Hockey Boys vs Hockey Girls

Thirty - Eight

"Kaelin you shouldn't be doing this." Hannah says. "As much as I hate to say it, you know what Nolan will do when he finds out and you know you still love him."

I scoff and run my fingers through my fresh curls in an attempt to make them looser. "Tristan can hold his own when he's not drunk. Besides, Nolan doesn't get to control my life."

Hannah snickers. "Yeah, you're just going on a date to make him jealous but nope he doesn't control you."

I roll my eyes and smooth out my plaid skirt. "Hannah, he's coming soon so maybe you should go home."

"I love you, be safe." Hannah gives me a quick hug before leaving my house.

I sigh and look at myself in the mirror. Tristan told me not to wear anything too fancy, but I always like to look nice for my dates. I'm wearing my plaid skirt with a black turtle neck and my white converse. I still look sickly, but a lot of it I've managed to conceal with makeup.

The shine in my eyes still has not returned. At this point, I'm not sure it can. I'm an orphan, my boyfriend just cheated on me and I'm moving away from everything I have ever known. Maybe things will get better, but I feel like my life has peaked.

The doorbell rings. A lump arises in my throat because usually my mom would answer the door and threaten whatever boy was here to get me. I guess I'll be doing that myself now.

I walk down the stairs and open the door. Tristan stands there with a goofy smile. I envy the life behind his beautiful turquoise eyes. His dark hair contrasts his eyes but compliments his tan skin. He's wearing his football jacket, of course, dark jeans, and a white t-shirt underneath.

"Kaelin, you look great!" He exclaims.

I smile lightly at him. "Thank you. Where are we off to?" I lock the door behind me and follow him out to his car, which I also envy, as his sleek black mustang is quite lovely.

He opens the door for me, "It's a surprise."

I glower at him, but get in the car nonetheless. Boys think they're so unique when they don't tell their date where they're going but it's honestly just annoying. And if I didn't know Tristan, I would be a bit hesitant to get in the car with him.

Tristan gets in and starts the car. "Are you mad at me?"

I laugh, "No, of course not, I'm annoyed, but not mad. Believe me, you would know if I was mad."

"Yeah, I guess so." He chuckles. We drive through town for awhile before Tristan stops at the mall.

I'm about to ask Tristan what we're doing when he puts his finger over my lips. "Quiet, pretty girl, I'll explain soon."

I inwardly blush. Pretty girl, that's a new one - I don't get called pretty very often. Usually, boys say things like 'hot' and 'sexy' because they do not realize being called pretty means so much more to a girl than being called hot... Nolan used to call me beautiful.

"Okay."

Tristan gets out of the car before walking around and opening my door for me. I thank him and he walks up to the doors of the mall. He holds the door open for me and follows me into the bustling mall.

Gently, Tristan takes my hand and pulls me towards the dollar store. I shrug and go with him, I'm kind of excited to see what he has planned.

"Alright, we need snacks first and foremost." He grabs a basket with his other hand and heads down the snack isle with me in tow.

I stare at the KitKats. I haven't had one in so long, and I shouldn't have any, but I think I deserve it. I grab one and put it in our basket.

"Only one? I don't think so." Tristan laughs before grabbing five more.