#roope hintz imagines

[ilyasorokinn]

hello my darling, congratulations on 2.5k you deserve it all and more!! 💘💘

could I request “You can’t just act like nothings wrong when it is!” with Roope Hintz!! 🫶🏼

CHEATER, CHEATER, PUMPKIN EATER

thank you bestie! love you <3

21. "you can't just act like nothing's wrong when it is." (from this prompt list, angst)

tw: cheating

for a while, you had an inkling that something was wrong but you didn't want to believe it, so you just pushed it to the back of your mind.

but you can only ignore something for so long.

in the beginning, your boyfriend, cole, was a good boyfriend. he would send you random things at work or bring you presents after work. but somewhere in between the 6-12 month period, something went wrong.

the first red flag was when he would come home at all hours of the night, smelling only slightly of another woman's perfume. it was so faint you almost couldn't smell it, but it was there.

the second red flag was him forgetting date nights, again, using the work excuse. more often than not, you would find yourself sitting alone at a fancy restaurant, waiting for cole to show up, only to look like a fool when he would text you from home, asking where you were.

and the last red flag, which could also be classified as a red billboard, was when he called you another woman's name. you were in the kitchen and he was in the living room.

"hey, cas, could you get me a beer from the fridge?" you froze. you knew, right then and there, he was cheating.

you don't remember leaving the apartment, but somehow you ended up at roope's apartment. it was almost like you were on autopilot.

"so, what'd wrong? why're you acting like this?"

"i think cole's cheating on me," you said.

"you think?"

"i know." you corrected yourself.

"how do you know?"

"he came home a few weeks ago and he smelled like perfume but it wasn't mine. it was one of those really expensive ones. then he stood me up on date night. he wasn't at work, i called his secretary, and he wasn't at home. and tonight, he called me cas."

roope looked upset for you. more upset than you somehow, "how are you so calm? why aren't you like screaming? throwing a fit?"

"i don't know." you shrugged, "do you have cheese? cheese sounds nice." you stood up off his couch and headed for his kitchen.

"y/n, you can't just act like nothing's wrong when there is!" he stated.

"oh, i'm sorry. is there a proper way to react when you find out you've been cheated on? i must've missed that part in school." you glared.

"i didn't say that. i'm just saying he's a cheater, y/n. he's gross."

"i know that, but i don't know what to do." your eyes finally filled with the tears you were so scared to cry.

"here's what we're gonna do. we're gonna go back to your apartment, and we're gonna gather all the stuff you left there, then we're gonna come back here and we're gonna just binge. whatever you want." you smiled.

"you sure you don't mind? i'm kind of crazy."

"well, we all are."

taylor's 2.5k celly!

[sc0tters]

The Long Run | Roope Hintz & Miro Heiskanen

summary: when your brother leaves you unattended you end up at home with his teammates.

kinkmas: day one (threesome)

warnings: sexual themes, p in v (unprotected!), oral (m receiving!), spanking, swearing, degradation (mild!), swearing.

word count: 3.55k

authors note: we are kicking off kinkmas big and bold with a threesome. I’m gonna thank @itsnotgray for putting up with this and I hope it lived up to your expectations too! if you want to see the rest of the kinkmas masterlist you can find it all here!

The team Christmas party was always one to remember.

As Tyler’s younger sister you managed to score yourself an invite as you were in Dallas and Kate refused to let you spend the evening alone. The majority of the boys knew you well, you had been there for your brother through everything and when he got traded it was weirdly comforting even if you lived on the opposite side of the state.

For the most part the boys were good to you, little Seguin as they preferred to call you. Some cared enough to take an interest in your life too whilst others just sent you a nod, happy to see that you showed up. Then there were the last two of his teammates Miro Heiskanen and Roope Hintz, aka the unreadables. You weren’t sure how they felt about your presence as they’d just stare at you before they’d say a few phrases in Finnish before they’d leave you there just as confused as before they arrived.

Tonight was no different as the duo stood in the corner swirling their drinks as their eyes didn’t leave you. Maybe it was the fact that you had lost track of how much champagne you had drank two hours ago but you chugged the rest of your drink before you slammed it onto the countertop.

The boys smirked as they watched your red dress cling to your body as your tanned legs walked over to them “hey princess.” Miro smirked at the way your crossed your arms and stared up at them “you wanna tell me why you keep on staring at me?” You cocked your head making their smirks double in size as you were now falling into their game.

Roope smiled “you look real pretty tonight kid.” The compliment made your cheeks turn red as your strong facade quickly turned soft “I do?” You mumbled dropping your hands to your sides “don’t you think so Miro?” He elbowed the younger boy who had been staring.

It was your turn to smirk as you noticed his eyes hanging over the line of your breasts “really do.” Miro nodded as his eyes locked with yours “y/n c’mere!” Tyler called out making you roll your eyes.

Your brother stood in the middle of the room as he ushered you over telling Joel all about what you had gotten up to this year “that’s my cue boys.” You sent them a salute before you made your way over to your brother finding comfort under his arm.

That’s were you spent the majority of the rest of the night capturing the occasional glance from both Finnish boys. It made you laugh as you would do nothing more than send a smirk back in their direction “if you’ll excuse me.” Your voice was soft as you headed towards the bathroom “you enjoying his company?” Wyatt had started talking to you a little over ten minutes ago and as his crush on you was clear you let him made the advances that he seemed to want so badly.

You smirked as you looked at Roope who was leaning against the wall “you getting jealous?” You asked as you walked over to him nearly shutting the gap between you both “why should I be when you’re stood looking at me?” Roope stood up straight making the difference in height between you both larger.

It made your once amused expression turn to a scoff “I’m only here to go to the bathroom.” You mumbled tucking your hair behind your face “it’s over there princess.” Roope pointed to the door behind you as he smiled “I knew that.” You mumbled rolling your eyes as you turned around to head to the bathroom.

Staring at yourself in the mirror you brought your hands through your hair as you thought about how Roope looked at you “fuck me.” You grumbled seeing the panty line that had formed in your dress.

For you it didn’t take long to decide to strip out of your white thong as you bunched it in your hand letting a smirk form on your face as you opened the door up to see Roope in the same spot that he had been before you left “didn’t take you long.” Roope smiled as he crossed his arms watching you come back over to him “I was gonna ask you to hold something for me.” Maybe it was the alcohol in your system but as Roope held his hand out to you dropped your panties into it.

His eyes went wide as he realised what they were “you’re playing a dangerous game princess.” Roope warned seeing clenching his hand “just wanted someone to hold them f’me to surprise Wy.” You lied through your teeth smiling as you wanted a reaction from him. This was truly you making the best out of your unfortunate dress choice “you’re gonna send me to an early grave Seguin.” He groaned making you laugh “maybe that’s all I wanted to do.” You smirked leaning forward to press a kiss against his cheek as your hands ran up his shirt “herra pelasta minut.” Roope mumbled to himself as he watched you walk off back into the party leaving your panties in his hand before he shoved them into his pants pocket.

You managed to avoid him as you stuck with Miro now flirting with the boy “do you really have to go?” People begin leaving the party and it was now the Finnish boys turns “don’t you want to go to Wyatt?” Miro teased as you Roope stood behind you both “you two are never gonna let me hear the end of that are you?” You laughed as you shook your head standing in the corner with the two Finnish boys as they grabbed their coats.

Roope shook his head “was gonna ask if you were sure you wanted to stay with him?” Wyatt stood smiling as he saw you with the boys “I think we could have a great night.” You nodded with a smirk hinting to him about the conversation you had earlier in the night “I could give you a reason to never wear those panties ever again.” Roope’s voice was rough as his breath fanned against the shell of your ear.

Miro watched the conversation unfold as your eyes sparkled “both of you?” It was something that never came across your mind “you want both of us pretty girl?” Miro spoke up again making you nod “then let’s get you out of here before Tyler notices that you’re gone.” Roope took his jacket off as he slid it over your shoulders even as the Dallas winter weather wasn’t that cold.

They were quick to usher you into their Uber leaving you in the middle of the two boys as you all piled into the back of the car “you’re so fucking beautiful.” Miro ran his hand over your knee as you turned to him with a smile “how pretty?” Your tongue ran over your lower lip causing his other hand to cup your cheek.

As his lips went to yours Roope couldn’t help but feel himself grow jealous. The older Fin brushed your hair behind your neck so he could kiss below your ear “be a good girl.” He mumbled softly nibbling at your lobe.

It made you moan against Miro as both boys found their hands on your body. The Uber driver couldn’t help but look to the rear view mirror as it almost seemed the start of a porno. The way your fingers were brought to your lips as you could still feel Miro’s on yours was enough to make both boys feel this sense of bliss.

Roope was grateful that he had put his house into the drop off location as Miros house was another fifteen minutes away “we are close.” You clenched at the drivers words as both hockey players began nipping at your neck “t-thanks sir.” You stammered as your hands went to Roope’s hair tugging at the ends.

The boys got you out of the car quicker than you had gotten into it as Roope pulled out a hundred dollar note from his pocket leaving it as a tip for the driver. You three made it to the door in time for Miro to push you against the wall “is this what you wanted all along princess?” He asked as his thumb drew circles against the end of dress brushing against your thigh “yes M.” You whimpered as you watched Roope fish through his pocket’s quick to grab his keys as he unlocked the door “c’mon you two.”

You gasped as you walked into Roope’s house smiling as he turned on the lights. It was a bold move from you as you reached back to undo the zipper of your dress “Hani don’t you dare.” Roope warned making you smirk as you moved to grab at the straps of your dress.

As the straps came down so did your dress and both boys swore that they forgot how to breathe in that moment “come and get me boys.” Your voice was soft as you spun around and stepped out of your dress and began walking up the stairs.

Your bare ass made them melt as they watched you reach to unclip your bra before it joined the trail of clothes that were on the stairs finally prompting the boys to follow you as Roope took the first step closer to you “you’re playing a fine line Seguin.” He warned watching you smirk as you got to the top of the steps “come make me pay then.” Both boys were going to truly make you regret that statement.

The first memory you had of Roope’s bedroom was how your knees were pressed against his mattress “what are we gonna do with her?” Miro asked as you propped yourself up on your elbows “come get a taste M.” You smirked spreading your legs giving him a view of your soaked cunt.

Roope shook his head stopping in the boy from following your requests “you think you could get away with how you’ve acted all night?” The older of the two boys laughed “turn around and get on your knees.” He ordered making you comply as you stared at the mirrors that lined the other wall of his room.

Miro walked to the other side of the bed as he smirked at you “think it’s about time we finally shut these pretty lips up.” Miro suggested as he brushed his fingers along your jaw “baby you want his cock?” Roope was far more unfiltered as he grabbed at your hips “fuck me like you would one of those puck bunnies.” You watched how Miros groaned hearing those vulgar words leave your lips.

When you spoke to him like that Miro couldn’t deny you of that request as he undid the zip of his pants letting the bulge show causing your mouth to salivate “you want this?” Miro asked with a smirk as he watched his teammate raise his hand to slap your ass “fuck!” Your moan was cut off as Miro slid his cock into your mouth.

His head dropped forward as his hands gripped at your hair “how many do we think she deserves?” Roope soothed the area of skin as he let out a dry laugh “two for each hour she fucking decided to tease us for.” Miro stared down as you batted your eyelashes looking back up at him “what do we think that Tyler would feel seeing his sister like this?” Roope asked as he slapped your ass again gripping at the piece of skin.

You moaned as your hands found themselves on Miros thighs as you swirled your tongue around his cock “watching your mascara run down those pretty cheeks?” Miro grunted forcing your head to take more of his cock as you breathed through your nostrils as Roope slapped your ass for the fifth time.

The area was tender as Roope finally moved his attention to where you wanted it as his fingers ran over your slit “she liked this.” Miro felt himself begin to start fucking your face as your throat constricted around his cock. It made Roope laugh “yeah cause she’s our dirty little puck bunny ain’t she?” Thinking about the words you once used made your cunt clench as Roope thrusted his fingers into your core “such a wet girl.” He cooed making you whine.

Those sensations made Miro grunt “fuck baby I’m gonna come.” He moaned as he grew close “gonna swallow all of it?” Miro’s question made you moan as Roope teased your clit.

Your head bobbed his cock as your lips were tight around it “d-don’t stop.” You might as well been a starved woman as you hollowed your cheeks out milking his cock as Miro came “shit baby right there!” Miro’s grip on your hair loosened as his warm release coated the inside of your mouth.

As he pulled out a string of his come landed on your lower lip which Miro didn’t hesitate to wipe off with his thumb before he placed his calloused finger on your clit “swallow that and be a good girl for me.” His voice was soft as he began to move his finger in a circular motion. You let your tongue fall out of your mouth showing that you had listened to the younger boys request “look at you finally being a good girl for us.” Roope muttered as he pulled his fingers from your cunt making you whine “shut up and take what I give you.” He warned tilting your head up so he could give you your first kiss from him of the night.

Roope already felt his cock throb against his pants but tasting another man on your tongue made it grow more uncomfortable as it soon felt like he’d be losing a button on that pair “who do you want first?” In the midst of your horniness and desperateness to reach your first orgasm of the night maybe you didn’t notice that it was actually a trick question “you Roope.” You whimpered as Miro leaned down to kiss you.

You note how much softer he was than his older teammate as he pinched your chin “have her ride you.” Roope ordered making you pull away from Miro as you frowned “you want me then you better earn it princess.” The weight of the mattress dipped as Miro crouched onto it.

His hands brushed through your hair as your fingers went to his shirt so you could undo the buttons “eager little girl.” Roope smirked as he undid his shirt too.

The moment of how you landed up straddling Miro’s torso as Roope gripped his cock running his hand along the underside of it “wanna be a good girl?” Roope cooed as you nodded “get on him then.” Watching you grab Miro’s cock teasing your clit made all three of you moan “fuck!” You cried sinking down on his dick as his fingers helped guide your hips down.

Roope didn’t wait long to tap the head of his cock on your lips “open up.” His words were surprisingly soft as Miro let you adjust to his size “so big.” Your moan was muffled as Roope’s cut you off “this mouth is fucking dangerous.” He grunted tugging your hair at your scalp.

Miro began thrusting into your cunt as he lifted your hips up and down “you like us fucking you like this don’t you?” Roope laughed seeing your mascara smudge as your eyes watered “think she’s never been fucked like this before.” Miro’s cock throbbed from inside of you as your cunt clenched around him “such a tight little pussy.” His words made you moan around Roope’s cock as he reached out to lightly hit your clit.

Your hands gripped at Miro’s thighs as you began grinding in an attempt to create more friction “is that what you wanted?” Roope’s fingers tightened in your hair causing your eyes to lock onto his “for us to ruin you for every other boy in your life?” The older boy had to laugh at how you nodded “can’t hear you princess.” Roope was pushing you as he forced you to take more of his cock making your throat feel raw.

Tears clouded your eyes as you nodded “yes fuck!” The words came muffled as you choked on his cock “it’s too easy with you.” Miro and Roope seemed to bounce off of each other “this cunt is heaven.” Miro reminded you that he was behind you as your eyes fluttered.

The boys both grew closer to their highs as one watched your cunt swallow his cock and the other got to feel your tongue swirl around his “you see how good you make us feel?” Roope threw you off as his hand was soft against your cheek in clear contrast to the other that was still in your hair “letting us use you like this.” Your cunt clenched as you moaned feeling your skin feel like it was on fire “is this how you wanted us to be all along?” It was clear that there was a sense of teasing in his words but you still whined as your legs began to shake.

Miro grunted from behind you “think she’s close.” His fingers stayed on your clit pressing against the sensitive nub “you want to come?” You nodded making the boy slide his cock out of your mouth “fucking beg me for it then.” Roope watched as your hand replaced where your mouth once was.

You moaned as your lips fell open “fuck!” You gasped feeling Miro’s hand grab at your ass “that’s not good enough.” Roope grabbed at your jaw “please let me come.” You whined letting your lips form a pout “I’ll be yours I promise.” You begged locking your eyes with him.

Roope nodded sliding his cock back into your mouth “let her come.” All three of you felt yourselves growing closer to your eyes as the walls soaked up the sounds of your moans and the sounds of skin slapping “god milk my cock with your pretty little cunt.” Miro grunted as his eyes screwed shut.

Pleasure fell over the both of you as you came “keep using your pretty little mouth.” Roope cooed watching your face contort as your cunt clenched around his cock bringing his orgasm on “fucking hell!” Miro groaned as he dug his nails into your hips.

Your walls of your core were coated with his release “get her off and hold her legs up.” Roope ordered as both you and Miro slowed down trying to recover from your orgasms “gonna let me come on your cunt too?” Roope asked making you nod repeatedly.

Miro sat up as he had you lean against his back as his cock pressed against your back as he made your legs sit on either side of his “you want to be a good girl for us?” Miro’s voice was coarse as you watched Roope slip his cock out again before he wrapped his hand around it now getting himself to that high.

You moaned pressing your fingers against your clit as you mixed your and Miro’s releases over the area “always.” You cried as Miro pinched your nipples between his fingers “such a pretty girl.” Miro cooed kissing his lips against your shoulder.

Roope groaned “fuck I’m gonna make a mess.” His words made you chew at the inside of your cheek “shit Roo!” You moaned watching his cock spurt his warm release over your slit as you used your hands to spread the sides of your cunt open.

It made feel like you were on cloud nine as his cock pressed against your clit “want me to fuck this into you?” Roope laughed as you caught your lip between your teeth nodding “you’re right about this cunt.” Roope was bigger than Miro as he bottomed you out making you jump “fuck!” You swore as you were still sensitive.

Roope’s lips caught yours as he continued to slowly thrust his cock into your cunt “making sure this all stays in there pretty girl.” His words were husky as the boys kept you in there all night.

Weeks had gone by without seeing either boy in the same way again besides for the few smiles that were shared after games. Truthfully you thought that it was only going to be one night of fun. But as you stood there waiting for your timer to go off you couldn’t help but wonder seeing PREGNANT appear on the test, who the hell is the father?

[toasttt11]

stuck with me

December 1, 2022

Wyatt quietly walked out of his room being mindful to shut his door very quietly and he slowly walked to the room next to his and opened the door to Greyson’s room and closing the door behind him.

It was late at night and everyone else was sleeping but Wyatt had so much energy and was restless from the game he played a few hours ago.

He tried to sleep for the past hour, just tossing and turning until admitting defeat and got out of bed heading to Greyson’s room.

Wyatt has never been more thankful for a person than he is for Greyson, from the moment he met Greyson, Greyson has taken care of Wyatt and truly took him under his wing and showed him the NHL world.

Wyatt has always and will always think Greyson Hughes is absolutely beautiful and he is not ashamed to admit Greyson was the person Wyatt use to look up all the time on instagram and was the boy who made Wyatt realize he likes guys.

Wyatt and Greyson both lived in Toronto during the same time and played at the same arena for many years but being different ages they never ended up crossing paths.

But meeting Greyson and becoming roommates and teammates and eventually friends, Wyatt grew to care even more for Greyson, more than just being attracted to him.

And Wyatt knew the second Greyson smiled at him that Greyson would end up capturing his heart and Greyson has, and Wyatt is more than okay with that.

“Ollie.” Wyatt softly whispered as he leaned over a sleeping Greyson, Wyatt felt a pinch of guilt for trying to wake up Greyson when he is peacefully sleeping.

Wyatt wants to just slide into Greyson’s bed and curl up to him but Wyatt doesn’t have permission to do so and does not want to push Greyson and make him uncomfortable.

Greyson’s eyes fluttered open squinting at Wyatt, “Wy?” Greyson sleepily mumbled sounding confused.

Wyatt cleared his throat softly trying to ignore the thoughts that ran to his head from Greyson’s voice, “Can i sleep next to you?” Wyatt hopefully whispered asking.

Greyson hummed his eyes shutting close once more and he lifted his arm up making his blanket lift and Wyatt beam before he slid into the spot next to Greyson.

Wyatt did not immediately curl up to Greyson even if he wished too.

“Did you come in here to lay all the way over there.” Greyson teasingly mumbled his eyes never once opening but he could feel how far away Wyatt was from him.

Wyatt flushed a soft pink but eagerly scooted closer to Greyson but apparently not enough because Greyson threw his arm over Wyatt’s waist and pulled his as close as possible and burrowed his face into Wyatt’s soft hair.

Wyatt made a suprised squeak but all but melted into Greyson’s protecting arms.

Wyatt toon a few deep breaths trying to find words to get his thoughts out.

“Sssh, we can talk in the morning, sleep now.” Greyson softly mumbled rubbing Wyatt’s back gently making him relax more and more into his arms.

Wyatt nodded and felt himself fall into a deep sleep in Greyson’s arms.

December 2, 2022

Greyson’s nose twitched as he felt something brush his nose, Greyson squinted his eyes open and remember Wyatt had joined him late last night.

Greyson nudged his nose against Wyatt’s hair letting out a soft fond sigh.

Greyson has always been a good sleeper but having Wyatt in arms made his sleep last night become the best sleep he has ever had and he knows it’s all because of Wyatt.

Greyson wasn’t scared to admit he has feelings for Wyatt and they have been slowly growing over the last few months, Greyson has never met someone who he has felt so comfortable with so fast.

He knows Wyatt feels something for him back, it is obvious by the way he flushes pink often because of Greyson and the way Wyatt stares at him with heart eyes.

Greyson has kinda just let their friendship develop not pushing that they both have feelings for each other and he has been more than content to just wait for Wyatt and kinda let him settle into his new life but Greyson has been thinking about confessing soon and then Wyatt came into his bed last night kidna giving him his sign he should confess.

Wyatt shuffled around nuzzling his head more against Greyson as he slowly started to wake up.

Wyatt blinked sleepily feeling a hand scratching his back and being held, He hummed happily and then realized it was Greyson holding him and smiled.

“Morning.” Greyson softly mumbled noticing Wyatt waking up.

“Morning.” Wyatt mumbled sleepily but happily, how could he not be happy by waking up in the arms of the boy he has been crushing on for years.

Wyatt just laid in Greyson’s arms for a good while enjoying the comforting touch and silence between them but he eventually lifted his head up resting his chin on Greyson’s chest

“Sorry about coming in here last night.” Wyatt sheepishly apologized.

Greyson shook his head, “It’s okay, i don’t mind.” Greyson knew that Wyatt has a hard time sleeping after being wired up from a game.

Wyatt smiled pleased and laid his head back down resting his cheek on Greyson’s chest still staring up at him.

Greyson tentatively brought his hand up to Wyatt’s messy hair messing with his little strands.

Greyson and Wyatt just held eye contact as Greyson played with Wyatt’s hair.

Greyson didn’t realize he was slowly leaning in as he stared at Wyatt until their noses bumped each other.

Greyson eyes flickered between Wyatt’s eyes and lips making sure there was no hesitation and took a deep breath before pressing their lips together.

Wyatt inhaled sharply, he had thought maybe they were about to kiss but having Greyson actually kiss him shocked him.

Wyatt desperately kissed him back bringing his hands up to hold Greyson’s face in his hands.

“Woah.” Wyatt mumbled in awe panting as they pulled away from each other.

Greyson smiled and rubbed his nose again Wyatt’s cheek.

“Can we do that again?“ Wyatt looked up at him nervously, he wasn’t sure what he would do if he never got to kiss Greyson again, he’s been waiting long enough.

“Whenver you want love.” Greyson softly mumbled rubbing Wyatt’s cheek reassuring.

“As your boyfriend?” Wyatt added hopefully happily leaning into Greyson’s soft touch.

“Yes. You’re stuck with me.” Greyson softly teased making Wyatt beam happily.

[wyattjohnston]

no sound worse than silence - roope hintz

summary: writing songs has always been how eloise deals with her thoughts, she just never anticipated having so many about so many people with so little warning.

word count: 18,290

note: it takes a village. ky, @laurenairay, @officialgritty & @matthewtkachuk have all pitched in with this over the literal years it’s taken to post. it wasn’t even a roope fic at first and i got 13k in and then the player it was originally about was outed as an absolute scumbag, so here we are.

warnings: pregnancy (not the main character), i obviously did not write any of the songs mentioned or referenced in this fic

playlist

The night had ended prematurely, just after midnight, when the group were unceremoniously booted from the club half an hour after they’d gotten in. Eloise very nearly stayed behind, only to realise that she would be the last one standing if she didn’t also follow Levi and his glass jaw out the door.

A late-night Chinese restaurant was where they ended up; Eloise sitting at the end of the table with her arms crossed as both a sign that she was angry that her night had been ruined and also to fight off a chill. Her mini dress was meant for a nightclub and not much else.

If her group wasn’t loud enough, as their food was being delivered to their table a new group walked through the doors. The guys of the group were… attractive, to say the least. The women they were with were also intimidatingly good looking. The girls of Eloise’s group sat up a little straighter, adjusted their dresses and tried to make eye contact. Eloise wasn’t immune to the behaviour, either.

Levi, through a swollen and food filled mouth, exclaimed that the group who just walked in were hockey players—Dallas Stars, more specifically. None of them would have known that or cared about it if it weren’t for Levi who had grown up in the Northeast before his family moved to Dallas in high school, bringing his love of hockey with him. It had quickly become a fascination of the group.

It was easier to place them when Eloise knew who they were, and she connected their faces to their names, even if she was more used to seeing them in helmets.

“Oh, I’ve heard about her,” Molly said, “The tiny brunette with the huge blond dude, Lindell? I think her name’s Veera. She’s a bitch apparently.”

“You’d have to be a little bit of a bitch to live that life, don’t you think?”

“Maybe. I heard she’s run off like three of Hintz’s girlfriends so…”

Eloise looked back over to their table, her eyes lingering on the tattoos on Hintz’s arms. When she finally stopped trying to work out what the tattoos were of, she realised that he was looking at her, too. Eloise smiled.

The bright white lighting in the restaurant wasn’t going to do her, or anyone, any favours aesthetically; she still made sure to sit up straight with her chin raised as she finally joined the conversation her friends were having.

On more than one occasion Eloise looked up over at the hockey players to see that Hintz was already looking at her—she smiled to herself every time, even if she averted her eyes.

Molly leaned into Eloise’s ear, just to say, “Maybe you can be the fourth girlfriend to get run off.

Eloise bit into her cheek, fighting the smile and laugh that threatened to burst out of her. Across the restaurant, Hintz smiled at her, albeit in confusion.

Once their food was finished, Eloise and the group all stood to leave. Someone mentioned getting Levi to a hospital because both his jaw and his fist were looking worse for wear. Eloise had no interest in being the one to get him there, so she grabbed Molly by the hand and left ahead of everyone else—she spared a glance back over her shoulder to make eye contact with Hintz and give him a cheeky little wave, just her fingers moving. The woman beside him—Veera—pushed him so hard and so unexpectedly that it was enough to send him off his chair. Eloise walked just a bit slower in case he followed her out. He sat back in his chair, though, and Eloise and Molly waited, shivering and impatient, for an Uber to arrive outside.

“I’m going to ignore you for a few minutes,” Eloise said as they finally drove off, pulling her phone out of her bag.

“Did he inspire a song? God, you’re so fucking trashy.”

“Me being trashy is the reason we can afford the house we live in, so I’d shut up if I were you.”

~i only saw you once, in a chinese restaurant~

“God, they’re all over each other,” Molly scoffed, pointing across the club to Hintz and Lindell’s girlfriend. Eloise looked over to them, noting nothing that would really constitute as being ‘all over each other’. Maybe she had looked a second too late. It didn’t make much sense to her that Hintz would be so close with his friend’s girlfriend, but she’d seen weirder and worse. It wouldn’t surprise her given the rumours always flying around regarding professional athletes.

“I think you should go give it a go,” Molly said with a subtle push of Eloise’s shoulder.

“I’m here to have fun with you. I’m not interested in anything else.”

“You literally wrote a love song for him.”

“It’s a song!” Eloise protested. “They’re not all autobiographical. You know that.”

“Fine,” Molly relented. “If you’re not going to try anything, then I’m going to see if Miro’s interested.”

“You do that,” Eloise sighed. She wasn’t going to stop Molly, but she had meant it when her intention for the evening had been to have fun with her best friend. She supposed she could find someone to dance with even if she wasn’t going to go home with anyone.

Eloise fixed her dress—the wet look mini was a favourite for how good it made her look, definitely not for it being the most comfortable—and wormed her way into the middle of the dancefloor, letting the heat of the other bodies consume her. It was liberating to be in the middle of a crowd, moving to the music. It was one of Eloise’s favourite feelings to just close her eyes and let the crowd sweep her up.

A hand touched her waist before the first song was finished; Eloise didn’t even have time to look back over her shoulder before an accented voice in her ear was saying, “Your friends is wasting her time with Miro.”

Eloise couldn’t help but laugh, pressing back into the body and looking over her shoulder to see Hintz. She said, “You underestimate her.”

He didn’t say anything else, just placed his other hand on her waist too and held her close to him, the pressure of his fingers and the warmth of him against her back enough to have her eyes drift shut and let the music and his body consume her.It pained her, when he pulled away at the end of the next song, even though he took her by the hand to lead her back through the bodies and toward the bar—she remembered that she was only in this for the dancing, maybe some making out, but it wouldn’t leave the bar.

She let him buy her a drink, a vodka-soda, and find them somewhere they could sit nice and close so they could talk.

“I remember you from the Chinese place,” he said, despite that having been clear enough to Eloise by the fact that he also remembered that she had been with Molly.

“We’d just been kicked out of Reno’s because one of my friends likes to start fights.”

“You just don’t strike me as the type of girl to sit in a dive bar listening to metal bands.”

The eye roll was instant, and she leant back ever so slightly, to say to him, nearly snarling, “You have no idea what type of girl I am.”

He seemed to notice her movement because he took a drink and didn’t try to press his luck by moving in even closer. Eloise watched him carefully, her own drink raised to her mouth, the tiny, confused lines in between his eyebrows.

“Maybe I’d like to get to know what type of girl you are,” he said, his voice cutting through her so efficiently that her brain momentarily short-circuited.

“I know your type, okay?” she said after clearing her head with a deep sigh. “You know all the right things to say to get my clothes off and, at some point, I’m just going to end up crying myself to sleep.”

The confusion between his eyebrows disappeared, his face contorting into a smirk, “You have no idea what type of guy I am.”

Eloise wanted to punch him.

She scoffed, “Don’t throw that back at me—you’re a hockey player and all hockey players are the same.”

“You have a lot of experience with hockey players?”

She bristled. She didn’t, honestly; not beyond what she’d read about them on the internet or heard from Levi. None of it was favourable.

“I don’t think I need to.”

His shrug was easy. He said, “I think you should get to know me, not just assume things.”

“Seeing as you aren’t getting the hint: I’m not interested. Dating—sex—aren’t anything I want to be involved with, okay? And if you don’t think that’s okay, I will go find my friend who has a habit of getting into fights.”

“It’s okay,” he said, despite his arrogance. “Any chance I can get your name?”

She thought about it, for just long enough to make him uncomfortable, before she nodded and said, “My name is Eloise.”

“Well, Eloise. Maybe I’ll see you around.”

~standing there heavenly, always leaving us sad~

Everyone was gone. All the friends Eloise had arrived with were nowhere to be seen and she had looked everywhere. Her phone was dead—she had no way of calling an Uber and wouldn’t be able to pay a taxi because she was far too reliant on Apple Pay to get her through life. She sighed and tried to look for anybody she could convince to give her some cash.

The bar was full of people, some of whom she was acquainted with and others she had never seen before—not a single one of them she would be willing to borrow money from.

“You look different.”

Eloise was so accustomed to people coming up behind her in bars and speaking into ear that she didn’t even jump at the sudden voice in her ear.

“Do I?”

“You’re wearing pants.”

When she turned to face who she already knew was Roope Hintz, he smiled innocently. He had definitely been checking out her ass.

“I’m in a dive bar, I’m not going to wear a mini dress.”

Hintz hummed, right in her ear before saying, “I came over because you look like you could use some help.”

“Yeah,” she sighed, “actually. I really could.”

Silence fell over them until he nudged her to get her to expand on her problems.

“My friends all left, my phone is dead so I can’t get an Uber and I have no cash on me because I’m an idiot who relies solely on Apple Pay.”

“I’ll get you a taxi. Where do you live?”

Eloise looked up at him, her brow furrowed, saying, “Cedars.”

“You want to go now?”

“Yeah,” Eloise said unhappily, “my night’s done.”

Eloise waited patiently near the door as he went back to see his group of friends to tell them that he was heading off—she didn’t entirely understand the practice. She and her friends never did, which is probably why Roope Hintz was having to get her home, so maybe it wasn’t a bad idea.

The goodbyes were expected to be quick and easy, he had promised as much, but it became clear only seconds after he approached his friends that that wasn’t going to be the case. It was, unsurprisingly to Eloise, Veera who was going to be the cause of delay. Veera was getting closer and closer to him, perhaps because it was getting louder as the band started up again, or maybe it was because she was yelling directly in his face. Whatever the reason, it made Eloise uncomfortable and that only got worse when Veera turned her head to glare across the room at Eloise. He put his hands on her upper arms, lowering his head, and soon enough Esa was joining their close conversation. Veera took a step back, shaking his hands off her and turning her back on him.

He deflated visibly, Eloise could tell even from across the bar, but raised his hand in a weak wave to the remainder of his group before he returned to Eloise’s side. With a light hand on her lower back, he started walking them out of the bar without a word.

“What was that about?” she asked tentatively when they were on the sidewalk, as he stepped between some parked cars to try and get the attention of a taxi.

“Nothing.”

“Nothing? She just always talks to you like that?”

He huffed, saying nothing to her as a taxi pulled up in front of them. Eloise watched him carefully as she passed him and the door, he was holding open. He refused to make eye contact, so she slid across the backseat and greeted the driver.

“Explain, please,” she said, poking at his thigh. “That was fucking weird, dude.”

He said, tightly and begrudgingly, whilst still staring directly ahead, “It’s her birthday and she was mad at me for leaving.”

“Her birthday? Dude, you should have just stayed! I would have sorted myself out!”

“We’ve spent the entire day hanging out, she’ll get over it.”

“Don’t lie to me. I know you played a game tonight. I saw you rock up about half an hour ago.”

He clenched his fists and rested them on his thighs. Eloise watched him closely, the tightness in his jaw. His mouth remained shut for nearly a minute, Eloise never turned away.

When he finally spoke, he also turned to look at her, “I want to hang out with you, is that okay?”

Eloise bit back a comment about how he didn’t even know her—that the whole idea of him helping her get home was weird and probably unsafe—and if he hadn’t sounded so sincere, she probably would have. He did, though, sound like he was just speaking the truth, and Eloise covered one of his clenched fists with her own hand.

In the silence, she could hear the faint sounds of a familiar drumbeat.

“Can you please turn up the song?” Eloise asked the driver, leaning forward ever so slightly. He did so with a quick nod.

He turned to her, his head tilted slightly, “You like this song?”

“Yeah,” she said with a pleased sigh, tension from their conversation leaving her. “It makes me feel… It just makes me feel.”

Underneath her hand, his fist relaxed, and he entangled their fingers together. Eloise’s eyes fluttered shut and a smile grew on her face as she enjoyed the feeling of his hand in hers and the music on the radio flowing through her mind. It was brief, though, because before the song had even finished, they were stopping outside of her apartment building.

With her hand still in his, and very unwilling to pull it away, Eloise looked at him and asked quietly, “Do you want to come in?”

He flexed his fingers against hers, looked at where they were resting on his thigh as he said, “I thought I was the type of guy you should avoid.”

“You’ve been thinking about that for a week, haven’t you?”

“Do you want me to come in?” he asked instead of answering her question.

“Come inside, Roope.”

The next morning, he left her lying in bed with a kiss so tender that Eloise melted into the mattress and reached up to hold him by the collar of his shirt and promised that he would call.

He did call, before she had even been able to really think about what had happened the night before, to tell her that Molly—“your friend with the blonde curly hair”—was on her way in.

~this ain’t the last time that i’ll see your face~

Eloise was going into her first date with Roope completely blind. Despite daily phone calls and near constant texting, all she knew was that she needed to dress to be outside but not for strenuous exercise.

She waited outside on the street, rugged up enough to keep a bitter breeze away, and looked down the street for his car even though she had no idea what he drove. It was going to be something ridiculous, she knew that much, because he was a young man with too much money and yet, when the Porsche Cayenne appeared in front of her and Roope rolled down the passenger’s window, she was still surprised. She didn’t know if she was more shocked because it was lavish or because it wasn’t as lavish as it could have been.

“Get in loser, we’re going shopping,” he chirped, his smile large and sincere. The words sounded unusual coming from him due to his accent, it only delighted her more.

With a suppressed laugh—the ugly snorting one she hated—she climbed inside. It was an unconscious decision to lean across the centre console, but Roope must have read her mind because he met her halfway, kissing her more intently than one might consider normal for nine thirty in the morning.

“You just want to kiss me because you’ve seen my car,” he smirked, still leaning into her.

“This is going to bruise your ego, and I’m only a little sorry, but this isn’t the most expensive car I’ve ever been in.”

“You’re joking, right?” he asked with a furrowed brow.

Eloise shook her head, “Have you ever been in a McLaren?”

“No, I haven’t. When were you in one?”

“Okay.” Eloise inhaled deeply and said, “This is going to sound made up, and I know that, but you’ll just have to trust me—I write songs for a living and those songs sometimes get really popular and sometimes I write songs for really famous singers and sometimes those singers own McLarens.”

There was one beat of silence, followed by another. She watched Roope carefully for the inevitable moment where he decided she was bullshitting him—it happened with everyone she told, after all. It never did come, instead he smiled, shocked but not disbelieving.

“That’s—fuck, Eloise.”

“This is a very nice car,” Eloise said sweetly, kissing him once more before relaxing back in her seat. “I would much rather sit in this than a McLaren.”

She looked sideways just enough to see the smug grin on Roope’s face as he took the car out of park and started to drive.

“What’s the most expensive car you’ve driven?” he asked.

“You win that contest hands-down because it’s probably the Toyota I learnt to drive in.”

Eloise couldn’t work out where they were going, despite having grown up in Dallas her entire life—she did not miss all the signs for Dallas-Lovefield, though, and was growing increasingly curious and a little concerned that she was being swept away for a surprise vacation.

They didn’t make the turn off to the airport and Eloise was equal parts disappointed and relieved.

“Are we here to watch planes land?” she asked as they pulled into a small parking lot right by the airport.

“It's really lame, isn’t it?” Roope said sullenly, his hands still on the steering wheel.

Eloise moved her hand to his thigh, squeezing once, and saying, “It’s great, Roope. We can sit here and talk. It’s perfect.”

“Yeah,” Roope said, breathlessly. Nervously. “I have a thermos and some muffins I bought before I picked you up.”

As they collected Roope’s picnic items from the trunk of the car, he explained to her Dallas-Lovefield was the airport the team plane flew out of for road-trips and Eloise couldn’t stop the image of her waiting for him after he’d returned from a road trip that flashed across her mind.

While they ate, Roope started to search to see what planes were landing in front of them while Eloise pulled out her phone to add a few photos and videos to her Instagram story. Molly liked the story almost instantly and sent a star emoji with a question mark, so Eloise knew she was asking if she was with Roope. It reminded her of a conversation they’d had earlier that week, something she wanted to speak to Roope about in person.

“Molly says she saw something online about us leaving the bar together,” she said cautiously.

To her surprise and relief, Roope laughed. He was still laughing when he said, “Nobody cares enough about me to post that shit.”

“Clearly they do because the post definitely said that Ace left the bar with a small redhead with a septum piercing.”

He laughed again, due to her use of ‘Ace’. Eloise had come across it during the week and he had laughed the first time she’d used it around him, meaning she had been using it liberally since.

Roope moved some of the food items between them and shuffled closer so that he could wrap his arm around her shoulder.

“Sounds like they care more about you than me.”

“They care about what your type is because if they can get a clear picture of who you’re willing to take home then they can work out if you’ll take them home.”

“They think my type is redheads?” Roope asked, confused.

“They’re very confused because they thought your type was girls with tattoos.”

Roope’s confusion grew even more, his arm tightening around her shoulders. “I don’t date girls just because they have tattoos.”

“Obviously,” Eloise said, with a gentle smile. “These girls pull together whatever info they can get their hands on to see if they have a shot.”

“They don’t have a shot.”

Eloise turned to kiss Roope’s jaw and then settled her head on his shoulder as she shuffled even closer to him. She said softly, “Breaking hearts all across the world, there, Ace.”

“I’m only worried about yours.”

Eloise felt overwhelmed, immediately. Her heart felt too full for her chest and her lungs felt like they were failing to let in any air. She froze, trying to regain even just some of her composure. When she was able to move again, she reached for his hand, settling it in her lap.

She sighed, “That was all kinds of soft, oh my god.”

“Is that bad?” Roope was laughing just a little as he asked.

“It was pretty fucking smooth,” Eloise said, snuggling closer and being silenced by a plane landing. She eventually continued, “We’ve only really known each other a week.”

“It’s been a good week.”

“Yeah, it has.”

After countless more planes and one interruption from an excited and surprised teen boy, it was time to move on from the date. At Roope’s car, he asked her to hold out her hand, palm up. She did so, watching expectantly as he reached into his pocket for something. She couldn’t see what he was holding in his fist, until he’d placed it in her hand.

She put her finger through the keyring and spun them around as she asked, “What’s this?”

“This is about to be the most expensive thing you’ve ever driven,” Roope answered easily, patting the back of the car and grinning maniacally.

“Why would you let me drive your car?” She stressed, “I’m twenty-one years old and you hardly know me; you shouldn’t be letting me drive.”

“You have a license, though, and you care so that means you’re probably not going to do anything stupid.”

“You’re stupid,” she said, letting it roll off her tongue as the thought entered her mind.

Even still, she wrapped her hand around the keys, smiled nervously at Roope and then raced around to the driver's seat and proceeded to mess with every single setting she could find. Roope stood beside her; the door open as he pointed to all the things that might help her out.

She beamed up at him when she was satisfied that everything was fixed to her liking and he leant down to kiss her swiftly, casually. Eloise was still thinking about it when he was sitting in the passenger’s seat with his seatbelt on looking at her excitedly.

He tried to start multiple conversations unsuccessfully once they were on the road, Eloise tried to answer, she honestly did, but all her attention was very firmly on the asphalt in front of her.

“Are you always this quiet when you drive?” he asked when she’d given him yet another one-word answer to what should have been very open-ended questions.

“No, only when I drive cars that are worth a quarter of a million dollars.”

It had become clearer the longer she sat in the driver’s seat that no money had been wasted on the accessories of the vehicle, and what she knew about cars meant that he hadn’t scrimped on a single option.

“You should sing for me.”

She rolled her eyes and said, “I’m concentrating.”

She didn’t startle when Roope touched her hand on the wheel because she had seen it coming from the corner of her eye. She let him take her hand, drawing it to his lap and just holding it in place. Her other hand moved to the top of the steering wheel and her knuckles went white.

“I can’t wait to know everything about you.”

Eloise felt flushed but she bit into her cheek, seconds away from chirping him again for being soft or for pulling out all his best lines on their first official date. She kept quiet.

~there’s an ocean here, but you are all i see~

Some might say that it was much too soon for Eloise to be meeting Roope’s friends after less than a month of communication. That communication had, as a result of the Stars’ game schedule, been mostly via phone calls and facetime but whenever Roope was in town, they had been spending all his available time together. It hadn’t even surprised her when Roope asked if she wanted to go with him to Esa’s.

Veera was there, curled up on the couch out on the balcony and Eloise knew from the moment she saw her that it was going to take a lot of effort to get on her good side. Taking Roope away from Veera’s birthday celebrations was still playing heavily on her mind no matter how often Roope assured her that Veera didn’t mind. Judging by the way Veera was tracking Eloise’s movement from the house, Roope had been lying through his teeth.

The small talk was pleasant—Esa, Miro and Joel all inviting her into conversations even where Veera wasn’t, so Eloise quickly gave up trying. Roope was beside her the entire time on one of the other couches, his arm around shoulder so naturally that it felt like they had been together for much longer than they really had. It hadn’t escaped her that they were having their conversations in English for her benefit.

“The bunny blogs are getting unreal,” Veera commented, her phone in hand as she leant towards Esa to show him whatever was on her screen.

Roope laughed, simultaneously amused and disbelieving, “Stop reading them.”

“It’s like a car crash—I want to stop but I can’t not read it all,” Veera stressed, coming across as slightly manic. “None of it’s real. Except maybe it is? Maybe I’d believe that Mat Barzal was cheating on his girlfriend every time the Islanders on the West Coast if the next stupid rumour wasn’t that Miro took two girls back to his hotel room in LA.”

“There are more far-fetched things than athletes in their physical prime having threesomes,” Eloise said, mostly without thinking, barely even remembering that Miro was sitting right across from her. She had always subscribed to the idea that most professional athletes should just do away with relationships because of all the rumours she had seen.

Veera levelled Eloise with a glare so disapproving that it rattled her to her core. Roope’s hand squeezed her arm, noticing the increasing tension in her body.

“I think I’d know more about these boys than you would,” Veera said tersely, barely opening her mouth. “It’s the same thing that has been happening for years.”

“I’m just saying,” Eloise said, leaning forward in her seat, “that it’s a novelty for most people to know what happens in the world of the rich and famous. Some people read books or watch movies to escape into fantasy, I suppose others get that from imagining what goes on in the real world.”

“Do you? Is that why you’re defending them?” Veera asked, one eyebrow raised, daring Eloise to implicate herself.

“I’m not defending them; I’m just offering a reason. You’re the one who reads them.”

“I didn’t know that sort of shit existed until my name started popping up in them.”

Eloise shrugged, a tight smile on her face. It was a conversation that could go on forever, circling endlessly until one of them keeled over from exhaustion but Eloise knew better than to be the new girlfriend entering a group and immediately causing shit.

She didn’t quite understand why it mattered if Veera’s name was popping up in any rumours—if she knew for a fact they were rumours then nothing should be bothering her—but it wasn’t her fight to have. If it were her fight to have, she would have something to say about how nobody would care about what she did as the girlfriend of a not-so-popular player on a not-so-popular team if she didn’t give them a reason to care.

Eloise tried to relax as she waited for dinner to be organised. Roope continued to check on her every now and then, with a quick shake as he looked down at her or a quick kiss to the side of her head if Veera looked in her direction. At least Eloise knew that Veera’s behaviour wasn’t in her own mind.

They were getting pizzas for dinner, and it took far too long to order anything because the boys kept trying to pretend that they weren’t breaking their nutritionist’s heart by scrutinising every pizza on the menu before eventually settling on pizzas that any college kid would order.

“What do you do for work, Eloise?” Esa asked politely when they were finally sitting down to eat dinner.

Eloise smiled, “I’m a musician.”

“She’s really good,” Roope interjected eagerly. “Really, really good.”

Eloise’s cheeks went hot at the compliment, and, when she looked at Roope, she couldn’t help but smile at how proud he looked of her. He hadn’t even heard her sing very much.

“I’ve got a guitar gathering dust inside—”

“Don’t ask her to sing,” Veera chided.

“Maybe later?” Eloise offered, not liking that Esa looked like a scolded child for what was a very typical response to finding out that she was a musician.

Doing her very best to avoid Veera for the rest of the evening was hard for Eloise, especially because the boys were clearly very good friends with her and would bring her in to almost every conversation—even if it meant interrupting one, she was having with someone else.

Eloise smiled through it all, though, and didn’t let them see her fret when Roope wasn’t by her side. Miro was the easiest to talk to, she found, less invested in including other people in their conversations and more than happy to get to know her.

It was made clear that the night had been kept purposely small. Eloise knew Roope played hockey, obviously, but had always assumed that nobody could be best friends with every other player on their team—this group seemed to prove her wrong when they brought up stories and shenanigans of other players and about how “next time when he’s here” was a common phrase used by all of them.

Things did settle, thankfully, and Esa pulled out the guitar when the sun was fully set and, after doing her best to tune it by ear, Eloise set up on a barstool and very seriously said, “so, anyway, here’s Wonderwall.”

~putting on my music while i’m watching the boys~

As surprising as it was, Eloise could not have been more excited to head out to a karaoke bar at Roope’s suggestion. Not once had she brought up that it was something she enjoyed, though she supposed his leap from singer to karaoke wasn’t farfetched. Molly had even come along for the night; the plan was for them to sing The Time of My Life just as they always did whenever they were conned into singing anywhere. Maybe Eloise would throw in a poppy rendition of Lily Allen’s Fuck You just for fun.

Eloise recognised some of the faces at the bar, the same crowd always showing up even on non-karaoke nights, who in turn recognised who she was with. None of the boys seemed bothered by the staring, able to continue on with their night despite it all. She, on the other hand, found her attention being drawn to whoever was looking their way. It was earning the ire of Veera, clearly, who had hardly stopped rolling her eyes.

A reprieve came when Eloise and Molly—who was revelling in the staring if Eloise was being truthful—made their way up to the stage. Eloise kissed Roope for luck, even though she didn’t need it, and couldn’t help but smile as he tapped her on the ass. The song itself was flawless due to it being well practiced. Eloise had a natural stage presence that many had told her was being wasted because all she did was write the music and lyrics.

The entire time she could see Roope watching across the bar, a proud smile on his lips.

Miro and Joel left the bar all together as the clock struck midnight, but Roope and Esa headed to the bar for the next round of drinks—Molly was somewhere in the building, trying her hardest to get somebody to leave with her Eloise was sure.

“God, why don’t you like me?” Eloise asked as soon as she noticed that she and Veera were the only people left at the table. She leant across it in an attempt to intimidate Veera.

Veera rolled her eyes and said, “Because you’re using him to further your music career.”

Eloise had been certain that the Wonderwall joke wouldn’t go over anybody’s head when she’d played it at Esa’s, and she’d followed it up with a cover of Somebody That I Used To Know to drive it home. Maybe she should have made the joke clearer.

Instead of launching into a full explanation, she opted to say, “He can’t do anything for my music career.”

“I’m not stupid, Eloise.”

Veera definitely sounded like she believed Eloise was nothing but a coffee shop cover singer.

“Listen to me: I have multiple Billboard Number Ones under my belt. He’s not going to give me the clout you think I want from him or be able to introduce me to anyone I haven’t already met. If he could even introduce me to anyone.”

The disbelief on Veera’s face only worsened, and Eloise breathed out a disparaging laugh. She shook her head, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms.

“I don’t trust you,” Veera said calmly, her face morphing into a smile.

“I have a fucking Wikipedia page, it’s all there for you to see.”

“Congratulations. I still don’t trust you. He’s too good for you. And I know you think he’s the type of guy who’s going to leave you the second the next hottest thing comes along which is just not true. I don’t trust you because you’re going to break his heart long before he breaks yours.”

Eloise had no words to say. Veera referencing a conversation from the first night she’d ever spoken to Roope wasn’t expected. Or welcome. Her blank expression was only interrupted when Roope and Esa arrived at the table, Roope sitting down beside her, sliding her new drink across the table as Esa did the same on the other side. Veera’s expression softened so quickly at the sight of Esa that Eloise wondered if she’d imagined the entire conversation.

They didn’t stay much longer, basically finishing their drinks and calling it a night. Esa, Veera and Roope all left together—Roope taking his sweet time to say goodbye properly, his arms wrapped around Eloise’s waist as he repeatedly kissed her until Veera grabbed him by the back of his collar and complained that she was exhausted.

“Are you sure she’s with Esa and not Roope?” Molly asked, staring at the car that was taking the other three away.

Eloise shivered as the question washed over her. She answered, as assuredly as she could, “Yes. I’m sure.”

“But it doesn’t make sense.”

“They’re friends?” Eloise offered, far less certain.

“I’d believe that if you hadn’t also told me that, when Roope got you home last month, he and Veera had a fight in the middle of the bar.”

“She just doesn’t like me, and I haven’t even done anything!” Eloise shrieked, earning a few glances from people who were also waiting for taxis. “She threw it back at me that I told Roope I thought he was the love ‘em and leave ‘em type. He tells her everything.”

Molly’s pensiveness made Eloise anxious, especially so because she remained quiet until a taxi appeared in front of them and she shrugged, saying she didn’t have an explanation that wasn’t Roope and Veera being together. Eloise didn’t doubt that Roope liked her, was the main issue. She wasn’t buying into any conspiracy theories Molly had about Roope and Veera being in a relationship—she just didn’t know what else there was.

~i think of you wherever i go~

It had been a long road trip for the Dallas Stars, up in the Northeast, and no number of Facetime calls had been enough to satiate Eloise’s need to see Roope. Even as he was driving them towards The Great Trinity Forest, Eloise couldn’t keep her eyes off him in case he disappeared while her head was turned.

She was watching him as he drove and also flicking through the most recent playlist she’d put together. She said, “You keep skipping the country songs. I like the country songs; that’s why they’re on there.”

“You couldn’t be more Texan if you tried,” he laughed, letting a Luke Combs song play.

“I could write country music, then I’d be more Texan,” she countered before launching into the song that was playing complete with an overexaggerated southern accent.

Roope laughed at her and let her sing to her heart’s content until the song was over when he shut off the radio. “You write songs—pop songs—that get played on the radio.”

“Okay,” Eloise laughed, “I can do more than write pop songs. The first time I ever talked to you I was at a dive bar watching a metal band.”

Roope hummed taking one hand off the wheel to hold one of Eloise’s when they reached a relatively straight stretch of road.

“Why don’t you write other music?” he asked.

“I’ve written some pop punk songs over the years but people like my regular pop stuff more,” she shrugged, thinking back to her high school years where she almost exclusively listened to All Time Low and The Maine. “I could write a country song.”

Roope laughed, not cruelly, “Trucks and America, right?”

“It’s not all trucks and America,” Eloise said, laughing through it.

Eloise let go of Roope’s hand to turn the music back on, skipping forward a few songs to find the next country song on the playlist—a Jordan Davis song.

There was no picnic involved in their date; it was just the two of them sitting on a bench, cuddled up and looking out to the stars in the sky.

“Write me a country song.”

“It’ll be done when you’re back from your road trip.”

~give me something fun to do~

Eloise spent two weeks writing and perfecting a country song—one without any mention of trucks or cut-off jeans. It was both easier and harder than she expected; the music was a breeze, but the lyrics stumped her for longer than she’d like to admit.

When she let Roope inside, he wrapped his arms around her instantly. It was clear that he was exhausted and devastated after another horrible road trip with a bad win-loss ratio.

“Ready to play me this song you’ve been talking about?” Roope asked, tongue in cheek as he prodded her sides.

“The song I’ve been talking about?” she laughed, untangling herself from his arms. “Not the song you’ve been talking about?”

“I’m so excited,” he said, practically jumping up and down where he was standing. “No one has ever made anything for me before.”

“Buckle up, Ace,” Eloise laughed as she held his hand, leading him slowly to the kitchen.

Beside one of her barstools was her guitar—acoustic, old, familiar. She took a seat and settled the guitar on her knee while Roope watched on, still bouncing in excitement.

Eloise tapped at the body and stared at her fingers resting at the top of the fretboard. She said sheepishly, “You have to turn around.”

“Huh?”

She sighed, “There’s a reason I write songs for other people to sing and it’s because the idea of baring my heart and soul through music is terrifying. So, you can’t watch me.”

“You’re the most confident person I’ve ever met,” Roope said, founded but not moving aside from some twitching fingers. “I watched you sing karaoke in front of a packed bar.”

“They’re never my songs. It’s different,” she told him, keeping her voice low and head tilted down.

He didn’t ask any more questions; Eloise just saw him turn around and she wasted no time in starting to sing.

“Would you walk to the edge of the ocean…?”

Singing to Roope’s back made it no less nerve wracking, Eloise found. Probably because his head kept moving ever so slightly, like he wanted to turn around and watch her but kept catching himself before he did so.

The line she was most nervous to sing had Roope almost turning to ninety degrees before he caught himself. She’d known it was going to catch his attention when she wrote it—and might have been most of the reason she’d wanted him to not be looking directly at her.

“Would you catch a couple thousand fireflies? Put ‘em in a lamp to light my world?”

After the second chorus was when Roope actually did turn around. Eloise was more nervous than she had ever been when singing, the moment when her breath caught in her throat absolutely audible which made it even harder for her to hold it together.

“Perkele, Eloise,” Roope breathed when the song ended, and Eloise lifted her head properly. “That was… I don’t even know what to say. Thank you.”

“I don’t write songs for people,” Eloise said quietly, still tapping gently on the guitar.

“That’s your job.” Roope smiled uncertainly. “You mentioned it just before.”

“No—I—I write songs that other people sing, and sometimes I write songs about others but if someone comes to me and says I should write them a song… I don’t.”

Roope’s brow furrowed. He said slowly, “I asked you to write me a country song, though.”

“Yeah.” Eloise nodded, shrugging but failing at being nonchalant.

“Is this the first song you’ve written for me?”

“It’s not.”

Roope’s smile grew, dopy and sincere. He closed the gap between them, setting the guitar aside so he could wrap Eloise up in his arms again.

Eloise, still on the barstool, buried her face into Roope’s chest and focused on her breathing. That was especially important when Roope lowered his head to whisper into her ear.

“I love you, too, by the way.”

~i just wanna be the only girl you love all your life~

“How was your meeting with Justin Bieber?” Roope asked the second Eloise walked through his door, having just gotten off a flight after a brief trip to Toronto to meet with an artist.

“I still can’t tell you who it was.”

“That’s fine,” Roope said, kissing the top of her head as she stepped into his embrace. “I know it’s him.”

Eloise rolled her eyes and pushed at his chest, the joke familiar and repetitive because he’d been harmlessly needling her about it since she’d told him about her trip. He’d settled on Bieber after scrolling through the Wikipedia list of Toronto musicians. It wasn’t even anyone particularly famous, at least not yet, but that was far less exciting.

She made herself at home, pulling her suitcase from the front door into Roope’s bedroom and taking a shower all while Roope asked questions about her trip as he wandered in and out of the bathroom. The questions ranged from the innocuous about what she’d eaten for breakfast every day, to genuinely concerned about how well she’d slept and everything in between.

Roope barely waited until she had towelled dry before he wrapped his arms around her and let his chin rest on top of her head.

“You always smell so nice,” Roope said as he breathed in deeply. “Do you want to come to Finland with me?”

“Do I—Finland?” Eloise asked, getting tangled in the towel, her hair and Roope’s arms as she tried to turn hastily to gawk at him.

“Yeah?” His voice was filled with amusement. “I go home every summer and I don’t want to be away from you for that long so—come with me?”

After she was finally able to release her arms and her hair, Eloise said slowly, “I need to check a few things, I can’t just disappear overseas for… For how long?”

“A couple months. Depends on the post-season.”

“Even better,” she laughed sarcastically, “Nothing easier to work around than the uncertainty of ice hockey.”

Roope smiled at her sweetly, undermining it immediately by lifting a finger to flick her septum piercing. “You will come, right? Even if it’s not for the whole summer?”

“Yeah, I’ll definitely come to Finland,” Eloise said, casually despite the swell of her heart. She played it off, “Right now, though, you’re wearing way too many clothes.”

His smile morphed into a smirk. “How many clothes is the right amount of clothes?”

“The same amount as I’m wearing.”

Her towel fell to her feet as she moved her hands underneath his shirt, pushing upwards until she was scraping her fingernails down his chest. In no time at all, he was wearing as little clothes as she was.

~who am i to tell fate where it's supposed to go with it~

In the lead up to them getting away, Eloise had a few meetings to fit in. Most of them were just with her publishing company, ensuring them that she was never not actually working so being overseas wasn’t going to impact that, but she had one with one of her favourite artists to write for.

Skye Halstead was one of the biggest names in the music industry and she loved to use Eloise’s songs. It was a lovely working partnership, truly, with Eloise not wanting to be on a stage and Skye being a natural performer.

“You better come back with some Grade-A material, ET,” Skye said, kicking her feet up onto her coffee table.

“I gave you a whole album of material not that long ago. You can’t be ready to release another one. You haven’t even gone on tour yet.”

Skye shrugged flippantly and Eloise just shook her head. There weren’t enough songwriters in the world to keep up with the speed at which Skye wanted to record and perform but that was probably for the best if it made Skye take breaks.

Eloise supposed, taking in the sheer size and luxury of Skye’s home, that that dedication to perform had its benefits. Even more so because she knew that Skye owned a similarly sized house in more locations than just Dallas.

“The album’s doing really well, though.” Skye smiled. “Thank you for it. I know you don’t like some of the producers who worked on it.”

It was true that Eloise had heard who would be working on her songs and nearly marched over to Skye’s and taken them all back. She knew better, though, and said as much.

“Once they get to you, they’re not my songs anymore. You and your people can do what you want with them.”

“Have you thought any more about featuring on a song or two? I want you to get the credit you deserve.”

Eloise’s laugh echoed throughout the room, catching even herself by surprise. She shook her head, reminding Skye that she never had any intention of featuring on anybody’s songs—but if she did, it would be one of hers.

All the credit she needed was on the inside of the CD sleeve—or the metadata of the song file, in a digital word. Enough people knew about her that they checked out her songs regardless of who was singing them. Even then, though, she was ecstatic that she could open the comments on any of Skye’s posts and somebody would be praising a song she wrote, whether or not they knew it.

Social media wasn’t all bad, if she took away the people who kept digging for information about her and Roope.

~on a scale of one to ten, i’m at eleven~

Eloise had flown Business Class before—it had disappointed Roope to know that, just the same as when he found out she’d been in fancier cars than his. She hadn’t been in First Class for a flight as long as theirs to Helsinki, though, which placated him a little, and she was ignoring the mumbled Private Jet she heard come out of his mouth.

They were flying into Helsinki, a direct flight from Dallas-Fort Worth, for a few weeks to hangout with the other Finnish guys before they would head up to Tampere to be with Roope’s family. Veera would be there, but Eloise was trying not to think about it.

Eloise opened Instagram out of happened when she picked up her phone and immediately bit back a groan when she saw the number of DMs she’d received in the few hours since she’d last opened it. At first the Instagram DMs hadn’t bothered her; they were sporadic and curious more than anything else. She’d laughed about them with Molly, showed them to a not-as-amused Roope and then let them all go unanswered.

Her Instagram following was neither small nor large, a few thousand people who typically found her after checking the credits of a song (or three and realising that she’d written a few of their favourite) or on the on occasion because they envied her style. It was getting noticeably larger, though, was the thing. She would wake up every morning to a slew of new follower notifications and more DMs than the day before.

“Did you know that my ex broke up with me because I party too hard? My druggie ex-boyfriend who has never been home before two am ever?”

“What are you talking about?” Roope asked, plucking the phone out of Eloise’s hand over the partition. He sighed. “Do you want me to talk to management and see if there’s something they can do?”

Eloise took her phone back, turning off the screen and tucking it under her leg. She shrugged, “I’m sure someone’s done that for Veera, and it hasn’t stopped for her, right? With all the complaining she does it actually seems to have gotten worse.”

The silence that followed was uncomfortable as Roope tried to think of something to respond with. Eloise didn’t say a thing, though, just dropped her hand onto the partition palm up and wiggled her fingers until Roope entwined his with hers.

“I don’t want you to start believing anything they say,” Roope whispered. “I don’t want them to send you anything, but I can’t control that.”

“You can’t control what I believe either, Roope,” Eloise whispered back. “I don’t—believe them, that is. Not yet anyway. They’re all jealous or just bad people. I’ve got you and I know that.”

“Yeah, you do. You’ll always have me.”

~i feel everything tonight with you~

The plan had always been for Roope to spend time with his tattoo artist in Helsinki. The appointment had been standing since he left the summer before with the intention to add to his sleeve. Ever since they’d booked her flight, Eloise had been thinking about the appointment and discussing hypothetical tattoo ideas with Roope.

“I don’t know a lot about tattoos, but I don’t think artists like an audience,” Eloise said the morning of the appointment while Roope was trying to convince her to tag along.

“Please?” he asked with a pout, standing with one hand on the front door handle.

“I don’t like people watching me when I do my thing.”

Roope huffed a little, shifting side to side impatiently, “What if I made you an appointment?”

“An appointment for what?”

“The dentist,” he deadpanned, not even bothering to clarify. Eloise understood why the clarification wasn’t necessary, but it would have helped her process the thought.

“What would I get?” she asked him, not making eye contact because she was paying close attention to the ink on his arm. “We’ve talked about so many ideas.”

“The cassette was a good idea. You liked that one a lot.”

She did like that one a lot, that was true, and the sketch they’d done for it was simple and a good first tattoo idea—there had been an assortment of scribbles, the rest of them were much larger and more daunting.

“I don’t know if you’re supposed to surprise someone with a tattoo,” Eloise said, even as she slid on her shoes and picked up her handbag.

“If we get there and you decide you don’t want it, that’s fine. I have to go there anyway,” Roope shrugged.

When Eloise was close enough, he pulled her towards him with his arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. She could practically feel the excitement running through him.

“You have to hold my hand.”

“What else would I be doing?”

It was a nice walk to the tattoo parlour; one they’d done almost every day since they’d arrived—it was central to most of the city meaning they’d passed it repeatedly whilst doing all the touristy things Eloise had planned for them.

Eloise had never been in a tattoo parlour before, and her nerves were at an all-time high—they were only exacerbated by the rapid Finnish flying around the room with they recognised Roope. It hadn’t been much of an issue, the language barrier, but when she was already highly strung, she couldn’t do much more than reach for Roope’s hand and squeeze it tightly.

“This is Eloise,” he said, switching to English without missing a beat; everyone in the store switched, too, and Eloise was overwhelmed in an entirely different way. She nodded and smiled politely, offering short answers as she was led to a chair.

“Did you decide on which tattoo you wanted?”

“Which one I wanted?”

“Of the tidied-up art I sent back to Roope?”

Eloise’s head snapped to Roope. “You sent my shitty drawings?”

“You can’t just show up without any warning to the artist.” He then spoke to the artist who had introduced herself as Rali, “Eloise didn’t know I made the appointment but we’re going with the cassette.”

“Can I see the final product?”

Rali organised the stencil, muttering under her breath in Finnish—Roope was translating it to Eloise despite it being not very flattering about him and his spontaneity.

With the stencil on her inner right forearm and a death grip on Roope with her left hand, Eloise sat down for her very first tattoo. Roope laughed kindly when he noticed just how tightly her teeth were clenched; no amount of coaxing was going to get her to stop.

The pain was unlike anything Eloise had experienced before. Not necessarily unbearable but definitely not pleasant or something she was rushing to experience again in a hurry. It was a little magical, though, to watch the tattoo form on her arm and even before it was finished, she understood how addictive it was to get tattoos.

Rali left the tattoo uncovered while she worked on Roope—Eloise was mesmerised by it and paid little attention to him. When it was time to leave, Eloise was disappointed to watch it be covered up.

“You can’t take it off,” Roope reminded her when he caught her staring at it for the umpteenth time.

“I know. I was listening,” she huffed. “It’s just mine, you know? I was the same with this,” she said, playing with her septum piercing.

“It’s not going anywhere. It’ll be there later.”

“I don’t know if I can wait that long—hey, where are we going? It feels like you’re leading me somewhere.”

“I am. I have another surprise for you.”

“Another? I don’t know if I can handle more than one surprise body modification in one day.”

“It’s nothing like that. Just somewhere I want to take you.”

Eloise raised a curious eyebrow, pausing just long enough to realise that Roope wasn’t going to tell her anything and then followed him towards their mystery destination.

He took her to a park, which wasn’t unusual for Roope, nor was him keeping it a secret. Eloise was rapt by the sculpture before her, understanding immediately that it was representative of an organ.

“I don’t think you’ll know who he is, but it’s for Jean Sibelius—he’s Finland’s greatest composer. This whole park is named after him.”

“I know the name but have never heard or played the compositions,” Eloise admitted, her attention still on the organ. “Thank you for bring me here.”

Roope was sincerely apologetic when he said, “There’s a museum, too, but it’s in Turku which isn’t near here.”

It was enough, believe it or not, to distract Eloise from the tattoo. The tranquility of the park and the small bits of information Roope was reading off his phone about Jean Sibelius were fascinating, even more so because he was trying to add inflection to everything that didn’t exist—and the random Finnish he filtered into the sentence without realising it wasn’t English.

Eloise stopped him mid-sentence with her mouth on his, overwhelmed by the love that was coursing through her body. There was nowhere else to put it but into a kiss.

~how can i resist, when it feels like this?~

“Hey, babe!” Eloise shouted, poking her head out from the bedroom she’d turned into a temporary music room. “Can you come here, please?”

Roope was there in a heartbeat, nearly tiptoeing because he knew she was in the middle of an important call and needed to be quiet. Eloise couldn’t help but smile.

“The mount for my phone broke,” she said. “Can you go full Instagram boyfriend and hold it while I preview the song?”

Roope nodded enthusiastically, “I’m gonna be the best Instagram boyfriend. You’re never going to want anyone else taking your photos ever again.”

Eloise smiled at him, biting at the inside of her cheek because she knew she hadn’t muted the FaceTime call she was on and the Australian artist, and her manager, definitely heard him—and also probably saw him wrap his arms around her as they walked awkwardly back into the room because he refused to let go.

Singing in front of Roope had become easier, not least because he was always so excited to hear what she’d created. He never stopped smiling while she was playing, and that smile seemed to grow impossibly bigger whenever they were even slightly romantic. Perhaps it was pride, because he was the source of inspiration, or perhaps it was just because she was singing hopelessly romantic songs while making eye contact with him.

When she was done with the song, she saw the phone move in Roope’s hands and knew that he was nearly failing in his attempt to not clap for her, because he knew that he still needed to hold the phone up so she could be seen. When she took it from him, she moved it so it was facing the wall, pretending that she was just rearranging everything, and kissed him softly, thanking him.

Climbing into bed together, as they did later, had become so normal that Eloise and Roope had their night-time routines perfectly planned around each other and timed so that they were pulling back the covers at the same time. They both moved to the centre of the mattress, rolling onto their sides so they were facing each other. It was all ridiculously honeymoon phase, Eloise thought, but it was nicer than anything she’d ever experienced so she wasn’t going to fight it.

“What’s on your mind, babe?” Eloise asked, cupping Roope’s cheek.

“I want you to be friends with my friends.”

“I am. Your friends are great, Roope,” Eloise assured him.

Roope frowned. Eloise brushed her thumb between Roope’s eyebrows, trying to smooth out the creases. He didn’t say anything in response, just let his eyes flicker over various parts of his face as she did the same to him.

She sighed, quietly, “I’m trying with Veera. I love you, right? And I love the guys, too. I’ll work something out with her. Promise.”

He kissed her softly, his eyes fluttering shut. Eloise let herself melt into it.

~i just might love you forever~

The drive from Helsinki to Tampere was just over two hours. Roope had told her that once upon a time he had considered that too far for a day trip but since moving to the US that had changed—for him and the other Finns.

As a little weekend getaway, the whole crew was coming to Tampere. Esa and Veera from Helsinki, Miro from Espoo and Joel from Vantaa. Eloise was learning a lot about Finland’s geography.

Their presence was more than welcome for the company and the semblance of home, which Eloise was starting to miss just a little more as the days went by. Their boisterousness, particularly, was something that Eloise had missed even in the short time since they’d left Helsinki. She was even starting to miss Veera if she was being perfectly honest.

“While we’re all here,” Esa said, cutting through a small silence that occurred while they were sitting around empty plates, and drawing all attention to him, “we have some news.”

“We’re going to have a baby.”

Hands banging on tables was the next sound heard, closely followed by loud hollering that Eloise was more than happy to partake in. Things settled into hugs and congratulations and conversations about the future.

“I’m really so happy for you,” Eloise said when she managed to get Veera in a space they could actually hear each other. “It’s so obvious that you’re both going to be amazing parents.”

Veera smiled at Eloise, any animosity between them seemingly non-existent. The lack of animosity was almost certainly by Veera being determined to not let anything ruin her day, but she still let Eloise wrap her up in a hug.

“We’ve been talking about it for so long. Trying for so long,” Veera admitted. “Now that it’s actually happening, I am… Not scared but maybe a little.”

“That feels like a really normal reaction. I’d be shitting myself, personally, so you’re doing much better than that.”

“Do you want kids? With Roope?”

Eloise breathed in deeply, held it for a few moments to think of her next words before she said, “I haven’t decided for certain one way or another. Roope and I haven’t talked about it.”

“You should. Not to immediately scare you off, but he wants kids. He doesn’t talk about it a lot and he’s obviously not that that point right now. He does, though.”

That wasn’t a surprise to Eloise. He hadn’t ever given her any indication that he didn’t want kids, and any interaction he had with kids was always positive—if not a little awkward but that wasn’t any reason to believe he wasn’t interested in having his own.

Everyone was staying in Tampere for the night because, despite them all admitting that it wasn’t so far away, nobody was interested in driving home after eating dinner, so they all left Roope and Eloise’s rental close to midnight with high spirits.

She was crawling into bed beside Roope, easing into the space he’d created for her and cuddling against his bare chest without any hesitation. It was too late and they were both a little too drunk to want to have much fun, but they would never turn down cuddling.

“Does it make you want to have kids?” Eloise asked, keeping her voice quiet to not disturb the bedroom’s calm.

“Right now?”

“No, but… at some point. Is that what you want?”

“I think so, yeah. We don’t have to talk about it now, kulta,” his voice was filled with a little laugh. “Just because Esa’s having a baby doesn’t mean I need to.”

Eloise let it go in favour of sleep.

~and i like the thought of being the one you come home to~

“You’re so fucking far away,” Molly grumbled as she stared down the phone.

“You’re in Cabo.”

“Yeah, and if you didn’t have a foreign boyfriend, you’d be here with me.”

Molly moved around, giving Eloise a stunning view of the beach she was sunbathing on. Eloise retaliated by turning the camera around to show off the Museum she was about to walk into; she knew before she’d even shown it that Molly wasn’t interested.

“Next time you should take me somewhere I’ve never been before,” Eloise countered. She’d lost track of the trips they’d taken to Cabo since they met in college.

Molly made a comment about Eloise being the one to take them anywhere, being the one who made more money eliciting a strained laugh from Eloise.

“What have I missed since you last made time for me?” Molly asked, rolling over so that the sun could get her back and set the phone up in front of her so she could rest up on her elbows.

Eloise sat down on a bench outside the museum, making sure it was in the sun, because seeing Molly on a beach was making her feel much colder than she really was.

Recounting the few days since they’d last spoke was quick—Eloise hadn’t met Roope’s parents yet because they, too, were on a vacation and not yet returned, so she only had details of places she’d eaten at or places Roope had taken her. No places that were of interested to Molly, of course, because there wasn’t sand.

“Oh! Veera’s pregnant!”

Molly’s eyes widened behind her sunglasses.

“Good for her,” she said, failing to hide her sarcasm. “Pretty big, though. What did Roope have to say?”

Eloise, knowing what Molly was getting at, simply said, “He’s happy for his friends.”

“Well, duh, but like… You’re thinking about it now, right? Having a baby with Roope?”

“We’ve been together for five months. He also doesn’t want to talk about it beyond saying that he wants kids one day.”

Molly hummed. “Bummer for you, though.”

“Bummer for me.”

~let’s play pretend that we’re out here alone~

Eloise was more than enjoying her time in Tampere—she spent a lot of time searching for parks to break up the monotony of cobblestone, but even the stone was charming. She also did some shopping on her travels, practicing some Finnish but mostly being grateful that most people seemed to have enough of a grasp on English that she was never stranded.

By the time she ventured back to their apartment, it was nearing dinner time and she was ready to find out what Roope had planned—he’d been surprising her every night with a home cooked meal or a new restaurant.

Things began to turn when she had to knock on the door to be let in. Roope had been so lax with security since they got to Finland that he’d just been leaving the door open when Eloise was out.

Veera answered the door, entirely unexpectedly, but Eloise accepted that she had probably locked the door when she entered out of habit, so that explained that away.

“I didn’t know you and Esa were coming back up,” Eloise said, smiling. “It’s good to see you.”

“I’ve booked you a hotel room.”

“Excuse me?”

“You aren’t staying here tonight. You don’t get to tell strangers on the internet our secrets and stay.”

“What are you talking about? Just let me in and we can talk about it,” Eloise said as she tried to push her way in, but Veera was holding firm. “I’ve been on my feet for hours, Veera. I want to sit down.”

“What am I talking about? I’m talking about the message I received this morning all asking me when I’m going to post about the baby, or when I’m going to tell what the sex is.”

“But that wasn’t me. I didn’t… I wouldn’t do that!” Eloise protested. “You have to believe me.”

Veera laughed, cold and cruel, asked “Wanna know how I know you’re lying? I can count on one hand the number of people who know about that and you’re the one I don’t trust.”

There were so many words flying through Eloise’s mind and not a single one word was making it to her mouth—any sort of defence would have been better than standing in the hall with a gaping mouth and wide eyes whilst Veera stared at her stone-faced and murderous.

People were moving around inside, noisily and chaotically and Eloise wanted nothing more than to push Veera aside and join them, to be as far from her as she could get.

Veera cleared her through, drawing Eloise’s attention back and clearly expecting something from Eloise who was feeling even sicker as she finally recalled something.

“I—I only told Molly,” she admitted quietly, staring at her feet. “She’s my best friend and I tell her everything… She's the only one I told.”

“Maybe you need to think about getting a new best friend, then,” Veera said bitterly.

“It’s just one thing, an accident, I’m sure!” Eloise all but shouted, her defences right up. She hoped that the boys inside would hear and come to her rescue; would pull Veera up for what she was going.

“An accident?” Veera laughed sarcastically. “I thought you were the one leaking your relationship with Roope for the clout, but maybe your best friend is behind that, too.”

The coldness that washed over Eloise was freezing and the shiver down her spine was as startling as the revelation that the people on Instagram might have had a direct line into her life.

Without a word, Eloise turned her back to Veera and walked to the lift so quickly that her legs began to burn—only because her eyes were already burning and there was no way she was going to let Veera see her cry.

~i know a girl; she gets what she wants all the time~

Getting a hotel room hadn’t been fun with her minimal Finnish and the clerk’s minimal English but there were only so many things a person could be asking for when they stand at hotel reception, handing over their passport and a credit card to try and match the booking Veera had told her existed.

The thought did cross her mind that Veera had been lying just to fuck with her even more, but apparently even she wasn’t that cruel.

Loneliness had crept in almost as soon as she stepped foot inside the room, and it had never left. Being alone with her thoughts exacerbated all her confusion and sorrow as she tried to parse what Veera had said—what Veera had done. Tried to parse Roope not responding to her text asking for clarification, nor for her saying that she’d be back at his place in the morning so that they could talk.

The time she gave him didn’t matter, nor did the alarm she set on her phone because she laid in the uncomfortable bed and just waiting for the sun to rise so she could put on some of the clothes she’d bought just the day before and walk through Tampere.

Eloise knocked on the door, after trying the door handle and finding it locked despite Roope knowing she was coming over and waited. Her foot tapped of its own will. Roope didn’t look happy to see her. It was a startling realisation to see that he wasn’t even fighting a smile when he opened the door. He just stared at her, exhaled, and stood aside to let her in.

Eloise brought her purse to her stomach, something to hold close.

“You didn’t text me back yesterday,” Eloise whispered, filling the silence that was consuming her. Them.

Roope waited a moment, until they were standing the entry hall with the door shut behind them to say, “I didn’t have anything to say.”

“But you have something to say now?”

“You promised me you’d try to be friends with Veera.”

“I was trying!” Eloise protested. “She hated me from the moment I showed up and then last night she accused me of something horrible and wouldn’t even let me see you! She put me into a fucking hotel room.”

There was another beat as Roope collected his thoughts, adding to the tension between them. He was so tall, so large, so intimidating standing opposite her and Eloise had never felt that way around him.

“It was the truth, though,” Roope said. “What she accused you of.”

“You don’t even want to hear my side of the story?”

“No. I don’t,” he said firmly. “This is it, Eloise. We’re done.”

The words fell from his mouth with so much conviction that Eloise felt like a kick to the gut. She gasped, her body shaking, and her vision instantly began to blur. She took a step closer to him; only for him to step back out of reach and cross his arms over his chest.

“You’re choosing her over me?” she asked in a whisper, her voice trembling.

With the same steely voice, Roope said, “She’s my friend—”

“I’m your girlfriend,” she pleaded. “I made a mistake. I trusted someone I really thought I could trust and you’re going to break up with me for it?”

“You shouldn’t have told anyone, Eloise. That was never your secret to tell, not even to Molly.”

There were so many tears in her eyes, and rolling down her cheeks, that she could hardly even see Roope. She wiped them away furiously, hoping that when she could see clearly Roope would magically be smiling at her—that it would all be over. He looked exactly the same as when he’d opened the door, emotionless. So emotionless in fact, that Eloise couldn’t help her next question.

“Do you even love me? Have you ever?”

Roope flinched, but it was so slight that Eloise may have imagined it. He did clench his jaw, though.

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“You’re just going to break up with me because of what someone else has said. You’re not even going to listen to me.”

“How do I even know if I can trust you? If you’re going to share something as big as that, what’s to say you won’t start telling the world about my life? About the other boys’ lives? People on Instagram and Twitter already know way too fucking much about us—how does it not get worse from here, Eloise?”

“I can’t believe you think so little of me.”

“I don’t know what I think of you right now.”

“Fine. That’s fine. You won’t hear from me again.”

Eloise, halfway out the door, stopped, just to turn around and spit in his face, “Nobody even gave a fuck about you guys before I showed up.”

“Exactly.”

~are you as sad as me now?~

Entering Finland with Roope by her side had been easier for the primary reason that he’d navigated every section of their path through the airport in Finnish or been able to turn the conversation easily into English without Eloise having to admit, embarrassed, that she couldn’t speak the native language.

That was all out the window as she stood in a queue for the customer service desk and tried to control her breathing, pre-preparing anything she might say. Though, that all went out the window when she opened her mouth and nothing, but a sob came out.

The poor desk attendant was visibly startled, her finger hovering over the keyboard for a brief second before she reached for a box of tissues to put in front of Eloise and remained silent whilst Eloise controlled herself.

She asked a question in Finnish, and Eloise just shrugged hopelessly, a watery apology coming out of her mouth to explain that she only spoke English.

“Where would you like to go?” she asked, softly.

“Anywhere in America. I just need—I need to go home.”

It took awhile for Eloise to explain that she didn’t care which city she went to, that she could end up in North Dakota if it meant that she was no longer in Finland. When she finally revealed that she wanted to end up in Dallas no matter how many flights it took, the woman at the desk, Liisa was on her nametag when Eloise’s eyes were finally not clouded by tears, looked at Eloise a little more closely.

Eloise’s gaze dropped immediately—there was only one reason someone in Finland would know her, and he was the reason she was sobbing while trying to flee the country.

There was a lot of back and forth as they tried to organise the best way for her to get out—she’d have to wait until the next morning for a flight out of Tampere which connected through Helsinki and Paris but she would happily take whatever she could get and she was so desperate that the business class airfare didn’t even make her flinch.

“I hope that whatever you’re going through passes,” Liisa said as she handed over a boarding pass and information for Eloise’s hotel room.

Eloise managed a small thank you as she left.

~but i can’t go back to that night~

Eloise was waiting for Molly on their couch when she wheeled in her suitcase and carry-on, sporting a lovely new tan courtesy of Cabo San Lucas. She’d spent the better part of two days planning a conversation to have with Molly about boundaries and secrets and she had every intention of being level-headed about it—up until the very moment Molly came into view.

“You couldn’t keep your fucking mouth shut?” Eloise snapped, cutting through whatever greeting Molly was going to offer.

Molly recoiled at the intensity and asked, “What the fuck are you talking about, Eloise? Do you have to ruin my Zen the second I walk through the door?”

“Who did you tell about Veera? Why did you tell anyone? Jesus Christ, Molly,” Eloise stressed, standing up and throwing her hands in the air in frustration. “I told you not to tell anyone!”

“Why are you so upset with me?” Molly huffed, flopping down onto the couch. “They’re celebrities, they’re not even real.”

“What do you mean they’re not real? Of course, they’re real! You’ve met them!”

“It doesn’t count when they’re famous.”

“Veera isn’t famous.”

Molly opened her phone, starting to scroll right in front of Eloise. She said, “She knew what she was getting in to.”

Eloise slapped the phone right of out Molly’s hand, it hit the couch cushion with a thud, and Molly gawped.

“Because she met Esa when they were fifteen?” Eloise asked. “Molly, what the fuck are you talking about?”

“She throws herself all over those boys,” Molly answered, sneering, but otherwise not showing any sign that Eloise had even done anything, “and they’re famous so people deserve to know what they’re up to.”

“That includes telling the world my secrets?”

Molly, innocently, without a care in the world, shrugged, “It’s all harmless.”

“But it’s not. I was telling you because I trusted you and you took my trust and laughed behind my back.”

“God, you’re so dramatic.”

“You want dramatic?” Eloise snapped, her voice louder and angrier than she could ever remember it being. “I’m kicking you out, right now. I want you gone tonight, and all your shit gone by the end of the week.”

“Eloise!” Molly shrieked, springing up from the couch.

Eloise ignored Molly’s disbelief, saying, “Your last piece of gossip is that Roope Hintz is now single.”

“Oh,” Molly said, her head tilting and a malicious surprise filling her voice and eyes, “so she ran you off, too, huh? You’re pathetic, Eloise.”

Eloise left, closing the door to her room as she did so. She wasn’t going to give Molly the satisfaction of knowing that she didn’t disagree.

~’cause you’re on your own in the real world~

Eloise tried to keep a low profile, or as a low a profile as she could when she was getting coffee with Skye Halstead in busy Dallas cafés. She wasn’t getting noticed when she was on her own aside from a few fans who had recognised her, and she wasn’t aiming to change that.

Spending time with Skye, who was taking a break from touring, meant that they were frequently interrupted but they both knew the risks they ran by being out and about and Eloise couldn’t deny Skye wanting to get out of the house.

“I’m in love with all the demos you’ve sent me.”

“Nothing quite like heartbreak to get the inspiration flowing,” Eloise said disparagingly.

“Selfishly, I’m glad, but I’m also human so I am sorry. Sorry about your boyfriend, and that friend of his, and for Molly.”

Eloise didn’t divulge much information to Skye, trying to keep their relationship semi-professional, but it had been months since she left Finland and she still couldn’t get past what had happened. Nobody really knew, was the worst part. Her friends were still talking to Molly, too, and Eloise couldn’t risk them letting anything slip to her, so one day, after a lonely Christmas, she’d spilled her heart out to Skye who already knew the realities of Eloise’s emotions based on the songs she’d been producing. Eloise’s eyes kept flicking to the door, it caught her attention every time it moved. Nobody had caught her eye the entire time they’d been there, and she’d looked back to Skye just as quickly as she’d looked away—right up until someone did.

“That’s Veera—my ex’s friend,” Eloise said when Skye noticed she’d lost her attention. “I… Dallas is so fucking big.”

“Do you want to leave?” Skye asked, already reaching for her purse. “Or, do you want to talk to her?”

“No,” Eloise shook her head. “Neither.”

The month of January passed by and at least once a week Eloise managed to be where Veera was.

She was mostly going out for coffee alone after Skye went back on tour, so she had to make a conscious effort to distract herself and not stare at Veera and get growing belly.

Veera was often with other WAGs, most of whom Eloise had met only once or twice so they never really noticed her and the fact that they never did indicated to her that Veera at least hasn’t thrown her name through the mud.

When the opportunity arose thanks to Veera being alone at a table, Eloise walked over cautiously. She didn’t sit in the spare seat, immediately, just quietly greeted Veera to get her attention.

“Roope told me you lived in Cedars when Esa and I were looking at houses,” Veera stated. “I didn’t think it would be an issue and we moved down in September and for like four months I didn’t see you at all—”

“And now I’m everywhere,” Eloise finished. “It’s not on purpose, freelance work let’s me be wherever and we like the same cafes, apparently.”

“I’m not accusing you of stalking me. If you were, I don’t doubt there’d be random photos of me somewhere.”

“I kicked Molly out—it was her. I’m so sorry. She thought that just because you’re famous—or Esa is—that you were fair game.”

“He’s a hockey player in Dallas,” Veera said, her disbelieving laugh sounding more stressed and confused than anything else. “Tyler Seguin isn’t even really famous. I’ve seen you with Skye Halstead; she’s famous.”

“We weren’t really friends when Molly was around,” Eloise said, thankfully, “or it would’ve been a fucking nightmare. It wasn’t fair to you, that she didn’t care about your privacy and I just came over to say I’m sorry.”

“Thanks, Eloise. That means a lot. I’m sorry you lost a friend.”

Eloise noted that Veera wasn’t sorry about her losing her boyfriend but didn’t bring it up because causing a scene would be good for nobody. She apologised for interrupting, made a joke about probably seeing Veera around and then left without any further fanfare.

~here’s an opportunity to get your feelings straight~

Eloise wasn’t surprised when Veera walked in. She was surely not far from giving birth, if Eloise had remembered the due date correctly as being in February but even if she had remembered wrong there was no denying that Veera was visibly near full-term.

They hadn’t seen each other since Eloise decided to speak to her, and Eloise expected them to just continue living their separate lives in the same coffee shops—which is why she stared up with her mouth agape when Veera stood beside the table and asked if she could sit down.

Eloise eventually nodded and cleared a space on the table for when Veera’s coffee was delivered.

“I can’t wait to not be pregnant,” Veera griped as she slowly lowered herself down onto the chair, after pulling it out far enough to accommodate her bump. “I don’t remember what it’s like to sit down like a regular person. Or to have regular sized ankles.”

Eloise smiled, mostly out of politeness than anything else because she didn’t know what else to do. She couldn’t really think of a reason Veera would sit down with her unless to berate her even further—which she wasn’t particularly interested in after so many months of the loathing being internal.

“Is there something you wanted to talk to me about?”

“I—I don’t know? I feel like I owe you something now that you’ve told me you’re not friends with Molly anymore. I don’t even really know if I believe that she isn’t.”

“You don’t have to believe me. I didn’t tell you to gain anything from it, I just wanted you to know who was really behind it.”

The silence they fell into wasn’t comfortable but Eloise had no idea what to say, given that Veera was the one who’d sat down and initiated the conversation. Only, it didn’t look like Veera knew what she wanted to say either.

Veera’s coffee was delivered and the silence stretched out until Eloise spoke, before she could overthink.

“Can you tell me why you hate me so much? I just… Sure, you don’t have to like everyone, but I didn’t do anything to you. Even before you thought I was telling everybody your secrets, you hated my guts.”

“Roope’s basically my little brother,” Veera said, slowly as she tried to think. She was clearly caught off guard by the question, though Eloise didn’t know what else they would have spoken about. “Every girl he’s ever dated has been with him for fame or money and you reminded me of every single one of them.”

“If I was trying to get famous… Why would I have picked a hockey player in Texas?” Eloise asked, throwing back to what Veera had said when they spoke previously. “He’s good at what he does, sure, but that’s not exactly a winning combo.”

“No, I worked that out. Then I thought that that was the exact reason… You didn’t want to be famous, or you would be, so you must have wanted his money. All the benefits of fame without the hassle.”

“That’s a pretty shit reason to hate me so much. To try and break us up. With zero proof.”

Veera looked sheepish, staring down at her food. She nodded, hesitantly, before she looked Eloise in the eye, “I’m sorry. I had no right to treat you that way from the beginning.”

It wasn’t the apology Eloise was looking for, even if she couldn’t actually say what it was that she was actually wanting, but it did settle some of the discomfort she’d been feeling in her chest.

She ordered another coffee and Veera did, too—apparently ready to settle in for a longer conversation.

“You written any songs about this whole thing?” Veera’s question was tentative but interested. “I know how hard it can be when you’ve got no inspiration. I just thought that this was great stuff for some songs.”

“I’ve got a few. One’s about Molly but, um, one of them might be about you.”

“About me? Perkele, like some Misery Business once a whore, you’re nothing more stuff?”

Eloise denied it, though she couldn’t deny that it was an unflattering song. That it was literally titled Mean.

She picked up her bag, reached into the side pocket and pulled out a USB stick, saying, “This is the only copy of the song. It was cathartic and it doesn’t need to go anywhere. So, it’s yours.”

“You want me to listen to you talk shit about me?”

“No,” Eloise said, shaking her head. “If you want to, be my guest, you can just destroy it, though. It doesn’t matter.”

Veera took the USB, rolled it in the palm of her hands, and shook her head in disbelief.

“I always wanted someone to write me a song. Not quite like this.”

~she just wants one thing from you (your money)~

It was so late that her phone made her jump when it rang. Nobody really called her during a regular day, let alone when it was nearly midnight. She scrambled to answered it and was even more shocked by the name that appeared across.

Veera Koskinen.

Eloise answered it, because there was no way Veera wasn’t calling her if it wasn’t important and, sure enough Eloise hadn’t even cautiously greeted Veera when she was hearing a pained groan down the phone.

Veera managed to say, through gritted teeth, “One second.”

Eloise listened as Veera experienced what was undoubtedly a contraction; frozen still and entirely unsure of what she should be doing while she waited.

“I know I shouldn’t ask this of you,” Veera said, her breathing heavy but her contraction clearly over, “but I am in labour, and the boys are in Colorado, and I just need to get to a hospital and you’re the first person I thought to call.”

Eloise was on her feet instantly, rushing around her house for clothes, shoes and her car keys. She was trying to speak calmly to Veera, assuring her that she was coming and that she’d be there are soon as she could—calm wasn’t easy, though, not when she had no idea what she was doing and Veera herself was panicking because she was in labour.

Eloise didn’t end the call when she got in the car and listened to Veera go through a contraction every five minutes as she drove to her, breaking more than a few traffic laws on her way.

She was waiting at the front door with a ready packed bag, bracing herself against the wall in anticipation of the next contraction. Eloise stood still in the doorway, her eyes wide and her heart in her throat.

“Veera, I am so unequipped for this,” she said honestly, reaching for the bag to do something.

“Just get me to the hospital,” Veera demanded. “Esa’s already on his way to the airport and with any luck he’ll be there before I have to push.”

Eloise did just that—got Veera to the hospital—and tried not to get in the way as she was checked in and checked over by the doctors. The room felt smaller than it actually was as she tried to find a place. She didn’t know if she was even supposed to be sticking around until Veera’s contractions seemed to slow down and she cried frustrated tears.

That was Eloise’s sign to stand right by Veera’s side and hold her hand, offering all the support she could and not complaining for a single second about the pain in her hand as Veera squeezed. She didn’t leave her side until there was some mad rushing outside the door to her room and Esa appeared in the doorway looking perhaps even more frazzled than Veera.

“I’ll head off, then,” Eloise said, letting Esa take her place. “Call me if you need me again. Good luck.”

Esa thanked her profusely, through gritted teeth as Veera squeezed his hand through yet another contraction. Eloise was almost out the door when Veera called her back to her beside so she could kiss Eloise’s head.

~just you rest into your mother’s arms~

Eloise didn’t hear too much about the baby, though she did get a lovely bouquet of flowers with a grateful message, and a text message with a photo of Veera, Esa and baby Osmo. After that everything returned to normal—or the normal of Eloise not seeing Veera at every café she went to.

Tending to a baby probably didn’t leave much time for coffee.

She thought about them frequently, regardless. She may not have been present for the actual birth but the labour wasn’t something she was going to forget any time soon.

Of course, once Eloise had gotten used to not seeing Veera around it was when she showed up at Eloise’s door.

Veera was at her front door, looking very much like the tired mother of a newborn, with Osmo in a baby carrier. Eloise had no idea what to do.

“I know I keep just showing up and forcing you into things, but can I come in?”

“Uh, sure,” Eloise said uncertainly, stepping aside and peering into the baby carrier as Veera passed.

Veera lifted Osmo from the carrier when she was sitting on Eloise’s couch and handed him to Eloise without so much as a second thought and then promptly laughed—kindly—when she told Eloise to relax.

“Why are you here?”

Without any sort of warning or fanfare, Veera said, “I’m willing to try and be friends if you are.”

“Really?”

“I called you in the middle of the night and you drove me to the hospital and stayed with me until Esa arrived,” Veera recounted as if Eloise hadn’t been there as it all happened. “I can’t deny that that’s some best friend shit.”

Her protests were instant just because it wasn’t as if Eloise was going to leave Veera stranded but Veera emphasised the Eloise had stayed and that she very much wanted someone like that as her friend.

Eloise looked down at Osmo because she didn’t know where else to look, trying to find features of his parents but coming up short because he looked like a baby more than he looked like either of them.

“It almost feels like my entire relationship with Roope was more about you and me.”

“I’m sorry,” Veera apologised—every apology was feeling more sincere than the last. “I did want like you for Roope’s sake, there was just something that didn’t sit right—Molly, apparently.”

“Yeah, well I solved that problem and now I need a new best friend.”

“We’ll be best friends one day,” Veera said lightly. “The universe is mysterious like that.”

They chatted, like friends would, for so long that Veera got a call from Esa to check on her and where she’d gone.

Eloise walked Veera to her car, waiting until the very last second to ask, “Do I call him? See if he’ll talk to me.”

“Let him come to you; he’s gotta work through it all, too.”

~i’m just looking for some real friends~

And so it went, Eloise became friends with Veera. It was tentative, at first, but without the presence of Roope they actually got along quite well. Eloise was able to help with Osmo and give Veera some sleep when she in turn was giving her parents a break—they’d flown out from Finland to help out and Eloise had been plied with more Finnish food than she ever could have imagined.

Veera had sat and listened to everything Eloise had been holding in for months—it felt easier with Osmo on the floor between them, a buffer of cuteness and gurgles. She’d looked particularly bereft when Eloise talked about the flight home from Finland and the hassle it had been, and laughed only a little when Eloise recounted having to prevent Levi from booking his own flight to Tampere when he was supposed to be picking her up from the airport.

Eloise was never around when Esa had the boys over. Whether that was by design or a coincidence Eloise wasn’t certain.

Her song writing had slowed down after the entire new album worth of content she gave to Skye, and, despite how often she was sitting down to write, Eloise wasn’t able to conjure up anything new. Her inspiration had well and truly run dry. It was getting depressing, really.

It was late in the evening, Eloise was stretched out on her bed, music playing loudly over the speakers she had set up in her room. It wasn’t up as loud as it could go, just a chilled-out vibe for her to relax to as she rested her eyes. Sleep would soon come, she was sure, but she had the right playlist set up to settle her properly.

Of course, that was ruined when her phone rang, cutting through the music playing. If that wasn’t enough, any calm she was hoping to maintain was shattered when she read who was calling.

Roope Hintz.

“Hello?” she asked cautiously, not wanting to rush into anything if it was Esa or Veera calling from his phone.

It wasn’t, though, because when his voice came through with, “Hei, kulta,” Eloise’s breath caught in her throat.

She didn’t say anything at first, just hoped he could hear her breathing so he knew she hadn’t ended the call; she could hear him breathing at least and he was patient enough to wait for her.

“You’re the last person I was expecting a call from,” Eloise said quietly once she’d got her bearings. She kept her eyes closed and was picturing him calling from his room—though he may well have been in a hotel room anywhere in the country.

“It’s long overdue,” Roope admitted, readily. “I should have called you as soon you left.”

“Maybe.” Then, bravely, she said, “I don’t think you should have let me leave at all.”

Roope sighed, and she sighed, too, but he did say, “No. I shouldn’t have.”

All she had wanted to hear, for months, was an admission—it had been something from Veera, but the silence from Roope had been what was hurting the most. She’d never been able to get past the idea that he wouldn’t ever forgive her.

“Why did you call, Roope?” she asked, desperate to move the conversation on.

“Thank you for helping Veera.”

She sighed, “That’s not worth a phone call after all this time.”

“If you don’t hate me…” he said slowly, tentatively. “Do you want to go out for dinner? I owe you a few explanations. A few apologies.”

What was throwing her the most was that he sounded decidedly less Finnish than she remembered—probably a combination of the fact that the last time she had seen him they had been in Finland and he’d spend far too much time in the US—but it made her feel like she’d missed so much time.

“I probably owe you some, too,” Eloise admitted. “And I don’t hate you. At no point did I hate you, Roope. I thought you hated me.”

“Kulta, I never hated you. I promise. Let me make it up to you.”

~i could spend my whole life getting over you~

Eloise had hesitated when Roope said that he would pick her up for their date. It felt like too much too soon to be in the car with him, and then end up somewhere she had to rely on him to get her home from if things got horrifically awkward. And there was every possibility that it would get horrifically awkward.

Still, she agreed to be picked up because Roope insisted on their date being a surprise and Eloise was lost in the memory of their very first date and how he’d been just as secretive. She got a similar warning to be dressed up to be outside and it was enough to make her pretty certain they were going back to watch the planes at Dallas Love Field, though she never did ask him to confirm.

She saw the same Porsche Cayenne pull up out the front of her house, this time from her living room window. Despite how calm she had been all day—having managed to keep herself sufficiently distracted doing all the cleaning she’d been putting off—seeing Roope get out of his car and walk up the path to her front door had her heart beating at record speed.

Eloise couldn’t even wait for him to ring the doorbell; she was rushing to the door to try and work off the nervous energy. The short distance didn’t make much of a difference.

“Hei, kulta,” Roope smiled, being kind enough not to mention how she’d been waiting for him. “Are you ready?”

She nodded, clutching her purse to her chest nervously. She shook a little as she locked the door behind her and stopped breathing all together when Roope’s hand rested naturally on her lower back on the short walk to the car.

A protest died on her tongue when he walked opened the door for her because she saw the determined look on his face, focused and sure, and knew he was truthfully just as nervous as she.

The nervousness was definitely confirmed when they sat in the car, Eloise letting out nervous laughs every so often and Roope focusing on the road more than he ever had before. He made the decision at a red light to finally put on some music, at least filling the air, and every ounce of tension in his body left when Eloise started singing along. It calmed Eloise down to see his shoulders relax.

It didn’t take her long to work out that they were indeed heading towards Dallas Love Field and she couldn’t help but smile to herself—Roope was clearly determined to start over properly. There was even a picnic in the boot, though he’d packed it with foods more appropriate for dinner than muffins.

Her face hurt from how big and persistent her smile was getting, knowing how hard he was trying.

“Have you been in any more expensive cars?” Roope asked when they were sat on a bench overlooking the runway.

“No, and that’s still the most expensive car I’ve ever driven,” she assured him, a laugh in her voice. “You’re the only one stupid enough to let me do that.”

“Good.”

Only a couple of planes landed while they ate, but Roope had all the information he could get prepared for her. Eloise didn’t care which flights were coming in, but she was delighted to hear him tell her about them. She was able to ignore the conversation she knew they needed to have if he kept telling her.

“We have to talk about it,” Eloise did say after they’d eaten, her smile shifting and her body aching. “Because that was the worst thing that has ever happened to me, Roope.”

“I know,” he admitted, his voice low. “I didn’t know what to do and I know now that we should have spoken about it and I should have trusted you. Veera and Esa—and this isn’t an excuse, I’m just trying to explain—were the first people to really help me out when I got to Dallas. They’re my family, you know? They’ve always come first.”

“And I’d been around for less than a year and was ruining their lives, even if I didn’t mean to,” Eloise filled in the blanks. She kicked up some dirt as she shifted her feet, her attention fixated firmly on the little cloud she’d created.

Roope sighed, tentatively putting his hand on Eloise’s shoulder. Even though she didn’t look at him, he said, “Veera was right about every other girlfriend I had before you. I really didn’t think she could be wrong about you and then you were gone.”

When she did look at hm, after it was clear he wasn’t going to be adding anything else to him, there was a definite sorrow on his face with his eyes and mouth pulled down.

“I get that they’re your family and that you trust them,” she whispered, maintaining eye contact as best she could manage. “That’s fine, Roope, but you should have trusted me, too. I didn’t give you any reason to not and you still let me—made me—leave.”

“I am so sorry, kulta. So, so sorry.”

Eloise nodded, unable to bring herself to say anything else. Roope’s hand moved from her shoulder to her upper back and she fell slowly into a hug that held all the warmth and security she’d been missing. The kiss he dropped to her head only made her feel that much surer that accepting the date had been the right idea.

“How long are you going to spend in Finland this summer?” Eloise asked quietly while they were packing up. She knew that the season didn’t have all that long left—a month, maybe more if they made playoffs. That’s what she’d learnt from Veera and Esa, even if neither of them had been talking about hockey to her as much as just in her presence.

Roope wasn’t taken aback by the question, he just sat up only a tiny bit straighter to answer, “I’ll leave when the season’s over and probably won’t be back until September. Like usual.”

“If we’re… If we’re doing this, and getting back together, then what does that mean for us, do you think?”

“Is it too much to ask you to come visit?”

“I think it might be.”

“Okay,” he nodded as he thought. “I won’t spend as long there. I’ll come back to you.”

~’cause you have the same effect as the first day we met~

Eloise wasn’t one for big birthdays—she was so opposed to them that she’d managed to avoid a Sweet Sixteenth and a 21st despite her mother acting like Eloise was ruining her life by not having them.

It made sense to her to order a fancy cook-at-home meal from her favourite restaurant and invite Roope over to cook it with her. She was only turning twenty-four, anyway, that wasn’t anything special.

Even though it wasn’t special, she and Roope had agreed to get dressed up and make it a tiny bit special. Roope was wearing one of his suits when he walked through her front door, and Eloise had put on a dress she’d worn as a guest to the MTV VMAs the year prior.

“Kulta,” he said breathlessly the moment he saw her. “You look incredible.”

He reached out his hand, turning her in front of him when she took it and looking awestruck as she moved. He reeled her in, wrapping his arm around her and settling into a mind-melting kiss that had Eloise scrambling to wrap her arounds around his neck and pull him closer.

It didn’t escape her that he was only holding her with one arm, and when they pulled apart she chased his other hand to see what he was carrying only for him to turn his back to her and hold the item to his chest. He shut the front door and made a big show of hiding the object as he moved them further into the house.

“What do you have?” she asked, trying and failing to lean around him.

“So, catching fireflies is way harder than I ever thought it would be,” Roope said dramatically, “but I do want you to be the only girl I love all my life.”

His words didn’t immediately register to Eloise, beyond them being disgustingly romantic, because she was focused on the mason jar of fairy lights, he was presenting to her. She took it from him, smiling despite her confusion, and watched as his smile faltered.

Then it hit her.

She’d written him a song.

~you are in love, true love~

[senditcolton]

Would It Be Enough?

Knowing their morning routine so perfectly that you already have some of their breakfast/drinks laid out before they get to the kitchen.

part of my Valentine's Day prompts requested by anon | word count: 0.7k | warnings: none!

Dating a professional athlete came with its own unique set of struggles on top of all the other traditional conflicts. You knew that and you agreed to deal with them when you agreed to date Roope Hintz. The conflicts, the hurdles – they all came and you faced them together.

And it worked. It had been working for months now. You two made it work.

However, the only thing that you still hadn’t completely overcome… was the distance. Not the physical distance, like when he was in New York and you were in Texas. It was the distance between the two of you even when you both were in the same city. His career demanded so much of his time and it made you sad that the everyday intimacy that most couples experiences was a rarity.

You wished that the two of you could have casual nights out with no curfew. You wished that he would be able to attend your friend’s parties with you. But more than anything, you wished that you could wake up in the morning with him by your side.

To see the dawning sunlight fall across his skin, to see his blonde hair lit up to the palest of yellows, to watch his bright blue eyes open…

When you had the chance to experience those mornings, they were some of the most magical moments in your relationship. But they were few and far between. Roope would be up and gone, off to morning skate before you even roused from your slumber.

You mentioned your desires to have more of those type of slow mornings with him off-handedly one night. The words were followed by a quick reassurance to Roope that you didn’t hold any resentment towards him. You knew what you signed up for. It was just a wish.

But whenever you wake up to find an empty bed, like you did this morning – the ache in your heart remained.

A sigh escapes your chest as you burrow into the covers for a moment longer. You breathe in, trying to absorb the lingering warmth and scent of Roope that the sheets had trapped beneath them. Another deep breath, another few seconds of holding off the inevitable until you reluctantly throw the sheets off your body. You roll out of the bed, stretching before making your way out of the bedroom.

You walk down to the kitchen, ready to make your daily breakfast, but when you turn the corner, the sight of your insulated to-go cup sitting in the middle of the counter stops you in your tracks.

It was supposed to be in the cupboard. You were certain that you had put it away the night before. It isn’t until your groggy brain registers the white paper bag next to the cup. You walk closer until you are close enough to see the logo of your favorite café emblazoned on the side of the bag.

The piece of paper from your stationary resting on the marble island is the last thing that you notice. You pick up the decorated paper, your eyes dancing over a messy scrawl that you recognize instantly to be Roope’s. You read over the message, your heart softening at every sentence.

Kultaseni [sweetheart], I know that you wish we could have more mornings together. But I want you to know that even though I’m not always the first person you see when you wake up, I hope I’m the first person on your mind. Because you are on mine constantly. I’m sorry being with me isn’t normal. I hope this is enough.

His note makes tears appear in your eyes and you place the paper back down. Your hands eagerly reach towards the paper bag, opening it to find your go-to snack nestled in the bottom. And when you take a sip from your insulated cup, the flavor of your favorite drink dances over your tastebuds.

To anyone else, from the outside looking in, the action may not have seemed like much. But for you, it was enough. It was more than enough.

[laurenairay]

Maybe a blurb about forehead kisses with Roope? Please 💜. Congrats!

Thank you for requesting Roope! Feels like I haven’t written for him in ages hah. I hope you enjoy this because I got a little carried away!

*

The first time Roope Hintz kissed your forehead, he was drunk out of his head and stumbling to the front door, leaning most of his body weight on poor Esa. The party tonight had been a little wilder than you’d expected, drinks flowing, shots poured left right and centre, and the music pounding throughout the house – and clearly Roope had indulged pretty heavily by the way his head was flopped onto Esa’s shoulder.

“Do you want me to open the door for you?” you mused, tugging on your own jacket.

“Thanks, yes, that would be great. It’s hard enough carrying this idiot,” Esa laughed.

“I’m not an idiot. I’m fine,” Roope grumbled, slurring as he lifted his head.

Oh wow. He really was three sheets to the wind.

“Looking good Roope,” you teased.

Esa just laughed harder as Roope pouted.

“I always look good,” Roope insisted.

Sadly, that was incredible true – but that wasn’t something you were going to admit out loud. Instead you just rolled your eyes fondly and opened the front door for them, Esa gripping onto Roope a bit tighter as he started to move them out the house.

“Wait!” Roope said suddenly.

“Wait for what?” Esa said dryly, raising an eyebrow.

Before Esa could stop him, Roope leaned dangerously over to you and grabbed your face between both hands, pressing a wet kiss to your forehead. The noise you made was barely human, your body frozen as your cheeks flooded with heat, Esa just cursing loudly.

“Thank you for opening the door for us!” Roope grinned, words barely audible with the slurring.

“Um, it’s okay?” you said hesitantly.

“I am so sorry,” Esa groaned.

You just waved him off, Roope mistakenly thinking it was for him and waving back at you. Bless his drunken heart. As Esa dragged him away, hissing about how drunkenly kissing girls wasn’t okay, you just smiled to yourself, still feeling the touch of his lips on your forehead.

*

The second time Roope Hintz kissed your forehead, you sit sitting on top of Miro’s kitchen counter. Today was just a casual lunch – Miro had thrown the get-together for a few friends, having called in catering for the meal so no-one had to cook, and it had been the most chilled afternoon, just hanging out with the people you loved most in Dallas. Of course, Esa had been keeping a wary eye on Roope since they got here, but Roope was mostly behaving himself today, matching the energy of the group. Esa was too protective for his own good.

But eventually the time came where people started drifting out, the evening calling them back to their own homes, and you were finishing off your bottle of water before making a move home yourself. It just happened to be that you were sitting by yourself when Roope walked into the kitchen.

“It was good to see you today, kulta,” Roope grinned, “Sorry I was so drunk last time I saw you.”

You tried to ignore how the term of endearment made you feel, and just smiled back at him.

“No harm done, everyone had fun right?” you shrugged.

“Still, I wouldn’t want to make an ass of myself in front of you – we’re good yeah?”

Bless him.

“We’re good, Roope,” you nodded.

His relieved smile made you laugh, earning another wide grin in return.

“Good,” he said, dramatically wiping his hand across his forehead as you laughed again, “I’ll see you soon yeah?”

At the next gathering? Sure, you’d be there. Why did he phrase it like that though?

But then Roope leaned forward, one hand coming up to cup the back of your head as he leaned forward, pressing a gentle kiss to your forehead, leaving you sitting stunned as he stepped away again, a light blush on his pale cheeks. You watched in silence as he left the house, forehead tingling with his kiss just like before.

“Do I want to know?”

Shit. You flinched at the sound of Miro’s voice, turning your head to see him leaning against the entrance to the kitchen, arms folded with a smirk on his face. Brilliant. Just what you needed.

“It’s nothing,” you said simply, hoping the heat on your cheeks had faded enough by now.

“Uh huh,” Miro said, raising an eyebrow, “ESA!”

You scrambled to follow after him as he walked away.

*

The third time Roope Hintz kissed your forehead, you were waking up in his bed, his arms wrapped around your bare body. Everything had changed since that lunch at Miro’s, Roope acting so sweet and almost shy around you, to the point where Esa had taken pity on him and asked you out to dinner on Roope’s behalf. The embarrassed squawk Roope had let out was worth how flustered you felt yourself, but you had agreed to go out with Roope anyway, leaving your group of friends cheering and Roope looking like his birthday and Christmas had all come at once.

One thing led to another, and now here you were, blinking your eyes open to the weak morning light, smiling to yourself at the feeling of Roope’s bare chest pressing up against your back.

“Good morning kulta,” he murmured, pressing a soft kiss to your shoulder, making you shiver.

“Good morning to you too,” you said softly, rolling over in his arms with a smile.

Roope smiled down at you, a fleeting glimpse of nerves melting away from his expression, making you relax into his arms. This intimacy, this private sweetness, was clearly just as new to him as it was to you, which made you feel a lot more on even footing with him, for once.

“How did you sleep?” he asked.

You bit your bottom lip to hide your silly smile as his fingers tucked a strand of hair behind your ear. He really was so sweet.

“Funny enough, I slept really well,” you teased, “It was probably something to do with the 6ft3 Finnish guy wrapped around me like an octopus.”

Roope just laughed, shrugging his acknowledgement, making you smile for real this time.

“Alright, I’ll give you that. Coffee?” he mused.

“I’d love some,” you nodded.

He grinned, ducking his head to press a gentle kiss to your forehead, before he let you go, standing up out the bed. You watched shamelessly as he walked naked out of his bedroom, Roope just sending you a wink over his shoulder as he shut the door behind himself, leaving you grinning to yourself in the comfort of his sheets.

[littlemortals]

The request:

the idea was enemies to lovers with either rope or miro. the reader is friends with the nashville predators and dallas trades one of nashville and reader is angry about it and basically hates dallas and just meets one of them and it's slowburn enemies to lovers? would that work?

AN: I am not super familiar with Nashville's players so sorry for that! Also I am not sure if this is what you wanted but I hope you like it!! English is not my first language so keep that in mind!<3 Also didn't read this through cause i got lazy, oops

Word count: little over 2k

"What do you mean you're getting traded? Where?" You were shocked to say at least, you weren't expecting to hear that one of your best friends was getting traded to another state.

"As I said, I am getting traded to Dallas Stars for Miro Heiskanen." Jeremy said. "That is so not fair! You are supposed to be here!" You angrily said. "Who am I going to annoy now if you're leaving for Dallas?" You huffed. "Hey! You still have us or don't you want to be our friend anymore?" Alexandre asked. You rolled your eyes at him. It wasn't a secret to anyone that you were really close with Jeremy so obviously you were upset about the fact that he was leaving. "Miro is a good guy, you're gonna love him." Juuse said. It made you laugh a little. "Obviously you're gonna say that, he is a Finn too." Juuse just smiled and shrugged his shoulders at you. "When are you going to leave?" "On Wednesday." Jeremy looked at you sadly. "But that's tomorrow! Wait. Is this why Juuse asked us to come here? This is your goodbye party, isn't it? Jeremy, how could you not tell me you were leaving!?" You shrieked. Jeremy came over to you and wrapped you in a hug. "I promise if I was allowed to tell you I would've, but you know how it is with contracts and stuff." You wrapped your arms tighter around him. "So when is this Miro coming here? Tomorrow?" Everyone just nodded at you. You let out an overdramatic sigh as you savoured the hug. The next day You were at the welcome party that Nashville was throwing for Miro. "You know, I don't want to be here." You said to Juuse. He just laughed at you and wrapped his arm around you. "I swear on every god out there that he is a nice person and you are going to like him, just give him a chance okay? It isn't his fault that Jeremy had to change teams, he probably doesn't want to be here either." Now that you thought about it he was probably right. Still, you were feeling upset, Dallas did steal your best friend away from you. So you got up and went to get yourself a drink and decided to be nice to Miro. Just as you were getting back to your seat with your drink the party erupted in cheers as Miro walked in. You smiled and gave a small applause for his arrival and sat down.

You had just a little bit too much to drink during the party and weren’t thinking straight. It was all a blur to you, you had no idea how or why you were upstairs. All you remember is that he was there and suddenly you were kissing him. You hadn’t said a word to Miro and there you were, his hands on your body, your lips on his, your legs tangled around his waist as he was walking towards the bathroom. He put you on the sink and you started to open his pants and he was lifting your dress over your hips. Yet still, the two of you hadn’t exchanged a word, not even hi, but just maybe you didn’t need to do that right now…

Your little session in Juuse’s bathroom was coming to an end, you got down from the sink and lowered your dress back to its place. Before you could lift your head up, you heard the bathroom door open and close. Suddenly you were left alone and confused. Did he seriously just fucked you without saying anything and just leave? Not even like bye or that was good? You were starting to get mad, how dare he do that to you? Before you get really mad you heard Juuse’s voice outside the bathroom asking you if you were okay since it has been a while since he saw you.

“Yeah yeah, I’m good, just a bit too drunk.” You laughed as you came out of the bathroom. He put his arm around you and started leading you back downstairs. For the rest of the night, you didn't see Miro, not even a glimpse of him.

You didn’t see any of the Predators until Sunday when they had a game. As you were getting ready for your job as the social media manager for the Predators you were thinking about what you were going to do about Miro, were you just going act like it didn’t happen or have an awkward talk about it? You knew that you had to see him since he just came to the team and you needed to make a post about him and his arrival.

You arrived at the arena and started walking towards the locker room where you knew the boys, including Miro, were at the moment. Last night you had prepared some questions that you could ask Miro and make a small video for the fans. Thoughts about possible outcomes of seeing Miro had clouded your mind and you didn’t even notice that you were already standing in front of the locker room and you heard the boys making noises. Taking a deep breath before you opened the door and were greeted by the buzzing atmosphere of the locker room.

“Y/n!” You heard … yell, it made you smile. You just couldn’t believe you get to work with the amazing team and it actually made you enjoy your job.

“Hi, guys! How is everyone? Doing good, ready for tonight's game?” I asked them and got some answers saying everything is great. I looked around but I didn’t see Miro anywhere,

“Does anyone know where Miro is? I need to ask him some questions about what his expectations are for his first games with you guys.” As I finished my question he walked through the door with the equipment manager.

Since you didn’t introduce ourselves last night you decided to start our conversation by telling your name and what you do. Funny to think how this guy was inside of you and probably doesn’t even know your name.

“Hi, my name is y/n l/n and I am the social media manager for Nashville Predators. I promise this won’t take long but I need you to answer some questions for a video.” You happily told him about your plan. He just nodded his head at you, not even a hi. You turned your gaze to Juuse who was standing close to the two of you and gave him a puzzled look. He looked confused why Miro didn’t even say hi to you but thought that he might just be nervous about tonight's game or something.

Miro started walking towards his space and you just followed him, he sat down and you set up the camera and got the questions ready for him. After you were done you explained to him that you were going to ask more questions after the game, and to that he just nodded again. Still not a word from him to you. Did he not know how to talk or something? You seriously started to think that, but it also bothered you how intimate you two were a couple of days and now he just acts like you don’t exist. So you decided to ask him about it, quietly because you didn’t want the team to know what happened between the two of you.

“So are you just not going to talk about what we did the other night or are you just going to keep pretending that we didn’t do anything and I don’t exist?” He looked up at you and said nothing. Nothing. You were getting mad, like seriously not even one word?

“Are you serious? What the actual fuck is wrong with you? Can you not speak or what is it?” You whispered to him.

“I need to get ready for the game.” Oh, you were so mad at him, how can he just act like that? So you turned around and walked away, before you left the locker room you gave a look to Juuse who just shrugged his shoulders.

The game ended with Nashville winning and you were moving back to the locker room to ask more questions from Miro. You set the camera ready and asked the questions from Miro. After you were done you decided to try and talk to him again.

“Can I talk to you, privately?” You asked with determination in your voice. He looked at you a little weirdly and reluctantly agreed. The two of you went outside of the locker room where you could have some privacy. “Why aren’t you speaking to me? For the love of gods, we don’t have to talk about what happened the other night but you can at least talk to me.” You said angrily.

“I don’t want to talk to you,” he said bluntly. You were shocked, what the actual fuck.

“What do you mean? We literally work together. You have to talk to me. And why wouldn’t you want to talk to me? I haven’t done anything to you!” You said a little loudly.

“I just don’t. I have to go.” HE said and left. You were shocked, if he wanted to act like that, then surely you wouldn’t talk to him either. On the positive side at least you could now say that Juuse was wrong, which for the record did not happen often.

That went on for a while, you did your work but didn’t say a word to him and he didn’t say a word to you. Juuse had tried to ask Miro why he was acting so cold towards you since you hadn’t done anything to him but he got nothing. Then came yet another party that you were invited to, of course, Miro was there too.

You had avoided him the entire evening, not in the mood to deal with him at the moment. You just wanted to let loose for a while. Life had been kicking your ass, work was stressful and you were losing your passion towards it, you wanted something more. You had gone on a few dates, and most of them were okay, just boring. Unlike those dates your last date was awful. He was really creepy and disgusting and ever since that date, you had felt like someone was following you. Maybe you were just being paranoid because the date was so weird, that’s what you made yourself believe. Still, you just couldn’t shake off that feeling that someone was watching you.

So tonight you decided to take a break from everything and just relax and have some fun. that is exactly what you did, you got yourself some drinks, danced and laughed with your friends. Walking towards the kitchen you got the feeling again, it felt like someone’s eyes were on you and you were being followed. Deciding that it was just the alcohol's effect you decided to grab a glass of water and clear your head a bit.

You drank the water and decided to go look for Juuse. As you turned around you were met with your last date, Brandon. Feeling like your stomach had just dropped you tried to get past him without acknowledging him. It didn’t work, when you were next to him he grabbed your arm and turned you to face him.

“So you think you can just ignore me?” He asked lowly. You thought for a moment before you answered. “Considering how our date went, yeah I think I can do that.” He chuckled at you and tightened his grip on your arm. It felt uncomfortable and you tried to move your arm away from him but that just made him squeeze your arm painfully.

“Let me go.”

“Not before you come outside and talk with me.” He said to you bitterly. You gave him an angry look and kicked him on his groin. He let go of your arm but quickly stood up and punched you in your face. His punch was strong and you fell to the ground. You quickly stood up and held your nose which was now bleeding. He gave you a furious look and tried to hit you again but you dodged it.

“You bitch, I’m gonna teach you how to be respectful.” He spat at you. Before he could try to hurt you again Miro walked into the kitchen. He looked at your bloody face and then he looked at your old date. He rushed between the two of you and pushed you behind him.

“What the fuck did you do to her?” He yelled at the man, Miro was enraged. You looked at his back and noticed how he still had one hand on your arm. You honestly weren’t expecting that reaction out of him.

“Hey man, this has nothing to do so why don’t you just leave and let me finish my business with her.” Brandon said to him. Miro’s body visibly tensed. Before Brandon could even react Miro had punched him in the face. You were pretty sure you heard a crack and taking into consideration the amount of blood that was coming out of his nose, you were pretty sure Miro broke his nose. While Brandon was holding his nose Miro gently moved you out of the kitchen to the closest bathroom.

“Thank you.” you whispered as you sat down on the toilet. Miro came in front of you with some paper and put it against your nose.

“You don’t have to thank me for that.” he calmly said to you. If you were being completely honest to yourself you weren’t expecting him to actually answer you. He kept cleaning the blood off your face and you just looked at him.

“Why would you do that for me?” You questioned. He looked at you and just shook his head at the question.

“He hurt you.” He said with a hint of affection in his voice.

“Yeah, but you aren’t responsible for me. You didn’t have to do that.” You said. “Of course, I had to do that, I can’t just let him hurt you.” He said with a hint of irritation in his voice.

“Why? You don’t like me. You fucked me in a bathroom one time and act like I don’t fucking exist! You don’t talk to me, you don’t look at me and I have been nothing but nice to you this entire time! Yeah, I get it our one nightstand was a mistake but gods you don’t have to be a dick!” You angrily yelled at him.

“Because that bathroom sex made me feel something and I don’t know what it is. I act like that because every time I look at you, you take my breath away. Your whole existence reminds me of spring and sunlight. The way you smile makes me so unbelievably happy that it doesn’t feel real. I know I have been horrible to you, I know that. I just don’t know how to deal with my emotions. You don’t deserve that at all. So I thought that ignoring you would make them go away but you and your stupid kindness trapped me. That one nightstand sparked something in me and I got scared but I promise you that I don't think of it as a mistake. He confessed to you.

Your nose had stopped bleeding and now you were just staring at him. His confession caught you off guard.

“Please, I know I don't deserve it all, I know that. But please I am on my knees begging you to give me a chance to prove myself to you and make up for the way I treated you in the past. Please.” he begged you. You on the other hand were completely speechless. Maybe you could give him a chance.

“Wow, I wasn’t expecting that at all.” You breathed out.

“Okay, I’ll give you chance but don’t fuck it up okay.”

“Can I kiss you?” He asked and you nodded.

Thank you for reading my loves<3

[dartducks]

Imagine a horror movie scenario, if you will. Out of Connor McMichael, Jason Robertson, Dylan Strome and Roope Hintz, who 1) confronts the killer and gets killed 2) dies because of their own stupidity 3) makes it out alive 4) is the killer ❤

For you Sab, of course I will <3

Hmmm okay here's my thinking.

1) Dylan Strome. I do think he thinks he could he could do it. He's a problem solver and thinker and all that or something and honestly I would believe in him right up until the moment he dies. I think his confrontation would be a fun one to watch at least he's very rarely bitchy and I think it would be freeing in his final moments.

2) Connor McMichael. He is just a small little boy with so much left to learn. Absolutely the type to try and do some cool escape and then just fall out of a window and die 💔

3) This is where is gets interesting cause I have to decide who of Roope or Robo is the killer. Maybe it's a scream situation where they just target the Washington Capitals (<- guy who has never watched scream). Overall I think I'm putting Robo as Guy Who Survives because he has less of a killers spirit To Me. But know the main reason he managed this is because Roope wasn't targeting him.

4) Roope Hintz you are the killer 😔. How could you do this to me. After the beautiful duet we sang. Do you not care about me and my guys. Does our bond of performance mean nothing.

[hockeychatstea]

I was looking at Roope Hintz sleeve tattoo and there was one tattoo where it’s an eye with a triangle on top of it…could he be part of the illuminati? LOL

i had to laugh because i was watching this YT video of celebrities selling their souls to the devil and being part of the illuminati, and i can’t imagine hintz selling his soul to be on the main Dallas stars roster 😭

LMAOO I highly doubt he's in the illuminati lol but also no literally of all the things to sell it for 💀💀

[typical-simplelove]

Hey. Number 15: "Thank you for making me smile" with Roope Hintz, I'm so happy that you are back writing. I love your stories. Sending you positive vibes. :)

Sending you positive vibes, and may I offer you my firstborn child in gratitude for your words?

15. "Thank you for making me smile" with Roope Hintz Claudia's Debut Season of Heartfirst Writing

There are some days when everything goes wrong. From your alarm not going off to spilling your coffee all over yourself. From leaving important paperwork at home to getting stuck in traffic. On top of that all, it was undoubtedly one of the worst workdays of your life.

Thankfully, though, it was Friday, but the mile-long to-do list stared back at you after you got home from work and took a shower. You didn't know what to do first. Regardless of what you do first, you know that you're going to hate it. All you wanted to do was sit on the couch and watch your comfort show, but no, you have to get a ton done tonight because there aren't enough hours on the weekend in order to get everything done.

"I picked up dinner," Roope says, placing the takeout bag on the counter. When you don't notice Roope walk into the kitchen, he grows worried. His eyes follow to where you're staring at your to-do list and computer. Oh, so you're freaking out about work. Quickly, Roope thinks of the corniest joke or pick-line he can think of. You always did like those (in irony).

"Woah, did you just feel that?" Roope asks, eyes trained on you. Your eyes scrunch in confusion for just a second, a flicker of acknowledgment, but you don't answer. "Was that an earthquake, or did you just rock my world?"

You snort, a small smile making its appearance. Okay, Roope's getting somewhere.

"Did you know, if beauty were time, you'd be infinity," Roope continues. At his words, you take a heavy swallow, evidently flustered.

"You're like air to me; I need you to survive," Roope tries. This was the last one he could think of, so if this doesn't work, then he's going to have to try something else. However, you burst out laughing at this pick-up line. With a wide smile on your face, you turn to Roope.

"You're silly; did you know that?"

"But you're feeling a bit better, a bit less stressed?"

You nod, still smiling. "Thank you for making me smile. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You flatter me," Roope responds, pulling you in for a hug, knowing you need it. "I'm here, whatever you need. Corny jokes and all."

You snicker. Yeah, things would be okay.

[ilyasorokinn]

#2 in fluff off ur prompt list w roope hintz? thank u!

STALKERISH

2. "are you hurt? what happened?" (from this prompt list)

you couldn't even get a word in when roope called, "hel-"

"where are you? are you hurt? what happened?" he sounded panicked.

"what? are you talking about?"

"your location. you're at a hospital."

"okay, first of all, creep." you laughed, "and second of all, i'm not hurt. i'm okay. it's connor, riley's boyfriend. he sprained his ankle and riley can't drive, so i drove them here."

he let out a breath in relief, "oh, thank god."

"awh, that's so sweet, if you leave out the part where you stalk me." you joked.

"i wasn't stalking." he defended.

"you kind of were."

"i was doing it for your benefit. and what if you were injured?"

"i would have called you myself. you wouldn't have to have found out by stalking my location." you laughed.

"all right, well, i gotta go. i love you."

"love you, too, stalker."

taylor's blurb "night"

sorry this was short

[twinklelilstarkey]

Hi. Au Dad with Roope Hintz? I don't think that I've ever read any of those. I hope that you are enjoying the holidays. Merry Christmas from America.

A/N.: OH ABSOLUTELY!! We do need Dad!Roope. I hope you're enjoying your holidays as well, my love, Merry Christmas ❤️

First time on ice - Dad!Roope Hintz

Words: 2.4k+

Type: Fluff

Summary: Roope's little boy goes ice skating for the first time.

Warnings: Dad!Roope. Mentions of pregnancy without marriage (Y/N and Roope are still just dating).

Y/S/N = Your son's name

Today's a big day. Roope has been dying for this day to come ever since his little boy was born. He can feel his body vibrating with excitement ever since he got up from bed this morning, so much that he wouldn't be surprised if he actually exploded.

Like any other holiday season, the Dallas Stars are having a family skating day. They're quite fun when you have someone to be there with you. Usually, players bring their parents, siblings, and kids, and when those can't be there, they take their girlfriends or even their friends.

Roope's family skating days never consisted of a lot. He started to bring you with him after you had begun dating since his parents are all the way back in Europe and unable to visit just yet. And that's pretty much it. You were there for all of his family skating days ever since the start and he would not have it any other way. You would skate around him, and with him and you two would have your fun every year.

After the solid (almost) 4 years of dating, aka, almost two years ago, you had a kid. A baby boy.

This baby boy has been the highlight of Roope's days ever since he was born. Roope's schedule doesn't exactly let him constantly be there for both you and him, but he does his best to help you out when he's home and make the best of the time that he has.

Now, the baby is already a toddler as he's practically reaching his 2-year-old birthday and he now walks, runs, jumps, breaks things, and babbles in both English and Finnish. Overall, he's one very hyper little human that owns the entirety of his dad's and mom's heart.

Last year, when family skate day happened. Roope was hoping to get Y/S/N in skates, and so were you. He was practically making a countdown on his head of that day, coming closer and closer, and it was making him the happiest person on earth.

But Y/S/N got a cold that week.

Not one too bad, but it did make him cranky. He did end up going to the family skating anyways, but he refused (with his whiny sounds) to put on the baby skates and, especially, get close to the ice. He had spent the whole time under his thick jacket, wool beanie and scarf, and with his little gloves - all of it to not let him get worse from his cold - and in Roope's arms, of course, constantly leaning on closer to him and snuggling in, and very much away from the cold, cold ground.

Roope didn't get too upset. Of course, he did want to see his kid have little skates on and try to move with his help, but, at the same time, he would never force his kid to do something, especially when he's already sick and in that bad of a mood.

And many people, when hearing him talk about this, do ask him 'why don't you just take him to the rink on a normal day?', but he never has a clear answer for them. It's just that he had planned this whole day in his head for more than a year. Gosh, he has been envisioning this day with all his teammates ever since he held the baby in his arms for the first time. He just wants to replicate what his imagination had created in every aspect.

That is exactly why a month before today, Roope has been focused on his son like crazy. Wrapping in all the blankets like a burrito whenever you would open a window or step out to the balcony - worried that any cold wind could make him fall sick again. Running after him when he goes off in the park with the other kids so he doesn't get hurt in the slightest of ways. Not trying new food so that he doesn't get an upset tummy.

Roope had this in the bag.

To no one's surprise, when today came, Y/S/N was more than okay to go skating. Roope doesn't think he ever had this big of a smile on his face in his life.

This morning started off as chaotic as possible as Roope spent the whole morning cuddling with his son instead of getting anything ready for the day, but, you stepped up to help. Making everyone get out of the house with time to spare (and even get good outfits for all the pictures).

After the drive over to the stadium, funnily enough, Roope doesn't let you be the one to get Y/S/N from his seat. Again, everything needs to go according to his plan, so, of course, you let him.

Roope carries him through the parking lot while holding your hand at the same time and continues on with his conversation about a particular toy truck with his toddler.

Right as you enter, many of the teammates and their families come by to say and wave their short 'hi' to the two of you, and, of course, the little guy - who still needs to get used to meeting new people, as he uses Roope's neck as a refuge whenever someone walks on closer.

All sorts of things like, "How have you been?", "You look great", "Today's your boy's big day, isn't it?" and "Oh my gosh, I'm so excited for you!" are most of the things that went on and on during your conversations. And all the mentions of today's special moment make Roope's smile even wider every time.

But, as always, the guys do need to have their morning training before the whole families come into the ice, so your conversations were cut short when someone announced the time to the group.

"I'll see you in a bit?" You ask your boyfriend.

Roope looks away from your toddler to you and with his little grin, he nods. Slowly, he does pass down Y/S/N to your arms and lays a kiss over his head and another on the side of yours.

"Have fun." You tell him before he steps away.

(...)

Roope goes off to do his job, but, while working, his mind just kept on reminding him what will be happening in just a few minutes.

When already at the ice, his heart also didn't behave like normal. Pumping quicker than ever before, especially when he would look over at the glass and see you with Y/S/N in your arms, pointing at him. All the cute smiles his toddler gave him when he passed by him and the giggles he let out when he tapped the glass with his stick, throwing his little head back to your shoulder.

His heart melted into a puddle every time.

As soon as the final blow on Bowness's whistle sounds through the entirety of the rink, Roope just feels like he's going to explode. It's all going to start now.

You let many of the families go in first since you didn't want to be with a shy toddler in the middle of all the commotion. And only after it clears out a bit, someone from the staff passes you the right size of skates for Y/S/N. As you look up, you notice Roope coming into the benches at the same time you do.

"Hi." He tells you with his big cheeky smile, excitement more than readable in his face.

"Hi." You tell him back.

He takes off his gloves and passes down his helmet and stick to someone from the staff team. You sit down on the bench beside many other moms doing the same thing you'll be doing and sit Y/S/N over your legs. Roope squats down in front of you and begins to help you with putting on the skates on the fidgety toddler. Starting with taking off his little shoes.

Roope still has to go to the locker room to get his gear off like his teammates are currently doing, but he would not forgive himself if he missed fixing up his little boy's tiny skates.

You watch as your boyfriend just smiles and answers every babble of some words in Finnish, sometimes even laughing with what your baby keeps on telling him. Roope's curly blonde hair sitting at the top of his head, not too squished from his helmet, and his smile just as big as ever. Practically making you fall in love with him all over again.

After tightening the laces, Roope runs to the locker-room (which almost made him fall as he tripped on a cable), and right as he walks through the doorway, he's already stripping out of his gear - keeping on some of it like everyone else, but enough to make him more comfortable throughout the whole skating.

He runs back - this time, careful enough to not trip - to find you in the exact same place, talking to one of the wives, and already with your skates on.

Right as his baby's eyes land on him, his little arms stretch towards him. Roope, when close enough, picks him up and lays a hand at the small of your back, casually ending your conversation to pull you with him to the gate that leads to the ice.

You're the one to step foot in first, turning back to see Roope holding onto Y/S/N close to his chest while stepping in as well. You two skate to a more empty area to not ruin any kid's race or something along those lines, and Roope begins to lower his toddler to the ground.

"Ready?" He asks the toddler.

He nods while biting his lower lip, almost as if a bit lost in thought.

Y/S/N's feet touch the iced floor and he looks down at it, finding it a bit strange to step on it with the blades. Roope holds onto his little hands and forearms as he hunches over him, and begins to use his own feet to make the two of them move just a few inches.

You stare at the two of them, heart melting and eyes practically already watering at the cute sight.

Roope's smile is ginormous and his tone is constantly soft to his kid, all while he tells him how to kick out his little feet to be able to skate 'just like dad'.

After only a few minutes, Y/S/N begins to get the hang of it, kicking out his tiny feet while being held onto by his dad. He looks up at you and Roope for reassurance a few times, and that makes you two love the moment a little more every time.

As Roope tells him littles "you're doing it!" or "good job", the overall happy feeling was more and more readable in Y/S/N's face. Especially when he would just let out similar sentences to himself.

"'m doin' it!" He says, louder than Roope, in his cute little voice.

You skate beside them the whole time, watching them carefully while giving a few of your own vocal encouragements as well. But also being the one that notices all the looks everyone's giving you three. The bright smiles, especially by Roope's teammates, as they know how much this day means to their forward.

After some more minutes, you switch with your boyfriend as his back begins to kill him for that awkward position he was in the whole time. Which you two had to laugh at as he held both of his hands by his back while letting cackles of pain.

You squat down and just hold your toddler steady over the ice as he looks up at his dad cutely. Yet quickly, he looks back at you and gives you a toothy smile, holding out his little hands to your face and giggling as he would touch it.

"Are you having fun?" You ask him, getting a large and enthusiastic nod from the little one.

Roope, after some time, squats as well and that steals the attention of the toddler once more. You and Roope are in between a very short distance, your arms can easily reach out to get to either of you, so Y/S/N is more than safe in between you.

You turn the toddler around and Roope puts his warm hands over yours. And that's when you notice that his hands are there but his hold really isn’t, all while he begins to encourage the mini-him to try and kick out some steps on his own.

Might be a bit too early to do this, but why not try?

Poor Y/S/N did try, and he lost his balance in many of the tries. His butt would never hit the ice as both your and Roope’s hands were there to hold him, so, that only meant that he never really lost faith in himself.

For this reason, he still continuously kicks his little feet towards his dad as he holds onto Roope’s jersey sleeves the whole time, still while fully trying his best.

After much, much trial and error, a loud gasp leaves your lips.

Your toddler, unbelievably, is able to skate the whole small distance between the two of you practically on his own (even though he had your hands there the whole time), but the sight of him doing it, completely broke Roope.

He pulls his son into a hug and lays kisses on the top of his head, congratulating him while at the same time, looking up at you in disbelief. And that's when you notice how teary his eyes are.

"Awn!" You say out loud at the sight of your boyfriend and give him a big smile while getting closer to him.

Your hands lay over his cheeks, comforting him, and you give him a quick peck on the lips. Roope smiles too, finding humor in his own display of emotions and your quick response with comfort, and you two stand back up.

The two of you get back on congratulating your toddler with many tickles under his open jacket and kisses on his chubby cute cheeks, and all while he giggles loudly. His little beanie-covered head is thrown back as he tries to get away from the two of you, and you could not ignore the look on Roope’s face as he looks down at his son. His eyes would move over to you, time and time again, almost as if not sure who to look at for longer.

And his eyes were filled with only one emotion...

Pure and utter love.

Love for you. Love for his baby. Love for his little family.

My requests are open!!

Masterlist ~ Taglists

[toasttt11]

missed you

May 18, 2022

Livia rubbed her eyes leaning her head off the glass of the plane window. She was heading back home after the Stars had gotten out of the playoffs during game seven.

She was excited to be home and she did just get to see her parents and brother as they came out to see a few of her playoffs games but she was most exicted to see her best friend Wyatt, as she hasn’t seen him since she played in Toronto in March but that was the only time she saw him since she left for Dallas in September. It’s the longest they have ever went of not seeing each other.

Livia had seen Luke in January when she played the red wings but she only saw him that once since August.

Livia also hasn’t seen her two best friends together and the three all being together in a long time and she truly misses the days she saw them everyday and spent all day together, she misses her boys and facetime can only do so much.

Livia stood up as the plane as landed and threw on her back pack and purse and grabbed her suitcase from the overhead and walked down the aisle of the plane.

She had a hoodie on and a hat so no one was recognizing her, while she does love the fans but she’s not the biggest social person so it’s not something she loves all the time.

Livia walked through the airport and to the pick up lot where her parents told her they would be. She looked over and her mouth dropped in shock as she realized they weren’t here to pick her up but Wyatt was.

“Livy!” Wyatt grinned widely seeing his best friend and the girl he’s been in love with since the first day of kindergarten.

Livia let out a giggle and hurried over to him she dropped her suitcase handle and quickly wrapped her arms around his neck tightly. Wyatt’s hands automatically wrapped around her and spun them around both of them laughing happily.

Wyatt gently set her back down on the floor and she looked up through her lashes and Wyatt was just in awe, he has always known she’s absolutely beautiful but she seems to get more beautiful every time he sees her.

“Hi.” Livia beamed at her best happily, her nose scrunching from her smile being so wide.

“Hi.” Wyatt happily chuckled out just staring at her with a large smile.

Wyatt gently pulled her into another hug, “I missed you Livy.” Wyatt whispered softly resting his chin on her shoulder and closing his eyes.

Wyatt hated this season and hated playing hockey with out his best friend and it was so odd to play on not be on the ice with Livia, he couldn’t wait till he joined her in Dallas and they get to play together again.

“I missed you too.” Livia softly whispered back, She had missed Luke terribly when he moved away and stopped playing with Wyatt and her but not playing with Wyatt was like playing with out a hand and she hated how there was always a void where she wanted Wyatt to be, she didn’t understand why she misses Wyatt more than she does Luke.

“Come on, let’s get you home Livy.” Wyatt smile couldn’t have left his face since he saw her. He threw his arm around her shoulder and grabbed her suitcase. Livia smiled happily leaned her head on his shoulder as they walked and Wyatt leaned down pressing a soft kiss of the top of her head that’s covered from her hoodie.

[eberles]

Twenty Four

Roope Hintz

prompt: tracing your names together in the sand

a/n: sorry there’s so much time between each part, i’ve been really blocked lately! enjoy🥰 feedback is welcome

series masterlist

today you and roope were spending the day at the beach, you didn’t often get the chance to enjoy days like this. you were not a big fan of the ocean, always choosing to just sunbathe on your towel instead of jumping around in the water. roope loved the water and he loved to swim, so you both did your own things for the first half of the beach trip.

you laid on your stomach, moving the sand around to make it a clear slate so you could doodle with your finger. you giggled to yourself, using your pointer finger to draw roope’s name, followed by little hearts. as if on cue you felt a shadow standing over you, blocking the sunlight.

“you’re getting water drops on me!” you laughed, squinting as you looked up at roope.

“come swim with me, i miss you.” roope held out his hands, gesturing for you to come join him in the water.

“orrrrr you can lay with me and get nice and tan.” you smirked when he rolled his eyes before taking his spot next to you on his own towel.

“is that my name?”

“maybe.” you nudged his shoulder, admiring how cheeks turned pink at the sudden affection. he smoothed over the sand in front of him before doodling your name in the sand, accompanied by a few lopsided hearts.

taglist: @beauvibaby @softboybarzal @yee-to-the-haw-to-the-hockey @that-ginger-gurl @calgarycanuck @mitchsmullet @ilyasorokinn @perfectmurmurings @senditcolton @twinklelilstarkey @lovethepreds @chicagoblackhawkslover96 @stfukie @no-pucks-given @dumbblondetrash @mac-blackwood @heatherawoowoo @himbos-on-ice @mycaptaintazer @stars-canucks @gillianallen79 @2manytabsopen @whitesummerx @imagines-r-s @i-love-scott-mccall @wolfkissed-frye @islesnucks @anastasiyaigorevnadobrodevskaya @bb-nhlqueen7 @rainysuitcaseprunegiant

[senditcolton]

1k Cele-Bakery Masterlist

THE ORDERS

“Lead Me to the Garden” Chai Cookies (blurbs)

Blue Salvia [JT Compher x reader] Candytuft [Tyson Jost x OC Madeleine Murphy] (part of the “call my bluff, call you babe” universe) Daffodil [Mat Barzal x OC Delaney Pierce] (part of “the pull of you” universe) Edelweiss [Matt Martin x reader] (part of the “we’re a bad idea” universe) Gardenia [Andrei Svechnikov x reader] (part of the ”king of my heart” alternate universe) Gardenia [Colton Parayko x OC Elizabeth Astor] (part of the “would it be enough?” universe) Holly [Tyson Jost x reader] Myrtle [Casey Cizikas x reader] Myrtle [Tyler Seguin x reader] Oak [Brock Boeser x reader] Oak [Ryan Graves x reader]

“Showstopper” Sugar Cookies (moodboards)

“at least we were electrified” with Matt Martin (part of the “we’re a bad idea” universe) Carnival Date with Andrei Svechnikov “Knights of Silver & Gold” with Marc-Andre Fleury Lake Shenanigans with Tyson Jost Renaissance Faire with Brock Boeser Vacation with Mat Barzal

“Wild and Wacky” Vintage Chocolate Cake (headcanons)

Getting Lost on a Long Drive with Tyson Jost Going to a Sauna with Mikko Rantanen Moving Into a New Home with Roope Hintz

“Sweet Like Honey” Buttermilk Honey Bread (playlists)

Forbidden Royal Romance with Andrei Svechnikov (part of the “king of my heart” universe)Meeting in a Bookshop with Sidney Crosby Unrequited Love with Erik Johnson

“The Apple of My Eye” Caramel Rose Apple Pie (fic recs)

Jake Oettinger Mikko Rantanen Sidney Crosby Tyson Jost

“Too Good, Too Pure” Cinnamon Roll (ask games)

Top 5 NHL Players Top 5 Places I’ve Seen Top 5 Tropes to Read Top 5 Tropes to Write Top 5 Underrated Active NHL Players Top 5 Vacation Spots

THE THANKS

First, I want to give a special shoutout to a few very special people who I cherish dearly and can’t imagine my time on hockeyblr without them:

Demi ( @wyattjohnston )  You are a bright, shining, sparkling light in this community. You are always so wonderful and welcoming to everyone and I can’t imagine both my time without you nor hockeyblr without you. Thank you for the support on my fics, for hopping in my askbox, and for literally everything you do!!! 

Em ( @texanstarslove ) My goodness! I don’t even know how to describe how wonderful I think you are. You were one of the first blogs I followed here and I thought to myself “wow, she is so cool”. And look at us now! Thank you for allowing me to hop in your askbox and torture you with thoughts (or more accurately, thots) about our favorite hockey boys and for being an overall genuine and sweet person!!!

Lauren ( @laurenairay ) Words cannot describe how amazing and caring of a person you are! You are always taking time out of your day to send me sweet messages and always leaving the sweetest tags on my fics and just... wow! I always look forward to seeing you; in my askbox/messages, in my notifs, on my dashboard. Keep being the golden beautiful human you are!!

I also want to give a quick, special shoutout to three blogs that are not as active/inactive that I still consider very close friends and shaped my hockeyblr experience: Ilyana ( @hookingminor ), Alex ( @toplinetommy ), and Hannah ( @yeeehaw-hockey ). 

There are of course so many other people/blogs I consider near and dear to me and that have made these years on hockeyblr so wonderful & who I can’t wait to become even closer with:  @matthewtkachuk​ @thomasschabot​ @comphy-and-cozy​ @smileysvech​​ @dissonannce​ @ilyasorokinn​ @fallinallincurls​ @raysofcrosby​ @barzysunflower​ @sorryjustafangirl​ @jarmorie​ @cellythefloshie​​ @tippedbykreider​ @troubatrain​ @masonappleton​ @adamlowsy​ @rnuggethopkins​ @austennight​ @wanderinqhoul​ @kailyn-writes​ @typical-simplelove​ 

Shoutout to every single one of you for being here!! If you didn’t see your name above, that doesn’t matter; I love you just as much! When I say I couldn’t do this without you, I mean it!!! (no literally, this celebration wouldn’t exist if 1k of you didn’t decide to hit that follow button)

[bqstqnbruin]

36 with roope! Pls:)

Happy blurb weekend!

Tagging: @stlbluesbrat21 @besthockeyfics @glassdanse @dembenchboys @calgarycanuck @stars-canucks @airplaneanon @heybarzy @annedub @beauvibaby

36. “You’re the first person I think about when I wake up.”

Word Count: 743

____________________

“Hey, can you come pick me up?” you say into your phone. You had just enough battery to send your location and that seemed to be it, your phone battery draining for a reason unknown to you even though you left your home with it fully charged. You didn’t even trust it to last long enough to order an Uber without it dying, leaving you stranded and unsure whose car you were getting into. “I’ll send you my location but I have to hang up and I’ll stay put.”

Roope lets out a long groan, knowing that you woke him up given it was last call at the bar. “Fine, I’ll be there soon,” he lets out, his voice low and raspy.

You wait on the corner, your phone dying as soon as your location was sent to Roope, praying that he got to you before anything could happen to you. Nothing was, given how many people were still clearing out of the bar, but that didn’t stop you from being paranoid.

You didn’t even wait for his car to stop when you open the door, your disgruntled friend in the driver seat, scowling. “I owe you big time, you have no idea.”

“No, I do. You know I have practice tomorrow morning and a game tomorrow night, Y/N, why would you think it’s a good idea to call me,” he scolds.

You shrink into the seat, feeling like a child being yelled at by their parent. “I’m sorry, it’s just, everyone left and I needed to get home.”

“So why did you call me?”

“You were the first person I thought of.”

“And why is that?” he lets out.

You look at him, watching him chew on his bottom lip while you try to figure out what to say. “What do you mean?”

“Why am I the first person you think of? I mean, I know why you’re the first person I think of. You’re the first person I think of when I wake up, the last person I think of when I go to sleep. You’re the first person I want to call when I get good news, or need someone to talk to, or when I just need company. It’s you, Y/N, it’s always you.”

“Roope,” you sigh, trying to process what he was telling you. You had no idea that was how he felt about you. “You’re that person for me, too.”

“Is it for the same reason?”

You sit there in silence, trying to figure out what the answer to his question was. You were sure it was, but what if there was the off chance it wasn’t. Roope nods, taking your silence as a ‘no,’ not talking to you for the rest of the ride. He pulls up to a stop sign, no one seemingly coming for miles.

“Roope, park the car,” you demand, unbuckling your seat belt and getting out. You weren’t sure what you were doing, but you were telling yourself that you would figure it out in the moment.

“What the fuck are you doing?” he mutters, doing as you say even though he thought you were deranged in that moment. “Why are we doing this?”

The two of you were standing in front of the car, still running, the headlights illuminating your shadows that stretched down the street. “Do you love me?”

Roope looks stunned at your question, expecting you to either ramble on until he had to cut you off because he had no idea what you were saying, or not ask anything else at all and just getting back in his car. “Of course I do,” he tells you, taking your hand gently in his. “Do you love me?”

You swallow hard, not sure what to say. Instead, you shake your hand free of his, grabbing his face and pulling him in for a kiss. It takes him a moment to relax, caught off guard by something he had only dreamed of. He grabs your waist and pulls you close to him, his tongue swiping your bottom lip begging to enter your mouth. You didn’t know this was some of what you were missing, unable to stop smiling while the two of you stood there in the middle of the street in each other's arms.

“Should I take that as a yes?” he whispers, his forehead pressed against your, giving you another sweet, soft kiss before you could answer.

“Yes.”