silvervioletvalentine

[silvervioletvalentine]

Stay , stay , stay , cause I’ve been loving you for quite some time

Pairing: Auston Matthews x Cherrie , Charles leclerc x Cherrie

Word count: 8k

Summary: in which Auston Matthews knows what he wants and Cherrie just wanted stability . And poor Charles doesn’t know what’s coming for him .

Or- in which Auston just wants to stay , stay , stay.

Warnings: cheating! Ew I’m sorry but like , also not! Cheating is gross so don’t do it irl but also, that doesn’t count here for this story sorry!!;) smut , guilt and pregnancy towards the end but doesn’t go into detail of baby’s etc . Happy ending but not for charles:( lemme know what u think!! My two fav worlds clashing nhlxf1 !) love you guys xoxo

The thing was, Cherrie knew exactly who Auston Matthews was . How could she not? After being best friends with Lucy for the past two years , she had heard all about her boyfriends best friend , who also happened to be his teammate too.

And that have been fine, it all would have been okay if Auston had been normal and polite . If he had shook her hand hello and made polite conversation , then maybe they could have even had been distant friends whenever she came to see Lucy in Toronto.

But life was never that simple was it? Not to her it wasn't.

Because Auston didn't want to be her friend , that much was clear . From the very first time they had met and the very first time she had murmured a sweet hello to him, he had made it very clear to her of what he thought .

He didn't even try to hide the way he looked at her , the way his eyes would linger on her body , on her lips and the way he would automatically grin whenever she would speak . His eyes always searching for her when he entered the room, even when his best friend was right there, he came straight for her .

It was the way he had followed her on every social media , commented publicly on every pictures she posted . Finding new and creative ways to express just how beautiful he really thought she was , and because they were all such good friends , they were in a groupchat together , which meant he had her number.

And Auston wasn't one to waste a perfect opportunity in front of him.

Which led to late night texts after his games , smug 'did you see me score tonight gorgeous?' With a 'get fucked Auston.' Reply from her almost immediately.

Which led to him calling her , which led to her picking up just to tell him to leave her alone , which somehow led to them bickering over why her favourite cookies were better than his , which led to switching to FaceTime so they could argue properly  , in his words  .

Which led to him talking to her until she fell asleep mid murmuring to him.

And even though she spent most of her time in Monaco , there would be flowers at her door every Friday and fresh chocolates arriving every Monday morning from him. A simple 'roses are are classic beauty, just like you.' Written on the card from him personally .

And when she came back to see Lucy , he would be by here . Smiling at her like she was all he wanted to see , like she was all that mattered to him then.

And she would roll her eyes and he would skim his hand across her back gently whenever he passed her by, squeezing her hips as he murmured a smug 'excuse me' only to round back to her a moment later with a drink in his hand for her.

And she would tell him off in French , tell him to behave and that she knew what he was doing and he would simply smile and tell he didn't understand French , sorry sweetheart.

His grin only widening when she would insult him and start an argument , her blood pumping with excitement when he would roll his eyes and bicker back. His side pressed to hers as he told her she was wrong , that there was no way French cheese was better than good old American cheese.

Then she would swear that as soon as he tasted it he would take that back, and he would slyly reply 'you offering to take me back to Monaco with you?'

And she would fluster and banter back, in your dreams matthews .

And maybe their back and forths would be okay, maybe his clear intentions and his warm hands and his whispered words would be okay, In another world . But it wasn't okay and it wasn't right .

Because Cherrie had a boyfriend. A very kind and very Beautiful boyfriend who thought the world of her . Who was sweet and funny in a fumbling boyish way . A boyfriend who loved her and promised her a steady future .

Charles was the perfect partner really . The picture perfect couple they were , admired and adored by all. Cherrie couldn't risk breaking that, it was all she had. All she had come to know.

Because she had never had a promise of absolute before , a steadiness that guaranteed calmness and no drama . A future of white and little hands and chubby cheeks , of a husband and a perfect home.

The perfect life that she knew Charles could give her. One that he promised her , always .

And she loved Charles , she did. She had followed him around to as many races as she could , even though he never had time to be at her concerts or her award shows, she made sure that she was there for his. Because he was so good to her , so sweet and perfect. He didn't deserve anything less than her loyalty and devotion.

And she had never hesitated before , never doubted what they had. Not until now.

But she couldn't  do that to him, or to herself . With Charles , her life was set in stone and what woman didn't want the big house and the French wedding and all the family and friends , the babies and the calmness and stability?

No. No. Her future was in her hands and she wasn't going to let some mouthy, over confident , stubborn hockey player change that.

Auston Matthews would leave her alone eventually , he would grow bored of chasing her around. His silly little infatuation on her would fade, she told herself firmly . It had to.

And she told herself that over and over again until she maybe started to believe it. And then she got called to sing at the all star games , and Auston was there. Because of cause he was , he was captain and he was waiting for her as soon as she stepped through the doors of the building.

Sometimes she wondered if he had a tracker on her because whenever she arrived , he was always there. At this point , she was surprised he hadn't shown up at her door in Monaco yet . It seemed like something he would do.

"Auston." She sighed out tiredly when she saw him, looking him up and down. Dressed in a knitted jumper and ripped jeans, a beanie on his head . He was the picture  of cosy.

And her clothes suddenly felt to tight and uncomfortable, hating that her stylist had put her in the tightest jeans possible and the tightest shirt she owned tugging at her chest, her long hair reaching her hips . She wished that she could put on a cosy jumper and just go to sleep, Jetlag was a bitch.

He smiled down at her , towering over her always . He felt his heart skip a beat as he looked into her honey eyes , swearing that there wasn't a woman more beautiful in the world than Cherrie .

"Hey baby. You tired?" He guessed easily as he looked at her slouched shoulders and yawning mouth , a fond smile tugging at his lips .

He reached over and took her sparkly bag from her , hooking it over his arm instead.

She couldn't help but giggle a little at the sight of him with her glittery bag tucked under his arm , and she would blame the tiredness for the way she let him put his arm over  her shoulder and lead her along . For the way she leaned into his side and quietly inhaled his cologne , the same one that she had bought him for Christmas last year .

"Yes. Sometimes I think it would be easier to just get a place here." She mumbled without thinking of how Auston would take that comment . "Plus I miss Lucy when I'm back in Monaco . Maybe.." she trailed off yawning again.

Auston smiled to himself , squeezing her shoulder gently as he led her to the locker room that was empty . None of the other players arriving yet.

"I could always use a roommate baby." He slyly said , smirking down at her when she glared lazily up at him for his comment .

She just rolled her eyes at him , mostly amused at how he just couldn't help himself around her . "In your dreams matthews. You'd be a terrible roommate anyways." She replied , slapping his hand away when she felt it dip a little too low in her back.

He chuckled and let her step away , crossing the locker room door behind them. Placing her sparkly bag on the hook near his jersey and name , he gently pushed her down onto the bench so she could rest her feet .

Looking down at the matching sparkly heels on her feet , he rose a brow judgmentally . "Why are you wearing these killers?" He knelt down in front of her and begin to unhook the little straps .

Cherrie could only watch in surprise , feet aching too much to keep them on anyways , as he tugged her heels off.

"Cause they're pretty." She simply told him "and they match my bag." She added as though he hasn't already noticed . He noticed everything she did , said and wore .

Auston nodded his head in agreement as he pulled the other one off before standing up to reach into his training bag. Pulling out a pair of familiar trainers  , Cherrie could only watch in disbelief as he started putting her sketchers on her feet instead.

"What the fuck?" She voiced her shock making him glance up at her in question "why do you have my trainers? Why are they in your bag right now?" She wondered , perplexed .

Auston just shrugged like it was no big deal "you left them here last time you came,  so I put them in my bag cause I knew you would turn up in pretty heels and that your feet would be hurting you. Good job I did huh?" He grinned up at her smugly as he tied the laces for her into bunny bows .

Cherrie was Speechless at his thoughtful thinking . Remembering the way Charles had told her it was her fault for wearing heels the last time they had went out and she complained about her feet hurting, he had told her to suck it up and that beauty was pain anyways.

At the thought of her boyfriend , she cleared her throat  and quickly stood up as soon as Auston was finished tying her shoes for her . Putting some space between them , she tucked her hair behind her eyes nervously .

She shouldn't be in here alone with him, she thought to herself in slight panic . If anyone found out ...

"Er-merci." She mumbled to Auston instead . Leaning against the wall behind her as she watched him look right back at her , a small smile on his face .

"Don't worry about it baby. Glad to help." He simply replied, waving off her thanks like he always did.

Then he looked at her hair and tilted his head a little "did you get highlights while you were away? Looks a little lighter . And more .." he made a chopping motion near his jaw motioning to the layers she had cut in there "it frames your face prettily." He compliments her easily .

Cherrie felt her cheeks flush. She had gotten highlights and a little cut. Charles hasn't even noticed.

But Auston had.

"Yeah .." she ran her fingers through her hair consciously "I got some layers as well to give it more volume . Do you like it?" She cursed herself mentally as soon as the little girlish question for validation had slipped out.

But Auston didn't even blink. He simply nodded his head and reached over to pick up a piece of her hair , admiring it closely .

"I do. It suites you. Makes you look somehow even more beautiful." He breathed out, his eyes flickering up to meet hers. He looked between her eyes like he was searching for something and when she swallowed , his smile slipped into a soft smirk.

"You like the lil 'tache?" He questioned her back, wiggling his lips to show off his moustache to her.

Cherrie let out a startled laugh at the sudden questions , gaze slipping down to his lips? Her throat feeling dry.

"Yeah." Her voice was nothing more than a whisper as she looked back up to his hooded eyes set on her , she exhaled shakily "cosplaying Luigi aus?"she teased him lightly .

He just breathed out a quite laugh "you like Luigi?"

She nodded barely "yeah. I always play him." She murmured.

His smile crooked "then yeah. I'm cosplaying him baby."

There was a tension filled silence filling the room as they just stared at each other , and Cherrie felt all those complicated emotions filling the gaps of her Ribcage till they beat down on her chest as a violent reminder that she shouldn't be doing this.

She shouldn't be entertaining him like this, she shouldn't be stood so close and letting him so near.

She knew what he wanted . He had never tried to hide it.

But she had ...she had a boyfriend . Charles .

She inhaled sharply and Auston chose that moment to break the silence , not moving even an inch away.

His hands coming up to press against the wall above her head , boxing her between his body and the wall behind her . She swallowed .

"I missed you. Why didn't you pick up my call on Saturday?" He asked her quietly already knowing the answer but wanting hear it anyway. It almost felt like he was taunting her.

Cherries jaw ticked as she answered him shortly "I was with my boyfriend Auston. I don't have time for you." And maybe that was cruel and mean.

But so was the little laugh he gave her too. His eyes sharpening into her own with familiarity . Her chest buzzed .

"Oh yeah? And what were you doing with Charlie boy hmmm?" He ducked his head to stare at her , his expression taunting "did I interrupt some awful fuck? You should be thankful really." He said.

Cherrie glared up at him , half enraged and half embarrassed.

"Shut up! You don't get to speak like that to me Auston." She warned him sternly .

He just rose a brow mockingly "oh yeah?" He let out a breathy laugh  "then why do you let me then hmm? Why not push me away?"

And he was right . She hated that he was right. Because she could have pushed him away and he would have let her . She didn't have to follow into this room and banter with him like this, she didn't have to do anything .

But she wanted to. And she hated herself for it.

"You need to stop Auston." She weakly resorted hands resting on his chest as though she was going to push him away. "I have a boyfriend and I love him." She said it more as a reminder to herself.

Auston knew that and he just laughed lowly "sometimes I find it hard to believe you ya know? When we're like this. Why do you have to remind yourself that you do? I'm not forcing you to be here." he reminded her as well.

"I know.." she whispered , lip trembling as she clenched her fingers around his sweatered chest.

"I'm going to leave." She promised him, herself , Charles . She didn't fucking know anymore .

All she could see was the warmth in Austons eyes and the freckles on his nose as he gently nudged it against her own.

"But you'll always come back." He replied then he kissed her.

And the guilt wasn't heavy enough In her chest to stop her from kissing him back , it didn't stop her from wrapping her arms around his neck and letting him hoist her legs around his waist as he pressed her back against the wall.

And all thoughts of Charles were forced from her mind as Auston snaked his tongue into her mouth , his pelvis pressed up against hers as she moaned against his mouth. Tasting the roof his mouth and the soft sponge of his tongue , she bit down on his bottom lip with her teeth and pulled it not so gently till he was groaning too.

"Fuck baby.." he muttered as he pulled his mouth away, his eyes dark and promising as he pressed kisses down her neck instead . Sucking at the sweet spot below her jaw , she whimpered and fisted his hair tightly between her fingers.

"Don't leave any marks." She pleaded , making him chuckle against the soft skin of her neck. Her body shivering as she reached down to unbuckle his jeans , his fingers fumbling for her button too.

Auston kept presses kisses over her face , her brow , her nose and mouth as he worked her jeans down her hips . His fingers easily slipping between her lips and feeling the wet heat he had caused so easily .

"All for me baby?" He smugly murmured into her before roughly spinning her body around until she was facing the wall, her arms as spread as her legs were . Head bowed down and eyes squeeze shut in excitement , lust and guilt. A lethal mix.

"God you're so damn beautiful baby." He almost whimpered himself as he slid his finger through her folds , gathering the slickness over her fluttering hole .

Cherrie could only moan as she felt his ring finger slip through her pussy with ease, fucking her with it quickly and hard .

Her hands shaking against the wall as she felt his other hand quickly find her clit, rubbing hard circles till her knees were buckling , his body keeping her upright .

"I dream of you ya know? When you're gone. I think of your big fucking eyes and that sweet mouth of yours .." he breathed out heavily pulling away his fingers only to rub his cockhead up against her pussy instead ."shit." He gritted out clenching her hips in his hand as he slid right home .

Cherrie let out a soft cry trying to keep quite as he fucked himself  into her , not giving her a moment to adjust before he was pounding into her like a man starved for warmth. His hips snapping back against hers as he grunted against her neck, kissing her shoulder and her ear , over her jaw till she was a moaning , crying mess .

"juste comme ça(just like that)" she babbled out tears filling her eyes as she felt him in her stomach

"Auston!" She cried out.

Auston let out a deep moan at his name in her mouth , "ah shit baby!" He grunted out "fuck! No one can fuck you like I can , can they huh?" He taunted.

She felt tears leaving her eyes from the pleasure as he fucked her like she was some dirty slut he had picked up at a bar for the night .

"No! Nooo! Just you baby , just you!" She babbled out , a mess as she reached back to clutch at his hair, keeping his head tucked into her neck as he mouthed at her tender skin , tongue tracing his name till she was quivering .

"Yeah? Not even Charles?" Hearing his name made her clench around him and he gritted out a taunting chuckle.

"shit. You're such a dirty girl Cher, what would Charlie think if he saw you like this hmm? Clenching around my cock as you whispered my name?" He pounded into her even harder "you think he'd be happy?" He laughed "cause I certainly am."

"Fuck you!" She managed to grit out between breaths. The pleasure overweighting the guilt as she felt the cord tightening in her stomach .

"You are baby. And you will again and again. God I -" he couldn't even finish his sentence and maybe that was for the best, before she was coming around his cock . Auston following right behind her .

Lazily fucking them through the haze , he held her back to his chest as they caught their breath back.

Reaching down to place a soft kiss on her cheek, he gently pulled out with a hiss. Then pulled up her panties and her jeans and his own too just as noises filled the hallway.

Nearly making them jump out of their skin as the locker room door burst open, Mitch's excited face filling the door only to fall slightly at the sight of them.

And Auston was sure they made quite the pair . Clothes askew , hair a mess and sweaty with the smell of sex filling the room. But he couldn't bring himself to care , too busy grinning smugly at a now pale Cherrie as she quickly scurried over to get her bag . Leaving her heels there.

"Guys?" Mitch hesitantly spoke up, eyeing the both of them in shock.

His eyes flickering to Auston in shock , "everything alright?" He awkwardly asked.

Cherrie just coughed and plastered a smile onto her trembling lips , unable to look at either of them now.

"Everything's fine. Just Auston winding me up as usual." She breathed out not sparing him a glance before she was pushing past Auston to get out the room, heart pounding in her chest as the realisation of what she had done came crashing down on her.

"I've gotta go-"

Auston just kept smiling  "see you later baby!"

"Get wrecked Auston!" She called back angrily over her shoulder before disappearing completely.

Leaving Mitch looking at him in disbelief "please tell me you didn't Auston.." he sighed loudly In worry.

Auston just laughed "okay then I didn't."

She didn't answer the phone that night. Auston couldn't really blame her .

The worst thing was that Cherrie had guilty hoped that it would never happen again. That it would just be a one off mistake , a secret that she's take down to the grave with her. But she should have known better than to believe that Auston Matthews would ever change his mind about her .

But it still didn't change the way her stomach dropped right down to her ass when a month later , at the Monaco Grand Prix , there was Auston Matthews and Mitch and Lucy stood there with Charles . All of them taking like they were the best of friends.

Cherrie wanted to be sick as she saw the way Auston was casually chatting to her boyfriend like he hadn't completely wrecked her entire relationship last month , not that her poor boyfriend knew but still. What the hell was he playing at?

Before she could turn around and make a quick escape , Charles was quick to spot her and wave her over with a fond smile on his face .

"Ah mon amour! Look who came to see you! Are you surprised?" Charles beamed at her as he pulled her into his side , gazing at her expectantly . Excitement on his face as he motioned her to her best friend , Mitch and Auston happily .

She loosely hugged his waist and avoided Auston gaze , heart pounding in her chest . "Did you- did you do this?" She practically squeaked out .

Charles beamed proudly at her "yes! Are you happy?" He asked her pleased with himself for surprising her . She sure looked surprised to him, wide eyed and flushed cheeked .

She swallowed thickly , guilt quickly consuming her again  .

"So happy ." She muttered plastering a smile onto her face for him. "Thank you." She pressed a quick kiss to his lips and practically felt Austin's eyes burning through her skull.

She shuddered.

Then she took a deep breath and faced the three of them with a smile . Quickly hugging her best friend tightly "I've missed you so much Luce!" She kissed her cheeks brightly , the two girls beaming at other.

Lucy grinned at her happily "thank Auston and Charles really! Auston contacted Charles with the idea of us to surprise you!" She let her know obviously.

But this new information made Cherrie look at Auston with a sternness in her eyes , finally making contact with his smug smirk and knowing eyes.

She gritted her teeth and said through a forced smile "did he? How sweet." She wanted to kill him for knowingly putting her in this position .

Auston took it with ease , even going as far as slapping Charles shoulder like a good friend . Her boyfriend smiling  at him politely like the good guy he was .

She felt sick. Actually sick.

"Just thought it would be nice for us all to catch up! Plus you talk so much about this Charles , thought it was time that I met him!" Auston squinted his eyes at her challengingly and Cherrie knew that this was her punishment for ignoring his texts all month.

But what did he expect her to do? Act like nothing had happened? To just ditch Charles for him? The guilt was making her feel physically Ill.

She was not a cheater . But she - she was , wasn't she?

She had cheated on her sweet boyfriend with a loud mouth hockey player who was so certain that he was the one for her . What the actual fuck has she done?

She took a deep breath and looked at Charles helplessly . He took it as her being speechless with happiness .

Charles grinned at Auston pleasantly "well it's nice to meet you. How are you finding Monaco?" He asked him politely .

But Auston was looking straight at her when he replied "beautiful, so beautiful in fact that I could see myself falling in love with it."

She choked on her breath and Charles turned to her with surprise , patting her back with a amused laugh.

"You good?" He grinned at her pressing a kiss to her cheek and Cherrie wanted to kill herself. "Maybe you should go get a drink. The heat is pretty strong."

But Cherrie could see the way Mitch was looking between her and Auston with a crease in his brow , suspicion clearly written across his usually happy face.

She looked at her boyfriend with a smile just as his assistant came to tell him to get his helmet on and get in the damn car .

He smiled down at her and motioned down the hallway .

"go rest in my room. I'll see you later yeah?" He kissed her quickly before leaving , winking at her over his shoulder .

As soon as she could , Cherrie was making an excuse to head down to Charles room while the others watched the race . And she became keenly aware of the footsteps following closely behind , attempting to slam the door on him but Auston just laughed loudly .

Pushing his way through in amusement "can't get rid of me that easily baby." He told her with a smile as he locked the door behind them.

But Cherrie was seething with guilt and anxiety "what is wrong with you?!" She demanded to know as she chucked a throw pillow at him in anger.

He dodged it with ease.

He snorted "what? I was just doing a nice thing . Thought you'd be happy." He replied knowing for a fact that she would not be. But he had to see her. He missed her.

Cherrie glared at him in disbelief "happy? You're torturing me! Playing nicey nice with my boyfriend like that! I could kill you!" She quietly screamed at him so nobody could overhear. Everyone too busy watching the race anyways , just like she should be.

Auston sighed and crossed the room to her , standing just close enough to touch. "What did you want me to do? Be rude! Ignore him? Come right out and say 'I fucked-"

"Shut up!" She cut him off quickly . Slapping his shoulder hard in anger .

"Why are you torturing me like this?" She wanted to cry. Wanted the guilt to go away, wanted the sick wanting for him to go away too.

It would be so much easier if she just hates him but she didn't , couldn't . No matter how much she tried.

Austin's face softened as he saw just how upset she was . He gently cupped her face in his hand and let out a guilty sigh .

"I'm sorry baby. I just wanted to see you." He admitted to her quietly "I missed you."

"This is wrong Auston." She whispered to him with a sniff . Looking into his eyes and just wishing it could be easy. And she only had herself to blame.

He nodded in agreement "I know it is and I'm sorry but-" he chewed at his lip in frustration "every time I close my eyes I see you Cherrie . When I'm at practice I listen to your songs and I pretend it's me you're singing too. And I -" he exhaled long and hard "and I know it's not right but I can't help how I feel. And the worst part is I know that you feel it too.."

The tears were clouding her eyes now and she shook her head at him in frustration , chest feeling tight.

"I can't Auston okay? I can't do that to him-"

"You already have Cherrie!" He raised his voice at her slightly , heart pounding in his chest . "Can't you see? You're driving me fucking crazy!"

She scoffed and pushed at his chest "oh yeah? And you're just making me feel like a fucking care bear are you?!" She snapped back at him.

He rolled his eyes . Then he surged forward  , cupped her cheeks and kissed her hard.

And she , she kissed him back. Because of course she did.

And when they were done and they were cuddled on the couch back in their clothes , Auston asked her quietly

"Would you ever write a song about me?" Looking at her gently .

And damned the guilt . Damned the anger and the reservations and the worry and the world.

"I would." She whispered to him already picturing a thousand words to the beat of his pounding heart beneath her ear .

She could write a whole album about him and the title would be 'conflict of the heart .'

They were all invited back to the after party and Cherrie couldn't tear herself from Auston's side . The guilt easily eased with a bottle of champagne , she took a large sip and passed the bottle to Auston. The lipstick covered tip pressing against his lips as he took a gulp and hooked his arm around her shoulders lazily .

"I can see why you like Monaco." He said down to her honestly . Looking out of the large floor to ceiling window of Charles apartment , at the beautiful night view.

Cherrie looked up at him with a small smile "it's nice isn't it?" She replied . Taking a bother sip from the bottle as they passed it back and forth.

Auston hummed , chewing on his cheek as he hesitated before saying "but it's not Toronto is it?" In what felt like a statement but came out as more of an insecure question instead .

And Cherrie knew what he was asking.  And she was drunk enough to push aside the guilt and sigh in agreement "yeah. It's not Toronto. It's too different worlds. One is beautiful and sweet and easy to navigate and the other is ...the other is rugged around the edges , big and ..and scary." She muttered while swallowing .

He looked down at her with a slight frown "scary?" I'm scary? Is what he didn't say.

She nodded slightly , no longer looking at him.

"Yeah , terrifying really.  especially when you've only been used to Monaco. Toronto can be ..can be intimidating ya know? It's a lot different and a lot less ..secure." She admitted to him lowly .

"And that's what you want? Security?" His question was quiet as though he was finally understanding where her worries lied.

Charles was secure for her. He wasn't . He swallowed.

"Yeah." She nodded her head gently "what girl doesn't?"

It was quite for a moment before Auston finally found the courage to speak up again. "But you like it right? You -" he exhaled long and hard "you like Toronto? Think it's fun and something yeah?"

She let out a laugh "yeah it's something alright , pretty cool sometimes I guess." She said.

"You could get used to it?"

"Maybe."

And they both missed the way pierre was watching them closely , a frown on his face as he watched the way Auston smiled down at her . His arm never leaving her shoulder as they whispered between each other , as though the rest of the party didn't exist to them.

Pierre finally caught up to her when she was about to leave with Auston back to his hotel , making the excuse that he was drunk and wanted to make sure he got back safely . Everyone bought it but Pierre.

"What are you doing Cherrie?" He asked her quietly while Auston called them a cab.

She swallowed in surprise , looking at him with wide eyes. "What do you mean? I'm just helping aus back to his hotel." She responded quickly.

Pierre shook his head at her in disappointment and her stomach felt heavy. "That's not what your doing , I saw the way he was looking at you. What's going on?" He demanded to know. Charles was his best friend after all, he didn't want him getting hurt .

"Nothing is going on pierre! Don't be silly." She let out a strained laugh and took a step away from him, the guilt hitting her full force now. The haze that she got from Auston finally lifting as she faced reality that maybe she wasn't as subtle as she thought she was.

Auston was already looking at them and Cherrie took a step towards him , wanting to leave . Pierre saw the way they gravitated towards each other and shook his head in disbelief .

"He loves you Cherrie." Was all he told her with a serious look on his face "he'll give you forever." It was a sickly reminder at what she was going to lose if she wasn't careful.

Her voice trembled as she relied "and I love him." But this time she wasn't sure just who she was talking about .

She turned away before he could say anything else and pushed Auston into the cab, shaking her head at him when he opened his mouth to speak.

"Don't Auston . Just don't." It was a quite ride back to the hotel.

But she lets him kiss her when they get to his room, let's him take her clothes off gently and lets his kisses turn soft and his movements slow and he fucked her gently and slowly , like he was trying to prove something to her .

And she came with tears in her eyes and droplets of salt on her chest as Auston bowed his head and sniffled as though he knew .

Wrapping the cover around her naked , trembling body she watched as Auston sat at the edge of the bed, quite and back tense . A tension filling the room despite what they had just done.

She knew she had to be the one to break it this time. Pierre's words echoing in her head as guilt finally hit home.

"He loves me Auston ." She told him quietly , voice trembling with fear almost . So many emotions hitting her at once.

And Auston just let out a sad laugh , turning his head to look at her over his shoulder . "And what about what you want baby? What about that?" He responded firmly .

But Cherrie just stubbornly  shook her head "I do love him."

He scoffed incredulously "really? Cause I don't think you do baby. I think you love the idea of him and the life that he can give you. The stability of Charles is what you love." He told her meaning it. Knowing it was true .

But it only angered her "and you know everything  about me do you? You think you know me?!" Her voice rose as panic and anxiety , guilt and shame and pain crept up on her .

Auston let out another weak laugh "yeah, I think I do! And I think you're scared to admit that what you want isn't what you thought you wanted after all."

She let out a mean Scoff  "and what? You think I want you?" It was supposed to be cruel , but instead it just come out as a weak whisper .

And Auston nodded his head softly "I do. Because I want you too. And I -" he swallowed around the ball rising in his throat as he got to his feet and put his clothes back on.

"I understand why you're scared. I am too-"

She let out a slightly crazed sound from her lips , staring up at him with wide tearful eyes "you're scared? What do you have to lose?! If I lose Charles I lose everything  Auston! I lose love, I lose friends and my future-"

"But you'll have me! You'll have our friends and our future-"

"You don't know that-"

"I do Cherrie! I fucking do because I love you!" He screamed at her and the room fell silent . And Auston could only let out a weak , Pathetic laugh when she just looked at him, crying silently on the bed .

"Ain't that the worst thing you've ever heard?" He tried to joke.

But Cherrie quickly shook her head in panic "you don't love me Auston -you wouldn't want me forever-"

He let out a Frustrated groan at her refusal to admit what he already knew .

"yes I fucking do! If I could marry you right now just to prove my love for you I would Cherrie! But you won't let me. Because you're scared!" He shouted down to her .

On the verge of tears himself  because he could feel what was coming , and his bag had never been unpacked because he knew there was only two ways this trip could end .

She was sobbing now , staring up at him with wide eyes full of tears . Heart breaking in her chest.

"He's depending on me Auston! I promised him!" She cried.

He shook his head angrily at her "you already broke that promise months ago Cherrie ." He looked at her pleadingly

"Tell me to stay baby, please." His voice cracked.

Silence "please baby. I need you."

The silence was painful and Auston swallowed hard and backed away towards where his bag was packed near the door.

"I'm sorry." She whispered to him brokenly .

Auston could only shake his head in pain. Unable to look at her anymore , his heart breaking in his chest .

He left.

She didn't ask him to stay.

But she wanted him to.

And it should have been easy , it should have been simply to put the past behind her. To move on and focus on what she had. But life was never that fucking easy.

Because a few weeks later Cherrie found herself staring down at a positive pregnancy test while Charles made them dinner .

16 week it read . And she knew , of course she fucking did.

Because 16 weeks ago Charles had been away for two months racing, it couldn't be his. Plus they always used protection.

But she and Auston didn't . Turns out the first time really did stick both physically and emotionally it seemed.

She was crying silently when she FaceTimed Lucy , her best friend in shock as she silently showed her the test. Hiccuping and trying to keep quite so Charles wouldn't hear her panic.

"No fucking way. Are we happy? Are we sad?" Lucy doesn't know what to say as she looked at her best friend silently sobbing with heartbreak written across her face .

She tried to wave off Mitch who was listening in from the couch as soon as he heard her say cherries name .

He knew all about what had happened be tween her and Auston , having been the one who comforted him when he arrived back home in tears admitting to him what had happened .

"God , not happy then." Lucy realised with a wince "are you okay? Do you need me to fly out?"

Cherrie whimpered "I fucked up so bad." She cried.

Lucy tried to make her feel better "I know it's scary but a baby could be a good thing-"

"No." She sniffled and shook her head "not the baby. It's - " because she could tell her that it wasn't Charles , Mitch had shot up from the couch with a loud gasp.

"Baby?!" He exclaimed in shock as he looked at the phone , straight at a wide eyed crying Cherrie.

"You're pregnant?!" His stomach dropped.

Cherrie avoided the camera "Mitch please-"

"Is it his Cherrie?" For the first time in a long time Mitch's voice was hard as he asked her. "Is it Auston's?"

Lucy gasped and almost collapsed in shock looking between the two ,  speechless at what she was hearing  .

And Cherrie could only cry harder . He got his answer and Mitch hung up the phone .

After that terrible phone call , she tried to pretend that everything was okay. She wiped away her tears , hid the test and ate dinner with Charles like everything was okay when it definitely was not.

And she should have known that it couldn't be easy because not even a couple of hours later , there was banging at her front door.

Charles looked over at her curiously "you expecting someone?" He asked her already walking over to the door to answer .

Cherrie could only freeze , heart in her mouth as he swung open the door. Having a feeling she already knew who was behind it.

And she was right . Because there was a panting Auston shoving past her boyfriend , looking at her with hope and fear and so many fucking emotions , ignoring Charles loud 'what the fuck?'

He only looked at Cherrie. "Is it true?" He wanted to know. And despite the excitement , the fear and hope on his face . His voice was calm. Too calm.

She swallowed . Eyes darting over to her confused boyfriend looking between them warily .

"What's going on? Why is he here?" He asked her concerned .  His stomach dropping as he recalled something pierre had told him a few weeks ago.

'Auston and Cherrie ..they're close aren't they?' He had said to him. And Charles had just obliviously agreed. 'You should be careful mate , he has a look in his eyes when he sees her .' But he had ignored it, marking him off as delusional .

But now. Now he wasn't so sure. Because his

Girlfriend look terrified and Auston looked , well , he was looking at her with a certain look in his eye just like Pierre had said.

Auston still didn't look away from Cherrie as he spoke calmly "yeah Cherrie , why don't you tell him why I'm here?"

Cherie felt like she was going to pass out "Charles-" she looked at him pleadingly and he felt sick.

He quickly shook his head glaring at her "no. I'm not leaving , tell me what the fuck is going on?!" He shouted at them in panic .

Silence . Horrible , tense, sickly silence and then

"I'm so sorry Charles.."

"No.." he breathed out hands coming up to clutch at his face "no. No. No. 'No ..."

Auston finally looked at him and feels a pinch of guilt hit him as he watched the drivers heart break.

He swallowed "look man- I'm sorry but-"

"No!" Charles laughed manically , looking at him with wide eyes . Looking between the both of them "there's no way! No. I don't believe it!" He denied tears in his eyes.

Cherrie was close to crying, Auston frowned.

"You want to me to kiss her in front of you then to prove it?" It slipped out before he could stop himself.

Cherrie looked at him in disbelief "Auston!" She hissed at him angrily.

Charles heaved a breath , crying. "Cherrie?" His voice cracked as he looked at her pleadingly and she had never felt like a worse human being than then.

He didn't deserve any of this. She hated herself for it but she couldn't change the past now. It was too late, Auston was right, she had already broke her promise to him.

The least she could do was admit what she had done.

"I'm sorry Charles I never meant for it to happen." She told him sniffling , meaning it. She never saw it coming and she'd never be the same.

"I loved you." Was all he choked out before spinning to face Auston , gritting his teeth angrily "and you! You made me fly you out to surprise my girlfriend just so you could fuck her right under my nose?!"

Auston winced In guilt "look man-"

Cherrie let out a short scream of shock as she watches her usually sweet , non violent boyfriend punch Auston straight in his nose . Auston barely moving but taking the hit , hissing a little as blood dripped down his nose.

"Okay." He nodded as he wiped away the blood there , tongue in cheek "I deserved that." He didn't get to say anything else before Charles was gone .

Leaving him with a crying and furious Cherrie looking at him like she might hit him as well.

"What are you doing here?" She sniffled.

He gave her a look, let her grab a cloth and wipe away the blood from his face .

He swallowed "you know why I'm here. Is it true? Are you pregnant?" He wanted to know.

Cherrie just sighed tearfully and nodded her head in defeat . "Yeah it's true . Sixteen weeks." She murmured to him as she cleaned his nose.

He exhaled shakily "first time stuck?"

"Stuck like a nasty hockey player who wouldn't leave me alone." She muttered sniffling.

He smiled a little at that. Then he cleared his throat and took her hands in his , making her look at him.

His own eyes filled with tears as he realised that his life was going to change , just like he had wanted it too.

And yeah, he was scared shitless . I mean a baby? He had thought he'd have one in at least a couple years time. But he couldn't bring himself  to be upset about it.

I mean it was going to be his and cherries baby and what a hell of a story that would be.

And despite it all, he was happy . Because he was getting his chance.

"I'm sorry it happened this way baby." He told her honestly wishing it could have been simpler , but life was never easy. "But it's us yeah? Don't think there's such a thing as a simple between us."

She laughed a little at that. Squeezing his hands gently . "Yeah. I suppose. And a baby.."

"And a baby." He confirmed with a grin stroking her hair away from her tearful face , he nudged his sore nose with hers gently .

"I meant every word I said ya know? I love you. You drive me fucking crazy and I want to stay." His eyes looked between hers hopefully .

"will you let me stay? Please? I promise you won't regret it. Won't regret me." He pleaded.

And Cherrie just , she let go and she did what felt right  for once . She didn't worry about the future because the future was standing right in front of her promising her that he would stay if she let him.

And that was enough stability for her.

"Stay." She whispered to him softly and watch his whole body relax , a tearful laugh slipping from his lips as he pulled closer "stay with me. I want Toronto to be my home." She said. And she meant it.

"Still scared?"

"Terrified."

"Me too."

"Auston?" She spoke softly .

"Yeah?" He kissed her again. She smiled against his teeth.

"I love you." She promised . "Take me home?"

He smiled so bright she felt the light slip through the cracks and she smiled too.

"Always."

[silvervioletvalentine]

‘I know I've got a big ego, I really don't know why it's such a big deal, though!’

Pairing : Lewis Hamilton X FemOC Candy!

Summary- in which she’s a spoilt , Primadonna girl and Lewis will do anything to get her to be his girl.

Candy didn’t know when this whole thing had started, what it was about her that had him so hooked and so obsessed with the idea of getting her to become his girl , to let him be her man.

She had done everything she could to deter him , she turned up to a high class bitchiness level that she had never even reached before . More cunty and more cruel than her friends could believe , getting great amusement out of putting one of the hottest , arrogant men down a few pegs every time she seen his pretty face .

But sometimes he got beneath her skin and wormed his over the top affections , his poetic words and endless promises of the a luxurious life he could give her.

Candy was certain that he would give her his kidney If she so much as hinted at wanting it, his promise of never ending supply of love and gifts never did fade .

Even when she thought that maybe , just maybe he had finally grown sick of chasing after her like a dog after his favourite ball.

It had been quite for the last three weeks , far more quite than she had grown accustomed to over the last year of knowing Lewis.

It unsettled her , a weird ache settling between her chest as she contemplated the fact that maybe he really had grown bored with her silly games , of her constant mean rejections and petty excuses to deny his affections time and time again.

And candy thought that she would be fine with this , that it wouldn’t bother her when things came to a still end like they always did with men’s attention waned on her after time had passed .

But instead of the indifference that she expected to feel , she just felt like a hole had been run right through her .

A frown settling over her pretty face the last few weeks when she realised that Lewis really wasn’t reaching out anymore . He usually never went a couple days or more without some type of communication .

It bad her rattled and she didn’t like it at all.

So she picked up her phone and dialled his number before she could find the reason in her brain telling her not to .

She was almost surprised when after only a couple of rings , he actually picked up. But she was too annoyed and too keyed up to even think of why he sounded so amused when he sang a pleased hello.

She cut straight through him without even wasting a single breath .

“Have you been in a terrible accident ? Have you lost your legs? Your voice? Have you sudden developed amnesia and forgotten who I am?” She bit out at him , offended by his lack of attention these past three weeks.

Despite the way that the last time she had seen him, she had told him to shove his designer gifts for her where the sun didn’t shine and to leave her the fuck alone.

To be fair , she had been on her period . Pissed off from the constant pain and moody from her suffering . And secondly , she hasn’t expected him to actually leave her the fuck alone.

This wasn’t how their game went at all. He should have been here with some pretty , sparkly things while telling her how much he had missed her.

What the hell was he playing at , ignoring her like this?

“Missed me sweetheart? I thought you didn’t want to see me? Changed your mind again?” He teased her , a giddy tone in his phone at the thought of her missing him so much.

It had been torture for him not to be Constantly on her ass and around her like he usually was , but he had just wanted to see what would happen if he really did follow through with her demands to fuck right off.

Half expecting Her to never reach out again, he was pleasantly surprised to hear her furious voice shouting at him again. It made his body relax and a smug grin settle on his face .

Candy let out a infuriated noise “no I didn’t! I was actually - I was actually just calling to let you know that I’ve moved on! adiós to you!” She shrilled.

Picking up her fluffy cat and hugging him to her chest with her free arm for comfort , the same rag doll that Lewis had gotten her for simply looking pretty this summer.

Lewis let out a chuckle , knowing her like his favourite well read book.

“Oh yeah? And who’s the lucky guys name? Anyone I know?” He played along. Putting his phone on speaker as he drove along the familiar road to her home .

Candy scowled to herself , angrily pacing her room at how amused he sounded . Her eyes traced the framed pictures on her wall, landing on one from her favourite band .

She blinked .

“No you don’t know him. His name is - his name is axl. The hottest man I’ve ever seen, we’re in love.” She blurted out wanting to make him as upset as he had made her these last few weeks of ignoring her .

Lewis was clearly grinning , she could hear his smug , beautiful grin through the damn phone .

“Cool name . Well If you’re happy…” he trailed off .

Candy was officially enraged “you don’t care?!” She almost screamed angrily. Tears filling her eyes .

His voice was careful as he replied smugly “do you want me to care sweetheart?”

She paused , sniffled then huffed loudly . “No. I don’t care if you don’t care!”

Lewis grinned to himself “okay cool. So just to be clear , you’ve moved on with some guy named Axl and you don’t care that I don’t care?” He teased.

Candy put down her poor cat and threw herself down onto the couch with a scowl on her face , wrapped herself in a blanket and tried not to cry.

“Correct.” Was all she hiccuped “well then- I’m glad we’ve cleared this up asshole. Thanks for not caring!” She made sure to get the last word in before she angrily hung up the phone .

Then she screamed into her pillow .

Only Abruptly pausing her long scream halfway when a loud knock echoed on her door.

She quickly straightened up and threw on Lewis’s hoodie that he had left last time he was here annoying her . Stomping to the door with the sourness of someone who felt like she has been dumped even though she wasn’t even in a relationship to start with.

What was her life?

She threw open the door ready to grab whatever parcel was being delivered , then froze as she came face to face with a grinning Lewis at her door.

Dressed in a beautiful dark red tracksuit set , skin glowing and hair braided back perfectly . Candy suddenly felt self conscious as she became acutely aware of her messy bed hair and mascara rimmed eyes , dressed in nothing but pj shorts and his hoodie .

“Hey baby.” He simply said after a few seconds of her gaping at him with wide eyes. Then he casually shuffled past her body, his band grazing her hip gently as he stepped into her apartment like it was his own.

It took her a few moments to gather her bearings before she was slamming the door shut and turning to him with a mean glower on her face . Heart racing in her chest at his sudden arrival.

“What are you doing here?!” She exclaimed shocked , and annoyingly relieved that he was finally there with her .

She kicked his foot , hard. Angry with him.

Lewis just smiled , leaned forward to gently run his fingers through her hair affectionately.

“Came to see you and your new boyfriend Axl.” His eyes darted to her picture of Axl rose on her wall as he said it.

Candy swallowed leaning into his touch for a moment before coming to her senses and batting his hand away.

“You just missed him.” She lied.

Lewis chuckled , amused ? knowing that she was lying and knowing that she knew that he knew that she was lying too.

“How convenient.” Was all he replied before taking a seat at the end of her couch, sitting on the arm of it . He looked up at her with his smile softening into something more warm and lovely .

“I’ve missed you. You look as beautiful as ever.” He told her softly , taking a hold of the hem of her shorts to tug her closer between his legs .

She let him. Cheeks flushing lightly as she gazed into his warm eyes , feeling her body turned to mush.

“Really?” She wondered then looked around him with a slight frown “where’s my gift?”

Lewis let out a loud laugh at how spoilt she was, though he supposed it was partly his fault. He never did arrive without a gift for his sweetheart after all.

“Don’t I get a hug first? I know you missed me.” He teased her, trailing his hand up to her waist and gently rubbing her soft skin beneath his hoodie .

She let her arms rest over his broad shoulders , pouting down at him.

“You said you didn’t care that I moved on.” She mumbled annoyed with him still.

He chuckled , hugging her to him . Resting his chin on her stomach as he peered up at her beneath his dark lashes .

“What? Moved on with Axl rose your imaginary boyfriend? Don’t be silly baby. You know I’m the only one for you.” He told her softly , smiling up at her with affection written all over his beautiful face.

Candy frowned down at him , playing with the diamond stud in his ear .

“I don’t like you.” She reminded him just out of habit by now.

Instead of getting upset , he just giggled at her stubbornness to Admit what he already knew. “Then why were you upset that I didn’t care?”

“I wasn’t upset and I don’t care that you don’t care Lewis. I just think it was mean to abandon me like that for three weeks . I thought you were dead.” She dramatically snapped .

She had watched him at his races . She knew that he was perfectly fine. Which only upset her more because then what other excuse did he have for ignoring her like that then?

Death was the only reasonable excuse to do that!

He rose a brow at her , lifting her hoody to look at the sparkly diamond H belly stud that she had on. The same one he had given her last time he saw her.

He bent down his head and gently kissed it, smirking to himself as he felt her whole body shiver against his lips.

“Don’t like me ignoring you? Now you know how I feel. Isn’t nice is it?” He mumbled against another soft kiss on her belly . Only pulling away when she slapped his forehead not so gently .

He looked up to see her glaring down at him, furious.

“I do not ignore you like that!” She denied.

He rolled his eyes “you told me to go fuck myself the last time I was here. Then refused to pick up my calls the rest of the week.” He reminded her.

She just scoffed “I was upset! I was bleeding from my vagina Lewis! Not everything is about you! I wasn’t in the mood for your games!” She argued.

He paused, then tilted his head with a slight frown. “You could have just told me that. I would have gotten you a heating pad and some chocolate. You didn’t have to be so mean baby.” He said.

She just sniffled at him , gently rubbing at the back of his neck with her fingers absentmindedly. “I’m not mean.”

The look he gave her was full of disbelief “no? Then why aren’t you my girl then?” His question had her stumped.

She spluttered for answer , blinking rapidly . “Well- cause I’m not impressed.” She answered him shortly.

He barked out a laugh “no?” He grinned looking up at her with eyes full of amusement .

“The jewellery and the clothes weren’t enough? The cat , the paid of loans and your car? Still not impressive enough?” He listed off all of the things he had gotten her this past year . Growing more amused by the second as he watched her stubbornly shake her head at him.

“Nope.” She muttered arrogantly .

“Then what would it take for you to be my girl?” He wanted to know.

She searched her mind for something “a mansion like yours. With a king size bed. And - and your Ferrari.” She said the most ridiculous thing she could think of. Something he couldn’t give her.

His eyes searched her face for a long moment before simply humming . “Will you stay at mine tonight with me? Roscoe misses you.” He said already getting to his feet .

He grabbed her phone and keys from the table , not even waiting for an answer before heading to her door. Knowing she would follow him.

She did .

“What will we do? I don’t want to bored all night.” She huffed as she followed him out.

Letting him lock her door, absentmindedly grabbing his hand as he lead her down her apartment stairs . Missing the way he smiled down at her , shaking his head fondly .

They were almost to the car when he finally responded , making her skin flush red and knees weaken as he bluntly told her

“I’m going to fuck you so hard till you know no other name than mine . Then I’m going to eat you out for however long it takes for you to realise that there’s no one better for you than me baby.” He kissed the side of her head before pushing her down into the passenger seat casually .

Candy just blinked up at him in shock , face red and belly fluttering . “Oh. Okay.” She weakly spluttered in response .

Lewis just smirked and flicked her chin lightly before closing the door shut, jogging around to the drivers side quickly .

And Lewis never broke his promises. And by the time the stars were twinkling bright , his name was all she could scream .

When candy woke up the next morning , it was to the sound of Lewis ‘awwing’ loudly at something .

She grumbled to herself as she pushed herself out of his bed , blushing at the fact that she was wearing nothing but his shirt .

Lewis having put It on her while she exhaustedly let him look after her and tuck her into his chest , kissing her head gently as she drifted off to sleep.

Yawning loudly , she stomped her way down the fancy stairs of his home . Grumpy from being woken up .

“What the hell are you awwing at you weirdo?” She called out to Lewis the moment she caught sight of him in the hallway.

He looked over at her with a bright smile on his face , beckoning her over for a hug. She immediately fell into his chest , still tired as she lazily hugged him back.

“Roscoe loves kitties . It’s so cute.” Lewis casually told her , stroking her hair away from her face as she tried to wake up properly.

“Huh?” She let out confusedly wondering why he looked so smug and amused . Then she turned her head and froze as she saw roscoe cuddled up with mr snuggles , her cat .

She blinked at her cat in Lewis’s home , with his dog. Wondering if she was still dreaming .

Then She glanced over to the front room and saw her Tiffany lamps and her cushions on his couch , glancing down at the carpet to see her heart shaped rug there too.

She gasped loudly in shock “what the fuck?!” She immediately turned back to Lewis with wide eyes, gaping at him.

“Why are my things In your house? Why is my kitty here? What the fuck?!” She shouted in absolute disbelief .

Lewis just smiled at her serenely , clearing pleased with himself . He leaned down to stroke her cat when he walked over to him purring , leaving Candy to just blink at him in disbelief .

“You said that the only way you would be with me is if you had a mansion with a king side bed and well…” he pointedly looked around his mansion and the king sized bed she had gotten out of . Grinning proudly at her as he did so.

“What’s mine is now yours baby. And also…” he dug his hand into his hoodie pocket and pulled out some keys .

He opened up her placed and gently placed them in her hand. “There’s my keys to my Ferrari that you wanted as well.” He said.

Candy felt like she was going to pass out .

Gaping at this insane man that was more than happy to give her everything he had. She felt her heart swell in her chest, briefly looking down at the Ferrari keys in her hand and all her things in his home .

She spluttered “but-what? I can’t just live with you! That’s insane!” Her hands were trembling

around the keys at his casual devotion to giving her whatever the hell she wanted .

Lewis just shrugged casually , walking over to her slowly like she was a spooked animal. And maybe she was , she sure felt like a deer in headlights then.

What the fuck was her life?

“Why not? I’m in love with you and I’m pretty sure you’re in love with me. I want you by my side , always. And what better way than living with you?” He simply explained like it was that easy. And maybe for him it was .

Candy just looked at him like he had grown a third head.

“That’s pretty arrogant to assume that I love you Lewis!” She snapped at him stubbornly . Blushing red. “What if I hated your guts? This would be real awkward for you!”

Lewis just laughed at her attitude “oh yeah? So the ‘please Lewis! Fuck me harder Lewis! Just like that baby! all that was because you hated me was it?” He smugly copied her high pitched voice screaming last night .

Making her quickly slap his bicep with a embarrassed gasp, face feeling like it was on fire.

“Lewis!” She shrieked while he just giggled harder

“shut up! I do not sound like that! How dare you?!”

Lewis rolled his eyes at her fondly “how dare me? How dare you! Why are you being so god damn stubborn? Why can’t you just admit that you love me? We could be married by now if you just stopped being so mean!” He exclaimed right back at her in exasperation.

But never angry, no, not with her. He loved her

Too damn much after all.

“I’m not mean! Fuck you!” She yelled back.

“You already did and will again after you just admit that I’m right!”

“Oh you’d like that wouldn’t you? Mr always right!” She sarcastically shouted back.

Lewis snorted a laugh “so you don’t want me then? Don’t want to live with me and drive my Ferrari?” He challenged her.

She paused , then fidgeted with the diamond tennis bracelet that Lewis had gotten for her , on her wrist .

“I didn’t - I didn’t say that-“

He grinned smugly “admit it then. Go on.” He gave her a nudge , utterly beaming by now .

Candy huffed like a child and rolled her eyes at him . “I just - are you serious?” She eyed him like he was playing some nasty , elaborate joke on her . Waiting for him to shout ‘gotchu girl!’.

Lewis squinted his eyes at her in disbelief “are you serious?” He returned the question to her in slight annoyance at her doubting him after everything .

“I’m obviously very serious baby , my god! Your cat is in my house and I just have you my Ferrari! What a weird, expensive joke that would be!” He exclaimed.

What a strange woman he was in love with he thought , so suspicious of him , Jesus!

Candy sniffed , clutched her diamond necklace on her neck (another gift from him) and slowly nodded her head.

“right . Well..” she uncomfortably cleared her throat , not one for being sappy or emotional over a man but damn , her heart was about to burst right now.

“Thanks babe.” She settled on lamely instead.

Lewis looked at her grimacing face then burst out into hysterical giggles . “You’re so welcome sweetheart. Come ‘ere” he tugged her over to him by her folded arm, grinning into her hair as he hugged her tightly to his chest .

His stubborn , spoilt girl.

Candy hugged him back without any hesitation, squeezing his waist tight . Sighing in content , she planted a gentle kiss on his chest .

“Lew?” She spoke up after another minute of just standing there cuddling in the front room while their pets stared at them like they were watching a entertaining show .

His smile was evident in his voice “yeah baby?”

She sighed in defeat , too happy to care about her pride anymore . “You’re so right by the way.” She admitted to him quietly .

He hummed smugly “yeah?”

She nodded with a huff “yeah.” She pulled away slightly to look into his eyes , he was so fucking beautiful it made her want to cry.

All mine. She almost growled , kissing his mouth just because she could . Lewis sighed against her lips happily

“Say it baby. Come on..” he whispered against her mouth , lips curling into a grin when she just sighed again.

“I love you. So much. And I missed you so don’t do that shit to me again. I’m not one to be ignored.” She told him sternly , pointing a nail into his chest.

He giggled and kissed her again “noted. Do not ignore my girl again.” He murmured then “and I love you too. You stubborn, mean girl.”

“Babe?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I have your Mercedes too? Just for Wednesdays?”

A pause , then “why Wednesday’s?” He asked amused.

She shrugged as she let him pull her down onto the couch to continue making out , side eyeing her blanket on his couch.

When the hell did he even do all this? She wondered? Still In disbelief that he had all her things moved into his home (their home now?) while she was asleep.

Was a sneaky little guy.

“Just to shake things up a little.” She replied simply.

Lewis didn’t even hesitate to agree.

Maybe she’d buy him a vegan waffle for dinner to repay him, she thought with a grin as she accepted his Mercedes car keys too.

She needed some new keychains , she thought mindlessly . Imagining the looks on her friends face when she rolled up in his Ferrari for their weekend brunches .

If this was a game , she had totally won. She thought to herself contently as she felt Lewis trail kisses down her neck.

A new mansion, two new cars and Lewis fucking hamilton as her man.

Oh yeah, she had totally won in life .

[silvervioletvalentine]

-Heaven help a fool in love-

Pairing : oscar Piastri x fem OC Bee

Summary : in which Oscar is a certified , terrified , glorified simp for Bee . His teammate who scares the hell out of him.

Warnings - none? Bee is a little mean , mean girl vibes but mainly fluff . Just simp Oscar and bad ass Bee. - first time writing again in months so I’m just trying to get back into it, don’t really think this is any good but gotta start somewhere right? :))))))))

Oscar felt like he was going to be sick. His stomach tossing and turning , hands shaking and feeling like he was the epitome of that Eminem song . Knees weak , moms spaghetti and everything .

I mean, it couldn’t be very healthy for him to feel this way.

He panicked , eyes darting around the room , too scared to even look at the woman that was causing him all of these sickening emotions .

Was it possible to be going paler and redder at the same time? He touched the back of his fingers to his burning cheeks and fought back a wince , maybe he was dying .

Death by intimidation of the most beautiful (scary) woman he had ever seen in his life .

The anxious pit in his stomach had only been growing since he had been informed of just who would be his new teammate would be this year . Her name ringing like a siren in his head as he wondered if this was a dream come true or a nightmare coming to reality .

A dream in the fact of this was everything a guy like him could wish for , a successful , amazingly talented driver who already was on the road to becoming one of the best , joining him as his teammate .

And a nightmare in the way that this could not end well for him. He was so sure of it . Based on the very limited , few times he had already spoken to her in the past , he was going to humiliate himself and make her think that there was something wrong with him.

Not being able to mutter more than a mouthful of strained and stammered words to her like he was a fresh teenager talking to a girl for the first time ever.

Was it hot in this room? Oscar pulled at his tightening collar anxiously , sweating profusely. Or was he perhaps having a heart attack?

He accidentally glanced across the table and caught eyes with Bee , the woman causing his feelings of imminent death and swallowed hard.

Bee was so beautiful but just so intimidating to him. With dirty blonde hair and sharp green eyes, cheek bones that could cut his skin and lips that had no right looking the way they did ..as the kids these days say, her face card never ever declined .

And then there was her tattoos , a body of art everywhere . Covering her arms , her legs , her stomach and chest . Every part of her skin that he caught a glimpse of was like a work of literal art for him to gaze at . And then there was the glittering piercings too, on her nose , her eyebrow , ears covered in diamonds and hoops .

She was a dream.

A beautiful dream but then she opened her mouth and Oscar was like a teenage boy all over again.

Because Bee was loud and rude and quite frankly mean. Judgemental and not afraid to express her opinion , she had gathered quite the reputation for herself . The complete opposite of Oscar’s quite and mellow personality , she was wild and free .

And it scared him because how was he supposed to mount up to anything in her eyes? He knew that she must of thought of him as some meek weirdo who couldn’t even look her in the eye for more than a second at a time without stammering like a little kid. But he just couldn’t help it.

He was mesmerised by all that she was . But he was also terrified of her too because he had seen how mean and how quick to anger she could be and he did not want to be on the wrong side of her , ever . No thank you.

They couldn’t have been more different and it upset him because he wanted her to like him , so badly .

But then he thought about how that one time she had asked him what he did on their break and he had quietly told her that he had just stayed at home , enjoying the peace and quite .

To which she had paused , nodded and casually told him that she had jumped out of a plane for fun. And that was the end of that conversation because what else could he have even said that a meek “cool.”

He must have seemed so lame to Bee and it made all of these nauseating feelings even worse.

I mean for gods sake , why couldn’t he have gotten a crush on someone a little less likely to kill him if he even so much as stepped out of line?

A loud clearing of a throat snapped him out of his panicking and in a daze he noticed that the room was already clearing out , eyes widening in shock at how long he had dissociated in panic for.

Then his heart dropped even further in his stomach as he turned his head to see who was wanting his attention , only to see Bee’s expectant eyes sharpening at him.

“Oh.” He breathed out in shock “hi.” He barely hid the grimace at how Pathetic he sounded then. Swallowing and shoving his trembling hands into his hoodie pocket .

Bee nodded at him a little skeptically , still eyeing him like there was something wrong with him.

“Hey. Are you okay? You looked a little spaced out there . Everything good?” She wondered , eyeing his red cheeks with a slight frown.

She wondered why he acted this way around her . From what she had seen, Oscar was always calm and friendly with the other drivers but to her he was always a little …stiff . Withdrawn, almost scared?

She tried to think back to remember if she had ever done or said anything to the Australian that could have him shaking in his trainers like he was. But nothing came to mind .

Her frown deepened , unaware that her curious frown looked more like a glare to poor Oscar .

He exhaled sharply , nodding his head too quickly .

“Yeah! Yeah. So good, just a little tired.” He said. Just wishing he could be cool around her for once.

But she looked so god damn pretty and her Spanish accent was thick from being home over the holidays as she spoke back to him casually like they were friends , making his heart jump in his chest.

“You need to get good sleep. I don’t want a tired teammate , too restless to help me out on the track.” She tried to tease him, to lighten him up a bit.

But Oscar took her words seriously , nodding his head with a heartfelt look on his face .

“I will always help you out.” He promised sincerely .

Bee paused , caught of guard. Then let out a slightly awkward laugh , nodding her head .

A little weird, she hummed in amusement , but also very cute. She grinned as she looked back at him .

“That’s very sweet.” She replied then asked him “speaking of helping me out , do you have a car?”

Oscar rose a brow at her “yes? Why?” He wondered at the sudden question . So random and abrupt .

She gave him a little smile , Tilting her head to be more appealing to get what she wanted. Oblivious to the fact that she only had to blink and Oscar would give her his kidney if she wanted it.

He was down bad. So , so freaking bad. It was disgusting really .

“My car doesn’t arrive till tomorrow night and I need to get to track . You have two cars right? One from team too?” She said.

It made him feel giddy that she had clearly kept some type of tabs on him to know that, so giddy in fact that he failed to mention that one car was back in Australia.

He only had one right now. The mclaren the team had given him. The same one she would be getting tomorrow night as well.

“Yeah.” He doesn’t even think about his next words , blurting them out loudly “you can have my car.”

She blinked at him in shock “yeah? You don’t mind? I know it’s a lot to ask-“

Oscar quickly shakes his head , smiling at her. “No! No. It’s fine. It’s only for tomorrow, you can have it.” Internally panicking as he realised just what he had said. But he couldn’t take it back now, not when she was smiling at him like he was her saviour.

She then reached out and grabbed him into a quick hug , laughing happily while he stood stock still in shock. Glowing red and heart palpating , feeling like he was in a dream.

“Thanks Oscar! I owe you one . You can ride mine anytime you want.” She tells him with a wink as she pulls away.

“See you tomorrow!” She leaves him standing there with wide eyes and red cheeks.

Hand pressed to his chest, eyes closed tight in disbelief .

“Shit.” He breathed out grimacing to himself as he realised that he had no ride to the track either now since he had just given his only car away.

Bee felt herself frown in disbelief as she drove down the road and spotted a familiar man in walking on the sidewalk alone , blowing the horn at him loudly and watching Oscar jump out of his skin.

His head snapping over to her in shock, giving her a sheepish grin when she glared back at him in absolute disbelief .

“What are you doing? Why are you walking? Where is your other car?” She throws the questions at him quickly as she pulls over to a stop in front of him.

Oscar paused , then mumbled quietly, embarrassed “Australia.” Peeking up after a minute of silence to see Bee gaping at him like he had lost his damn mind.

She spluttered loudly “what the fuck? Then why did you give me your car?!” She almost shouts , wondering what the hell was wrong with him. Who did that?!

He shrugged weakly “you needed it?” It comes out more of a question as he meekly gives her a smile as if to calm her down. Wondering why she looked so angry at him now.

She didn’t know what to feel other than frustration and confusion , wondering if he was so scared of her that he felt intimidated to give her his damn car! What the hell?

“So do you obviously!” She shot back while getting out of the drivers seat and rounding the car , opening the door for him to get into the passengers seat.

She stood like a disapproving parent , hand on top of the door as she scolded at him “get in Oscar!” She demanded while pointing her finger to the seat sternly.

And like the good guy he was, he quickly scurried to get in. Bee slamming the door behind him and getting back behind the wheel.

It was quite for a moment as she continued to drive , side eyeing him with a scowl on her pretty face while Oscar sat, blushing , beside her quietly.

She was concerned “are you being bullied?” She wondered out loud . Because what else could make someone think they had to give her their car just because she wanted it?

Oscar looked at her in shock “no! What?” He looked equally as confused as her now.

She frowned at him “then why so easy to give? Are you scared of me?” She then asked him wanting to figure this out .

Oscar wanted to die “no. God. No.” Yes. Very scared actually but not of her but scared of the way she made him feel.

It was stupid , he felt stupid and it was all her fault.

He looked back at her with a offended frown “you’re not scary.” He lied.

She scoffed , then jerked the wheel sharply making him let out a girly scream.

She snickered meanly “sure. Don’t lie next time otherwise I break your fingers.” She let him know calmly .

Oscar swallowed dryly at her threat having a feeling she wasn’t joking either .

“I didn’t - I didn’t exactly lie.” He tried to justify himself nervously ��just emitted a little fact is all.” He muttered

Bee just rolled her eyes “you’re too cute to be this stupid.” She told him casually like she wasn’t flipping his whole world upside down with a single comment .

Oscar just looked at her in shock . Cute? She thought he was cute? He inhaled deeply , biting back a giddy grin.

“Thanks.” He stupidly replied instead . In a daze from being called cute.

He misses the way she rolls her eyes again, fondly shaking her head at him.

Definitely something wrong with him. She thought.

After that it became a habit of his to do everything for Bee, even when she didn’t need it or even asked him to do so.

He made sure no one bothered her before each race so she could get into the zone , making sure that she always had a sugary candy to eat as soon as she got out the car.

He made sure that she always had water on hand , he had elastic ties around his wrist to tie back her hair for her when she was sweaty.

Casually sitting behind her while she talked to lando about something , gathering her hair into his hands, Bee not even blinking or pausing in conversation as Oscar tried to braid if for her. Having watched some YouTube videos on doing hair for her.

Ignoring the flabbgasted look lando was giving him, he preened at the affectionate tap to the thigh she gave him when he was done . Feeling more of a rush from her simple touch than he did after a race, it was electrifying .

He stood in front of the beaming sunlight as soon as he noticed the way Bee began to squint as it stung her eyes , positioning himself so that she was shaded instead . He smiled to himself as she handed him her bag to hold while she got out her phone from her pocket , chatting casually to him.

He hooked her glittery bag onto his shoulder , unbothered by the looks he was getting from everyone else .

“I mean can you believe that bitch? Calling me trash when she looked like she had murdered Elmo and worn him for lunch? I mean- she had that much filler in her face that she could barely even blink!” She ranted to him bitchily like she usually did whenever someone annoyed her after learning that Oscar loved hearing her gossip and bitching.

Oscar nodded his head along in agreement , grinning in amusement at how mean she was . “She sure could cry though , Botox couldn’t stop the wailing.” He commented .

Bee just shrugged , unfazed . “She had it coming talking to me like that.” She replied.

“You could make even the coldest person cry.” He said impressed. Then he held out her little mirror in front of her for her while she reapplied her lipstick , quietly admiring her some more as she did so

Lando couldn’t take it anymore. After watching him put food in a designer lunchbox for Bee , hand washing her car for her and then asking him if he thought she would like a rag doll cat for her birthday. He couldn’t keep it in any longer .

“Did you drop the soap around her or something mate? Is that how you became her little bitch?” He joked. Laughing hysterically as he watched Oscar’s cheek immediately blaze with heat.

Oscar glared at him despite the embarrassment clearly on his face .

“I am not her bitch!” He denied weakly. He definitely was a little bit . “I’m just being nice. Like a good teammate.” He added as an after thought , another weak excuse .

Lando just snorted at him “you never brought me lunch or hand washed my car.” He said amused.

Oscar doesn’t miss a beat “that’s cause I don’t like you.” He snapped back at him defensively .

Lando smirked triumphantly “so you like her then?”

Oscar paused at his mistake , blinking wide eyes as he quickly tried to back peddle . “I don’t like her!”

“So you hate her?” He teased him. Trying to get him to admit what they all already knew.

“No!”

“So you do like her?”

“No!”

Lando tilted his head mockingly “so what do you think of her then? I think you’ve got a little crush Oscar. I think that you think she’s really pretty and you want to bang her-“

Oscar gasped loudly at him , face bright red “Lando! Shut up! I don’t have a crush on her! Jesus! What are you? Ten?” He hissed back at him , mortified .

Lando just giggled loudly at his reaction “you are so red!” He grinned at him amused “you like her soooo much-“

Oscar nearly jumped out of his skin when a voice piped up behind him, making his stomach sink as he watched lando smirk mischievously at him. Ever the shit stirrer .

“Who do you like? Do you have a crush Oscar?” Bee was frowning at him, not liking what she was hearing at all . The cute little guy that followed her around and did everything she asked was looking elsewhere? she didn’t like that thought at all.

Oscar looked back at her, saw her frown and frowned too. Because why was she frowning? He almost felt offended , assuming the worst.

Did she think that he was so Pathetic that a girl couldn’t possibly like him? That he couldn’t have a crush because he was so weird?

He frowned back at her even harder then , still defensive from Landos teasing.

“No I don’t! But so what if I did? Am I not allowed to have a crush?!” He exclaimed annoyed at the both of them now.

Lando just laughed while Bee just looked at him like he had lost his mind.

“Who?” She wanted to know, blunt and not giving a shit how demanding she seemed. “Who is the stupid girl that has you like this?” She felt her blood pressure rise.

Because In her mind Oscar was already hers. They hung out together , he did everything for her. She was pretty and hot and why wouldn’t Oscar want her? Surely there couldn’t be anyone better than her?

She scoffed bitterly .

Oscars eyes were wide and he looked terrified , face pale and cheeks a dark red. He gaped at her angry face , looking at him like he had somehow betrayed her.

“I don’t like anyone! Lando was just kidding weren’t you lando?” He hissed at the stupid Brit that had started all this in the first place , who was looking for too entertained for his liking.

Lando looked at his panicked face then at Bee’s angry one and laughed loudly . “Sure I was. And anyway , Oscar likes scary women. Don’t you buddy?” He patted him on the shoulder before leaving him to deal with the aftermath on his own, even giving him a wink as he went.

Bee frowned then tilted her head, brain ticking as she took in landos sly comment.

Huh. She relaxed a little then, maybe she was the stupid girl.

“Oscar?” She voiced.

He swallowed thickly “yeah?”

“I’m hungry.” She simply said looking pointedly at the lunch box in his hand.

“What are we having today?” She asked him taking him by the hand and leading him over to the table to eat.

He inhaled sharply , squeezing the palm of her hand three times. “Quiche and yoghurt . It’s strawberry and vanilla and -“ he suddenly frowned at her worriedly “you’re not like , allergic to yogurt are you? Or cheese? Cause I’m not trying to kill you or anything! I’ve never even asked you if you’re allergic to anything . Are you? That’s so stupid and careless of me-“

Before he could continue on his panicked tangent , Bee quickly cut him off.

Letting of a fond little giggle , she nudged his shoulder with hers in amusement . “The only thing I’m allergic to is bullshit Oscar.” She gave him a pointed look.

He just nodded quietly .

Then “Bee?” He spoke up timidly handing her the yoghurt to eat after watching her devour the food.

She just hummed , handing him her orange juice to take a sip of in return.

“Are you- do you have a boyfriend?” He manages to spit out meekly.

Bee hid her giddy smirk in her spoon, simply shaking her head no. “Very single. Could be persuaded not to be though.” She let him know , side eyeing him teasingly .

Oscar went red. Looked down at the table and nodded his again. “Ah okay. Cool.” Was all he muttered.

Another minute went by then Bee side eyed him again , watching him play shyly with his fingers while he waited for her to finish eating.

“Are you? Single?” She asked him . He better be, she thought darkly . This cute boy was hers.

Oscar startled , looking at her like a deer in headlights. Then he rapidly nodded his head. “Very.”

“Good.” Was all she replied.

He nodded too.

Good .

Cool.

They said nothing else on the matter. But Oscar’s hopes soared.

It kept going on like that for a while , Bee calling him cute and pretty and adorable and Oscar running after her like ‘a certified pathetic simp’ as lando likes to say. And it was going well in Oscar’s opinion , he got a little less shy and a lot more comfortable around her . A lot less scared.

And maybe that’s why he felt so comfortable agreeing to drink with her after a particularly good race . Allowing her to convince him to eat cake and drink champagne ,

Oscar found himself absolutely shitfaced on her couch. Very quickly reminded of why he didn’t drink , he was such a lightweight.

Which was how he found himself gazing at a equally as drunk Bee next to him on the coach, gazing at her like she had hung the moon in his sky.

His filter was gone and heart was on his drunken sleeve and he played with her soft hair in adoration.

“You’re so pretty. Like- like a plane.” He slurred to her.

Bee giggled quietly , nudging her head against his shoulder as she peered up at him with glassy eyes full of amusement . “Like a plane?”

Oscar nodded seriously “yeah but like the kind of plane people think are planes but then they blink and it’s the prettiest star in the sky. Not a plane.” He rambled to her passionately “you have such nice skin too.” He added as an after thought .

Bee was a giggling mess. “I think you’re really pretty too. I like your nose.” She whispered with a grin before planting a kiss on said nose affectionately.

He blushed , dazed. “Thank. I want to marry you.” He then blurted out without any grace , grinning drunkenly down at her like a sappy fool .

Bee laughed loudly in shock , looking up at him with a tipsy grin on her face. “Oh yeah? But you can barely even speak to me sober! How at you gonna marry me?” She teased him .

Oscar sniffled , serious when it came to how he felt about her , drunk or not .

“I’ve been working on it. I like doing things for you and seeing you smile. I like that you call me just to bitch about a bitch.” He replied honestly .

Bee felt her face soften as she saw the pure dedication on his face , all for her. She gently grabbed his face in her hand, stroking his red cheek with her thumb softly.

“You got a crush on me?” She whispered teasingly. Nudging her nose with his.

Oscar Just smiled and gently shook his head . “No. Much more than that.” He whispered back.

Bee smiled softly “yeah? You like me then?”

He laughed quietly and kissed the corner of her mouth gently , lingering there before pulling back just a little to see her eyes flutter closed.

“I love you.” He simply told her , drunk on champagne and his buzzy Bee. “So much it makes me silly. And I gave you my car even though I didn’t have another one and I want to hold your bag for you forever , and I want to make you lunch and kiss your face..” he whispered to her , blinking dazedly as the alcohol finally caught up to him.

He pulled the blanket further around their bodies , feeling her trembling breath on his lips as she looked at him with tears in her eyes. Knowing that he meant it too.

“I want you to be my girl.” He yawned.

She gently ran her fingers through his hair and laid down on the couch , letting him place his head on her chest tiredly as he snuggled up to her , intertwining their legs together .

“If you still feel this way in the morning , I will be.”

Too tired to speak anymore , he just linked his pinky finger with hers, a silent promise , and tucked his face further onto her neck . Letting her pull him close as he drifted off to sleep .

Oscar woke with a pounding head and a churning stomach , but he froze up as soon as he felt soft fingers in his hair. Sheepishly peering up at Bee’s amused face as she looked down at her with a tired smile on her face too.

“Morning sleepyhead. Sleep good?” She yawned. Tugging him closer to her , making his heart skip a beat.

Oscar nodded sheepishly then hesitantly cleared his throat as he remembered last night . Fidgeting with the strap of her top , he bit down on his bottom lip nervously as he wondered how to go about this.

“Bee?” He murmured shyly against her chest as he peered up at her through his lashes , letting out a content sigh at the feeling of her nails scratching lightly at his scalp , lulling him into calmness .

She smiled down at him knowingly “yeah?”

He hesitated for a moment , then muttered quietly “I’m not a forgetful morning after drunk.”

Bee just giggled “really? So you want to marry me then? Kiss my face forever?” She teased him softly.

Oscar just nodded, laughing sheepishly . “Yeah. I want to- I want you to be mine. My girlfriend. If you want that too.” He rambled anxiously “if you don’t want them that’s fine obviously -“

Bee giggled and quickly stopped him there “you want to date me?”

He nodded rapidly “so bad.”

She just smiled happily and casually muttered “okay.”

“Okay?” He repeated in disbelief .

She laughed in amusement “yup.”

He gaped at her , eyes wide and dazed “that easy? No fight? No negotiations?” He spluttered in disbelief .

She laughed loudly at him then “I love you Oscar okay? I want to be with you too , so yes it’s that easy.” She told him firmly . Easily . Simply.

Oscar felt like he was slipping into shock. “Cool.” Was all he could get out “I mean- I love you too. Yeah - this is awesome.” He grinned down at her happily . Overwhelmed with his love for her.

“Kiss?” He shyly asked while gently cupping her cheek in his hand , wide eyes gazing into hers , feeling like he was in a dream.

Bee just giggled before closing the gap and finally kissing him . Feeling the relieved breath he let out against her mouth as he finally relaxed against her , humming against her lips contently .

“Love you.” He mumbled into the kiss while smiling like a fool in love . “Love you so much.”

“I love you too.” She giggled as they continued to make out like teenagers on her couch.

Becoming teammates was the best thing they had ever done .

Lando was going to be the smuggest bastard ever when he found out that he was right .

[silvervioletvalentine]

🏑Everything has changed 🏑

Pairing: Sydney Crosby x Single mom Cherrie

Word count : 6.7k

Summary: falling in love can come as easily as breathing sometimes . The right person can be the one who holds the door open for you .

'And all I've seen

Since eighteen hours ago

Is green eyes and freckles and your smile

In the back of my mind making me feel like'

Sydney didn't know what was coming over him as he froze by the apartment complex door , barely blinking , barely breathing as he watched her brush past him.

Mumbling a small, shy , sorry as she cradled a small baby to her chest . Not even looking up at him as he held the door open for her , arching his arm up high on the doorframe so she could duck underneath it, not even thinking to move himself completely . Feeling like he had been stuck in a daze , as though somebody had cast a spell over him.

She glanced briefly over her shoulder at him, still stood there holding the door like a damn fool. Eyes wide and chest still, struck on her , swallowing as he dazedly watched as she flashed him the most prettiest smile he had ever seen.

"Thank you." She mumbled to him gratefully , arms full. And Sidney recognised that the baby must have been her own, the same head of hair and the biggest bambi eyes looking around over her shoulder , then straight at him too.

He didn't know what to do or what to think , barley managing to mutter a quick "it's alright." Before she was gone. And he could finally breathe.

Letting out a small groan of humiliation as he let the door close shut again, rubbing the palm of his hand over his face as he replayed each split second of their encounter in his head.

Cringing in mortification to himself at how stupid he must have looked to her then, frozen still , unable to move and practically forcing her to duck underneath his arm instead of just stepping aside for her like a normal person.

He swallowed thickly , felt the rapid beating of his heart and cursed beneath his breath. Wondering if he was coming down with something because what else could explain his strange behaviour ? If his friends could have seen him then, he would have been getting chirped on for life after that display.

So he sees a pretty girl and suddenly he can't fucking speak? He was a grown ass man for gods sake! What the hell was wrong with him? He wondered embarrassed as he quickly hurried back up to his apartment .

Shaking his head to himself because this was not how he wanted his new nigh out to meet him at all. Not only was he a sweaty mess from the gym, he had also acted like some hormonal teenager that couldn't talk to girls at all. Hell knows what she thought of him now

The rest of that night all he could think about was her, wondering what her story was. Wondering why a beautiful , young woman would be moving into an apartment on her own with a baby. Wondering if she was married, it somebody loved her . Barely believing that a woman that beautiful could be single , I mean, that smile ...

She had took more breath out of him than all the times he was getting bodied slammed in ice by a grown man  , and that was not normal at all.

He placed his hand over his chest and his frown deepened , his stomach twisting as he replayed her shy smile in the back of his mind, exhaling uneasily.

Met the new girl next door. He text his friend slowly , still feeling strange in ways that he just couldn't , and wouldn't , explain to his friends.

Oh yeah? She hot? He texted back.

Sydney paused , fingers hovering over the screen of his phone before hesitantly typing

Yes.

She had dimples man. He sighed , stressed.

Oh? Where?

Sydney rolled his eyes, a small smile playing on his lips.

On her face asshole. She Has a smile like the sun.

Ah man. His friend knowingly typed back and Sydney Could just picture his smirk through the screen. You're fucked.

Completely. Sydney agreed. Sighing , hands over his eyes. Because when he woke up the next day and went about his day, eighteen hours later and her smile was still all could think about

'Cause all I know is we said, "Hello"

And your eyes look like comin' home

All I know is a simple name

And everything has changed'

Sydney finally got to officially meet the girl that he had been practically obsessing mentally about that very next weekend.

When he was once again getting home late from a game , she was there by her front door. The little baby balancing on her hip, crying a little as she struggled to get the keys into the lock properly . Clearing tired ands stressed out as she sushed her baby softly , rocking side to side in attempt to soothe him.

Sydney took a deep breath To gather his confidence as he felt his stomach twist again, cautiously approaching them before his mind could convince him that it was a bad idea.

He cleared his throat , then winced A little as he watched her nearly jump out of her skin at the sight of him suddenly appearing beside her.

"Sorry! Sorry!" He hurriedly apologised , cheeks flushing with colour as he offered her a smile that he hoped showed that he wasn't a threat.

"I'm Sydney." He then blurted out before he could just continue to awkwardly stare at her and freak her out some more.

Seeing the way that she was looking at him, brows furrowed and shoulders tense, gripping her baby tighter in her arms. He winced again "your neighbour. I held the door open for you last week." He felt the need to explain some more, feeling the heat spread from his cheeks to his ears now.

And he felt so fucking thankful that he hadn't offered to host hus friends for beers at his place because If they are to witness the way he was behaving now, they would never let him hear the end of it.

It was humiliating and Sydney didn't understand why he was behaving like this at all.

Her face softened a little then as she saw just how nervous him scaring her had made him, letting out a small giggle as she offered him another one of her smiles.

Sydney felt goosebumps break out across his skin.

"I remember you." She said quietly , relaxing now that she realised just who had crept up on her.

She looked at him sweatpants and hoodie, his wet hair and frowned a little "is it raining out? I was just out and it wasn't.." she wondered out loud. Mother instincts kicking in at the thought of him wandering around in the cold with his wet hair freely.

Sydney chuckled a little, rubbing his fingers through his hair. "Nah. I had a shower after the game." He said . Then he saw her confused look and his eyes widened in disbelief .

"What game?" She asked him curiously , wondering if he was some type of rugby player. He was buff enough to be one but his face was far too pretty.

Sydney looked at her in shock, blinking in astonishment because this was a first. He felt a little dizzy.

"You don't know who I am?" He blurted out. Then cringed at how entitled that sounded.

Fuck me. He mentally complained. What the hell is wrong with me? Why am I being so...uncool? He wondered to himself in embarrassment.

Thankfully she just let out a small Confused laugh and shook her head a little . Rocking her gurgling baby a little more in her arms as he wiggled about restlessly .

"No? I don't know you do I?" She winced at the thought while eyeing him up and down, scanning her memory for his face and coming up blank . Hoping to god that he wasn't some ex hookup from her wild college days or something.

She was a wild child before life had crashed down on her ass and forced her to grow up and face the consequences of drinking every night to the point where she apparently thought that she was allergic to rubber. But alas. That was the past and this was now.

And she had a ridiculously handsome man as her new neighbour , smiling down at her like she was his Christmas gift come early.

"You do not." He breathed out , grinning now.

Eyes flickering down to the baby in her arms, his little head now facing him as he blinked his big eyes up at him curiously . Syd he  his face soften at how adorable he was.

"And who's this little man playing where's Waldo?" He teased , motioning towards his red and white striped jumpsuit and hat. He looked cute as hell, there was no denying it. That baby had hit the genetic genes with her as his mother .

She rolled her eyes at him playfully , stroking the top of her baby's head affectionately. "This is benny. And those are his pyjamas since it is nearly midnight." She pointedly told him, smiling up at him. In awe by just how attractive he was.

Sydney smiled , reaching out to gently tap bennys little nose. Chuckling when he giggled , all high pitched and cute.

He awed softly . Enamoured by the both of them then.

"And do I get to know mammas name too?" He wondered a little nervously . Glancing over at her again, giving her a hopeful smile, heart pounding in his chest as he crossed his fingers behind his back.

She looked at him for a look moment . Taking in his flushed cheeks  and nervous smile. The way he wouldn't stop fidgeting on his feet , shoving his hands into the pocket of his sweatpants .

The longer she took to answer him, clearly expecting her not to, the more anxious he visibly got, Having already decided in his head that she was way out of league anyways .

She felt the familiar butterflies ravish across her chest and down to her stomach , fighting back a defeated sigh.

It'll happen when you least expect it. Her grandmother used to always tell her when she asked her about falling in love.

You probably won't even want it and then bam! Some stupid man will walk casually into your life and wreck all your plans . And you'll just know .

It'll be easy. and it will be sweet. Don't trust any of that 'love hurts nonsense honey.' She used to tell her fondly , like the wise woman she was. 'Love isn't like that That at all. Love is supposed to feel like coming home . Like everything has changed."

So she took a deep breath and told him gently "it's cherrie. It's Nice to meet you Sydney." Reaching out her free hand for him to shake, giving him this one chance.

And he took it.

He wrapped his fingers around her own and felt his skin burning , gently shaking her hand with his. Lingering there for a moment longer than he should as he looked into her pretty eyes, sighing a little As he did so.

"It's nice to meet you too Cherrie." He told her , having never said a more honest thing in his life.

And as Cherrie watched Sydney turn away from her to carefully take bennys tiny hand in his own, shaking it gently with a smile on his face. She just knew that her grandmother was smirking down at her knowingly , a 'I told you so' look on her beautiful face.

"And it's nice to meet you too little man." Sydney muttered , gently nudging his chubby cheeks before straightening up again. Giving Cherrie another glance "hopefully we'll get to bump into each other more often?" He hoped. Eyes glistening like daylight .

Cherrie just smiled and Sydney knew then that everything had changed.

'All I know is you held the door

You'll be mine and I'll be yours

All I know since yesterday

Is everything has changed'

It turned out that Sydney did a lot more than bumping into them after that night . Almost like he planned it. (He did).

The very next morning he was up at the crack ass Of dawn , excited and pumped , having his confused assistant get him a load of baby merchandise from their team catalogue . Ignoring her startled look and worried questions of 'did you get someone pregnant and not tell us Sydney?!'.

Instead he was grinning widely when she opened up the door, yawning cutely and looking behind confused As he silently held up a tiny Crosby jersey for her to see. Excitement  written across his face.

Hyped up on coffee and hope and nerves, his confidence was at a all time high . and he hadn't Given himself a second to overthink a single thing before he was at her front door . Not even thinking , just doing what felt right.

"Look how cute this is." He stated proudly , grinning as he looked down at his name on the jersey . Turning it around for her to see.

With messy hair, just a oversized tshirt dried with baby food on. Face puffy from sleep , she was still the most beautiful woman he had ever seen as he watched her yawn again. Squinting at the jersey in his hand in tired confusion.

Blinking slowly , she sniffled . Barely there.

"Crosby? Who's that?" She mumbled out tiredly , rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Stepping away from the door to head back over to the high chair where little benny was sat, impatiently waiting to be fed.

Sydney didn't hesitate to wander in straight after her , an arm full of baby clothes coming with him . All penguins and Crosby. Giddy with this new feeling inside of him, refusing to even question it.

"My name." He simply answered her. Grinning down at Benny who started clapping his hands and holding his breath in excitement , squirming in his chair as soon as he caught sight of him.

Sydney laughed "breathe little man!" He said in amusement as he took a seat at the table beside his high chair . Not even thinking to ask, completely missing the incredulous look on cherries face as she watched him settle right in like he had always been there.

"I know I'm amazing but come on.." he chuckled , gently stroking the curls on top of his little head. Shaking his head fondly at him, heart feeling soft .

"He's gonna be the coolest little dude wearing this." He then turned to face Cherrie again , nodding towards the clothes proudly .

Still confused and shocked and tired , she scratched at her forehead warily . Blinking at him slowly as she tried to catch up "football?" She muttered. Carefully lifting one of the tiny jerseys up to look at it , not a sports fan at all.

She could name messi and neymar and that was about it. She had a baby to take care of after all, no time for sport games.

Sports had never interested her. Maybe some of the players in college when she was in her hoe era but that was about as far as her knowledge went . How to blow a football player underneath the bleachers in less than five minutes . That she knew.

Sydney Crosby? She did not. Alright, she bit her lip gently as she looked at him, sat at her table in Nike shorts and a tight tshirt , looking like he belonged in the front page of GQ. She wouldn't mind being a hoe for him at all.

Teenage Cherrie could be foaming at the mouth. Adult Cherrie was just wondering why such a hot man was sat at her table , bringing her baby clothes and smiling up at her like she was something special.

"Hockey." He corrected her in amusement . Picking up the tiny bottle of baby food and the little spoon, he gathered some of the mushed food onto it.

Before pausing just before he could feed benny, cheeks flushing As he glanced back over at her. "I can feed him? Sorry...I didn't ask." He muttered embarrassed that he had gotten caught up in it all.

She didn't know him after all . But he wanted her to. and he wanted to know her, he wanted to know everything.

Cherrie just smiled , heart softening as she looked at him nervously fidget in his seat. His eyes wide and apologetic as he looked up at her.

She knew what was happening and god was she scared. She's had been burned before after all. A single mother in her early twenties told everyone all about that, but she was trying not to let one guys cruelness affect another, Especially not one as handsome and kind as Sydney seemed to be.

So fighting off the instinct to push him away and physically recoil from men entirely , she gave him a smile and relaxed .

"Sure. As long as you don't mind getting pudding all over you." She simply said .

Sydney just chuckled as he carefully fed benny a spoonful, grinning in Awe as he watched the little baby hum and wiggle in his seat As he practically tried to chomp the plastic spoon out of his hand.

"I don't mind." He muttered continuing to happily feed him. Then he remembered what he had promised himself to do and took a deep breath.

I can do this. He encouraged himself firmly. I'll regret it forever if I don't at least try. He then tried to reason with himself but the words failed to come out.

"Cherrie?" He finally called over to her. Watching as she poured herself a cup of coffee , leaning against the counter to face him when he said her name .

"Yeah?" She hummed. Curious .

He hesitated , then finally exhaled "you prefer going out for dinner or staying in?" He asked her as casually as he could manage to while feeling like he was going to have heart failure .

She frowned slightly in confusion. Tilting her head a little at him as she answered "staying in. Baby's and restaurants just don't end well."

Sydney nodded his head , giving her a grin. "Pizza?" He asked her. Wiping bennys mouth with his bib gently once he was done feeding him.

Cherrie paused, cup raised to her lips as she looked at him hesitantly . Wondering if he was really suggesting what she thought he was.

"Sydney..." she sighed. Nervously fidgeting with her cup as she watched his smile drop when she didn't say yes. But she felt the need to warn him. "I'm a mother." As though he didn't already know that.

Sydney frowned back at her , confused. "And I'm a hockey player?" He replied back blinking "what's that got to do with pizza?"

She gave him a look "you know what I mean." She said a little annoyed . Used to guys running for the hills as soon as they Realised that benny was in fact hers. "You won't just be having pizza with me. You'll be having pizza with benny too." She told him matter of factly. Expecting him to take it back and agree with her.

But Sydney had laughed and shrugged his shoulders with a grin. "Sounds good. Do they even do baby pizza?" He wondered out loud casually . As though his heart wasn't threatening to leave his rib cage then.

Cherrie just shook her head with a small smile tugging at her lips. Giving in With a defeated little huff because what else could she do?

"There is not."

He nodded again , pulling up the Crosby jersey again. "He's gotta wear this gem for pizza night." He stated. Grinning at her boyishly .

Cherrie just sighed because her grandma was right.

She did know.

'And all my walls

Stood tall painted blue

But I'll take 'em down, take 'em down

And open up the door for you'

But it wasn't always easy and Sydney had never expected it to be all sunshine and rainbows because that wasn't how real life was .

He had come to learn that She was as beautiful as she was stubborn but by then Sydney had learned to just roll with it. Because he knew that she needed a solid presence there for her when she got all knitted up like this, knew that he needed to stay calm and factual with her.

She was used to silly , stupid boys that were easy to push away. Insecure men that didn't know how to handle a woman like her, but Sydney was determined to prove to her that he was nothing like them at all.

And he thought that he had been doing a pretty great job at it so far.

He had made sure that she knew just how much he wanted to be around her, everything really had changed for him . And so quickly it had become that Sydney could barely bare to be away from her or benny for very long at all .

They were quickly becoming his whole world and Sydney wasn't going to let anybody ruin that.

So when they were out on a rare night out together at some bar her friends had been bugging her to go to, benny at his grandmas for the night.

Sydney Could only watch in confusion as Cherrie suddenly went tense beside him and then pulled her body away from him, making his arm fall down to his side from where it had been placed comfortably around her shoulders for most of the night.

Holding her purse in his other hand, he frowned warily to himself as he watched her straighten up with a odd look on her pretty face just as a woman walked over to them.

There was a moment where the woman just looked Cherrie up and down, eyes widening before she let out a loud laugh.

"Oh my god!" She gasped , grinning at her like they were best friends . "is that really you Cherrie? You've changed so much.." the way she said it didn't sound so nice either.

Sydney tensed up , his frown deepening as he silently stood to the side and just watched. Not wanting to step in , knowing by now that she hated being coddled and that she got embarrassed whenever he stepped in before .

So this time, he just stayed silent because she had pulled away from him. and it stung . But he knew her boundaries and knew what her body language meant by now.

"Yeah." Cherrie muttered, clutching onto her drink in her hands tightly . Swallowing drily when she noticed Maxine eye the drink in her hand with a smirk on her face.

"Still a party girl then? The baby not take you away from your wildness huh?" She laughed , clearly judging her.

And Sydney kind of wanted to grab that drink and throw it in her bitch face but unfortunately that would be assault .

Cherrie didn't answer so Maxine took it upon herself to continue on despite the uncomfortable look on cherries face , Sydney tried to gently place his hands on cherries waist in support so that she knew he was there, but she shrugged him off, not even looking at him.

He inhaled silently then , telling himself not to take it personal. She was clearly upset , she would tell him why she was acting like this when she was ready.

Hopefully.

"I can't believe you actually went through with it! All the girls were placing bets on which footballers baby it was! Was it Harrison's? You two were always fucking around between classes.." she smirked at her meanly .

Cherrie swallowed , skin prickling as Maxine brought up all of her past shame right in front of Sydney who knew nothing about it. Because she didn't want him to know what a wildcard she had Been before benny came and settled her down.

She had been the definition of a whore and she knew it. She had been easy , she had been the party girl.

The girl that everybody wanted to get with and most of them she let hit it too, because she was lonely and desperate for attention back then. Mix in alcohol and daddy issues and she was your average college girl who was trying to find love in all the wrong places.

But she was better now. She was grown up and she didn't just sleep with anybody anymore. She hasn't been with anybody since bennys dad , and Sydney had been the only man that she had been with since then.

But she didn't want him to know about it because she was scared. What if he thought differently of her after finding out what a party girl she had been? Her body count was way more than his, there was no doubt about it.

Would he think that she was easy and that he didn't want a girl that had been around the block a dozen times?

What if he didn't want her anymore?

The thought of losing him because of what an idiot she had been when she was younger made her want to dump him before he could dump her.

She didn't want Sydney to have the power to break her heart, her heart and thoughts were going rapid with panic and fear. Irrationality mixed with hard liquor not Helping her at all. It was like all common sense had went out the window and she froze up .

"No. No. I-he-" she stammered , blinking back the stinging in her eyes. Feeling like her throat was closing as she looked at maxines mean smirk , knowing exactly what she was doing.

And Cherrie hated that she knew exactly why Maxine was doing this. Because Cherrie had been a horrible person as a teenager , boy crazy and the queen B. She had went a little power crazy and let the popularity ruin her for a while .

And cherrie couldn't even get angry at Maxine for acting this way because mostly she felt ashamed that the past was always going to follow her everywhere.

Because Maxine hated her simply because her boyfriend had dumped her for Cherrie when they were eighteen , because every boy in their class had wanted her then. And Cherrie hadn't cared at all about how the girl felt, too busy sucking faces in front of her with her boyfriend , without a single care in the world.

She had been a bitch. There was no denying it.

But it was different now. Everything has changed and now the only man she wanted was stood beside her, hearing what a whore she had been before benny. And it scared her and she hated it.

"Actually he's mine." Sydney butted in blandly , hearing enough.

Seeing the way that Cherrie had frozen up and seeing the tears cloud her pretty eyes had Him stepping up, taking her hand in his own no matter how hard she tried to tug it away.

He held on stronger . He wasn't going anywhere . And neither was she. They were a team now, they could face the world together.

He wasn't going to let her be spoken To like this. She didn't deserve it. And he wasn't going to let it happen.

The past was the past and in his opinion it should stay there. Not go be brought up in some club years later when everything had changed.

"And we were busy so.." he gave her a clearly fake smile. Steering Cherrie away, not giving the frowning Maxine another glance.

Instead he turned to face Cherrie, sighing when she pushed him away and stomped out of the bar like her ass was on fire , Sydney hot in her heels. Not letting Her get very far at all.

"Fuck off Sydney." She snapped. Overwhelmed , drunk and upset . Convinced that he wasn't going to love her now.

Sydney shook his head in frustration , not understanding why she was acting like this now.

Just wanting to make her feel better .

"No." He ground out firmly "you're going to tell me what's going on! Why are you snapping at me? I didn't do anything!" He stated annoyed .

She just scoffed , spinning around to glare tearfully at him. "No. But you're going to! Now you know what a fucking slut I was! You can't tell me that you're happy with me now!" She pushed at him roughly , sniffling . Beyond upset.

He scoffed at her. Rolling his eyes. "no I'm not happy . You're right." Seeing her face crumble, clearly not catching his sarcasm , he sighed loudly .

"I'm not happy because you're not Cherrie! I don't care what you were like in fucking college. You think that I think that you got benny by being some saint?" He sarcastically responded . Gently grabbing her wrist to pull her closer , not letting her storm off.

They were going to work this out, Right here and right now.

She looked up at him, blinking away the tears . sniffling emotionally .

"you don't care?" She couldn't believe it. She would care. She was a mess.

Sydeny just laughed at her in disbelief. Eyes scanning her beautiful face as though she was joking , shaking his head at her fondly .

"are you kidding me?" He squished her face between his hands , puckering up her lips for him , quickly leaning down to steal a quick but firm kiss, laughing at the startled squeak she let out as he did so.

"the only thing I care about is you now. And let me ask you- are you the same girl that you were back then?" He asked her seriously. Already knowing the answer.

She frowned at him , looking at him all upset and pouty . "No. I'm Not." She mumbled grumpily . Leaning onto his chest as his arms came up to rest around her back, biting back a grin at her poutiness. The same pout that benny wore whenever he wasn't allowed anymore ice cream.

He rose a brow at her smugly , "exactly. And that's all I care about. You want to fuck anyone but me?" He then casually asked her already knowing the answer to that question too . Confident in her and him and who they were together .

He trusted her and he knew that she trusted him too. It was all going to be just fine.

She paused, then blushed, then shook her head a little bashfully .

"No. You know I don't. I just want you Syd ." She whispered. It was a promise.

He leaned down and gently nudged their noses together , feeling happy when she finally let out a soft giggle. Leaning into him fully , letting him comfort her.

Wrapping his arms around her fondly , he gave her a strong squeeze. So filled with love for her that it hurt . He wanted to kill anybody that even bought a tear to her ear. That woman, her shitty ex boyfriend and that pizza shop that had put pineapple on her pizza despite her asking them not to.

That was love. Hope. Protectiveness and happiness he knew what he wanted in life and his future was standing right in front of him, puckering her lips up for another kiss.

He kissed her again ".And I want you. It's as simple As that. I didn't know you then but I know you now alright?" He told her clearly , making her understand how serious he was about this, about her .

"And I love you for who you are. All the good and all the bad. You can call yourself a problem but you're my problem now alright? Are we clear?" He muttered down to her seriously , tilting your her chin between his fingers so he could meet her eyes. Keeping her gaze on him.

Smiling to himself contently when she quickly nodded her head, cheeks flushed as she squirmed at his demanding tone and held him closer. Trusting him completely .

"Crystal." She agreed without any hesitation  . The weight being lifted of her shoulder .

"Can we go home?" She then asked him softly. Just wanting to be with him .

Sydeny smiled down at her and kissed the top her head a dozen times, Heart feeling full because he finally had her walls crashing down for him. Getting the whole story instead of just the pages in her messy book.

And he still loved her. Nothing was going to change that.

Everything had changed for the better . His sun was never going down. His daylight was never fading .

'And all I feel

In my stomach is butterflies

The beautiful kind, makin' up for lost time

Takin' flight, makin' me feel like'

"So it's serious then?" His friend inhaled sharply in disbelief . The two men stood side by side in a corner of a fancy room as they stared down at a glass case of fancy diamond rings .

Sydeny chuckling a little as he carefully picked up a emerald cut ring , titling it to the light As he envisioned it on her slim finger .

"What gave you that clue?" He joked. More than Amused by his reaction.

His friend just shot him a look, still in shock. "I just can't Believe it man! I mean- shit-marriage is a big deal! What if in a few years you hate her? Then what?!" He rambled , worried.

Sydney couldn't have laughed any harder if he tried.

"Trust me man, I couldn't hate her ever. She could run me over with my own car and I'd still tell her it wasn't her fault. She's the one." He simply responded . Believing it with everything in him.

"I can't believe it." His friend repeated , sighing loudly . Shaking his head in disbelief .

"You. Married. Plus that means you'll be bennys step dad too. That's serious." He said. As though he didn't already know, like he hasn't planned it all through .

From day one, he knew what he wanted as soon as he saw her smile at him while he held the door open for her. And he hadn't  even knew her name then, but he knew.

Sydney just rolled his eyes "that's the whole point. This is as serious as I am about her and benny.  I love that little man and he loves me. He's the next Crosby. Hopefully the next baby will be as perfect as he is." He stated without thinking , still looking at the rings.  Not paying any kind to the prices.

His friend place a hand on his chest , exhaling heavily. "Man. I feel like I'm dreaming. Plus she's so out of your league! How did you even bag her?" He laughed at him in disbelief.

He had met Cherrie on several occasions and he couldn't believe that she was  his girlfriend .

She looked like a supermodel but she was the sweetest and funniest woman that he had ever met. and watching her tiny ass put Sydney in his place was hilarious , and watching sydeny run about after her and moon over her whenever they were on the road was just as insane to him too.

His mr hockey had become mr hockey and Cherrie and benny now. It was strange to witness but he was happy for Sydney because he had never seen his friend so fucking happy before .

"Food and wine." Sydeny muttered , face lightening up as he held up the perfect ring. The butterflies swarming in his stomach , making up for lost time.

And Sydney knew that it was going to be forever because it had always felt like he had known her forever . His love for her was as easy as breathing. All he wanted to do was make her happy , because seeing her smile because of him made him just as happy too.

It really was that simple. and well, happy wife happy life right?

Now he just needed to make her his wife now. So he could annoy her with that catchy phrase.

He couldn't wait.

'All I know is a new found grace

All my days, I'll know your face

All I know since yesterday

Is everything has changed'

Cherrie was sat in the sand digging up sand castles , listening to benny giggle and whisper with Sydney with a smile on her face. Lifting up her head from the sand, she grinned over at them playfully .

Heart feeling full as she watched them, seeing benny in his Sydney shirt , matching with Sydney right down to his swimming trunks .

"What are you two gossiping about?" She called over to them in amusement.

Sydney gave benny a look and the nearly three year old started stumbling over to her , a large shell in his hand. and she sat up, thinking that her son was about to show her his findings from the beach hunting that He and Sydney had been on. Collecting shells for them to paint once they got home.

"Just about how good you look right now. You've got that sun kissed glow." Sydney told her as he slowly walked over , ruffling bennys messy hair . The toddler giggling and beaming up at him as he did so.

He winked at him , gently kneeling down on one knee beside him. Wrapping a arm loosely around his waist so he didn't topple down in the sand, keeping him upright.

Cherrie Thought nothing about his position , just him supporting benny. She reached over to give him a soft kiss , giggling a little as she pulled away.

"I think you're lying." She whispered

Playfully , looking down at benny with a smile.

"what did silly Syd really say?" She tickled his small stomach making him shriek with laughter

Sydney quickly took the shell from his hand before he could drop it , and while she was distracted , he turned it over on the palm of his hand.

Benny now sitting beside him crossed legged while he stayed there in front of her on one knee.

"Syddy wants to marry mommy!" He giggled out, pointing at him with a toothless grin on his little face.

Laughing along with him, she turned her head to see what he was pointing at and froze up. Eyes going wide as she looked at Sydney, on one knee, holding out a shell in the palm of his hand, tears in his eyes too as he smiled at her softly , patiently.

"What'd ya say babe? Want to marry me?" His voice shook as he held out his hand for her to see inside the shell.

She looked down into it and saw a beautiful diamond ring .

She inhaled sharply and looked up at him in shock, mouth dropping open. "Holy shit!" She exclaimed. Laughing loudly , hand cupping her mouth as she looked between the ring and him over and over again.

Sydney laughed too , fondly . Shaking  his head at her with a amused grin "so it that a yes? Because I really love you and I really , really want to be your husband. If you'll let me.." he told her softly. Meaning each word .

Cherrie was speechless . Then benny giggled and nudged het impatiently "let him. He's gonna get me

ice cream." He told her like that was all that mattered. To him it did.

Cherrie bust into tears and threw her arms around Sydney's neck , Sydney laughing loudly as he clutched onto her just as hard .

His own tears falling down his face as he lifted her hand and slid the ring in her finger before they could lose it in the sand. The sight of his ring on her finger made them cry harder.

"I love you so much! Of course I'll marry you syd! Holy shit!" She giggled into his neck , sniffling . Overwhelmed with love for him. Because everything had changed , for the better this time.

Sydney caught bennys confused and worried look over her shoulder, the toddler making grabby hands at him . Tears filling his eyes just because they were crying too.

"Awe." He laughed emotionally while pulling benny into the cuddle too, squeezing him to him and kissing the top of his little head.

"You happy bud?" He echoed . Kissing cherries head too while she cried into his chest making him laugh.

Benny nodded his head , hugging him around his neck . "Ice cream?" He mumbled hopefully. Oblivious.

Sydney snorted "ice cream. After mommy's done crying." He told him in amusement , patting the love of his life's back as she continued to sob tears of happiness into his chest.

Take that Maxine. She thought gleefully. Who's laughing now?

Everything had changed.

[silvervioletvalentine]

🖤☠️Sick in love ☠️🖤

Pairing : Max Verstappen x teammate Cherrie!

Word count : 5k

Summary: - @be-your-coffee-pot so i have this little idea where like cherrie is like a driver for redbull right with max and they do not get along because they're both hard headed little shits. but this once before a race shes gets rly sick with high fever and what not and shes almost completely out of it during the interviews and press conferences and max cant help but yk coddle her a little bit. and they're on the couch with the rest of the drivers during the press conference and shes leaning against him and she just falls asleep and max falls in love lmao

Warnings/ AN- just fluff basically. Max and Cherrie are petty little bitches to each other . I hope you like it! @be-your-coffee-pot !! 🦋 I strayed a little tiny bit away from the plot but this is what I came up with in my sleep deprived , who the hell am I, how am I still awake. Oh my god it’s night time , form! So enjoy! It’s not edited because I can’t be bothered and that’s just not me. Lemme know what u think coxo

When Cherrie woke up that morning it was to her skin layered with horrible sweat , feeling like her blood was boiling yet as she wiped at her face with her trembling hand, all she felt was cold and clammy .

Groaning in misery to herself as she sniffled her way through getting ready , only managing to pull on a redbull hoodie before she was stumbling out of her room to see her assistant waiting for her , a look of concern immediately washing over her face at the sight of her driver .

Jenny gasped , taking in cherries pale skin and bright red cheeks.

Looking like a blushing bride despite the fact that Jenny had seen the most hottest of men flirt with her all summer, and not once had her cheeks even tinged with colour .

"You're sick." She stated the obvious in concern , knowing how stubborn Cherrie was and how much she hated being sick.

She liked to go into denial about it whenever she was ill, claiming that she was fine and that the flu and bugs going around never affected her. Like she was some superhero with powers to divert viruses and bugs from kids that never washed their fucking hands before touching things.

It was bound to happen sometime and yet Cherrie refused to admit it, she had work to do after all.

She didn't have time to be sick.

"I am not." She refused to be.

Head feeling heavy and the room spinning slightly as she clutched onto the table , blinking as slowly as she could as she tried to clear her foggy head.

"This is all Max's fault." She croaked out in distain as she let her body fall into one of the chairs heavily , sniffling again. Swearing that she saw the kettle move and dance out of the corner of her eye , but when she glanced over at it again. It had not.

She swallowed dryly , then winced to herself in pain as she felt sharp pin pricks in her throat .

"Fucking bastard." She sniffled again . Sounding like she had out a peg over her nose , barely able to breathe.

Jenny just rolled her eyes, hands on her hips , ready to hear what max had done this time to get the blame. Used to hearing the both of them bitch at eachother and about each other at every chance they got.

You would think that with max and Cherrie being teammates, that they would get along just fine . Both of them world champions and both of them leading nearly every race , always a redbull 1-2. And yet...despite everyone's wishful hopes . That just didn't happen at all.

Instead , Cherrie, with her usual attitude and terrible humour , had taken it up to herself to tell max exactly what she thought of him at the time.

Coming straight from Mercedes , she had not been his biggest fan at all.

But hey, she wanted to be a winner and she knew that redbull was the only way that she would be going fast enough to do so, so when checo was out , she was in without any hesitation.

And it might have went well had she been able to shut herself up. But Cherrie had a problem with keeping every bad thought and opinion in her head, having lacked a filter since the day she could say 'fuck' and 'you' in The same sentence.

Max just happened to be at the end of her target this time around and he was like a walking orange dot for her to focus on, refusing to leave him be. Going out of her way to annoy him, on and off the track.

She just couldn't help herself. It was too easy.

But it wasn't all her fault because max was exactly the same way. Both of them too stubborn and hardheaded , way too blunt with awkward humours that most other people just never understood .

They clashed like the red bulls that they were .

Max gave it back to her just as much as she did. He didn't hesitate in insulting her back, picking at every little thing that she did or said just to see the way she would immediately flare up and glare at him, threatening him creatively each and every time .

It was entertainment to him, he could selfishly admit it to himself . And no matter how much times Christian had tried to force them to bond and just be nice , neither of them would give in. Much too prideful to admit that they were both at wrong and that they were both just bullying each other for the fun of it now.

And maybe max wouldn't have been so bitter and upset if Cherrie hadn't started dating the biggest prick around after a particularly nasty fight they had.

Max , at the time, had stupidly took a low shot at her lack of relationships , telling her meanly that 'no man would ever want to put up with her bullshit'. When what he wanted to say was 'I want to put up with your bullshit but we can't stop bullshitting each other enough to even have a conversation.'

And he should have known that he hasn't won that argument when she just levelled him with a cold look and walked up . He had naively forgotten how petty she was . Because she had taken it up a extra level and come straight back with a brand new boyfriend to shove in his face , far too smug and pleased with herself as she watched the look of anger and annoyance on his face when she brought him to the garage , kissing him right in front of max until he stormed off in a rage .

He had dnf'd that race and things hadn't ever been the same since then. Their bickering and fighting had only gotten worse to the point where her assistant tried to pull her away from max as much as possible.

But only so much was possible at the end of the day . He was literally her teammate , it was in her contract to work with him and be around him. And that included doing videos and joint interviews together , she barely ever not go to see his stupid face. It was irritating.

"Where the ghost?" Cherrie croaked out , head pounding as she looked blearily down at the plate of food in front of her that jenny had made.

Her assistant paused, then blinked slowly "ghost?" She repeated in disbelief "what the hell are you talking about?" She looked around the room with worry as though an actual ghost was going to pop up and scare them.

But Cherrie just frowned back at her, looking equally as confused. "My toast. Jenny." She whined .

Jenny sighed loudly , hand on her face with worry . "You are so sick! Are you sure you're going to be well enough for today?" She worried .

Cherrie sniffled "but I didn't say that." She denied , slowly blinking . "I'm fine."

She then began to slowly eat her breakfast , toast included , in silence . Barely able to keep her eyes open.

Yet she still managed to let out a loud groan of misery when Jenny told her just who she was paired up with in interview today.

"No!" She whined , practically pouting. "Why are you torturing me like this Jenny? Don't you like me?" She turned into a baby when she was sick. Looking like she might cry as she peered over at her with wide eyes.

Jenny just sighed , used to her shit by now. rubbing at her head in stress. "Just play nice okay? Don't make this harder for yourself Cherrie. You're already sick, don't let max give you an even bigger headache than you have ."

Cherrie just groaned again.

Max actually paused what he was doing when he saw her sluggishly walk into the room, his brows furrowing deeply as he scanned her from head to toe. Worry tugging at his chest as he took in her dropped eyes and pale face , looking like a absolute mess.

He told her so "you look terrible ." He stated , shocked .

"What the hell is wrong?" He demanded to know coming over to her .

Cherrie just huffed tiredly , smiling a little because she has taken some strong pain meds right before they left the hotel and she could already feel them kicking in. Her head felt like it was floating away and her chest tickling like she was going to giggle.

But max was there, standing in front of her and looking at her like she had grown an extra head.

So she frowned back at him while scowling . "So lovely." She sarcastically replied "it's a surprise that you're not a virgin if that's how you speak to ladies." She said bluntly .

Max rolled his eyes , crossing his arms over his chest. Not taking his eyes away from her .

"It's a Surprise that you're not single. What kind of boyfriend lets you leave like this, when you're clearly not well?" He threw back at her, annoyed and hating that he felt so damn concerned in the first place.

He shouldn't care at all. She was a pain in his ass and practically loved to annoy him. So why did he want to carry her back to the hotel, wrap her in a blanket and cuddle her like a baby until she was well again?

That was a weird thought . He swallowed a little . Quickly pushing it away.

"I am single now." She let him know blandly as she pushed past him to head over to the couch set up for their interview .

"So I'm going to fuck all your closest friends." She told him with a grin, practically throwing herself down onto the couch. Yawning and sniffling , coughing too.

Max's frown deepened "you are not." Then he realised what she had said and had to fight back a smile . "He dumped you?" He sounded gleeful even to his own ears.

Cherrie glared at him for it "no!" She groaned out "I dumped him. He just wasn't scratching that itch anymore." She complained, giggling. Looped from the meds.

Max paused, then said "get a back scratcher then." Smartly like the ass that he was.

Cherrie just snorted "the itch is not on my back it's in my-"

Max let out a high pitched noise and quickly shut her up. Sitting down next to her. "Shut up! I didn't care. I don't want to hear it." He exclaimed , face flushing.

He then smacked his palm over her forehead , startling her . But his face was cold with concentration .

"You burning up! What is wrong with you?!" He exclaimed , worried. Brushing her hair away from her sweaty face without even thinking about it.

Cherrie slapped his hand away without missing a beat , "it's 'cause I'm so sexy. Like a fire ball. I am fire- so I'm hot- like- like.."she was looped and max didn't know whether to be endeared or scared by her behaviour . "Like the sun." She finished off , sneezing .

Max groaned a little , still frowning at her . Then the interviewer came in and he wiped the Worry from his face , not wanting the cameras to see him looking at her like that.

So he stared straight ahead instead , crossing his arms over his chest so he wouldn't do something as stupid as hold her hand.

"If you get me sick, I will kill you." He muttered.

Cherrie just snorted , coughing. "No you won't. You're too soft to kill me. You'd cry." She replied simply . Believing it .

Max just huffed but didn't bother to deny it. He may have enjoyed winding her up but murdering her was a little too far .

Maybe giving her a good shake  when she was acting up.

"Fuck you." He mumbled instead. Lamely.

Cherrie laughed "you wish. Grow balls first , i like sucking em." She joked.

Max went red , gasping and smacking her leg , flustered by her lack of filter. She had No shame at all. Giggling at the look on his face.

"There's something wrong with you Cherrie." Be hissed at her. Placing his hand over his cheek so that she couldn't see him blush. How embarrassing.

But come on. Hearing a beautiful woman tell you that she liked to suck balls was going to make any straight man squirm.

He was just a man after all. He wasn't immune to her beauty , just intimidated by her lack of charm, it was like dealing with the devil.

"Yeah." She looked at him like he was stupid "I'm sick."

He groaned. "So you admit it! You are sick!" He smugly responded .

But Cherrie just shook her head , sniffling agin. "I didn't say that."

"Yes you did!" He looked incredulously at her, mouth dropping open.

She blinked "no I didn't. Don't lie max. Your Pants can't take anymore fire."

He groaned.

By the time dinner time came around, Cherrie was well and truly sick of max verstappen. And Baffled and so fucking confused. Because he wouldn't leave her the hell alone.

He had taken to taking her temperature every fifteen minutes. Mumbling underneath his breath and forcing her to drink cold water when it didn't go down quick enough for his liking .

Then he was forcing her to tell him what she had been eating and if she had been anywhere that she could have gotten a deadly virus from. Hand cupped over her forehead in her worry , having followed her back around . Like a needy puppy looking for it's owner , Cherrie was exasperated.

She looked up at him in disbelief "I've only been where you've been max! What's wrong with you?" She moaned moodily . Head pounding.

She shoved his hand off her head , again, and stomped straight to the couch, laying on it. Closing her eyes and ignoring him.

He placed his hands on hips and glared down at her . Almost biting his nails out of worry the whole morning . She was clearly out of it , otherwise she wouldn't have even let him into her motor home in the first place.

It literally had 'no max fartstappen allowed' written in marker on the front . Yet here he was, and he was worried and trying to deny why he was so worried for in the first place.

It wasn't going very well.

And now he was making her honey tea and wondering if he could call out a doctor without her realising he had done so.

"Cherrie! You've called me maxie twice!" He exclaimed like that was enough evidence for Him

to be like this. Coddling her like a Damsel in distress.

She just shoved her face further into the pillow, frowning tiredly . "So?" She mumbled.

He huffed "so?" He scoffed while gently pulling her body up so that she would sit up right.

Ignoring her complaining and her glare, he lifted the teacup to her lips. Glaring back at her just as hard when she refused to take a sip.

"drink it Cher. It'll help your thirst. It has

honey In it ." He told her sternly , tapping it against her lips, not giving up.

She eventually gave in with a another stubborn groan, sipping at it while he held the cup up to her lips. Hand on the back of her hand to keep her steady so she didn't spill it. Like it was a totally normal thing for him to do.

It was not.

He continued in quietly "you've called me maxie and you usually call me asshole. So you're clearly dying." He stated. Serious as shit.

Cherrie sniffled, side eyeing him judgmentally . Heart pinching a little as she saw the way he was looking at her , his thumb rubbing soft circles in the back of her stiff neck without even realising it. Trying to make her feel better .

"Why do you even care? This is your fault anyways!" She accused him. Coughing.

He groaned, side eyeing her straight back. He should have known she would rope him into the blame somehow .

"how?!" He raised his voice a little then winced to himself when she winced in pain , quickly lowering his voice again . "How?"

She turned her stuffed nose up at him "you covered me in cold champagne in the rain!"

Max glared at her "because you won! Lando did it too!" He was incredulous .

She just  huffed stubbornly, because when In doubt blame a man . "But you did it with Cruel intention' you wanted me to get sick so you could win!"

He glared at her, taking the now empty cup away from her lips. Then flicking at her chin with his fingers making her flinch , wide eyed .

"I can win with you not sick, thank you! You think that I want to hear you whine about like chewbacca?!" He shot back at her. Annoyed at her stupid accusations. She was just grasping at straws, wanting someone to be annoyed at .

She gasped then , insulted . Wide eyes glaring  at him "I do not sound like chewbacca!" She cried out.

He smirked "you kinda look like him too." He said. Then laughed as she hauled a cushion at his head.

"Get out asshole!" She snapped. Too tired to shout.

Max just rolled his eyes playfully , watching as she laid back down. He placed a pillow in his lap, patting it. Casually

She ignored him.

"No. I'm not leaving." He stated seriously . Patting his lap again.

She side eyed him "I'll Hurt you." She threatened him. Sniffling loudly .

Her nose was red and eyes droopy, max felt his heart soften. She was always beautiful but now she just looked cute.

He stifled a grin. Knowing how much she would hate being called cute.

"What you gonna do? Sneeze on me?" He responded smugly . "Shut up. Come here." He patted his lap again, impatiently this time.

She let out a mocking laugh "fuckoff. I'm Not lying I'm your lap." She muttered, yawning, blinking and seeing three Max's.

She blinked hard again, and saw just one max looking down at her , sighing loudly at her stubbornness .

"I'll fuck off after you've had a nap." He promised her.

"You'll smother Me In My sleep." She let him pull her up and position her so that her head was in his lap instead. Too tired and head hurting too much to fight him on it physically  , but her mouth did.

"Bastard." She huffed.

Max just rolled his eyes , tapping his fingers gently against her forehead . "I'll smother you for real if you keep arguing with me. Just shut your fucking eyes so I can leave you sooner. You're getting on my nerves." He told her, twirling her hair around his finger. In awe by how soft it was.

She punched his thigh, he gently tugged her hair . She closed her eyes, huffing tiredly.

She was asleeep in minutes. And max didn't leave.

Hours later and she was still so sick and so tired and max was coddling her, it was weird and strange and they were getting looks from everybody that saw them together .

But she was too sick too care , just giving in and letting him baby her. She couldn't find it in herself to complain this time.

Maybe when she could finish a sentence without coughing her guts up , she would tease him for his level 100 clinger personality that had suddenly appeared .

The way he wouldn't leave her side, holding a flask of soup in his hand that he had made just for her after searching up a recipe on his phone when she was sleeping . He made her drink it from the small cup as they waited for their next press conference.

"You look like you're dying." He winced as she coughed horribly again "sound like it too." He added unhelpfully  .

She groaned a little, leaning into his side and sipping the soup slowly . Barely able to keep her eyes open.

"You loook like that all the time. What's your excuse maxie?" She weakly resorted back.

She missed the way his cheeks flushed at the nickname falling so easily from her lips, clearing

his throat and placing his hand on her arm to steady her. Just as Daniel saddled up to them, looking far too amused for his liking .

Cherrie paid him no mind but max saw the teasing look on his face and sighed long and hard ,

Knowing just what was coming.

He flushed bright red "what?" He defensively snapped at him already .

Daniel just laughed loudly "nothing!" He grinned smugly , then watched as max made her take some more painkillers. Taking her temperature again like a worried mother hen.

"You a doctor now?" He teased him.

Max just huffed "shut up." He muttered . "She's sick and I don't want to get sick too." He said.

Daniel giggled "then maybe you shouldn't be standing so close to her then. I'm surprised you're not giving mouth to mouth yet." He joked.

Then dodged the empty flask cup flying at his head. Laughing the whole time.

Cherrie was completely out if by the time the press conference was happening, body sagging against Max's on the couch. Not paying any attention and just mumbling her barely there answers , max answering most of them for her without missing a single beat . His media training kicking in perfectly .

Then she eventually went quite and he glanced down at her for a moment , feeling a heavy weight falling on-top of his shoulder. His eyes widening in surprise and cheeks flushing bright red as he noticed that she had drifted off too sleep on him, lips parted with small breaths. Frowning a little still in her sleep.

He gently smoothed the frown from her pretty face away with his thumb. Smiling a little to himself at the grumble she let out, squeezing his arm between her own as she cuddled up against him. Out if it, mumbling nonsense beneath her breath.

Then he looked up and caught Daniels eye,

His friend smirking at him as he held up his phone to take a picture for evidence . The other drivers looking between the two teammates that 'hated' each other in shock.

Charles was blinking at him In disbelief "but she called you a dirty, two faced, lying sloth last week." He was gaping, gobsmacked by the sudden change.

Max just flushed a even darker shade of red .  Not answering .

Then lando was giggling at him Knowingly  "-and you said that she was the most annoying person you had ever met. That you wouldn't touch her even if someone paid you." He pointedly glanced down at his arm around her shoulders and the way he was placing his hand Gently on Her forhead to check her temperature again.

He quickly dropped his hand and cleared his throat awkwardly "that was last week." He muttered , swallowing audibly .

Embarrassed to be caught acting like this in front of his friends. "And I don't need to be paid to touch her." I'd do it for free . Beg if I had to. He thought.

The sudden realisation was shocking and he actually flinched in shock to himself , hissing a little beneath his breath as he froze up just as she startled awake. Glaring up at him dazedly , hair sticking up and face sweaty. Delirious and sick.

"Max! For Fucks sake!" She whined , still

half asleep.

Pushing at his shoulder weakly . "Have you got worms you asshole?" She sniffled. Rubbing at her tired eyes like a child .

Max blushed , heart pounding in his chest as he just Looked at her with wide eyes, mouth gaping open a little bit.

Because what the fuck was this?

"Shut up." He weakly replied. Catching Daniels eyes again, his friends wiggling His brows teasingly .

He was So completely fucked. Oh my god.

The only problem with realising his feelings was that max had a problem with keeping his Mouth shut. The words were practically tearing at his lips as he carefully led her back to her hotel room, not taking no for an answer .

He made her another hot tea , placed a wet flannel over her head and tucked her into her bed without even blinking . Like this was normal, like he did this all the time.

He did not. But he wanted to.

He swallowed thickly as he looked down at Cherrie then , taking in her drooping eyes and red rosy cheeks, hair a mess on the top of her head. He felt his heart pound in his chest.

A year of being teammates  and it was just hitting him now ? Jesus Christ! What the fuck?

His mind raced just as fast as his heart was and he couldn't hold it in. He felt like his brain was going to explode.

"Cherrie?" He spoke up quietly after Clearing his throat awkwardly . Stood by the end of her bed still , hands shoved into his pockets as he looked down at her tired frame in the soft sheets.

She hummed, coughing a little . "Yeah?" She didn't even Open her eyes.

He took a deep breath and then without even thinking about it , his heart opened straight up.

"I love you." He blurted it out bluntly . Cringing deeply to himself as he did so . Face a permanent bright red as he tensed up, eyes wide and feeling like he was a bit to have a heartattack and keel over right in front of her.

His nerves got the better of him and he started rambling . "I mean- it's weird but I am so in love with you and that's why I was so mad when you got a boyfriend. Because I wanted to be your boyfriend and thats stupid because we hate each other-"

"We don't hate eachother." Cherrie simply

muttered. Still not opening her heavy eyes, but there was smile tugging at her lips.

Max swallowed thickly "yeah _ well-I love you. Okay?" He finished up weakly. Feeling sick to his stomach .

He watched as she took a deep Breath , shaking her head a little with a small smile on her face, cracking open one eye to look at him.

She hummed a little "max?"

He exhaled shakily "yeah?"

"Can you tell Me that you love when I can breathe through both nostrils again?" She casually replied. Smiling softly at him. Fondly.

Max rapidly nodded his head, laughing nervously  . Biting down on his bottom lip as he felt a rush of hope and excitement fill him.

"Yeah of course! Sounds good. Sounds like a plan. I like plans. Okay." He nodded his head again. Smiling widely at her.

Then he thumbed over his shoulder and awkwardly shuffled to the door "I should go. You need to rest." He stated , still grinning happily .

He opened the door, heart pounding in his chest. His head quick to snap back over to her when she quietly called to him

"Max??"

"Yeah?"

"I love you." She told him easily , yawning. Then coughed again. Ruining the sweetness but it was more than enough for him.

Max smiled giddily, laughing a little nervously . "Cool. Cool. Yeah okay! That's good- thank you." He rambled on. Giving her a thumbs up.

Cherrie laughed. Then coughed.

Max grimaced to himself at how lame that was , face a dark red by now. He hesitated at the door, about to leave.

"Can I-" he took a deep breath to gather his courage "can I kiss you when You feel better please ?" He asked her quietly, face hopeful.

His grin filling his face when she sleepily nodded her head. "Sounds like a plan maxie."

He sighed happily "cool."

"Now get out. Come tell me you love me tomorrow." She croaked . Already falling asleep again. The meds kicking in.

Max nodded excitedly . Feeling like a teenager in love all over again.

"Cool. Love you." He blurted out , happy. Then he slammed the door shut behind him, fist bumping the air as he laughed gleefully too himself .

Exhaling loudly  , he then held his hand over his pounding chest.

He sighed shakily "holy shit. She loves me." He breathed out. Grinning like a maniac .

Who thought that it would only take her getting sick to get them to admit it?

[silvervioletvalentine]

Okay, i don’t wanna be dense or like stupid. But i learned English after i learned another language. And even though i live in and was born in the US pronunciation still ruins me. Is “Cherrie” pronounced like cherry or share-ie. Sorry for being dense, i really love your writing. I’m just stupid 💀🙏

You’re not dense lmfao ! Honestly I’ve never thought about it. I supposed it could be either way. Personally I hear it as share-ie. But it’s up to you! Whatever feels right 😂

[silvervioletvalentine]

🖤¡And I never saw you coming , and I’ll never be the same!🖤

Pairing: Charles Leclerc x Teammate Cherrie!

Word count: 4.7k

Summary : lyric request : hey! love your writing by the way <3 could i request "and i never saw you coming and i'll never be the same" with charles leclerc? maybe cherrie's had a few bad breakups and she doesn't really trust men anymore, but charles comes along and just changes everything and it's superrr fluffy? thank you so much! x

A/N : hiii!! @cieloclercs Thank u for giving me the inspo for this fic!! Sorry it took so long but I had fun writing it. I hope you u like it!! You guys can send in more Taylor swift lyric prompts for f1 drivers or nhl players and I’ll see what I can do! Lemme know what u guys think xoxo

'I'm walking fast through the traffic lights

Busy streets and busy lives

And all we know is touch and go

We are alone with our changing minds

We fall in love 'til it hurts or bleeds, or fades in time'

Cherrie tried to push the stinging in the back of her eyes as she ignored the consistent buzzing of her phone in the back pocket of her jeans , sniffling quietly as she quickly crossed through the traffic lights .

Barely seeing a flash of green in the corner of her eyes as she rushed through the busy streets , everybody too overtaken by their own busy lives to pay her distressed self any mind.

And she supposed she took some solace in knowing that everybody was going through the same shit , at different points in their lives . Everybody got sick sometime. Everybody kissed somebody that they didn't see themselves spending the rest of their lives with. Everybody cried , everybody died. Everybody was suffering in some way, some had better coping mechanisms than others and some barely coped at all.

Some found art in pain and some found irony in their own , shaking her head with a bitter chuckle as she roughly pulled her still buzzing phone out from her pocket in a sudden burst of rage .

It had always been like this and at some point in her life she had started to wonder if she really was the problem. If she really were so unlovable than a man could look at her and see someone that they could lie to, someone that they would betray.

It wasn't fair. And it wasn't fair that it hurt each and every time. The sting of betrayal never got any lighter and even if she didn’t love them, it still hurt to know that they didn't love her either.

Maybe she deserved it. Maybe she just wasn't good enough.

To the rest of the world she was this shining star, destined for bright things. Destined to be the best, to stay at the top of her game . Racing fast until the slate ran clean , but no amount of trophy's and no amount of winnings could make this sickness brewing in her heart go away.

"What?" She snapped into the phone , not caring for the wary looks she received as she finally stomped her way into the paddock. Paying no mind to the cameras and no mind to those trying to catch her attention.

She was tired , so fucking tired of trying to be somebody that she just wasn't. She didn't want to smile and look pretty for anyone, she was sick of giving love and getting absolutely nothing but lies in return.

"Haven't you hurt me enough already ?" She almost cried into the speaker , wiping at her slowly drying eyes. She wasn't going to cry at work, she wasn't that type of girl.

She was the star after all. She was ferrari’s golden girl. She couldn't let them watch her bleed.

She had come out of crashing her car with much less scars than this relationship had left. And she was done.

She was sick of men. But she wanted love.

She didn't want to love a thousand of them, didn't want to go through the stages again . Through all the get to know you questions and the uncertainty , failing in love again till it hurts and then bleeds, then fades in time.

It just hurt. And she was tried of it.

"Now you want to give me a headache too?" She snapped at her now ex boyfriend in a rage, kicking the trash can in the corner of the room as she did so. Imagining it was his stupid face.

Why did all the pretty ones have to be such lying assholes in the end?

They had all been so beautiful until their true colours finally showed and it was so fucking ugly.

Like a picture she never asked to be painted , a puzzle that never would fit.

"I'm sorry baby- look- just come back home! We can talk about this-it doesn't have to end like this- I still love you-" the asshole tried to sound tearful but she knew that the only reason he was crying was because he got caught.

She let out a cold laugh, hand pressed to her forehead in frustration . Tears blurring her vision despite her otherwise blank face.

"It ended the moment you decided to kiss any lips but my own! You don't love me-" she laughed and she laughed. Sadly or bitterly , maybe both.

“If you really loved me, you wouldn't have been able to have been 'stolen from me' in the first place." She quoted what the headlines had wrote when they photographed her boyfriend with his tongue down some models throat.

But she didn't blame the woman. Oh no. Because he wasn't hers to begin with was he? Because if he was hers, he wouldn't have been tempted to do this. He wouldn't have even hesitated to say goodbye and turn the other cheek. He would have said no.

But instead he told her he loved her that night and then humiliated her for the world to see.

A awful pattern in most of her ex boyfriends , most of them pretty liars that liked to cry wolf as soon as she saw them for who they truly were.

"So goodbye. Don't call me. Lose my number asshole, we’re fucking done ." She instructed him with a hard sigh, done with this conversation now. Done with him.

She didn't see her teammate uneasily hesitate by the doorway , having heard every single world.

Having been worried about her since the headlines had made its way to his knowledge. But he didn't know what to do or say because they weren't exactly friends. They just worked together and she had been so fixated on lost love and championships, she barely paid him any mind at all . No matter what he did.

She tolerated him at most and no matter how hard Charles had tried to her closer to her, to show her that he was a good guy. She just was never interested .

Too busy with her bad guys to see him.

She almost jumped, startled , when she finally ended the phone call and turned around to see him standing there. Waiting for her to see him. To talk to her.

She inhaled deeply, pursing her lips together tightly as she realised that he had definitely heard it all.

Taking a moment to just look at him, seeing his soft , nervous smile on his pretty little face as he ran a hand through his hair. Eyes falling away from hers then down to his feet instead.

She sighed quietly , patience for men ran thin.

“You alright?" She muttered. Barely paying him any mind again as she tried to gather herself together , brushing down her clothes with the palm of her hands like she was brushing off the memories.

Charles slowly nodded his head, frowning a little. Worried.

"Yeah. are you?" He wondered in concern. She looked so sad. So tired. It hurt him to see.

He wondered how long this had been going on for, wondered why she kept doing this.

He had seen her jump from one guy to another , bad boyfriend after bad boyfriend. And he was starting to wonder if she got them off a bad friend, or if she was just catching these assholes like Pokemon balls at this point.

But Charles thought that she deserved so much more , to him she was daylight. She was golden.

He couldn't understand why she accepted fake love when she could have the real thing if she just opened her eyes and saw him standing there. He has always been there , waiting for her to see.

Instead she looked away, shrugging her shoulders in vague irritation . Not wanting to talk about it with her teammate that she barely knew beyond greetings and forced team bonding.

They weren't friends. She reminded herself to hit feel guilty for being so emotionally distant from him. She didn’t owe Charles anything.

Didn’t owe any man shit really. But still.

Maybe they were never meant to be friends.

She just didn’t know anymore . She sighed.

"I will be." She promised with a light laugh . To be polite . Before quickly Moving on. Because that was all she knew how to do.

‘And I never Saw you coming

And I'll never Be the same’

Cherrie looked down at the box of chocolate cupcakes in Charles hands, glancing back up to his little smile in confusion.

"What's this for?" She asked him curiously , lips twitching at the sight of all the different colour icing on top of them.

“It's not my birthday." She added as though he didn't already know. As though he didn't have her birthday marked in his Calendar as soon as he knew she existed .

Which was a long time ago, way before she even knew who he was.

Yeah. That’s how gone for her he was, and his friends could tease him all they liked for being ‘whipped’ and a longtime ‘simp’ for her, but he simply didn’t care. Because she deserved the world and Charles wanted to be the one to give it to her.

Charles just chucked a little, smile widening as he saw the way she breathed the smell in like the aroma was a candle . Gently taking one from the box , still sat on a random storage box in her garage as she watched her mechanics tinker with her car. Ever the vigilante.

He then took a seat beside her carefully , eyes never leaving The side of her pretty face, his cheeks flushing when she looked over at him and caught him staring . eyes not as dark or as sad as she took a bite from the cupcake , humming happily as she did so.

"I know." He acknowledged softly , fiddling with the box a little nervously . "I just-I overheard you telling your trainer this morning that you could really eat some cupcakes right now so.." he trailed off with a slight shrug. Swallowing.

But he was trying . So fucking hard to show her that he could be the one , that he could treat her right. That if she just have him a chance, he would never treat her like they did. He wasn’t them.

She just needed to trust in him.

Cherries eyes widened in surprise, having known that he was in the gym with them too , but not having realised that he paid any attention to her at all.

She was used to guys not listening to her mindless rambles and just leaving her to it, her talking usually just annoying them until they made some excuse to change the subject onto something they liked instead .

She exhaled softly , heart warming at his kind, selfless offer.

“Oh." She said smiling a little at him "then you heard him tell me not to eat them too. I'm meant to be on a strict diet." She giggled before taking a big bite.

Then she offered him a cupcake too.

Charles Beamed because it’s was progress.

Charles gently taking it from her fingers, playing with the wrapper as he murmured quietly .

“You can have them . You're perfect. And you-" he nervously giggled a little as he added quickly "you deserve them for winning the race."

Cherrie looked at him, confused. Face flushing a little from him calling her perfect so casually.

Like he meant it.

"I haven't won yet." She said.

Charles just smirked, nudging his shoulder gently against hers as he answered her easily "but you will." Because he believed in her. She could win anything she wanted. She was the best.

And Cherrie could only look down at the cupcakes, heart feeling strange as she realised that this might be something that she never saw coming .

Because it felt different, it hit different now. 

Had his smile always been so soft towards her? Had he always been this nice?

'You come around and the armor falls

Pierce the room like a cannonball

Now all we know is don't let go'

Cherrie could only let out a little groan when Charles found her in the corner of the ballroom, sulking in a beautiful silk gown as she clutched onto the empty champagne glass in his hand.

Feeling like a lonely loser in the darkened corner of the room. Watching the rich couples dance and laugh, and spinning circles around the room while she tried not to cry.

And utterly failed .

Charles found her tucked into the corner of the window seat , most of the velvet curtain covering her as she tucked her knee up underneath her chin and cried silently , waterproof makeup not budging.

She thanked god for it. She might be a little unstable but her mascara wasn't .

He looked concerned, and rightfully so. She was Crying at a party that was more like a grand ball , all mopey and for the first time in a long time, arriving alone. Maybe that was what was hitting her then.

That she was really alone. She didn't have anyone by her side anymore , no one to sneak off with , no more stolen kisses, silly jokes and long goodbyes.

It was just her now. Sat in a pretty gown, champagne glass and tears in her eyes. If only a poet could see her now. She'd be the star of his novel.

Charles leant against the wall of the fancy window, looking down at her quietly for a moment . Taking in the way she refused to meet his eyes, he sighed sadly .

"You're too pretty to be crying in your pretty dress Cher." He murmured to her softly . Meaning it.

She just laughed bitterly "I'm too pretty to be getting cheated on and having my heart ripped out but..." she shrugged with attitude "happens to me all the time. So Leave me alone Charles." She tried to push him away.

Charles took one good look at her, then shook his head, laughing sadly at how easy she thought she could scare him away.

Instead He sat down beside her, pulling his knees up so that they were sat toe to toe. Tapping the heel of his dress shoes against her heels to make her look up at him.

Grinning a little at the glare she shot him, he shook his head fondly.

"No. I'm not." He simply denied. Because he wasn't going to leave her alone, crying at a party . No way. "Don't be silly."

"Piss off." She snapped back. Kicking his foot with her heel.

He barely reacted.

Instead, he snorted at her, smirking . "You've been hanging around lando too much. Should have said bugger off." He told her amused.

She glared even harder then , wiping underneath her eyes with a little huff.

“Charles. I'm serious. I don't want to talk to you." She told him , upset.

He just shrugged, getting comfortable . "Why are you so upset? Is this about that asshole again? Cause he doesn't deserve your tears." He asked her instead.

Cherrie groaned . Then looked at his soft eyes, stubborn face and gave in.

Her amor falling down just like that.

"I know but all I've known is touch and go." She murmured sadly . Finally Letting him in . "It's never permanent and it's always me that gets my heart broken. Men fucking suck."

Charles blinked , then "thanks. I can confirm that we do suck. But why are you crying? It's over now , no? You should be celebrating if anything, that you got rid of that asshole!" He nudged her foot with his again. Grinning at her like a fool as he tried to cheer her up.

and it worked. Her shoulders slowly relaxing without her even realising it as she giggled, looking over at him in amusement .

"In this party? They don't even have any real food! They offered tiny cheese that even a mouse would go hungry eating!" She complained to him.

Eyes widening in surprise when he suddenly jumped to his feet, grinning down at her as he offered her His hand.

"Come in then!" He said . Rolling his eyes when she just looked up at him like he was insane.

“Let's get out of here! We can see what's open and hang out . Hopefully over some pizza." He tugged at her hand impatiently , pulling her to her feet when she failed to do it herself.

Gasping a little with a laugh as he started rushing her out of the grand doors, paying no mind to the looks they received .

He just held onto her hand tighter , her other hand quickly reaching down to hold up her dress as they started to run down the dark and empty street together .

Charles laughing as she squealed , giggling along with him too.

"I'm going to fall!" She exclaimed while wobbling.

But Charles just tugged her closer, tightening his grip on her hand as he looked over at her with a wide grin on his face. Beaming at her , eyes sparkling beneath the moonlight.

"Then don't let go!" He said.

'We are alone, just you and me

Up in your room and our slates are clean

Just twin fire signs, four blue eyes'

Cherrie didn't know how she ended up here. In Charles room at midnight , sleep clouding her eyes as he pulled her lazily to his chest, his fingertips tracing soft letters into her shoulders. Feeling his soft breathing ontop of her forhead as he held her close , their legs intertwined as they listened to the faint sound of the radio playing .

"I shouldn't be doing this." She whispered into the dark, yet snuggled into him even closer . Feeling his lips curve into a smile against the top of her head, laughing lightly as he gently flicked between her shoulders

He just hummed "you should be doing whatever you want to be doing." He simply replked. Twirling her hair around his finger with his other hand, lost in all that she was. all that she could be.

Cherrie sighed, troubled.

Frowning sadly "I don't know what I want anymore." She admitted to him , feeling a small weight break apart from her chest as she did so.

Charles sighed too, like her sadness was hurting him. Then he carefully pulled away until they were nose to nose , looking into her eyes with all the patience in the world for her.

She softened. And He did too. His heart mirrored hers. All she was him then.

And All he had ever seen was her.

"And That's okay. You will." He believed it. He trusted it.

He had her now and he was going to make sure that she knew what good love felt like for as long as she would let him.

And she knew. And she exhaled shakily , hugging him to her as she felt a small surge of guilt run through her body.

"You don't want this Charles . I'm a mess." She tried to make him see.

But he did see her. and he loved what he saw, he always had. A few shitty ex boyfriends wouldn't scare him away.

"I think I'll decide what I want." He told her in vague amusement . As stubborn as she was. He wasn't about to let this , her, go.

"You'll be waiting a long time." She tried again. But it was futile .

He just laughed "I don't care. It'll be worth the wait." He whispered back to her, smiling softly.

She felt her cheeks flush and then she smiled too.

'And I've loved in shades of wrong

We learn to live with the pain

Mosaic broken hearts

But this love is brave and wild'

The ghost of past heartbreak got easier to deal with because of course it did. and what once felt overwhelming and painful now just felt something like vague annoyance , a little sadness of what could of been.

But she wasn't alone to face it this time. So when Ben, her ex , turned to her with a new woman on his arm at a party, she could only let out a resigned laugh. Because this was how she let go.

She felt Charles arm tighten briefly around her waist but she didn't look at him. Feeling him with her was enough to give her the courage to smile in face of somebody that had hurt her deeply, and now she barely felt a thing towards him at all.

"Hey." Ben breathed out nervously , looking at her with big eyes that darted between her and Charles with a slight frown. "How have you been?" He asked her .

It was then that she Finally glanced over at Charles, stifling a laugh as she saw the look on his face, clearly unimpressed and looking like he wanted nothing more than to trip her ex boyfriend into a pile of hot shit.

"How have I been?" She mused.

Meeting Charles knowing eyes as she thought about the summer of holidays , of exploring places and a new body. Of soft kisses and unbroken promises , of commitment and truths.

She thought about all the good love that she had experienced lately at the hands of Charles , who had done but persistently show her that she deserved nothing but the best.

That she didn't need to overthink the bare minimum because he gave her the world.

He have been showing her what a man truly in love looked like. And he was looking at her like she was his best friend, like she hung all the stars in his sky. Like he was looking at her and see the future , saw a bride. Saw a forever friend

So she smiled at Ben genuinely , shocking him as she told him Honeslty . "I've been good."

Because she was learning to live  with the pain of broken memories. Of fading , old loves and she was slowly having her heart stitched back together by the soft hands of her teammate.

'This is a state of grace

This is the worthwhile fight

Love is a ruthless game

Unless you play it good and right'

But it wasn't easy and they're were moments were Cherrie was so sure that Charles would leave her. That he would see what a mess she really was and realise that she wasn't worth the fight.

But he stayed each and every time .

He fought back when she screamed at him to go, because he knew that wasn't what she really wanted…she just wasn't used to being verbally emotional with a guy that actually loved her.

She was So used to quick goodbyes and letting go. So used to feeling like a stepping stone.

But this was different now. It hit different now.

"This isn't going to fucking work Charles! You're insane for thinking that it ever would!" She screamed at him. Upset and worked up over something that she couldn't even explain.

All the ghosts of bad love making her like this. Making her shiver with unease . Expecting all the bad things, anticipating the goodbye.

And she thought that he would crumble , that he would leave her like they all did and had.

But this was Charles , who was just as stubborn as she was. and crazily in love with her too. He wasn't going anywhere.

He was in this for forever .

"You're insane If you think I'm just going to give up because you're scared Cherrie!" He gave it to her bluntly . Wanting to give her a little shake so that she would just listen to him.

She was so stubborn. But he loved her, so fucking much.

This was the worthwhile fight. And love is a ruthless game unless you play it good and right.

and he knew that she needed a little bit of tough love sometimes , some directness to get her there. She was used to being brushed aside and nobody fighting back, used to no effort and lies.

Charles wasn't going to let that happen ever again. He chose honesty . Always. Because no relationship would last if it was built on flimsy lies.

"All those other guys. They are idiots okay? They were stupid , insecure boys who didn't know what to do or how to handle a woman like you! They didn't know what they had until you are gone and that's on them. Not you." He told her firmly . Planting his hands gently on her arms to turn her to face him.

With attitude, she slapped them away. Huffing as she glared back at him. He stubbornly glared back too. Not giving in.

He wasn’t going to let her push him away.

“And you do? You can handle me?" She scoffed. Expecting him to back off the. . She was being a bitch and she knew it.

Because Charles was right, she was scared.

Because this felt real.

It was real. and she had never felt anything good like this before, she felt like she was waiting for it all to fall down .

Waiting For him to lie, to hurt her. To chose another girl , to love anyone but her when he finally got bored of her attitude  , got sick of her in general.

But then she looked at him. His tearful eyes and incredulous smile as he took another step closer to her, never walking away. Looking at her with a shake of his head, even laughing a little and she knew.

She knew this was different.

This was it.

"I can. I do." He continued for her quietly "because I love you. I am so in love with you that when you’re being mean to me, When you’re making your stupid jokes and telling me all your bitchy gossip. and when you're everything that those other guys told you were 'bad traits'. I fall in love with you even more. Because you're you." He told her simply , heart wide open for her to see.

She had the keys to it, it felt like she always had. He had just been waiting for her to use them, to see him.

"And I love you."

She could see him clearly now. And she finally believed him, trusted him.

So she kissed him .

She grabbed his face between her hands. And kissed him like it would be the last time, but it was the beginning of forever .

He was going to be the last man she ever kissed hopefully , his head tilting with a soft moan as he pulled her close. Even smiling ahinst her teeth as she tried to deepen it , groaning in frustration when his breathless laugh forced them to break apart.

"What?" She wondered. Grinning just because he was. She gently stroked the red apples of his cheeks with her thumbs , fondly .

He turned his head and gently kissed her hand "I'm gonna need to head you say it back." He told her seriously. Impatiently this time.

He even placed his hands on his hips , raising a eyebrow at her while she just huffed a laugh of amusement . Shaking her head at him with a little giggle, pulling him back into her.

"I am so in love with you, you idiot! God! How could I not be?" She breathed out. Her Heart finally healed, heart golden and her heart all for him.

He kissed her this time. and he kissed her and it tasted like forever. It tasted like love.

But this time, it felt good and right. It was worth the wait, worth every tear and every fight.

Because All the bad love had brought her here, into his arms. Where he was always waiting , and she was never gonna be the same.

'This is the golden age of something good and right and real'.

[silvervioletvalentine]

🖤•My Masterlist•🖤

(F1 drivers version ⬇️)

Charles Leclerc

•Can’t shut my mouth about you girl

•Never too much for someone that can’t get enough of you

•Crazy in love

•more than friends

•something borrowed and something stolen

•loving rival

•forget isn’t long enough

•lavender haze

•little white lies

•forget me not

•his best friends ex girlfriend

•rockstar!

•rockstar Part 2!

•it’s been a long time coming

Max verstappen

•girls are players too

•starstruck

•starstruck part 2!

•it’s true, it’s always been you

•love is the way you…

•gift giver!

•all too well

•unpredictable!

•only love could hurt like this

•there’s a thin line between love and hate

•strange love

•I’ll be getting over you my whole life

Mick Schumacher

•bad reputation

•wildcard!

•I watch it begin again

•bad influence

•what’s love if you can’t feel it?

•he really should’ve known better

Daniel Ricciardo

•if you fall, I fall

•wifey for lifey!

•fight for her love

•oh no I’ve fallen in love again!

Sebastian Vettel

•red is the colour of love

•best kept secret

•baby on board

Fernando Alonso

•always rooting for the anti hero

•a love so easy!

Lando Norris

•gift giver

•I love you and I like you!

Pierre Gasly

•material girl

Lance stroll

•better late than never

[silvervioletvalentine]

🖤🎱¡i can see you baby¡🎱🖤

Pairing: Auston Matthews x Cherrie!

Word count : 3.2k

Summary : in which sneaking around behind her boyfriends back turns into meetings in hallways and ‘I love you’s.’

Warnings : mostly fluff I think. Tiny bit of smut but barely mentioned . This is my first try at writing something that isn’t 10k, soooo, I don’t know. It’s not my best cause I had to stop myself from writing a full plot but I’m trying lmfao. Let me know what u think xoxo

'You brush past me in the hallway

And you don't think I, I, I can see ya, do ya?

I've been watchin' you for ages

And I spend my time tryin' not to feel it'

Cherrie tried so hard not to glance up from her drink as she felt a familiar hand gently brush up against her lower back, lingering on the bare skin that was  showing from the low cut of her dress. She Felt him hesitate for a moment, his step faltering as though he wanted to stop all together and say something to her .

She knew he did.

And She knew what he wanted to say, and what he wanted to do too. She knew him. And she knew All the things that he wanted to whisper in her ear, all the promises that he pleaded for her just  to hear , If only she would just give him one chance.

But she knew better.

At least , she liked to act like she did. As though she didn't want to go running straight to him. So as he brushed past her in the crowded hallway , in a group chatting with all of their mutual friends. 

She pretended not to see it. She Pretend not to feel it.

She knew that he had been watching her for ages , longer than the whole night . She knew him. And he knew her more than any other person on the planet ever would, because he had gotten underneath her skin. His hands beneath her shirt and his body beneath her sheets. He was becoming something that she missed, something that she knew she shouldn't keep entertaining. Something that she shouldn't have .

He tried to be slick with it, tried to be subtle. Like he didn't think that she could see it, as though she didn't have clue. But she could see him, she always had.

He had wanted her from the very first moment she was introduced to him, a shy smile on her lips, in a pretty dress as her boyfriend boasted about her to him. Auston had been frozen still  , drink halfway to his lips as he watched her , his brain going quiet , hardly blinking as he felt his stomach sinking and heart racing , he felt it then. And he felt it now .

One look into her eyes and it was over for him. And he cursed the day that his best friend had met her , enraged that it hadn't been him first. Hating having to linger on the sidelines, watching her kiss somebody that wasn't him.  Knowing that it could be , would be , stung just as bad.

He didn't think that she noticed. But she did. She saw him. She always had.

But this time she pretended not to, as he brushed past her again for the second time that night , She turned back to her boyfriend , taking a deep breath and pushing down the need to follow him straight out of the door and never look back.

'But what would you do if I went to touch you now?

What would you do if they never found us out?

What would you do if we never made a sound?'

"You look so beautiful." Auston breathed out quietly to her on his birthday , hidden away in the bathroom with her.

His arms around her waist as he tucked his head into the crook of her neck, kissing down her soft skin, trying not to leave his mark. Teeth just grazing her jaw. So tempted to do it. To show her boyfriend, his best friend, just what they were doing. He wanted him to know, wanted him to see that she was his just as much as he was hers.

He wondered what she would do if he went to touch her now , if he opened the door and let them all see the truth. He knew that she would pull away, that she would tell him that this needed to move fast and keep quiet.

But Auston was selfish and he was in love , and all he wanted was for her to admit that it was real. That it was him. He Wanted her to dump her boyfriend and run away with him. To say fuck it to everybody else, because nobody else mattered to him but her.

"Shhh Auston.." she sighed in pleasure , tilting her neck.

Feeling him smiling smugly against her skin as he kissed his way down to her chest , the sound of his belt buckle coming undone , the lowering of his zip filling  the small bathroom.

Her breath hitching as she felt him, her dress hiked up above her hips as he pressed her against the door. And it was dangerous  , it was risky and her heart was pounding because anybody could walk

past and hear them.

But the party was too loud and everybody was celebrating Auston while he fucked her in his bathroom. Not wanting to let her go.

And all she could think dazedly was, what if they never found us out?

Could she really do this forever with him? Could she keep to whispered wants and quick touches? Longing kisses and stolen goodbyes? Could she really ever move on from this? From him?

She felt Austin's breath tremble against her lips , felt him whisper her name and she knew.

'Cause I can see you waitin' down the hall from me

And I could see you up against the wall with me

And what would you do, baby, if you only knew?

That I can see you'

Auston was laughing breathlessly against her lips as she finally met him in the hallway , having waited for her for almost half an hour before she was finally able to slip away.

He twirled her around in her pretty dress , shaking his head slowly  in awe at her. His grin never leaving his face as he pressed her up against the wall, eyes meeting her own.

"You coming to Greece with us?" He asked her hopefully. Not wanting to spend two weeks without her. Their mutual friends having decided to have a holiday together during the off season.

She nodded her head, smiling as she kissed him before whispering to him like it was a secret . "Guess what?"

He grinned. Running his fingers through her hair . "What?"

"It's just me this time." She told him. Feeling the guilt of doing this kicking in but quickly pushing it away as she watched his face light up, eyes going wide with excitement at the thought of having her all to himself  .

He looked down at her with baited breath , heart racing in his chest  .

"Don't joke with me." Hw warned her . Biting down on his lip. Feeling like he was the only one between them that was feeling this way.

If she asked him to jump, he would say , how high? But what he didn't know was that she would do the same thing.

All he had to do was ask.

"I'm not. You have for me all to yourself for two weeks matthews. Don't waste it." She said. Laughing against his lips as he attacked her mouth into a hard kiss, shutting her up before he told her her loved her right there and then .

And if only he knew. She felt it too.

'But something's changed, it's somethin' I, I like

They keep watchful eyes on us

So it's best that we move fast and keep quiet'

It had started out as mutual attraction and manic sex In dirty bathrooms , fucking each other when he could sneak her away. Loving for the thrill of it, it was never meant to be anything more than that.

But somewhere along the way, Auston had gotten attached . And Cherrie found it increasingly harder to deny what she was feeling. Found it harder to push him away, to turn him down. To try and convince him that this couldn't happen forever.

And the quick kisses turned to lingering ones, and his hands reached for hers behind her back while he talked to her boyfriend casually, as though she wasn't holding his heart in her hand . And then he started staying  the night. Started imagining his clothes beside hers in the closet, starting dreaming of what it would feel like to have her on his arms, to call her his to all his friends.

And they thought that they were being sneaky, that their love was subtle. But what Auston had forgotten was how well his friend knew him.

So lost in each other, running around Greece like it was something they could do for the rest of their lives . They missed the watchful eyes on them, trying their best to move fast and keep quiet.

But mitch saw them.

He watched warily , lips pinching in unease as Austin's eyes lingered on her smile, saw the way he made the most stupid jokes just to get her to laugh. Trying out any dish that she ate  , even when he knew that he would hate it. Watched as he made a fool of himself just to keep her eyes on him.

He saw The way his friends hand reached for hers when he Thought nobody was watching . The way they snuck out when they thought everyone else was asleep , sneaking down to the beach to be together . Wrapped around each other in the sea, kissing underneath the moonlight as it bathed down on them.

Mitch's eyes widening in complete shock as he watched them giggle, watched them kiss and roll around in the sand. As though she didn't have a boyfriend that was also one of Austons best friends, a friend of theirs too by extension  .

So the next morning , Mitch confronted him. Unable to keep quite.

He looked at Auston in disappointment and Auston knew that he had been found out.

But instead of being panicked or scared, he just felt a sense of relief wash over him. Relieved That he wasn't alone in his secret anymore.

"What are you doing man?" He sighed out . Worried. Knowing that this couldn't end well. Somebody's heart was going to get broken  and he didn't want it to be Austons.

Auston just shrugged , eyes drawn to the window as he watched Cherrie walk across the beach, picking up shells for them to paint later . To take home as a bonus memory.

"I'm not doing anything." He tried to shrug it off. The guilt . But his love overpowered it.

He wanted her. And nothing was going to ever change that.

Mitch shook his head at him, frowning . "This isn't fair to him auston. If this Is serious..." they shared a look. One that told Mitch that it was. That this wasn't just some stupid fling.

"He needs to go. You can't keep doing this."

He just laughed in defeat. Running a hand over his face sadly . "You don't think I know that?" He scoffed. Heart aching . "You think I meant for this to happen? Think I meant to fall in love with her?" He snapped back at him defensively.

Mitch's eyes widened , startled , and Auston saw his shock, and laughed bitterly .

"Yeah. I love her. Not so simple huh?" He muttered. Not sparing him another glance before muttering  . "Keep quiet about this. It has nothing to do with you." Before leaving.

Heading straight for her  without any hesitation .

The smile only returning to his face when she turned to proudly show him the shells that she had collected.

Austons arms sliding back home around her waist as he leant his head against her shoulder  contently , kissing her there .

Leaving Mitch to place his head in his hands and groan . 

'That I could see you throw your jacket on the floor

I could see you make me want you even more

What would you do, baby, if you only knew?'

Cherrie felt her heart squeeze in her chest , a girly giggle falling from her lips as she watched Auston throw his jacket into the floor. Covering a giant puddle beneath her door as she slid out of his car , her expensive heels not getting ruined by the muddy water as she stepped onto his jacket instead.

Then she squealed as he suddenly lifted her up, leaving his jacket on the floor as he ran across the driveway to his front door. Carrying her in his arms like a bride , laughing loudly as the rain soaked the both of them.

And Cherrie felt herself fall for him even more as he looked down at her, pushing her wet curls from her face before he leant down the rest of the way to kiss her . Shutting the door behind them with his foot before gently lowering her feet to the floor again.

The joy was clear on his face and Cherrie wondered if those were rain drops or tears in his eyes , then he sniffled and she knew.

"Is it over? Really over?" Hope filled his voice.

Having begged and pleaded for her to leave her boyfriend for months now. But the final straw had been when they returned home from Greece, watching him greet her with a kiss, watching her go back to being with him as though Auston hadn't pictured getting down an one knee at that beach. Surrounded by pretty shells and her even prettier smile.

So he had told her that he wasn't going to do this anymore. That she had to decide what she truly wanted.

It hasn't even been a day. Then she was calling him up asking him to pick her up from the party. No boyfriend to be seen.

She sighed heavily , feeling guilty for the weight that was lifted from

her shoulders as she hugged Auston close to her. Cupping his face in her hands as she smiled up at him "I see you Auston." She told him softly "just you. And you're the only thing I want to see now."

He kissed her. And he knew . That She had chosen him.

As his phone started buzzing with furious texts and concerned messages , all from their friends and his best friend . He turned off his phone because none of it mattered anymore , no one mattered now that he had her. In his arms .

No more rushed kisses. No more hiding away.

"I love you." He whispered.

She smiled.

'I could see you in your suit and your necktie

Passed me a note saying, "Meet me tonight"

Six months later.

Cherrie was biting down on her bottom lip to try and contain her smile as she looked down at the note that he had slipped her, letting out a small confused giggle.

It was her birthday and they were surrounded by all their friends , and she was back in a pretty white dress that her friends had forced her into. With flowers in her hair and a smile permanently plastered to her lips as she looked up at the man she loved in amusement  .

Meet me at midnight . The note read.

She laughed softly.

"You know that we don't have to sneak around anymore right?" She reminded him quietly , laying a hand at the back of his head to lay a soft kiss on his jaw. Running her fingers through his hair as she did so.

Auston just smirked a little , shrugging his shoulders as he handed her a champagne glass. It was eleven , and he met Mitch's eye across her shoulder for a moment. His friend tapping his watch, wiggling his eyebrows at him excitedly .

Auston flushed and looked aaay, then back down to Cherrie instead. A much better view .

"I know. But you're still gonna come running to the gardens with me right?" He teased her quietly . Hands lingering on her waist.

Referring to the gardens at the back of his home, where they had first met and then continued secretly meeting for months . It was their spot now. Something that began as shameful turned so beautiful .

It was his favourite place for them to be together, just the two of them. Like it always should have been.

She laughed lightly, smirking too as he leant down to kiss her softly.

"I'll see you at midnight." She promised . Thinking that it would be another night of acting like hormonal teenagers in their gardens , kissing by the roses.

Instead. As midnight came by. She pushed through the archway to the gardens and paused  as she heard soft music playing , freezing by the wall of roses as she looked out at the scene currently  playing out in front of her.

Swallowing down the lump in her throat as she made eye contact with a grinning Auston, all dressed up  in a suit and a neck tie. Coming towards her with tears in his eyes, her heart racing as she looked behind him.

Saw all their closest friends giggling and smiling as they watched them, gathered on either side of a makeshift isle . There were her favourite flowers scattered everywhere, and she looked down at her pretty white dress and the small roses in her hair and suddenly it all made sense.

"Oh my god Auston." She almost cried to him in a whisper as he finally reached her.

Hand cupping her mouth shakily as he looked at her with watery eyes. Letting out a shaky laugh too.

Taking ahold of her hand gently , he blew out a long, nervous breath.

"You can totally say no by the way!" He started by saying. Making her laugh shakily , looking up at him in both disbelief and amusement .

Because this was such a Auston move. He hadn't  even proposed yet here he was, ready to marry her in their garden at midnight.

"I'm totally not going to." She murmured to him with a tearful smile. Assuring him. Giving him her shaky hand and watching in disbelief as he carefully slid a diamond ring onto it.

"Yeah? You're gonna let me be your husband?" He whispered. Wide eyed and hopeful. Heart pounding in his chest. Because this was all he had dreamed of.

Cherrie let our a tearful giggle, nodding her head over and over again before she pulled him into a soft kiss.

So in love that she might stop breathing.

"I'm gonna be your wife." She shook her head in amazement "we're terrible people." She then said.

Auston just shrugged as he slowly led her over to the isle , "then we'll be terrible people Together. For the rest of our lives." He replied. Grinning down at her like a lovesick idiot .

"I can't believe you saw me." Be breathed out.

"Oh I saw you then and I see you now." She laughed. Squeezing his hand three times. The stars intertwining their name .

"I love you." She said.

"And you know that I love you. You're the one."

Oh, I see you, I see you, baby

I see you!

[silvervioletvalentine]

•The trouble with love•

Pairing : Sidney Crosby x Cherrie!

Word count : 11k

Summary : in which she’s trouble and he really should have known better than to fall in love with his best friends little sister.

Warnings: a Lil angst in the beginning. Nothing too bad. Mentions of using drugs , cherries a party girl who likes to self destruct instead of facing her own feelings. Age gap. If that’s not your thing then simply don’t read! She’s 22/23 though. So legal and nothing wrong about it at all. (My daddy issues coming through big time in this me thinks lmfao). Also, when I write these. I only see them as face claims. I’m not writing their personalities because I don’t know them in real life nor do I want to. So don’t be a numbskull. It’s called fanfic for a reason. I write this shit in my own time for free, for my own entertainment to escape my shitty little life for a while. Writing is supposed to be fun, just like reading it is. Not perfect . So be kind or fuck off! Enjoy xoxo

Sidney knew that she was home as soon as he opened the door to her brothers place and smelt the same vanilla and coconut scented perfume that she had been wearing for as long as he had known her.

A small smile twitching at his lips as he took in the sight of her perfectly pristine , dark red , satin heels at the door. Some designer that he recognised vaguely , alongside her Chanel bag hung up on the rack and her usual leather jacket.

He hung his own jacket up beside hers , then dug his hand into his jeans pockets to pull out a small pack of travel sized haribo bears that he knew she loved , he quickly made work of sliding the small packet into her Chanel bag.

Stealing a quick nosy look inside while he was at it, his eyebrow arching at the sight of her fancy perfume , a row of condoms , cigarettes that definitely weren't just nicotine , some lipstick and then...a amethyst crystal at the bottom of the bag.

He slowly shook his head in amusement to himself as he carefully closed it, running a hand through his hair and smoothing out any wrinkles in his shirt before taking a deep breath, preparing himself to deal with her usual attitude and snarky remarks .

It had been almost three months since he had last seen Cherrie and he had honeslty missed her sarcasm and her bitchiness. Somebody to bicker with that didn't give a single shit as to who he was. She laid into him hard , often leaving his ego and pride in pieces for her own entertainment. No matter how many times her brother told her to leave him alone and play nice , she flat out refused.

Because as long as Sidney had known Jacob , her brother , his little sister had never really been very fond of him at all. He don't really know what he had done at first , wondering if perhaps his disgust towards her favourite boy bands when she was eighteen had pissed her off so badly that she felt the need to form a lifelong vendetta against him.

He genuinely didn't know . He had asked her brother about it once , wondering if he knew why his sister hated him so much and his answer has been simple ,

a Casual shrug with a apathetic  "she's like that. A bitch sometimes but she's a good person ...just not a great one." And that was that.

And despite being older than her and knowing better. Sidney couldn't help but snap back at her all the time she gave him her little attitude , couldn't help but bite and give into her goading , bickering with her until she finally got bored and wandered off somewhere. Leaving him with a scowl and fidgeting on his seat , wondering how she could get underneath his skin so easily . Wondering why he couldn't seem to control his mouth or his emotional urges whenever she was around .

He didn't get it, don't want to really. Because Cherrie was annoying , mouthy and had a huge stick shoved up her ass as far as he was concerned . She lived to torment other people , got entertainment when people tripped over , laughed when somebody cried and was all around a little asshole to be around.

So really, he should want absolutely nothing to do with her. And the only reason that he should tolerate her was because he was such good friends with her brother. He should just give a polite hello and leave her alone because she was nothing to him, just his friends annoying little sister . That was all.

At least, that was what it should have been. But this was Cherrie. Stubborn , mouth and insanely beautiful Cherrie that seemed to be heading down a path towards destruction for a while now.

And she got him, because of course she did. She was an little asshole like that.

So despite knowing how wrong it was and how much he shouldn't get involved and how he should just leave trouble alone. He still found himself thinking of her whenever she wasn't around.

He found himself double checking her socials to see what she was up to or who the new boyfriend of the month was (which then he got into a terrible loop of checking out these boyfriends and being horrified by her type: which was assholes. Class A ones that were older and quite frankly not worth a second glance). And then because he couldn't help himself , and knowing how much she didn't want her older brother to know what she was doing , having blocked him on everything and hardly ever staying in contact while she was out of town.

Sidney would snitch on her . Plain and simple. He would snapshot the photo of her with some rich, thirty year old asshole that she definitely shouldn't   have been hanging around (especially when criminally convicted wives : yes multiple: we're still involved.) and simply because he couldn't stand the rush of anger and the ugly feelings that would stir within him whenever he saw her with some asshole that want worth her time , but he knew that he couldn't say anything. Couldn't tell her who not to date , he definitely couldn't tell her why he didn't want her to be anywhere near them.

But her brother could. So Sidney told him and then sat back and watched as she got scolded like a little child , all the while she glared at him hatefully knowing fully well that he was the reason her brother knew all of her business .

Then she would turn to him and lay into him too, running off her dirty mouth and cursing him out until her brother had to literally eject her from the room.

And then Sidney would feel a little bit whole again because when she was screaming at him, when she was bickering with him and giving him her attitude, it meant that she was home. She wasn't running around god knows where with god knows who while getting into trouble .

It meant that she was there, with him, giving him her attention again. Even if it was negative and mean, Sidney just liked her being there. Liked seeing her safe and in the flesh, liked seeing the flush to her cheeks each time she got mad at him. Liked seeing her squirm and lie when she was asked what she had been up to lately. Liked seeing the way she swore to hate him but still followed him around, just to annoy him.

And Sidney knew that it was wrong, he really did. He should leave her alone and he definitely shouldn't have been getting involved.

She was trouble . Big trouble. She was younger , mouthy and a mean, little bitch when she wanted to be. And she was also his best friends little sister. That should have been enough to turn him in the opposite direction running.

But either he was insanely stupid or he was ...insanely stupid. Because he kept coming back and hoping that she would be there too. He kept provoking her , kept getting involved and stirring the pot . And he knew exactly why he was doing it, had known for a while now but he refused to acknowledge his feelings, refused to admit what was really going on. Rationalising it as just wanting to mess with his best friends little sister, annoy her a little. Because he could and that was okay.

She wasn't eighteen anymore, she was twenty two and she was giving him just as much hell as she did back then. If not more. Because somehow she had gotten even more arrogant over the years , something he hadn't thought was possible. He was surprised that her head even fit through the door, she was the little princess who always got what she wanted now. Even if she got it in the most unconventional of ways.

Sidney sighed, ran his fingers through his hair again before finally entering the front room. Spotting said princess already on the couch in matching shorts and top, blanket around her legs as she watched Harry Potter on the big tv . Her brother was cooking dinner in the kitchen , giving Sid a grin and nod as soon as he saw him.

"Hey Sid! You hungry? I'm making pasta." He said ever the friendly guy.

Sidney chuckled as he kicked off his shoes, nodding his head . "Yeah. Sounds good." He said.

Cherrie scoffed frown the couch, not even glancing up from her phone as she muttered moodily  "sounds boring. He should look up salt and pepper seeing as his spice rack is just that..a rack. Empty and bland . Prepare to choke Crosby."

Her brother didn't even blink , simply slamming the kitchen door shut so he couldn't even see or hear them anymore. Not wanting to deal with her today.

Sidney chuckled as he took a seat beside her "in a lovely mood as usual I see." He commented amusedly , taking in her perfectly curled hair and shiny skin. Even when she was cozying up on the couch, she looked like she just come out of some press shoots. A pampered princess indeed.

Cherrie glanced up from her phone so he could see her roll her eyes at him, pulling a unimpressed face in return.

"What's the point of having your own home if you're never there?" She snarked.

He rose a brow at her then, watching her go back to texting. His curiosity peaked as he wondered just who she was talking to.

"You wouldn't know what thats like though would you? How's living at mommy and daddy's going for you?" He smirked back at her, tongue in cheek to stop himself from laughing when she immediately took the bait.

Scoffing as she threw her phone aside to glare at him, kicking his thigh to get him away from her. She huffed "fuck you. Eat dick asshole." She spat at him.

He snorted "now that you know all about. What happened to the last boy toy? Kill him with your hair rollers?" He teased her , pulling at the gold ankle bracelet on her leg.

The same one that he had gotten her for Christmas . It had stars and penguins on it , a small C charm too. For Cherrie. He had said. Lying to himself because he knew exactly what the C stood for. His chest filled with warmth every time he saw her wearing it.

She was picky with her jewellery , refusing to wear anything that wasn't real gold or diamonds . So to see her wearing the anklet he got filled him with some unfamiliar emotion, because she had deliberately put it on. Did she even take it off? Did she wear it whe he wasn't around? Or did she just wear it when she knew he was coming? His mind ran with a million thoughts, all of which he knew he shouldn't be having.

Cherries eye twitched as she sat up, swiftly kicking his hand off her ankle. She knelt up on her knees and leaned forward on the couch , hands outstretched her in front of her.

"No but I'm going to kill you Crosby!" She threatened him , jumping at him. As though she was going to strange him.

As soon as her small hands wrapped around his neck, Sidney was laughing . Head thrown back as she squeezed his throat with hardly any pressure at all, glaring down at him as he giggled.

Then she let out a sharp gasp as he wrapped his arms around her waist and turned her over quickly so that her back was to his chest , her body sliding down as she wiggled and tried to push him off. But he was too quick for her .

"Ooo so scary princess!" He mocked her as he got her into a loose headlock, ruffling her perfect hair with his fist. Laughing as a she screeched and cursed him out , slapping at him with a scowl on her pretty face . Looking murderous but still so beautiful  .

"Fuck you!" She yelled as she tried To get him off, slapping at his thigh, hard. He barely even flinched.

He Just snickered as he hugged his arms around the front of her shoulders, jokingly hugging her as he swayed them from side to side on the couch.

"No thanks. I know where you've been." He snarked. Gasping a laugh when she laid a hard punch to his side, forcing him to let go or be winded.

She rolled out of his lap with a glare , huffing and puffing as she tried to fix her messed up hair .

"Jealous that I'm getting laid? Not a good look on you babe." She tossed back at him. Crossing her arms over her chest, stood in front of him now. Looking down her nose at him.

He just leaned back into the couch lazily, smirking up at her as he got comfortable . Looking up at her in amusement , enjoying how quick to bite she was. She was the only person he could bicker with like this and know that he would 100% be getting that shit back at him. She was nasty.

"I'm babe now am I? Should I call you sweaty? Honey pie?" He teased her. Chest glowing with pride as he watched her face flush as she realised her little slip up .

Immediately rolling her eyes as she looked away from him stubbornly even though his eyes never left her.

"Call me that and they'll have to roll you out on the ice asshole." She warned him dangerously . Stomping around the couch to get away from him.

He tilted his head to watch her leave "it's been a pleasure as always princess!" He called out to her in amusement. Finally feeling relaxed how that she was back where he could see her.

He heard her groan as she stomped down the hallway to her room "eat shit Sidney!" She yelled back at him before he heard her door slam shut.

He grinned just as her brother came out of the kitchen, shaking his head at him with a scornful look on his face as he handed him a bowl of pasta.

"I don't know why you bother syd. She's been extra bitchy since she broke things off with tony." He told him with a sigh as he sat down.

Sidney stopped grinning then, looking at her brother with a slight frown on his face as he nudged his pasta with his fork.

"That was his name?" He muttered unimpressed "the guy looked like a sleaze? He has two gold teeth Jacob.." he pointed out with a look of disgust "two! And two ex wives. And two criminal records . What was she even thinking?" He snapped . Shaking his head.

Jacob rose a brow at his quick mood change , just taking it as him being protective . Like he would be. Completely oblivious to his friends feelings for his little sister . But maybe that was for the best, Sidney would like to keep his kneecaps thank you.

"Are you forgetting what a sleaze my sister is as well Sid? She doesn't care. She'll get with anybody that shows her even the slightest bit of attention." He muttered barely even paying him attention. Gaze on the tv.

Sidney frowned at him "don't say that. She's still your sister man." He scolded him lightly . Stomach turning because he wasn't untrue .

Jacob just chuckled and rolled his eyes "I know she is but it's still true. She's a party animal. I keep trying to tell her to stop and slow down but she won't have it." He said.

He took a bite of his food and sighed "this is your dads fault." He mumbled grumpily after taking another bite , frowning even deeper. "He was a whore who didn't give her any attention. And now she's got daddy issues."

Jacob looked at him defensively, shocked. "dude that's my dad! It's not all his fault. He doesn't make her go out and make bad life choices!" He defended. Daddy's boy.

Sidney rose a brow at him , scoffing a little. Feeling his blood pressure rise just at the thought of her father, he had seen the way the man talked down to her as though she was some silly child that was too stupid to understand anything. Demeaning her feelings and refusing to give her any attention , because in his eyes she was a mistake. She wasn't a boy and she wasn't doing anything good with  her life.

Jacob was a successful businessmen with multiple yacht company's around the world. Cherrie dropped out of collage and partied every night and didn't turn up last Christmas. It was safe to say that there relationship was a little more than strained .

"He ignores her unless money is involved. The only time I've ever heard him even acknowledge her was when she was dating that businessmen that he liked." He reminded him firmly , because he hated the man.

"And what did he do when they broke up?" He looked at her brother pointedly , Jacob just sighing loudly in defeat .

"He called her a waste of space and told her that she needed to clean her act up or that she would be servicing men for a living. I mean-" his grip tightened around his fork in anger "what kind of father says that to his sweet daughter who's just trying to navigate the world and doing her best?" He spat before he could even stop himself. Forgetting for a moment just who he was taking to.

Jacob looked at him with wide eyes, blinking In shock. Not realising that his friend felt so strongly about this.

In fact , he had no idea that he even cared at all . "Sweet?" Was all he could repeat , surprised . "My little sister? The one who just tried to strangle you and told you to eat shit? That's the sweet little sister that you're talking about?" He laughed.

Sidney just rolled his eyes and shoved another forkful of food into his mouth so he didn't have to speak. His cheeks flushing from his little slip up that thankfully Jacob didn't think much of , easily getting distracted by the tv again. Leaving Sidney to wallow with his own thoughts, eyes straying to her bedroom door more than enough times.

It was on Friday that Sidney found out that Cherrie had been kicked out of her home . But it didn't stop the air from leaving his lungs as soon as he was told about it, looking at her brother with wides eyes as he entered Sid’s apartment , looking stressed.

"What do you mean they kicked her out?" He voiced incredulously . Mind running with worry as he pictured her slumming it with one of her asshole boyfriends somewhere .

What if she left town and never came back? Sidney felt the panic slowly creep beneath his skin as he wondered what the hell her plan was. Worse, he knew Cherrie , her plan would be terrible , dangerous and maybe illegal.

He groaned.

Jacob sighed , looking annoyed. "They found drugs in her room. So she's out." He simply summed up for him.

Sidney paused by the couch, hands on his hips to stop himself from pacing. He rose a brow at her brother curiously "like..how hard are we talking?" He asked, tilting his head .

Jacob winced "enough to make a horse do the moonwalk." He told him with pursed lips. Not happy at all.

Sidney’s eyes widened "no shit." He muttered with a frown, not happy either. "I thought she only smoked weed?" He was confused.

She had a bad trip a year ago on acid while partying and had refused to do hard drugs after that , she had sworn it to him when he had picked her up from the stupid party and hauled her high ass Back home while lecturing her the whole way. He had stopped for McDonalds for her twice on the way back while she sang a song about ponies to him.

It was a strange night.

Her brother laughed humourlessly "apparently she was dating a drug dealer and was looking after his stash. She's lucky that they didn't call the police ."

Sidney scoffed dryly "yeah . You're dad would just love to see her Locked up." He couldn't help but mutter. Because maybe if he hasn't neglected her, she wouldn't be running around with a drug dealer boyfriends all the time.

"Sidney.." her brother gave him a look.

He ignored it. Running a hand through his hair as he wondered out loud "where is she going to stay?she can't be out there with all her fancy stuff. What if she gets robbed or hurt-?"

Jacob cut him off "I think she's planning on staying at her boyfriends ." Seeing the disbelieving look on Sidney’s face, he quickly added. "A new one. Not the drug dealer." Like that would relax him.

Sidney just tensed up even further, eyes widening. "A new one? Already?" He couldn't believe it. She worked quick.

"And what is this one? A porn director? A 'musician'? Please tell me. Put my mind at ease."He sarcastically said.

Her brother hesitated , then answered him quietly "I think he's a pawnbroker-"

Sidney laughed loudly "oh that's great. Yeah- well she can kiss goodbye to all her designer things then. Don't be so stupid. She's not staying with him." He told him like he had any say in the matter.

Jacob gaped at him, shocked by how hard he was taking this . "What do you mean? Where else could she go? She's refusing to stay with me." He told him .

Sidney thought about it for a long moment then his face lit up. "Oh! She can stay in my apartment next door. That would be perfect right?" He gasped . Grinning at the thought of having her right next door to him, not having to worry about where she laid her head or if she was safe or not.

There was no safer place. Sidney had bought out the entire top floor of the apartment building for his own privacy and the only time that the apartment next door got used was when friends came to stay. So rarely. It was perfect but...

"Just maybe don't tell her that I own it." He told her brother sheepishly "otherwise she'll just tell me to go fuck myself again."

Jacob laughed and relaxed, easy agreeing . Just happy that his sister would have somewhere safe to live now.

True to his word Jacob didn't tell his sister about just who's apartment she would be staying in, leaving her to nearly lose her shit when she glanced up from her front door, where she was dragging In her large box of shoes , only to see Sidney coming out of the door next to hers.

She gasped "what the fuck? Are you stalking me?!" She immediately accused him. Standing straight again. Considering throwing one of her shoes at him for scaring her like that.

Her eyes narrowing when Sidney just chuckled, arms crossing over his chest as he looked her over , taking her in in her athletic shorts set. He smiled.

"I live here." He told her simply . Voice Curt and firm as he asked her next "and how is my favourite criminal?" Smirking at her slyly.

Her face dropped as she cursed "fucking snitch!" She cursed out her brother. Flushing red.

"he's lying!" She lied.

Sidney tilted his head at her in amusement "really? So you weren't hiding drugs for your drug dealer boyfriend then ?" He called out her bullshit.

She hesitated , then mumbled "ex boyfriend." Not denying it. "And it wasn't that big of a deal. I wasn't doing them just...holding onto them for him." She felt the need to let him know.

Sidney wasn't impressed. He took a step closer to her making her look up at him, lips parting a little as he got into her personal space.

"You could have gone to jail. It's a crime Cherrie . You know better than to do shit like that. Especially for some guy that doesn't even respect you." He muttered down to her unhappily.

Her heart was racing as she flattened her expression. Pursing her lips at him . Trying to act unaffected by him.

"He loved me." She weakly muttered.

Sidney chuckled a little meanly "he loved how easy you are." He snapped at her before he could stop himself .

And Cherrie scowled up at him, giving him a little angry shove as she spat "what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means it's Been only twenty four hours and you're already with someone new. Where do you even find these assholes?" He wanted to know. Was it asshole.com or something?

She scoffed and took a step away from him , reminding herself how to breathe normally. He shouldn't be affecting her like this.

And maybe she was easy because she was trying not to squirm in her damp panties as he sternly looked down his nose at her, his broad shoulders blocking her view as she glared up at him.

His eyes Stern and mouth set as he glared straight back at her. Not budging. and she hated how hot he looked then , hated how turned on she got whenever he got like this with her . Hated how much she liked it when he got bossy and when he got strict,  his mean comments and firm hand made her quiver in all the best ways .

She liked it when he tried to put her into her place , pointing out her fuck ups and calling her out on her bullshit. Nobody else did it like him.

She was a mess. "At least I can find someone. How's your love life Mr hockey? Find a way to fuck a puck yet?" She snarked at him. Defensive because he was right.

His eyes narrowed down at her dangerously , and he seemed even bigger then. She pressed her thighs together. Wincing.

"I'd rather be alone than tossed around and catching shit." He insulted.

She gasped sharply "I don't have anything! I get regularly rested." She snapped at him. Shoving him away from her but he barely even moved.

Instead he stood his ground and rolled his eyes at her , jaw clenching. "That's not the point. You need to be more careful Cherrie. These guys aren't nice. I don't wand anything to happen to you." He told her firmly .

She just scoffed , swallowing hard . "You would know all about the not so nice guys wouldn't you? Asshole." She huffed at him. Overwhelmed with what she felt then.

Sidney sighed and shook his head, finally backing up a step to let them both breathe again .

"I'm only trying to help." He muttered.

She turned away from him with a haughty sniff, leaning down to pick up her box of shoes. "Yeah well.. I don't need your help. I'm perfectly fine on my own Crosby!" She snapped at him kicking open her door.

He watched her stomp inside to put the box down before returning. Then they both stared at the heavy dresser that she had yet to bring inside .

Sidney hid his smirk behind his fist, clearing his throat instead.

"Want me to help bring it in?" He offered smugly .

She glared at him and shook her head "no." Then she tried to pick it up and failed miserably.

Sidney looked at her, Cherrie looked at everything but him. Then she sighed and mumbled quietly "please."

"Good girl." He mumbled smugly , as he walked over to help her bring it in.

Chuckling a little as he did so. Smirking at the way her cheeks flush red at his praise. "That wasn't so hard to say was it?" He mocked.

She gave him the middle finger. And as soon as she turned her back Sydney finally grinned to himself , relaxing now that she was there. Safe and okay. With him.

It didn't take long for them to settle into a routine . With Sidney staying out of her way and Cherrie going out of hers to make sure that he heard every little thing that she did in her apartment .

He had never realised just how popular she was until he was being kept up every night because of it , with their loud laughters and music all night. The creaking of her bed and the loud moans, the shouts and the drunken cries . The terrible singing and the rambles , the giggling girls and boorish guys who shouted like they were dying.

It had finally gotten to his nerves by week three , she barely spoke to him. Usually just giving him a Middle finger in passing . But he heard her alright .

And as he was staring down at the ridiculous pile of parcels that he had gathered while she was out, he finally had enough. Staying away wasn't working anyways . So he marched over there and let himself into her apartment without even knocking, he owned it . So he decided that it was perfectly fine for him to do so.

"Don't you know how to fucking knock jackass?!" She squealed at Him in shock as she jumped up off her couch. Staring at him with wide eyes.

Sidney just glanced around the apartment, teeth grinding as he took in the sight off all the mess of beer bottles and clothes strung everywhere, half of which he was certain weren't even hers. He glanced down at his foot and saw an empty condom rapper, and that was the last straw.

He snapped "you're a little witch! You've kept me up for weeks with your shit now! What the hell are you doing ? Don't you have any respect?!" He seethed. Pushing away the jealously and nasty feelings in his chest as he threw her parcels down onto the table angrily . Trying to calm down.

Cherrie paused , startled by his anger then she slowly walked over to him.

Scowling back "I haven't done anything wrong." She denied. Defensive.

Sidney let out a humourless laugh "I can hear everything Cherrie." Was all he has to stress for her to understand .

She went red and swallowed hard . Inhaling a little

Too sharply in shock as she let out a startled "oh." Realising just what he might have heard.

"Yeah. Oh." He scoffed shaking his head unkindly at her .

"No more of that shit do ya hear me?" He instructed her firmly . Not joking around this time. And she got it.

And for once in her life she listened. Nodding her head a little, not looking at him as she mumbled a embarrassed"okay." Shocking him into calming right down.

He frowned down at her, surprised by her lack of argument. "Okay? You're agreeing with me?" He couldn't believe it. That much was evident.

Cherrie rolled her eyes at him , annoyed. "Yes. Anything else daddy?" She tested him .

They both tensed for two different reasons. She leaned against the back of the couch to look at him, even more annoyed when she saw how his tight shirt was hugging his muscular biceps perfectly. She hated it.

Sidney inhaled deeply, crossed his arms even tighter against his chest as he tried to keep calm. Something incredibly difficult to do when it came down to miss trouble.

"What even is all this crap anyways?" He changed the subject before she could get him roped into her said trouble.

Looking down at all of the parcels he had been collecting for her, he rose a brow. "How much more do you need? Are they..even more shoes?" He sounded incredulous because he was.

He knew that she had turned the spare bedroom into a closet, and he knew that because he had spent an entire afternoon filling the walls with all of her ridiculously overpriced heels. She refused to let him leave until they were all perfectly lined in order of colour. Sidney had never seen so many heels in his life , he had been overwhelmed and needed a beer to get through it all. She was ridiculous.

Yet his heart still beat fondly for her as he watched her pull out a brand new pair of heart shaped heels, looking almost identical to a pair that he had seen her strut around in bedore.

Her grin was childish as she held up her leg in the air between them for him to see her new shoes, turning her ankle this way and that way proudly for him .

"Beautiful huh? I got them on sale!" She informed him excitedly . Hardly paying him any attention as she slipped on the other heel and started pretending that the living room was her runway , watching herself in the floor to ceiling length mirror as she did so. Flicking her hair over her shoulder confidently .

Sidney exhaled quietly , tucking his hands into his pockets . "Yeah..yeah." He agreed quietly , eyes glued to her smile . A genuine one. No sarcasm or meanness to it. It took his breath away.

So he quickly turned his back to her and changed his tone of voice again, needing to rid himself of this softness that overcome him then.

"Try not to be so annoying tonight alright? No more raging parties. Otherwise I will be calling your brother about it." He threatened her , striding to the door. Needing to leave before her sweet perfume , ridiculous heels and pretty smile made him do something that he really shouldn't do.

He heard her scoff, but he still don't turn around.

"Get fucked Sid." She called after him, laughter evident in her voice. Knowing that there was no way he would be snitching again. Not when he had her right next door to keep an eye on. Not when he could just go there and scold her himself.

Still, he rolled his eyes and quipped back "you're so obsessed with fucking me and me getting fucked lately princess . You sure it's not a you probekm?"

The sound of a heel being thrown against the door as he quickly shut it behind him , echoed alongside his laughter as he went home. Grinning the whole way.

How's my sister settling in? Jacob text him concerned. Not causing you any bother is she?

Sidney didn't hesitate , no bother at all. She's a good girl.

Sidney finally got to meet cherries new boyfriend that weekend , he was already standing by the elevator waiting for it to open up when he heard a familiar voice coming from around the corner, footsteps coming his way.

He tilted his head down to his feet. Straining his ears as he listened in, brows furrowing at the upset whine to her voice. One he recognised all too well.

"I don't see why you're complaining. There's nothing wrong with my dress." She was clearly not happy, sounding put out.

Sids frown deepened . Her dress? He wondered confused. What could possibly wrong with what she was wearing? She looked good in everything and every time sid saw her, she was dressed to the nines. She loved her clothes, loved her fashion. She was trendy and on top of her game, and most the time she looked like a supermodel. Even when she was just at home.

It was something that always amazed Sidney about her. How put together she was, even when she was acting out like a little shit. She always looked good while doing it. Always a new dress and perfect hair , Sidney had never known her to miss a single nail or hair appointment even when she was sick.

A deeper voice echoed back, sounding annoyed. And it instantly had his shoulders tensing.

"A dress?" The man scoffed "is that what you're calling it? I hope you don't bend over tonight then otherwise it's over for you." He said.

Sidney scolded darkly . She did like to wear short dresses. But so fucking what? If the jackass couldn't handle it then what the hell was he even doing around a girl like Cherrie? She was way to good for him. Way out of his league.

If she was mine, Sidney thought darkly . I wouldn't care what she wore because it was her body and her choice , and if any asshole had anything to say about it. He could fight. So She wouldn't have to worry with him.

"Well you definitely won't be bending me over with that attitude mark!" He heard her snap back, but Sidney knew her. And he could hear the subtle hurt tone to her voice and knew that his slut shaming comment has gotten to her. No matter how much she pretended it hadn't.

"I'm just saying!" The idiot continued on talking down to her. And Sidney felt his fist clenched by his side as he waited for the to round the corner, wanting to see this idiot with his own two eyes.

Because why the hell was she doing going out with a guy that clearly had no respect for her? What could he have that she could possibly want?

"And I had to wait over an hour for you to get your nails done again! I've never met a girl as high maintenance once as you before! Can't you calm down a little with it? Life doesn't always have to be diamonds and high heels babe!" He condescended.

Sidney scoffed. Then he straitened up to his full height as they finally came around the corner , Cherrie looking like a deer in headlights as she realised that he had heard every word. Not looking impressed at all.

Crossing his arms over his chest, he felt his eyebrow raise in shock as he looked at the jackass. Wondering what's he saw in him.

Then he did a double take.

Dark hair. Older. Broader . Taller . Looking like a knock off version of Sid, dressed in jeans and a button down shirt . Rolex on his wrist.

Sidney couldn't believe it. His eyes flickering over to Cherrie, only to see her uncharacteristically quiet , eyes staring down at her sparkly heels instead . Looking uncomfortable as she stood stiffly by her boyfriends side.

He looks like me. Sidney thought faintly , biting back a knowing smirk as he came to a realisation then. Looking at her a little longer , almost daring her to meet his eyes. But when she didn't, when she just stayed quiet. Sid sighed.

"I don't think being high maintenance is a bad think. Sounds like she just wants to be looked after." Sidney commented bluntly , looking at the man.

Mark looked straight back, eyed him up and down in distaste. "And who the hell are you?" He scoffed.

Cherrie was embarrassed , keeping to herself as they all stepped inside the elevator . Arms around her waist , shoulder brushing against Sids as he shuffled closer to her. Eyes never leaving the side of her face , anger making him clench his jaw at how upset this guy had made her with his stupid comments.

"He's my neighbour mark. This is Sidney." She muttered.

Mark laughed "ah. This is the guy you were complaining about? The one who's got a stick up his ass?" He repeated her words.

Her cheeks flushed red as Sidney a brow at her, lips twitching . Her eyes briefly rose to meet his own for a moment before quickly looking away and clearing her throat . Embarrassed.

"Yes." She mumbled.

Sidney snorted "you know, I prefer your complaints hand delivered to me. Not second hand." He told her, unimpressed by her shit talking him to this asshole.

Cherrie looked at him with a glare "shut up Sid." She snapped.

He laughed quietly but his smile quickly fell when mark muttered impatiently that they were going to be late because of her, already walking out of the Elevator as soon as it opened, not even waiting for her as he strode off to his car.

Sidney frowned, gently taking a hold of her arm before she could trail off after him. She looked up at him in surprise.

He cleared his throat a little , eyes staring into her own with concern. "Call me if you need a getaway car alright? I don't like him at all. You shouldn't be letting him talk to you like that. He's an asshole." He murmured to her , angrily.

Embarrassed that he had seen her in such a way, that he had seen her as anything other than her usual confident and self assured self. She yanked her arm away from him with a scowl.

"Leave me alone Crosby ! I don't need your help." She hissed at him bedore storming away. Leaving Sidney stood in the lobby of their building with his arms hanging by his side, watching her leave with yet another guy that wasn't good for her. Worry written across huf face , chest tightening as she left.

Fucking hell. He rubbed a hand over his face stressfully. He was so fucked.

It wasn't until the next night that she called him in a fit of tears. Having him be her getaway driver as he picked her up outside some fancy condo. Watching in shock as she wailed in the passenger seat, mascara running down her face. Still in last nights dress.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" He rushed out worriedly to her . hands hovering over her as he looked her over for any injuries . Finding none. Just tears falling from her eyes as she scowled furiously , Hand wiping at her tearful face angrily .

She sniffled loudly "it's over! He was a Right cunt Sid !" She declared to him while sobbing .

Sidney cautiously  glancing around before starting his car and getting them out of there, heart racing as he kept glancing her at her in concern, not knowing what the hell had happened. Hating that she was crying and hating that he didn't know how to solve it.

"What happened?" He asked her in one breath. Reaching his hand over to wipe at the tears falling down her cheeks, keeping one hand on the wheel as he drove them home.

Cherrie groaned. Leaning down to pull off her heels, sniffling and crying as she mumbled "I overheard him calling me a bitch and a slut to his friends so I..." she hesitated to tell him. Remembering then just who she was talking to.

She crossed her legs beneath her, reaching into the backseat to grab at Sidney’s hoodie he kept there. Not even asking him before she was pulling it over her body. Covering her dress. Inhaling his scent and calming down a little , scrunching up the sleeves in her hand as she turned her body towards him.

Wanting comfort and seeking it in him.

Sidney glanced over at her, then down at his hoodie that she had pulled on, before meeting her tearful gaze again.

He sighed, bracing himself for it. "Jesus. What have you done now?" He asked her concerned. Because he knew that look on her face, knew exactly what it meant.

It was mixture of guilt, fury and shame. Like she couldn't decide what to settle on but she knew that she had fucked up. Again.

"Well..I thought. Fine. I'll show him just how much of a bitchy slut I can be so I .." her voice quietness as she told him in embarrassment "I fucked his dad."

Sidney’s head snapped to her with wide eyes, mouth dropping open in disbelief.

"You did what?!" He almost shouted. Hoping that he heard her wrong.

He hadn't.

She grimaced. Sinking deeper into her seat in shame.

"I went over there and I knew-I knew that he was at least attracted to me . I mean who wouldn't be?l" she missed Sidney’s incredulous look as she started crying again.

Still a little drunk from all the wine she had been pitifully downing the whole night . "So I seduced his dad and then fucked him-which by the way-he fucked so much better than his stupid son did-"

Sidney made a strangled noise, teeth clenching as tightly as his fists did around the steering wheel. He did not want to hear this.

"Okay! That's enough! I don't want to hear it!" He snapped. "God! Why are you like this?" He felt the anger, jealously and frustration in him take over.

Shaking his head in disappointment at her , making her lip quiver as she watched him tearfully . "It's not you at all! Why do you keep doing this? All this sex, drugs and -"

"Rock n roll?" She chimed in weakly. Giggling drunkenly as she held up the rock on sign with her fingers. Only lowering them when Sidney just glared at her. Not impressed At all.

His look of disappointment just made her cry harder, curling into herself as she looked at him with a pout on her face. Chest feeling heavy, regretting all of it. Just wishing that she had stayed home. That she had just stopped doing this and just stuck to annoying Sidney instead . Maybe then she wouldn't be stuck feeling like this.

"You're not funny." Sidney let her know . Shaking his head. "Stop crying." He muttered as he turned into their building. Chest feeling tight at the sight of her tears.

He turned off the car and unbuckled himself . Leaning over the console to cup her face in his hands , gently brushing away the tears with his thumbs . Still glaring at her as he did so. Tense and upset.

She snuggled onto his hand with a sniffle "I'm sorry." She whined , looking up at him with big , glossy eyes.

"I'm going to stop all this. I'm gonna be better." She suddenly declared. Meaning it.

Sidney laughed. He had to. Smirking down at her incredulously . "Oh really?" He didn't believe it and she could tell.

Frowning up at him , upset  . Watching as he got out of the car. Jogging around to her side to open the door for her. Unbuckling her and helping her out, grabbing her heels from her hands. Steadying her.

"I mean it Sid." She continued trying to convince him. Letting him wrap his arm around her shoulder as he led them inside safely , leaning into his side with loud yawn. "I'm done being a wild child."

He laughed even harder then , the pressure slowly easing from his chest as he cuddled her into his side. Pressing his lips against the side of her head as they came out of the elevator , stopping by her door.

"Yeah." He chuckled ruffling her hair gently "I'll believe it when I see it." He muttered amusedly.

She just huffed tiredly. Then groaned when he suddenly spun her around and tugged her into him, wrapping his big arms around her back as he squeezed her to his chest firmly. Leaving her to stare wide eyed at his chest, gasping in surprise.

She slapped his stomach "what are you doing?!" She exclaimed, voice muffled against his shirt.

He just squeezed her harder, chuckling on top of her head as he closed his eyes. Savouring the cuddle.

"Hugging you.." he mumbled. Amused. "Don't tell me you don't hug either? Are you too cool to hug me?" He teased her.

Cherrie groaned. Cheeks heating up as she loosely wrapped her arms around his waist , hugging him back. "Shut up." She mumbled. Giggling a little. "You're so stupid."

He chuckled lowly "you are." He stated shaking his head as he slowly pulled away from the embrace . Sighing at the state of her.

He took her keys from her bag and opened the door, taking ahold of her hand gently instead as he led her inside the apartment.

"Come on trouble . Let's get this makeup off you and you can sleep off the hangover." He instructed her gently .

She followed him without a single complaint. Jumping up on the counter as he pulled out her makeup remover .

"Hey Sid?" She spoke up a few minutes later when he was wiping the streaked mascara from her cheeks.

"Yeah?" He looked up at her. Biting his cheek to stop himself from smiling as he saw the pouty look on her pretty face.

"You like my dress?" She wondered quietly.

He laughed lightly , affectionately. "I do. I like all your dresses." He replied. Then "that guy was a idiot and a liar. You're perfect as you are. Don't change." He told her quietly.

His eyes widening in surprise when she suddenly leaned forward and willingly hugged him on her own, squeezing him to her with a long sigh . Her soft smile pressed against the side of his cheek as he hugged her back without any hesitation.

Yeah. He sighed. He was so , so fucked.

Sidney couldn't believe it but things really did start changing for the better after that night.

Meaning that suddenly , she never left him alone. He had almost gasped in fright the first night that he returned home after practice to find her already on his couch, watching tv.

Having let herself in without any shame . She hadn't even looked at his astonished face , merely pointed to the kitchen. And told him that there was some leftover takeout in the fridge for him.

Getting over his shock had been hard but then he was watching a movie with her. Listening to her ramble onto him about all of her favourite scenes , smiling to himself when she told him where he could have seen the actors before. His heart pounding in his chest when she fell asleep with her head against his shoulder , his arm around hers . In disbelief to himself . She stayed the night.

And since then she hadn't really left.

She was there in the mornings, sharing his horrible healthy smoothies with him. She let him drag her along to the gym with him with the promise of getting her ice cream afterwords . Then they started hanging out , going shopping together , or just driving around .

Sidney accompanied her to the bank where she got him to sort out all of her Money problems for her, claiming that she needed an 'adultier adult.' Which she clearly was not.

Then she started coming to see his games. In the family box waiting for him, wearing his shirt with a wide smile on her face each night. Hugging him whether they won or lost and Sidney felt like he was on cloud nine. Yet too scared to break it, too scared to wake up from his dream. So he didn't say anything for a while , didn't question her sudden closeness. Just bathed in it instead.

He ignored his friends knowing looks, told her brother that he was just looking out for her as he cooked her a home made meal . Bought all of her favourite snacks and tried to bake cookies just because she was craving them.

And Sidney could only feel both overwhelmed and amused because he knew what was happening. He wasn't some dumb kid that wasn't aware of his own feelings or somebody else's .

He could see the way she looked at him now, saw the way she lingered and waited impatiently for his attention. The way she would look his way after each dumb joke she said, just to see if he would laugh. The way she went out of her way to prove to him that she wasn't going to be some dumb little shithead anymore that sent his blood pressure skyrocketing just for fun

She finally wanted him her like he had wanted her for so long and it felt so fucking food to know. Even though they hadn't said a thing.

Sidney knew what was happening. And he could only smile despite knowing how fucked he was. He has fallen for trouble and trouble was finally falling for him too.

Then he opened his door one night and could only sigh in disbelief as he saw Cherrie waiting for him, eyes trailing down to the fluffy fur ball in her Arms, a not so innocent smile on her pretty face She cheesed at him.

He just groaned "Jesus Christ Cherrie! I was only gone for a couple of hours!" He breathed out . Hesitantly reaching out his hand to stroke the kittens soft head, eyes never leaving cherries face. Arching his brow at her as he waited for excuse to come.

It didn't disapirnwmnt . She never did.

"I needed a friend! Isn't he pretty? It's a rag doll. I've called him zoomy." She told him proudly. Kissing it's little head repeatedly as it purred away in her arms, big blue eyes slowly blinking up at her. She awwed loudly .

Sidney just sighed, more than amused. Unable to be mad at her. I mean. It was Cherrie. This was absolutely something she would do. Silently move herself into his home and get them a cat while he was at practice .

"Why?" He dared to ask.

She grinned "cause look." She put the little kitten down. Both of them watching as the cat suddenly took off and started sprinting around the room chaotically , fast as fuck.

Sidney let out a mixture of a groan and laugh, rubbing his hands over his face with a disbelieving grin.

"You're unbeblivale ." He said. Fondly .

Then he looked at her and muttered "going home anytime soon?" Already knowing her answer . The little kitten scratching at his heels as it followed him into the kitchen. Sidney pulling out all the ingredients he would need to make her favourite food.

Cherrie threw herself down onto the couch with a giggle. "You kicking me out?" she called out to him. Grinning As she put in his favourite movie for them to watch.

He grinned down at the cutting board , cheeks flushed with happiness as he picked up zoomy and placed the kitten on his chest , kissing its little head .

Heart pounding in his chest as he dared another peak at her, safe and content with him. In his home.

"Would you even leave if I did?" He joked.

Silence.

Then a snort "i don't listen to liars Sid. You've always wanted me here. You're never getting rid of me now." She told him confidently . Seeing right through him. She always had.

Sidney just smiled.

Then her brother text him , my sister doing good?

Sidney hesitated . Then replied. Best she's ever been. And he's wasn't lying. He just failed to tell him that the reason why she was the best she had ever been was because she was with him.

Sidney finally spoke up about them playing house without telling each other how they really felt a month later.

After staring down at the boutique of flowers on the kitchen island that he had gotten her every Friday , signing off his and cherries name as his plus one to his teammates wedding . He came to the startling real stool then that this was really it for him.

They did everything together now. He had met her friends. She hung out with his. They had dinner together almost every night . She practically lived with him. Most of his wardrobe was filled with her pretty dresses and he could barely find his sneakers through the mountain of her heels.

Her makeup sat in his bathroom, her tooth brush next to his. Most nights they fell asleep on his bed while cuddling together, their favourite shows playing in the background.

They were a couple without being a couple and Sidney was getting too old to be playing these games and he knew that if he didn't bring the whole subject up first, then they would be doing this forever . Because Cherrie definitely would not say it first.

She was more of a 'always have the last word' Kinda girl instead.

So looking down at the little cat in his arms. He kissed it's tiny head for courage , sighing into its soft fur as he mumbled . "This is it zoomy. Jacob is going to kill me." Before putting him down carefully.

Then Sidney took a deep breath, gathered his courage and looked at her. She had been browsing gifts to get his friends for their wedding, head snapping over to him mid ramble when he said her name. Firmly .

Eyes widening at the serious look on his face, she blinked at him. "What?" She laughed a little, but the feeling in her gut told her that she knew exactly what was coming. Had been waiting for this moment really.

She slowly put down her phone and faced him, fidgeting with her rings as she sat on her stool. Heart pounding nervously in her chest. This was really it. She realised.

"What the hell are we doing Cherrie?" He breathed out . Slowly walking to her side , bending his head so that she would meet his eyes. Needing her to realise that he was serious this time. No time for playing around.

She laughed a little nervously  "what do you mean?" She tried to play dumb but it wasn't working.

Sidney just levelled her with a stern look, shaking his head at her. Tapping his fingers against the counter anxiously . "I'm getting too old for your games princess. What's going on?" He repeated a little more firmly this time. Watching her cool facade crumble just like that.

The sigh she let out was shaky as she swung her legs around to face him, wrapping her arms around his stomach as she pulled him in between her legs. Hugging him, Sidney only hesitated for a moment before loosely putting his hand on the back of her head as she rested her chest on his chest. Running his fingers gently through her hair to keep her calm, grounding her.

Her mumble was muffled ahinst his shirt "you've always taken care of me Crosby." She fiddled with the belt loop of his jeans as she said it.

He gently tugged at her ponytail to get her to look up at him, his face calm despite the rapid racing of his Heart . He knew that this was meant to be. Knew where this was heading and he wasn't scared anymore . He had been waiting for this moment for what felt like forever.

"I have." He agreed quietly "I've always wanted the best for you but you never seemed to go for that." He told her honestly .

Even when they were bickering and arguing , when she was giving him attitude and getting on his nerves . He had always made her his priority. Had always made sure that she was okay, that she was safe and getting everything that she needed and wanted. Simply because he was a sucker for her.

He always had been. That was the problem. Falling in love with his best friends little sister had never been the plan. But when did anything ever go as planned anyays?

And deep down, Cherrie knew it. She knew exactly what she was doing. Knew exactly what he was feeling and how he felt about her. It wasn't hard to see.

How he had spent years making excuses to be around her. Coming to every gathering, every party and event with them. Even though he liked to be low key and kind of hated the rest of jacobs friends. He still came , because he wanted to see her.

He always picked up the phone in the middle of the night , always ready to drive her home from her drunken escapedes . Always ready to be her getaway car. Helping her sneak back in the house , helping her sober up so her parents wouldn't realise what she had been doing . Even when they 'hated' each other. He was always on her side. Always.

She sighed in vague amusement , and fondness was written all across her pretty face as she gazed up at him. Chin resting on his chest as he looked down at her, throat bobbing as he swallowed hard . She rested her hand over his heart and felt how it raced beneath her skin, then she laughed lightly .

"I know that the apartment you gave me is yours Sid. And I know that you paid off my parking tickets and I know that you're the one that got that jackass , who badmouthed me at that restaurant, fired. And I know that everything good that's happened to me has always been because of you." She admitted to him affectionately.

Sidney was speechless. And a little mortified .

Face going red as he realised that he really hasn't been subtle af all. It was one of those times where he thanked the heavens that her brother was so fucking oblivious, otherwise he had a feeling that he would have had his ass handed to him a long time ago.

Was his love for her really that obvious? Who else knew?

She did.

And she was smirking up at him smugly , gently squeezing his waist to bring him back down to Earth.

"You know?" He weakly muttered. Taken aback. Having expected that he would need to lay out a whole love confession to her to get her to understand.

She nodded her head, giggling. "I know old man." She confirmed amused.

"Can't resist a pretty face huh Crosby ?" She teased him.

He gently cupped her face in his hands. Smile softening , face wary as he admitted to her quietly. "I can't. Not one as pretty as yours but Cherrie.." he hesitated for a moment. Not wanting to scare her away but needing her to know that this was it for him.

"This is serious for me alright?" He tells her softly , the colour on his face only deepening. Blushing like a school girl as he gazed down at her , so in love with trouble that it hurt .

"I want forever with you . I don't want to play games or have to worry about you not being mine. I want-" he stumbled over his words for a moment , overwhelmed by her then. Overwhelmed by all that he felt for her. He didn't know that it was possible to love somebody so much. "-I'm not getting any younger and you're still so young ..you have to be sure-"

She cut him off quickly , still smiling .

"I'm sure." Shes more serious than he's ever seen her. Looking up at him like he was her entire world and all the stars intertwined .

He breathed out shakily , hands trembling on her jaw as he pulled her closer . "Are you? Because I'll get it if you're not ready , you've never been serious about a guy in your life. I don't want to be boyfriend number thousand. I don't want to be someone that you regret." He whispered to her .

She shook her head at him, eyes glossy and heart so full for the man that had never let her down. Had never let her go. Realising that he had waited for her to be ready, had let her get all of her stupid mistakes and rebounds out of her system first .

He had let her be young and dumb, had let her live. But now she realised that happiness was what she wanted. And what was life without happiness?

Her happiness was staring down at her like she was his heart . Like she was the shoelaces to his shoes. The bones that protected his heart, like she was the one.

So She smiled "Your not going to be.. you're going to be the last boyfriend that I ever have Sidney Crosby . Because I love you. I have for a while and I'm sorry for being such a little shithead and making you wait around for me." She told him honestly . A little embarrassed but so fucking thankful that he had stuck around .

He laughed Wetly , struck with love for her. Shaking his head in vague amusement , his thumbs rubbing circles into her soft skin as he nudged their noses together gently .

"Don't be. I enjoy you being a shithead . It's what made me fall in love with you , you're trouble. And I love that. Are you sure that you're serious about this?" He needed to know. His future standing right in front of him. Bright eyes and a pretty smile .

It was always going to be her , wasn't it?

"I am." She promised him. Her cheek in his hand. Smiling up at him genuinely. "I want you Sidney." She told him. Meaning it with everything in her. She wanted everything that he could give her.

So he kissed her. Like he had dreamt of kissing her for the last couple of years. Caressing her mouth with his own, his hand cupping her jaw as she pulled him closer. Her fingers scratching lightly into his scalp as he sighed blissfully against her tongue , tasting her. Needing her so bad it hurt .

"Aren't you going to say it back to me now ?" She impatiently mumbled into the kiss, and he could feel her frowning against his cheek , fingers tugging a little harder at his hair in punishment for making her wait .

He laughed breathlessly against her lips, more than amused at the sass she still had. Even in a soft moment like this, she still gave him attitude.

That was his girl.

"I'm so in love with you." He grinned , kissing her again simply because he could now .

Then he groaned in misery "And your brother is going to kill me." He muttered , sighing as he pulled away.

Looking down at her carefully , his lips twitching . Taking in her swollen lips and flushed cheeks , the way she pulled him in. Fidgeting with his belt loops , Puckering her lips up impatiently for another kiss. Greedy for them now.

"Which part of my face do you think he'll break first?" He wondered out loud warily.

She just grinned. Giggling . Kissing all across his face , giddy with love.

"Hopefully not your nose. I really like your face. Kind of want to sit on it soon ." She let him know. Not caring too much about it.

She loved him. He loved her. There really wasn't much her brother could do about it now. No matter what he did or what he said , it wasn't going to change a single thing.

So She kissed him again. Smugly. "I'm worth it through aren't i?" She confidently muttered , giggling as he bruised his face into her neck. His laughter tickling her skin as he held her close, the smile never leaving his face.

He laughed breathlessly as she began tugging him impatiently to the bedroom. The buttons of his shirt flying across the room as she ripped it off him, leaving him panting and watching her with wide eyes . So in love it hurt.

"You are so worth it." He promised. Meaning it.

He would take as many punches to the face as her brother gave him. As long as he got to come home to her for the rest of his life. He would be happy.

She was trouble . But she was Cherrie. And he loved her. So the little shithead was worth every headache and every worry.

Because she was his now.

Finally.

[silvervioletvalentine]

🖤Long story short…it was the wrong guy!🖤

Pairing: Trevor zegras x Cherrie! / Quinn Hughes x Cherrie!

Word count: 10k (I have a problem k)

Summary : in which long story short he was the wrong guy. -or Trevor thinks back to times when he should have realised that he was never the one. Because best friends don’t look at each other like they do.

Warnings- angst. Like , heartbreak for trev. A tiny bit of fluff at the end? Depends how you see it I guess. A bit of a different story than usual, wanted to try my hand at writing more angst. I want to write a oneshot for Crosby next but I have no idea about what. Hopefully inspiration will hit me in the face because I miss writing like I used to so easily!! Anyways lemme know what u think please. U guys up for more angst or nah? 👀Xoxo

Trevor thought that maybe he had been in denial about his relationship with Cherrie for a while now , unable to believe that what everybody was telling him could be true . Refusing to see what was right in front of him all along , the red flags waving and all the clues were set out in Stone for him to see.

But he looked away each and every time because Cherrie was so fucking beautiful and Trevor wanted to be her boyfriend , wanted to her call her his girl.

But was she ever his really?

It shouldn't have taken as long as it did for him to see the truth. For him to take off his rose coloured glasses and moved past the gaze of her beauty and his foolish hope . To see that her eyes doesn't look for him like his did for her. To realise that his friends were right.

It took Jamie coming over to him one Saturday while they were at the lake house , sat beside Jack as the sun started to set. Beers all around as they chatted between each other , tired from the day of hanging out and just having fun while they could .

It had been a good day , he called it. Refused to think about the fact that his girlfriend had hardly even spoken to him since the summer began , the only time that he got her to himself was when the lights went out and Quinn went to sleep. The she snuck back into their room to join him, let him kiss her like he had wanted to everyday.

But she was too busy with her best friend and Trevor was busy trying not to see the looks his friends were giving him, pushing away the uneasy thoughts and doubt that crept in each time he saw them together.

Then Jamie winced sympathetically and patted his shoulder , handing him a beer . Oblivious.

"I can't believe how well you're taking this." Jamie spoke in amazement , getting both of their attention.

Trevor more than confused as they both followed his gaze down to see his friend looking down to the lake , to where Cherrie and Quinn were messing about together .

Both had Big grins on their faces as they splashed at each other in the water , Cherie squealing with laughter as he hoisted her up into his arms , her arms sliding around his neck as she giggled loudly , Quinn beaming up at her as he spun her around . Laughing as she clung to him , threatening him not to drop her. Everybody knowing that he wouldn't dare. He clung tighter to her instead. Eyes never leaving her pretty face .

"I know breakups are hard man. It's gotta suck-" he slowly trailed off when he looked back over to see Trevor frowning at him , looking more than confused at him, while Jack just hid his grin behind his bottle of beer. Shaking his head at poor Jamie slowly.

"What?" Trevor looked at him like he was insane.

"we're not broken up? What the hell are you talking about dude?" He forced out a laughed . Acting like everything was completely fine and normal.

Tearing his eyes away from his girlfriend on Quinn's shoulders now, refusing to watch the way he clung onto her bare, wet thighs and the way she gripped onto his waist with her legs. More than comfortable with each other, something that came from years of friendship and love.

Jamie blinked like an owl at him. Lips parting in disbelief as he flickered his eyes between Quinn and Cherrie messing about in the water together , then back to a scowling Trevor and face palming Jack.

"Oh." Was all he could get out , shocked .

He then laughed awkwardly , slowly nodding his head. "Sorry. I just thought-" he glanced over just in time to see Quinn push her wet hair away from her face gently , softly stroking at the sunburn over her cheeks .

His eyes widened incredulously . "Never mind ." He mumbled .

Patting trevors shoulder again, this time in silent pity before quickly making his Leave. Not wanting to be the one to explain what he was currently thinking . He didn't want to be the one to break it to him. No way.

Trevor felt a surge of irritation hit him, hearing his girlfriend sweet giggle and Quinn's low laugh as held her .

He scoffed , gripping his beer bottle tighter between his fingers .

"Why the hell does everybody think that?" He snapped. Sick of it.

Jack slowly turned his head to look at him like he was insane , brows furrowing in disbelief at how stupid his friend could possibly be.

He scoffed at him incredulously "dude come on..." he nudged him, trying to get him to admit it. To get him to see what everybody else did.

When Trevor just looked back at him blankly , refusing to even look in their direction .

Jack sighed long and hard, deciding then that he was going to have to be the one to uncomfortably break it to him.

He shifted on his seat with a grimace , cursing out his brother a thousand times in his mind. Wishing that he didn't have to do this, but it was getting harder and harder to watch. Getting more difficult to ignore .

Because Trevor was a good guy and he was his friend after all. But Quinn was also his brother and Cherrie was also his friend.

So it put him in a sticky position, of not wanting to pick sides but also wanting to bash all three of their heads together to get them to see what was right in front of them. Knowing in him That this really wasn't going to end well.

Somebody was going to have their heart broken and Jack had a feeling that it wasn't going to be Cherrie.

He looked at Trevor and sighed "I didn't want to be the one to have to have this conversation with you but ...I can't just not say anything. You're going to get hurt man. I don't want you to..not like this." His eyes pleaded for him to make it easy for him and just say he understood.

But Trevor was locked in a self induced game of denial, so he sipped his beer and glanced away. Scowling darkly .

"I don't know what you mean. We're fine." He denied Quickly. Fingers tapping against the bottle harder each time he heard them laugh together. Holding each other closer.

Jack shook his head , pursing his lips as he felt a surge of both sadness and anger for his friend. Just wishing that he would stop pretending .

He was stuck right in the middle wanting nobody to get hurt but knowing that the ending would be impossible for someone’s heart not to be broken. They were playing the long game and it hurt him to witness.

He was angry at Trevor for pretending to be so blind to what was playing out right in front of him.

He was angry at his brother for being such a fucking coward and pushing Cherrie straight into his friends awaiting arms. and he was angry at Cherrie for Leading Trevor on like this.

Jack hated it. Because he just wanted them all to be happy but he knew that none of them are going to be happy like this.

It was all so wrong .

He shook his head "look at her smiling right now Trevor." He determinedly pushed his friends head to force him to look at the scene playing out right in front of him to see.

Quinn was pulling her up onto the giant floaty , pulling her between his legs while she rung out her wet hair . Laughing at something he said , Quinn picking up some sunscreen and pulling her leg onto his lap as he gently rubbed it into her burning skin , eyes fondly watching her as she babbled away to him about something or other .

Trevor watched them, then swallowed his suddenly dry throat . "She's always smiling." He muttered , chest feeling heavy.

Jack nodded his head, pursed his lips and added "but you know who isn't?" He didn't give him a chance to guess. The answer was easy.

“My brother and look at him now!" He threw his arm in their direction, towards the beaming smile on his older brothers face as they chatted , in each other's personal space . Hands never far from her skin.

And Jack hated having to be the one to say it but, he just couldn't let this go on any further. It was getting ridiculous now.

"I mean , shit z! They look like more of a couple than you two do! They never leave each other’s sides and she only ever comes running to you when he can't be around! Come on man.." Jack was looking at him incredulously . It was so obvious to him.

But the truth was hard and Trevor just got angry instead . "she's allowed to have Friends! I don't know what you're getting at." He snapped at him, crossing his arms across his chest . Empty beer bottle tossed to the side in Annoyance . Not wanting to hear it.

Jack scoffed at him, not letting it go. "Yes you do! That's why you're getting so defensive right now. Because you know I’m right."' he shot right back at him . Just as annoyed at his refusal to listen to him.

"My brother has never been so fucking happy and you know who's making him smile like that?" He stuck to it even when Trevor glared at him and muttered for him to 'shut up' warningly .

"You're girlfriend." He told him bluntly , shaking his head. "Cherrie makes him happy. Genuinely . She always fucking has."

"So fucking what?" He spat at him angrily , heart pounding n his chest as the sinking feeling kicked in.

His eyes stinging "she's funny and she makes people happy. There's nothing wrong with that!"

Jack was getting angry now , looking at his friend in disbelief . Unable to believe what he was hearing.

"Why are you doing this to yourself?" He wanted to know. Confused and angry and done with it all.

"I know that you're not this stupid. And you're definitely not blind. This has been playing out right since the start man...she was his friend first and you..." he couldn't even finish his sentence before Trevor snapped again.

His face was desperate as he ran a hand through his hair angrily "I made sure that he was okay with it! I asked him if it was okay for me to go after her and he said he didn't care and to do whatever I wanted!" He butted in. He was not the bad guy here.

He knew how close Cherrie and Quinn were , knew the stories of how inseparable they were. But she was just so fucking beautiful and Trevor would have been an idiot not to shoot his shot when he found out that she was single and that Quinn was just a friend.

He had made sure to ask him, because he was a good guy. He had been drunk, they all had been. And Trevor could hardly take his eyes off of Cherrie that night as she danced with anyone and everyone , dressed in a tiny dress and a Hollywood smile on her face , he had been hooked .

So he asked Quinn if he could ask her out, and he had looked at him silently for a long moment before swallowing and muttering 'sure.' Not giving him much more of his time before he was making some excuse to leave. Leaving Him with the perfect position to slide in and accompany a confused and disappointed Cherrie when she asked him where Quinn had went.

"Home. Said he was bored and left." Trevor had told her with a charming grin. Love struck.

He had missed the way her smile had fell and the way she swallowed and let out a small 'oh'. Then he asked her out and her eyes had lingered on where Quinn had been sitting before telling him yes. Then the rest was history.

Jack groaned in Annoyance , head in his hands. His brother was an idiot .

“Yeah well, he's a fucking liar! Come on man, he's always been in love with her. And he's always been at the top of her list . Always. Just think back T. You know it's true." He pleaded with him.

So he did. And his heart broke to pieces .

He thought back to the day in March when he had arrived at her apartment after a long day of practice , wanting to just see his girlfriend and relax. Have quickie , some good food and get the hell to sleep.

Instead , as he walked through her door, he was met with the sight of Cherrie and Quinn sat crossed legged on her velvet couch . His girlfriend in between his spread legs , humming along to the movie on the tv while Quinn braided her hair , well, attempted to.

"It's only forever! It's not long at alllllll!" She sang out of tune loudly , leaning her head back against Quinn's shoulder to shoot him a cheesy grin. Serenading him on the couch , sounding absolutely nothing like bowie.

Trevor hovered by the doorframe for a moment as he watched them, putting his training bag down on the fooor with a slight frown. Having not realised that she had company , she hadn't told him.

He watched as Quinn chuckled at her dramatics , tugging on her hair on his hand a little to get her to lean back more , then he smacked the top of her forhead with his palm. Snickering when she gasped and send him a faux wounded look.

"You don't like my singing?" She pouted at him , letting him rest his arms around the front of her shoulders . Hugging her from behind as he leant back into the soft cushion on the couch , taking her body with him as she laid between his legs.

His eyes were glued to her singing lips as she continued to screech along to every single song that played on the labyrinth , doing her best to imitate them all. Terribly . But she was having fun and the smile on her face was so wide that Quinn felt his own smile begin to mirror hers .

Cheeks flushing a little with colour when she squeezed his cheeks between her fingers , head tilted back as she sang up to him without any embarrassment. Years of friendship solidifying the fact that there was no longer any shame between them.

She did and said whatever she wanted with Quinn , because she knew that his teasing was only ever from a place of love and humour. And that her stupidness was his own personal entertainment , and what was better than that?

"I think my ears are bleeding screechy." He told her with a shit eating grin on his face , easily dodging the slap coming his way.

He finished tying off the messy braid he had been working on as he laughed . Squeezing her to him fondly . "You're got the goblin voices down though. That's how you usually sound when you sing." He teased .

Cherrie gasped out a laugh , twisting in his arms to pinch at him. Grin too wide to be offended . "Hey!" She exclaimed , still not spotting Trevor by the doorway yet. Neither of them had, too far gone in their own little bubble to notice anything or anyone else. It had always been this way.

Their mothers had said that they got tunnel vision whenever they were together , needing to be physically pulled apart for them to listen to anybody else. It was like they went both blind and deaf, losing all senses when they were like this. Too lost in each other to care.

It had always been just Quinn and Cherrie, so adding a third party to the mix was strange and weird and not something that either of them were used to. And quite honestly , on Quinn's part, he wasn't keen on getting used to it anytime soon either.

And it wasn't that he didn't want Cherrie to be happy, because there was nothing more in the world that he wanted than to see her smile. But he just didn't like seeing her toothy smile being directed at anybody else but him.

He didn't like the ugly feeling it brought to his chest when she laughed at someone else’s jokes, he didn't like the way his stomach dropped when she told him that she had found someone. That she was dating again .

And Quinn hated it but mostly because he knew that this was his fault. He had been the one to give Trevor the go ahead in dating his best friend, he had practically encouraged it and pushed her straight into his arms by not saying a single thing.

He didn't tell her that he didn't want her with anybody but him, he didn't tell her that his heart was breaking each time he saw her kiss someone that wasn't him. He didn't tell her that she was his best friend but so much more than that at the same time. He didn't tell her that he was certain that she was his twin flame, his soulmate , both romantically and platonically. That She matched him in every way.

She made him so unbelievably happy . Because he loved her. He was in love with her. Always had been and always would be. Because it was Cherrie. It was just as simple as that. How could he not be? She was everything to him.

But he never told her that. Which was why he knew that he had no right to feel the ache in his chest or the jealousy in his blood just at the sight of them together.

Because he had done this. By being such a coward , too afraid to tell his best friend how he truly felt. His future was on the line. Because to him, Cherrie has always been in that picture. . Well, every picture in his mind. She was the starring role.

He saw them being best friends forever , even as he got down one knee. Even when he married her, when they had their own family . When he got his own happily ever after.

She was his. Because she has always been there and he had been Naive to think that he was the only one that pictured Cherrie in their future . That he was the only one that wanted to love her like that forever .

He had waited too damn long and now Trevor had beaten him to it. And Quinn had to listen to her tell him all about each and every date they went on together , about the first kiss, the first time they slept together . The first time Trevor had told her 'I love you'. Quinn had to sit there and hear it all, like his own personal punishment for not opening his mouth and telling her how he felt all these years ago.

And now he has lost her to fucking Trevor of all people and he had to face the consequences of his own cowardness.

But he wasn’t going to lose her . He wouldn't let himself . Or them . Or Trevor . Or anything or anyone else get in the way of who they were.

They are still the same Quinn and Cherrie that did everything together , that had no personal space and no boundaries between them. They are still them and Quinn would have to be happy with that.

For now.

Before Cherrie could open her mouth to resort back to him, they both jumped when Trevor finally made his presence known to them.

Scoffing loudly as he entered the front room, cherries eyed widening in shock as she placed a hand over her racing heart, not realising that he had come in at all.

"You're not seriously watching this shit again Cherrie?" Trevor groaned , rolling his eyes as soon as he spotted the movie that they were watching.

Quinn tensed up for a moment , brows furrowing as he saw cherries smile drop for a second bedroom she quickly masked it and let out a laugh instead , but he could tell that it wasn't the same laugh that she been giggling with him. It wasn't as genuine or as light , more strained and accepting instead.

"Hey! It's my comfort movie Trev! I love watching it." She reminded him as though everybody didn't already know about her obsession with it.

But she had been watching it repeatedly since she was a kid and it wasn't going to change how. She usually alternated between the labyrinth and the Addams family . She was a woman of taste after all.

Trevor snickered as he wandered into the kitchen to grab a drink from the fridge . "And what to do you need comforting about?" He called to her in slight amusement .

Cherrie just sighed long and hard. Leaning her had back against Quinn's arm as she responded dramatically "life dude."

Quinn snorted , flicking at her forhead with his finger in amusement . He briefly looked up from her pretty face just as Trevor came back into the room, his eyes darting down to their position on the couch before arching his eyebrow at him.

Quinn just relaxed further into her , raising a brow straight back. He wasn't moving anytime soon.

"It's David Bowie In Tights". He stated like that was all Trevor needed to know . "She's never going to turn it off." He said.

Cherrie laughed , grinning at him as she levelled him with a look. "Don't put this all on me! You love it just as much as I do! You're the one that told me to put it on." She reminded him swiftly . Tucking her feet breath her to her more comfortable.

Quinn bashfully looked down at her hair instead of meeting her knowing eyes , fiddling with her braid he made .

“Cause I know it makes you feel better." He muttered quietly .

She looked at him for a long moment , taking in his scabbed nose that was still healing , his messy hair that was sticking out below his ears . Eyes trailing down to the sweatpants and her oversized hoodie that he was wearing .

Smiling a little at way they always ended up wearing each other's sweaters , even when they had they're own. Cherrie was certain that the reason most of her oversized hoodies had been going missing was because of him.

Both of them preferring to wear each other’s sweaters instead. It made her chest arm and she smiled .

"You make me feel better." She told him softly , honestly . Forgetting for a moment that they weren't alone and that her boyfriend was still in the room with them , watching their interaction with a frown on his face.

She added as an after thought "and you’re getting so much better at braiding now. I might make you do it for me all the time." She praised him , taking her braided hair out from his hand to admire his work.

She knew that he had been watching videos to learn how to do it for her after hearing her complain about how she hated doing her hair but hated having it straight down . Yet refusing to cut it.

So he had been learning how to French braid hair to make her happy. It was working . Quinn saw the soft smile on her Pretty face and blushed.

Trevors frown deepened . He coughed a little , feeling annoyed when both of their heads snapped over to him. Seeming to only then remember that he was even there at all.

Seeing his annoyed look, Cherrie gave him a smile "you want to watch it with us?" Having been trying to get Him to like her interests . But he just refused to bite. No matter how many times she begged him to watch her favourite Movie or listen to her favourite songs . He just wouldn't .

Quinn did.

Trevor scoffed out a laugh "fuck no. I can't watch this shit again. Not my thing." He said while leaning down to steal a kiss from her .

Deliberately deepening it for a moment for Quinn to see, narrowing his eyes at him a little when he finally pulled away.

Quinn's jaw was clenched as he stared straight ahead at the tv , kicking Trevor away from him seeing as he has to lean down onto his space to kiss Cherrie since she was still laid in his arms. Quinn wanted to kick the smug smirk Straight off his face , he really did.

"I'm gonna go play Xbox. Order me some takeout please? Quinn's paying." Trevor said with a smirk as he gave her one last kiss before moving away to head to her gaming room Instead.

Cherrie let out a disappointed sigh, watching him go with a small frown.

Quinn scoffing beneath his breath as him. "Fuckhead." He muttered moodily "I'm making sure they soak his pizza in pineapple." He said.

Cherrie looked at Him in amusement "he hates pineapple ." She replied. Letting him pull the fluffy blanket around them .

Quinn dimming the lights as he pulled her closer to him. Gently Stroking at the soft skin of her stomach where her shirt has ridden up with his thumb.

"Exactly." Was all he murmured . Grinning at her as he tucked her into his side. Pressing his lips against the side of his head, content that she was still there with him. Not leaving him at all.

"He's an idiot by the way." He commented quietly a few minutes later as they watched her favourite film "this is great." He told her in a mumble he, not looking at her. Grateful for darkness in the room so that she couldn't see the dark flush on his cheeks.

They grinned at each other and cuddled even closer on the couch . Forgetting that Trevor was even in the same apartment as them at all.

Then Trevor thinks back to the time when he had walked into another close scene of them, having become more accustomed to their closeness and weird moments together the longer that he dated her .

So He wasn't that surprised to find them in her bathroom Together , Quinn sat on a stool with Trevors girlfriend in front of him in just a tshirt, gold eye masks on her face as she held his face in her hands . Plucking his brows.

Trevor paused by the open door , sighing in exasperation as he looked at them. "What the hell are you two doing now?" He wondered. Getting their attention.

It was only Quinn that glanced at him, cheeks red as he sat still on the stool for her. Eyes warily eyeing Cherrie as she brought the tweezers closer to his eyes.

"Making him look pretty." Cherrie murmured in concentration . Tongue poking out between her teeth as she plucked some hairs , Quinn wincing like she had cut him.

Trevor laughed. Loudly . "You got magic baby?" He teased. Smirking at the unimpressed look Quinn immediately shot him.

"Fuck you! You're girlfriend thinks I'm pretty." Quinn shot back at him just as quick .

Trevor rolled his eyes "my girlfriend hugs wet dogs and thinks rats are cute. Her opinion can't be trusted." He said.

Cherrie shot him a glare over her shoulder at that, shaking her head at them. "And your girlfriend is right here. Shut up." She snapped at him before looking back down at Quinn.

Gently tilting his head to get a better angle , feeling the heat of his skin beneath her fingers . His eyes flittering around her face, counting her freckles now that she was so close . He let out a slow , shaky breath.

"Keep still Q." She murmured to him softly "they're gonna look so good." She promised him.

Quinn just sighed , letting her do whatever she wanted to him. If she told him she wanted to shave his head he would let her. He never could say no to her.

"Just- just don’t make them too thin alright?" He muttered instead. Wincing at the pinching pain as she plucked some more.

Trevor shook his head in disbelief at them , leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest as he watched them .

“I can't believe you're letting her do this." He said to Quinn honestly.

Quinn didn't even glance at him as he answered in a mutter . "why not? Have you seen her brows? They're perfect and she does them herself. No better person to do it." Meaning it.

She always helped him take care of his appearance the best that she could, knowing how lazy he got with it. It was thanks to Cherrie that his hair was in nice condition at all. She had been the one to go out and get him some fancy shampoo and conditioner , making him do hair masks with her when she did one.

She trimmed his nails when she did her own, even painted them when she was bored. She was the reason he now had a skin care routine .

Having enjoyed the way that she would take her time and softly rub the lotions and creams into his skin, carefully showing him how to do it .

Yet he always complained to her that it didn't feel the same when he did it, grinning smugly to himself when the night would turn into a mini spat night for him instead. With him lying lazily against her pillows as she did his skincare for him, her hands gently rubbing in oils and creams until he was halfway asleep on her bed.

He loved it. So what? She was making him feel good and look good at the same time. He wasn't going to say no to that. He wasn't that fragile in his own masculinity, thank god.

He Liked her doing his nails and his hair, liked her making him all soft and pretty. Simple because it made her happy and that made him happy In return.

Cherrie grinned down at him, pushing his cheeks together until his lips puckered as she cooed down at him . Flattered. "Awww! Thank you." She finished off his brows quickly. Nudging Him over to the mirror to take a look.

"Alright weirdos." Trevor took this time to slide in behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist as he tucked his face into her neck. Sighing happily as he gave her a firm squeeze.

"We still on for tonight baby?" He checked in with her lowly .

Kissing down her neck as he pulled her close to him making her sigh quietly. Eyes fluttering closed as his hand slid beneath her shirt to rub at her hips gently. Teasing her .

“Italian food and Netflix in bed?" He pulled away to wiggle his eye brows at her suggestively .

Turning her body around to face him , her back now to Quinn as he watched them through the mirror l with a scowl on his face . Blood burning and heart aching.

Quinn diverted his eyes as soon as he saw Trevors hand wander to her ass in the reflection , catching sight of the way he squeezed and slapped at it playfully , rocking her hips shamelessly into his as he kissed her. Not caring that he was there.

Cherrie was giggling against his lips, blushing a little at the attention . "Sure. Can't wait." She mumbled into the kiss, getting lost in the feeling of being kissed for a moment .

Moaning a little as she felt his hand slid between her legs teasingly , titling her head back with his free hand as he sucked at her neck, leaning his mark for Quinn to see .

"So good for me huh?" Trevor murmured smugly as he teased her, lifting his head to make eye contact with Quinn through the mirror.

The tension rising in two different ways as the older hockey player glared back at him hatefully , Trevor feeling smug for a moment that she was finally Paying him attention like she should have been.

"You two make me sick." Quinn snapped while turning around. Sick of seeing them. Sick of seeing Trevor hands on her soft skin , touching her in ways he could only dream of.

But most of all he hated that it was his fault for wasting his chance. Hating the way that it could have been him taking her back to her room, pinning her ahinst her bed as he fucked her loudly for everyone to hear.

But instead it was Trevor that got to do that now and Quinn had to suffer through the night , grinding his teeth as he laid in the spare bedroom to her own room.

Hearing her bed frame big off the wall over and over again . His eyes squeezed shut in both anger , jealousy and shame as he listened to her getting fucked by Trevor. Her moans Loud as she screamed his name , her crys and whimpers making him hard as he clenched his jaw. Blocking out Trevors grunts and his stupid voice calling her a slut and demanding her to tell him who fucked her this good.

And when she moaned 'you do.' Quinn pretended that it was him she was fucking. That it was him she was sucking off. That it was him she was cumming around that night .

He kept his eyes tightly closed , his heart pounding in his chest as he wrapped his fist around his rock hard cock and jacked himself off to the sound of her screams in the room next door. Rutting into his hand frantically as he clenched his teeth together painfully as he heard her scream , begging to be fucked harder .

Hating that it wasn't him , knowing that Trevor could never fuck her the way she wanted. The way only he could .

He came into his hand Wishing that it was him.

Then there was that moment in the bar when someone Thought that Quinn and Cherrie were together . Like he was just the extra friend .

He was Busy talking to Jack with a beer in his hand. Barely listening as his girlfriend chatted away to a girl she had made friends with in the toilets , all of them tipsy as she showed off the bracelet on her and Quinn's wrist to the girl proudly.

"I made them! Look.." she beamed while gently twisting his wrist closer to show her Quinn's bracelet.

"It’s supposed to bring him luck and good health. I put little crystals and gems on it too for protection since he's always getting his face busted in games." She rambled to her , leaning onto his side with a grin.

Quinn wrapped his arm around her shoulder, just sipping on his beer as he watched her fondly as she rambled on and on, having fun. Making friends.

He has always enjoyed watching her like this, it amazed him to see how magnetic she was, how easily she could make friends and talk to people like she has always known them. Making them feel special. It made him smile against his bottle as he watched the girl gush over their matching bracelets she had made them.

"Babe! Tell her- it worked didn't it? Like- he scored as soon as I gave it to him! The woman at the Crystal shop told me it would give him luck. I even put it out to charge under the moonlight for extra luck! Didn't I babe?" She nudged Quinn drunkenly , nodding for him to tell her.

Quinn chuckled , nodding along . Gently squeezing her shoulder with his hand . "She did and it did. It works good. No pucks to the face so far." He confirmed with a laugh. Ruffling her hair affectionately.

The girl cooed at them, just as drunk. Pressing her hands to her cheeks as she beamed at them. "Awww! You two are so cute together! Such a perfect match! How long have you been together?" She gushed obliviously . Assuming they were in love. They looked it.

That caught Trevors attention. Body freezing as his conversation with Jack paused , both of them glancing beside them to see Cherrie and Quinn blushing , Trevor laughing loudly as he smacked jacks arm, as it to say 'believe this?'

Jack just grimaced.

"Oh no!" Trevor shook his head quickly asserting himself into their group.

"she's my girlfriend! Not his. They're just friends!" He let her know. Pushing away the churning in his stomach . Shaking off his sudden unease .

The woman frowned at him. Then she looked between Quinn and Cherrie in surprise . "Wow really? I never would have guessed!" Was all she said before exchanging numbers with his girlfriend . The two giggling and promising to hang out , Cherrie grinning to herself as they wandered off the bar together to meet the rest of her friends she came with . Just Happy that she made a new friend.

It left Jack stood between a scowling Trevor and uncomfortable Quinn who was refusing to look at either of them. Just sipping on his beer quietly as he fiddled with the bracelet around his wrist .

"Jesus...that was awkward ." Jack muttered. Nervously looking between the two of them.

Trevor scoffed, glaring over at quinn who refused to look at him. Just pursing his lips and staying quiet.

"That was weird right?" Trevor tried to brush it off. "Like, why would she even think that?" He laughed weakly.

Quinn didn't answer . Leaving Jack to silently

shake his head in disappointment and disbelief , giving his older brother a disapproving look that he refused to see.

Sighing to himself, knowing that this was not going to end well.

Then Trevor thought back to all the times that Cherrie had cut a date short because of Quinn , some lame excuse . Just like the time that Quinn had called her halfway during their date night at a fancy restaurant.

Trevor had been enjoying himself , chatting away to her about how good his season had been recently. Just admiring how stunning she looked in the candlelight , dressed in a pretty dress with her hair and makeup done perfectly. Looking like a supermodel.

Only his mood quickly came crashing down when she got done with her quick phone call and gave him a small grimace , already pushing her plate away from her . Mind made up before he even knew what was happening .

She was calling over to waiter to make her soup to go, looking down at Trevor apologetically while he just gaped up at his girlfriend in disbelief.

"What the hell are you doing? Where are you going?" He rushed out , annoyed and embarrassed. Feeling eyes on them.

Everything had been going so good until Quinn called. It was always Quinn and Trevor was starting to hate it. He knew that they were friends but this was ridiculous .

They were on a date for fucks sake!

"Quinn's sick and his head is flaring up from the hit on the rink! We're gonna have to rain check." She tells him In a hurry.

Offering a smile to the waiter returning with her packed up soup that she planned to give to Quinn now. Hearing his throaty voice on the phone as coughed and sniffled , not sounding good at all.

She was already planning on stopping at the store to grab some painkillers and cough syrup, maybe some ice cream too. Going through their usual plan for when one of them was sick.

It didn't matter that she was in the middle of a date, all that mattered to her then was getting to his apartment to look after him. Knowing that he was alone and hating that he was while feeling like this too. They always looked after each other . That wasn't going to stop now .

Trevor wasn't letting it go so easily this time and before they knew it, they were arguing about it in the middle of the restaurant.

Glaring over at his girlfriend in disbelief "he's a big boy who can take care of himself ! I don't get why you have to be the one to look after him!" He snapped at her angrily .

Cherie glared straight back "because he's my best friend? That's why!" She shot back at him. Annoyed. Grabbing her bag.

Trevor scoffed humourlessly , crossing his arms over his chest as he watched her pull out her phone to tell Quinn that she was on her way.

He shook his Head bitterly . "are you serious? You might've well have had him on the fucking date with us. You've been texting him the whole night too! It's always Quinn this and Quinn that, while I'm right fucking here!" He almost shouted at her, frustrated and jealous that her attention was never 100% on him.

Cherrie just looked at him then , guilt on her face as she wrapped her arms around herself. Not knowing what to say.

She swallowed "I'm sorry Trevor. I don't know what to tell you. You know we're close-"

He had heard it all before. So he just waved off her excuses with a heavy sigh, rolling his eyes in defeat .

"Yeah I do. Whatever Cherrie." He muttered . Not looking at her.

There was an uncomfortable silence, Cherrie glancing over her shoulder , rocking on her feet. Wanting to leave to get to Quinn but the guilt keeping her standing there for a moment longer .

She winced and softened her voice "are we okay trev?" She asked him quietly. Guilty.

But they both knew where her loyalty lied and it wasn't with him. She wasn't going to stay . Not while her best friend was sick and alone and needing her.

Trevor looked at her, taking in her pretty face and stunning dress and sighed. Rubbing at his Face , he nodded his head. Shrugging as well.

"We're okay." He lied.

Then there was the wedding where it all

Came crashing down . Trevor has been stuck watching as Quinn walked Cherrie down the isle, best man and maid of honour . Cherrie looking as beautiful as ever, and her arm firmly hooked through his as they both grinned each other . Looking perfect together.

He barely soldiered through that but it got too much when he noticed how Quinn couldn't keep his eyes off his girlfriend . Gazing at her longingly as they stood at either side of the bride and groom , grinning at each other occasionally .

Quinn smiling softly to himself as he watched Cherrie get emotional as the vows were said, his eyes never leaving her pretty face the whole ceremony.

Sat miserably on the wooden benches beside Jack, Trevor glared at him . Chest feeling tight.

“You're brother has a staring problem man." He snapped quietly to him, visibly annoyed. Rose coloured glasses long gone .

Jack just sighed, also annoyed by now. Having been putting up with this for months . Wishing that it would just stop. And that they could all see sense . But it wasn't happening. And it was frustrating to sit back and watch, unable to do anything .

"You have a problem . He's not looked away from her since the moment they met Z. This isn't new." He said to him honestly .

Not getting it at all. It all seemed to simple and easy to him, he didn't understand why they were all even playing this game and hurting each other Like this. It made no sense to him. He thought they are all being incredibly stupid.

Then Jack watched Trevor sulk at the table with a glass of wine in his hand and sighed , having enough.

He sat beside him with a frown "come on dude, what are you doing?" He snapped at him. Sick of it.

Trevor frowned  at him, lips pursed. "At a wedding?" He tried playing dumb. But it wasn't working at all.

The sadness and headache was written all across his face after watching them the whole night together, seeing the way they so naturally fit by each other's side. She had even managed to drag him to the dance floor with her, hands around his neck and Quinn's low around her waist as they swayed together to the music . Smiling at eachother like nobody else existed.

They looked so happy . Trevor felt sick.

Then he watched as the bride finally threw the boutique of flowers behind her , and low and behold they landed straight into cherries hand.

As though fate was laughing at Him Cruelly , tears stinging his eyes as he watched his girlfriend glance straight over to Quinn , not him , as she caught them. Clutching them to her chest tightly as she giggled , flustered with all the girls cooing at her, nudging her and laughing along as she looked straight at quinn. Raising a brow at him in amusement . Showing him the flowers .

And Quinn was already looking back at her , of course he was , a shy smile on his face as he shook his head affectionately at her .

Opening his arms to pull her into his embrace , before plucking one of the smaller flowers from the bouquet and putting it behind her ear gently. Neither of them even glancing his way. Seeming to forget he was even there at all. Like they always did.

He sniffled sadly he felt Jack pat his shoulder sympathetically , muttering curses about his brother and how sorry he was . But he was glad that he knew now. That he was seeing what he was seeing finally. At a wedding of all places.

And Trevor could only groan and put his head in his hands, heart falling to pieces .

"Shit." He groaned sadly. Seeing the truth a little too late. Denial has been a nasty birch but it was over now.

He saw it all.

Trevor finally got the courage to corner Quinn later that night. Seeing him sitting by the edge of the dock after the reception , everybody else still inside getting plastered and having fun.

But the air was somber as Trevor slowly lowered himself to sit beside Quinn, startling the older player from his thoughts as he looked at him in surprise .

"Z-" he knew. He knew that he knew. Of course he did. How could he not? The guilt was written all across his face.

It had been a long time coming hadn’t it?

Trevor shook his head angrily, clenching his jaw as he tried to refrain from punching him straight in his face like he wanted to. That wouldn’t solve anything.

"Why did you let me date her if you're in love with her?" He's blunt with it. There was no other way to say it.

He Sick and tired of all the lame excuses  and long roads of denial. Of all the cowardliness and half bitten truths. It hurt too much now and he just wanted it to stop.

This was too much . It didn't feel so good anymore . Not when he knew for sure that he wasn't the right guy. His heart was sore and he fucking hated feeling like this. He couldn't believe that he had been so stupid and so naive to think that he could have been the one. Believing That she could ever had loved him like she did Quinn.

That was sick dreaming but now his eyes were wide open and his heart was breaking. Because he knew what everyone around him already did.

And it hurt. So fucking bad.

Quinn's eyes widened in shock, shame and guilt almost shutting him down and he stammered out nervously , heart pounding in his Chest.

"I am not! Z- come on- I don't-" he can't even finish his lie. Tongue tied as he tried to deny the truth but he just couldn't anymore  , the dark, ashamed flush on his face easily giving him away.

It was hurting him too. So fucking much. Because love had never been easy and it was finally knocking at their door, begging to be let free.

The truth hurt. It always did.

But Trevor just shook his head , face going blank .

"I asked you if you were okay with it and you  said yes. I never stole her from you."He muttered angrily .

Eyes Staring blandly out at the lake , not wanting to look at him anymore as his heart was finally shattered apart , as the truth came crumbling down around them. Cutting the both of them open, but only one of them was getting out of this unscathed and with the light.

Quinn swallowed guilty , lower lip trembling as he followed his gaze out to the water surrounding them.

His heart dropping to his stomach, knowing that he really did know now because Trevor wasn't stupid. He liked to act like he didn't know what was going on but he did.

But sometimes it was easy to ignore the signs and to brush away the unease and suspicions when love was on the line .

Because Trevor had wanted Cherrie so fucking bad that he had been willing to overlook the truth, to ignore that she wasn't in love with him . That he wasn't the one she searched for in every crowded room.

He wasn't the one . Would never be.

He had wished so badly to be, had done everything he could to get her to return his love but it just hadn't worked.

Because she was never his to begin with .

"She...but she said yes to you." He mumbled  out quietly , swallowing anxiously as he fiddled with her bracelet around his wrist that he had yet to take off  .

The lump in his throat only growing bigger as Trevor laughed sadly, shaking his head bitterly at him .

"yeah she did. 'cause you  didn't say no. I was the other option. The other guy . I was so fucking stupid.." he laughed humourlessly , wanting to slap himself for being so foolish with naive hope that it really could have been him.

Quinn went silent . Not knowing what to say. What could be said that he didn't already know?

Quinn was in love with Trevors girlfriend and had been long before he had even met her. And deep down. Trevor had always known that it was true.

He had seen the looks, the touches and the obvious love between them but he has still pursued her. Because she was beautiful Cherrie and he was just a man who fell in love.

He laughed in disbelief while rubbing a hand over his face in both anger and sadness . Because this was it .

“I can't believe that I've been so stupid to think that it would stop , and that you would two would get over each other , and that she would be happy with me!" The tears filled his eyes . Sniffling to himself as the pressure mounted his chest . Heartbroken.

“She is happy with you-"Quinn croaked guiltily . Watching him from the corner of his eye as he harshly wiped the tears from his face , snapping his head over to glare at him. Done with the lies.

He cut him off angrily. "No. She's happy when you're there with us! I've been third wheeling my own relationship trying to convince myself that everyone else was wrong. That I could be the one! Like that was ever an option!"

Quinn looked back at him then, and frowned defensively. "What? You wanted her to ditch me for you? Relationship or not . That was never going to happen. We're best friends-" he started to argue back because the guilt was killing him and he hated the way it was making him feel.

He didn't want to be the bad guy in Trevors story but some things just couldn't be helped. It was too late now. Trevor was the other guy and he was only finding that out now, and it hurt. Of course it did. This was what Jack had tried to warn him about from the start.

He laughed or maybe it was a cry  , he really couldn't tell anymore . His heart was fucking breaking and he had never felt so stupid in his life.

"Oh come on! cut the shit Quinn! Stop fucking lying to me and to yourselves . You're not just 'friends'. Friends don't look at each other the way you do . At the wedding-" he took a deep breath to push down his anger , his sadness quickly taking over for him instead. Pushing him on.

"You looked at her like you were imagining her walking down that isle to you. And when she caught those flowers- you smiled. So fucking hard man! That was the moment I knew. It’s never going to be me is it?" He realised out loud. Looking straight at him.

The truth cut deep. But the knife went both ways.

Quinn blinked back  the tears from his eyes, guilt clouding his face horribly. Feeling like complete and utter shit as he saw the hurt written across his face.

"Z-" he started say but his voice cracks with pain ,  feeling horrible for what he had done . The hurt they had both caused him without even realising  it.

He laughed humourlessly  , shaking his head as he wiped his nose with his sleeve. "No! No. Don't try to sugar coat it or make me feel better! Cause that's not going to work. I just want the truth! Tell me the truth Quinn!" He shouted at him. Tired now.

There was a long , tense pause where they both just looked back out at the lake again , hearts aching.

Quinn swallowing as he looked down at the bracelet on his wrist, gently caressing her initials  on the small stone beside his .

"Are you in love with her?" Trevor asked him quietly . Already knowing the truth. But he wanted to hear it. Wanted some sort of attempted closure. Wanted to know that he wasn't insane. That he was right. That everybody else was right.

Quinn sighed shakily, cupping his mouth with his trembling hand as he tried not to cry.

"do I really need to answer that?" He breathed out quietly, voice barely a whisper  . Eyes blurry from the tears. Unable to look at him from the guilt he felt.

Trevor sighed long and hard .

  "yeah. You do Quinn. It's the least that  you owe  me. The respect to look me in my eye and tell me the truth." He told him seriously. Meaning it.

Quinn turned  to him finally and his face read everything that he needed to know.

Despite knowing the truth , Trevors face crumbled anyways. A small part of him hoping that it wasn't true. That he was crazy. That she could be his.

But it was never going to be him.

"I'm sorry man." He pleads for him to understand "it's not my fault alright? I just-I tried not to be. I tried to ignore the feelings and push it away but-" he placed his head in his hands, feeling terrible. Shaking his head in frustration at himself . 

"I can't. I've loved her since she opened her big mouth and called me a stupid idiot when we first met. And I've loved her everyday since. And I'm sorry. I really am. I'm sorry for hurting you but I'm not sorry for loving her. I can't be." He whispered brokenly .

Trevor doesn't say anything for a while. Just Shaking his head slowly in both resignation and disbelief. Unable to believe that he had let himself lie to himself  for this long.

And All because he loved a girl.

Now look at him. Heartbroken and crying. So fucking sad. It was pathetic .

He was letting kind of wanting to kill Quinn. Kind of wanted to push him into the lake. Kind of wanted to pretend that none of this had ever happened just so he could get to kiss Cherrie goodbye one more time.

It just hurt. This whole thing had splintered him in half , he never knew that love could be so cruel.

"and she loves you too?" He sniffled.

She never said it back to him. No matter how many times he told her that he loved her. He really should have known.

Quinn swallowed thickly  , guilt keeping his eyes down to his feet in shame . "I think so. I don't know.."

"Yes you do!” He muttered in annoyance while rolling his eyes ,  scrubbing at his face roughly with his hands . Heart shattered on the ground by Quinn's and his  feet .

So He slowly pushed himself up from the ground and took one last look out at the calm waters around them.

Then looked back down to the tearful hockey player below him and nods his head to himself , accepting  what was meant to be.

"You know she does. I know she does. Don't waste it man. I wish I was you. She's a forever kind of girl isn't she? " he lets his truthful  words linger for a long moment  "just not for me. Not my forever.”

"Z-" he calls up to  him quietly , face confused , eyes wide as he looked at him.

“are you-why aren't you punching me?" He wanted to know. Having expected it. Or worse.

Trevor just cracks a sad smile and shrugs his shoulders . Tucking his trembling fingers into his pockets instead .

"what's the point?" He says honestly,  exhausted .

“I can't change how you guys feel. I'll just have to change my feelings instead . She's really easy  to fall in love with huh? Go tell her man. Don't be as stupid as I was." He advises him, not longer having anything left to say.

Not risking staying around any longer , not wanting to actually give into the urge to hit him. That wouldn’t solve his broken heart .

So he simply left. Never looking back.

Then six months later he's watching them kiss underneath the New Years fireworks. Tears of happiness in both of their eyes as they held onto each other tightly , everybody cheering loudly around them .

Quinn laughing tearfully as he held her face in his trembling hands. Telling her he loved her over and over again while she cried . Laughing along with him, the diamond ring glinting underneath the sparkling lights , proudly slid onto her finger as people congratulated them. Both of them lost in their own world together. not much had changed there  .

They didn't see anybody else but each other .

Trevor downed jacks champagne glass for him and laughed a little to himself , watching in silent defeat as Cherrie looked over her shoulder with a grin worth a thousand goodbyes and hellos on her ruby  lips .

He watched as her smile softened as she met his gaze , then as she gave him a small wave , Quinn to busy crying happy tears into her neck as Luke Wrapped his arms around the both of them . Shouting his congratulations and telling everybody that this has been a long time coming.

He couldn’t have been any closer to the truth if he tried.

Trevor’s face softened too and instead of causing a scene , he just winked at her . "Nice ring." He mouthed over to her , smirking a little. Heart still aching but she looked so fucking happy and he knew that she would look just as pretty in white.

She laughed. Then shrugged gently back at him, the apology in her eyes clear before Quinn was pulling her down for another kiss. Lost in her. As always .

And Trevor understood what that felt like . He didn't feel any anger then. Just an ache . A lingering feeling of 'what if?' And what could have been. That he knew would forever follow him around.

But they were happy. He couldn't , wouldn't, ruin that. He didn't want to.

Because he knew deep down that he could never have made her as happy as Quinn did. It was just the truth.

Jack was patting his shoulder gently . Happy for his older brother but also feeling sorry that his friend had gotten his heart teared in the process , caught between all the love and mess that love created.

But here they were. And time was moving on. They all were. Older but never wiser .

"What happened man?" Jamie was his clearly

gobsmacked.. way out of the loop as he gaped at Cherrie and Quinn kissing shamelessly in front of everyone , never letting each other go .

Having watched the eldest brother get down on one knee and cry his love for her in front of all their friends and family . It was safe to say that He was a little more than shocked.

Looking over at Trevor In disbelief , wondering what the hell he has missed. And how he could be there and not sobbing on the floor in grief.

Trevor just laughed quietly and shrugged his shoulders. Sighing long and hard Bedford he simply told him 

“long story short I was the wrong guy."

But she has found him now. And she didn’t have to look very far because he was right there all along. Waiting for her to see him. And now that she did, she was all about him now.

And Trevor was just another star in her sky, while Quinn was her entire universe.

And long story short …he would survive.

[silvervioletvalentine]

🎱🖤!The boyfriend experience!🖤🎱

Pairing : Quinn Hughes x Cherrie!

Word count : 10k

Summary: in which he’s bad with words so Trevor comes up with plan ‘the boyfriend experience’ . Aka- show her what’s it’s like to have a man that’s in love with her In hopes that she sees what was right there waiting for her all along.

Warnings: fluff. Tiny bit of angst? Dickhead ex’s and Cherrie and Q snap like little angtsy bitches at each other like once or twice. That’s it? I think. Idek. I’m not sure I like this one but have it anyways! Xoxo

Quinn felt like their weekends were repeating itself as they heard the slamming of their front door, high heels being thrown angrily to the floor before she let out a strangled scream of heartbreak , frustration and hurt .

Not looking in either of their directions as she stomped through the apartment with tears in her eyes , pretty dress all rumpled and lips trembling again .

Quinn shared a familiar look with Trevor as they both watched their friend sniffle and cry over yet another guy that wasn't worth a single tear of hers , feeling his own heart squeeze painfully in his chest for her, the same way he did every time this happened.

He oftened wondered why such a beautiful and golden hearted woman like Cherrie kept letting these stupid , heartless assholes break her down like this.

De ja vu became the same old song , the same tune, the same lyrics but with a different man each time. All of them causing her nothing but heartbreak and pain, yet she never stopped or gave in.

Trevor told him it was because she had watched her mother do the same thing , going through guy after guy her whole life. Screaming , crying and going through the same endless cycle of toxicity and drama until she finally found the one.

Like Mother , like daughter . All she wanted was to find her one, her person ..her best friend. So she looked and she searched , she laughed prettily at date nights , she let them touch her skin and kiss her blue but each time she came back home alone. Each time yet another attempt at love needed , Quinn could see the light slowly fading from her pretty eyes , could see the strain in her sweet smile . Could see the toll the heartbreak was taking on her body as she grew more tense , more on edge and more argumentative .

Refusing to listen to any of them, refusing to believe that her friends advice was right . That love would find her when she was ready , that she needed to stop looking for love in dirty bars and sleezy clubs, that she wasn't going to meet the one past midnight.

But Cherrie was stubborn , and she was a hopeless romantic . A hot mess. So she went on every date , accepted every touch and every empty kiss in hopes that it would make her feel something .

Longing to feel that spark , to feel her heart come alive again , to just feel something other than pain, other than disappointment and guilt when yet another attempt at love blew up in her face.

Trying to push down the tears as the disgust and self doubt set in, wondering why they didn't want her like she wanted them too. Wondering why she wasn't enough to keep them loyal, wondering why every man she tried to love always turned out to be the same .

Liars with pretty faces and the charm of a two faced snake .

Another notch added to her pain as she saw her boyfriend leave a party with someone that wasn't her. Watched him smile like he had never smiled at her , kissing this beautiful girl like she was the star in his sky.

Her boyfriend found the one. And it wasn't her. It never was. She was always the stepping stone for them to find someone better. Every ex boyfriend had found the one after ruining her , after ripping her apart and  tearing her heart to pieces .

They got their happily ever after . They got their happy story. They got their one. Their northern star.

Cherrie got Empty apology's , the 'it's not you it's me.' She got the slammed doors and pitying looks from her friends as yet another man didn't want her.

She could feel the hollowness spreading across her chest as she sniffled and roughly wiped at her eyes, glaring over at a grimacing Trevor , who was shaking his head quietly at her. Looking like he was going to say something

So she snapped "I don't want to fucking hear it right now alright? I know. I fucking know!" Daring them to say a single word about it.

She didn't give them a chance to reply, didn't even spare them a second glance before she was stomping off to her bedroom , the door slamming shut loudly behind her as she threw her tired body down onto her bed . Burying her burning face into her pillow as she screamed into it, cursing out his name.

Just like with everything else . She never learned.

It was tensely silent between then for a while before Trevor finally scoffed and muttered sadly "I wish she would stop doing this to herself." Hating seeing his friend in so much pain. Hated that she couldn't just see what was right in front of her.

Every day he had watched them dance around each other , his friends hurting each other without even realising it.

For so long now , He had watched Quinn quietly watch her from afar as she laughed at another mans jokes, watched Quinn swallow painfully and force himself to look away each time she cried to them about yet another love gone bad.

He had watched Quinn silently love her for the past three years while Cherrie wondered why no one could ever do so, oblivious to the longing glances and heartache that she was causing the quiet hockey player who wasn't brave enough to say a thing.

So they both hurt , and they both wished for it to be different.

Trevor was so fucking sick of it.

He said so , looking at a frowning Quinn on the couch opposite him , still staring silently at the space where she had been stood.

"You're losing out ya know? Wasting time because Some day she won't come home crying because she's got her heart broken again." He told him straight up , fed up with the both of them acting like this.

Quinn didn't answer. He never did.

Simply rolled his eyes and crossed his arms defensively over his chest , refusing to look up from his feet. Heart sinking deeper in his stomach as he heard her cry from her room, inhaling a little shakily as he told himself that she wouldn't want him anyway . She just didn't look at him as someone that could make her happy in a way that ‘just friends’ didn’t.

Not that he blamed her. He hasn't actively tried to either. Had never done or said a single thing that could make her aware to his feelings . Had never so much as touched her softly like he wanted to , they only ever bickered and shoved at each other as friends. No matter how much he wished it was different , he didn’t have to guts to put his heart on the line like that .

So instead He held her hair when she was throwing up after drinking with her friends.

He silently passed her tissues when she cried quietly during a sad movie. He pulled her away from fights that started just because she was drunk and bored, hauling her home before she could cause anymore trouble.

He was the one that she played video games with. The one she bickered with over what they would eat each night . He was the one who drove her to her dates, the one that had her location on his phone to make sure that she was safe. The one to pick her up the following morning , same dress and walk of shame.

They never spoke about it, he just brought her back home and they ignored the quiver to her voice and the tightness of his fists around the wheel as he drove them home at sunrise .

He was never an option for her. He knew that but it didn't mean that it hurt any less to watch her get her heart broken all over again. To watch her be used and thrown away like she wasn't something special , as though her very being didn't make him feel complete . As though the simple Brush of her fingers never sparked his fuse.

But he never said a thing. He was too damn scared of what could happen if he did.

"You should try man. What have you got to lose?" Trevor said.

Hearing enough, Quinn shoved to his feet and shook his head at him in annoyance.

“Shut up." He muttered underneath his breath , not sparing him another glance before he made his way down the hallway.

Taking a deep breath as he hovered outside of her bedroom door for a moment , hesitating , before finally knocking softly and stepping inside her room.

Cherrie, now wrapped in a oversized hoodie , eyes rimmed red and scowl plastered to her pretty face. Glared at him tiredly "come to tell me 'I told you so?'" She muttered , angry with herself for letting this happen again. Ashamed that she was so weak for each and every lie they gave her.

She just wanted somebody to love her. Just her. Was that so much to ask for?

Quinn felt a pinch in his chest at how she thought he would throw her pain straight in her face , shaking his head at her. Feelings Hurt .

But he didn't let his feeling show. He never did.

Instead he simply sighed and shrugged his shoulders casually before asking "no. Wanna  make some cookies? I want something sugary." Picking it out from the top of his head.

He just wanted her to stop looking so fucking sad over some asshole that didn't even deserve to breathe the same air as she did.

Cherries lips parted a little as she frowned, looking over at him in disbelief . She watched him shuffle on his feet, not meeting her eyes. Instead he fiddled with the soft dressing gown on the back of her door and she found her glare softening immediately .

Sniffling quietly , she shuffled off the bed and pulled her sweater further down her thighs . Shoving her feet into the fluffy cow face slippers , she missed the way Quinn looked down at the ridiculous googley eyed slippers with a small quirk of his lips. Fondness covering his face.

So She sighed "chocolate?" She muttered. Peering up at him through wet lashes , sniffling again as she wiped at her face tiredly. Just wanting this awful day to be over.

Quinn hummed a little as he opened her door, nudging her through it first gently first before he followed her out.

"Obviously." He replied quietly , ignoring the raised eyebrow Trevor shot them from the couch as he played video games.

He wasn't doing anything, wasn't going to try anything . No matter what Trevor thought he knew.

He just wanted her to stop fucking crying all alone In her bedroom like a saddo. That's all. and cookies always made her feel better before. He had once watched her eat an entire plate full after watching the notebook.

Cookies were always the best option to go with.

Cherrie pulled her herself up on the countertop next to him , watching quietly as he pulled out all the ingredients and got to work. She held the mixing bowl while he measured out the sugar. Silence lasting between them for a while, neither knowing just what to say.

Legs swinging , she placed her foot on his hip as he leaned over to pour the dry ingredients into the bowl. Cherrie stirring it as she neaded her toes into his hip absentmindedly .

Quinn's lips quirked at her actions but he didn't move away, he just pinched her ankle and muttered casually "the moron kind of remembered me of megamind with that big ass forhead of his."

The casualness of his comment made her snort , both amused and startled.

Then She laughed . Hollowly. Taking her foot back as she placed the bowl onto the counter and reached beside her to grab a glass of much needed wine.

Quinn watched from the corner of his eye as she poured the red wine until the glass was almost full, sighing quietly to himself as she gulped it down without any hesitation . Knowing what was going to happen. They had this routine pinned down by now.

"Only megamind turned out to be a good guy in the end. This one turned out to be a fucking liar and a cheat." She grumbled upset .

Exhaling loudly as she shook her head in disbelief at herself , wondering when her luck in love would change. Or if it ever even would.

Quinn didn't know what to say. So it went quiet between them again, Cherrie sipping on her wine while he put the cookies on the tray with a icecream scoop.

Eyes down to the tray, he muttered "but he was also blue so.."

Cherrie grumbled "maybe I like them blue. Matches my fucking mood eh?" She laughed amusedly , eyes down to her glass missing the way Quinn frowned sadly at her.

Stupidly , she added without thinking "I'm gonna have to redownload tinder again. That'll be fun."

Quinn slammed the oven door shut a little too hard, making her look over at him, startled by the sound.

She found his eyes already on her, face hard and lips pursed as he struggled to push down the rush of anger and sadness he felt . Shaking his head at her in disbelief .

"Isn't that what started this mess in the first place?" He remarked , unimpressed by how she was already planning on her next heartbreak when it had only been hours since her last one.

She was a fucking glutine for punishment. He wished it didn't hurt to know why she did it. Wish it didn't hurt so much to see her to find love in every single guy that wasn't him. In all the wrong places and wrong people.

He wasn't even an option in her mind , and it stung.

"Why not take a break from it?" He added hopefully. It would lessen both of their heartbreak, at least for a little while.

Cherrie, tipsy and pissed off with the whole male species in general. Scoffed cruelly "and be forever single like you are? I don't think so. I actually want somebody to come home to." She muttered coldly.

Quinn paused.

Gripping the towel tightly in his hand, felt the blow of her words. Then Turned them straight back at her like an arrow because arguing was familiar .

Feelings just hurt.

It was easier to be angry than to be sad.

"Better to be single then getting constantly cheated on by guys that don't even see you as a fucking human being. You're just a stepping stone for them to use until they find the next best thing." He snapped back.

Wincing as soon as the cruel words had left his mouth , knowing that he had gone too far. That she was still too vulnerable, her heart still too sore with heartache to hear it.

Wounded , she jumped down from the counter and glared over at him angrily.

Slamming her empty glass down onto counter, she felt her lip quiver , another arrow to her chest .

She looked into Quinn's hardened face, then saw his eyes shift uneasily , saw the remorse come a little too late.

"Fuck you!" She shouted at him hatefully .

Head spinning and heart hurting like a bitch because she knew that he was right. And that's what hurt the most.

“At least I can get someone! You're single because no one fucking wants you! Not even for night! At least I have someone to cry over! What do you have? Hockey! That's it!" She was hurting him and she knew it but she couldn't shut her mouth. She never could. They never could.

Months of hurting and months of men invalidating her feelings, and treating her like shit.

She was enough for men to fuck but that was it and it fucking hurt so bad. It hurt to see her friends roll their eyes when it happened to her again and again and again. Like she wanted it to happen. Like she asked to be used and thrown away like a dirty rag when they were done with her.

It hurt to see Quinn not a say a thing when it did. To have him so close , yet he didn't hold ber. Didn't wipe away her tears. He always stayed away.

He didn't look at her when she got ready for her dates, didn't say a word when she brought them back home. But she saw the judgment all over his face when they would still be there in the morning , saw the way he would scoff beneath his breath and leave as soon as he saw her in their T-shirt , not returning until they were gone again.

It was like he didn't give a single shit and it fucking stung because that was all she wanted him to do. But he never did. He treat her like a friend he barely tolerated. 

He would make her food but he would never sit down to eat with her. He would hand her a drink on a night out but leave as soon as she got up to dance. He never stayed around to hear her reply, never stayed long enough for her to ask him to dance with her . Never looked at her long enough for her to catch his eye and smile his way.

And it hurt and it made her angry that it did because she didn't understand why she felt that way. Why she wanted Quinn to look at her , why she wanted him to listen to her stupid jokes and go crazy Golfing with her. Why she saw something at some stupid store and immediately wondered what he would think about it. Why she always looked for him in each crowded room even when she knew he wouldn't be there , preferring to stay home and out of the way.

She didn't get it. Because Quinn wasn't her type. She usually went for tall, tanned , six packed guys with more ego than brains . The kind that looked so good that it made her brain halt all together , the guys so hot that she forgot what assholes they were as soon as they took off their shirts and flashed their white grins at her. That was what she usually went for and it always ended up in tears, for her at least.

Quinn was ...Quinn wasn't them. At all. And maybe ..maybe that was why it stung so much to hear the words come out from his mouth.

When all she wanted to do was talk to him and tell him that she was sorry , that she didn't mean it. That any girl would be lucky to have him.

Because he was, he was a good guy. Beneath the grumbles and the mumbles, he was good.

She felt like a evil cunt stood next to him. Both of them glaring at each other, too tired and too worked up. Both should have known better than to do this then.

"Fuck you!" Quinn shouted back at her, so hurt and so fucking angry.

Trevor , quickly hauled his ass up off the couch as soon as he heard them screaming at each other nastily . Running into the kitchen , wide eyes darting between the two of them in shock.

"What the hell is going on?!" He exclaimed while pulling a seething Cherrie away from Quinn before she could hit him. Or do something just as stupid.

She choked on a sob "he's a fucking dick! He Can dish out the truth but can't handle it himself!" She snapped out .

Quinn scoffed coldly at her in return "truth? The truth is that you're so fucking desperate for attention that you get with these stupid assjole and then-" he ignored Trevor rapidly shaking his head in warning to him, Quinn only seeing red after being bathed in green jealously for so long .

“-Then You expect us to be all sympathetic when it ends in you getting fucked over again! You cause your own bullshit Cherrie !" He shouted at her furiously .

Trevor winced in shock "shit- man- come on-"

Cherrie snatched her arm from his grip before laughing humourlessly "fine! If that's how you feel then I won't fucking tell you anything anymore! I'll deal with my bullshit on my own! Since I'm such a fucking attention seeking bitch-!" She shoved past the both of them in a rage . Just wanting to go to sleep and forget that she even existed.

Quinn groaned loudly , hands rubbing over his face in frustration . Because that wasn't what he wanted to say or what he meant at all. But he had never been very good at words. Just like she wasn't with her own either.

"I didn't say that-I didn't call you a bitch-"

"You might as well have! But trust me, I don't think of you very highly right now either!" She screamed while pushing open her bedroom door "so fuck you and your cookies you asshole!" She screamed over her shoulder , then the door slammed shut behind her.

Leaving both Trevor and Quinn in a tense silence in the kitchen . Trevor looking at him in disbelief as he ran his hand through his hair stressfully.

Disappointment quickly filled his gaze as he looked at Quinn. "dude-what was that?  Screaming at her isn't going to get her to-"

Quinn scoffed angrily , cutting him off. "god just shut up! I don't care alright? She's just acting like she always does. Blames everybody but herself!" He snapped. Pulling the cookies out of the oven before they burned.

The anger making him practically throw them down onto the plate, the hotness of them not even registering with him. Too busy with his head full of her tearful eyes and razor blade tongue.

Trevor rolled his eyes at them behind his back. "just like you then. You like to blame her and the guys but I don't see you stepping up and doing what you want to." He said blandly. Sick of them both .

Quinn swallowed, eyes still down to his hands putting away the cookies. "you don't know what I want to do. I don't know why I even fucking bother." He muttered upset. Grabbing a smaller plate and placing two of the bigger cookies on it.

Trevor smiled a little in amusement as he watched his actions.

"cause you love her." He simply responded. 

Quinn shook his head in denial but his down turned eyes were glossy as he grabbed a glass and filled it with cold water .

“I don't. She just-" he inhaled sharply in frustration "she's so fucking stubborn. She doesn’t listen. She looks right through me-"

Trevor groaned again in annoyance. "man. She's not psychic . And shes obviously not smart with love. She's not gonna know if you don't tell her. You haven't even tried!" He wanted to shake him until he realised that she was right there.

All he had to do was reach out for her and never let her go.

Quinn scoffed lowly at him "she doesn't feel that way about me. The new guy every week tells me that. I can't tell her-" the thought made him want to be sick.

What would he even say? He always fucked it up when it came to speaking . Just now proved it to him.

Trevor just shrugged and said "so show her then. Show her what a good boyfriend you could be. Show her how a man in love is supposed to treat his girl. Show her what it feels like when you're the one." He felt like a love guru . Maybe reading all those trashy magazines in airports about love had finally payed off.

He couldn't wait to rub it in all of their friends faces that he was right , that he was their Cupid’s Angel . He just needed it to work.

Both so he could be brag to everyone about him being right ,but mostly so his friends would stop pouting and just be happy together . It seemed so simple in his mind.

Quinn paused and frowned a little at him "show her? How?" His curiosity was peaked because he didn't know how much longer he could go on seeing her with everyone but him.

It hurt too much now.

Trevor grinned smugly at him "give her the boyfriend experience. You can't tell her how you feel? Show her then . Do what you want to. Do everything that you stop yourself from doing because you're too scared she won't feel the same way. Then see how she reacts." He told him confident that his plan would work.

And Quinn, well, Quinn felt like he had everything and yet nothing left to lose.

All he wanted was Cherrie but he needed to show her just how much he cared and shouting at her wasn't the way to go about it.

The next morning Cherrie slugged herself into the kitchen to find a plate already set in front of her usual seat, brows furrowing as she watched Quinn scrape scrambled eggs , bacon and scraps onto the plate . Even greeting her with a small smile as he placed a glass of orange juice beside her plate too.

She slowly took her seat, warily glancing over to Trevor to see if he was finding this as weird as she was.

Having expected Quinn to still be pissed off after their fight last night , he usually stayed on the couch with his bowl of cereal. Refusing to talk to anyone until it was past twelve.

But it was half nine in the morning and he was cooking her breakfast and smiling at her, Cherrie felt on edge . Carefully poking at the food on her plate , eyeing it suspiciously.

"Have you put laxatives in this?" She blurted out, still half asleep and wondering if she was dreaming . Because in what world did Quinn smile and make her breakfast for no reason?

Quinn looked over at her with a offended frown, ignoring Trevor snickering at the look on her face.

When he glanced at him, he just gave him a encouraging thumbs up. The plan to treat her like he was her boyfriend, without actually being it , already set in motion.

He felt awkward as he tried to explain "you usually forgot to eat in the mornings and well...that's stupid and I don't want you to be hungry until lunch so.." he shrugged it off, making his own bowl of cereal. Taking the seat opposite her at the table instead of heading off to the couch like he usually did.

Cherrie was looking at him like he was going to shoot her right there and then.

"Quinn..." she didn't know what to say. But hunger got the better of her, so she shovelled the food into her mouth and decided to shut up and not complain. Humming happily at the taste.

"Thanks." She muttered around her fork , digging in. Missing the way his eyes lit up as he watched her enjoy the food he had made her. The first three attempts burnt and chucked at the bottom of the trash can.

But attempt four was a success.

He hid his grin behind his spoon , swallowing his mouthful as he eyed her then, in a large shirt , sleep in her eyes and hair a wild mess. Curls going off in every direction . He loved seeing her like this, to him , this was when she was most beautiful. Just being herself.

Remembering the way Trevor had told him to compliment her and tell her just what he thought , he tried to give it a go.

Tried to.

Clearing his throat a little he gathered his courage then "I like your hair." He blurted out. Grimacing a little at how strange he sounded , as though he too couldn't believe what he was saying.

Cherrie carefully eyed him over her plate , self consciously running a hand through her hair in attempts to get it to stick down.

“It's a mess. I haven't even brushed it yet." She said, wondering if he was messing with her.

Quinn let out a awkward laugh , shaking his head slowly as he motioned towards her hair like an idiot .

"no. I mean it always is-" seeing the offended look on her face he quickly added "I mean. I like it how it always is. Even when it is messy!" He wanted to die.

Trevor was face palming , eyes closing in disbelief as he watched Quinn fuck up something as simple as complimenting her . But to his defence , they had spent the last few years only ever insulting each other and every honest compliment came wrapped up in sarcasm and jokes.

So he was...new to this.

Cherrie frowned "geez thanks Quinn. I know it's a mess , you don't have to rub it in!" She snapped, still tired and still upset from last night.

She quickly finished off her breakfast and stood up, Downing the orange juice all the while glaring at him.

Quinn spluttered while trying to fix his mistake , hands waving about in front of him "I'm not! I don't mean it badly! I love your hair!" He tried to assure her.

She clearly didn’t believe him , scoffing "you've just called is messy!" She exclaimed.

He huffed in frustration wondering why he was so bad at this. "It is! But that's because you've just woken up! And it still looks good! That's all I'm trying to say." He almost shouted , annoyed that he couldn't even compliment her right.

Unfortunately Cherrie thought that he was annoyed at her .

So she glared, looked at his own messy hair and scoffed again "well. Whatever Quinn! When was the last time you even washed yours?!" She threw at him before stomping off to her room again.

Leaving Quinn to Gape at where she had just been stood in disbelief . Trevor sighing long and hard at him, patting his shoulder in pity.

"Not your best effort. Could use a little more work on that." He winced . Having forgotten that quinn lacked any charm at all. He had the grace of a drunk elephant .

It was going to be long time until their plan worked.

It got even stranger after that and Cherrie felt like she was living in a alternate world where Quinn Hughes actually put in effort to being around her, always making up some excuses to help her and just be there by her side.

Like now, after hearing her tell Trevor that she was heading out to get some drinks with her friends, Quinn hadn’t hesitated before offering to drive her there , despite the fact that he has been in the middle of playing video games with his own friends.

He had hauled his ass off the couch, grabbed his car Keys and practically ran to catch up with her speedy steps.

Eyeing him warily as he Unlocked his car , then held open her door and stepped back, waving his hand at her to get inside.

"You don't have to . I could have gotten the bus." She muttered utterly confused to why he was suddenly offering his services like this.

He didn't like driving anyone anywhere and she knew it. That's why she had never asked for a ride.

Quinn got into the drivers seat, started the car before simply shrugging his shoulders casually as though his cheeks weren’t a bright pink.

"it's not big deal. I wasn't doing anything anyways ." He lied.

Cherrie played with the ends of her hair , side eyeing him as she watched him place his hand at the back of her head rest , looking between their seats as he backed out of the car park.

Making her Inhale a little too sharply as she eyed his tense bicep and focused face, sinking further down on her seat. Wondering how he could look so good in a matching sweatshirt and sweatpants , scruff and all.

She wondered if she was having some sort of crisis because now all she could think about was how hot Quinn really was. A thought that she had desperately tried to never remind herself of.

But it was hard to do when he was suddenly being so nice to her , cooking her food and driving her places just because he wanted to.

She felt her heart soften. And hated it. Because what the actual fuck?

"You were playing games with your friends ." She tried to argue . Feeling a little bad that he had jumped up after her, not even giving any excuses to them. Something he would no doubt be getting rinsed about later.

Quinn looked over at her briefly , admiring the glitter around her eyes , before looking back at the road with a heavy exhale .

“Yeah well. That can wait. I like your dress." He suddenly told her. Changing the subject abruptly.

She glanced down at her little black dress and smiled a little , feeling her cheeks flush . Not used to Quinn complimenting her like this.

It felt nice. The giddy feeling in her stomach Letting know that she wasn't as immune to Quinn as she likes to make herself believe.

"Thanks. I'm er-I'll try to be quieter coming in tonight. I probably won't get back till after midnight." She told him quietly.

Recalling how pissed off he had been the last time that she had woken him up after one of her nights out , drunkenly crashing into the coat stand and managing to knock everything over in the process.

This time, Quinn just shook his head with a soft hum.

Hesitating for a moment before mumbling "I can pick you up too. I don't want you taking the bus home while drunk." As he pulled up outside the bar that she always went to with her friends.

Warily eyeing a group of young guys laughing outside of it, hoping that none of them caught her eye. His heart couldn’t take much more.

Unbuckling herself , she shook her head quickly "oh no. I'll just get an Uber-"

Rolling his eyes at her stubbornness to accept his help , he sighed loudly . Looking at her with a raised brow "Cherrie. Please just let me pick you up? I won't sleep knowing you’re out anyways." He said Honestly .

He never did. His body only ever relaxed when he knew she was safe and at home with him.

Surprised , she slowly nodded her head in acceptance . Smiling a little unsurely at him "okay. If you're sure.."

He smiled back at her gently , exhaling a light laugh at how out of place she looked then. Looking at him like she had never even met him before. He winced to himself and wondered guilty just how much of a jackass he had accidentally been to her lately out of his own jealousy. Realising that in an effort to not let her know just what she meant to him, he had pushed her away. Something he had never wanted to do.

But he was trying now. This was him trying. He was going to make up for it all. He swore.

"I am. Text me when you're ready to come home alright?" He said lowly . Reaching over to fix the strap of her dress back into place gently before moving back again before she could even blink .

Cherrie exhaled shakily , nodded her head and pulled open the door. Slowly getting out "alright." She agreed . Still in shock by how nice he was being towards her now.

All she could think was as she walked to the bar door, glancing ober her shoulder to see Quinn still waiting to see her though the door, only pulling off when she was safe inside. Was.

She could get used to this.

It was nearly two in the morning by the time he picked her back up from the bar, chuckling a little to himself at how drunk she was . Practically throwing herself into her seat, heels quickly disregarded as she grinned over at him happily.

Quinn laughing quietly as she suddenly reached over to squeeze his cheeks between her hand, squishing his lips together as she giggled at him. Pinching his pink cheeks gently .

“I was thinking about you." She blurted out , leaning forward to slap a kiss to the end of his nose before pulling away.

Casually leaning back into her seat like she hadn't just flipped his heart around, Quinn flushing red as he buckled her in. Laughing a little shyly , skin tingly from her fingertips. Shocked by the sudden touch.

"Yeah?" He turned on the car , then reached back with one hand to hand her his sweatshirt, a bottle of water and then a McDonald box. Grinning at the look on her pretty face.

Cherrie gasped loudly , beaming at him as she threw on his sweatshirt without a single complaint. Digging straight into the fries , looking over at him with wide eyes. Glossy and dazed. Like he was her saviour.

"Dude..." she breathed out in amazement "I can't believe you got me McDonalds. That's so nice." She spoke around a mouthful of fries. Never taking her eyes off him.

“And you look so pretty. Why?" She spoke her mind. Drunk and not having a filter at all.

Quinn laughed bashfully , stomach fluttering from her sweet words. He scratched at his jaw awkwardly "I knew you'd be hungry. And I don't.. look pretty." He mumbled shyly .

Heart pounding in his chest as he briefly glanced over at her at the stop light, taken by the sight of her drunk, in his sweatshirt and smiling at him like he had made her whole night.

She had made his. He smiled to himself , chewing on the inside of his cheek to stop himself from giggling like a lovesick idiot at how soft she made him feel.

She giggled and offered him a fry, holding it in front of his mouth as he quickly leaned forward and took it from her fingers with his teeth. Muttering a small thanks as he did so.

"You do." She insisted , leaning over to feed him another one.

Tapping her finger up against his pouty lip after she did , eyes locked on his mouth as he swallowed. Nervously side eyeing her , his cheeks a pretty red.

"Do you remember what you told me the first time that frat bro broke my heart?" She suddenly asked him, finally pulling her hand away.

Crossing her legs beneath her, Quinn reached over and gently tugged down her dress as soon as he caught sight of a peek of lace. Letting out a light laugh as he tapped her thigh for a moment, squinting his eyes as he thought that far back.

"That was three years ago Cherrie. You've had like a gazillion other douchbag boyfriends since then." He commented teasingly , fingers clenching around the wheel as he forced himself to keep his hands to himself .

No matter how adorable he y she looked in his sweatshirt , dress peeking out the bottom, hair a mess and mascara smudged beneath her eyes as she gobbled down her burger like a little gremlin.

Mouth full of burger , she grumbled "not that many." Swallowing her bite, she looked at the raised judgmental brow her gave her and sighed loudly "fine that many. But the first time I cried in front of you.."

Quinn groaned at the bittersweet memory , heart clenching as he remembered the way her big eyes had filled with tears as she sobbed into his chest after finding her boyfriend fucking another girl at a party .

Quinn remembered her crying , reminded talking her to sleep. He also remembered hauling his ass over to the party to beat the guys face in. His knuckles had aches for a week after that.

Not that she knew about it. That was something he swore his brother and friends to keep hush about .

"I told you that he wasn't worth your tears and that you deserved someone that made you happy." He remembered then, softly repeating the words that still stood true now.

Cherrie hummed quietly .

Nodding her head as she glanced over at him, yawning as she finished her burger. Gaze lingering on the healing scab on his nose from his last injury , she sighed quietly.

"This has made me happy." She told him softly , tugging her hands into the sleeve of his sweatshirt , watching the colour bloom across his face at her words.

He chuckled a little , heart beating a little faster as he spared her a quick glance. "Yeah? Which part? McDonald's or the sweatshirt that I'm never getting back now?" He teased lightly.  Pride filling him that he had put that smile on her face.

Just Him. Nobody else. It felt nice.

Cherrie just shrugged lightly as they pulled back up to their apartment block "all of it. Thanks Q."

Not even ten minutes later , a drunk and confused Cherrie was bursting into Trevors bedroom , startling him awake with a scared gasp. Eyes going wide as he gaped up at her, watching her pace in front of his bed with a strange look on her face.

"What the fuck? Are you on drugs?!" He exclaimed quietly , mindful of the fact that it was three o'clock in the fucking morning .

He sent her a tired glare. Hand over his racing heart as he cursed her out.

She just sighed dramatically and placed her hands on her flaming cheeks , concerned with how she suddenly felt .

“Somethings wrong." She said worriedly "Quinn is being nice to me all the time. Why is he being so nice?" She demanded to know.

Trevor just snorted a little in amusement , before yawning.

“He's always been a little extra nice to you." He replied. Cause it was true.

Cherrie wasn't having it. Shaking her head with a deep frown on her face "not like this!" She denied quickly .

"he's-hes like doing everything for me and-he keeps making me breakfast and driving me everywhere. And he keeps smiling at me and complimenting me and-"

Trevor cut her off with a small smirk , smugness filling him as he realised that his plan was actually working. She was noticing Quinn's efforts.

Plan 'boyfriend' was a total success.

He knew it. Call him love guru now.

"Why do you think he is?" He asked her , trying to work reverse psychology on her. But he forgot who he was dealing with here.

Haunted by a long list of asshole ex boyfriends , she grimaced worriedly "is he mad at me or something?" She wondered out loud "like is he trying to lure me into a false sense of security before he gets his revenge?"

Trevor was horrified, gaping up at his poor friend in disbelief. Genuinely concerned .

“Jesus Cherrie! You need to stop dating these psychos! Holy shit!" He exclaimed shocked , rubbing at his face stressfully.

“So what if he's being nice? You like it right?" He said.

Cherrie slowly nodded her head, looking off to the side as a grin slowly pulled at her lips without her even realising it.

"yeah I mean-" she trailed off with a little sigh, picturing the way he had whispered goodnight to her as he dropped her off to her room. Kissing her cheek and promising to get her a really greasy breakfast for her hangover in the morning.

What a turn on.

"He's got a nice smile hasn't he?" She mumbled , fiddling with the ends of her hair as she pictured it. Crooked and uneven .

So cute. She sighed dreamily without even realising it.

Trevor smirked to himself and tried not to fist bump the air in front of him. Fighting back a smug giggle.

I'm a fucking Cupid’s angel . He thought proudly . Quinn better make me best man at their wedding . Cause otherwise he would still be pining from afar  while she got her heartbroken every other month.

It became a pattern after that. Cherrie arriving home after work to find a new vase of flowers on her bedside table every Friday , alongside some candy or some of her favourite food whenever he knew she needed the extra kick me up.

She started going to more of his games, wearing his jersey and cheering him on. Waiting for him by his car, getting dinner together each time they won. Or just lazying out on the couch playing some rather violent video games if they didn't. But Quinn still wanted to be by her side.

He texted her in the mornings. He checked in on her during the day, making sure that she was okay. Sending her stupid jokes and memes that he knew she would like, sending her cat videos that he found (spent hours collecting for times like these) . FaceTiming her when he was at away games and missing her. Which was always.

Then he started travelling home with her, then met her father and started going golfing with him while her mother fussed over him and kept giving her daughter knowing looks .

Cherrie just looking amusedly confused as she watched him easily fit into her crazy family , so much so that he went out to guys night with her brothers who had hated every other guy that she had brought home.

But they loved Quinn. They all did and she was filled with a strange , overwhelming feeling in her chest when she came into the front room one morning to see Quinn laughing over the phone with her dad, both of them talking shit about some Golfing enemies they had thrashed that weekend .

Her father had once hit an ex boyfriend of hers with a golf club. Ran over another one with the wheel of a golf buggy. So this was rather shocking sight for her to see him being so friendly with Quinn.

But it was different this time she guessed. Because Quinn wasn't her boyfriend. But sometimes  it felt like he was. And recognising the butterflies making house in her stomach , she recognised the racing of her heart whenever he nudged her shoulder and whispered some lame joke in her ear just to see her smile.

She finally saw the signs.

She noticed the way Quinn always looked for her first in every room, the way he would keep looking over at her when they held party's to make sure that she was still okay.

She noticed the way he smiled when she did, the way he went out of his way to be near her. Even coming along to the dentist with her, claiming that he was 'bored'. But she knew that he just wanted to take care of her .

It was the way he automatically reached for her hand when they went to cross a road , the way he refused to let anyone else buy her drinks at the bar. guarding her drink with his life when she went to dance or to the toilet. Glaring down any guy that even so much as looked at it or her wrongly.

She saw it now and she felt it right through. And she felt so fucking stupid that it had taken her this long to see what was right in front of her the whole damn time.

So when they sat in their favourite bar, watching a game on the tv while they waited for their friends to arrive .

And then when a cute guy, usually her type, walked over and asked her if she wanted to join him and if he could buy her a drink or get her number . For the first time in her life she turned the guy down politely , and didn't feel any regret.

Glancing over at Quinn to see his eyes down to the wooden bar top, his brows furrowed as he fiddled with the label on his beer , no longer focused on her. No longer smiling.

She walked away from the guy and sat down beside him again, nudging Quinn arm gently when he still didn't look up.

“You okay?" She asked him softly , concerned by the sudden change in his demeanour .

Quinn just mumbled something she couldn't hear, making her frown. "Huh?" She leant her head down , trying to catch his gaze.

He gave her it for a split second , catching her eye before looking away just as quick.

“I'm fine." He mumbled , "I just -you haven't been on a date in a while. I think this might have been the longest you've been single." He muttered .

Refusing to look at her. Heart squeezing in his chest as he glanced across the bar to see the guy she had been talking to occasionally glancing over at her, exactly the type of guy she went for.

Everything he wasn't.

Cherrie laughed a little, swallowing thickly as she realised that he was right . Knowing exactly why she hadn't even thought of moving on to another guy too.

"yeah. I mean-" she inhaled trying to find the right words to say and failing "I don't want to go through any of that shit again anyway. No more wasting time with the wrong guy." She looked at him , hoping he'd understand.

Quinn slowly turned his hand , brows furrowing in confusion .

“You didn't-" he glanced back over at the guy before looking back at her "you didn't give him your number?" He breathed out, shoulders tense with fear.

Cherrie shook her head and watched the way he exhaled , his shoulders relaxing again. Finally looking her in the eye, relief flowing from his body.

He wasn't exactly subtle. She wondered how she had missed the signs for so long.

But she had never been very smart when it came to love. A little stupid, a little naive. But she got it now.

And hopefully it wasn't too late.

"I didn't." She said and watched him smile a little to himself "no more tears for you to wipe away ." She joked lamely .

Quinn just laughed in relief "yeah. Yeah. I never did like to see you cry."

And that was how Cherrie found herself , the following night , standing in front of Quinn's room with flowers in her hand , knocking on his door gently . Taking in a deep breath to gather her courage , telling herself that she could do this.

When Quinn opened his door, he froze.

Eyes darting down to the flowers in her hand , then back up to her, taking in her pretty dress and perfect makeup. Her red lips and hopeful eyes.

He didn't dare to breath , hope was a dangerous thing after all.

"What-" he hesitated for a moment too long , shocked at the sight in front of him. He swallowed thickly .

"are you going on a date?" He fucking hoped not. He would cry.

If she had come to his door to show off her flowers and let him see how beautiful she looked for another man, Quinn didn't think his heart could take it. Not anymore.

Cherrie gently shook her head , laughing a little

Nervously as she shuffled awkwardly on feet. "

“Can I come in?" She asked him quietly , knowing for a fact that Trevor was somewhere listening in. He had been smirking at her since the moment she came home with flowers and found her nervously mutttering to herself around the apartment.

He knew. She knew. Quinn was the only one that didn't. But he was about to.

He pulled open his door and let her in, gently closing it behind her as he warily watched her stand in front of his bed , his eyes widening in disbelief when she suddenly thrust out the flowers to him, laughing nervously. Flushed.

"There for you." She told him quietly , watching him carefully take the flowers from her hands.

Looking down at them with parted lips, his breath hitching as he dared to peer back over at her. Chewing on his bottom lip. Heart racing in his chest.

"Cherrie-is this-" he looked at her hopefully "what's going on?" He wanted to know. Didn't want to get his hopes up. But he didn't have to worry about his heart breaking because she was about to make it all better .

Finally.

Taking a deep breath , she spoke calmly "Quinn?"

He exhaled just as nervously , gently setting aside the flowers on his bed as he slowly moved closer to her. "Yeah?"

"Can I date you?" She bluntly asked him. Deciding not to beat around the bush. She just wanted him

Now. Sick of wasting so much time. Three, nearly four fucking years of hurt, of pining , of disappointment and pain. And it had finally come down to this.

And all Cherrie could realise then was as she looked a blushing , wide eyed Quinn hesitantly standing in front of , sweet and kind and so fucking pretty , was that it should have been him all along.

It had been really . She was just so fucking stupid for chasing fake love in strangers when she had the real thing right here in front of her all along.

Quinn felt his ears ring , heartbeat in his mouth as he gaped at her in disbelief .

“What?" He choked out a nervous laugh. Swallowing thickly . "are you serious or are you fucking with me?" He Honeslty felt a little like he could faint then. Breaking out in a anxious sweat as he gaped down at her.

Cherrie just giggled and placed her hand on his bicep , squeezing gently as she moved closer to him, peering up at him through her lashes deliberately .

"I'm not fucking with you, I want to fuck you but thats different." She slyly muttered. Taking the chance now that she finally knew she had it.

Quinn gently placed his hands on her hips , inhaling deeply through his nose as he tried to push away his shock to speak clearly .

Cheeks on fire as he mumbled "you can. Do that." Hardly able to meet her eye. Feeling like he was dreaming.

Cherrie beamed up at him , cupping his cheeks in her hands firmly . Giving them a little loving squeeze as she tried not to squeal in excitement .

"you'll be my boyfriend ? Seriously?" She double checked .

Biting down on her bottom lip to try and contain her happiness. But it shone through. It was unstoppable . Just like his love for her.

Quinn laughed sheepishly , gently nudging her nose with his own as he admitted to her shyly "I've er-kind of been acting like your boyfriend all along Cherrie. I was trying to get you to notice.. giving you the boyfriend experience I guess..”

Cherrie eyes widened , both embarrassed that she was so fucking oblivious and just overwhelmed with love that she felt for him.

Because he had never given up on her. Not once.

He had waited. And she had never felt happier than she did in that moment . And she knew that this was it.

So she kissed him.

Hands cupping his jaw as she tugged him close , free hand tangling in his hair as she gently tugged at the strands until he was moaning lowly against her mouth. Kissing her back just as firmly , just as relieved as he tasted the taste of her mouth on his tongue .

Titling his head to deepen the kiss, his nose nudging against her own, he laughed breathlessly against her mouth.

Pulling away just enough to let her know "I love you." Before Kissing the sides of her mouth too, then her chin. And then all across her beautiful face , grinning widely against her cheekbone as she giggled and embraced him, arms sliding sound his neck to hold him there.

"Fuck me. I love you." She said it like it was something she had always said. And maybe it should have been. Because Quinn had always been right there. Waiting for her to notice him.

And she did now. She noticed the way his cheeks flushed red as he traced soft circles into her cheekbone with his thumbs , gazing down at her like she was his god.

She noticed the way his kiss lingered on her lips , the way he sighed so softly and sagged against her in relief , letting her hold him. Trusting her with himself . Letting her pull him close and whisper how much she needed him, how she was never going to look away from him ever again.

And Quinn. Wrapped up in her love , lips swollen from her kisses. Realised that for the first time ever , Trevor was actually right.

His plan had worked.

He got the girl.

God. He thought with a dazed grin against her neck as she pulled him down to the bed , losing his breath as he looked down at her beneath him. Still in disbelief that this was real. That this was actually happening.

Trevor was never going to let this go. He was going to be even more insufferable than he already was when he found out .

But it was totally worth it, he thought with a dazed grin as she roughly tugged his shirt off , tearing it off impatiently when it didn’t come off quick enough. kissing every inch of his skin that she could reach with her mouth , sucking and biting her name into his skin until he was a panting mess beneath her .

Until they are both naked and both together , till she was taking control and pinning his hands above his head as she slipped her tongue into his mouth confidently . Riding him like she was his cowboy , his head thrown back in bliss as he moaned so loudly , so shamelessly as she fucked him like she was in love. Like she knew she had all of him. Like she knew that this was the rest of their lives.

And between the pants, the moans and the shrill screams of pleasure. Quinn just knew that there would be no keeping their love a secret. Because Trevor and their poor neighbours definitely heard him scream her name as she made him see heaven.

It was never subtle at all. Never had been and never would be. But he didn’t have it in him to care at all because he had wanted this for so long .

All it took was for him to give her a bit of the boyfriend experience for her to realise that he was the one. That he had been there waiting for her all along.

And if this , he is he’s breathlessly up at the ceiling in a daze as she buried her face into his neck with a low moan, biting underneath his jaw until he was groaning her neck , his cock buried deep inside her as she rocked his world. If this was the just the beginning of her girlfriend experience, then he couldn’t wait for the rest of his life with her. Excitement , desire and love filling him , mind , body and pure fucking soul.

And It only took forever. But That wasn't long at all.

[silvervioletvalentine]

🖤!I knew you were trouble when you walked in!🖤

Pairing: Auston Matthews x model + rivals sister Cherrie!

Word count: 13k. I have a problem. I know ok. I just can’t write short oneshots. I’ve tried lmfao

Summary: in which he knew she was trouble since the very first time he saw her in the stands, cursing out his name after he had accidentally (on purpose) broken her brothers nose on the ice during a heated game. Three years of pining later and finally , she stumbles into his hotel drunk and as mouthy as ever. He really couldn’t resist. She may have been trouble, but she was worth it all.

Warnings: like none? Just fluff I think. A little bit of angst with her brother (who I totally made up because I can) when he finds out. Confident , bitchy Cherrie that won’t make it easy for Auston. And Auston just being a major simp. That’s it.As always lemme know what u think please. First time writing for auston soooo , lemme know if u like this and if I should write for him again! I’m thinking of maybe writing for mitch and maybe barzal too. Anyways.. bye bye!! Xoxo

It was nearly midnight by the time that Cherrie had managed to stumble her way back to her hotel , head spinning and limping a little , for reasons she had no clue to as why she was exactly , eyes hazy as she hummed along to a Taylor swift song playing in her head.

She thought that she was handling herself pretty damn fine, like the independent adult that she was.

She kind of impressed with herself for getting back to the hotel without , A: injuring herself , or B, calling either an ex , or her whiny brother who had done nothing but get on her nerves for the last couple of hours. Hence the reason why she has left the club early in the first place, because if she had to head him complain one more time about how 'it wasn't fair, that ref was clearly a maples fan!' And hear him curse out every players name, in a absolutely foul mood after losing against them.

She felt like she was going to go insane , and maybe slightly more mean than usual . Because she was her fathers daughter after all and the mean, anger issues that she tried to bury down kept crawling back up each time he whined again, just staring blankly at his face and wishing that he would shut the hell up and let her enjoy her vodka lime peace.

Was she being a little bit of a bitch by not being more sympathetic to her brother , who was so clearly upset after a losing game? Yes. Obviously .

But did she care? Absolutely not because as far as she saw it, you won some and you lost some. As simple as that. And they had just stood absolutely no chance against them that night , they had been on fire from the very start.

Even she could admit that they had been just too good, not to her brothers face or course, she thought that praising his rival team might have been a little too far , even for her.

He was a little sensitive after all and she didn't want to see her brother cry. They would just be awkward and she had no doubt that he would be a little snitch and tell dad.

Hence why she had snuck out of the club the moment her brother had been distracted , telling herself that she could see him some other time. Even though he was leaving early in the morning to a flight back home, Cherrie would send a text. Maybe.

If she lived to see the next day that was, feeling herself stumble a little too hard. Somehow managing to knock herself into the couch in the reception , letting out a mix between a startled laugh and Yelp as she went tumbling down.

"Fucks sake!" She groaned , just managing to catch herself in time, clinging to the back of the couch to steady herself . Head bowed as she let out a small drunken giggle, vision swimming for a long moment.

So lost in her own head, and trying not to face plant on the floor, that she hasn't noticed the eyes that had been watching her since she first stumbled out of the cab and into the hotel without any grace , always loud and dramatic as ever in her scene.

Because if she had noticed said eyes. And just who those eyes belonged to, she might have turned back around and decided that she was better off joining her moody brother at the club again after all.

Because what she wasn't expecting to hear between her giggling and muttering along of her Taylor swift song, was a voice call over to her in amusement , scaring the absolute shit out of her.

"I see you're about as steady on your feet as your bambi brother is." Auston Matthews said to her, leaning casually against the vending machine as he watched her panic.

Head snapping over to him in shock , mascara smudged eyes going wide as she realised to just who she was faced with. The same hockey player that had smashed her brother into the boards and to the ice more times that she could count.

She stiffened , trying to straighten herself back up and not seem like she was totally shit faced. A not so very convincing act as she hiccuped while doing so .

Glaring at him for referring to the way her brother had once , or twice, lost his foot while on the ice, somehow managing to trip over his own two skates in front of everyone. Hence the bambi nickname.

"And I see you're as much of an asshole as you look like." It was a weak comeback but come on, she was like, ten vodka shots in.

She squinted to focus her eyes on him, frowning slightly as she took in the sight of Auston standing there in a oversized sweater and basketball shorts, slides on his feet and a beanie pulled low over his head.

Not bad. Her drunken brain said. Not my usual type but he's got a little something.

And he was currently smirking right back at her , his eyes running over her body in her little back dress , gaze lingering at her stumbling feet for a moment before looking back up again

He laughed lightly "I think I look pretty good." He replied , grinning like a joker as he struck a pose at her.

Trying to replicate one that he had seen her do in one of her shoots before . One hand on the vending machine and the other on his hip as he duck pouted at her mockingly.

She scoffed, ever the mean girl. Flicking her hair over her shoulder with a flair , narrowing her eyes at him the best that she could in her drunken state.

But something about matthews just got underneath her skin. Maybe it was the casual way that he was talking to her, as though they were friends who had talked plenty before . As though he wasn't her brothers rival , as though he hasn't managed to break her brothers nose and pride before.

Like he wasn't public enemy one to her right then.

Well, he was supposed to be. And her brother would no doubt be expecting her to give Auston shit and make him pay .

But well, vodka and ...come on, she was defending him.

Albeit a little weakly but she was. That was something wasn't it?

"Whoever told you that is a liar. Perhaps you should surround yourself with honest peope instead." She snapped back at him, feeling the start of a headache come on. Or maybe it was the onset of the hangover that she would be having tomorrow.

Either way. She just wanted to go to bed and sleep it off, not talk to some cocky hockey player that her brother hated in her hotel.

Auston scoffed in amusement , gaze never leaving her face. taken aback by how she managed to look so pretty, even when she was glaring at him like she was , eyes glassy and lipstick smudged.

A hot, drunken mess.

"Like you?" He resorted back quickly without missing a beat.

"and are you honest or just a mean little bitch?" He braced himself . Kind of expecting a slap.

He didn't know her after all, didn't know what the line was or what she bantered like with others . It was risky move but come on, he had Cherrie Valentine in front of him, mouth just as quick witted and mean as he knew she was. He couldn't help himself. This was a one off opportunity.

The only time he ever caught glimpses of her was on billboards and magazines, or in the stands at games they played against her brother , where he would see her shouting and screaming insults and curses at them. Ever the passionate woman.

And he wasn't insane enough to approach her then, no matter how much he wanted to, he knew he would have gotten his skates shoved up his ass, and not just by her brother either.

She was the scary one in his opinion. A loudmouth with no filter and no mercy, and he just knew that she made grown men cry and had their tears in her morning tea.

She was a nightmare and a daydream rolled into one fine, beautiful woman. And well, Auston was just a man. So sue him if he wanted to talk to her a little... wind her up and watch her bite back.

Cherrie could only looked at him silently , fighting back the grin she wanted to let out with everything in her.

Telling herself that it didn't matter if she thought it was funny , he was still the enemy. He didn't deserve to hear her laugh.

So she soldiered on and doubled down on her glare .

Seeing this Auston let out a laugh, motioning to the vending machine that he was leaning on.

"Want some candy? You look like you could use some." He said lightly , the smirk never leaving his lips.

She huffed "fuck you!" She spat back at him .

He just looked her up and down "no thanks. Not while your drunk and missing a heel." He told her casually, nodding down to her feet that she kept stumbling over.

And huh. She looked down at her feet and noticed that one heel was in fact missing.

He was right. What the fuck?

She didn't reply. Pride keeping her from doing so. Instead she pulled off the other heel and tossed it aside too, briefly wondering when the hell she had lost the other one. If she was to place her bets , she would guess the cab ride back from the club. That seemed plausible.

She slowly stumbled over to the vending machine , stomach grumbling as she looked at all the snacks and drinks inside . Realising that she hasn't had anything since those cheesy nachos before the game.

She side eyed Auston who was still smirking to himself , no longer looking at her as he got himself some Reece cups from the machine. Just waiting patiently.

She gave in far too quickly , pride gone.

"I want a chocolate bar and some sprite." She tells him firmly , tapping at the glass to what she wanted . Like she earned it.

Like this was a totally normal thing to do. Demanding chocolate bars from her brothers hockey rival. This was not how she saw her night ending at all .

Auston snorted "not even a please?" He muttered in amusement getting more change out anyway. He wasn't about to tell her no.

Not in any universe.

Cherrie just narrowed her eyes at him, crossing her arms over her chest as she leant tiredly against the side of the machine . Mostly so it could hold her body weight up, fighting back a yawn.

"I'm a black belt in karate." She lets him know wisely.

Auston eyes her, laughed lightly , then punched in the numbers to get her the chocolate bar and the bottle of sprite . Chucking to himself as he did so.

"Good to know." He muttered amused. Handing them to her. Watching as she quickly took the chocolate bar then shoved the drink back into his hands, not even looking at him as she told him 'to hold it.'

Sighing contently as she shoved a piece of the chocolate into her mouth, eyes fluttering closed for a moment in bliss . "S'nice." She slurred. Having another piece.

"Can I have some?" He asked.

She glared quickly "touch my chocolate and I'll rip your fingers off." She warned him seriously . "Asshole." She then added in a mutter just because she could.

Auston laughed , uncapping the lid on the drink and carefully handing it to her so she could take a sip. Hand hovering underneath her chin in case she spilled it, she was that drunk. He was more than amused.

She gulped it down and Auston shook his head, moving the bottle away from her lips carefully as she panted, swallowing it quickly.

"Not so quick! You don't want to make yourself sick." He scolded her.

She grumbled "don't tell me what to do." Before yawning loudly as the vodka and tiredness finally caught up with her.

That was her excuse for why she let Auston steer her to the elevator; and why she told him which floor and room number she was in. Leaning tiredly against his side as he tapped his fingers against her shoulder lightly , supporting her waist while she continued to munch on a piece of chocolate lazily .

He looked down at her, heart racing in his chest . So close that he could count the freckles on her nose , realising then that the pictures really weren't like the real thing at all. She was even more beautiful up close. It was unreal and Auston had to remind himself how to breathe normally , not wanting to be weird.

So he looked at her and his heart skipped a beat? Totally normal behaviour. He convinced himself easily.

"Enjoy the game tonight?" He couldn't help but tease . Having seen the way she had shot to her feet and cursed his name when he had pushed her brother against the boards again , he had even winked at her when he skated away.

Because he was a little shit like that and he had been trying to get her attention for a long time.

And unfortunately for him the only way to do so was to push her brother around at games and watch her get riled up. She was really creative with her insults when she spitting mad, Auston thought that the rage made her look even more sexy. Her eyes just lit a spark.

Head tilting up, cheek still pressed against his shoulder as she glared at him lazily "we'll get you next time." She promised.

Auston had to laugh "I don't think so. But bambi tried. Bless him." He joked. Getting a slap in the gut in return, he gasped.

Laughing loudly "ow! Good to know who the stronger Valentine is!" He quipped .

Cherrie just groaned wondering what was wrong with him. But she still let him lead her out of the elevator as it dinged, feeling his arm slide around her back to support her as she stumbled to her hotel room door with him by her side.

Swiping open the door, she lingered for a moment hesitating in going in.

Auston suddenly falling quite as he looked back at her, swallowing , mouth running dry.

"Well..goodnight-" she muttered lamely about to head inside and sleep this weird night off.

But it got even weirder as she watched Auston get uncharacteristically nervous. His fingers tugging at the ends of his hair as he muttered her name to get her to wait .

He cleared his throat a little awkwardly, eyes darting away from hers for a moment "are you going to be here long?" He quickly added "in Toronto." Not wanting to have to wait till the next game in months time to see her again.

Cherrie frowned a little, wondering why he was asking then nodded her head warily . "Yeah." She found herself telling him "I'm here for the next week for some shoots. I have a rented apartment to go to tomorrow."

He pursed his lips, barely hiding his excited grin, nodding along like he knew this already .

"I live like half an hour away from here." He told her casually . Shoving his hands in his pockets and rocking on the Balls of his feet like a teenager nervous about asking out their crush.

She looked at him strangely , letting out a small confused laugh. "Then why are you in a hotel?"

He simply shrugged and tried not to think about why he wanted to make her laugh again. Of all the things that he could do and say to see her smile.

"It's just nice to get out of the house sometimes." He said.

Cherrie just looked at him, then shook her head in amusement . "You're so weird matthews."

He shrugged again, confidence coming back in full swing.

"Come to a pottery class with me tomorrow." He more told her then asked. But hey, at least he got the words out. Though they sounded a lot smoother and charming in his head.

Cherrie did laugh loudly this time, looking at him like he was insane . Unable to believe what he was doing, what he was asking.

Because she wasn't stupid but she couldn't figure out why he was going out of his way, at midnight , to do it at all.

He was her brothers enemy. She had seen the two brawl More times than she could remember, had seen the way Auston always deliberately made him a target. Had to hear her brother curse his name to hell and back each time, Cherrie sometimes doing the same.

Because hockey was a passionate sport and if her brother even found out that she was standing there, taking to Auston Matthews in her hotel room , drunk at midnight. He Would have a stroke, she had no doubt .

She told him so , as though Auston didn't already know what he was trying to get himself into.

"My brother will kill you." She muttered, eyes on his. He hadn't looked away from her once yet.

He just smirked and muttered teasingly "over pottery? A bit of an over reaction but.."

Cherrie inhaled sharply and shook her head at him, not knowing whether to be amused or annoyed. Maybe a bit of both.

"I know what you're doing." She tells him, leaning against her doorframe lazily.

Seeing the way his eyes flicker down to her mocking smile, notices the way he inhales a little too deeply , before his eyes flicker back up to meet her own again.

Cockily , he hummed "maybe. But I'm not hearing a no so...." He trailed off with a grin, pleased with himself .

He backed away from her door with a small laugh "so I'll come pick you in the morning." He continued to casually tell her, testing his luck.

Because he would beat himself up forever if he didn't at least try. This was a once in a million chance, he wasn't going to waste it.

"Say...around eleven?" He looked at her hopefully.

And a hopeful Auston Matthews reminded her of a puppy. Eyes wide and smile giddy , head tilting a little too. And well, she loved puppy's. And she was drunk and she was...

She was running out of excuses.

So she said yes. Then shut the door in his face. Unable to see the way he let out a loud breath of relief , fist punching the air in glee.

It was weird when he came to pick her up the next morning, there was no denying it. She was on edge and cranky and hungover , utterly grumpy and scowling at him when she got into his car like she would rather be anywhere else.

Auston looked at her grumpy face , oversized sunglasses and laughed lightly . "Don't you look like sunshine." He teased before passing her a Starbucks coffee and a muffin.

And Cherrie just looked down at them in amazement , then back over to him silently . Speechless , because what the fuck was going on?

And like the emotionally constipated grown child that she was, she decided to go the route of her usual communication and told him in a mutter "fuck you."

Because she didn't want to question the butterflies in her stomach or why she was struggling not to look at his side profile in the glowing sun as they drove.

He didn't take offence . Instead he just snorted a giggle and muttered "so charming." Then he nodded towards his phone on the dashboard and told her easily "pick something to listen to. Or we could just sit in silence..." he teased, laughing again when she quickly reached for his phone and pulled up Spotify.

She clicked on his playlists and scrolled through the songs , pausing as she saw a familiar theme.

Blinking down at his phone in disbelief "you listen to Taylor? There's like..all the eras.. lover, red, bad blood ..." she looked over at him curiously .

Mathews just grinned over at her briefly before focusing back on the road "course I do. She rocks. My favourites been evermore lately." He told her casually . Pretending not to see the look on her face, pretending like he didn't want to each out and touch her pretty face.

Cherrie swallowed then , blinking down at her chocolate muffin in disbelief . "It's my favourite too." Then she clicked on you need to calm Down. Because holy shit did she need to.

Her heart was racing as fast as her mind was, side eyeing Auston the whole ride there as he sang along to every song. Nudging her arm annoyingly until

she was singing along with him too.

Her brother was going to murder her if he ever found out. Was all she could think in defeat. Bobbing her head to the music , ignoring the way matthews couldn't stop sending her glances and smiling at her every other minute.

She was getting pretty good at pretending.

Half an hour later and Cherrie was huffing , face scrunched up in misery as she clung at the fucked up looking piece of  clay in her hands. Sat at the desk in front of the pottery wheel, a strangled sound escaping her in stress , as her attempts of making a vase of some sort collapsed on her again.

"I can't fucking do this shit." She cursed out in frustration , making Auston glance over at her from where he been serenely enjoying himself, clay perfectly in shape as he watched her struggle in vague amusement. Even pulling out his phone to take a candid photo of the model glaring down at the clay like it had just killed her own puppy.

"Calm down. Take a deep breath babe." He advised her patiently.

Nudging her shoulder with his, he ignored her hiss of 'don't call me babe.' Simply because he was close enough to see the way her cheeks coloured at as he called her it.

He tried not to grin like a lovesick idiot, instead he gently cupped his hands around her own on the wheel, helping her.

She went quite as he hovered around her, swallowing thickly as she looked down at their hands on her fucked up piece of clay.

"What we aiming for?" He asked while admiring the collection of rings covering her fingers.

It was something he had noticed about her quickly , she was always wearing some type of jewellery , necklaces , earrings , bracelets and rings. Even if she was wearing sweats out, she still had to wear them.

She exhaled quietly and let him guide her without moving away "was going for a vase but maybe just something that doesn't fall down is more realistic." She said answered .

And he helped her achieve that. With a smile on his face the whole time and a more reluctant one on her own. But he still took it for a win.

Then after they were baked in the oven and cooled  down, they got down to painting them, sat beside Auston at the table , painting her pottery a simple light green colour.

"What's yours gonna be?" She asked him curiously . Eyeing the small dish shaped pot he had made, he was holding it gently as he delicately painted it blue, with hearts all over it. His brush strokes gentle and precise, taking it seriously .

"It's gonna be a trinket dish for all your pretty jewellery." He murmured to her casually , finishing off another small heart. Secretly painting his initials in it too.

Cherrie just fell silent again, just looking at him. Stomach a whole damn zoo.

Fuck. She thought with a sigh. She was so fucked.

"Thanks. That's..." she didn't know what to say.

Flinching a little when he reached over to take her hand in his, smoothly sliding off her mood ring , grinning at her as he put in the small dish.

Letting out a pleased hum seeing that it fit in just fine , "sweet? Kind?" He supplied to her with a smirk, sliding her ring onto his own finger. Clenching them to watch the colours change as it heated ahinst his skin.  Wondered what the colour meant . He took a good guess, wasn't too hard.

Cherrie just sighed and watched him play with her ring on his finger, no plans to give it back.

So she took the cap from ontop of his head and placed it on her own, a theif for a thief. Watching in Amusement as he quickly ran his hand through his hair self consciously , frowning at her.

She frowned back.

Then he broke out into a soft laugh, his eyes lingering on her as he murmured to her quietly "ya know , you're very pretty." It was an understatement.

She was so fucking beautiful that his stomach hurt, but he felt like saying that would scare her away so soon. And he didn't want that.

Confident as she was, she just hummed and nodded her head in agreement . "I know." She was a model for a reason after all.

Auston laughed, nudging her arms . Enjoying the way she scolded at him when he ended up knocking the tiny paintbrush out of her hand. Huffing at him as she picked it back up again, fixing where it had smudged on the pottery.

"It's your turn to tell me how pretty I am too." Auston joked.

She huffed out a mean little laugh , not even looking away from her pottery . "I'm not lying to you matthews. Sorry." She didn't sound very sorry at all.

He didn't say anything . Just sighing dramatically instead as he went back to finishing off painting his too, making Cherrie lift her head to look at him with a frown.

Side eyeing him quietly , she shifted uneasily in her seat. Taking in his soft sweatshirt and vintage jeans , face as soft as the night before when he couldn't look away from her then either .

But now that she thought about it, he had always looked at her that way . Even when she was cursing him out for breaking her brothers nose during a game from behind the barrier , he always looked at her. For her.

So she huffed reluctantly and muttered quietly "you're eyes are alright I guess." Flushing darkly when he let out a startled laugh .

Looking back at her with a wide grin on his face , utterly amused by her inability to just be nice.

But flattery for someone she liked wasn't in her dna, she just bullied them instead. It was much easier. No matter how childish it was.

She never claimed to be mature anyways.

Emotionally constipated . Her friends joked.

Just reasonable and honest. She called herself .

"Alright eyes?" He was giggling hysterically now. Snorting even as he placed his chin in his hand, gazing over at her in amusement. .

"Wow. You're such a charmer . How do you have so many ex's?" He asked her while grinning .

Cherrie just looked at him blandly , then pointed at her face , then pointed down to her chest.

Auston followed her finger and hummed long and hard, getting what she was referring to. Both were very gifted and beautiful after all.

"Ah. Okay." He said nodding casually , his eyes lingering on her chest that was pushing out of her tight tank top that she was wearing.

He wondered "are they real?" He blurted out, genuinely curious. They looked too perfect to be real.

Cherrie eyes widened in offence , scoffing at him. "of course they're real! My back pain Says fuck you by the way." She shot back at him. Though she was amused by the way he couldn't keep his thoughts in his head at all.

He winced apologetically "sorry. They just look so perfect. They're very nice." He said while grinning at her , before sneaking another not so subtle glance at her tits.

They were great. 10000/10.

She rolled her eyes at him but she was hiding a smile , shaking her head . "Shut up." She muttered .

Ignoring the way he shuffled his chair closer to her own, hiking up his muttered jokes and judgey  comments about other people there , just to see her smile again.

Day2 .

The next day Cherrie ended up looking down at the caller Id in her phone in disbelief as it rang suddenly , Love or your Life written across the screen as she answered it with a amused scoff

"Are you serious Matthews? You stole my phone to put your number in it while I went to the toilet?" She said instead of hello. Amused despite herself.

She found herself getting up from the couch, playing with her hair as she listened to him talk. Practically feeling his stupid grin through the phone.

"Are you really that surprised?" He replied .

She grinned to herself , dropping her hair and fidgeting with her bottom lip instead .

Heart fluttering "I shouldn't be but you're kinda looking a bit desperate now matthews." She teased him.

He gasped dramatically and she had to force herself not to laugh, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of knowing just how much she enjoyed his theatrics.

"I do not! I just want to hang out with you." He told her honestly not finding a need to lie.

He never had with her before and he wasn't going to start now.

She paused in the middle of the room, swallowing .

Then she murmured a soft , confused "why?" Wanting to know why he was trying so hard when he should have known better .

He sighed a little before telling her jokingly  "because you told me that I have 'alright eyes' and now I can't stay away.' But it was mostly true. Only his eyes had been on her long before two nights ago.

She didn't say anything so he tried his luck again "can I come over?" He asked her bluntly. Not beating around it.

She scoffed "no." Glancing around her temporary home, she started fluffing up the pillows on the couch despite it.

He huffs "please?" Then he bargained "I'll make you food."  Knowing that good food was her soft spot.

She said okay.

The first thing he did when he arrived was hug her, grinning to himself in amusement when she froze up, her arms sticking out to the side like an akward stick man. 

Placing his chin on her shoulder as he let out a content sigh, having missed her since the moment she left yesterday.

"What the hell are you doing?" She exclaimed , flustered . Turning her head so she could rest her chin on his chest, frowning up at him, startled. Feeling her heart race in her chest as she caught his smile.

He just hugged her head to his chest, laughing at the annoyed groan that she let out as he held her close.

"Hugging you." He stated the Obvious, amused.

"don't tell me you've never been hugged before babe?" He teased her, giving her another squeeze just because he could.

She finally had enough "get off me!" She huffed , pushing him off her.

Rolling her eyes when he just laughed at her "make me food." She said to distract herself away from the heat rising in her cheeks.

Auston wiggled his eyebrows at her but made his way to small kitchen regardless.

"bossy. Are you this bossy in bed too?" He joked (hoped), winking at her.

She glared at him , lips twitching .

"I will hurt you." She promised him. Then she watched him pull out the items from his canvas bag he had brought with him, smiling when she saw the pasta.

"Don't poison me please. I have the shoot tomorrow and clutching my stomach while vomiting isn't really a good look for me." She tells him. Leaning up against the counter beside him, turning her head to watch him cook for her.

Auston rolled his eyes at her , pulling on her hair and chuckling when she kicked him in return .

"I'm a good cook." He promised her. Plus he had bought the most expensive pasta and pasta sauce that they had in the store, so it better be fucking good.

"You look pretty." He told her again. Just because he could. Admiring her with a soft Blush on his cheeks that he hoped she didn't see .

And again, she just nodded her head with a small grin. Confidence never wavering "I know."

Then she glanced at his smart, waffle material , white shirt and mumbled quietly "I like your shirt." And that was a lot coming from her. She didn't just go throwing compliments about .

Auston paused with his hand on the bottle of pasta sauce , surprised.

He shot her another glance, face softening at the way she wouldn't meet his eyes.

"Thanks. Meets your approval babe?" He quipped, pleased. Having spent extra time getting ready to make sure that he looked good for her. She was a model after all, fashion was her thing. He wanted to look good beside her.

And he remembered her saying once in an interview that she liked quite luxury on a guy and well, the shirt was $3000. So it couldn't get more luxurious than that. He was glad she liked it. Because you could bet your ass that he was going to go back and boy it in every colour now.

Cherrie hummed a little, pouring herself a glass of wine. "It's nice." Was all she said.

He grinned smugly , ego boosted.

They made casual conversation while the pasta cooked. Moving to the couch when it was done, plates in their laps as they sat side by side, Auston telling her about how he had accidentally knocked out his own teammate once , Cherrie laughing freely bedore her phone rang.

And her whole face dropped as she looked at who was calling her. Immediately putting her plate on the coffee table in front of them with a small gasp, eyes going wide with fear.

"Brother?" He guessed easily. Not bothered at all. Happy to just watch in amusement as she panicked. Still eating his pasta contently . It was fucking good. Not that he had been worried.

Cherrie was not as relaxed "shut the hell up! Don't say a single thing!" She hissed at him , staring down at her phone like her brother could reach through it and see just who she was eating with then.

Auston snickered "scared of your brother?" He teased her. Shuffling closer.

She gave him a look "no. I just don't want you to get your legs broken!" She snapped.

He grinned  , placing his hand over his heart mockingly . "Aww you care about me!"

She scoffed "I do not! I'm just a good person and my brother hates you. So shut up!" She couldn't avoid it any longer , picking up her phone like it was the devil.

"Then why did you let me in?" Auston whispered to her smugly. Grinning when he got a middle finger in response.

She totally liked him. He thought gleefully.

Picking up her fork and pushing the pasta to her lips, feeding her another bite while she lied to her brother and told him that she was alone and just watching a movie.

Cherrie glaring at him as he continued to feed her like she was a baby (his baby. His babe.), snickering beneath his breath at the look on her pretty face.

She was incredibly sexy when she was mad.

Auston ended up going to her photoshoot with her the next day, refusing to leave her side. Being incredibly clingy and incredibly obvious but he couldn't care less.

Too busy watching her in awe. Sat on a loose chair as he watched her work her stuff in front of the camera , turning this way and that way as she modelled their clothes.

Well. He sucked in a sharp breath as he watched her walk out of the dressing room in the next set.

He couldn't exactly call what she was wearing clothes.

Considering she wasn't wearing them at all. Instead she had on a pale pink lace bra and thong, hair long and perfectly curled over her shoulder as she turned to look over it at the camera, lips pouted and red.

Auston felt like he might pass out. Wafting at his suddenly too tight shirt with his hand, eyes glued to the way her bare body moved confidently into poses

, this way and that way. On her knees, on her back, just standing their in fucking lace with that god damn smile.

He groaned beneath his breath , sweating. Heart racing as he followed her back into her dressing room when she was done.

Shutting the door behind them with his foot, he leaned against the dresser as he watched her take off the necklace that she was wearing.

"You look so beautiful right now." He told her quietly , eyes never leaving her.

He pulled out his own camera and lifted it up to his eye , taking picture of her as she took off the glittery makeup she was wearing . Breath hitching when she shot him a smile over her shoulder , laughing a little.

"You're like my own personal paparazzi ." She muttered in amusement . Yet she pulled a face at the camera , getting closer to him. Enjoying the attention.

She was made to be in front of the camera after all.

Eventually Setting it aside, he gently lopped his arms around her waist. Throat bobbing as he swallowed . Confidence wavering for a moment as he looked down at the beautiful woman in his arms.

"Can't help it." He murmured back to her quietly , feeling his pants harden as he glanced  down at her breasts spilling out in lace. Right there for him to see, chest nearly brushing ahinst his as she moved closer to him.

"You're perfect." He said. Meaning it.

Cherrie sighed, like she knew what was gonna happen next and wasn't going to stop it. He held his breath.

"Matthews?" She hummed .

He let out a strangled breath , fully hard now.

"Yeah?" He breathed out , fingers flexing around her waist as they slid down to grip her lace covered hips instead.

He swallowed again. Mouth ran dry.

She looked at him for a moment , contemplating if it was worth it. If he was worth it.

Then she saw his nervous, hopeful eyes on her. Felt his palms grow sweaty on her hips, felt his hard on pressing into her thigh as he shifted anxiously on his feet.

She was done for. Completely fucked.

So, she thought , she might as well be fucked in best of ways as well.

"This is your chance if you want it." She let him know quietly. Looping her arms around his neck, titling her head to give him a pointed look. Heart racing.

And he did want it. So fucking bad. It was obvious.

He didn't chance her changing her mind.

Just leant his head down and kissed her like he has been wanting to all this time. Humming in relief against her mouth when she quickly kissed him back, playing with the hair on the nape of his neck as she deepened the kiss.

Nudging his nose gently with her own , tasting him, biting down on his bottom lip until he was moaning against her tongue. Hands cupping her face firmly as she pressed his back against the wall behind him.

Then her hands slid beneath his sweatshirt and his fingers took a handful of her ass , squeezing with a lustful groan.

His mind short circuiting when she moved her mouth away from his to kiss down his jaw, then to down his flushed neck instead . Tongue slowly and carefully tracing her name down his throat, making sure he felt every letter, as he laughed breathlessly , eyes blown wide in anticipation and something more than desire . Burning for her completely.

His Heart racing. Unable to believe that it was finally happening between them.

"I kinda feel nervous." He blurted out despite the way his hands were gripping the back of head, threading his fingers through his soft hair as she suddenly knelt down to her knees in front of him and swiftly pulled down his pants , Auston just looking down at her in awe.

Gasping sharply as she confidently gripped him on her warm hand, squeezing him firmly as he swallowed thickly , barely breathing as he watched her through hooded eyes. Feeling like he was living out one of his wet dreams that she was always the star of .

"First time?" She joked slyly , giving him a wink when he just let out a strangled breath , speechless .

Then without another warning , she dropped her head down and got to work on showing him just why she had such a long list of ex lovers , and just why she was one of the most wanted women in the world.

But Auston don't think that anybody wanted her just as much as he did. It really wasn't possible.

Then She fucked him like she was a pornstar and Auston genuinely had to sit down on the couch when it was finally over , his legs shaking and face red as he caught back his breath, sweating and panting loudly as he watched her pull her clothes back on. Feeling like he was in a dream. Never wanting to leave it.

He watched her get ready in silence for a minute. Just taking her in before finally sitting up and joining her in putting his clothes back on, his eyes on her face as she brushed her sex hair into a lazy ponytail , a relaxed stance about her now and Auston felt proud to be the one to put that satisfied , fucked out smile on her face.

He stood up carefully when he was done, slowly  approaching her and putting his arms around the back of her neck , burying his face into her shoulder as he hugged her close. Just breathing her in contently.

"Come home with me?" H practically pleaded, voice quiet and hopeful. Never wanting to let her go now.

If he thought that he was In love with her before they had sex, his feelings were much worse now.

He kind of wanted to marry her then. Be her forever. Die for her. That kind of love. It was crazy but so was he.

She sighed quietly , lips twisting as she hesitated for a second "Auston..."

But then she glanced up in the mirror in front of them and caught their reflection, face softening as she saw the way that he was looking at her.

His cheek blushing pressed against her own softly as he swayed them from side to side gently , kissing the corner of her mouth with puppy eyes.

"Please?" He whispered hopefully .

Then he quickly added like it would change her mind "I'll teach you how to knit."

She laughed in disbelief , unable not to. Because what the fuck was wrong with him?

They had fucked and now he wanted to take her home and knit with her? Who did that?

...

She went home with him. Because of course she did.

And Auston ended up knitting her a scarf while she slept soundlessly on his chest, the smile never leaving his face the whole night long .

She was wearing the very same scarf that he made as she used to hide the hickeys he gave her on her neck when her brother facetimed her in a fury the very next day.

"What the hell are you doing Cherrie?" He almost yelled down the phone , looking at her in disbelief "there's photos of you and Auston fucking matthews all over the internet. Want to tell me what that's  about?" He demanded to know. Seething.

And she winced .

Not meeting his eyes she sniffed, acting indifferent. Like she wasn't tucked up in his bed right then, in his hoodie and handmade fucking scarf while he baked her cookies in his kitchen because he wanted to.

She felt her heart race with anxiety, guilt hitting her then. "yeah-I er-I bumped into him outside the grocery store." She lied , forgetting for a moment just who she was lying to.

He was her brother for fucks sake. He could see right through her and noticed the way her eyes were wandering , the way she was sat there in a scarf that she wouldn't be seen dead in usually . He wasn't that stupid.

"The photos are in front of a pottery class building Cherrie." He stated bluntly. Not happy at all.

But who would be after seeing pictures of his sister cozying up beside the guy that had humiliated him in the ice more times than he could count?

She laughed abruptly , mentally kicking herself . "Yeah I bumped into him there too." She tried to cover herself but she knew it wasn't working. "Small world eh?" She added sheepishly .

Dalton, her brother, just scoffed angrily .

Glaring down the phone at her and she was so fucking glad that this argument was taking place over FaceTime because she wasn't so sure she could lie to his face in real time. She pierre herself on blunt honesty after all , so lying to him was new and awful .

"I can't believe you! You were laughing and smiling at him Cherrie!" He shouted furious "touching his fucking arm! We hate him , what the hell are you doing?!"

Getting worked up now , anger Inherited , she rolled her eye at him in irritation .

"you hate him! Maybe he isn't so bad!" Seeing his rage she quickly added "off the ice!" Like it would help her case.

It didn't.

Her brother let out a unamused laugh "you're joking!" He couldn't believe it, feeling betrayed because where was his sister who had threatened to break matthews legs after he had hurt him on the ice?

"This guy had broke my nose before Cherrie! Always on my fucking back!"

She looked away from her phone with a frown, swallowing nervously because it was true . Auston liked to terrorise him on the ice, they're was kind denying it. .

"Thats just hockey."she weakly defended.

Her brother then just shook his head in absolute disbelief, unable to believe what he was hearing .

"I don't want you near him Cher. He's a asshole! And this is something that he would do just to piss me off! I know it! Try and get close to you just so he can use it against me on the ice!" He accused . Furious at the very thought.

And Cherrie froze as the first shot of doubt made its way to her head.

Lips parting in a shaky breath as she wondered if perhaps he could be right , getting with his sister would be a really big hit wouldn't it? She would be the name tossed around on the ice, the easy target. All because she liked a boy.

But that couldn't be right. She swallowed .

She had seen the way Auston looked at her, the way his fingers always seemed to itch to be on her skin, even if just a graze. The way his eyes search her face for her reaction whenever he said some stupid joke , the way he huddled closer to her in their walk home as they bitched to each other , judging everybody they passed, snickering like a couple of mean girls.

The way he held onto her and didn't seem to want to let her go. He had went of his way to make every excuse to see her again.

Surely that couldn't be an act just to her back at her brother on the ice?

Right?

He wouldn't be that cruel.

"Just-" she took in a deep breath to gather herself, shaking her head angrily at the phone.

"just shut up alright? I'm not doing anything wrong and neither is he! He's allowed to say hello!"

He had done a lot more than say hello to her but the pot had already been well stirred already, and it was on the verge of boiling over , she didn't want to make it worse.

Dalton looked at her for a moment , saw the way she wouldn't look at her screen to meet his eyes and let out a long sigh, hoping with everything in him That she was being honest .

"Well say goodbye each time then because you don't want him hanging around Cherrie. He's no good." He said.

And Cherrie had to agree there because matthews was no good for her Heart at all.

Once she had finished assuring her brother that she wasn't lying to him, the guilt , the doubt and the anger had her stomping back into his kitchen , heart pounding in her chest .

Glaring at him like he was the problem as she watched him hum happily to the radio as he baked , focused on making her cookies because she had said she needed sugar.

She had meant him. But he had taken it literally and pulled up a recipe and who was she to deny a man that wanted to bake her cookies?

"Auston matthews." She started furiously , more angry at her brother than anything . Pissed off that he thought he could tell her what to do.

Auston paused , hands on the dough as he looked warily over his shoulder at her .

"oh shit. What? Too many almonds?" He wondered , glancing down at his cookies. Hoping to break the scowl on her face.

But it didn't budge , instead she glared harder "are you joking? Am I a joke to you Auston? You think you're funny?" She gritted out, furious and overcome with a sudden insecurity that her brother was right .

Auston frowned, utterly confused as he wondered what could have made her mood dip in the matter of half an hour while she had been 'napping' in his room.

"Sometimes I do." He said cautiously, side eyeing her.

a little amused by how she had stormed into the kitchen with a ball of fire steaming from her ears without any explanation.

"But I think right now you do not." He mumbled sheepishly catching her scathing glare.

She just scoffed angrily "are you just doing this to get back at my brother? Some fucking game?" She demanded to know. Never one to beat around the bush.

He glanced down at the cookies , and frowned even harder. Brain still sluggish from the lack of sleep they had last night , turns out she had an insane amount of stamina once she got started. And she was very competitive too, even between the sheets. His legs were sore and so was his dick.

"Why Am I baking to get back at him? Is he allergic to almonds or something? Cause they're not for him anyways babe." He joked before looking back up and seeing the look on her face.

He quickly wiped his hands in a tea towel as his face softened, realising that this was serious and no laughing matter.

He sighed quietly "no. Of course it isn't. I couldn't care less about your brother." He told her honestly . Meaning it.

All he thought about was her, she was the one that was worried about Dalton. Not him.

She scoffed again "yeah right." She muttered grumpily , arms crossed defensively over her chest as she sulked.

Getting annoyed at her lack of understanding and her shitty character view of him, even after everything, he huffed at her .

Tugging her arms from her chest with a scowl that rivalled her own, knowing that he needed to tell her bluntly how he felt otherwise she wouldn't take the hint at all.

"Is it so hard to believe that I just like you for you Cherrie?" He said to her seriously . The most serious he had ever been with her before. But she needed to know.

He wasn't going to let her stupid brother plant some stupid seed of doubt about him in her mind , when all Auston wanted to do was worship the ground she walked on for the rest of their lives.

And Auston couldn't believe how shocked she looked as she gaped back at him, speechless for a long moment.

Both of them just looking at eachother , Auston with his hands on his hips as he stared her down in exasperation.

Cherrie just in disbelief.

"You like me?" She echoed , cheeks flushing at the incredulous laugh he let out at her shock.

Rolling his eyes at her in amusement "no . I hate your guts ." He deadpanned. Scoffing "don't be so ridiculous. Honestly...you're so lucky that you're so pretty cause you're dumb as shit whe it comes to this stuff." He said bluntly.

She just blinked at him, stunned.

Letting him take her into his arms with a dramatic sigh, arms wrapped around her waist as he grinned down at her in amusement , shaking his head at her.

He kissed the tip of her nose and muttered "I've liked you since the very first time you screamed some very colourful words at me when I accidentally broke your brothers nose that time."

Recalling how his heart had skipped a beat when he had met her furious eyes, his cheeks flushing beneath his mask as he was overcome by all that she was . As angry as she had been. She was incredibly hot when she looked like she wanted to kill him. That didn't help his infatuation at all.

Cherrie felt her mouth run dry, wide eyes staring into his soft ones.

"That was years ago though.." she breathed out, flustered by the softened look on his face then. His heart bare for her to see.

He just shrugged lazily , kissing the side of her face a couple of times as he murmured against her blushing cheek.

"I know. I'm crazy about you." He admitted without any shame . "So imagine how happy I was when I finally bumped into you at the hotel while you were drunk off your ass and missing one shoe?"

She buried her face in his chest, hiding her grin. Wrapping her arms around his waist as she squeezed him with a small frown , overwhelmed .

"Stupid idiot ." She mumbled, kissing over his heart. Bad at feelings. Bad at words.

He laughed loudly , running his fingers through her hair affectionately. Amused "I've just told you I adore you and you call me stupid?" He grinned

"you're so sweet babe." He teased.

She shrugged back at him , giggling a little . "You know exactly what you're getting yourself into with me Auston." She simply replied. Because it was true and she wasn't going to change herself for anybody.

And Auston just nodded his head, serious about it .

"I do. And you're worth all the trouble that you're gonna bring me. Ain't nobody better than you." He told her. Meaning it.

She just let out a light laugh and kissed him before he could see her burning cheeks.

He was worth it as well. He was just as much trouble as she was too after all. He had started this mess.

On the morning that she was supposed to fly back home, Cherrie was saddled with a clingy Auston refusing to let her out of his bed.

Laying like a needy koala on top of her, arms wrapped around her shoulders and legs around her waist, he wasn't letting her move at all. No matter how much she pinched at him or pulled his hair. He just grumbled and held her tighter, pouting .

"Don't leave." He groaned upset , kissing all over her face as she squirmed beneath him, feigning annoyance as though she wasn't Hiding a smile at his affections .

"Why would you want to leave me?!" He whined.

She just huffed, arm lazily wrapped around his shoulder as he clung to her. Stopped her fighting and just stared down at his frowning face in amusement.

She didn't exactly want to go but she couldn't stay forever , she had ...well, she had her apartment back home and..well, no friends but..still.

She had plans. With her brother. She couldn't just stay.

"Auston. I need to get up. My flight is in an hour. My bags are packed. Get off." She shoved at him again half heartedly but he just squished her into the mattress even harder, making her huff for a breath. Cursing his name. "Matthews!"

He groaned "it's baby to you." He muttered frowning up at her with his chin on her chest .

Heart aching at the thought of her leaving him just like that. "And you're bags aren't packed." He told her casually , lips twitching mischievously.

She paused in her struggle to narrow her eyes at him, sighing loudly when she saw the look of a man child trying not to laugh like a naughty child looking back at her.

"I swear to god Auston-" she hissed, looking across the room to where she had left her suitcase earlier. Closing her eyes in disbelief when she noticed that it was open, her clothes no longer nearly packed inside.

Auston just giggled against her chest, sounding smug. "Can't go now cause by the time you repack you'll be too late." He told her lightly , grinning at her glare. Unfazed by it . He just thought it made her look even more hot than she already was.

She smacked the back of his head, hard. Auston gasping as he looked down at her like a wounded puppy , whining her name as he rubbed at his head with a frown.

"Ow!"

She huffed "I can't believe you! What is wrong with you?!" She exclaimed. Looking at him in disbelief.

Auston just shrugged , carelessly . "Wanted you to stay. You've got nothing to do back there anyways. Apart from that runway show but we can fly there together on the day." He said. Having it all planned out. He wasn't planning on letting her go anytime soon.

And Cherrie, Cherrie felt herself give in easily .

Because he was looking at her like...like that. Smiling and kissing at any piece of her skin that he could reach, hope written acrosss his stupid face and she just couldn't do it . Couldn't break his heart.

"Fuck you." She sighed instead .

Then she pushed him off the bed and onto the floor with one giant shove while he was distracted , laughing loudly at the girly scream he let out as he went down.

He laid there, like a starfish for a moment moment .

Blinking up at her with wide eyes and a hopeful grin "is that a yes? You'll stay?" He hoped.

Seeing her crawl back beneath the covers and toss a pillow at him with another 'get fucked.'

He laughed joyfully , whooping loudly "it's a yes!" He yelled excitedly before hurrying to get off the floor, throwing himself back down on the bed to cuddle her, kissing her like there was no tomorrow .

So fucking happy because she wasn't going anyway. She was staying with him. She was his.

Unfortunately between all the fucking, the baking and knitting. The go karting dates and intense games of twister and monopoly , Auston had completely forgot about how he had agreed to hang out with Mitch that Saturday. His friend used to just letting himself in, did just that.

And Auston was too busy with his head buried between her thighs on the twister mat to hear the sound of his door opening and closing , or the footsteps quickly coming towards them.

It wasn't until they heard a girly , shocked scream coming from the doorway that they both jumped apart. Their heads snapping over with wide eyes to see Mitch standing there, his hands covering his eyes as he screamed .

"Oh shit man!" Auston gasped as he quickly pulled up cherries shorts again, glancing down apologetically at her as he helped her sit up. "I forgot you were coming over!"

Mitch scoffed loudly , in shock . "No shit! Oh my god." He groaned in disbelief as he warily pulled his hands away from his eyes , his eyes meting cherries as she glared at him. Mortified.

He glared back at her too because he knew exactly who she was.

"I know you!" He exclaimed , gaping at her. "You called me a bitch boy with no brains like .. a waist of a pretty face twice! After each game!" He accused. Looking at Auston like he was expecting him to be shocked too.

But Auston just snorted as he wiped the back of his mouth with his hand, giggling as he leant his hand to Cherrie.

Only to have her slap it away as she got back up to her feet on her own , crossing her arms over her chest defensively as she looked at his teammate who was looking between the both of them in shock .

"She's called me worse." Auston said amused.

Embarrassed and annoyed, she didn't back down.

Instead she glared back at Mitch and scoffed "you kept calling my brother four legs!" She shot back at him. Because as annoying as Dalton was, he was still her brother and she would defend him from other hockey players with her life.

Mitch rose his brows at her, pulling a face "that's just hockey sweatheart! You didn't hear the things he called me!"

Auston frowned at him , "don't call her that." He muttered. Getting ignored by the both of them.

"I don't care what he called you!"

"I can't believe this!" Mitch looked at Auston in shock "she's the one that you wouldn't shut up about all these years! But she's so mean!" He gasped. Stunned by it all.

Cherrie looked like she was going to hit him, so Auston gently pulled her away.

Patting her back soothingly With a grin on his face, not bothered at all. Too in love and happy to care about anything else other than Cherrie.

"I know." He sighed dreamily "amazing eh?" He said. Grinning down at her like a lovesick idiot.

Mitch just blinked down at him in disbelief.

Then seeing the way Auston Kissed the side of her head and the way she gently hugged his side, fingers lopped through his belt loop, he sighed in defeat. Rubbing his hand over his face in absolute disbelief .

"This serious?" He asked them , hands on his hips like a annoyed father. Looking between the two of them silently.

Cherrie frowned "none of your business" she snapped while Auston just grinned "so serious." He said at the same time. Making them glance at each other, him in amusement while Cherrie just looked exasperated.

"What?" He laughed freely , kissing her head. "It is!"

She eventually nodded with a small sigh , hesitating for a moment before looking at Mitch with a slightly less hostile look on her face.

He was Austin's teammate after all, and it was serious. So she would have to get used to having him around because she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"It is." She agreed. Both her and Mitch just staring each other down.

Then Auston broke the tension by holding up a wooden box and asking them brightly "a game of Jenga anyone?"

What Cherrie hasn't expected when cancelling her hangout with her brother back home, was to have him turn up at her apartment in Toronto a week later without any warning.

Because if she had. Knowing that he was coming over . She wouldn't have let Auston stay over the night before.

Wouldn't have engaged in a rough sex battle for hours on her bed that morning , wouldn't have sent him to the answer the door. Thinking it was postmates with their breakfast that she had ordered.

So poor Auston was a little blindsided as he swung open the door with a happy grin on his face, just in his boxers , covered by cherries pink , silk dressing grown that barley covered her ass never mind his.

Only to be greeted by her brothers murderous face looking back at him on the over side of the door, making Austin's smile quickly slide right back off.

He tended up, shoulders lifting before letting out a akward laugh as he fastened the silk gown a little tighter around his bare chest.

Aware that his appearance screamed 'just got fucked by your sister!' Then. Hickeys littering his neck and chest because she was a little vampire , he ran a hand through his hair . Cringing a little at the awful timing of it all.

Clearing his throat as he tried to act casually , like this was totally normal.

"Oh. Hey man. Fancy seeing you here." He said .

Her just brother glared in fury , then shoved him through the door before cocking his arm back and punching him right in the nose just as Cherrie came running into the room again, in Just his shirt. Looking like sex too.

Auston groaned lowly , laid out on the floor as he clutched his poor throbbing , bleeding nose. Winching in pain "fucking hell! No hello?" He choked out, cupping his nose with a wince .

Cherrie gasping as she quickly knelt beside him, heart pounding in her chest as she glared up at her brother furiously . Quickly pulling off the fabric headband from her hair and holding it against Austin's bleeding nose.

"Dalton! What the hell is wrong with you?!" She shouted at him angrily . Gazing worriedly at Auston who was slowly pushing himself to his feet with her help, his eyes warily glancing at her brother who was red in the face and looking ready to kill.

He glared back at her in fury "don't you even start!" He hissed back at her , feeling betrayed .

"What happened to 'I only said hello?!" He Shouted. Looking like he was going to hit him again.

Auston frowned a little , sniffling as he plugged his aching nose with the fabric . Exhaling heavily "fuck me. That's what I said to you man." He managed to snark, bloody nose and all. Not helping himself at all.

"And don't talk down at her like that." He added quickly with a scowl , telling himself that smacking her brother back wouldn't help at all. In fact that might make her smack him as well. And he don't want that.

She's Worth the trouble. He reminded himself easily , tasting blood in the back of his mouth. It wasn't her fault that her brother was a dick with a mean right hook.

Dalton paced her hallway, hands in his hair as he looked at his sister , hurt by her lying to him .

"I can't believe you lied to me!" He shouted . Upset.

Cherrie let out a cold laugh, motioning towards Austons bloody nose with her hands harshly.

"I lied to you because I knew you would do this!" She screamed back at him. Just as upset. Because this was not how she wanted him to find out but it was too late now and she couldn't take anything with Auston back .

She wouldn't even if she could. She was in too deep now.

He scoffed hatefully, glaring at Auston . "No shit! Your lucky I don't kill him Cherrie! This asshole has broken my nose and concussed me more times than I can remember !" He yelled.

Auston rolled his eyes bitterly , wiping at the drying blood beneath his nose. "Maybe the concussion did some damage then. Stupid ass." He muttered.

Cherrie shot him a look "shut up." She snapped.

He did.

Then she looked at her brother and scolded "and you-I'm a grown ass woman. I can do whatever I like! You don't get to tell me who I get to be with!"

He gasped sharply "be with?!" He looked sick.

Glancing between them again and finally noticing the way Auston stood so close to her, his hand gently pressed to her back for comfort. Cherrie checking worriedly at his bruising nose every two seconds while he murmured to her that he was okay.

He felt his stomach drop "oh no." He almost whined in misery . "no. No! Please tell me this is just some stupid fucking faze! You can't be-" he looked helplessly between them "you don't actually like him do you?!" He demanded to know.

Cherrie went silent. Feeling two pairs of eyes on her, Auston frowning a little when she didn't say a thing at all.

Taking it upon himself to let him know "she does. This isn't some meaningless hook up man."

Dalton glared at him angrily "you. Shut up. You don't get to speak."

"I'll say what I want to asshole." He snapped back at him. Done with his shit. Because who did he think he was to barge in and ruin their day like this?

Her brother swallowed . Eyes widening because that sounded too much like something his sister would say for comfort.

He groaned again. "No. Cherrie come on..." he said pleadingly . Looking at her for the truth.

She swallowed thickly, glanced at Austin's frowning face as he fidgeted with his fingers and sighed in defeat .

"He's-" she breathed in nervously, not good with feelings at all. She felt sick. "I'm staying in Toronto for a while Dalton." She ended up saying instead .

He just looked back at her, confused "why?" Then he glanced at Auston and scowled "for him?" He scoffed.

She ignored his pettiness and nodded her head, reaching her hand behind her back and letting Auston intertwine their fingers.

Finding comfort in it as he gently squeezed the palm of her hand three times, shuffling closer to her till their sides were pressed together. Wincing as she took a glance up to see his bloody nose that was already bruising, having no doubt that it would look even worse tomorrow.

"For myself." She muttered then swallowed "and Auston. For the both of us. Because I want to."

Her brother shook his head "I don't get it." He said genuinely.

Glaring at him "why my sister? Cause if this is just some sick fucking game to mess with her- I will fucking kill you-" he started to threaten him, protective of her as always.

And Auston had enough . Just wanting to wash his aching nose and eat some food with Cherrie in bed, before taking her to the movies just like he had planned before he brother had barged in.

His plans weren't going to change , so he needed to set him straight now before he did what his gut was screaming at him to do and punched his stupid ass back.

"Shut up dick face." He finally spat losing his patience. "I'm doing this because I fucking love your sister alright? I've been in love with her for years so you don't get to come in here and accuse me of shit when you don't fucking know shit at all!" He snarled, picking up a cushion from the couch and hauling it at his head instead .

It went silent. Air tense. Her brother slowly looking down to the cushion that bounced onto the floor after hitting him, while Cherrie just gaped at him in shock. Gasping.

Heart pounding In Her chest as she murmured tearfully "you're in love with me?" Tugging at his hand to get him to look at her again .

Auston did. Face softening as he took in her tears eyes and flushed cheeks. Rolling his eyes at her with a small laugh , exhausted and his nose stinging like a bitch.

"Duh." He said with a sigh while cupping her face in his hands , giving her a little shake in amusement.

"thought I made it obvious. But I forgot that you're a little dumb when it comes to love." He said.

"Fuck you." She sniffled while leaning into him , grinning tearfully as he fondly pinched her cheek.

Auston smirked at her a little , "you love me too right?" He checked. Confidence wavering for a split second when she didn't immediately say it back.

But he had nothing to worry about because she snorted, then pinched his side and told him straight "I am so in love with you , you stupid asshole!" Before kissing him.

Auston laughing breathlessly against her mouth. Getting lost in her, relief filling his chest know that her knew she felt the same .

I mean. He had a feeling that she did but still, it was nice to hear it verbally. It Settled any doubt and now he wanted to buy a ring.

They only pulled away when her brother loudly cleared his throat, their faces flauhing, having forgotten that he was even there. Auston giving him a awkward grin when he met his glaring eyes.

"I'm going to beat your ass at the next game." Was all he muttered in defeat knowing that he has no say in this . She loved him after all.

Tossing his bag aside and stomping down the hallway to find the spare room, needing a long minute to take on the fact that his sister was in love with his rival. And his rival was so obviously ,  sickeningly in love with her too . He kind of wanted to die.

Auston just scoffed, wrapping his arms around cherrrie as he watched him wander away. Feeling smug, he replied "after that hit. You better watch your back!"

Making Cherrie slap his side with a glare "behave." She warned. Amused.

But it was Auston. And he was a little shit , so he also called out to him loudly before he could reach the bedroom door.

"Oh! And I'm taking you're sister out to see the movies later and you're not coming!"

Her brother yelled back "fuck you! I don't want to go anywhere with your stupid ass anyways!"

Auston scoffed "yeah well this stupid is ass is going to marry your sister. So better get used to it brother in law!" He really couldn't Help himself at all. It was just too easy.

The only answer he got was a strangled noise from him and the slamming of the door behind him.

His chuckling quickly fading as he turned around to be faced with Cherrie, arms crossed over her chest as she shook her head at him, unimpressed with him winding her brother up even more.

"What?" He muttered with a smirk.

Wrapping his arm around her neck and nudging his nose gently against her own in mirth "it's true. You like diamonds babe?"

She just sighed in exasperation and kissed him to shut him up. But he got the message loud and clear.

She totally wanted a big diamond . He had seen those rings on her fingers. She wasn't going to be cheap at all. He grinned into the kiss, lit with happiness from Within.

It only took, like three fucking years. But Totally worth the trouble . And the bloody nose.

Because the mouthy, mean girl was finally his.

[silvervioletvalentine]

🖤!¡He really should’ve known better ¡!🖤

Pairing: Mick Schumacher x Cherrie . + Quinn Hughes x Cherrie.

Word count: 6k

Summary : if only he knew then, what he knew now. Maybe it wouldn’t have hurt so much to realise that he really should have seen this coming.

Or: unrequited loves really sucks. And that’s just it.

Warnings + A/N : pure angst baby (for mick at least).

Hope you guys like this. Had to include my fav hockey player just to make myself feel better , a mix of my two worlds colliding I guess. Let me know what you think . Love u guys xoxo

The thing about love is that you couldn't see it coming , you can't stop the way it makes you feel, and you just can't help who makes you feel that way no matter how much you wished you could go back and change it.

And If mick knew then what he finally knew know, he wouldn't have let himself fall so easily for someone that could never be his. Not like that.

And he really should have known.

She was his teammate well before she even became his friend , and at first mick had been too shy and much too afraid to get in her way.

Because she was the star, the main driver with two world championships already beneath her belt. He still felt like a rookie compared to her, just another guy that couldn't help but want to bathe beneath her golden light .

The northern star didn't even compare to Cherrie Valentine , she was everything that he could dream of loving and more.

But he had never been the first one to make a move before , never the one to let his confidence fuel his decisions and get good results . Instead he just stood to the side engaging only with shy smiles and bashful laughs , listening to her speak to everyone around her as though they were her family .

And maybe they were because they had been there with her for the whole ride , had seen her ups and her downs. They Had watched her cry in misery when the car just wouldn't fucking take her there and then got to watch her cry with joy when it finally did, as it rocketed her to the top. Bringing home the points and the trophies, making world records and keeping new titles. Mick had only ever watched from afar , content with his seat. Just happy that he could be her teammate. Knowing that so many other people would dream to be in his spot.

He Got to be up close and personal with a woman that he had only dared to glimpse at. Got to see who she was beneath the helmet and beneath the lights and the spray of the champagne . Away from the excited screams of her name , when the starlight finally burned down.

She was just another person like him, a woman who felt things like everybody else yet hardly ever let anyone see her down. Never let anybody see the truth. Nobody knew her like they wished to, only a select few that he didn't know about yet.

So it came as a surprise to Mick when the first time they really spoke properly, the first time that the first wall came crumbling down between them, was at a afterparty for the woman of the hour , after yet another win.

But she didn't look happy and he caught her wiping at the corner of her eye as she escaped out to the balcony , away from the congratulations and the 'how did she do it?'. Silk dress fluttering behind her as she was finally left alone.

And mick , so full of admiration and naive hope, finally saw his chance . So he took it.

He grabbed two flutes of champagne and followed her out through the double doors, saw her sat down on the balcony floor , back against the golden gate as she looked out to the night.

Her head only lifted when she heard the shuffle of his shoes, her eyes assessing his nervous face and hopeful smile . She gave him a small smile and murmured a soft "hey mick."

And just like that mick was far too gone to think it through .

And maybe if he had, heartbreak would never have been on his horizon.

But mick had never thought of himself as a smart man. So he slid down to the floor opposite her, the heels of their shoes brushing as he passed her a champagne glass with a nervous smile

"You looked a bit...sad." He spoke quietly , warily. Not wanting to overstep a line but wanting to make sure that she was okay.

She was still his teammate after all and weren't they supposed to look out for each other?

Cherrie let out a light laugh, sipping on the bubbly before looking back out to the sparkling view below them. Admiring it with tired eyes , the wind sweeping at her hair as she hesitated for a moment before deciding that mick was someone that she could let in.

He was her teammate after all.

"I just miss my home." She told him just as quietly , fidgeting with the locket around her neck. Fingers gently stroking over the delicate gold, holding onto it like it was her lifeline.

And mick really should have known.

Instead he had tilted his head in confusion , oblivious .

"But you are home? It's Monaco. You live here don't you?" He had said. Brows furrowing as he tried to understand why she looked so down when her home was just a walk away. In one of the mot beautiful places in the world .

Cherrie shook her bread a little, smiling a little like he had said something silly. And maybe he had. He did. He just didn't know it back then.

He really wished he had.

"My mother used to always say that home isn't a place. If you take away the mirrors and take away the bed. What do you have left? Just a lot of empty rooms for your voice to echo around." She murmured thoughtfully , chin on her tucked up knees as she glanced over at him like he knew what she meant.

But mick didn't . And that was what started it all. That was the beginning of the end for him.

He laughed lightly and replied "I think that home is wherever you make it. Don't you consider Monaco your home?" Curious to know why she looked so down when she should be golden.

Cherrie just sighed , then squeezed her locket gently . Eyes briefly flashing with a subtle disappointment that he had never understood, not back then.

"No. I don't." Was all she said. Not expanding on it further , but she added after a moment of silence between them quietly "It just gets a little lonely here sometimes . My real friends and family aren't here with me and well...celebrating without your hearts residents feels a bit empty ya know?"

Mick looked at her . Blinded by her beauty , naive with his own selfish heart. He only hesitated for a moment Before shyly telling her "maybe we could hang out more." Making her look over at him in curiosity , eyebrow raising at him. A little amused .

He rushed to add "I mean. Then you wouldn't be so lonely right? We're teammates after all. We should be better friends shouldn't we?" Like that was all he wanted from her.

For a long moment she just looked at him in contemplative silence , eyes scanning his button up shirt and faded blue Jeans. His perfectly jelled hair and ocean eyes.

His nervous and bashful demeanour bringing back memories of all that she missed, a little too close and far in comparison . But the likeliness was there, or maybe she was champagne drunk, sad and missing her home.

But she laughed and accepted with a small smile "okay." She said lightly as though mick wasn't suddenly beaming , as though she didn't notice the way his pretty eyes lit up and the way he shuffled his body close to her without even realising it.

She chose to look away. And mick looked deeper and got closer to her instead.

And really he should have known right from the start but love had never been very kind to him either.

And they did get closer after that, at work and out of it too. He wasn't so afraid to come up and talk to her anymore , laughing loudly at her muttered jokes and judgmental comments about others around the track.

Sticking close by her side during press, during stupid challenges and Pr. The only time he wasn't as close to her was when they raced because despite driving a similar car to her own, she was still much too good and much too fast.

But mick wasn't always so far behind her. And his grin couldn't have been any bigger when they got a team 1-2, finally on the podium together .

His heart had never felt more full, cheeks flushed pink as they sprayed each other with champagne, his heart racing in his chest when she hugged him and told him that she was proud of him.

Grinning at him with oblivious excitement as she wrapped her arm around his shoulder, his falling to her waist as she told him how amazing he was, how talented he was and that she couldn't have asked for a better teammate if she tried.

And mick.

Mick just tell further down the Rabbit hole while Cherrie was none the wiser , smiling and letting him hold onto her like it was something clean and easy.

Because they were friends now. And she was a great friend to him.

Then they started hanging out away from the track too. Cherrie dragged him to after parties with her, to fancy clubs and new bars. She FaceTimed him while she got ready, twirling around in her pretty dress while he tried to hide the way his eyes lingered on her tanned legs , the way it stayed on her smile. Then they would arrive together and get drunk together , she would dance with him. and against him , his hands on her hips as he tried not to lose his mind completely . Tried not to dream. Imagining what his heart wanted him to believe .

He watched her the whole night while she sang along to every song , eyes glancing beside her when a certain song would come on, smile faltering as she looked around. As though she was waiting for somebody else to sing the next lyric back at her, frowning sadly when she was met with just drunk screaming , blinking quickly when she looked up to see just mick.

He held her close and never looked away, while Cherrie just stayed inside her head. Going along with it. So unaware that he was falling in love.

And he really should have known when she finally let him come by her apartment that so little got to see.

She answered the door dressed in an oversized hockey jersey, a number and canucks logo written acrosss it .

He didn't think to even wonder who's it could have been because she always wore them, whenever she wasn't wearing their team logo , she was wearing a jersey .

He just thought that she looked cute , admiring the way she smiled at him as she let him. Putting on a film for them to watch as she made them some pasta to eat, casual conversations and lingering look from mick as the time passed by.

And he really should have known as he wandered around her home and saw the pictures on the wall, his brows furrowing in confusion as he looked at them. Seeing the same people, the same guy, stood next to her in all of them. He wondered if they were family. Remembering what she had said to him that night about missing home.

Glancing hesitantly over at her humming softly beside the stove , he asked her curiously "are these your friends? The ones that you miss?" Not knowing just how close he was to hitting the mark.

At his question, Cherrie froze for a moment , head snapping over to him as she glanced at what he was staring at So intensely .

She didn't say anything for a minute , plating up the pasta as she thought about how much she wanted to tell him.

Then she just shrugged and said quietly "yeah." Wandering over to stand beside him, their arms brushing. Mick felt goosebumps rise on his skin, Cherrie shivered for another reason as she looked at the photograph in the pretty frame in front of them.

"That's Jack..and Quinn. They're brothers. Both hockey players." She told him quietly, pointing at each of them. Her fingertip lingering on Quinn's face, and the photo of them at a party, arms around each other , Quinn grinning down at her while she laughed at something he had whispered to her.

And he really should have known.

"Quinn's my best friend actually. But I haven't seen him in a little while ..he's busy with hockey and I've been busy winning races I guess." She laughed a little bit but there was a certain sadness in her eyes.

Mick looked at the picture , blinking in slight unease as he realised that every photo , Quinn was in them all. The two of them always stood together , even in the group photos . Quinn wearing the same jersey that she was wearing now as she stood beside him.

But mick looked down and only saw cherries pretty smile, her scrunched up nose and beautiful laugh , his heart pushed away the sudden wariness that had arose .

Only seeing what he wanted to see instead.

"Yeah? Will he be coming to any races?" He asked her curiously. Not recalling ever seeing him around before.

But Cherrie had always been good at holding her cards close to her chest, whats hers was only ever hers. And she only let peope see what she wanted them too.

Maybe the flags should have turned red and waved frantically at him then. But love had never been so kind.

Cherrie , oblivious to his lingering gaze on her smiling mouth, just nodded hopefully . "Yeah..he watches them all though. But he'll make it , I think he wants to see me win the championship again. We always celebrate that one together." She told him and that should have been the biggest clue.

But mick just smiled at her like he always did "that's cool. It's sounds like you two are close. It's nice to have such good friends that support you."

She giggled "it is." She agreed lightly , eyes lingering on the photo before finally turning away.

"you'd probably like him. You remind me a little of him. You're both quiet and shy until you get to know someone ..he's the same way. It's took him months to work up the courage to speak to me! And that was when we were teenagers. He still acts the same way around me know." She found herself telling him with fondness in her voice. Honest.

And he really , really should have known.

He starting thinking a lot more about it after that, unable to shake the unease that now roamed free within him. Wondering , hoping , refusing to see what was right in front of him.

Instead he just enjoyed being by her side. Enjoyed their late night hangouts , their random calls and sleepovers . Enjoyed the way she would let him come over to keep her company, enjoyed the attention that she would give him when she was sad and lonely.

They way she let him hold her a little tighter those nights , mick falling asleep beside her to the sound of the hockey game playing on her phone , her eyes never leaving the screen. Cheering quietly when Quinn scored, smiling whenever his face appeared , softening completely .

And he was right beside her.

So why did he feel like he was competing with someone that wasn't even there? He frowned a little, shoving away the niggle in his stomach, overtaken by the love in his heart as he watched Cherrie giggle down at her phone.

Sat on the couch beside him, her knees pressed into his legs, his hand on her thigh as he gently rubbed the soft skin there. Trying to breathe normally , because she was so fucking beautiful that sometimes it hurt just to be there. In her shadow. In his.

"Quinn told the farmer trying to sell him milk and cheese at his door that he was vegetarian. He's such an idiot ." She told him in Amusement, giggling loudly as she text him back. Full focus on her phone while his focus was on her .

It always was.

He grinned a little "he meant vegan."

She nodded her head with a grin just as her phone rang , Quinn FaceTiming her. "Yeah." Was all she laughed out before accepting the call.

Getting up from the couch, she grinned down at her phone screen . Shaking her head at Quinn "you fucking idiot! What is wrong with you?!" She teased him while laughing loudly .

He heard Quinn groan in misery "I panicked! Then I felt so bad that I accepted the milk and cheese anyway. Told him that I'd give it to a friend. It was so fucking expensive too! Like triple the price at the store." He rambled to her, laughing too. Just because she was. "He's going to delivery fresh milk and cheese every Friday to my door now. I have a subscription."

Cherrie had tears in her eyes, snorting through her giggles as she collapsed back down on the couch beside him.

Mick glancing at her phone, brows furrowing a little as he got his first glimpse of the hockey player that took up so much of her time and so much of her laughter.

He didn't look like anything special at first glance . Messy hair and scruff, oversized sweatshirt that had cherries name written across the front of it. A Picture of her from her first every championship . Handmade .

Mick looked away . Because she was allowed to have friends, mick was her friend too. It was fine.

"You idiot." She said affectionately "I miss your stupid ass." She said, leaning her head down to rest on Micks shoulder.

He glanced down at her with a small smile, cheeks going rosy when she looked up at him with amusement in her eyes. Shaking her head at Quinn's behaviour.

He heard Quinn's laugh turned into a softer  exhale "yeah I miss you too. What are you up to?"He asked her.

She hesitated for a moment before glancing at mick again, biting at her lip as the second went too long. Then she finally told quinn "I'm hanging out with mick." And mick was surprised. Because usually she took her calls elsewhere. And he hasn't met him formally yet.

He didn't know whether it was a good thing or not , but he smiled anyway when she turned her phone screen for them to see each other .

"Hey." Mick said a little bashfully, giving a little wave as he watched the hockey player pause in shock for a moment , bored furrowing as he looked back at him. Obviously not expecting him to be right there beside her. Mick told himself not to feel smug.

Then he slowly nodded his head back at him, smile dimming a little. "Hey man." He greeted him back politely. A good guy .

"how's it been being menaces teammate? She done your head in yet?" He joked. Friendly enough.

But mick saw the way Quinn started fiddling with the locket around his neck, making him shift uneasily on the couch beside cherrie as he realised why it looked so familiar.

He briefly glanced down and saw a matching one resting on cherries chest, he inhaled deeply and pushed the sudden thoughts away.

Because he was stupid and he was in love and she was leaning against him and Quinn was halfway across the world.

"No. No. It's been nice. She's a good teammate and a good friend." And he meant it. She was a good friend even if he wanted to be more.

Quinn just smiled a little. And that was the end of their interaction as he changed the subject and started talking to Cherrie about a film he had recently seen that reminded him of her.

and mick really should have known. But he was too busy pretending that the smile on her face was just for him instead.

They got a little closer after that. Mick spending more time at her place as Quinn's schedule became busy with away games, leaving not as much time for them to call each other. Secretly , he was glad because that meant he got her all to himself.

He tried to cheer her up. She was more pouty and quite as they traveled to their next race together , sticking to his side as she picked up a bottle of booze and brought it up to their hotel room that they were sharing.

There was two double beds but after a bottle of vodka , they ended up together in just the one.

And mick really should have known what was happening when he finally worked up the courage to kiss her , should have noticed the way that she paused before she kissed him back , the way that she didn't linger on his lips like he did on hers.

The kiss was rushed , his nerves and excitement making him blind to anything but her beauty and her body as he took off their clothes.

Kissing every inch of skin that his lips could reach , mesmerising every sweet sound she made. Just giddy that it was finally happening , that she was kissing him back and letting him in. Or so he thought.

But his heart and his dick took away any common sense, all the flags lowering and all the concerns and unease stripped away as he buried his face in her neck, his hard cock nudging between her thighs as she wrapped her legs around his waist. Both of them sweaty and drunk, Cherrie gripping onto his shoulder blames, nails digging into his skin as he swallowed thickly, gazing down at her bare, Beautiful body in awe. Feeling every curve , every strength and weakness.

But she was his weakness. That was the problem.

And really he should have known , should have noticed the way she couldn't look him in the eye when he slid into her, despite the way she threw her head back in pleasure , choking on a moan as he fucked into her.

Gripping her hips as he bent her knees up to her chest, eyes glued to way her lips were parted , swollen and red from his kiss.

"Fuck.." he grunted as he pounded into her, moaning at the way she felt around him. So wet and so tight , her back arching to meet each thrust as she clenched her cunt around him. Making him lose his breathe. His hands planting on either side of her head, panting as he fucked her hard. The hotel room bed slamming against the wall and he prayed that the hotel room beside theirs was empty this night.

"That's it..fuck!" She whined, head thrown back as she hiccuped, eyes still squeeze shut.

Mick's eyes were glued on her bouncing tits, missing the way her mouth mimed a silent name that wasn't his. But he was lost in her, lost in her hot cunt as he fucked her like she was just another body. Even though his heart was racing and his wanted to beg for her to open her eyes and look at him, to tell her how much he loved her, to tell her how amazing he thought she was. How she was all he wanted. How he wanted to wake up to her in the morning, wanted to be her teammate both on and off the track. How he wanted to fuck her for the rest of his life.

But he didn't say any of what he wanted. And maybe that was for the best. Maybe a little part of him knew that she didn't feel the same way, couldn't forget the smile she had when her phone rang after each race.

The way that she rushed off to talk to someone that wasn't him, only returning an hour later to hang out after she was done. When it was too late in another state for them to talk much longer.

But mick took all that he could. Sunk his head down and kissed her while he had the chance, his tongue dipping into her Mouth As he squeezed her breast, twisting and pinching at her tits until she was squirming beneath him, screaming and crying for him to fuck her harder.

So he did.

And he tried to ignore the way she still hadn't opened her eyes to look at him, the way her brows were furrowed as he reached his thumb down to circle her clit. The way she didn't kiss him back, but letting her kiss her instead.

Ignoring the way that she let her hands fall away from his back, the way she clutched at her locket that she refused to take off even as mick fucked her like she didn't have his whole heart.

Gritting his teeth and squeezing his own eyes shut too as his hips stuttered , bathing himself in the way she tensed up and clenched around him as they came . Milking his cock as he buried his face in her neck, whimpering her name as he lazily fucked them through thier orgasms.

Tried to ignore the way she didn't say his name at all. Not once. And she didn't let him hold her either. Only Giving him a small smile after , unable to meet his eyes when she finally got up much later to clean herself up.

He tried to ignore the way she stayed in the bathroom for so long. Ignored the shower running for an hour as she washed him away. Ignored the way she made up some excuse about not being tired enough to join him in bed to sleep.

He heard her phone ring and he heard her pick it up. He heard her sniffle and he turned to bury his face in the pillow, blinking back his own tears too. Because he knew then , that she didn't return his feelings at all. Knew that she didn't feel the same, that she never did. And really. It wasn't her fault because she had never promised him anything other than being her friend.

He was the one who had found her out and glued himself to her side. He was the one that had ignored the signs .

He really should have known, right from the start what he was getting himself into.

But love was never so kind as to let him love a woman that could love him so purely too.

That was never in the cards for him.

But still he hoped because love was naive , and his hope was a healing wound being picked at again and again.

They weren't as close anymore after that night. They were still friends of course and she still talked to him, still gave him a smile whenever they were on the podium together. But she didn't come out with him anymore. They didn't go to clubs together, didn't play video games until the sun came up.

Didn't call just to say hello.

And mick finally knew why. He knew that he was never going to be that guy.

He had seen the guilt on her face that night when she snuck out of their hotel room before the morning could even arrive, the way it never happened again.

He just wished he knew then what he knew now.

Maybe it would have hurt a little less to see her light up after she finally won yet another championship, she didn't even glance his way as she hauled herself out of her winning car.

The crowd screaming and crying her name , but she was blind to it all because she only had her eyes one person.

Her face splitting in two, smile bigger than the whole world as she saw Quinn Hughes standing in middle of her team, looking at her with a face full of pride, smiling at her like she was everything that he had ever wanted.

Looking at her like she was worth more than this, as though she was his god. His arms already open for her as she ran to him without a second thought , throwing her arms round his neck as he pulled her up over the barrier and into his arms.

The both of them crying in happiness and joy , his hands cupping her face as he wiped away her tears and told her tearfully "I knew you could do it! I knew it! You unbelievable woman!"

And mick had to agree.

He didn't take off his helmet , swallowing down the painful lump in his throat as he slowly lingered by his car parked beside her own.

Watching his heart break break into tiny pieces right in front of him and having no one to blame but himself.

Because it was obvious wasn't it? And he really should have known.

Instead, he watched with tears in his eyes as Cherrie laughed more freely than he had ever heard her, eyes glossy and wide with pure happiness as she cupped Quinn's jaw in her hands, shaking her head with pure love as she told him with a shaky voice

"i love you so fucking much." Meaning with her entire being. Heart, body and soul.

Because it took breaking micks heart for her to realise what she had right there in front of her all along.

Quinn was her best friend. It was written in the stars.

Since they were teenagers, him nervous and shy as he fumbled over his words just to be her friend. Her name always on his lips and his heart intwined with her own.

And the distance between them had only strengthened their bond, making them realise that they didn't want to be apart, didn't want anybody else. They were each other's person, each other's 'the one'.

The kind of love that you only ever seen in movies and In passing stories of a love not lost. So rare. And so beautiful.

And mick couldn't even feel angry. Because he should have seen this coming. Should have known all along.

But that didn't make it hurt any less. Wishing that it was him holding her with pride, watching Quinn beam down at her. Kissing her again as he Admitted to her finally "it's always been you. I have loved you for so long. I love you. So fucking much you little shit." Laughing with eachother joyfully , wrapped up in each other's embrace. Not caring about anyone else around them, not caring about the cameras or the screamed of the fans. The definition of best friends. Lovers.

All they cared about was each other.

And when later on, Cherrie finally passed by him. Letting him hug her gently , while whispering his quiet congratulations, voice trembling as he tried not to let his broken heart be shown.

There was guilt on her pretty face but the pure happiness in her eyes couldn't be taken away, and mick just wished that it could've been him.

"I'm sorry." She whispered , hugging him again. Feeling guilty that she didn't feel the same way. Wishing that it could have been easier for him.

But love hurt. And mick just laughed brokenly and shrugged a little , sniffling as he wiped at his eyes. Grinning falsely , lips trembling with hurt .

"I should have known" was all he could murmur . Because it was true. The clues had always been there, she had never even tried to hide it. Mick had just ignored it in favour of his own desires. Of his own heart.

"Maybe in another life..could I have been him?" He dared to ask her, quietly. Pulling away. Just wanting to go home and cry himself to sleep until he stopped seeing the smile on her face whenever she saw her best friend.

And cherrie , Cherrie swallowed thickly and glanced away . Then caught Quinn's eyes, seeing him waiting for her, holding her trophy with a 'that's my girl' smile on his face. Waiting to take her home.

Their home.

Because he was her home and she was his and it didn't matter where they were in the world. When they had each other. And they had their love . And they had their friendship. And it felt right and it felt golden.

And she knew that he was the one.

"I think he's my every life Mick. He loves me. Really loves me." She said it like she couldn't believe it herself .

Fidgeting with her locket that held a picture inside of the day they met , younger and Quinn so nervous , puppy love before they even knew what it was. Forced to take a picture by their parents, Cherrie smiling at the camera while Quinn was just smiling at her.

And mick could only watch as she finally walked away from him , one last squeeze to his arm and a whispered goodbye.

And all he could think brokenly was that He really should have known.

[silvervioletvalentine]

sc87  ✧  𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡

—  ( sidney crosby x fem!famous!figureskater!reader )

—  ( 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐝𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫. )

—  ( warnings + notes  …  swearing, at no point whatsoever did i know where this was going, it just went sideways so quickly, i’m so sorry, the story has a mind of it’s own, i might redo this, i think that’s all, sorry again )

—  ( faceclaim  …  hailee steinfeld )

—  ( type  …  social media )

—  ( masterlist )

Keep reading

[silvervioletvalentine]

🦋that’s how you get the girl🦋

Pairing : Jamie Drysdale x tatted biker cherrie!

Word count : 6k

Summary: in which he’s a smitten mess and sometimes the way to a girls heart is constantly embarrassing yourself in front of her.

Warnings : none? Fluff. Jamie being a nervous dork In love. Kinda a trial. First time writing for Jamie sooooo, it’s not the best but , when are they ever? Lemme know what u think as always xoxo

It wasn't a secret to anyone that Jamie happened to have a little bit of a crush on their hot, totally out of his league , neighbour .

As soon as he had seen her riding in on her Harley , covered in tattoos with long, half pink and hair black hair, piercings and with a bad attitude. It was over for him. Utterly Done for. Completely fucked.

Because she was cool as shit and she knew it too, barely paid any of them a single glance as she stepped off her motorbike, all those summer months ago, while they were all gathered outside the complex , messing around and just hanging out.

Every single one of their eyes has been on her, mouths gaping and hearts racing as they all turned their heads simultaneously to watch her confidently strut past them, shaking out her hair as she loosely held her helmet from her fingertips .

Only turning her head slightly to raise her pierced eyebrow at them , not looking impressed at all.

“Did school get out early or something?" She had snarked at them , making most of them snap their heads away quickly. Jamie being one of them, he only watched from beneath his lashes as Trevor, the idiot, arrogant , and believing he had a chance opened his big mouth .

Smirking over at her and gave her a flirty wink "fully a man baby." He corrected her slyly "but I wouldn't mind you teaching me a few things.."

She looked at him up and down, then scoffed meanly .

Laughing at him "I'll teach you how I'm going to break your jaw if you try that with me again." She casually told him .

Then without another glance black at the snickering and gaping group of guys , she strutted off just as quickly as she had arrived.

Leaving Trevor to blink at where she had been stood in disbelief , hands on hips as he let out a shocked 'huh'. "She was hot eh?"

Jamie had looked at him in disbelief , stunned.

Heart still racing in his chest with anxiety and palms sweating, unable to believe that she was their new neighbour . It was a scenario that guys wet dreams were made from.

“She literally just threatened you Trev." He reminded him in disbelief . Because If she said that to him, he probably would have pissed himself in fear and maybe shed a tear too. She was that intimidating. And hot. So fucking hot…

But Trevor just laughed loudly as though it was no big deal . Not unnerved at all. "she was only joking!" He believed . Receiving multiple looks of disbelief from his friends.

Then he glanced over, and finally noticed the way Jamie’s eyes kept shifting back to the door that she had disappeared into. His lips curling into a slow smirk as he chuckled slyly to himself , seeing the new infatuation being written all over his friends face.

So it really wasn't a surprise , that three months later, after listening to Jamie go on and on about how cool she was and how beautiful she looked almost daily. Despite never talking to her, only ever turning around and sprinting away when he saw her coming his way.

Trevor wasn't surprised at all when , as they came back from practice , Jamie suddenly froze beside him as he caught sight of Cherrie coming down the stairway towards them. Looking like a bombshell like usual.

And really Trevor thought that Jamie should really appreciate how good of a friend he actually was. Because if he wasn’t such a good friend , he would totally be trying to charm her into his bed. Maybe proposing to her on the second date too.

She was that hot.

Nudging his friend , Trevor muttered to him quickly "stop looking so scared." Before casually grinning over at her happily .

“Hey Cherrie! New tat?" He asked her cheerfully , glancing down at her leg to see a large snake tattooed up her thigh with a dagger going through it.

That wasn't there yesterday when he was gazing in awe at said legs in a daze .

Because Unlike Jamie, Trevor had made the effect to annoy her into becoming reluctant friends with him.

Well, he called her his friend , she just called him 'the annoying asshole who won't stop following her around.'

But whatever. He got his own way because after he had found out that she was a tattoo artist , he had begged her to do his own. She charged him double but he got her to open up a little bit, realised that underneath that intimidating image of hers she really was just a cool chick.

And well, Trevor was a good friend , so he had been trying to talk up Jamie to her for weeks now. Casually bringing him up in conversations , letting her know how great he was at hockey , that he was such a nice guy.

She didn't look like she believed him and maybe it was because Jamie couldn't look her in the eye and had yet to utter a full sentence to her, but Trevor was determined to get Jamie in with her.

He thought that they would look good together and quite frankly , he was sick of seeing his friend mope about. Those puppy eyes were killing him.

"Yeah. Looks good huh?" She said with a small grin , looking at the new tat on her thigh contently .

Jamie was looking at it too, just blinking slowly as he imagined tracing the outline of the snake with his tongue , throat going dry as he realised that the tail of the snake disappeared up her hip, and underneath ber shorts , the ink not doubt wrapping around her hip snugly.

His brain short circulated and he realised a little too late that there was a sudden lull in their conversation , that Trevor was jabbing his elbow into his side sharply.

Making him flinch and snap his head back up with wide eyes , cheeks flushing when he saw them both staring at him.

Trevor looking exasperated and Cherrie just looking bored.

"I was telling her that you scored during the game last weekend." He gritted out , widening his eyes at him, motioning for him to do something.

‘say something.’ He mimed at him frantically.

Jamie just let out a strangled hum and nodded his head , eyes flickering back down to his shoes shyly.not saying something at all.

Trevor sighed and tried not to bury his head in his hands in second hand embarrassment.

Cherrie frowned at him , taking in his backwards cap and basketball shorts , tank top showing off his toned arms and patchy sunburn.

Yet she felt something soften inside her , noticing the way he wouldn't meet her eyes. Like, Ever.

Noticing that this wasn't the first time that he didn't speak to her either.

Her brows furrowed in concern "do you speak at all?" She asked him, not trying to be mean. But she was genuinely curious . Considering how mouthy his best friend was, she expected Jamie to be a chatter box too.

Trevor nudged his side harshly again making him splutter , embarrassment painting his face a bright pink as he felt his eyes widen again . Realising how rude he must seem, just standing there, not saying a thing.

"Yeah! Yeah. Sorry." He laughed out nervously, fidgeting with the cap on his head. Wanting to melt away on the spot.

Kill him now. He thought miserably.

Trevor mentally face Palmed at his shy behaviour , then tried to help him like the good friend he thought himself to be .

“He's single." He suddenly told Cherrie with a grin , waving his hand at Jamie ike he was presenting a prize.

Jamie’s head snapped towards his friend in disbelief , mouth dropping open as he gaped at him in horror , hissing his name . "Trevor!" Unable to believe what he was doing.

His skin crawling with mortification, this was like something out of his nightmares.

To make it worse, Cherrie eyed him up and down and smirked "I'm not surprised." She simply replied , pulling out her phone as it buzzed .

Typing away as she texted back her friend , not even looking at them anymore . "You gotta speak to girls first. No point having a cute face if you turn to fucking stone like I'm medusa or something  every time you see me." She said to Jamie in amusement , not giving them another glance before she walked away. Around the corner and out of their sight.

Leaving Jamie to stare at where she had been stood, lips pursed in absolute embarrassment, hands on his flaming cheeks as he tried not to die from shame.

Trevor was beaming at him, slapping his shoulder excitedly . "You hear that dude? She thinks you're cute!" Getting a blank look in return.

Trudging back to their apartment , Jamie's face a scene of misery as he groaned "dude.." utterly mortified . Wishing that he could be as cool and confident as Trevor was around her.

It was just , every time he saw her his brain just simply said, no! And stopped working. Every social cue and every bit of common sense left him. Leaving him a blushing , spluttering mess at just a simple glance from her.

He kind of hated her for being so fucking beautiful. I mean, how was it fair for her to look like that? With those eyes and that fucking sarcastic mouth...how was he supposed to act normally? She was like, a wet dream. And she lived right next door .

He was completely fucked but not in the way he wanted to be with her.

It wasn't fair. He wanted to whine. Wasn't fair at all.

"She knows." He muttered with a sigh of misery , throwing himself down on thier couch with a loud groan.

Trevor just laughed "of course she knows! The hint is the fact that you turn red and suddenly forgot how to speak when she's near. I mean, you're not exactly subtle dude." He told him in amusement. Patting the top of his head in pity.

Jamie slapped his hand away with a huff, placing a pillow over his face as he whined into it "I can't believe she knows!"

Trevor rolled his eyes at him with a grin "course she does. Plus she's like-" he paused to get himself a drink "one of those boss bitches who knows what she wants. Makes her even hotter."

It just made him more upset "which is not me! She thinks I'm stupid!" He muttered.

Trevor sighed "no she doesn't." He said to him trying to make him feel better "she thinks you’re a little pathetic yeah.."

Jamie's glared at him, face burning  "that isn't helping!" He hissed.

His friend nodded apologetically , wincing "right . Yeah sorry bud." He quickly got back on track.

"but you gotta at least try. I mean I've heard you sleep talk about her j. This isn't just some stupid crush anymore is it?" He knew.

Jamie's just sighed sadly "she's my dream woman." He mumbled. Wishing he could just be the man she wanted.

Trevor winced in sympathy for his friend. Having never seen him so down bad In his life, he hated seeing him so sad and miserable .

He had to do something .

"And I know you cried yourself to sleep when she brought home that guy last weekend." He added bluntly . Because Jamie wasn’t a quite crier at all.

Jamie grimaced , hating that their walls were so thin that he heard every moan and banging of her headboard against his wall.

It had been a long night , and if he hadn't had been so upset , he might have been turned on listening to her moan and whimper all night long .

But alas, he was a lovesick fool and knowing that some other guy was fucking her, that he wasn't even a second thought in her pretty head, only hurt him more.

Having a boner with a aching heart was a weird and awful experience .

Definitely Not one he wanted to repeat.

"She's a screamer." He mumbled sadly , head in his hands . "Sounded like she was having fun." He bitterly muttered. "There was no headphones that played music loud enough... I hate that guy."

Trevor snorted a little "no shit. God dude..this is just sad . You're making even me feel bad.." he told him honeslty .

Jamie frowned over at him, "help me then!" He pleaded "I don't know what to do,"

Trevor grinned widely and clapped his hands together excitedly. Loving that he got to meddle

"we're gonna get you the woman of your dreams dude. I promise." He promised him . And crossed his fingers.

Planning to be more confident with her like Trevor instructed him to be , Jamie actually managed to say hello to Cherrie the next morning .

Bumping into her on his way to training, he gave her his best smile, though it felt slightly strained as he tried not to stare too obviously at her in her running shorts and sports bra. Panting as she tried to catch back her breath.

She gave him a small head nod , chugging on her water as he hovered t by the door. Remembering Trevor telling him to tell her how pretty she looked the next time he saw her , he opened his mouth before he could even think straight

"I like your hair." He blurted out , cringing at how awkward he sounded. But it was too late to back out now because she was looking at him, and frowning.

She ran a hand over her hair that was sticking up in several places, sweaty and wild . Having just pulled it out from the scrunchie it was held in.

“It's a mess. I've just been running so.."

"I know.." he awkwardly nodded his head, shoving his shaky hands in his pockets "it's always like that." Eyes widening as he tried to correct himself "I mean-I like how it always is."

Cherrie frowned back at him in confusion "my hair is Always messy?" And clearly a little offended too,

Panicking , he quickly shook his head, laughing

nervously "no! No. I mean-you have hair-"

She snorted in amusement "no shit." She said, crossing her arms over her chest as she watched him try to fix the mess he had made.

Fighting back a smile at his pink cheeks and shifting eyes, finding herself softening towards him.

But she wasn't going to make it easy for him, that just wasn't who she was.

On the other side of the wall where Jamie had shoved him as soon as he saw her coming , Trevor was dying.

Squeezing his eyes shut in second hand embarrassment, shaking his head in disbelief as he listened to his best friend fuck up something simple as complimenting her. Hand over his mouth as he tried not to laugh and give himself away.

Jamie just sighed in misery , eyes to the ceiling as he managed to get out "I just like it alright? I like the colour and how pretty it looks. I like how wild it is." He mumbled quietly.

Softening completely , she patted him on the back with a little grin.

Shaking her head at him in amusement "nice try Jamie." She told him teasingly , watching his eyes flickering up to her. Audibly Swallowing when he met her gaze .

"I like the effort.." she said before trailing her eyes down to his chest, lips twitching in an effort not to laugh.

“Even if your shirt is on inside out." She teased him, flicking his shirt with her fingertip before giving him a little wink and leaving .

Jamie looked down at his shirt and let out the biggest groan ever , mortified. Again.

His head snapping over to the wall as he heard his friends obnoxious laughter , seeing him sidling down the wall with amused tears in his eyes as he cried with laughter .

"Why didn't you tell me I had my shirt on inside out?!" He exclaimed annoyed , kicking his shin .

Quickly correcting it in case she came back down again. Feeling his ears heat up his just like his face in embarrassment, wondering when His misery would ever end.

Trevor cackled obnoxiously"I didn't Notice! Oh my god-" he gasped out "I can't believe you said 'you have hair!' What happened to just telling her how pretty she is?" He teased him .

Jamie kicked him again. Huffing loudly as he stormed off, heading out the building while Trevor ran after him.  Still laughing hysterically. Not looking like he was going to stop anytime soon.

Pitifully Patting his back and telling him that maybe the second time would be the charm.

Jamie kept trying and he kept failing at it all.

He said hello, then managed to trip over his own two feet and nearly take them both backwards down the stair case last Friday.

That had been a heart stopper and Cherrie had been the one to haul him up off his ass, managing to catch herself on the banister at the last minute. Scolding him for being so clumsily as she asked him why the hell he was rushing on the stairs in the first place.

Too see you. He wanted to say.

Instead Managing to come up with some weak excuse about being cold and forgetting his jacket despite it being hot out.

She didn't believe him and he knew it. But he ended up leaving that encounter wearing her oversized leather jacket. So really . Not a total losing game.

So He kept saying hello and she kept smiling at him, finally giving him the time of day each time they crossed paths. He told her that he liked her Harley, she told him that he needed to put on suncream because he was turning into mr crab. But he blushed at the thought of her caring about his burning skin . Took that for another baby step.

He was trying . That was something. It was better than moping about on his ass waiting for her to fall in love with him without doing anything.

Which was how he found himself baking cookies at midnight , knocking at her door before he could talk himself out of it.

Smiling shyly at her when she opened the door with a frown, glanced up at him and then down to the tray in his hands . Then sighed.

"Jamie." She said , glancing down at his Batman sweatpants and old tshirt , amused at how fluffy his hair was . Eyes wide and hopeful as he looked at her like a lost puppy.

She sighed again, any snapping resort about disturbing her sleep falling away she let him in. She wasn't cruel enough to kick a puppy , especially not one as cute as Jamie was.

"I baked cookies." He stated the obvious while placing the tray down onto her counter. Smiling at her .

"I see that." She muttered while eyeing the burnt and weirdly shaped mess he called cookies .

He nodded at them hopefully "try one."

She warily picked one up and took a smile bite, forcing back a wince at the sharp, not at all cookie like taste.

She hummed a little, forcing herself to swallow. "It's..." horrible.

But she looked up and saw his wide eyes and blushing cheeks, the way he was nervously shuffling on his feet in her kitchen at midnight , she sighed in defeat .

"It's different." She settled on saying instead .

“did you follow a recipe?" She asked him . Taking another bite and hoping to god that this didn't give her the shits.

He smiled , lighting up as he watched her eat his cookies humming as she did so.

“Yeah." He nodded his head proudly "I did. But I lost it half way though but i remembered most of it." He had just chucked shit in and hoped for the best really.

She tried not to choke on the dry cookie as she swallows it down quickly . Clearing her throat and grabbing herself a glass of water, chugging it down before she could choke for real .

"Well. Well done on trying Jamie . It's the thought that counts. Though I'm not sure why you're baking me cookies at midnight." She mumbled , wondering why she was trying so hard to protect his feelings at all.

If it was anyone else she would have laughed in their face and thrown the cookies in the trash after telling them to never try baking again, because it was shit.

But Jamie had kind eyes and and even prettier , shy smile. So unlike the tough guys that she surrounded herself with daily .

And for some reason she felt herself softening , even patting his arm gently , watching the way he looked down at her hand on his arm and swallowed . Grinning to himself like an idiot.

He shrugged, aiming for nonchalance and failing "I just wanted to." He said "plus you look like you would like eating cookies."

At that, she dropped her hand from his arm and glared at him.

“Are you calling me fat?" The disbelief was clear in her voice.

His eyes almost popped out of his head in panic , gasping loudly "no! No! Oh my god." He groaned.

"Fuck no! You're perfect. I just mean- I overheard you talking on the phone a few days ago about how sad you were that your bakery didn't make your favourite cookies anymore. So I thought I'd try and make you some." He rambled to her , swallowing thickly when he looked back up from his feet to see Cherrie just looking at him with an unreadable look on her face.

And Cherrie felt her heart melt , sighing long and hard in disbelief at how sweet this silly guy was. Groaning at what she was about to do, she rolled her eyes and opened up her arms for him .

"You little shit, come here." She smiled a little fondly , amused by the way he practically threw himself into her arms without any shame . Taking the chance while he had it.

"That's stupidly sweet. Thank you Jamie." She muttered as she hugged him.

Jamie smiling into her shoulder in bliss As he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and hugged her back .

Heart racing in his chest as he felt her hand run soothing circles in his back, muttering something he couldn't hear against his chest as he held her close. Feeling like he was In heaven.

"You're welcome." He smiled bashfully .

She sighed again , pulling away from the hug after a minute . Hesitating for a moment before finally telling him "you and Trevor should come to the bar with us tomorrow."

Jamie looked at her worriedly "will your friends be there?" He asked her quietly .

Having seen the large , tatted and insanely intimidating guys that she hung out with. Every single one of them looked like something out of prison break or something , and all of them could squish him like a fly if they wanted . It scared him a little.

Cherrie , oblivious to his worries, nodded casually "yeah of course. It's tiny’s friends bar so.." she laughed a little.

And If one of those guys was nicknamed tiny then he dreaded to wonder what the biggest one was called . Because not one of them were under six feet tall.

But he wanted her to like him like he did her, wanted to be near her . So he nodded his head with a smile "yeah. Okay, cool. We'll come." He agreed easily because it was her.

It didn't matter how scared he was, he was going. Because she had invited him too.

Cherrie nodded her head , pleased. Then she smirked at him and handed him a cookie "try one." She said.

He took it from her , took a bite and spat it straight back out in disgust.

Spluttering as he looked at her with wide eyes "ah shit." He sighed . Blushing.

Then they both laughed. "Nice try though." She said.

The next night and Jamie was holed up in the booth surrounded by large, hairy , tattooed bikers all looking at him in a varied mixed of amusement and confusion.

Trevor having the time of his life as he confidently chatted away, not scared in the slightest.

"This is great. You guys are great." Trevor grinned at them happily , patting the large biker’s arm next to him. Taking no notice of the way he looked down at where he had touched him slowly , narrowing his eyes at him.

Tiny, who was not tiny at all, rose a brow at them while they waited for Cherrie to come back from the bar with her drink.

"Which one of you is Jamie?" He asked them gruffly.

Having heard nothing but that name for the past week. And well, they all saw her like a sister, so he was feeling a little protective about the possibility of this new guy in her life that they were only now meeting .

Jamie shrunk down in seat whil Trevor proudly jabbed his thumb at his friend, obliviously and Jamie wanted to kill him .

“This is! He's a hockey player like me! We're roommates." He told them wiggling his eyebrows, grinning .

The other biker beside tiny rose a brow "oh." He nodded his head , more hair than face.

"we accept that. No need to be afraid. I hate those hippies but love is love." He told them, assuming the scared look on Jamie's face was for another reason .

Jamie went a dark red , Trevor looking at them dumbly just as Cherrie came back to the table.

Not helping at all as she handed Jamie a bright pink cocktail with a smile "I had them make it for you , I know it's your favourite ." She said.

Jamie took the cocktail from her with a shy thanks , sighing miserably . "Where's yours ?" He asked her quietly as she sat beside him. Thigh to thigh.

She laughed loudly "im drinking whiskey baby." She ruffled his hair. A few whiskeys in already.

She looked over at Trevor in confusion when he suddenly started laughing really loudly , only now realising what the guys thought they were .

"Oh no!" He laughed while grinning widely , nudging Jamie shoulders in amusement .

"he's my best friend! Not lovers! Jamie wants this tough cookie-" he nudged Cherrie , who shot him a look. Utterly Confused.

Jamie wanted to die. Sipping on his pink cocktail as he sank even lower in his seat.

The biggest of the guys , who hadn't said a word since they arrived, scoffed lowly .

Jamie meeting his icy arms and shivering , eyeing the skeleton bones tattooed across his face , hair shaved down to the scalp, knuckles scabbed from fighting. He was twice his size in both height and width , and Honestly he reminded him of a character in GTA.

He swallowed at the glare he got from him, fingers trembling as he clutched at his thigh nervously , eyeing the exit door to his right as he wondered if he could outrun this guy if he needed to.

He felt like he would need to.

"Didn't know you hung around fratboys now." He grunted. Staring him down.

Trevor paused, finally stopped grinning as he realised that there was sudden tension. And that the guy looked like he maybe wanted to kill Jamie with his eyes .

Cherrie looked over at him and rolled her eyes "don't be a dick." She muttered , frowning in annoyance .

While she was distracted , Trevor nudged poor Jamie and muttered "I think that's her ex." He told him, making his eyes widen in disbelief .

“I've seen him at her apartment before. I think you've heard them."

Jamie went pale , mouth dropping open as he looked at his friend in disbelief. "I stand absolutely no chance then! What the fuck-" he hissed beneath his breath. Horrified.

His head snapping back up to the table as he Heard the guy speak again, still glaring at him.

He shifted uneasily on his seat again , Cherrie picking up on his nerves this time as she glanced at him. Frowning.

"He looks stupid." He insulted . Laughing meanly.

Cherrie glared back at him, placing her hand over Jamie's underneath the table .

Making him go still as he looked down at their hands, his fingers twitching as he hesitantly slid the palm of his hand between her own. Holding her hand. Taking his chance.

"Shut the fuck up. Have you looked in a mirror lately pin head?" She tossed back at him without missing a beat. Annoyed.

He rolled his eyes at her, scoffing "he looks like he forgets his own name. Not your type at all."

At that, Cherrie lost it. "My type? Maybe I like stupid hockey boys!" She snapped , making Jamie side eye her.

Not knowing whether to be insulted or not but she was still holding his hand and fighting for his honour so. He chose not to be.

"Come on!" Her ex laughed cruelly , motioning towards Jamie with a smirk "what does he have that I don't?"

She laughed coldly, slamming her glass down on the table. "He has everything you don't. That's the fucking point dumbass.-" she spat before suddenly standing to her feet , dragging Jamie up along with her.

Not even looking at him, too busy glaring at her dickhead of an Ex. "And you know what?" She smirked over at him, tugging Jamie into her side proudly .

"I'm gonna to go home and fuck Jamie so hard that he forgets how to even play hockey!" She practically yelled for all to hear , seeing red.

Jamie choked on his own breath , looking down at her with wide eyes. Going red as he felt his heart race in his chest.

"oh my god." He practically squeaked while watching her get worked up defending him.

It was so hot and Jamie shifted on his feet, heat pooling In his stomach because what the fuck?

He glanced over to his friend only to see Trevor giving him a thumbs up, looking excited .

Jamie just blinked back at him in disbelief , feeling like he was going insane. A Fever dream as she tugged at his arm , spat another insult at him before dragging him out of the bar completely .

They ended up walking the block in silence for a least ten minutes before Jamie finally managed to gather the courage to find his voice again.

Glancing shyly down at their still intertwined hands, he swallowed thickly .

“Cherrie?" He spoke up nervously . Heart pounding.

She just hummed calmly , eyes to the stars. "Yeah?"

He hesitated for a moment before mumbling "were you-were you serious in there? What you said.."

She glanced over at him then, lips twitching.

face calm and unbothered as she replied casually "about fucking you when I get home?"

He nodded his head silently . Speechless.

She side eyed him, more than amused. Humming a little teasingly "is that what you want?" She asked him confidently .

He nodded his head rapidly . Making her laugh a little as his clear eagerness.

"Yeah but like-" he looked down at their hands, swinging them lighting between them as they walked "not just that." He muttered shyly.

She laughed lightly , admiring his face underneath the shitty street lights . Realising just how pretty he really was.

“No?"

He bit his bottom lip anxiously , shaking his head again. "No. I want.." he couldn't get the words out , heartbeat in his mouth

"I want..ya know..." he was hoping she would understand without him having to say it.

But she wasn't going to make it easy for him. She never did.

Shaking her head at him in amusement as she brought them to a sudden stop. Feeling his palm become sweaty in her hand as he squeezed it three times.

"no , I don't know Jamie. You've gotta use your big boy words and tell me." She told him teasingly , waning to hear him say it.

He huffed a little in embarrassment, "I want to take you out." He rushed out before he could chicken out completely .

She rose a brow at him, smiling "like...with a gun?" she joked.

Before seeing the upset look on his face as he realised she wasn't taking him seriously , she quickly pulled him closer to her with a small laugh. Pinching his hip with her fingertips in fondness.

"I get it." She said "you want to date me so hard." She teased.

He just nodded his head, face serious as he asked her "so can I? Date you?" Hope written across his face as he hesitantly slid his hands down to her hips, holding her close .

She gently ran her fingers through his hair, biting back a grin.

“What do I get out of it?" She asked him quietly . Admiring him, silently watching his lashes flutter as he let out a shaky sigh.

"A boyfriend that will love you forever and worship the ground you walk on?" He whispered to her hopefully, meaning it.

He knew that she would be it for him. He just wanted to be the one for her too.

Cherrie let out a quiet laugh and sighed , shaking her head at the man looking down at her like she was his entire world in amazement .

Unable to believe that she had gotten this lucky .

"Sounds like a good deal to me." She simply replied , grinning fully now.

He beamed down at her, cupping her face in his hands excitedly . Eyes shining as he breathed out a giddy "yeah? Really?"

She rolled her eyes at him with a grin. "Really." Then she leant up on her toes and kissed him, laughing at the way he couldn't contain his happiness , grinning into the kiss as he held her close .

Kissing all over her face in glee as he promised to be the best boyfriend she ever had.

Trevor was right. He couldn't believe it .

He got the girl of his dreams by just embarrassing himself in front of her over and over again.

Huh. Who would have thought.

[silvervioletvalentine]

NHL x internet