#sofia x rutger

[nhlclover]

she's everything sparks fly au

✭ — summary: luca confronts rutger about sofia, learning about his true feelings for her.

✭ — warnings: swearing, luca lowkey bullying rutger but he deserves it

✭ — a/n: so i planned this completely forgetting that rutger would've gone to world juniors so pretend that he doesn't in this au...

✭ — word count: 1.06k

Bittersweet goodbyes had passed as Julia and Giuliano had dropped their two kids off at the airport for their flight headed to Michigan. Sofia had always been an easy flier, motion sickness or fear of turbulence not being something that affected her, but she couldn’t help but be filled with nausea and dread as they departed Toronto and landed in Ann Arbor.

Luca headed back to the sophomore house after dropping Sofia off at her dorm and having received direct instructions to not bring up anything they’d spoken about during New Year's Eve to Rutger. Luca agreed to his sister's orders but on his way over, decided he was by no means going to abide by his promise.

Luca dropped his bags in his room, heading down the hall to Rutger’s room, hoping he had beaten him to Michigan. Luca knocked on the slightly ajar door of Rutger's room, pushing it open as he heard a muffled "Come in."

"Hey man," Luca greeted, stepping inside and closing the door behind him. Rutger was sprawled on his bed, staring at his phone with a frown. He looked up, his expression softening into a smile when he saw Luca.

"Luca, what’s up bud? How was your break?" Rutger asked, sitting up and setting his phone aside.

"It was good. Spent most of it with the family, you know how it is," Luca replied, taking a seat at the desk chair. "How about you? What did you get up to?"

Rutger shrugged. "Same old, same old. Just relaxed, saw some friends, hung out with the folks. Nothing too exciting."

Luca nodded, the conversation starting off innocent and casual. They chatted for a few more minutes, the usual back-and-forth about holiday meals, New Year's resolutions, and Luca updating Rutger on Adam and his time in Columbus. But Luca had a purpose for this visit, and he knew he couldn't dance around it forever.

When the conversation hit a lull, Luca took a deep breath and decided to cut to the chase. "So, I heard about what happened between you and Sofia."

Rutger's face instantly fell, a mixture of guilt and anxiety clouding his features. "She told you?"

“Yeah,” Luca nodded. “And don’t bother lying, she told me pretty much everything. I just want to hear your side of it.”

Rutger swallowed hard, looking down at his hands. "How is she?" he asked quietly.

"Pretty fucking terrible," Luca answered bluntly. "She was really hurt, man."

Rutger's shoulders slumped, and he ran a hand through his hair. "I didn't mean to hurt her. The thought of her being upset over me is killing me. I swear, Luca, I never wanted any of this."

“Then what the hell happened?" Luca pressed, his tone softening just a bit.

Rutger’s mouth opened then shut repeatedly as he tried to come up with his words. "I… I do have feelings for her, okay? I have for a while. But I couldn't admit it, not to her and not to myself. She's your sister, man. I mean if we did date and something happened then I would end up losing both Sof and you ‘n Adam in one fell swoop. So I figured it was better to lose one than lose all. So I pushed her away. But in doing that, I ended up hurting her even more. And I swear I never meant-”

“Woah, woah, woah.” Luca interrupted, processing Rutger’s confession. “Are you saying you have feelings for Sofia?”

Rutger nodded reluctantly. "Y-yeah, I do."

“Fucking Christ, why didn’t you just say so?” Luca asked, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers.

Rutger sighed, the weight of his emotions bearing down on him. "I don't know, Luca. I was scared. Scared of screwing things up, scared of what you'd think, scared of everything, I guess."

On one hand, Luca felt bad for his friend, who was clearly torn and vulnerable. On the other hand, the sight of his sister crying for days on end was etched in his mind. Luca couldn’t help but let the protective brother in him come out momentarily, giving Rutger a piece of his mind.

"You know, Sofia deserves better than this cowardly bullshit. She's been nothing but honest with you, and you repay her by pushing her away and leaving her in the dark?" Luca said.

"I know," Rutger admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. "I know I messed up. But I didn’t mean to be a dick, Luca. I was just… I was confused and terrified. You and Adam are like brothers to me, and Sofia, she's… she's everything. I didn't want to risk losing all of you."

Luca let out a frustrated sigh, shaking his head. "Well, congratulations, Rutger. You managed to hurt her and piss me off all at the same time."

"I want to make it right," Rutger said, desperation creeping into his tone. "I don't know how, but I want to fix this. I can't stand the thought of her being hurt because of me."

Luca narrowed his eyes, a sigh slipping out. “So what are you gonna do about it?”

Rutger’s head shot up, furrowing his brows at Luca. “W-what?”

“How are you gonna make this better?” Luca reiterated.

“Are you seriously okay with me asking Sofia out?” Rutger asked, confirming that he was hearing his friend correctly. “I mean what about your ‘don’t even look at Sofia’ rule?”

Luca couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. “Yeah, I tell the guys not to look at her like that, 'cause she’s my baby sister. But dude, you’re one of my best friends, I trust you.”

Rutger's eyes widened in surprise. "You… you do?"

"Yeah," Luca said firmly. "I trust you. And I think Sofia does too, or at least she did before all this mess."

Rutger looked down, realizing how badly he had messed up. "But she won't speak to me after everything that happened."

Luca stood up, walking to Rutger’s side. "I'll get her to talk to you. Just… don't screw it up this time, okay?"

Rutger nodded, gratitude and hope shining in his eyes. "I won't. I promise."

Luca clapped him on the shoulder, a small smile playing on his lips. "Good. Now, let's grab some dinner. We've got a plan to figure out." Luca said. “But you’re paying 'cause you were a dick to my baby sister.”

[fassanda]

Rogiers Eindejaarslijstje

Naam: Rogier Smalhout Cohen de Lara Nix aka de Reiger aka Young Rigatoni aka Ferrero Roger aka The Grey Heron

Leeftijd: Bijna 50

Beroep: Directing Creative

Beste gerecht in 2019 (waar, wat, wie?): Sowieso de Impossible Burger, spectaculaire uitvinding en cruciaal bij het voornemen om minder vlees te eten. Bij Osen Izakaya in L.A. heb ik het lekkerst Japans ooit gegeten (is dat een zin?) en in Amsterdam zijn Rijsel, Breda, Scheepskameel en La Fiorita mijn favoriet.

Meest memorabel moment van euforie onder invloed in 2019?: Mijn veertigste (!) verjaardag met mijn beste vrienden gevierd alsof ik 20 werd. De euforie was real. De kater ook.

Het 50-jarig huwelijk van mijn ouders was ook heerlijk emo op een alcoholische manier.

Meest aangename verrassing in 2019?: Da Baby en Da Opposites.

Ik heb voor het eerst ....... In 2019?: Eindelijk seks gehad!

Beste reis(spot) in 2019?: Los Angeles en Malaga (een beetje het L.A. van Zuid-Europa). En Wenen heeft me positief verrast. Sofia daarentegen zou ik niemand willen aanraden.

Beste collabo(s) in 2019?: Ik ga erg lekker op de sacai x Nike Waffle Daybreak en die Palace x Juventus x adidas. Van eigen bodem Patta x CP Company, POP x Nijntje, Daily Paper x Vincent van Gogh, A$AP Ferg x Redline (s/o HERC) en Koning Toto. En Appelsap x Ace & Tate vond ik ook een geslaagde samenwerking.

Beste aankoop in 2019?: Een nieuwe macbook en een Yashika FX3 Super 2000 camera (klinkt megaslick maar is gewoon een tweedehands fototoestel voor 25 euro, maar wel een hele mooie).

Meest hinderlijke social mediapersonality in 2019?: Thierry Baudet

Top social mediapersonality in 2019?: @korffkyan (aka de levende legende van Herres), long may he reign!

Beste televisie/YouTube programma uit 2019?: Euphoria, Top Boy, Mindhunter, Joardy Season, Joardy Sitcom en First Dates.

Beste influencercampagne uit 2019?: Freddy Tratlehner

Domste Vice artikel uit 2019?: Weetikveel..

Beste klantenservice uit 2019: KLM

Nepste klantenservice uit 2019: Uber

Beste podcast uit 2019?: Joe Rogan, Broken Record (Rick Rubin x 3 stacks!) Bakkie Bakkie, Drink Champs en Tate Talks: Khalil Joseph & Arthur Jafa in conversation.

Beste meme uit 2019?:

En alles van @dankartdirectormemes

Beste Instagram(profiel, post) uit 2019?: @fuckjerry, @willyparty, @curbyourlarrydavid en @diddy nog steeds in heavy rotation.

Gemiste kans in 2019?: Badr heeft wel glansrijk het record gemiste kansen verbroken. Echt jammer man.

Beste artikel in 2019?: Niet onthouden.

Beste expositie in 2019?: Khalil Joseph BLK NWS. Stacii Samidin in ‘t Rijksmuseum. Raquel van Haver in het Stedelijk. Patta in het HEM. En helaas niet live gezien maar ik moet hier wel The Big Wheel van Arthur Jafa op de biennale en Virgil Abloh in Chicago noemen, allebei keihard.

Grootse deceptie in 2019?: Mark Rutte. Mensen die stemmen vanuit angst en onze (en hun eigen) vrijheid in gevaar brengen. En weer een paar legends overleden.. Keith Flint, Robert Frank, Peer Mascini, Rutger Hauer, Jules Deelder en natuurlijk Juice Wrld en Feis, rest in peace.

Het meest hoopvolle in 2019?: Ik vond 2019 niet heel hoopvol to be honest.

Persoonlijke overwinning in 2019?: De overgang van ‘Rogier van Appelsap’ naar ‘Rogier van zichzelf’ (work in progress).

Gezelligste feestje in 2019?: Mijn verjaardag in Radio Radio, thanks to Sandor, Vic, Order fam & Vincent Reinders! En de beste vrienden van de wereld!

Gezelligste festival in 2019?: Appelsap is gewoon het gezelligst toch… En ik was graag naar Us By Night design festival in Antwerpen gegaan, hopelijk volgend jaar.

Beste #hashtag?: #KOZP

Nepste #hashtag?: #ZwartePietMoetBlijven

Beste concert in 2019?: Kruangbin, Black Nile, The Opposites op Appelsap en never forget Alex on stage bij Dave.

Tofste clips uit 2019?: Hoeveel harde videos kwamen er dit jaar uit? A lot… 21 Savage – a lot, Prince Waly – Doggie Bag, A$AP Ferg – Floor Seats, A$AP Rocky – Kids Turned Out Fine, slowthai ft. Denzel Curry – Psycho, Blood Orange – Hope, Beardyman – 6am (Ready to write), PNL – Au DD, Da Baby – BOP on Broadway, TNGHT – Gimme Summn, Michael Kiwanuka – Hero, Baloji – Zombies, Stormzy – Sounds of the Skeng, Weval – Someday, Benny Sings – Not Enough.

Beste film(s) uit 2019?: Monos, Joker, The Irishman, At Eternity’s Gate, Ford vs Ferrari, Once Upon A Time… in Hollywood, Parasite en weer een paar klassiekers afgestreept: Citizen Kane, A Streetcar Named Desire, Breathless, Andrei Rublev, Stalker, Dog Day Afternoon en Soi Cuba.

Beste documentaire uit 2019?: Dat Hiphop ding op Netflix was leuk. The Black Godfather. Homecoming vond ik irritant goed. Fyre Fest natuurlijk heerlijk. BADR van Anna van ‘t Hek en King of the Cruise van Sophie Dros ook mega.

Beste boek uit 2019?: Grand Hotel Europa, Het Raadsel Spinoza, Otmars Zonen, Gucci Mane, Figures of Speech & Lekker Fred.

Muzikale hoogtepunten uit 2019?: Op eenzame hoogte staat natuurlijk de opening credits song ‘t Pomphuys’ van Joardy Sitcom. Op gepaste afstand Burna Boy, Dave, IGOR, Da Baby, James Blake, Snoh Aalegra, Rosalía, Solange, Dev Hynes, Jai Paul, Steve Lacey, BenjiFlow, Bea 1991, Octavian, Flohio, slowthai, Headie One, Skepta, Hef, Freddy Gibbs x Madlib, Future, Young Thug, PNL in Paradiso en Stormzy op Glastonbury.

Muzikale dieptepunten uit 2019?: Nederlandse rap en Rocky in jail.

Beste mixtape uit 2019 (artiest, dj, radioshow)?: Luister te weinig mixtapes en radioshows. Maar NTS, BBC1, Vic Crezée, Benji-B en Lefto altijd lekker en de Ace & Tate Sounds met oa. Sandor Dayala, Mairo Nawaz en Carista.

Nepste bitch in 2019?: Ik heb er wel een paar en jullie weten precies wie jullie zijn.

Beste bitch in 2019?: Sara Nix, bedankt voor de mooiste speech ever en je grenzeloze liefde. Cow van je.

Doelstellingen voor 2019?: Minder input, meer output.

Uitkijken voor ....... in 2020?: Smeltende ijskappen

[nhlclover]

snowflakes sparks fly au

✭ — summary: sofia's finally admits her feelings for rutger

✭ — warnings: angst

✭ — a/n: …sorry lol. also i don’t know if i like this soz

✭ — word count: 0.85k

Sofia was struck with nerves, sitting at the café table. Her knee was bouncing and she felt her palms slick with sweat. She honestly couldn't believe she was doing this.

Based on Rutgers text, Sofia had about 3 minutes to perfect her speech. Maybe she should steer away from a speech. More of a declaration. Of feelings.

Sofia wasn't entirely sure where this burst of confidence came from. Over the past few weeks, she'd worked up the nerve to tell Rutger about her feelings. He had agreed to meet for coffee, under the guise that Sofia wanted to bounce some ideas off him for their upcoming final essay. In actuality, Sofia was going to tell Rutger how she truly felt about him. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to practically ambush him, but Sofia didn't know how else to do it.

His latest behaviour, with Rutger constantly cancelling and barely talking to her in class, was maybe a sign she shouldn’t do this. Because what if he doesn’t like her back? What if Sofia ruins a friendship that she felt so comfortable in? 

These thoughts are immediately gone from her mind as she spots him walking on the sidewalk, approaching the cafe doors. He sits down, his brown hair covered in little snowflakes, slowly melting from the warmth of the café. The sight of him brings a sense of ease.

The new season entering Ann Arbor brought joy to Sofia. She loves the winter season, seeing the snow-coated ground and the surrounding houses beginning to be decorated with lights for the approaching holiday. 

"Hey." He smiles.

"Hi." Sofia replies softly.

It's silent for a few moments as Sofia simply looks at the boy across from her. His cheeks were tinged with a light pink hue from the bite of the wind.

"So you wanted to go over the essay?' Rutger probes.

"Oh, uh, I lied." Sofia says. Her heartbeat picks up as she realizes what she is about to say. Rutgers brows furrow as leans on the table in front of him. "I asked you here because I kind of wanted to talk to you about something."

Rutger stays silent allowing Sofia to continue. Any previous plan or words Sofia had thought of went out the window. Her mind was blank with any way to ease into her confession. It was out of her mouth before she knew it.

"I like you." Sofia says.

The words hang in the air as both Sofia and Rutger process what was just said. 

Rutgers' thoughts were going a million miles a minute. While Rutger was over the moon that the girl he'd been infatuated with did return his feelings, the fact that she was Luca and Adam's sister was weighing on him. If Rutger and Sofia were to ever date and God forbid something happened and Sofia was left heartbroken, the two Fantilli brothers would never forgive him. He would lose three people he cared about in one fell swoop.

“I like you as…as in more than a friend. I would say I have a crush on you but that feels a little juvenile and I don’t want it to come across as just that I think you’re cute, and don’t get me wrong I do think you’re cute cause, like, wow you are, but I also just really like being around you and—”

Sofia is suddenly very aware of the fact that she has been rambling and shuts her mouth promptly. “I’m sorry, I should let you speak.”

“Sofia…we can’t have feelings for each other.”

Sofia’s caught off guard by his response. “I…I’m sorry?”

“I mean…Sofia come on.” Rutger says. “You’re Adam and Luca’s sister.”

Sofia furrows her brows. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Well, it would be weird if I dated their sister. I mean I’m best friends with them, they’re practically my brothers.”

“What, it feels like I’m a sister to you?” Sofia asked.

“I guess so.” Rutger says.

Sofia can’t help but let her jaw go slack at his answer. Sofia knew that it would maybe be a bit weird for her to date her brother's friend, but not a complete deal breaker. Sofia nods, suddenly feeling stupid and embarrassed. She was so sure he liked her back. 

“I’m going to go.” Sofia says, standing up, the chair scraping against the floor. The tears she knew were inevitable began to brim in her eyes.

“Sofia… Rutger says, reaching for her but she’s just too far.

“No, it’s okay.” She says, wiping away a tear immediately as it escapes. “Good luck at your game tomorrow.”

Sofia leaves, stepping out into the falling snow, flakes delicately landing in her hair and melting on contact. Despite the freezing temperature outside, her body felt like it was on fire. Sweating under her jacket, she walked down the sidewalk at a rapid pace, just wanting to be in her dorm.

Rutgers' response to Sofia confessing her feelings was much more than just rejection. He made her feel small, like a little girl.

She finally reaches her building, collapsing into sobs when she was safely alone inside her dorm. Sofia couldn’t help but feel utterly stupid, having embarrassed herself completely. Crawling under her covers she allowed her emotions to overflow, crying into exhaustion as she replayed the scene in the coffee shop.

[nhlclover]

first day sparks fly au!

✭ — summary: on the first day of classes, sofia and rutger meet.

✭ — warnings: none!

✭ — a/n: first chapter! i've decided i’m gonna write some chapters that will be longer but also little blurbs. the chapters will follow a timeline.

✭ — word count: 0.91k

The lecture hall is much smaller than Sofia pictured. She didn’t really have a good concept of how big a room would need to be to fit 50 people, but apparently, it wasn’t that big.

Sofia did a quick scan of the room, finding a good place to sit. She decided on a spot in the middle of the audience, a bit to the left. Once she sat down, she pulled out her laptop and water bottle, settling into her seat.

She occupied herself with the required reading of Of Mice and Men while the rest of the class slowly filed in, picking away at the empty seats, though both remained empty on either side of her. Sofia had read Of Mice and Men many times before, it being a classic in literature. She flips through the pages, rereading the familiar story until the professor begins the class.

Rutger rushes through the front doors of the building, searching for room 143. He walks down a few halls before finally finding it. Rutger pauses, checking his watch before bursting through the doors. He’s 17 minutes late.

He softly pulls open the door, stepping inside of the back of the class. He barely makes a sound, avoiding all eyes in the class turning to look at him. He does a quick scan of the room, looking for an empty seat. He eyes a blonde girl sitting on the left side of the room, an empty spot to her left. Rutger finds himself staring at her for a little too long, missing more and more of what the professor is saying.

He makes his way down the stairs, slipping past others to the empty seat to her left. Rutger slips into the seat, quietly pulling out his laptop and the required reading. He glances over at his neighbour's computer screen, trying to see how much he missed.

She has a page of notes written out, but her screen is at too much of an angle for Rutger to get a good look at what the professor had already said. He glances at the girl's face, her blonde hair cascading down, blocking most of his view.

He finds his eyes being drawn back to her face, wanting to get a good look at her features. She finally tucks the hair behind her ear, letting Rutger see her profile. Rutger barely registered anything that the professor had said since he sat down, instead being too occupied with the girl he had chosen to sit next to.

Eventually, the professor must’ve decided to give the class a short break because everyone is suddenly moving around and shuffling about.

Sofia was pretending to not notice the staring but it was now a couple of times he’d looked over at her. She didn’t know how to interpret the staring. It was possible that he was staring cause he thought she was pretty. But it was also very possible that he was a complete weirdo.

After a short internal conversation, Sofia decided to confront him.

“Hi.” Sofia says.

Rutger snaps out of the daze he was caught in looking at the girl, noticing she was talking to him. “Oh, hi.” Rutger says.

A blush forms on his cheeks, realizing she had in fact caught him staring at her.

“I’m Rutger.” He says.

“I’m Sofia.” She says, still hesitant as to whether or not this guy is weird.

“I uh, came in late. Can I borrow your notes?” Rutger asks.

“Oh, you didn’t miss much, she was just kind of going over the syllabus.” Sofia tells him.

Rutger furrows his brow, glancing at her page full of notes on her screen. “You seem to have some written there.” He chuckles.

“That’s just notes about the book. My thoughts and analysis basically.” Sofia explained, shutting her laptop.

“You’ve already started reading?” Rutger asks, suddenly questioning if he’s already fallen behind in the class on the first day.

“No. I mean yeah. Kind of.” Sofia rushes out. “I’ve already read Of Mice And Men. So these are notes from the past few times I’ve read it.”

“I’m going to take a wild guess and say that English is your major?” Rutger asks.

Sofia laughs. “Not quite. I’m majoring in elementary education and I want to be an English teacher.” She explains.

“Oh shit, cool.” He says, a smile on his lips.

He’s got a cute smile. Sofia thinks. Actually, scratch that, he’s got a cute face.

“I might be coming to you for help when I inevitably fall behind.”

Sofia furrows her eyebrows, Rutger making a reference she didn’t quite understand. “Oh I’m a student-athlete so I miss class kind of often.”

“Oh, what sport?” Sofia asks.

“I play on the hockey team.” Rutger says.

Sofia suddenly realizes why she recognizes the boy sitting next to her. “Oh my god.” She says.

Rutger has a sudden uncomfortable look on his face “What?” He asks.

“You know my brothers.” Sofia laughs.

Rutger furrows his brows, wondering how he would know this girl or her brothers.

“Adam and Luca?” Sofia prods. Rutgers eyes go wide, then his brows furrow again as he processes the information.

“Adam and Luca have a sister?” Rutger asks.

Sofia laughs, opening her phone. She finds a picture of her and her brothers from the draft, showing Rutger.

“Oh my god,” Rutger says as he sees the photo. “I genuinely had no clue they had a sister.”

“Yeah uh, they keep it a bit of a secret from teammates.” Sofia says, showing another one of them when they were kids.

“Why?” Rutger asks.

Sofia hesitates to tell Rutger the real reason. She’s saved when the professor resumes the lecture, Sofia and Rutger turning to the front.

[nhlclover]

bakeoff sparks fly au

✭ — summary: despite being back home for the holidays, sofia can't stop thinking about rutger

✭ — warnings: manic baking, overthinking

✭ — a/n: sofia is going through it

✭ — word count: 0.88k

This was the first time since the summer that all three Fantilli kids were back in Toronto, all sleeping under the same roof. Michigan was now on winter break and the 4 day holiday freeze was in effect in the NHL. It didn’t take long for the three siblings to fall back into their regular habits, playing board games whenever they got the chance, as well as heading to the ODR and playing unregulated games of hockey.

“Sof, you up?” Sofia heard Adam’s voice come through the door.

Despite being almost noon, Sofia was not up, using the break as a way to catch up on her sleep schedule. She groaned loudly, pulling her comforter over her head. She heard the door click open and her bedding ripped off her bed, exposing her body to the cold air.

“Adam!” She whined, grasping for her comforter.

“Luca and I are going shopping wanna come?” Adam asked, holding the bedding out of her grasp.

“Are you guys not done Christmas shopping yet?” Sofia asks

“I am, but Luca forgot a gift for Dad.” Adam tells her.

Sofia rolls her eyes. “No, I’m gonna stay in and wrap some presents.”

Adam drops her bedding, allowing Sofia to wrap herself in her blankets. “Text me if you need anything.” He says, leaving her room.

Sofia attempts to fall back to sleep but finds herself completely awake. She forced herself out of bed and headed downstairs to get breakfast.

It didn’t take long before the thought of him was back. The entire time Sofia had been home, memories of Rutger haunted her. Random reminders of him would come to mind, summoning the memories of her rejection. Her hands would begin to sweat, her heart beating at an unusual pace.

Every time she thought of him, she was reminded of the rejection. Because it wasn’t just a rejection. Rutger, at the same time, rejected Sofia and made her feel small. Like she was her brother's annoying little sister. Sofia hated how much he was occupying her mind.

When Luca and Adam come through the front door, they’re met with the strong smell of vanilla and loud music. Pulling off their shoes, they venture to the kitchen only to be met with chaos.

There are various ingredients scattered on the counters, with dishes stacked in the sink. In the middle of everything is Sofia, her pinstripe apron that was once a gift from Luca and Adam is covered in flour, her hair thrown up into a claw clip. Zach Bryan is blaring through her phone while she’s whipping something in a bowl.

“Sof!” Adam calls to her, finally drawing her attention as she hadn’t noticed they’d come home.

“Hey!” She grins.

Suddenly there’s a timer going off, sending Sofia to the oven. She puts on a pair of oven mitts, removing a tray of cookies from the oven.

The pair of brothers exchange a slightly worried look. They recognize this behaviour but it seems misplaced. Sofia has a habit of baking when she’s stressed or anxious. She baked during her high school exams and just before Adam was drafted. When she stress bakes, she goes HAM. She bakes four or five different things, from muffins to cookies, and often a type of bread.

However, to Luca and Adam, she had no reason to be stressed. She was done with exams and had gotten her marks back indicating a successful semester.

“Sof, what are you doing?” Luca asked.

“Baking!” Sofia smiles. “I’ve got shortbread cookies baking in the oven, some gingerbread cookies that I’m letting cool before frosting— ooh! You guys can help decorate if you want! And then the dough for cinnamon rolls is rising in the fridge.”

Sofia resumes her task of cutting out gingerbread men figures, singing aloud to ‘Revival’.

“What’s wrong with her?” Adam asks Luca, keeping his voice low so that Sofia wouldn’t hear.

“I’m not sure… she was fine yesterday.” Luca tells him.

The boys take off their coats, heading up to Adam’s room to wrap presents and figure out what’s wrong with Sofia.

“I have nothing, she was fine when we came home, she hasn’t baked or even cooked until today.” Luca told Adam.

Adam shook his head. Something was wrong with his sister. “What about at school? Did something happen?” He asked.

Luca thought back to Halloween. “Well…”

“Well, what? What happened?” Adam pried.

“It was just…at a Halloween party, this dude was harassing her but nothing happened. Rutger intervened and fucking almost fought the guy for her,” Luca explained. “But that was way back in October, it couldn’t still be bothering her.”

“Listen, dude, if she keeps this up after I’m gone, you need to talk to her.” Adam tells him.

“She won’t tell me, why don’t you ask her now?” Luca asked.

“C’mon, man. We both know which one of us she goes to when she’s upset.” Adam says.

Sure, Adam and Sofia were twins and often found solace in the other, however, Sofia always found that her older brother always knew what to say. Luca was the one she turned to whenever she needed advice or guidance. Adam was right, out of the two of them Luca was more likely to get any answers out of Sofia.

[nhlclover]

tutor and tutoree sparks fly au

✭ — summary: sofia offers to tutor rutger

✭ — warnings: one instance of cursing

✭ — a/n: this is literally just rutger falling in love with sofia but he doesn't realize yet

✭ — word count: 1.20k

It didn’t take long for Rutger to spot her familiar blonde head of hair, pulled back into a messy braid and headphones on her ears. Rutger wasn’t late this time, ensuring he could sit next to Sofia and giving himself time to talk to her before the professor started the lecture.

“Hey.” Rutger says.

Sofia doesn’t reply, in fact doesn’t even turn her head. Rutger realizes her headphones are probably noise cancelling, so he waves a hand in front of her face.

Sofia jumps, pulling her headphones off. “Oh, hey.” Sofia says, pausing the song.

“Hey.” Rutger replies. “What’re you listening to?”

“Uh, Zach Bryan.” She replies, showing Rutger her phone screen, displaying the Elisabeth album cover. “You’re not late this time.”

Rutger lets out a dry laugh. “Yeah, made sure I knew where I was going this time.”

“Oh I’m not judging, I’ve gotten lost like 8 times already.” Sofia jokes.

There’s a lull in their conversation and Rutger just stares at the blonde girl in front of him. “So did you do the readings?” Sofia asks, a little intimidated by his glance

“Oh, uh… some of it.” Rutger says, fishing the book out of his bag. “I read the first 5 pages and then Luca asked me to play chel with him and… chel is a lot more fun than reading.”

Sofia laughs. Her laugh is like a melody in Rutger’s ears. He doesn’t quite know why her every little detail has him so entranced but he isn’t complaining.

“Listen, I know how hard it can be to balance being an athlete with being a student. How about we get together once a week and I can help you with some of the work?” Sofia offered.

A smile comes across Rutger’s lips. “Yeah! That’d be great.”

“Just uh…” Sofia starts. “Don’t let Luca or Adam find out.”

Rutger furrows his brows. “Why?”

Sofia conjures up a lie in her head quickly. “They probably won’t like me trying to become friends with their teammates. They can be a little territorial.”

Rutger seems to buy this explanation. “Oh so we’re not just tutor and tutoree, we’re friends.” He smiles, receiving an eye roll from Sofia. “I mean I’m sure they won’t care if you’re helping me out with English and we just happen to become friends.”

Sofia breathes in deeply, considering the situation. On one hand, there’s this incredibly cute boy, who is charming to no end, and something, somewhere within Sofia desperately wants to get to know him. But on the other hand, he’s her brother’s teammate. He’s the one person in the whole universe that Sofia has been explicitly told to not go near.

But to hell with Luca and Adam, they can’t control her.

“I’m sure they won’t.” Sofia says.

“Great!” Rutger smiles. “Listen, how about you come over to the sophomore house and go over the readings for this week? And, if he’s there, we can tell Luca so he doesn’t just find out randomly.”

This sends a rush of panic to Sofia’s core, but she finds herself nodding before she knows it.

By the time class is over, the two of them are packing up their stuff and Rutger is leading the way to his place.

“So you didn’t get into hockey, huh?” Rutger asked, trying to get to know Sofia a little more.

Sofia chuckles. If she had a dollar for every time she was asked this question, she’d be richer than Adam (even with his new contract). “Uh, no.” She says. “I tried to get into it, but playing just wasn’t for me.”

“Mhm.” Rutger nods. “So what is for you? What do you do for fun?”

“Uhm, read. A lot. My book collection’s a thing of beauty.” Sofia says. “I also like to bake.”

“What’s your favourite book of all time?” Rutger asks.

Sofia answers immediately, with no need to contemplate her answer in her head. “Little Women.”

“Like the movie?” Rutger asks.

Sofia laughs at this. "Um, yeah like the movie. Have you seen it?"

"Um, no. I just know it's a movie with Timothée Chalamet." Rutger sheepishly replies, making Sofia laugh.

"Well, It's this amazing book about these sisters living during the civil war and they have such intricate personalities, and it also delves into women and how they are people with their own thoughts and-"

Only then does Sofia look at Rutger, realizing she has been going on a rant about Little Women. He's staring at her, delicate eyes as she spoke about the book she's so passionate about.

"Sorry, I just went on a tangent." Sofia chuckles.

"No, It's cool how passionate you are about that book." Rutger smiles.

They turn down a walkway and up to a house. Rutger unlocks the front door, allowing Sofia to enter. “Luca? You here bud?” Rutger shouts out.

“Yeah, wassup?” Sofia hears her brother's voice from somewhere in the house.

“C’mon.” Rutger says to Sofia, walking down the hall. They enter the living room where she sees her brother slouched on the couch, a computer on his lap.

Luca pauses from typing and glances up at his roommate. He looks back at his screen before glancing back up. He thought his eyes were deceiving him but, sure enough, his baby sister was standing next to Rutger.

Sofia reads his confused, almost concerned, look on his face. “Hey Lu…” Sofia chuckles.

“What’re you doing here?” Luca asks. His eyes flick to Rutger, suspicion now lacing his eyes. Sofia recognizes where his brain is going so she jumps in before he can make any snap judgements.

“We’re in the same English class so I’m helping him make sure he doesn’t fall behind, especially while he’s away at road games.” Sofia explains.

Luca’s eyes soften and they go back to his computer. “That’s actually a good idea. She’s a fucking genius when it comes to reading.”

Sofia’s slightly taken aback by Luca’s immediate understanding, but Rutger doesn’t flinch. “Great. We’re gonna go over the readings.” He says. “Here, we can go to my room.”

Rutger walks out, not receiving any pushback from Luca. Sofia follows, wondering if Luca didn’t hear him or simply doesn’t care. They go upstairs and into his bedroom, Rutger closing the door slightly. “You can sit wherever.” He says.

Sofia sits on his desk chair, pulling her legs in, sitting cross-legged. She takes out her notebook and book, opening her page notes.

“You handwrite your notes?” Rutger asks, taking out his things.

“Um, yeah if it’s notes from a book or readings. If it’s class notes I use my laptop.” Sofia replies.

Rutger stands in front of her, looking down at her notes. “How do you read that chicken scratch?”

“What do you mean? I actually have really neat writing.” Sofia laughs.

There’s her laugh again.

Rutger joins her laughter, sitting down on his bed. “Okay so I’ll give a quick rundown of what happened in the first 20 pages, then we can talk about the discussion questions. Sound good?”

I get to hear you talk for the next 10 minutes? Sounds perfect.

“Sounds good.” Rutger nods.

“Okay, so the story opens with George and Lennie walking on a path.” Sofia begins.

[nhlclover]

new years eve sparks fly au

✭ — summary: luca finally finds out the reason behind sofia's off-behaviour

✭ — warnings: angst, sof crying, luca being a good brother, mentions of anxiety, cliffhanger kind of?,

✭ — a/n: finallyyyyy writing for this! again thank you guys for your continued support love y'all

✭ — word count: 1.13k

Christmas had come and gone, presents had been exchanged, and Adam had returned to Columbus. The winter break was ticking down and Sofia and Luca would return to Michigan in five days.

But Michigan was the last place Sofia wanted to be right now. The thought of going back to Michigan where Rutger was sent a wave of anxiety through her. It was impossible for Sofia not to face him. Sofia couldn’t not go to games, Luca would hate that.

It was now New Year's Eve, one of Sofia’s favourite holidays. She loved the prospect of a fresh start, as well as the brief few days of having a resolution. The reset brought a sense of calm to her life. However, Sofia was anything but excited and her parents could tell.

Julia eyed her daughter as she sat curled up on the corner chair, downing her third glass of wine. To her mother, there was only one thing that could be bothering Sofia.

“Luca, go talk to your sister,” Julia tells her son.

“Why?” Luca asks.

“I think she’s missing Adam a little bit,” she explains. “Just go see if you can cheer her up a little.”

Luca glances at his sister sitting on the chair, watching her scroll through her phone, a perma-scowl on her lips. Luca knew Sofia and Adam were fairly close but not so much that she would be this upset over him going back to Columbus. Luca figured that it must have something to do with whatever was bothering her pre-Christmas. Whatever had spurred the manic baking must still be on her mind.

“Sof.” he calls to his sister, causing her to look up from her phone. “Come get some air with me.”

Sofia furrows her eyebrows at her brother's weird request but follows him out to the back deck at his insistent nodding. Sofia leans against the railing, the winter chill biting at her cheeks.

“What’s up with you?” Luca asks.

Just at his words, Sofia can already feel her emotions bubbling to the surface. She’d been trying to keep the thought of Rutger out of her mind throughout the past few weeks but it was futile. He’d worm his way into her thoughts and then she’d be reminded of what can only be described as the single worst way to be rejected.

“I mean…Sofia come on.” Rutger says. “You’re Adam and Luca’s sister.”

Sofia furrows her brows. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Well, it would be weird if I dated their sister. I mean I’m best friends with them, they’re practically my brothers.”

“What, it feels like I’m a sister to you?” Sofia asked.

“I guess so,” Rutger says.

Not only did Sofia get rejected, she got put in the sister zone. And whenever she was reminded of that, she felt like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind-ing herself. Completely erasing Rutger’s existence from her mind.

“What do you mean?” Sofia asks, playing dumb. Maybe she could work her way out of this. She would normally tell Luca everything. He was her big brother, he was the one who gave her good advice when she needed it. But she didn't know if this was something she could confide in Luca about.

“No, no,” Luca said, shaking his head. “Don’t be coy with me. Be straight up, tell me what’s bugging you. You know, you can talk to me, right? Whatever it is, I'm here for you.”

Sofia finally turns to look at Luca, his eyes laced with genuine concern. Tears begin to prick at her waterline.

“It’s Rutger,” she says.

"Rutger?" Luca echoed, eyebrows knitting together in confusion. "What about him?"

Sofia opens her mouth but hesitates momentarily.

“I love him.”

The words form before Sofia realizes it. She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth and gages Luca’s reaction. He’s silently staring at her, brows furrowed and jaw slightly agape. Luca’s thoughts are going a million miles a minute, trying to process exactly what his sister said.

After a couple of moments of silence, Sofia speaks up. “Luca, please say something.”

“How long?” is all Luca says.

Sofia sighs, trying to recall the moment when she knew she had feelings for Rutger. Memories of them meeting, all of their study sessions, and the times they simply just hung out flow through her mind.

And, like a dam bursting, Sofia spills her feelings to her brother. Her heartache laid bare as she recounted her feelings for Rutger and the crushing blow of his rejection. She told him about the birthday gift, how he began to read her favourite book just so he could talk to her about it, and the way her heart fluttered whenever she saw him. Sofia also recounted how she had finally mustered the courage to tell him how she felt, only to have her hopes dashed when Rutger shut her down.

“I thought he felt the same way, y’know?” Sofia says. “Sometimes when he’d look at me… I was convinced he liked me too but…”

She truly didn’t know. She was so convinced that the feelings were mutual.

“And you love him?” Luca asks.

“Maybe not love him but… Luca… I swear I can’t stop thinking about him.” she says.

Luca sighs. “Sof… Oh god, what would Adam think?”

“You can’t tell him. Please.”

He flicks his gaze to Sofia, her eyes teary and red. She’s got her arms wrapped tightly around her torso, her lip tucked tightly between her teeth. Luca knows well enough to know when his sister is lying or being untruthful. This was not one of those times. Her anxiety was palpable, even as they stood among the whipping wind.

“He’d kill Rutger then you if anything were to happen,” Luca says, head going back between his hands.

“I know that! You think I don’t know that?” she asks. “Please don’t tell him. Promise.”

Luca’s head stays down, contemplating the whole situation. He has to tell his brother, right? It’s Adam's teammate too. His friend too.

“Luca,” Sofia says, voice more stern and solid than he’d heard it their whole conversation. Luca looks up at his sister, her face anxious yet strong. “Promise me you won’t tell him.”

Luca sighs. “I promise.”

He looks away again, Sofia’s nerves coming back.

“Are you mad?” Sofia asks, the hesitant and nervous tone back once more.

“Am I mad? Of course, I’m not mad at you Sof.” Her shoulders relax slightly. “Just… remember last time? I don’t want to see you hurt again and I don’t want what happened between you and Adam to happen again.”

“I know, I know.” Sofia nods, bowing her head. Tears begin to form in her eyes as memories from the past come to her mind.

Luca steps forward, taking her into his arms. “You’ll figure it out, don’t worry.”

[nhlclover]

3 AM sparks fly au

✭ — summary: sofia dealing with heartbreak.

✭ — warnings: just sof being a sad girl

✭ — a/n: so sorry this is short but jsut needed a quick little update on sof. next chapter will be more exciting!!

✭ — word count: 0.22k

3 AM.

The alarm clock on Sofia’s desk shone the ungodly hour, 8 pages completed on her computer screen.

To say Sofia was a wreck would be the understatement of the year. She’d only left her room to go to class or to the dining hall for meals. Other than that, she had been holed up in her dorm, working obsessively on her final paper for American Lit.

She hadn’t even gone to any hockey games, despite Luca begging. She gave him the excuse that it was exam season and she had a lot of work to do. It was partly true, but Sofia couldn’t handle seeing Rutger. Not just yet. 

She’s avoided him successfully on campus, as well as in their shared class. The pair of them would normally sit on the right side of the room, however Sofia’s been sitting on the opposite side, purposefully sitting in a group of people not allowing Rutger to join her.

She felt bad, but everytime she thought of him her heart would begin to race, beating a bruise into her chest. 

2 weeks, she thought. 2 weeks until end of the semester and she would head back to Toronto for a reset. 

Sofia went back to typing, putting any and all of her remaining energy into this paper, allowing it to completely preoccupy her.

[nhlclover]

christian bale is great sparks fly au

✭ — summary: at a halloween party, rutger does his best to avoid sofia

✭ — warnings: couple instances of cursing, a guy being a creep, mentions of drinking, awkward behaviour from rutger, miscommunication

✭ — a/n: thank you to the anon that requested this i hope you enjoy! also she is a long one soz

✭ — word count: 1.56k

Rutger had now cancelled three of his and Sofia’s regular study dates. He was coming up with a variety of excuses; “Sorry, Sof, it’s boys’ night” to “Sorry, Sof, late night workout with the boys”. He felt bad but this felt like the only option to get rid of this crush he had on Sofia.

And now, tonight, he was cancelling his study date once again, however with a valid excuse this time. One of his buddies' fraternity was hosting a Halloween party that the entire team was going to. Rutger hoped this would be a good time to get over Sofia.

Sofia, on the other hand, was a little confused over Rutger’s behaviour. He was cancelling on her left and right, and when they saw each other in class, he was weirdly quiet. Part of her wondered if he had caught onto her small crush that had been developing or if he was now weirded out that he was becoming friends with his friend's younger sister.

“Hey girly, you’re coming to Noah’s Halloween party tonight, right?” Brynn asked, coming back from her afternoon biology lecture.

Sofia spun around in her desk chair, looking at her roommate. “Mmm, I don’t know. I’ve got an English essay I’m trying to wrap up.” Sofia sighs.

Brynn simply looks at her, an unimpressed look painting her face. “C’mon girly. You know you could finish that even if you get back and you’re piss drunk.”

Sofia chuckles, spinning back to look at her laptop screen. Her nearly completed essay on their newest book, Fahrenheit 451, sat open on her screen. Brynn was right, she could finish this essay in her sleep or if she was piss drunk. Plus she had already gotten her Halloween costume and it’d be a waste to not wear it.

“Okay, fine I’ll go.” Sofia agrees.

Brynn squeals, coming over to press a kiss to the top of her roommate's head.

Later that evening, Sofia and Brynn got ready together, a melody of their musical tastes playing from Brynn’s speaker. They arrived late, as Brynn said it would be embarrassing to arrive even slightly on time. The house was packed when they got there, making it hard to navigate the house. However, since it was Brynn’s boyfriend's frat, she already knew the layout.

Rutger’s eyes were immediately drawn to the girl who walked into the room. It was hard not to stare at her. She walked in, hand in hand with a brunette girl. She was smiling brightly, dodging drunk bodies that threatened to hit her.

Sofia and her friend approached one of the frat brothers, her friend laying a sloppy kiss on his lips. He scanned her, putting together her costume in his head. She was dressed as Patrick Bateman from American Psycho, albeit a feminized version. She had on a black vest and a black mini skirt, the red tie hanging loosely from her neck. She adorned the see-through raincoat, as well as an axe.

God, she looked good. The combination of her mini skirt and knee-high boots was driving Rutger wild, her legs seemingly sculpted like a goddess's own.

Rutger caught himself, forcing his eyes to avert. He knew he couldn’t think like that about Sofia.

“Sof, there is a super cute guy staring at you. Straight ahead.” Brynn said.

Sofia furrowed her brows, looking straight, but seeing no one staring at her. “Wait no, straight for me.” Brynn said.

Sofia turned around, now seeing a familiar pair of eyes staring back at her. “That’s Rutger.” Sofia tells Brynn.

“You did not tell me Rutger was this cute.” Brynn comments.

“Babe.” Noah says, disappointment lacing his tone.

“I mean in like a metaphorical sense. Like he’s cute but-”

“I’m going to go say hi.” Sofia says, excusing herself from the argument brewing.

She walked to Rutger, eyeing his costume. “Hi.” She says, stopping in front of him.

“Hey.” He says. “I like your costume.”

Sofia does a twirl, showing off the full extent. “Thank you very much. I like your wolf onesie.”

Sofia motions to his grey wolf onesie, Rutger’s cheeks flashing pink as he pulls the hood off. “It’s a group costume with Seamus, Gavin, and Luca. They’re the three little pigs and I’m the wolf.”

Sofia bites back a smile. “Very creative.”

“Hey, at least I’m not wearing a pig onesie.” Rutger said.

“Oh cause the wolf onesie is better somehow?” Sofia asked, letting out a suppressed laugh.

Her bright smile and her hearty laugh cause a sudden wave of butterflies to take flight in Rutger’s stomach. He was in deep and didn’t know how to dig himself out. He was so far failing at his plan of simply ignoring Sofia. She was too nice to ignore. Realizing this, Rutger feigns an excuse.

“Hey, I gotta go, I see one of my buddies from stats, I’m gonna go say hi.” Rutger says quickly, leaving before Sofia can even reply.

He feels his heart squeeze as he turns the corner, getting out of sight of Sofia. It physically hurt him to act this way towards Sofia. But he knew if he truly developed feelings, it would hurt him even more to not have her in his life.

The rest of the night, Rutger did his best to avoid Sofia. Whenever she entered the same room, he would slip out. He would talk to other girls, despite none of them being able to make him laugh as Sofia could.

Rutger entered the dining room, spotting Sofia. He nearly walked straight past her, a sight that he was sure to use to dispel his crush. She stood, back against the wall, a guy opposite her with a hand placed on the wall above Sofia’s head. But when he saw the look on Sofia’s face he halted. Her face showed a look of discomfort, her eyes glancing around for a familiar face or rather anyone to come and save her from this scenario.

Rutger watched as the guy's free hand went down to Sofia’s face, tucking a stray lock behind her ear. Before Rutger could even register it, his feet had brought him over to them, stopping right next to Sofia.

“Hey Sof, what’s up?” He asks, looking into her blue eyes that switched from panicked to relieved. “God, great costume! American Psycho is a great movie, I mean Christian Bale is great. Probably the best BatMan in my opinion.”

Rutger doesn’t even know the words coming out of his mouth, as they just flow, hoping to rid Sofia of the guy.

“Hey man, what the fuck?” He asks.

Rutger turns and looks at the guy dressed in a lackluster cowboy costume. “Wassup, dude?” Rutger asks.

“What the fuck is this? I was talking to her.” He says.

“Yeah? Now I’m talking to her.” Rutger says, stepping between Sofia and the guy.

“Hey, what’s you’re problem?” The guy practically sneers, placing a hand on Rutger's shoulder, pulling him to face him.

“You’re my fucking problem, creep. You’re making her uncomfortable and she doesn’t want to talk to you so back off.” Rutger tells him.

There are now eyes on them, eyes on Sofia. “You think you know everything, huh?” The guy says, stepping into Rutger, their chests bumping one another.

“Back the fuck up.” Rutger says. Rutger could feel his anger spiking, ready to swing if this guy so much as touched him one more time.

Suddenly Brendan and Mark are there, pulling the two boys back from each other. Brendan is pushing Rutger back, trying to get him to calm down, while Mark is in the other guy's face, telling him to just walk away. Mark spots Sofia, her back still pressed to the wall as she looks at Rutger.

“You okay?” Mark asks.

Sofia nods slowly, eyes still glued to Rutger who is being chastised by Brendan for nearly getting in a fight, something that surely would’ve gotten him suspended.

Luca is suddenly there, eyes going between Sofia and Rutger. “What happened?” He asks.

Mark fills him in, Sofia going to her brother, her arms finding his torso. Luca pulls her close, attempting to soothe her ragged breaths. “I’m gonna take you home.” Luca says.

He bids a quick goodbye to his friends, walking Sofia out of the living room. “Wait.” Sofia squeaks out.

The pair of them stop, Sofia turning back to Rutger. She walks up to him, still being cooled down by Brendan. He stops talking when he notices the blonde presence beside him. Sofia, not finding adequate words, wraps her arms around his torso, squeezing him tightly. She didn’t know another way to thank him for having intervened and rescued her from the guy who wasn’t taking her hints.

Sofia unlatched, looking up at Rutger's face. His eyes shone with despondency, his chest still slightly heaving with anger. She couldn’t exactly read his expression but it almost seemed like he didn’t like her. The pieces began to add up for Sofia; the canceling of their study sessions, his being quiet in class. He might have grown to dislike Sofia.

But then she remembered what Paisley had pointed out to her. All the times Rutger had gone out of his way to do something for Sofia, the little details he would remember about her, the insanely thoughtful birthday gift.

Sofia just couldn’t figure out Rutger.

[nhlclover]

blushing sparks fly au

✭ — summary: sofia's friend points out her and rutgers behaviour, hinting towards mutual feelings

✭ — warnings: literally one curse word, realizing of feelings!!

✭ — a/n: paisley coming in clutch

✭ — word count: 0.48k

Walking down the sidewalk to the coffee shop, Sofia admires the trees that lined the street. The leaves had started to turn bright shades of red and orange, while the air now had a bit of a bite. She was on her way to a coffee shop to meet her friend, Paisley before they went to their children’s literature class.

Stepping into the cafe, Sofia is met with the strong smell of espresso beans. She spots Paisley at a table scrolling on her phone, two coffees in front of her.

“Hey Pais.” Sofia says, setting her bag down on the ground and sitting.

“Hey girl, I got you a coffee.” Paisley replies, sliding the paper cup to Sofia.

Sofia thanks her, taking a sip. “So, how was your birthday?” Paisley asked.

“It was good! Luca had me over at his place and his roommates surprised me with a cake, and then we watched Adams’ game.” Sofia explains.

“Cute!” Paisley grins. “Any fun presents?”

“Luca got me a pair of Birkenstock clogs, Adam sent me a Lululemon gift card, and my parents are sending me something,” Sofia tells her. “And, oh my gosh, Rutger gave me this antique copy of Little Women from 1902, it was so friggin thoughtful.”

“I’m sorry, Rutger gave you an antique copy of your favourite book?” Paisley asks, Sofia nodding in response. A small smile spreads on her lips. “Oh my god, Sofia.”

Sofia furrows her brows. “What?”

“This dude is straight up in love with you.” She says.

“What? No, he isn’t. We’re just friends, trust me.”

“Well, I think he likes you as more than a friend.”

“Paisley, please.” Sofia chuckles. “He’s also Luca’s teammate, he knows Luca would kill him if he even checked me out.”

“Okay, whatever you say Sof.” Paisley shrugs, sipping from her cup.

Sofia furrows her brows, scanning her friend's doubtful face. “Why do you think he likes me?”

Paisley chuckles. “Okay, he started reading your favourite book just so he could talk to you about it, he remembers your complicated coffee order, and now he just bought you a probably expensive ass book for your birthday when he’s only known you a month!”

Sofia runs through all those memories in her head. Every one of them made her heart swell.

“And babe, it’s obvious you like him too.” Paisley adds.

“It is?” Sofia asks.

“Girl you immediately blushed when you brought up Rutger, then blushed even harder when I explained why he’s in love with you.”

Sofia slightly cringes. “Do you think he notices?”

“I hope he does!” Paisley says. “Then he would make a move.”

Sofia shakes her head, still in denial that Rutger likes her. Paisley lets the conversation change, knowing her friend won’t immediately admit she sees Rutger as more than a friend.

For the rest of the day, Sofia is stuck in her thoughts, dwelling on Rutger’s behaviour and Paisleys' insight.

[nhlclover]

8 million goals sparks fly au

✭ — summary: rutger makes sense of his feelings about sofia

✭ — warnings: one instance of cursing

✭ — a/n: he is in loooovvveee

✭ — word count: 0.68k

“Hey, are we still on for studying tomorrow night?” Sofia asked Rutger as they packed up their things.

“Can’t. We have our first game of the season tomorrow night.” Rutger smiles.

The pair of them exit the lecture hall and head outside.

“Ooh fun. Who’re you playing?” Sofia asked.

“Simon Fraser,” Rutger replies. “Hey, you should come to the game!”

“Yeah, Luca invited me.” Sofia says.

“Well great! Then there’s two people that want you there.” Rutger grins.

That smile was enough to make Sofia cave. But she shouldn’t. She really shouldn’t.

“But I don’t know, I really should finish my assignments.” She sighs.

“No way, you’ve got to come,” Rutger says. “If you come I promise I’ll score like 8 million goals for you.”

Sofia laughs. “Okay, I’ll come. But only if you score 8 million goals.”

The next night, Sofia finds herself walking into Yost with her new friends, consisting of some of the guys' girlfriends. Once she took her seat in the stands, she looked down to the ice where the guys had just started their warmups.

Sofia’s eye is drawn to the number two jersey skating around taking shots on the net.

At the start of the second period, Rutger took a skate around to loosen up his legs. He glanced at the section he knew the girlfriends usually sat in. There Sofia was, sitting next to Mark's girlfriend, a grin on her face.

His heart swelled seeing her, her smile seemingly lighting up the room.

It was hard not to look at her once he had spotted her. Seeing Sofia dressed in Michigan blue and yellow, on her feet with every goal.

When Rutger went to the room for the second intermission, all he could think about was Sofia. Not about the game, what he could do differently or where he noticed scoring opportunities, but rather the girl in the stands. The girl who was here for him. And her brother.

Fuck. Her brother.

Rutger’s brought back down by the reminder that she’s his teammate, and roommate’s, younger sister. She is the one person that Rutger should not feel this way about. Yet he does.

Every time he hears her voice, her laugh, it’s like music to his ears. When he listens to her talk about books and she goes on rants about them, and Rutger finds himself just listening to her, enamoured.

Coach Naurato comes back into the room to give a speech, which pulls Rutger from his thoughts about Sofia. Rutger manages to shove images of her out of his mind for the rest of the game. He forced himself to not look up into the stands the whole game, despite knowing that she was right there.

Not thinking of Sofia the whole night seemed to do Rutger good as he ended the night with 2 goals. Rutger keeps his head down as he showers and changes. He nearly escapes without having to talk to anyone, but Luca grabs him as he’s out the door.

“Hey, I’m just about to go see my sister, you wanna come?” Luca asks.

“Uh…sure man.” Rutger says. The two of them head out front where Rutger spots Sofia.

“Hey there!” Luca says, hugging his sister.

“Congrats on your assist.” Sofia says.

Rutger swears his heart skips a beat when she turns to him. All he wants to do is hug her too but recognizes that might not be smart to do in front of her brother.

“Nice goals.” She smiles.

“Thank you.” He smiles back. He wants to joke about the 8 million goals comment he made yesterday but refrains.

“Wanna go for ice cream?” Luca asked his sister.

“Sure, I’d love to.” She smiles.

Luca turns to Rutger. “Hey, man, nice game. I’ll see you back at home.”

“Yeah, sounds good.” Rutger nods. “I’ll see you in class, Sof.”

Sofia says goodbye softly, walking off with Luca.

Rutger walks back to the house, mentally kicking himself the whole way home. Rutger doesn’t know how he got himself into this situation, but he desperately needs to dig himself out.

[nhlclover]

you're nineteen! sparks fly au

✭ — summary: sofia celebrates her nineteenth birthday

✭ — warnings: just mutual pining

✭ — a/n: sweetheart behaviour

✭ — word count: 0.86k

“Happy Birthday!”

“Surprise!”

“You’re nineteen!”

When Sofia stepped into the kitchen, she was greeted with a myriad of cheers and birthday wishes. In the middle of an island was a chocolate cake adorned with several candles. “You guys!” Sofia gushed.

She stepped over, blowing out the candles. The boys cheered, each coming over to individually wish Sofia a happy birthday.

“Did you plan this?” Sofia asked Luca as he came over.

“Maybe…” Luca said. He wrapped an arm around his baby sister's shoulder, bringing her in for a hug.

“Hey Sof, want a slice?” Tyler asked, cutting into the cake.

“Did you guys make it?” Sofia asked. The boys shook their heads, with Mark telling her it was store-bought. “Then sure!”

Tyler handed her a plate and fork, sending her into the living room where they had ESPN on the TV, the preshow for the Columbus game showing. Adam, her twin brother, was currently warming up for his game against the New York Rangers.

Sofia had called Adam earlier in the afternoon, wishing her twin a happy birthday. This was the first birthday that the Fantilli twins had spent apart. It was a little hard for Sofia to be away from Adam this time of year, but Luca and the rest of the team were doing a great job making it a little easier.

Once all the others got a slice, they joined Sofia in the living room.

Once the game started, the room filled with shouting every time Adam touched the puck, with discourse about both teams arising.

The entire time, Rutger couldn’t help but sneak glances at Sofia. Every time the puck was on Adam’s stick, she was sat up, heavily focused on the screen. Whenever one of the boys made a joke, her smile would light up the room.

Sitting in Rutgers’ bag by the front door was Sofias’ birthday present. His gift to her was an antique copy of Little Women he had picked up from a used bookstore. He had been thinking of a good gift to get her for a while and when he passed by the shop and ventured in, finding the book, he knew it was the perfect gift.

The only thing to do now was to find the right moment to give her the gift. It felt weird to give her the book in front of all the boys, especially in front of Luca. Suddenly the night was coming to an end and Rutger still hadn’t given her the gift.

“Alright Sof, get back safely.” Luca said, pulling his sister in for a goodbye hug.

“Thanks, Luc. I had a lot of fun tonight.” She replied. Sofia shouted out to the rest of the boys. “Goodbye, everyone!”

“Bye Sofia!” They all shouted.

Once Sofia had left, Luca rejoined the boys in the kitchen as they cleaned and talked about Adams’ game. Rutger knew this was the last chance he would get to gift the book to her on her birthday. Rutger slipped out of the kitchen, pulling on a pair of trainers he isn’t sure are his but still running out the front door. Sofia had just reached the end of the walkway when Rutger called out to her.

“Sof!” He called.

She spun around, her hands shoved into the pockets of her oversized leather jacket. Rutger halted when he was a couple of feet from her. “Hey, wassup Rut?” Sofia asked.

“I uh… I just…” Rutger stammered, trying to catch his breath. “Happy birthday.”

Sofia chuckled. “Thanks, Rut.”

Rutger laughed at his own words. “I know I told you that already but I wanted to tell you again. But, uh… I got you something.”

Rutger handed Sofia the wrapped gift, scanning her confused face. “You got me a gift?” She asked.

“Well… yeah.” He said.

“Aw, you didn’t have to.” She said.

He simply shook his head. “Of course I did, friends get each other gifts on their birthdays, that’s how it works.”

Sofia ripped open the wrapping paper, pulling out the book inside. She scanned the cover, her eyes softening and jaw-dropping as she realized what the book was exactly.

“Rutger…” She gasped quietly. “You didn’t.”

Rutger just shrugged, watching as she opened the book, flipping through the pages. “Where did you even get this?” Sofia asked.

“I was out driving the other day and drove past this bookstore. I just decided to pop in and saw this on one of the shelves.” He explained.

“I can’t… I don’t have enough words. Thank you, Rutger.” Sofia said.

Sofia reached up, wrapping her arms around his neck. His arms found her waist, pulling her close. They stayed there for a few seconds, holding the hug for a few more seconds — a bit longer than the normal three-second hugging rule. The scent of her perfume, one Rutger had gotten familiar with as they spent more and more time together, washed over him.

Finally, Sofia unwrapped her arms from around him, Rutger clearing his throat. “Uhm, I hope you like the book. And I hope you had a good birthday.”

“Thank you, again.” Sofia said. “I’ll uh… I’ll see you in class.”

Sofia turned, walking down the sidewalk and off towards her dorm. Rutger sighed, letting out a loud groan.

[nhlclover]

sofia ‘sof’ fantilli

born: october 12th, 2004 — she's a libra!

sof, fia, and baby fants are some of her nicknames

twins with adam although she’s 16 minutes younger than him so she's technically the youngest

sophomore at the university of michigan (following in her brothers footsteps)

she did her first year at the university of toronto but transferred in the summer

she is now majoring in elementary teacher education at the university of michigan — she wants to teach elementary english

although her brothers were heavy into hockey, she preferred the arts

she stress bakes, which includes muffins, breads, cookies, etc.

she holds grudges like no other and once held a grudge against adam for 2 weeks before luca finally intervened

her favourite colour is baby blue

she is extremely close with luca and often buts heads with adam, but the two of them have a really tight bond that remains even when they fight

lives in her ugg tasmans

she is slightly nearsighted so she needs glasses in certain situations. she is kind of embarrassed of them but rutger finds them cute so she wears them in front of him.

1989 (tv) coded

lives in the dorms — her roommates name is brynn

convinced that zach bryan is an actual god. he's her favourite artist — smaller acts was written about her (jk)

her comfort water bottle is a white 1L yeti, she never goes anywhere without it

more to come!!

[nhlclover]

earth to sofia? sparks fly au

✭ — summary: sofia realizes how she feels about rutger

✭ — warnings: none

✭ — a/n: he is so boyfriend

✭ — word count: 0.73k

A few weeks go by, and Sofia and Rutger continue their "tutor" sessions. They begin to switch up locations, frequenting coffee shops, the library and Sofia's dorm when she knows Brynn won’t be there.

This time they were meeting at a Starbucks. Sofia spotted Rutger at a table, reading their newest required book, The Catcher in the Rye. However, when Sofia looked back at the book, checking on Rutger's progress, she realized it wasn’t actually The Catcher in the Rye.

“What’re you reading?” Sofia asks him. He flips the book cover over, showing it to Sofia.

“Are you reading Little Women?” Sofia asks, a grin tugging on her lips.

“Yeah.” He says. “Listen, can you tell me if Laurie and Jo end up together? Because they get along really well.”

Sofia — albeit still confused as to why Rutger is reading a book that’s not for their course — is grinning ear to ear now, glad to tell Rutger about the book.

“I’m not telling, you’ll have to read Good Wives to see if they get together.” Sofia says.

“There’s a second book?” Rutger asks.

“Yeah, it’s the sequel. It’s set when they’re older.” Sofia explains.

Rutger nods, opening up his book and continuing to read.

“Sorry, wait.” Sofia interrupts. “Why are you reading Little Women?”

“Well you talk about it all the time so I wanted to actually be able to talk to you when you talk about Laurie and Jo's complicated relationship.” Rutger explains.

Sofia feels as though her heart literally swells at his explanation.

He is reading my favourite book just so he can talk to me about it.

“Okay,” Sofia says. “You’ll have to tell me what you think about it when you finish.”

Sofia pulls out her book and notebook, fighting back the urge to squeal.

“I’m going to go get a coffee, want anything?” Sofia asks.

“No need. I got you one already.” Rutger says, sliding her the cup next to him.

Sofia takes it, reluctantly, reading the order on the sticker. He ordered her normal order of a blonde hazelnut latte. “How’d you know what to order?” Sofia asked.

“I just remembered what you’ve ordered in the past.” Rutger shrugged.

The combination of Rutger reading her favourite book, as well as him remembering her coffee order, made Sofia’s palms sweat.

Sofia couldn’t figure out why he and his actions were making her so nervous.

And this wasn’t the first time he’s made her feel this way since they met.

Last week, when they were studying at Rutgers, they had ordered dinner while Sofia proofread his paper. Sofia had the sleeves of her shirt pulled over her fingers and had her arms wrapped around her torso, trying to keep herself warm. The boys liked to keep the house frigid for some reason, even as the weather was starting to turn.

“You cold?” Rutger asked.

“Just a little,” Sofia said. “What temperature do you guys keep this house at anyway, like 40 degrees?”

Rutger laughs, getting up and going into his closet, pulling out a dark green hoodie. “Catch.” He says, launching the hoodie at you.

“Rutger, I’m fine.” Sofia says, throwing it back to him.

“You’re not fine, you’re practically shivering.” He says, this time standing in front of her and handing her the hoodie. “Take it.”

Sofia takes the hoodie from Rutger, slipping it over her head. Rutger looks at her, a small smile on his lips.

“What?” Sofia asks.

“Nothing you just…you’re…greens your colour.” Rutger shrugs. Sofia’s heart fluttered at the light blush that came upon his cheeks. Sofia lets out a soft chuckle.

“Thank you, Rut.” Sofia says.

“How about we order dinner?” Rutger offers, changing the subject.

Sofia couldn’t help but think about the last time she’d felt this way around a boy. Colby.

It suddenly clicks in Sofia’s head and she starts to panic internally.

She was falling for another one of her brother's teammates.

“Hello? Earth to Sofia?”

Sofia is snapped from her internal thoughts looking at Rutger who is waving a hand in the air. “You alright? You’ve been staring at your computer screen for like a minute now.” He says

“Sorry.” Sofia chuckles. “Just kind of got lost there for a second.”

“You’re good.” Rutger smiles. “So I’m debating which essay prompt I should do for Catcher in the Rye.”

Sofia nods, tucking her thoughts away and helping Rutger with his essay prompt.

[nhlclover]

How would rather react is sofia was really sick and didn’t come to class? Would he be worried and go over there despite trying to not have feelings for her or just leave it and then Sof is upset because she thinks he did not notice she was gone?

this takes place right after halloween (chapter seven)

sofia felt like death.

whether this was something psychosomatic brought on after the events of the weekend or something she had truly contracted, sofia was sick.

the morning after the halloween party, sofia awoke with a seasick feeling. she would normally attribute that to a night of drinking, but she had had only one drink.

she could barely eat and had spent most of the week sleeping. she hadn't been able to go to any classes and it was now thursday, the day of her english class, and she was still bedridden. yet another episode of drag race playing, a sleeve of half-eaten saltines next to her.

across campus, rutger sat in the lecture hall, his mind on anything but the themes of fahrenheit 451. the usual seat sofia sat in, right to the left of rutger, was empty.

it was unusual of sofia to be late, let alone skip a class that she was so passionate. rutger wondered of the reason for her absence. panic ran down his spine as he wondered if she was now avoiding rutger.

then again, there was now a sort of flu going around campus and rutger wondered if sofia had caught the bug. but wouldn't she have texted rutger if she had?

rutger retained none of the lecture information as sofia and her absence completely preoccupied his mind. as the lecture ended, rutger contemplated stopping by her dorm to check on her. his feet began to inadvertently carry himself in her direction.

rutger only stopped when he reached the front doors of her building. this was the opposite of what he needed to do if he was going to somehow get rid of his crush.

rutger turns on the spot and walks back to his place, attempting to leave his thoughts behind.

by the next week, sofia felt as though her health was back to about 80% and went to her American lit class. when she walked in, rutger was already sitting in their normal spot.

when she sat down, he flashed her a small smile, then turned back to his computer.

that's it?

sofia couldn't help but feel a little hurt that rutger didn't say anything. sofia had been completely MIA since halloween and he hadn't even texted.

it was possible that luca had told rutger what was going on, but then again to not even ask hurt her.

[nhlclover]

When do Sophie and Rutger finally get together?

kind of soon... i have it mapped out trust!!