Chapter 3

Sorry for the slowness of updates...honestly life just got in the way! But since school it out for now I should have alot of free time here coming up!
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I finished my couple hours at the rink with a huge smile on my face. I was on my way to Highlands Ranch when Lily called me.

“Hey girly you more awake now?”

“Yeah,” I replied with a small smile. “Lily you will never believe what just happened!”

“I’m sure I will. It seems like you never lie.” She replied with a teasing voice.

“Well first off I got locker room passes for the game tonight.”

“SHUT UP! That’s awesome! Oh goodness now I REALLY need to worry about how I look.”

“Lily for crying out loud, they will be just finishing with a hockey game. They’re going to be all sweaty and nasty.”

“So that doesn’t mean I get a free pass at looking horrible, besides if I’m going to meet Max Tablot in person I want to leave a lasting impression!”

I giggled wondering what her reaction will be when she finds out that I actually met Max already. My little evil side popped out and I decided to wait and surprise her with that little information later.

“So what’s the plan for tonight?”

“Ok so the game starts at seven so I figured we should meet up and head over to the Pepsi Center around six.”

“Lily do you realize that gives me like 30 minutes to get ready?”

“How so?”

“I get off this gig at five, it will take me a half an hour at most to get home, then about thirty minutes to get ready and then I have to meet up with you.”

“Huh…ok well how about I pick you up at six so you don’t have to worry about having time to meet up with me and that way we won’t have to worry about leaving your car somewhere.”

“Ok,” I nodded, “That’s a little better.”

She started to talk excitedly about meeting Talbot and I had to cut her off.

“Hey Lily I’ll talk to you tonight. I’m pulling into the neighborhood and need to concentrate.”

“Ah yes…you and your crappy sense of direction.”

“Hey that’s why you are driving tonight and not me.”

She laughed, “Ok see you at six.”

“Ok bye Lily.”

The birthday party flashed by in the blink of an eye. I think the amount of little kids running around in mass chaos helps keep my mind off the time. Pictures were always easy to get of little kids because they never paid attention to you, the little mouse in the corner. These were always the best pictures. I would pick the picture of a kid licking an ice cream cone or jumping in an inflatable castle over a “look at the camera and smile” picture any day of the week. It just seemed more real. I left the party, bidding the family a good night as they told me thanks.

Pretty soon I was home and going through the process of getting ready. I didn’t take a shower, mainly because I didn’t have time. I changed into a pair of fitted dark-wash jeans and threw on my Av’s sweater. I quickly touched up my make-up, doing a smoky eye that made my blue eyes stand out vividly. I quickly threw up my pin straight hair into a messy ponytail and completed my outfit with a pair of black boots. I was just reaching for my bag and camera when Lily walked in.

Lily was sporting an emerald v-neck sweater with a pair of light washed jeans and black boots that were similar to mine. Her hair was down and full of random ringlets.

“Hey good looking! You ready to tear up this town?”

I laughed while replying with a, “Hell yeah everyone better look out!”

We laughed and made our way out to Lily’s blue Ford Fusion. We spent the entire drive talking and laughing like two good friends.

“So where are these locker room passes you managed to score?” Lily questioned as we walked away from our parked car and toward the Pepsi Center.

I shrugged, “Will call…I hope.”

“Wait a minute…you don’t even have them with you? This is a hoax for sure.”

I shook my head. “No they will be there, I’m sure.”

“See this is your problem Anna, you are too trusting of everyone. You’ll believe whatever anyone tells you.”

I rolled my eyes and walked up to the will call box, ignoring her protests.

“Name?” The man behind the glass asked, not looking up at me but stared at the computer in front of him.

“Uh Annabel Towland?”

He typed it in before standing and going to the files in the back, digging around for a few minutes before handing me an envelope.

“Enjoy the game.” He said in a bored monotone voice before calling out, “Next!” to the line behind us.

I walked back over to Lily pulling out a VIP pass, handing it to her in a smug silence.

“No way!” she squealed, placing it around her neck. “Are you sure they are real? They have to be fake!”

I snorted, placing my own around my neck, “When did you get to be such a pessimist?”

“I’m not a pessimist, I’m a realist!”

“What’s the difference? Come on lets go find our seats.”

We made our way inside and our seats weren’t the greatest but we were center ice. They were in the back of the lower level but hey it was better than being on the top level.

“Hey I’m going to get a drink you want something?”

I nodded, “Just get me one of whatever you are getting.”

Lily nodded before walking up the steps and out of my sight. I sighed and settled into my seat tiredly watching the players practice. Tonight was going to be a good game. The Av’s have had a really rough past couple of years but this season they got a couple of new good rookies and are doing better than anyone predicted. Everyone was convinced that with the retirement of Capitan Joe Sakic there would be no way our team would end up better than 14th in our conference…but look at us now. We were currently at the top of our division and 3rd in the Western conference.

And then there was the Pens. They were defending their Stanley Cup title and had some of the most recognizable faces in the NHL. They were a good, solid Eastern conference team that we rarely got to play, which disappointed Lily to no end. She was a very devoted Talbot fan.

I yawned and bobbed my head to the music playing in the speakers above me. Lily came back handing me a beer while settling in next to me talking excitedly. I smiled and nodded my head to what she was saying while continuing to study the players warming up.

I watch as familiar faces such as Adam Foote and Paul Statsny lead the team of rookies and the rookies, Matt Duchene, Ryan O’Reily, and TJ Galiardi just to name a few, as they skated around with a seemingly endless amount of energy.

I would kill to have half of that amount of energy.

I was watching our goalie, Craig Anderson, warm up when Lily squealed and latched onto my arm like a leech. I followed her intent line of vision to see Max, who must have been sharpening his skates, joining the rest of his team in warm-ups. I laughed under my breath at Lily’s never wavering dreamy gaze.

She sighed, “He’s so much better looking in person, if that was even possible.”

I sniggered and switched my gaze over to the rest of the Penguin team. This was a team of talent with players that were talked about throughout the league. It was impossible to watch a hockey game without the announcers talking about how the face of the NHL did in his last game or how the Penguins had the best set of centers in not just the eastern conference but probably the entire league. I watched each player individually.

The youngest, Jordan Staal, who was only 21 but was still older than several of the Av’s players, was probably one of the best penalty killers in the NHL. He was the shut down guy. The one that the coach sent out to stop those star players of the team. Then there was Evgeni Malkin, or Geno as his teammates referred to him as, who has slowly worked his way up and in my opinion was right up there with Crosby and Ovechkin as far as talent goes. His strong powerful strides set him apart from the rest of the team. And of course there was Sidney Crosby. He was the face of the NHL, the next Great One and the one who was single handedly going to save the NHL. He had so much pressure to be great resting on his shoulders and way too many people waiting for him to fail but he took it into stride and it only seemed to fuel his desire to be great. I watched as he gracefully skated around with a puck, bouncing it on his stick before taking a shot at Flower.

I turned to Lily after a few minutes of watching the Pens. “Hey why aren’t you so googly eyed over Crosby like the rest of the female population?”

“Hm?” she broke her fixated trance to look at me before shrugging, “I don’t know. Like I think he’s attractive but he’s not really my type and don’t get me wrong, he’s a great player and all but I just think he’s a tab bit overrated.”

I nodded, “He does get a lot of media attention.” I paused before adding, “But I don’t think he is overrated.”

She shrugged while watching the players make their way off the ice and to the locker rooms before replying, “Just a matter of opinion I guess.”

I settling into my seat and breathed the air deeply, savoring every little detail. Hockey games weren’t like other sports. They were an experience, from the moment the stadium goes black all the way to the final buzzer. It was an adrenaline rush in its purest form. Even if you knew nothing about the game you couldn’t help but get caught up in the electric atmosphere. It was like all those commercials, hockey fans aren’t like other fans…and boy that is the truth.

The game was over way too soon but it was so much fun I couldn’t bring myself to be disappointed. The Penguins won 4-1 but it wasn’t a bad game like the score would suggest. It was 2-1 for the majority of the game in the last two minutes the Pens scored on two empty netters. So overall it was still a good game and the Avs held their own. I turned to Lily while all the other fans were leaving with a smile.

“You ready to go to the locker rooms?”

Lily paled a little bit before digging around in her purse to grab her compact. I rolled my eyes and waited for her to make sure her eyeliner didn’t smug and to apply some lip gloss.

After a few moments she nodded, regaining her confident persona. “Let’s go!”

Chaper 2

I turned a corner and ran head first into a wall. And of course it would be just my luck that at that moment I was standing in a puddle of water.

So as I was heading toward the floor and cursing my stupidity for running into a wall in the first place; the said wall reached out and latched onto my arm, jerking me back up onto me feet and forcefully slamming me back up against the solid surface.

“You ok?” I looked up at the man I ran into before going into panic-mode.

“My camera!” I squeaked, stepping away and immediately examining the camera that got squished between us. I took a couple pictures, looking for anything wrong before breathing a sigh of relief. I looked back at the man to see him looking at me worriedly.

“Is it ok?” he questioned.

I nodded, “It looks that way. I got lucky this time.”

“I’m really sorry, I didn’t even see the camera, and I was just trying to keep you from falling.”

“It’s all good…no harm no foul. If something had happened to it though, I think I just might have cried.”

“Is it really that important to you?”

“Yeah…it’s kind of my paycheck, and it’s a nine hundred dollar camera so I don’t really have the money to fix or replace it.”

“Nine hundred dollars? You’re kidding!” he looked at me in disbelief.

I shook my head.

“That must be one hell of a piece of equipment for that chunk of change.”

I smiled, “Yeah it’s a pretty amazing piece of technology.”

He smiled back, a white, dazzling smile that I was sure made girl’s hearts flutter in excitement.

“The name’s Max.” he said, offering his hand.

“Annabel.” I replied, shaking his hand firmly.

“Annabel? That’s a beautiful name.”

Oh he’s smooth.

I giggled a little while replying with a quiet, “Thank you.”

“So what’s a very lovely lady doing at a smelly ice rink?”

I chuckled while motioning to my camera. “I’m here to take pictures and as far as the smell goes it doesn’t really bother me…well I’ll correct that…I’m here so much that I can’t smell the “man stench” anymore.”

He laughed, throwing his head back before looking back down at me with amusement twinkling in his dark brown orbs. “Man stench huh? That’s an interesting way to put it. So you’re taking pictures of the kids?”

I nodded quietly watching as Max stared at the kids staking and falling down on the ice during warm-ups.

“So, is one of these little munchkins running around yours?”

I shook my head and he let out a small sigh of relief.

“Nope, I was just hired to take pictures for the new website for this place.”

“I see. Well would you mind if I joined you for a little while? I have probably thirty more minutes before my bus leaves for my hotel.”

I shrugged, “If that’s how you want to waste your time, don’t let me stop you.” I winked at him before moving toward the rink.

“Oh I’m sure it will be time well wasted.”

I looked over my shoulder to see him following me with a goofy grin plastered across his face.

“I hope you don’t mind moving around a lot. I need to get pictures from all different angles.”

I stopped right up against the glass, while raising my camera to snap off a shot of a kid taking a practice shot at the goalie.

“Oh no worries, I’m the type of person who gets bored from staying in one spot for too long.”

I smiled, “Then I have nothing to worry about.”

I took a few shots before looking around for good places to take some more pictures.

“So…uh…Annabel, how long have you been a photographer?”

“Well…I’ve only been doing it as a job for the past year or so since I graduated. But I have been taking pictures for as long as I can remember. I still have my first camera which was a classic Polaroid with the instant film.”

“Ah I remember those! I personally think those are the best cameras that have ever been invented. I mean yeah digital is great and all but I mean those cameras were instantaneous, and every picture, no matter how funny you looked in it, was treasured because there was no delete button. Every picture was special ya know?”

I looked up at Max while he was lost in his thoughts and took a quick picture of his profile facing the glass.

“Did you just take a picture of me?” he looked over at me, raising his eyebrows in amusement.

I shrugged while looking back toward the glass. “You looked so serious while you were thinking; I got the feeling that I was witnessing a rare moment.”

“Psh…Ok but I just think you secretly think I’m hot and you wanted a picture to put in your keepsake album.” He waggled his eye brows at me before winking.

“Oh Max!” I exclaimed in a high pitched voice, “How ever did you figure me out?”

“Well you see, I just have this sense for these things.”

“Ooo were your Max senses tingling?”

“Oh yeah, they were a seven on the Richter scale.”

I laughed before taking a few more pictures. “Come on lets go up to the bleachers for the puck drop.”

He nodded and followed me up to the center of the bleachers. We talked and laughed all throughout the game. Max was hilarious and I could honestly say I enjoyed being around him. I didn’t like him as far as relationships go but he was more like a long lost brother or best friend.

“MAX!”

He stopped mid-sentence of telling me a story to look around for the source of the voice. He smiled and I looked over to see a man climbing up the bleachers to us.

“Flower! I thought I recognized a fellow French Canadian voice.”

“Yeah well I was sent by coach, the bus is loaded and we are all waiting on you.”

“Aw…already? Not fair I was having such a good time!” He looked over at me and winking and I just smiled back while taking a quick shot of the two men, Max sitting and Marc standing in front of him.

“Hey Annabel this is Marc, but we just call him Flower. Flower this is Annabel, she’s a photographer.”

“Is nice to meet you Annabel.” He said in an extremely adorable French accent while extending his hand to shake mine.

“Ah likewise Marc.” I shook his hand giving him a small smile.

“We need to go Max.”

“Fine fine, hey Annabel are you coming to the hockey game tonight?”

I nodded, “Yeah my friend Lily got me tickets.”

“Ok cool I’ll leave you some locker room passes at will call, what’s your last name?”

“Towland. Spelled exactly how it sounds.”

He nodded while standing. He leaned down giving me a quick hug being very cautious of my camera.

“Ok see you tonight!” He exclaimed while following Marc down the bleachers.

“Good luck tonight guys!” I called back.

They both waved before walking off the bleachers and out of sight.

I finished my couple hours at the rink with a huge smile on my face.

10 More Minutes With You Chapter 1

WOO new story!! Ok so I dreamt up this idea and it just wouldn't leave me alone so now I'm going to write it out in a wicked awesome fanfiction about Sidney Crosby!!! Yes I do realize that there is a ton of these stories out there but I am being a conformist and joining the group!

Ok so to let you know a few things about my writing style...if it is in italics it is what the charater is thinking. If it is bold and in italics it is a dream or flashback. And I tend to like writing in a first person point of view. Now I also like to jump from character to character, if I do this I will ALWAYS put "John Doe's POV" at the beginning of a section or chapter or what not. If it is not specified then it is in the main characters point of view. That's all I can think of for now but rest assured if something comes up I will let everyone know.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters that actually exist in real life. Such as the players and others affiliated with them. The title of the story is from the song 10 Minutes With You by Kill Hannah, I do not own this song either and I credit the inspiration for this plot is from the song.

Here we go!!!
Characters:

Name: Annabel Grace Towland
Age: 21
Apperance:

Name: Lily Ann Tavers
Age: 21

Appearance:

That's all for now...I'll add more characters when they appear in the story. Now this story has a very slow start so bear with me please!!! Oh and PLEASE leave a comment with you thoughts or advice on the story!!! I'll take good or bad!!! So please take a few minutes and give me your thoughts. Now enjoy.

10 More Minutes With You-Chapter 1

A blinding white light……a young girl running in the forest, laughing……car tires screaming as they leave skid marks on the asphalt…… “We’re going to be together forever…right?”…… people yelling…… a helicopter…… darkness…… “We’ll always be together…I promise…”

I woke up from the same dream I have every night. Bits and pieces of a memory long since gone. The little boy, whose face I could never see, the one I was supposed to spend “forever” with. All of it made no sense, but I had the dream every night. Like my mind was desperately trying to tell me something. But I couldn’t make any sense of it. If only I could see his face.

I shook my head sitting up in bed while rubbing my eyes tiredly. I got up stumbling over to my bathroom to jump in the shower. While letting the scalding water beat down on me, I go over the dream, memorizing every little detail. I guess when small snippets of memories are all you remember…you don’t want to forget what little you already have. The rest of my routine is standard procedure: get out of the shower, get dressed, get ready, grab a quick bite to eat, and jump in my car to drive to work. It all almost seemed robotic…lifeless.

The routine continues: stop at Starbucks, run in, get a coffee, and drive over to Head Shots, the photography business that I worked for. I walk in and am greeted by my friend Lily. Head Shots was a family owned business. It was owned by Lily’s father Jonathan Tavers. I was roommates with Lily in college so she helped me out by getting me a job here. I was one of five photographers that worked here. Lily worked the front desk, taking calls and setting up appointments for the photographers.

“Morning Anna.” she greeted me with the chipper energy that Lily was known for.

“Good morning Lily.” I replied while storing my jacket and stuff in the workers closet.

I floated back over to her desk, perching on the edge of it.

“So, what do you have for me today?” I asked while sipping on my coffee.

“Uh…let’s see.” A series of clicks and she had the schedule for the day pulled up onto the front screen. “Pretty easy day for you, one gig. Birthday party. Three to five.”

“Where at?” I asked, automatically planning the rest of my day.

“Highlands Ranch.”

“Ugh. That’s really out of the way. Whose birthday?”

“Jason, he’s turning ten.”

“Cute. So has anyone from Ice Center called yet?”

“No, do you want me to call them?”

“If you could that would be awesome.” I walked back over to my desk, “Ask for Allen and see if they have anything for me this morning.”

“Ok I will.” She stared at me for a moment before blurting out, “Did you not sleep well again?”

“I never sleep well Lily.” I replied and added, “You should know that by now.”

“True. Here.” She dug around one of her drawers before pulling out a small white tube and tossing it to me.

I set my coffee down just in time to catch it. “What’s this?”

“Put it under your eyes. It’ll help with your bags because right now you look like you got into a fight…and lost.”

I laughed before throwing back an, “Ok thanks,” while making my way to the restrooms. I blinked in surprise when I realized Lily wasn’t kidding. I had two very black looking eyes.

How did I miss that this morning? I mused silently. I read the back of the little bottle quickly before unscrewing the lid and squirting a small amount of the cream onto the tip on my finger. I quickly applied as directed before walking back out, to find Lily just hanging up the phone.

“Did you get a hold of Allen?” I asked while tossing the tube back to her.

“Yeah he said they have a Midget tournament this morning from eight to eleven.”

I looked at the clock. 7:15.

“Awesome! If I leave now I can get there in time to get some shots of the kids warm-ups.”

I wandered back over to the coat closet to get my stuff I had just put there barely ten minutes ago.

“Ok I’ll see you later Lily.” I said while snatching my camera off my desk and heading toward the door.

“Hey we are still on for tonight right?”

I stopped. “What’s tonight?” I asked cautiously, silently praying it wasn’t a big occasion I was forgetting.

“It’s Tuesday!” she cried in disbelief.

I nodded, “Yes I realize that, but what is occurring Tuesday night?”

“Uh only the most exciting hockey game of the season! In which I managed to get two tickets for, but obviously you aren’t worthy of accompanying me to this incredible experience because you aren’t even remotely excited.” She pouted.

I picked my brain. “I thought that was next week.”

“Man girl, I’m starting to worry about you. You forgetting a hockey game must mean the world is coming to an end.”

“I doubt that, it’s just the after effects of sleep deprivation.”

“Maybe you should try sleeping pills?”

I looked at my watch. “Yeah I’ll look into that. Listen I really gotta get going. What’s the plan for tonight?”

“I’ll call you. Get going, you’re going to be late!” she made some shooing motions with her hands before answering the ringing phone.

I hopped into my car, driving over to the Ice Centre, which was the local ice skating rink. It had three NHL sized rinks and I enjoyed going over there to watch free good hockey. The guy who owns the place, Allen, approached me about taking some pictures for the website. I, of course, agreed whole heartedly. Whenever I can mix my two passions in life, photography and hockey, I do. I will never tire of taking pictures of a player mid-fist pump after scoring a goal.

A short drive later and I was pulling into the parking lot.

“Shit,” I mumbled, “I forgot my coffee.” I sighed before getting out and walking inside.

I guess I can go get another during the game.

“Morning Penny!” I called out as I approached the front desk.

“Hey Annabel! You here for the tournament?”

Penny is Allen’s wife. She is petite in all aspects but has a commanding presence. Her pin-straight natural golden blonde hair was pulled into a high ponytail, making her high cheek bones even more prominent than normal. Her small lips could be pressed into a firm line but more often than not they were pulled into a small smile. Her voice was soft, almost melodious. And while it was soft, she had the amazing ability of being able to make her children (or even her husband for that matter) cower with fear without raising her voice. But if above all else, what drew people’s attention was her eyes. They were considered blue, but they are so light they could be mistaken as silver from a distance.

I nodded to answer her question, “Which rinks are they on?”

“One and two for now but the third one still needs the zamboni ran over it.”

“Okay, how’s business?” I asked politely.

“Pretty good, but I keep telling Allen that we will get better business once we get this website up and running.”

“Men,” I said shaking my head, “They never listen.”

She laughed, leaving a ringing in my ears, “And what would you know about that? Last I checked you were a workaholic and weren’t seeing anyone.”

She folded her hands, resting her chin on them while glancing at me with those piercing eyes.

I shrugged, “Eh…I’m too busy for relationships.”

“I beg to differ! You are here watching hockey too much. You should be out meeting new people!”

“Well the guy I end up with better like hockey.” I winked before patting the counter and moving away. “I’ll talk to ya later Penny. Take care!”

“You make sure to do the same!” she called back as I walked away.

“Can do!” I threw back over my shoulder.

I glanced at my watch before turning to head to the bathrooms. I set my camera bag on the counter before going into the stall to do my business.

After washing my hands I grabbed my camera, pulling the lens cap off and shoving it in my pocket. Grabbing the camera I made my way out of the bathroom and to the rink. I looked down at my watch.

7:48 perfect!

I quickly wiped my lens with a soft cloth and hit a few buttons to get ready to take a picture at a moments notice. I turned a corner and slammed headfirst into a wall.

OH NO!!! A WALL!!! Ok so I leave you here...please leave a comment with your opinions anything you want me to do differently in the future. OH and one last thing, if anyone would like to make me a cool banner or something so I can decorate my page a little more I would forever be in debt to you!!!! That would be amazing!!! Much love!!!
Stevie Rae