— ever since he had laid eyes on that beautiful girl, Carter hadn't been able to forget about her.

The outdoor game just sent him over the edge. Watching her on the screen, knowing he had no way of getting to her, watching players whisper about how beautiful she is, sent Carter into a frenzy.

It was for those reasons, Carter Hart was outside in the below freezing Buffalo weather, at nearly eleven at night. When he left the hotel in nothing but black joggers, a grey team Canada long sleeve and a red team Canada toque, a run had seemed like a perfect idea. Now, it was a good idea that Carter didn't prepare himself for.

He ran down the streets, going in waves of sprints and slow jogs. The crisp air made his lungs feeling amazing and new, the snow sent him into a comfortable state of mind. Carter was relaxed, for the first time since finding out he made team Canada.

The streets were deserted, as no one except for Carter was crazy enough to be out in this weather. Carter didn't even really know why he was outside. It was the night before an afternoon game against Denmark, a game he would be starting in. It was freezing, and almost past his curfew. However, that didn't faze him as he went wherever his feet carried him.

Not knowing where anything was in Buffalo, and with it being so late, Carter stuck to the main roads, jogging only where there was street lights. After many left turns, the goaltender found himself entering a small park, the playground in the middle and a paved loop that would be perfect for running laps.

Deciding to not risk it and run down a sketchy part of town, Carter began jogging at a good pace, around the loop. He could feel the fluffy ball on top of his toque bobbing up down every time he inhaled and exhaled, cool air cursing through his body.

After doing one lap, Carter was back where he started, by the playground where there was a bench and picnic table for parents to sit and keep an eye out for their kids on the playground. This time around, he noticed a girl sitting on the bench. He furrowed his eyebrows. How could he have missed her when he first came in? Carter really couldn't think straight.

The girl sat with her left leg crossed over her right, her hands knit together and tucked in her black parka with fur lining the hood. Carter had slowed his sprint to a jog when he spotted the girl, though as he jogged past her, he picked up his pace and did the loop once again.

Carter couldn't help it when his mind wandered to the girl. He wondered what she was doing there at this time of night. Was she there because of something so stressful as well? Was she dealing with something similar to Carter? Probably. Half way through his run, Carter wondered why more people didn't go on late night runs during winter. But then it dawned on him — it's fucking cold.

So the girl must be there, sitting on the park bench as snow fell from the sky and landed on her and around her, because that was the only way to get her mind off of everything. Dealing with the cold is easier than dealing with your problems.

As the boy neared the wooden park bench and girl once again, slightly out of breath and cheeks redder than last time, he slowed his jog to a walk. Focussing on the girl for a moment as he walked past her, Carter couldn't help but quirk his eyebrow.

Her head was tilted up, staring at the stars and the snow falling, clearly oblivious to the world around her. There was something about her hair tucked into the grey toque, the rest of her hazel — almost blonde hair flowing out and resting off her shoulders.

Carter drew in a breath of air, only to exhale a moment later, his breath visible because of the chilly temperature. Holy shit. Her beautiful hair looked familiar because it was.

Standing still for a moment, Carter looked around the deserted park before his gaze landed on the girl once more. They were the only ones there. He bit his lip slightly, not knowing how to go about talking to this girl. Carter had wished he knew the girl, he wished he'd somehow be able to find her and talk to her, but now that the time's come, he had no idea what to say.

Deciding he would wing it, and hope for the best, Carter veered off and took a few short steps to plop down onto the bench. He had sat down on one end, the girl in middle of the bench, a few feet separating them. The girl continued looking up at the sky, though Carter knew she sensed him there, staring at her.

He licked his lips as he stared at her, not knowing what to say. He could see her eyes darting from the sky to the side, trying to look at Carter without actually looking at him. Carter was trying to come up with something to say to make things less awkward, however with every moment of silence that passed,

he was only making it more awkward.

so i saw the video where the flyers were asked what their walkout song would be if they played baseball, and carter said i like it, i love it by tim mcgraw and after listening to it, i can't stop smiling and imagining him walking out to it,, god this boy drives me crazy. i stan a fucking legend.