a/n: this is sort of like a prequel to my Mr & Mrs. Gigglesworth series, this takes place before all the other parts that I have posted and it’ll give some backstory to the future ones that I will post!
Pairing: Will Smith x fem!reader
Summary: follow y/n and will through their years of friendship to transitioning into more than just two best friends.
The first time you met Will was the first day of 2nd grade, the teacher had assigned you to sit next to him along with 2 other students, making it a group of 4. Your feelings for Will grew gradually, the small acts he did that made you want to run and hide, because at eight or nine years old, you don’t realize what those feelings really mean.
He was sweet from the very beginning. It was easy talking to him because he seemed to really care about the words that you were saying. It was hard not to think of the blonde-haired, blue-eyed, hockey-obsessed boy who made you blush at the slightest glance at you.
The first time you really noticed it was when he let you share his 64-pack of crayons, with the sharpener built into the back. You sat at your desk, listening to the teacher explain the details of the assignment and getting everything prepared to start. The only problem was that you took your crayons home the day before to work on a drawing as you were looking through your cubby you started to get worried about not being able to do the assignment, when Will looked over at you, “hey don’t worry, we can share mine!” he exclaimed, he wasn’t shy about it and he didn’t act like it was some chore he had to do.
He just slid the crayons in between you both and continued to work on his drawing. You look at him, a little shocked, lost for words, you just nod shyly at him and look down at your paper.
The next day, Will was surprised to see that there had been a small lilac bundle with a little note underneath them.
Thank you for sharing your crayons! that was very sweet of you!
He smiled when he looked over at you, sitting down in your chair, too shy to look over at him. He smiled and went back to his worksheet. Later on, when you got back in from recess, you found a little note folded on your
i will always share with you!
Underneath that little sentence, there was a question that made you blush and giggle a little.
do you wanna be friends with me? we can play at recess if you want!
You looked over to Will, who was walking back into the classroom with some of his friends. You hurry and grab your pencil, circling the word yes before sliding the piece of paper into his desk. When he gets back to his desk, he digs into the desk, taking the paper and reading it. His smile grows, and he looks at you.
You slowly look up at him, “so I guess you’re my new best friend,” you say lightly.
He smiles back, “Will and y/n” he says, nodding enthusiastically.
From that day on, the two of you were practically inseparable, always playing at recess and eating lunch together. You would pick him flowers when he was playing soccer or basketball, always bringing them back to him whenever recess was over. He would tell you things about hockey, and when you would play with him after school, he would always try to teach you how to play.
Your guy’s 8th-grade year was when he asked you to the winter dance at your school. It’s not like he didn’t have any other options; plenty of girls liked him and would always try to get his attention. It was obvious to everyone that Will was obsessed with you; you knew you had him wrapped around your finger, and your friends would tell you all the time. He would do anything you asked him, sometimes even choosing to hang out with you over his other friends.
He was unusually shy walking you home that day, barely looking at you, and he avoided the topic altogether until you got in front of your house. He stood in front of you, pacing a little, trying to figure out how to get his words perfect. “S-so this dance?” it came out as a question, you looked at him, “ oh yea I was going to ask if you were going to ask Emily, like you were saying?” his head shot up at you, eyes a little panicked.
He didn’t like the feeling that began to rise in his stomach, you thinking that he would really ask another girl. “Oh, um y-yea no I think I changed my mind about her” he nods slowly. You shoot him a puzzled look as you reach out to fix the strand of hair that fell in his face, thinking back to when he told you he was going to try to grow his hair out all those months ago.
“Why would you change your mind? She seemed sweet”, when he looked at you, he could tell that your smile didn’t really reach your eyes like it usually did. He reached up and grabbed your hand, holding it down by his side “i was actually wondering if, maybe you would want to go with me?” you look at Will, eyes wide and mouth slightly open. “ wait? are you being serious?” you ask slowly, he says it again more confidently this time “y/n do you want to go to the dance with me?” he’s looking directly at you this time.
You smile and cover your mouth with both your hands, nodding happily, “of course I want to go with you, Will!”. It wasn’t some fancy promposal or firework show; it was quiet and sweet, a little moment that would inevitably change the course of your guy’s relationship forever. He texted you a picture of his suit that night, and he told you he was so excited to see your dress. You wanted it to be a surprise, so you told him he had to wait until the day of the dance.
The day of the dance came around, and you couldn’t be more excited about going with Will. You guys had been talking about it for the last 2 weeks, texting every night, talking about what songs you hoped they’d play or who you think might be going. When he showed up at your house, you could see his mom, Colleen, at the end of the driveway, waiting for you to come out so she could get pictures. Your mom opened the door, and you stood behind her as she moved out of the way so that Will could see you. His eyes shot wide as he finally saw the baby blue, sparkly dress that you picked to match his navy blue suit, “wow, y/n, you look amazing” he couldn’t help the slight blush that crept onto his cheeks as he handed you the bouquet of lilies he bought for you.
You smiled at him “thank you will, i really like your suit” You laughed, knowing that you saw it 2 weeks ago because he couldn’t wait. Both your parents got tons of pictures before Will’s mom drove you both to the dance, dropping you off and promising to pick you up by 9 pm sharp.
You guys spent the better part of an hour and a half laughing with friends and giggling with each other about your classmates' dance moves or other silly things. Soon it was time for the last dance, and that made you nervous, of course you and Will had hugged and held hands once or twice on the playground, but this would be the first time that he was actually holding you. He had led you to the dance floor, lightly putting his hands on your waist, looking at you to confirm that he could put them there. You nodded at him, placing your hands on both of his shoulders as the song began to play.
You guys swayed back and forth a little awkwardly, still testing the waters. He smiles at you as he can feel your hands lightly playing with the hairs at the back of his neck, a clear sign that you were nervous.
“You look really pretty tonight, y/n”
“Thank you, Will”, blushing at his compliment, you turn your head to look anywhere but him.
Will can’t help but smile at your shyness around him, you guys had never been this close before. He took this time to admire you, really looking at your features, which made his heartbeat speed up. When you looked back at him, you could see a small tint of red on his cheeks. “what are you thinking about?” smiling at him, trying to get him to break.
“I just can’t believe that you wanted to come to the dance with me” there was a bit of uncertainty in his words, like this could all fall apart.
“Will, you’re literally my best friend, why wouldn’t i want to come with you?”
There’s a small flicker in his smile, almost as if he didn’t like your answer, which made you rethink what you had just said. The song starts to fade out, and a faster-paced song begins to play. Will drops his hands from your waist as he moves back slightly, your heart aches a little at the loss of contact.
Will still hasn’t responded to your words. You look around, noticing that all your friends are busy in their own conversations. You grab Will’s hand, leading him out of the gym and out to the hallway, trying to find a private area. Once you end up outside the school, near the track field, you drop his hand and face him.
“Okay, did I do something wrong? Was it something I said? The way I smell?” hoping to get a smile or laugh out of him with your last question.
He chuckles, looking into your eyes before he looks down at your hands, reaching out, he grabs your left hand and interlocks your fingers together. “No, you don’t smell, you didn’t do anything wrong either!” he squeezes your hand as his voice rises lightly.
“Then what did I say?” Your voice falls as you try not to sound like someone just kicked your puppy.
He looks around the area, avoiding your eyes, “y/n, I don’t want to be friends anymore.”
You can’t help but gasp as the words fall out of his mouth, you don’t know what to say, Will won’t look at you, and that makes this all so much scarier.
“W-what are you talking about?” You can’t help the tears that welled in your eyes, trying to release his grip on your hand.
Will panics at your tears, gripping your hand tighter, “n-no, that’s not what I meant, oh my god.” The confusion on your face doesn’t falter.
Only then does he let go of your hand, running his own hands through his hair, trying to recollect his thoughts. You don’t take your eyes off of him, he’s clearly nervous as he starts to pace. His eyes finally meet yours after a few minutes, and he takes a breath, coming closer to you. He grabs both of your hands.
“I definitely shouldn’t have started this conversation off by making you cry. I’m so sorry.”
You can’t help the small sniffle and chuckle that escapes you, “it’s–” before you can finish, Will cuts you off.
“W-wait, let me finish, or I don’t think I’ll ever have the courage to say this again.” his vulnerability makes you giggle as you nod.
Will looks down at his feet, his eyes slowly following all the way up your dress to your eyes. “y/n, I have had a crush on you since the day that you forgot your crayons at home and had to share mine. I wanted to tell you that day you picked flowers and tried to sneak them on my desk. I think you’re the prettiest girl I have ever seen. I told my mom about you the first week of school, and Grace thinks I’m annoying with how much I talk about you. I want to be more than friends, I want to hold your hand and kiss your cheek and hold you.”
You are so shocked by his words that all you can do is stare at him. The tears are still coming, but now they’re for a completely different reason. He still hasn’t let go of your hands, and the fear in his eyes is noticeable.
The fear in his eyes almost triples at your sentence. He can’t help but wonder if he just ruined everything, if this was going to be it for your friendship.
Before Will’s mind can spiral any further, he feels your hands land on his shoulders, “Earth to Will! Hello, is anybody home?” You wave your hand in front of his face to bring him back to reality.
His eyes find yours after a few seconds, and his hand grabs your hand that was resting on his shoulder. Will squeezes your hand, reassuring you that he’s actually listening now, “Will, I think that was the sweetest thing that anyone has ever said to me.” his smile widens at your statement.
“I have spent so much time thinking that you would never like me and that I was wasting my time in hoping that one day you would see that I always want to be by your side.” You try to hold back your sniffles.
“y/n, I want you to know that I never want to leave your side, I want you there for every part of my life, the good and the bad.” As Will finishes his sentence, he moves his hands to cup your cheeks.
You move your hands to sit on top of his, “y/n, will you please be my girlfriend?” You can feel the slight shaking of his hands.
Your tears are falling down your cheeks, all you can do is nod eagerly, and he leans in to press his lips to yours for the first time in 6 years of friendship. The kiss only lasts a couple of seconds before Will is pulling back to embrace you in the tightest hug that you’ve ever felt.
The day that Will got drafted to the San Jose Sharks was probably the best and worst day of your life. You were so happy and excited to support your boyfriend in his journey to the NHL, but you were overwhelmed by the fact that he would have to move across the country to make his dreams happen.
You had both planned on going to Boston College, and you both talked about moving in with each other. Will had already committed to playing in Boston this upcoming school year, and it had calmed you a little knowing that you’d have him for at least another year.
Navigating through your freshman year had definitely had its ups and downs, trying to keep up with your classes while working, and also trying to make it to as many of Will’s games as you could had been a struggle. You and Will had spent many days in either of your dorms, studying or hanging out with the friends that you had made over the months.
Your favorite part of the year was going to watch Will play, wearing maroon and gold in the stands. Seeing Will smile as he plays the sport that he fell in love with all those years ago.
The Beanpot was something that the entire campus was excited for, it was all anyone could talk about. The first game of the tournament would be against Boston University, Will had been talking about it nonstop, how he’d be playing against Macklin Celebrini, who was likely going to be drafted first overall. The rivalry ran deep between the schools, there was a lot riding on this game, both sides wanted bragging rights.
The day of the game was nerve wracking, Will had been stressing the entire weekend, you hadn’t seen him this stressed out since he asked you out all those years ago. When he knocked on your door, with your go to coffee order, in hand you knew he was stressed, given that usually, you would both walk to get coffee together, meaning he must’ve been up for awhile.
“Good morning, loverbug, I hope you got some sleep last night” using the nickname to try and cheer him up as he walks into your dorm.
You can tell that he had already finish most if not all of his energy drink with how jittery he was. He sits on your bed as you move to put your laptop in your backpack, not meeting your eyes.
“Will, baby, you did sleep right?” hoping he’d give you the answer you wanted to hear.
“Only got a few hours” your eyes widen at that.
You walk to stand in front of him, moving in between his legs, putting your hands on his shoulders. You squeeze them before moving your hands to his cheeks, shifting his head so that he’s looking up at you.
“You know how important this game is, baby, what happened?”
“I just couldn’t stop thinking about what would happen if we lost to BU of all places” by the tone of his voice, he was definitely annoyed.
“Well if you’re already thinking of losing, how’re you gonna win?” trying to reason with a pouty Will was never easy.
His hands grab your waste to pull you in, leaning his head on your stomach as he wraps his hands around you.
“And even if you lose, guess what? You’re still going to San Jose, you’re still gonna play in the NHL” hoping that statement landed in his head.
He only grunts back, you know he wont be satisfied until the game is over and the score they won. After you stand there for another 5 minutes, he gets up so that he can walk you to class and he can go work out.
Will continued to text you throughout the day, updating each other on how your days have gone. You won’t end up seeing him again until he’s on the ice later that night, you had dressed in maroon and black with a small handbag that had a small number 6 on it. The game had not gone their way, with BU scoring twice in the first, once in the second, and one more time in the third. You had thought BC could have come back with them scoring once in the second and then twice in the third. Leaving the score 3-4, BU.
Waiting for Will after the game in the halls near the locker rooms, looking down at your phone, closing the instagram app after seeing how all the BU students were celebrating. After about 15 minutes, you see Will walk out, staring down at his phone, no doubt seeing exactly what you had just seen.
“Hey lovebug, i’m so sorry, baby” pouting as you open your arms for him to walk into.
Will doesn’t say a word, just wraps his arms around your waist and puts his head in the crook of your neck. You stand there as a couple other guys walk past the two of you, probably heading back home or maybe to a party to forget about the loss. After standing there in the hall for another 5 minutes, you pull back to look in his eyes, moving your hands to run them through his hair.
“I am so proud of you, Will, you will always be a winner to me”
“Thank you for trying to make me feel better, you’re the only one that could make me happy right now”
His words make you want to cry, he is always so sweet to you. You drop your hands from his face to grab his hand, walking side by side out of the building, off to one of your dorms for the night.
The end of the season came faster than you realized, with the semester coming to a close and finals kicking your butt. Will had been training and working so hard with school as well. The big discussion of whether or not you would be going with him to California had still not been talked about.
Of course you wanted to go, you two had never been separated from each other like that before. He had gone to training camps and had been gone for weeks and months, but this would be him moving away for good. He’d come back in the summer but his whole life would be in San Jose starting in September.
You and Will had been out to dinner when you decided to bring it up. Wanting to test the waters to see if he’d even want you out there with him, insecurities start to run rampant in your head.
“So when do you have to leave for rookie camp?” Mentally cringing, because you know he’d told you the answer already.
“September, but I’m thinking we will leave for California in August so we can find an apartment we like.” He doesn’t even look up from his plate. Like it was the easiest answer in the world.
He stops chewing on his bite and his eyes shoot up at you. Like he realizes what he just said, like he made a mistake.
“U-unless you wanted to stay and finish school out here” his nervousness is on display.
You look down, picking at your food, trying to figure out how to put your words into a sentence. You hadn’t told him that you had been looking at schools on the west coast yet. You hadn’t realized how scary bringing this up would be, he clearly wanted you with him, right?”
“I have actually been looking at schools in California that might be good for me” looking back up at him, trying to gauge his reaction.
His smile widens and he reaches to grab your hand over the table. His thumb rubs along the back of your hand, squeezing.
“So you do want to come with me?”
“You think I’d spend my whole life with you just for you to go live your dream without me?” Laughing at your own words.
“I wouldn’t want to live my dream without you in it, baby”
His words make you swoon, throughout your relationship he’s always been so sweet and loving. Always making sure that you’re comfortable with anything or any place you might go. You think back to when he had been so willing to share his crayons with you or when he got off the swing when no one else would let you have a turn, remembering the time his hand shot up immediately when the teacher asked who wanted to be your partner for the project.
Will was the love of your life, the man you wanted to marry, to have kids with. To have him admit that he doesn’t want to go to California without you, made you all the more secure in him and your relationship.
“Aww my loverbug! Are you sure you’re ready to move in and share everything with me?” Giving him one last time to back out.
“y/n, I’m going to marry you one day, you’re going to have to get used to sharing with me”
You stopped listening after the word ‘marry’ left his mouth. He sounded so certain, like he was ready to get down on one knee right now. The rest of dinner was spent talking about looking for apartments and what places you’d visit when you got out there.
When August rolled around, you and Will had been slowly packing and getting ready to head out to California. You had found a school out there that you thought would fit you perfectly. You had booked your flight and already planned some adventures for the two of you when you got out there.
Will had been nervous about starting his first NHL season but you had assured him that he’s going to be fine and that he’s going to do great. He was also a little worried about playing with Macklin Celebrini, then having been rivals for the last season.
But you helped him remember that this was going to be a new start for both of you. It was going to be the start of your guys’ new life. You’d be living in a new place with each, starting to build each other and help each other grow together and you couldn’t wait to see what this brought for the both of you.
