nhl one-shots | multi

table to the left | m. barzal

Summary: When a tinder date goes wrong, Y/N finds herself being saved by the guy seated at the table next to her

Requested: No

In all her years of life, Y/N had never been one for online dating. She didn't understand how people could find relationships by swiping left and right on a screen. Judging people by their appearances was obviously something that everyone did, whether they wanted to admit it or not, but applying that to be the sole reason you go on a date with someone just wasn't her thing.

However, after getting out of a messy relationship six months prior- Y/N was determined to move on and let go. She wanted to experience new things and live a life worth telling stories about. Which is how her friend Tammy convinced her to make a Tinder account. It wasn't that terrible for the most part. Y/N rarely matched with guys and the ones she did match with were able to hold a conversation generally. But after they had gotten through the basic conversation starters of 'hey how are you' or 'do you wanna hook up tonight?' it usually went pretty downhill.

Which is why Y/N had been so eager for this date to work out. The guy's name was Warner. He was a total stud- dark blonde hair and crystal blue eyes, a jawline that could cut butter and biceps that were the size of Y/N's head. Not to mention, he had the cutest dog.

She was excited for the date. She was a bit nervous at first but walking to the bar she grew more confident. She was hopeful that the date would turn out successful and it would lead to more dates and possibly a relationship.

But the opposite happened.

She watched as he was talking about his job. Warner was mainly just talking about himself during the date and wouldn't really let her speak. She would pretend to smile and nod as he was talking about his life but all in reality, she wasn't interested. She was thinking of some excuses to come up with so she could bail on the date..maybe she could say that she had to feed her neighbor's cat or she needed to sleep early because she had an important business meeting tomorrow.

She sighed quietly as she looked over and saw a man with dark hair and hazel eyes in front of the bar, just looking at the menu. Clearly confused as he had a small pout looking a the menu

She looked over at Warner and smiled "I'll be right back, I need a drink" She said and Warner looked surprised "Oh! Do you need money?" He asked and she shook her head "I'm good! Thank you" She said and not waiting for an answer she went to the bar.

Mat was looking at the menu.. He was lost for a moment. He had just finished one of his roadies and tonight the guys were taking a breather just to relax. He watched as a pretty girl walked up next to him. She was definitely something to look at- but he was already smitten with somebody else. A girl named Karlie had been hanging around his group of friends for a while and from the very first night he met her, Mat was head over heels.

As Y/N ordered herself a drink, she turned around and noticed the dark brunette staring at her. "You okay?" she asked softly. Immediately Mat straightened up. "Yeah I uh- do you have any recommendations on what I should order?" he asked, coming up with an excuse as to why he would be watching her. "I've never been here." he continued.

Y/N smiled softly. "Yeah sure-" she turned her attention fully towards him and went through the menu with him. They ended up settling on some daiquiris and beers for the other people he was with before Y/N's order came up and she had to head back to her table.

Through the night, Y/N had slowly started to become more uncomfortable with Warner, he wasn't a terrible guy- he was just very arrogant and obviously not interested in talking about anything other than himself and working out.

The woman had made a habit of going to the bar and ordering drinks more often than she should have, by the fourth time she came around- Mat took notice. "Is that guy bothering you?" he asked softly. He had watched her date for a while, purely out of curiosity. Y/N had come up to the bar a few times and they made small talk- often ordering different drinks that Mat would be too nervous to try if he was alone. He had gotten her name and some basic information about her. Mainly just why she was out at the bar that night and who she was with. Shrugging awkwardly, Y/N spun on the barstool. "Not intentionally..." she sighed. "He's just really not my type- total womanizer. Honestly I'm ready to go home but he won't take the hint." she laughed.

Mat grinned, he definitely understood her pain. "I've been there." he reassured her. Taking another glance at her table where Waren was seated, he cleared his throat. "If you want- you can come hang out with my friends and I?" he suggested. This was pretty unusual for him, but he liked talking with Y/N and he was sure that his friends would like her too. "I can promise you a drive home- not necessarily from me, but I'll make sure you get in an uber or something." he promised.

Y/N looked over her shoulder at her date once more. "What would I even say? Isn't it kind of rude to just like... leave him?" she asked furrowing her brows.

Mat made a 'eh' gesture with his hands, tilting them from side to side quickly. "I mean- if he's being a dick then he's had it coming." this earned a chuckle from the woman next to him. "Just say that you found some of your friends here and are gonna catch a drive home with them." he explained.

Brushing her hair over her shoulder, Y/N smirked. "You've done this a few times haven't you?" she proposed. The man smiled sheepishly as he stirred the plastic straw into his drink. They had been through half of the menu that night and in that moment he was working on something fruity. "Like I said- I've been there."

It didn't take much more convincing from Mathew to get Y/N to say goodbye to her date. Luckily things ended on a good note- Waren wasn't that interested in her either and decided to go make his way to a different bar. It seemed as though he was looking for a way out as well.

Once they had parted ways, Y/N grabbed her jacket and her purse, making her way over to the table that Mat and his friends were at. A couple of guys and a few girls made up the seats in the booth. Standing somewhat awkwardly, the woman raised her hand as a greeting. "Hey..." she trailed off- not really knowing how to start the interaction.

Luckily for her, Mat was saving her once again that night. "Guys this is my friend Y/N- She's gonna join us." he stood up and moved so that she could sit inside the booth with him.

Even though things were rocky from the start and it took some time to find her footing and way into the conversation- that night was one of the best Y/N had been apart of in months. She made friends with some of the girls, specifically one named Deliah. They exchanged numbers and made plans to meet up for coffee. Y/N had learned that Mat was in fact a hockey player for the islanders, as were a few of his friends, including Anthony, or better known as Tito and Anders, who Y/N for the first half of the night referred to as 'Andrew' by mistake.

Being the gentlemen he had first portrayed himself to be, Mathew ensured that Y/N got in an uber safely. He walked her out of the bar at the end of the night- the two of them a little bit less than sober. He was very adamant upon giving her his number, at first Y/N almost wouldn't take it. She didn't want him to think that she was trying to be his friend just because he was a pro-athlete. They argued about it for a few minutes before Mathew had finally just snapped. "Shut up and take my number." they laughed it off and bid each-other farewell, promising to meet up sometime in the near future.

On the drive home, Y/N would be lying if she said she didn't google his name. She was not a sports person at all, so she felt that it was necessary to learn a little bit about the team that her knew friend played on, and at the very least how the sport worked.

It wasn't very long before she had gotten a text on her phone, the blue bubble popping up in her messages app. The white light of the screen illuminated her face as she sat in the back of her Uber, the night sky and city skyline breezing past her as she made her way towards the residential neighbourhoods.

"Hey, if its alright with you, I would really like to go for dinner. Promise I'll be better company than the guy you were with earlier ;)"

A swarm of butterflies erupted in Y/N's chest and she couldn't help but blush. While she wasn't exactly eager to jump into another date, something about Mat had her attention captured.

"I'll see you friday, 7pm my place."