That Sounds Like A Traffic Violation

I let out a yawn as I let my body fall to lean against the van. Peyton was sitting in the van already with the heater turned up. I was almost completely frozen, the tip of my nose felt like it was made of ice and my hands were so cold it hurt to straighten my fingers. But I was so fascinated by the interaction between the guys and their fans.

The day before we had been smart about where to go and when. We’d hit the mall at 1:00pm and left before 3:00, which was when all of the highschoolers would be out. Peyton and I went into Fat Burger and ordered dinner, bringing it out to the guys so that they could eat in peace.

Today, Peyton and I were both so tired from running around Vancouver until it was almost one in the morning that we hadn’t even thought about the timing of things. We had agreed to meet this morning at the same place at 10am, and then we were going to head off to Stanley Park. The only thing Peyton and I hadn’t thought out was that today was a Preliminary day for schools, meaning all of the kids had this random Wednesday off, and the park was packed. I felt bad that the guys were now surrounded by people, but at the same time, I couldn’t stop watching them talk with the fans.

It wasn’t as much watching them be mobbed and fawned over that I was fascinated by as much as it was the way each one of them interacted that had my attention. For instance, Max Talbot was the liveliest of them all. He made jokes, commented on outfits, poked fun at the girls who had seen them earlier and went home to grab their Crosby pictures, calling them ‘Cliché’ for only owning Crosby things. He made faces in the pictures, he put on the bracelets fans made for him right away and then posed with them. He didn’t just sign his name in an autograph, he always wrote something to accompany it.

Jordan Staal was just all over the place. He smiled in pictures and politely thanked everyone who told him they loved him, or that he was their favourite player on the team. Despite his outgoing and mildly offensive personality off of the ice, he only showed a tiny part of this side when a fan made a comment like, “How distracting is it to be on the same team as all these hunks?” Or, “How bad does Cooke smell in real life?”

Kris Letang was quiet. He smiled and said thank you, scribbled his name out on whatever they had asked him to sign and tried to answer questions with less than three words. He wasn’t the most in your face person away from all the fans, but he seemed incredibly withdrawn, almost nervous, around the fans. I was starting to think he wasn’t nearly as sure of himself as some thought.

Tyler Kennedy and Marc-Andre Fleury were about the same. They asked every fan how they were doing, grinning in pictures and scribbling out their names as fast as they could.

Then there was Sidney. Even though he was so clearly out of his comfort zone with all of these people surrounding him, he still smiled and tried to say something to every fan. There was no patience from the mob surrounding him, every one of them desperate to get his autograph before the others, and yet he didn’t even panic over it. He didn’t just smile next to the fan in a picture, he made sure to wrap an arm around their shoulder, or lean down so it actually looked like they had met and agreed to take a picture. He tried to answer every question they asked him, which wasn’t too hard since all of the guys wanted to know if he’d met a certain hockey player, and all of the girls wanted to know if he had a girlfriend, and if he didn’t, did he want one?

I waited until every person in the small mob of fans had received an autograph from every player and the guys were heading towards the van before I opened up the door and hopped inside, very aware of the way certain girls were eyeing Peyton and I like we were making a move on their man, whichever one they were pretending was their man.

“I’m so cold,” Marc said, his teeth chattering as he said so, rubbing his hands together as he climbed into the back of the van and grabbed one of the extra blankets that I hadn’t noticed were back there.

Max climbed into the van, taking a seat next to me and grinning. “Some girl proposed to me,” He said, holding up his wrist so I could see a pink bracelet he was wearing. “Apparently this solidifies our love.”

I had to laugh a little bit, grabbing his wrist so I could see the bracelet better. “Wow, that is a very pretty bracelet.”

“She took it off of her own wrist and gave it to me,” He told me, nodding his head as he looked at his wrist. “I feel so empowered.”

“Why would someone want to marry you?” Peyton asked, turning around in the drivers seat so she was facing him.

“Because I’m a stud,” Max said, glancing up at her, “Duh.”

“So, apparently I’m the second most attractive Staal,” Jordan announced as he climbed into the van next, sitting down next to Max so he one person away from me. “That chick claimed Marc was better looking than me,” He buckled his seatbelt and smoothed out his hair before making a face. “She was wrong, but she said it.”

Tyler and Kris joined Marc in the back of the van, both of them talking about which flavour of lollipop they should try first since they had apparently bought eight different flavours when they visited the candy shop. Tyler leaned forward to tap me on the shoulder, “I just wanted to apologize for the fact that Tangers and I have hardly spoken to you at all while you’ve been showing us around.”

I opened my mouth to tell him I completely understood and it was fine, but Max answered for me. “Why would she be missing you? She’s had Jordan and Sidney all day. That makes for one happy girl.”

I felt my cheeks heat up, making Max giggle and Tyler shake his head.

Sidney finally sat down in the passenger seat next to Peyton and turned around to smile apologetically at the rest of us. “Sorry about that. There was this three year old kid in my jersey and I had to go say hi to him.”

Peyton reached over to pat his thigh, an action that seemed to completely catch him off guard. “You’re such a sweet guy, Sidney,” She told him with a grin, shifting the van into drive before he’d even turned all the way back around in his seat.

Max leaned over to me, “I was wondering when one of you would start hitting on him. I have to say, I was thinking it’d be you first, but this might make it more interesting.”

I frowned at him, “Please, I am not that kind of girl,” I told him, looking forward at Sidney as he let his head rest against the window, half listening to Peyton as she told him her thoughts on last nights game, and how it was the first time she’d ever really watched hockey. “Besides, Sidney doesn’t seem like the kind of guy that appreciates a girl who throws herself at him.”

Max nodded, stretching his arms up and groaning as he did so. “Well, we will find you a man, Hanna-” he stopped, lowering his arms and frowning at me. “Hey, we don’t know your last name!”

“How unfair, you know ours,” Kris said from behind me.

I let out a small laugh, “Well, yeah, but I know that because you wear your last names on the back of your jerseys.”

“Then tell us your last name and we’ll write it across the back of your jacket,” Tyler suggested.

Marc nodded, “That seems fair to me.”

I had to roll my eyes at them. “You can not write my last name across the back of my coat. This thing cost me over a hundred dollars.”

“Why would you pay that much for a coat?” Jordan asked. “Girls and their fashion.”

I leaned around Max to look at him, “Excuse me? I believe the two people who spent the most money on clothes today were Max and Kris.”

“Hey, looking good costs money,” Max said, texting to someone on his cell phone.

“What is your last name?!” Kris asked me, leaning forward in his seat and placing both hands on his head. “I want to know so badly.”

I laughed, “It’s Ashton,” I told him.

“Hanna Ashton?” Jordan said it out loud. “That’s pretty bad ass.”

“What’s your last name, Peyton?” Tyler called.

Peyton looked at him in the rear view mirror before letting her eyes fall back the road. “Parker.”

“Peyton Parker? That sounds like a traffic violation,” Jordan laughed.

“Didn’t your brother name his son Parker?” Tyler asked.

It was my turn to laugh. “Parker Staal? Like, Park or Stall? Did he do that on purpose?”

Jordan sighed, “Sadly, no. They really liked the name.”

“That is too bad,” Peyton said from the front of the van. “For the kid. He better be awesome.”

“Of course he’ll be awesome, he’s a Stall,” Jordan pointed out.

“Hey, I didn’t finish my sentence!” Max interrupted, turning to look at me again. “We will find you a man, Hanna Ashton.”

I made a face. “Do I really give off this scent of desperation? What makes you think I need a man? What if I have a wonderful boyfriend waiting for me?”

Max snorted, literally snorted, “Right, because a boyfriend would be totally fine with you parading around Vancouver with a group of hormonally ridden hockey players for two days, and he would not once call to check up on you,” He let out a laugh. “You’re a hoot.”

“Do you need a man, Peyton?” Jordan asked. “I don’t know why I’m asking, you’re such a bitch, there’s no way you have a man.”

Peyton glared at him in the rear view mirror. “I will have you know that I had a serious boyfriend for three years, and I was just as big a bitch then as I am now.”

I nodded, “It’s true. I think she actually might have been meaner,” I whispered. “And why do you think Peyton and I need men? You’ve known us for one day."

“Hanna, we can sense these things,” Jordan told me. “Trust me, you name your type and we will call everyone we know who fits that.”

“Oh, so you’re assuming I want a hockey player?” I asked him.

Every single one of the guys turned their attention to me as that sentence left my mouth, all of them gaping at me as if I had just said the most offensive thing in the entire world. Tyler finally broke the silence as he leaned forward to stick his head in between Max and I. “Why wouldn’t you want a hockey player?” He asked, his face serious.

“I didn’t say I didn’t want a hockey player, I just-” I stopped, rubbing my forehead and letting out a small groan. “I just wouldn’t date a guy simply because he’s a hockey player, that’s all I meant.”

“Oh, so you have standards?” Max asked, shaking his head. “Snob.”

“I like the guys that fight,” Peyton called from the front. “Like Bieska.”

“She means Bieksa,” I corrected.

Jordan made a face. “Really? Out of all the NHL players, Kevin Bieksa is the one you pick?”

“Well, I wanted to stick with someone on the Canucks,” Peyton explained.

“I’m pretty sure he’s married,” Marc said from the back of the van.

“Hang on, I’m still trying to get this Bieksa thing,” Jordan said. “You saw all of the Canucks, and Kevin Bieksa is the one that caught your attention? I mean, did you see Mason Raymond? I’m a totally straight dude, but that guy is a cutie.”

“I know!” I agreed. “And Alex Edler?”

“Ryan Kesler,” Tyler added. “He’s a babe.”

“This whole conversation is so many different levels of weird,” Peyton decided, laughing. “How about you guys don’t try and find Hanna and us men, and we won’t make fun of you guys for whatever dumb things you’ve done.”

Max rolled his eyes, “Fine.” He turned to look at me. “Although, I have a friend who I think you would love. Now, he doesn’t speak a lot of English, and he’s kind of funny looking, and he has a girlfriend,” he held up both of his hands, “But I think we could work around all of that.”

I laughed, “Are you trying to set me up with Evgeni Malkin?”

“Whoa, girls knows her players,” Kris muttered from behind me.

“I really like that I get to spend two days with some of the Pittsburgh Penguins and all they want to do is find me a man,” I said aloud to myself with a small chuckle. “That says a lot about me, when it’s been a day and a half and I’ve already seemed to lonely you’re willing to ruin Malkin’s relationship.”

“You don’t seem desperate,” Sidney said, reminding me that he was there since he had been so quiet this whole time, “Max just likes to fix things that don’t need fixing.”

“Just because I tried to teach you how to do your hair and used Vaseline instead of gel, once, does not mean I always ruin things.” Max defended.

Sidney turned around just to send him a look before he turned back around in his seat.

I felt the van come to a stop, causing me to glance around and check out where we were. “Are we at a bowling alley?”

“Hell yes, we’re at a bowling alley,” Peyton said, shutting the van off and unbuckling her seatbelt. “Is this cool, guys?”
“Do you have uniforms for us to wear?” Jordan asked, pulling open the van door.

Peyton raised her eyebrows at him. “No.”

He sighed, “Well, then I guess it’s okay. But it could have been magic.” He hopped out of the van, causing the rest of us to follow suit.

“I have never been ten pin bowling,” I admitted to the guys as we laced up our rented shoes.

“Me either,” Tyler said. “It should be interesting.”

“Alright, I split up the teams,” Peyton said as she came back from the front desk. “Hanna and I are on opposite teams.”

“Good, she hates you,” Max said, giving me a head nod when I turned to look at him in confusion. “It’s okay, I can tell these things.”

I glanced up as the two screens lit up with the list of teams;
Peyton, Tyler, Sidney, Marc
Hanna, Max, Jordan, Kris

“Oh, we are so winning this,” Tyler said, giving me an apologetic smile.

“Why do I have to go first?” I half asked, half whined.

“Because I’m a bitch,” Peyton reminded me, already holding a bowling ball in her hands. “Now, I don’t mean to alarm you, but I did use to be in a bowling league,” She reminded me, taking a step with the ball and bringing her hand back, but somehow losing her grip and dropping the ball behind her, sending it slowly towards where the rest of her team sat.

I laughed, picking up my own bowling ball. “I was going to ask why I’ve never seen any bowling trophies, but I think I’ve already gotten my answer.” I stared down at where all ten pins were waiting at the end of the lane, chewing on my lip.

“Come on, Hanna. You can do it!” Kris called out to me, making me laugh slightly.

I slowly brought my hand back, trying not to drop the surprisingly heavy bowling ball, before swinging my arm forward and letting the ball go, trying to keep it centred. I watched as it made it’s way down the lane on a slight angle, managing to hit the very last pin on the right side before it disappeared.

“Hey, you still get two more tries,” Max reminded me when I turned around pouting.

I watched Peyton finally send her bowling ball hurling down the lane, seeing it smash into the centre pin and take down 8 of it’s friends.

“Psshht, Hanna can do that,” Jordan said, motioning for me to come over. “Look, you throw crooked. So stand a little more to the left than you did before. It’ll centre your throw.”

I nodded, walking back over to the lane and picking up another ball, following his instructions. I watched as the ball took off down the lane, his time much closer to the centre. It collided with the pin right next to the centre pin, and yet somehow, took down all the remaining pins.

“Dude, you got a strike!” Max yelled, jumping up and clapping. “Take that team Loser.”

“Team loser?” Sidney asked, raising an eyebrow. “That’s the best you could come up with?”

“I would come up with something offensive, but you’d just cry about it,” Max retorted.

The rest of us laughed lightly, but I couldn’t help but notice the fact that, even though he laughed, too, Sidney clearly didn’t find it that funny.

I took a seat on our bench, back to back with Sidney, and turned so I was sitting sideway, “Hey,” I said, causing him to turn around and look at me. “You know that people don’t actually think you’re a cry baby, right?”

He sighed, “Well, some certainly do,” He corrected me. “But I deserve it. I was too quick to complain in my first year or two, but I try not to now,” He shrugged, turning to watch Tyler’s attempt at bowling before looking back at me. “it’s just another misconception people have. I can deal with that.”

I couldn’t help but feel bad for him. “You shouldn’t have to deal with that,” I decided, making him laugh slightly. “I mean, come on! You’re 22, and Kris Drapper is still whining about you not shaking hands with Lidstrom, with I think is ridiculous because Lidstrom left the ice before you had come over, so I feel it’s his fault.”

Sidney grinned, letting out a small laugh. “Well, I appreciate that, Hanna.” He moved his attention away from me when Tyler sat down and then turned to smile apologetically. “It’s my turn. Wish me luck,” He joked, grinning as he stood back up.

I turned around in my seat to meet Max’s smirking face. I frowned, “Get that idea out of your head.”

He laughed, “What idea?” He asked innocently, winking at me as he stood up to take his turn. “I just think it’s nice for him to have someone to talk to. Someone who actually wants to get to know him,” Max said. He picked up a bowling ball and glanced over at Sidney as he threw his bowling ball straight down the centre, knocking all ten pins down at once, and then turned to grin at me once more. “The fact that you’re a girl is just a bonus for him.”

I rolled my eyes at Max’s comment, high fiving Sidney when he sat back down. “Impressive, Crosby. I guess you’re good at everything,” I joked.

He smirked, shrugging his left shoulder up. “What can I say? Some people just have it.”

Peyton moved from her seat to the one next to Sidney, glancing back and forth between the two of us. “So, how sad are the two of you going to be when you have to say your goodbye’s in two hours?”

I frowned, having completely forgotten about the fact that guys were supposed to back at their hotel by eleven and it’s was almost nine already. “Yeah, that’ll be sad,” I agreed. “I’m going to miss all of you guys.”

Sidney laughed, “Yeah, this was good for us,” he agreed, looking over at Peyton as well. “It actually felt like a couple of days off for us. We really appreciate it.”

Peyton nodded, holding his gaze for an extra couple of seconds before she stood back up. “It’s my turn again,” she pointed at me, “Meaning it’s yours, too.”

I grinned, standing up from my seat and heading back over to where the bowling balls were. I made sure to glance up at the screen and take a mental picture of my name on the same list as Jordan Staal, Max Talbot and Kris Letang’s. I was determined to make sure the last two hours I had with these guys were spent making sure they remembered me as much as I’d remember them, even if I knew deep down that that was impossible.