Chapter 1:
Maybe crazy is just the kind of change I need
Sometimes the only way to stay sane is to go a little crazy
October 8th, 2018
"I need your help." Tyler says, barging in my front door bright and early on a Saturday morning. I idly wonder when he got a key and how often he has used it.
"If there is one of your one-night-stands sleeping in your house, I'm not going to tell her to leave." I say, eating a spoonful of Lucky Charms.
"I need you to pretend to be my girlfriend." He says and I choke on the cereal that was in my mouth. He looks a little concerned when I start coughing and awkwardly pats my back. I elbow his ribs and shoot him a glare.
When I'm able to breathe again and have cleaned the milk off my face, I turn around in my chair so I'm facing him.
"Are you out of your mind?"
He chews on his bottom lip and shakes his head slowly. "No."
"Explain." I say simply.
"Look, I just need to get my mom off my back and clear my image up a little. Just so people see that I'm maturing."
"This is far from mature, Tyler." I snap and shake my head. "I'm not pretending to be you girlfriend so you can look good."
"Please, Daisy. I'll do anything."
"No."
"I'll pay you."
"No."
"I'll –ʺ
"Tyler Paul Seguin, I said no." I snap and he frowns.
The problem with Tyler is that he's so used to having whatever he wants. He thinks every time he wants something, it will be handed to him on a silver platter. I like keeping him in line, which is why there is no way I will be agreeing to this.
"I can help you find her."
I freeze, looking at Tyler with accusation and hurt in my eyes. There are only four people who know what happened and I trusted Tyler with it.
"That's dirty pool."
He looks a little guilty but he also knows how badly I would want to take him up on that offer.
"What exactly do you need?" I mutter, going back to eating my cereal.
He hops on the stool next to me excitedly. "It's not a lot. Just come to my games –ʺ
"I do come to your games."
"More games. Girlfriends do that, don't they?" He asks.
"Well you wouldn't know."
"And maybe comes to parties with me every so often. Oh, and spend more time at my house."
"I hate your house." I remind him and he rolls his eyes.
"What's not to like about it?"
"Too big."
He narrows his eyes and waves his arms around my kitchen. "Uh, have you seen your house?"
"It's not my house."
"Just because your parents pay for it doesn't mean it's not your house." He says.
"Listen, if it were up to me, I would be living in a shoebox apartment like many other people my age trying to figure their life out." I say.
"Daisy," He starts but I cut him off.
"I'll do it. Just don't back out on your promise."
He leans over and kisses my cheek. "Wouldn't dream of it."
And then I'm alone again.
***
October 11th
"It might not be that bad," my best friend Madilyn says when I give her the news.
"Yeah," I mutter.
I decided to go get ice cream with her and tell her about the agreement Tyler and I have. She was a little hesitant about it at first but when I told her what he promised, she thought it was a good idea.
"You've wanted to find her for awhile, Daisy. This is your chance. All you have to do is pretend to date Tyler for a little while."
I guess it's not going to be horrible but I feel like there will be some girls who don't like me because I'll be "dating" Tyler. That worries me a little. Also, what are the other hockey player's girlfriends and wives like? Will they like me? It won't matter that much I suppose, since this isn't forever. Hopefully, just for a short amount of time.
"Yeah, at least now I can tell my parents I'm dating somebody so they will stop asking me about finding a cute boy." I joke but I'm mostly serious. Every time I go home or there is a family gathering, my dating life is always brought up.
Madilyn laughs and runs a hand through her blonde hair. "That will be nice, for sure."
I nudge her side and grin. "How's Elliot?"
She blushes but has a secret smile on her face. "He's good. It's casual."
"Uh huh. Casual." I say and she just blushes again. Teasing Madilyn about Elliot is usually Tyler's job but he's on a road trip so I have to take the job.
"Anyway," she says, obviously attempting to change the topic. "When does your pretend relationship start?"
I shrug. "When he gets back from his road trip I guess. I don't really know how exactly we're going about this so we'll just have to play it by ear. I hope it's not too much work."
Madilyn laughs again and we chat about making dinner plans later the week before I head home. I realize how lonely I am when I'm in my house because it's so big and empty.
Maybe I should get a cat.
With this thought in mind, I hear my phone ring and see that it's my dad calling. I hesitate but answer.
"Hello?"
"Hey kiddo," my dad says and I smile. There are days when I miss my parents so much. When I decided to move to Dallas to begin a new clothing line, I had to leave my parents in California.
"Hi dad."
"I was just calling to check in! How are you?"
"I'm good, I was thinking about getting a cat." I say and he laughs.
"That sounds like a good idea. How's Tyler?"
Ah, of course. Ever since I became friends with Tyler, my dad is suddenly a huge Stars fan, despite growing up as a Habs fan.
"Road trip."
"Uh huh." He says and I frown.
"What?"
"Well, Jax said that he heard something about you two."
I nearly drop my phone because Tyler wouldn't say anything without my permission, right?
"What exactly did he hear?" I ask, already knowing the answer.
"Well, he heard that you two are dating."
I've been in quite a few awkward situations and this one sits pretty close to the top. Talking about my non-existent-fake dating life with my dad?
No thank you.
"Uh, yeah. We went on a date." I say, trying to keep it simple while freaking out internally.
"That's nice. I guess." He says and the awkwardness hangs in the air and I would do anything to get out of this conversation.
Lucky for me, there's a knock on my door.
"Hey, somebody is knocking on the door so I'll call you later." I say and I hear him mutter something but I hang up quickly.
I walk to the door in a daze, trying to shake the awkwardness of the conversation away. When I open it, I'm surprised to see Tyler standing there. I didn't think he got home until tomorrow. Then again, I haven't really been keeping track of the days lately.
"I am so, so sorry." Are the first words that come out of his mouth.
"About what?" I ask, trying to play dumb.
"You haven't seen?"
"Seen what?"
He frowns and pulls his phone out, tapping a few times before holding up an article called: Tyler Seguin dating long time friend Daisy Winters.
"How'd they know it was me?" I ask and Tyler blushes.
"It slipped." He says and when he sees the look on my face that says not good enough, he expands his answer. "After the game, we went out and this girl was trying to get me to go home with her and I was drinking so I blurted out that I was dating you."
"We technically aren't dating, you know." I say. "You could've went home with her."
He has this weird look on his face. "I just wanted to get into character."
"Okay." I say and try not to read too much in to his answer.
Drama is the last thing I need right now, but I have a feeling that this is just the beginning. Things are about to get even crazier around here and I'm not sure how I am going to be able to handle it.
But hey, maybe crazy is just the kind of change I need.
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hey guys
soo i hope you like this chapter and let me know if you think I should continue it!
each chapter will have the title and a quote to go with it
and sorry for any mistakes cause im always lazy and dont wanna edit
so yeah hope u like it
much love,
- Alexandra