ENCHANTED -'๑'- JACK HUGHES

forty one

☄. *. ⋆ HOLD ON TO THE MEMORIES
THEY WILL HOLD ON TO YOU
taylor swift

JACK

JUST LIKE a million times before, I led Stella and I through Cole's foyer until we reached the backyard, the strong smell of smoke hitting my nose as my friends sat around the bonfire.

I never really understood why Cole had an obsession with hosting bonfires. But, I was grateful for every single one. While I was so busy worried about leaving Stella, I was going to miss my friends.

What hurt most was they'd play on the US team again, they'd all go to college and play against each other while I'll be in the big league trying to prove myself.

The pressure that comes with being the first pick is anything but light. It's like two bricks being tied to your feet and you get thrown overboard. It's so bearing and hard to come by. I just needed to prove myself.

"The man!" Trevor whooped, slinging an arm around me.

I patted his back softly as I chuckled. "What's up, dude?"

Addison immediately clung to Stella, the two chatting about something I couldn't hear.

"Is everyone here?" I asked, glancing around at the more than usual amount of people standing in Cole's backyard.

"Yep." Trevor hummed, following my eye line. "Even Boldy showed. You guys talked things out didn't you?"

I nodded, staring at the tall blondes backside. "Yeah, we did. It only took us a few months but we did. I'm glad that's over with."

"Drama." Trevor sighed, running a hand through his hair. "So, how are you and Stella?"

My eyes found her at the mention of her name, leaning into Addison as they'd been laughing. The fire illuminated her tan skin, her smile seemingly brighter and it was the most beautiful sight.

"We're good." I finally tore my eyes from her. "And you and Addy?"

Trevor exhaled with a small shrug. "I don't know. She's going to Florida for college and I'll be in Boston. Then, California after a while."

"You'll figure it out." I nudged his arm.

Trevor had liked Addison the way I liked Stella. I found myself relating to him in more ways than I thought with that.

"Are you boys talking about how hot we are?" Addison joined our conversation, Stella moving to stand beside me as she covered her mouth.

"Yeah, you wish." Trevor teased, earning a scowl from the blonde beside him.

Addison tucked her hair behind her ears, crossing her arms over her chest. "USA hockey is definitely not do or die."

"USA hockey is do or die!" Cole chimed in, making Addison jump at the loudness of his voice.

I shook my head at the entirety of the situation, dragging my palm up and down Stella's back gently. "Do you wanna go sit?"

"Yeah." She nodded, her, too, having enough of Cole and Trevor's banter which Addison seemed to join in on.

She sat beside me on one of the camp chairs, sitting beside her, I had a lump in my chest. One that's been sitting there since the draft, a never ending reminder that I am in fact, running out of time here in Michigan.

My eyes found Stella's side profile as she stared off, the oranges and reds of the fire sprawling across her skin in the most intense way.

"Hey." I muttered, my hand resting on the top of her knee as I captured her attention. "You alright?"

Stella nodded with a small closed-lip smile. I knew her like the back of my hand. She wasn't acting like herself, but maybe I had been too selfish to notice.

"Stella." I pressed. "Talk to me, baby. I can see something's wrong."

Stella's eyes found mine as she swallowed, pulling her bottom lip into her mouth. A simple action that she had picked up when she'd grow nervous;a habit.

"I don't know how to tell you this." She folded her hands in her lap, blowing out a shaky breath. "My program, it leaves next week. It got moved, I swear I don't know."

Even with the humidity, my face still paled. I wiped my fingers down my chin in silence, trying to ease the thoughts spinning around in my head like a cyclone.

"Jack." Stella croaked, almost begging me to say something, anything.

But this time, I truly didn't know what to say. I didn't know how to tell her I didn't want her to leave, I wanted her to stay in Michigan thus I could come back whenever I needed her;even if I knew it would never happen.

"Okay." I said cowardly, my brain was foggy. I sat up, running a hand through my hair. "Okay. Yeah, it's fine."

"No." Stella shook her head. "It's not fine, Jack. I don't even know when I'm going to see you again, we had until the end of summer."

Between training camp and the basic interviews, our time was cut short, but with Stella leaving, traveling across the globe, our hourglass was nearly empty. Like a clock on a wall. Tick, Tick, Times up!

"I'm sorry." Stella apologized, grabbing my wrist that resided against the arm of the chair. "I tried to say I couldn't make it that early."

"Absolutely not." I immediately snapped up. Stella would not jeopardize her chances in her career for me. I wasn't going to be that selfish. "There's no way in hell you're going to chance that. We'll work it out, Stella. I promise, okay?"

Stella nodded and I hoped for one, I put her mind to ease. "Yeah, okay."

"Let's just focus on now, yeah?" I suddenly found myself growing nauseous the more we spoke about not spending every day, every second together.

"Yeah." Stella smiled, for real this time. "I'm gonna go get a drink. Do you want?"

I shook my head, standing to my feet. "I'll get them for us. I'm a gentleman, SJ."

Stella scrunched her nose at me, bringing her hand to my shoulder as I pecked her lips softly.

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