Does the moment make the man, or does the man make the moment?

Monday, February 1, 2010

1. Superstar, Well, Kind Of…

Ok, I feel like it's my duty to give everyone a head's up on two things.
Firstly, as far as the 'soundtrack' is concerned for this story...
You might find that there's alot of ukulele in this.
Why? I'm not really sure... but it's Gogo, and it fits!

Secondly, I'm very excited for this story... to share it with you all and see what you think. I really hope that everyone will enjoy it, I like to think it's gonna be fun =)
That being said, I feel like this update is really weak/uninteresting and so I hope that you'll read through it and give me a few updates to get going lol.

Cheers!




Rockstar - Nickelback
<-- not ukulele haha, I think you're safe till the next one...


“Ok yes, I can see why you would think that… but seriously…” Alex Goligoski sputtered trying to explain himself, as the bouncer rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe he was having this conversation. Maybe before he'd have believed it was still possible that he was forced to go through this, but not after the cup. Not after the cup!

The huge man sighed, shaking his head and motioning for Alex to leave. “Yah, yah. Move along buddy.” When Alex didn't move, the bouncer waved his hand, dismissing him like he was a bug - an annoyance.

“You’ve got to be kidding me… I swear to god! I’m a Pittsburgh Penguin!” He said as he threw his arms out to the side, completely exasperated as the line behind him continued to grow.

The large man at the door thought Alex belonged in a looney-bin, not in a bar. Even so, he tried to be patient. “Look dude. I live here… I know the Pens, you’re not one of them…”

“Ugh!” Groaning, Alex stepped out of the line and walked around the side of the building. He punched in Rupp’s number and waited for him to answer. “I told you guys we should have gone to Diesel! I can’t get in!” He complained as Rupp started to laugh at him from across the line.

“Alright Gogo, just meet me around back.” Rupp hung up and Alex started walking again, mumbling to himself as he rounded the corner of the brick building.
Rupp was leaning out the door, a shit-eating grin, plastered on his face as he continued to howl with laughter.
“I’m sorry man… but that’s fucking hilarious! It’s the porn stash! It’s gotta be!”

Alex exhaled loudly as he pushed past his team-mate, unconsciously reaching up to rub the smooth, hairless, skin on his face.
The guys had all warned him that it was a mistake to shave. They had all laughed and said that his playing abilities were tied to his facial hair; without it, he’d suck. Considering his game as of late, they might of had a point.
The worse was when they said that no one would recognize him without that god-awful stash, cause apparently, they had a point there too.

Every other guy on the team had something; some tell-tale, signature look, that made them impossible to mistake.
Whether it was the horrible fro of TK, the huge thighs of Sid, the dopey expression of Geno, the cheeky, over confident grin of Max, or the Texas-size jaw of Gronk; all of his fellow Penguins had something that stood out.

Alex Goligoski was just an average guy; a normal looking, boy next door. He wasn’t short, but he wasn’t tall. He wasn’t skinny, but he wasn’t that big either.
He had some hair, not a lot though… and his ears stuck out, but not really noticeably - at least not since he grew into them. He wasn’t that attractive but, he also didn’t send children running in the opposite direction.
His mom always said that he was handsome but that wasn’t really a good gage. Everyone’s mom said that they were handsome, trying to boost their son's confidence; some - like Talbot’s - said it far too much.

He flopped down onto one of the couches, taking the free seat in-between his roommates; Max Talbot and Jordan Staal. Alex laid his head back against the white leather as Jordan turned into him; “What took you so long man?”

“I got lost, Jordan.” Alex snapped quickly, hoping to avoid the real reason it had taken him so long to meet the guys here after their game. Rupp was going to dig into him enough for that, the last thing he needed was to get anymore unwanted attention tonight.

Letting it go, Jordan changed direction. “Man, check out those two… let’s go!” He shoved Alex's shoulder as he began to stand-up, his eyes locked on two girls leaning over by the bar.
Alex shook my head, closing his eyes as he laid his head back down again. “Gogo… come on!”

Feeling Jordan tugging on his arm, Alex finally opened his eyes. “You’re like a child! Why can’t you just go alone?”

Jordan stared to say something but stopped, instead he just stared at Alex until, grudgingly, Alex pushed himself off the couch.
Gronk all but bounced to the other side of the bar as Alex followed slowly behind him.

The girls tried to look surprised as Gronk came up behind them, but it was pretty evident by the smiles on their face that they knew the boys were on their way over to see them. They both grinned at Jordan as they turned around from the bar. “Jordan Staal…such a huge fan…” One of them grinned, taking a step towards him.

“Hear that Gogo? Huge fan…” He smirked as the other girl turned towards me, looking at Alex expectantly.

“So… you guys are friends or something?” She asked, clearly annoyed that her friend had gotten to Jordan first.

“Umm yah, we live together and play on the same team…” Alex said slowly, glancing over his shoulder and looking for a quick exit. Damn Jordan and his annoying ability to make Alex take part in things he had no interest in.

She gasped slightly, her interest rekindled. “Oh! So you play for the Pens too?” Alex nodded, glancing back at the brunette that was now looking in his direction. “Oh! Sorry I didn’t recognize you… which one are you?”

“Alex. Alex Goligoski…”

She bit her lip, unsure of what he had just said. She half shrugged, taking one last look at her friend before grabbing on to his arm. “Wanna dance?” She asked, overly enthralled with him now, as she led him away from her friend.

“I don’t dance.” He lied; he had no intentions of spending time with this girl at all.

“Wanna have a drink?” She asked quickly, not missing a beat as her grasp on his arm tightened.

Alex shook his head, this time using an honest excuse. “I can’t I’m the DD…”

“Oh… wanna just get out of here then?” She smirked, one hundred percent serious.
He resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he caught sight of Max across the crowd; entertaining a large number of females.

“I can’t really just leave my friends like that-“ He said slowly, wondering what to do now. It wasn’t that she wasn’t attractive, because she was, he just had different ideas on how he wanted to pick up a girl, than his fellow Pens.
Sure, when someone recognized him it was great, but, if that was the only reason they wanted to leave with him, was it really worth it? Wasn't it nice to believe that he was better than that... most of the time, anyway?

“Hey Gogo! Who’s your friend?” Max yelled, appearing in front of them and squeezing himself in between the girl and Alex. He draped his arms around both of them and he grinned; starting to whisper things to the brunette in French.

Thirty seconds later Max and the girl were moving away from Alex, leaving him standing alone.

Alex shrugged and headed back to VIP; when he turned around she was already wrapped around Max. He flopped back down onto the couch and waited for the night to end; he had other shit he needed to do, important shit - like… laundry, and the dishes… feeding Chubby...

"Hey Gogo... lose your woman?" Jordan laughed as he flopped down on the adjacent couch, the girl from before tucked under his arm.

"Nope, I think she was more Max's type." Alex tried to explain without making the girl sound like a puck bunny.

Jordan snorted and glanced over his shoulder. "That's pathetic, you're a superstar Gogo... well, kind of. You should have women hanging off you."

"You say that like they're possessions." Gogo said quietly, glancing over at the blond forward, who shrugged in response. "I'm nothing special Jordan... just a common man with common thoughts, and I've led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten..." Alex grinned to himself, quoting one of his favourite movie lines.

He looked away, wondering if now would be the time he could slip out, when the girl beside Jordan pulled him back. "... but in one respect I have succeeded as gloriously as anyone who's ever lived..." She continued from where Alex had left off.

He leaned forward and they finished the quote together. "I've loved another with all my heart and soul; and to me, this has always been enough." They both laughed, bass and soprano tinkling together as Jordan glanced back and forth between them.

"Ummm..." Jordan started, hesitantly.

"I love the Notebook!" She squealed, leaning forward, towards Alex.

"Really? It's one of my favourite movies! I use to watch it all the time with my ex-girlfriend Evangeline!"

"Ugh! My ex-boyfriend wouldn't have watched it to save his life... I can't believe you like it!"

"Like it? I love it! Right after we saw the movie... Evan was so in love with that scene, that I took her out to the country... just so I could take her on the lake, like Noah."

"Oh my gosh! That's so romantic!" She gushed, throwing her hands over her chest. "That's amazing! I didn't think guys actually did things like that! If I knew, I wouldn't spend my time trying to pick up in a bar..."

"Well you shouldn't!" Alex encouraged, earning a look of loathing for his team-mate. "You're worth so much more than that. I hate that about our society today, girls never expect respect from men. If he wants to be with you, he'll do whatever it takes, and if doesn't... he doesn't deserve your time." Alex finished, smiling as she nodded along with him.

"This is so refreshing! It's nice to see a nice guy that feels that way."

"Anyway!" Jordan said loudly, cutting Alex off before he could say anything to ruin his night further. "How about we go eat?" He asked, trying to appear as respectful as possible.

She tilted her head thinking it over before finally nodding. She got up and headed to the coat check to get her jacket. "Well she seems nice." Alex smiled, watching her make her way through the crowd.

"I hate you so much!" Jordan snapped, huffing as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Do you have any idea how hard it's gonna be to get my dick in her mouth now? Fuck Gogo! Just cause you don't get laid, doesn't mean you have to ruin my night too!" Alex watched, shrugging to himself as Jordan took off after the girl.
He didn't actually mean to ruin Jordan's night, he just had a much different view on women than his team-mates.



Tanger offered to drive the guys home, and Alex couldn’t have been more pleased about it.
He headed out of the bar shortly after that, and ended up home before midnight. “Hey Chubby! Did you eat yet buddy?” He asked as he walked into the kitchen to see his over-weight, black cat, sprawled out across the linoleum surface.
Chubby didn’t bother to look at Alex as he walked closer, bending over to examine the cat's dish. “I guess that was a dumb question…” He said, looking back and forth between the fat cat and the empty dish.

He climbed the stairs and headed up to the second floor; the floor that held all four bedrooms. One for each of them, and then a spare that was usually always in use by someone. Tonight he was alone - at least for now - and he decided to call it an early night; maybe more sleep would help his game out, at the very least, it couldn't hurt.

Alex kicked his door shut behind him, before grabbing his PJ pants and jumping onto his bed. Kicking off his shoes, he rolled over onto his back. He tried to remember their game schedule for the week as he changed; falling asleep before he could remember it all.


“Max?” Alex yawned groggily as he opened his eyes in the darkness. He went quiet again and waited, sure enough, a few seconds later a number of voices carried up the stairs. “Why is one not enough?” Alex grumbled to himself as he pushed himself out of bed and walked towards the door.
He glanced back at the clock - it was now 4:16AM - before pulling the door open.

“Yah just put that over there… did anyone bring anything to drink? Merde… I knew I was forgetting something…” He heard Max groan from somewhere below me. “Hey Jordan, why don’t you turn some music on or something?”

There was no response, but a few seconds later music started pumping out of the speakers, loudly. “You’ve got to be kidding me…” He mumbled as he began to descend the stairs.

Alex's first initial reaction when he reached the living room, was to go back up stairs and get a shirt. Standing in a room full of people in PJ pants was not his idea of a good first impression, but then again most of these people were wearing less than him.
He wandered over towards his team-mates, getting pulled onto the couch by TK. Most of the young guys were there; Sidney, Tanger, Gronk, Max, Rupp, Cookie and Bourque, but Billy and Sergei were there too.
“What’s going on?” Alex said loudly, trying to make myself heard over the music.

“Umm… well see Gogo-” Max started to explain, but Alex cut him off.

“Are they-? Where did-? Why are there strippers in the house?!” He managed to gasp out as he realized why they girls were wearing such little clothing.

Max shrugged and continued trying to explain. “We wanted to go see the girls, but Sidney and Tanger said it wouldn’t be a good idea if we all went together and made a big hoopla out of it… so… we brought some of them here.”

“Why didn’t you just leave them where they were?! Why couldn’t you just take a girl home… you don’t need ten of them!” Alex shook his head, dropping his face into his hands. “Ugh! Why did you think this would ever be a good idea?”

“The real question is… when would ten strippers in a house, not be a good idea?!” Jordan offered, grinning at his logic as Alex stood up.
He simply shook his head and moved towards the stairs.

“Make sure nothing gets broken!” He yelled back over his shoulder as he moved past Sidney. “Are you staying?”

“No man, I just wanted to make sure none of them drove… and sorry… about this. Normally you can reason with some of them but… all together…” He trailed off, shrugging hopelessly as the boys started to get louder. “Tanger and I are heading but… good luck.” He offered as he nodded towards Kris.

Alex didn’t bother to look back as he climbed the stairs again. The last thing he need was to see all the things that those girls were touching; he was gonna have to go replenish his stock of anti-bacterial cleaning products, ASAP.
It was bad enough just living with a French-Canadian and a sod farmer’s son; now there was probably herpes on the coffee table.

Sighing deeply, he headed towards his bedroom. “Hey Chubby, you wanna sleep in here with Daddy tonight?” Alex asked, as he knelt down, holding his hand out in front of him and rubbing his fingers together.
Chubby looked like he considered it, then changed his mind. Turning tail on Alex he slinked away, rounding the corner into Max’s room. “Of course…” Alex mumbled, shaking his head as he stood up. Maybe getting snubbed for Max twice in one night would be enough to get under someone else’s skin; but it just didn’t bother Alex. That was probably the defenceman coming out in him; strong, quiet, preferring to be anonymous.

He liked to be the consistent, reliable one. He didn’t need to be loud, or flashy, or over-the-top. It was nice, being the guy that was there for his friends when they needed him; but at the same time, he liked having the ability to blend in with the scenery.

Alex allowed his mind to run back over the evening as he curled back up in his bed. In all honesty, he couldn’t care less about losing the girl at the bar; he wouldn’t have taken her with him anyway. As for his relationship with Chubby... well that had, and always would be, a one way street; that cat hated him.

13 comments:

  1. LOVED IT!

    Aww, I can't wait for the next one :D !

    Quoting The Notebook, wow :-)

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  2. Okay, so, first off I just want to say that I’m *so* happy it’s February 1st. I feel like I’ve been waiting for this day FOR EV ER. No lie.

    And it did *not* disappoint! I knew it couldn’t. It wasn’t possible. And I am now going to commence operation EPIC comment as I illustrate EXACTLY why I thought this was fabulous.

    1.) It’s Alex Goligoski. I feel like my argument could end here and make perfect sense, but I’ll keep going, for the sake of said argument.
    2.) It’s sad that no one recognized him, because he’s a fantastically awesome player and everyone should of course know who he is... but I’m not gonna lie, it’s hilarious. I’m totally with Rupper on this one.
    3.) Agreeing again with the guys who told him not to shave. I realize he probably hated it, but I *love* the stache. We’ve had this discussion. I’m not necessarily a mustache-liking kind of girl (full beards yes, goatees yes, mustaches... no)—but something about the stache on Gogo makes me wanna pounce on him like a tigress. Mee oww! I secretly wish, every month, that he’ll lose Mustache Boy again. But, if he loses the shoot out, it’s more like he *wins*.... make sense? /mustacherant
    4.) He *is* handsome! Mama GoGo got it right! It’s an unassuming handsome. It sneaks up on you and hits you over the head like a two-by-four, and then all of a sudden you’re on the floor, seeing stars, birdies flying around your head, and you’re in total, utter, complete infatuation. What? That didn’t happen to anyone else? /sigh
    5.) “Everyone’s mom said that they were handsome, trying to boost their son's confidence; some - like Talbot’s - said it far too much.” Bahahaha. So *that’s* how that happened. Max Talbot, explained.
    6.) “You’re like a child! Why can’t you just go alone?” Haha, Jordan in need of a wingman, or trying to hook Gogo up with a chick? I’m not sure if I find either of those options hilarious or pathetic.
    7.) woingoibnaoirbanb. Stupid puck bunny bitch. Wouldn’t know luck if it punched her in the face. Alex Fucking Goligoski approaches you, and you’re mad it's not Staal? Noooo, lady, you got it all wrong. Good for him for not wanting a thing to do with her!! You’re a class act, Gogo. You’ll never have a reason to need to settle for a puck slut!
    “Sure, when someone recognized him it was great, but, if that was the only reason they wanted to leave with him, was it really worth it? Wasn't it nice to believe that he was better than that... most of the time, anyway?” Yes. It’s not worth it, and you *are* better than that.
    I love you.
    8.) I’m actually thankful that Max took the bimbo off Alex’s hands. As far as I’m concerned, Max did him a great favor.
    9.) “They both laughed, bass and soprano tinkling together as Jordan glanced back and forth between them.” Once again, I *love* this line. It makes me think of a piano playing. Just... PERFECT imagery here.
    10.) What a romantic guy. It just makes me love him more, if that’s possible. But if anyone can make me love Gogo more, it’s you, Zigh!
    11.) <3 Chubby
    12.) No shirt. Never a reason for you to wear a shirt, Alex Goligoski! Just sayin’.
    13.) “It was bad enough just living with a French-Canadian and a sod farmer’s son; now there was probably herpes on the coffee table.” Hilarity. Sheer hilarity.
    14.) The whole end. The strong, quiet, reliable, dependable, consistent defenseman part. Speechless. I loved it. That’s my Gogo. And if he ever needs someone to curl up with in bed... just pass along my number. Okay, that really makes me look like a crazy person.

    I CANNOT WAIT UNTIL TOMORROW! :)

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  3. Well I know I can't top Jay's comment because it's a post all to itself =P (love ya hun!)

    But all I can say to that is Chubby is my hero, and at the same time, the reason I love dogs.

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  4. I don't think this update was uninteresting at all. There were several points where I was laughing out loud. It was a great introduction to what I know will be a great story. Can't wait for more!

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  5. The whole time I was reading this, I had such a smile on my face. I'm so excited for this, Zigh! And if this is any indication of just how good it's gonna be then OMG YAY! =D

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  6. SO EXCITED. This story was equal parts adorable and hilarious so far. I can't wait to see what you have up your writing sleeve!

    Loved it!

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  7. I honestly had no interest in reading this story because of the main character but I decided to give it a chance because your an amazing writer and I've loved all of the stories that you have written.

    I am SO happy that I read this! I LOVE it and can't wait for the next chapter!

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  8. Woohoo...you underestimate the power of your writing. Excellent, excellent, excellent, and, oh, one more thing, excellent!

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  9. I'm working with apple sauce as a brain here.. but I fucking LOVED this!!! The last line, hands down, epic.

    Oh this just... wow. yes. yes. thank you. everything about it.

    I just... yeah. thank you. haha.

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  10. YES YES YES YES
    that was amazing
    so pretty much agree with EVERYTHING jay said.
    Alex is amazing and Jordan could possibly be my favorite (after Alex of course)
    you're an amazing amazing amazing writer and I cannot wait until the next chapter:D
    wonderful wonderful job!!!!
    (:

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  11. Oh geez... I saw your link on a favorites list, clicked, saw it was gogo and thought about not reading...
    you see, we have a love/hate relationship, gogo and I*
    But I finally got him to acknowledge one of my compliments, so I felt it was right to give this a try... SO GLAD I DID!
    I'm going to read the rest of what you have so far!!! Can't wait!

    p.s. I loved the last little part, about chubby!

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  12. Was skeptical since it was Gogo, but now I'm totally hooked...and after just one post.
    I hope he ends up with the girl who quoted the Notebook with him.
    I don't like Jordan. Maybe he will get better.
    Gogo so far sounds pretty much like my dream man.

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