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2minsforslashing2006-10-08 10:47 pm
x-jerseygirl.livejournal.com) wrote in 2minsforslashing2006-10-08 10:47 pm
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TITLE: Brotherly Love
AUTHOR: Jennie
CHARACTERS: Zach Parise and Travis Zajac of the New Jersey Devils and Jordan Parise of the Lowell Devils
SUMMARY: What do you do when the one person you want to be with you can't have? (I stink at summaries. Please read it anyways..:D)
RATING: G
DISCLAIMER: This is all fiction.
A/N: Doc and Chico are the Devils' TV announcers. Let me know what you think, and happy reading! :)
“I don’t smile too much.”
“Yes, you do. You’re always smiling. Your interview with Doc and Chico last night was you smiling the entire time. It’s frightening.”
Zach had been mocking Travis for as long as they knew each other about his naturally optimistic personality. It wasn’t that Zach was pessimistic; he was a realist. He knew that sometimes, good things didn’t always happen to good people, and he knew that sometimes, no matter how hard you tried, you might not always get what you strived for. Even in his rookie season just one year ago, Zach never possessed the giddy personality that seemed to be embedded in everything Travis did. But still, he always took Zach’s teasing to heart, and would invariably think of a come back.
“Telling me not to smile would be like me telling you not to get so excited when you score a goal. You look like a monkey humping the boards when you score.”
“I do not.”
“Do, too.”
“Do not.”
“Well, still. I can’t help but smile. I like being here. I’m happy, and when I’m happy, I smile.”
Travis followed closely behind Zach as they exited the American Airlines Center. Goosebumps didn’t form on their arms as they would have in East Rutherford. Instead of donning wool coats, they swung their suit jackets over their shoulders and let the cool breeze rustle their wet hair, which was slowly drying with the warm air. The sound of their dress shoes hitting the pavement echoed across the clearing in front of the arena.
At one point, Travis stopped underneath one of the trees that lined the road leading to the arena’s entrance and looked through the branches at the full moon. Zach, after noticing that Travis had stopped, turned around and walked to where he stood. He stayed silent for a while, just looking, gazing at Travis.
“You’re Jordan’s brother! He talks about you all the time. Everyone does here. You’re pretty much a legend.” Zach tried his hardest to be annoyed by him, but found himself returning the person’s contagious smile.
“Yeah. I don’t know if I’d say I was a legend, but..” Zach shrugged and noticed something resembling a giggle escaping his lips. At that moment, Zach saw Jordan walking over and noticed how he was looking from Zach to Travis slowly.
“So, I see you two have already met.” Jordan had somewhat of a smirk on his lips. “Zach, this is Travis. Travis, this is my baby brother Zach.”
“I know who this is!” Travis shrieked in Zach’s ear. “He’s practically my idol. You know, we could be playing together next year.” Travis nudged Zach with his elbow and winked.
“Yeah, if you make it out of camp.”
“Hey! At least I was drafted!”
“Oh, snap! Who’s cool now?”
“You’re just jealous because I can think of better comebacks than you.”
“Yeah, okay. We have to go now, though. My rich brother is treating me to a steak.”
Taking that as his cue, Zach nodded to Travis and said, “Nice meeting you.” Zach turned and walked away before he could give Travis a chance to respond and left Jordan running to catch up with him.
“I think you like him!” Jordan smiled at Zach and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
“It’s not like I’m ever going to see him again. He’ll probably be drafted my Phoenix or somewhere far away and we’ll never play him.”
But Zach was wrong. A few months later, the New Jersey Devils selected Travis as the 20th pick in the draft, and the feelings Zach had tried to suppress for all those months came bubbling up to the surface.
Travis caught up to Zach and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his dress pants. The smell of Travis's cologne filled the air surrounding Zach, so Zach began walking further ahead to lose the scent.
"What'd you think of the goal?" Travis's voice held an expectant tone, and Zach knew Travis was waiting for his approval. Zach contemplated on criticizing Travis, contemplated letting him know all of his mistakes. But
"It was awesome. It was a crazy first goal to have."
Zach glanced behind him and noticed a grin on Travis's face. He hated that Travis's smile was contagious, hated that Travis's mood depended on what other people thought of him and, most of all, hated that those feelings he'd tried to suppress all those years ago never quite went away.
They walked in silence for a moment, continuing down the walk that led away from the arena. Zach concentrated on the sounds of the city instead of concentrating on the sound of Travis's breathing. He heard him take a deep breath in, then listened as his words penetrated the warm air.
"Why'd you ask me to walk with you if you don't want to walk next to me?"
"I didn't ask you to come."
"Yes, you did. You said, 'I'm bored. Walk with me.''
"That's not asking. That's telling you you're coming, no matter what. You didn't have a choice."
"But still," Travis stopped walking and Zach could feel his gaze searing through him, "I came with you anyway. I would've thought you would have at least made small talk or something. This is ridiculous."
Zach turned around and noticed, for the first time, that a smile wasn't playing on Travis's lips. Instead, his arms were crossed in front of him and his eyebrows were furrowed. He had never seen Travis upset as long as he could remember, and to see him upset now hurt Zach more than anything. Suddenly, Travis jumped and said quietly, "I'm vibrating." He reached into his pants pocket, pulled out his cell phone, and quickly glanced at the caller ID. He smiled slightly, despite his most recent mood, and flipped open the phone. "Hey, baby." Zach watched as Travis wandered away from him, slowly loosening up and giggling playfully into the phone. Travis glanced over to Zach and, after mumbling something into the phone, walked back over to Zach.
"Sorry about that."
"It was Jordan?"
"Yeah. He was just calling to congratulate me on the goal. He told me to tell you to call your mom, because she's worried about you."
Zach began walking towards the small oak closest to him and sat on the ground beneath him. He looked up at Travis standing above him, and asked, "You guys still in love?"
AUTHOR: Jennie
CHARACTERS: Zach Parise and Travis Zajac of the New Jersey Devils and Jordan Parise of the Lowell Devils
SUMMARY: What do you do when the one person you want to be with you can't have? (I stink at summaries. Please read it anyways..:D)
RATING: G
DISCLAIMER: This is all fiction.
A/N: Doc and Chico are the Devils' TV announcers. Let me know what you think, and happy reading! :)
“Stop smiling so much.”
“I don’t smile too much.”
“Yes, you do. You’re always smiling. Your interview with Doc and Chico last night was you smiling the entire time. It’s frightening.”
Zach had been mocking Travis for as long as they knew each other about his naturally optimistic personality. It wasn’t that Zach was pessimistic; he was a realist. He knew that sometimes, good things didn’t always happen to good people, and he knew that sometimes, no matter how hard you tried, you might not always get what you strived for. Even in his rookie season just one year ago, Zach never possessed the giddy personality that seemed to be embedded in everything Travis did. But still, he always took Zach’s teasing to heart, and would invariably think of a come back.
“Telling me not to smile would be like me telling you not to get so excited when you score a goal. You look like a monkey humping the boards when you score.”
“I do not.”
“Do, too.”
“Do not.”
“Well, still. I can’t help but smile. I like being here. I’m happy, and when I’m happy, I smile.”
Travis followed closely behind Zach as they exited the American Airlines Center. Goosebumps didn’t form on their arms as they would have in East Rutherford. Instead of donning wool coats, they swung their suit jackets over their shoulders and let the cool breeze rustle their wet hair, which was slowly drying with the warm air. The sound of their dress shoes hitting the pavement echoed across the clearing in front of the arena.
At one point, Travis stopped underneath one of the trees that lined the road leading to the arena’s entrance and looked through the branches at the full moon. Zach, after noticing that Travis had stopped, turned around and walked to where he stood. He stayed silent for a while, just looking, gazing at Travis.
After a UND game sometime a few years ago, Zach had gone down to the Fighting Sioux’s locker room, hoping to throw a few words of congratulations his older brother Jordan’s way. He had walked through these halls many times before, only this time, he was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt instead of full uniform. He walked through the doorway and immediately bumped into someone exiting the room. Zach stood up and prepared to battle with his assailant, but was instead met with a large smile and an outstretched hand.
“You’re Jordan’s brother! He talks about you all the time. Everyone does here. You’re pretty much a legend.” Zach tried his hardest to be annoyed by him, but found himself returning the person’s contagious smile.
“Yeah. I don’t know if I’d say I was a legend, but..” Zach shrugged and noticed something resembling a giggle escaping his lips. At that moment, Zach saw Jordan walking over and noticed how he was looking from Zach to Travis slowly.
“So, I see you two have already met.” Jordan had somewhat of a smirk on his lips. “Zach, this is Travis. Travis, this is my baby brother Zach.”
“I know who this is!” Travis shrieked in Zach’s ear. “He’s practically my idol. You know, we could be playing together next year.” Travis nudged Zach with his elbow and winked.
“Yeah, if you make it out of camp.”
“Hey! At least I was drafted!”
“Oh, snap! Who’s cool now?”
“You’re just jealous because I can think of better comebacks than you.”
“Yeah, okay. We have to go now, though. My rich brother is treating me to a steak.”
Taking that as his cue, Zach nodded to Travis and said, “Nice meeting you.” Zach turned and walked away before he could give Travis a chance to respond and left Jordan running to catch up with him.
“I think you like him!” Jordan smiled at Zach and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
“It’s not like I’m ever going to see him again. He’ll probably be drafted my Phoenix or somewhere far away and we’ll never play him.”
But Zach was wrong. A few months later, the New Jersey Devils selected Travis as the 20th pick in the draft, and the feelings Zach had tried to suppress for all those months came bubbling up to the surface.
“Zach, you okay?” Zach was thrown out of his thoughts by the sound of Travis’s voice and began to walk away.
“Come on,” Zach said to Travis behind his shoulder. “We can’t stand there all night.”
Travis caught up to Zach and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his dress pants. The smell of Travis's cologne filled the air surrounding Zach, so Zach began walking further ahead to lose the scent.
"What'd you think of the goal?" Travis's voice held an expectant tone, and Zach knew Travis was waiting for his approval. Zach contemplated on criticizing Travis, contemplated letting him know all of his mistakes. But
"It was awesome. It was a crazy first goal to have."
Zach glanced behind him and noticed a grin on Travis's face. He hated that Travis's smile was contagious, hated that Travis's mood depended on what other people thought of him and, most of all, hated that those feelings he'd tried to suppress all those years ago never quite went away.
They walked in silence for a moment, continuing down the walk that led away from the arena. Zach concentrated on the sounds of the city instead of concentrating on the sound of Travis's breathing. He heard him take a deep breath in, then listened as his words penetrated the warm air.
"Why'd you ask me to walk with you if you don't want to walk next to me?"
"I didn't ask you to come."
"Yes, you did. You said, 'I'm bored. Walk with me.''
"That's not asking. That's telling you you're coming, no matter what. You didn't have a choice."
"But still," Travis stopped walking and Zach could feel his gaze searing through him, "I came with you anyway. I would've thought you would have at least made small talk or something. This is ridiculous."
Zach turned around and noticed, for the first time, that a smile wasn't playing on Travis's lips. Instead, his arms were crossed in front of him and his eyebrows were furrowed. He had never seen Travis upset as long as he could remember, and to see him upset now hurt Zach more than anything. Suddenly, Travis jumped and said quietly, "I'm vibrating." He reached into his pants pocket, pulled out his cell phone, and quickly glanced at the caller ID. He smiled slightly, despite his most recent mood, and flipped open the phone. "Hey, baby." Zach watched as Travis wandered away from him, slowly loosening up and giggling playfully into the phone. Travis glanced over to Zach and, after mumbling something into the phone, walked back over to Zach.
"Sorry about that."
"It was Jordan?"
"Yeah. He was just calling to congratulate me on the goal. He told me to tell you to call your mom, because she's worried about you."
Zach began walking towards the small oak closest to him and sat on the ground beneath him. He looked up at Travis standing above him, and asked, "You guys still in love?"
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Anyway. Love this. Of course.
I decided I can't help but like Zajac, even if it adds another Devil to my unfortunately growing list. And I want him to end up with Zach, so you better write more!!!
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Travis reminds me too much of Zach, so I have to like him. I'd like him anyways, but still..he reminds me of Zach. They went to the same school, he played with Zach's brother..it's all too coincidently.
But thanks for the compliments! :)
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but watch your spacing, it's hard to read when it's all smuished togeather!
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Does it look better now?
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*hugs* Thanks!
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Anyway i really liked the way you captured the two differnt personalities.
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Sorry for the late comment.
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I was wondering when you were going to comment. :P
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I'm not at all fond of the Devils, but the ones you write about make me want to dislike those guys less. :)
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I loved the twist at the end, I was totally not expecting it. :)
My feedback for improvement:
* I was a little unclear, especially at the beginning, who the narrator was. If I was beta'ing this, I would say we need to get into Zach's head a little earlier in the piece to make it clear we're seeing this from his POV.
* I couldn't tell who was saying what, especially at the beginning...and when that happens, I lose the story.
I did go back and re-read it once I figured out who was likely saying which line, because it's you. :)
If you'd like more constructive suggestions, let me know! (*heads off to read the next part*)