So we've all kind of collectively decided Nick is bisexual, right?
And everyone knows who I'm talking about when I say Pretty Lacrosse Boy, right?
Well, my mind took this singular moment of interaction from ep7 and said "what if... they dated??" So I named Pretty Lacrosse Boy Tyler and developed like half a fanfic worth of plot in my head and now I ship them like,, a lot
So I made a post the other day about how my brain took the idea that Nick is bisexual and that I wanted to see more of Ryan McEwan’s character (Pretty Lacrosse Boy) and decided to ship the two of them. Since Pretty Lacrosse Boy doesn’t have a name, I named him Tyler Doyle. And I wrote a fanfiction about them:
SUMMARY: When Nick gets a concussion during lacrosse practice, he needs a ride to urgent care. Thankfully for him, his teammate Tyler offers to drive him. Cue awkward conversations, pretty smiles, flustered looks, and “oh crap this guy is really cute”.
Getting slammed into the ground and getting a lacrosse stick to the head to match was not what Nick had planned when he’d gone to practice today. He probably could have avoided it, in hindsight. But he’d been distracted staring at Tyl- the sidelines- to notice that Cameron was about to slam into him until too late. Next thing he knew, Nick was laying on the ground, the back of his head smacking into the hardened ground below him and his stick smacking into his forehead. Pain shot through his head so quickly he didn’t even register the weight of Cameron on top of him until it was gone. He vaguely registered that Cameron was saying something to him- sorry, maybe?- but he couldn’t hear it properly. He clenched his eyes shut, groaning loudly. All he could focus on was the pain.
Nick felt someone shake his shoulder, jostling him. Involuntarily he cried out in pain, and the hand immediately left. He had no idea how long he’d laid there, in the middle of the practice field, before squinting his eyes open. Standing around him looked like about four of his teammates, Coach Barron directly above him.
“-orth! Danforth! Look at me, son.”
It took everything he had to focus his eyes on his coach.
“There we go, kid. How you feelin’?”
Nick sat up, looking around at the teammates gathered around him. Coach Barron repeated his question about how Nick felt. Nick could barely comprehend the question, let alone words to answer it, but opened his mouth to answer anyway. Unfortunately for him, instead of words coming out of his mouth, Nick felt himself doubling over, leaning to the side as he emptied the contents of his stomach. He heard his teammates exclaiming around him in disgust, backing up from the huddle around him. He gagged and heaved the last of it out, and Nick felt an arm come around his shoulder keeping him upright as he almost fell into the pile of his own vomit.
“Woah! You okay, Nick?” came the voice of whoever was holding him.
“Doing great,” he coughed out, trying to get the taste of vomit out of his mouth while the pain in his head seemingly doubled. He leaned back into the person holding him, feeling their chest vibrate as they laughed at his response.
“Okay,” Coach said, “You’re probably concussed. I’ll call someone to get you to urgent care-”
“I can drive him, Coach,” the vibrations against Nick’s back were oddly comforting and he closed his eyes. “No, no- gotta keep your eyes open, Nick. Can’t fall asleep.”
Nick still couldn’t properly distinguish who was talking to him. The voice was familiar, soft. Nick forced his eyes back open, feeling dizzy. He zoned out as coach and his teammate debated taking him to urgent care. As they did, Nick forced himself into turning around to see who had caught him from falling. As he caught sight of who it was, Nick let out a groan. He’d already embarrassed himself by getting pounded into the ground and then throwing up in front of the entire team. Why not go ahead and make things worse?
Tyler glanced down at him as he groaned, eyes trailing over him to check if he was okay, it seemed. Nick grunted a little bit, attempting to pull himself away from Tyler’s chest and sit up on his own. Tyler let him go, keeping a hand on his shoulder.
“Alright, Doyle,” Nick heard Coach say. “You’re both free to go.”
Tyler smiled up at Coach Barron, nodding. Not that Nick would ever willingly admit it, but he wasn’t entirely sure it was the concussion that made him dizzy in the moment. When the dizzy spell was over, Nick’s eyes refocused to find Tyler watching him carefully.
“Huh?” Nick let out, sounding as out of it as he felt. Tyler’s lips twitched up in a smile.
“I asked if you were gonna puke on me if I helped you stand up.”
“Oh. Uh- No. No, I think I’m fine.”
Tyler nodded, then stood up. He was already taller than Nick, but he looked like a giant as Nick sat uselessly, dizzy on the ground. Tyler held a hand out to Nick, which the lacrosse player took hesitantly. He pulled Nick up gently, resting a hand on his back when Nick stumbled. Nick couldn’t register much more than how light headed he was. He stayed silent as Tyler guided him to the sidelines to grab their bags and then out to the parking lot. Tyler didn’t try to talk much either, just whispering quiet reassurances when Nick got hit with dizziness and keeping an arm around him in case Nick fell. The journey out to Tyler’s car passed in a bit of a blur, and Nick didn’t realize he was actually sitting down in the passenger seat until Tyler was taking a slow turn out of the parking lot.
“Thanks for doing this,” Nick managed, and Tyler looked sideways at him with a small smile.
“You probably should try not to talk. It’ll only make your headache worse,” Tyler spoke in almost a whisper, and Nick was grateful for the reprieve of noise on his headache.
“Had a concussion before?”
Tyler shook his head, keeping his driving as slow as he could on the busy LA streets. “Nah, but you know my step-brother Dylan? The drumline kid? Turns out marching band is way more dangerous than it seems. I think he’s had like three concussions since he joined the band.”
Nick hummed in response, allowing his eyes to fall shut.
“No, dude, gotta keep your eyes open.”
Nick groaned.
“Nick, seriously- until the doctor checks you out and we know how bad your concussion is, you shouldn’t fall asleep. Here-” Tyler reached in front of Nick, pulling something out of the glovebox as gently as he could, “-wear these, it’ll block out the light.”
Nick took the sunglasses from Tyler’s hand, slipping them over his eyes. He sighed in relief as soon as he did; the sunlight gleaming off the other cars on the street had made him want to cry. Nick wasn’t entirely sure what happened on their way to the closest urgent care. He vaguely heard himself talking- rambling, more like- even though Tyler had told him to stay quiet. He didn’t stop rambling until they’d arrived and the car was parked.
“As interesting as the history of the platypus was, let’s go get you a doctor, yeah?”
If Nick wasn’t already so out of it, he was sure he would have been embarrassed. Is that what he's been talking about all this time?
As they walked into the urgent care clinic, Tyler was once again guiding him with a hand on his back. If Nick felt the urge to lean into the touch, he blamed it on his lack of proper coordination. Nick leaned into the counter of the nurse, receptionist, whoever it was Tyler was talking to instead. He didn’t listen to much of what either one was saying, but tuned in just in time to hear the- nurse?- ask if Nick had a guardian with him.
“No, we drove straight from our school,” Tyler responded, “But his dad’s on his way.”
“He is?” Nick asked, squinting at Tyler from behind the sunglasses still covering his eyes. Tyler looked at him, frowning a little bit.
“Yeah. Coach called him before we left, remember?”
“Oh,” Nick let out, not remembering whatsoever. Tyler gave him a strange look, a hint of a smile on his lips. Nick found himself staring at his teammate as Tyler turned back to the nurse, who was being informed that if they took a seat in the waiting room, someone would be out to see them shortly.
“How you feeling, man?” Tyler asked as he pulled Nick down to sit.
Nick let out a breath, “Floaty.”
Tyler let out a laugh next to him, which he tried to cover with a cough. “Jeez, Cam really hit you hard, didn’t he?”
Nick let out a hum in response, tilting sideways until his head came to rest on Tyler’s shoulder. Tyler seemed to tense under him, and Nick almost moved his head, but then the other relaxed, sliding down in his uncomfortable waiting room chair so that Nick’s head was positioned more comfortably. Like he’d done with the rest of the afternoon, Nick allowed himself to zone out as they waited. He mindlessly watched people walk in and out of the urgent care clinic, letting them all leave his head as soon as they were out of sight. The only person he did focus on was the tall, blond man who looked like he’d just gotten out of teaching a dance class. His eyes locked on Nick almost immediately, letting out a deep breath.
Nick smiled at him, picking his head off of Tyler’s shoulder.
“One of these days, you or your dad is going to give me a heart attack, you know that?” he said in place of greeting, stopping in front of Nick.
“Hey, pops.”
“Don’t call me that, it makes me feel old,” his father replied, kneeling down in front of him. “How are you feeling?”
Beside him, Tyler let out a huffed laugh. Both Nick and his father turned to look at him.
“Sorry,” Tyler said, looking a little red. “It’s just- I asked him the same thing and he said he felt ‘floaty’.”
Nick’s father cracked a smile at that. “You must be Tyler? Coach Barron told me you drove Nick here?”
Tyler nodded.
“Thanks for doing that, Tyler. I’m Ryan.”
“Oh, it’s, uh- It was no problem. My brother has gotten a concussion a couple times, so I’m, well- used to it? I guess?”
Before either of them could continue the conversation, a woman dressed in scrubs came into the waiting room, calling for Nick Danforth-Evans. Ryan stood back up, raising his hand so the doctor knew who she was calling.
“Guess that’s my cue to leave,” Tyler said, and Nick had a strange feeling fill his chest at the thought. Even so, he nodded just barely, smiling at Tyler.
“Thanks, man.”
Tyler just nodded. “Thanks for the lecture on platypuses. Learned a lot, actually.”
Nick ignored the laugh his father had let out, followed by “Really? You’re still telling people about freaking platypuses?” in favor of waving Tyler goodbye and watching his teammate leave the clinic. Eventually, his father gently pulled him to his feet, walking him slowly over to the waiting doctor.
----------
Tyler wasn’t entirely sure what possessed him to do it. He and Nick weren’t not friends, but they didn’t know each other that well either. There was frankly no logical reason for him to be doing this. He told himself it was because he hadn’t been able to text Nick all day- he’d overheard Carrie saying that Nick had given a “no screen time” rule by his doctor- and wasn’t it only reasonable to follow up with the guy you’d taken to urgent care yesterday? Tyler ignored the part of his brain that told him the truth; he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about his teammate since he’d left the hospital yesterday, and he just wanted an excuse to see Nick again. So Tyler had taken his lunch period interrogating the other lacrosse team members to figure out what classes Nick was taking and with which teachers he had them.
The reasonable part of his brain told him this was kind of creepy, and entirely unnecessary for him to do. But even so, he told Kayla to let Mrs. Kelly know that he wouldn’t make it to dance practice after school today, and he went around to Nick’s teachers’ classrooms. About 20 minutes later, he pulled out of the Los Feliz parking lot with a folder full of class notes, homework, and messages from teachers for Nick. He tapped his fingers against the steering wheel as he drove in the general direction he knew Nick’s house was. He’d only been there a few times, all for lacrosse purposes. Nick’s dad loved to host the team over- said he’d always done it in high school when he was on the basketball team and that it was a great bonding opportunity.
Really, the only reason he was doing this was because he just wanted to check on him. Make sure he was feeling alright. It had nothing to do with the way Nick had leaned into his chest on the field or rested his head on Tyler’s shoulder in the waiting room, and it definitely had nothing to do with how Nick had still managed to look cute when concussed and rambling about random things in the waiting room.
When he finally reached Nick's house, he parked his car in the driveway and just sat there. He bounced his leg, tapping his fingers against the wheel. Nick's house was slightly foreboding. Both of Nick's fathers made plenty of money, and it was one of the fancier houses in the area surrounding Los Feliz High School. He kind of felt like the house was judging him as he sat in the driveway, too nervous to actually go in.
"This is stupid, Tyler," he mumbled to himself. "You're already here, just get out of the damn car."
It must have been another five minutes that he sat there, one hand ready to twist his key in the ignition and leave and the other on the door handle, ready to get out of the car. Eventually, he took his hand away from the ignition, pulling the key out.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” he grumbled, grabbing the folder and finally leaving his car. “It’ll be fine. Just say hey, drop the homework off, and leave without looking like a complete idiot.”
He schooled his expression into something casual and normal looking by the time he reached the front door. With all the determination he had, he raised his hand, knocking on the door. He didn’t want to use the doorbell; last time Dylan had a concussion he’d physically witnessed his step-brother crying at the sound.
The door opened so quickly after his knock that Tyler froze in shock for a moment. He found himself looking down at a little girl he’d never met before- Nick’s sister, he assumed. She was dressed in a blindingly yellow princess dress, and atop her mess of deep, black curls was a plastic tiara to match.
She cocked her head at him curiously, asking with no shyness in her voice, “Who are you?”
“Oh- um. . .” He always felt awkward around kids. The only ones he ever really interacted with were his cousins. “I’m looking for Nick?”
“He’s in the living room!” the girl in front of him announced happily, pointing off to her left. Tyler hesitated, but stumbled through the front door as the girl grabbed his hand, pulling him into the large house. Tyler didn’t even know what to say, just struggled to not drop the folder of papers for Nick as he was forcibly invited into the house.
“Arabella, please tell me you opened the door because dad’s back and not because you just let some stran-” Nick cut himself off as he caught sight of Tyler behind the little girl- Arabella.
“Tyler. Hey.”
Tyler cleared his throat, trying his best to put on a casual smile. Nick was seated on a large, fluffy looking couch. He was leaning against the armrest, his legs stretched out in front of him. Nick looked practically buried in the large sweatshirt he was wearing, branded with a faded EHS on the chest, and the soft white blanket thrown over him. Tyler felt frozen to the spot as he looked at Nick, his mouth opening dumbly as no words came out. He looked anywhere but Nick’s eyes, not sure he’d be able to function at all if he did. He was saved from the awkwardness as Arabella let go of her iron grip on his hand, moving over to the couch. Tyler winced in sympathy as Nick groaned and clamped his eyes shut, Arabella jostling him as she climbed into her brother’s lap. Even though both of them were adopted, Tyler could see a resemblance between the siblings. They had the same smile: a toothy grin framed by dimples. He felt himself smile softly as Nick instinctively wrapped an arm around his sister to steady her before she fell right back off the couch.
“Ari, we’ve talked about how you’re not supposed to open the door for strangers,” Nick spoke softly, and Tyler had to suck in a breath.
Arabella pouted in his lap, “He’s not a stranger! You knew his name!”
“That’s not the- Look, just remember you have to wait for me, daddy, or papa before you open the door, okay?”
The girl- only 7 years old if Tyler remembered correctly- let out a heavy breath, still looking sure she’d done nothing wrong, but she nodded to her brother. She leaned into Nick’s chest, who carefully shifted her in his arms so she was next to him rather than on top. Tyler wasn’t sure he could stop the smile on his face if he tried. Nick looked back at him once Arabella was situated, casting him a soft smile that had Tyler feeling weak.
“Sorry about her-” Arabella elbowed him, “-my dad ran out to the store and she was expecting him back soon. So, uh. . . What’s up, man? Don’t you have dance team after school on Thursdays?”
The question knocked Tyler out of his reverie as he remembered why he was here. He ignored the heat in his cheeks- Nick remembered he had dance on Thursdays?
“Oh, right, yeah. Um, I- well. I brought you your homework?” Tyler inwardly cursed himself for stumbling over his words. You’d think he’d never talked to the guy before.
Nick looked surprised at the words, his eyebrows raising a little bit. Tyler had to glance away.
“I didn’t figure you’d be at school tomorrow either, so I, um, I brought you tomorrow’s, too.”
Nick was just kind of staring at him, and Tyler shifted his weight between his feet. Silence lapsed between the three of them until Arabella whispered something to her brother that had Nick glaring down at her for a second.
“Thanks, Tyler,” Nick said quietly. “I really appreciate that.”
Tyler smiled at him, nodding. “Yeah, it’s no problem.”
He held up the folder, “Is there somewhere you. . ?”
“Oh, um. Just that table right next to you is fine.”
Tyler nodded again, setting the folder down. Without anything to hold, he wasn’t quite sure what to do with his hands. He settled for stuffing them in his pocket. Tyler’s eyes couldn’t help but be drawn back to Nick. He looked sleepy and comfortable the way he was wrapped up on the couch. His hair was slightly tousled like Nick had been running his hands through it. Tyler fought the urge to go over and fix it for him.
In order to stop himself from doing something stupid like just that, Tyler took in a deep breath and asked, “So how are you feeling?”
Nick shrugged a little, “Better. I don’t remember all that much from yesterday, honestly. Still kind of feels like my skull is gonna split open, but pain meds have been helping. This one-” Arabella let out a quiet giggle as Nick tickled her side, “-not so much.”
Tyler let out a huffed laugh. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure Dylan was ready to put my head through his snare drum last time he had a concussion.”
Nick laughed, but it cut off as he winced. Tyler grimaced at the sight.
“Sorry.”
Nick just smiled as if to say “don’t worry about it”.
Before either of them could say anymore, they heard the sounds of the door opening and footsteps coming into the room.
“Hey, I’m home. Boo, I got you some Gatorade and these light blocking glasses that are great for concussions. And for the munchkin I got- Oh.”
Nick and Arabella’s father- Chad- looked up from the shopping bag he was holding, eyes immediately locking on Tyler. The lacrosse player wasn’t sure what else to do but awkwardly wave as Nick’s father regarded him.
“I know you, don’t I?”
“Um, yes, sir. I’m on the lacrosse team with Nick.”
Chad nodded in recognition, “Right. Tim? Tyson?”
“Tyler,” Nick said for him, in what could almost be said to be a defensive tone. Chad looked over to Nick, raising an eyebrow at his son. “He was just bringing my homework over for me.”
Chad nodded at his son slowly. “Sure, kid. And thanks for doing that, Tyler. I was going to head over to the school tomorrow to do that.”
“It was no problem, Mr. Danforth-Evans,” Tyler mumbled, not sure what to do with himself.
Chad snorted, shaking his head. “It’s just Chad, Tyler.”
Tyler nodded stiffly. He’d met Nick’s parents before, but something about this whole situation made it feel like he’d forgotten any and every way to properly interact with other human beings.
“Well,” Chad said, holding his hand out towards his children, “Ari, why don’t we leave Boo and his friend to talk a little more and you can come help me put this stuff away.”
Arabella nodded, sliding off the couch and moving towards her dad.
“Boo?” Tyler couldn’t stop himself from asking. Nick sighed, cringing.
“I really liked Monsters Inc when I was a kid,” he explained, but Chad let out a snort.
“Really liked? You insisted- and I mean insisted- on dressing up as Boo from that movie for three Halloweens in a row.” Chad’s face was lit up with the smirk of a parent who knew exactly what they were doing to torture their child.
Nick ran a hand down his face, “Thanks for that, dad.”
Chad just smiled and picked Arabella up into his arms, walking past the couch into what looked like the kitchen from the angle Tyler was stood at. He dropped a kiss onto Nick’s head as he passed, laughing again as his son looked further embarrassed. Tyler couldn’t help the soft laugh that escaped him, which had Nick’s eyes turning on him. Nick’s face was tinged a soft pink, and Tyler was captivated by the way it made the other look.
After a moment’s or two silence, Nick said, “You know, the only other person who knows the Boo story is Carrie, and she’s sworn to secrecy, so if that suddenly gets around the school- I’m coming after you first.”
Tyler held his hands up in surrender, smiling at Nick. “The only other person who knows is Carrie? Well, now I just feel special.”
Nick looked down at his lap, a small smile on his face. His voice was quiet, barely audible for Tyler to hear as he said, “Yeah, I guess you are.”
Tyler wasn’t sure what to do with that. His chest felt a little tighter at the words, and he bit his tongue to keep from saying anything to embarrass himself.
“I should probably head out. Let you rest,” Tyler managed to get out. Nick looked back up at him, an expression on his face that Tyler couldn’t quite pick out.
“Oh. Yeah, sure. Thanks for- For bringing me my school stuff. And. . . for yesterday. My dads said I wasn’t the easiest person to deal with, so I’m sorry if I was annoying or anything.”
You look cute while rambling about how the platypus has been your favorite animal since you watched Phineas and Ferb, then practically gave me a heart attack when you put your head on my shoulder.
Tyler shook his head. “It’s no problem, man. You were out of it, but you weren’t annoying. I offered to drive you, remember? Anyway, I’m gonna go. I’ll let you know how that scrimmage game on Saturday goes?”
Nick nodded as much as he could without hurting his head and smiled at that- the toothy grin framed by dimples. Tyler sucked in a breath, forcing his eyes away from Nick.
“See you later, Nick.”
“Bye, Tyler.”
Tyler forced himself not to look back as he left the house, moving swiftly back to his car. As soon as he was inside, he slumped forward, repeatedly thumping his forehead against his steering wheel. Maybe if he got lucky, Nick’s concussion would make him forget the entire interaction- every excruciatingly awkward moment that Tyler allowed himself to look like a complete fool.
“Real smooth, idiot,” he said out loud as he started his car and pulled out of the Danforth-Evans driveway.
It was going on a little under a year now that Tyler had had a crush on Nick. He’d caught the other lacrosse player doing a mini victory dance after a game last year and had quite literally fallen- he’d gotten so distracted looking at Nick’s hair and his smiles and the way the sweat made his arms glisten a little bit in the sunlight that he’d tripped over another team member’s bag, falling face first into the grass.
He’d spent the last year both avoiding all and taking any opportunity to interact with Nick. He’d evidently gotten no better at stifling his pure embarrassing energy when it came to talking to him. He’d just add today onto the ever-growing list of Ways To Make Terrible Impressions On Your Crush. Fantastic.
----------
As soon as the front door shut behind Tyler, Nick buried his face in his hands. He could hear the footsteps of his father coming back into the living room, followed by quiet laughter.
“I hate you,” Nick mumbled into his hands, but he knew his dad heard it anyway. “I have a concussion- shouldn’t you be nicer to me?”
“Hey, I wasn’t the one who knocked you in the head. Besides, what kind of father would I be if I didn’t take every opportunity to embarrass you?”
“The kind whose kids don’t grow up to hate him.”
Nick knew his father wasn’t taking his words to heart, as usual. For all Nick joked that he wanted nothing to do with his dad, the two of them had always been close.
“Sorry, Boo, but if you’re going to invite a boy over to the house-”
“I didn’t invite him! I don’t even have my phone to invite him. He was just bringing me my homework.” Nick felt his face going even redder than it already was, and he kept it covered by pulling the blanket over his face to avoid his dad’s further teasing.
“Out of the kindness of his heart, huh?”
Nick peeked an eye out, squinting at his father. “What are you implying here?”
His dad just shrugged, a little too casually for Nick’s taste. Nick sighed loudly, shrinking down into the couch cushions.
“My head hurts too much for this.”
At that, his dad moved over to the couch, the teasing smile dropped from his face as he took a seat next to Nick. “Has it gotten any worse?”
Chad had always been the parent that took care of the kids’ injuries. He’d gotten so many himself as a kid that he knew the remedy and care for each one Nick or Arabella could ever get. Nick and his father agreed that if Chad ever got bored of basketball- he was currently an assistant coach for the Lakers- he’d likely be amazing in medical school.
“No, it actually felt better when-” Nick cut himself off.
When Tyler was here, his brain supplied the rest of the sentence. Nick wasn’t sure what to do with that information. He shut his mouth, frowning a little. He stayed silent as his dad fussed around him a little bit, shifting pillows and pulling the living room curtains closed some more, trying to block out as much light as possible. Nick ran back through the conversation with Tyler in his head. He thought about his teammate dressed in a pair of light colored jeans and his letter jacket that seemed just a little too big for him- Nick was so used to seeing him dressed for lacrosse that he never really saw him dressed casually like that. He thought about Tyler holding Ari’s hand. He thought about Tyler’s thoughtfulness in bringing over his school work so that Nick didn’t have to stress about it later, and he thought about the image of Tyler smiling at him.
“Well, shit,” Nick let out softly, staring at the wall.
“Language,” his dad chastised, but Nick ignored him.
“Shit,” he repeated, then turned as quickly as he could without hurting his head to face his father. “Dad, can I have my phone?”
His dad frowned at him. “Nick, the doctor said no screens, remember? You-”
“Yeah, I know what she said. But I really need my phone. Please?”
“Why?”
“Because I have a concussion and I’m slow on the uptake and I really need to talk to Carrie right now. Ten minutes. Please.”
His dad looked him over, eyes narrowed. “Fine. Ten minutes. But don’t tell your father.”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Nick let out, holding his hand out to his dad. Chad grabbed Nick’s phone from where it was sitting next to the TV, then deposited it into his son’s hand.
Nick scrambled with the device, wincing as he turned the brightness down all the way and pulling up Carrie’s contact.
carrie
carrie
CARRIE
Carrie Wilson i swear if you don’t respond right now
im gonna lose my damn mind
Okay okay I’m responding
What do you want
tyler was just at my house and he dropped off
all my homework and talked to my dad and my sister
and my head hurts i’m way too tired for this
Tyler??
Pretty lacrosse boy Tyler??
Nick I love you but I am not seeing the importance here
carrie he was at my HOUSE and he SMILED AT ME
have you ever seen him smile???
because i know my brain isn’t like working right
now or whatever but he SMILED AT ME and its
all i can think about
Oh
Oh damn
Nick
My best friend and love of my life
Do you
Have a crush
ON TYLER DOYLE???
YEAH I THINK SO
CARRIE
i always thought he was really pretty and cute
but hhnnngg i think it’s an actual crush and idk
what to do about that
Oh my god
he smiled at me and i really wanted to kiss him
how did i not realize i wanted to kiss him
concussion make me dumb
Don’t know if the concussion is to blame for
that but okay honey
fuck i have to go dad is taking my phone
WAIT WHAT
NICHOLAS
YOU CAN’T JUST LEAVE ME LIKE THAT
NICK
Nick was grateful he’d had time to lock his phone before his dad pulled it from his hands. He did not need the embarrassment of his dad catching sight of that conversation. He felt a little bad for leaving Carrie on that note, but he was too stressed about how did he not notice he had a crush on this guy to care at the moment. As his dad returned his phone to its original spot, Nick pulled the blanket back over his head, sinking down in an attempt to become one with the couch. As he shut his eyes, he felt his dad’s hand come to rest on his head, above the blanket.
“I know having a concussion sucks, Boo,” his dad spoke softly.
Sure. Yeah, let’s pretend the concussion is his biggest problem right now.
“I’ll take the munchkin upstairs and keep her quiet, why don’t you try to get a little bit of sleep before your father gets home? I’ll wake you up in two hours.”
Nick sighed at the thought that his dad would have to wake him up. He’d had to do it all night as doctor’s orders. Every two hours, wake him up and make him answer a few memory questions to make sure his head injury wasn’t getting any worse. Nick was exhausted, and he knew his dad was as well. It was off season for basketball, so he wasn’t out of the house as often and had been the elected parent to stay up with Nick all night.
“Love you, Nick,” his father whispered above him, and then the hand disappeared from his head.
“Love you, too,” Nick mumbled. He knew at this point he wasn’t likely to get any sleep. Not when Tyler had been in his house and giving him that smile- Nick was pretty sure the image was now ingrained in his brain.
Tyler had never been a teammate that Nick was close to, but he’d always been aware of him. Tyler was funny, and kind, and the two of them had had fun getting stuck in Mrs. Kelly’s fourth period dance class for those few weeks together. And there had never been any denying that Tyler was nice to look at. Really nice. Nice enough that Nick had allowed himself to get so distracted watching Tyler on the sidelines of the field that he’d gotten slammed into the ground and concussed. But he had been so sure that that’s all it was. Tyler was attractive, Nick knew it, and that was that. But then Tyler had driven him to urgent care without a hesitation, sat with him until his father showed up, and then brought him all his school work. Nick had been so struck by that that he’d sat on the couch, staring like an idiot until his 7 year old sister leaned up and whispered that he needed to say something. And damn, Nick might actually be grateful for the concussion because while it may have made him a little slow to realize that Tyler was right there and god, did he want to kiss him, it also saved him from becoming the blushing mess he knew he would have otherwise.
“Well, shit,” Nick repeated once more, covering his face with his hands.
if you made it this far, thanks so much for reading!! I hope you enjoyed it!! if this gets a good response I’m planning on following it up with a part 2 in which they might go on a date or something like that.
tag list (let me know if you want added for future parts):
The long-awaited PART THREE of my Nick/Pretty Lacrosse Boy(aka Tyler Doyle) fics! You can read parts one and two HERE on AO3, or search “Slow On The Uptake” and “Varsity Letter Jackets” on my blog!
Thank you so much to everyone who has been enjoying my silly little extremely niche ship of Nick and some random, pretty extra on the show. These two bring me an insane amount of joy and I’m so happy you guys are feeling it too. For some bonus content, check out @zendrella and my Twitter AU, where Tyler and Nick are included!! This fic is being crossposted to AO3, just like the others, so you can read it there if you’d like- click here!
SUMMARY: Nick and Tyler and officially dating, and both of them are convinced they’ve never been happier. Over the first month of their relationship, Nick keeps finding lime green sticky notes- on and in his locker, in his textbooks, even in his house. Each one is signed by his boyfriend, and Nick isn’t sure he’s ever going to stop smiling.
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Neither Nick nor Tyler were sure their first date could have gone any worse.
Tyler had texted Nick about five minutes before he was supposed to pick him up that he'd be late; one of his dogs had puked all over the shoes Tyler had been wearing, so he'd had to clean that up, clean the mess that hadn't made it on his shoes, and then Tyler spent about five minutes rummaging through the closet or a different pair of shoes until he just gave up and took a pair that belonged to Dylan. When he'd finally made it to the Danforth-Evans residence, Nick had come out of the house sparkling. Literally. Arabella had decided to throw an impromptu princess party, it seemed, and had thrown some glitter over Nick as "good luck"- Tyler didn't have as many complaints as Nick over that, though; he looked really pretty. Then there was the poor waitress with a full tray who had gotten tripped by a toddler running away from their parents and had spilled almost half of the tray right onto Nick. Nick, in his surprise at the sudden lap full of salad and cool drink running down his shirt, had bumped the table hard enough to topple some of their food off of it and onto Tyler instead. The entire evening seemed to be one mishap after another. Low gas in Tyler's car, a wrong turn in Hollywood that got them stuck in traffic, Nick having a moment of panic as he realized he'd completely forgotten an important homework assignment due the next day. By all accounts, it was an awful first date.
But the entire time, they never ran out of things to talk about, kept trading shy but happy smiles, and gently held hands as they waited for traffic to finally move. The night had ended with Tyler walking Nick to his front door, both of them laughing at everything that had gone wrong. It ended with a hug neither of them wanted to let go of because the other was warm, and smelled nice, and holding them comfortably, and it just felt right. It ended with Tyler whispering good night in Nick's ear before pulling away from the hug and pressing a light kiss to Nick's cheek, face tomato red as he promised to text Nick later. It ended with Nick being too impatient for Tyler to text him that as soon as he was up in his room, he was shooting off a good night text to thank Tyler for a nice- albeit disastrous- evening. It ended with a promise that this wasn't the only date for them.
It only took one more date before Tyler kissed his lips instead, leaving both of them a giggling mess as hands rested on cheeks and ran through hair. It took three dates total before Nick called Tyler his boyfriend for the first time. Nick didn't think he'd ever see Tyler smile wider than when he'd heard the word come from Nick's mouth, and the rest of his sentence got derailed as Tyler kissed him instead. The kiss had been more smiles than anything, but it had both their stomachs doing flips and their hearts fluttering heavily but happily.
It was the day after that the notes started. Nick hadn’t been expecting it, and he’d blushed so hard that first time he was sure that his entire body temperature must have risen. It was the morning after Nick had called Tyler his boyfriend, that they’d made the relationship official, and Nick found the first note stuck to the metal door of his locker. It was a lime green sticky note, the shade Nick knew his boyfriend’s favorite color to be. It stood out against the blue of his locker, and it was bright enough that Nick had been able to spot it from the other end of the hallway. He approached his locker with confusion at the bright green, glancing around to see if anyone else's locker had also been branded with some type of note. When it became evident that it was just his own, Nick frowned a little, finally reaching his locker. His backpack hung off his arm as he reached out, pulling off the folded in half note stuck to the metal. Nick unfolded the little piece of paper, finding himself smiling almost immediately at the black pen scrawled across the lime green.
I can’t believe I get to call you my boyfriend. I don’t think I’m gonna stop smiling all day. See you at lunch, handsome ♡ -T
Nick could feel the heat under his skin rising up his neck and onto his cheeks, and he smiled goofily down at the piece of paper in his hand. It made his cheeks hurt, eyes squinted so that it was almost difficult to see. He’d been floating on cloud nine since last night, his steps feeling lighter and a hum following him around the house this morning that had his fathers watching him with raised eyebrows and small, knowing grins. Tyler made Nick’s heart skip beats and his stomach flutter and his head spin. He could honestly say he’d never felt like this before- not when he was dating Carrie, not during that brief stint when he’d had a crush on Julie, never. Tyler was just. . . special.
Amazing.
And he was Nick’s boyfriend.
He knew Tyler was just as excited as himself that their relationship was official now, but being able to see it written out in this little note, seeing a little drawn heart and Tyler calling him handsome, was something so comforting and happiness inducing. Nick wasn’t sure how long he stood at his own locker, just reading over the note again and again, but was shocked out of his reverie by the warning bell alarming overhead, letting students know classes started in three minutes. Nick was quick to tuck the note into his pocket, sorting through what he needed and depositing the rest in his locker. He had four classes before lunch, and Nick was sure he’d spent more time staring at the note from Tyler than he did paying any attention to his teachers.
During their shared music class, Carrie had nudged him, a question in her eyes. Nick had just smiled and shrugged, not quite willing to tell her about the note, but Carrie had glanced down at the paper then taken one look at the lovestruck smile on his face before rolling her eyes fondly. When Nick finally did reach lunch, the only time during school that he and Tyler really saw each other, he found that he’d beaten his boyfriend there. At their usual table were a few others from the lacrosse team, but the seat in which Tyler usually sat was still vacant. Nick, only slightly disappointed by the lack of his boyfriend in the lunchroom, sat down at the empty seat next to Tyler’s, greeting their teammates Cameron, Jack, and Adam as he did so. Just as Nick was pulling out his phone, to check if Tyler had texted him, he felt arms wrap around his shoulders and a chin rest on top of his head. Nick smiled at the feeling, grasping Tyler’s hands in his own and looking up at the awkward angle to meet his boyfriend’s eyes.
Tyler smiled down at him, looking blushy and almost nervous. Removing his arms from around Nick, Tyler sat on the lunch table bench. Tyler leaned into Nick’s space once more, pressing a feather light kiss to his cheek and whispering, just loud enough for the two of them to hear, “Hey, handsome.”
Nick blushed at the clear reference to the note Tyler had left him this morning, and at the clear display of affection. They hadn’t quite figured out their comfortability with PDA yet, only venturing into holding hands so far, but Nick was filled with warmth at the action, leaning over to bump Tyler’s shoulder with his own.
“Thanks for the note,” Nick responded as a greeting, to which Tyler ducked his head down and smiled.
“So you liked it?”
“He’s been staring at it all day,” Jack sold him out with a snort. Nick spun his head around to glare at his teammate, mouthing “traitor” at him. Jack was in three of the classes Nick had gone to this morning, and much like Carrie, had tried to ask what had him so distracted. All the lacrosse boys that they ate lunch with knew the two of them had been going out on dates so when Jack had seen Nick enraptured with a little sticky note, had jokingly asked if he’d received a love letter from Tyler. Apparently Nick’s blush had been enough of an answer because Jack had let out a surprised laugh at his correct guess, then turned back to his work. Tyler, however, looked pleased at Jack’s words, flashing a smile of thanks to their teammate before looking back to Nick.
“Good to know,” he said softly, bumping Nick’s knee under the table.
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The notes stuck both to and slipped inside his locker continued. Nick found them in the morning before classes, during the day, and after school before lacrosse practice. They weren’t there every day, but over the past three weeks, Nick had amassed a pretty good collection of lime green sticky notes, black ink across them. Some were sappy and cute, like that first one had been.
I “borrowed” Dylan’s year pass to the mini golf place. You, me, a few windmills- what do you say?? I’ll pick you up at 6 ♡ -T
My mom asked “how’s your boyfriend doing” last night and holy crap I love hearing that word -T
I can’t believe I let you wear my letter jacket today YOU LOOK SO CUTE AND IT’S HARD TO FOCUS -T
Some were more simple, just little messages that Tyler thought would make Nick smile when he saw them.
Good luck on your test today!! -T
Say hi to Arabella for me when you get home :) -T
Just so you know- I parked in the east lot today instead of the west. See you after school! -T
Each one had Nick feeling on top of the word, smiling at them and then carefully placing them in a folder to take home with him later. At lunch or after school, Nick would plant a kiss on Tyler’s cheek in silent thanks for the notes.
Today Nick and Tyler were at the Danforth-Evans house after school, hanging out to study, maybe watch a movie. They’d awkwardly passed by Nick’s parents lounging on the couch together, Nick practically dying in embarrassment as his father had called after them that the bedroom door had to stay open. Tyler had the nerve to laugh at his boyfriend’s flushed cheeks and groan of annoyance, earning him a light slap against the arm as they made their way to Nick’s bedroom.
Tyler had never been in here before, and a smile graced his features as he stepped inside. Nick gave him silent permission to wander around the room, looking at whatever he wanted, while Nick moved to sit on the pale green comforter of his bed. He watched as Tyler admired the three guitars sitting in the corner of his room- the bubblegum pink electric sitting proudly in the front- and smiled at the lacrosse stick pinned above the closet door.
"Are these. . ." Tyler began asking, fascinated by something on Nick's dresser. "Are these my sunglasses?"
At the finished question, Nick felt heat rise up his neck. Tyler turned around to face him, holding up a pair of blue glasses with black tinted lenses. It was the pair Tyler had loaned him after Nick had gotten a concussion and the sunlight was too bright for his headache. Tyler must have taken Nick's silence as answer enough, because he let out a laugh as he looked down to the sunglasses in his hand.
"I didn't even realize you'd kept them," Tyler's voice was quiet, pitched slightly higher. Nick thought he could see a smile on his boyfriend's lips.
"Y-yeah, well, they, um. They reminded me of you, so, yeah," Nick rambled out, not quite looking at Tyler. Tyler looked up at him, an almost glassy look in his eyes.
"Sorry, is that- is that weird to tell you?" Nick asked, cringing a little as Tyler turned around to set the sunglasses back in their place on his dresser. He heard Tyler laugh quietly as he turned back around, taking the few steps over to the bed to stand in front of where Nick stood.
"No, it's not weird," Tyler picked up one of Nick's hands, twining their fingers together. Nick gave a small tug, signalling Tyler to sit down next to him. "I think it's kinda cute. I mean, you really kept them because it made you think of me?"
Tyler was blushing too now, a layer of awe in his voice like he couldn't believe anyone would ever do something like that. It made Nick think that maybe Tyler had no idea he’d been keeping those lime green slips of paper, either. Nick squeezed Tyler's hand, bumping their shoulders together.
"Well, it's not everyday the cutest guy you've ever seen drives you to urgent care. Gotta remember the occasion somehow," Nick's voice had teasing laced through it, but he knew the sincerity shown through by the way Tyler smiled brightly down at their joint hands.
"Plus," Nick continued, "don't know if you heard, but even before you were my boyfriend- I was kind of embarrassingly into you."
Nick wasn't sure Tyler ever looked prettier than when he was smiling, shades of pink on his cheeks. Nick could write a set of notes as big as the ones he’d received from Tyler dedicated solely to how pretty his boyfriend was.
"Don't tell your boyfriend I told you this," Tyler started, "but he'd been trying to get the courage to ask you out for a year before you beat him to it."
Tyler sounded shy and quiet, keeping his eyes trained on their joint hands. Nick stared at him with surprise, his mouth opened slightly.
"You never told me that."
A year? Tyler had liked him for a year before they started dating? It filled Nick with warmth along with the surprise.
"Just want you to know that being embarrassingly into each other goes both ways."
When Tyler finally looked at him, with the blush still on his cheeks and a shy look in his eyes, Nick couldn't stop himself from leaning forward to kiss him. He kept it short, aware of the wide open door, but didn't resist when Tyler put a hand on the back of his neck, pulling him back for another, slightly longer kiss. When they pulled back, smiling to each other, Nick scooted closer to Tyler on the bed, resting his head on his boyfriend's shoulder.
"Since I guess we're doing romantic confessions today. . ." Nick started, making Tyler laugh, "I don't think I'm ever gonna get tired of kissing you."
Tyler let out a high pitched whine, almost like a squeak, tensing as he covered his face with his free hand.
"Damn it, Nick, you can't just say stuff like that!"
Nick picked his head off Tyler's shoulder, laughing at his blushing boyfriend's expense.
"I thought I'd stop constantly blushing around you now that we're dating, but it's your goal to prove me wrong, isn't it?"
"T, all you need to do is look at me to make me blush. Pretty sure we're on even playing ground."
He could see Tyler smiling from below the hand still covering his face. Nick peeled the hand away, holding that one in his own as well. He retook his position with his head on his boyfriend's shoulder, smiling as he felt Tyler press a kiss into his hair. They didn’t end up getting much studying done or a movie watched in the end. They were mindful of the open door, though, so they fell back onto the bed, laying next to each other and talking, laughing, trading soft kisses back and forth. At one point, Nick got up to use the bathroom, and he came back to Tyler now on the floor, Arabella in his lap with her sparkly purple tutu splayed over his thighs. Tyler had his arms around her middle, speaking lowly to her, giggles filling the room as she nodded along with whatever Nick’s boyfriend had told his little sister. The two of them together was an unfairly adorable sight, Nick decided, and his heart skipped a beat when they both spotted him, matching grins blinding him.
Arabella stayed with them the rest of the time Tyler was over, running between her own room and Nick’s to introduce Tyler to all her favorite toys and bestow her favorite princess crown on Nick’s head. It wasn’t until after Tyler left that evening, having gone home for a family dinner, that Nick found the first note that wasn’t left in his locker. He was grabbing a pair of shorts from his dresser when a familiar lime green caught his eye, stuck to the sunglasses.
I’m never gonna get sick of kissing you either See you in the morning, dork :P -T
PS- tell Ari she’s my fav Danforth-Evans
Nick let out a laugh at the post-script, shaking his head fondly as he moved to grab the old shoebox from under his bed, placing the paper gently in the box along with the rest of the notes. He tucked it closed once more, putting it back in position and heading downstairs to his family.
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As it turned out, the note in his bedroom wasn’t a one time occurrence. When Nick had woken up in the morning, the mirror on the inner door of his closet read out to him:
HOT DAMN- looking good, Danforth-Evans -T
It made Nick laugh to see it, knowing Tyler must have placed it there when Nick had excused himself from the room to use the bathroom last night. The notes he found in other various places around the house for the next few days, however, were a little more confusing.
There were a few more in his room- on his guitar, taped to his headboard, one stuck to his window claiming “no view is better than you xoxo”, and other places he should have noticed them way earlier- one stuck to the coffee pot the next morning claiming that Tyler would be waiting at the school with a latte from that coffee shop Nick loved, one next to his toothbrush in the bathroom. Nick didn’t say anything about the notes magically appearing in his house, but three days in, he rolled his eyes fondly at the lime green paper stuck on the inside of his favorite book, and texted his boyfriend.
Okay I’ll bite
Which one of my family did you bribe to help you with this
i’m sorry i have no idea what you’re talking about
i absolutely did not collude with your sister about leaving you notes and you should be ashamed for even accusing me of that
Nick couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped him at his boyfriend’s text, a warmth filling his chest at the idea of Tyler and Arabella interacting. He remembered the conspiratorial smirks on his boyfriend and sister’s faces when he’d come back from the bathroom the other day.
So if I go talk to Ari right now she’ll have no clue what I’m talking about?
bold of you to assume she would ever give me up nick danforth-evans i’m totally her favorite now
Carrie is and always will be her favorite but I’m loving the enthusiasm
Sure enough, though, when Nick knocked on his little sister’s door- interrupting a tea party with her stuffed animals and a number of Nick’s old Hot Wheels toys- asking her about the appearance of the lime green notes, she just burst into giggles. Not an actual word to say that it was Tyler, just gave him a cheeky smile and told him to close his eyes. Nick rolled his eyes, but agreed, and opened them again when he felt an adhesive on his forehead and the tickling of paper on his nose. He stuck his tongue out at Arabella for sticking the note on his forehead, which set her off giggling once again, and pulled it off.
Told Ari to give you this one when you inevitably figure it out. She’s surprisingly sneaky for a 7yo. Give her a hug for me as thanks for helping?? Hope you enjoyed our little conspiracy ♡ -T
Nick hugged Arabella tightly, placing the note gently in his pocket until he could put it with the rest. He joined his sister in her tea party, a wide smile on his face he wasn’t sure he’d be able to get rid of if he tried. It was such a silly, little thing for Tyler to be doing over the past month, but Nick loved it. He loved the smile it brought to his own face, and the thoughtfulness from Tyler, and the extra layer of joy surrounding their relationship through the notes. Overtime, the notes never really stopped. They lessened- only to be saved for special occasions or a day when Tyler was feeling particularly sappy- but as always, each one brought a smile to Nick’s face and found a home in his neatly kept shoebox under the bed. They were something to pull out and reread when Nick was having a bad day, when he was feeling sentimental, or for that time Tyler was bed-ridden with the flu for a week and damn, Nick really missed him. And if shortly after they started dating, Nick found that his own favorite color was also becoming lime green, that was no one’s business but his own.
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Thank you so much for reading! I hope you all enjoyed this, and that it rotted your teeth like it did mine. I have the tag list below but let me know if you’d like to be added!
tag list: @zendrella @blackholeunderyourbed @sunsetcurve123 @williexmercer @idontknowimbadatthis
