In which Kendall discovers that Ronnie reads hockey romance, which is something he despises with an utter passion.
Also, Roxy Somerset and Olive Pasqualina are mentioned. <3
@myloveforhergoeson @praetoravila
A lot has changed in four years. Things were different.
Namely, Ronnie swapped out her electric blue hair for the chestnut color he only saw peek through her roots maybe once or twice. She turned in baggy jeans and sweatshirts for ripped tights, dirtied electric blue Converse, a short black skirt, and a partially bleached band t-shirt missing its neat edges. It was like signing with Spin City Records made her bloom.
Working with different companies didn't stop either of them. Kendall found a way to get Ronnie to hang out with Logan, James, and Carlos. It was a struggle to manage Logan, James, and Carlos schedules alongside his girlfriends schedule but he managed to make it work. It had to work.
Being apart for four years made him antsy.
Ronnie was curled up on the orange couch. She expected Mrs. Knight to swap it out for something new after the guys had smeared food on it and nearly broken the legs on separate occasions. Usually, she didn't mind watching them play video games. Whenever Kendall died, he would pass her the controller, and she would carry on where he left off. But today, she was curled up on the end with a book that Roxy recommended to her.
As soon as Icebreaker was mentioned, Olive started spamming the group chat with quite a few typos. She was a fan of hockey, so of course, she would at least appreciate the book. Half the time, she knew romance books never got anything accurate. Some of the pages were dog-eared, and she underlined things to look up later.
The guys left her alone in the apartment, not that she needed to be babysat. They were picking up snacks.
She jumped when the door swung open. The tranquil silence was immediately interrupted by their return. Reaching for her phone, she furrowed her brows. They could have at least warned her they were coming back, or asked her if she wanted anything.
"I got you sour gummy worms." Logan tossed her the bag with an amused grin.
"Oh my god! You're reading Icebreaker!" James dropped the paper bag and dove onto the couch. "Which part are you on? Have they kissed yet?"
She stared at him, processing the jumble of words that shot from his mouth like a bullet from a gun. One thing she knew, James had the exact same reaction to the book as his girlfriend did.
"Oh, no, no, no." Kendall haphazardly put the paper bag on the table and rushed over, plucking the book from her hands. "This is not accurate." He took her bookmark and slid it between the pages before he snapped it shut. It was the polite thing to do. "You watch hockey. I play hockey- Why would you read this?"
"Because my friend recommended it?" Ronnie chuckled. "What? Are you worried I'll start asking to do the stuff in the book?" She rolled her eyes and reached for her book.
James couldn't stop himself from giggling like a schoolgirl.
"You know, I recommend doing-"
"James!" Kendall warned. "We don't need your input."
"Oh, come on. It's just a silly book." Ronnie stood up and took the book from her boyfriend's hands.
"It's not just a silly book. It's sacrilege! Do you seriously think a hockey player is- "
"Did you forget that the four of you play hockey? I mean, the four of you are the perfect book boyfriends for a hockey romance." Ronnie shrugged.
Kendall frowned and turned his head. He wouldn't admit the thought made his stomach do silly little flips, but the fact of the matter was that she was reading an unrealistic book. It would be far more entertaining if it were the least bit accurate about games. The moves the players made were entirely illegal, and there were no mentions of referee hand signals. He read one of Katie's when she left the book on the coffee table, only to promptly be hit on the head by his little sister.
Kendall crossed his arms and took a step back.
"I'm sorry, I can't let you read that book."
"Oh! Hey Olive!" Logan chuckled awkwardly and turned on his heel, heading out the door as fast as he could.
"Oh, shoot! I promised Roxy we would watch a Studio Ghibli movie, bye!" James practically ran out the door.
Carlos had disappeared the moment he saw the book in her hands. Which was about ten minutes ago.
"Are you seriously jealous of a book?" Ronnie's brows rose to her hairline. "A book. Are you kidding me?"
"No. I'm not jealous of a book, I just don't want my girlfriend reading something that will give her the wrong idea about hockey."
"I already know about hockey..." Ronnie blinked twice. Was he being serious? Was this the hill he wanted to die on?
"I know, but I just mean-"
She sighed and rolled her eyes, wrapping her arms around him and squishing her face into his chest.
"You're just grumpy. That's all."
It was the only thing she could think of to snap him out of whatever mood he was in, and it worked better than she thought it would. He relaxed and hugged her back without a second thought.
"Yeah, okay, maybe I am just grumpy..." Kendall mumbled. "And maybe I don't want you to like the guy in the book more than me..."
"He's made up of words." Ronnie couldn't hold back her laughter. "But I swear, your insecurity is going to start making you sound like a red flag."
"Plus, whenever I try to picture him, all I see is you."
Unfortunately for Kendall and Ronnie, James was currently texting Roxy all about how their best friend was jealous of a hockey romance book. He could hear her laughter through the walls.
