So You Have My Number - Introduction (Jack Hughes)
Word Count: 576
Enemies to Lovers
You exhaled a shaky yet excited breath as you surveyed your now-filled dorm room. Your parents looked on proudly as you took in your surroundings. The University of Michigan was your dream school, and you've been on cloud nine since you received your acceptance letter. You actually made it.
Yet there was still a feeling of nervousness within you. This was the farthest you've been from your family, having traveled from your home state of New Jersey to be out here. What if I don't make any friends? What if I end up hating it here? were the thoughts racing through your mind. You try to remind yourself of how much work you've put into your grades to get in and get a good financial aid package in order to be able to come out here.
And thankfully, your doubts were quickly washed away as you befriended your entire dorm floor, including a freshman player for the men's hockey team by the name of Quinn. You knew that UMich was a big hockey school and a lot of NHLers were products of the school, but you didn't pay it any attention until meeting Quinn. Among everyone from your dorm that formed "the squad," he was the one you became closest to, and soon the two of you became inseparable.
Your parents kept inquiring about Quinn and his status in your life ("Do you like him?" "Is he coming home to meet the parents soon?") but you reassured them repeatedly that you thought of him as a brother if anything, and he was strictly a friend. While that status soon changed to best friend, that's all you two were. And with best friend status came going home and meeting the families nonetheless. You were thankful he got along with your family so well, and you with...most of his family.
---
Everything was going well until the end of your second year. You were immensely proud of him for signing with an NHL team and getting to play professionally, but you were devastated he wouldn't be around at school anymore. You were even more devastated it was all the way out in Vancouver. At that time, you made the difficult decision to enroll in a school close to home. Quinn made it easy to forget your distance from your family, but in reality it was something that was becoming increasingly difficult to handle.
It was during one of your nightly video chats that Quinn laid a request on you that threw you for a loop.
"Jack signed with the Devils and he'll be playing out there this season. Can you be there for him and show him around as he gets settled in?" Quinn blurted out after a minute or two of comfortable silence between the two of you. He noticed the two times you came out to visit his family that you and Jack didn't get along well, but he hoped it was just due to lack of familiarity with each other. You weren't outright rude to each other, but it was evident there was a level of discomfort when you were within proximity of one another.
As much as you weren't thrilled with the idea, you were willing to give it a shot for Quinn and his parents' sakes. You knew they'd feel better knowing Jack had someone he could rely on in the area.
So you agreed to Quinn's request, and hoped for the best.
[Full story - Coming Soon!]
