ENCHANTED -'๑'- JACK HUGHES

forty six

☄. *. ⋆ DONT KNOW WHERE YOU ARE RIGHT NOW
DID YOU SEE ME ON TV?
billie eilish

STELLA

AH, MINNESOTA was like a breath of fresh air after traveling in foreign countries for the past few weeks. As much as loved sight seeing, I missed speaking english without getting judge-mental stares from the locals. Classy tourist, Stella!

"What exactly are we celebrating?" I asked Loren, turning my head to look at her as we sat in the back of an Uber.

Loren, my co-coach, and my partner in crime for the last months was a notorious party animal. For a girl in her mid 20s, she partied like a freshman in college.

"Who says we need a reason to celebrate?" Loren shot back, applying a thick coat of deep red lipstick to her thin lips. "I think we should get you laid tonight."

I rolled my eyes with a quick shake of my head. Loren has been referring to me as a sad, lonely, virgin-like person since the day we met. No matter how many times I told her I just wasn't interested, it seemed to go in one ear and out the other.

"Don't start." I pleaded with a small whine. The Uber pulled to a stop in front of the rundown bar. I handed him a tip before we both slid out, chills covering my bare legs as we stepped up the bouncer.

The bulky man nodded at us, taking our ID's before handing them back, dropping the velvet rope as we stepped in. The music was echoing off the walls, vibrating through my heels.

My first stop, the bartop. Loren was keeping an eye on any guy she had seen, keeping her options open for the night as I focused on chugging down a dirty martini.

"Pretty nice, huh?" Loren nudged me, clinking her drink against mine. "I heard your date was pretty shit."

I rolled my eyes at the thought of Leon, chuckling lightly. "I feel bad, he was really sweet. I'm just not in the dating scene."

"Will you ever?" Loren asked, genuinely curious.

Truthfully, I didn't know the answer to her question. Eighteen year old me thought I'd be over my broken heart by the time I reached twenty but that wasn't the case.

"Someday." I said simply, desperately needing a topic change. "See any hot guys yet?"

Loren hummed, flopping to press her back against the bartop as she scanned the bar. "Eh. Wait, is there a hockey team in Minnesota?"

"Yeah." I said in a duh-tone. Loren wasn't the best at hockey knowledge, only knowing some of the larger teams. "Why?"

Loren pursued her lips with a small shrug. "Not sure. It's just, like, all those guys are wearing Minnesota Wild gear."

Something about it felt oddly familiar but I couldn't quite put my finger on it just yet. "Everyone loves hockey here, Lor."

Loren flipped me off, mocking me before her face fell into a more serious expression, a smirk coating her lips. "Stella."

"What?" I widened my eyes, fearful of turning around as her eyes stayed locked on something behind me.

"This guy is totally checking you out." Loren practically squealed. "I noticed it when we first walked in but I wanted to make sure I wasn't going crazy."

I cocked a brow at her. I don't think I could flirt even if I wanted to. I was rusty to the flirting and dating game.

"Are you sure?" I asked, my back still facing the mystery person. "Is he, like, hot?"

"Super." Loren hummed with narrowed eyes. "I'm going to mingle and hopefully find me my own man. You better talk to him, Stella."

I parted my lips to protest, not getting anything out before she disappeared out of my eye-line. I figured I wouldn't see her to the night was nearly over.

With what gut I had left in me, I turned my body slowly, almost for a big reveal.

But when I turned around, I felt nauseous. My light eyes went wide, my breath getting caught in my throat and suddenly, I felt claustrophobic.

Right in front of me, Matt Boldy. I hadn't seen him in two years and the look on his face was evident of it. It was almost like he didn't know what to think, but I couldn't look away and neither could he.

He still had the same face, his hair grown out, suiting him well as it peeked out from under the backwards cap. His figure was still tall, just more slightly lean.

I tucked my hair behind my ear, feeling the burn on my cheeks and the rapid pace of my heart as he began to make his way over to me.

"I..." Matt's words were just as jumbled as his mind. "Stella."

"Long time, huh?" I attempted to play it cool despite my hands shaking by my side. "What are you doing here?"

Matt pulled his lips into his mouth, biting back a grin. "Well, I play for the Wild. So, what are you doing here?"

I felt the stupidity smack me in the face as I chuckled, crossing my arms over my chest. "I'm here for like, a job thing. My, uh, coworker is here but who knows where she went."

"Ah." Matt hummed, scratching the back of his neck. "That's the girl who was staring at me like I had three heads."

"In the flesh." I nodded, my smile slowly faded as I kept my eyes looked on the familiarity of his features. "Uh, how have you been?"

Matt pursued his lips, shoving his hands into the pockets of his shorts. "I can't complain. I played hockey at Boston for a little before coming to Minnesota."

"Yes, I remember." I felt the shame of our past creeping up on me. "Must've been a big change, huh?"

"You get used to it after a while." Math shrugged. "And what have you been doing? You've always seemed to use your time wisely."

I wondered if that was backhanded, after all, I had hurt the boy in front of me more times than I can count.

"Traveling and working." I sighed, smiling. "Guess we have that in common."

The TV perched up on the right side of the bar, the light illuminating to cover both of our side profiles, the volume had felt as if it was on max.

"Jack Hughes!" The commentator screamed. "He scores! Jack Hughes wins it overtime! Another win for the Devils!"

Like a reflex, my head snapped towards it at the name being blared like an echo. Jack wore the brightest smile, being pinned to the board by his teammates in celebration. Something about it made me yearn.

:(
but HI BOLDS