#okay byeee i need to go do some work on a SATURDAY ugh

[sleepiestoken]

15.11.24

[raysofcrosby]

LITTLE DO YOU KNOW PT. 4

“𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥. 𝘖𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺.” ━  𝐍𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐬 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬, 𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧

gif credit (x)

series masterlist

requested: yes | no

warnings: mentions of alcohol and swearing. 

word count: 7,562 [ ok but i swear its all worth it tho ]

authors note: okay yay we’re finally at part four and the friendship is getting a lil bit less...friendly and more romantic ;) any-who, if you need a visual for the outfit y/n and kennedy wore in this, here it is [but just imagine it’s in two pieces instead of one big one ok yay]. anyway, um here’s parts one, two and three. so ya enjoy and i’d love to hear your theories, your likes/dislikes, anything, so don’t be afraid to pop on over to the ask box! ok byeee :)

The best thing about the boys only having one game during the week, was the free-time they had to hang around and relax. Katie, your brother's longtime girlfriend had flown in for the week to pay him a visit before she had to go back to work in L.A. Tyler, being the ever social person he is, decided to invite the team over to his house every day for pool parties and other stuff, just so everyone could relax and mingle amongst one another. Kennedy and Big Rig were getting closer, seeing as he was over at your dorm every day and you were getting a lot closer to Tyler as well.  

The night he invited you over to help you study was the most fun you'd had in a long time. Tyler not only stuck to his word and let you cuddle with the dogs while he quizzed you using your flashcards, but he also tried (and miserably failed) to make the two of you milkshakes, which resulted in a messy kitchen and uber eats delivering you two milkshakes at 3 A.M. In the minutes before you were set to go to sleep in the guest bedroom, you had managed to convince him to record a Hallmark Christmas movie, and he promised that he wouldn't watch it without you.

Which is how you ended up back on his couch with him and the dogs the next night and every night for the last week just watching and recording more and more Christmas movies. Tyler and Big Rig invited both you and Kennedy out to the bars with them and the boys, and for once you actually accepted the invitation. The third time you and Kennedy had joined them at a bar, Jamie wasn't nervous about approaching you with the question as to why you were coming out with them all of a sudden when you hadn't dared to in the past. It was awkward, trying to come up with an answer on the spot, especially since Katie had asked you the same thing earlier in the night. But Tyler swooped in to save the day with a beer for him and Jamie and saying that Kennedy had dragged you along since Big Rig invited her– and Jamie ate it word for word.

That was your cover-up all week when you showed up at the same bar they did– that you were here for Kennedy and it was all Tyler's doing. It was a tricky thing to play it off around Jamie that you were here for Kennedy's sake and not just to see Tyler. Though there were those gap moments when you and Tyler were able to separate yourselves and talk. That's what it was at first, just talking. He'd offer to get you a drink, you'd accept it and then you'd mingle with each other and the rest of the boys who decided to come out– talking about anything and everything.

But that Thursday night was when everything changed. You were all at Bottled Blonde, Tyler's pick of bar that night, and had wandered off to the bar to get yourself a drink after dancing your ass off with Kennedy and Katie. Distracted by texting Kennedy that you'd be right back, you didn't notice someone was beside you until their arm was resting along your lower back and gripping your hip. When you looked to your left, expecting to see one of your friends or a Stars player, you were met with an unfamiliar, and clearly drunken, stranger. You tried to move out of their grip, only to be pulled back in as he was persistent with getting your phone number while complimenting your dancing on the floor. 

You weren't the least bit panicked until the words 'I have a boyfriend' seemed to not affect the man. And when you found yourself suddenly freed from the man's grasp and pulled into someone else's side, your heart continued to race– because it was Tyler who had pulled you away. 'Back the fuck off, she's taken' was all it took for the guy to stumble away. You didn't know if it was because it was Tyler Seguin saying it or the fact that his tone had dropped into a demanding one that sent chills down your spine...and maybe even turned you on a little bit.

When the bartender handed you your drink, Tyler told him to add it onto his tab, grabbed your hand, led you away through the dance floor and over to a tucked-away space where the music was mumbled. He had you cornered, looking you over before letting out a relieved breathe before asking if you were okay. You didn't know what to say. That you were freaked out because some guy came onto you at the bar? Or that you wanted to do nothing more than pull Tyler against you and kiss the hell out of him? 

Instead, you just nodded and he led you back out to your guys' group, never letting go of your hand. For the remainder of the night, you stuck close to your group and Tyler stuck close to you. For anyone watching, it looked as if you were just hanging out with friends and laughing. But secretly, Tyler was always touching you. Sitting at a booth? His hand was on your thigh underneath the table. In the big crowd? He was cradling your lower back. Standing up? The two of you were standing thigh to thigh.

It was comforting, it was safe, it was hot...and it wasn't as secretive as you thought it was. Because the next morning before her class, Kennedy asked you the one question you'd been asking yourself over the last few weeks.

'What's going on between you and Tyler?'

And tonight, a cool, Saturday night was no different. Instead of getting ready to go out with the boys– you, Kennedy and Big Rig were getting ready to go out to Cole's fraternities big annual off-campus 'ABC' party. Tyler had extended an invitation for you guys to join them, they were only going out for a little bit since they had to leave for Winnipeg the next morning– but you had already told Cole a while back that you'd go to the ‘ABC’ party. Besides, you and Kennedy had put in some work on your Jack Daniels' boxes to make them outfit material, and that wasn't going to waste. Big Rig was surprisingly comfortable in his box and almost asked for you guys to make it as short as yours– but according to him, he'd need a shit ton of shots to follow thru with that idea.

"Okay so I know I've already asked you this before–"

You groaned, turning away from your makeshift vanity and looking at her. "If it's what I think you're about to ask, then try like a hundred times...since yesterday!"

"Don't be so dramatic, it's been like ten."

"Fifteen."

"Actually, it's probably closer to–" Big Rig went to chime in, but Kennedy raised an eyebrow at him and he raised his hands in defense. "Ten sounds about right."

"Anyway, as I was saying," she stopped tying the shoulder strap of her box and turned to you. "What's going on with you and Tyler? I mean, you've been over at his place almost every night since last week, sometimes spending the night there. Plus he was all touchy and staring at you with lovey-dovey eyes all night, Thursday."

You turned away from her, returning back to double-checking your make-up. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh please, are you and Segs hooking up or what?"

"Jamie!" Kennedy blurted out, tossing a nearby shirt at him. "You can't just blurt it out."

"What? It's not like we're all not thinking it!"

You put down your mascara and turned to him. "What do you mean by 'all'?"

He shrugged his shoulders, kicking his box to the side as he lounged on Kennedy's bed in his compression shorts. "I mean you've got Kennedy and me. But then some of the guys have kind of noticed how you two have been...I don't know," He plucked at her comforter, looking away from you. "Getting closer, I guess."

You feel a sense of panic wash over you as your brain starts to list off the possible names who noticed you and Tyler. Which ones have been around you two when those little moments happen? "Does Jamie suspect anything?"

Big Rig shook his head. "Nope, he's oblivious as hell. It's just the young ones– Miro, Klinger, Hintz. Why? Are you admitting that something is going on between you two?" He asked, raising his eyebrows and smiling.

You flipped him off and stood up from your chair, walking to your bed. "No, I have a boyfriend, remember? Cole?"

"Yeah, a boyfriend who you haven't talked to since the Halloween party– TWO weeks ago."

You wanted to argue against her, but you knew she was right. You and Cole haven't texted, called or spoken to one another since Tyler's Halloween party– at this point, you weren't even 100% sure you were still dating. You looked over at Big Rig and stuck out your bottom lip, asking for help.

"Oh no," he laughed, shaking his head and holding his hands up in defense. "I'm not stepping in the middle of this."

"Ugh, you suck," you replied, tossing a pillow from your bed over at him. "Anyway, nothing is going on between Tyler and me, and there probably never will be."

"Do you want there to be? Cause the boys might be oblivious to looks, but I see how you've been looking at him all this week when we're out. You do that giggle and you constantly touch your hair and roll your eyes at his stupid jokes," Kennedy walked over to her bed and plugged her phone in to charge. "They're all classic Y/N likes someone, signals."

You were speechless because she was right and you knew it. You liked the way Tyler was around and with you, and part of you wanted him to know it but is too nervous to admit it. You cleared your voice, putting your make-up away.  "It doesn't matter if I do. I'm his best friends little sister for God's sake, could you get more cliché than that?"

"I mean, have you met Tyler?" Big Rig added in, no humor in his voice. "Not to be a total downer here, but he isn't picky when it comes to his girls...and I don't think Chubbs being your brother would stop him from going after you. At least, if he likes you it wouldn't."

Ouch. You knew Big Rig was right. Tyler's reputation and resume of hookups didn't paint him as someone who had a type or cared what the girl looked like– he just went for it and that was it. But damn, hearing that if he really liked you, he'd have made a move by know and knowing that he hasn't done anything... gut-punched you.

Kennedy smacked his stomach and shot him a look. "Don't say that!" She looked back at you with a hopeful smile. "Listen Y/N, what he said,  maybe true, but you're also not just any other girl in a bar downtown who just wants to be able to say they slept with a professional hockey player."

"Yeah, because instead, I'm Jamie Benn's kid sister," you mumbled, turning towards your bed.

Kennedy turned you around and kept her hands on your shoulders, looking at you. "No, it's because you're his friend. You see him every day, you watch his dogs...he cares for you."

"Oh great, so now I'm in the friend-zone!"

She rolled her eyes and reached over for the bedside table and grabbed your beer, handing it to you. "I've seen the way he looks at you and I highly doubt you're anywhere near the friend-zone. I just think he's probably trying to figure out how to make a move."

"Well if he could do that sooner rather than later, that'd be great," you said, taking a long sip of your near-empty PBR. No sooner than the words left your mouth, did you realize what you just admitted? Your eyes immediately looked towards Kennedy and Big Rig to see them both smiling. "Don't you–"

"I knew it," Big Rig cheered, hopping off of Kennedy's bed and pointing at you. "Ha! I knew it! Klinger owes me 10 bucks."

You groaned as your phone beeped and you walked back over to your desk, picking it up. You chugged the rest of your PBR and turned towards the duo. "Stop being assholes and come on, our Uber is here."

"Whatever you say," Big Rig replied, brushing by you and walking to your door, turning around and winking. "Mrs. Seguin."

"JAMIE OLEKSIAK I SWEAR TO GOD!" You yelled out, only for him to already be completely out of your door. "I'm going to kill him. Have your fun tonight Ken, because he's a dead man."

"Please don't kill him Y/N, he's the best hook-up I've had in a long, long time," she joked, nudging you out the door. "Plus, he's not exactly wrong. Seguin is a good look for you."

You rolled your eyes and stormed ahead of her and down the hall to where Big Rig was holding open your complex door. Your costume prevented you from crossing your arms and fully bringing on the attitude, so you had to settle with your best resting bitch face to act as a mask so they wouldn't be able to tell just how much you actually liked the idea of Tyler being yours.

❒❒❒❒

Beta Upsilon Chi's off-campus 'ABC'  party, was arguably one of the biggest parties of the semester. It was thrown in a warehouse owned by a former member and has been a big tradition for the last ten years. A lot of shit happens at these parties, stuff that you thought only existed in unrealistic movies– but your freshman year you were surprised when you and Kennedy walked into one of the rented bathroom trailers to see a group of kids doing a line of cocaine. Another year, the entire men's swimming team decided to initiate their freshmen by making them do a naked lap around the warehouse and a spotlight following them around.

You had to give it to the fraternity though, while some wild ass shit always went down, nothing tragic ever happened, they always made sure people got home safe and it was always a damn good party. It was wild from the moment you guys stepped into the warehouse, both the literal party and the groups of people who would come up to the three of you and talk to Big Rig. After the ninth or tenth group stopped the three of you, you had found Cole talking to his roommate, Tristan. It was an awkward greeting since the two of you haven't spoken in weeks, but no sooner than he kissed you and Tristan offered you a few shots– all went back to normal. Cole managed to leave his fraternity duties behind for a good while so he could dance with you, Kennedy and Big Rig– all while managing to refrain from even looking at Kennedy, most likely due to what happened at the last party.

But the dancing didn't last long before Cole had to go back to doing his rounds as one of the Frat members and you were left third-wheeling with Big Rig and Kennedy. As the night went on, you realized that for the first time in a long time, you and Cole were getting along pretty well– when he came to find you in the crowd. The two of you were laughing, he was getting along with Kennedy (when she didn't secretly give him a stink eye) and it reminded you of the early stages of your relationship. Either it was real or it was all of the shots you took, blurring fantasy and reality together, you didn't know, but also...you didn't care.

Sometime during the night, Big Rig took Kennedy back to the dorm because she wasn't feeling too hot and he had to be up the next morning to fly to Winnipeg with the team. He offered to take you home too, but you were still wanting to dance and told him Cole had said he'd take you home later in the night. And that's how you ended up at the party alone, being fed shots by Cole's fraternity brothers whenever you walked by the table in search of your boyfriend...which totaled to be a lot of shots. Stumbling your way through the crowd wasn't too hard, seeing as you were amongst people who were much drunker than you and dancing wildly. When you got to the middle of the floor, you saw Cole through a group of people talking and waved your arm in the air to get his attention.

When the group broke and your line of vision cleared, your stomach dropped into your shoes. Cole had a girl pressed against him, his hands wandering along her body as he had his face pressed into her neck; whispering into her ear or kissing her skin, you couldn't tell– but she was smiling. Before you could even manage a logical thought, your feet were carrying you over to the two of them, stopping right beside them. You reached out and shoved Cole's shoulder, instantly gaining both of their attentions. "What the fuck, Cole?"

You expected his eyes to go wide in fear at the fact that he was caught in the act. That there would be a hint of regret hidden on his face or in his body language when you confronted him, but there was none. And at that very moment, you didn't know what hurt worst. The fact that he didn't seem to care you had caught him or that strangely...you weren't surprised.

"Hey, you're Y/N, right?" The girl asked, looking between you and Cole. "The ex-girlfriend?"

"EX- girlfriend?" You asked, looking at Cole. "Who are you?"

"I'm Paisley..." She looked up at Cole, linking her arm in his before looking back at you with sympathy. "His girlfriend of, what's it been, Cole?" She smiled up at Cole once again, "three months?"

Your eyes were about to pop out of your head the moment your mind registered her words. It was like you had completely zoned out, the only thing you could hear was the muffled music mixed with your heartbeat. Your mind was running a million miles a minute, throwing out questions that your mouth couldn't even speak.

"Also, don't worry about the dress stain. I took it to my dad's cleaners and they got it out like it was nothing. I never figured Dallas Stars team parties got so wild."

And that was the nail in the coffin. The dress Cole had brought for you to wear to Tyler's Halloween party– the one he said belonged to Pat's girlfriend, actually belonged to the girl he had been cheating on you with for three months. You tried to push down the nauseous feeling as the questions kept creeping back into your mind. Was he sleeping with the both of you? How did he hide this? Was it your fault? 

Then the tears started to build. Partially because he was cheating on you and from the alcohol, but mainly because you couldn't believe you had been so stupid. And then the laughter soon followed, because here you were, still with your shitty boyfriend that:

A) None of your friends or family liked.

B) Managed to get an entire NHL roster team to hate him

and C) Was so shitty to you, that even the most prolific womanizer in Dallas could see it and thought it was wrong.

You looked at Paisley and smiled. "I don't know what he told you, but we're very much still together," you turned to Cole, the anger suddenly needing to take over. "And you're such a piece of shit that I honestly don't even know why I'm surprised."

"Y/N, you're making a scene–"

"What do you mean you're still together?" Paisley turned to Cole, a confused look on her face. "You told me that you broke up with her before the semester started!"

"Nope, we're still together! Though Paisley, a bit of a warning for you? He's a misogynistic asshole who's total shit in bed, will belittle every little thing that you do and–"

Cole stepped towards you, looking around at the few people who were starting to notice that your argument was even taking place. "Y/N, enough!" He growled, putting on a smile and nodding before looking down at you. "Let's go and talk somewhere. You're drunk and upset and not making any–"

"No!" You yelled, stumbling back from him and poking him in the chest with your finger. "Fuck you, Cole! I have a right to be angry! I turned down hanging out with people who genuinely like me to come to your party because you whined about me missing the last one and it turns out you've been cheating on me for months!"

He laughed, rolling his eyes. "People, who genuinely like you? Who are you talking about? Seguin and the rest of your brother's pathetic team? Newsflash, Y/N," he stepped towards you with anger in his eyes. "You're just a young, hot piece of ass to him and that's all you'll ever be. Just another girl trying to fuck a Hockey player." He smiled and looked off to the crowd before looking back at you. "Huh, I guess that replacement Halloween costume...wasn't a costume after all then, was it?"

You could feel the tears come back as you bit the inside of your cheek to keep them from falling. That was a sore spot that he just did a boxing combo on and you just wanted to turn around and run. But you were tired of letting him treat you like this, so even though your legs were shaking, you kept your shoulders back and blinked back the tears. "Go to hell Cole," you spat, throwing whatever was left in your cup onto his costume and spinning on your heels to walk away.

"What the fuck, Y/N?" He yelled, seconds before he reached out and clutched onto your forearm, trying to stop you from leaving with all of his strength.

You whipped around, swinging your free hand back and up, your knuckles making solid contact with his eye and cheekbone. He immediately let go of your hand and went to touch his face as more people looked on. Your heart was racing as you took in what just happened and yet sympathy for him was nowhere to be found. "In case that wasn't obvious, Cole...we're done." You looked up at Paisley, who was standing in the same spot, frozen. "Sorry about the dress."

Before either of them could reply, you stormed off through the crowd, not caring who you bumped into as you tried to distance yourself as far from them as possible. You ended up by the bar in search of the cooler that held some free water in it. "Hey, want a shot?"

You turned to see someone you didn't recognize but looked a little too old to be a college student. This wasn't surprising because there's always been a problem with non-SMU students sneaking into the party with invites from current students. "Uh, no thanks."

"Come on, just one shot! It won't hurt you and look, you can even watch me pour it in case you think I'm going to drug you or something." He laughed, brushing off the seriousness of it all and opened his flask, pouring out two shots and sliding one over to you.

"I said no."

"Hey, Hey!" He grabbed onto your hand as glared at you as you went to turn away. "I'm offering you a fucking drink, you don't have to be such a bitch about it!"

You snatched your hand away from him and stumbled back into the crowd, not even caring if the tears you'd worked so hard on holding back were starting to fall. You took your phone out of your spandex beneath the bottom portion of your box and unlocked it, scrolling through your messages as you continued to stumble through the crowd. You clicked on a contact, calling the number as you reached the entrance of the warehouse. It only rang once before they picked up, but you didn't even bother to give them a chance to speak.

"P-please come get me," you struggled to take a deep breath as you pushed your way through the crowded entrance and out into the night air. "Kennedy and Big Rig left, I p-punched Cole, some creepy guy tried to give me a drink and I-I don't have a ride home. I'll share my location, just...please."

"Stay right here, I'm on my way."

You hung up the phone and broke down alongside the warehouse building.

The chill wind was just starting to pick up when you felt a presence in front of you. "Y/N?"

You looked up from your arms to see Tyler squatting down in front of you in a sweatshirt and shorts. "You came?"

"Of course I did." He looked at you as if you had two heads before holding out both of his hands. "Now come on, let's get you home."

You grabbed onto his hands and he helped you up, looking at you and turning you side to side to make sure you were okay. "I-I'm fine," you sniffled, wiping your nose with the back of your hand. "I just look like a drowned rat."

Tyler just laughed and pulled you into his side, wrapping an arm around your waist. "No, you don't, Y/N. Let's just go home, okay?"

You nodded and snuggled more into his side, relaxing against him as he led you away from the warehouse. "Tyler! Hey Tyler Seguin, what's up man?" A drunk partygoer yelled out, waving at Tyler. "Go Stars!"

"Not much man, thanks for the support!" Tyler replied, pulling you further into him, staying tense and on alert as he led you to his car. When you reached his car, you noticed that he was parked pretty much on the curb in his fancy-ass Mercedes. He opened the passenger door and looked. "Do you need help getting in?"

You scoffed, tossing your hair over your shoulder and acting as if you weren't totally shitfaced and had been crying for the last fifteen minutes. "I am an i-independent and newly single woman, Tyler. I c-can do it."

You took a step up onto the sidestep and reached out for the 'oh shit' handle, grabbing air and almost falling forward. Tyler grabbed onto your hips and helped you steady yourself. When you looked back at him in embarrassment, he just shook his head and tried to hide his smile. "I won't say anything, now get in the car."

With a little push, you were seated in his leather passenger seat and looking around the car. He stepped up and grabbed your seatbelt. "I'm going to buckle you in, okay?"

You just nodded and watched as he reached across you, balancing himself by only holding onto the 'oh shit' handle and standing on the side step with one foot. He was so close to you that you could smell his cologne radiating off of his body and man, it smelled good. Your eyes took in his mess of curls he called his hair and for a split second, you wanted to reach out and run your fingers through it. When you heard the buckle click, he stopped right in front of you and smiled. "All buckled in."

'I could just lean in and plant one on him', you thought. Just grab onto his face and kiss the hell out of him. What's stopping you? Not Cole, that's for damn sure. Now that you were a single woman, you could indulge in your feelings and finally go after Tyler...assuming he'd even be okay with that.

Tyler reassuringly squeezed your thigh and got out of the car, closing the door and making his way to the driver's side. It was only a few seconds before he was in the driver's seat, starting his car and turning on your seat warmers. When he turned the radio station from Hip-Hop to Country, he smiled at you. "I know you like country music, so just listen to this and we'll be home before you know it."

You nodded as he started to drive away from the party and zoned in on the song.

"You brushed away your blonde hair And you kissed me out of nowhere, I can still show you the spot where everything went down. Oh, I told you I was gonna marry you, you probably didn't think that it was true"

The moment your brain registered what song was playing, the waterworks just exploded and you burst into tears. Tyler looked over at you with a panicked look on his face before slamming on the brakes at a stop sign. "What? What is it what's wrong?"

"The s-s-song," you pointed to the radio and wiped your cheeks. "Th-that was our song. He said it was our s-song when we first started dating b-because we met on October 14th."

You felt stupid, bawling like a baby into your hands in Tyler's car over a song that an asshole of a boy dedicated to you years prior. It wasn't the fact that the song was the issue, but how you remembered how nice your relationship was at the beginning of it all.

"Okay, okay we can fix this," Tyler cleared his throat and kept changing the station channels until settling on another country station that had a song just ending. "How about this, hey...look at me, please?"

You sniffled and picked your head out of your hands to look at him. His eyes took in your tear-stained cheeks and immediately he covered his hand with his sweatshirt and patted the tears away. "S-Sorry that I'm such a mess."

"Don't apologize for what that asshole did Y/N, ever." He brought his hand back and nodded at the station. "I've got an idea, hear me out?" You nodded and he pointed at the radio.

"The next song that comes on, that'll be our song, okay? Not you and douchebag, you and me. Does that sound good?" Nodding again, he smiled and held his hand out across the center console towards you.

You looked at it and smiled, reaching out and holding onto it for what felt like dear life. He intertwined your fingers with his and held up your hands, looking at you. "You've got me on your side, okay? If you need to cry, vent or just yell, go ahead and do it...I won't judge."

"Thank you, Tyler." You sniffled, squeezing his hand.

He just smiled and let your hands relax back onto the center console, where he didn't release his from yours. As the long list of commercials came to an end, Tyler squeezed your hand again before turning down the street. You rested your head back against the headrest and looked out the window as the radio DJ kept talking about the CMA awards. You weren't listening much, only trying to focus in on what song would play next- the song that would belong to you and Tyler.

"I'll never settle down, that's what I always thought. Yeah, I was that kind of man, just ask anyone. I don't dance, but here I am, spinning you around and around in circles. It ain't my style, but I don't care, I'd do anything with you anywhere. Yes, you got me in the palm of your hand, 'Cause, I don't dance."

You tried your best to sneak a peek of Tyler from the corner of your eye to see if he reacted to the song, but before you could even get one, he let go of your hand and changed the song. "Next station!"

"What? Why!"

"This song is better," He turned the volume up and went back to staring at the road.

"If he don't love you anymore, just walk your fine ass out the door. I do my hair toss, check my nails– baby how you feelin'? Feeling good as hell"

He looked at you quickly, soon frowning. "What? You don't like this song?"

"No, I love this song and Queen Lizzo," you sighed, slumping into the seat. "It's just... that was gonna be our new song, remember?"

"Oh," he cleared his throat and turned it back to the country station. "I just figured since it was like a...romantic song that uh, I'd change it."

You shrugged your shoulders and turned your attention back to the window, continuing to jam out to Lizzo. You had the urge to cry but bit the inside of your cheek to prevent yourself from doing so. Tyler changed the song because it was a romantic one, he hadn't bothered to grab your hand again– maybe you were thinking too much into things and your friendship with him. Otherwise, he probably would've been okay with the song...right?

❒❒❒❒

Tyler had his arm around you still as he helped you up the steps and to the door. The longer you had sat down in his car, the more the alcohol had hit you and the moment you went to get out of his car, he practically had to catch you or you would've hit his garage floor face first. "I'm such an i-idiot. My brothers were right," you slurred as Tyler held you up and against him, throwing your arm over his shoulders. "Cole is a fucking dickface and I wish I could k-kick him in the balls."

"I'm sure we'd all love to do that, Y/N." He laughed, unlocking the door and pushing it open with his foot. "Now there's a step, so be–"

You walked ahead of him, wanting to get into the house and completely tripping over the step he was telling you about. “careful...”

You landed on your hands and knees as his tile floors felt cool against your skin. Crying wouldn't have helped any, so all you could do was laugh. You crawled ahead and out of his way as the familiar sound of paws echoed down the hall. "PUPPERS!!!"

In seconds, the three blobs of fur sprinted around the corner and tackled into you, knocking you onto your but and inadvertently breaking your DIY costume bottoms. "No! Bad boys, go back!" Tyler said, closing the door and snapping his fingers.

The dogs didn't listen as they continued to crawl all over you and licking you. "Be nice to my puppers Tyler," you said, reaching forward and rubbing Cash behind an ear as your other hand was rubbing Marshall's butt. "Because dogs are so cute and lovable and they don't screw other girls behind your back."

Like he knew that you needed it, Gerry reached up and started licking your face. You could feel yourself start to forget all about Cole and Paisley as the three Seguin boys showered you with their love and attention. Standing over you, you saw Tyler laugh and shake his head as he had his hands on his hips. "Don't worry, you guys are the best, goodest boys in the world and your daddy is just jealous that you love me more than him."

"Alright that's enough you needy dogs," Tyler shooed them off and ignored your pout as he held onto your hands and stood you up off of the floor. "You lost your pants." He said, bending down and picking up the Jack Daniel's box. "Need these?"

"Throw them away, I don't care." You replied, moving ahead and walking towards his living room as best as you could.

"Oh no you don't," He ran up behind you and turned you around, his hands on your waist. "Come on, please don't make me toss you over my shoulders."

You gasped, a smile breaking out on your face. "Like a fireman? Oh, could you? That'd be so cool."

Tyler just sighed and directed you towards the stairs and pushing you lightly up them, keeping a hand on your lower back in case you were to fall. You only fell back into him a few times before reaching the top of the stairs and when you did, Tyler grabbed your hand and led you to his room.

A crazy sense of Deja vu washed over you as you knew the situation was all too familiar. You in a...broken costume of sorts, drunk and Tyler taking you to his room. He walked you over to the bed and sat you down, pointing at you. "Stay right here, okay?"

You brought your hand up to your forehead, saluting him and almost knocking yourself over. "Yes, sir!"

He just laughed as you fell back onto his bed, staring up at his ceiling. "Don't fall asleep on me, Y/N!"

"Technically," you raised a finger into the air. "I'm not sleeping on you, I'm sleeping on your bed...which is so comfortable. I think I'm going to steal it for my dorm."

You heard him walk by you again as he tossed something onto the bed beside you. "I'd love to watch you try, Y/N. Now come on, stand up for me."

He tapped your bare thigh and you felt your nerves send a shock throughout your entire body. "Did you just shock me?!"

"What? No!" He replied, reaching out to you and pulling you up by your hand. He made sure you wouldn't fall back down as he reached beside you and picked up a shirt. "You can go ahead and put these on so you don't have to sleep in...whatever that is."

"It's called art, Tyler," you scoffed, sliding the straps of your box top off of you and letting it drop onto the floor as you took the clothes from him. "And I'll have you know, I worked the hell out of it!"

You reached down to take off your bandeau and Tyler immediately spun around. "What are you doing?! Just put on the shirt! You don't need to," he waved a hand around in your direction. "Do that!"

"I never sleep with a bra on, Tyler. Besides, it's a bandeau and it'll just slip off when I roll over," You took it off and tossed it onto the floor, sighing. "I bet you he cheated on me because of my boobs, do guys do that?"

You could hear Tyler choke on his breath as he kept his back to you, looking up at his ceiling. "I mean, I think my boobs are great and they're real! I bet you Alpha Gamma Psi Paisley the bottled blonde's boobs are fake!" You looked down at your chest before looking back at Tyler. "Mine are real! I grew them myself, I mean...aren't my boobs great? Actually, Paisley was really nice...now I feel mean.”

Tyler brought a hand to his face shaking his head. "I'd prefer not to answer that question, please."

"I demand you to look at my boobs Tyler!" You glared at him, the alcohol taking over you completely. "How else can you judge them fairly?"

"I'm not going to look at your boobs, Y/N..."

You groaned and plopped down onto his bed. "Tyler Seguin, you look at my boobs right now or I'm telling my brother."

"Well, that's exactly why I can't look at your boobs."

It all seemed so ridiculous, the fact that you were getting so upset because he wouldn't look at your chest. You were 100% positive that he's looked at other girls' chests without protest, but yet here he was with his back to you still, being stubborn and refusing to look. The thought of him not returning even a slight bit of feelings, combined with the alcohol and everything that happened tonight- was enough to make you start crying again.

"I bet you he cheated on me because my boobs are ugly or something," you wiped your cheeks as more tears fell. "Am I that undesirable of a girlfriend to where he had to go out and find a-another girl?"

You could see Tyler's shoulders relax before slumping over as he let out a deep breath. He turned his head slightly, looking you in the eye before letting his eyes travel down for only a second before he turned right back around, just as fast. "Your boobs are great, Y/N. Now can you please get dressed?"

"That wasn't even a full look, but I guess you're just really nice," you sighed, pushing yourself up. "Nothing like the manwhore everyone says you are–oh!"

You tripped over the Jack Daniel's box that was still around your feet and Tyler turned around quickly to keep you from falling. When he looked down at you, his eyes went wide before he looked away towards his closet and helped you up. "Just, use me for balance and get dressed."

You picked up the shirt and put it on you, resting a hand on Tyler's shoulder whenever you felt like you were going to fall over. When you sat back down onto the bed, Tyler picked up your bandeau and folded it, placing it onto the dresser. He turned back around with a pink pack of facial wipes in his hand and squatted down to your level as he pulled done out and started to wipe off your make-up.

"Is this okay? It's not too hard, right"

"Why do you have these? From your last club conquest?" You asked, not afraid to hide the jealousy and sarcasm in your voice.

Tyler blushed as he nodded at you to close an eye so he could get the mascara off of your eyes. "Candace uses them and I love the way they smell, so I bought them for myself." He grabbed a new wipe and moved to the other eye, "plus they keep my beautiful face clean."

You laughed as he finished up and pulled back the covers of his bed and patted the empty space, "welcome to your bed."

You smiled and crawled towards the empty space, digging your legs beneath the covers. "With the dogs?"

Tyler just laughed and rested his hands on his hips as he whistled. It was only a few moments before the three dogs you babysat often, were jumping onto the bed and each picking their place beside you for the night. "You three better behave yourself and let her sleep," he said, looking at each dog individually. "And no funny business, I'm looking at you, Gerry. That means no shitting on my floor."

He turned back to you and grabbed onto the covers, pulling them up as high as the dogs' weight on the blankets would allow. He picked up the facial wipes and walked into the bathroom, tossing them away before going to leave the bedroom altogether.

"And you?" You asked, propped up against his pillows and petting Cash who had claimed the spot right beside you.

Tyler stopped and turned around, looking as if he was contemplating whether or not he would join you in his bed. He rubbed the side of his beard and shook his head. "Not yet, I've got just some to do really quick."

You tried your best not to allow your disappointment to show but ultimately failed, "Oh. Later then?"

"Maybe, later." He headed towards the door and stopped to look at you again.

"Thank you for coming to get me again, you're the best I don't deserve you." You yawned and rolled over onto your side, snuggling down into his bed and against Cash. "Goodnight Ty."

It felt as if the moment your head relaxed into his pillow that your body and brain just slipped into a fast sleep. No sooner than you closed your eyes, you heard him turn off the light and then start to walk...except the steps were coming closer to you. You felt him tug onto the blankets a little more, making sure that your upper body was covered, feeling his hand rest on your shoulder.

"Goodnight, Y/N," he whispered, removing his hand from your shoulder softly. You thought that maybe he was leaving the room, but as soon as you felt his lips and the scruff of his beard against your cheeks– your heart stopped. "And no...I don't deserve you."

You stayed still as you listened for his footsteps leave the room and the sound of the door closing. You opened your eyes, bringing your hand against your cheek, swearing up and down that you could still feel his lips against them. You smiled and snuggled more into Cash, petting his head as he sighed. "Holy shit Cash, he just kissed me...does this mean he might like me? Oh God, what if I'm just overthinking this? Do you think I'm overthinking this?"

Cash lifted his head slightly and licked at your face before plopping his head back down onto the comforter and letting out a long breath. You sighed and kissed his head, "okay yeah, you're right, let's just go to bed."

As you closed your eyes again and cuddled with the Seguin boys, your heart was thumping against your chest as your brain thought about the one Seguin that you couldn't help but wish was lying here with you– Tyler.