Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Score ❯ Chapter 17 ( Chapter 17 )

A/N: Sorry about the late update. Please R&R. Thanks!

 

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Edmonton Oilers or the Vancouver Canucks.

 

Chapter 17:

 

“Oh, I can't watch!” Aiko exclaimed, as she saw another puck whiz past so many Edmonton players towards Tony in his net. Aiko shut her eyes just before anything crucial could happen.

 

It was three to two for the Oilers, with two minutes left in the third period. It was the sixth game of the Edmonton, Vancouver first round playoff series. They could move on to the next round if they could hold on two more minutes and win the game.

 

Unfortunately Ryan Smyth had just snagged the Oilers a hooking penalty. And not only were they down one player due to Smyth's penalty, Vancouver had decided to pull their goalie in the dying minutes. That meant they had two extra players on the ice.

 

By the sounds of the groans coming from around her she could tell Tony wasn't able to stop the speeding puck.

 

“Oh man, here comes the overtime,” she heard Ronin moan.

 

Aiko opened her eyes to see that there was still a minute and a half left in the period. And the Oilers luckily made it into the Canucks zone. “There's still time,” Aiko stated optimistically. She wanted this done in regulation time. She hated watching overtime, she liked to call it the `do or die time.'

 

Aiko watched as Matthew, Jacob and Ryan Smyth came onto the ice, along with defensemen Hugh and Jason Smith. Matthew was taking the face-off in the Canucks zone, to the right of the Canucks net. Aiko willed all her energy into Matthew to win the face-off.

 

Just as the linesman dropped the puck Matthew swept his stick out and back, sending the puck sweeping back to the right into Hugh's waiting hands. Quickly, as the seconds ticked by, Hugh skated back to the blue line, a Canuck player charged for him; Hugh sent the puck down the blue line to Jason, who one-timed it towards the net. Matthew was there in front of the net, he just got a stick on it, deflecting it right over top the net. Luckily, Jacob headed behind the net passing the puck to Ryan, who fought against the boards to finally send it flying back towards Matthew in front of the net. But the buzzer went off; the period was over. And it was time for overtime.

 

The whole crowd cried out their frustration. They were so close to winning it in regulation time.

 

“Man that was close!” Tora exclaimed.

 

“Yep, this sucks!” Aiko added. “But it's not over yet, we still have a chance.”

 

“Yeah,” Ronin agreed, unsurely.

 

Aiko wanted to keep up the spirits of her siblings. She wanted only good vibes in the atmosphere. She was a bit superstitious and believed negative thoughts equalled negative results.

 

“Hey guys, why don't we go get more pop!” Aiko asked brightly, hoping her suggestion would cheer them up.

 

“Ok… but can I get more popcorn too?” Ronin bargained.

 

“Sure,” Aiko granted.

 

“All right, let's go!” Tora said with much enthusiasm.

 

Aiko smiled as she chased her brother and sister.

 

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“Man, we could have had that game!” Matthew said angrily, hitting his hand on the steering wheel as he drove Aiko and her sibling's home.

 

“It's ok, Matthew. You guys still did good,” Tora said in a tired voice, accentuating it with a yawn.

 

Aiko saw Matthew's face soften with her sister's words.

 

“Yeah, you…” Ronin started, but the rest was lost in a yawn.

 

Matthew chuckled, yawning was definitely contagious. “What was that buddy?” he asked.

 

“You guys played great,” he tried again. “And you still have one more game.”

 

“Yeah, you're right,” Matthew agreed. Matthew took a look in the rear-view mirror. Tora was fast asleep and Ronin was fast following. He took a quick glance at Aiko; she was watching him with a thoughtful expression. “What?” he asked curiously.

 

“Nothing, I just like the way you are with my brother and sister,” Aiko confided, giving his forearm a tender squeeze.

 

“They're great. I always wanted a younger brother or sister. It was ok being an only child, but I think it would have been a lot more fun having a sibling,” Matthew admitted. “I'm sorry I kept you guys out so late.”

 

“Don't worry about it. So can you tell me what Coach McTavish had to say in the meeting?” Aiko inquired.

 

“Yeah. He just reminded us that we still had one more chance. That we had to play harder and better than we've ever played before,” Matthew told her.

 

“No pressure, huh?” Aiko joked.

 

“Nah, none at all,” Matthew laughed, as he pulled up next to Aiko's house. “We can do it.”

 

Aiko leaned up to kiss his cheek. “I know you guys can.”

 

Matthew turned off the car. “Hey, I just realized something. Today's loss puts our final game in Vancouver.”

 

Aiko smiled up at Matthew. “Yes I'll come with you to Vancouver.”

 

“Awesome,” Matthew exclaimed happily, and loudly, causing Ronin and Tora to stir. “Oops, sorry,” he whispered.

 

Aiko laughed. “That's ok. We should probably wake them up.”

 

“Nah, I'll carry them up,” Matthew offered.

 

“Are we home yet?” came Ronin's groggy voice.

 

Aiko and Matthew turned around to see Ronin rubbing at his eyes. Tora, however, was still asleep.

 

“Yeah buddy, we're here. Come on, let's get you guys inside,” Matthew said in a calming voice.

 

They climbed out of the car and Matthew reached in to grab Tora. As he picked her up she stirred a bit in his arms but remained asleep. “Lead the way,” Matthew said to Aiko.

 

They walked up the walkway and Aiko opened the door to her house. Ronin was already climbing the stairs to his room.

 

“Tora's room is just upstairs,” Aiko indicated to Matthew, as she climbed the steps and he followed.

 

Reaching the top, Ronin slipped into his room with a hastily uttered goodnight. Aiko opened a door opposite to his. “Right here,” Aiko said.

 

Aiko watched, mesmerized by Matthew's gentleness; he pulled back the covers and softly placed Tora on the bed. He pulled the covers up to the younger girls chin, making sure she was all tucked in. Aiko knew Matthew would make a great dad someday.

 

Matthew looked up to find Aiko beaming at him. He didn't know what he did to deserve that complete look of adoration but he hoped it never stopped. “What?” he asked, for the second time that night.

 

Aiko came around the bed to stand in front of him, taking both of his hands in hers she looked up at him and said, “You really are the perfect man!” She leaned up and gave him a long kiss.

 

Pulling back, Matthew pushed a strand of hair from her eyes. “You really know how to make a guy feel good, when they're down.”

 

“That's one of the many jobs of a girlfriend,” Aiko confided.

 

“I like this girlfriend thing,” he said, amused.

 

Aiko took his hand and pulled him towards the door. They left Tora's room and stood in the hallway.

 

“So if these are Tora and Ronin's rooms,” Matthew whispered, gesturing to the two doors. “Where's yours?”

 

“Not up here,” Aiko whispered back. “That's a bathroom and that's my parent's room. Mine's on the main floor.”

 

“Can I see?” he asked hesitantly.

 

Without words she took his hand and led him down the stairs. At the landing she pulled him to the right into a hallway that had a door at the very end.

 

“This is my room,” Aiko announced, before she opened the door. Then they stepped inside and she shut it behind them.

 

Matthew took a few seconds to take in his surroundings. There was a desk covered in books immediately in front of him and a dresser against the far wall with a stereo on top of it. To his left is where Aiko's double bed was, covered in a bright blue bed spread. There was also a mirrored vanity table in one corner and a small TV on a stand right next to it. Matthew walked over to the wall immediately across from it. A good chunk of it was covered in Oilers posters, newspaper clippings and other Oiler paraphernalia. He was quite happy to see that there was a good section devoted to him.

 

He turned to the other wall and saw something surprising.

 

“The Payloads?” he asked curiously.

 

Aiko chuckled at his reaction. “Yeah, they umm… are like my favourite band of all time.”

 

“Well, you think you know some people,” he joked.

 

“Hey,” Aiko exclaimed, mock offended.

 

Matthew took a step closer to examine the pictures and noticed that next to the one poster was a photograph. It was of a slightly younger Aiko being hugged around the shoulders by Nick Taylor, one of the five members of the boy band. It was signed as well, `To my bestest friend ever. You rock Aiko.”

 

“What's this?” Matthew pointed to the photo.

 

“Oh.” Matthew instantly noticed Aiko's blush. “That's umm… nothing really. It's just Nick was like one of my best friends.”

 

“You actually knew the guy?” Matthew asked in disbelief.

 

“Well I kind of know all of them,” Aiko responded vaguely.

 

“What?” Matthew said in surprise.

 

“Oh, it's um… a long story. Can… can I tell you another day?” Aiko asked him nervously.

 

Matthew wanted to ask a lot of questions. It wasn't everyday that a local girl would personally know a famous band. But seeing that she was uncomfortable Matthew decided to drop it, after one last question, that is. “All right, but how come you say that he was one of your best friends?”

 

Aiko sighed, taking a seat on her bed; she glanced at the poster on her wall. “Well, when we first met we hit it off pretty quick. We became best friends. Then we kind of got together, but umm… it didn't last. So we decided to stay friends. We're still good friends, but we don't talk as much as we used to,” she confessed.

 

“Oh,” Matthew said. She was his girlfriend. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Or the fact that she still had his picture on her wall. He didn't realize that he was frowning until Aiko approached him and smoothed out his mouth with a touch.

 

“The picture bugs you doesn't it?” Aiko stated knowingly.

 

“Umm… it-“ he started.

 

Aiko turned around. “It's about time I took it down. It doesn't belong on my wall; it belongs in my photo album with the rest of my memories.” She pulled it off and put it on her dresser to put away later.

 

“Aiko, you don't have to take it down for me. If he's just your friend then it doesn't bother me.”

 

“He is just a friend. But I would hate to have your ex-girlfriends rubbed in my face,” Aiko assured him. “It's ok.”

 

“Don't worry about that, it would never happen,” Matthew told her, leaning down to kiss her. “Thanks.”

 

Aiko smiled. “For the kiss?”

 

“No for being understanding and awesome,” he elaborated.

 

“You're welcome,” Aiko replied.

 

She smiled up at him happily and leaned up to take a taste of his lips. His arms went around her waist pulling her close to him, deepening the kiss. Aiko took turns sucking on each of his lips before letting his tongue enter her mouth. His hands trailed up her arms, burning a hot path up, and then he let them slide over her chest. Aiko gasped into his kiss and arched her back to meet his touch. His hands moved back to her arms where he managed to pull off her jacket. His kiss trailed from her mouth down along her jaw. He took a second to nibble on her earlobe.

 

“Matthew,” Aiko gasped out in approval.

 

Her hands had wandered under his shirt and were teasing a trail up and down his bare skin.

 

But the minute Aiko's hands came to his waist he came to his senses.

 

“Why'd you stop?” Aiko asked, confused.

 

Matthew had his forehead resting against her shoulder. He took a deep breath to calm himself, before he looked straight into her dark eyes. “Aiko I want you. God knows how much I want you.”

 

Aiko's hand came up to graze his cheek tenderly. “I want you too.”

 

He took her hand and placed a kiss on her palm. “But, right now isn't the right time or place. Your parents are here, and your brother and sister…” he trailed off, letting her realize what he was saying.

 

Aiko let out a frustrated sigh. “You're right.”

 

“When we do make love, I just want it to be you and me,” he said tenderly.

 

“Yeah, I understand,” Aiko agreed. “Come on, I'll walk you to the door.”

 

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