't happy. He'll be lucky lucky to play tonight, or to even be home in the next few minutes." Taylor said. I knew this was partially my fault. I kept Ryan up last night. I felt terrible that he got yelled at. Just as I was lost in my thoughts, the front door opened, and I saw my favorite person in the world enter the room.

"Hey, it smells really good. Did you cook?" Ryan asked. I ran over to him and hugged him tight. He did the same.

"Yea, I made you guys some bacon and eggs. You need to eat, I want something in you before you play." I told him. He kissed my forehead before going to sit down next to Taylor. God, I hoped Taylor said something to Ryan, otherwise this is gong to be awkward. But Taylor managed to strike up a conversation. Ryan got yelled at and warned, but nothing more. I felt a bit relieved inside, knowing he was going to be playing tonight.

After breakfast Ryan, Taylor and I just watched a movie on the couch before the boys had to leave. In all of this, I forgot I had to go home, and I think Ryan did too, but I enjoyed it here, and I didn't mind staying. Before we knew it, it was 4:30 and the boys had to leave. Ryan kissed me on the cheek and they departed. I didn't say anything to Ryan because I wanted to share a bed with him again. I loved being in his arms, and the feeling would never be matched. I decided to just sit on the couch and watch the game. I fell asleep during the pre-game, and didn't wake up until the boys got home.