Down For The Ride (Jonathan Toews)

21~ The Future

Brielle

It took me approximately two weeks of being locked inside for quarantine for me to get bored out of my mind. I got a cat and I got a super cool roommate but man, did this kind of suck. There's a difference between being able to leave and not wanting to and wanting to leave and not being able to. Being trapped is a now kind of "I can do things but I really don't want to" kind of thoughts. I feel like if I step outside I'll see the world coming down so I stay inside. Scared of the reality that awaits me not ready to face it yet.

So I decide to do something a little fun, a little spontaneous. Everyone has been using zoom to do things, for school or for work. It allows a big group to be together without risking exposure. I have zoom calls with my dad every day, we get the fun backgrounds and it allows me to be on my phone while we talk unlike face time. It sucks not being able to see him in real life but at least I can still see him.

Just for fun I tweet out a link to a zoom with me. I know some people were doing zooms with fans that you can pay to get on, but I never believed in that crap. Pay money to see me? Seems a bit weird if you ask me. So whoever figured it out first will get on this zoom with me.

The first girl comes on and she immideitly starts to scream.

"Ellie" Jonathan yells and I laugh.

"I'm fine. I'm doing zoom calls with fans" I yell back.

"Oh, okay" he replies.

"Oh my god you're actually on this zoom" she says.

"It's me" I assure her.

It took all but 30 second for the room to be full and I was actually really excited. I recognized a few faces from meet and greets in the past or Twitter and Instagram interactions.

"Hey everyone what's up" I ask as a bunch of noise breaks out. I laugh a little because I couldn't understand hardly anyone but they all looked happy.

"Can we do a q and a" someone suggests.

"I think that's a great idea" I admit.

So they all mute their microphones then send the questions into the chat. I try to answer as many questions as possible before the 40 minutes are up.

"Alright let's get this.

First question I see... how is your kitty doing" I smile.

I lean over and grab Garfield off my bed and I hold him up. "He is doing good. We got him a collar and a tag and he is living his best life" I assure them. I set him back on the bed where he curls up and goes back to sleep.

"Okay next question: What goals do you have for the future?

That's a hard one. Are we talking life goals or something not as deep like me meeting the Backstreet Boys" I ask.

"Both" they respond and I nod.

"Okay. So a life goal... that's actually kind of hard. When I was a kid I wanted to touch the sky. My dad always told me "Ellie, there's not a damn thing you can't do in this world. You're mind is the most important thing you have. Fill it with dreams and with information and no one can stop you." Of course I grow up and realized the word "no" would be spoken more than any other in my lifetime. I quickly started to become a realist, someone who knows in their mind what's possible even though their heart still says yes. It's like you're not a pessimist but your not a optimist either. You're just real...

And somewhere in it all I stopped dreaming but man, I wish I hadn't. I'm almost thirty now and looking back I've done a lot of things. But I never touched the sky, I never got to go to Africa and clean their waters or go to uneducated countries and teach the children of the world. The world isn't ready for all of that and when it finally happens I'm afraid I'll be long gone.

So I guess my life goals right now would to find a husband. Someone I can spend the rest of my life with and won't get tired of my weirdness. Short term is to defiantly meet the Backstreet Boys" I smile.

"What about Jonathan" someone asks as they unmute their microphone and I laugh.

"What about him" I tease.

"He can be your husband" he claims.

"He is husband material" I agree. "And I'm not saying that I won't marry that man. I'm saying right now we're just friends. We're in the middle of a pandemic and it's been fun staying here. He's a great man who is so much more intelligent than anyone gives him credit for. Even himself. And I love learning with him. I'm just not sure where that leads, but I'm down for the ride" I smile.

"I heard my name" Jon claims as he peeks his head in my room.

"Come here" I say as I open my arms.

He skips over to me before sitting himself in my lap. I laugh as he makes himself comfortable. "Alright Jon is on the zoom with us now" I grunt as I try to hold him up.

"Why were you talking about me" he asks.

"I said I wanted a husband and they said it should be you" I claim as he stops for a second. He smiles a little and I just wait for whatever smart ass comment he has this time.

"What did you say" he asks.

"I said maybe you will be, maybe you won't" I admit.

"I would marry you but I might take your name, it's a little bit more popular than mine" he teases.

"Oh yeah? You are number one in jersey sales for like three straight years and have been in the top ten for a whole decade and you're gonna change your name making all those people buy a new jersey " I ask.

"Well, no" he admits as I roll my eyes. "But if we were together you would defiantly run this relationship" he admits.

"Says the man who was with a girl for four years. My longest relationship was six months long" I laugh.

"Maybe you're just too sure of yourself to settle a guy who isn't right for you" he suggests.

"Maybe I'm too much to handle" I smirk and he laughs.

"You're a handful, I admit that. But you're worth it" he assured me.

We finish the zoom call with the fans before it gets dark out. I let out a sigh as I smile. "That was fun" I admit.

"I didn't know you had that planned" he claims.

"I didn't. But I knew it would put a smile on some faces and I got to talk to some of my fans so it was nice" I admit.

"I know you don't think you're meant for this kind of life, but you're so god damned good at it" he tells me.

"Well thank you. You know I'm a fan of a lot of things too, I just ask myself what I would want Nick Carter to do for me and I do it for them" I smirk.

"Nick Carter? That's your type" he asks.

"I don't have a type. I've dated guys like Dylan O'Brian and Cam Newton and even Trey Songz for a few weeks. But I don't like to talk about that one" I shake my head. "But I just like people, you know" I shrug.

"I know you do. You try to make everyone happy, I just hope you're happy" he insists.

"I am" I assure him.