til' we aren't strangers anymore:: part two.

two:

That someone was me. Soon enough I found myself starring into the eyes of Sidney Crosby. He sent me a soft smile, that I returned, and we held each others gaze for a few seconds, totally caught up in the moment. It felt like everyone else in the arena had just vanished besides he and I, and for a minute time stood still. He glanced down at my camera, then back up to me, shooting me a huge smile for a picture. I took the photo, laid down my camera, and once again we were starring into each others eyes.

Neither of us wanted the moment to ever end, but Sidney needed to get back to the locker room. Eventually, someone had to be the bad guy and I watched as Sidney about jumped through the roof when Jordan Staal tapped him on the shoulder. I giggled at his flustered expression and saw his face turn about ten shades of red. He regained his composure, then waved goodbye to me. I mouthed out a, "good luck" and with that he turned and skated back to the locker room, catching up with Jordan along the way and slapped him in the back of head. I laughed and slowly took my seat, sighing contently.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jodi peering at me, mouth wide open in shock. "Did you just.. Did he just.. Are you freaking serious?! Oh my god!" "Yes I just, and yeah he just. Oh and I am freaking serious," I grinned. This gigantic smile on my face may just have to be surgically removed. "I told you he'd love you Carr. I just knew it." "Let's not count our chickens before they hatch, kay? Ya know, I had this weird feeling all day, I mean it was good, but I just couldn't figure it out. I guess that was it." She looked back at me with a knowing grin, a dreamy look plastered all over her face.

The Flyers started to make their way out of their locker room and onto the ice, so I booed as loud as I possibly could along with all the fans. Jodi and I continued our talk, until the lights dimmed, and the announcer's booming voice could be heard throughout the arena. The Pens started pouring out of the runway, skating over to their bench, ready for the drop of the puck. Finally the moment came, "and number 87, Sidneyyy Crosbyyyyy!" I felt Jodi nudge me and I smiled as Crosby glided across the ice. The players set up at center ice, preparing for the first faceoff.

At 4:06 into the game, Chris Thorburn had scored the first goal of the night, with a sweet wrist shot past Niittymaki, making it 1-0. The crowd went wild, cheering and screaming as the Pens took the lead early in the game against their biggest rivals. Only a minute later I watched intently as Sidney took a pass from Ryan Malone behind the cage and battled with R.J. Umberger against the boards. He managed to maintain possession and kicked the puck from his skate to his stick out of Umberger's reach, before spinning around and skating towards the front of the net. With one swift motion he backhanded the puck past Umberger and the Flyers' defenseman, giving the Pens a 2-0 lead. It was definitely one of the best backhanders I'd seen in a while. I jumped to my feet, screaming like crazy as the goal horn sounded. The guys gathered together, celebrating their 2-0 lead, then broke apart. Sidney skated past me before heading to the bench, shooting me a smile, as if to say, "That one was for you." My heart fluttered as my excitement level continued to rise. "Ready to count those chickens yet?" Jodi laughed. "Well, maybe," I blushed.

By the end of the 1st period, the score was 3-2, in favor of the Pens, thanks to a power play goal by Gonchar. "Wanna go get some more popcorn? It's on me this time." "Sure.. Hey Carr?" " Huh?" I continued to rout through my purse, trying to find my wallet. "I think he really likes you. He glanced over at you every chance he got and that whole thing after he got that goal was pretty convincing. I know you don't want to get ahead of yourself, but the way he was looking at you wasn't just the, 'Oh she's cute,' thing." I took notice to the serious look expression on her face. She meant every word she said. I took a minute to piece together what I wanted to say, then stopped dead in my tracks. "I'm usually a very modest person, and most of the time I'd just brush off what you said and tell you it was just a simple glance, but you're right, it's not. Every time I look into his eyes I get this feeling that he's not just another guy. He's more than that." "I'm glad you realize that," she smiled.

We got our popcorn, and went back to our seats just in time to see the guys setting up for the first faceoff. Now the second period was again, amazing. The Pens had taken a 6-2 lead over the Flyers and the guys were on fire. Ryan Malone had netted a goal and Sidney was racking up points like crazy. This game was just incredible. The end of the game drew near and there was only about a minute left in the third. The Pens were on the penalty kill, which didn't seem to matter anyways, we already had a 7-4 lead. Soon we added another goal to our lead, off of a shorthanded goal by Staal. The buzzer sounded, signaling the end of the game, and the Penguins and their fans celebrated a fantastic 8-4 win. After screaming our lungs out we stayed at our seats, waiting to see the Three Stars of the Game. I cheered as Sidney came out of the runway, and the announcer called him as the 1st star of the game. He was completely deserving of it, after having a 6 point game. He looked over to me, smiling, then started back to the locker room. I sunk down in my chair, sitting there completely star struck, until Jodi tapped me on the shoulder. "Ready to go?" "Yeah," I managed to get out, still in my own little world.

We walked out of the seating area, then turned to head out to the gates. By that time there were hardly any people still there, and we walked on down the hall. " Uhh.. I don't remember it taking us this long before, do you?" Jodi asked. "No. Let's go back the other way." As I turned around I ran straight into someone, and the person spilled their drink all over the floor. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I really am. I'll help you clean it up," I apologized kneeling down. "It's no big deal. Don't worry about it," the guy said in a calm voice, crouching down in front of me. I raised up my head and almost screamed when I realized who it was.

He smiled at me softly and I did the same as we both slowly got back to our feet. "I'm Sidney.. Sidney Crosby, but I'm guessing you already know that," he grinned extending his hand. I let out a giggle, "I'm Carrie Blough, but you probably didn't know that," I introduced myself taking his hand, shaking it. "Ohh, and this is my best friend, Jodi Milavec." "Nice to meet you," he waved. "You too." He looked back to over to me and moment of silence washed over the both of us. Once again I found myself gazing into his beautiful hazel eyes as he stared into my warm chocolate brown eyes. I broke the quiet to let him know what a great job he did out there. "Congrats on a great game! You guys were on fire! 6 point night? That's just amazing. And that was one of the best backhanders I've seen in a while." "Thanks, but I couldn't have done it without the team," he blushed, which I thought was extremely attractive. I loved his modesty. He may be one of the Penguins best players, but he knows he couldn't do what he does every night without his team, and he makes it known to everyone. "Well anyways, thanks for beating those idiots." "No problem," he laughed, "I can tell you're a big Pens fan. Only the loyal fans hate the Flyers that much." "Got that right," I grinned.

A nervous look spread across his face, as he reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. "Um, I was gonna go skate around for a little while and I was wondering if you'd.. uhh.. want to come with me? I mean both of you." 'Woah! Am I dreaming this? Does Sidney Crosby, the best hockey player ever, the guy every girl wants to be with, my dream guy, actually want to hang out with me?!' I got more and more lost in my thoughts with each second that passed by. Jodi finally hit me in the back, knocking me out of my trace. I looked back to her and she gave me the go-ahead look, nodding. Seriously, I have the best friend ever. I turned back to Sidney, who still looked pretty nervous. "Yeah, I'd like that," I nodded, a gentle smile set on my face.