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cuteandhughesy · 3 months ago

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You Are In Love | Matthew Knies

summary: john tavares' sister is the social media manager for the leafs. she loves her job and the friendships she forms with the team - but what happens when her older brother invites her new crush to live with them.

14.2 + K

a/n: okay I write this like over a year ago so it’s not the best! also i originally wrote it with an original character in mind - so if you see a name instead oh y/n….no you didn’t.

link to masterlist

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"he doesn't have a place to stay, so I offered him the other spare," john's voice was grainy over your cellphone speaker but you heard his words loud and clear. "It's the right thing to do."

"yeah!" you we're kind of in...shock. "The kids will love it..." they would - you weren't lying. that doesn't change the fact that you were kind of nervous.

your brother must've been able to tell by your tone, "you okay?" he asked.

you cleared your throat. "yeah."

"he's a good kid and he's your age - you've met him right?"

you have in fact met him. you have worked for the leafs for about a year. they had needed a new social media manager and somebody to run their teams tiktok account. When john told you, he said the team wanted more fun and interactive content on their pages and recommended you.

you had the degree and the charisma so you were hired with no questions. The fans loved the style of content you were posting, and the team had a great time answering your questions and lip syncing to stupid audios.

you were introduced to the newest maple leaf only a week ago. matthew knies had answered one of your daily questions before a practice and you were totally in awe. convinced you had never seen a better looking guy your age, you immediately developed a crush on the rookie.

so yeah, "I've met him two or three times. very polite."

"yeah," john says. jace runs into your legs and you grunt out from the force of your nephew slamming into your shins.

aryne walks into the living room with baby rae in her arms, she was feeding her. "is that john? is he on his way?"

"are you on your way?" you relay his wife's question. you can hear his turn signal in the background.

"yeah, 10 minutes away."

"10 minutes," you tell your sister in law. she smiles at you, ruffling jace's hair as she passes. your nephew has climbed into your lap, playing with the string of your hoodie.

"so," you begin, "when does he move in? do I need to get the bedroom ready..or?" you tried not to make yourself seem to eager to know. your brother couldn't know about your crush on his teammate.

"no no, i'll do the room. don't worry," john says, "he'll be moving in, probably in the next few days. I'll get everything ready when I get in."

you hold in a sigh. "okay, well, i'll let you go, I've gotta wake Axton up and help out with dinner."

"okay, I'll see you all in a bit. love you guys."

"love you," you say, "Jace say bye daddy." you hold the phone up to the little boys ear and he says just what you told him to. John and you laugh and then hang up.

yourself and aryne get dinner started after axton woke from his nap. aryne and you had always gotten along great, which is lucky considering she's married into the family. you're just glad she wasn't some stuck up girl like the kind of girls you'd grown up with. she was like the sister you've never had, which is why she could tell something was on your mind.

"you're quiet," she observes, slicing her knife through the carrot sticks. "you okay?"

"yeah," you say it too cheerful and immediately cringe at yourself, eyes not leaving the potatoes you'd been peeling. "just you know, nervous about the new...roomie. it's like college all over again," you try and laugh it off but aryne raises a brow.

"why would you be nervous?"

there really wasn't a point in lying to her. not only was she like a big sister but she acted like a best friend. "aryne I'm convinced i'm in love with him. he's the most beautiful man I've ever seen." you groan, hands falling into the pile of peelings in defeat.

"oh god," she says. she puts her knife down as jace and axton run through the kitchen giggling. "boys! no running please."

"Don't tell john," you say. "It's nothing serious - just a crush!"

"You know me," aryne says, hand on her hip. "our secrets stay our secrets." she goes back to her chopping. "besides," you look towards her with raised brows, "he's a cutie, maybe you guys will -"

"enough!" you throw a peel at her.

"hey!" johns voice calls through the house, and the sound of four feet running towards him can be heard. baby rae giggles and coos in her high chair as your brother enters the kitchen.

"hey," he repeats, kissing aryne on the lips and squeezing your shoulder on his way past. "what are you two gossiping about,"

"nothing," you say, putting the potatoes in the pot as you and aryne begin boiling the soup.

—

matthew had moved in a week ago. you were right, jace and axton adored him. so did you but you didn't mention that to anybody except aryne and only after two glasses of wine.

you're sure he is actually the sweetest guy like ever. not only does he treat your nephews and niece with the most gentle care, but he has so much love and respect for your brother and sister in law for letting him stay in their home. aryne says she sees him looking at you often, but you don't believe her. matthew was just as lovely when he spoke to you at home and at work - which is weird saying 'see you at home' to two leafs now - but you digress.

It was wenesday morning practice, and you were working. it was question day, so last night around midnight when you happened to remember - you grabbed the bristol board and sharpie and wrote: 'who's your celebrity crush?'

you stood near the entrance of the rink, cup of hot tea in your hands, with the board propped up against your legs. your co - worker, maddie, was holding the work phone, ready to record the players heading onto the ice, answering the prompt as they came from the locker room.

morgan rielly came first and chuckled at the sign.

"cmon mo, give us an answer," you laughed along with him.

he hummed for a moment but settled on, "megan fox."

you and maddie were getting a lot of the same answers, megan fox or margot robbie with an odd ball thrown in every now and then.

"here we go," you laughed knowingly as mitch marner slowed down to read the sign. he dropped his head back in defeat, "can I say my fiancé?"

you groaned, "mitch no."

and then you noticed another body slow down and read the sign as well. you tried not to blush when you smelt the cologne on matthews neck, a dead giveaway that it was him.

mitch rubbed his jaw, "you guys make these too hard," mitch concludes, "you're trying to put me in the dog house."

matthew laughs and your knees get weak.

maddie scoffs, "it's not hard, you're just difficult."

"exactly," you agree.

"alright, let me see the phone," mitch grabbed the cellphone, directing it in your direction, a giggling maddie behind mitch's shoulder. "alright, kniesy , get your interview pants on."

and matthew goes along with it. you didn't think he was comfortable enough - too shy maybe but no. he held a fake microphone towards your mouth and asked "who's your celebrity crush, Ms. Y/N Tavares?"

you felt your face wanting to get hot and you internally scolded yourself. "oh you know.."

"it's not difficult," mitch mocks you and matthew laughs.

you grab the non existent microphone, which just ends up with you pulling Matthew's glove closer to your face, holding his hand in place. "oh my god, It's Dylan O'brien you freaks." matthew laughs as he looks down at you. "now let me do my job and ask you the questions."

mitch gives a laughing maddie the phone back as william nylander walks out, followed by john. your brother barley stops to look but laughs, walking away as he calls out his answer.

william ponders briefly but says, "madison beer." mitch sucks in air fast, "good one!" mitch starts to walk away, "i'll say margot robbie!"

"boring!" maddie shouts with a laugh.

matthew stands with his hand on his hips and takes a deep breath but then he just like, walks away which is...rude.

"hey," you say, "are you going to answer?"

he looks back with what looks so be a slight smirk, "I can't tell - it's a secret!" and you swear you see him wink at you, but based on maddie's reaction of turning to you all wide eyed and open mouthed - you are certain matthew knies definitely winked at you.

—

matthew was sitting on the family room couch, scrolling through his phone as you came down the stairs. at the sound of your foot steps, he looked up and towards you, a small smile overtaking his lips.

you sent him a closed mouth smile back. "hey."

"morning," matthew said. he couldn't help but notice how fresh you looked. you had just showered and gotten ready, and matthew was smitten at the smell of your strawberry honey shampoo mixed with whatever sweet fragrance you sprayed on.

"are the kids up yet?" you didn't hear them, so you knew the answer already.

"don't think so," he hums, "just us so far."

you nod in agreement. "well, I was gunna head for some tims coffee before anybody had woken up, but, I mean, did you want to come with me?"

he was up off the couch before you could finish, "yeah." he said it so casually and the way he whipped on his hat so perfectly and grabbed his keys was just....ugh.

you two made small talk until you were both seated and buckled into matthews car. he passed you the aux cord wordlessly, which was just, wow. you bit your lip to stop yourself from smiling too hard and took the cable from him, hitting shuffle on your playlist.

"so," he started, pulling out of the driveway, flicking on his signal for the passing cars on the street. "how long have you been working for the team?"

he glanced at you quickly before pulling onto the street, the gps pulled up on his phone between his (massive thighs) legs, letting him know where to go.

"probably about a year now...and maddie joined me about 3 months ago. she's great and has helped a lot." after all, what if matthew wasn't winking at you but maddie - what if all this time he's been trying to get know maddie. how humiliating would that be - god he probably doesn't even think -

"do you like it?" matthew brought you out of your depletion. the way he had said it was almost like he could read your thoughts and he was telling your brain to shut up.

matthew didn't know you were johns sister when he first met you. not until you were introduced as so. sure, you both had dark hair and the same eyes, but you were a girl and matthew was clueless so why would he assume that the girl who thought was the most beautiful woman he's ever seen was related to his new captain.

it wasn't until auston matthews said, "have you met johns sister yet?"

"I don't think so," matthew said, "was I supposed to?" he had been confused because why would johns sister be there.

"our social media girl? you know, the hot one with dark hair." auston said it so nonchalantly but matthew felt his face drop. it couldn't be.

"fuck." was all he could say because fuck was right. he was lusting over his captains sister.

"yeah, I love it actually," your answer to his question snapped matthew out of his thoughts. "everybody is so lovely, and the friendships i've gained with the guys, it's amazing...even when mitch drives me up the wall."

he could just tell by the tone of your voice that you truly loved working for them. his phone alerted him they were two minutes away from tim hortans.

"the guys like having you around," matthew says. "or at least I do anyways, It's nice."

"thanks. means a lot." you look over at him and admire his side profile. he is so handsome. the music stops and changed over to the next song. with furrowed brows, matthew glances to the screen and then smirks. "big swiftie?"

you were kinda shocked that's what he said first and didn't slander her. "yeah," you said carefully. "are you?"

he laughed, "duh."

you gave him a skeptical look as the car pulled into the entrance of the coffee shop. he glanced over and saw your face in disbelief and rolled his eyes playfully.

you laughed out in shock, "hey! you can't blame me for being skeptical."

"you're right," he surrenders one of his hands, the other using the wheel to steer them into a parking spot (which was super hot.) "what If I told you i'm in my 1989 era? would you believe me?"

he unbuckled his seatbelt and you stared at him fondly. a look that had matthews stomach doing flips. "yeah. i'd believe you."

"good." he jumped out of the car and rounded to your side to open the damn door like some gentleman and you swooned. a swiftie and opening the door? was he just full of green flags? "you're definitely in your lover era," he states, "the vibes are too strong for any other era."

you laughed. "lover is great."

and when you both made it inside and started the order, you felt like crying when matthew ordered timbits for the kids, got john and aryne a drink and asked what you wanted and then payed for it all wordlessly - you swore you were in love.

as you waited for the drinks you could feel matthews eyes looking down towards you, because hell he was tall and had no choice but to look at the top of your head. "do you always get that drink?"

you rolled your head back to look into his eyes and nodded. "yeah, you can try it if you want."

"i'll stick to my hot drink," he smirks. "hot coffee over cold all day."

you have him a perplexed look. "what?! you're wrong."

"I'm not!" he laughs, moving to grab the tray of beverages as the teen calls it out from behind the counter. "my taste it clearly superior if we're even having this conversation."

you chuckle, "sure big guy."

back in his vehicle, your music resumes from where it left off, the stunning cords of corniela street flowing through the speakers once more.

"that would be a good question for your account." Matthew starts and you raise your brows in question. "ask the boys what their favourite Taylor swift song is? I bet the fan girls will love it - mitch too."

you think it actually would be a good question and take a mental note. "I agree."

It was after a team breakfast when you chose to go around with your mini - microphone to ask the boys questions for this weeks video. the team was all dressed comfortably, which is a nice change for the feed, most of them happy and full of delicious food so it was easy to get them to comply for the video.

It was just you today, maddie had the day off so you went around with your phone in one hand, paperwork under one arm and mini mic in the other hand.

"nick, what's your favourite taylor swift song?" nick robertson looked at you with raised eyebrows. he kissed his teeth and his hands on his hips before leaning down to the microphone.

"anti - hero." you thanked him and he laughed. "was that a good answer?"

you smiled, "yes."

and you kept moving, asking any player who you laid eyes on.

"joseph, what's your favourite taylor swift song?" "love story"

"willy, what's your favourite taylor swift song?" "look what you made me do."

"mitch, what's your favourite taylor swift song?" "my fiancés is cardigan so cardigan."

"auston, what's your favourite taylor swift song?" you asked the forward, with a smirk on his lips he looked down at you.

"I don't know any." he was teasing you, obviously.

"yes you do," you laughed, "think hard."

"I am."

matthew could hear your laugh from across the room and his eyes landed upon you and auston. he was looking at you with a look that Matthew didn't like and you were laughing at what he was saying and that made him feel a bit...funny.

before he couldn't even think about what he was doing, he marched over there, abandoning his conversation with kerfoot and joining you and auston.

"hey," matthew says. "are you doing questions today?"

and just like that, you smiled that bashful smile and your cheeks got warm and matthew felt good.

"yeah!" you said, microphone swiveling towards matthew as you captured the two of them on video. "matthew, what's your favourite taylor swift song?"

he smiled and wanted to scream. you had used his question. it filled him so much joy and pride because auston may find you hot and make you laugh but you were using his questions and blushing at him.

"well, y/n," matthew started, taking the mini - microphone from your hands and bringing it to his mouth. you giggled. like an actual little girl. "my favourite taylor swift is cornelia street."

you spit thickened and you felt like you couldn't swallow. oh, you think, that's the song you had played in the car when he proposed the question. it was so...sweet.

"mines probably you belong with me," auston speaks and you have to blink hard because you forgot the goal scorer was even there.

matthew was looking at you with a look that makes you hot and bothered. you're sure now, this isn't been in your head. he was flirting.

"thanks, yeah," you take back you're microphone, "thanks. I better go ask o'rielly the same question, he looks left out."

and then you just left, matthews eyes burning into your retreating figure.

you were so screwed.

—

after that video went out, fans were absolutely loving matthew knies. and fair enough, you think. he was especially popular with the leafs female audience, and once again, you couldn't blame them.

fans wanted more matthew knies - they loved him and loved when you posted videos with him or about him. you also happened to love it too so it was a win win.

"it'll be quick!" you say quickly, "don't you want me to succeed at my job? give me content." you pass your brother the phone.

matthew laughs at your words and you smile.

"do you think you have the idea of it john?" you and already explained when to stop the audio and when to pan to who about 8 times now.

"yeah, yeah." he says. "why can't I be in the video?"

"well one, the audio is only two people," you point out, fixing your hair, "and two, the fans love matthew. you're outdated old man."

your brother laughs.

"okay, ready?" you ask matthew.

he crosses his arms and it makes his chest look even broader. "oh yeah, y/n/n, cmon now."

john doesn't catch on to the lovetseuck look you're definitely giving his teammate - thank god. probably too busy thinking over his instructions again.

"okay, john," you say.

the tiktok starts and the audio begins. you instructed him to focus on you for the first portion. you begin lip syncing to emma chamberlains met gala interview with jack harlow.

"i'll see you in there,"

video stops. you tell him to pan to matthew then, who delivers his line perfectly in your opinion.

"cant wait. love you, bye."

he chuckles when the video stops and you can't help but smile at him. you tell john that both you and matthew will be in the next shot.

"love you," you lipsync with a smile and as instructed, matthew walks out of view, and the last seconds of the video you give a shocked look to the camera - playing out the original interview clip perfectly.

matthew laughs and you and john join him. "ugh, perfect."

john gives you a high five and moves to collect his bag out of the trunk of his vehicle.

matthew joins you as you watch the tiktok over. his body is warm against your back, breathing soft and it tickles your exposed neck, making your stomach tingle.

"they'll love it," you say, "my bosses and the fans."

"how could they not?" he says, eyes looking into yours. "we killed it. you killed it, like usual."

"don't praise me matthew it turns me on." you say before you can even think of who you're talking to. what the fuck, your face drops, why did I say that? "I mean -"

matthew looks at you with a look you can't quite decipher and then he says, "good." he smirks and just leaves, grabbing his bag and walking into the players section of the arena with john. leaving you dumbfounded.

after making sure the audio was properly synced up and that everything looked okay, you posted the tiktok to the maple leafs account with the caption: when the knies/tavares household pulls up for work.

your favourite comment was one you found that said they shipped you and matthew - but you kept that information to yourself.

—

matthew couldn't help but glance at you discreetly once again. he had actually lost count of all the times he found himself admiring the side of your face, only lit up by the movie playing infront of you.

he was slightly smirking when you looked over at him, "matthew, pay attention." you scolded, pulling the blanket up to your chin and rolling towards him on your side. you weren't touching, but the heat of his body made you shiver.

"sorry," he breathes, eyes moving back to the movie.

"I can't believe you've never seen this before, It's a classic." you stated.

"I don't usually like romance movies," matthew says.

you sit up slightly, "how to loose a guy in 10 days isn't just a romance movie," matthew laughs as you try and mimic his voice, "it's funny and unique and creative and- ugh, just look-" you are distracted by Matthew McConaughey teaching Kate Hudson how to ride a motorcycle. "if I was that annoying and somebody still fell in love with me, I'd be smitten."

"you are that annoying," matthew is giving you a look when you scoff and roll your eyes at him. just then the two of you are both laughing, matthews head falling to your shoulder.

"I can't believe you," it's a whisper as it leaves your lips, eyes downcast as you look into matthews eyes. his head is still on your shoulder, looking up at you like a giant puppy dog. "i'm not annoying."

he smirks and you have to refrain from kissing him. "you're not annoying, no."

you smile triumphantly before pushing his head off you softly, to which it's his turn to scoff into the dark room. "rude."

"you love it."

"i do," matthew says back. he watches your face heat up as you try and keep focused on the tv. he's in trouble.

you had always found him attractive, but something about him helping the kids make mini pizzas had you wanting to fuck the shit out of matthew knies.

he was so gentle with the boys, and you're heart just melted everytime.

john and aryne had gone out for the night for a date - which was much needed. the leafs had an off day, which was rare, so you made your brother and his wife take the time and focus on them - with the promise you and matthew would watch the kids. well, you promised you watch the kids. you told matthew he should go out with hang with his friends but he declined. 'I'd much rather stay here with you...and the kids of course'

oh okay matthew i'll just fall more in love with you.

"wow, jace look at your pepperoni smiley face!" you're holding rae as you praise your nephew and he giggles, showing you his little teeth. "is it ready for the oven?"

"yes," jace said.

"okay, hold my hand to get down." his little palm grabbed yours and he slid off the kitchen chair.

"matthew, is axton almost done?" jace pulled on the leg of matthews sweat pants with a giggle.

matthew looked down and laughed at the kids sweet expression, "just about buddy."

you rounded the island to looked at your other nephews pizza. "wow!" you smiled and axton gave you a toothy grin.

"axton wanna show your aunt how you put the cheese on?" matthew asked him and you gave an encouraging nod when the blonde looked back up at you.

his chubby little fist grabbed a handful of shredded mozzarella and let it fall on the pizza with a laugh.

"good job baby!" you said, ruffling his hair. "is it ready to go in the oven?"

"yes," he gurgled.

"alrighty," matthew picked him up, swinging his little body out of the chair and placing his feet on the ground. "let's get these in the oven, don't touch okay guys. it's very hot."

"listen to matthew - I gotta put your sister down for bed, okay? i'll be back soon" you told them and they nodded. matthew watched your retreating figure with a grin on his face. he had put the two pizzas in the oven and sat with jace and axton in the living room. the boys were playing with toy cars and then suddenly jace bounced over onto matthews lap with a cheeky grin.

"what's up dude?"

"do you love my aunt y/n?"

"what?" matthew asked, tickling his stomach to make the boy laugh. "where'd you learn that from?"

"I learned from mommy." he said. "she says to aunt y/n that you love her."

oh, he thinks, am I that obvious about my feelings.

"i love everybody in this house. even you jacey." matthew says and jace, satisfied, leaves his lap, playing with his toys again, the only sound being the toy car wheels running on the hardwood floor and the hum of the over cooking the pizzas.

matthew thinks about you then, and how perfect you are. your smell, your smile, you're body...he needs a cold shower and a reality check.

later after you ate dinner and put the boys to sleep, you and matthew were busy in the kitchen. matthew was putting away pizza toppings and wiping down the counter top while you were elbow deep in soap suds.

you heard matthew chuckle to himself and you quirked an eyebrow, looking over his shoulder.

"what's so funny over there?"

he looked up at the sound of your voice and shook his head. "nothing, just -" he collected a handful of dirty dishes left over on the island and brought them over to the filled sink. "-earlier, jace asked me If I loved his aunt y/n."

your hands stopped scrubbing the plate you were working on, looking up towards him on your left. he was leaning his hip against the counter, arms crossed as he watched you.

"oh, god," you chuckled breathlessly. "sorry, he's just, curious."

"I don't mind, really." matthew says it quick and it makes you swallow hard. "At least he doesn't think I hate you...which is good. because I don't."

"right," you laughed, "I don't hate you either."

he looks at you all soft and you just want to grab his face with your hands, soap and all, and kiss him.

"y/n..." his arms uncross and it looks like he's about to reach out and touch you. "I've been waiting-"

the code beeps at the front door. "we're home." aryne says, smile happy and cheeks warm. stomach full of one glass of wine...or two glasses.

you try not to let your face show disappointment as matthew does the same.

"the kids go down okay?" john asks, tossing his keys on the counter.

"yeah," you clear your throat, eyes darting back to the sink. "everything is great."

"thanks again," aryne says, hugging your waist from behind. "you guys are the best."

"of course." matthew said. you glanced at him softly out of the corner of your eye, but he was already looking at you.

—

with the playoffs, it was harder to get content like you usually strive after. the boys were busy with extra practices and they were extremely focused on trying to win games - which, you know, was good.

so you got the most content with fans before the games, taking pictures and videos for the account - which was just as fun.

the guys rocked the first round and you texted matthew every night when they were in tampa, congratulating him on his goals and the teams performance: you tried not to scream of joy when he had sent back the kissing face emoji.

fast forward to a rather difficult round two. thankfully the leafs had pushed it to a game five, which was...good you suppose but still nerve wracking nonetheless.

you had been standing with aryne when it happened. often when you worked, you tried to join aryne and the kids during the warm up to capture some family content for the page. you were entertaining jace as the boys played, your eyes weren't even watching the ice or anybody but then the crowd stood in a rather negative uproar - and not the kind of disappointment when flordia scored a goal - it was different.

"oh no," aryne winced and your eyes shot up, seeing matthew laying on the ice looking rather...uncomfortable.

"what's happening?" you asked her. the trainer had reached matthew and was speaking to him with a hand on his back.

"he kinda got...slammed down. his head hit the ice."

it took a few minutes but he slowly got up, but had headed straight down to the tunnel. the game resumed but you had been too distracted by what happened to pay attention. 20 minutes passed and he still hasn't returned, which wasn't good.

"maybe you should go check on him?" aryne suggested.

you stopped biting at the skin of your thumb. "no, i'm okay." you said it quick and not even you were convinced at your own words.

aryne sighed. "y/n..."

you didn't budge.

"he doesn't have any family here besides us...I'm worried too and axton keeps asking about him - and I can see that you're stressed. go."

you took a moment but nodded in agreement, "okay, yeah," you grabbed your pass around your neck as a nervous habit, "yeah, are you okay with the kids?"

"of course," she said.

"I'll text you."

It didn't take long to reach the assessment room. that's where you found matthew and the team doctor and trainers. they turned at the sound of you entering the room and the trainer sent you a tight lip smile. the doctor was doing another test on matthew but you could tell by his eyes. something was wrong.

"is he okay?" you asked billy, the usual trainer, in a whisper.

"concussion for sure," he sighed, "even if the season keeps going, he won't be able to play."

you felt like crying for him. his nhl dream is cut short for the season. "oh." you whispered.

"y/n?" matthew asked. you tucked some hair behind your ear and moved towards him.

"hey.." you sat down in the stall next to him. billy was directed by the doctor to speak outside, giving you and matthew a moment alone. "how are you feeling?"

"like shit," he sighs, head falling back against the stall. "This sucks." you think you see his lip quiver and that makes your heart ache.

"It does," you agree, placing a hand on his knee and rubbing it soothingly.

"how come you came down here?" matthew asked, "i'll be fine."

you shake your head and look down, tears collecting in your waterline. "oh you know...the boys were wanting me to check -" you look up towards his face and he looks at you so concerned - the guy with the concussion was looking at you like he was concerned about you.

"I was so worried." you admit finally, tears welling in your eyes. "i'm just...sad for you."

"don't cry," he says softly, "I don't want you to be worried about me. I'll be okay." he tucks a piece of hair being your ear, hand trailing down your pleather jacket. "I mean, I got a killer headache but it'll go away," you gave him a look. "besides, if you worry too much you'll give yourself a stroke and then our new social media manager won't be you and then I can't flirt." he was trying to be funny.

"don't crack jokes," you try and scold him, "it's not funny." you can't help but smile though.

his fingers play with your keycard around your neck. "I feel better seeing you though. anytime I see you I automatically just feel like 100 times better."

"matthew," you whisper, "you're too concussed to be flirting like this."

"yeah, but," he grabs your cheek softly, "I mean it. y/n, I really like talking with you, and flirting with you, and hanging out with you. the other day in the kitchen...I was going to tell you but then your brother came in- I know I like you."

you smirked, "like as a friend or.."

"shut up.." he mumbled through his grin.

you kiss him, gently as you didn't want to shake his brain anymore than it's already been shook. his lips carefully move against yours in a way that feels so soft and comfortable you could cry again. matthews hand drops from your face and down your chest, forearm wrapping all the way around your waist until he's pulling you to stand, dragging you towards him, slipping his thick leg between both of yours.

he grunts out and the buzzer goes off throughout the area, signalling the end of a period. reluctantly, you pull away, hands caressing the side of his face. "did that hurt your head?"

the way you ask it so genuinely makes matthew feel like he's healed. he smirks lazily up at you, "no -i'm feeling really good."

the door clicks, signaling its being opened and you jump away from him, running a hand over your hair in attempt to look natural- and if matthew had to cover his crotch that was nobody's business.

later after a disappointing end to the game, successfully ending the leafs season, you all made it home. aryne had ordered pizza as john said he wanted something greasy - which was nice. the entire time at the table, you kept catching matthews eyes, to which he'd smirk and look away. you're positive your cheeks were permanently red for the duration of dinner.

and when you slipped your foot up matthews leg and he had to cough to cover his gasp, well, you couldn't help but smile cheekily to yourself.

you were laying in bed. glancing at the clock at the top left of your phone screen you groaned put. 1:38 a.m.

without thinking much of it, you opened your text messages.

y/n tavares

you can't tell john

his replay came almost immediately.

matthew knies

I won't

matthew knies

why are you still awake?

y/n tavares

just been thinking a lot

y/n tavares

why are you still awake. you aren't supposed to be on your phone

matthew knies

🤷. it's my hourly wake up. aryne was just in here to check on me

matthew knies

why's got you thinking so much that you can't sleep?

y/n tavares

you honestly

matthew knies

me…why?

y/n tavares

because we kissed

matthew knies

—

the next morning was quiet. everybody woke up around 9, even the kids which was nice. you all had breakfast together not long after waking, and then right around lunch, john and aryne took this kids to aryne's mom's, leaving yourself and matthew alone.

you walk down the staircase after returning from your room, pulling the hoodie you had retrieved over your shoulders. matthew was sitting at the kitchen island, twidling with his thumbs. he wasn't allowed screen time for 72 hours because of his concussion, resulting in a very uneventful morning.

you smile softly at him as he meets your gaze, a sudden nervousness washing over you. I mean, you two like totally made out the day prior, and you hadn't stopped thinking of his lips since.

matthew was the same way. not a second had gone by without thinking of you and the kiss, hell, it was all he could really do without his phone - even after the texts he shouldn't of responded to anyways - he would do anything for you.

"hey," you start and he smirks lazily at you.

"hey," matthew repeats. the two of you hadn't had a moment alone since the kiss and suddenly everything felt really real.

you tug at the sleeves of your hoodie, sitting down at the empty barstool beside him. "how are you feeling?"

"better now that you're here." he says easily, leaning in closer to you. you blush under his intense gaze, biting your lip as you watch his eyes flicker down to your mouth and up again. "how are you feeling?"

you frown slightly, "I'm fine?" you laugh.

"I mean, like, since we kissed." you don't say anything at first so matthew continues, "I like you, like, a lot and everything I said last night...I meant. but I didn't even ask you how you were feeling or if you felt the same way. I just want to check on you."

oh, you think, that's actually really sweet. "matthew I haven't stopped thinking about you since the moment we met. I've had a crush on you like this whole time," you say shyly and matthews smirk grows, "I was so nervous when john told me you were staying here because I thought if you were around me too much you would get sick of me and then you wouldn't fall hopelessly in love with me," you laugh. "but i suppose I was wrong."

"you were definitely wrong," he agrees, tucking a piece fallen hair behind your ear. he moves down your body until he's interlocking fingers with the hand you had resting on the table and he squeezes it three times. "when I first met you, I didn't even know you were johns sister."

"no?"

matthew laughs, "no! and then auston asked if I had met johns sister. he said you were the hot one."

you laugh, "auston thinks im hot?"

"hey!" matthew laughs, "too late for that. anyways - I thought there was no way that the most beautiful girl i'd ever seen was the sister of my new captain. I thought there was no way that...this would happen."

he gestures between the two of you and you smile sweetly.

"guess i'm the luckiest guy in the world, huh."

"I think we both are pretty lucky," you slide off the stool, and matthew spreads his thighs as you move to stand between them, your hands wrapping around his neck as his rest on your lower back, dangerously close to the round of your ass.

matthew smirks.

"so," you state, "with that being said - I want you. like, all the time. even when you go back home, I don't want whatever this is to end."

"I don't want it to end," he agrees, "I want to like date the shit out of you."

you giggle and matthews heart flutters. you're so beautiful, he thinks.

"so you don't have like a girlfriend at home or anything?" you're joking but you do glance at him with a serious look and matthew's face drops.

"god no," he says, rubbing a hand over your ass. "and you don't secretly want auston right?" but he's truly joking and you roll your eyes playfully.

"nah, the guy I want is right here," matthew leans in and presses his lips to yours, squeezing you tightly and pulling your body closer to his. you sigh into it, fingers running through his hair.

"i'm going to miss you when you're gone," you say against his mouth.

"i'll miss you," he says quickly, "but in the mean time, i'll make sure to get as much as you as I can."

you lean in to kiss him again until your phone beeps with a text.

"it's john," you say, "he says there leaving now. they'll be home in 30."

matthew smirks, "mhmm what could we do for 30 minutes...?"

you giggle, running up the stairs towards your room, matthew following.

"mhmm, that feels so good." your words are a breathless sigh against the darkness of matthews bedroom.

his bright eyes flicker up to meet yours, his strong arms wrapped around your thighs as he spread your legs, giving himself free range to keep pleasing you.

once matthews concussion was cleared, he headed back home for a month to visit and catch up with his family and friends. that meant leaving you and your new relationship behind. he texted you constantly, so anytime john was near, you made sure the phone wasn't accessible to him.

both you and matthew were absolutely smitten for one another.

it was his first night back from his trip back home, and seeing him again for the first time made you horny - like, immediately. but of course, you controlled yourself around your family to keep the secret a secret. and you had controlled yourself for 10 long, excruciating hours. john and aryne had gone to bed around 9 and as soon as 10 was about to hit, you snuck down to matthews room.

so here you were, with matthews mouth working wonders on your pussy - the squelching of your wetness and breathy moans were the only noteble noises in the room. "fuck, matthew, keep doing that."

he groaned against you, and it had pushed you over the edge, cumming hard all over his face and his fingers he had buried inside you.

shirtless, he crawled up over your naked body, kissing your neck up to your face until you could taste yourself on him. "fuck," he said.

you pushed him onto his back, and he smirked, watching as you climbed on top of him. you pulled his cock out of his underwear, letting it slap hard against his toned stomach. using your slick, you coated his dick before using your hand to line him against your entrance.

you sunk down, moaning loud enough so that matthew had to cover your mouth with his big hand - which obviously turned you on more.

you started rolling and bouncing on his dick fast, gripping your tits as his free hand thumbed at your clit. "fuck, i'm gunna cum soon." he told you.

you moaned, "me too."

he smirked up at you all hot and sexy, "you gotta be quiet."

you smiled breathlessly, continuing to jump on him, taking all of him inside you. between your two bodies was soaked in your juices, making the noises in the room even more intense.

matthew grabbed your hips, flipping you onto your back without leaving your warmth, where's he started to fuck you at unfathomable levels, having your mouth hang open in a silent scream.

you were almost there, the coil in your stomach was about to snap until the light in the hallway flicked on. matthew stopped his movements, his one hand covering your mouth incase any noises slipped out.

his door was locked, of course, but what if. you start to pray it's somebody just using the bathroom but matthew starts to move inside you again, giving you a smirk. fuck, you think, this is so hot.

your eyes roll back and you grip his shoulder as you cum, tightening around his length as he plummets into you. out of the corner of your eye, you can see the light flicker off just as matthew shoots his load into you, effectively bringing your attention back to him. "ugh god." he says into your neck.

how the hell were you supposed to face anybody in the house tomorrow: how the hell were you going to walk after that.

you and matthew had a habit of discreetly slipping out to get the mail. you actually did always end up getting the mail - but it was never about that. you two just wanted to spend time with one another, away from prying eyes and questioning.

matthew's body was big and warm pressed up against yours. the heat of the setting sun was relaxing, setting the tone for when matthew could finally slip his hand into yours.

you sighed, head dropping to his shoulder as you approached the community mail box, about half a block away from the house.

"you okay?" he says softly and your heart just about wants to melt.

"yeah," you lean your head back to look at him, "I just needed this." you squeeze his hand to prove a point. "I missed you when you were gone."

"I missed you too," he stopped walked and wrapped you in a hug. "like, wayyyyy too much - I think I jerked off like 5 times-"

"ew!" you screeched out a laugh. "you're gross."

the ways he's smirking all hot and his tan skin and he's bulked back up already from the weight drop at the end of the season and it's just...so good. it gets even better when he kisses you, right in the middle of the sidewalk. and you think you want to marry him.

—

"anything exciting happen over the weekend?" maddie asked you, her soft lips tugged up in a knowing smirk. unlike the rest of the world, she knew about you and matthew and the blossoming relationship.

"nope," you say, setting up the daily question sign, along with your ring light and tripod: ready to capture the team.

"right..." she says, "so no...I don't know - 6 foot 3, hot, muscular, brunette hockey players pay your vagina any visits?"

"maddie!" you scold, "you're being too loud." you look around to make sure nobody was in earshot.

"what!" she laughs in defence. "it's like i'm watching a romance novel, I need to ask the right questions."

you start recording as the players exit the dressing room and make their way to the rink, passing you both, slowing down to read an answer the question provided.

"what's your favourite movie?"

you were getting a nice range of answers, which was good. from oppenheimer to when harry met sally - the boys did not disappoint.

you felt a nudge to your ribs from maddie, which made you raise your brows and look up from the work on the laptop. she gestured towards the players tunnel so you followed her eyesight, only to land on matthew walking out.

immediately, you felt hot, smiling as you made eye contact with him.

he smiled back, coming to a stop to read the sign. he walked closer until he was standing as close as he could to you with still being in camera view. "what's your favourite movie?" he asked you.

you suddenly became shy, tucking some curled hair behind you ear. "oh, I - I don't know."

"yeah, you do." he said immediately, that cheeky smile once again on his lips.

you looked up towards him gobsmacked, you you just knew maddie was watching you two with an open mouth and heart eyes. it's the way he was looking at you: so adoringly.

"probably how to loose a guy in 10 days." you say.

"okay mine too." he tells you and then directs his eyes to the camera. "how to loose a guy in 10 days."

and there's no way you can keep that interaction in the video and post it because the way he talks to you is so...hot.

"okay," you repeat back to him.

"okay," he says back, gloved fingers gently squeezing yours behind the bristol board before leaving you to stand alone, giddy as you watch him skate.

—

"careful, you're gunna get soap in my eyes," you scold matthew as his hands scrub your scalp with shampoo.

"close them then," he tells you and you gasp out a laugh, slapping his strong wet chest with your hand. he smirks, his fingers working wonders over your head, you eyes having no choice but to close in pleasure.

the two of you were taking advantage of the empty house, john away at an event for his foundation, aryne and the kids out visiting her parents and grocery shopping. as soon as the door clicked leaving the two of you alone, matthew practically raced you to the shower, stripping and stepping into the spew of water.

"alright, rinse." he tells you, directing you around to let the warm water wash away the suds.

"your turn," you say. you're stretching trying to reach the top of his head and he laughs down at you.

"having difficulty?"

you give him a look and it makes his smile wider. "help me," you eventually whine out. he obeys, his large hands wrapping around the back of your thighs, pulling you up to wrap around his hips.

as you begin to happily wash his hair, you feel his soft lips trail down your neck, down the valley of your breasts, and moving to take your nipple into his mouth.

"matty," your head falls back.

he stops, unwrapping your legs from his waist, placing you gently back on the floor. "I love when you call me that." your hearts swells at the look on his face, continuing to beat hard as he grabs your face and kisses you.

kissing matthew was always amazing. his lips were so plump and soft, making for the perfect make out everytime. what feels likes hours pass, his lips not once leaving yours. you swear if you looked down, your fingers would be pruned.

a soft knock on the bathroom door breaks you two apart and you gasp, slapping a hand over matthews mouth. he raises his eyebrows at you, unimpressed by your slap, but you ignore him.

"hello?"

"hey," aryne says on the other side of the door, "we're back."

"okay," you say, trying to ignore the way matthews big hands we're feeling you up.

"where's matthew?" his hands stop kneading your ass and he gives you a bewildered look.

"oh, umm, I think he's in his room." you say quickly.

"okay," she says, "I'm going to go see what he's feeling for dinner."

"no!" you say too loud and way too quickly. it has aryne frowning, hesitating by the bathroom door.

"no?"

you meet matthews eyes. "yeah, no. I think he's sleeping."

"okay," aryne doesn't sound convinced and that had you worried. "alright, well, i'm sure he won't mind whatever I decide."

"tell her i'm down for tacos." matthew whispers and you shush him.

"I think he mentioned something about tacos earlier, If that helps." you tell her matthews wishes anyways which earns you a cheesy grin from the man.

"okay," aryne says, "alright, anyways, I'll see you when you're done."

"yup," you say, listening to her footsteps as she walks away from the bathroom. immediately you groan, head falling to your boyfriends chest.

later after everybody has eaten dinner, the kids have been put to bed and matthew and john went downstairs to watch their highlights and game plays, you and aryne sat on the living room couch, cuddled up in pyjamas and glasses of wine: aryne sipping her red and you trying not to chug your white.

"so," her demeanour shifts from fun conversations and discussing what funny things the kids did at their grandparents to a more serious, inquisitive tone and immediately you feel worried. "how long have you and matthew been seeing each other?"

you spit your mouthful of wine back into your glass, sitting up in the couch a little straighter. "what," you splutter out, "I am not seeing matthew- I-Why would you even think that."

her face doesn't change, still the knowing smirk on her lips. "y/n, I'm not stupid."

"aryne - matthew and I - I don't even like him that much honestly," you try to be nonchalant, sipping your spat out wine with red cheeks.

"oh," she sits up, "so in the span of what, 7 months, you've gone from being totally smitten and in love to not even liking him?"

damn, she got you there. "yup." you lie, crossing your legs.

"please," she says. "also, you two weren't slick today."

you give her a look.

"I mean, at first I didn't think anybody was in the shower with you - but then when matthew had come downstairs form his 'nap' with damp hair - and smelling like your shampoo, I knew."

you didn't know why you wanted to cry. but you did, and when aryne looked at you again she frowned. "don't cry," she says, wrapping you in her sisterly hug. "why are you upset?"

"because," you sniffle, "you're right. we've been seeing each other since before the summer."

aryne laughs, "I knew it."

"how?" you say into her shoulder.

"y/n, he looks at you like you created the universe - like you could do no wrong. and you look at him the exact same. I just knew."

her words give you goosebumps - did he really look at you like that?

"you can't tell john."

she pulls back from your cuddle with raised brows, "you know me, y/n/n , cmon."

the two of you cuddled on the couch in silence after that, the proposal playing quietly on the tv.

"for what it's worth," aryne says after a moment, "I think matthews amazing, and you two are most definitely perfect. It makes sense. and I would never tell him, but your brother wouldn't be mad at you - he loves matthew, and he loves you."

"I know," you hum.

and that was it. the movie was watched until you both fell asleep under the thick knitted blanket you shared, cozied up on the couch, glasses on wine now empty and sitting on the coffee table.

john and matthew came upstairs, talking amongst themselves until they stumbled into the living room, going quiet at the sight of you two cuddled on the couch in a deep sleep.

"oh gosh," john chuckles quietly, moving towards his wife. "do you mind getting y/n to bed?" he asks matthew as he gently shakes his wife awake.

"sure," matthew says.

john wakes aryne, and she groans, letting her husband drag her to bed, nothing more than a quiet goodnight passing her lips.

as they left, matthew moves towards you with a full heart. your lips puffed out as your breathed, on the verge of a soft snore. he crouched down, a hand running over your hair to wake you gently.

your eyes flutter in confusion at first, but then they spot your boyfriend and you smile. "hi."

"hi." he says with the smirk you love so damn much.

"I fell asleep," you state, letting matthew sit you up.

"I can see that," he says, pulling you to your feet.

you naw on your lip as you two begin walking to your room. "aryne knows." you tell matthew.

"knows what?" confused, he questions you.

"about us." you clarify. something flashes on matthews face that you can't decipher. you think he may be mad, but then he breaks out into a grin. "why are you grinning like that?" you can't help but smile as well.

"that means you can sleep in my room tonight," he says, dropping you to his bedroom. "john and I will be leaving for practice, and aryne won't be confused why you aren't in your own bed - because she knows."

"you're right," you whisper, admiring how excited he was. "let's go to sleep then. take me to bed."

—

october 17th

it was late when john and matthew got home from their game, party decor from matthew's 21st birthday still hanging in the kitchen, cake still on the counter.

john had nodded a goodnight at the rookie, wishing him one more happy birthday before heading up to bed to join his wife in a deep slumber.

all the lights were off, saved for the one under the microwave...and apparently the backyard light, matthew notices, the warm glow illuminating the kitchen through the glass patio doors.

making his way over, he opened the door, peeking around the corner.

you were sitting on the patio couch, bundled up in your favourite oversized hoodie, and a pair of what matthew can tell are his sweatpants.

"hey," matthew whispers and you jump slightly, hand held to your chest.

"you scared me," you laugh. he shuts the patio door softly behind him, making his way over until he was sitting next to you. "i've been waiting for you."

"here I am," he smiles, bringing you into his chest. suddenly you are grabbing a throw blanket, tossing it over the two of you to protect you from the nippy october air.

"I had all these candles lit and was gunna order your favourite food and wear that set you like under my clothes and wear one of those coats, that you know, cover it, but then," matthew loved when you rambled, "the frickin wind kept blowing the candles out, and the thai placed was closed and well I got cold so I had to change out of the coat,"

you are wearing a slight pout and matthew just chuckles sympathetically, kissing the side of your head. "that's okay."

"I wanted it to be perfect for your birthday." you concluded.

"having you next to me is perfect enough," matthew admits and you look up at him softly.

he presses a quick kiss to your lips, leaving you hot and bothered when he pulls away. he really knows how to kiss. "I have one more gift for you," you smirk and matthew raises his brows.

"I don't need anymore gifts - oh," matthew watches as you sink to your knees infront of him, unbuckling his belt. he lifts his hips to help you pull his pants down his thighs, revealing his already semi hard dick in his boxers.

matthew shivers as you reach in with your cold hand and pull his dick out, it hardening completely at your touch. he groans when your tongue licks the underside of his dick, all the way up until you reach the head. you kiss the tip softly, licking the pre - cum from his slit. "fuck baby," matthew says.

you look up at him through your lashes, a smirk on your lips and matthew thinks he could cum right then and there.

you take him into your mouth, bobbing your head as you suck him off. your hands cover the portion of his dick your mouth can't reach, the combination leaving a hot wet mess on his dick. matthew is groaning, calling out your name until he's reaching climax.

"i'm gunna cum," he says and not a moment later, he's shooting his load in your mouth. you swallow all of him, sliding off his dick with a pop.

you giggle at his relaxed face, very much pleasured out. "happy birthday," you whisper, climbing on his lap so you are straddling him.

he grabs your hips and kisses you.

"did you like your gifts?"

"I did," he chuckles, "although the hoodie you got me may have some competition with the gift I just received," you blush and throw your head back with laughter.

he brushes his lips against your exposed throat and instinctively your hips roll against his crotch looking for friction. matthew moans again.

"i'm not fucking you out here, it's cold." you decide and matthew groans with disappointment. you laugh, hitting his shoulder. "i'll fuck you inside though."

"i'm sold," he says, picking you up off his lap and setting you on the ground. you grab his hand and he says, "earlier you said you had to change out of your coat..does that mean you're still wearing lingerie underneath these sweats?"

you give him a sultry look, "guess you'll have to find out."

"you're killing me," he says, letting you drag him back inside.

matthew is a very happy birthday boy when not 5 minutes later he sees you are still clad in midnight blue lacy garments. happy 21st birthday to him.

—

you had been intently trying to finish up some work on your laptop from the comfort of your own bed before the work day ahead - key word: trying.

not only were you tired (it was almost 1 a.m.) but you were grumpy because maddie was sick, so a bunch of extra work was dumped on you and your boyfriend wouldn't stop annoying you.

matthew wasn't even doing anything that outrages, just playing with your hair and kissing your neck and he kept trying to show you funny videos on tiktok that aren't even that funny.

he tickled your side and you pushed his hand away. "you're annoying me," you say.

he doesn't buy it, so he did it again. "pay attention to me," matthew all but whines and you have to refrain from snapping at him.

he wasn't even doing anything that annoying. in fact, if it was a regular day, you would welcome everything matthew was doing with open arms, happy that your boyfriend wanted your attention. but it wasn't a normal day, the stress of the work load slowly building.

"babe, you know I want to get this done and you keep distracting me! it's annoying." your tone was sharp, a warning.

"i'm not even doing anything that bad," matthew argues like a naughty toddler, sitting up so he can look right into your eyes.

the bar of your patience has overfilled, except you don't get angry - just overwhelmed: throat tightening.

when matthew sees your eyes start to get watery, he frowns, "hey, i'm sorry." he knows you've been stressed, with like...everything and that wasn't even including the stress of having a secret relationship, which was something he was apart in. "I didn't mean to annoy you."

you sigh, sniffling. "you're not even being annoying - it's just everything is stressing me out and overwhelming me."

matthew uses his thumb to wipes your tears. "I think you should take a break for the night. we can finish tomorrow, right?"

"yeah," you huff, wiping your eyes. "I didn't mean to snap at you. are you mad at me?"

"i'm not mad at you." he laughs because your question was, well,...ridiculous. he grabbed you, pulling you down to cuddle into him. a few minutes pass of him playing with your hair in a way that didn't annoy you, pressing kisses to your hairline that has a way of fluttering your eyes, sleep on your doorstep.

your almost sleeping when matthew speaks up.

"hey," he whispers. you look up at him with gentle eyes and he pauses briefly. "you're my best friend, you know that?"

you smile. "am I?"

"yeah," he says in a sassy tone that he does that drives you up the wall but you don't even care in that moment - because you have the sweetest guy ever. "besties." he mimics a typical girly voice that you can't help but roll your eyes playfully, "besties," you agree.

he smirks all hot and you feel it all the way down to your toes. when matthew lays you down on your back and slips his big strong hand underneath your waistband - you don't protest, suddenly wide awake.

seeing the other wives and girlfriends wearing WAG jackets while you didn't and couldn't was never a nice feeling. there's nothing you wanted more than to wear Matthews name on your back - but instead, you stood with the teams phone to capture moments for the account: very much jacketless.

you were taking a video of TJ Brodie's kids watch their dad excitedly, giggling happy as their dad passed you a puck through the camera hole for you to gift to them.

you beam down at the blonde kiddies as his wife tells their kids to wave to their dad when suddenly you see a maple leaf player slam their body into the glass beside you. looking up, you make eye contact with matthew.

he smirks, and you try not to seem to excited in the arena full of fans, your friends and your brother. you roll your eyes at him, waving the phone as to tell him you're working but he just rolls his eyes playfully back at you. he does a couple warm ups in-front of you, which you record, because hey, it's good content.

he uses his stick to pick up a puck, gesturing you to open the camera hole. which, you do, of course. he puts his hand through, holding out the puck for you to take.

"why are you giving me this?" you ask him.

he shrugs, "just giving back to my fans."

you laugh sarcastically, taking the puck and shoving it in your jacket pocket. "how kind."

he winks before skating away.

unbeknownst to the two of you, john watched the interaction from the blue line as he was stretching, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. since when have the two of you...sure, you'd always been nice and civil to one another, friends even, john would say. but there was something on matthews face as he skated away from you that had johns heart strings being pulled.

inbetween periods, matthew had pulled out his phone, which he thought he did sneakily, and smiled at his screen, typing out a message. john couldn't help but think he was texting you - but, no, because he had to be imagining it. there's no way that the two of you have been building and involved in a romance - in his own house, at his work, that he didn't know about.

but then, at the end of the game, in the players tunnel we're you'd usually wait for them, john couldn't help but notice your face light up when you saw his teammate, and the way you squeezed his arm, congratulating matthew on a good game: john was pretty much convinced.

later that evening, him and aryne stood in their on suite, brushing their teeth as they two of them got ready for bed. john spit out his last bit of toothpaste and turned toward his wife.

"have you noticed that matthew and y/n have been...I don't know...extra friendly?"

aryne spit out her own toothpaste and giggled.

"what's so funny?" john asks her. "am I just going crazy? is that why you're laughing?"

"no, no," aryne reassures him, "you've just now noticed that matthew and y/n have been flirting?"

and john is taken aback for a moment and suddenly, anything you and matthew have ever done together, and they way you both speak to one another, always ending up sitting next to one another, hell, even the way you looked at each other...oh. "I guess I have noticed." he says momentarily.

"good for you." aryne rubs some expensive moisturizer on her face.

"are they like...In love?" he asks with a funny look on his face.

"I'm not sure," aryne thinks, "but they are definitely having se-"

"okay! I don't need to know." john says. the two of them make their way into their bed. that makes him think back to about a month ago, when he saw you cooking the in kitchen.

"hey," john says, eyes trained on his cellphone as he walks into the kitchen, back from morning skate.

"hi," you and aryne had said in sync. his wife hovered over the stove, cooking eggs and bacon while you stood at the island, chopping fruit.

he looked up then once he heard his daughters giggle, he smiles as he watches you pass her some fruit, the baby as happy as ever getting attention from her aunt.

but then - "is that matthews shirt?"

you looked up with wide eyes because yes, it was. "oh," you look down at yourself, "yeah, I didn't even realize."

suddenly aryne piped up, "I think i mixed up the laundry. I thought it was a sleep shirt."

if john saw the exchange the two woman gave each other, he didn't say it.

you definitely knew that was his shirt, john is sure if it now. with his arms behind his head, he breathes deep. "why haven't they said anything?"

"what do you mean?"

"like...if their dating, or in love - not just hooking up. why have they kept it a secret?"

"I don't know honey," aryne rubs a hand over his chest and he closes his eyes. "they were probably scared. I mean Matthew probably didn't want you thinking that you've gone out of your way for him, letting him stay here and he repays you by banging your sister -"

"aryne!" john says and she giggled.

"and y/n - she doesn't want to upset you."

"she could never upset me." john says immediately. "If they are dating...well, Matthews a good kid. he's the best possible guy for her - I don't want her to feel like she has to hide it from me."

"you should tell her," aryne flicks off her bedside lamp, letting the room become overcome with darkness. "they're cute - we should let them do their thing."

"yeah, i'll talk to them tomorrow."

the next morning, you and matthew had been cozied up on the couch. any opportunity that the two of you had in the early morning to be cuddly while everybody else was sleeping, you and matthew took.

matthew had been whispering something into your neck, making you squirm and giggle when footsteps were heard bounding down the stairs, making you and matthew scrambled apart just as john rounded the corner.

he had a look on his face you couldn't quite figure out - he almost looked...in pain but also uncomfortable but at the same time happy.

"hey," you start in hesitation, "what's going on."

he shifts awkwardly before moving to sit on the love seat. "you guys can like...continue whatever you were doing. like cuddling or whatever."

you are sure matthews eyes are as wide as yours. "what?" you ask, your tone of voice perfectly depicts your level of shock.

"I know you guys are...doing stuff." he gestures weirdly in between your bodies.

"oh my god." you cover your face. this is like having the birds and the bees talk with your parents - expect it's with your brother and your boyfriend is also there to hear it. "doing stuff? what?" you repeat.

"listen, I'm not mad."

you look up towards john with raised brows. "you're not?" matthew says before you can.

"no, god- " john leaves forward so his elbows rest on his knees, "matthew you are the nicest guy ever. you are great with my kids, and you'd be a great...are you guys like dating or is is strictly just -"

"dating." you say loud and quickly.

"you'd be a great boyfriend, especially to my sister." john continues.

"I didn't want you to think that, I don't know, you've gone out of your way to bring me into your home, and i've repaid you by sneaking around with your sister." matthew says sheepishly. aryne was really on the nose with that one.

"I don't think that." he says immediately and you can feel matthew sigh in relief beside you.

"and y/b, I could never be mad at you. you're an adult and i'm your brother, I don't control you, nobody does. I just wish you didn't feel the need to keep it a secret."

you wanted to cry because you really loved your family.

"I just didn't want you to treat matthew any differently."

matthew looks at you with a look of confusion. he didn't know that, he just thought you didn't want john to know - not that you were trying to protect him. "really?" he asks you.

"yeah." you whisper.

"I wouldn't of," john says. "i'll still treat you the same." john watches your face relax at his words and it fills him with a nice feeling.

"alright," john says, hitting his knees and standing up like a typical dad, "so you two can get back to cuddling or...whatever, just don't french infront of me."

matthew laughs loud beside you and your mouth drops in shock. "french? who says french. you...old man."

john laughs as he walks away, leaving you and matthew alone once more. almost immediately, matthew wraps you in a hug, pulling you down on the couch.

"this is good, right?" he asks you gently, hand gently tracing your face. his eyes are so soft that you can't help but smile.

"yeah," you say back, letting matthew kiss you gently on the lips.

the sound of four tiny feet come bounding down the stairs, making you pull apart before the kids jump onto the two of you, laughing, begging matthew to turn on Bluey before breakfast. you watch in admiration as he interacts with them, and everything feels good.

—

christmas was approaching- way too fast for you liking. this time of year was only hectic in the Tavares home - that wasn't even including the load of extra work you needed to complete for upload during the small holiday break provided by the NHL.

matthew had the 22nd off (as the team had played their last game the day before) and suggested the two of you head out to do some last minute shopping - which was a relief because in all your work stress, you've barley had time to shop for anybody besides your boyfriend - so immediately you took matthew up on the offer.

the two of you had gotten into matthews car and headed downtown to begin the much anticipated long shopping day - hoping to check off your never ending list of presents.

a few hours after your arrival, matthew had grabbed the back of your neck, directing you in the direction of a hot chocolate stand, because 'you can't christmas shop and not get a warm drink' as he claims.

matthew had pretty much gotten everything he wanted to get for the family (his and yours) as did you, which calmed you down so much compared to your hectic stressed filled past couple days.

matthew had your hand wrapped in his large one, swinging them between your bodies as you made your last walk down the strip. you both sipped your hot chocolate carefully after matthew burned his lip on his, pouting until you kissed it better (you love your big baby).

you came up upon one of your favourite market stores. they always carried to most beautiful, antique looking items and most of the time you ended up loving something in the cute shop - and this time was no exception.

you had gasped slightly, your hand squeezing matthews as a reflex. "oh my god, how amazing." you were face to face with the most beautiful winter snow globe, filled with tiny fake snowflakes and a cute little village - it was right up your alley. "oh I love it."

you could feel matthews front press against your back, hovering over your shoulder to look at the antique. "it's nice." he agrees. matthew tugged your hand, "hey, I think I see Santa if you want to go sit on his lap and ask for it for christmas."

your head snapped back at him so fast your slicked back ponytail almost wiped him in the face. "ha ha, you're so funny."

he smirked in satisfaction at his own joke and tugged you into his side, kissing your temple - ignoring the way you swatted him away, claiming he was going to mess up your makeup.

christmas morning

a bunch of tiny knocks on your and matthews bedroom door makes you groan out, eyes squinting to adjust to the dark bedroom.

a moment later the door opens, revealing the kids in their christmas pyjamas: eyes full of excitement.

"wake up aunt y/n!" jace says, jumping up onto your bed. you sit up, nudging matthew as you rest against the headboard.

"matthew," axton's little voice whispers. "it's christmas."

"hey buddy," he whispers, picking up the blond boy and sitting him on the bed between the two of you.

"santa came!" Jace said excitedly.

"did he?!" you asked, "are you going to show us?"

"yeah!" the boys cheered, they had dragged matthew out of bed and downstairs quicker than you could put your robe on. aryne was waiting by the bedroom door with a cup of coffee, made the way you love it.

"good morning." she hums.

"hi," you say, taking the mug and wrapping your hands around it as the two of you descend down the stairs and into the warmly decorated family room.

"aunt y/n look at all the presents!" the boys say, practically vibrating as they resisted the urge to tear up all the wrapping paper in that very moment.

"wow!," you say with as much enthusiasm the early morning would let you, taking a seat beside matthew who immediately wraps his arm around you, bringing your body into his own. it wasn't long before you dragged a throw blanket over the two of you, cuddling into him tightly.

"alright boys, everyone's here you can start." john says, holding onto his daughter. the kids laughed loudly as they started, and you swear you've never felt excitement or happiness the way you did when wtaching your nephews open gifts.

the four of you helped all the kids open their gifts when needed, which was often because they wanted to play with every new toy they opened (which was so darn cute).

an hour or so of present opening had passed, leaving the kids to entertain themselves with their new toys from santa, while the four of you got to exchange gifts with one another.

you tore open your gift from aryne, opening the white box to reveal a demin jacket with a bunch of leaf decals on it. you knew what it was immediately. "you didn't." you pull out the jacket to look at it fully, the back displaying exactly what you thought it would: Knies 23.

"oh my god," you laughed, "did you know?" your question was directed towards your boyfriend, who held his hands up in surrender.

"my lips are sealed." he laughed as you hit his chest playfully, letting him kiss your cheek two times quick.

you couldn't help but feel giddy inside, and you bet your bottom dollar anytime you weren't working, you'd be repping your man on your jacket for the whole world to see. "I love it, thank you honey bunny," you give your sister in law a squeeze and she hugs back just as hard.

"alright, mine next," matthew says, handing you a neatly wrapped square box. you raise your brows in suspicion and start to unwrap it. "you didn't wrap this."

you knew him too well, matthew thinks. "just open it - don't jostle it around," he scolds before laughing.

"you're insufferable," you say. you are left with a plain white box, leaving you no option but to gently open the lid and - oh my god. "matthew..." you whisper, gently taking your gift out of its protective styrofoam. "you didn't."

"what is it?" john asks, trying to peek over your shoulder as he bounced baby girl.

"oh, it's beautiful," aryne says as soon as she gets a proper look at the gift, her hand held to her chest.

matthew bought you the snow globe. "the person at the cash wrapped it for me - she insisted. she's a sweet lady," matthew says.

you knew he didn't wrap it. "yeah, beth is a sweetheart."

"of course you know her name," matthew laughs. the four of you laugh at his comment before aryne jumps up, helping one of the boys build a toy, john walking off to grab a bottle for the baby.

you're still staring at the snow globe when matthew looks down at you. he smiles involuntarily, admiring the way you looked so content and happy. "merry christmas," he whispers.

you look him in the eyes and it's just like the first time you saw him. you have the biggest crush on your boyfriend. "merry christmas."

you are so in love.

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cuteandhughesy · 4 months ago

Text

Yours | William Nylander

summary: you enlist williams help in trying to get his best friends kasperi kapanen’s attention. with a combination of practice dates, dating lessons, injuries and hiccups, william is determined to get you the guy - if you still want him that is. (in a world where covid didn't exist)

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February 2021

"sorry man, traffic was crazy." the voice of kasperi kapanen has william looking up from the crisp white linen tablecloth and into the eyes of his finnish friend. he smiles, standing up to greet kappy in a proper hug, patting his shoulder twice before separating.

"no worries," willy nods, "I got here just 5 minutes ago."

kappy laughs out a breath, taking his seat. "good."

simultaneously they both pluck out the leather bounded menus from their slot, bouncing off recommendations and ideas within the walls of their shared favourite toronto restaurant.

their small chat and hushed laughter is silenced when a body stops infront of their two person table, and both sets of blue eyes landed on their waitress. smiling back at them was a tiny brunette with painted pink lips and long lashes fluttering along her cheeks. "hey, what can we get started for you guys?"

kappy's eyes dart down to her name tag before meeting her eyes again, "hello, lena, i'll take number 5 but replace the fries with steamed asparagus. just an ice water to drink."

the brunette jots down the order on her notepad before turning towards william. "and for you?"

she's blinking a him slowly and it has him clearing his throat, "i'll do the exact same, thank you."

he smiles politely while the waitress nods, grabbing their menus and leaving their table with a toothy grin.

william watches as his friend eyes the brunettes retreating figure, a low whistle blowing past his lips. kappy turns back towards the blond with raised eyebrows, "she's a rocket, no?"

william just shrugs, chuckling awkwardly.

"alright," kappy laughs, holding up his hands in defense. "how is everybody? the team, their families?"

william smiles at the thought of his teammates. "everybody is good. we miss you down here man."

"it's great to be back," the finland native says. he props a head on his fist, eyeing his friend suspiciously. "how's y/n?"

william's fingers still from where they were unwrapping the silk napkin from his cutlery, eyes darting up to find his friends. "what?"

kappy smirks, "I just haven't talked to her since like, before I got traded. you guys are still friends, right? how is she?"

william chuckles awkwardly, a blush creeping up his muscled chest. "well, actually..."

January 2020

your fingers are cold as they hold on to the mixing straw, twirling it through your vodka cranberry as your eyes observe the crowd infront of you.

a sigh leaves your lips gently. you're currently the only one sitting at your table, the VIP section that mitch marner always booked was elevated at the back of the club. it was slightly private, but still had a great view of the bar, the dj and the entire dance floor.

you're not left wallowing by yourself much longer, your good friend zach plopping down beside you, slightly sweaty and smelling of tequila. his breathlessness has you furrowing your brows, "you dancing that hard zachary?"

the leafs winger laughs, chugging down somebodies bottled water before turning back towards you. "what's up with you?"

you try not to frown, keeping a neutral expression as you look into his eyes. zach hyman was one of your best friends. the hymans grew up in the house next door to yours and because there wasn't many kids in your neighborhood, zach and yourself bonded quickly, a friendship blooming despite the four year age gap. the two of you stayed close even when zach went to high school, leaving you behind in middle school to fend for yourself, often crying about mean girls and bullies to him after the school day. despite it all, you two stayed friends. you met his now wife and grew close with her. you celebrated birthdays together, holidays together and watched with pride when zach got drafted and then traded to the leafs.

you loved him like a brother, and he loved you like a little sister. the two of you couldn't stay apart for long, and zach was determined for all his teammates to be your friends too. it wasn't long before he was dragging you to parties and events with his team: and it wasn't long before you were taken in by the group of NHLers. mitch and steph always inviting you first to halloween get togethers, morgan reilly making sure you came out to the bars and clubs, auston claiming you as a plus one to events held by the organization. it was like a small family - and you were so thankful.

surprisingly enough, you never actually wanted to date any of them. which was odd, because usually tall strong athletes were your weakness, but something about this group of guys felt different. that was until kasperi kapanen came along. you don't know exactly what changed within you, but you had the biggest crush on the finnish winger. maybe it was his curly hair, or possibly his plump lips, but you were smitten anytime he so much as smiled in your direction.

obviously, you told zach and alanna immediately, your feelings too strong and overwhelming you couldn't keep them in. "go for it!," zach had smiled, shaking your shoulders in excitement, but you denied.

I need time.

I don't want to ruin our friendship.

what if it goes wrong?

those excuses were running through your mind always when thinking about kappy. so you pushed your feelings away, choosing to admire from a distance. after awhile, zach and his wife stopped asking, and your crush became more manageable - easier to hide.

your best friends brown eyes were still burning into yours, snapping you from your own thoughts and back into the reality of the bustling club. "i'm fine," you smile.

zach sends you a look but you choose to ignore him, tilting your head back to catch the rest of your alcoholic drink to finish it off completely, the ice splashing on your mouth and nose.

"y/n." he says, his tone all too familiar. he's pitying you.

"oh look at that," you smile, wiping your face from the liquid, "I'm empty, i'm going to get another drink."

a couple people join you and zach back at the table just as you're standing up from your booth side seat.

"where you going?" morgan teases, taking a seat beside mitch and steph, auston not too far behind.

"drink," you mumble, sneaking between auston and the back of kerfoots unoccupied chair, escaping any further questions. you leave the VIP section with the feeling of zach's eyes burning into your exposed back.

you mumble apologies as you squeeze through dancing and moving bodies, trying your best not to trip over others feet as you begin your destination to the large bar. it sat circle style in the middle of the dance floor, so it doesn't take long before you make it over, flagging down the male bartender and placing your order.

this time you opt for something stronger, a shot of vodka and some fruity cocktail that caught your eye.

"cheers," you mumble to yourself, downing the shot with a full body shudder: using your cocktail as a chaser. you look out into the busy crowd for a momentary distraction but like usual, gravitational pull grabs you, and your eyes find kappy's dancing figure. he's laughing with a girl, which has you frowning, but his face distracts you from your tiny spurge of jealously, his angelic smile and bright eyes swooning you like usual.

"who are you staring at?"

you jump at the sudden voice and start choking on your drink - leaving you a coughing mess, catching your breath between each fit.

"fuck my bad," william nylander laughs, thumping his hand against your back until you can collect yourself.

"you scared me." once your body relaxes, you scold your friend, sending his cheeky smile a hard glare.

"I can tell."

you shrug, taking a slow sip of your drink to soothe your now raw throat. without much thought, you look back at your friend out on the dance floor, kappy still oblivious to your admiration.

"who are you staring at?" william asks again, straining his words in a way that has him sounding almost concerned: astonished.

you blink hard, eyes leaving kappy's figure to jump over to william's. "nobody!"

william's eyes widen at your tone but then he starts laughing that typical way he does and it has you glaring at the swede.

"what's so funny?" you seeth.

he takes a breath, "you're clearly watching somebody. you've got that sad...love sick look on your face - i've seen it before."

"what?" you screech, eyes wide from his call out.

william doesn't give you much of a chance to further question his statement, looking out into the crowd, eyes squinting as he searches the mass of people. "alright, y/n, point them out, who is it? i'll be your wing - man."

you can hear kappy's laugh in the crowd and your stomach drops as you see your mutual friend moving towards the both of you.

in a panic, you grab willy's chin between your thumb and two fingers, bringing his face back to yours. "don't look."

"why not?" his light eyebrows draw together, face slightly squished from your grip.

"willy-"

"hey guys," you're interrupted, kappy sliding up beside the two of you at the bar, "am I interrupting something?"

kappy laughs which has you blushing, dropping william's face. "no! absolutely not." you say, "you know us...just goofing around." you trail off, immediately cursing yourself for being so flustered.

"okay crazy," kappy laughs and it has you floating, the sound no doubt giving you that smitten look on your face william was seeing earlier - even with the unflattering nickname. kappy ruffles your hair and you might as well just pass away.

he flags down the bartender before ordering a beer and a margarita. "see that girl?" kappy gestures to the same one he was dancing with when you first spotted him, "she's hot right?"

you're pretty sure he's talking to william, because why would he care about your opinion on some girl, but you respond regardless, "oh yeah! super hot."

your voice is louder than anticipated and it has william nudging your thigh with his knee. even with his nudge, willy vocalizes an agreement.

"hopefully I get lucky," kappy smirks, grabbing the two drinks in between his big hands before bidding goodbye, moving through the dance floor and back towards that girl, your eyes not once leaving him.

that is, until you hear william gasp slightly. that bubble of panick is back swirling in your chest, and it has you spinning around to meet william's wide eyes. "kappy?" he asks you, his attempt at a quiet whisper very much failing.

you shush him loudly, smacking his peck with your open palm. "stop. quiet, I don't want to talk about it."

"is that who you were staring at with that face." he makes a weird gesture towards your head and it has you slapping his hand out of the air.

"please, willy, you can't say anything! only zach knows about my stupid crush, and it's embarrassing okay? look at that girl out there! he would never go for me, and that's okay! i'm okay with just admiring from afar and just strictly crushing. so please, keep this to yourself - I'll get over it-"

william slaps a hand over your mouth which has you effectively shutting up, your rambling being put to a halt. you are sending willam daggers because of his action, an unimpressed pull to yours eyebrows. but william isn't worried about that. he's looking at you gently, with what you can only assume is pity for you and your stupid feelings. "don't talk yourself down like that," he says.

your shoulders drop slightly. his press on your mouth eases up enough for you to slip your tongue out, prodding the palm of his large hand. he just smirks at your attempt to gross him out and it has you becoming even more annoyed with his hold on you. not long passing until you're mustering the strength to grab his wrist and pull his hand down. "why didn't you remove your hand?"

he just shrugs before wiping his hand against his shirt. "a little spit never hurt anybody."

william's attempt at trying to make you laugh is unsuccessful. you're still staring up at him with a worried expression, knawing the inside of your cheek. your eyes dart out into the crowd before back into his. "promise me," you whisper, "don't say anything."

william nods gently, your anxiety practically leaking out your pores and seeping into his own. his stomach swoops. "I would never." your face still holds a look of being unsure and it has him breathing out a laugh, "I promise."

that has you sighing, your body visibly relaxing at his words of a promise. without much thought, for what feels like the millionth time that night, your eyes slowly make their way back to your mutual friend on the dance floor, still laughing and dancing with that smooth legged blonde girl. it has you frowning once more, your fragile heart cracking.

william can see it on your face, the way it drops in uncertainty. the look of longing and unrequited love swimming in your eyes. he knows all too well. without thinking much more, he blurts out, "I'll help you."

shoulders still deflated you turn your body back towards william completely. "what are you talking about?"

william leans his body against the bar top, "there's no reason that it shouldn't be you he's with, right? you're just as beautiful and capable as that girl he's with now. if you want kappy, i'll help you get him."

your brows are raised slightly, the disbelief evident. "how?"

william shrugs at first, because he really hadn't thought that far ahead. "im his best friend," he settles on, "I know everything about him. what he likes, what he doesn't...his type and what he looks for in a girl. we can meet up when we can...and i'll show you where he likes to go on dates and what he likes, essentially preparing you for when its the real thing with him."

"really?" you ask gently, "why would you do that?"

he shrugs again, "he needs somebody to whip him into shape, who better than you?" something changes in his eyes and he laughs gently, "plus I won't have to see your love sick face anymore."

you smile softly, pushing his shoulder without much force. "okay," your words are hopeful, "but I feel like I owe you-"

william shakes his head, "no no," his hands held up in defense.

he can see your thoughts turning in your head, and then your smiling brightly. "yes, yes. elizabeth! you think she's hot right?"

william gulps. you and elizabeth had been friends since college, and most of the time she joined you on nights like these with the team. glued to your side at bars, clubs and dinners: the team was familiar with her soft face. she was very beautiful, any single guy into woman would think so. "yeah, she's nice." william agrees.

"okay! so, i'll help you." you're smiling, hands grasped together. "you've been single for so long, willy, this is your chance. i'll help you with elizabeth if you help me with kappy."

"okay," william says after a beat. your smile gets larger and it has him mimicking you, his shiny teeth smiling back at you. "I would've done this regardless, even if elizabeth wasn't involved though."

"i know," you down the last bit of your drink, "but I felt bad- and now we are helping each other."

william just nods, watching as you swallow. the cold drink slipping down the corner of your mouth and down your chin until you're wiping it away. "alright," he says, hand extending out infront of him, "we got a deal."

you place your hand into his, shaking it twice. "we got a deal." you repeat.

—

it's not until two weeks later when willy texts you and asks to meet up. you're almost shocked at first, thinking that nights conversation was a fluke. him promising to help you get through to kappy was long forgotten - but clearly not.

willy

hey, we have an off day. wanna get

food and talk kappy plans ??

y/n

oh right

y/n

sure!

y/n

i mean if you want to !

willy

haha 🤣

his next text is the location of what looks to be a sandwich place, only 10 minutes from your apartment. you speed getting ready, throwing on the first thing you deem presentable in your closet before throwing your hair up in a ponytail, not bothering with much else before heading out the door, making the short drive to the address you'd been sent.

you're slightly breathless when you get there, pulling open the glass door only for your nostrils to be assaulted by the scent of fresh bread and coffee beans. the low light ambiance grabbing your attention immediately, a feeling of calmness flowing into your senses.

william is already there, his eyes catch yours from where he is ordering at the register. "there she is," he mumbles, "hey, what do you want?" he's beckoning you over to the cash, his loud voice catching the ears of others, which immediately has you blushing, speeding over to your friend to ensure he wouldn't yell out again.

"I can pay," you tell him.

william shakes his head, "don't worry about that - just order whatever you want."

you smile politely and give your order to the young woman behind the counter and you do let william pay, which has him smiling triumphantly. not long after your drinks are being called out, william leaving the small table the two of you had coined to collect the order.

when he returns, you're just slipping your jacket off, leaving you in your light gray mock neck top. he slides your cappuccino as well as an unknown bag towards you - which is holding a croissant sandwich that you definitely didn't order. "This isn't mine."

willy has an identical sandwich that's he's already starting biting into, "Oh, I ordered it before you walked over, I wasn't expecting you to be here so soon."

you nod, "I wasn't expecting you to be here so soon...or at all." william is chewing slowly, brows furrowed at your confession, "I just, I thought maybe you had forgotten about this whole..."

"plan kappy." he finishes after a swallow.

you nod, "yeah."

"I promised I would help you," william says, "I was just collecting my data." you roll your eyes playfully when he stars to chuckle. you're wringing your hands nervously, eyes surveying the restaurant moving around you.

william sighs, pushing the sandwich closer to you. the crinkle of the paper snapping you out of your own head and back to him and the cheesy sandwich. "you're fine, just eat before you get hangry."

you scoff, "I don't get - "

william gives you a looks that has you cutting yourself off, because yes, you did get hangry. in that moment, you stomach betrays any argument you may of had, rumbling at the thought of food. grabbing the sandwich, you don't hesitate, taking a very unattractive bite. you moan out, licking some mayo off your thumb.

william laughs gently. "i'm sorry it took so long for me to reach out. the teams been really busy and i've been so exhausted. fucking time zones."

"it's okay," you say between chewing. you could understand the pure exhaustion that would come with playing a physically demanding game all while trying to be awake and adapt to the east coast time change.

"it's not really," william sucks some spinach looking drink up through his straw, "I should've at least told you I was busy and planned a meet up. I hope I didn't make you feel like, i don't know...shitty."

"it's fine," you reiterate, "we never even set a timeline, honestly! for a little bit, I thought I dreamed that whole conversation, which was a whole thing." your rambling has william nodding along with an amused smile. "but then you texted me today so I was definitely certain it was real...so now i feel less crazy." the look he's giving you has you stopping, covering you eyes. "sorry, i'm just feeling anxious about this whole thing. i'm so clueless."

"you're not clueless," william says. "we will figure it out."

you gulp, dropping your hands from your face, "what do I do?"

"first things first," william says, dusting his hands off before leaning into the table and closer towards you. "kappy isn't the best when it comes to girls - sure, he can flirt but he's not a boyfriend kind of man, more of a one night stand...enthusiast. I assume you don't want to be a one night stand?"

you shake your head no, "okay, so. how should I act? how should I dress?"

"act like yourself," william says immediately, "you have the best personality. you just need to be more confident when it comes to him. kappy likes confidence."

"confidence, okay. fake it till i make it."

he smiles, "fake it till you make it." willam agrees. "I picked this place because kappy likes this spot. he comes here for breakfast a lot. so if you can, bring it up in conversation."

you smile, "I can do that."

william finished his last bit of food. "saturday night, we were planning on going out for a couple drinks to celebrate mango's birthday."

you nod, taking another huge bite of your sandwich, seemingly unaware of what william was suggesting. "okay." you hum through your mouthful of tomato and cheese.

he laughs, "okay, so, come. kappy will be there and we can start this whole thing."

"right! okay." you try to suppress the nervous butterflies fluttering around your belly, bashing against your sides in a way that has you feeling weak. "you'll be there too, right? In case I need your help."

"you'll be great, don't worry." he says, "and If i wasn't going to be there I wouldn't of invited you," william holds a teasing grin.

"right," you hum, rubbing the back of your neck. "what should I wear?"

william shrugs, "whatever you want. he likes the colour red...if that's any help."

"red, okay." you're already taking mental notes of what's in your closet, flashes of articles dyed those ruby tones you needed. "I can do that."

"alright, now," william stands from his set, his chair scraping along the tiled floor loud enough to leave you cringing. "let's go around the city for a bit, i'll show you some of his favourite spots."

you're still sitting at the table, a bit dumbfounded as you watch him slip his puffer coat back over his broad shoulders. william chuckles, grabbing your garbage off the table, "are you coming? or am i going by myself."

"shut up," you hit his bicep, standing up less than gracefully. "you're so impatient."

"you hurt me, y/n," he feins pains, grasping his left peck like his heart was broken, "after all I've done for you."

you're laughing beside him which has william stopping his antics, releasing his chest while smiling down at you.

"okay, drama queen, where to next?"

william leads you through the city for the rest of the day, pointing out kappy's favourite boutiques, eateries, bars and anything in between. the two of you walk until dusk settles over the sky, william treating you to another meal before the two of you part ways, a promise from william that he will text you before the weekend with the finalized plans.

you got to bed that night happy with a stomach full of mouth watering chinese food (which you successfully convinced willy to get, claiming he could be unhealthy just for one day.) a smile adorned your face as you close your eyes, your plan with willy feeling successful- and it hasn't even begun.

you couldn't wait for saturday.

—

william does text you in the days leading up to saturday. offering you a couple more quips about his best friend as well as keeping you updated about plans and game schedules alike. it's friday night, just after 11p.m, when william texts you the finalized location and who's all going and so on and so forth.

the thought of the following evening has you giddy, brushing your teeth for bed with a little extra sway in your hips, not even caring when toothpaste falls from your tube and lands on your top.

you wake up saturday in the same mood, a smile adorning your face even though the nerves were running ramped through your veins.

you force yourself to eat a brunch, eggs and real cheese smooshed in between your last everything bagel, along with orange juice poured over a concerning amount of ice that you would inevitably knaw on once the liquid was drank.

your phone bings, bringing you out of your quiet meal.

zachary

hey. what are you doing tonight? did you want to come watch thatnew movie we've been talking about seeing?

you frown at your phone, the message from your best friend pushing down at your heart until it feels heavy. without meaning to, you hadn't texted or talked to zach in a week. the combination of two busy schedules along with yourself and williams escapades, zach had been put on your back burner.

y/n

hey

y/n

i'm actually going out

y/n

for mango's thing

y/n

william invited me

y/n

i'm sorry

zachary

don't apologize! it will be fun

we can do movie night another

night 😊

zachary

so...william invited you? 😏🧐

y/n

yes

y/n

don't send me those emojis!😤

y/n

william and I are friends

y/n

actually i'm helping him with something

zachary

oh yeah? and what's that

y/n

i'll tell you when i see you next

zachary

oh god

the conversation with zach lasts a little longer, and then you have to shower, so you bid goodbye to your oldest friend with a promise to hang next time he had a free evening.

you take your time getting ready, blow drying your hair straight until the heat has you sweating, leaving you to stand naked in the star fish pose in front of your stand alone fan until you can cool down.

as you're finishing up your makeup, swiping your pen along your eyelid to create a black wing, you almost wish kappy was there - that way he would be able to see all the effort you were putting in for him: for his attention and affection.

you were kind of left exhausted before you got dressed.

you slip on your favourite black mom jeans, the denim immediately hugging and wrapping around the curves of your hips. a top is strappy in the back, exposed your tanned skin from the neck down, the cherry red tank top sitting loose and plain on your front. you're stumbling over yourself as you try and zip up your black booties on your way to the front door, grabbing your bag and your thin wind breaker that definitely wasn't a match for the canadian winter air, and head out the door.

you arrive at the bar 15 minutes later, tipping your uber before exiting the warmth of the car and into the early february air.

you do a half run half walk to the front door, pulling open the heavy slate of oak until the warmth and sticky sweet smell envelope you, sucking you into the bar with ease.

"fuck," you mumble, your teeth chattering at the last bit of cold. you slip off your next to nothing jacket and hang it over your bent arm. you try your best to fix your hair in the terribly scratched mirror that hangs on the wall next to you, checking your teeth for any lipstick or seeds from your bagel earlier.

the clock alerts you that it's 8:45 p.m., 5 minutes after the time william said kappy would be there. with a sigh, you decided your presentable enough, moving around the small group gathered near the front and walking further into the bar.

"there she is!" you hear the distinctive voice of andreas johnsson call out to you, his deep accent bringing a smile to his face. you find them almost instantly, a smile tugging up at your mouth until your moving, joining your friends at the high table and chairs they've taken over.

"happy birthday," you sing song once you get to them, wrapping andreas in a hug until he kisses your cheek, squeezing you tight before releasing you.

"thank you," he laughs, "you look smokin," he teases, spinning you around until you're both laughing.

"whatever," you mumble. "oh," you gasp, hands pulling at your bag until you can reach inside, "I have something for you!" your fingers latch onto the crisp envelope that holds a birthday card, pulling it out and slipping it infront of him. "you don't need to open it now, but I didn't want to forget."

"you're too kind," johnsson says, giving you one more squeeze.

william is already standing when you meet his eyes, and he sends you a knowing smirk before pulling you into a hug. "he's at the bar," his words are whispered against the shell of you ear. it has you nodding, pulling away.

you greet timothy liligren and rasmus sandin who are accompanying the other chairs: warm greetings sent your way from your swedish friends. william takes your bag and coat from where they are draped over your arm, hanging them on the back of the empty chair beside him.

you go to take your seat but willy nudges you, eyes darting over to the bar. you see kappy - he's laughing with mitch and some brunette girl, all sipping drinks as they converse.

the hint was taken, "i'm going to grab a drink," you say, making your way over until you're standing in front of them.

mitch sees you first, "hey! how's it going?" he pulls you into a brief hug, which you return delicately.

"good, good," you nod, releasing mitch. before you can freak yourself out and over analyze everything about yourself, you're turning your body so your entire front is facing kappy. you're so close to him, if you lean in anymore than an inch, your boobs would be pressed against his bicep.

"hey kappy," you smile.

he doesn't move to hug you but he smirks all syrupy at you, eyes flicking down to your top. it give you a boost of confidence, a blush creeping up your chest and burning the tips of you ears.

"hey crazy," he teases, "you look good."

you breathe out a laugh, blinking a few times. "thanks," then you think about what willy said: confidence. so you decide to say, "I know I do."

once you say it, immediately you know that's not the right thing to say and definitely the wrong kind of confidence: more cocky if anything. it's confirmed by the look mitch sends your way, the mysterious brunette girl snorting into her drink.

"I mean...no. I don't know I do - or, no! yes, thank you."

kappy laughs, gripping your shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze. "you want a drink?"

you nod, saving yourself any more embarrassment by staying silent. kappy flags down the bartender, ordering you a drink. a moment later, he's passing you a corona and you send him a tight lipped smile - taking a sip of the bitter drink and praying that your disgust isn't evident on your face.

mitch has left in the time your drink was ordered, leaving yourself with your crush and that same girl, who still hasn't introduced herself but instead orders another drink for herself. when she turns back around to face you, you are smiling expectantly at her but she just looks down into her drink.

you sigh, "hey, i'm y/n."

she finally meets your eyes, "lacy."

you try not to scoff at her attitude, raising your brows high. kappy doesn't seem to mind his...friends? attitude, talking over his shoulder at liligren.

"hey, did you want to dance?" the words leave your mouth before you can think it through. kappy looks back down at you.

"dance?"

"yeah!" you smile, "I love to dance! do you like dancing?"

kappy runs a hand through his hair, "i'm a terrible dancer."

"me too, that's what makes it fun."

"alright," kappy smiles. he grabs your hand, holding your palm against his own. immediately your knees go weak, letting him pull you away from the bar and out onto the makeshift dance floor. it isn't too busy, just enough people to make you not feel like you're being watched.

he dances fine, you think. his hands placed on your body appropriately, spinning and twirling you around until you're laughing, blushing and sweating.

over his shoulder, you catch the steel blue eyes of willy, who smiles encouragingly, tossing you a thumbs up that has your eyes widening, gesturing back and forth between him and the man you were dancing with: like a kid trying to tell their parent to stop embarrassing them.

william laughs, you can hear it from where you are. it has you joining in, rolling your eyes playfully and throwing him your middle finger subtly.

"you good?" kappy asks, his breath tickling your hairline.

your face falls, like you've been caught doing something you shouldn't. "yeah."

you're looking up at him when his eyes flicker away, looking behind you...and then he's pulling away. "lacy is calling me over -i'm going to grab another drink."

"oh," he's already walking away before you can finish, "okay. sounds good."

your face falls in a slight disappointment, standing alone in the middle of the dance floor while couples and friends move sound you. once again, you catch williams eyes.

his brows pull together in question which earns a shrug from you. your actions clearly enough communication for him and then you're watching the blond stand from his seat, slipping in between bodies until he's front of you. "what happened?"

"I don't know," you whine, "he said lacy was calling him over- said something about getting another drink."

"you didn't want to join them?"

you scoff, "lacy is kind of a bitch."

william laughs deeply. saved from the embarrassment of standing on the dance floor, he's pulling you into his body, hand resting heavy on your waist while his other clasp's one of yours, swaying the two of you to the sound tequila.

"should I go up there?" your question has william sighing.

"no. give it a minute. you don't want to look too...I don't know...clingy."

a frown pulls at your lips, "but I am clingy."

your words sound so genuine it has william smirking down at you. "that's okay, but he won't like that."

you nod, eyes surveying the room around you. the air grows silent between the two of you for a few minutes, the both of you just bathing in the calmness of one another's presence. it's you who breaks the silence though, a distant look on your face. "why is it he's always with somebody else?"

william looks at you sadly, which has you immediately regretting your question. you almost want to take it back but then he's sighing, "kappy is...complicated. he likes the attention."

"do I not give enough?"

he looks at you in shock, "what? you give enough. he's just...," he trails off, taking a deep breath before continuing, "too clueless to see what's right in front of him."

you don't say anything, too busy watching the way williams eyes soften.

he clears his throat, "that's you, by the way."

his tease has you giggling. "thank you, I would've had no idea who you were talking about if you didn't clear that up."

your banter has him smirking, sending a quick pinch to the dip of your hip where his hand is sitting. "loser," william whispers, his usual grin softly adorning his face. his face changes just as the song does, "also did I see you drinking a beer? you hate beer."

the reminder of your beverage has you groaning, that sour taste attacking your tastebuds once again. "oh my god yes," your head lulls down, "don't remind me." he laughs.

"wanna get something new to get your mind off it?"

you're gasping at that, "yes, I thought you'd never ask."

then the two of you disconnect. the dance floor has become more crowded since you first walked out onto it, bodies pushed together that effectively block a clear path. william's hooking a finger through the belt loop on your jeans, dragging you behind him as he uses his sheer size to make way through the crowd, bringing you both to the bar. you're not sure why you're blushing.

"done dancing?" kappy teases when he sees you again. you laugh awkwardly, shrugging.

"yeah, my partner kept stepping on my feet."

william scoffs, "whatever." but then he's laughing, flagging down the same bartender from earlier in the night until he catches their attention, ordering himself a diet coke and you a vodka cranberry. your mouth is salivating in anticipation at the thought of your favourite drink.

"he's always been a terrible dancer," kappy teases his friend, bumping williams shoulder with his own.

expect william doesn't laugh too hard, only a breath of a small chuckle leaving his lips. "at least I don't leave my partner on the dance floor."

his tone has you gulping, eyes darting between the two hockey players. "willy," your words come out between a forceful whisper and a shaky scold.

kappy throws his hands up in surrender, a smirk still on his face. "I was being summoned."

for the first time, lacy speaks up. "yeah that's totally my bad...I was lonely." her voice is more slurred then the last time you heard it, eyelids falling heavy in a way that very much gave away the state of her intoxication. "I just didn't want to stand alone, you get it, right girl?"

yeah, you think, you do get it because you were left standing alone in the middle of the dance floor because she was lonely - but you just nod, too sober to argue with a drunk girl.

william hands you your freshly made drink, to which you take roughly, chugging the entire thing in one go. the next few moments are kind of a blur. you place your empty glass on the counter, leaning close to lacy to do so. lacy grabs your arm, mumbling something incoherent in between quiet burps and then she spews. literally spews.

you jump away but it's no use, lacy had thrown up the contents of the night all over your front, the hot liquid soaking into your clothing and sticking to your skin. you can feel the colour drain from your face. "oh my god," you cry.

"oh shit, are you okay?" kappy asks, hands hovering over lacy's back.

"i'm sorry," lacy mumbles, wiping her mouth with the back of her tanned hand, "I didn't feel well."

"oh my god." you repeat.

"are you okay?" william is the one asking this time, expect he's asking you, the recipient of the vomit attack.

you take a deep breath through your mouth, too scared to use your nose. you look down and see you are completely covered, all the way down to your black shoes. vomit puddles on the floor below you and you start panicking, shaking your hands in despair.

"I need to go outside."

"yeah, okay," william nods, guiding you by the back of your neck towards the exit. this time, he doesn't need to use his body to make a path, the pure stench and look of you has people clearing the way.

you can hear kappy flagging down some help for a clean up just as william is opening the door, a wave a cold air hitting you. your wet clothes immediately feel 10 times worse. "what do I do?" you cry. you can also assume you're standing like a robot, making sure none of your limbs touch one another. "I have emtaphobia."

"emta- what?" willy asks, eyes swimming with a look you can't decipher.

"I'm scared of puke, william." the use of his full name has his eyes growing wide. "what do I do? I can't keep these clothes on."

"no, you're right," he trails off, looking around frantically for a moment, "okay! I have some clothes in my car. you can change."

your panick is still swirling deep in your stomach, your fear so badly taking over. you try to distract yourself with the press william had on your back as he guides you to his car, taking shaky deep breaths as best you can.

the beep of the car is another distraction, the lights momentarily shocking you. william rounds you both to the trunk, popping the hatch open. it's relatively clean back there, a few rolls of hockey tape and some loose articles of clothing spewn about, not doubt thrown astray form driving. "okay, just take what you need."

you nod.

"do you need help?"

you survey yourself again, "no, umm, I think I got it. just...don't leave. turn around or something."

he turns around.

"no peeking," you try and joke, laughing awkwardly at yourself to save yourself from crying.

"I would never," williams teasing has you feeling a bit more relaxed, your hands that were previously shaking now much more manageable. you pull your tank top off, and miraculously avoid getting any of lacy's vomit in your hair. your bra is also affected, which has you surveying the dark parking lot to make sure nobody could see you. the coast is clear and you unclip the undergarment, letting it fall to the ground along with your tank top. you quickly grab a blue hoodie, the maple leaf logo embroidered on the front. you pull it over your head, the number 88 sitting heavy on your collarbone.

you make quick work of your jeans, throwing on a pair of sweatpants after you kicked off your shoes, leaving you standing in just your socks. "okay, i'm done."

william turns around to see you standing there, a sad look on your face. your hands are gripping his sweatpants tightly, preventing them from falling down. "i'm so embarrassed," you finally say, tears brimming your waterline.

"don't be," he strains.

"why did it have to happen infront of kappy? I probably looked ridiculous."

"if it's any consolation," william says, "everybody looks ridiculous covered in puke."

that has you laughing slightly, a single tear falling down your cheek that has you using your shoulder to wipe it away. "can you - umm, call me a cab?"

"no," william says quickly. your brows raise, ready to lay into him. "i'll drive you home."

"you don't have to."

"I want to." he doesn't look at you when he says it, busy shutting the trunk of his vehicle. willy steps over the pile of pukey clothes by your feet, "here's my keys, start the car and i'll go get our stuff from inside."

you don't argue, feet too cold from the frosted concrete. that has you getting into the passenger seat and letting the car warm up. it isn't 5 minutes later that william walks back out of the bar, your jacket and purse over his shoulder, a plastic bag in his hand. you don't see where he goes as he rounds the back of his car, the sound of the trunk opening and closing just before you see that head of blonde hair again, william walking over to the driver's side and getting in.

"i'll wash them for you," he is rubbing his hands together, trying to warm them up, "don't even worry about it."

he's talking about your clothes. your red top and favourite pair of jeans. you feel like crying again. "thank you." you sniffle as he's putting the car into drive, "I would've just thrown them out."

he laughs lightly, "no doubt."

the drive is silent for the first 5 minutes but then william is sighing, pulling up to a red light. "i'm sorry that happened to you. I hope you're not scarred from ever accepting my invitations to go out again."

"never," you laugh, "well, as long as lacy isn't there." despite your laughter, your voice is very much serious and william doesn't doubt it.

"lacy, never again. got it."

"thank you for helping me, willy." you whisper a few minutes later. you recognize that your close to your apartment complex, the neighbouring buildings providing a sense of familiarity.

"always," he says, "promise."

you nod at him softly, a sweet smile on your face.

—

the next morning when you wake up it's with a groan, the memories of the night before heavy on your brain. after william dropped you off, you obviously showered, your damp hair against the pillows a reminder that you are clean - your momentary surge of panic ending.

but then your embarrassment comes back. you can only imagine the sheer terror on your face the moment you were douced in throw up - the miniature freak out that followed with it. kappy hadn't even checked in on you: when it happened or after the fact.

you groan again, tossing back your blanket at the same time you grab your phone off the night stand: frowning at the lack of texts from kappy once more. suddenly you're hit with a wave of loneliness, wanting nothing more than the comfort of your best friend.

y/n

can you come over ?

y/n

something I want to tell you about

the phone dings a moment later

zachary

of course. want a sandwich from tony's?

y/n

yes

y/n

please

zachary

bacon egg and cheese okay?

y/n

yes please 👍🏼

when zach lets himself into your apartment, you're lounging on the couch, still wearing your pyjamas and glasses, slippers covering your feet.

"hey," he calls out, kicking the door shut with his foot. you push to sit up, grabbing the drink tray from his arm that's also holding a paper bag with yummy breakfast sandwiches. the puke incident still has you feeling a bit weary of eating but you do your best to ignore it, thanking zach as he takes a seat beside you.

he must be able to feel your anxious energy. "something happen last night?" his voice is cautious, unwrapping his food.

you take a deep breath, taking a small bite of your sandwich and chewing it slowly. "I got fucking puked on."

he sucks in some air, "you okay? how did that happen?"

you nod, "i'm fine. it was this girl..."

there's something you aren't saying, zach call tell. the way you won't meet his eyes, running your hand through your un-brushed hair. "what else?"

he knows you too well, you think. "I got puked on...in front of kappy and totally, like, panicked. I had to fucking strip down in the parking lot behind willy's car. oh my god, and the girl, lacy, was totally there with kappy and I just," you take a deep breath, "i'm so embarrassed. I looked so stupid standing there infront of him covered in his dates vomit."

as if zach can sense your feelings, he moves closer, pulling you into his side for a much appreciated hug. you love him so much, you think. because instead of your best friend teasing you about how you were still crushing on his teammate, zach was empathetic with you. "don't be embarrassed," he says, "anybody would look silly covered in puke."

you laugh, "that's pretty much what willy said."

zach raises his brows, "we know you too well I suppose."

you nod gently, bringing your thumb to your lips and beginning to pick. "there's something else."

zach just nods, urging you to continue.

"willy, he umm, he's helping me with," you ponder wording, "getting kappy to ask me out."

"what?"

"he's essentially like, training me for a date with kappy." zach laughs which has you joining in. "I know it sounds stupid! but it's kind of working! he danced with me for a bit last night - he did leave me on the dance floor though which was a whole different thing-"

"he left you alone on the dance floor?" zach sounds angry.

you shake your head, "it's okay, though. willy saved me - anyways, besides the point. willy is helping me with kappy and in return I told him I'd get him a date with liz."

"liz?" zach asks, brows raised. "like your friend elizabeth?"

you nod.

"does liz know?"

you shake your head, "absolutely not. I don't want her to feel like a pawn."

zach breaths a laugh, "she is a pawn."

"no! well, yes," you nod, "but no! because willy didn't even ask! I was the one who offered after he mentioned helping me."

"hold on," he says, eyes squinting, "willy just...offered to help you get with his best friend?"

you purse your lips, "pretty much."

"a bit weird, don't you think?"

your brows draw together, "no. we are friends! he's just helping me out."

"okay."

"why? do you think it's a bad idea?"

"no. not if you're happy with it."

"I am," you smile automatically, "I think it will work."

zach mimicks your expression, "then I think it's a great idea." he takes another bite of his food.

"okay now help me get my mind off last night," you shiver, taking another hesitant bite of your breakfast.

zach laughs around his mouthful, "have you watched the new episode of love is blind yet?"

and then he's diving into an explanation, insisting you both watch the episode before he has to go back home for his pre-game meal and nap. the conversation between the two of light hearted and a much needed healer for your brain rot. it's nice and even after zach leaves, you don't think about the night before, sucked into the rest of the show.

the next couple days are pretty quiet. the leafs have a few games back to back at the beginning of the week, and you're pretty swamped at your job as well. but then wednesday comes, and the leafs have an early afternoon game - leaving the evening open.

that's how you end up at williams apartment wednesday night: feasting on a balanced meal william insisted you would enjoy (it was actually really delicious but you kept teasing him that it wasn't- news flash: he saw right through you).

"why are we watching this movie?" you question, slouched down on the plush couch cushions of williams expensive sectional, one of his dogs curled up at your feet.

"it's kappy's favourite," william says. he's in the same slouched position as you, shoulder almost pushing into yours.

you groan, "seriously? the godfather is his favourite movie."

you can't hide you look of distaste, and it has william giggling at your expression. he shrugs, "that's what he says." he pauses, rolling his head against the cushion so he can look at your face, "what's yours?"

you ponder for a moment and then smirk. "you can't judge me."

"never," he promises automatically.

"if I had to just pick one... it would be tinkerbell."

you expect him to laugh at you, call you a baby and then explain why something like fight club is a much more suitable film. but instead he nods, "respectable."

"think so?" you ask, brows raised in a slight disbelief.

"yeah," he laughs slightly. "is that alright tinkerbell?" william is back to his usual teasing laugh and that has you sighing, a playful roll to your eyes.

"if anything, you're tinkerbell - not me."

william laughs loudly, "well I wasn't going to say it but..."

you giggle, pushing his shoulder gently. "what's your favourite movie?"

"I don't have one." he says after a few beats.

you gasp, turning your head towards him. william is still looking at you, a small smirk tugging at his lips. it has you taking a shallow gulp. "okay, well then i'm going to tell people it's tinkerbell as well."

you expect a protest but instead, "okay." that same expression on williams face, all soft and gooey until your stomach flips. "hey," he whispers, "we have the family skate friday. you should come."

"should I?" you tease.

"I want you to." as if william realized what he said, he sits up quickly, cleaning his throat, "kappy will be there after all."

you follow suit, sitting up, "right, of course."

he smiles, "i'll pick you up friday then."

you can't help but smile in return, "alright."

the clock that hangs on the wall tells you that it's late, well past midnight and it has you sighing: already dreading your early work day tomorrow. "I should probably go..." you start to push the blanket off, "I work early."

"what time? i'll drive you before skate." william says immediately, "i mean, you can stay over. like you said, it's late and maybe you shouldn't drive."

your heart flutters twice against your rib cage. "I work at 7, but it's fine, really, I don't want to intrude."

he shakes his head, "tuck yourself back in and watch the movie."

you snicker and do what he suggest, snuggling back under the fuzzy blanket that you shared with the blonde beside you. "bossy," you remark. willy just laughs into your shoulder.

a few minutes later you jolt, "an alarm." you say, your hands searching frantically under the cover. you finally locate your cell, but then willy hisses gently, jerking his body away from yours in a way that has you panicking.

"that's not your phone." he laughs awkwardly.

your face drops, "oh my god." you had totally just grabbed your friends dick in mistaking it for your phone. then you blush, "i'm so sorry!"

he just laughs at your panick, hand slipping out from under the blanket with your phone, "here's your phone."

you take it from him gingerly, closing your eyes with embarrassment. "willy, I-"

"it's okay," he smiles, "it's not like it was the worse thing in the world." his face falls when he realizes what he says, "no! that came out wrong, I didn't mean to sound so creepy."

his embarrassment is clear and it has you laughing gently, "now we are both embarrassed."

willy just smiles at you in a way that if you two weren't just friends, you would mistaken for lovingly. "yeah," he says gently.

you just look back towards the tv with a gentle smile.

you never did set your alarm.

—

"do you know how to skate?" william teases. he's wearing his practice gear still, just without his gloves. his bare hands placed on his hips as he observes you.

you give him a look, your hands gripping onto the outdoor rinks wall, skate covered feet still flat on the black padding of the makeshift bench area. he laughs at your unbothered expression, skating in a small circle before going still again. "yes, I know how to skate."

you still don't make a move to step out onto the ice, fingers going cold against the ledge.

"alright," william skates to the left slightly, "come on then."

you nod, gulping slightly when john tavares skates past you, his kid tucked between his legs as they zip through. your eyes meet william's again, "alright, I will."

without much more thought, you take a hesitant step onto the sheet of ice, your one foot quickly followed by the other. you still have a hold on the ledge but it doesn't seem that willy minds your pace, still waiting patiently behind you.

your head whips around when snow hits your jeans, zach coming to quick stop and effectively snowing your lower half. "hey!" you screech.

your best friend just laughs, "you're skating?"

you scoff, eyes squinting his direction. "yeah"

"y/n. you can't skate."

your mouth hangs open, another scoff escaping.

"I thought you said you could," william teases.

"I can!" you say in a tone of disbelief, still giving your giggling best friend a look, "just," you trial off, eyes moving around the rink as players and their families skate laps, "not well."

zach just laughs louder at your confession, and then he pats william on his shoulder, "good luck."

all you can do is laugh in pure shock, your best friends words still ringing in your ears. william just laughs along, which was...rude. he skates forward until he's close enough to touch, "c'mon."

his hand is extended towards you, an invitation to grab on. "i can skate just fine, I promise. I just suck with balance."

"I believe you," he smiles, "just grab my hand and i'll drag you along."

you look at his hands again, "okay, just...don't go too fast."

your cold hands grasp onto his, your grip tight on his much larger palms. "I won't."

immediately he takes off backwards, doing what he claimed and pulling you along, starting to take you both around for your first lap. even though he's skating backwards, he's dodging and zipping between the people effortlessly.

"i'm kind of impressed," you laugh, "you're really good at skating."

he gives you a look, "you do know i'm a professional, right?"

you laugh loudly, head falling back briefly. "okay! it's still impressive. don't make fun of me, i'm giving you a compliment."

"wouldn't dream of it," william insists, "thanks for the compliment." the two of you are almost back to where you started the lap. you can tell william is going slower than he could be for your sake, his teammates passing you both without effort. "okay," william starts, slowing down, "now your turn to try."

"what? no," william is already dropping your hands, somehow manoeuvring out of your death grip so that your standing alone. he doesn't leave you, but skates a couple meters back. "willy!" you whisper shout, arms out in front of you like bambi.

"skate towards me," he says.

you shake your head, "no, i'll fall."

"you won't," william assures, "and if you do, i'll catch you."

at the same time william finishes his scentence, rasmus is whirling past, laughing when you screech at the sounds of his skates tearing up the ice beside you.

"you got it," william says, effectively grabbing your attention again, "and then after this you can hold onto me again."

"promise?"

he laughs gently, "I promise."

"okay," you mumble to yourself, you look down at your feet but then remember every time zach had tried to teach you, hammering the rule that you definitely shouldn't look down when you're skating.

you meet williams eyes once again, using your left foot to push off, followed by your right foot. your arms are still trying to keep your balance, stuck out your sides. you're sure you resemble a baby giraffe learning to walk, but you can't find yourself caring, your feet still moving you towards william. "i'm doing it?"

your voice comes out as a question and it has him giggling, "you are. bend your knees a little more."

you smile brightly, almost close enough that you could reach out and grab onto the white jersey covering willy's shoulder pads. you're still feeling wobbly, just barley gliding on the ice, but it's still working - you hadn't fallen over. "there you go!"

"yeah, I think i'm -" your suddenly panicking, the pick of your skate catching a small dip on the ice's surface. then you arms are flailing at your sides, desperately trying to keep your balance so your face doesn't smack into the ice. but, you're already slipping, preparing yourself for the pain of falling.

"woah," william says, hands grabbing around your sides, fingers pressing under your rib cage to pull you up straight, effortlessly stopping your accident before it happens. "you okay?"

his eyes are filled with concern, dancing over your face as if to look for any injuries - even though there was no possible way. after all, he did save you.

you're slightly breathless, hands holding on tightly to william's biceps. "yeah...yeah i'm okay." looking around, you see a couple people's eyes linger, small smirks on their lips.

"want to stop?" william whispers, slightly crouched so he can look into your eyes.

you blush, "no, just keep skating with me before I die of embarrassment."

he laughs gently, breath tickling your frost bitten cheeks. "okay," he nods, immediately fulfilling your wishes. his hands leave your ribs, dragging down the underside of your arms until he's gripping your hands, skating backwards with you once again.

your eyes are still wandering, checking the people around you with your lip between your teeth, brows pulled together.

as if william can sense your worries, he tugs on your hands to grab your attention. "nobody is looking at you."

"what if - "

"- or making fun of you," he interrupts, "I promise."

you nod and willam smiles, changing direction so that you're the one now moving backwards, william skating forward as he pushes you gently along. the change of direction has him holding onto your waist, a better position for the movement. he can feel your grip on his muscles tighten, but you don't say anything, even a small laugh bubbling out as he spins you two quickly.

"oh gosh, willy!" your laughter is like music as you scold him, your words holding no bite with that smile beaming on your face - william effectively taking any lingering embarrassment you had been feeling and throwing it away. "you're going to make me dizzy."

he laughs, "you will be fine - " william starts, but his words are cut short, not watching where the two of we're going until he's backing you into a person, stopping all three of you from skating at the collision.

kappy grunts at the impact, his hands grabbing your shoulder from behind to stop you all from tumbling over. immediately, william lets go of you, and you spin around the best you can with your still shaky balance.

"woah," the finnish native mumbles, his deep tone burning your ears.

the sight of kappy's face as you blinking hard, your brain reminding you of why willy invited you to the family skate in the first place: and here he was in front of you.

"kappy, hey." you're breathing out. "sorry, we didn't mean-"

"my bad," william interrupts, his earlier chipper tone gone.

you nod gently, arms crossing over your chest but immediately dropping back to your sides, the loss of stability causing you to teeter slightly.

"all good," kappy says, "you guys having fun?"

"oh yeah," you smile brightly, blinking up at him slowly, "this is great fun."

"I saw your almost fall earlier," kappy laughs and it has your smile falling, "are you always that clumsy? first the vomit and then the slipping, you're full of surprises huh?"

you laugh awkwardly, "oh, umm-“

william says sharply, "she's not clumsy."

you send the blonde a harsh look, "no it's okay. I am," you turn back towards kappy, "-clumsy. very clumsy."

"no," william laughs in disbelief, "you're not-"

"heads up!" a voice calls out from somewhere on the rink. you look over to try and find the source of the commotion, but just as you do, a puck smacks fast into the boards, hitting a dip in the ice and flinging back through the air, smacking you right in the face.

you scream out, hands immediately flying to your nose. you can feel the hot liquid seep through your fingers, your blood dripping onto your coat.

"oh fuck," kappy gasps.

you can feel a hand press gently against your back, a slight rubbing movement over your white puffer.

"here," william says, "move your hands."

william has taken off his jersey, holding it right under your hands. when you take them away, he's immediately pressing the material to your face, catching the blood before it can hit the ice.

a small crowd has gathered around you, looks of concern and words of worry all flying around that have your head spinning. "fuck," you whine when willy applies some extra pressure.

"I know, sorry," he says quickly.

"i'm sorry!" the words are falling from jake muzzin's mouth, "my kids were fucking around and the puck just, like, flew through the air."

"it's okay," you wince, "i'll be fine."

"the medical staff are still here," aryne tavares says beside you. "you should get that checked out...that's a lot of blood. it might be broken."

her words have you groaning, tears welling up in your eyes.

"let me help you off the ice," william says. he's crouching down again so he can look into your eyes. all you can muster is a gentle nod, which makes william throw his free hand around your waist, helping you skate over to the exit with his jersey still held to your face.

the medical staff take notice of you two immediately, springing into action at the sight of your blood, taking you away from william and beginning their work.

by the time there putting a strip on your nose, the bleeding has mostly stopped. one of the medical personnel has put the cotton plugs up your nostrils, catching any lingering traces of bleeding. thankfully your nose isn't broken, just bruised and the next few days are to be expected with soreness and discolouration.

"how's it feel?" william joins you once again, still only wearing his shoulder and chest pad. you had been separated while the medical staff cleaned you up but now that they were done, he joined you once more.

"it's sore," you mumble. you don't even want to think how stupid you look with a bandaged nose and what you can also assume swollen face. "but i'll survive."

"you're so brave," his tone is teasing, sitting beside you gently. "i'm sorry."

"it's not your fault," you say, "it's nobody's fault."

he nods in agreement, "no but if I saw it coming I would've sacrificed my back to save your nose."

you giggle, which makes him smile. you wince at your face moving, fingers hovering over your nose. you sigh, "I can't believe i've been covered in another bodily fluid infront of the guy I like."

william just sighs gently. "don't worry about him right now."

"I can't help it," you groan. a beat passes, "everybody was definitely looking at me that time, huh."

william laughs in disbelief, "loser."

"yeah but i'm you're favourite loser," you lean in closer, bumping your side against his, "so you can't complain."

"you're right," he nods, "what would I do without you."

you laugh, "who knows."

the sound of zach calling out your name has your and willy's eye contact ending, your gaze now meeting your best friends as he approaches in a hurry. "are you okay, y/n?! I didn't even know you got hurt."

"i'm fine," you sigh, "just a little bloody."

"yeah," zach breathes, eyes darting down to you stained white coat and back, "I can see that."

then kappy comes up behind zach, a raise to his eyebrows as he takes in your face. he whistles lowly, "shit," he says, hands on his hips, "those black eyes are going to be knarly."

you don't take notice to the way williams jaw clenches.

"i'll look badass," you say.

kappy shrugs, "something like that."

zach covers his face in disbelief at your words, sending you a slight smile. "you're insane, y/n."

you just shrug. zach starts to talk with somebody on the medical team, assumingly grilling them with questions about your injury. kappy gets distracted by one of his teammates by the boards, walking off to join a conversation without another word.

you turn to willy, "can you get my boots?"

he just laughs gently, "yeah."

wasting no time in jogging to the bench where you both left your things, returning no less then two minutes later with your winter shoes in his hand. wordlessly, william leans down in front of you, fingers expertly untying your laces until their loose enough for him to slip off your skates.

your foot is tucked between his thighs while he tugs your boot on, patting the sides of your ankle once it was secure.

"thanks," you whisper, dropping your foot back to the ground.

your face starts to hurt a little more as time passes, and you can only dread how much it will ache when you wake up the following morning- already preparing the looks of shock from your co-workers.

william stands up from his crouched position. he's even taller on his skates as he looks down at you, a ghost of a smirk tugging his lips. he opens his mouth as if to say something but then he stops, pulling out his phone.

you fight the urge to scoff, about to tell him not to leave you hanging like that, but then he is pointing the phone at you, the click of the camera button alerting you to a photo being taken. "hey!" you say.

william laughs, observing the photo of you looking all pouty for a few more seconds before pocketing his phone.

"collecting future blackmail?" you ask with a laugh, an unimpressed raise to your brows.

"no." he shakes his head, "you just look cute."

oh.

you gulp.

"want to go home?" he asks you.

you shake your head slightly, clearing your throat. "yes."

william extends a hand to you, which you take immediately, letting him pull you to your feet. for the rest of the day you think about that damn picture and the reason it was taken.

you look cute.

—

a week passes before you see william again. the day after getting smacked in the nose with a hockey puck, zach and alanna kept you company at your apartment. you were jacked up on pain meds, which lead to a few loopy conversations with your two friends, most of them ending with you crying and feeling embarrassed in front of kappy - zach and his wife laughing awkwardly at your high state.

safe to say after your third venting session, you slept the rest of the day away - barley remembering the conversations you had (that is until zach calls you and laughs about it all: you hate him.)

liz visits you 4 days after the incident and you finally get a chance to talk to her about the idea of going out with william. she says maybe, and promises to think about it - which was a win as far as your concerned.

7 days after, william texts you and says he's growing bored without seeing your face, asking you for breakfast to talk about the kappy plans. you were already agreeing at the promise of a grilled cheese form your favourite cafe.

you pull open the heavy car door of williams vehicle, a bright smile on your face, cheeks rosy from the cold late february day. "hey."

"hi," william says, tossing his phone down as you take your seat. "you're healing nicely."

"I thought so" you agree. you are only left with the last stages of your black eyes, no marks or bruises on your nose anymore, barely tender when you touch it.

william puts the car in drive, pulling away from the curb and onto the busy toronto street. you grab the loose aux cord that was lying in the empty cup holder, immediately plugging it into your phone and queuing your favourite songs.

"so," willy starts, eyes darting over to your face quickly before they go back to the road, "there's something I want to talk about."

"you're making me a bit nervous," you admit, a light laugh emerging from your chest.

willy shakes his head, "no, nothing bad. it's just...," he takes a sigh, a beat passing, "I want you to be completely honest with me."

"always," you promise.

he takes another deep sigh, "what do you see in kappy?"

you blink hard at his question but stay silent.

"like I know he's my best friend," continues willy, "and I love him to death but he's not the most...loving person. he doesn't like relationships and he's not driven in that sense, like...at all. and if i'm being completely honest he's kind of a dick around you."

"what?" you whisper.

william looks empathetic, "he doesn't treat you the nicest way he could, don't you see that?"

you blink again because, no, you really haven't noticed anything bad when you're talking to kappy or anything odd when you're hanging around him. but then you think of the way that zach loves you, or the way andreas talks to you and how willy cares for you and kappy really doesn't stand out. you gulp, "I mean...he's maybe not the most affectionate but that doesn't mean he hates me-"

"no," william interrupts, "he doesn't hate you he just...doesn't treat you the way he should. and I don't want to upset you but I don't think you should continue pursuing him. i'm only saying this because you deserve better than my best friends shitty attitude."

you gulp.

"but with that being said - i'll still help you, y/n. if you still want him and you know kappy is what you want - i'll bud out. we will continue doing this," william looks over to you, "just tell me what you want."

you bite your lip, william's blue eye burning into yours before he has to look back to the road. you don't turn away though, eyes still studying his side profile. his sharp jaw and sloped nose, the way his earring shines in the sunlight.

you think about what he said, and all of it was true. you can see it now. you honestly don't know what to say. you would feel guilty if you had to tell william to stop, all of his time he spent helping you would be wasted. you're not sure you want to continue. that crush was much more fun when it was just a crush from afar, without the puke and the blood and the being left on the dance floor.

but it's working, you think. kappy and you feels different than it has in the past. with william around to help, something was changing.

"I want to keep doing this," you decide.

william just nods. "then we will keep doing it."

the tense moment is cut when the song changes, the familiar chords of ABBA flowing through the speakers quietly. william just smirks, bopping his head along to the beat until your smiling gently.

just as the chorus starts, william hits the steering wheel like a drum, turning briefly to you, "look into his angel eyes, one look and you're hypnotized!" he sings loudly.

your mouth hangs open in shock, a few laughs bubbling up your throat at his performance.

"he'll take your heart and you must pay the price - look into his angel eyes - "

you join in, "you'll think you're in paradise !"

you're both laughing for the entire song, belting the lyrics to one another as you cruise through the city. the song finishes and a new one starts, both of you breathless and smiling.

a beat passes, "thank you willy."

his smile flatters slightly and he swallows, "you don't have to thank me."

you just nod.

the gps alerts you both that you're only 3 minutes away from the eatery, directions telling william to get into the left lane as you approach the stop light.

your phone dings in your lap, pulling your gaze away from where you were still staring at william's side profile.

liz

i thought about it and i think i want to do it. i'll go out with william.

your face falls slightly. despite your unknown disappointment, you text back with as much enthusiasm you can rely through your phone.

y/n

oh okay !

y/n

want me to give you his number

y/n

i'm with him rn

liz

actually i was thinking we could maybe do a double date?youve been getting closer to kasperi, right? i dont know willy that well and you guys are friends! so i think it would be better that way

y/n

yeah

y/n

that sounds good

y/n

i'll let willy know

y/n

and he can let kappy know

y/n

okay 🥰

liz

kk let me know.

love u

willy is just parking against the curb in front of the cafe as you send your last text to liz. once the car is off, you turn towards him with a grin.

he laughs, "yes?"

"guess what I just got you."

williams brows furrow, "what?"

"a date with liz!," william tries to keep his smile on his face. "well, a double date. how does that new Teppanyaki place sound? you, liz, kappy and me?"

william blinks and nods, "umm, yeah. sounds good."

"okay," you mutter, "should I text kappy and ask or should you?"

"I can," william says, "it's easier to convince him when i'm able to guilt trip him."

you nod, "alright. it will be fun I think."

your stomach growls and that has the conversation ending, both of you heading in for a meal, setting plans in stone for the upcoming double date.

—

"are you excited?" your tone is hopeful as you look over to your left, hands gripping the steering wheel as you navigated the city.

you can see liz nod once before you have to look back to the street. she rubs her lips together, "i'm sure it will be good."

"you don't sound excited," you laugh awkwardly. out of the corner of your eye you can see her shoulders deflate. "you sound uninterested."

"I promise i'm interested," liz says, "it's just," she stops herself, eyes darting over to you. she watches the way you knaw on your lip, eyebrows pulled together in thought. "it's nothing. first date jitters I suppose."

you're still not to convinced, flicking on your turn signal. "okay."

liz clears her throat, "anything I should know about willy before we get there?"

you hum. "what do you mean?"

"like, I don't know," liz laughs, "what's his favourite food? or favourite movie? what's his favourite colour? something I can causally bring up so he knows i'm paying attention."

you swallow and take a sharp breath. "oh, umm," you laugh, "well his favourite movie is tinkerbell."

"really?"

you laugh again, "well, no. he says he doesn't have a favourite movie. I told him mine was tinkerbell and therefore I was going to tell people it was his too," you take a pause, "his favourite food is steak, but he's also big into any breakfast food. oh and he likes the colour purple."

liz is staring at you with an amused smile.

you continue, "you don't have to feel nervous, liz. willy is....the best."

"y/n.." liz wants to say something, you can tell by the tone of her voice. it has you laughing, pulling the car over as you reach the restaurant.

"looks like we are here!" thankfully, you snag a parking spot right infront of the Teppanyaki style restaurant, switching the car off once you park.

"willy said we can just walk in, there's no reservation or anything."

"alright," liz nods, following suit and unbuckling her seatbelt.

"dude, why do you look so nervous?" kappy's voice has william looking away form the door, the leg that was previously bouncing under the table top coming to a halt.

"i'm not nervous," william argues, "i'm just...aren't you nervous? this is a date."

kappy just shrugs adjacent to him, "it's just y/n...we're friends. why would I be nervous."

william's jaw ticks, "it's not just - "

"hey!" the sound of your bright voice as william stopping, turning around his in chair to see you and liz walking towards them.

william stands, "hey," he swallows as he takes you in, the nerves he was definitely feeling earlier are still there, butterflies fighting in the lining of his stomach. "how are you guys?"

"good," you smile. liz agrees, her smile just as bright and flattering as yours, but william doesn't notice it.

"saved you a spot, y/n/n," the voice of kappy has willy exhaling, blinking hard as your eyes widen at the finnish accent.

you squeeze the blondes shoulder as you sneak past him, taking the empty stool beside kappy. you watch the way william smiles at liz, bringing her into a friendly hug. suddenly your stomach turns and you have to look away as they chat. eventually they sit down, liz on the corner beside you and william next to her.

"you look nice," kappy's words are gentle on your side, two fingers picking a piece of your hair and dropping it over your shoulder. "who's got you all dressed up like this?"

you shrug, "oh I don't know," his smirk has you laughing gently, "why? do you think I should dress like this more often?"

his eyes dart down to your top, that familiar shade of red adorning your chest. "red's my favourite colour." kappy smirks.

"really?" you fane innocence.

william clears his throat loudly and it has your eyes darting over to find his but you're only met with his face in the menu, not even a glance in your direction. you frown gently at that.

liz nudges you, eyes quickly meeting yours. "what are you going to get?"

"I don't know," you admit, picking up the menu infront of you. all of you are silent for a few minutes, reading over the menu trying to ignore the unreadable tension that looms around the four of you.

the flames in front of you ignite, the warmth of the fire has you moving back - snapping you out of your own mind bubble. you wouldn't be surprised if -

"oh my god," liz whispers.

"what?" you ask quickly, dropping your menu.

her eyes are on you, an expression on her face that has your stomach plummeting. "that totally singed your brows."

you eyes widen, "what?"

kappy laughs as you pull out your phone, the cell acting as a mirror as you look over your face. you're met with your brows, very much looking crispy. you whine, brushing away any loose hairs.

"are you hurt?" william asks.

"no," you say. you're thankful you filled your brows in, any areas of natural brow hairs that may be now be splotchy, are coating in a thick pomade. "i'm okay."

"honestly, you can't really tell now that the singed hairs are gone." liz's tone is hopeful and it has you nodding, pocketing your phone.

the cook at your table finally makes his way to your groups corner, platting up the mouth watering range of food.

"are you sure you're okay?" william asks you again and you nod harshly.

"i'm fine." you meet his worried expression and immediately regret your tone of voice. he doesn't look away. "I promise."

then you all start eating, small talk and laughter bounces between all of you. kappy's hand keeps grazing your arm, which in theory means he's flirting with you, which is why you are surprised when your body doesn't react. in fact, you almost feel nothing at the way his fingers tickle your skin.

liz gives you a subtle wink when she notices the way kappy's arm dangles across the back of your chair so you force a smile. but then you meet williams eyes, and your smile falls. he looks away, back towards kappy and their conversation.

a phone buzzes and it has you looking over just as kappy's phone is lit up, an array of notifications flood his lock screen, but the top one catches your attention.

lacy

wanna come over ?

you blink, looking away. kappy grabs it quick, wordlessly typing out his response with a small smirk - but you catch it.

suddenly you feel icky, and once again you feel like you're standing alone out on a dance floor. tears are gathering in your waterline, you can feel them as they brim and it has you clearing your throat softy. you reach out for your cup of water, but you go in too fast and way too quickly, smacking the side of cup so that all its contents spill out, covering your lap.

your sudden stand as william and liz stopping their conversation, worried eyes finding you standing with a soaked pair of pants.

"sorry," you don't even know who are are apologizing to, hurriedly grabbing a napkin and trying to soak up the liquid from your jeans.

a few tears roll down your cheeks and you don't dare look up, still rubbing furiously at your pants. "sorry, i'm just," then as if you can feel them, you look up and meet williams eyes, swimming with what could only be pity for you - being clumsy again and running your chances with kappy. "i'm going to go to the bathroom," you finally mumble, speeding away from the table and through the busy restaurant.

you round the corner of the bathroom hallway, and once you're out of eye sight you break down - not even making it into the actual bathroom before you're crying, covering your face. you feel so embarrassed. why is it, you think, anytime you're progressing with kappy something has to go wrong.

even worse, when he's giving you attention you don't feel anything anymore. what is wrong with you?

quick footsteps have you looking up. william comes to a halt, stopping right in front of you.

you sniff, "sorry, do you need to use the bathroom?" you side step him, moving over so he could push open the door.

but he doesn't move. "no," willy shakes his head, "I came to make sure you were okay."

"oh," you mumble.

"are you? okay?"

you feel a fresh roll of new tears fall down your cheeks and you don't even want to think how much of a mess you look. "no."

"c'mon," william whispers, nodding towards the bathroom door. you follow him wordlessly into the single use bathroom, letting him lock the door behind you both.

the bathroom is rather spacious, but it was a fancy restaurant, so you're not sure what else you would expect. it was painted a warm colour, a long granite counter top with a sink and fancy soaps. a bidet toilet, which if you weren't so miserable would've had you giggling, always finding the idea funny. the bathroom was darker than a normal bathroom, it was actually really relaxing.

"i'll dry your pants." william's words have you snapping out of your thoughts. he's standing by the hand dryer patiently.

you give him a gentle nod. without thinking much of it, you unbutton your jeans, wiggling out of the wet denim until they hit the floor around your ankles. you don't even feel embarrassed as you stand in your zebra print underwear. you had already taken your shoes off before your pants, leaving you to walk bare foot towards willy, your wet jeans in your grip.

he doesn't say anything, eyes burning into yours when he takes the pants.

the hum of hand dryer starts moments after, the quiet ambiance of the bathroom filled with the loud wind. you wipe your face before lifting yourself to sit on the counter top. the cold temperature of the surface has your bare legs shivering, but you don't show it, quietly watching william as he dries your clothes.

5 minutes later the dryer stops. "thankfully they weren't too soaked, would've taken longer to dry." willy says, walking towards you with your very much dry jeans.

"thanks," you say with a sad smile, taking the pants from his hands. "i've ruined your date."

your statement has william frowning, "you did not ruin my date. you could never ruin anything for me."

"but i've embarrassed you - and myself!," you head falls back against the mirror, "my fucking eyebrows are burnt, i spilt water on my crotch so it looked like i pissed myself - and kappy isn't even interested...he was texting lacy," you look down, "and I don't even care about that honestly, i'm just...feeling defeated. I can't believe I was stupid enough to think this would work. I probably look ridiculous."

william's jaw clenched. he steps into your personal space, his jordan's now visible in your sight. it has you looking up gently, meeting his face only mere inches from yours. "you look beautiful."

you gulp. willy's thick thighs bump against your bare knee caps and it has your legs separating more than they had been, welcoming his body between them.

willy's eyes dance over your face before he gently grabs your cheeks, keeping you in place as you tilt up to look at him. "I hate hearing you talk badly about yourself."

all you can muster is a gentle nod, your cheeks rubbing against his palms at the movement. his thumb brushes against your cheek bone and it has you taking a shaky breath, one of your hands reaching up the rest on his chest.

just when you think he may lean in, there's a knock on the door, bursting the two out of your bubble. william jumps back as you slip off the counter, pulling your jeans on.

"you guys okay?" liz's voice is muffled through the door.

you brush past willy, pulling open the door to meet you worried friends expression.

"we are fine. william was just drying my jeans for me. thanks again."

he just nods breathlessly.

"are you sure you're okay?' liz asks you and you push a smile.

"yeah, but I think I want to head home," you clear your throat, running a hand through your hair. "I can give you some money, william, for my portion of the bill."

"no," he says quickly, "don't. it's on kappy and I."

you don't respond. "liz, are you going to come back with me?"

"absolutely," she says. and then you leave the bathroom, bidding goodbye to kappy before you and liz leave, driving silently while you drown in your own head, the events of the night whirling in a pool inside your brain.

20 minutes later you pull up outside liz's apartment.

the blond unbuckled her seatbelt but she doesn't open the door, only turns fully towards you with a sad expression. "i'm sorry about tonight."

you shrug, "nothing to be sorry about."

after a beat of silence, liz sighs, pulling on the handle of the door until it opens. "he's like totally into you, you know that, right?"

"he was literally answering another girl beside me, liz."

she furrows her brows. "what? no, not kappy." liz sighs, "willy."

"what? no. we are just good friends."

she laughs like she doesn't believe you, "seriously? i'm not buying that."

shocked, you huff, "well buy it. if he liked me why on gods green earth would he offer to help me get with his best friend?"

a moment passed, "y/n, he probably just wanted to spend more time with you."

you gulp and don't say anything. you feel like you could cry again.

"it's okay," liz says, "I was never really into him and if i'm being honest, I only agreed to go on this double date so you'd be happy. i'm sorry."

you sniffle, "don't be sorry. it's okay."

she just smiles softly, "okay," a beat passes, "and I think you might like him too."

and then she leaves.

1:58 a.m.

willy 💙

im sorry if i made you uncomfortable. it's the last thing i want to do

y/n

you didn't

y/n

i'm sorry too

willy 💙

what are you sorry for?

y/n

if i made it awkward

y/n

i feel like it got really tense in the bathroom

willy 💙

tense?

y/n

yeah

y/n

i was just really upset and i felt unwanted

y/n

i shouldn't of touched you like that

y/n

and i should've kept my pants on lol

y/n

let's just forget it happened

willy 💙

you want to forget it happened?

y/n

yes

willy 💙

okay.

—

not once had you forgotten about your conversation with liz since the double date. not a minute goes by without being reminded of what happened - or almost happened- in the bathroom with willy.

there was no way william liked you. you had thought over every interaction you two had had, and you can't see a reason why he would think of you of anything more than a friend. and he was a great friend, you loved the swede for it. he cared for you and was patient with you and he was your number one wing man. just like he promised he would that night when he came up with the plan, he has helped you with kapseri kapanen.

kappy had texted you a week and two days after the date, talking about the leafs charity gala and how he wants you to go with him.

you respond enthusiastically, accepting his invitation. even if you weren't ending up with kappy as your date, you're positive you would've been some other leafs date - just like usual. when zach brought it up three days after kappy asked you, you told him about kappy and zach had been happy for you: the plan was working. but you didn't feel happy, you felt sort of empty.

you hadn't texted, spoken to or met with willy since he texted you late after the double date. the conversation ended with a pit laying heavy in your stomach, sleep not coming easy thinking of his response.

you've embarrassed him, you think. you have truly pushed it with all this kappy stuff and you've embarrassed yourself and him. so you don't reach out, and he doesn't either, leaving you feeling nothing short of heartbroken.

the leafs gala raising money for cancer research was only a week away. you panic texted zach and alanna that you had nothing to wear and begged for them to join you and help you pick a dress suitable for the event.

so that next afternoon you and alanna browsed through the colourful racks of some expensive dress shop, the blond pulling out options she deemed suitable and passing them to the sales clerk, who adds them to your growing dressing room.

zach isn't close, currently scrolling his phone as he lounges on one of those boyfriend designated couches. you make sure he isn't in earshot and then you turn towards alanna, "remember last week when liz and I went on a double date with kappy and willy?"

she laughs lightly, "yes i remember."

"well, something happened."

alanna gives you an suspicious glance, passing a ruffled red dress to the clerk, "what?"

you clear your throat, "after i spilt my water on myself, and willy helped me dry them, we umm, I think we almost kissed."

her eyes goes wide, "you and willy?"

you sigh, fingers playing with the silky material of a lilac dress, "yeah and i'm pretty sure i freaked him out and put him in an awkward situation and...i feel like i fucked it all up."

"i'm sorry," she pulls you into her side, "have you talked to him?"

"not since we texted that night. I said we can forget about the whole situation and he just said okay. it just felt tense and i kind of miss him."

"I think maybe you should reach out," alanna says gently, "tell him how you feel." her eyes dart behind you, and her smile flatters. "or you could tell him now." her words are whispered out the side of her mouth.

"what?" you whisper, spinning around. you see william walking into the dress shop, a gentle smile on his face as zach greets him. "how is he here?"

"hey guys!" zach calls out, "I invited willy to help."

"great!" alanna calls back. you and william send each other a tight lipped smile, the two boys making their way over to you and alanna. zach seems to be oblivious to the tension, smiling as they approach.

"need any more help picking out options? willy and I are the best dressers I know."

you grab the purple dress you had been previously fiddling with, "no, actually, i've just chosen my last one."

the sales clerk rushes over and takes it from you.

"okay," zach smiles, "well let's start this fashion show!" he claps his hands.

"zach, maybe - " alanna starts but zach is already walking away, willy following in his steps, hands shoved awkwardly into his puffer coat.

you don't look at willy before entering the dressing room, pulling the curtain closed so even if he wanted to say anything, he wouldn't have the chance. not that you wanted to shun him, you just didn't want to face the embarrassment.

you slip on a green dress, you don't love it but alanna does, vocalizing her feelings as soon as you draw back the curtain. "i do love it but i think courtney is wearing that colour."

you just nod, stepping back into the room to try something different. your next option is the red one, with a big skirt that is way to prom-like for the gala, but you pull back to curtain anyways.

"it's cute!" alanna exclaims, but her face is hesitant.

zach must agree because he winces, "it's a bit...out there."

you spin in the mirror, observing the back.

"I like the colour," she continues, "what do you think?"

you hum, "I feel like i'm going to prom."

zach laughs, throwing his head back. "I wasn't going to say it."

"red isn't your colour," william interrupted.

oh.

all you can muster is quick nod, walking back into your changing room. changing out of the puffy dress quickly before slipping into the silk material of a different one.

when you head back into the main area, you're only met with the bright eyes of william, zach and alanna nowhere in sight.

"where'd they go?" you ask, eyes looking down at your feet as you make your way infront of the mirrors.

william shakes his head slightly, "they went off back into the retail section."

you just hum, observing yourself and the dress. it was absolutely stunning. for only grabbing it as a distraction, it was the most perfect dress you'd ever worn. the light purple shade complemented you skin wonderfully. the silk wrapped up around one shoulder, giving a unique shape - but the dress was still appropriate enough for the event. you knew it was the one.

"you look amazing," williams words are pretty much a whisper. you met his eyes through the mirror and he's looking at you so gently it has your stomach flipping.

"thank you," you say just as gently. you spin around to face him. in a moment of boldness you step of the slightly raised pedestal, walking until you are standing right in front of him. "why did you come?"

"zach asked me to."

you huff, "yeah but why did you agree?"

his brows pull together, "why are you annoyed?"

"i'm just asking, willy. why are you here?"

he stands, "that's a great question, actually. why am i here?" you swallow but don't speak, willy continues, "I don't really know what I did for you to brush me off this past week but you could of at least talked to me about it."

you scoff, "i'm sorry but i'm not the only one to blame for our lack of communication, william. i'm just trying to make you comfortable! i told you we can forget about it and move on but clearly that's not enough. you're also stopping communication from me."

"you're not even making sense," willy huffs. "I backed off for you!"

"backed off? why on earth would you even need to back off?"

his adam apple bobs in his throat, eyes reaching yours frantically as if to try and analyze what you were feeling. "the reason why we're even in this situation is because of kappy," willy breathes, "that's what this is. an exchange of a stupid promise to help you get kappy."

"a stupid promise? are you seriously saying this to me. it's not just about - "

willy interrupts with a sarcastic chuckle, "and look at you right now. trying on fucking dresses for a gala that he invited you to. so it worked, you got kappy. we can stop this now."

you fight the urge to cry, anger and disappointment bubbling deep in your chest. "I don't want - "

he stops you, "to answer your question, I don't know why i'm here so i'll just leave. i'll see you at the gala."

willy turns on his heels, grabbing his discarded coat from the couch. just before he leaves the area he looks at you again, his tone bitter "you should get the red...it is his favourite colour after all."

and then he leaves you by yourself.

you frown, wiping at your eyes before any tears have a chance to fall.

—

you decide to meet kappy at the scotiabank arena. it gives you time to collect your thoughts before seeing willy again, which you very much needed.

you get ready in silence, emotionless as you curl your hair and apply your makeup. slipping into the silk purple dress and nude heels.

the mid march air is still chilly, prompting you to grab your nicest jacket before leaving your place and making the familiar drive to the leafs arena.

kappy meets you in the sporting garage, complementing you nicely and guiding you with a hand on your lower back as you both made your way into the event. you smiled brightly for photos, laughing with zach and posing with kappy.

the gala is so beautiful. the usual hockey ice covered with a beautiful flooring, the arena decorated appropriately with tables and chairs all around, sponsors, coaches, staff and players all in attendance. for what it was worth, you were having a good time.

"alright," you huff, placing down your vodka cranberry and pushing up off the table, "it's time to dance."

kappy groans, laughing when he throws his head back.

"I wouldn't argue," zach laughs but there's a heavy underlay to his words. it works though, kappy joining you to stand and guiding you into the dance floor around his teammates and coaching staff alike.

a slow taylor swift song was dripping through the speakers, her gentle voice soothing you as kappy grabs your waist, your arms filling suit as the move up towards his shoulders, loosely resting around his neck.

the two of you move slowly, swaying to the music. "i'm surprised that you didn't come with willy."

you try not to scoff. "well, you are the one who asked me."

kappy's eyebrows draw together, "only because he told me that he wasn't going to ask you."

you mimick his confused expression.

kappy continues, "he was the one who told me to reach out and ask you. I like you, y/n and you're a great friend and i mean no offence when I say i probably wouldn't have asked you if he didn't mention anything."

"oh," you hum. his words don't bother you as much as they once would have, "no offence taken. you're a great friend, kappy. i'm sorry anytime we hang out something embarrassing happens."

he laughs at that, "I don't mind. after all willy was always there to save the day - nothing embarrassing about that."

all you can do is nod. in that moment you think of what kappy just said, and you realize even if you and willy hadn't fought and the kappy plan was still in motion - it wouldn't go anywhere. kappy saw you as a friend, and for the first time in awhile that didn't stab a dagger through your heart. if anything, you felt relived. you think kappy and you are better off as friends and that has you laughing.

"what's so funny?" the finnish native inquires.

"nothing really," you mumble, "just - "

you stop yourself, stomach falling to the floor. you watch as willy dances with a girl, both laughing and swaying to the music only mere feet from you.

"ah shit," kappy mumbles.

you won't let yourself get upset, you think. so you look away harshly, back into kappy's eyes. he can tell your smile is forced, but he doesn't mention anything - your eyes say enough. "i'm fine."

it's not long after you initially spot him, you find william again. your eyes meet across the dance floor and almost simultaneously both of your smiles drop. but before he can blink, you're looking away. willy is only left watching your purple dress move aorund your ankles.

a few hours later you exit the bathroom, eyes downcast as you fiddle with your bengals covering your wrist. you come to a stop as you brush somebodies chest, dragging your eyes up until you're looking into a familiar shade of blue.

"sorry," you mumble, side stepping his path.

william grabs your arm, stopping you from walking away. "you're wearing purple."

you don't let your emotions come through, only shrugging. "it was the best dress." you look at him harshly, "you asked kappy to take me tonight?"

william just sighs at your question, shoulders deflating.

"not only that, but you had to lie in order for him to ask me. why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't want to upset you."

"out of everything you've said to me in the past two weeks, that would've been the nicest possible thing."

he sighs sadly again. "I didn't want it to hurt you," willy's voice is strained, hands held out in your direction like he was approaching a scared kitten.

"then maybe you should've asked me instead."

he looks taken back but you can't even find it in yourself to be embarrassed at your confession. you were done hiding these emotions and feeling embarrassed for being yourself.

"y/n...I need to - "

"william?" a feminine voice calls down the hallway, heels clicking as the same woman he was dancing with approaches you both, a sweet smile on her face. "sorry to interrupt." she says.

you laugh, "no it's okay, he's all yours."

you push past, shoulder bumping into his as you leave, walking away from william with your heart breaking along the way.

—

march 17th 10:43 a.m.

willy 💙

i'm sorry. i fucked up

and i hate fighting with you

willy 💙

you don't have to respond

but i needed to apologize

—

april 17th

you meet up with zach and tell him about you're feelings for william. you start with the family skate and vent about the bathroom, the fight at the dress store and the conversation at the gala. zach holds you while you cry.

playoffs are cut short once again for the leafs and it puts an ever bigger damper on willy's mood. everyday he wakes up and see if you've responded to his texts, only to be met with read.

—

may 17th

you go out with the team for drinks. now that the seasons over, they can let loose a bit more than they typically would. you dance with steph all night, avoiding willy at all costs.

you get so drunk that zach has to take you home early.

willy can't keep his eyes off you, even when he's pulled into a conversation, he always ends up watching you. he regrets not going up to you.

willy goes home alone.

—

june 17th

you still haven't responded to williams messages and you haven't seen him in person for longer than a fleeting second. you think about him every day.

willy thinks about reaching out again, but he doesn't want to push. he also thinks about watching tinkerbell, but he decides against it. he thinks about you every day.

—

july 17th

you go on a date with a new guy from work. the whole time you think of blonde hair and blue eyes. you don't see him again.

kappy tries to set willy up with one of his friends, but he declines.

—

august 17th

you almost reach out to willy - you are tired of pretending you're over him.

willy visits the cafe where the two of you first discussed your plans, ordering the same cheesy croissant sandwich. he almost sends you a picture of the food. he misses you.

kapseri kapanen gets traded to the pittsburg penguins.

—

august 20th

3:13a.m.

y/n

in swijdiu

y/n

sorreyu

y/n

sorry

y/n

i'm a litytle drunbk

y/n

i miass youu do musch willy

y/n

si shouydve repsonde when u txted me in apriul

y/n

i wabnt u

y/n

my swo sorry

the next morning you wake up with a pounding head, vision blurry when you try and look around. miracles must exist, you think, because even in your drunk state you had taken off your makeup and changed out of your bar clothes.

you groan, pulling back your covers so you can stumble to the bathroom. you pop some ibuprofen and turn on the shower, the steam warming the room and soothing your aches and pains.

you don't remember a thing from the night before, your drunk escapades with steph and sydney falling short, your memories blurry. all you can be happy about is that you actually made it home in one piece.

the shower has made you feel 100 times better, enabling you to successfully dress yourself and make something to eat without wanting to crawl back into bed and just rot away.

mid way through dishes a knock sounds at your door. you hadn't even checked your phone all morning, expecting it to be one of the girls to be stopping by. you stop cleaning, pulling open your front door.

willy stands there, eyes wide as he takes you in. "I texted you."

you gasp slightly, eyes blown wide as you take him in. your face falls, thinking about his texts back from april that you left on read. "i know."

he sighs gently, running a hand through his messy hair. "you never answered." he looks at you sadly.

"i know..." you sigh. you think about the last time you and him talked, the way you walked away from him and that girl at the gala. "who was that girl at the gala." you're knawing at your lip as you await his answer.

"some random girl auston knows...I haven't even talked to her since then." you don't say anything so he speaks again, "I messaged you this morning."

you frown at his confession, "why?"

"you texted me first." he says quickly.

flashes of your night pass by then. you vaguely remember crying about the swede to your two friends, crying even harder as you texted on your phone.

your face pales. "I was really drunk. I don't know what I said but i'm sorry - "

he takes a step forward, entering your apartment and shutting the door behind him. you let him in your space wordlessly, neck tilted back so you can look up at him.

willy takes a deep breath, "I fucked up, y/n. I shouldn't have been so mean to you and there's no excuse for the way I acted. I regret the conversation we had at the dress shop and the one at the gala - i haven't stopped thinking about them in months."

"no, willy, I shouldn't of been so cold towards you. I should've talked to you -"

"don't even apologize. it was my fault, I..," he pauses, taking a deep breath, "I was angry because I didn't want to forget about what happened in the bathroom. I wasn't even angry you - i was angry with myself for not telling you how I was feeling."

"what are you saying?" your whisper holds a little hope, arms dropping limp at your sides as you take in the man before you.

"i love you," william breaths a laugh, "i love that you never text in paragraphs and separate sentences that dont need to be. i love that you're scared of vomit, and i love it when you get hangry and i love it even more when you take enormous bites and get food all over yourself.

I love how beautiful you are, how smart you are, how brave you are and how confident you are. I love how much you care about me and even when it was about kappy you were always thinking of me, finding comfort in me, listening to me."

"willy..." you words hold disbelief.

"i'm not done," he says gently, "nothing about you ever needed to change - especially for some guy who honestly, didn't give you the time of day you deserve. I love you for you! you're clingy and like the tinkerbell movie and wear animal print underwear. I love everything that makes you you, and anytime you would change yourself for kappy I wanted to tell you all this - but I didn't because I wanted to make you happy. and he made you happy...so i budded out."

your eyes fill with tears. mouth opening and closing like a fish while you take in his confession.

"i've been in love with you this whole time, y/n, I would do anything for you. so that's why I helped you with kappy, not because I wanted you to be with him but because I wanted to see you happy."

his final confession as you melting because the guy you fell in love with - the guy you pushed yourself away from in fear of not being loved back - has been in love with you since before you even knew it.

"do you mean it?"

he laughs awkwardly, moving towards you until he can touch you. william holds your face, looking down at you the way he always does. "I do."

"promise me."

he shakes his head in amused disbelief, "I promise." his thumbs wipe away at your tears, gently stroking your skin.

you push up on your toes, hands sliding up williams chest until they reach his neck, interlocking fingers behind his head for leverage as you bring your lips to his.

kissing william was nothing short of perfect. his lips were gentle with you, slotting between yours like a perfect puzzle. you two mold together like you've done it before: the kiss came easy. you moan into his mouth when he sucks on your bottom lip.

you drop back to the heels of your feet, willy's lips chasing yours as you move.

you're smiling when you pull away, both of you breathing deeply as you regain composure. william laughs gently, his breath tickling your nose and it has you smiling wider.

"I love you so much," you finally say. although willy wasn't expecting a confession back, he was relived to hear one from you, shoulders deflating with a happy sigh. "willy, I stopped liking kappy after the bar. I just didn't realize it until it was too late. I'm sorry for not talking to you about how I was feeling.

i'm even more sorry for putting you through plans that involved me trying to get with your best friend. i'm also sorry for not kissing you in the bathroom because...I really wanted to."

he just laughs, shaking his forehead against yours, "it's okay - you're kissing me now."

you smirk, "yeah," you push back up and nudge your nose against his perfectly sloped one, "and i'm going to do it again."

—

February 2021

william chuckles awkwardly, a blush creeping up his muscled chest. "well, actually...we're sort of dating."

willy expects kappy to be shocked, maybe react loudly and laugh in disbelief but he doesn't. his friend just smirks at him across the table, brows raised as if urging willy to continue.

"no. not sort of, actually. i'm in love with her and she's in love with me and we've been dating since august."

"so you finally grew a pair and asked her out?" kappy teases.

william just laughs, "well, she kind of asked me. I just word vomited a love confession at her and she took control and...well, now we are here."

"I knew you liked her." kappy says after a moment of silence, the same teasing smirk still on his face.

"how?"

"that picture of her with the busted up nose has been your home screen since you took it."

damn, willy thinks, kappy has him there.

the conversation continues between them, sharing laughs and catching up over their dinner until they need to part ways. they would see each other tomorrow when the penguins hit the ice to play the leafs, so their goodbye isn't all too bad.

willy arrives home just after 9, stomach full with a smile on his face. his two dogs rush to his aid, jumping up against his legs in search of affection and kisses from their dad.

"hey," the sound of your voice as willy looking up just as your round the corner, clad in sweats and your glasses. "how was dinner?"

he pulls you into his side, "was good," his words are mumbled against your lips, willy bringing you into a toe - curling kiss that had your stomach doing flips.

"i missed you when you were gone," you giggle.

he raises a brow at you, dogs now sitting peacefully at both your feet. "you promise?"

you throw you head back with a laugh at his question, the position giving willy free access to attack your neck in kisses. "I promise."

⌞══════════════════⌝

playlist

- complete mess by 5 seconds of summer

- tequila by dan + shay

- iris by the goo goo dolls

- imperfect for you by ariana grande

- daylight by harry styles

- invisible string by taylor swift

- angel eyes by abba