Speeches

I was so caught up with the Olympics, I forgot to update on here. Then, today, I logged in and saw that I had 10 followers! Wow, thank you so much! Here's an update that I should have out up last week. My apologies.

I let out a sigh as I made my way over to the table set up with fruit punch and tiny little desserts, completely bored from the numerous speeches and countless Penguins montages that had been played repeatedly for the last two hours. I scooped a ladle full of juice into my cup, glancing to smile at the man waiting next to me as I took another scoop, filling my cup, before I moved to the side of the bowl and took a sip.

“So, you come here often?”

I shook my head, turning around to shake my head at a grinning Kris Letang as he giggled. “Enjoying your evening, Kris?” I asked, taking another sip from my cup.

He shrugged, grabbing a brownie from the table beside me and taking a bite out of it. “It’s kind of a typical Friday night for me.”

I frowned. “It’s Tuesday.”

“Is it? I think I missed a doctors appointment,” He said, shoving the rest of the brownie into his mouth, eyeing up the other desserts as he chewed it. “Hey! Which players haven’t you met yet?” He asked.

I shrugged, debating on whether I had room for one of the desserts after eating the biggest steak I’d ever seen in my entire life. “I don’t know. I’ve been introduced to all of them, I just haven’t had a bonding experience with them all,” I answered, deciding to grab a tiny cheesecake from the table.

“You should meet Pascal Dupuis,” He decided, grabbing my wrist, which caused me to drop the cheesecake. “Oh, I’m sorry. Here, I’ll grab you another one,” He apologized, snagging another one off of the table and handing it to me before grabbing my free hand and tugging me through the crowd that was forming around us. “He’s one of my closest friends on the team,” Kris explained to me as we headed off in search of Pascal. “He’s also Sidney’s roommate, so he’s probably anxious to meet you.” He winked at me.

I eyed the tiny square of cheesecake sitting on the napkin in my hand, deciding that yes, I could fit the entire thing in my mouth and have chewed it before Kris would have found Pascal and I would be forced to talk to him. Chewing on the cheesecake also prohibited me from saying anything about his Sidney comment or the wink.

“Speaking of Sidney,” Kris began, looking around the room. Now that the presentations were over, most of the people were roaming about the room, stretching their legs before the silent auction and remainder of speeches would begin. “How was sitting with that handsome man?”

I was almost done chewing, but purposely postponed the process a little more, buying me enough time to think up an answer besides the one that immediately popped into my brain, which involved describing what the smell of Sidney was doing to my head. I finally swallowed the cheesecake and gave an uneasy glance at Kris, who was waiting, eyebrows raised, for an answer. “Good. I mean, no offence, but out of all of you guys, I get along with him the best, so it makes being at this really fancy event much easier.”

Kris was smirking at me, but he didn’t say anything about my answer. Instead he turned back around, standing up on the tips of his toes, and continued looking for Pascal. “Oh, he’s over here!” He said, reaching back to grab my wrist once more and tug me along with him. “Pascal!” He shouted, causing the tall man to turn around and look around for the source of sound.

“Holy lips,” I said aloud, making Kris look back at me and laugh.

Pascal had obviously noticed Kris, as he was grinning and heading towards the two of us, his big bushy eyebrows raised up in excitement as he came over, grinning down at me. “Are you Hanna?”

I nodded, accepting the gigantic hand he was holding out. “I am. And you’re Pascal?”

He laughed, nodding his head. “I am. I’ve heard so much about you from these boys, I’m glad to finally meet you.”

I smiled, not really sure what more to say. Kris was standing to the side of me, urging me to say something more with his eyebrows. “Uhm…so, Kris tells me your Sidney’s roommate?”

Pascal nodding. “Yes. I was a bit worried, at first, because everyone that he has roomed with has been traded within that season. But so far, I am safe.”

I had to laugh a little bit at the comment. “Well, I’m glad you haven’t been shipped off somewhere. Who else could you play for?”

He smirked at me, well aware of the answer I was looking for. “Well, I would love to play for the Canucks.”

I grinned, turning to look at Kris. “I like this guy.”

Kris and Pascal both laughed, Kris saying something to Pascal in French that I couldn’t understand. The conversation carried on for a moment, ending with both of them turning and grinning at me. I frowned. “I don’t like that look. It always means you’ve planned something.”
“What? Hanna, I don’t plan things. Look at my hair,” Kris said, pointing at his hair, which looked as wonderful as usual and made me jealous to think that no effort had gone into it and still looked better than mine.

“Hey, you know what would be fun?” Pascal began, already walking past me. “If we went over here.”

I made a face, having no intention of following him, but Kris placed both of his hands on my back and began to push me forwards, forcing me to follow after Pascal, and also try to ignore the odd glances being sent my way. “What are you making me do?” I asked, looking over my shoulder at Kris.

He shot me an innocent look. “Nothing. He just likes to be a leader.”

I turned back around, surprised to find Pascal had stopped and was waiting for me. “Oh good, you followed,” He said, nodding to Kris. “How do you feel about being photographed?”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “What are you up to?”

“We just want pictures!” He said, waving me over to him. “Craig! Craig, come take a picture of me with my new friend, Hanna.”

Craig, I’m assuming, came walking over, his camera in hand and told Pascal and I to stand closer. Pascal reached out and wrapped an arm around me, grinning wide as Craig backed up and lifted his camera.

“Oh, wait!” Pascal yelled, causing Craig to pause, his finger resting on the shutter button. “I just have to grab something that I wanted in the picture. Hanna, get ready. It’ll make it more spontaneous.” He dropped his arm from around me and disappeared from my view for a moment.

“You should fix your dress,” Craig said, taking my attention away from Pascal. “The bottom of it, it’s crinkled a little bit. It’ll widen your frame in the picture if you leave it.”

“Oh, yeah I’ll fix that, then,” I said, reaching down and smoothing out the material.

Craig nodded to someone behind me. “Okay, count of three,” Craig said.

I turned around, just in time to see Kris and Pascal shove Sidney towards me, who seemed just as confused as I did when he noticed me standing there.

“One, “ Craig began, “Sidney, get in closer,” He instructed.

Sidney still seemed unsure of why he was over here, but he moved in a step closer to me and, obviously realizing that a picture was about to be taken, he smiled towards the camera, reminding me that I should do the same.

“Two,” Craig counted, moving his head back a bit and looking at us. “Sid, put your arm around her. You two look like you don’t even know each other.”

There was a hesitation from Sidney as he glanced down at me and must have noticed the mix of anxiety and blatant anger at the fact that I had, once again, been set up by one of his team mates. It didn’t take too long, though, before I felt the weight of his arm draped across my shoulders and he leaned down a bit more, causing me to instinctively move in more and grin towards Craig.

“And three,” Craig said, a blinding flash following the number, causing both Sidney and I to pull away from each other and blink rapidly, seeing splotches of lights still despite the darkness of the room.

“That’ll be a nice one to put up,” Craig said, walking away with his camera before I could ask where he was putting the picture and what it looked like.

“I’m sorry about that. It was all Dupuis,” I said to Sidney as he rubbed his eyes.

Sidney laughed, still blinking a few times. He gave his head a shake before he looked back at me. “Nah, it’s fine. I would have made you take a picture with me later, anyways,” He said with a grin. “How are you holding up? I know these charity dinners can be a lot to take.”

I nodded, only then noticing that I had lost my glass of punch somewhere. “It’s a little boring, but I’m still really excited to be here. I mean, two weeks ago I was getting all excited to see you guys playing the Canucks on TV, and now I’m sitting next to you at a charity dinner. And we match.”

Sidney laughed again, rubbing his chin as he let his eyes make a quick scan of the room. “I’m so thirsty. You want to head over to the drink table with me?” He asked, pointing to where I had just been moments before.

“Sure. I had just gotten myself a glass of punch when Kris came and dragged me over to meet Pascal,” I told him as we both began to head that way. “Bastard owes me a drink.”

Sidney grinned, smoothing out his suit jacket as he walked, waving to the fans that had gotten invited to the event, stopping to sign a few autographs and pose for a couple of pictures. I waited a few feet behind me, trying not to be bothered a few of the looks I was receiving from the female guests. Sidney said a quick thank you to the fans before he turned to smile at me once more and we continued the small journey back to the punch bowl.

“Ah, there’s my cup!” I exclaimed, grabbing it off of the table. “Or, at least I think it’s my cup.” I lifted it up to the light and looked at it, as if it would somehow show me whether or not it was my cup.

“Just take a new one,” Sidney said, handing me a cup that he had just filled.

“Oh, thank you,” I said, smiling to him and taking a drink from the cup, looking around at all of the decorations hanging up. “Are you a decorations guy?” I asked Sidney, looking over at him as he took a drink from his own cup.

He raised his eyebrows up. “What does that even mean?”

I laughed, pointing towards the fancy lamps set up in the corners of the room and the pictures of hockey players adorning every wall in the room. “Do you have a house full of useless decorations and creepy pictures, or are you a classy guy?”

He made a face. “Well, if I was a decorations guy I’d lie and say I was classy now.”

I grinned, taking another drink of my punch. “So you’re a tasteful kind of guy?”

He shrugged. “I’m a basics guy. If I have any weird pictures or glass sculptures, someone bought them for me. I don’t generally notice those kinds of things on my own.”

“That’s good. Unnecessary decorations are just..” I frowned, trying to think of the right word.

“Unnecessary?” Sidney suggested with a grin, making me chuckle at him a little bit. Sidney leaned back against the wall behind us, his eyes moving at the same time as the movement of the room, watching the guests and the other players as they mingled around. After a moment of silence, without moving his gaze from the rest of the room, he asked, “What about you?”

“What about me?” I asked. “I already told you I don’t approve of all the decorations.”

He shifted a bit, taking a drink from his cup, still not looking at me. “What about dating.”

I choked on the juice I was drinking, grabbing a napkin off of the table and wiping my chin free of the juice that dribbled down it. I placed my cup down on the table, still surprised by the question but desperately reaching for an answer now. “Oh, you’re talking about our earlier conversation,” I realized, gnawing on my lip for a moment. “I’ve only had one boyfriend. Tenth grade. It lasted three months. He dumped me for Peyton’s sister.”

That statement seemed to catch Sidney’s attention completely as he turned his head to look at me. “He dumped you for another girl? For a mini Peyton?”

I shrugged. “We were fifteen. Well, I was fifteen, he was sixteen, but that doesn’t matter. It was a crappy three months, and I basically devoted the rest of my time in high school to studying and keeping my grades up. And there aren’t a lot of opportunities out where I live, so..” I shrugged.

Sidney shook his head. “I’m so sorry that someone treated you like that. Leaving you for another girl.”

I gave a half shrug, taking a second to sip from my cup again before placing it back on the table. “It was high school. Guys are just looking for the hottest girl to walk around with most of the time, and that was Jenna.”

Sidney shook his head again. “It’s still not right to make someone feel that way,” He said, looking back over at the crowd of people walking around writing down their bids for the silent auction. “So you’ve just given up on dating?”

I laughed, a reaction which clearly surprised him. “No. I’ve just become more careful. I’m not just going to date some guy because he’s good looking or because he likes me. I need more then that. I guess having these standards makes it really hard to find someone who fits them, or is willing to try and fit them. I think I’m okay with the idea of being one of those crazy old ladies with a dog that she treats like a baby to replace the emptiness in her life, so it’s not a big deal,” I joked.

Sidney didn’t laugh. “Someone will fit them. There’s no way that someone like you is supposed to spend their life without someone by their side.”

I stared up at him for a moment, feeling my eyebrows begin to sink down. There was a feeling of anger stirring up in my stomach once more, just as there was a few short hours before. The charm of Sidney’s character no longer appealing to me for some reason. I stared up at him as he was busy looking off towards something else. I took in a deep breath, letting it out before saying, “You have to stop saying things like that to me.”

Sidney looked back to me, confusion spilling into his eyes and onto his face as he sort of crinkled his nose up a bit. “I’m sorry?”

“You can’t keep telling me these things, it’s not fair, Sidney. You must know that saying that to a girl makes her head swim with pictures of you being that guy that fits the standards, and you can’t let me think that. Not when you spent half of our walk from the arena telling me all the reasons why you don’t date. It’s not fair to let those ideas come into my head. It’s just going to end up making me resent you, and I don’t want that,” I said to him, mildly embarrassed by my speech.

Sidney still had that same look of confusion. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before he let his eyes fall to the floor, not submitting any form of reply.

“Sidney,” Someone called, walking up behind Sidney and giving me a head nod of acknowledgment as he tapped Sidney on the shoulder. “I’m sorry to interrupt,” He apologized, “But the auction is about to end, which means it’s time for your speech.”

Sidney nodded, glancing at the man over his shoulder. He looked back at me for a second before he simply turned and followed the guy towards the backstage area.

I let out the breath I hadn’t noticed I was holding, picking up my cup and taking it with me as I made my way back towards my table, sitting down by myself and watching the rest of the guests as they walked around.

-----------------------

Jordan eyed me from his spot just two seats away from me. He leaned around Amanda, a lucky fan who had won the chance to sit with her favourite player, who happened to be Jordan, and asked, “What’s wrong?”

I shrugged, “Nothing. I’m just tired,” I told him, picking up my glass of water and taking a drink from it, feeling my stomach grow uneasy as Mike Yeo announced that Sidney was coming out to give a speech about the past year and what not.

“I could really use a drink,” I mumbled.

“You have a glass of water in your hand,” Max reminded me. Noticing the look I sent him he nodded, “You don’t mean that kind of drink. I see.”

I sighed, patting my hair with my hand as I watched Sidney walk out onto the stage, waving to the applause that greeted him. He stopped at the podium set up on the stage, placing both of his hands on either side of it as he smiled at the audience, waiting for the applause to die down before he would attempt talking.

“Thank you guys so much for being here tonight, first off. It’s great to see so many of you coming to help out an amazing cause,” He had to pause as more applause broke out, smiling politely at the crowd. “Obviously, we as a team need to extend another thank you to all of you. Your loyalty and dedication to the Penguins organization never fails to astound us all, and I know I speak for everyone on the team when I say that we genuinely appreciate it, and that we couldn’t have won the Stanley Cup without you guys.”

At the mention of the cup, the entire room burst into cheer and applause, including the other players. I clapped politely.

“If it weren’t for the people that supported my own dreams as a child, I know that I would not be where I am today, nor would I be the person I am. We all need someone there beside us to let us know that they believe in us, and to let us know that they’ll always be there to pick us up when we’re down. I had that with my coaches, my parents and with my team mates, which is why I’m always more than glad to help out with charities like this one. Its truly amazing to see a group dedicated to bettering a child’s dreams, whether it be sports, music or dance, or anything else. These kids need all the help they can get when it comes to the finances, and I personally feel that you can never put a price on a child’s dream. These kids are only around seven years old, but their dedication to their dreams, the willingness to sacrifice free time and sleeping in so they can get in a few extra hours of practice in, that’s enough to show all of us that they already know what they want, and that they’re willing to go after that.”

Sidney stopped, rubbing his lips together for a moment as he moved his head just a tiny bit so he was looking at me, letting his gaze stare there for a few seconds before he looked back out at the centre of the room. “These kids are willing to go after what they want, even if they know that there’s a chance it can’t happen the way they want it to. They are willing to let anything stand between them and what they want. They’re seven, some of them just a little bit older, and they know exactly what they want,” He paused again, letting out a soft laugh. “I’m 22, and I’m not even sure what I want,” he said, earning a chuckle from the crowd. “I think we can all learn about passion from these kids,” He said. “I know I’ve learned something. I’ve learned that when you really do want something, you have to go for it no matter what. And that we all need to know how much we mean to each other.” He didn’t add anything more to his brief speech, thanking the crowd as he turned and headed off of the stage, leaving Mike Yeo to remind the crowd about who to write their cheques out too if they wanted to make a donation.

“Man, he knows how to tug at your heartstrings,” Jordan said, pretending to wipe away a tear.

I laughed at him, taking another drink from my water. “Are we allowed to get up and move around now?” I asked the table.

Max shrugged, not looking up from his napkin as he tried to twist into…something. “I think so. I don’t know what else you could do.”

I waited until I saw a few other people standing up and moving around before I left the table, trying to remember exactly where Peyton had been sitting.


“Hanna!”

I frowned, turning around and trying to see who was calling my name.

“I’m over here,” Sidney said from behind me, scaring me as I whipped around to look at him, placing a hand over my heart and making him give me a half smile. “Sorry.”

I shrugged, “It’s okay. I just didn’t see you.” I looked at him for a moment. “That was a great speech.”
He nodded, “I’m glad you liked it.” He seemed to debate saying something for a moment before he sighed. “How much of Pittsburgh have you seen since you’ve been here?”

I shrugged again. “I’ve seen the mall, the arena and a bookstore.”

Sidney chewed on his lip for a second. “I think that tomorrow, before I have to head off for the game, you and I should go look around Pittsburgh, let you see more of it before you leave.”

“Oh…yeah, that would be cool,” I agreed, surprised by the offer. “Do you want Peyton to come, too?”

“No,” Sidney answered quickly. “I mean, Peyton can go with Jordan and Max or something.”

I only nodded again, still surprised by the invitation since just about a half hour earlier I had been telling him he couldn’t continue to be charming. “Uhm..okay. Let me know when, I guess.”

He nodded, his name being called by someone. “I’ll make sure to tell you what time,” He promised, pausing once more. “And I’m really sorry if I’ve ever made you feel like you weren’t worth my time, or that you weren’t as amazing as you are,” He said quietly, leaning in a little bit so no one else could hear what he was saying. “I just think you deserve more.”

I grabbed his arm before he turned and headed off. “No offence, Sidney. But I don’t think it’s you who gets to decide what I deserve or what I want.”

Sidney eyed me for a moment before he smiled. “I’ll pick you up around eleven, okay?” He nodded, seeing me agreeing with him, and then turned to go find whoever had called him.