chapter six; falling for you.

Steph's POV

I woke up the next morning, not in my room. The sun made me squint my eyes as I tried to open them. I rolled over and met Taylor's face. He was sound asleep still, I slipped out of bed trying not to wake him but failed at that.

"Where are you going" His voice was scratchy as he turned towards me.

I stopped in my footsteps and turned back to face him, "I'm just gonna jump in the shower, sorry I woke you up."

"No biggie, I need to get up anyways." I watched him as he got out of bed. Shirtless with only a pair of shorts on. His body was toned and perfect, I could feel my face go hot as he walked towards me.

"Anyways, good morning beautiful" He said as he pulled me into a hug. His skin was soft and warm. His muscles tightened around me, I didn't want to be anywhere but here right now. His lips finally met mine. They felt soft as they moved with mine. His hug got a little tighter before he let go of me. I smiled, then turned and walked into the bathroom for my shower. I brushed my hair quick then let it air dry, through on some jeans with a team Canada t-shirt and put on a little bit of make-up. Taylor took his turn in the shower, he put on jeans and a hooded sweat shirt. He was clean shaven and the colour of his shirt brought out his eyes. Not that you wouldn't be able to not notice them anyways, they were the bluest of blue and gorgeous as hell. I heard a knock on the door, I walked over an answered it. It was Gabby.

"Bags are packed, ready to go?"

"What?"

"It's the last day, we are checking out"

"Oh, uhm yeah. We'll be down in a sec."

"Okay" She smiled, "I'll get Jordan to carry your bags to the car" I turned back to Taylor. I could feel the tears form in my eyes.

"What's wrong?"

I looked up and felt a tear fall down my face "I don't want to leave, I want to stay here, with you"

He pulled me into another hug, "We can still see each other, I'm only an hour away."

"I know, but my mom--"

"Your mom can't do anything. Your here aren't you?"

"True." I pulled back from him, "Your not gonna forget me right?"

"Stephanie, how could I forget you. You've been through this whole tournament from me. We connected instantly, you took three days to drive out here for me, and--" He paused.

"I've fallen for you." I was speechless when those words came out of his mouth. All I could do was smile and kiss him. I knew I had to leave but I continued to kiss him. He pressed me up against the wall, no space between our bodies and held my gently, like I made of glass. His lips moved with mine, soon his shirt was off again. I could feel his muscles against me. He tore my shirt off and ran his hands up and down my body. He lifted me up and placed me on the bed, he moved his body on top of mine and pulled on the button of my pants.

"Wait" I said gasping for air.

"What?"

"We can't"

"Why not?"

"It's to soon"

"I really, really like you Taylor but we are leaving today and I want this, when it will really happen to be special"

"Your right, I'm sorry"

"Don't be sorry, I liked all this" I winked. He kissed me again, then we put back on our shirts and headed down to the lobby and met up with Gina, Christina, Gabby, Ally, Alex and Jordan.

"What took you guys so long?" Gina asked.

"Nothing" I smiled. Her, Christina and Gabby all caught on.

"Explain on the way home" Christina whispered. I nodded and we headed out to the car. My bags were already in the car, I said goodbye to everyone. Gina and Christina got into my car, but I walked over to Taylor.

"Call me when your home" He said.

"I will, for sure" I smiled. He pulled me into a hug and began to kiss me.

"Steph, let's go" Gina yelled out the window. She caught my attention and I hugged Taylor once more then jumped into my car. It was going to be a long ride home.

chapter five; silver and gold.

"Stephanie Michelle Pratt, you better get your ass home instantly. I'm not going to tell you again" My mom yelled at me over the phone.

"And I'm not going to tell you again mom, I'm not coming home. I'm staying her with Jordan and Gabby. Gina and Christina are with me, and you can't convince their parents because they know their here and they are fine with it. I'm done living by your rules mom, I'm 17, I'm not a child anymore. It's time for me to make my own decisions and live my life, that I want to live." With that I hung up the phone. Jordan was standing at the end of my bed with his mouth open. He came over and hugged me.

"Good for you Steph"

"Thank Jordan" Taylor walked in to the room as Jordan was leaving and came and sat down on my bed with me.

"Ready for tonight?" I asked.

"Yeah, but I'm super nervous."

"You guys will do fine, win or loose everyone is going to realize how hard you worked for this and trust me it's been a battle just watching the tourney"

"I know, but the pressure of the country--"

"Taylor, focus. Your going to be fine, you do the best you can do." He pulled me closer to him and placed his lips with mine. I closed my eyes and took it all in. I was falling for him, I'd never met someone like him before. I felt as though he could finally be something positive in my life. He was bringing me back to who I was. He continued to kiss me until we both pulled back, begging for air. We both stood up as he laced his fingers with mine.

"I better go, Jordan's probably waiting"

"Okay, I'll see you after the game" With that I gave him one more quick kiss and he left. Gabby came back into the room from saying goodbye to Jordan. Gina, Christina, Gabby and I all got ready. We made our way down to the arena where we met up again with Ally. We took our seats and prepared ourselves for the biggest game at the moment. The World Juniors Gold Medal Game. Canada vs USA. It was going down, right before our eyes.

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Taylor's POV

I sat on the bench hearing the crowd go silent, watching the Canadian fans stand there, speechless while the few American fans stood and cheered. The US team jumped off the bench while the Canadian team watched the celebrate. It was over, it has just ended in overtime. The US scored the winning goal, it felt like the world was over. The media filled on to the ice surface as they set up the red carpets for the medal presentations. We were the first to receive our medals. They were silver, not the colour we were all hoping for. After the Americans received their gold medals, the American anthem ran through the building making my ears ring. I was happy for them, we both fought a hard battle and in the end they came out on top. I made my way to the locker room with the rest of the team, but before I went into the room I saw Steph standing there. Tears formed in her eyes as she walked towards me. I still had all my equipment on but I managed to wrap my arms around her and she threw hers around me. Tears fell down both our eyes.

"Taylor" She said pulling back, putting her hands together with mine, "I'm so sorry."

"I am too" I said, looking down.

"You all did so well," She placed her hand on my chin and pulled my head up to look at her, "You did what you could, it's no gold but look how far you've come. Be proud" She smiled.

"You're right, it's just hard to grasp"

"I understand, but after a few days you guys will be fine" With that I pulled her into another hug and kiss her forehead. Even though we just met, she's been my support system throughout the tournament, thinking about it now, I don't know what I would have done without her.

"Steph.." It was Jordan. She let go of me and ran to him giving him a long hug. They made their way over towards me, Gabby came around the corner with Ally. Their eyes were red from crying. Gabby ran to Jordan's open arms and gave him a long kiss. Tears fell from both their eyes as Gabby gave him sympathy. Ally did the same with Alex, they've been together for 3 years and from what I knew, she's never missed a game of his. He talked about her all the time, next to hockey she was his life. In fact, she probably beat out hockey in his eyes. After I got changed, we all headed back to the hotel. We hung out in mine and Jordan's room watching movies and pigging out on popcorn. The thought of the game was still in my head. I felt Steph rest her head on my shoulder, the thought was gone. I kissed the top of her forehead and thought to myself: Even though we lost the game, I still won something that night. Her, she was still with me and she was no silver, she was gold.

chapter five; media make-out.

Saskatchewan, MB.

6:00 p.m.

We just arrived in Saskatchewan. The trip took three days but it was going to be completely worth it, plus I loved the feeling of going behind my mothers back. We grabbed our bags, checked into our room that Jordan booked for us and ran up to it. All three of us changed quickly not wasting anytime and drove back down to the rink. I wanted to surprise Taylor after the game so I went and found Gabby and she took us to our seats.

"Steph! Thank god your here!" Gabby claimed.

"I seen the first 4 games on tv, amazing as usual. These are my two best friends; Gina and Christina" I said, as we reached our seats.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Gabby, Jordan's girlfriend and this is Ally, Pietro's girlfriend" We each shook Ally's hand as we took our seats.

"So your the girl he's been swooning over" I smiled.

"Well, I hope it isn't any other girl" Ally joked. I liked her already. We sat through the game, which was a close one. It was the first game against the USA and it was intense. Once Canada score, the US would score. It was always back and forth, but in the end Travis Hamonic scored the winner in overtime. The crowd went crazy as they cheered on Canada. Now we only had two more games until the finals, and that's if we made it. As the crowd cleared out we mad our way to the locker rooms, the media was lined up so we waited over by the entrance to get to the locker rooms for the boys to be finished with their interviews. Alex was the first one finished, he came over and Ally and him left to go out to the bar. Next was Jordan, he wasted no time on hugging both Gabby and I, he hugged Gina and Christina too let alone they were like his two other sisters. After him and Gabby left, Gina and Christina decided to go wait in the car while I talked to Taylor.

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Taylor's POV

She was back. I didn't think I would get to see her again.

"Taylor?" a journalist asked.

"Uhh I have to go." I left the journalists to figure out the question on his own. I needed to see Stephanie.

"TAYLOR!" She ran and jumped into my arms, wrapping her legs around my waist. I felt good to hug her again.

"Before I left, I meant to finish off from what we started the other day" And before I could speak, her lips were attached with mine. I gripped her face with my hands and she brought my body closer with hers. It felt like this was the only thing in the world that was happening right now, nothing else around, nothing else mattering. She pulled back and smiled.

"Well, it's great to see you to!" I gave her another quick kiss, "I thought you had to practice for skating or whatever?"

"I did, but my two friends and I snuck out three nights ago and drove here. We just got here before the game." She explained.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming back?"

"I wanted it to be a surprise" She smiled. We walked out to the parking lot, I got on the team bus and went back to the hotel, while Steph went with Gina and Christina. I still couldn't believe she was here, everything just got a whole lot better.

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Steph's POV

When we got back to the hotel I changed into my pj's. I could still tell I had a smile on my face. I was just glad to be back here, with the people I wanted to be with and the boy who was stealing my heart each minute.

"Sooo, what happened? You guys official yet?" Christina asked, sitting down on my bed.

"Well, I got that kiss I've been wanting, but no we aren't official; at least I don't think we are, we haven't really talked about it. Plus we just met."

"You guys totally just made out in front of the media, date him." Gina exclaimed.

"Oh god Gina," I laughed, "The things you say" With that we all went to bed. My mother hadn't called yet... after three days, but I was expecting a big bitch out soon. This time I wasn't going back though, I promised myself when I was driving up here I wasn't doing anything for her, I wanted to live my life, well now Taylor was becoming apart of it and he's the best thing that happened to me since my dad passed away.

chapter four; road trip.

I woke up the next day, still thinking about what happened with Taylor. It wouldn't leave my mind. I started to pack my bags, my mother was forcing me to come home and start practice with my skating. Right now, or at anytime in my life I could careless about skating. Gabby helped me finish packing, she tried to convince my mom to let me stay, as did Jordan but nothing worked. I went and knocked on Jordan's door to say goodbye, Taylor was standing behind him.

''I wish I could stay, I really hate leaving when the tournament is starting'' I said hugging Jordan.`

''Your leaving?'' Taylor asked stepping towards me.

''Yeah, my mom is forcing me to come home. We've all tried to convince her to let me stay but she won't''

''Ohh,'' He said, looking at the ground. I stepped closer to him and wrapped my arms around him. He squeezed me a little as his arms wrapped around me. This made me want to stay even more.

''Good luck with the tournament'' I smiled. And with that Gabby drove me over to the airport. She helped with with my luggage then we both said goodbye.

''I really hate seeing you go. Jordan would love for you to be here, and you and Taylor were getting pretty close, eh !'' She smiled.

''Yeah, I know. I've always made it to the tournaments. And I guess, so much for that.'' I said looking to the ground.

''Steph, don't give up. I can tell he's into you.''

''What am I suppose to do?''

''You'll think of something, you always do.'' She smiled again. I hugged her once more the boarder on to the plane. I hated my mother for this. I wanted to support my brother and be with Taylor. Why didn't she understand that I hated skating. The flight seemed really short. I was hoping it would seem longer since I didn't even want to be on it. My mom picked me up at the airport and I went home right to bed. I was still thinking about Taylor, the kiss, what could have happened if I hadn't have left.

The next morning was my first practice. My best friends, Christina and Gina tagged along with me. I explained them the Taylor situation. They freaked, they told me to somehow get back there and make that kiss happen. Make something between him and I happen. They were right. During practice I was completely unfocused. I messed up my whole routine, my mom was not happy.

For the next two days, all I did was practice. Everything was a mess and I could tell my mom was ready to kill something. I screwed up everything, was off the beat of the music and forgot all my steps. On top of that, Jordan had called and told me that Taylor was in some sort of 'depression'. He wasn't being himself and wasn't focused either. I needed to see him.

''Gina? Christina?'' I whispered. I was on 3 way call with them.. at 2 in the morning.

''Why are you up, Steph?''

''Wanna go on a road trip? I was thinking maybe Saskatchewan''

''WHAT!'' Yelled Gina,

''Shhhh'' Christina and I both replied.

''I'm serious guys, I need to see Taylor. I need to be there for him and my brother'' I pleaded.

''Pack your bags Christina, our best friend has some hot stuff waiting'' Gina said. I began to laugh, uncontrollably.

''I'll pick you guys up soon, deal?''

''Sounds good'' Gina replied.

''See you soon!'' Christina added. I finished packing my bag, there was a little less in it this time but yet everything I needed. I grabbed the cars keys off the counter in the kitchen and back out of the drive way, no lights on and going slow so it would wake my mom. I drove over to Christina's then over to Gina's. A three day road trip with these two should be interesting. I texted Gabby and told her I was coming back and would be there within three days. The tournament started today so I would miss the first few games which was a downer but there was nothing I could do. I told her to tell Jordan not to tell Taylor, I wanted it to be a surprise.

chapter three; making the team.

"What!" I said jumping out of bed.

"Time for practice" He said hitting me with a pillow.. again.

"How'd you, uhh?" It was too early for games, "How'd you get in here?"

"Your brother gave me a key." Taylor laughed.

"Wait, your?"

"Taylor.."

"Oh my god." I layed back down and pulled the blankets over my head, "You actually just seen me like this?" My hair was in a messy bun, no make-up and in a long sleeved navy blue shirt with grey track shorts. Not exactly my best look.

"What wrong with it?" He laughed as he sat down on my bed.

I sat back up, "Do you see me?"

"Yes"

"Imma mess!" I grunted.

"I think you look cute"

"You and you only" I said laughing as I got out of bed. Taylor was still sitting on my bed, he was quite... out there.. I liked it. I jump in the shower quick. I take in the warm water before I have to leave it. I get out, brush my hair then throw it up in a bun, why do they practice at 7 in the morning? I brush my teeth quick then apply some eye liner and mascara with a light shade of eye shadow. I walk out of the bathroom in my towel, completely forgetting that Taylor was still here.

"Well hello" Taylor smiled, he caught my attention and scared the shit outta me.

"It's you!" I screamed.

"Who'd you expect, I've been here all morning" He laughed. I gripped my towel a little tighter, the last thing I needed was for it to fall down.

"Well.." I was at a loss for words, I grabbed some clothes out of my suite case and turned back to Taylor.

"Are you going to watch me or turn around?"I joked, giving him the evil eye.

"I suppose I could turn around" He winked.

"No peeking"

"So, tell me about yourself?" He started.

"Well, my mother put me into figure skating. She failed while she was in it as a child so she decided to torture me. I guess I've grown to like it. I'm graduating high school this year, going into photography. What about you?"

"Well I've played hockey since I could walk. I'm graduating this year too. Majoring in the NHL" He joked.

"Quite a story," I laughed. I finished getting dressed and Taylor drove us down to the arena, where I met up with Gabby and we went to our seats.

"Don't you just love you brother" She laughed.

"So much" I said putting on a fake smile. We watched the boys do their drills, soon the teams would be determined. After practice we waited outside the locker room. The media was lined up down the hallway waiting for the players to walk out. Some with sad faces.. then there was Jordan and Taylor. Jordan was excited, he grabbed Gabby and spun her around then set her down gripping her face and kissing her then they walked off to greet the media.

"I made it!" Taylor said, pulling me into a hug.

"Congrats!" I said, wrapping my arms around his neck. His arms slid down towards my waist. I lifted my head off his chest and looked up. Our eyes locked and he leaned in for a kiss.

"TAYLOR!" Someone yelled running towards him with a camera. We let go as he turned towards the media. I guess it was a nice save since I only met him. But something came over me, making me want that kiss to happen more then anything in the world right now.

chapter two; flying french fries.

It was the second day of training camp, also the last day before the actual tournament started. Gabby, Jordan's girlfriend of 2 years was flying down today. My mom got sick of being here, since it was colder and she wasn't into the whole hockey thing, so Gabby was going to stay with me. Her and Jordan has to be kind of sneaky since the coach was strict about having girlfriends around during the tournament. I drove to the airport to pick Gabby up, she was kind of like my best friend. We got really close when Jordan and her started dating, he wasn't to fond of his girlfriend being best friend with his sister but that made it even better. Once I picked Gabby up, we dropped our stuff off at the hotel and went down to watch the boys practice again. This was the final day to show your stuff and really impress the coaches. Everyone did so well, it was going to be hard to pick new guys for the team. After practice we went down to meet Jordan by the locker rooms, Gabby ran into his arms. I wanted a relationship like theirs, they were just.. perfect. That was really the only way to describe it. Jordan set her down and hugged me after.

''Sara, do you wanna come to lunch with us? Taylor is tagging along too''

''Taylor, as in Taylor Hall?''

''Yes,'' Jordan smiled.

''Uh, yeah'' I smiled back. With that we went back to the hotel, I showered and got changed. I through on my favourite jeans with a knit sweater and my knit uggs. I pulled on my short black trench jacket and my Olympic mitts, touch up my hair a little then met up with Gabby and Jordan in the lobby.

''Ready to go?'' I asked.

''We are just waiting for Taylor''

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Taylor's POV

It was extremely cold out, but once I walked down into the lobby my blood got really hot. Jordan's sister, she was here. No one informed me off this or I wouldn't be in jeans and a sweater. She was hot, not to mention his girlfriend was a looker too.

''Hey man'' Jordan greeted me.

''Hi'' I said, keeping my eyes on his sister.

''Taylor this is Steph, Steph this is Taylor''

''Nice to meet you,'' I said holding out a hand towards her.

''Very nice to meet you too'' She smiled, why have I not met her before. We went to lunch at Montana's, my favourite.

''So,'' I started, ''You really enjoy hockey I hear''

''Best sport in the world'' Steph smiled back.

''Do you play?''

''No. I was never allowed, my dad tried to convince my mom but Jordan was the one who got the big stick''

''Don't blame this on me'' Jordan butt in, ''Just cause you suck at it doesn't mean shit''

''Too bad I kick your ass everytime in road hockey'' I said throwing a fire at him, but he dodge and it his Gabby. I clasped my hand over my mouth and tried to hold in my laughs but that was impossible. She attempted to throw one back but Jordan caught it with his mouth.

''Anyways,'' Steph continued, ''I'm a figure skater. Have been ever since I could walk. My mom kind of forced it on me, but I've grown to like it. I would much rather be playing hockey.''

''Maybe we can face off against Jordan and Gabby, pretty sure we got the better team already'' I said laughing at Jordan. We finished our lunch and headed back to the hotel. The snow was falling harder then is was when we left. The street lights caught Steph's face as I looked over at her. She was pretty, very pretty.

''Do you want to hang out tomorrow, maybe after practice?'' I asked Steph as we headed into the hotel.

''Yeah,''She smiled, ''I'd like that.''

''Great, uhh, I'll meet you here in the lobby after?''

''Sure,''

''Okay, well then I guess I'll see you tomorrow.. Steph''

''You will.. Taylor'' She smiled. We stood there for a good, akward, thirty seconds until I reached out my hand and she shook it. A hand shake really, wow, that was the lamest thing I have ever done. We say goodbye once we got up to our rooms across from each other and called it a night, once practice tomorrow and I'd know if I was playing for my country.

chapter one; training camp.

Mississauga, Ontario. Not exactly the greatest place in the world but it would have to do for now, until I had enough money to set myself free and become my own person. My mother's name is Katherine, I consider her to be like the wicked witch, kind of like the one in Snow White. She pressured me into being a figure skater from before I could walk, I guess I've grown to like it. My older brother is in jail, he got arrested for drug possession about a month ago. My other, oldest brother, Jordan Eberle was going over to Saskatchewan to play for Team Canada in the World Juniors Tournament. He's made quite a career in hockey, playing for Team Canada and being drafted into the NHL, I couldn't be more happier for him. I've always enjoyed hockey and I always wanted to play but with my mom putting me into skating I couldn't, and plus my brother did have some pretty cute friends. My father died when I was young, I feel as though he was the only one who really respected who I was and not who my mother wanted me to be. I've always thought that my mother only put me into figure skating because she failed as a child and when she got shut out at the Olympics thats when shit really hit the fan, though she denies it, I know its the truth. I'm a senior in high school, another place I can't wait to get out of. It's not the people in it, it's the place. I've never found time for school, I'm smart but my mother cares more about my skating then anything else. When I go to university I want to major in photography, it's always been something neat to me, just the way things can be seen through a camera lens. I just recently broke up with my boyfriend, Marc I found out he'd been cheating on me... with my best friend Janna. It didn't really effect me that much maybe when I first found out about it, it did but now that I think about it, it doesn't bother me going to show that it wasn't true love.

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"Sis, let's go we got a flight to catch" Jordan yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

"I'm coming, chill out.. 'bro'." I laughed as I grabbed my suitcase and purse, threw my coat over my shoulder and took everything out to the car. We were flying over to Saskatchewan for the World Juniors that my brother was trying out for. We already new that he would make the team since last year he scored the 5.4 second goal to tie the game with Russia and go on to win the gold medal, but it was still mandatory that he'd be a training camp. The flight wasn't as long as I thought it would be. For once in my life my mother shut up, with her yelling from the stands when I practiced my skating I just grown to get annoyed with her voice. Jordan was texting his friends and I was just looking out the window, taking the odd picture of the view.

"Thank you for flying with Air Canada, we hope you enjoyed you flight." I heard the announcer say as we stepped of the plane. The air was crisp. It was snowing, but just a little. You could still see some of the wheat in the wheat fields sticking up across the road from the airport, but not very much of it. We made it to the rented car that we well, rented and put our luggage into it. Our hotel was beautiful, it was like the Four Season in Toronto but not as nice. I felt like someone famous, but that would be my brother. He was bombarded with fans when we got to the hotel, he tried to sign as much as he could but my mother pulled him inside. All the players were staying at the same hotel, Jordan was bunking with Taylor Hall a new guy trying out for the team who got cut last year and Alex Pietrangelo who was returning as well. This was the time when I got to take a break from my skating which was a relief. I get to sit back and watch my brother do what he does best, win. My mother never really got into hockey, my dad got Jordan into when he was young but my moms thing was skating and unfortunately I got stuck with that instead of hockey. Sometime I got to into the game of hockey, Jordan and I used to get into fights when our teams played each other. He was all for the Ottawa Senators while I was a Leaf fan, one of the biggest rivals in hockey and it was in our household.

It was finally training day for the boys, my mother didn't come to the first training session but I was up and ready to go. I followed the team bus with the car down to the arena, it was another cold morning but that was my second favourite thing about Canada, next to hockey was the winters. I walked in with Jordan and followed him down by the locker rooms, to wish him good luck.

"Hey man we gotta get ready" I heard someone come out of the door of the locker room. I looked up and his eyes caught mine. They were the bluest of blue and he had short dirty blonde hair.

"Okay, I'm coming." Jordan gave me another hug and then walked back into the locker room with Taylor.

"Who was that?" I heard Taylor whisper, I looked back behind me but turned around quickly when he did the same.

"That's my sister" Jordan laughed. I made my was up to the seats, I cheered with the few other families that were here to watch their sons/brothers, I spotted Jordan right away. Then I seen him run into someone who was just standing, looking into the crowd of people. He bumped him a little which made him get into focus again. I squinted my eyes.. it was Taylor. During practice Jordan was like a shining star, but I was focussed on Taylor. I couldn't understand how he got cut last year from the team. He was amazing.