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buttercupjosh · 3 years

Text

a summer in syracuse

(Gif credit to @tylerglasnow)

word count: 5,115

warnings: none

genre: summer romance, strangers to lovers, self insert, fluff

a/n: I’ve been quietly working on this fic since February and I’m finally dropping it. I actually applied to a summer research opportunity at syracuse university (unfortunately, I didn’t get in) and I had one of those before you go to sleep, dream prompt scenarios that was like “imagine if COVID didn’t exist and you went there and somehow ended up falling in love with Joel, what would that look like?” So based on the different details I would come up with to help me fall sleep (I never dreamt about it), here’s my beezy fic. I haven’t written a fic since 2014 and I’m no Nicholas Sparks so I tried my best at this. I’ve also never been to upstate New York so I just relied on my imagination and Google to help create the scenes. I’m not transitioning to becoming a fic writer, I just caved into the idea and wrote it out. It’s written with a female reader in mind because I’m a cis female but if you want to, you could make it apply to anyone. It's intended to be a self-insert to where the reader can imagine themselves or a character of their choice in the position. It’s also lowercase intended and there’s no dialogue because I wanted to do something different. Shoutout and thank you to @thestarsintheskyburnout for reviewing and editing this story for me. I’m open to any and all feedback, comments or questions; just put them in my inbox or dm me. Thank you in advance for reading, I appreciate it and I hope you like it😌 (p.s. if you have the time, I would also really appreciate if you checked out my other piece, know your heart. Thanks☺️)

(Note because I already know that someone is going to bring it up: yes, Joel actually has a vsco that he still actively uses. The only reason why I know that is because last year, someone (I can’t remember who) shared a photo from his vsco on here and put it as a source for a photo. I probably won’t share the vsco info for the sake of controversy and drama. Don’t come into my inbox about it.)

(Optional listening/songs of inspiration: summer love by one direction, space cowboy by kacey musgraves, san francisco by 5sos, streetlights by wanderer, driving by wanderer, into your eyes by wanderer, know your heart by wanderer (promoting it again because this song is so good), and my spotify playlist)

“you were mine for the summer, now we know it’s nearly over. feels like snow in september but i always will remember. you were my summer love. you always will be my summer love” -summer love by one direction

you were fidgeting in your seat from excitement and also as a way to keep yourself awake. you hadn’t slept much the night before because you were making sure that you had everything you needed for your trip and you were tired from spending the majority of your day in either an airplane or an airport. you kept tapping your feet on the floor and began sending your final texts to your family and friends and you were looking for the right playlist before the plane took off. you were blessed with the opportunity to go spend 8 weeks in syracuse, new york to work on a summer research project at syracuse university. you were so wrapped in your bubble of excitement and exhaustion that you didn’t notice the guy who sat next to you. he looked over at you with a side eye and he contemplated switching seats. this flight, however, was full so he stayed in his place. he grew slightly annoyed with you and wondered how someone could have this much energy for a boring flight to his hometown.

as the plane began rolling away from the terminal, you took out your gum and politely offered the guy in the glasses with the sharp jawline next to you a piece. he accepted and you noticed that he was wearing a black philadelphia flyers sweatshirt with the number 86 on it. something about him felt familiar so you complimented him on the sweatshirt and asked if he was a fan of the team. that’s when he revealed who he was, introducing himself as joel farabee, a forward for the flyers. that’s exactly why he was familiar to you because you watched him play before during the 2019-2020 playoffs and during the recent 2020-2021 season but you didn’t pay much attention to him specifically (your attention was more focused on a defenseman, a giraffe named phil myers). what were the chances that you would be seated together on a flight to syracuse? you told joel that you were a fan of his team but that you didn’t pay close attention to the entire roster. he laughed because he knew that he was only in his second season in the nhl, putting up great numbers but still gaining momentum within the team and that the team had other superstars, who casted a larger shadow over him. you knew that they had a rough season. you apologized for not noticing him and he accepted it. he asked you about why you were so excited to go to syracuse, it was a college town with nothing much to do unless you like to be outside, party or spend time in the library. you explained to him about the research project opportunity you were granted with and how it was your first time going there. for some reason, knowing that it was your first time there, it sparked an idea in joel. he decided that he wanted to be a tourist in his hometown and show you around. yes, he did spend the majority of his life there and he goes back every major holiday to see his family but he never really got the opportunity to show what the region had to offer and he wanted to do something slightly different this summer. his typical summer plans were to work out, practice at the rink, hang out with his friends, spend time with family, go fishing and catch up on sleep. he could still fit those things into his break and make time to show you around town. he offered to make your summer in syracuse fun, even though you would be spending 8 weeks cooped up on campus. you accepted the offer and exchanged numbers. as the flight continued, exhaustion began to wash over you and before you knew it, you had unintentionally fallen asleep on joel’s shoulder. yes, you had your neck pillow but your head had moved a bit too far over to the left. realistically, he should of woken you up and politely asked you to move your head off of him but he understood that you had spent the majority of your day traveling and were exhausted so he left you alone.

as the plane descended and made its way to the terminal at syracuse hancock international, he woke you up. after realizing that you fell asleep on the shoulder of someone you just met, you apologized to him again and he accepted it. at baggage claim, you thanked joel for being a great flight buddy and he chuckled at your words. his bags came out first and he waited with you until you got yours. he offered to take you to campus but the school had already given you a $100 uber gift card for transportation and you had already ordered the car. before heading your separate ways, you arranged to make plans at some point during your 8 weeks to hang out. in his mind, he had already started planning all of the places he wanted to take you.

____________________________________

after arriving on campus, getting settled in your dorm, and meeting your roommate, you noticed that joel followed you on insta and added you on snapchat. you snapped him a photo of the sunset, which he screenshotted but left you on opened. the following morning, joel sent you a snap back of the home cooked breakfast he was enjoying. you snapped him back a photo of a tree while walking to the research lab, and thus, a streak was born. you and joel began texting each other back and forth consistently. he already knew where he wanted to take you but he didn’t want to initiate the first move yet so he waited until you brought up wanting to go out since you had a much busier schedule.

about 2 weeks into your stay, you had finally decided that you wanted to ask joel about going somewhere. joel suggested going to destiny usa (the large mall in the area but going shopping together in a busy setting wasn’t the best way to get to know someone), the museum of science and technology or the art museum (both places piqued your interest but your research program already arranged dates for a group visit) and even going hiking (it sounded good but it felt odd since you had only just met each other). finally, you both decided that going to lunch at dinosaur bbq (a popular restaurant in town and one of joel’s favorite spots) the following day was the best choice.

the next afternoon, you nervously waited outside of the dorm hall and joel pulled up in a black audi. you took a deep breath before going inside. you trusted that joel was not some secret, dangerous creep and that his intentions were good. in your mind, you decided that if you both didn’t vibe well together during this lunch hangout, you didn’t have to see each other again afterwards. you were going to reject joel’s offer to show you around town and you could always ask your roommate or another member of your cohort to explore syracuse with you. ultimately, you were wrong; having lunch with joel was actually a lot of fun. it was awkward at first because you were nervous. you barely spoke to him on the ride to the restaurant, not wanting to embarrass yourself by saying something wrong in front of him or creating the wrong impression. on the other hand, joel was cool, calm and collected. he didn’t think too much of going to lunch with you. he could tell that you were nervous and he didn’t want to push you to speak.

while you waited for your food, you carefully tried to choose your words and began opening up to each other. you both exchanged surface level basic details about your lives. the heart to heart stuff was being saved for later on, because you didn’t want to push each other away with the deeper details and the trust between you two hadn’t yet been established. you tried not to include hockey in your conversation, but it was a huge part of joel’s life and he had no issue talking about it with you. he willingly answered your questions about the behind the scenes of the nhl and you equally responded to his questions about your research project. you learned that you both shared certain things in common and some things you differed on; he even made you genuinely laugh a few times. throughout the meal, you realized you admired joel’s dorkiness and charm, while he admired your down-to-earth spirit and kindness.

when the check arrived at the end of your meal, you graciously offered to pay for both of your meals. joel declined your offer to pay and instead put his credit card on top of yours. you gave him his card back and made a compromise with joel. anytime, you went somewhere together, you would pay for something in exchange for his time and service of driving everywhere. he didn’t mind paying for things and driving the 15 minutes from his home in cicero to pick you up but he agreed to it and you both shook hands. his hands were larger than yours, but oddly, they fit together like matching puzzle pieces. joel took you back to the university and before leaving, you asked joel if you could hug him as a sign of gratitude. normally it would feel weird to hug someone that you had only known for a short while but hugging him felt natural and comfortable. after hugging him goodbye, you told him to text you when he got home. he promised you that he would before driving off and he kept that promise. ___________________________________

after that first initial hangout, you started having joel around more. he would sometimes come visit you in the library and keep you company as you studied. he would always bring snacks or take you out to go get food. sometimes, he would annoy you and you would end up spending more time dealing him and his antics than reading the book’s contents and working on the project. he never said it, but, he was in awe of your academic prowess. he had only spent a year in college before moving onto the nhl and seeing how passionate you were about the topics you studied amazed him.

after a study session, joel offered to take you to go do something fun and he suggested going to the zoo. he hadn't been since he was a child and felt a sense of nostalgia. you were both grown adults, but, a trip to the zoo wouldn’t hurt anyone. you ended up strolling around together at the rosamond gifford zoo on a saturday afternoon. you would stop and read the facts on each of the animals at the exhibits and joel would take photos of them on his vsco and send different ones to his friends. he saw a meerkat and sent a photo to tk. joel told you that you were like an elephant, big brained and full of knowledge. you rolled your eyes at him and indicated that you wanted to get dippin dots. over the cool treat, you and joel exchanged stories from your own childhoods. you told him about where you were raised, your hobbies, and your love for stuffed animals when you were younger. joel told you about his life here in town, his time in boarding school in connecticut, about his days in michigan playing for the us national development team and his short time at boston university.

after the ice cream was finished and the stories were concluded, you wanted to stop by the gift shop to pick up a souvenir from your trip to the zoo. you picked up two magnets (one for your parents home and one for your place). before checking out, you needed to use the restroom and asked joel to hold onto the magnets until you got back. joel took advantage of your short absence to purchase the magnets for you. you were surprised by the kind gesture and thanked him, though you insisted on buying them yourself. as you were both exiting the zoo, joel mentioned how the rose garden was close by. he knew that he wanted to take you there to see the flowers but he didn’t want to be awkward. he knew that the rose garden was a romantic place and as far as you both knew, you were just friends and nothing more. from your perspective, you knew that joel could possibly secretly be involved with another girl back in philly or in his DMs, and he could also have any girl he wanted at the drop of a message anyways. realistically, you were both single and neither of you wanted to admit that a summer romance was quietly blooming between the two of you. after you listened to his suggestion about the rose garden, you had decided to opt out. you definitely wanted to go check it out but you didn’t want to make joel uncomfortable by going there together when you weren’t dating each other. on the ride back to campus, you awkwardly asked joel for more information about the rose garden. he responded telling you how beautiful it was in the spring, how it’s one of his mom’s favorite places in town, and sharing a story about a time he visited. after listening to his commentary and saying goodbye, you wished that you had accepted the invitation. little did you know, joel was feeling the exact same way. ____________________________________ your research project was progressing well, but, as you got closer to the deadline, you jokingly told joel that you were so stressed out and busy that you just wanted to go down niagara falls in a barrel to escape it all. this inspired joel to actually take you to see the marvelous waterfalls to get your mind off of the stress you were feeling. it was a 3 hour drive from syracuse but it was worth taking the trip for you.

on the ride to the falls, joel let you decide the soundtrack for the road trip and he learned that you held a deep love for music. he learned which songs and artists meant a lot to you and even asked you to add some of the songs you played into his library. you didn’t think much of it at the time (besides the fact that you were getting this boy to listen to other genres besides country and rap), however, joel was quietly planning on making a playlist full of the songs you loved - even though some of the songs you played were definitely out of his comfort zone. the purpose of the playlist was to help him feel connected to you after you left.

after the 3 hour drive, you finally arrived in the late afternoon. you did not bring your passport with you, so, you were unable to cross the border into canada and explore that side of the falls. you hopped together, alongside other tourists, onto the maid of the mist boat ride. it took your breath away to see the waterfall up close and in person. you were speechless by its amazing beauty. you felt the mist of the water dance across your skin and your eyes widened in wonder. you couldn’t believe that you were actually in front of niagara falls. while you were inside a bubble of awe, joel admired you and your reactions. it made his heart full, seeing the joy spill out of you. he made sure to capture photos of you and the falls and you both took touristy photos in the classic yellow waterproof ponchos at the cave of the winds. your favorite photo taken that day captured you and joel laughing in the titanic pose in front of the falls. it looked a bit silly but it was a really cute photo of you two together. joel’s favorite photo was a side profile shot of your face, with the water cascading in the background. although, you felt otherwise in the oversized, bright plastic coverup, he truly thought you looked beautiful.

after picking up more magnets and a t-shirt from the gift shop, and watching the falls illuminate at night, you headed back to syracuse. on the ride back into town, you and joel stopped at a diner off of the highway. you sat across from each other, admiring the details of each other under the light, just as you had many times before. however this time, a wave of vulnerability kicked in and you decided to share more about the intimate details of your life with joel. in your mind, some of the things you shared weren’t so great and you felt they could be a reason for him to stop liking you. however, joel saw how the not-so-pretty, broken parts, the seemingly boring, uninteresting things and the little details of who you are, pieced you together like kintsugi. the scars that lined you were flowing with the gold of your love, compassion, and kindness and he liked that about you. it’s what made you so different from all of the other girls out there. sure, on paper the qualities of who you are could be what he needed in a partner but physically, you may not match the expectations of wags within hockey culture. his heart whispered to him that you were something special and that the physical beauty of this world didn’t matter because he knew that you were beautiful on the inside.

at the end of your meal, the waitress dropped off the receipt explaining that she adored when couples came in together and seeing a happy relationship reminded her of her and husband, after losing him many years ago. joel blushed at the waitress’ remark and you thanked the waitress for her service before leaving. you and joel had never talked about your feelings for each other. it was definitely safe to assume that you were friends and nothing more but there was something more lurking under the surface. your hearts both, connected by an invisible string, could sense that love was there but the words never slipped out. the rest of the drive back was awkward. while the music hummed in the background, you speculated that joel wasn’t probably looking for a relationship and you assumed that you didn’t fit his standards anyways. you weren’t a model, you weren’t a sorority sister, you weren’t someone who had a shot at competing on the bachelor. you were just you and you were content with who you are. you knew that dating an athlete wouldn’t be easy but if you knew that he was into you, he was worth the risks and challenges.

while you were wrapped up in your thoughts, joel reached over and grabbed your hand. you were surprised by the move but didn’t let go. he didn’t say anything either because he had similar thoughts about his feelings towards you racing through his mind. you didn’t know that he felt the same way, seeing that you were full of internal beauty and you shined like a light on earth. he was also terrified of what could happen next for whatever was going on between you. he knew that he considered you his friend and he could feel himself falling for you, but, he was worried about what he couldn’t see below him. he wondered if you could handle the pushback associated with being a wag or if you even wanted to be romantically involved with someone like him in the first place. he also wondered if you were falling for him as well or if you just wanted to remain friends.

before you both knew it, you arrived back to campus. despite the awkward car ride, as usual, he dropped you off and you gave him a hug goodnight, telling him to text you when he got home. as soon as you walked into your dorm, you immediately confided in your roommate about your trip to niagara falls and your feelings for joel. she knew that you had been spending a lot of time with joel and she admitted that she adored how well he treats you. your roommate advised you to listen to the whispers of your heart and focus on what it said to you. you considered her words and hoped that your heart said the right things to you and guided you into the right direction. ____________________________________

your final research project presentation was thursday afternoon and your flight home was scheduled to leave friday morning. joel really wanted to make your last night in syracuse special. he was proud of you and wanted to celebrate the completion of your research project experience by taking you out to eat at his favorite hometown restaurant. going out to eat together was not a new thing for you, he had taken you to several different restaurants, but this place was special to him. francesca's was only reserved for special occasions. it was where he had celebrated several of his birthdays, his high school graduation, when he got signed to the flyers, and other important events. based on advice from his older brother, he had never taken a girl there unless that girl was important to him. although you had only known each other for less than 3 months, you meant a lot to him. he knew that you were someone his family and the team would adore.

he waited for you in his car, just as he had done countless times before but this time with a bouquet of flowers for you. he had spent hours with you but the butterflies in his stomach fluttered loudly tonight. he peered out of the window and he thought you looked absolutely stunning in your dress, the color you wore looked amazing on you. when you got closer to the car, he got out, handed you the flowers, and went around to open your door. he complimented you on your outfit and it made your cheeks warm. the flowers he picked for you were beautiful and you admired how he was being extra sweet tonight. on the ride to the restaurant, you complimented joel, saying he looked handsome in his outfit and you thought to yourself that that the both of you look good together.

the restaurant he took you to was very nice. it had brick walls and a lively atmosphere. you could sense that joel was a bit nervous, which was odd, since he was never nervous around you before. you questioned him about it and he explained the significance of the restaurant to him. you were taken aback that he thought you were special and important enough to him for him to bring you here. that made your heart whisper to you. you had listened to what your heart had to say and not surprisingly, it did say the right things to you.

at the end of the delicious dinner, you wanted to go get ice cream, so joel took you to the cold stone creamery inside of destiny usa. you both sat and ate ice cream on a park bench in onondaga park, looking out onto hiawatha lake, and admired the stars in the night sky. the reality of your last night in syracuse began sinking in. joel knew that you had an early morning flight, so he drove you back to campus sooner so that you would get enough sleep for your journey back home. he drove to the front of the building and he promised that this moment wasn’t goodbye and he was going to take you to the airport the next morning. before leaving, joel reached over in the backseat and handed you a bag. inside of the bag was a bee beanie baby, a keychain of gritty (the mascot for the flyers), a black philadelphia flyers hoodie matching the one he wore when you first met, and 4 magnets - 2 represented the city of syracuse and 2 were flyers magnets. you were thankful for the sweet gift and admired that joel paid attention to the things you liked. you went in to give joel the usual goodnight hug but this time, he asked if he could kiss you goodnight instead. you accepted the offer. ____________________________________

you didn’t sleep well the night before. your mind was racing with the thoughts of the great night you had and you also wondered about what would happen between you and joel. you said farewell to your roommate and promised to keep in touch with her. her flight was leaving at a different time but yours was an early morning flight back home. it was too early in the morning for you to go to breakfast together so you planned on getting something overpriced and filling in the airport. as he promised the night before, joel was taking you to the airport to say goodbye. he still had about a month left before training camp started but he wished that you would change your ticket and stay longer. you were dozing on and off during the trip to the airport, joel looked over at you and his heart was full. this was the last time that you would be together like this in his car. you were going to miss the unintentional familiarity that you developed sitting in his passenger seat and being physically close to him. he enjoyed the way it felt having you next to him and he too was going to miss that feeling.

as he pulled into the short term parking lot at the airport, you woke up from your nap and an overwhelming feeling of sadness washed over you. you didn’t want to leave him. you had such a good time in a new place and you had gotten to spend time with an amazing guy who treated you so well. your heart swelled with the gratefulness that you had felt for joel, sacrificing his time to spend time with you. he could have brushed off the fact that it was your first time in syracuse and spent part of his summer with anyone else and do his typical summer routine with his old friends. he was under no obligation to drive around his hometown with someone that he barely knew but he had chosen to spend that time being with you - which neither of you regretted for a single moment.

after checking your bags and receiving your ticket, it was time to say goodbye. you weren’t sure how long the line would be for security and you were a little hungry and tired so you knew that you didn’t have much time left together. you were sad that it was all over and whatever you and joel had was done. as absurd as it sounds, you actually fell in love with the friend who made your summer in syracuse fun. the tears began to slowly flow and joel wiped them away. he embraced you in a hug and kissed the top of your head. at that moment, the busyness of the airport quieted for you. in that moment, it was just you and joel holding onto to each other for one last time. he reassured you that this wasn’t the end of what you had together. he still wanted to talk to you, see your beautiful smile, he wanted for you to come visit him in philadelphia and of course, he wanted to show his favorite girl (besides his mom) around town; he wanted more of you and the light that you shined into his life. neither of you wanted to let go but you had to separate in order for you to make your flight on time. he squeezed you a little tighter and planted a departing kiss on your mouth. you smiled at him with tears in your eyes. he joked for you to not fall asleep on anyone’s shoulders unless they were his and got a giggle out of you. although, he thought that you wouldn’t hear him say it but he quietly murmured an “i love you” and you repeated those 3 precious words back to him.

this goodbye hurt a lot but you both knew that the leap made to spend your summer together was worth the fall into the deep unknown of your friendship/relationship. you both wished that you could press rewind, start over and relive the time that you spent together during the past 6 weeks. you weren’t sure if or when you were going to see each other again, you still had time before you graduated from school and joel would be busy with the upcoming hockey season. although, the chaos of what’s to come loomed ahead, you both promised to not forget about each other and to at least remain friends and keep in touch. the future was full of uncertainty and you also weren’t sure if joel would patiently wait for you. he could always find another girl to fall in love with and spend his days with. you also could always find someone for yourself, which would be okay, only the future could tell. you hoped that somehow this would all work out, with the two of you finding a way back to each other. regardless, he had made a impact on you that you would treasure moving forward. you were each other’s summer love and the possibility of moving on hurt but the love you had shared wouldn’t go away as the seasons went on.

with one final hug and look into each other’s eyes, it was time to leave. as you walked towards the security checkpoint with tired eyes, you were exhausted, but it wasn’t a dream and it wasn’t a joke. the feelings and things you had experienced with joel were real. you were brought together for a reason and it was no mistake that you sat next to each other on that flight. an opportunity fell into your hands and you both had chosen to not let it slip away. you were both the one that the other had waited all of this time for and that patience had paid off. even if it didn’t end up turning into a full romantic relationship, the friendship and bond that was created between you was worth the time and effort that was put into it. your summer in syracuse was over but you would never forget the memories you made with a certain flyer and the love that you shared with him.

#joel farabee #philadelphia flyers #Joel Farabee imagine #joel farabee fic #joel farabee x reader #hockey fic #hockey imagine #hockey writing #my writing

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