S C O T T

I was bad with apologies.

Usually, I just waited for a problem to blow over. If that didn't work, then I'd somehow find a way out of it. But I had never been particularly good with apologies. I never knew the right words to say, or how to make it sound sincere.

That was why I had planned my apology for Elle perfectly.

I pulled up to Elle's house, grateful when I saw that there were no cars parked, except for hers. I quickly got out of my car, holding the boquet of roses and stuffed animal tightly in my hands. I bit my lip and walked up the driveway, wondering how to do this. I could've always gone the cheesy route and threw pebbles at her windows, but they'd probably end up cracking the window, and I didn't have the money to pay for broken windows.

I tugged on the collar of my shirt and knocked on her door. I rocked back and forth on my heels, waiting for Elle to open the door. I paused, hoping that she wasn't asleep or something. Angry Elle was already hard enough to deal with, but angry and tired Elle would be something else entirely.

I didn't get much time to worry, though, because soon the door swung open. I took a few steps back and grinned at Elle, who's green eyes widened slightly. She frowned and looked up at me and I attempted to discreetly hide the stuffed animal behind my back. Elle's eyes travelled down to my arm and I cleared my throat, catching her attention.

"Hi," I said, and Elle just nodded her head, "Um, can I come in?" I paused and Elle held the door open, "Cool, cool. Thank you."

I walked inside and Elle shut the door behind her, turning to me. She didn't really look mad, anymore. If anything, she looked tired and kind of sad. And I hated that. I hated that this stupid argument had gotten dragged out, and now Elle just seemed blatantly upset and I absolutely hated it.

"I went to the flower shop," I blurted out, holding out the bundle of red roses in my hand, "I didn't know which kind of flowers you liked best - I didn't even know if you have a favorite flower - so I picked out these. I mean, they smell, like, really good. I promise."

A small smile tugged on Elle's lips and I smiled back, handing her the roses. Elle sniffed the roses and a ridiculous grin broke out on her face. My own lips tugged into a grin and I scratched the back of my neck, taking a deep breath. So far, my plan was going amazingly. I mean, I considered it going good since she let me in the house, honestly.

"Thanks, Scott," Elle smiled up at me, and I grinned back down at her, "I mean, my favorite flowers are lilies, but these are good, too."

My eyes widened and Elle busted out in laughter. I scowled at her and Elle just smirked back at me, and that was great. I missed the Elle that would smirk at me and mess with me and make stupid jokes. It had only been a few days, but I missed it.

"I know you were mad - or, maybe still are. I actually don't know," I frowned, cheeks flushing lightly. I swallowed and brought the stuffed animal out from behind my back, "But I really, really like you, Elle. And this was really cute, like you."

I handed over the stuffed animal.

It was a stuffed dog - Duke the dog, the Marlies' mascot. I had whited-out the name on the back of the small jersey, and scrawled, 'Scott + Elle' on the back, instead. I knew it was cheesy, but I played on the Marlies, and Elle basically came to every practice, so it just fit. Plus Elle was holding the stuffed dog tightly, and I knew I'd made the right move by buying it.

Elle looked back up at me, and I smiled back at her. Any traces of anger or sadness had completely disappeared from her face, and a genuine smile broke out on her face. She set the roses down on the table, held Duke in one hand, and walked forward, wrapping her arms around my torso. My eyes widened and then I grinned, instantly reaching forward and wounding my arms around her waist.

We stayed like that for a few minutes: my arms tightly wrapped around Elle, and Elle's arms clinging tightly to me. I placed my hand on top of her chin, and we pulled away a few minutes later. I couldn't help but grin down at her, and she sent me back the same ridiculous grin.

"I wasn't mad," she admitted, and I furrowed my eyebrows. Elle paused and nodded, "No, I was pretty mad. But I was upset. It's kind of dumb, because we spend so much time together, but I thought practice was another way to spend time together, y'know? And then you said you didn't need practice anymore. But my God, Scott. I really, really like you, too. A lot."

Two things ran through my mind at that point. One, being, that Connor was right. Elle was mad, and for the next few weeks, all I would hear was him brag about how he was always right. (Which wasn't true - Connor was only right, like, once a year).

Two, though, Elle had said she was upset. Was being the past tense, meaning that we were taking a step in the right direction.

"I'm sorry, babe," I said, gently taking Duke out of her hand. I put Duke right next to my face and bobbed the stuffed animal up and down, making sure I nodded in sync with it, "I'm sorry, and Duke's apologizing, too. Which makes two cute guys apologizing, so you can't say no to that."

Elle grinned and snatched Duke back, and I just shot her a goofy grin. Elle put Duke down on the edge of the couch and I grinned, cracking my knuckles. Things might have gone absolutely amazing, but I still had a little more planned. Even if Elle wasn't upset anymore, I still had another thing for her.

"Get your coat," I told her, rolling up the sleeves of my shirt. Elle quirked an eyebrow and I smirked, putting my hands on her shoulders and pushing her towards her jacket, "Come on, babe! You can't ruin the surprise!"

Elle ducked under my hands and turned, green eyes flashing in amusement, "Surprise?"

"Coat!" I said, wrapping my arms around her waist and easily scooping her up. Elle yelped and I laughed, holding her close to me because I had really missed doing that.

A lot of good things happened since I moved to Toronto. One, I was so much closer to achieving my dream of playing for the Maple Leafs. Another, though, was that I had found an empty hockey rink that would be perfect for what I had planned with Elle.

I had found the rink when I first moved down to Toronto. I had been looking for places to play, and it was at an old, run-down playground. The locks were left opened, so I didn't hesitate to go in. It was clearly for street hockey, but it worked fine to practice shots and running. Now, though, it was serving a totally different purpose.

I pulled into the parking lot behind the rink, and Elle turned to me, a confused expression on her face. I grinned and slipped out the door, snatching my bag from the back. In a matter of seconds, I was on her side, opening her door and helping her out. Elle reluctantly got out and I grinned even wider, wrapping an arm around her waist and leading her across the empty lot.

We quickly walked up to the rink and I pushed opened the doors, leading Elle inside. I closed the doors behind us and held out my hand, laughing at the shocked expression on Elle's face.

I had bought another bouquet of roses, but, instead of giving them to Elle, I had put the petals all around the rink. It was an idea I got from Jay, and, due to the wide grin on Elle's face, I figured it had been a good idea. Elle turned and gave me another hug, before pulling back and pointing to the bag in my hand.

"This is amazing," she admitted, bending down and picking up a rose petal, "I hope you know that you're impossible to stay mad at, Scott."

"I know," I grinned at her and leaned against the wall.

Elle and I fell into silence for a few minutes; she stared around at the arena. The petals were all over the place, and the wind knocked them about. But, honestly, it still did look really, really good. I made a mental note to thank Jay for the idea later.

"I lied," I said, dropping the bag on the ground. I bent down and unzipped it, pulling out one hockey stick. I looked up at Elle and held it out to her, "I do need practices with you. I may, kind of, love them a lot, too."

Another huge grin broke out on Elle's face as she accepted the stick. I took out my own stick, tossed her a helmet, and pulled mine on. I dropped the puck on the floor, and pulled out my jersey. I frowned when I remembered Elle didn't have my practice jersey, but she just leaned forward and took my jersey.

Of course. She stole my jersey everyday before practice.

I just shook my head and slapped the puck, watching it slide across the rink. I bumped my hip against Elle's and she laughed, dashing forward and going after the puck. I groaned and sprinted after her, poking the back of her ankles with my stick as she ran forward with the puck. Elle whipped around and raised her stick and I smirked, side-stepping her, stealing the puck, and running away running with it.

Elle called something after me and I lifted my hand, waving her off. I laughed and sprinted forward, taking a quick slap-shot. I grinned when the puck slid into the goal (which was really just lines drawn with chalk on the ground), and turned, holding up my stick and waving it like mad. Elle poked me in the stomach with her stick and I rolled my eyes, leaning forward and wrapping one arm around her waist, pulling her towards me.

Rose petals were flying all over the place at this point. Some stuck to the bottom of our sticks and shoes, and some were flying through the air. But I didn't care, because nothing could have made that moment any better.

I dropped my stick and Elle pulled away, shooting me a smirk through her helmet. I scoffed and watched in amusement as she got the puck and easily jogged to the other side of the rink, smacking it into the goal. Elle cheered for herself and I rolled my shoulders before stepping into the middle of the rink and beckoning her forward.

I held my stick between my two hands and smirked at her, "I hope you're ready to get beat, babe."

"I hope you're ready to get your ass kicked," Elle paused, a wicked grin breaking out on her face. She stopped a few feet in front of me and tapped her stick against the ground, "babe."