Enchanted (taylor's version) - Taylor Swift 

Please don't be in love with someone else, please don't have somebody waiting on you,"

i knew it then, i yearned. i was terrified that you had a girlfriend cause, like how awkward would that be. also like, when you looked into my eyes (holy hell am i a sucker for blue eyes), i nearly screamed. there was so much uncertainty, so many feelings, so many things left unsaid, and so many thoughts running wild. so i grew a pair and took a step with this song flashing through my mind. it wasn't a lot, and you probably don't even remember this but to me it was the moment that started everything

⇄           ◁◁  I I  ▷▷         ↻

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early november 2023

y/n still wasn't sure. she wasn't sure if she felt more than she wanted to, she wasn't sure what the math homework was, she wasn't sure how the hell she got into this situation, and she certainly wasn't sure how she got the connor bedard to lay on a basketball court with her in mid october after only knowing her for a week. Still, her feelings would probably make themselves known whether she wanted them to or not. She'd text someone for the math homework; she definitely knew how she got into this situation, and she'd asked him if he wanted to look at the stars with her, and he said sure. 

the autumn air was perfect for her, even if goosebumps were forming on her arms under her hoodie. she could feel the wind through her hair and in her lungs from the passing cars. This park would always be her home base, it was familiar, safe even. so when she had stupidly asked connor if he wanted to hang out, she at least knew where she would take him. getting him to lie on the empty basketball court with her was a ploy in her mind, because if she didn't have to look at him, then she could be more normal.

"ok, wait, so you're telling me you don't do anything else besides hockey?" y/n asked.

"i mean, not really, even growing up i had a pretty one-track mind," 

"but, like, what about fun?"

"what about it? hockey's fun to me. do i need to do other things?" y/n sat up a bit when he said this

"do you ever burn out?" she asked.

"i don't know, i don't really know what burnout feels like, there are times where every time the puck doesn't go in the goal, i wanna break my stick, or a shitty penalty call makes me want to quit, but i never do."

"you're something else connor," y/n giggled, sitting fully up. "do you have a social life?"

"friends?" connor asked, sitting up as well so that they were facing each other, knees almost close enough to touch.

"yeah, friends, but also, like, do you go out?"

"i mean, most of my friends i met through hockey and, i guess, school. i had a girlfriend for a bit too, but that's over now. i liked her and had a good time with her when it was just the two of us, but she used to drag me to parties and other things, and i hated them. i do like hanging out with my teammates on our days off though, that's fun they're like my brothers, so it's different. you?"

"oh, um, well, i met a bunch of people from doing dance as a little girl. even after i quit, we stayed close. i have my school friends and the girls in my section in choir and my bandmates, of course, but i don't really keep a large group, i think a couple good friends are more valuable than a bunch of ok friends" y/n tried to avoid the relationship talk. against her better judgment, y/n did some digging to try and see if connor had a girlfriend. he was such a private guy, but of course, a name came up, she was hoping it was the ex he was talking about.

"the worst part about most of my non-hockey friends is that they don't really treat me like a person if that makes sense?" he's looking at her more intently now, "no one's really seen me as anything other than connor bedard hockey all-star,"

y/n shifted under his gaze, needing something to break the tension, "if it makes you feel any better, i've been telling myself that you're just some dude since you agreed to hang out. i feel like it eased up the stakes, not that this was a high-stakes thing. still, just like you know, any situation like this can be anxiety provoking or, well, like i guess is just making me jittery, and now i'm rambling like a dork, i'm sorry," y/n laughs at herself because it's the only thing she knows how to do.

Always Where I Need to Be - The Kooks

“But I always thought I would end up with you eventually”

i’m gonna be so honest the second i walked into 5/3rds and saw you i was scheming like a little freak. then we talked and i learned you weren’t just a pretty face, i was gone. i’m not super certain how i got from point a to point i’m in a long distance relationship when i always said i’d never do that to myself, but what i do know is that we owe vlas, and technically, by some form of logical reasoning, my brother, a big thank you

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late october 2023

y/n tugged at her camera strap in a futile attempt to untangle it from the media pass hanging off her neck. while she was grateful for the opportunity to take exclusive photos of the blackhawks practice, she knew alex was just doing her a favor. the vlasic’s and the l/n’s had known each other for years, her older brother and alex playing on the chicago mission together for three years before her brother quit hockey. she was thrilled for alex’s first full season as a hawk but walking in behind him when she felt awkward, like akward enough that it was making her palms sweaty and throat tight.

hockey wasn’t really her scene, she knew the game and liked watching the stanley cup finals, but being entangled in players’ lives didn’t excite her.

“can you at least fake a smile?” alex laughed, giving the younger girl a little shove.

“i would if it didn’t smell like hockey boy in here,” she said, raising her camera to snap a picture of alex in his blackhawks hat and teasing grin. “awe, perfect,” she chuckled, “your mom will love this one,”

alex rolled his eyes at the comment before heading to the locker room. alone, y/n finally took a moment to survey her surroundings, taking in all the blackhawks history on the walls. she brought the camera up to her face to snap a few pictures, not minding her surroundings as much as she should have, when she stumbled into someone.

“fuck, sorry,” she muttered, looking at the stranger’s shoes, black slides, which felt strange for the middle of a chicago autumn, but to each their own. the stranger mumbled something that y/n decided was “it’s fine.” but then she looked up, only to be met with a face she definitely recognized from the media. she knew his first name was connor, and her brother said he was supposed to save chicago, but other than that, he was just some guy to her. just a kid around her age whose last name was escaping her.

hockey was just the sport her brother played, the games she was dragged to growing up, she’d watch NHL game’s here and there and occasionally stalk vlas’ highlight reels late at night just to send him screenshots where he looked stupid. she watched rockford games when she had the time, especially to see alex play, and had been to a couple blackhawks game but not recently.

the only reason she even cared now was because of alex, she always supported him even if she really couldn’t care less about the team. to her alex was like another brother and hockey was just his job, other than that he was the same person she watched choke on gluten-free spaghetti noodles when he ate too quickly after practice and always gave her hugs when she got overwhelmed. in other words he was just some guy,

“sorry, that was rude,” connor said,

“it’s also my fault, i wasn’t really paying attention either.”

y/n picked up on the tension in his voice but couldn’t quite place it. he kept stealing quick glances at her face, but his eyes never stayed in the same place for too long, as if he was watching himself . she noticed his hands next: brushing at his hair, then tangling with it at the base of his neck, one going in and out of his pocket, the other picking at his shirt. it didn’t matter what it was but there was always some sort of movement. a soft smile crept up on y/n when she saw the subtle flush on his ears, a telltale sign that a person was anxious, a subtle sign that meant she made him anxious.

“i should’ve been more careful,” she admitted. “here i am in a place i really have no right to be, only a guest, really, because i’m pretty sure alex only had this idea because he felt bad for not being around over the summer. even though my brother and i both understood he had a lot going on with this whol-,” she cut herself off. “sorry, i was rambling. to be honest with you i’m nervous as hell right now and i talk a lot when i’m nervous. let me start over.” she stuck out her hand, “i’m y/n y/l/n. alex vlasic and my brother are best friends. vlas just let me tag along today to take pictures for a school project.”

she held out her hand to connor, who raised an eyebrow slightly when he realized she was waiting for him to introduce himself.

“um, i’m connor bedard,” he sounded a bit like he was questioning himself or maybe the situation, yet he shook her hand nonetheless.

“oh, you’re supposed to be a hockey prodigy, or something, i was lowkey tuning out my brother when he was telling me about the rookies, so i could be thinking of someone else.”

“no, that’s probably me,”

y/n chuckled at his sheepishness. if she weren’t incredibly intimidated by him, she would’ve found him adorable. no, instead, she found him extremely attractive and extremely unobtainable.

“well, if all the guys on the ice look like you, then i just might have to start watching all these games,” she said. the flirting was easy, but where she found the confidence, she had no clue. still, something settled deep in her chest. it was like she knew that she would have him, not that she wanted him, but that somehow, they would end up together. technically, he wasn’t her type, or whatever she thought her type was up until this moment, but something about him felt right.

his cheeks flushed little and it was infuriatingly adorable. so she lifted the camera back to her face and snapped a picture, capturing the moment forever.

“see you around, hockey prodigy connor whatever your last name was.”