Four.

June 1, 2005

The day after the party, Sid went about things like it was a normal Saturday. He got up around 7:30 am, went running and did his work out at the rink, then met up with his team to get lunch. He came home, took a nap, played with Mario's kids, and ate dinner. Sure, everything was normal, but inside he couldn't stop thinking about Kay.
At dinner, it was quiet. The Lemieuxs didn't bother to ask who's party he was at. Sid figured they probably wouldn't have cared anyway; they wouldn't want to bring him into their problems. He sat at the table just poking at his steak and baked potatoe. His mind had a million things going on in it and he couldn't really concentrate, so after he was done eating, he went directly up to his room. After sitting on the edge of his bed staring out his window debating what to do next, he decided to get a shower and maybe clear his head.
When Sid got out of the shower, he wrapped a towel around his waste and went to his dresser to get a pair of boxers. He pulled them on, and sat down on his bed; that's when he really began to think. Thoughts of her were taking over.
I can't come on too strong. I mean, i just met her last night. But i've never felt like this. What if she thinks i'm some kind of freak or something? That wouldn't be good.
He rolled over onto his side, now looking at his phone that was sitting on his nightstand charging.
I'm way out of my league here. I really do not know what the hell i'm doing.
He spent about ten minutes just trying to figure out what to say first. He chose "hey", figuring he didn't want to sound too eager. Just as he was about to press send, he was hit by another idea that was way better, but had to wait a little while since it was only 9:30. He sat in his bed watching That 70's Show.
Before he knew it, Sid was dozing off. He rolled over onto his side to get comfortable, but his eyes shot open when he saw the clock. 1:04 am. He frantically jumped out of bed and zipped over to his dresser to get a tee shirt and a pair of gym shorts. Once he was dressed, he walked over to his bedroom door and cracked it open to peer out into the hallway. It was pitch black dark all throughout the house, so he figured everyone was asleep. Slowly, he crept out of his bedroom, cautiously closed the door behind him, and tip toed down the stairs. At the back door, he pulled on his tennis shoes, unlocked the door, and stepped out into the warm summer night. As soon as he closed the door he was running. He jogged through back yard and around to the driveway. He was halfway down the driveway when he tripped on something, almost falling flat on his face.
"Shit!" he cursed just above a whisper, looking down to find on the of the Mario's kid's bikes laying on the pavement. He just stared at the bike, cursing it, and rubbing his shin, then took off down the street.
He got to Kay's house and stood there for a minute catching his breathe. He admired how witty he was to think of something so genius, and a smile grew on his face as he walked closer to the house and crouched behind a bush. Next, he pulled out his phone.
Psst. Open your window.

Kay was laying in bed and had just shut her eyes when her phone began to vibrate on the top of her nightstand. She took the phone in her hand, squinting to see what the number was. She pressed view and read the text; she knew it was from Sidney. She smiled to herself then responded:
It's 1:30 in the morning!
Thirty seconds later she got another
Thanks for reminding me :P just open ittttttt.
He made her laugh, he was adorable. She gave in. She grabbed a hoodie, pulled it over her head, and opened the window that was just above her bed. It was pretty big, and the windows swung out. Trying to see into the dark, Kay leaned over the edge of the window sill, but couldn't see him anywhere. Suddenly, she heard a voice from the ground below her say "Hey" and she nearly jumped off her bed she was so startled.
"What the?! Jeez! you scared me!" she whispered "What are you doing here!?"
"I have to talk to you" Sidney replied, trying to stifle his laughter.
Kay smiled, "Stay there." She got up and snuck downstairs, just as Sid had done a half hour ago. She slipped out the back door still in bare feet with her hoodie and pajama shorts on, and ran to Sid. He smiled once they were face to face.
"Soo.. now that I've risked my life to come see you..." He said sarcastically.
"Hey I didn't make you" Kay retorted, playfully hitting him on the arm. The look on Sidney's face turned to a look of mock surprise.
"And this is what i get!?" he poked Kay in the stomach and she squealed, covering her mouth and making sure no one inside heard. Sidney continued to tickle her.
"ok ok! stop!" she pleaded through her laughter. He stopped with his hands wrapped around her waste, and the two smiled, then broke apart.
"ok. well.. I was wondering if you wanted to go out sometime.. maybe." Sidney finally asked. Kay couldn't say no, and without a second thought she answered.
"of course." she said with a huge grin.
"ok" sidney smiled back, then Kay began to think.
"But, how is this going to work?"
"uh.. how about we meet somewhere?" Sidney offered while rubbing the back of his neck nervously. Kay thought about it.
"yeah that could work" she smiled. "how about that one Starbucks down the street.. you know, on Beaver Street."
"That'd be great." Sidney said, nodding his head with that goofy grin still on his face.
"Great."wow do i sound stupid right now, Kay thought.
Sidney didn't know what to do. It was growing into an awkward silence. Do i just say i have to go? No, where do i have to go at quarter to two in the morning? Stupid.
Slowly, he leaned in closer to Kay, and their eye contact never broke. Kay looked up into his eyes, begging him to come closer. It was a soft, innocent kiss, and it was flawless.

Three.

Kay went downstairs to her mom in the kitchen
"yeah?" she asked with a smile still plastered on her face.
"Oh, yeah. Can you wash these off and put them in a bowl for me?" her mom asked, gesturing to the strawberries.
"..Sure" Kay answered knowing she didn't really have a choice. Her mom flashed a smile and exited the kitchen. She walked into the fancy dining room that no one was in- the guests were all outside on the back porch- and sat down next to Kay's father giving him a look of disapproval.
"yes?" Kay's father said plainly.
"That boy that the Lemieux's took in is here. Why is he here? I didn't invite-"
"I invited him. I didn't know that he was with the Lemieuxs, first of all. I met him in the grocery store and he was such a nice kid, Carm." Kay's dad was annoyed with her mom's judgment about someone she hadn't even met yet. After a few moments of silence, the conversation went on.
"Well, i saw Kay with him and he was flirting with her, your daughter."
"So? Carm, you shouldn't be so petty. You're blowing this out of proportion." Kay's dad retorted. Kay's mother was mortified at the statement, but she knew she was over reacting. She got up and went back into the kitchen where Kay was still at the sink.
Her mom took the strawberries and threw them all in the bowl, not bothering to finish. "Thanks, hon." she said meekly. Kay wandered into the living room to find Jacob on the couch, like he owned the place. A feeling of disgust came over her, but she put on an act, knowing her mom was probably listening.
"Hello Kay" Jacob greeted, with a creepy smile on his face.
"Hi" she spat back, emotionless.
"great party." he sneered. It was so awkward and wierd, they didn't even talk. Kay just stood there and waited for Jacob to say something but he didn't. He just sat there with that stupid smerk spread across his lips. "uhm.. I have to go but maybe i'll talk to you later."
Jacob chuckled,"Yeah definitely."
what the hell is so funny about ill talk to you later. you're wierd. Kay just forced a smile, hopeful that it would come off looking as fake as possible, and walked over to the front door. She let herself out into the night, onto the front porch. She took a seat on one of the cushioned chairs and let out a heavy sigh.

Kay sat listening to the crickets chirp and the noisy crowd the echoed from behind the house until a familiar face came strolling around the corner with his hands shoved into his pockets. Kay's face lit up, but she tried to hide it. He noticed her, and walked up the concrete steps, taking a seat next to her. A smile creeped onto Kay's face, and he started the conversation.
"That's some pretty neat stuff you have in the room up there.. i mean, the trophies and stuff."
"Thanks" kay said, still timid. who is this kid... probably too good to be true, she thought.
"Soo, what's your name?" Sidney asked, cracking a smile and turning to face her.
"Kaylen Brady.. but everyone calls me Kay," She replied, finding the whole situation a bit funny for some reason. The two of them had the biggest smiles and it felt so cheesy, but so right. "And what's yours?"
"Sidney Crosby."
All the emotion drained out of Kay's face. Sidney Crosby.
"You mean.. the boy staying with the Lemieux's that plays for the Pens." It wasn't really a question; she knew the answer.
"yeah.." Sid answered as a look of confusion washing over his face. Kay frantically processed what this meant.
"You can't be here. My parents won't allow it." Kay said, almost panicking. She got up and stepped backward towards the door.
Sidney argued, "But your Dad's the one who invited me?"
"no no, you must be mistaken" Kay was peering through the window to make sure her mom wasn't eves dropping on them.
"I'm positive it was your dad, Patrick. I met him and he invited me. I told him who i was.." Sidney didn't know what was so wrong and was searching for some kind of an explanation.
"Well he must have been mistaken because my parents don't talk to the Lemieuxs for... certain reasons.. and well, you're practically one of them!"
Sidney reached up and took hold of Kay's hand to stop her from pacing back and forth. Kay stopped and looked down at his hand, then up at him, then quickly pulled back with a look of pain on her face as if she didn't really want to restrain herself from his touch. The truth is, she didn't. She wanted him to stay. She wanted to get to know him.
"You have to go" she said in a painful tone. Sidney stood up, getting alarmingly close to her.
"But when will I see you again?" he breathed.
"I-I don't know. It can't happen." she said looking down at her shoes, getting nervous.
Just leave already before i change my mind
"It can." The words eminated from his bee-stung lips so sweetly, Kay did all she could just to stop herself from going weak in the knees and falling over right there on the front porch. Nothing else was said. She looked up into his hazel eyes with a helpless look on her face. Sidney ran his hand up her arm and innocently onto her shoulder, placing a soft kiss on Kay's cheek.
"Here," Kay whispered, grabbing a random pen that had been left on the table. She wrote down her cell phone number on the palm of Sidney's hand, and she looked up at him once again. He turned around and left with a smile, not wanting to push anything on her. He looked back one last time when he was at the end of her driveway, showing that toothy grin of his, and Kay waved to him. She couldn't help but smile as Sid took off running down their street.

Two.

The next morning, Kay woke up at 9, with the sun beaming though her window. She opened up the white canopy that hung over her bed and practically rolled out onto the floor. Right away, she padded across the tan carpet into her bathroom to take a shower. After she was done, she threw long hair into a messy bun and walked straight to her closet.
"hmm.." she looked around the closet, tapping her finger on her lips in deep thought. "what should i wear.. dress up? or casual?" She was pulled from her thoughts by a beautiful, white dress that caught her eye- she'd bought it a while ago but had never worn it. It showcased her shoulders perfectly, hugged her hips just right, and revealed just the right amount of cleavage- not too much. There was no argument here, she pulled the dress out and layed it on her bed. The party wasn't until 7:00, so she pulled out a pair of shorts and a tee shirt from her dresser and slipped into them. Kay left her room satisfied, and went downstairs to get some breakfast. As usual, Leland was playing around in the driveway, her mom was probably getting a hair cut or something, and her dad was most likely out and about making sure they had everything for tonight. To be honest, Kay was excited about tonight. She was excited to see everyone and talk to them, but she wasn't excited to see Jacob. He was annoying.

Sidney was back at the Lemieux's, returning from a run he'd taken early that morning. He burst through the door and was headed upstairs to his room when Mario spoke up.
"what are your plans for the day?" he questioned
"I'm going to rest a while, then I think i'm going to this party i got invited to by a friend." Sid said hesistantly. He didn't know whether to invite the Lemieuxs or not, but decided not to. He figured if they were invited, they would go. Sidney didn't know anything about the lasting feud that took place between the two families, but knew something was wierd between them.
"ok. sounds good." Mario replied nonchalantly, looking back down at the newspaper he was reading. Sid proceeded up the steps into his room, closing the door behind him and tossing himself on his perfectly made bed. He sat there thinking to himself.. 'He said the whole neighborhood would be there... that means she's going to be there.' There was a girl that lived in the neighborhood by the name of Jessica Morrow that Sid had seen out running a few times. From what he observed, she ran at the same time as him every other day. He desperately tried starting a conversation, but she seemed disgustingly uninterested. She was stuck up, and Kay didn't like her- they had lived on the same street since they were born and were both on the track team in high school, but Jessica was two years older. Even though this Jessica was kind of a stick in the mud, Sid still wanted to date her, and he saw the party as one more opportunity to talk to her.

The day went by rather quickly, and before she knew it, Kay was getting ready for the company to arrive. She stood in front of her vanity mirror in her white dress, running her hands down it to smooth it out. She reached for her favorite necklace and put it on; it was a silver chain with a diamond pendant on it that she had received as a gift from her grandmother. When she was finished straightening her hair, picking out her shoes, and doing some last-minute touch ups, she headed downstairs to find the rest of her family in the kitchen. It was 6:50 and people would be arriving any minute.
As the guests showed up, Kay greeted all of them and told them what she'd been up to lately, asked how they were doing, and blabbed about random stuff. Eventually, she got bored and most guests were already there, so she went upstairs to be away from all the noise.

Sidney arrived to the party around 7:30, and the sign on the door said "come on in" so he let himself in. He began mingling with everyone, mostly because everyone kept coming up to him- he was quite the attraction. While talking to the nosey neighbors, he scanned the room for any sign of Jessica, but didn't see her anywhere. He decided he would look around the house; it was awefully beautiful, and he was told he was welcome to give himself a tour if he would like, so he did. Immediately, he walked up the hardwood stairs to get away from all the hustle and bustle of the party. He was walking through a hallway when a room caught his eye. It was a trophy room filled with Leland's hockey memories, Kay' parent's awards, and Kay's track medals/trophies. He wandered into the room scanning all the memorabilia until he came across a fish tank built into the wall, filled with tropical fish. He thought it was really cool, and peered into the water, watching the creatures dart back and forth and follow his finger, when suddenly he saw something- someone- on the other side of the tank. It scared him and he jumped, but then smiled. It was Kay. She let out a small laugh and stared into Sidney's hazel eyes, captivated by him for some reason. The two didn't even know each other at all, but felt something that couldn't be explained. They continued looking at eachother- almost in awe- unsure of what to do until Kay heard her mother calling for her from bottom of the staircase. She looked at her mom then back up at Sidney who still had his hand pressed against the glass, as if hopeful to touch her.
"I'll be right there" she said, then silently disappeared out of Sidney's sight.

One.

Just so no one is confused, Kay is not actually in college yet! It's the summer of 2005, before she goes to college.


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

Kay was cleaning up around her room when she overheard her mother in the office talking on the phone about a party they were having tomorrow. 'Party?' She wondered down to the study in search of some information. "..what party?" she curiously asked her mom, Carmella. She leaned against the door frame and nervously played with her fingers.
"oh you know, just something to kick off the summer," her mom replied, still staring blankly into the computer screen. Kay didn't ask anymore- her mom was too pre-occupied. She knew it would probably be big; all of her little brother Leland's hockey buddies and their families (except the Lemieuxs of course), in addition to her mom and dad's friends. With that thought, she wondered through the kitchen and into the practically untouched living room. She sunk into the leather couch and sat thinking for a minute.
"Where's dad?" she yelled.
"He went to the store to get some stuff for tomorroww!" her mother yelled back in an annoyed tone. "Oh, and Jacob Kelly will be at the party. Look nice." Kay let out a groan and threw her head back onto the headrest of the couch.
"Perfect.." she mummbled. Her mom had been trying to hook the two up since they were freshmen in high school, and Jacob never argued against the idea. He wanted them to be together just as much as Kay's mother did. Kay didn't like him though... at all.

Meanwhile, Kay's dad, Patrick, was at the grocery store shuffling through the isles. He was moving rather quickly with all the groceries gathered up in his arms when he collided with a young man who was also in a hurry to be places. Everything that was in his arms was now strewn about on the floor of the isle.
"oh jeez.. i'm really sorry about that." he said panicing. Kay's father just cracked a smile.
"It's ok, really." he said as the kid was rapidly trying to gather everything off the floor. When they were both at eye level, Kay's dad examined the young man. He was fair size, about 5'11" with dark brown curls and a boyish grin. He was lean and muscular, like an athlete, and Kay's dad swore he had seen him before but couldn't recall.
"thanks" pat finally said when they were done cleaning up the mess. The two began to make small talk. "I'm Patrick Brady," he said extending his hand. The boy gladly excepted and replied.
"I'm Sidney. Sorry about that. I don't really know where i'm going." he chuckled.
"Oh, it's fine... are you new to the area?" Pat questioned.
"Yeah, actually." Sid answered matter of factly. By now, both were confused. Sid was confused that this guy didn't know who he was but everyone else in the store did, and Pat was confused because he couldn't figure out who he was. The conversation continued anyway.
"And how do you like it?" Pat smiled, already knowing the answer.
"It's great! I love it so far." Sid said excitedly, and Pat went on.
"Good, good. where did you get a place? I'm guessing not far from here?"
"Yeah it's not too far.. Sewickley is where i'm at currently."
"really!" Pat exclaimed. "I live in Sewickley Estates... I don't expect you know-" Sidney cut him off.
"Yeah I know exactly where that is, i live there." he grinned.
"Well what a coincidence" Pat glanced down at his watch, "you know, i have to get going, but since you're new to the neighborhood and my family and I are having a get together tomorrow night, I insist you join us. The rest of the neighbors will be there, it would really be great." Before Sidney could give a definite answer, Pat already had a piece of paper and was scribbling down his address and number. He handed it to Sidney, who looked at it then back up at the man.
"Yeah, definitely. That would be awesome." He smiled.

characters.

Kaylen Marie Brady. (kay)
5'8"/125 pounds.
dark brown hair.
green eyes.
Birthday: February 28, 1987
18 years old.
athletic; likes to run. (ran in HS)
has a little brother named Leland. he's 10.
born & raised in Sewickley, PA.
freshman at Duquense University.
very overprotected by her parents.

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

Sidney Patrick Crosby
5'11"/190 pounds
dark brown hair.
hazel eyes.
Birthday: August 7, 1987
17 years old.
Center for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Said to be one of the best; if not the best.
Hometown: Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia
Currently living with Mario Lemieux in Sewickley.
One little sister, she's 10.
He's very polite and tries to be politically correct,
but he's just a 17 year old guy underneath it all.

The Story You Have To Know:
Three years ago, the Bradys and Lemieuxs got into a fight and havn't been friends since. Leland, Kay's little brother, played on the same hockey team as Austin, Mario's son. There was a disagreement between the parents at one of the meetings. Nobody is really sure of what exactly the fight was over, but it was ugly. The two families live on the street, but never talk... ever. Kay knows not to cross that line, but she does anyway.