#ndtp

[ijustdontlikepeople]

NHL x internet 1/?

[ateepmelfart]

december 2023

[hhughes]

♡ 𝆬 𝐈𝐍 𝐀 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐎𝐃𝐈𝐋𝐄

𝓹airing , violet kingston x luke hughes

in which luke’s day automatically gets better whenever he spots his best friend in the cafeteria. (wc ; 1.6K )

꒰ 𝓷ote , they’re back! our fav duo returns with a few minor differences. this is very introductory to them. so kind of not boring, but not major to the plot line yet either. but I’ve missed them. I hope you enjoy as always and spam the inbox with luke and vi thoughts now that they’re back <3 . . . ꒱

There were few things that gave Luke those excited flutters in the pit of his stomach. That short moment right before he stepped onto the ice, wakeboarding on the lake in the summer, and whenever he laid eyes on violet kingston.

It was as if his body had a secret ability to notice whenever she stepped into a room. As if a piece of him was missing and walking out and about in the world, and whenever that piece entered his vicinity his body became hyper aware, wanting to be close to her, attracting them to each other like magnets. And whenever he laid eyes on her, those excited flutters in his belly morphed into full blown somersaults.

Somersaults that were currently present as he watched her walk into the cafeteria, straight past his table where his group of obnoxiously loud hockey friends, including his older brother, were sitting, and make her way to the growing line of students waiting to buy lunch. Luke didn’t even wait two minutes before he was getting up from his seat with the intention of following her.

“uh - I’ll be right back,” he announces to the group, the only person really paying attention being his best friend Dylan since Jack and his rowdy group of friends were too busy discussing how Trevor and his current girlfriend broke up, again. His tall, lanky frame suddenly jumping up must’ve caught their attention though because just as he was making a move to leave, a familiar voice called out.

“Moose, don’t know where you’re going, but do you mind grabbing me a fork on the way back?” Trevor asks, with an overdramatic pout, and like with everything Trevor does, it makes Luke slightly annoyed.

“Sure,” he agrees easily, just to get out of there as soon as possible and not attract any attention. Or any more attention, he should say. Luke was grateful that he entered high school and had his older brother to rely on to make the transition as smooth as possible. But there were times that Luke wished him and Jack didn’t go to the same school. That they didn’t run in the same circles. That he was just Luke and not Luke, Jack’s little brother.

Don’t get him wrong, Luke loves his brothers. Both of them are genuinely his best friends, but being seen with Jack in the hallways, or in the cafeteria, or even in the parking lot before school, attracted a lot of attention to him. And while Jack, Trevor, Alex and Cole seemed to thrive under that sort of attention, Luke wasn’t used to it and didn’t want to be.

“You’re better off getting your own fork Z, he’s not coming back any time soon,” Jack comments with a knowing grin but Luke ignores the comment and scans the cafeteria line, looking for his girl.

He’s known violet practically his entire life. Their mom’s are best friends, they played hockey together in their college days and remained in touch in the years after. The Kingston and Hughes families often spent summers together, which was where Luke saw Violet the most when they were kids, but it wasn’t really until their family moved to Michigan that they grew as close as they are now.

All three Hughes brothers are quite fond of the entire Kingston family as a whole. Her mom was the head athletic trainer for the ndtp, and her dad was one of the best agents in the league who represented some of the best players and will undoubtedly represent all three Hughes brothers at one point. Her younger brother is on the road to playing exactly where Jack and Luke are now. They were as much a hockey family as the Hughes’, which of course bonded them all even more.

When he spots her again, he immediately starts moving, heart beating faster and faster the closer he gets. He takes a moment to observe her, from her white tennis shoes and skirt, to her blue cropped tee with the school logo on it, and the matching blue ribbon in her curly hair.

“game day?” is his form of greeting as he stands next to her, and he has to bite his cheek to stop from smiling as she immediately turns at the sound of his voice, eyes having that little spark they always do and a matching dimple on each cheek as she grins up at him.

“Hey bub,” she says a little breathlessly, using that ridiculous nickname that makes his cheeks redden a little and luke somehow doesn’t mind when it falls from her lips, as she steps closer to him and luke relishes in the way her body leans into his as his hand goes to rest on the familiar spot on her lower back.

“Hi sweet girl,” he greets back, brushing his lips against her temple and briefly breathing in her familiar strawberry scent. “I’m not cutting in line by the way, just keeping this one company while she waits,” luke explains to the girl in line behind them and she sends him a very overexaggerated, sugar-sweet smile.

“You can cut in front of me any day little hughes,” the girl responds and luke sends her a tight lipped smile, pushing violet slightly to move forward when she gives the girl a strange look.

“It’s game day?” luke asks again, when he realises she didn’t answer the first time, hoping to distract her and smooth that adorable frown that was currently between her brows.

“Yeah, first home football game of the season. And the first cheer event,” she adds and luke can tell she was a bit nervous about the latter. As long as luke has known her, violet has been a dancer. It was her equivalent of hockey. And since the school didn’t have a dance team, only dance classes, luke encouraged violet to join the cheer team when she brought up that she wanted to be involved in an extra curricular at the school. She’s been his little cheerleader his entire life, and she was a phenomenal dancer so Luke had no doubts that she would make the team, and she did.

“You’re gonna do great,” luke says, rubbing soothing circles on her waist on the exposed skin between her skirt and shirt and before she can reply they’re at the front of the line and violet is grabbing her food. She send Luke a mock little glare as he pays for her chicken wrap before she gets the chance to, but as they make their way back in the direction of luke’s table, she presses a little kiss to his bicep that he knows is a thank you.

“You’re coming to the game right?” she asks, when they stop a few feet away from jack and the other guys, who were all watching this interaction take place.

“Yeah, these idiots will probably drag me to it,” luke responds, loud enough for them to hear, causing someone to throw a napkin his way, that he catches mid air, and his lips tip up into a smile when it results in violet releasing a small laugh.

“Okay, I’ll just see you tonight then. We’re coming over for dinner, so I’ll probably get a ride home with you and jack after the game?” violet asks

“Yeah for sure. Is Dax going?” Luke asks

“I’m not sure,” she answers, biting her lip in thought, luke’s thumb pulling it from beneath her teeth.

“I’ll text and ask. I don’t mind looking after him if he wants to come with,” luke says, and violet feels her heart expand ten sizes that he’s thinking about her little brother.

“Thank you,” she tells him, grabbing and squeezing his hand and he pulls her into a quick hug, pressing a brief kiss to the top of her head before letting go and reluctantly stepping away.

“I’ll see you tonight,” luke promises

“Oh luke, one more favour before you go?” she asks him, and he immediately nods without even asking what it is

“Can I borrow your hoodie? I have a run through in the gym during the second half of lunch and I forgot my jacket. You know how cold it gets in there,” she explains and luke frowns slightly at the idea of violet cold and uncomfortable.

“Yeah, it’s in my locker though. Let me go grab it for you,” he offers, but she stops him with a gentle hand on his chest.

“No worries, I’m going that way anyway so I’ll just grab it. I know the combination. Thank you again,” she says, standing on her tiptoes to brush a light kiss on what is supposed to be his cheek but ends up on his jaw.

“see ya later, alligator,” he says, grinning like an idiot when she giggles as she walks away and answers “in a while crocodile”

The smile quickly disappears when he turns and finds the entire table still staring at him, all of them with teasing smiles and shit eating grins on their faces.

“Don’t even start,” luke warns them, but none of them heed his warning, all of them starting to tease him simultaneously.

“You forgot my fork luke,” trevor points out, and luke sends him a grateful look as he’s given a chance to escape. For once he’s feeling grateful for words coming out of Trevor’s mouth but that doesn’t last long either as Trevor says “see ya later alligator,” and jack answers “in a while crocodile” in a mocking, high pitched voice, both of them laughing afterwards.

Luke was still going to grab his fork, but whether that for was gonna be used for eating, or to stab eyeballs was still to be determined. . .

[lukeywritesstuff]

jack being in love with quinn’s best friend and maybe he finally gets the girl

Brothers Best Friend

Jack Hughes x Reader, Quinn Hughes x Platonic!Reader

Description: Mr. Jack Rowden is in love with his older brothers life long best friend.

Note: Jacks pov because sometimes I just like writing male pov. Also if I miss any ndtp boys ignore it there’s too many for me to remember them all 😍😍😍.

Warnings: fluff, angst, cursing, brotherly banter and fights, underage drinking, no Covid off scene sex.

Ever since we were kids Quinn has had this best friend, Y/N, ever since they met in like 2011 they’ve been best friends. They met when our babysitter brought Quinn, Luke and I to a park and since then the girls spent every day at our house after school, and since about 2014, I’ve been borderline in love with her. Her hair, her eyes, her smile, her body, her style, everything. Even things that have changed over the years due to growth and experimentation with fashion. I love it all. And yes I know. She doesn’t do it for me or any other men. But it still makes me happy to see her so confident and happy.

:-:-:-:

Fast forward to 2020, Quinn and I just bought our lake house, and us, Luke, Trevor, Cole, Matt, Alex, and Y/N have been here for a week. Since the season for us just ended we’ve just been relaxing and resting before we get partying and having fun.

The first weeks of summer consisted of me hanging out with the ndtp guys of my year, Luke with some of his friends and Quinn with Y/N, Brady and Josh. Then when we all got more comfortable within the living situations we started by bringing in alcohol and starting smaller parties with Luke only being 17 sometimes we’ll send him to our parents for a weekend because yeah I’m underage too but partying at 19 is better than partying at 17. At least I’m legal in SOME countries nearby and a legal adult too so I’m responsible for myself.

The first few parties were quite uneventful, until we decided to actually incorporate the lake and have a ‘lake party’ instead of a ‘pool party’ so when everyone showed up in swimsuits, it turned into a horny haven. This wasn’t the first time I saw Y/N in a bikini, but I guess with the alcohol in my system I had the courage to stare more and actually talk to her and get her to ‘dance’ with me.

The music was loud and sexual, her ass was against my crotch as we danced (grinded) on each other. The party was in full swing and everything just felt amazing. Until the next morning… I woke up to my arms around a naked y/n, and a massive hangover between my ears. My head pounded and my ears were ringing, but there was a gorgeous girl in my arms so I can’t complain.

:-:-:-:

Mid August, when all the partying is done, and we relax for a few weeks before going back to our respective cities where we play hockey and/or go to school. I’m sat on a devils beach chair with y/n on my lap, Luke’s on a Michigan one, Quinn’s on a Canucks one, Cole’s on a USA one and Trevor I guess bought a Ducks one for some reason and he’s on that.

:-:-:-:-:

Ever since that summer, the summer of 2020, THEE summer of 2020, i haven’t been happier. I have my dream girl, my dream job, any parents, siblings and friends are all healthy and happy with where they are in life and my life is honestly perfect right now and as I said, I can’t be happier!

[greazyfloz]

Luke Hughes fluff 12 plz 🙏

Fluff: 12. “I didn’t want to fall in love, but you make it hard not to” w/ Luke Hughes

Friends Don't

I’ve known Luke since he played for the NDTP. I had a crush on him but was friendzoned almost immediately. We became closer when we both ran into each other again during frosh week at Michigan. Since we became best friends. It’s weird to go a day let alone a couple hours without texting him, but today was different. Actually this whole week was different. 

Luke has been off and on with me all week. I think in the past 4 days I have probably received about 5 texts from him. I would see him tonight at a party at Nolan’s that Mackie told me to go to. As I am getting ready I send Luke a text asking if we could go together or meet up. I didn’t hear anything by the time I was done getting ready so I decided to head out myself.

I arrive to the party and make my way over to Mackie. Mackie was standing with Eddy and Mark and no sign of Luke. I am tempted to ask the boys but bite my tongue and just nod along to whatever they are talking about. 

After about 30 minutes I decide to go get myself a new drink so I made my way to the kitchen. As I was refilling my drink an attractive guy from one of my classes that I havent ever talked to makes his way over, “Hey!” he says in a friendly tone.

“Hey” I say back just as friendly

“You’re Y/n, right? We have 8am Tuesday together”

“Yeah, I’m Y/n. Yes I remember seeing you around” “I’m Kyle by the way” he says looking down at his feet shyly before looking back at me, “Where are your friends? You didn’t come alone did you?” he asks

“Oh, no” I say looking around the kitchen to see if I could see anyone I knew, “They must be in the next room” I say still browsing the crowd. The two of us continue talking about class and about ourselves before long it is close to 1am. 

“Oh shoot!” I say looking down at my watch, “I should get going home now, I didn’t want to stay out that long!” 

“You aren’t walking alone are you?” he asks 

“No I was going to ask one of m-” before I could finish I felt a presence behind me speak

“She’s good, man” I turn to see Luke and Duker behind me, one less happy looking than the other. 

“Oh sorry! I didn’t know you guys were dating!” Kyle apologizes to Luke looking between both Luke and I.

“We aren’t” I say but Kyle already turns to leave me with Luke before turning around quick to say:

“Ah okay, I gotta get going”

I turn back at Luke and Duker and Duker is first to speak, “He looked like he was going to shit himself”

“Who was that?” a slightly less amused Luke asks me. 

“Kyle, he was going to walk me home”

“You don’t even know him. I’ll walk you, come on” he says and I walk by him and he follows leaving Duker at the party. After we exit the party and begin our walk back home I question him.

“What was that?” I ask

“What?” Luke says

“Why couldn’t he walk me home?”

“Because”

“Good reason” I say walking a bit faster

“Well how long have you known him? Like awhile?” he questions me catching up

“He is in one of my classes Luke, damn! My own parents wouldn’t care that much!” I say stopping and looking at him

“Well I wanted to walk you home, that's all” Luke says in defence

“So you’re jealous? This is a new side I don’t like” I say and I could tell the last part broke Luke a little on the inside, “You act so protective over me like we are dating or something”

“I just don’t want you talking to other guys” 

“Why? We are dati-”

“Because I love you Y/n” he says and I stand there looking at him in shock, “I didn’t want to fall in love, but you make it hard not to”. 

“Luke- I- um I wasn’t expecting this” I say back in complete shock.

“I really thought staying friends would be better for us, but I was wrong. I can’t watch you with other guys anymore, it kills me” Luke continues. “I really didn’t mean to embarrass you tonight, but I just had to let you k-”

I press my lips to his shutting him up and he gladly kisses me back. I pull away staying in his arms, “You don’t know how long I’ve waited for that”. Luke smiles down at me pulling away and grabbing one of my hands. 

“Here let’s go to my place tonight” 

“The boys though” I say as I begin walking with Luke back to his place. 

“They have probably already seen this coming” he blushes

[cobrakaisb]

in honor of matt boldy’s bday, here is another insta edit for the matt au 🫶🏻

youruser

liked by mattboldy, alexturcotte and others

youruser happy birthday to my one and only!! the center of my universe!! my favorite ntdp 2019 boy!! the king of my heart!! my baby gorgeous!! matty b (or commonly known as matthew boldy) i love you my love 💕

view top comments

mattboldy thank you baby ❤️

↪️ youruser you’re very welcome lovie 🫶🏻

minnesotawild happy birthday matt!!

jackhughes im still trying to process that he’s her favorite ndtp boy 😀

↪️ trevorzegras me too!!

↪️ johnbeecher i was shocked 😮

↪️ patrickmoynihan_ honey i was in tears 😭

↪️ cole.caufield its the fact that we all knew it, but refused to acknowledge it

user101 STOP OMG 😩😩 they are so cute wtffff

↪️ user18 no literally

↪️ user29 mom and dad for real

trevorzegras

liked by mattboldy, jackhughes, and others

trevorzegras happy birthday matt! enjoy these pics of you with some of YOUR FAVORITE ntdp boys 💯🥶

view top comments

jackhughes WOOT WOOT 🍾

↪️ trevorzegras my guy 🤞

mattboldy thanks trev #kingshit

↪️ trevorzegras i try my best

youruser is that THE promprosal 😮

↪️ trevorzegras yes ma’am 🫡

↪️ colecaufield our favorite promposal

↪️ alexturcotte the cringiest of promposals

spencerknight pov you saw him ask her out to bc hockey formals

↪️ youruser im just too hot 😛🤘🏻

↪️ mattboldy 🙌🏻

[fear-of-flyers]

new perspective

tracklist

<<play last current song play next>>

featured lyric(s): "you and all of your new perspective now, wish i could shut it in a closet and drag you back down."

parental advisory: mentions of cheating

when you started dating jack in sophomore year there was no denying that he would end up playing professional hockey. and when you were just as serious halfway through senior year you decided you would follow him anywhere; and anywhere ended up being new jersey. jack was playing with the ndtp and you were at johns hopkins studying psychology but when he was drafted it was easy enough to transfer to rutgers. when you got there you were assigned a dorm but started helping ellen help jack look for an apartment. throughout the process jack insisted that you found something you liked too because he wanted you to move in with him. and despite constantly asking “are you sure?”, the two of you found a nice two bedroom apartment halfway between his practice facility and the prudential center but still close to campus for you.

and things were going well. jack was living his dream and you were on your way to living yours. classes were going well and you went to games whenever you could. you were there for his debut and went to dinner with ellen, jim and luke after. and you were there for his first goal in a game against the canucks of all teams. you went out for dinner with his family after that game as well, but dinner was a shorter affair because the team wanted to take jack out to celebrate. everyone understood though and it worked out because ellen and jim got time to themselves while you, quinn, and luke got ice cream at a place near your apartment. at the end of the night you sent them back to the hotel in an uber and welcomed a slightly intoxicated jack back home. “you know i love you right?” jack asked as you were shuttling him to the bathroom. “yeah jacky, i know.” you respond, giggling as he turns to hug you, making the entire process of getting ready for bed harder. “okay good.” he says “gotta make sure you still do after tonight.” hearing that you pause slightly, not having a clue what he was talking about. but you don’t think too into it, assuming he’s referring to being drunk and needy.

but everything comes to light a few weeks later. the devils are on the road in california and after a game against anaheim you keep the tv on in the background as you clean your apartment. jack had texted that he was giving an interview after the game and you wanted to hear it. the game had been good for him, an assist and a goal late in the third that led to a devils win. the interview started normally, he was congratulated on the game and asked about the team; but the question that stook out to you was when the interviewer asked what being in the league had been like so far. his answer? “it’s been really good, it’s like i have a whole new perspective on everything.” as far as you were aware jack’s outlook on life hadn’t changed all that much, but you pushed it aside thinking that if something was really important jack would tell you himself. 

you were mistaken though because the next morning you woke up to what felt like hundreds of texts from everyone you knew. the one that stood out the most though was from pk subban. he had almost adopted the two of you when jack started with the team and had been there for everything you might need. the text simply read “i’m so sorry. i promise we tried to stop him.” sitting up you rubbed your eyes, confused, and scroll through the rest of your messages. they all loosely said the same things and contained the same screenshots. one from nico “he was drunk but that doesn’t excuse it. i’m here if you need anything.” a couple from your friends back home “he was stupid for that, call us asap.” and a couple in the groupchat you had with all of the hughes brothers. luke had seen it first, in the background of someone’s since deleted instagram story and texted quinn to confirm before immediately texting you. the message was simple, a screenshot captioned “jack what the hell?” quinn had responded with something similar and texted you separately to let you know that he wouldn’t choose jack’s side (if that’s what it came to). and jack hadn’t said anything.

for a full day after he cheated jack had no communication with you. no “i’m sorry” or “it was a mistake” not even an “i don’t regret it.” just radio silence. finally, after his third west coast game, on his way to the plane back home he texted “can we talk when i get back?” sighing to yourself you liked the message and went about your day. you weren’t exactly looking forward to the conversation that would inevitably end in a breakup. you had talked to your friends and parents, and everyone said that ending the relationship would probably be for the best. so, taking that into account, while he was on his flight across the country you were packing all of your things into suitcases and storage bins to move into the dorms. your roommate was in a bunch of your classes and when you didn’t initially move in she let you know that the room was always there if you needed a break. 

when most of your stuff was moved you sat on the couch, waiting for jack’s return home. and finally, just past one, you heard his key in the door. you listened as he took his shoes off and placed his keys on the rack ellen made you get. you followed his path further into the apartment via the familiar sounds of his routines until he eventually appeared in front of you. you nodded your hello and motioned for jack to sit on the couch. “so…” he started, trailing off and fidgeting with his fingers. “so?” you prompted, adding “you cheated on me” when jack seemed at a loss for words. “i’m sorry.” jack finally says. “i was drunk and wasn’t thinking. i shouldn’t have.” you nod, expecting him to continue, to say anything that feels genuine but that never comes. “i think we should break up.” you say, not wanting to drag the conversation out any further. jack’s head shoots up to look at you, eyes wide in shock. “what?” he asks. “why?” you almost laugh, “what do you mean ‘why’ jack?” you ask. “you kissed someone else.” at that jack shakes his head “i was drunk y/n, it can’t be that big of a deal.” then you can’t even be bothered to hold back your laugh. “it’s a pretty big deal to me jack.” you say, not getting how he doesn’t understand. “what if i kissed someone else?” 

“that’s different” jack say and you snap. “how the fuck is it different jack? how is me kissing someone else different than you kissing someone else? why is it okay for you to cheat but i can’t even bring it up?” you ask, standing up. “is this what you meant in that interview? is this your new perspective? whatever jack. we’re over.” hearing that makes it real to jack, “what? no, come on, let me fix this.” he says, standing up to face you again. and looking into his eyes you see pieces of the man you fell in love with, but no matter how much you want to cave you know you can’t. “you can’t fix it jack.” you admit, sighing softly, “i wish i could shut this all in the hall closet and drag you back down with me but i can’t. you will always be my first everything jack and i wouldn’t trade it for the world. i think this is gonna be good for both of us, and it’s not like you’ll never see me again. we’ll figure it out eventually, we’ll just be apart while we do it.”

[estapa94]

my favorite thing is when someone posts a fic about trevor zegras or jack hughes and it's based on when they were in the ndtp

[sc0tters]

hughes!sister x nylander —

william is only 27 (28 in may)

quinn is 24. that’s only a 3.5 year difference

bc this photo was when willy lived w the hughes family after his draft i think quinn is like 14 ALMOST 15 in that photo!

so like hughes!sister could be quinn’s twin OR a little older than Q.

(the hughes fam moved to Michigan when Quinn was 16 turning 17, the year Jack joined him at the NDTP)

nonnie I love you for doing the math for me 😭

Matilda will probably be about 10-13 months older than Quinn because then it makes more sense why Willy acc like got on so well with her in those two weeks.

[rsedits9420]

We are getting a new NDTP boy!!!!!!!

[starry-hughes]

When kendall was at the ndtp, did she think she was going to go to college or juniors?

she was going to go to college but a fight with her dad and step mom made her de-commit and go to abbotsford

[rleonard9]

who said rutger was my best friend- jimmy

you two have been friends since NDTP.. i have proof 

[designetc]

https://www.instagram.com/p/CsuJAq-NDTp/

[eddis-wrld]

c u girl - cole caufield

word count: 2k

a/n: that is not my gif and dion is my oc, i hope you guys like her. here’s what she looks like, but you can imagine anyone you’d like :)

-

Dion is about to be late for her first college class. She’s rushing, pulling sweatpants and a t-shirt from off the floor and onto her body. She’s stomping around, searching for her shoes, disturbing her roommate, Gigi, who she’s known for all of four days. Dion is partially confused because she’s sure she set an alarm last night, but she has no time to be questioning anything. She mumbles an apology to Gigi who has half a mind to wave goodbye and runs to her biology class. On the way there, she wonders if biology is her first class and begins to pray for a miracle. 

Dion arrives with minutes to spare. She’s breathless and hardly notices anyone around her and instead goes to fix her hair, which she’s sure looks a mess. She’s combing through her curls with her fingers, wondering if she smells, Dion is a mess.

 Just as she thought she was done, the kid beside her picks a piece of fluff out of her hair and hands it to her. 

“Missed one.” 

She looks up, slightly embarrassed to be caught grooming herself. 

“Rough morning?” 

Dion nods. “Thanks. I’m Dion, I’m from New York.” 

He smiles, and Dion feels a warmth flood her chest. “Cole. I’m from Stevens Point.” They shake hands, and a spark runs up their elbow from their fingertips. 

“Stevens Point? Where is that?” Dion could feel her nose quirk a little. 

“Here in Wisconsin,” Cole leans back in his seat a little bit. “It’s no New York if that’s what you're asking.”

Dion holds up her hands in defense. “You said it, not me.” Cole chuckles a bit, and she breaks out into a smile. “I’m sure Stevens Point is really nice. I bet they have tractors and farms and-”

Cole cut her off immediately. “We do not have tractors, okay. We might be a little outdoorsy but-”

“That’s exactly what people say when they have tractors and farms. ‘We’re a little outdoorsy’.”

Cole feels himself get a little pink, but he has to admit she’s right. “Okay Miss New York.” Dion smiles at the nickname. 

Just as Dion opens her mouth to say something back. The professor strolls in with a coffee, waving a hand in apology. “Sorry I’m late, class. Welcome to Intro to Biology. I hope you haven’t made enemies with your next door neighbor. He or she or they will be your lab partner for the rest of the semester. Now that’s out the way…”

-

The next lab didn't come for a couple of weeks. Cole and Dion stay friendly. She keeps the jokes rolling about Stevens Point and the rustic lifestyle. Cole’s a good sport and dishes out a few comments himself, mostly about rats and city grime and pollution. Though she only sees him within the bounds of room 1101, Intro to Biology, Dion likes to think that they might be friends.

When the lab came, Cole was away. He’s missing from his seat, and Dion admits she was a little lonely. Their table was a little quiet that day. The professor emailed her later that night with Cole’s information as well as a paragraph reminding her that partnerships meant that both of them had to work on the lab. Dion responds and promises to divide the work equally. Apparently Cole got a similar email around the same time because he texted her first. 

hey new york, missed me today?

The text alone brings a smile to her face.

i’m sorry, who’s this?

couldn’t be that weird kid from stevens point?

very funny

did i miss anything important today

only a lab worth 20% of our grade 

are you free tonight? we could work on the writeup tonight

Her fingers are typing out the response before her mind could catch up. When she realizes exactly what she had done, Dion throws her phone across the room. Did she just ask him out? She began pacing the room. No way. No, no, she was getting ahead of herself. This was just two friends, no two classmates getting together to work on a group project. Nothing serious. Nothing out of hand. Thank goodness Gigi is out of the room. They’re just warming up to each other, and Dion would hate to have to explain why meeting up with a classmate has her so worked up. Just as Dion calms herself down, her phone buzzes with a response from Cole. She carefully tiptoes over to where she had thrown her phone, as if loud footsteps had any impact on whether or not he said yes or no.

yeah i’m free

let’s meet in the library in like 30 minutes

Dion feels like her heart might give out. Standing in her room in nothing but a bra and sleep shorts, she has the mild realization that she must get dressed, perhaps fix her hair. Dion tries to calm herself down and reminds herself that they’re just classmates. Just classmates. 

Meanwhile, Cole was sitting on a bus back to campus. Half of the team is either passed out from exhaustion or snapping girls terrible pick up lines. It felt good to get back on the ice, put his uniform on. He forgot about virtually everything until he got his phone back with an email about a lab he missed. Normally, he would ignore it. Schoolwork isn’t his thing. Hockey is. But this is a special case. The class he has with the girl from New York with her jokes and pretty smile. Cole will let her make all the jokes she wants about Stevens Point if it means she’ll talk to him. He texts her first. He can’t help himself really. Cole goes straight from the bus to the library. His teammates all head to the dorms, texting sorority girls about some party tonight. He answers with see ya later when they all call out, asking him where he’s headed. The nerves hit him while he’s walking alone, in the dark, to the library — a place he’s not too familiar with — for a girl he might have a crush on. 

He finds her sitting at a desk in a corner. Her hair pulled into a  puff on her head, curls framing her face. 

“I was just about to text you.” When she looks up at him, Cole feels his whole body get warm. 

“Well, I’m here.” He sits beside her.

“With no pencil. Or a bag. Where’s your bag?” Dion looks around him as if she’d find anything other than his body sitting beside her. “Why are you all dressed up?” She crinkles her nose a bit, and Cole bites the inside of his cheek.

“I had a hockey scrimmage today. Coach brought us all out to dinner afterwards.”

Dion nods her head. Just another thing about his life that she has no idea about. “Oh. Well, I brought my notes, but you can just take pictures of them, I guess. Oh, and about the lab…” She begins talking, and Cole completely loses all sorts of focus. As he’s said before, school is not really his thing. And he hardly pays attention in class. He scans a page of her notes and looks back at her to make it seem as if he’s listening. Really, he’s just watching her lips move. He is gone. 

“Do you get it?” She finally stops talking.

Cole blinks. He scratches the back of his head. “Yeah, I-I mean,” As he’s stammering for answers, his phone rings in the back of his pocket. It’s his brother, and he thinks it’s gonna be something important. Cole is terribly wrong. When he picks up, Brock is at a party, and he knows Dion can hear the conversation between the two. 

“Brock?”

“Bro, where are you?”

“I’m at the li-”

“We’ve got bitches, booze, and that girl with the big tits is asking for you. Carly? Cathy? Katie?”

“Okayokayokay, I’ll be there.” Cole is embarrassed. When he turns to apologize, Dion is already packing her bags. 

“Wait-”

“Don’t worry about it, Cole. You seem a little busy. I got it. No worries. I’ve shared it with you on a google doc in case you have time on your hands.” She’s practically fleeing the scene. “I’ll see you around.” Dion is out the door before Cole could say anything in response. 

He feels like shit. When he looks down, he notices that she left her jacket behind. He texts Brock for his location and keeps Dion’s jacket with him. 

Dion is upset. She’s mostly mad at herself. Of course Cole has options. She imagines the girls at the party where he's headed. Tall, blonde girls with slim noses. Girls she’s nothing like. She’s mad at herself for hoping and thinking that their banter was anything but banter. When she gets back to her room, she kicks off her shoes, annoyed that she spent so much time freaking out. She exchanges minimal conversation with Gigi before climbing into bed. She ignores the lab for now. It only makes her think of Cole, and she’ll be damned if she loses any sleep over him.

Cole goes to the party. He finds his brother utterly wasted. His friends put a couple drinks in his hand, slap him on the back, and tell him to loosen up. Clara, the girl he thinks his brother was talking about, finds him moments after he walks in through the door. He smiles politely and tells her he’s not interested. She smiles back at him, and from the corner of his eyes, he can see her walk up to another one of his teammates. In all honesty, Cole doesn’t know what he’s doing here. He decides to go back to the dorm after forty minutes. When all his friends frown and chirp him, he pretends like he’s coming down with something. Back in the dorm, he’s pulling out his laptop and searching up how to write a good lab report into the google search engine. 

When Dion opens her laptop the next morning, the lab report has words on it. Words she did not write. Words that are good and make sense with the data they found. She nearly falls out of her chair. Instead she sits up straighter and sends a quick text to Cole. 

thanks stevens point

ur not so bad after all

is this a compliment?

miss new york has finally conceded 

stevens point > new york city

woah woah 

let’s not get too hasty

i was talking about our lab

and just so it’s clear 

nyc >>>>> stevens point

He smiles at his phone, and that is enough for Turcs to raise an eyebrow. “Texting someone special?” 

Cole loses the smile quickly. He doesn’t want to leave Alex with the satisfaction of having caught him so he quickly responds,“Yeah, your mom.”

But, it does get him thinking. He doesn’t even have her snap, or any of her socials. 

miss nyc what’s your last name?

Dion rolls her eyes at this comment. 

tryna get my snap? 

gonna have to work harder than that

I’m just trying to get to know a friend better

A friend. The comment humbles Dion quickly. She hops on instagram and looks up Cole. He pops up quickly, and she clicks the follow button. 

Cole gets the notification and immediately begins stalking. She’s even more beautiful than he thought possible. He slips up and likes a bikini pic from 14 weeks ago. 

stalking much, stevens point?

he doesn’t respond except for the thumbs down reaction. 

For their next class, he brings her a chocolate chip muffin from the cafe. He does it to see her smile. 

“Thank you. How much do I owe you?

He waves a hand. “Nothing. Um, I got it for free.” They both know he’s lying, but neither of them says anything about it. 

“Well, I owe you one. I had the wildest weekend…” And Dion is launching into a full story about her weekend and her roommate Gigi and all Cole can do is smile like a lovesick puppy.

[mcfreddy11]

matt boldys first nhl game against the bruins

don’t mind me just crying over here