☘︎

collin.graf totally chill if not

To say you were surprised would've been an understatement, but you rolled the offer around in your head. He was sweet, not useless in class, and kind of (really) cute, so you said yes. You waited until you were out of class to respond.

y/n_l/n yeah sure i j got out out of class

y/n_l/n meet up at the union??

So you guys met up, talked about everything and anything, and before you knew it, 4 hours had passed by. You hadn't honestly thought that you would have this much fun, but it was a welcome surprise.

—

You guys saw a lot more of each other after that, and by the time the second semester had rolled around, he had started inviting you to his hockey games. You had been a casual fan of the sport, but the more you got to know him, the more diehard you got. It was fun rooting for a team when you actually knew one of the players well.

Some of the hockey players were also in frats, and he would always invite you to their parties afterward. Usually, you would say no, it wasn't that you didn't like parties, but frats were definitely not your scene. But after tonight's win, you couldn't help but say yes; his eyes lit up as you nodded.

You had drunk enough to get that warm blanket feeling, and you let the music flow over you. You had found some of your other friends and hung out with them before talking to another group of girls you knew. You were acutely aware of where Collin was. You guys had come here together, but he had gone off to see his teammates, and you had spotted your group from earlier. While you had been drinking and dancing with the others, he had stayed mainly in the same spot, moving from the counter to the couch.

A few girls had come up to his group and chatted. They had ended up leaving, though, and his eyes had stayed on you. Weird. Someone calls your name then, and you're roped into doing a few rounds of shots with some other friends.

Not a good idea.

You aren't really a lightweight, but you normally don't go past being tipsy, so the feeling you're getting is kind of foreign to you. Your eyes drift back to Collin, and seeing him with those girls make you nauseous.

You step outside looking for some fresh air, the back porch is empty, and the chill is doing wonders for whatever marble is rolling around in your head. You hear the door open behind you and stiffen, turning around before your shoulders drop.

It's just Collin. He smiles before standing next to you; he tries to match your position, but since he's kinda taller he almost falls over. You can't help the laugh that leaves your mouth.

Unfortunatley, it's cut short when another wave of nausea hits you. Waving your hands, you say something about 'needing to go home' and start to go down the stairs. He follows you down the steps, palm on the small of your back, guiding you. It's only after that that you realize you hadn't really been walking straight.

He's been over to yours before, and you only live a 20ish-minute walk from campus, so you guys make your way back to your apartment. Sometime along the way, you had given him your purse. He lets you both into your apartment, and that wave of nausea is hitting you like a truck again.

You beeline to the bathroom, thanking god that you live alone, before the vomit starts to leave your mouth. You feel hands around your neck as your hair is lifted away from your face, and warm circles are being drawn into your back. You let your cheek rest on the cool ceramic of the toilet; it's weirdly comforting.

After this, it all starts to get a little hazy. You remember getting stood up, washing your mouth out with water, having a towel by your face, and eating something. You don't remember anything else.

-

The next day, you wake up in what can only be described as hell. Your head is aching, your mouth is overly dry, and your whole body is sore. You're still in the same clothes from last night, and when you go to your bathroom mirror, you gape at your reflection.

Your face is fine at least, all remnants of whatever makeup you had are gone, but your dark circles have flared up, and your hair looks genuinely insane.

Great, just great.

The dryness in your throat worsens, so you leave your room and head into the kitchen to grab some water. You face towards the stove, taking small sips before you notice a lump out of the corner of your eye. It's on your couch and fully cocooned. You close your eyes, pinching at your nose, hoping to find whatever memories you have from last night and to paint a picture. Collin had to have taken care of you last night.

God, how mortifying.

It was bad enough having a crush on a guy that definitely didn't want you back, and now he's taken care of you when you've blacked out. What if you had done something embarrassing? What had you said to him?

Welp, nothing you could do about it now. You popped a Tylenol and started making breakfast. You checked the time, and it was 7:15AM. Why did you have to wake up so early every time you drank?

It was perfect timing when Collin woke up. You had just finished making pancakes and had been trying to figure out if maple syrup or whipped cream was a better topping. You could hear the ruffling of the blankets and the light pad of his feet. Turning slightly, you watched as he brought his arms up and stretched. As he rolled his shoulders, his shirt lifted up a little. You made it a point not to look.

You spent the rest of that day nursing a hangover and hanging out with Collin; it hadn't been awkward like you thought; honestly, it was probably the most fun you'd had in weeks.

—

The day he asks you out is really normal.

You skipped your 9am like always, put away the dishes from the load you ran last night, and checked your inbox. Everything was as usual until a notification popped up on your phone. Collin had texted you, asking if you were down to hang out later. You had agreed, he'd be meeting you at yours so that y'all could study and maybe watch a movie together.

A few hours later, he was knocking at your door, and he was looking at you sheepishly when you let him in. Before you could ask what was wrong with him, he started to speak.

"I um— I got you something," he said, opening up his backpack to grab a gift bag. He gave it to you tentatively, staring at you as you looked down at it.

The bag was cute, but you couldn't see what was behind the tissue paper, though. After giving him a quick thanks, you opened it up to see the jellycat you've been wanting for ages. It had a little ribbon around it. You smiled really wide, looking back up to him.

"There's one more thing," he said, nodding down to the bag.

You felt around for what he was talking about and found a little envelope. You opened up the card, to the left there was a kinda messy but cute drawing of two hockey sticks in the shape f a heart, and some sort of flowers. Looking closer, they kinda looked like roses. On the right, the paper was blank except for a little note in the center written in black ink.

You let your eyes graze over the text, y/n, will you let me be your boyfriend?

Your eyes widened, and you looked back up to him. He looked nervous for a second. You couldn't help the smile that broke out on your face, and you nodded. He stepped closer, smiling now too, and gave you a bone-crushing hug. When you moved back, you guys locked eyes again, and before you knew it, you were both leaning in.

—

To say you've been happy in this relationship so far would be the understatement of the century. He was so attentive, didn't try to mold you into something you weren't, and was there for any events you had. You had become his "lucky charm" for games, had a whole pregame ritual together, and everything. Life was really, really good.

—

When he got the call from his agent that San Jose wanted him, he showed up at your apartment absolutely geeked.

You were happy for him; he had gone undrafted, so for him to get picked to play for the literal NHL was huge.

He had cried when he hugged you that night, told you about how he never thought he'd actually make it. The first hockey team he ever tried out for, he didn't make, and in juniors, he would get overlooked because he was smaller than the other players. He had always told himself to just push through, push and push. Now it had paid off.

—

The long distance was annoying, but luckily it was your senior year, so you didn't have to do it for too long. During breaks, you guys would see each other and go to every game you could. Every minute counted, but time seemed to come to a full stop whenever you were back in orbit. Being with him was more than familiar; it felt like remembering how to breathe.

—

When you found out the company you had interned with had an office based in San Jose, you applied for a full-time position there. It was one of the most competitive locations , so while you were hopeful, you didn't wanna get your hopes up too high. That sort of suppression of expectation made opening the acceptance email that much better. You had actually almost gotten a noise complaint for screaming too loudly when you had seen it, but it didn't matter. It had all been worth it.