#sky high's face is inspired by a screenshot of his dogs

[noodlebox-bird]

Buddy Heroes 😏👍

og

[thedexdays]

Snapchat Scandals

Day One of NurseyDex week! I’m so happy to be participating in this week. Thank you to the lovely people for organizing this. :D

I also took inspiration from this post. I hope I did the prompt justice :)

Day One: Getting Together

---

If it hadn’t been for the new Snapchat update, Will might have never found out.

Tristan had said that he had to go to San Diego for work, some sort of client meeting, which was why it had to be on a weekend. Will had kissed him goodbye Friday morning and watched him drive off, leaning against the doorframe of his house, spatula in hand.

Later that night, Will was half watching one of the Die Hard movies and snap chatting Chris, a work colleague who he had played hockey against during college.

Did u c the new snap update? Chris sent, a pic of the Sharks game in the background.

Will sent back a pic of his feet up on his coffee table. Nope, what is it?

After a moment, Chris sent a screenshot of a map, Bitmoji characters scattered across the screen. His was circled. I c u bro.

Will laughed, taking a quick selfie. Stalker. (How did u do that tho??)

He sent back a demonstration video, with a chirp at the bottom. Damn an engineer couldn’t figure out the newest snap update. #imposter

Will sent back a pic of the laughing/crying emoji over his entire face. Whoops, I’ve been made.

He swiped across the screen like Chris showed him and found Chris’s bitmoji character. He was about to take a screenshot and send it back to him before he saw Tristan’s character. It wasn’t at the airport, or anywhere close to the airport. He zoomed in.

According to the Snapchat map, Tristan was at the Keg Restaurant downtown, which didn’t make any sense. He was supposed to be on a flight to San Diego right now. It left, Will checked his watch, two hours ago. He didn’t have any texts from Tristan saying that his flight was delayed. What was going on?

He closed Snapchat and reopened it, but Tristan’s little Bitmoji icon was still there.

Maybe the update was so new that there were bugs in it?

He narrowed his eyes and grunted, frustrated. No, no way it would be that wrong.

He took a screenshot and texted Chris.

Will: *sent a photo*

Will: any chance snap could get T’s location that wrong??

Chris: Uh where is he supposed to be?

Will: On his way to San Diego

Will watched the little bubble at the bottom of the screen with baited breath. It popped up and disappeared in quick succession a few times. Chris seemed to be having trouble coming up with something to say. Will’s heart sank; he could guess what his friend was thinking.

Chris: No. It wouldn't be that wrong.

Will sighed, slumping forward on the couch so that his elbows were resting on his thighs. His phone buzzed.

Chris: I’m getting in my car now. B at your house in 10. We’re going to find him.

Will’s eyebrows shot up.

Will: Wait C what?

Will: Is that necessary?

Will: What if it’s nothing??

If they went and tried to find him, then it wasn’t nothing. It meant that Chris didn’t think that it was nothing. Will stared at his phone. Did he think it was nothing?

“No. No this isn’t nothing,” he said to his empty house. He looked up and out his living room window at the dark summer night sky. “It’s not nothing…”

He ran a hand through his hair and took a steadying breath, getting up off the couch. He grabbed his keys and wallet before opening, and locking, his front door. He sat down on the stoop to wait for Chris.

He turned his phone over in his hand. He couldn’t come up with a logical excuse as to why Tristan would have lied about the flight, and probably the whole meeting, that didn’t make his heart hurt or spike his anger.

Has he done this before?

Tristan had gone away last month for a five day trip over a weekend as well, and he and Will didn’t see each other every day. They were both busy people. Will bit his lip. Could Tristan be cheating on him regularly?

Will gasped, shoving the traitorous thought away. No . There was no way Tristan would be cheating on him.

He wasn’t that type of guy. Tristan was sweet and kind and had an adorable dog who he adored. He called Will to wish him good night, and when Will had been pulling his hair out with anxiety during the engineering firm’s expansion, he had been a solid rock even though they had only been dating three months. He had met Will’s family and they all seemed to like him… Will paused. His grandmother, who was the best judge of character Will knew, hadn’t liked him though.

Will made a noise of frustration. He leaned his elbows on his knees and put his head in his hands, breathing slowly. There was no need to panic yet. No fucking need.

Headbeems swept over him on the steps and he looked up. Chris waved from the front seat of his truck and Will stood.

“C,” Will started, getting into the passenger seat. “I don’t- I have no idea what to expect. But I’m- I’m starting to expect the worst.”

Chris shot him a sympathetic look, backing out of Will’s driveway. “Look, Will, Tristan’s at a fancy restaurant on a night where he was supposed to be flying out to San Diego.” He hesitated, before continuing. “It could be a misunderstanding, but you… might have to prepare yourself for something- something worse.”

Will clutched the armrests and looked at Chris. “Do you think…” He trailed off, he couldn’t say it. Chris seemed to understand what he was asking though.

He sighed and nodded. “It’ll take us like 20 minutes to get to the restaurant. Why don’t you put some music on, any station you want, and take a minute to breathe. Whatever happens tonight, Will, you’re not alone.”

20 minutes later, they pulled into the Keg’s parking lot. It was a Friday night, so it was pretty packed. By this point, Will was teetering on the edge of fear and anger. Fear, because he thought that he might love Tristan and he wasn’t sure if he could handle seeing him with someone else, and anger that Tristan had the audacity to do this to him, to lie to him and probably be cheating on him, and for the possibility of breaking his heart.

He wasn’t that angry kid that he used to be in high school or college, but he could feel his temper now. Tonight it would probably make an appearance.

Chris killed the engine. “What’s the Snapchat map say?”

Will checked quickly, stomach sinking at what he saw. “He’s still here.”

Chris nodded and opened his door. Will did as well. He felt sort of like he was walking through water as he followed Chris to the Keg’s door. He heard Chris talking to the harried hostess and then saw her give him a pitying look. His stomach rolled, and he looked away.

Chris touched his arm and inclined his head towards the restaurant. “Melissa said that she’ll give us a quick look. She thinks that she saw him, but Will if you don’t want to anymore we can go. Or we can just look and then go back and you can bring it up on Monday. I’ll support you no matter what. I promise.”

His eyes were hard, but his voice was soft, and Will was so so happy to have him here at that moment. He was so thankful for his friend.

He cleared his throat. “No. No, I need to know tonight. I just need to know…”

Chris nodded and then he turned to Melissa. “Lead the way.”

She led them through the bar area and the main dining space, and up the stairs to a second level with fewer tables and more privacy. Will felt the breath leave him; Tristan had taken him here before for one of their first dates. They’d sat by the window right over… His mind stopped thinking. They were sitting at the exact same table that Tristan had taken him to a few months ago. They were holding hands, gazing into each other's eyes. Tristan said something and the other man laughed.

Will saw red.

He felt Chris’s hand on his arm, and he thought that he might be saying something to him, but he didn’t listen. He marched right over to their table and growled out, “You asshole .”

Tristan and the other man looked up at him. Tristan paled, the other man looked confused.

“You absolute fucking asshole. What the fuck? How could you?” Will heard his voice rising, and knew that other tables were looking over at them, but he didn’t care.

Tristan held up a hand, seemingly unsure of what to do. “I- Will- How did you-”

Will cut him off. “You told me that you were going on a business trip to San Diego this weekend. This doesn’t look like any business trip I’ve ever seen,” he hissed, gesturing to the other man.

“I’m not business, I’m his boyfriend. Who the fuck are you?” the other man asked, starting to look angry.

“William Poindexter. I’ve been dating his asshole for five months, but this is officially the end of our relationship.”  He picked up Tristan’s wine glass, and the other man’s glass of water and then dumped both on their heads, slamming the glasses down with a bang.

Chris gasped behind him, Tristan spluttered out a few curse words and the other man stared at him in shock.

“Have a good fucking night,” Will growled, and then he turned on his heel and left.

Will saw Chris talking to Melissa, and a small part of him felt that he should apologize for the mess he made but the rest of him wanted to leave quickly. He was so fucking done with this shitfest. Tonight had been awful.

After he thundered down the stairs, Chris fell into step beside him.

Neither of them spoke before they got back to the car. Chris started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot. Will stared out the side window. He felt numb; all the fight had died in him. He felt empty, and like he needed to sleep for a month.

“Do you want to crash at my house tonight?” Chris asked quietly.

Will looked at him. His face was set in a tiny frown, face creased in concern.

“Yeah, please.” And then he started to cry.

---

Some days were harder than others.

Some days Will would throw himself into his work and curse Tristan all he wanted and swear he was better off without him. Those days he actually felt like he meant it. He’d go out with friends and laugh and actually forget about him for a while.

Some days, Will couldn’t do any of that. It was those days where he would watch sad movies and try not to cry and feel so so sad and hurt. He couldn’t understand how Tristan could do this to him. Or why he had done this to him. Those were the days where he would facetime his sisters or Mom and let them comfort him, because he needed it.

Slowly, he started having more good days than bad, and he slowly forgot more and more about Tristan and their relationship. It helped that work kept him busy, and that Chris was more than happy to hang out with him, and the fact that the gym by his house was open at 5:30am everyday and didn’t close until 10pm. He learned to distract himself, and keep himself busy, until suddenly he found that he didn’t need to anymore. He didn’t need the constant distraction. It still hurt, thinking about Tristan, but it was a dull ache, like someone poking at a scar, instead of the searing pain it once used to be.

He didn’t think the dull ache was going away anytime soon, but Will could live with it. He was learning to live with it.

Four months after the Incident, as Will had taken to calling it, he went out to a bar with Chris and a few work friends.

He was having a good day, a really good day. They had just finished a major project at work and his boss was over the moon, and Will thought, thinking about giving everyone bonuses.

And he had joined a community hockey league with Chris, and fallen in love with hockey all over again. It wasn’t as competitive as the NCAA team he had played for during college, but holy shit it felt good to have the ice under his feet again. And Chris was such a good goalie.

So yeah, he was having a really good day, and he sort of wanted to find someone to take home. He was ready to finally move on and close the door on Tristan and their relationship.

He was at a corner table with his bros, everyone laughing at a story that Andy was telling about a missing pool noodle and the hottest girl he had ever seen, but Will wasn’t really paying attention. He was half watching the Habs vs Pens game on the TV above the bar, absentmindedly sipping his beer, lost in thought.

He felt Chris nudge his foot and tilt his chin over to two girls at a tall table in the middle of the bar. They were looking at their table, and when Will met their eyes they blushed and looked away.

He turned back to Chris. “You want to go talk to them?”

He shrugged, smile on his lips. “I mean, I wouldn’t say no? I think that the girl farthest from us is actually wearing a Shark’s t-shirt?”

Will laughed, setting his mostly empty glass down and getting out of the booth. “Come on, C. Get up.”

The other guys closest to them laughed, throwing some suggestions their way, and Chris gave them the middle finger good naturedly, before he and Will crossed the floor to the bar where the girls were.

Sure enough, the girl who Chris thought was sporting Shark merch was, and he grinned at her, offering her his hand.

“Hey, my name’s Chris and you have a very good taste in hockey teams. Can I buy you a drink?”

She grinned, shaking his hand. “I knew it! Oh- um,” she blushed and Chris smiled wider.  “Hi, my name’s Caitlin.” She hopped off the stool she was sitting on and nodded towards the bar. “And I’d love a drink.”

Will tried not to smile too wide as the two of them walked off towards the bar.

He turned back to the other girl, who was watching Chris and Cailin with a smile. She was gorgeous, all warm brown skin, shiny dark hair, and bright hazel eyes.

“Hey, I’m Will.”

“Naimah. And I’m sorry, you’re very handsome but,” she held up her left hand and he saw a wedding band on her ring finger. “I’m already taken.”

He laughed. “Congratulations. And well, I prefer men myself anyways.”

Her eyebrows rose ever so slightly, and she grinned. “Well, then I’ll introduce you to my brother, Derek. He went to the bathroom but he should be- oh, there he is. Derek!”

She waved to someone behind Will and he turned.

“Holy shit.”

He couldn’t believe it.

Derek, Will finally had a name for him, lost his smile as he stopped at their table. They stared at each other for a minute. Will was totally speechless.

“William Poindexter. This is a surprise,” Derek said, recovering first.

“I- Well-” Will spluttered, running a hand through his hair.

“Derek, what’s going on?” Naimah asked, eyes flicking between the two men.

“Give us a second Naimah, will you?” he asked, not taking his eyes off of Will.

She didn’t move until Derek looked at her and nodded. She pursed her lips together and got up, heading over to the bar.

“Umm,” Derek hesitated. “I guess- do you want to sit? We probably owe each other a discussion…” He trailed off.

Will nodded, pulling out a chair. He was still shocked, of all the bars in New York they really had to end up at the same one.

Derek laughed quietly, “Yeah, what are the odds right?”

“Oh, did I say that out loud?” Will asked, flushing.

“Yeah bro, you did.”

Neither said anything after that, and an awkward silence formed between them.

“I um- I’m sorry I dumped that drink on you,” Will blurted, ears turning red.

He silently groaned. Jesus Will, pull yourself together!

“Oh, no hard feelings. It um- Well, I understand why you did it.”

“Can I ask,” Will cleared his throat. This was an awkward question, but he wanted to know. “Ah, how long were you and him…” he trailed off.

Derek looked at him silently.

He started to panic. “I mean, you don’t ha-”

Derek interrupted him. “That was our third date. So it was still really new. I uh, didn’t stay long enough to let him explain anything though. I was too angry.”

Will nodded after a minute, he understood that feeling perfectly. His anger was gone now though, as well as most of the sadness. Will was ready to move on and this was good closure.

His eyes drifted down and he spotted the crest of a hockey association on Derek’s t-shirt. He squinted. Yeah, Will was pretty sure that he had played against that team recently.

“You play hockey?” Will heard himself asking.

Derek looked surprised, and glanced down at his t-shirt. “Oh, yeah I play defense for the Venom.”

Will smiled hesitantly. He had no idea what he was doing. “We played you guys like, three weeks ago? I play for Atomic.”

Derek’s eyes lit up with recognition. “Holy shit! I remember you guys! Your goalie was so fucking good bro. You sure he’s never gone pro?”

Will laughed, nodding towards the bar where Chris and Caitlin were talking. “Nope, he works with me. He played NCAA in college though, for Samwell. They won the championship under his captaincy in 2018.”

“I remember you too. D-man. Number 24. You blocked all of my fucking shots that night. And let me guess, you had to have played NCAA at some point too, right?”

“And you blocked all of mine! But yeah, I played for Boston.”

Derek laughed, “Shit, BU wow .”

Will rolled his eyes, grin firmly in place. “Who’d you play for, hmm?”

“Ah, well I played for Michigan.”

Will’s eyes widened, “No way! Your team was full of goons!”

“Well yeah, and enough actual skilled players, like yours truly, to win in 2016 and 2017. How many championships has BU won again?”

“Jesus. Chirp chirp chirp.”

They grinned at each other.

Will sat back. Derek was actually pretty great.

“Why don’t we start over,” Derek said, clearing his throat. He held out his hand. “Derek Nurse, nice to meet you.”

Will smiled, shaking his hand. “William Poindexter. Can I, um, can I buy you a drink?”

Derek smiled. “Yeah, I’d love one.”

---

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