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

Monday, February 15, 2010

15. Eavesdropper

Closer - Kings of Leon

“Max…” Alex said numbly, stopping once again when the words failed him.
The whole team was sitting in silence, only Max was still standing, still in front of Alex.

“I swear to god man… it’s the truth.” He swore for the hundredth time.

Kris nodded from beside Alex. “I’d believe that, I mean… is anyone really surprised? Max isn’t an idiot… he wouldn’t come in here like this if he wasn’t sure…” Kris trailed off, looking up at Max who nodded along with him, trying to confirm that he was telling the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

“Ok… tell us everything, Max. Every single thing that happened and everything that was said… word for word, as best as you can remember it.” Sidney requested, folding his arms over his chest, waiting for Max to begin.

Sighing, Max nodded, licking his lips and glancing off into nothing, trying to remember everything that had just happened, as best as he could…


“I wanna play hockey, I wanna play hockey, I hate not playing hockey…” Max sang, tunelessly as he walked, aimlessly, down the back hallways of Mellon arena.
He was sad, really sad, that he wasn’t able to play with the guys. He knew that he’d be back on the ice soon for games, he was already skating during practice; but that wasn’t the problem.
As much as he loved hockey, he missed the bonding experience with the guys; he couldn’t believe he was even thinking it but… he missed them. He missed being in the heat of the moment with them, sticking up for his friends and having a few laughs.

When he glanced up again, he realized where he was. Suddenly, the idea of not being able to stand up for his friends, became less and less of a problem.
He’d been watching the game from upstairs in the owner’s box, and while most people had been watching the fight between Rupper and Carcillo, Max had been watching the interaction between Carter and Gogo.
Half of him was hoping that Gogo would just skate away and ignore him, the other half was hoping Gogo’d drop him right then and there.
But neither of those happened. Rupper had finished sweeping the ice with Carcillo before heading over to Gogo and pulling him back to the bench. Max watched as his friend spent the rest of the game subdued, no heart left in him at all.

But Max could do something about that… sure, he’d get into trouble if he was caught, but he wasn’t actually going to fight Carter, he was just gonna tell him where to stick it. After all, he was already in the visitor hallways, what was a few more steps?

He figured he’d just wait around until Jeff came out, then he’d corner him, and lay it all out on the line. Gogo certainly wasn’t going to do it for himself, and the least Max could do, as a friend, was put the fear of Talbot in Jeff.
“You should have fucking killed him!” Someone was yelling from behind the door; Max had a pretty good idea what they were talking about.

When the door swung open, Max jumped behind the corner, peeking around to see Hartnell, Richards and Carter file out into the hallway. “Yah well, what was I suppose to do? Just drop the fag on the ice?”

“Yep.” Hartnell persisted, rolling his eyes and giving Carter a shove. “Your women was all over a fucking Penguin… you should smack a bitch for that! If it was me, I’d have kicked the slut to the curb… you hardly have time for her anyway, why are you getting married to her?”

“Why not?” Jeff replied, brusquely, earning a grunt of approval from Richards.

“Why wouldn’t he? Same reason you married your wife… they’re pretty and they keep the house, plus they’re too stupid to figure out you’ve got play on the side. Besides, if they do figure it out, you think they’ll say anything? No… why would they give up their cushy, fucking lives over something like that.
But I agree with Hartnell, you should have taken Goligoski down. Just because you can’t teach an old bitch a new lesson, doesn’t mean you can’t mark your territory.”

“Maybe you just can’t satisfy your woman Carter… she looks like she’d be a firecracker.” Hartnell laughed, as Jeff’s face grew heated.

“Fuck you Hartnell, don’t you got somewhere to be?” Jeff snapped quickly. Hartnell looked like he was about to retort, but changed his mind, giving up and taking off down the hallway.

The two remaining Flyer’s watched him go, both of them exchanging a glance once they were sure he was gone.
Max thought they were gonna start badmouthing him, or change the topic, but they both began to laugh, loudly. “What a moron… can’t satisfy her… what the fuck would he say if he knew?” Richards sighed, shaking his head.

Carter nodded, grinning. “Yah, bet he’d feel pretty stupid if he realized I wasn’t only taking care of Evangeline, but his wife too.”
Max inhaled sharply, puling his head back around the corner and pressing himself against the concrete wall.

“That’d be quiet the topic of conversation… ’Hey Hartnell, fucked your wife last night!’” Richards said in a mocking voice before hitting Jeff in the arm with a light punch. “I still don’t see how you do that man… I mean, I can totally cheat on Leigh and she doesn’t pick up on it at all… but I’m in different states. How do you manage to fuck Hartnell’s wife, the few days that you’re home, without Evangeline getting suspicious?”

Jeff shrugged, beginning to walk away with mock swagger, Richards following after him. “Funny thing is… I tell her exactly where I’m going… ’Hanging out with Hartnell babe… be back soon‘.”




“So… you are one hundred percent positive that that’s what happened?” Sidney continued, once Max had finished retelling the story.

“Yes! Yes! For the last, fucking, time… yes! Carter is cheating on Evan, with Hartnell’s wife… and Richards knows. I heard him myself, from like… five feet away. It’s true!” Max turned away from Sidney to stare at Alex. “So?”

“So? So what?” Alex huffed, dropping his face into his hands as he digested the information.
He was feeling guilty, immensely so. Hadn’t he just been asking for Carter to screw up? Wasn’t he the one just wishing that there was some way to have Evan in his life without having Jeff there too?

“What do you mean, ’so what’, what are you gonna do about it?” TK shouted, cutting everyone else off. “Carter’s fucking around on her… go get your woman and tell her!” He continued, loudly.

Alex shook his head, he couldn’t do that, he couldn’t be the one to tell Evan. Would she even listen to him? Would she take his word over Jeff’s? Maybe, maybe before Alex had kissed her… now she might think he was just lying to break them up. “No. I can’t do that… it’s not my business.” He said quietly, getting up off the bench and heading towards the door.

He pushed it open and headed out into the hallway, feeling the presence of a large number of Penguins behind him. He shook his head, trying to ignore them as they began to swarm around him, moving with him towards the exit.
“Well, well… look who it is.” Jeff Carter quipped as Alex reached for the emergency exit. “Since when do you need to take the back exit? Do the fans out front even know who you are? … or wait, they don’t let you through cause they think you’re just a janitor or something?” Carter laughed, earning some loud laughter from the few Flyers around him.

“Back the fuck off Carter, you seriously don’t want to start with me right now.” Alex said, his voice rough with anger.

“He’s right guys… we don’t want to do this right now… we can settle this on the ice.” Sidney said quietly, trying to diffuse the situation.

Richards laughed. “Look at that… Goligoski needs the big names to do anything, don’t know how to stand up for yourself, buddy?”

“Exactly… Goligoski…” Jeff snorted, his temper flaring. “Who the fuck are you anyway? You’re a nobody… and you always will be.”

Alex smiled, shaking his head. “A nobody with a Stanley Cup ring.” He quipped, holding his head high as he glared at Carter.

“You don’t deserve your name on the Stanley cup. You’re a never was… a fucking wanna be that got lucky and dragged along for the ride. You stay the fuck away from my fiancé.” Jeff added as an after though, a small grin breaking across face, sure that he had pushed Alex into a corner.

“Or you’ll what?” Alex asked loudly, without emotion, “Go fuck another one of your team-mate's wives?”

Everything stopped. Jeff’s grin faltered, then faded as he looked from Alex, to Richards and then back again. And that was it for Alex, he knew that everything Max said had been bang on in that one moment.
Jeff Carter wasn’t just a douche, but a lying, sneaky, dirty, douche. “You- you- you-” Jeff sputtered, raising his arm and pointing at Alex threateningly.

Max snorted, clearly enjoying how uncomfortable Carter looked as his team-mates stared at him, questioning. “Apparently he’s gonna stutter at you for a while first Gogo… let’s get the fuck out of here.” Max suggested, nodding towards the door.

The Pens all filed out, Alex getting dragged along outside through the throng of hockey boys. Everyone erupted into laughter once they were in the parking lot, the conversation centering around Carter and what a dick he was.
Everyone was laughing, everyone but Alex.

“So Hartnell’s wife, you said Maxime?” Billy G grinned as he turned towards Max. “I don’t know what’s worse… that someone actually married him, or that someone slept with him and Carter…” He continued, causing the laughter to renew.

Jordan caught sight off Alex and sighed. “Gogo! Don’t look so upset buddy… this is great… this is fan-fucking-tastic! Tell Evan, she dumps Carter, then she gets back with you.
You get the girl and you don’t have to deal with that fucking moron anymore… why do you look so upset?!”

“Does anyone even realize what this means?” Alex said quietly, staring at each person in turn.

TK nodded, rolling his eyes. “It means you finally get Evan… why the hell are you so depressed looking?”

“Stop!” Alex yelled, shaking his head in disbelief. “This isn’t about me… fuck what I want. Evan’s in love with him… enough that she wants to marry him… do you have any idea what this is gonna do to her?
Do you have any idea how… how much this is gonna suck for her? She trusted him, and he fucked around on her… and you want me to celebrate?”
Alex ran his hand over the top of his hat, and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. When he looked around again, everyone was much more subdued then before. “I love her, and yah… I wanna be with her… but not like this. I didn’t want her to get drug through the coals just so I could have what I wanted…” He trailed off, pushing his way through his team-mates until he was moving on his own.

“Gogo! Hey, Gogo! Where are you going?” Someone yelled from behind him as he began to speed up.

“I’m going for a walk… I’ll see you guys later.”

Alex went around the corner of the arena, almost walking smack into Evan. “Hey, there you are!” She sighed happily, slightly out of breath. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere! Jeff didn’t say anything to you, did he? I mean… I know he did but, it wasn’t anything bad was it?”

“…ah… what?” Alex said lamely, caught completely off guard, both by her sudden presence and by her questions.

“During the third period… I saw him talking to you. He wasn’t being mean again, was he?” She asked, concern crinkling her brow, her vibrant, trusting eyes staring up at him. “Alex…?”

12 comments:

  1. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh OH MY GOD
    I thought Carter was probably cheating on her, but Hartnell's wife? HOOOOOOLY FUCK!!!! And Billy G was dead on with what he said(:
    amazing amazing job and Alex is such a fucking sweetie, god I need to meet a guy like him!

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  2. omg jeff is a jackass. so the it is true that other flyers fuck their teammates wives..

    alex do me a favor and FUCKING TELL HER WHAT YOU KNOW!

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  3. Tell her, tell her now!!!
    PLEASE! For the love of all things hockey, tell her what's going on!
    Carter's a fucking prick, and now it's all over, except for the whole Evan not knowing that her fiancee is a two-timing manwhore!

    p.s. I love the way the boys all stuck by him, such a great group*

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  4. Holy Shit that was the most genius thing EVER! I loved it. Let Alex tell her please then they can live happily ever after. Great update. Loved it. Loved it. Loved it.

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  5. O
    M
    G

    Okay, I’m gonna break this down like usual.

    “I wanna play hockey, I wanna play hockey, I hate not playing hockey…” Max sang.
    ^^Lol. Seriously, just... lol. However, I can see him singing this. Max, right now, you are my second favorite.

    And, the whole beginning of his thoughts, where he’s talking about watching Gogo and Carter, and kinda hoping he’d leave while kinda hoping he’d kick his ass. I was too, buddy. And!! That he’s sticking up for him off the ice. Max, you’re a good friend. If I wasn’t in love with Goligoski, I’d be all over you.

    Put the fear of Talbot in him! Bahaha, seriously, love it.

    I didn’t think I could possibly hate the Cryers more. But now I do. Ooh, how I do. I don’t even have words for that whole part, because I just see red. Uuuuuuugh!! I don’t.... ugh, I don’t have words. Fucking shit. I hate them, and Carter.

    We all heard the rumors, Carter sleeping with Hartnell's wife. I'm not surprised, but I am surprised that he'd talk about it to Richards. Dumb. Your mistake, Carter! It's bad enough that you cheated, but to talk about it out in the open? What a fucking moron.

    Don’t you DARE feel guilty, Alex! You may have wanted Carter to fuck up, but you didn’t MAKE it happen. He did it on his own. And it’s your fucking DUTY as Evan’s friend to tell her! You may not want her to hurt, but she’s going to get hurt either way. And, I’m willing to bet, she’ll be even more hurt if she finds out that you KNEW and didn’t tell her! If she doesn’t believe you, she doesn’t believe you; but you have to try.

    And then the Cryers walk back into the scene. If I didn’t hate them from the earlier scene, then I most certainly do now! Fuck you, Carter. Talking shit on my Gogo. Makes my blood boil. He is a somebody, a wonderful somebody. And grr... he deserves that ring and his name on the Cup!

    “Or you’ll what?” Alex asked loudly, without emotion, “Go fuck another one of your team-mate's wives?”
    ^^BOOM! Dude, I think the earth just shook.

    “This isn’t about me… fuck what I want.” <3<3<3 Seriously. So selfless. Kind of stupid, but that selfless attitude is what I love about him. He places Evan and her wants/needs above his own.

    And how... what will he do? He said he wasn’t going to be the one to say anything, but that’s before Alex knew for sure. And can he not say anything now that he sees her? Zigh, you are a master of suspense. I love you for it, but damn—you’re killing me!!!

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  6. OHHHH MYYYYY GOOOOOOOOOOODDDDDDDDDD!!!

    1) MAX'S SONG <3
    Thank you.
    That completely CRACKED ME UP.

    2) When Max told the story : |
    As SOON as they said that Carter was sleeping with Hartnell's wife...I cracked up laughing again, omg hahaha idiot.

    3) When Gogo answered Jeff back!! YAY!!
    Take that bitch!!

    Ah. AMAZING chapter.
    Can't wait for more : )

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  7. AHH!!! You are an evil evil woman and I love you for it!

    K I loved loved LOOOOVVVED Max's song! It was the bestest thing ever!

    I loved Gogo biting back at Carter.

    And HE MUST TELL EVAN!!! :D

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  8. Holy Mother...that was amazing...

    loved the song Max was singing
    loved the the story of how he found out
    loved the guys sticking up for GOGO
    LOVED EVEN MORE GOGO STICKING UP FOR HIMSELF...now he just needs to tell Evan and then everything will be right in the world

    great great update

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  9. Soooo! Let's start at the beginning. L.M.F.A.O. Max singing his little hockey song. Funny enough to have me crying with laughter right from the get-go. Hahaha ohhh man! Just thinking about it makes me smile.

    I could totally picture Max telling that story and making it all dramatic. "Put the fear of Talbot in Jeff." I have so much love for that man, it's quite unhealthy.

    Now Carter, aka Douche o' Rama, is a complete moron. Not gonna lie, he's the scum of the earth. Cheating with Hartnell's wife? Whatta dummy. Again, my hate for him sees no limits. Why go around running your fucking mouth about it?! You deserve to get caught, idiot.

    But noooo! Poor Alex! I know this isn't what you wanted, for Evan to get hurt, but this might be just a weight off her shoulders. Of course she'll be sad that fucking Carter cheated, but hey! now you guys can be together! Dear, sweet, Gogo. The time has come for you to tell Evan how you feel.

    Zigh, this chapter was so, so, so, so, good! Love!<3

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  10. Bah.

    Very good, very good.

    Max is fantastic, he needed a nice redeeming chapter after the whole walking in disaster and this one put me back into my Talbot mush, so that's definitley a plus.

    I must admit, I had the hugest grin reading Max's perspective while he listened in on douche bag and his wingmen. AND, as much as I hate Carter and his douchebaggery, I hate Hartnell and Richards equally as much.

    I want him to tell her so bad, but I don't. I don't want him to be the one who tells her so he doesn't have to feel so bad, but I don't want her to find out he knew and didn't tell her. Catch my drift?

    The cliffhangers are pure genious. Your writing never ceases to amaze me.

    Will be waiting tomorrow with baited breath, as has come to be the standard.

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  11. ahh!!!

    That was an amazing update!
    I can't wait for Alexs' response. Part of me wants him to tell her but part of me thinks that he shouldn't.

    I can't wait for tomorrows update! :)

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