Stop the Clock.

Hey guys!
I'm sorry about the lack of posts, but life has been rather busy lately. I've had tons of school work and tests. Not to mention an annoying, super thick SAT prep book that consumes an hour and a half of my life everyday. And ontop of that a bunch of practices for baton competitions. So, with all of that I most likely won't be able to post anything until after March 14th when I take the SAT's. (Unless I'm lucky and get a snow day. Keep your fingers crossed, haha.) But, I've also had some ideas going through my head that you may like, if that makes up for anything. I'm really sorry about this. I hope you'll bear with me though.
-Carrie.

til' we aren't strangers anymore:; part nine.

Just a side note.. I had planned on starting this story as if was in the 06-07 season, but I changed my mind. So, from here on out this will be set in the 07-08 season. I only did it to speed things up a bit, because I'd be pretty behind if I didn't. By the way, this also makes Sid 20 and Carrie will be turning 20.
Steelers won the Superbowl!!!!! :)



part nine:;





I pulled into the snowy parking lot of sports bar in downtown Pittsburgh and stepped out into the cold. Taking a breath of the winter air, I turned my head and looked for any trace of Sidney and the boys. "See them anywhere?" "Nope, not yet," Jodi replied, walking around the front of the truck to join me. A gust of wind blew past us and I pulled my black wool coat tighter around me, shielding my still warm skin. Moments passed, and I let my mind begin to wander. Soon I became completely oblivious to everything, even the soft crunch of footsteps in the snow behind me. I was a bit shocked when a pair of warm hands covered my eyes and blocked the view of a random skyscraper I'd been staring at.



"Guess who?" His breath lingered on my neck and he pulled me back a bit, so my head was resting on his strong chest. "Um.. I don't know. Oh my God, you're the boogie man!" He lifted his hands from my eyes and I tilted my head up to look at him, a smile slowly forming on my pink lips. "Oh, it's you," I joked in a disgusted tone. "Well, don't be so happy to see me." He smiled. "I won't," I laughed, walking off towards the door. "Geez Sid, can't even keep a girl for a day," Max Talbot teased.



We walked in and found a table nestled into the back of the restaurant, in an attempt to have some privacy during our lunch. Sidney pulled out the chair next to him for me, and I sat down, thanking him as I did. "Okay guys, this is Carrie.." "So we've heard," Marc interrupted. Sid's cheeks reddened a little, before he continued. "Anyways.. Carrie, these are the guys. I'm sure you know all of them. And this is Jodi, Carrie's best friend and Jordan's new love interest," he laughed. "Hey, watch it Crosby," Jordan said squatting down to take his seat, but Max was way ahead of him. Jordan crashed to the floor, looking back to find his chair a few feet behind him. The whole table erupted in laughter as Jordan glared back at Max. "You fell for it Staalzy. Literally," he laughed.

Eventually everyone settled down enough to order their food, and the waitress walked away with our orders, eyes following her the whole way back to the kitchen. Guys."So, not that we haven't heard a good bit about you already," Petr Sykora started, looking over to Sidney as he did, "but, where are you from? Pittsburgh?" "No, I'm actually from Johnstown. It's a little town about two hours east of here. If you've seen Slapshot, that's my hometown." "Oh, really. That's awesome," Ryan Malone smiled, "So are you in college here?" "No, I opted to take a year off. But, I'm hoping to be a accepted to Pitt next fall." "What are you going for?" Ryan Whitney asked. "Pediatrics." "Nice," Kris Letang added.

Our lunches soon came and with them, the antics did too. Jordan picked up a salt shaker and tilted it towards his fries, only to have the lid fall off and all of the salt pour out onto them. "Don't you think you're overdoing it a little, Gronk?" Colby laughed. "I hate you guys," he stated bluntly, attempting to scoop up the salt with a spoon with some help from Jodi. "So, is this official pick on Jordan day?" I asked with a laugh. "Yeah. Sorry, we didn't have you number to send you the memo," Marc replied.

"Oh my God, they have bubble hockey!" I screamed excitedly, running over to the machine. I looked back to see at table of hockey players and my best friend staring at me like I was psychotic. "What? I haven't played this in forever. Now, are you just going to sit there and stare at me or are you playing?"

It was the nearing the end of the 3rd period, and Sidney and I were tied up 3-3, our competitive personalities clearly showing. "Oh come on, that's holding!" I yelled. "And this is bubble hockey, dear. No penalties," he smiled slyly. "And if there were that little dude would've been in the box half the game." The buzzer sounded and signaled the end of the end of the 3rd period. Seconds later the puck flew up through the ice for the face off, in which I won. We were tangled up at the end of his side of the rink and I had his stick held up. "Oh and you're telling me that's not holding!" he yelled. "No penalties, dear," I smiled coyly, mimicking him. Finally, I broke the puck away from him and sent it sailing down towards my end of the rink. It stopped in front of his net and out of the reach of his defender. I lifted my head for a moment to look at him. "Think you can handle this?" "Any day, anytime," he smirked. I turned my player sharply towards the right, getting Sid to move the goalie, then swiftly turned back the other way and shot the puck hard into the net before he could come back around to save it. "Yessss!!! Thought you said you could handle this, tough guy?" I mocked. He simply smiled and shook his head at me as I continued celebrating my victory.

[Sidney's P.O.V.]
For once it didn't matter to me that I didn't win. I watched Carrie as she celebrated, running down the line of my teammates, smacking all of their hands as she went, jumping around like she'd won the Stanley Cup. I couldn't help but smile at her. I loved her energy, the way she carried herself, everything. She glanced back at me as she ran and sent me that smile. God that smile. I wanted so badly to be able to find that face and that smile staring back at me everyday. And I hoped that was the way it would be.

[Carrie's P.O.V.]
I finished my victory lap and smiled back at Sidney. He was gazing back at me, that grin already covering his full lips. I loved it. I wanted to be able to see it everyday. I wondered what he was thinking about, if he felt the same way I did about him. I could only hope so. I'd heard from Trisha Yearwood that what's meant to be will always find a way. Maybe this was meant to be.

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

So, as you can see I decided to keep writing. Thank, The Notebook, for that.
I realize this one sucks, but it just leads into the next. That one will be way better, I promise.
Feedback would be much appreciated. Plus tomorrow's my birthday(!!), so get on that, haha. :)
Anddd.. "Pittsburgh's goin' to the Superbowl!" :)


part eight::




"Carrie, what are you doing?" Clothes were being hurled in every direction, landing sloppily everywhere from the floor to the fan, and now on top of my best friend's head. She quickly whipped the shirt off of her and threw it to the floor where it joined the rest of the contents of my closet. My room was fast becoming a war zone. "Seriously. What are you doing?" "Trying to find something to wear." I continued frantically searching my closet, now moving on the hats and other accessories. "Why?" She struggled to make her way to the bed, dodging stray hats, gloves, and scarves all along the way. Defeated, I brushed a hat off of the bed and sat down next to her. "Oh, that's right. I guess I didn't tell you." "Tell me what?" "I ran into Sid on my run and he invited us to go to lunch with him and some of the guys." Her eyes widened. "Some of the guys. As in, some of the Pens?" "Yes, silly goose, " I laughed. She jumped up and started off towards the door. "Hey, wait! I could use some assistance! I wasn't throwing my clothes all over the place because I felt like it."

"What about this?" She picked a deep purple long sleeve shirt from American Eagle off of the floor and held it up. "Yes, no?" "Yeah, I like that. And, hmm.. let's see." I began sorting through and rearranging the mess, looking for the perfect compliment to the shirt. "Aha, you hide from me no more." I could see her shaking her head out of the corner of my eye. "Don't you shake your head at me, missy." "Poor kid, doesn't even know he's in love with an escaped patient of the psych ward." "Funny. But seriously, scarf or no scarf?" I said, holding up a dark grey, almost black crocheted scarf. "That is the question." I added with a laugh. "Okay, you can stop with that now. And yes to the scarf." "Alright. And there's gloves and a hat somewhere around here that go with it. You're free to get ready now, thanks."

It was nearly an hour and half later and I was all ready, sprawled out on the couch, clutching my phone in my hands and staring at it intently. "If you're waiting for it to do a trick, hate to tell you this, but it's not going to happen." I shot her a dirty look and directed my attention back to my phone. Tick, tock, tick, tock. "Come on. Ring, just once. Please, baby." "Gonchar wrist shot. Blocked in front Malone fires it.." I flipped open my phone as quick as I could to read the message, but was sadly mistaken when it read, Jodi. "I hate you, you know that?" "Sorry, I couldn't resist," she managed to get out between laughs. The Penguins theme blasted through the apartment and I looked down to see, "Sidney," on the ID. Finally. "Hey." "Hey, we're done with practice. I'm sorry, but a bunch of the guys are riding with me. Would you mind meeting us there?" I could hear cat calls in the backround, then.. "Guys, shut up! Sorry." I couldn't help but laugh. "It's okay. And yeah, that's fine. Where should I meet you?" He told me where, and I picked myself up off the couch and headed for the door. "Cmon. Let's go."

Question?

Hey guys! So, I have a question for you. After reading over this story, I've been seriously considering starting over with a completely new and different story. But, I don't want to do if you like this one and want to see where it goes. I have ideas for it, but I just feel like I'm in a rut with it. So, if you could let me know what you think I'd really appreciate it. Thank you. :)

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

Hey guys! I know that I haven't been posting all that much and I'm sorry for that. I'd love to be able to more often, but I with school and this being my junior year, I just don't have the time to. And I really want to make sure that when I write I'm happy with it so I know there's a chance that you might be too. Because to tell you the truth, I've read through the first few chapters and I'm not exactly fond of them. So if it takes me some time, I'm only doing it for that reason. Anyhoo, I'd really like to hear what you think about the story. If you have any ideas for future chapters let me know. And I'm completely open to constructive criticism. Also, I might be posting on Friday too. Without further adue, part seven. Enjoy!

part seven::


"Ugh, go away," I whined groggily, tugging at the covers until they were resting perfectly over top of my head. "No. Get up lazy ass," Jodi laughed. God, how is it possible for anyone to have this much energy in the morning? She continued bouncing up and down on the bed, completely ignoring my protests. If I didn't know any better I would have thought it was Christmas. She reminded me for all the world of a little kid pouncing on the bed at six in the morning, begging you to wake up, thoughts revolving on nothing but all of the presents under the Christmas tree. Now I understand the agony I put my parents through. I made a mental note to apologize for that the next time I called them.

I reached over to my nightstand and felt around, "Here. Go entertain yourself," I said flicking my iPod at her. "Now now, someone's not being a very good hostess." Even if I couldn't see her, I knew she had to be waving her finger at me. "At this early in the morning, I don't have to be." "It's 8:00." "Exactly." And with that I readjusted the sheets and burrowed myself even further underneath them. Clearly, I had no intentions of giving in anytime soon. "Okay, well I'll just take this and keep myself busy while your sleeping." Ahhh, finally. "Hmm.. who should I text? I know.. Sid!" I layed there for a few more seconds, nothing sinking in. And then it finally hit me. My eyes shot open and I practically flew out of bed. "Hand it over!" I yelled, chasing her around the living room. "You didn't seem too interested a little bit ago, what makes you so intrigued now? What should I say?" She started typing, announcing everything aloud in an over dramatic voice. "Dear Sidney, I know we've only just met, but I must tell you this. I'm in love with you. Ever since our eyes met I haven't been able to stop thinking about you. I want you, all of you, forever. Let's book a room for tonight, just you and I. We can start the family we've both always dreamed of.." "Haa!!! Gotchya'!" I tackled her to the couch and ripped the phone out of her hands. "Oh, so you are awake?" she grinned. "Funny. Just wait. I will get you back for that." "Hey, it's not like I actually sent it." "And if you would've, you can be sure that I would have disowned you."

I wandered into the kitchen and delved into cupboards. "What's for breakfast?" "I'm not sure yet. Would you mind if I went for my run first and then we ate? Sorry, it's sort of my routine." "Nahh, go ahead." "Alright, just don't terrorize the place while I'm gone. Ohh, and I'll be taking this with me," I laughed, picking up my phone. I changed into track pants and a hoodie; slipped on my gloves and hat, Penguins gloves and hat that is; put on my shoes and was out the door.

I took a deep breath of the cold winter air as I ran down the side of the road. As weird as it sounds, I love running in the winter. There's just something about the snow that I love, even if it is a complete pain sometimes. I looked around at all of the it perched atop the trees and the flakes falling gently to the ground. It was just so beautiful. As I watched it, I couldn't help but become a bit homesick. Back home our house was tucked back into the woods, trees surrounding the whole place and in the winter it was gorgeous. My parents used to always take me out in the backyard and play in the snow with our dog, make snowmen, the whole deal. Then we'd come back in, make hot chocolate, and warm up. It was perfect. Even though I love Pittsburgh, nothing can compare to home.

I was dragged from my thoughts by a car honking at me. I turned back to see a silver Range Rover swerving my way. I couldn't help but smile when it pulled up beside me and the window rolled down. "Ya know for a hitchhiker, you're not bad. I'd pick you up," he winked. Then again, maybe I'm not so homesick. I laughed, "Thanks." "What are you up to?" "Out for my morning run, how about you?" "On my way to practice." "Have fun with that." "Oh I will. Hey, you and Jodi should come to lunch with me and the guys today. Want to?" "Yeah, that'd be good. What time?" "I'm not sure when we'll get done, so I'll just call you when we're ready. Sound good?" "Mhmm. Sounds great." "Awesome. Well, as much as I'd love to stay here and talk I have to get going or I'll be late. See ya later." "Bye!"

I waited until the car was out of sight then proceeded to squeal and jump around in circles. Sure, the people in the houses around me probably thought that I was some sort of psycho, but at that moment I truly could have cared less. That was the affect Sidney had on me and I was beginning to like it.. alot.

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

part six::

And so I stood, jaw to the floor, watching Sid walk down the hall towards the elevator. My eyes trailed from the cute, messy, hockey hair I loved; down his back; over his rather large butt that is so often the brunt of his teammates jokes; and oh God, those legs. I am such a sucker for his legs. Not everyone would choose to spend their time like this, but me, I couldn't think of any better way. Once the doors finally shut I managed to pull myself away from the spot I'd been glued too. The elevator wasn't quite as attractive as him.

I walked into my apartment and quietly shut the door behind me, before sliding back against it. When I closed my eyes the events of the night poured through my mind and a content sigh escaped my lips. If I was dreaming, well I'd be happy with never coming back from my Wonderland.

"So?" "Holy!" I jolted back from the door and about tripped over the table, but somehow steadied myself against it. How many times can you possibly fall in one night? "Next time, could you please give me some kind of warning before I completely space out?" "Scare ya?" "No. I only jumped out of my skin because I felt like it," I shot back sarcastically, still trying to catch my breath. "You always were a funny one."

I made my way into the kitchen and grabbed a box of my favorite, Milkduds, and two cherry cokes from the fridge, then strolled into the living room and took my usual place on the couch. I didn't say a word, it wasn't worth my breath or my time. If I knew Jodi, which I do, she'd just beat me to it anyways. "And where have you been all night? You do know it's almost 2:00 in the morning!" she joked, attempting to sound like some irritated mother. Was it really that late? I glanced over at the clock. Guess so. "Sorry mom. Won't happen again." "So, where were you?" "Wouldn't you like to know," I smirked. "Oh, but I would." "Well if you're really that interested.." I quickly came up with a crazy, sexy plot and began. " We skated around for a little while, but neither of us could keep our hands to ourselves. So we made sure the locker room was empty and took our fun there. After a while, Sid asked if I wanted to go to his place and so we did. Let me tell you, that man is pretty damn strong." I could hardly hold back a laugh. The look on her face was priceless.

"Nice try, hun. Now what's the real story?" Where do I start? It was just so amazing. I could barely keep my head straight. Instead of trying to retell the night, I decided on summing it up. I'd let her interrogate me. "It was just.. perfect." Simple, but true. "What happened?" I told her everything. About the laughs, the fall, the hugs, and of course about the most incredible guy I'd ever met in my life.

"It's no wonder why you were "Class Klutz." No one else will ever live up to your standards," she laughed. "And you mean to tell me you wouldn't have done the same thing if someone just appeared in front of you and screamed in your face?" "Okay. I'll give you that. But you're still the biggest klutz ever."

"Did you have fun with Jordan?" "Yesss." "Where did you guys go?" "We went to some nightclub with a couple of the guys. It was awesome. We danced, he took me home, and I got his number!" "Sweet! He seems like a great guy." "He is. You did get Sid's number, didn't you?" "Of course. Do think I'd honestly let him go without it?"

She sat there for a few seconds, then looked at me, a smile covering her face. "You never did answer me." "Answer you what?" What didn't I answer her? I couldn't think of anything. "Are you ready to count those chickens yet?" I blushed and stared down at the floor. I know, the floor isn't going to tell me what to say. I really didn't know how to reply though. "C'mon Carr. He's under your spell. It's pretty obvious." "But.." "No buts, he's yours."

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

I'm really sorry for such the long wait. School is killer, but I'm going to try and update more from now on. Just please stick with me, because I have some amazing ideas for this story that I'm sure you'll like.


part five::

Wait a minute.. I am standing at center ice in the Mellon Arena, and not only that but holding onto the man that saved the NHL? No, there's no way this is real. I'm probably just in my warm, cozy, bed dreaming sweet dreams of the Sidney Crosby. I pinched myself, ouch! Or maybe this is real. A smile crept onto my face, reality sinking in, and we finally let go of each other after a slightly longer than normal hug to find smiles covering both of our faces. We stood there staring at each other for a few seconds, but finally snapped out of it and started skating around the rink again.

But ohhh the dreaded awkward silence washed over us. 'Quick, Think of something to say! Nope, I got nothin'. Figures.' "How long have you and Jodi been friends?" Sidney finally asked. God the boy is a life saver. "Well, since my second grade year so.. 12 years." " Just about forever then?" he laughed. "But what do you mean by your second grade year?" he said, putting emphasise on the "your." "She's actually a year.." Nobody, not even me, would've expected what came out next. "Hiccup!" Wow, what great timing my body has. Sidney burst out laughing and really as embarrassing as the whole situation seemed, I had to admit it was pretty amusing, so I laughed along. "She's a year what?!" Sid teased between laughs. "Shut hiccup up!" I shot back playfully. "Hiccup!"

Neither of us could quit laughing, but I noticed Sid's eyes trail away from me to something behind me. I started to turn around to see what he was looking at and.. "BOO!" Colby shouted, inches away from my face. "Ahhh!" I screamed, jumping about a million feet into the air. And let's just say the landing wasn't such smooth sailing either. I came down, my feet sliding out from underneath me, and fell flat on my butt. I let myself lay back across the ice and started to laugh so hard I could barely breathe. Colby and Sid stood, their hands on each others shoulders holding them up, laughing and pointing at me.

"She's a keeper," Colby grinned after we all settled down. Sid's cheeks flushed red as he skated over to help me up, since I was still sitting on the ice. I didn't really want another mishap. "Need some help?" he smiled, standing in front of me. "Couldn't hurt." He took my hands in his and helped pull me back up. "Thanks," I grinned. "How about we properly introduce you this time?" "Sounds like a plan." "Colby, this is Carrie Blough. Carrie, this is my best friend Colby. If you haven't noticed he likes to joke." "You make great first impressions, but it's really nice to meet you,"I joked. "You don't make too bad of one yourself. And it's nice to meet you too." He paused for a moment. "So this is her, eh? The girl that can get Sid's head out of the game, that's impressive," he directed towards Sid. His face was still red and a bashful smile played on his lips, one that told it all. "Well, I'm gonna get going. See ya tomorrow, Sid. Nice meeting you, Carrie." "Bye Army." "Nice to meet you too," I waved.

After the whole fiasco, we talked for a while longer until we were pretty much kicked out, or at least risked being hit by the Zamboni. As we walked towards Sid's car I heard an all too familiar, annoying voice. 'God, no. Why now?' "Carrie! Oh my God, I haven't seen you in forever!"

"Gee, wonder why?" I muttered under breath. However faintly I said it, Sid still caught it and sent me a very curious look. Brianna.. yep, still the slut she's always been. Her skirt was so ridiculously short it hardly covered enough skin to be worn in public, and ughh of all things she was wearing an iced pink jersey with none other than an 87 and Crosby stitched across the back. "How have you been?" "Ohh, I've been great. I haven't had to deal with this one person for a while." Yeah, right over her head just as planned. Blond as can be. "Holy.. Sidney Crosby! Carrie, why didn't you introduce me to your friend?" she said, half annoyed. Hmm.. maybe because you'll try your best to steal him away from me too. Don't think so hun. Not this time. "Umm.. could I get a picture?" She asked in a flirtatious voice, tugging her jersey down further to reveal even more cleavage. Oh Ewww! Give me a break. "Uh, sure," Sid replied hesitantly. "Could you take it please?" "Whatever," I huffed. She walked over to him, getting as close as she possibly could. Sid took a step or two to the side. Haha! "Here." I said handing her the camera. She started to say something, but Sidney interrupted. "If you don't mind it's getting late, and we have to go." "In that case, I'll catch up with you later, Carrie. Bye!" "How about not," I glared, walking away.

"Who the heck was that?" Sid asked as we drove off towards my apartment. "That was the biggest slut in the world, Brianna Dorsha." "I'm guessing she did something to be called that, because you seem like a real sweetheart," he stated matter-of-factly. My face blushed as I started to tell the story. "Okay, it's somewhat of a long story." "I've got time," he smiled sweetly. "Alright then. In my freshman year I started dating this junior, Alex. I really liked him and I thought he liked me alot too. I was even ready to tell him that I loved him. I went over to his house one day after school to visit him. He played football and he had practice that day, so we hadn't planned on spending any time together. I got to his house and went up to his room, the door was closed. So I opened it and found him sitting on his bed making out with Brianna," I sighed.

Just as I finished we pulled into the parking lot. Sid ran to the passenger's side of the car and opened the door for me. "Oh, I'm sorry," he said sincerely, pulling me into a hug. "It's okay. In a way it was actually a good thing. I mean, I found out what a jerk he was. And he wasn't right for me anyways," I said as he let go. "Yeah. He must have been an idiot to let someone like you go." "Aww, thanks," I smiled softly. "I'll walk you up to your apartment."

We were now standing outside of my door. "I had a ton of fun hanging out with you. You're hilarious," he laughed. I knew what he was referring to. "I had alot of fun too." "Um.. could I.. uhh.. get your number? I'd love to hang out again," he stammered. "On one condition." "What?" "You give me yours." "Sure." We exchanged numbers and he swooped me up into another hug. "See ya, Carrie," he waved as he walked away. "Bye Sid!"