#lets see how it holds up in a toronto february

[overtake]

just paid half my rent to daniel ricciardo

#i was gonna buy a new winter jacket this year but i guess im wearing the western jacket all winter #lets see how it holds up in a toronto february #i have a serious mental illness bc i’m considering going back and buying more from him 😭 #i can ship it to the US this time so it’s basically free bc i don’t have to pay like $150 in duties

[woah-were-halfway-there]

1-10

ok so I wrote this out like a whole ass interview. I have an ask wanting me to answer 16-23 which I will do tomorrow just like I did this, but here's the list of questions if you want me to do more! Also if y'all enjoyed this, I'd love to hear what you think about it! :) <3

Early December 2021

Carson and Auston walk into the room together, holding hands, smiling and chatting before greeting the female Leafs interviewer. As they say, their hello's, Auston removes his coat and helps Carson shrug hers off as well. While he takes the coats over to a nearby coat rack, Carson smiles at the interviewer again while mindlessly rubbing a hand over her noticeably pregnant belly.

Interviewer: Hello, Carson. Thank you again so much for agreeing to take part in this. How are you? How are you feeling?

Carson: Hi! Thank you for having me! To be completely honest, I've been tired lately but today was really good. Being on maternity leave now definitely helps with giving me more time to relax. How are you?

Interviewer: I'm great, thanks for asking. And can I just say that you are absolutely glowing. May I ask when your due date is?

Carson: Stop, you are too sweet. Thank you. And my due date is February 4th, so getting there. Auston has a feeling our little girl isn't going to arrive on time, though.

Auston chuckles as he joins the two women again.

Interviewer: Early or late?

Auston: Not sure yet. But I definitely think she won't make her arrival when we're expecting.

Carson: Thanks for staying optimistic.

All three laugh, and Carson rolls her eyes at her finacê.

Interviewer: Fair enough. Well, we should probably get started. Thank you both again for doing this. It shouldn't take too long. If you follow me, we can get set up and get this thing going.

Auston: Sounds good.

As the three move further into the room, Auston rests a hand on the lower part of Carson's back and doesn't move it until they sit down on a pair of chairs next to each other and get mic'd up.

The interviewer sits in a chair across from them, also getting a mic attached to her shirt, and soon enough, they're all ready to go.

Interviewer: Alright, so, I've got a list of questions that Leafs fans wanted to ask some of their favourite players and their significant others. The two of you were brought up many times when we were trying to figure out which couples to ask to participate in this, so it's greatly appreciated that you both agreed.

Carson: It's our pleasure.

Auston watches while Carson replies, a smile stretching across his mouth as he observes her with admiration.

Interviewer: We'll start by having the two of you introduce yourselves.

Both Auston and Carson nod in understanding.

Auston: I'm Auston Matthews.

Carson: And I'm Carson Bailey.

Auston: Soon to be Matthews.

Carson: I know. But I've got a few months before you change my last name, though.

Auston: She says like I wasn't the one saying we should get married this summer instead of next when we first started planning.

Carson: Shhh.

The interviewer chuckles as Auston squeezes Carson's knee before letting his hand rest there while she shoots him a quick, non-threatening glare.

Interviewer: I wasn't surprised when fans said they wanted to see the two of you in this segment. They've loved seeing the two of you grow up together from Auston's rookie year to now. I mean, so have I. You two are precious.

Carson: Oh, don't say that. It'll ruin his tough-guy ego.

Auston: Heyyyyyy.

Carson: I'm kidding, bub. You're my softie.

Carson gently pats Auston's hand that's still resting on her knee a couple of times and winks at him before they both move their attention back to the interviewer.

Interviewer: Adorable. As much as I would love to hear all about your guys' love story, the questions I have listed to ask are to actually get to know the two of you better on a personal level. You're both such active members of the community with the Leafs but also just here in Toronto. Carson, I know you do a lot of volunteering and charity work with some of the other girls on behalf of the Leafs and Auston; you have done a lot with your help raising for SickKids and Movember and are just such a prominent figure in the city. Fans want to know more about who Carson and Auston are as people. How's that sound?

Auston: Sounds good to me.

Carson nods in agreement, smiling.

Interviewer: Perfect. Ok, Carson, we'll get you to answer each question first, and then Auston, you can do the same before moving on to the next one. Now, some of these questions are ones fans sent in to be asked, but if you're at any moment uncomfortable or don't want to answer, we can move on. Ready?

Carson: Ready.

Interviewer: Who makes up your family?  How close are you to them?

Carson: Well, I'm the oldest child of three. So there's my sister Mya, who is a year younger than I am and our brother Nate, who is two years younger than me. Then there's my dad and his partner, Alice. My family and I are incredibly close, and I love them an indescribable amount. I'm the only one of us living in Ontario still, but we all visit as much as we can and call a lot.

Auston: I'm the middle child of two sisters. My older sister Alex and younger sister Bre, then our parents. I'm also very close with my family. My sisters and I will text all of the time, but they like to call and talk to Carson instead of me. I call my parents once or twice a week, though. They always want to catch up with Carson, so we usually call them together.

Interviewer: Who is your best friend? Tell us about them!

Carson: I have two immediate answers for that one. The first is Lexie, who has been my best friend for over a decade. We lived on the same street growing up, and she was my roommate throughout university. She’s definitely my soul sister. And the second one, who I’m sure will come across as a shock to everyone, is my cousin Mitch. 

Interviewer: Marner?

Carson, chuckling: Yeah, Mitchy is my cousin. He’s exactly 12 days older than I am, so I literally don’t know life without him. He’s my partner in crime and best friend. 

Auston: I, uh, I think I gotta say Fred for this one. Freddie Andersen. We just became so close while he played here in Toronto, and that hasn’t changed since he started playing for Carolina. Mitch is up there, though, and a couple of guys from home.

Interviewer: That is so sweet... What is your favourite childhood memory?

Carson: Oh, that one's tough because there's so many. I had a great childhood, and I'm very thankful for that. I was lucky in the sense that my dad took such good care of us and really prepped us for life. One of my favourite memories, though, might be when we went on a family trip out to British Columbia for the first time when I was maybe 10 or 11, and we went whale watching, then snowboarding and on a bunch of different hiking trails. That was when my sister fell in love with B.C, and now she lives out in Vancouver. 

Auston: Uhm, I think mine would have to be travelling down to Mexico each summer when I was younger to visit my grandparents. It was always a highlight for my sisters and me. I always loved seeing where my mom grew up and just spending time on my family's ranch down there.

Interviewer: And your least favourite childhood memory?

Carson: Uh-

Carson starts but immediately pauses. She looks unsure what to say because the first thing that came to her mind was tough for her to talk about. Then, her eyes start watering as she glances at Auston, who immediately links his hand with hers, his face showing nothing but concern. 

Auston: Carse… 

Carson: I’m ok. 

Carson gives Auston a sad smile and squeezes his hand before facing the interviewer again, tears still in her eyes. 

Carson: I, um, when I was 12, my mom, brother, and I was all in a severe car accident. My brother and I were ok, minus a few injuries, but my mom passed. 

Interviewer: Oh, my gosh. Carson. I had no idea. I’m so sorry. 

Carson, sniffling slightly as she wipes away a tear: It’s ok, really. You didn’t know. 

Interviewer: We can move on to the next question. Or, would you like a break? I’ll have someone bring you over some water. 

A moment goes by, and one of the set workers brings Carson over a glass of water.

Carson: Thank you. 

Carson nods to the worker, then looks back to the interviewer. She keeps the glass in one hand and continues holding onto Auston with the other. 

Interviewer: Would you like to move on to the next question?

Carson: Please. 

Interviewer: Of course. What is your favourite thing to do in your free time?

Carson: I read and write a lot. That's actually what I do for my job too, but I love it so much I spend a lot of my days doing both of those. 

Auston: Spend it with her.

Carson: Aus!

Auston: I mean it. Especially now, with a baby on the way, being away for games is even more complicated. I love spending as much time with Carson as I can when I'm home, just catching up and having some quality time together.

Carson looks at Auston before leaning against his shoulder, to which he responds by kissing the top of her head before she sits up straight again. 

Carson: I love you. 

Auston: And I love you. 

Interviewer: This is too sweet. Wow. Ok, I've got to recollect myself. What's the hardest thing you've ever had to do?

Carson: Admit that I fell for a hockey player. 

Auston: Hurtful. 

Carson: Not my type, haha. But, I don't regret it. My big bad hockey player over here has changed my mind about a lot of things—all for the better. 

Auston: Good. And uh, mine probably be moving to Toronto. Not that I regret it in the slightest, I absolutely love this city, the fans and the team. It's where I met the absolute love of my life. But I am such a homebody and am very private. Suddenly having so many people know who I was and watching what I do in an entirely new city and country was a big adjustment. I wouldn't change any of it, though. 

Interviewer: Who do you look up to?

Carson: My dad. I owe everything to him. 

Auston: Same here with my parents. I wouldn't be where I am without them. 

Interviewer: What do you think had the biggest impact on you growing up?

Carson: Probably my mom's passing. My life changed drastically after that. 

Auston: My parents. Again, as I said, I wouldn't be where I am without them. They impacted everything for me when growing up. 

Interviewer: Perfect. We only have a couple more questions, then we can take a proper break if that's alright?

Carson: Of course.

Interviewer: Are you a spiritual person?  If yes, what do you practice?

Carson: Not really, no. 

Auston: In a way, kind of. That's a personal thing, though. 

Interviewer: No worries. We can move on. Alright, last questions before we break. Where were you born?  Where did you grow up?  Where do you live now?

Auston: Oh, easy.

Carson: For you. Everyone already knows about your answers. 

Auston: Well, then tell them yours, babe.

Carson gives Auston a look before speaking again, but can’t help the smile that dance on her lips as she looks at him.

Carson: I was born and grew up in Pickering, Ontario. A much smaller city that's just east of the GTA. I now live here in Toronto and in Scottsdale during the summertime with this one. 

Auston, chuckling: I was born in San Ramon, California. However, I grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona and still reside there and in Toronto with my lovely fiancée. 

Interviewer: That was great, guys. Let's take a few minutes. Then we can come back and do the rest of these.  

#auston matthews imagine #auston matthews fanfiction #auston matthews imagines #nhl fanfiction #nhl rpf #nhl fic #nhl imagines #prompts #AFTR

[spine-buster]

The President Wears Prada (William Nylander) | Chapter 22

A/N:  So this chapter actually marks the end of the plot line of the movie “The Devil Wears Prada” -- I’m sure the dialogue after the Zamboni driver game from last chapter and the “By all means, move at a glacial place, you know how that thrills me” line was a bit of a hint.  Also, we’re striking that last scene where Andie apologizes to Nate in the restaurant because she had absolutely nothing to apologize for 😤 ANYWAYS, this means that from this point, up until maaaaaybe the final FINAL chapters (whenever this thing ends, because I still don’t know when), all content and storyline is original and not based on the movie, although it will still obviously be inspired by it.  We love consistency!  Have a great read, and enjoy!  Let me know what you think as always!

February 24th, 2020

Aberdeen Bloom watched as Brendan and Kyle were answering phones left, right, and centre.

Seriously.  At one point, Kyle had three on his ears.  He didn’t have three ears.  All because of the damned trade deadline.  And it was still only 9:30 in the morning.  

The room was set up the way she was told to set it up; prepared how Brendan wanted it prepared.  Every major voice for both the Leafs and the Marlies was in the room – Brendan, Kyle, Brandon, Dave, Reid, Leanne, Sheldon, Paul, Dave, Andrew, Jim, Troy, and even Laurence, Mike, Greg, AJ, and Rob from the Toronto Marlies.  At the front of the room, on the whiteboard, there were the names of all the players – even those in the system – glued to magnets so they could move them around.  On the other side were magnets with names of some other players from teams that they’d been looking at bringing in through a trade.  Three phones were hooked up in the room, and Brendan and Kyle were on their cellphones a lot.  There was a TV set up for video playback and hooked up to Reid’s laptop.  Brendan would exit and enter the board room at will while he was on his phone.  So would Kyle.  Kyle was dealing with most of the possible cap stuff.  There were worksheets everywhere.  

And in the back of Aberdeen’s mind, all she could think about was Tyson Barrie.

He’d been on her mind since the drive home, really, and since all the ramp up for the trade deadline started.  And she couldn’t help but wonder if Brendan and Kyle knew of him wanting to be traded and him being unhappy.  Did Brendan and Kyle concern themselves with the private lives of their players?  Even if the player said nothing?  That was the ultimate question Aberdeen needed answered, because now that she recognized all the clues, it was glaringly obvious to her how much Tyson wanted out.  She hadn’t said anything, obviously.  His name magnet wasn’t moving around much, but she knew how much he wanted to be moved.  She was conflicted.  

“This motherfu…” she heard Brendan mumble as he looked down at his phone.  “Can someone post a memo to the entire fucking league that we’re not trading Nylander, for fuck sakes,” he announced to the room.  “The core isn’t on the fucking table unless Connor Mc-fucking-David is in the mix.”

Aberdeen let out a shaky breath she didn’t know she was holding in.  William being traded was not, for some reason, a worry of hers, if only because everyone knew he was having a banner year and Kyle had made explicitly clear that he wasn’t going to be traded so long as he was GM.  

Kapanen.

Johnsson.  

Gauthier.

Holl.

Ceci.

“It’s not in his contract but Spezza won’t go anywhere.  He wants to be here.”

“If Johnsson goes it’s one less player we offer up to Seattle when the time comes.”

“Can Kappy go?  He’s good bait.  He’s got a friendly contract.”

It didn’t help that everything ended at 3pm.  It also didn’t help that they had a charter flight waiting for them at 4:30 to take them to Tampa for their game tomorrow.  Aberdeen didn’t know how they were going to handle this timeline.  What if they made a blockbuster trade?  What if someone was shipped off to the west coast at 2:59pm and had to uproot his whole life?  Everybody in the room wasn’t exactly calm, but she didn’t know how they could take about trading these players as if they were cattle being moved.  She knew this happened in all sports, but now that she was a part of it (well, in the room – it wasn’t like she was making decisions), it made everything more complicated for her.  

“Tyson’s staying.  Tyson – no – Tyson – Tyson is – Tyson is staying,” she heard Brendan repeating to Kyle, in what looked like a semi-private conversation.  She couldn’t hear some of the other things he was saying, but some words were said loud enough.  Contract.  Avalanche.  Kadri trade.  Defense.  Rielly-Barrie.  

Happy.

Aberdeen gulped.  Did Brendan think he was happy here?  Did Kyle?  Because she knew the exact opposite.  She knew Tyson wasn’t, but she was sworn to secrecy by Tyson that she wouldn’t say a word to Brendan.  But Brendan was wrong.  Tyson wanted out.  

Should…should she say something?

She liked Tyson.  She wanted to see him happy.  It was complicated, though, because she had no loyalty to him.  She did, in a way, as an acquaintance – as someone who overheard a private conversation and then was asked not to share the details of it – but she had more loyalty to Brendan.  Her boss.  The guy who was trying to build a team that would win the Stanley Cup.  The guy that her job depended on.  

“Aberdeen.”

Like, who was she loyal to the most?  If she actually said something to Brendan, would Tyson hate her forever?  Would the entire team turn their back on her and hate her forever too?  Because she couldn’t shut her mouth?  Because she was a tattle-tale and exposed—

“Aberdeen.”

—exposed a secret of one of the players to the boss?  But that secret was tied to his mental health.  It’s not like she saw a guy hook up with a teammate’s girlfriend or escort or do blow off a toilet seat or something.  This was integral to the well-being of a player—

“Aberdeen!”

She snapped out of her thoughts to see and hear Brendan calling her over.  She jumped out of her seat and ran over to him.  “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.  Sorry.  What do you need?”

“I think Chipotle is in order for lunch for everyone,” he said.  “Do you mind taking everyone’s orders?”

Seventeen Chipotle orders later, Aberdeen was waiting in the restaurant at a bar table, most definitely holding up the line that was starting to form due to her massive order.  She took out her phone and saw that William had texted her a heart earlier but she hadn’t seen it.  He had the day off.

how bad does tyson want out of Toronto? be honest

how do u know?

i overheard him and emma talking when they drove me home once is it really bad?

can i call u?

no

it’s not that he doesn’t like it here bc he loves the guys and he likes the city well he really didn’t like babs i think that’s a given but he found it really hard to transition from colorado to here like he couldn’t adjust and support wise he didn’t or doesn’t feel he’s been supported enough and he’s trying his hardest to mesh within the lines and be the guy he was in colorado but he just can’t and it’s driving him crazy

Aberdeen felt herself take a deep breath.  Not that she thought the conversation in the car was out of the blue or a one-off, but at least she had confirmation from another source now.  She couldn’t help but wonder if Tyson talked to the guys on the team about it.  Like, was it an open secret between them?  

why r u asking minskatt

She knew she’d have to lie about that one.  Even though William was her boyfriend, she couldn’t reveal any secrets of what was happening in that war room.  If she did, Brendan would probably put her head in a guillotine.  

all i see on twitter and the sports channels is us moving him they think they’re in the war room with us but they’re not and it’s just funny to me that they already think it’s a done deal

welcome to the toronto media i am getting traded too, haven’t u heard 😉

Aberdeen smiled.  He was such a little shit.  

you’re never leaving me.

never, minskatt ❤️

“Alright, I got seventeen bowls!” the cashier yelled, and Aberdeen knew that was her cue.  They were all stuffed into multiple bags and labelled appropriately, so she handed over the company card to pay.  Holding the four bags in both hands, she made her way back towards the office.  

When she got back, it was very chaotic.  The reports were now everywhere.  Half the people in the room had left to do God knows what.  Kyle was frustrated on the phone with someone.  And Brendan was nowhere to be seen.  “You might want to find him,” Kyle said as Aberdeen handed him his burrito bowl.  His hand was covering the receiver.  

Aberdeen nodded frantically.  She stopped putting all the burrito bowls on the table where people had been sitting, but for some reason grabbed Brendan’s before she began running around the halls, popping into rooms to search for him.  He was nowhere.  She tried texting and calling.  Nothing.  She thought about screaming his name down the hall.  Her mind was getting the best of her.  Why did Kyle need him?  Who was he on the phone with?  

Were they about to make a trade for Tyson?

She needed to find him.  She needed to tell him.

After circling the halls twice, she finally saw him walking, his winter jacket on, phone to his ear before ending the call and walking towards the board room.  “Brendan, Brendan, wait.  I need to talk to you,” she scurried to his side.  “Tyson Barrie wants to be moved.  He told—I overheard a conversation between him and his girlfriend in the car once when they were driving me home after a flight about how deeply unhappy he was here and how he sort of knew he was going to get traded or at least wanted to get traded somewhere so he wouldn’t have to be here and have the pressure on him and maybe be happy again and I promised him I wouldn’t say anything to you but now I am because I thought that maybe if I told you, that you could fix it—”

“Do I smell chicken?” Brendan asked suddenly, taking off his jacket.  

Aberdeen stopped.  Her brain felt like it just short-circuited.  “What?  No.  I—I specifically told them the beef bowl for you—”

“If I have chicken in mine, I will be very disappointed,” he said, taking his burrito bowl from her hands and giving her his jacket instead before disappearing into the conference room, leaving Aberdeen standing there in shock.  

***

The New York Rangers traded Brady Skjei for a first round pick.  The Edmonton Oilers acquired Tyler Ennis, who Aberdeen knew was one of Bee McTavish’s best friends.  Patrick Marleau went to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

But the Leafs stayed quiet.  Calle Rosen came back.  That’s it.  Tyson wasn’t moved.  He was staying a Toronto Maple Leaf.  Aberdeen wondered what he was feeling right now.  She wondered if he and Emma already had their bags packed for nothing.  As everybody went home, Aberdeen cleaned up the boardroom.  When it was time to go to the airport, she went to her desk to grab her suitcase.  Brendan was waiting outside his office.  

The walk to the town car was quiet.  The loading of their suitcases into the trunk was quiet.  The getting into the back of the car together was quiet.  The sitting there as Lou drove through the downtown streets and onto the highway to get to the airport was quiet.  

“You thought I didn’t know…” Brendan began, his voice low as he stared out the window.  When she heard his voice, Aberdeen turned her head slowly towards him.  “I’ve known what was happening for quite some time.  It just took me a while to find out what to do with Tyson.  A few teams were interested, and were probably willing, come July, to make him absurdly overpaid that he would have jumped at it.  But I had to tell everyone he was unavailable.”

Aberdeen felt a shiver run up her spine.  Unavailable?  If Brendan knew Tyson wanted to be moved – if he knew how unhappy he was – then why wouldn’t he move him?  

“The truth is, there is no-one available in the league right now that can fill his place on our team, regardless of how unhappy he is,” Brendan continued.  “Any of the other players would have found this job impossible and the team would have suffered.  Especially because of the way the media is here.  The list of writers, journalists, media personalities, analysts…they eat the players alive.  It takes a very special type of player to want to play in Toronto.  That’s why it was, and is still, such a big deal that John came home.  Hockey is a business, Aberdeen.  I’ve known for a while he was unhappy.  But I couldn’t trade him.  I couldn’t reconsider.”

Aberdeen took a deep breath.  And there it was.  Tyson Barrie was more valuable deeply unhappy here than he was happy somewhere else.  The realization hit her like a ton of bricks.  Hockey was a business, just like Brendan said.  Despite her best intentions, good people had to make tough decisions – Brendan’s was to keep Tyson on the team.  Brendan wanted to win more than anything, and he still thought he could do that with Tyson.

“But I was very, very impressed, by how intently you tried to warn me,” Brendan continued, finally looking at her.  Aberdeen found it hard to meet his eye, not showing any emotion on her face.  “I never thought I would say this, Aberdeen, but I really…I see a great deal of myself in you.  You can see beyond what people want and what they need…and you can choose for yourself.”

Aberdeen shook her head slightly.  “I don’t think I’m like that.  I – I could do what you just did to Tyson.  I couldn’t do something like that.”

“Hmph…but you already did,” Brendan said.  “To Peter.”

Aberdeen’s eyes bulged out dramatically.  “That’s not what I – no, that was different.  I didn’t have a choice.”

“Oh no no no, you chose,” Brendan said sternly.  “You chose to get ahead.  You want to be successful in this life, those choices are necessary.”

Aberdeen felt like she was about to cry.  She could feel her cheeks redden.  “But what if this isn’t what I want?  I mean, what if I don’t want to live the way you live or be in a career the way you conduct your career?  Not caring about people’s happiness and only caring about success.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Aberdeen.  Everybody wants this.  Everybody wants to be successful.  Even writers.”

Aberdeen hadn’t even noticed Lou had stopped the car because they’d arrive at the airport.  She could only watch as the door unlocked and Brendan slipped on his sunglasses for the bright winter sun, getting out of the car and walking back to the trunk to get his suitcase.  Aberdeen took a minute to process everything.  What Brendan had just said.  What he revealed to her.  

Dumb.  She was so dumb.  And she still had so much to learn.  

Aberdeen was quiet as she walked into the airport with Brendan.  She was quiet as they checked in, quiet as they walked to their private hangar, quiet as she saw some of the boys and quiet as she plopped down into a seat, stuffing her headphones into her ears.  She knew she should be thankful to be spending her 22nd birthday in Florida, but now, all she could think about was the conversation she’d just had with Brendan.  Even William arriving almost didn’t even register with her.

She napped on the plane, not wanting to deal with hockey for at least an hour of her day.  

***

The hotel was taking too long to get the key cards and reservations sorted for everyone.  Aberdeen tried not to huff and puff, but she was tired.  She wasn’t even sure if she wanted to out for dinner.  After the stress of the last two days, and especially today, she just wanted to get under the covers of her bed and sleep.  Sleep would make her happy again.  More than anything, she wanted to be in a good mood for her birthday tomorrow, even if she was working.

“Ab-er-deeeeeeeen Blooooooooom,” the way-too-perky helper called out her name.  Aberdeen approached her and got her room key, mumbling a thank you.  She was on the 5th floor.  

Auston had followed behind her, grabbing his as well.  When they rejoined the loosely assembled group, he took a look at her.  “You look really tired, Aberdeen,” he commented.

She glared at him.  She couldn’t believe the audacity of him.  She’d just been up for almost two days straight because of the stupid trade deadline.  Lucky for him that he didn’t have to work the last two days.  And lucky for him that he didn’t have to worry about being traded like most of the other guys on the team.  He could at least sleep at night knowing he wasn’t going to be traded for the next five years.  “You can just say I look like shit, you know,” she deadpanned.  

Auston’s eyes bulged out.  “No no no—I didn’t mean—”

“Whatever, Auston,” she grumbled, shaking her head.  “I know I look like shit, alright?  I don’t need you to tell me.”

“Aberdeen, I didn’t mean it like that at all—”

“It’s fine,” she shook her head again, grabbing her suitcase and dragging it behind her as she stomped away from him.  She didn’t have time for his excuses or for him trying to cover up his tracks.  She practically punched the elevator button so she could go up to her room before everybody else.  Screw waiting for everyone.  

She was barely able to unpack her toiletries into her washroom before the first text came through on her phone.  Of course, it was William.

saw u stomping away what happened?

She wasn’t exactly going to tell him what Auston said because God knows what he would do.

I’m just tired Willy.  I’ve practically been up for 48 hours.

but u need to eat

I’ll order room service, but I’m not going out for dinner.

She left it at that.  She heard her phone buzz a few times afterwards but she made a conscious decision not to answer it.  She needed to be alone with her thoughts instead.  She didn’t need to be around Auston telling her she looked tired.  She didn’t need to be around Willy who would be staring at her all night.  She didn’t need to be around Mitch and his hyperactive puppy personality.  She didn’t need to be around Tyson who was probably sulking at the fact that he wasn’t trad—

A knock.

She took her sweet time going to open it.  When she did, she was greeted with Jason Spezza and Jake Muzzin on the other side.  She almost wanted to shut the door in their face but knew that would be the rudest thing she’d ever done.  “We’re going for tacos.  You in?”

“No.”

It was actually Jake who looked more taken aback by her statement than Jason.  She figured it was because Jason knew better.  “No to tacos?  I think that’s the first time in my life I’ve ever heard anyone say no to tacos.”

Aberdeen cracked a half smile.  “Have fun guys, but I’m exhausted.  I’ve been up for like two days because of the deadline.”

“That’s all the more reason for you to get a healthy meal in,” Jake pressed.  

Before she could politely decline again, she saw two figures out of the corner of her eye walking down the hallway towards them.  One was William – she could figure him out from miles away just by how his hair looked – but once the other came into focus, a lump formed in her throat.  Tyson was with him.  

“We goin’ for tacos or what?” Tyson asked.  There was a smile on his face.  A fake one for sure, Aberdeen thought, all things considering.

And then it happened.  She felt the blood and emotion rush to her cheeks, and she felt an overwhelming sense of guilt and responsibility for the man that was standing in front of her right now.  She’d tried to help him and her attempt failed.  And in that attempt to help, she betrayed him.  She couldn’t even look him in the eye.  “Please, just go,” she shook her head.  

“What?  What’s going on?” Jake looked in between Tyson and Aberdeen.

“Will you guys just leave me alone?” she pleaded, her voice strained as she felt tears well in her eyes.  “Please.  I’m so tired and I’m so—”

“Inside your room, now,” Jason pointed to her bed, not even waiting for her to make the first move, and instead just walking in himself.  Everybody followed – everybody except William – who took his spot leaning on the doorway so he wasn’t actually in her room.  But he was watching.  And every muscle in his body wanted to walk in with everyone.

“What’s going on?” Jason asked softly.  “What’s the real issue here?”

Aberdeen shook her head.  She still couldn’t look Tyson in the eye, but when she could, she almost broke down.  It took every ounce of strength in her not to burst out crying and maintain some type of composure.  “I’m so sorry.  I tried, I really tried—” she began.

“Tried what?” Tyson asked.

She hesitated.  “Listen, I know – I’ll understand if you hate me forever because of this – I know you told me not to tell Brendan what I heard Emma say in the car, but I couldn’t help it,” she began.  Tyson’s face visibly softened.  “I thought that maybe if I told him he’d actually deal you out, and you could be—you could be happy again, you know, or at least somewhere where—”

“Aberdeen—”

“—but he couldn’t, and he didn’t, and I just feel horrible for betraying you by telling him and I feel so responsible now for everything that happened and I can’t live with myself—”

“—Aberdeen, are you apologizing right now because I wasn’t traded?” Tyson asked.  Aberdeen didn’t respond.  “Aberdeen, come on.  You’re not the general manager or the president.”

“But I could have helped—”

“No, you couldn’t have,” he shook his head.  Though his words were short there was a softness and a sentimentality in his voice, even a hint of surprise that she’d even go so far as to feel responsible for not being able to deal him to another team.  He understood what she was getting at, understood why she was mad and was feeling this way, but ultimately, he was shocked that she was getting so emotional over it.  “You’re not responsible for that sort of stuff, Aberdeen.  I know you were trying to help, and I thank you for that, but the responsibility of what happens on trade deadline day falls on absolutely nobody in this room, not least the personal assistant to the president.”

She sniffled slightly.  “I just thought that if I told him he’d be more inclined—”

“It doesn’t work that way,” he shook his head, looking her in the eye.  “But thanks.  I appreciate what you did in its own way.  Just remember that it’s not your job to write the narrative.”

He was telling that to an aspiring writer.  Go figure.  But Aberdeen took in the words, really took them to heart, as she nodded her head quickly.  “I’m really sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.  And I don’t hate you,” Tyson said.  “I see where you’re coming from.  Just maybe don’t try to do it again.”

She let out the slightest of chuckles.  “Yeah, I think that’s best.”

“William?  What are you doing in Aberdeen’s room?”

Everybody whipped their heads towards the doorway to see Brendan Shanahan peeking in.  Aberdeen thanked the fucking Lord (and would probably pray the entire rosary tonight) over the fact that she was able to control her emotions and not cry during the interaction, and also that two of the men currently in her room were married with children and the other had a serious girlfriend or else it would all look very suspicious.  Brendan took a few steps in and saw Jason, Jake, and Tyson.  He didn’t look suspicious, but he didn’t exactly look happy.  He had a neutral look Aberdeen couldn’t make out.  “I’m not sure if I like four of you in Aberdeen’s room like this,” he said.  

“That’s my fault,” Jake piped up immediately.  “I was forcing her to come out to eat with us.  I was making sure she had at least something to eat since she kept saying no.  Tys and Spezz followed to make sure, too.”

Brendan’s look became much more neutral at Jake’s words.  “Hmm…I get it.  Healthy meals and all.  But she can order room service if she doesn’t want to go out.  She’s been up for the past two days almost.”

Jake smiled.  “Her words exactly.  We were literally just on our way out.”

“Have fun boys,” he said, dismissing them.  “And I’ll see you tomorrow, Aberdeen.”

She nodded.  Everybody filed out of her room, each one of the giving her one last look before leaving.  William was last, of course, letting his look linger for longer than the rest before letting the door close behind him.  She let out a deep breath.

love how that was the closest we’ve ever been to getting caught and i wasn’t even in ur room

The text came from William not even two minutes after he left.  Leave it to him to make light of it, she thought.  But it was the following text that got her thinking.

can u tell how the boys wouldn’t say a word now?

#william nylander #william nylander imagine #william nylander fic #william nylander fan fic #toronto maple leafs #toronto maple leafs imagine #toronto maple leafs fic #toronto maple leafs fan fic #william nylander blurb #toronto maple leafs blurb #nhl #nhl imagine #nhl fic #nhl fan fic #nhl blurb #hockey #hockey imagine #hockey fic #hockey fan fic #hockey blurb #the president wears prada series

[littlespoonevan]

listen!!! ian/mickey/mandy was my original brot3 i had to bring her back!!!!! i hope you like it, bud :D <3

*

Mandy never used to believe that Ian and Mickey would last.

To be fair, the day she found out was also the day their relationship reached its first real breaking point. (Though a part of her remembers not feeling shocked at all, all the pieces – Ian seeing someone he refused to name, Ian overly concerned about Mickey’s wedding, Mickey always conveniently showing up whenever she and Ian were hanging out – suddenly falling into place.)

And she’d taken Ian’s side because- well, as far as she could see Mickey was fucking Ian over just so he could stay in the closet. She’d been wrong, obviously, though no one’s ever actually told her that directly. But there were enough context clues for her to more or less figure out what had happened – especially after the night of Yevgeny’s christening.

So she’d found out about them and she’d been around them and she knew, deep down, they loved each other. But to her it had always seemed like a doomed sort of love. In the way that love tends to be if you’re a Milkovich or a Gallagher.

She’d watched for about a year and a half as they’d clung to each other, desperately trying to make it work despite the world throwing every fucking problem it possibly could at them. And then one day it ended and she wasn’t in Chicago anymore and she still wishes she could’ve said she was surprised when she heard the news.

Time passed after that and she didn’t really talk much to either them but she hoped they’d move on. At least, she knew Ian was trying.

Then one day she’d gotten a phonecall from Beckman Correctional and Mickey was on the other line. (She’d known he’d escaped prison the first time – the cops had come knocking on her door too.) And it was strange talking to him after so long but nice too. In its own way. She’d nearly dropped the phone when he told her Ian was his cellmate.

(She’d heard about that too – Gay Jesus could still reach her even in Boston.)

After that Mickey started using his weekly phonecall to call her while Ian, with a much longer laundry list of relatives, started calling her once a month. It had been the most she’d spoken to either of them in years but she liked it – it made her feel connected to someone again, like her family hadn’t been totally obliterated.

She hadn’t planned on missing the wedding.

But part of getting her shit together meant not flaking on work responsibilities and she’d been roped into securing some account in Toronto with her boss and couldn’t get out of it. She’d managed to score a long weekend off a few weeks later though and promised she’d come visit then which had seemed to be enough to appease them both.

That’s how she finds herself standing on the steps of the Gallagher house on a Friday in February with an overnight bag on her shoulder.

Ian had insisted there’d be plenty of room for her here but she’ll believe that when she sees it. There’s always more people than there should be in this house. She hesitates for a moment, considering knocking but then feeling weird for even thinking it. No one knocks on the door to the Gallagher house. Testing the handle, she finds it unlocked and gently pushes it open.

The house is a lot quieter than it used to be and it throws her for a loop for a moment before she hears voices in the kitchen.

She steps further into the living room, pausing by the back of the couch when she catches sight of Ian and Mickey through the kitchen door. They’re…doing dishes. She thinks.

More specifically, they’re laughing as Ian replaces the glasses in the cabinet and Mickey idly spins a dishtowel in his hand.

“You’re so full of shit!” Mickey’s saying and the size of his grin momentarily leaves Mandy dumbstruck. She can’t even remember the last time Mickey smiled like that. Looking so…content and at ease and happy in own skin.

“I swear to god!” Ian exclaims, turning away from the cabinets and giving Mandy a clear view of the mischievous expression on his face as he holds in a laugh. “The guy’s dick was fuckin’ purple. Nastiest shit I’ve ever seen.”

Mickey makes a face before dropping the towel on the counter and taking the two steps it takes to put himself in Ian’s path. He cups Ian’s face between his hands and says, very solemnly, “You ever break my dick when we’re having sex and I’ll break your neck.”

Ian barks out a laugh and Mandy has to quickly bite her lip to stop a snort of her own as she watches Ian’s hands fit to her brother’s waist. “Pretty sure I’m the one who needs to worry about that,” he points out, expression light and amused as he quirks an eyebrow at Mickey’s reply.

He says it too quietly for Mandy to hear but whatever it is they’re kissing hardly a second later. She considers clearing her throat to make her presence known then because she knows what happens when Ian and Mickey start kissing when they’ve got the house to themselves but they break apart after a few seconds with matching grins. Ian looks up absentmindedly and his eyes land on her, his grin freezing on his face.

“Mandy!” he says, surprise and excitement colouring his voice. He lets his hands fall from Mickey’s waist just as Mickey turns to look at her.

She only has the briefest moment to share a look with him before Ian’s bounding over and sweeping her into a hug. “Hey,” he breathes, squeezing her tight. “Sorry, we didn’t hear you come in.”

Mandy hugs him back and instantly feels herself calm. Ian’s presence has always been comforting. She still remembers stealing whatever bit of affection she could from him when they were teenagers. When he dutifully let her call him her boyfriend even after it became very clear that was never gonna happen.

“It’s okay,” she says on a laugh. “You two looked busy.”

Ian leans back with a bashful expression, squeezing her shoulders before stepping out of the way so she can say hi to Mickey. There’s a single second where they both flounder as they stare at each other before Mickey’s pulling her into a hug and letting out a soft, “Hey.”

She doesn’t expect it but as she wraps her arms around Mickey’s shoulders she can’t help the feeling of déjà-vu that hits her, thinking back to the day she and Ian went to pick Mickey up from juvie. It’s a similar hug, light and familiar and comfortable, and it makes her smile.

In a lot of ways, they used to be normal siblings. They’d been the closest in age out of all their siblings and as the two youngest they sort of naturally fell into that dynamic of driving each other insane while also being willing to defend each other to the death.

Things got more complicated as they got older. Their words becoming sharper sometimes, their inability to help each other like they used to suddenly paralysing them both and making it difficult to know how to interact.

But this feels like before.

Mickey messes up her hair when she pulls away and, inexplicably, it makes a lump form in her throat. Fuck, it’s been so long since they could just joke with each other. But Mandy hasn’t had bruises on her face for years and Mickey has a wedding ring on his finger that he actually wants so maybe it’s time they can get back to that.

“You kept the blonde, huh?” Mickey says when he steps back and Mandy lifts her chin in a haughty smirk.

“Anything to stop people from saying I look like your ugly mug,” she retorts, slipping back into an old banter that comes to her without even thinking about it.

“Bitch,” Mickey grumbles but he’s smiling like he’s amused.

Ian’s hand lands on Mickey’s shoulder before his other reaches for Mandy. “Mands, drop your bag. We can talk in the kitchen.”

Mandy does as she’s told, letting Ian shepherd them both into the kitchen. She tries not to smirk at the fact Mickey doesn’t shrug Ian off this time, electing instead to wind his own arm around Ian’s waist.

They sit at the kitchen table as Ian goes to the fridge to inspect its contents. “You want a drink?” he asks over his shoulder. “We’ve got beer, milk, orange juice, soda, coffee-“

“Coffee sounds good,” she says. The flight hadn’t been all that long but travelling always wears her out a little.

“Mick?” Ian asks and Mickey considers him for just a second before saying, “Make one for me too.”

Mandy raises an eyebrow at him and he ducks his head, looking embarrassed. “’m tryna stop drinking beer before five o’clock.”

The laugh that comes out of her is a little disbelieving but she’s impressed. It’s rare to see Mickey actively trying to take care of himself.

Ian sets the coffee pot going and there’s a sort of awkward pause where none of them quite know what to say before she finally decides on the safest topic. “So tell me about the wedding.”

Mickey scoffs at the same time Ian laughs and she looks between them until Mickey says, “Long version or short version?”

And is that even a question. “Long,” she says decisively.

As Ian returns to the table with their coffees they regale her with the complicated events leading up to their wedding ceremony – including her dad burning their fucking venue down.

“Have you heard from him since?” she asks, feeling an old anxiety twist around her spine. She can’t say she’s missed Terry Milkovich since she’s been gone.

“Not since he shot up our fuckin’ honeymoon suite,” Mickey mutters and Mandy feels a pang of sympathy for them. It’s about fucking time the two of them just got to be happy with no strings attached.

Before she can say anything though Ian’s hand reaches out to grasp Mickey’s on the table-top and Mickey offers him a small, grateful smile. And it’s these little moments that keep shocking her, really. The causal ways they touch each other or look at each other. The way they keep picking up each other’s sentences as they tell the wedding story.

Everything about their relationship before had felt so life or death, these moments of just being were few and far between.

Eventually the conversation about the wedding winds down and Ian asks her about her job and it’s weird, the three of them having such a grown-up conversation, but every second word out of Mickey’s mouth is still “fuck” and Ian’s still got that puppy-dog grin he used to wear when he was fifteen so maybe things haven’t changed all that much.

Ian gets up when Liam comes home from school, following him up the stairs to help him move whatever he needs out of his bedroom and into Carl’s while Mandy stays over since, “Liam’s room is definitely the cleanest,” and Mandy watches Mickey watch Ian, a soft smile on his lips as he stares after Ian until he’s out of sight.

Mickey’s gaze returns to the table then but the smile is still there. After a second or two of silence Mandy kicks his leg under the table. Mickey’s gaze snaps up to stare at her. “What?”

She feels herself start to smile without actually planning to. “You’re really fucking happy now, huh?”

Mickey’s face goes blank with surprise before that bashful twist to his mouth comes back and he averts his gaze, shrugging once. “I guess.”

“Oh, you guess!” she scoffs, kicking him again. “Jesus Christ, Ian’s dick can’t be that great.”

Mickey smirks then. “Jealous you never got to find out for yourself?”

“Shut up, asshole,” she huffs, laughing in spite of herself. “I’m being serious.”

Mickey makes an incredulous noise and Mandy clears her throat, forcing herself to be sincere. “I mean it, Mick,” she says and his expression smooths out at the earnestness in her voice. “You two really figured shit out.”

Mickey doesn’t say anything for a moment before he breathes out a soft laugh. “I mean it was about fuckin’ time.”

Mandy grins. “No arguments there.”

Mickey looks like he’s about to say more when Ian’s footsteps suddenly sound on the staircase again. “What are you two talking about?” he asks, jogging down the last few steps.

“Just about how Mandy’s still jealous you had sex with me and not her,” Mickey says casually and Mandy lets out a choked noise, reaching over and punching Mickey’s arm as hard as she can.

Ian’s laughing as he comes to stand behind Mickey, hands settling on Mickey’s shoulders like they belong there and Mickey looks from him to Mandy with a shit-eating grin.

“Don’t worry, Mands,” Ian says. “You got to call me your boyfriend first.”

“Ey!” Mickey calls out, affronted, and Ian grins down at him, eyebrows raised in an, Am I wrong? look.

And Mandy’s just- she’s relieved, more than anything. Because they fucking deserve this – all three of them do. They deserve to be able joke about the good shit in their past in the safety of a present that isn’t threatening to take away their future. They deserve some fucking peace of mind.

And as she watches Ian lean down to kiss the top of Mickey’s head before he returns to his seat at the table she thinks it’s probably time to rethink her stance on whether or not Mickey and Ian are going to make it.

*

#gallavich #ian x mickey #ian gallagher #mickey milkovich #mandy milkovich #shameless #my fics

[lonelyreputation]

Trouble in Canada

a/n: hey hi hello!! tis been a while :’) but I'm back bc quarantine got me feeling nostalgic of writing! My computer crashed in September 2019 and all of my writing was no more :( but miraculously, TiC was the only writing saved to my cloud and it only felt fitting to repost it with some ~minor tweaks!  Whether you read TiC when it first came out a few years ago, or it’s your first time, I hope you enjoy :) Hoping everyone is staying happy, healthy, and sane during this time!! Happy reading!! Come chat!! It’s been a while!!

WORD COUNT: 4,632 | ANGST | PART 2

“I’ll see you at the next session?”

            You picked your head up from rummaging in your bag and smiled at Ethan, the cooking class instructor, “My husband should be back in town, but I’ll see.”

           Ethan nodded his head steadily.  He held your gaze for a few moments, but after a while of looking at each other, you diverted your gaze down towards the wooden table.  Slowly, you saw his tapping fingers inch closer to your hand that rested on the table.

           Quickly, you moved your hand, and placed your engagement and wedding ring back on your ring finger.  You didn’t like cooking with your rings on, in fear that they could fall down the drain, “Uh,” you cleared your throat, “thanks for the lesson, see you later.”

           He lifted his head up from staring at your left hand with sad eyes, “See you next week, Mrs. Mendes.”  The last part was said with a hint of distaste that he didn’t care to hide.

           As fast as you could, you scurried out the door and saw your friend, Jessie, waiting for you outside.  She saw your flustered expression and smirked, “Looks like the teacher has a crush on the student.” 

           You rolled your eyes, “Married,” You held up your left hand and showed off the rings that you proudly wore every day out of love to your husband.  Jessie let out a small laugh as the two of you walked down the streets of Toronto.  

Since Shawn had left for tour about three months ago, Jessie stepped up her best friend role by keeping you occupied whenever Shawn was away.  Out of the three months he’d been touring, Shawn had been home for four days.  It got lonely around the house with no one there, especially since this was the first time Shawn was away for a substantial amount of time since you had been married.

You missed rolling over in bed and reaching a hand out to lay on your husband’s chest when you were both too lazy to get up.  You missed playfully kicking his feet underneath the table during dinner, even when it was just you two in your apartment.  And most importantly, you missed it when he would come back with coffees and bakery items from the coffee shop down the street from his gym early in the mornings.

To fill up the gaping holes of the time you normally spent with Shawn, Jessie suggested that the two of you take cooking lessons at a place in down town Toronto.  You thought it was a wonderful idea, seeing as you couldn’t even cook pasta correctly, and Shawn got a kick out of the idea of you being in a kitchen setting.  

A little bell dinged over your head when you opened the door to a coffee shop that was a block down from where you and Jessie took your kitchen lessons. The two of you stood in line to order your drinks in silence.  Once it was your turn to order, you asked for an iced latte, even though it was February and snow was on the ground.  After Jessie ordered her decaf coffee, the two of you found a seat by the window.

“Ethan knows you’re married, right?”

You nodded your head as you crossed your right leg over your left, “Called me Mrs. Mendes as I left today after he tried to make a move.”

Jessie scrunched her nose up, “Like, I can see the appeal to having a little crush on someone who’s married––they’re unattainable in a sense––but dude,” Jessie paused her words when a server brought your drinks over to the table, “Keep it to yourself and don’t be a home wrecker.”

You took a sip of your cold drink and stifled a laugh, “I honestly think he doesn’t care, and it kinda freaks me out?”  Your mind couldn’t properly put together why Ethan would try anything out on a married woman, “Like when he was trying to show me the correct way to cut whatever it was and he came around from behind—almost like the boy trying to teach the girl how to swing a golf club,”  Jessie nodded, “I just feel weird.”

Peering over her coffee cup Jessie’s eyes were curious, “Do you want to get a different teacher?” 

You shook your head, “I’m sure it’ll calm down.”

It was a Tuesday night, and instead of it being spent in your bed reading a good book, you were pacing your room on the phone with your husband.  You understood that the life he led was full of uncertainty and things popping up last minute, and even after years of dealing with it, the feeling of being let down grew more and more familiar.

“Andrew won’t let you do it earlier?” You crossed your arms as you paced around the bedroom.  

You heard Shawn sigh on the other end, “I already asked.”

 Shawn was currently in Cape Town, South Africa, so while you were ending your day, he was just beginning his.  He was supposed to come home Thursday for five days and then get back on the road.   But now it seemed as though the plans had changed. Shawn was to be in Cape Town for an extra two days.  So, with the added days on to his schedule, and the travel days, he would essentially not be home at all.  

 “Should you even bother coming home?” You questioned him as you went over to the bay area window of your apartment.  The twinkling lights of the city and the sound of traffic below made the lonely nights bearable, “I know you don’t do well with traveling, and I don’t want to disrupt your tour schedule––“

“Y/n,” Shawn spoke assertively into the phone, “You’re my wife, of course I still want to come home to you.”

Even with no one around, you felt yourself trying to hide the blush that was making its way onto your cheeks, “I don’t want you to work yourself too hard––“

“You’re sounding like you don’t want me to come home,” There was a pause before Shawn spoke hesitantly into the phone, “Is something going on?”

Your eyes widened and you felt your previous warmth shift into nerves in your stomach. You weren’t hiding anything from him, but your mind drifted over to Ethan and how odd he’d been acting lately, his confidence growing more and more with each class. Of course you had no further interaction with him other than him teaching you how to cook, but you didn’t want Shawn to find out that the teacher had been flirting with you.

“Of course I want you home,” You looked down at your left hand and twirled your engagement ring as you smiled and softly whispered, “I miss you.” 

“I miss you too,” Shawn instantly replied back with a sigh.  It was silent for a moment until you heard his voice pipe up, “Are you sure I don’t need to worry about anything?”

Your mind drifted to thinking that it might be in your best interest to inform your husband about the handsy cooking instructor.  Surely he would understand that it made you uncomfortable and that you didn’t reciprocate any of the feelings.  It seemed trivial to explain everything to him, he knew you loved him, you took a vow to love Shawn for the rest of your life. 

With the little debate you had in your head, you came to the conclusion that it wasn’t important to tell him.  The class would be over soon and you wouldn’t have to worry about Ethan again.  And you knew that Shawn trusted you with his life, so he would know that nothing would come of it, so you shook your head, “You don’t have to worry about me.”

“I’m your husband,” Shawn let out a small laugh, “It’s my job.”  You let out a small laugh as well, but your thoughts kept drifting back to the not so subtle advances Ethan has tried on you. They made you uncomfortable, and maybe it was in your bet interest to confided in your husband, but just as you briefly opened your mouth, Shawn spoke up, “I have to go, but text me throughout the day?  I’m not sure when I’ll be able to pick up the phone and actually talk.”

“Yeah,” You answered him dismally, “I can do that.”

“I love you.” Shawn’s words were spoken in unwavering confidence into the phone.

With a stinging feeling pricking behind your eyes, you let out a breathy laugh to cover up your heavy heart of not being able to see your husband as soon as you thought, “I love you too.”

You hung up the phone and let out a deep breath you didn’t know you were holding in.  Of course supporting Shawn was something you would do no matter what, but with him constantly being away, it was beginning to take a toll on you.  You thought that it would be better once you got married, but that wasn’t the case.

Then thoughts that never once crossed your mind in all of the years you and Shawn had been together; what would it be like to be with someone, to have dated or be married to, that wasn’t him?  To have someone who wasn’t constantly traveling the world. What would it be like to be married to someone who spent more time with their wife than a tour bus?

––––

 Trouble in Canada?

            Newlyweds Shawn and Y/n Mendes are no stranger to the media, especially when it comes with rumors circulating their marriage.  Just a few months shy of their first wedding anniversary, the couple has been caught in the middle of a few fiascos.

           If we’re being quite honest with ourselves, keeping up with the Kardashians is easier than these two.

           Shawn is currently on his world tour and about to start the European leg. Earlier in the week, Shawn was supposed to be traveling home to spend a short break with the Misses before the European part of his tour officially kicked off.  But according to a source close to Mr. Mendes, he had to stay in Cape Town, South Africa for a few more days.

           “He tried everything he could to get out of staying,” The source close to Shawn said. “He misses Y/n, but even with the amount of times they call each other or FaceTime in a day, it’s not the same as talking to each other face to face.”

           But as Shawn slips into a land of everlasting bliss between he and his wife, it looks like Y/n has been spending her time with someone else as of late. Below, pictures of Y/n and a mystery man have appeared over the course of a few weeks, starting just after Shawn left home.

           “There’s been a noticeable change in him,” the source said, who has requested to remain anonymous, added in, “Everyone around him knows how much he loves his wife, so when he saw pictures of her with another man in that room, it really hit him.”

           Since pictures emerged of Y/n and the mystery man, people have commented that Shawn has been distant and more quiet than usual.  

“It’s another reason why he wants to get back to Toronto so bad, he wants to settle things with Y/n.  He’s tried to convince himself that it’s just a misunderstanding, but everyone around him knows how it’s already going to play out–and it’s not going to end well.  It seems like he’s catching on.  Those pictures leave no room for questioning what’s going on between his wife and someone that isn’t him.” 

           Have Shawn and Y/n Mendes followed in the steps of many other famous couples, and not been able to handle their marriage in the spot light?  We were banking on the couple hitting the five-year marriage mark before anything like this happened.  

 What do you all think? Leave your comments in the section below.

––––

           “Hey, Shawn,” You sighed into the phone.  It was the fourth time he had missed your call, “It’s uh––me, again.”  Pacing around your room, you didn’t know what was going on with him that made him miss your calls multiple times.  Usually, he wouldn’t ever miss one, and if he did, he would call you back ten minutes later profusely apologizing.

  You had enough with pacing around your room, so you took a seat at the edge of your bed.  It didn’t stop the nerves though as your leg began to bounce, “I’m just calling to check up, it’s uh,” You looked over at the clock on your wall, “It’s almost midnight here, and I don’t know where you are,” Your voice dwindled off at the end as you held back a small cry, “I hope you’re having a great day, or that you’re getting a good rest because you work yourself too hard doing what you love,” You tried to lighten your own mood by letting out a laugh, “Just call me back, I love you and can’t wait to see you when you get home.”

           Quickly, you hung up the phone and dropped your head to rest between your knees.  Your whole body felt off, there was a reason why Shawn wasn’t calling you back and you couldn’t think of anything.  The thought of him purposefully ignoring you felt like being stabbed in the chest with the knife twisting.  Your head started to pound, and you couldn’t help but start to chew the inside of your lip.  

           You made your way up to your pillows on the bed and slowly made your way under the covers.  You brought the white sheets up to where they were tucked under your chin and curled up.  With a constant sharp pounding in your head, and uneven breathing, you realized that you had begun to cry without realizing it until you sat up and saw tear stains on the pillow.  You brought both hands up to your eyes to wipe away the tears, but it was useless.

Your husband was dodging your calls.  You knew he had been on his phone because he seemed to be constantly Tweeting more than usual.  So he had to have seen your calls.  Then the thought struck you that this was the first time you didn’t know where in the world your husband was. 

––––

           “I haven’t heard from him in a few days,” You spoke to Jessie as the two of you walked into the building for your weekly cooking class, “Not even a––“

           “Y/n,” You were cut off when you heard a familiar voice call your name, you cringed a bit, and turned to the right to see Ethan, “Thought you weren’t going to make it in for this lesson?” 

           You cleared your throat, “Uh, yeah, I wasn’t supposed to because my hus–––“

           “I’m glad you could join,” He cut you off, with a gleaming smile, before the word husband could make its past your lips. The way he was looking at you made you slightly uncomfortable so you awkwardly smiled and looked the other direction without a reply.

           With a nod of your head, you gave Jessie an odd look that she returned with a shrug.  The two of you made your way over to a little a cooking station and placed your bags under the table.  Jessie and you chatted as other people strolled into the class area and set up in their usual position as Ethan made small talk with the people around him.

           Once the time came to start the class, Ethan clapped his hands together to get everyone’s attention, “We’ll be learning how to make a steak dinner,” He looked over and into your eyes, “For two.” 

           Jessie leaned over to you and whispered, “I think I threw up a little.”  You stifled a laugh because you shared the same reaction.  

           First, you and Jessie both successfully made the creamy scalloped potatoes and the little side Caesar salad to go along with the steak. You then seasoned the steak, put the steak to bake in the oven for a few minutes, and then turned on the gas burner on the stove.  You put canola oil in the pan, butter, garlic, rosemary and thyme as you took the steak out of the oven.  As you pulled the oven pan out, you bumped into someone.  

           “Oh, I’m sorry––“

            “You’re fine,” Ethan’s voice filled the air. You scrunched your nose up as he took a step closer to you from behind and, along with your hand, he took hold of the oven pan and settled it on the counter top.  Jessie side glanced over as she cooked her steak, and all you could do was widen your eyes and beg for help.

            Ethan then took a pair of tongs and placed the steak in the sizzling pan, “So, now what you do––“

           “I can help her cooking the steak,” Jessie cut him off.  She sensed how uncomfortable you were, and it even made her feel weird seeing how close Ethan pressed himself up against you.  She didn’t like how he was treating you and thought the behavior was inappropriate. 

           Ethan shook his head, “I’ve got it.  I should help my students out.”

           You cleared your throat, “I can handle it, someone else may need your help––” 

           “What am I getting paid to do if I don’t help you out?” Ethan raised an eyebrow. 

           But you weren’t backing down easily.  He’d made other advances on you during other lessons and this was your time to put your foot down, “I’m fine––“

            “Mrs. Mendes––“

           “Yes, Mrs. Mendes,” You stumbled over your words and began to talk faster than the speed of light.  Whenever you got extremely nervous, you always seemed to talk with your hands, “That’s my name, the one and only, and the prefix indicates that I’m married––“

           It seemed like Ethan didn’t like you mentioning how you were married and very much not looking for a relationship.  His eyes narrowed at yours and he took hold of your wrists.  His grip was too strong for your liking, and you looked up at him in shock.  The glowering possessiveness in his eyes frightened you.

  Ethan gripped your wrists tighter, “Moving your hands and having them fly around while other people are cooking isn’t safe––“

           “Hey,” Jessie turned off her stove, “You probably shouldn’t touch her––“

           You didn’t let Jessie finish her sentence before you ripped your wrists out from his hold.  Part of you was shocked that a teacher would take hold of his student in such a rough manner, and the other half of your brain couldn’t process what was happening because with pulling your wrist back, you brought your elbow down and it collided with the handle of the searing pan that the steak was cooking in. 

           You felt the sting of hot oils run down your back, and in response, you jumped forward, and Ethan was the person in front of you who caught you.  He looked at you with concern in his eyes, “Don’t move, you could be burned––“

           “Stop!”  Your voice was high and scratchy as you raised your voice at him.  It was then you realized that everyone had stopped their cooking and turned their attention toward the two of you.  Embarrassment flooded your whole body.   And you felt yourself heat up in a mix of anger, embarrassment, and fear.  You grabbed your bag from under the table and rushed to put your coat on, not wanting anyone outside of the cooking studio to see the oil stains on you.

           “Y/n–” 

           You didn’t want to make any more of a scene, so while biting the inside of your lip to keep yourself from crying, you shook your head, “Thank you for a wonderful lesson today, but I don’t think I’ll be returning ever again.”

           And before he could reply, or try and put his hands on you again, you swiftly turned on your heel and sped walked out of the kitchen studio.

––––

           Sitting at the little breakfast nook in your apartment with a cup of tea would be more relaxing if your husband hadn’t blatantly been ignoring you for a few days.  You knew he was coming home today, but you were clueless as to where he was flying from or what time his flight was getting in.

           You were sipping on your tea, watching the Toronto traffic from your window, when your phone buzzed.  You looked down and saw Shawn’s name popped up.  You had to look at it again because after all the voicemails you left him, his first contact to you was a text message. 

            Just landed in Toronto.

           You stared at the blue text bubble in confusion.  Every time he was about to get on a plane, he would always text you, no matter what time it was.  He knew that you liked to know his travel schedule.  But this was the first time he hadn’t told you his travel information.  It made your stomach churn because now you definitely knew that something was wrong.

           So you sent him a text back; Do you want me to pick you up? 

           Almost instantly, he replied, No. 

           Your heart sank just a little when you read his message.  And then you started to feel it break piece by piece as you read the one word, one syllable, answer that held more negative. emotion than it should have.  With tears threatening to fall from your eyes at any time, you felt your phone buzz once more with a text from him; Andrew is driving me back. 

           You nodded to yourself as you typed back a simple; Ok.

           Neither one of you said how excited you were to see one another.  Which was odd because you and Shawn would always count down the days until you could see each other again, but this time, the two of you hadn’t talked in what seemed like forever.

           With the stress about not knowing what was wrong with Shawn and what happened yesterday at the cooking class, your heart was racing and you felt jittery until you saw a familiar car pull up to the side walk down below.  You peered out the window and saw your husband for the first time in a few months. Even though there were tons of unsettled questions between the two of you, you still felt your heart pick up speed at the sight of him like it had on your first date.

           He pulled out a little over the shoulder bag from inside the car and then you saw Andrew come around with a larger suitcase.  You saw the two of them exchange some words, but since you were so high up and looking down at them through the window, you couldn’t hear what either of them were saying.

           But a few moments later, Andrew and Shawn hugged, and then Shawn walked towards the building and Andrew got into his car and drove away.  Shawn didn’t even send you a text that he was close to your apartment, like he would normally do so you would be waiting in the lobby to greet him.  It looked like he didn’t want you to greet him in the lobby.  Or see you at all.

           He didn’t want you––his wife––he one who promised to love him forever no matter what, to be the first person to greet him when he came back from a long month or so from traveling.  Your daunting thoughts kept themselves on a loop in your mind that you didn’t even hear the door open.

           It was the sound of a suitcase rolling and a bag dropping on the floor that made you look up from the window.  For the first time in months, your husband was standing right in front of you and you didn’t have the need to run up and hug him.  Seeing him made your blood boil because of how unreliable he had been recently.

            You sat in the little nook and took a sip of your tea, “Have a nice flight?”  You kept your voice monotone.  You didn’t want him to know that your past few nights had been hell with him ignoring you, and that you were getting no sleep, imagining what your reunion would be like after radio silence from him.  And here you were, after every scenario you created in your mind, it did not turn out how you thought. 

His hair was disheveled, t-shirt wrinkled in every place, and his left sock was raised higher than the left.  It looked like he had the same problem as you––not being able to sleep for the past few days.  All you wanted to do was reach out to him and feel his arms wrap tight around you.  You missed his familiar smell, the one that his pillow still smelled like, even after countless washes.  You slept on that pillow every night he had been on tour.  

           In your mind, you imagined Shawn either apologizing for his silence, or having his face turn red as he yelled at you for something you had no idea about.  But it wasn’t either of those options.  It was just like how he had been treating you for the past few days; silence.

           His eyes held no emotion, the exhaustion evident in his face.  Shawn was silent, something that was worse than blowing up at you.  You imagined anything but him being mute about his feelings because Shawn was always a vocal person.  

It was the most deafening silence you had ever heard.

           You were waiting for a response to your seemingly innocent question.  But as he didn’t respond, you began searching for any facial clues as to any answer you could possibly find.  You were growing frustrated.  His face was kept with a neutral look; no creases in the eyebrows and not a scrunch of distaste with his nose.   

           Then you began to search for any other signs that would give away his answer.  He wasn’t tapping his foot, he wasn’t swaying from side to side, and he wasn’t twiddling his hands out of nervousness.

           His hands. 

           It was tiny, a detail that wouldn’t be caught by many. But with being married to a man for almost a year, you began to notice every little thing about them.  There were certain things that you knew Shawn would always keep on him, and as a married man, you knew he always wore his wedding band.  But as you looked at his left hand, you noticed that there was a small sliver of his skin that was lighter shade than the rest.

           His ring finger.

           You looked down at your left hand, your engagement and wedding ring were in their place, and you quickly looked back at Shawn’s left hand to see if your mind had been playing tricks on you.

           Shawn wasn’t wearing his ring, the symbol of marriage that brought two people, who loved each other more than life itself, together.

            Your heart stopped and you felt as if you were about to throw up at any minute, a feeling of doom weighed down your chest with every moment of silence passing.  Biting the inside of your lip, you opened your mouth to say something, but nothing came out.  The silence that surrounded the two of you stole your voice.  You looked up at him, wanting to ask him why he wasn’t wearing his wedding ring, but with silence stealing your voice, he gave it to Shawn who spoke without hesitation in his voice.

           “We need to talk.”

#hello hello!!! #feels good to be back and ~editing haha promise I'll get more into writing #since ya know…my laptop crashed and was erased rip cried for so long about that #but ANYWAY #here's Trouble in Canada :) #only made some ~minor tweaks #let me know what you thought of it!! I loved chatting about it with you all and still would love to chat about it now!! #hopefully you're having/had a lovely day or night!! #and let me know what you want to read!! #requests are open obvs #Shawn Mendes fic #Shawn Mendes fanfic #Shawn Mendes fan fiction #Shawn Mendes fanfictoin #Shawn Mendes x y/n #Shawn Mendes x yn #Shawn x yn #Shawn Mendes imagine #Shawn Mendes blurb #Shawn Mendes angst #Shawn Mendes x you #shawn peter raul mendes #shawn mendes fanfiction #Shawn mendes fic #Shawn Mendes writing #hope you all enjoyed it!!! #Shawn Mendes oneshot #Shawn Mendes x reader #Shawn Mendes writing

[lihikainanea]

thinking about bill and tiger going on a winter road trip around the rural parts of europe. they take turns driving and eat at awful for you restaurants, go to all the cheesy tourist attractions, and a spontaneous mini golf sesh because tiger made a bet she could beat him. and once they get to their first stop, he goes in for a sweet kiss once they’re settled, but it naturally progresses into something more intimate. soft gasps, little giggles when he accidentally tickles her, and they have sex to the sound of the fireplace cracking.... brb gonna cry for a bit -🧚‍♀️

Ohhhhh bullseye, baby.

I don’t know if it’s just my Canadian side talking--we’re basically just a few chromosomes away from being polar bears--but there is something deeply engrained in me, something that really loves the winter. I am an autumn girl through and through, but something about winter is just...undeniably magical. Yes, sometimes it’s awful--the road conditions, the slippery sidewalks, the -40C, the 8 feet of snow that gets dumped on us weekly. But there’s also such a mysticism to it, a uniqueness, a lovely and serene quality.

There is the way that the bright snow illuminates a dark night--soft blankets just coating everything. It’s the way that it somehow makes everything much more quiet--most who have experienced cold winters can tell you that there is indeed silence that most of us associate with only the winter months, when the snow just seems to insulate everything and block out all echoes. A peacefulness. There’s the bright winter sky that is somehow just impossibly blue, a blue that you only see in January or February, and usually when the temperatures drop to insufferable degrees that no human should live through. The coldest days bring the brightest skies, and it’s a blue I’ve never seen anywhere else in the world. It’s the different kinds of snow that fall--soft and powdery, the type you want to just pelt at each other, or heavy and wet--the perfect kind for making a snowman.

Bill said a few years ago that the winters in Toronto were the coldest he had ever felt, and I felt some weird Canadian pride that we had successfully beaten a Nordic man into wintery submission. To boot--Toronto ain’t even all that cold compared to our prairie brethren. I wonder if he’s ever visited Landon in February.

In any case, despite its tribulations, winter holds a special place in my heart--and winter in Europe? Oh man. The November/December trip I took to Oslo and Copenhagen two years ago was the prettiest thing I had ever seen--Europe does cozy winter right. Everything is warm drinks, big knits, patios outside with heating lamps, blankets on chairs. It’s beautiful.

And maybe this trip is kind of her dream--but listen, for non-Europeans, driving in Europe can be terrifying, you know? I nearly get killed when I just try to cross the street on foot, let alone attempting to drive. But Bill grew up in these countries, traveled all over ‘em, and he’s more than fine with driving. Maybe he doesn’t even tell tiger the plan--he has a rough outline, but he keeps it secret. Tiger just thinks it’s the greatest thing, hitting the road in Europe with her big dude. He drives everywhere, confident and calm, through snowy mountains in a nice car, holding her hand. Maybe they start in France, drive on over to Switzerland. He rents a small room in a beautiful log cabin in the Alps, and it’s all fire place and cheese fondue and huge, fur blankets on the bed. They take a fondue tour. They hop on a beautiful scenic train that takes them around the country in a day. They go ice skating (he won’t let her ski, he’s not falling for that again). They drink mulled wine on their outdoor heated patio when they get back, all red noses and huddled together. They absolutely have sex under a blanket in front of the fire place, and it’s intimate and warm, both of their skin glowing in the soft light of the fire. The bed is huge, a big wooden frame complete with four posts, but they sleep glued to each other. He stuffs her silly, full of melty cheese fondue and raclette.

Maybe they head to Austria from there, he brings her to all the small pastry shops he knows of. He takes her prancing through the famous garden, takes her on a hot chocolate tour, gets enough chocolate snacks for the road. He brings her to Mozart’s house, introduces her to her first Mozartkugel, and he has to forbid her from eating anymore wiener schnitzel because she almost made herself sick. Maybe if it’s around Christmas time, he takes her to a few Christmas markets.

Then they head up to Germany, the whole time locked in an intense debate about glugg versus gluhwein--tiger can’t tell the difference, she just likes both but it’s very important, kid--maybe Bill has to stop along a few roads, let a herd of mountain goats go by. Even the ROADS are pretty in Europe. They stop for snacks in roadside restaurants and shacks, and god even the small motels along the way from country to country are just so beautiful. He takes her to all the German Christmas markets, hosts an elaborate mulled wine tasting (see tiger? glugg is so much better), feeds her bratwursts. Tiger is amazed that Bill can literally down an entire 1L stein of beer in just a few gulps, along with a pretzel the size of his face. In fact, maybe this time it’s tiger that has to intervene--Bill had 4 pretzels in a row and as he went for a fifth, she yanked him the other way. Got him a sausage on a stick instead, because somehow that’s better.

They head up to Scandinavia from there--a quick stop in Denmark, and that is entirely at tiger’s request. Bill’s Swedish side says fuck Denmark. But he takes her shopping on Stroget, tries to get her to properly pronounce stegt flæsk med persillesovs, maybe even takes her for a romantic stroll near Tivoli. Tiger makes the cardinal sin of mentioning that Danish Gløgg is her favourite so far and Bill almost like, smacks the mug out of her hands. They eat aebelskiver, and she laughs when he gets powdered sugar all over his nose. They stay a night or two in a beautiful little inn, before hopping back in the car.

Tiger loves that she’s just not worrying about anything. Bill knows how to gas up in Europe. He knows how the roads work. He knows how to park and read the parking signs. He knows where they can stop and get food, he knows where they can stay--tiger is just in the passenger seat, holding his big hand, and she’s glowing. He gets her a cute winter hat, a warmer pair of mittens when she’s cold. They pick up a few beautiful Christmas ornaments along the way, because the Christmas markets are just too beautiful not to.

They finally end back up in Sweden, but they’re not done yet. Bill drives way north into the countryside, where it’s dark all the time and where you can see the Northern Lights. He knows his way around--he rents a glass igloo for a few nights, gets a ski doo, drives her out to the middle of nowhere and parks it. The Northern Lights light up the entire sky, and tiger swears she’s never seen anything so beautiful in her life. She cries about it--god granny would have loved this. He hugs her and tells her to try to stop--wet tears on cold cheeks is never a good thing.

They sleep that night on their backs, still huddled together, watching the lights dance across the sky. He convinces her to try reindeer the next morning--tiger is a big fan of Christmas and eating reindeer just seems wrong--but it’s a pretty normal thing out there. She hates how much she loves it. And it’s a great way for him to reveal their next destination--none other than Santa Claus’ legit village, in Rovaniemi, Finland. Her squeal is so loud it nearly cracks the glass igloo.

#I love winter #there's no denying it #but also #I was supposed to spend a week in a glass igloo in Rovaniemi this December #it was booked and paid for #and then #obliterated #bill skarsgard #bill skarsgard drabble #BFF!Bill #soft bill

[narcissasdaffodil]

This is for Day 11 of Femslash February. I’m going from 3 separate prompt lists, and choosing whether to do them pretty randomly.

Prompts: waiting and long distance

Alecto taps her foot as she waits at the gate for Marisol. Her plane was due 15 minutes ago, and she was excited to see her again. They had done long distance for 4 weeks as Marisol had to visit her grandparents and extended family in Madrid, and Alecto had done her yearly visit to her dad’s side of the family in Toronto. She usually spent the summer in Canada, it was strange to have spent only 2 weeks there this time. Due to her leaving two weeks before Marisol and returning just after her girlfriend had come back,they had been apart for four weeks, which was the longest time they had been separated since Love Island. This will definitely be a surprise. She has absolutely no idea you planned on doing this. Along with the little gifts you’ve brought back.

She notices a flurry of movement from the gate, and looks up. She scans the approaching crowds for Marisol’s head and stands up. She stretches up on her tip toes while cursing being so short. Being 5’0 regularly had downsides, especially the not being able to find people in crowds one. When she was dating Abby it wasn’t so much of an issue, as Abby was 5’10, and had a considerable chunk of height on her.

The crowd starts to get less congested, and through a gap, she can see Marisol’s long hair. She moves forward slightly, careful to not get lost in the crowd and runs over to Marisol. Without thinking, she wraps her in a tight hug and grins. She breathes in the fruity scent and closes her eyes. Just one

simple perfume can be missed, she was so relieved to be with Marisol again. She associates Marisol with the spiky fruit. She wants to hold on forever but lets go, unable to stop smiling.

Marisol watches her with wonder, the shock clear on her face.

“Surprise! I was always planning to meet you, can’t be apart for much longer after all. How was your flight?” Alecto feels slightly breathless from the running and her heart is beating fast in her chest. She’s aware her words rushed out in a sudden burst, but was unable to collect them together and express herself in a calm manner.

“It was definitely a surprise, that’s for sure. How did you work it out? It’s nice to see you though. With time zone gaps, I did miss you. I’ve definitely been struggling more sleep wise. I haven’t seen my siblings in ages either, being teased about having ‘heart eyes’ was hardly fun. You’ve turned me into a slight sap, but I’m fine with it, as it’s you. You’re really special, you know…” Marisol’s eyes turn slightly misty as she speaks, a soft smile grows on her face. She does appear far softer with you. It’s cool to have that much of an impact on someone.

“I pieced together your social media posts, you don’t really use it that often so it wasn’t that difficult to do. I’m pretty good at surprising people, anyway,” she finds it hard to stop grinning, a warm smile settles on her face. “I could definitely say the same for you. Part of my heart definitely belongs to you, and your eyes look like coming home. I’m usually rather patient, but waiting for you was difficult. Maybe you’re like a tree, as you’re turning slightly sappy!” Marisol pokes her in the shoulder playfully and links arms with her.

“That’s by far the worst joke you’ve ever done. I don’t think it actually had any joke to it, it was just weird word play. But I actually missed you, and even the puns! Which is one thing I didn’t think I would, but it’s weird what you miss.”

They started to walk together, arm in arm. Marisol only breaks free to retrieve her luggage and apart from that they stay close together.

“What about your ridiculous amounts of coffee, and alarms? One person shouldn’t need 7 alarms to wake up, even I only have one and snooze it twice. Which is more than enough.” Alecto teases Marisol, who’s eyes widen in protest. Before she can respond, Alecto keeps going.

“Anyway, I did miss that, it’s weird to have just myself in the flat. Sadie’s definitely been missing you, she’s got used to having two mums. It’s nice to be a cat parent with you. I told my dad to expect grand cats instead of grandchildren, which made him laugh. He’s definitely fine with that, it’s hardly a surprise.” She looks over to Marisol to see her wiping tears from her eyes.

“These are happy tears, don’t worry. You’re like a cat yourself, with all the purring in your sleep you do. You’ve definitely miaowed at me, once or twice, too. Which is cute. This relationship is so special and wonderful to me. I’ve never had anything quite like this before…” her voice is slightly wobbly and Alecto squeezes her hand tight. “I’m also a little tired, so will need a nap once we get back.”

“Of course, no problem. We’ve got all the time in the world to catch up. And you must be tired, you never nap.”

Alecto feels a warm feeling take her over. Just being there with the love of her life once again turns her to mush slightly. Her extended family had been asking about Marisol and she wants so desperately for them to meet but wants Marisol to be comfortable with it too.

“What’s on your mind? You’re looking deep in thought.” Marisol studies her carefully, tear tracks still present on her cheeks. Alecto reaches up and wipes Marisol’s eyes with her sleeve, being gentle as she does it.

“My family would love to meet you. I know you’ve met one of my siblings already, but I want you to eventually meet the rest of them. When you’re comfortable of course, I… I don’t want to force things...” she feels slightly nervous and trips over her words as she speaks. She looks down at her feet and the pavement they’re walking on. She had spent so much time looking at her feet rather than the world around her in the past and was worried she’d fall back into those habits yet again.

“Hey. That’s fine to have it be a future goal, and it means a lot that you’re going at my pace. People have been scared off by it before. I do want to, of course I do. With time, that is.” Marisol gently catches hold of her chin and looks into her eyes. Alecto tries to ground herself in Marisol’s dark brown eyes, and the unexpected seriousness on her face. Just the small act of touch sends herself into overdrive, and when Marisol lets go, Alecto pulls a chunk of long hair over her chin to feel the pins and needles coming from her chin. If this is what love is, then it should stay forever.

#litg #love island the game #litg marisol #litgs2 #litg fanfic #marisol x mc #bubblelaureno #femslash february 2021

[coffee-n-bagels-comic-universe]

Disqualifications or Needed Rest

Quick Tag List: @kuruumiya @spacelizardtrashboys @stupidbluegirl @enigmaticandunstable @nattinngrst

This Passage Contains Potentially: swearing, violence, blood, angst, whump, fluff and smutty content. Chapter-specific warning: This chapter contains mention of pregnancy symptoms such as morning sickness, and Braxton Hicks contractions.

Summary: Snuka goes after both Roddy and Kirby, causing Rod and Snuka to get disqualifications and into actual fights.

Kirby's POV:

We were in the Boston Garden. I was sat next to the announcers desk and Snuka started yelling at me and then pulled me out of my chair and I fell backwards, over my own feet after trying to get away from a very pissed Snuka. Rod exited the ring, helping me up.

"Ya alright Kirbs?"

"I'm fine, Roddy, I fell over my own feet."

Rod quickly got back in the ring, followed quickly by an angered Snuka, holding a chair.

WHACK

"Roddy!"

I couldn't help the scream that escaped my lips when Rod's chest hit the mat.

I helped Rod to the back and stayed close to him, I turned my back to the locker room door for a few minutes as I leant against the wall, talking to Billie about Tito Santana.

"He's nice to me, hermana."

"So, you went out on a date?"

"Si, y'know, for a guy who's catchphrase is 'Arriba' I think he'd rather be 'debajo de mí'?"

"Billie, what does 'debajo de mí' mean?"

"Below me."

I felt a hand on the back of my arm and before I even realised who it was I had them in a sleeper hold. Upon realising who it was I swiftly let them go.

"I have never been in ma own sleeper hold, but I guess there truly is a first time for everything."

"Sorry, Roddy. I didn't realise it was you and I was just trying to protect mys-"

Rod cut me off with a gentle kiss.

"You're okay baby, if I were you, I would've done the same thing."

"I'll leave you two lovebirds alone, adios."

"Adios, hermana."

"I didn't know you could speak Spanish."

"I can only speak a little Spanish, Rod. I'm not gonna brag about something I'm not good at."

"What else can you do that I don't know about?"

"I speak a little French, a little German, some Norwegian, Irish Gaelic, Scots Gaelic and I speak Welsh fluently."

"How did ya learn to do the sleeper hold?"

"I watched you do it."

"So, you learnt from the best?"

"I guess I did, Roddy, I guess I did."

The next day I was at ringside for another Roddy vs Snuka bout.

After Snuka tossed Roddy back into the ring and cost himself the match he went after me.

Roddy got up just before Snuka started yelling insults in my direction.

Snuka started walking up to me as Roddy went to climb out of the ring.

The moment Rod's feet touched the floor, Snuka slapped me with the back of his hand right to my jaw, sending me sprawling to the floor.

Tony Colon, Jose Luis Rivera, Salvatore Bellomo and SD Jones had to run out to keep Snuka from attacking both me and Rod.

Rod kept going for Snuka until Orndorff, SD Jones and André held him back, with André helping me up.

McMahon gave Roddy three days to cool of, his next match being on the nineteenth and his next fight with Snuka being on the twentieth.

"That fucking asshole."

"Rod, focus on me, forget Snuka for the next three days, focus on me."

"He could have seriously hurt you, or worse…"

"I know," I mumbled out, putting a hand on my stomach, "Let's just get to Ohio and forget about all this shit."

"I'll treat ya, hon. What d'ya want to eat?"

"Burgers, then ice cream with maple syrup and blueberries."

"Ice cream and maple syrup?"

"Don't question a pregnant woman's cravings, boyo."

On the nineteenth, Roddy won against Rocky Johnson.

On the Twentieth Roddy and Snuka had a Fijian Strap match and Rod lost.

On the twenty-first Rod won against Salvatore Bellomo. On the twenty-second Rod won against B. Brian Blair. On the twenty-third Rod won against B. Brian Blair again, and again on the twenty-fourth.

On the Twenty-Sixth Rod lost by disqualification to Snuka.

On the Twenty-Seventh Rod, Adrian and Murdoch won against Snuka and the Samoans and After the show Rod and I hung out with the Tag Champs, Adrian and Murdoch as well as Ventura.

Ventura and me talked about Vickie for a short while and it seemed like Ventura was intrigued by her.

On the Twenty-Eighth in the Landover, Capital Centre. Rod defeated Snuka by Count-out, but they continued to brawl until myself and several others had to hold the two apart. Myself, Valentine, Orndorff and Orton held Roddy back so Snuka could get to the back, without Rod tearing him limb from limb.

On the Twenty-Ninth, Rod once again beat Snuka, after the Show Myself and Rod hung out with Orton and Orndorff.

On the Thirtieth, Rod had another bout with Snuka.

On the First of August, Rod won by count-out against Snuka, following the event we hung out with Ventura, Orton and Adonis.

I started to feel like thee days are blending together or repeating with only minor details changing, like the date and what exactly happens that day.

On the Second of August, Rod won against Snuka by count-out, again.

Again, on the Third, Rod, Adrian and Murdoch won against the Samoans and Snuka.

On the Fourth, Roddy won against Jimmy Snuka, again.

I drove home that night while Rod boarded a flight to Toronto, spending the fifth and sixth on my own.

I decided to spend a couple more days at home, until the Sixteenth.

On the Sixteenth, Rod, once again, had a bout with Snuka, which I was at ringside for.

On Friday the Seventeenth, Snuka noticed me at ringside after getting himself counted out and began yelling at me until the referee pulled him back and admonished him for doing so.

After the show we hung out with David (Schultz), Bobby (Orton) and Paul (Orndorff).

On the Saturday, myself and Bobby were backstage as Piper interviewed Sgt Slaughter.

On Monday, the twentieth Rod had yet another bout with Snuka and I decided to go back home to Salem for some well needed time to myself.

I didn't tell Rod, knowing he would try and stop me from leaving, I just left a note stating 'Need some time off, love you, will be in Salem.'

I reached the house by the Twenty-Third, answering the phone as it rung, right as I entered the kitchen.

"Hello?"

"Hi my love, did ya get home alright?"

"I got back fine, Roddy."

"When are ya gonna be back?"

"I'll be back on the first of September, alright, I'll meet you at the Philadelphia Spectrum, okay?"

"Okay."

I spent the following week, relaxing at home before driving back to see Roddy.

As I walked to ringside the crowd erupted into cheers and shouts of my name as well as 'Piper'.

The crowd continued to cheer as Rod climbed out of the ring and rushed up to me, pulling me into a loving embrace and pulling down my mask to plant a kiss on my lips, whilst the ref counted him out.

André and the crowd didn't seem to care about the fact that I had gotten Rod counted out of the bout, they only seemed to care that the Rowdy one had his right hand woman (or left, if Bob Orton was his right hand man) back by his side.

By the morning of the Seventh, Rod had noticed a subtle change in the way I dressed and I could tell that all throughout the day he was trying to pinpoint what was different about me.

That night, Roddy, Paul and Bobby took turns guessing what was different.

"Ya hair's different?" Orton started

"No."

"You got another tattoo?" Orndorff guessed

"No, although, that does sound like a good idea."

"Ya, uh " Rod paused, scanning from my boots to my hair before a wave of realisation hit him, "Ya finally look pregnant."

"What do you mean, Roderick?"

"The belly, you've got a slight bump."

"You're right, I dislike that I look slightly fat, but you're right."

"You're not fat, ya with child, there's a big difference."

It took another week for Rod to tell everyone.

It took another three weeks for Rod to get jealous of anyone paying me more attention than what seemed necessary.

By the Twelfth of October, I had started getting backache, the occasional passing faint feeling, as well as having some difficulty sleeping and 'Baby Brain' (aka forgetting very obvious things at random times). The morning sickness had gone away by this point.

But, the worst thing I started feeling was Braxton Hicks contractions.

The first time any of this really impacted me was after Rod had filmed a Piper's Pit segment with Tonga Kid on the Sunday.

"Ya alright Kirbs," Rod lifted my chin up, looking me in the eyes before lifting me out of my chair and walking me to the first aiders room.

I was checked out and let go, Rod's confusion when I entered the room quickly becoming anger at what I believe was the perceived notion that they refused to help me.

I grabbed Rod by the collar and planted a passionate kiss on his lips.

"I'm fine, Rod. Braxton Hicks. False contractions."

On the Seventeenth I had to lean on André for support backstage, right after he had pinned Roddy, making Rod justifiably both angry and jealous.

"That motherfucker."

"Roderick. He's my friend, anyway I felt faint and he's taller than me."

"Ya my wife."

"Don't get possessive, Rod."

"I'm sorry, I just, I don't like seeing you in the arms of another guy."

"Don't blame me, if anything, blame the universe."

"Why?"

"Because I'm a giant. Plus, you got me pregnant, right after we got married, which was in June. It's October, I'm due to give birth in February, And … oww."

"You alright, baby."

"Mmn, I'm fine, fucker kicked me."

"As in, the baby?"

"Yeah."

"Is that the first time it's happened?"

"Yeah."

"Did it hurt?"

"It surprised me more than anything."

I grabbed Roddy's wrist, pressing his hand against my stomach as the baby kicked again.

"Oh … my … God."

"Strong baby."

"Strong parents can make a strong baby."

"If I slap you, would the baby kick me?"

"Kirbs, don't you dare."

We started laughing to ourselves over the absurdity of the moment.

We had the Eighteenth off and Rod decided to invite Bret over.

A knock at the hotel room door signified Hart's arrival.

"Hey, Cousin."

"Hi Roddy. Hi Missus Piper."

"Oh, Bret. You know you can call me Kirby."

Both Myself and Roddy had seniority over Bret but we didn't really care much about that, to us he's family, and family comes first.

We spent the day chatting and relaxing with Bret in a café, going over things such as giving Bret advice on how to get the crowd behind him and Rod insisted on him doing promos.

I hadn't realised that Roddy had his hand on my stomach all day until Bret brought it up.

"Rod, why's your hand permanently on Kirby's stomach?"

"Because, Bret, yesterday something very important happened and I'm not missing it again."

"Kirby, what does Roddy mean by that?"

"The baby kicked for the first time yesterday. Rod's just making sure he feels it when the baby kicks or punches."

We were right back to work the following day. The days blended together in my mind up until the Twenty-Eighth, where I remember being backstage whilst Rod did a Piper's Pit segment with Valentine and Captain Lou.

The next day I remember is the Thirtieth, when Rod lost by DQ to Hogan. The only reason I remember this is because I yelled 'Fuck him' when Piper brought up Hogan being the champ after the bout, back at the hotel.

The days blended together for another short while until the Third of November, Making a fuss while Rod was working as Moolah had taken it upon herself to piss me off.

After the show had finished Moolah had taken to questioning me about both my status as a wrestler and if Rod was truly the father of my child.

Rod had to hurl me over his shoulder to stop me from jumping on Moolah and beating her to a pulp.

On the Seventh, Rod made sure I stayed backstage during his match, he did the same on the Eighth, making sure that Schultz, Valentine and Orndorff had me protected.

On the Tenth, Rod made sure I was protected by Orton for the whole show, after both Rod's bout with Hogan and the Piper's Pit segment, we went back to the hotel with Schultz, Valentine and Orton.

On the Eleventh, Rod brought me to ringside with him, but lost to Hogan. Once again, we hung out with Orton, Schultz and Valentine that night.

Between the night of the Eleventh and the morning of the Seventeenth, Rod let me stay at the hotels instead of being with him for shows.

END OF DISQUALIFICATIONS or NEEDED REST

#wrestling fic #Lucifarians

[needloveandpositivity]

It's been described as the worst year of my life packed into 3 or 4 months. And it has been. 2020 was so good for us. We grew closer in our relationship. I knew quarantine was either going to make or break us, and we are doing so well together. I love him with all my heart. But there's so much going on, I'm so exhausted.

We became really close with his aunt and uncle over the summer. We visited often, they came to visit here, it was a good relationship. His aunt became a confidant for me. We could talk about anything. Then his uncle decided to fuck off. Left with no warning. They had 1 fight and he was gone. Aunt was heart broken. My man went to pick up uncle, because my man has a huge heart. It felt like we got shoved in the middle of their separation. Aunt vented to me often about uncle. Trashing him left right and center. I didn't really like him in the first place, but he's family, I gotta tolerate him. But it's so hard to stay neutral. Not even a week after he left, he started seeing another woman. A woman who he had already cheated on aunt with in the past.

I did my best to keep aunts head level, so she wouldn't call, text, email, what ever this lady to try and ruin uncles set up he had. She was so angry. So bitter. And I understood 100%, I think her feelings were justified. He left her. Again. 3rd time he walked out on her because she was trying to help him sort himself out.

My birthday, I get a text message, my man's great aunt had passed away. The woman that uncle was living with passed away suddenly in her sleep. She wasn't a super healthy woman, I understand she had cancer and diabetes, she had basically given up. But she seemed to be doing well, all things considered. We had just seen her the weekend before, she was happy, joking with us. And suddenly, gone. In a text message. We went to see my family that weekend, my dad and my brothers birthdays are all around mine as well, so we were going to celebrate together. I let my parents know, my man's great aunt has passed away quite suddenly. No response. No, "I'm sorry for your loss" no "wow that's terrible, my condolences" nothing. Just oh, yeah I overheard your man say it to his mom earlier. Thanks.

I had 3 weeks off work between contracts. I tried to use that time to organize the apartment, sort things to sell/give away, but Toronto was shutting down again for lock down, so I couldn't really do much with the things I didn't want anymore. So I'm still sitting on those boxes.

The 3rd week, my man's mom came to visit for a few days, which was nice. Her and I get along really well. We went to pet smart, went for a walk, hung out, it was nice. But she left in the middle of the night, no text, no explanation. Just gone. I woke up the next morning looking for her, assuming she went out to smoke, and I couldn't find her. She must have noticed I was active on Facebook, because she messaged me like 20 minutes later, said her gut told her to go home, so she did. At like 3am.

Like a week or 2 later she starts getting all distant, hardly responding to me, not giving me solid answers about Christmas plans, just keeps saying what ever. I asked her if something was wrong and she just kept saying no. It was like this for like a week or two and she just kept getting more and more snippy with me. So I finally asked my man like is your mom mad at me or something. But he's like no no she's fine she loves you why would she be mad at you, what could you possibly have done? And that's what I was wondering too, like, what can I do? What have I done?

Finally, she tells my man that she was upset with me, she thought I didn't want to see her on Christmas. That she was just an after thought. Because I offered to see her all day on December 26th. She took offense to December 26th because in her mind, December 26th is the left over day. The day that people who don't matter get. In my family, December 25 and December 26 hold the same value. We always switched back and forth with my moms family and my dads family for Christmas day and boxing day. This Christmas, with the covid rules and everything, my dads family was going to visit on the 27th, just a few of them, and mom's side was going to do Christmas day, since it was their turn anyways. So the 26th was completely free, and I wanted to give MIL our undivided attention. No rushing to another dinner, she gets the day. But she didn't want that. She wanted Christmas day. But she wouldn't communicate that to me so that we could arrange that for her.. so she thought I didn't want to see her. That she didn't matter. And she got all angry and distant about it without just telling me.

We finally got it sorted out, Christmas was super messy, my moms parents were being over the top about Christmas plans, they ended up canceling everything, and we ended up being able to see MIL on Christmas day after all. The whole time we were down there, I was anxious and uncomfortable. Trying to please everybody at the same time, and it was never enough. Nobody was ever satisfied by the time we could or could not spend with them.

Then, the 27th in the evening we had Christmas with my man's dad. Uncle was there. With this new woman. No heads up, we just walked in, and there she is. No introduction or nothing. Just hey welcome to Christmas dinner, have a seat. Like what? He knew we still spoke with aunt. He knew how heart broken she was. And now flaunting this new girlfriend at us???? I felt completely disrespected. Like he did it to get a rise out of me. Like he did it so that I would tell aunt and put fuel on the fire. He did it to make it hurt for us to tell aunt.

I was so excited to finally go home.

January 4th. One of the worst days of my life. I'm working from home, any normal day. And I get a text message from my best friends son. My best friend has tragically died of a stroke this weekend. I can feel my soul being torn to shreds. I screamed and cried for hours. I was able to calm myself just long enough to send an email to my boss, let him know what happened and i will be signed off for the rest of the day. My mom gave me a call as soon as she found out, one of her friends found out because she used to work with my best friend. She called me, and immediately she knew that I knew. I told her who told me, and I sobbed. She didn't stay on the line for very long. Just told me that if all I'm going to do is sit there and cry, then she's going to go because she had things to do. I wanted to tell her to fuck off right then and there. But I just said k and hung up. I called my man so he knew I wasn't working, that I wasn't okay. He hurried home that afternoon.

January was a rough, rough month. I felt right on the edge of crying every single day. I couldn't make phone calls without bursting into tears. I spent so much time just staring at the wall. I smoked so much weed just so I could get through an hour without crying. My eyes, my nose, my throat, my soul hurt just existing. Weed gave me that temporary relief.

Just when I started pulling myself together, making it through a day without sobbing, my dad texts me. My great aunt has passed away. At this point, I don't feel anything anymore. I don't want to cry, I don't want to feel. I'm just angry all the time. It's either nothing, or angry. There's no in between.

February I start to realize I'm really not okay. And I haven't actually been okay for a while. I haven't done laundry properly since well before Christmas. The apartment is a mess. And more and more often I'm thinking about walking out into the street just to hope someone will run me over. Then maybe someone will notice and understand how very not okay I am. Maybe I'll die? Is that really the worst thing that could happen?

I finally called my doctor when I started having some really physical symptoms. Thinking about my best friend, thinking about aunt and uncle fighting, thinking about MIL, thinking about anything remotely stressful or disappointing would make me shake. Like an uncontrollable shiver starting deep in my chest. Come to find out that's called heart palpitations. I've also been having these attacks, Ill be sitting on the couch, or fucking sleeping, and I'll wake up with a pain in my lower abdomen, super dizzy, nauseous, light headed. I sit in the bathroom and wait to either throw up, or pass out. Neither happen, and after about 20 minutes it subsides, I'm exhausted and I go back to sleep. My heart rate gets so high, so consistently during this time that my fitbit has started recording it as exercise.

I'm scared, obviously, that something might be seriously wrong with me. The nurse that I speak to on the phone doesn't think there's anything to worry about. She says it's just anxiety, she will book me in next week to be put on medication. At this point I'm not entirely convinced it's "just anxiety", so I made an appointment with a counselor. Even if it is "just anxiety" this is far more intense than i have EVER experienced in my life, and I've been diagnosed with anxiety/depression since I was like 13.

My mom doesn't care. I told her what was happening and she just said, I'm sure you're fine. I am super duper absolutely not fine. I haven't thought about dying in YEARS. The last time I thought about it was when I told my parents I was bi and my mom tried to leave. Went upstairs, packed a bag, and walked out the door. My dad chased her down and got her to come back in but like, what the fuck.

I'm almost 1 week on trintellix, I have to get bloodwork done this week to make sure these fun, awesome, never before seen symptoms are in fact just anxiety, and I see the cousellor next week to hopefully figure out what's going on and how to get through this.

I have plans, goals. My man and I are talking about getting married in 2022. Talking about buying a home in 2024. Children? Maybe. But I'd like to be around here to meet them.

So, here I am. I have people who listen, but I feel like I just rant at one friend way too much, and she's sick of me. Another friend that changes the subject when I get sad. Another who has told me she's sick of people venting to her, because she has her own mental health to deal with. And my man doesn't know how to help me. He tries, he really does. But he has bad days too, and I cannot help him while I'm down here. I can't pick him up while I'm still down.

I just need someone to listen. Someone to hear me rant and vent and get things off my chest. Because if I don't, I know I'm going to drown down here.

If you're willing and able to reach out, please do. If not, this will be the blog that I journal in, I guess. Where I write down everything that I want to talk to my best friend about. I know she can't respond, but I'm sure she's up there watching me, and I hope she's reading this to know that I'm trying. I'm getting help. I'm trying to get better, so I can do better.

#help #helpless #mentalwellness #mental heath support #anxitey #depression #depressing shit #im not ok im not ok im not ok #pls help #grief #reaching out #journal #recovery

[spine-buster]

The President Wears Prada (William Nylander | Chapter 19

A/N:  IT’S VALENTINE’S DAY BITCHES!!!!!

February 14th, 2020

Aberdeen Bloom was packing her tote bag.  

Thankfully, the team had Valentine’s Day off.  Over the past few weeks she’d heard the guys talking about their plans with their wives or girlfriends.  John and Aryne were getting John’s parents to watch Jace while they went for dinner in Yorkville.  Morgan was bringing Bee to Alo for dinner, in his crutches and all – he wasn’t letting his injury stop him.  Jason was going to buy his girls each a bouquet of flowers and have a special night in with them and Jennifer.  It all sounded very sweet, and she was happy that, after missing New Year’s with their families, they were at least able to have Valentine’s Day together.  

Evan was coming over tonight and Kasha was cooking him a romantic dinner, so Aberdeen had decided she was going to camp out at her local Starbucks with her laptop and notebooks and work on her writing.  It was when she was almost finished packing her tote bag did a text come through on her phone. 

can u be ready in 15 mins?

Between William and Brendan, she’d just about had it with hockey players telling her to get ready in an absurdly short amount of time.

Why?

did u really think we wouldn’t celebrate valentines minskatt?

She almost dropped her phone on the floor.  She had no clue what he was thinking.  Clearly he wasn’t.

I don’t know what the custom in Sweden is, but usually you tell a girl if you’re going out on Valentine’s Day so she can look pretty

what’s the fun in that when i can surprise u with something plus u always look pretty its impossible for u not to

What if I already made plans?

Less than ten seconds later, her phone began ringing.  She snorted before she picked up.  “Hi.”

“You don’t really have plans, do you?” he asked, worry in his voice.

She looked at her notebook sitting on her bed, the one she was supposed to have packed into her tote bag before leaving for Starbucks.  Where she should be drinking coffee and writing.  Exactly like the stereotype.  “Evan’s coming over.  I was supposed to go to Starbucks and write,” she informed him.

William knew how seriously Aberdeen took her writing ever since she’d read a lot of it to him during their days alone during the All-Star Break, so he was genuinely worried.  “Do you think you can spare a few hours for a Valentine’s Day date?  I’m like two minutes from your place,” he said.  “But, uh, no pressure.  I mean if you want to write, you can go write.”

Aberdeen smiled, though she couldn’t see him.  His anxiety was a bit cute, she had to admit.  This was the first time in her life, she thought, that she made a boy nervous.  The last time she’d tried to use writing as an excuse not to go out, Zane got annoyed and pouty and forced her out to his friend’s birthday party where she had the worst time.  “I’ll meet you downstairs,” she said quickly before hanging up.

By the time the elevator took her down to the lobby, she saw William’s Volvo already waiting for her in front of the lobby doors.  She slipped into the passenger’s seat quickly, closing the door and immediately noticing how already hot and cozy it was in the car.  She looked over to William.  “Hi,” she smiled shyly.

“Hi minskatt,” he smiled too, a soft, confident smile on his face.  “You look beautiful.”

“Stop trying to butter me up.”

He leaned over the centre console and placed a kiss on her lips.  It was supposed to be chaste – supposed to be – but he should have known better, because once his lips were on hers it was endgame for him, and he kept kissing her and deepening the kiss for as long as she’d let him.  When she pulled away, she was smiling.  “Where are we going?” she asked.

“It’s a surprise.”

“Willy.”

He reached over and grabbed her hand, pulling it over to his lap.  “You’ll see, minskatt.”

Aberdeen digressed.  He put his car into drive and turned the corner to rejoin Adelaide Street.  He grabbed his phone carefully from the cupholder and handed it to her.  “Want to play some music?” he asked.  

Aberdeen arched her brow.  She took the phone from his hands and began scrolling through his Spotify.  During the All-Star Break, she’d added more songs to his “Minskatt” playlist, and they’d listened it as they sat around the apartment, or cooked, or did whatever it was they did for those three days – which was basically just eat and have sex.  She noticed a couple of songs had been added by him since then, too: ‘Ageless Beauty’ by Stars, ‘Cold Feet’ by Loud Luxury, ‘Honest’ by The Band CAMINO.  They all suited her and her taste in music so well.

But she had ulterior motives.

William waited patiently for a song to begin as he drove through the streets.  Every time he glanced over at Aberdeen, he saw her smirk getting bigger and bigger.  “What are you up to over there?” he asked.  “Are you destroying the playlist again?”

Aberdeen giggled and tapped the screen dramatically.  She waited.

When the opening notes of ‘Passionfruit’ began to play, William’s jaw dropped dramatically as Aberdeen burst into a fit of laughter at his reaction.  “What the hell is this?!” he demanded playfully.  “You roast me about my choice and now you play it?!”

“I never said it was a bad song,” she said through giggles.

“You are something else,” he said, pausing dramatically between the two words as he reached over and tried to pinch her on her thigh playfully.  She yelped but continued to laugh, grabbing his hand and holding it hers, like she was holding a baby bird.  “No extra meatball for you.”

Her eyes lit up at the mention of a meatball.  “Sugo meatballs?”

“No,” he shook his head, bringing his car to a stop at the red light.  He looked over at her.  “San Remo Bakery meatballs.”

She gasped dramatically.  “Willy, we’re going to San Remo?”

“Mhm,” he nodded his head.  The famous bakery in Etobicoke clearly had her heart, and he knew it would.  It was the first thing he thought of when he was planning tonight.  “You’re gonna get us whatever’s good and we’re gonna eat.”

Aberdeen wiggled excitedly in her seat.  She controlled the playlist and songs as William made his way to Etobicoke the long way – aka, not taking the highway.  He was perfectly content with taking King Street and The Queensway the entire way there while maintaining easy, fun, and interesting conversation with Aberdeen, who was suddenly full of stories of other Etobicoke establishments she’d haunt during her high school days.  She told stories of she and her friends packing themselves into a car to drive to San Remo Bakery in grade 12, making it back just in time for their afternoon class but smelling like freshly baked bread in the process.  She told stories of running through the streets of The Kingsway neighbourhood throughout university when she would go on jogs to clear her head.  She told stories of hiking along the Humber Marshes with her dad and traditional afternoon tea at the Old Mill with her mom and taking the subway back home to Royal York station after nights out with her friends in university.  She’d memorized the train schedule and knew that the last train going westbound left at 1:52am.  For all that she went out, she’d only ended up taking a taxi back home three times.

After every story, William would kiss her hand.  

When they were on Royal York Road, Aberdeen became silent as she looked at all the storefronts on the way to the bakery.  The sun was just starting to set, and even though it was the dead of winter in Canada, the night was clear and crisp, the sky starting to light up a mixed shade of orange and pink.  She looked over at William, his eyes illuminated by the setting sun.  For all her thinking half the time that he was so perfect she didn’t think he was real, she was reminded of his status by the beanie he was wearing on top of his head, the Maple Leafs logo glaring back at her.  

He pulled the car over to the curb right in front of the bakery.  Aberdeen could see inside, and it was pretty busy – like it usually was.  She looked at him again.  “Do you get recognized a lot when you’re out and about in the city?” she asked.

William shrugged.  “Enough.”

She looked between him and the busy bakery again, biting her lip.  “Then how about I go in and bring the food back,” she said sheepishly.  “That way it’s not…I mean we’re not seen toget—”

“I understand, Aberdeen.  It’s okay,” he said, kissing her hand.  

“I’m sorry we can’t, like, eat it inside or whatever,” she said sheepishly, knowing that it was because of her anxieties about being caught that they couldn’t be seen in public together.  Sometimes she wondered if he had the same, although she doubted it.  He was an extremely private person and didn’t let the media know about one iota of his life or who he really was as a person, but he was so carefree with her that she wondered if he let his guard down because his love for her blinded him or something.  

“Hey…” he said, leaning over the centre console again so he could give her a soft kiss.  “It’s fine.  I’m just happy to be spending the night with you.  Now go.”

Aberdeen came back with a feast.  A giant slice of lasagna (for him), gnocchi in a rosé sauce (for her, her absolute favourite), and two sfoglio cannolis.  When she got back in the car, bag filled to the brim, William was smiling.  The smell of all the food instantly filled the car and he almost melted right then and there.  “God, that smells fucking incredible,” he said.  “Alright, next stop.”

“What’s the next stop?”

“You’ll see.”

Aberdeen rolled her eyes again.  She didn’t have to wait long, though, because within minutes – seriously, the food was still steaming – they’d arrived at Prince of Wales Park, a small park on the edge of the lake with an amazing and underrated lookout towards the Toronto skyline.  The park was empty, with it being the middle of winter, and so was the small parking lot.  William parked right at the end, facing the skyline as the sun set over the city.  

Aberdeen and William looked at each other at the same time once he put his car in park, turning off the engine but leaving the heating on.  “You were planning to eat in the car anyway, weren’t you?” she asked.  

“Maybe,” he smiled mischievously.  

She took out the food.  William audibly moaned as he took his first bite of lasagna.  Aberdeen lay her back against the door as she forked some gnocchi into her mouth, sighing at the taste.  Between mouthfuls of gnocchi and lasagna and feeding each other little bits to taste, William began to speak, unprompted, just like she had on the way to the bakery.  He spoke about growing up with his big family in Sweden and the United States, going back and forth every year.  He spoke about skating on rollerblades in his backyard and hitting the corner of a barbecue while his dad chased him and needing three stitches.  He spoke about his mom cooking traditional Swedish dishes and his dad being the master of pickled herring.  He spoke about hockey and being drafted and moving to Toronto at eighteen.  He spoke about having to leave his friends in Sweden but being able to see them every summer.  He spoke about how much she would love Sweden, how he wanted to bring her there, how he wanted to show her their family place in Stockholm but also their secluded country house. 

After every subject change, she’d lean in and kiss him, and he’d taste like lasagna and she’d taste like gnocchi and it was all just perfect.  

When they finished the food, and had washed everything down with some water and put the empty containers back in the bag that Aberdeen tied up and placed at her feet, she looked at William once more.  Although everything was sweet, and perfect, and lovely, and everything she would have wanted out of a Valentine’s Day date, the fact of the matter was they’d just had dinner in a car.  Alone.  Because they couldn’t spend it in a restaurant together.  Because they were together, but they couldn’t be together – out in the open, at least.

“Hey Willy?” her voice was sheepish, her mouth speaking before her brain could tell her not to.

“Minskatt?”

“You uh, you know how we’re keeping all this a secret?  Like nobody on the team knows we slept together last June, and nobody in the world knows we’re sleeping together now, and the guys on the team think it’s all like…I don’t know, like you having a harmless crush on me or whatever?” she rambled.

“Yes…” William was unsure of where she was going with this.  

“So, um…what are we, then?”

He stayed quiet for a moment.  “What do you want to be?” he asked.  

“Nuh-uh.  I’m not making the executive decision here,” she shook her head.  “Either we make a decision together or that’s it.  We need to define what this is because right now we’re in this weird friends-with-benefits stage even though we’ve already said I love you—”

“I want you to be my girlfriend,” he blurted out, interrupting her.  “I thought…I mean, I’ve wanted you to be my girlfriend since the elevator.  I thought you knew that.”

She had a hunch, but she needed it confirmed by him out loud so she knew her mind wasn’t playing games with her.  “So…so we’re going to do this, then?” she asked timidly.

“Do you want to do this?” he asked, making sure.  “Because you already know my answer.  I think you’ve known it this whole time, you just hesitate to accept it because your judgement is clouded by the fact that we have to sneak around to love one another and be together.”

For Aberdeen, the answer was easy.  It was wrong, and it was immoral, and it was a blatant disregard of the rules she needed to follow professionally and the rules she should be following societally, but it was easy.  “Yes.  I want to do this.  You’re my boyfriend.”

“Then you’re my girlfriend,” William smiled.

“We have a bit of a problem though.”

“Besides the fact that this is against every company policy known to mankind and completely inappropriate?” he asked.  It made Aberdeen giggle.  “What’s the other problem?”

“Valentine’s Day can’t be our anniversary.  It’s too corny.”

William giggled.  He grabbed her hand and kissed it before he held it in his lap, his thumb gliding over her backhand tenderly.  “When’s our anniversary then, minskatt?”

Aberdeen thought for a few moments before she came to a conclusion.  “January 9th.”

William knew the exact date she was talking about and knew why she would choose that date to be their anniversary.  “Alright then.  January 9th it is.”

Aberdeen smiled, leaning back into the door, satisfied.  They had an anniversary.  They were official.  They were on the same page, regardless of whether or not they liked that page – that page being not being able to share their relationship with anyone or anything.    It wasn’t the best page.  But they both knew there were better pages ahead.  

A secret only they knew.

“What’re you thinking about?” William asked softly.  

“You,” she replied.  He smiled.  “C’mere,” she beckoned.  

“Come where?”

She abruptly opened the door, slipping out of the passenger seat and instead moving to the backseat.  William watched as she did so, slipping out himself when he realized what she was doing.  Once they found each other in the backseat, Aberdeen climbed on top of him and straddled his lap.  “You’re being very bold, minskatt,” William smiled.  

“Count your blessings,” she winked before leaning in and crashing her lips against his.  He reciprocated readily, however ‘shocked’ he was by her bold actions.  He was just as hungry for her as she was for him, and his actions showed that: his hands wandering along her thighs, grabbing at her waist; his tongue down her throat, biting her bottom lip.  They kissed so much their lips were red and swollen; kissed so much they were fogging up the windows.

Layers.  There were too many layers of clothing.  It was winter, so they both knew there would be, but it made things annoying.  They’d taken their jackets off long ago – William had his off when Aberdeen got in the car, and she’d taken hers off soon after, not bothering to put it back on when she ran in and out of San Remo Bakery – but now there was William t-shirt and hoodie to worry about, and Aberdeen’s sweater, and…

Aberdeen felt William’s hands go underneath her sweater and shivered.

“You alright, minskatt?” William asked as he felt her body shake at his touch.  

Aberdeen nodded.  She began kissing him again, grinding her hips against his lap, causing him to groan.  His hands kept traveling higher and higher against her bare skin until he reached her bra.  Aberdeen helped take off her sweater.  William took his off, too.  She could feel how hard she was getting as she grinded more in his lap, pressing her bare skin onto his and feeling his body heat.  Eventually, he pushed her bra straps down, kissing his way down to her breasts before taking a nipple on his mouth.  Aberdeen threw her head back.  “Willy…” she sighed out, the feeling of his tongue flicking against her nipple making her shiver again.  He switched to the other breast.  “Oh, Willy…” she began to pant harder.

She dropped her hands in between them.  

As Aberdeen stuck her hand down his pants, William stopped.  “Ab—Aberdeen—”

“Willy please tell me you have a condom somewhere.”

He huffed, looking nervous.  “I d…I don’t think I do—”

“What?”

“I wasn’t expecting this, minskatt.  I swear.”  Okay, so they couldn’t have sex.  But they could still have fun, she thought immediately, because there was no way she was going to stop now.  She was too far gone.  “If you want to stop I underst—”

“We are not stopping,” Aberdeen said firmly.  “I’m—I—help me pull your pants down.”

She started on her own, eagerly, but William helped.  She saw how hard his member was and grabbed it.  She noticed William’s sharp intake of breath.  She began to stroke him, looking him straight in the eye.  “D’you like that?”

William nodded.  He pulled her pants down, too, and moved her underwear to the side.  “I want to make you feel good,” he whispered.

“You always do,” she smiled.

He smiled back at her.  He began teasing her core before slipping one finger into her.  She gasped in pleasure, biting her lip as she moved her hips slowly.  “That’s good?” William asked quickly, only for Aberdeen to nod her head just as quickly, letting out a sigh.  She tried to steady her breathing as William’s finger began moving in and out of her slowly, curling every so often.  For her part, she kept jerking him off too, his grunts her fuel.

“D’you like when I touch you like this?” she asked, mumbling against his lips, biting down on the bottom one.  

He kissed her in response, sloppy and wet to let her know what he thought.  He used his thumb to start rubbing circles against her hot core, and the sound of her mewling out his name over and over again was driving him absolutely insane.  “More,” she whimpered.  “More, Willy.  One more.”

William slipped another finger into her easily and curled them both.  “Oooooh, fuck,” Aberdeen sighed out, along with every other swear word in the book.  She quickened her strokes of his cock and he grunted again, bucking his hips slightly.  They kissed for a while longer, both their hands working magic on the other, until she felt him buck his hips again.  “Are y’close, Willy?”  He nodded, unable to form words.  “D’you wanna cum in my mouth?”

Willy’s eyes bulged out dramatically.  “You’ve gotta cum first.”

“Willy—”

“You don’t hav—you’ve gotta cum first,” he repeated more definitively, curling his fingers in her again, making her cry out.  

“Don’t stop, then,” she bit her lip.  “I’m so close.”

William leaned forward to kiss Aberdeen, and with a few more curls of his fingers and circles of his thumb, she began writhing and shaking on top of him, moaning his name over and over and over again as she rode out her orgasm for as long as she could.  She buried her head in the crook of his neck as she came down from her orgasm, feeling his fingers slip out of her.  She watched as he brought them up to his mouth and sucked.  She was surprised he’d do something that bold, but then again, he had just fingered her in the backseat of his car after she’d initiated the entire rendezvous.  “Fuck, Willy.”

“Felt good?” he asked quickly.

“Felt fucking amazing,” she responded, trying to suppress her giggle.  With her hand still miraculously on his cock, she continued stroking, slowly at first.  “You ok?”

He nodded his head.  “You look so fucking sexy,” he mumbled, referring to how her bra was still pushed down and the red flush that had taken over her body after her orgasm.  It was his favourite sight to see.  “I love it when I hear you moan my name.  I…fuck Aberdeen.”

“I love how good you are with your hands,” she smiled mischievously.  

“I love how good you are with yours,” he giggled, sighing slightly as her thumb grazed over the tip of his cock.  They kissed for a while as she continued to stroke him.  “God, you’re so fucking good.  I’m not gonna last much longer.”

“D’you want to cum in my mouth?” she asked again.

There was no backing out of the question now, but William didn’t know how to respond.  Of course it would have been nice, but there was so much to consider.  “You don’t have to.  It’s okay.”

“But Willy—”

“—I haven’t even eaten you out yet and I don’t think it’s fair—”

“—But I want to, Willy,” she said, eyes wide and staring at him with a mix of fake innocence and real determination.  “I want to.”

He didn’t say another word.  Aberdeen kissed him a few more times before she shifted her position and took him in her mouth, sucking the tip of his cock.  William leaned his head back and watched through hooded eyes as she continued to stroke and suck, leaving him utterly speechless.  It was only when Aberdeen started to go deeper that he could feel his release coming, and he suddenly found his voice again.  “Aberdeen—” he tried to get out, but couldn’t.  She looked up at him with big eyes and he was ready to die right there.  “Aberdeen, I—”

“Cum in my mouth Willy.”

With one last stroke and a buck of his hips, Aberdeen felt his hot cum in her throat.  William moaned and repeated her name over and over, much like she’d done before, and tried to keep his eyes on her as she took every last bit of him.  His jaw was practically on the floor as he looked down at her, and she up at him, until he couldn’t take it anymore.  “C’mere,” dragged her up, planting a messy, wet kiss on her lips as they moaned together, William wrapping his arms around her protectively as he could feel his cock soften.  

They kissed for what felt like hours again, kiss after kiss after kiss, until their pace slowed down and their breaths returned to normal and they realized what they’d just done, what they’d just participated in together, willingly, in a car sitting in an empty parking lot of a park overlooking the Toronto skyline.  In about twelve hours, they’d be on a plane together en route to Ottawa, solely work acquaintances to everyone around them, keeping their secret close to their hearts.

“I love you, minskatt,” William mumbled, his head still a bit dizzy but his heart still full from what had just happened.  

“I love you too,” she responded, her chest rising and falling with her breath, her head equally as dizzy and her heart equally as full.

***

William couldn’t keep his eyes off of Aberdeen, now that they were back in the driver’s and passenger’s seat, on Islington Road heading north to get on the Gardiner Expressway.  She had a flush on her cheeks and a small smile on her face as she looked out the window.  The night was completely dark now, with only the streetlights illuminating the road for them until they got back into the city.  The playlist was playing in the background, but neither bothered to turn the volume up or change the song yet.

William drove slowly.  To have more time with her.

“Minskatt?” he asked softly as they were stopped at a red light.  Aberdeen turned her head to look at him.  “Being with you feels right,” he told her, his voice firm and with conviction.  

“Even though what we’re doing is wrong?” she asked.

William shook his head.  “That doesn’t matter.  I don’t care about the rules.”  He considered her words – how she admitted it was wrong – for a moment and got nervous.  “Does it feel wrong to you?”

“No,” she replied immediately shaking her head.  “Not at all.  But you have to understand that this…this is simultaneously the most wrong thing I’ve ever done, but also the most right.  I don’t know how to explain it.”

“I get it completely,” William said.  “But I don’t regret any of it.”

“I don’t either.”  Aberdeen surprised herself by saying those words out loud.  But they were true.  She didn’t.  She didn’t feel any regret.  “You…you know that right?”

William smiled softly.  He was very, very well aware how much she was sacrificing to do this – to be sneaking around with him – and he was very well aware of how, for her, everything hung by a thread.  Everything for her was on the line, everything, and she was willing to risk it all for him.  That was why he was so protective.  That was why he was so secretive.  That was why he tried his best to keep everything so low-key, to not have people catch on, and if they did, to not take it too seriously.  “I do.”

When she picked up his phone as he took the on-ramp onto the Gardiner Expressway, she chose another song, ‘In Your Eyes’ by the Weeknd.  William recognized the tempo immediately and smiled.  They moved along to the music, singing the lyrics together as they drove on the highway.  Aberdeen danced in her seat and William grooved from side to side as much as he could while still being alert and paying attention to the road.  Near the song’s end, Aberdeen grabbed his phone again and queued the next song.  

When the familiar chords began to play, the synth coming in and the beat loud and strong, William looked over to her and smiled.  “How did I know?” he asked.

“Did you expect anything less from me?” she asked rhetorically, giggling slightly.  

Midnight… You come and pick me up, no headlights… Long drive could end in burning flames or paradise…

Hearing her sing was one of the best things in the world to him.  Almost as good as hearing her talking about writing.  Almost as good as hearing her read her own writing.  There was such a lack of inhibitions in the way she sang and the way she moved, the way she didn’t care about facades or rules or appropriateness anymore, that made every lyric, ever hand motion, every movement and every head bop so endearing to him.  When she took out her phone and began recording the lights on the horizon, all the skyscrapers lit up in the crisp winter’s night air, he reached across the console and held her hand.  Hands that held the ring he got her on it.

Because he could now.  Without any reservation.  

And when Aberdeen smiled, all was right in the world.  

When they got back to her apartment, Aberdeen was reluctant to leave.  William had put the car in park but neither of them moved to say goodbye or do anything, really.  They were lucky that her street wasn’t a main street; that it was residential and tucked in behind two other, more major streets, so that they wouldn’t be honked at or bothered.  

“Have you packed for tomorrow yet?” Aberdeen asked, her voice quiet.

William shrugged.  “Just gotta choose a suit, really.  There’s nothing to it.  You?”

“Yeah,” she nodded her head.  “My suitcase is pretty much always ready to go nowadays.  I’m uh…Brendan actually gave me lunch time off so I can meet up with Siena.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.  She’s even coming to the game.  Not in the press box or anything but she’ll be in a seat somewhere in the arena.  You might get to see her.”

William stayed silent for a few moments.  “Did you like tonight?” he asked.

Aberdeen smiled.  “Very much so.”

Some more moments of silence.  It wasn’t until William leaned over to give her a kiss that there was another sound.  “I love you, minskatt.”

She smiled into the kiss.  “I love you too, Willy,” she said, for what felt like the tenth time that night.  She put her hand on the door handle and pulled so the door would open.  She knew if she stayed any longer, they’d be there all night, either kissing or just sitting there in silence.  “Get home safe, okay?  Text me.”

He didn’t want her to leave, but he digressed because they both had an early wakeup time tomorrow.  He also knew that he’d be seeing her in a few hours again, anyway.  “I will, minskatt,” he gave her one last kiss before letting her go.

When Aberdeen walked into her condo building, it was like the concierge was waiting for her.  “Ms. Bloom?” he asked as she walked by the desk.

“That’s me…”

“This is for you,” he said, handing her a large manila envelope.  “Courtesy of your friend,” he nodded towards William, still waiting outside in his car until Aberdeen turned the corner to get to the elevator where he wouldn’t be able to see her.  

She furrowed her brows.  When…?  How…?  “Thanks…” she took it from him, thanking him politely before making her way towards the elevator.  Once she was in, she pressed her floor number and tore open the seal.

Inside, there was a valentine.  A poorly made and executed valentine, but a valentine nonetheless.  William had cut out a giant heart out of red construction paper.  He’d glued googly-eyes on it to make a face, glued pipe cleaners and cotton balls and stickers where necessary, and had even used glitter.  She laughed out loud – it honestly looked like a valentine made by one of her mom’s first graders.  When she noticed it was a card, she opened it up.  She saw, in William’s handwriting:

Jag tänker på dig när jag inte ens tanker

It was when she got to her bedroom that she punched in the words, with all their accents, carefully into Google Translate on her phone.  Again.  He was always making her translate things, although she highly doubted there would be a communication error this time around and think he was calling her ‘little shit’.  When the translation came up, her heart skipped a beat.

I think about you when I’m not even thinking.

#william nylander #william nylander imagine #william nylander fic #william nylander fan fic #toronto maple leafs #toronto maple leafs imagine #toronto maple leafs fic #toronto maple leafs fan fic #william nylander blurb #toronto maple leafs blurb #nhl #nhl imagine #nhl fic #nhl fan fic #nhl blurb #hockey #hockey imagine #hockey fic #hockey fan fic #hockey blurb #the president wears prada series

[virtchandmoir]

‘Means the world to us’: Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir honoured with Canada’s Walk of Fame Hometown Stars

August 7, 2019

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir are just 30 and 31 years old, respectively, and they’re at the top of their careers. And now they have Hometown Stars courtesy of Canada’s Walk of Fame.The pair will be honoured with special ceremonies in their respective hometowns of London, Ont. and Ilderton, Ont. on Aug. 7. 

The four-time world champions and five-time Olympic medallists both toldHELLO! Canada they find the whole thing a bit surreal.

“It’s kind of strange because we’ve always said we’re not saving lives, we’re just ice dancing,” Tessa said. “And what we do is meaningful to us and we love representing our country, but to be recognized on that stage is really quite something.”

Scott said he hadn’t even contemplated the possibility of being honoured in such a way.

“Tessa and I have been working together at our goals for over 20 years, so to see them culminate the way they did last February at PyeongChang was amazing, but these little things, you don’t really ever think about,” he said, pointing out that they are both still very young.

Tessa and Scott began skating together in 1997, when they were eight and 10 years old, respectively. It quickly became apparent they were a blockbuster pairing, and after five years of skating together they won bronze at the 2002 Canadian Championships as novices. By 2005, they were the most decorated junior-level ice dancers of all time.

Four years later, they had won gold at the Canadian Championships, which was followed up by the highlight of their careers at that point: gold at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. They became the youngest ever ice dancing team to win a gold, and the first Canadians to do so at home. They took two silvers at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, which they followed with two golds at the Pyeongchang Olympics in 2018.

Scott said everything comes back to Ilderton for him.

“Fame is something that I never really think about, I don’t really gauge my success on,” Scott told HELLO! Canada. “But what I can say is the support that we’ve gotten over the years, over our careers, that keep us going, that fuels us every day, the support from Canadian people and the support from the people in our community is the reason why we have this star on the Walk of Fame.”

Tessa said she can’t thank the community enough for its support.

“From the very beginning, Ilderton and London respectfully, they’ve been so supportive of us and it’s been a long career for us, almost 22 years already,” she said. “They’ve really lived our journeys with us and we’re just so grateful. Whether we were competing at home at the Budweiser Garden or in PyeongChang in Korea, we always felt like our hometowns were with us and part of that story. And that we get to celebrate with those closest to us means the world to us.”

Canada’s Walk of Fame launched its Hometown Stars program in 2017. It is intended to provide all inductees with the additional opportunity to give back to their home communities and have a plaque mounted in a location of their or their families’ choice. CEO Jeffrey Latimer said it’s part of the Walk of Fame’s new mission to be a national platform instead of one centred on Toronto. All inductees are also provided with $10,000 to donate to a cause of their choice.

Tessa has chosen to contribute $10,000 to the London Abused Women’s Centre, a feminist agency that provides women and girls with long-term, women-centered counseling, support, and advocacy and addresses many of the issues and barriers faced by women and girls. Scott has chosen the Lions Club in Ilderton, which he said is helping “fill the gaps in municipal funding” so kids can continue to have access to sports.

Jeffrey told HELLO! Canada Tessa and Scott were not only chosen because of how they’ve helped their communities, but also because of how they learn by getting back up after falling down and trying again – literally, in their cases. That can be difficult to do alone, but it shows true commitment when you’re doing it with someone else.

“Many of the athletes that have been inducted, they weren’t sort of in their prime, it was later in their career that they got inducted, or at the end of their career after they retired,” Jeffrey said. “It was really important for us for two reasons for Tessa and Scott. One, because they’re still on top of the world. They’re still a household name, they just got back from winning again at the Olympics. They’re young, they’re youthful. These were all really important things.

“But the second thing that I think we love about Tessa and Scott is what does it take to truly partner with someone to become the best in the world? I think that’s something that people forget a lot.”

MORE: The private moment Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir shared after winning Olympic gold

Tessa and Scott head out on a 31-date tour of Canada dubbed Rock the Rink this November. The idea is to combine live rock music with skating. Canadian Olympians and figure skating legends including Elvis Stojko, Patrick Chan and Kaetlyn Osmond will be involved, as will America’s Jeremy Abbott and Italy’s Carolina Kostner. Tessa told HELLO! Canada the preparation for the extensive jaunt has made her and Scott reflect on their careers so far.

“One thing Scott and I have really been [thinking about] is where do we find joy and fulfillment?” she said. “Funny enough, it’s not podiums or holding a gold medal. Those are nice markers of the fact that we pursued something and accomplished a dream, but it’s really that process. It’s the grind of training. It's that full commitment to something and investing everything. It’s that feeling of vulnerability and embracing your fears and facing your fears and kind of putting yourself out there.

“I think it’s just that whole kind of, not to sound too cliche, but it’s that whole process of pursuing something,” she continued. “And, I think if we’ve learned anything, it’s that there has to be joy in the details and there has to be some kind of gratification every day from the hard work. And it is that, I mean there’s no shortcut to success, it’s just a lot of hard work and sacrifice.”

Scott said if he had any advice for young people pursuing their dreams, it would be just that – work hard and follow what you love.

“The big thing is having that passion,” he said. “In sports, I mean, that’s what we're drawing off after even 22 years of being together, being passionate about your craft, really finding the love for what you do and letting that passion fuel you.”

—Hello!

#tessa and scott #off ice #honor #canada's walk of fame 2018 #hometown stars 2019 #interview: hello! canada #just for the charity bit

[notesonnotes]

Rosedale. Herkimer 2009. Some friends and I had followed Honor Bright; The Doppler Effect and Lacerda to a show in Herkimer, NY. We'd never seen Rosedale, or heard of them. We didn't know what to expect when we saw them setting up. I was in awe of the sheer height of their front-man, Mike. (I am a over a foot shorter than he is, and at that point he was the tallest person I'd ever met.)When they started playing, I was in awe of their drummer, Emerson Tavares (he played faster than most drummer I'd seen). After the show, we saw a big purple bus, and we had the chance to hang out with Mike and Emmo. A week later, we'd get to meet Mitch and Zan in Watertown, NY. We were hooked. Soon after, we got them to our college in Northern New York.Since then, I've watched Mike progress from the 4 man band to the last solo act in Toronto in 2018. He is multi-talented, and probably one of the most down to earth people I've met. He takes time before, during, and after shows to talk with as many people/fans as he can, and has been an inspiration to many that have followed his journey.Today, we're going to take a look at where he came from, and where he plans to go. Take a few and read through. It's the anniversary feature for Notes on Notes! What better way to celebrate that with the one who inspired it all?!

NON: Rosedale was an early project of yours as a teenager in Brampton, ON. What brought you and your then band mates together?

ML: Pretty much skateboarding sparked it all. The skate scene was really booming in Brampton (and everywhere) as I was becoming an adolescent. Tony Hawk Pro Skater was huge, all the skate magazines were doing well, all the local skate parks were packed and hosting contests, pro skaters were celebrities- it was wild! I've always been pretty awkward on a skateboard and could never really improve past the basics, but I was definitely making progress on the piano so my parents finally granted my wishes to switch to classical guitar, as I'd been begging for years and the skate culture was surrounded by a lot of guitar music. After about a year of struggling to figure out how to play "cool guitar" I started convincing my friends to learn drums and bass and would try to jam with them. That led me to connecting with a friend I hadn't really seen since kindergarten; Nick, who was a pretty solid drummer. So I started showing him songs I'd written and we'd jam at his place on weekends. I think it started lighting a fire for a few of my school and skater friends as they started getting more serious about learning instruments and starting bands. We'd eventually teamed up with Mitch and Jon's band, as their drummer, Emerson, was still figuring out how to drum. Fun fact, there was about a month or two where I was kicked out of the band because my squeaky voice, cheesy lyrics, shrill guitar tone, awkward stage presence, and thick wavy blond mushroom cut were all just too unbearable. (They were very blunt and honest with me on that phone call...) So Jon started singing and they eventually called me back into the new band to play guitar, piano, and sing super high emo backup vocals. From there; we replaced Nick with Sam, named the band Rosedale (because when our gear was stuck at Nick's house we'd walk up Rosedale ave to the local music store to practice and write). Then we eventually replaced Sam with Emerson. Me and Jon started taking vocal lessons from our friend Steve, who was a drummer and backup singer in one of our favourite local bands, By Permit Only. Eventually we just asked him to be our lead singer and after recording our first EP with him, he quit the band and I took over lead vocals again. I met Zan in our high school, Mayfield. He was a bassist in the music program so I'd jam with him from time to time during lunch in our school's practice rooms. He eventually replaced Jon... I guess I could have just summed it up with "Skateboarding and school" but we all have a little more time these days so why not take a trip down nostalgia lane!

 NON: You've had 5 EP's and albums over the years; could you describe the progression of your creative process through the years? 

ML: It's pretty crazy for me to look back on. We recorded Past Times With Old Friends in Sean Andrew's little bedroom on a Line 6 bean-shaped Pod with Cue-base on his laptop. We'd tried to record about 3 demos with 3 different producers prior to that EP but nothing ever got finished. Each time we'd record I'd learn a few more things about how to engineer. Back when we had Sam in the band, one of his dad's friends "Stereo Mario" (one of the 3 producers that we'd demo with) would teach me the basics of Pro Tools and I was very eager to learn more. Before ever using any real recording equipment/DAW I'd multi-track covers of my favorite songs onto three-and-a-half inch floppy discs with my Yamaha Clavinova (a multi-patch midi amplified keyboard from the mid 90s), drums and all! So I kinda came full circle back to being a solo, multi tracker, multi-instrumentalist after having several different band mates and methods. The big turning point in my progression as an artist and producer, though, came when I started an internship at Drive Studios in my senior year of high school. I believe everyone needs a roll model and mentor to really progress and the owner of that studio, Steve Rizun, took me under his wing and pulled me in the right direction. Not only did he train me to be a sound engineer and let me work with some world class punk/prog/metal/emo bands, but he also would show me how to make additional production for Rosedale's sound and how to bring it to our live show. I became obsessed with songwriting and production and as soon as I graduated I worked to save up for a Macbook and an audio interface...and a lot of other gear! Had it not been for Steve, I probably would have wasted a lot of money going to a college to learn a fraction of what he was teaching me for free; hands on in the most punk rock environment! Since that internship he's mixed and mastered all the Rosedale records, mixed a handful of my live shows, he even showed me the ropes of being a live sound engineer, and continues to be a great ear to for mixing and advice! I've had a lot of other great friends show me how to edit video, hold a drumstick, where to book shows, gear advice etc. Even though I'm kind of a "Lone Wolf" I guess my process has always been to keep creating and ask for help and advice along the way from those who are more experienced (and YouTube tutorials, of course). Now that I'm in a new market playing with a new band (Mainsail in San Diego) I feel like I'm teaching and working more often than I'm learning. And that's been really healthy too! 

 NON: How has the journey from "Past Times" to your most recent projects helped you grow/learn as a musician/artist?

ML: What a journey it has been! As I'm sure any artist or even entrepreneur could relate, The Faces sang it best; "I wish that I knew what I know now when I was younger!" I think the biggest difference is the decision making ability. I used to take so damn long to make such bad decisions! Debating who, what, where why- it's important to think things through but sometimes you gotta just leap and learn from it. If you keep questioning things you'll never know. Also, the more I learn the more I realize how much more I still don't know! And that's part of the climb. Even now, being in the beginning stages of getting my 10,000 hours on the drums, I look back to how I used to play, say, 100 hours ago- and shake my head. That can sometimes be humiliating and demotivating while knowing you're still at the bottom of the mountain- or even just dealing with the ongoing yin and yang of confidence/hope vs. doubt. But what usually gets me to keep on going is to remind myself to just be better than I was yesterday. For a long time I was holding myself to the standards of my heroes which usually just creates inauthenticity, bad technique, bad decisions, clutter, and setbacks. Sometimes I'm worse than I was yesterday so I need a little push and that's okay, too! The journey from Past Times to Again was a big balancing lesson of letting things go while learning you can always do more to improve. And it's no surprise; but the newer the album, the more proud and less embarrassed of it I am! 

 NON: You've played bass in Mainsail for roughly a year, maybe a bit more; how did you meet up with them? What spurred you joining?

ML: Yeah since February 2019 I've been in Mainsail. I've been friends with them since 2017 and they really helped me get my show in front of a lot of people in San Diego. When I finally moved out there Nick was really cool about bringing me out to shows and jamming together. They needed a new bass player so I figured I'd offer and it just all escalated really fast. Since finally accepting that it was time to move on from the name Rosedale I've had a lot of luck with being a sort of "yes man". I'm usually very strict with staying on the path to my vision, as it requires a lot of time, but since moving and letting go of the past I've been finding that sometimes letting the wind take you where you're needed can be really beneficial. And a lot of great things are starting to happen for Mainsail so it has been fun. It has also kind of kept a stream of new listeners seeing what Rosedale is all about too so that is a nice bonus. 

 NON: You've performed at the House of Blues in San Diego; how was the experience for you?

ML: It was one of the best moments of my life playing that stage in front of so many great SoCal people, some who have been supporting Rosedale over the years. That has always been one of my favorite venues and since moving to San Diego I've seen a lot of amazing shows there. House of Blues is always great in Boston and Anaheim too. I'm really grateful that they give independent acts like myself not only a chance to play there, but they really give you the same professionalism and respect as they do to the giant national acts, it's pretty remarkable. I really hope they're doing okay during this pandemic and I hope all venues find a way to pull through this. I can't imagine how tough it's getting for some. 

NON: You've toured the U.S. and parts of Canada multiple times; played on a stage at Warped Tour, and toured Europe: What would you say is your most memorable moment?

ML: That is a great but very tough question. Playing in Vienna Austria in 2016 to a bunch of kids that knew my songs is definitely up there. But 2012 Warped Tour was probably the most fun and rewarding summer of my life. It was a grind and very uncomfortable at times, but there were so many epic moments packed into that summer that I look back on in disbelief. The biggest turning point was about two weeks into the tour in Minnesota (I think it was Minnesota...) I got called into the Warped production office and was told to check in with Kevin every morning for any open stage time, given a wristband, and some tasks to help out with in production. I played my DIY one-man-show in the parking lot that same night as kids were leaving the festival (as I would every night) and while I was standing at my merch table selling stuff and taking photos, I noticed that Ryan Dawson (from All Time Low) and Anthony Raneri (from Bayside) were hanging out watching. Once things slowed down they came over and bought 10 CDs each! It was so cool of them to even give me the time of day, let alone buy CDs to (probably) give out to people on the tour. I had a similar experience with Caleb Shomo (from Attack Attack/Beartooth) the year before outside of Cuyahoga Falls Warped tour. I had a drummer and bass player with me at the time and Caleb stood front & center to watch our whole set while kids kept coming up to him for autographs and I could see him pointing at us saying good things to all the kids. After our set he handed me all the cash he had in his pocked and apologized for not having more, I gave him some merch and we chatted for a good 15 minutes about how being an artist is a roller coaster and good things come and go, encouraging me to hang in there. He kept emphasizing how he just considered himself and everyone on the main stages lucky. All of those memories are enough motivation to last a lifetime and they're also reminders to pay it forward.

 NON: Touring as much as you have, there must have been some odd things that have happened. What has been the strangest thing to happen to you while you were on the road?

ML: Lots of strange tour stories for sure. The little ghost girl I caught on camera in the former German concentration camp was pretty crazy. (You can find it in the RosedaleMike Europe Tour Blogs via Tumblr if you don't believe!) It always freaks people out when I show them. And I remember everyone's reaction in the van right after I caught the footage. But the craziest thing that happened to me...there's been so many hard luck slaps in the face, as so many touring bands have also experienced, I'm sure. One time I had this great opportunity to be the opener/direct support for Everlast in Colorado Springs. I had just released self-titled, the tour was going well, and this Everlast show was sold out at Black Sheep (a great venue!) I had a day off so I got to town a day early to be extra prepared. While at the gym I received an email from the venue that Everlast had to postpone due to weather conditions. So now the show was cancelled and I offered to find local bands to fill the night for the venue so that I can still play for my small crowd. I went straight to a library for wi-fi and started plugging away on my laptop, emailing bands asking if they wanna do me a solid and play a last minute show at Black Sheep tomorrow night. I had two confirmed, told the venue, and they announced on the Facebook event page that there will still be a show but Everlast will be rescheduled, and they made me a host so I could update the event as I confirmed new acts. Some kids in Montana saw this and started saying that Rosedale cancelled the Everlast show! It turns out that they just randomly decided to troll me. They were even sending pictures of these little ridiculous hand written notes they made that read something like "I am cancelling the show - Rosedale". They were leaving random comments claiming that they were Everlast and bashing my fans as they tried to help clear the confusion. People were messaging me asking "Why'd you cancel the show?!" I had to explain to them and the venue what was really going on. The venue was in shock watching it all happen too and they said they have never seen anything like that, ever. I went to a local show that same night and convinced a couple of the bands to play Black Sheep tomorrow. All four locals were really awesome and the show ended up turning out to be pretty well attended. Even some people that had Everlast tickets came out and had a great time. The venue was really impressed that I pulled an event together so last minute and I was stoked to have built another great venue relationship. I got in my van and started to drive to my next show in Flagstaff, AZ. As I was climbing a rocky mountain pass, some slick snow started coming down. I was pulling my trailer and sliding pretty bad until eventually I couldn't move anymore and was stuck on the side of the road. As the sun was coming up an emergency truck pulled up and started laying sand down in front of my van so I followed him until my wheels started spinning again and one wheel gripped to the sand while the other spun and blew my transmission and rear differential. I didn't make it to Flagstaff or the next five shows. $4600 repair bill. And the next show back in Encinitas was an afternoon show at a biker bar where I was told after my first set (of three) to pack up and only received one sixth of my guarantee as my fans started showing up for the second set. There ended up being some good intertwined in all of all of that but it was just such a frustrating and confusing week. Sometimes I swear I'm in a movie like The Truman Show. 

 NON: You draw a lot of inspiration from The Used; Blink-182 and Angels and Airwaves: Who else has inspired you along the way?

ML: I definitely have a lot of heroes. Death Cab For Cutie and The Postal Service, The Ataris, The Starting Line, Metro Station, Dashboard Confessional, Boys Like Girls, The Matches, Underoath, The Almost, Motion City Soundtrack, Red Hot Chili Peppers, All Time Low, The Band Camino, Owl City, Radiohead, John Mayer, Coldplay, Paramore, Yellowcard, Moneen, Boxcar Racer...That's probably 10% of them. I've been to a lot of great concerts and being six foot nine gives me a good view and very memorable experiences. 

 NON: Do you see yourself continuing making music or helping others in music in the future?

ML :Both!

 NON: What song that you've written do you connect with the most?

ML: That's always changing to be honest. Depending on where I'm at, what I'm doing/going through. It's usually the most recent song or idea I've written which doesn't get released for sometimes a year or two after. Of the songs I've release, that would be Sustain. That is the most recent Rosedale song I've written. I wrote it right before we started tracking Self Titled and Again and its kind of about being in both shoes of that Warped Tour situation I just mentioned. People sometimes ask if I'm referring to myself as the Star or the Kid in that song and the answer is both! I'm still that star struck kid who can't wait to ask my favorite artists a thousand questions but I also get a lot of questions from fans who are trying to start their own thing or make their passion their career.

SHOUT OUTS

Mainsail, Palapalooza Podcast, Time & Distance, I Set My Friends on Fire, Alex Baker, Plans, The Home Team, OCML, FXav, Adam Sisco, my parents and family, everyone at Gnarlywood, Abby Lyn Records, Jonny Cooper, my old band mates and everyone who's ever come on tour with me- Thank you all. And all the bands, artists, venues, studios, street performers, restaurants that are trying to make it through this lock down. Hopefully all this is over soon and there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Believe things will get better eventually and use this alone time to improve yourself. Keep supporting live music even if you're stuck at home. And if you need help reach out and ask. Let's all stay safe and help one another

 LINKS

Facebook

YouTube

Instgram

Twitter

Spotify

[harrystylesandblackgirls]

Hailey Baldwin and Shawn Mendes Timeline - The beginning

[S] Stands for speculation.

This isn’t exactly where it began but Hailey was crushing on Shawn in 2013 and Shawn responded.

October - November 2013

Hailey was 16, Shawn was 15 and he was in a relationship with Lauren at this time (2013 - 2015)

October 7, 2016

Hailey’s cousin tweeted this:

February 2017 Hailey wrote this about Shawn in ‘The Love Magazine’

(later in 2018 Shawn says that he and Hailey met through mutual friends)

Around summer 2017 it’s speculation that he starts thinking about/ texting Hailey because of a song he was working on.

 [SPECULATION] June 18, 2017

Shawn has an unreleased song called, “She’ll be the one”, which some think could possibly be about Hailey! A fan asked what it’s about and he said in July 15, 2017 “It’s basically a song about you haven’t met this girl yet but you can kind of just tell that she’ll be the first girl to break your heart just because you can tell you’ll be in love with her before even meeting her type of thing‬”.

Genius lyric description: Shawn knows that this girl will be the one who will cause Shawn heartbreak, like in most relationships, yet he can’t bring it in himself to let her go. Despite knowing she will cause him pain, he is asking himself how he can not try to make the relationship work as he is already crushing hard on this girl.

[SPECULATION] July 13, 2017

He posts lyrics to “That’s Amore” on his Snapchat. It’s about a guy that falls in love with a girl.

🐥 July 16, 2017 Hailey liked Khalid’s tweet

  “damn catching feelings for someone ain’t a joke lol that shit really throw you off by surprise sometimes”

[S] August 4, 2017 Camila’s song that a lot of fans think it’s about Shawn, “All these years” was wrote in July/August.

So Camila Cabello wrote a song called “All these years” that fans say is about Shawn Mendes. And the more I read the lyrics it may be true. Especially this line: “Couldn’t help but overhear you,Sounds like you’re happy with her But does she kiss you like I kissed you?” She said “it’s really personal”.

 Did Shawn and Camila even ever kissed before?

 IF this song is about Shawn, Hailey and Shawn definitely started getting close earlier than fans say (they say October but why else would Hailey visit his concert August 16th when she never had before? Hmmm)

“Sounds like you’re happy with her”. Could definitely be about Hailey! She released a clip of this song on her instagram live feed August 4th, hence the date up top.

 People say his song, “Why” is not only about Camila but also a response to this song, “All these years”

August 15, 2017

Justin posted a picture of Shawn and said: “What a LEGEND. @shawnmendes” I’m pretty sure it has a lot to do with Shawn getting with / talking to Hailey  (who was Justin’s ex at this time)

1 Day later...

🚨IT ALL KINDA STARTS HERE 👇

August 16, 2017 - Hailey Baldwin News on Twitter: “More of Hailey Baldwin with fans at Shawn Mendes’s concert in Brooklyn, NYC.”

September 4, 2017

🐥Hailey retweeted Madison Beer: “Two souls don’t just meet by accident”.

September 17, 2017

🐥Shawn liked a tweet: “keep love songs alive”

🐥September 25, 2017

Hmmm could be about Hailey. I think they’ve probably been texting/talking longer than fans think (fans think October, I think longer! maybe July/ Aug)

👆Hailey retweeted the show more love tweet it’s obvious they were talking before October! They just got caught first in October at the same concert.

October 2, 2017

Cryptic tweeting.

October 7, 2017

October 22, 2017 (Sunday)

Matching Tattoos, Sunday Dinner, Night Clubs.

*I put Sunday because in his lyrics in “Nervous” he says: “I saw you on a SUNDAY in a “cafe’”… 👀 I saw a fan say he said cafe’ to change it up but it was actually a restaurant.. hmmm

AND SAME DAY (early before it all) THEY TWEETED “craY” and Shawn followed Hailey on instagram and liked that picture of Hailey and Justin.

They both got matching tattoos later. Shawn got “8” (August 8) for his birthday and Hailey got “22” for her birthday (November 22) THEY GOT IT OCTOBER 22, 2017 BECAUSE SAME OUTFITS AND TINASHE IS WEARING THE SAME HAIR AND SHIRT IN THE BACKGROUND OF THE RESTAURANT PICTURE

At the restaurant around this time her sister posted this on her instagram story (clearly about Shawn). So she did like Shawn back? Hailey was saying in the video “STOOPAA” while blushing (smiling hard)  ���Stop” in a long cute way as if she was talking to Shawn himself. (video)

They’re leaving a night club together (video)

October 29, 2017

Hailey and Shawn went to “Universal Halloween Horror Night” together (video)

October 31, 2017 - November 1, 2017

“Is there a hot new couple in town?”

“While hosting a Halloween party with her BFF Kendall Jenner at The h.wood Group’s Delilah in West Hollywood, Hailey Baldwin spent quality time with Shawn Mendes.

“He had his arm around Hailey and stayed by her side all night,” a source tells PEOPLE, adding that the duo left the bash together at 1 a.m. holding hands.

Last month, Baldwin, 20, and Mendes, 19, fueled dating rumors when they were spotted at Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights and enjoying dinner together a few days before.”

Picture of them at the same Halloween party (Hailey top right, Shawn bottom left)

November 5, 2017

He’s deep in album 3 aka writing lyrics and working on his album where a lot of the songs are about Hailey Baldwin and it’s scarily obvious!  

November 10, 2017

November 12, 2017 - EMAs

EMAs Backstage:

Hailey: “Hi darling”

(Shawn Talks about noise etc. audience..)

Shawn: “You’ll be fine. You’ll be good”.

(video)

November 12 - 13, 2017 - EMAs after pary

People at the party says they were making out.

”Hailey Baldwin and Shawn Mendes reportedly only had eyes for each other as they were spotted ‘French kissing’ at the 2017 MTV EMAs after party in London on Sunday night.

According to The Sun, the 20-year-old blonde bombshell and Canadian singer, 19, were infatuated with each other as they packed onto the PDA for everyone to see.

[Hot new couple? Hailey Baldwin and Shawn Mendes reportedly only had eyes for each other as they were spotted 'French kissing’ at the 2017 MTV EMAs after party in London on Sunday night]

A source told the publication: 'The place was packed with stars but Shawn only had eyes for Hailey. It clearly wasn’t a one-time thing.

'They looked like they were seriously into each other. It was a very exclusive bash and Shawn and Hailey were really enjoying themselves, spending ages French kissing.

'They even posed for a photo with Rita. It seemed like they wanted everyone to know they are an item,’ it was concluded.

They were clearly an item’: According to The Sun, the model, 20, and Canadian singer, 19, (Pictured with MTV EMA host Rita Ora) were infatuated with each other as they packed onto the PDA

It was continued: 'They looked like they were seriously into each other. It was a very exclusive bash and Shawn and Hailey were really enjoying themselves, spending ages French kissing’

He stayed by her all night’: This isn’t the first time the pair have fuelled romance rumours as earlier this month they reportedly left their pal Kendall Jenner’s Halloween bash hand-in-hand at 1am, according to People.”

(she got back with Justin 6 months later...)

November 15, 2017

A news video says that Shawn and Hailey face times each other and texts each other several times a day. And apparently after the EMA’s they went home together. (November 13, 2017)

Video: 

Another news article November 16, 2017

Our insider added, “A few months ago they were sneaking out of public venues like Delilah while trying to not make a scene and now they have gone on private vacations to Europe. Their relationship has grown and they don’t care if anyone sees them now.”

“Hailey is not one to make things a huge deal, but Shawn worships her,” our source shared. “He is definitely considerate of her busy schedule and her feelings. They are really cute together.”

While things are still very much in the early stages, fans can’t help but wonder if a red carpet debut is in this pair’s future. After all, Shawn is performing at the 2017 American Music Awards this weekend.Until then, those close to the couple appear to be in favor of this new relationship. “Hailey’s friends think Shawn is great because he is ‘chill and relaxed’ and is very supportive of Hailey,” our source shared.

Also on this day they later tweeted this:

November 17, 2017

He posts on instagram story of him singing “isn’t she lovely” by Stevie Wonder and fans were saying it’s for/ about Hailey (video)

November 18, 2017 

Sharing the same Hotel room.

A fan ran into Shawn and Hailey outside of their hotel.

November 19, 2017

She wore the same clothes that she was wearing when she was hanging out with Shawn that means she didn’t bring any other clothes. She was in LA only for a night and that night she “hanged out” with shawn🤔

November 23, 2017

Shawn tweeted this. And this is around the time he sent flowers to Hailey, her cousin posted the roses on her instagram story, it was for Hailey’s Birthday which is on 11/22.

Hailey liked Shawn’s tweet about Daniel’s music (below). Daniel makes very very sensual/ romantic songs and Shawn says he’s feeling it on a PHYSICAL level meaning that’s how he’s feeling at the moment. (and later on in the next month in December he and Hailey went to his concert in Toronto together)

November 24, 2017

Hailey tweets lyrics from the song “Can’t Help Falling In Love”

He liked a lot of pictures of her when they were into eachother.

December 2, 2017

Hailey liked (and then unliked) this tweet

And then she tweeted this right after she liked it

A lot of the replies are only about Shawn including:  “Yes @haileybaldwin we know that this tweet it’s for @ShawnMendes you can’t hide it, just admit it, you cant with such beauty, welcome to the club hun😂”

December 20, 2017 

Shawn and Hailey were caught PDA-ing at a Daniel Caesar's concert at The Danforth Music Hall in Toronto, Canada  . They were spotted holding hands and cuddling. In one pic, you can see Hailey resting on Shawn's chest:

December 21, 2017

Hailey was with Shawn when he got his bird tattoo in Toronto.

December 22, 2017

 They were hanging out in Tornonto , Canada

**READ MORE UNDER (THIS IS LONG)!!**

December 23, 2017

They went out to dinner together (video)

December 26, 2017

Hailey tweeted (but then deleted): “Always too good to be true”.

December 29, 2017

Hailey tweeted this. Some people think it’s about Shawn getting with another girl and some think it’s about Selena and Justin.

December 31, 2017

2 days later, Shawn’s friend Geoff unfollowed Hailey on instagram. (some also said Andrew also unfollowed Hailey).

- Shawn and Hailey both liked each other’s New Year’’s post.

January 3, 2018

Shawn tweeted: “Back in the studio this month to finish the album... x” You know what that means? inspiration + lyrics = songs about his experience.

January 16, 2018

Hailey follos a Shawn fan account on Twitter.

  @shawnwwreports : “Hailey just followed us ”

And later she tweets this which fans believe it’s possibly about Shawn:

February 1, 2018

Shawn tweeted this and ya know damnnnn well who he’s talking about.. HAILEY. Just like his lyrics from his song Particular Taste, “I’m so obsessed with her”. Fans said he deleted it so fast after he tweeted it.

February 19, 2018

Hailey liked a tweet: “You run my mind boy”

February 25, 2018

Hailey liked a tweet: “We’re not in love but I’ll make love to you”.

March 9, 2018

Shawn liked a picture of Hailey on instagram (first liked picture of hers since December 31, 2017) maybe they got into it about their “zone of limbo aka friends with benefits” relationship so maybe the song “Perfectly Wrong” is about her? (about arguing, then having makeup sex..)

[S] Vanity Fair party

Fans say he looked upset after the party some say looks like he was looking for somebody:

April 3, 2018

He also tagged her in this picture lol and fans say it looks like he has a hickey.

She also posted these pictures of Shawn on her tumblr (this is also the last post she ever made)

From her instagram story that day:

May 3, 2018

May 5, 2018

Justin leaves a comment on Shawn’s instagram. This shows Justin knows about him and Hailey and is jealous. It all makes sense since Hailey went back to Justin weeks after this smh.

Hailey dances and sings along to Shawn’s song, “There’s nothing holding me back” in the NYC streets. It was very intentional that her friend was recording her and her friend was like yeah I know you know this song (video)

May 6, 2018

Shawn is obviously tweeting about Hailey. This is a day before their appearance at the Met Gala.

May 7, 2018 - The Met Gala

They were very touchy at the met, there’s chemistry. He was holding onto her waist while she was sitting in his lap. And he couldn’t stop touching her on the red carpet.

Interview before the gala Shawn says this:

(he wrote songs about Hailey on his album)

And Shawn and Hailey posted several pictures on their instagrams

Aww he even gave her his jacket after the met (bitch must’ve been cold)

May 9, 2018 article

May 15, 2018 

(video of her instagram story below)

May 18, 2018

She’s wearing Shawn’s merchandise, the “Youth” sweater. Could possibly be one he wore or he gave her her own.

  May 20, 2018

- Hailey was with Justin Bieber’s manager Scooter Braun (which started the rumors that she’s getting back with Justin)

- Hailey singing and dances along to Shawn’s performance of “Youth” at the Billboard Music Awards  (video)

- And also this day Justin leaves that comment on Hailey’s instagram picture and fans think that meant they started back talking.

This is when it went downhill. It’s obvious Hailey and Justin Bieber started talking again in late May, so this was the end of Shawn and Hailey.

Tune into Part 2 : The End <<click.

#shawn mendes #hailey bieber #hailey baldwin #justin bieber #timeline #shawn and hailey #shailey

[artificialqueens]

Free Falling, Chapter 7: Buffoonery, Riggory, and Straight-Up Tomfoolery (Branjie) - writworm42

A/N: Thank you holtzmanns for always being a champ and keeping this brain cell going, as well as being my beta ❤️

The holidays were always a big deal at Charles-Visage. There was Halloween, when the kids all dressed up in donated Halloween costumes and visited the lounges in the adult inpatient units in supervised groups to go ‘trick-or-treating.’ The winter holidays were always wonderful too, the holiday-themed rec shows and staff parties at every turn putting everyone in a great mood. Thanksgiving always brought fun crafts and the most scrumptious recipes in cooking group, and Mother’s and Father’s Day filled the unit with faux flowers that gave everything a little extra pop of colour.

But this year, the holiday that Vanessa was looking forward to the most was Valentine’s Day. As cliche as it was, Vanessa loved seeing the unit done up in red and pink crepe paper, loved how the volunteers would go from room to room dropping handmade “valentines” filled with encouraging messages and doodles of flowers and Cupids at each of the children’s bedsides. She loved how a big bowl of heart-shaped chocolates would appear at the nurse’s station, the supply quickly dwindling as A’Keria spent a suspicious amount time “documenting” with Ra’jah. She loved asking her kids if they had someone special for Valentine’s, loved watching them wrinkle their noses and squeal as she teased them. Most of all, though, she loved that this year, she actually had someone special for Valentine’s, even if that someone didn’t know it yet.

Although lately, Vanessa was starting to think that Brooke might.

Ever since the business meeting, they’d been starting to spend even more time together. Vanessa would bring Brooke coffees mid-day, check in with her and ask how she was doing, and Brooke would return the favour with a smile and a conversation about how Vanessa’s day had gone at the end of her shift. Brooke invited Vanessa to stay late while she worked, and they would spend the hours chatting while Brooke typed, barely losing concentration as she calculated figures while presenting a well-thought-out argument as to why Dirty Computer deserved the Grammy more thanSweetener. And all that time was paying off–slowly but surely, Brooke opened up to Vanessa more. Slowly but surely, she let Vanessa help, let her try stapling files and spread the word about the family focus groups that Brooke was holding. Slowly but surely, Brooke’s conversation about how Vanessa was doing became less business-like and less casual, and more like Brooke was actually trying to absorb and learn what occupational therapy was like, how it felt to be Vanessa doing it. Slowly but surely, Brooke was opening up a little more, dropping information and feelings bit by bit.

Brooke was from Toronto, and she missed her family dearly, a fact that she showed even more than she said in how she spoke about them with a soft fondness that most people didn’t know she had. She had grown up very religious, but didn’t like describing herself as Christian any more (when Vanessa asked why, an uncomfortable look passed over Brooke’s face, and Vanessa had enough sense not to press the issue). She described herself as a lover-not-a-fighter, but had a more fierce temper than she let on, a passionate fire that he came out in rants and raves exclusively for Vanessa’s ears behind closed doors. She loved cats and had two of her own, and thought that Vanessa should come over some time to meet them.

The invitation stuck in Vanessa’s mind as she walked into the unit on February 14th, finally coming around to the idea that maybe, just maybe, Brooke felt the same way as she did.

Vanessa was so caught up thinking about the ways she could work Brooke’s cats into a conversation, how she could wriggle her way into confirming that Brooke’s invitation was real and that it meant what she hoped it did, that she hardly noticed the commotion in the allied health office.

“Put it on her desk.”

“Where on her desk? I can’t just–”

“Bird, yes you can! Just put it–dude, don’t put it face down, she needs to be able to read it!”

“Whatever, can you just hurry? She’ll be here– Heyyyy, Vanessa!” Ariel perked up when she saw Vanessa standing in the doorway, arms folded and eyebrow raised.

“What are you two clowns doing at my desk?” Vanessa looked Yvie and Ariel over with suspicion, the two of them looking like a pair of deer in headlights as they looked from each other to Vanessa’s desk to a piece of flashy red construction paper in Yvie’s hands.

Flashy red construction paper?

“Is that a Valentine?” Vanessa’s suspicion melted into pleasant surprise at the fact that her friends would take the time to make something for her, put so much thought in it as to fuss over where to leave it for her to find.

“Oh, yeah!” Yvie nodded seriously, “Brooke made it. She had a meeting, so she wanted us to leave it on your desk. She said that she’ll see you at lunch!”

Vanessa’s own heart stopped as Yvie pushed the handcut red heart into her hands, brushing past her with Ariel following closely behind, muttering some excuse about an SLP-PT joint session. Never mind the fact that speech and physiotherapy joint sessions rarely occurred, that those two were clearly up to something–she was holding a Valentine, a handmade Valentine, from Brooke Lynn Hytes. She traced the jagged, wobbling edges of the card as she flipped it over and brought it closer to her face to read.

Roses are red, violets are blue, tonight if you’re free, can I go out with you?

Vanessa snorted. It was a cheesy attempt at flirtation if ever she saw one, but knowing Brooke, she had no trouble imagining the blonde sitting at her desk deciding to go with an ironic rhyme after fretting over what to say for a good fifteen minutes. It wasn’t important, anyway–what mattered was, Brooke had written it, she had given it to Vanessa, she had asked her out. Brooke had asked her out.

When her heart started beating again, it was soaring, pounding hard in Vanessa’s chest as she gave the Valentine a quick little kiss and put it down on her desk.

She was so busy thinking about what she would say to Brooke, what activity she would suggest, heck, what she would wear , that she hardly noticed the knock at the office door.

“Brooke!” Vanessa gave a little jump when she turned around, only to come face to face with the blushing, grinning woman. “You’re not in–”

“I couldn’t wait.” Brooke shook her head, her blush deepening. “I had to come see you to say–”

“Thank you.” Vanessa blurted out. Brooke looked a little surprised for a second, then nodded.

“So I guess you picked up on everything?” Brooke laughed nervously, and Vanessa nodded, laughing too.

“Were you serious, though? Like no jokes?”

“Of course!” Brooke protested, “And I really want to go out tonight.”

Vanessa felt like screaming. She felt like jumping up and down, like grabbing Brooke and kissing her right then and there.

Instead, she smiled.

“How about right after work? You can make an exception for once. I know a great place we can go for dinner.”

“Yeah!” Brooke nodded enthusiastically before realising how eagerly she had answered, covering her embarrassment in a cough and dropping her voice as she repeated, “Yeah. I’d like that.”

“I’d like that too.” Vanessa smiled warmly. “See you at five?”

Brooke nodded. “See you at five.”

–

Around the corner, Nina reached over and punched Silky in the arm.

“Told you it would work.”

Silky rolled her eyes, but said nothing as the other women started giggling and whispering among themselves, craning their necks and stumbling over each other as they fought to see the scene unfolding in front of them.

“What did you even write in their cards?” Mercedes asked. “I saw Vanessa’s, but I didn’t see Brooke’s.”

“Oh, that one was easy.” Nina laughed. She took on Vanessa’s characteristically raspy voice and recited, “ You make my heart pop an’ lock. Can I take you out tonight?”

It was all anybody could do not to start howling with laughter.

Then Brooke and Vanessa came out of the doorway of the allied health office and started walking down the hallway, their hands interlocked and eyes downcast shyly, and everyone scattered, squealing excitedly about what geniuses they were.

TAGS: brooke lynn hytes, vanessa vanjie mateo, branjie, free falling, lesbian AU, hospital AU

#rpdr fanfiction #brooke lynn hytes #vanessa vanjie mateo #branjie #free falling #lesbian au #hospital au #writworm42

[andrewuttaro]

Snacks: The Sabres 2020 Trade Deadline

I don’t think the question we should be asking is “What did we expect?” As successfully as Buffalo Sabres General Manager Jason Botterill has upgraded the defensive corps, brought along a strong development pipeline and created a decent blueprint in net, the things he has failed at, still failed at through this deadline, are a bit louder.

For one, the Ryan O’Reilly trade has continued to hang over his head as a tremendous shadow over everything he does. Say what you will about pressure from ownership, salary bonuses and “Love for the Game”, that trade was downright terrible. The hole at 2nd line center is glaring and its been holding this team back ever since. If Ryan O’Reilly is on this Sabres team they’re in a playoff spot right now. Quote me. But this isn’t an O’Reilly snack, this is a deadline snack.

The assumption since May of last year was a big move resembling a true “Hockey Trade” would be necessary to address that 2C hole. The biggest asset this organization might be willing to move to make such a trade happen, Rasmus Ristolainen, is a depreciating asset in spite of a bit of comeback season. Last summer it felt like that trade was going to drop any minute. It’s been eight months.

Now the season hangs in the balance and by way of resigning way too many replacement level players, a club struggling to see itself in the playoff picture is having salary cap troubles! What!? Now I love finding excuses for GMs I like but the surprisingly low salary cap number for this season is not a good one. Three years into the Botterill Regime we expected a roster a bit more set. Credit where credit is due, Botts has got the defensive corps there. Elsewhere the job is not as far along as it needs to be. That’s what we expected.

There are a couple ways to assess this 2020 Trade Deadline. The bare bones of it is Conor Sheary, Evan Rodrigues and a conditional 5th round pick out for a 50% salary retained 31-year-old Wayne Simmonds and high ceiling forward prospect Dominick Kahun in all apart of two separate trades. Wayne Simmonds, even in his current state, could have a positive impact on this team beyond mere locker room intangibles. I’ll leave that analysis to bloggers smarter than me. Acquiring Simmonds however sends a very clear message: this GM thinks this team will make the playoffs this season.

That belief is something I would’ve applauded in December when I was questioning if ownership and the GM had agreed this season would be a gap year without a playoff berth. Now the message being clearly sent in the last days of February seems like too little too late, particularly by means of acquiring Simmonds. Simmonds will be a guy we’ll all love to be a Buffalo Sabre… but he’s not the difference between breaking an eight-year playoff drought and not. Sorry, Wayne: I really am excited to have you though. I’m willing to change that analysis if you go on a real scoring tear though.

The Kahun move is really Botterill’s MO. It reminds me of the Henri Jokiharju trade. He moved out a guy(s) who wanted out, or just an expendable piece in Sheary’s case, for someone young and potentially good enough to be a part of the long-term future here. We don’t know what Dominik Kahun is yet but its looking like he could be pretty good. Kahun is in the midst of his rookie season in the NHL. So what of this deadline then? One move screams future and the other screams lets do this thing right now. Anthony Sciandra put it well: “I’m not underwhelmed…. I guess I’m just whelmed.”

I’m not going to be a Sports Radio raincloud, but I am a tad bit underwhelmed. In the post-deadline media presser Jason Botterill said they didn’t want to break up this group. GM’s box reactions to recent games and this deadline proves Botterill wants a playoff berth this year. The grit, toughness and leadership of Wayne Simmonds is his old-fashion hockey guy way of doing that. I guess my criticism is if you wanted this season to be a playoff season why didn’t you make more effective moves a month or two ago? You don’t have to wait until the deadline.

You don’t get credit for the stuff I don’t know. TSN analysts can get on the radio vouching for your effort all they want; how tough these last few month are don’t matter to me until I read them in your memoirs ten years from now. Professional Sports is a results-driven business and like numerous Duanes here in Buffalo this team has been so bad on the ice for so long I am sometimes annoyed to be watching them. This deadline was bipolar for the Sabres. As stirring as the idea of chasing down Toronto for the last Atlantic Division playoff spot is I’ve seen this show before. I doubt a playoff berth happens.

If and when this club doesn’t make the playoffs this spring we’ll go into the massive retooling of this summer with Kahun in one hand and nothing in the other for a season we should be talking about our Captain winning MVP and a first-round spanking at the hands of the Lightning. My heart is open to a playoff berth but until I get that result this deadline will at best be a meh for me. At worst I will continue to question a seemingly indifferent owner who can’t be bothered to hire a President who can implement a professional vision and a GM who just can’t get the job done in the forward corp. I’m not advocating for firing anyone yet, but this summer is going to be decisive regardless of the deadline we just went through. It didn’t have to be that way.

#buffalo sabres #hockey #blog #NHL

[torontothoughts]

I’m one of those people who keeps a bucket list. It changes, grows and adapts as I get older, as I cross some things out and yes, as I outgrow some. But there’s always a few “someday I want to…” things that I never seem to get around to doing. And this year, I decided to stop waiting for someday and just did one of them. I was going to hike, or rather walk, the West Highland Way (WHW), solo. Or at least about half of it.

A couple of things happened to force the “you only live once” epiphany on me and one was a random article I read online at lunch about hiking solo in Scotland. It lead me to a bit of research and reading, and by the end of the day, I had decided not to wait any longer on finding someone who wanted to walk it with me. You see, one of the major things that was holding me back from doing the West Highland Way – pretty much the only thing – was I didn’t have anyone to walk it with me.

And walking the West Highland Way was on my bucket list. The West Highland Way, a 154 km (96 mile) trail from Milngavie (a suburb of Glasgow) to Fort William is one of the most popular and iconic hikes/walks in Scotland. Most people complete it in 5-8 days, but others do it in sections or only a part of it as I did. You’ll pass beautiful natural scenery including Loch Lomond, Rannoch Moor, Glencoe, Devil’s Staircase, and Ben Nevis. While you can wild camp (or camp at many of the accommodations along the way), if you want to stay at a hostel, B&B or hotel, book in advance (depending on the time of year, you may need to book months in advance) as it’s quite a popular route, especially from May to September. I booked mine in late February (for early May) and many places were already full.

So how did I prepare?

Two ways. First, as I knew I’d be walking 15-25 km each day, I wanted to up my walking game. I regularly walk 5-10 most days so I wasn’t overly worried but it was a long, icy winter here in Toronto so I hadn’t been walking as much as normal. Once the spring thaw got rid of most of the snow and ice, I used my old marathon training plan to increase my walking distance gradually over about 8 weeks. I also used it as an excuse to explore Toronto’s trails more and found a couple of new favourites (we do have some great outdoor spaces for a major city). But as someone who loves walking and who walks everywhere, I wasn’t overly worried about the distances, especially after getting in some trail time here.

The other way I got ready was to read and research. I’m a big believer in researching my travels, especially when going solo as I often do, and as this would be my first long distance solo hike/walk, I wanted to be prepared. I bought Walking The West Highland Way by Terry Marsh, read dozens of blog posts, visited different tour websites and of course, read everything on the official West Highland Way website.

This allowed me to understand where I wanted to start (Tyndrum), where I’d be walking each day and where I should stop each night. The research also let me know that I needed to book my accommodation in advance and gave some great recommendations on where to stay. I booked everything about two months in advance (late February/early March for early May) and while I ended up with my first choice in three of the five places, I had to go with my second choice in the other two stops (still great hostels though).

It also helped me refine my normal travel packing list (I have one I simply adjust based on the destination and time of year) to include the needs of a multi-day walk/hike. You can see what I packed here.

How was the West Highland Way?

Amazing! I am so very glad that I went. I’m also very glad that I went solo. Sure, I would have loved to have gone with friends, in which case I would have done the entire walk not just basically the latter half, but doing it solo gave me such a sense of accomplishment and allowed me to connect with the environment around me in a way I wouldn’t have been able to if I had others with me. I enjoy spending time alone and I enjoy traveling alone so there was no issue with loneliness. Walking it solo meant I could walk at my own pace, stop where I wanted (I took so many photos), and enjoy the solitude.

For those worried about safety, I was never truly alone and Scotland is safe for women traveling alone (just take the same precautions you would at home). Walking the West Highland Way in May meant there were lots of others walking it as well. While there were times, especially when I was on Rannoch Moor, that I couldn’t see another person, I knew that all I had to do was wait for 5 minutes, 10 tops, and another walker would appear. And most of the time, there were others in sight, if not right around me. I met some lovely fellow walkers, both on the trail and at the hostels I stayed at. One day, a group of walkers and I played leap frog (unintentionally) and we ended up meeting again at the Kingshouse Hotel.

The West Highland Way is also well marked and the trail is easy to follow. That being said, you should still have a map (and know how to read it), as well as a basic first aid kit, just in case. Tell others where you’ll be, where you’re staying, check in – the same things you’d do traveling solo anywhere.

Keep reading for a day by day accounting of my fabulous time walking the West Highland Way…

May 6 – Travel day to Tyndrum

I hopped on a train from Glasgow to Tydrum and it was a beautiful ride. The stop before mine, the train split in two trains, with one half heading to Oban and the other to Mallaig. Because of an out-of-order washroom, they had the people from the front two cars switch with those in the back two. One of the train staff told me I could stay where I was (I was in one of the cars switching) which meant I ended up at Tyndrum Upper rather than Lower, but that just meant I walked about 1/2 km further so no big deal. Plus, the view of the valley made up for it. I checked into my hobbit house (so cute but it would be tight with more than two people, great for one person) and went into the village to get some food – fish & chips (yummy) for dinner, a sandwich for tomorrow’s lunch and a small bottle of whisky so I can have a dram each night. Off to bed early so I’m rested for my first day of walking. Okay, that didn’t work as the temp plummeted and there was a bit of a storm overnight but thankfully there was heating as it was needed.

May 7 (day 1) – Tyndrum to Bridge of Orchy

(6 ½ miles/10.5 km)

A simple, fairly easy hike, that even with my many, many stops for photos took under 3 hours. It was a beautiful start to my West Highland Way experience, especially with the new snow on the tops of the mountains from last night, if a bit wet for the first hour. Mostly flat, with gorgeous views. The snow from the storm the night before was lovely, and a reminder that the weather in Scotland is all over the place as I was in a t-shirt the day before.

I stayed at the West Highland Sleeper, a small hostel on the Bridge of Orchy train station (the station is still a stop but isn’t manned anymore so someone converted the building into a 10 bed hostel). After checking in and grabbing my bag, I had a lovely risotto at the Bridge of Orchy Hotel (just down the street) for dinner with another girl staying in the hostel before getting an early night’s sleep.

May 8 – Bridge of Orchy to Kingshouse

(12 miles/19.5 km) – my phone said I walked 20 km

I got an early start, well, early for me, as everyone in the hostel, all 10 of us, left early. I started out with five others but three quickly outpaced me and two fell behind. The view at the top of the hilltop outside Bridge of Orchy of Loch Tulla was amazing (northern hillside of Ben Inverveigh). After a brief pitstop at Inveronan Hotel, I continued on past a mossy forest (it looked creepy, like it would be a good place to film a horror film but it was all fenced off) up to Rannoch Moor. 

Luckily the weather was mostly good, just a bit windy (okay, it was pretty much always windy), the sun even came out! Briefly but I have photos. Rannoch Moor is haunting. Beautiful but haunting. My only bitch were the large stones/rocks on the path (which turned out to be my only problem with the WHW) – they varied in size from gravel (fine to walk on) to the size of my fist to almost the size of my head. Which meant not only did you have to pay attention to your feet but it did make for slightly sore feet and very un-even walking. But if that’s the worst, I can’t really complain. I played leap frog with a group walking together pretty much all the way across Rannoch Moor which was cute – I’d pass them when they took a break, they’d pass me when I took a break…

I arrived at the Kingshouse Hotel a little before 2:00 pm (I made good time across the Moor, even with my breaks) so I ordered a pot of tea, which was becoming my ritual each day, to enjoy while I killed time until check-in at 3:00 pm. It’s a super friendly and helpful place, the front desk staff person actually walked me to the luggage room. Other than not being able to access wifi in the Kingshouse bunkhouse, I’d totally recommend it. Actually, I’d totally recommend the place anyways.

After checking in and showering, I went and had an early dinner (5:00 pm, almost unheard of for me) of a delicious venison pie (flaky crust, meat filled, one of my best meals of the trip) and a pint before heading back to the bunkhouse to chill. It was going to be an early night. On the way back to the bunkhouse, I saw the resident buck which was a bit disconcerting given what I just ate for dinner.

May 9 – Kingshouse to Kinlochleven

8 ¾ miles/14 km (my phone said I walked 15 km)

I started the day about 8:30 am and it was a lovely, sunny morning. Still a bit chilly from the wind but I was coming to expect that. It was an up & down day that started with a small climb and descent before a short trek alongside the road for a bit. Then the real climb started, which meant more breaks to catch my breath as I’m not really used to ascents. But the views! The views more than made up for it – absolutely stunning! In every direction, mountains, hills, valleys, lakes… just gorgeous. A bit of up and down as the WHW followed along the side (most of the way up but not along the ridge) of a hillside for quite a way before a rather steep descent into Kinlochleven. The descent was a bit hard on the knees and required attention as the road was rocks, not gravel. Overall, once I was down though, I felt fine. 

I was glad to have a private, if pricy (it would have been a normal price if split three ways as there were three beds but one of the only downsides of traveling solo is there’s no one to split the costs with), room for the night at Blackwater Hostel, as tomorrow was my long day. Good place to stay though. After checking in, I headed into the village to explore, eat (mac & cheese and the obligatory pot of tea) and grab some food supplies at the store (fruit, milk, chocolate, and juice). The pub had a lovely view of the river so I chilled there for a while drinking my pot of tea.

May 10 – Kinlochleven to Fort William

16 miles/24 km – my phone said I walked 24.7 km

Warning: girl problems mentioned in this segment…

Wow! 24.7 km. Other than my two marathons, that’s a record for me. The weather was a bit challenging at the end – there was even hail for about a minute and rain for about 4 km (45 minutes to an hour) – but the real challenge was it was unexpectedly the first day of my period (3 days early, wtf) which meant I was crampy and the Advil wore off about halfway in the 7 hour hike. Otherwise, it was good. Well, except for the last 3-4 km when my feet were screaming at me (pavement after a long hike isn’t your friend). But no blisters! So glad I splurged on good Merino wool blend hiking socks.

Okay, let’s backtrack. The day started off lovely, sunny and warm, with a short if steep climb out of Kinlochleven to lovely views of the town/village and Loch Leven. A bit more of a climb and then I entered the “lost valley” (sorry, that’s how I thought of it after reading the descriptions) came into view. Absolutely stunning! Some of my favourite photos of my trip are from this segment. And it was sunny at the start but the rains were coming by the end (although I didn’t actually get hit by rain until later). Despite the now hated rocks in the path, it was a gorgeous walk. The weather started to turn as I entered Nevis forest but only briefly as there was more sun – it was one of those days when at different times I was in a t-shirt; a t-shirt and fleece; a t-shirt and rain jacket; and a t-shirt, fleece and rain jacket… in no particular order. I think I would have lingered more if I wasn’t in a race to a toilet at the end (knowing the walk would take about 7 hours and it would be close). Sure, I was prepared (if necessary) but I really, really didn’t want to change my tampon in the wild as it’s not like Canadian wilderness, there weren’t a lot of trees to duck behind to grab a chance for privacy.

As Ben Nevis came into view (briefly because of the weather) what would have been a lovely walk along a ridge (the views) if not for the weather that had been threatening for the past hour, finally arriving. First by obscuring Ben Nevis, and then with hail. Hail! Luckily it didn’t last long and I was wearing a baseball hat. The hail turned into rain for the next 40 minutes or so of walking in pretty hard, although not pouring, rain. My hiking shoes held up beautifully. 

But it meant I didn’t go off the trail to the fort as I was planning – well, because of both the rain and the need for a bathroom sooner rather than later.

As the WHW merged with a logging road, the rain slowly let up and by the bottom, the sun had come out again (and I was back to a t-shirt). The descent was much more gradual than the one into Kinlochleven, and the road smoother, which both my feet and knees appreciated. And once I hit the road, there was public bathrooms at the Ben Nevis Visitor’s Center which meant I could stop stressing about washrooms. So for the last portion of the WHW, on pavement, the only issue was the increasing soreness in my feet (which went away after a couple of hours of rest).

I cheated a bit as I stopped at my hostel (Fort William Backpackers, a friendly hostel), checked in and showered before hitting the “new” end of the WHW before dinner. I’d already passed the original end though. Dinner was a fish & chips and a pint of beer, appropriately called “West Highland Way”.

Final Thoughts

I’m so glad I solo walked a part of the West Highland Way. It was an amazing, beautiful experience. My whole Scotland trip (more on that in a later article) was fabulous but the walk was something else, something rewarding. For those worried about doing it solo, with proper preparation, it’s completely doable. And of course, there’s no reason you can’t walk it with friends or family. I highly recommend it and can’t wait for my next walk in Scotland… maybe the Malt Whisky Trail or I’ll just explore Orkney on foot.

Have you walked the West Highland Way? What was your experience like?

Walking the West Highland Way, Another Bucket List Checkmark I’m one of those people who keeps a bucket list. It changes, grows and adapts as I get older, as I cross some things out and yes, as I outgrow some.

#Hiking #Scotland #solo travel #walking #West Highland Way