Warnings: Swearing/language, angst, mentions of a toxic relationship, alcohol
Word Count: 1.6k
Generally, you had fun whenever you hung out at Travis' apartment, but not tonight. Tonight, you had a ringside seat to Travis arguing with his girlfriend, Luann on the phone.
He was pacing back and forth by the window while you sat on the couch, regretting that you didn't say something sooner. You had a bad feeling about Luann the first time you met her, but you hoped she would prove you wrong. Unfortunately, all she did was prove you right throughout her four-month relationship with your best friend. Luann was making Travis unhappy, and it killed you to see him so torn up about a girl who just wasn't capable of loving him the way he deserved.
You, on the other hand...you knew you were up to the task. You had been best friends since you were five, but it was only six months ago when you realized your feelings went beyond friendship.
It seemed like there was a chance Travis might've felt the same one night while you were out at the bar after a Flyers win, but your fear of being rejected got in the way of knowing for sure. You would never forget Travis waving as you got into the Uber that night and reached to close the door. The next day, you wrote a text message confessing your feelings to Travis, but you just couldn't hit "send," so you deleted it instead. Your choice came back to haunt you a few days later when Travis met Luann, and now you had to watch her stomp all over his heart while you tried to rationalize your lack of guts by telling yourself you were better off on your own. But it was just a pretty lie: you were a coward.
"For fuck's sake, Luann, let's face it! I'm just one of your many booty calls!" Travis shouted into the phone.
You cringed, but somehow, it got worse from there. Travis was silent for about a minute, and you couldn't hear what Luann was saying on the other line without making it obvious you were trying to eavesdrop. Your heart sank when you saw his face soften.
"I'm sorry I doubted you, babe. I'll see you tomorrow?" His face broke out into a grin when he heard whatever she had to say. "Great, see you then."
He hung up the phone, slumped down on the couch next to you, and ran his hands through his hair.
"Ugh, this is all so complicated!"
How could he be so stupid? "No, it's not," you said instead, going for a gentler approach.
"What are you talking about? Did you not just hear what happened?"
You held your hands up in surrender. "I was just trying to help you, but clearly, you don't want me to. I'm going home."
You stood up and walked to the foyer, which had your coat and hat hanging on the coat stand.
"Wait (Y/N), where are you going?"
You huffed in annoyance; he clearly didn't listen to you. "Anywhere but here," you replied as you pulled on your coat and hat. You moved to open the door, but Travis grabbed your hand.
"Wait, why?"
"Why? Are you fucking kidding me right now?" you screeched, wrenching your hand away from Travis. "Luann has been making you miserable ever since the day you met her, and I've tried to be supportive, but I can't do it anymore! Everyone else but you can see it, not to mention how awful of a person she is in general."
"She's not awful..."
"Oh yeah? So why did Patty tell me yesterday that Luann is, and I quote, 'The Wicked Witch of the East'? And how is it possible to explain away Claude's observation that she's sucked the life out of you?"
Travis opened and closed his mouth, unable to come up with a response right away. After a few moments, he finally said, "She's not a witch."
You laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Remember how in Harry Potter Sirius said, 'If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals'? Luann treated that poor waitress at the diner the other day as if she was her servant."
"No she didn't..."
"And it's not unlike how she treats you." It only lasted a moment, but the silence was deafening and it felt like the walls were closing in on you. "I'm sorry, but I can't sit here and watch her break your heart knowing if only you opened your eyes, you would see that I'm the one who's always loved you."
You opened the door and left, and this time, Travis made no effort to stop you.
**********
Four days. It had been four days since you had told Travis how you felt, and you still hadn't heard from him.
This was why you had kept your feelings a secret: your worst fears came true and you lost your best friend. You didn't know what you were going to do without Travis' witty and sarcastic comebacks, his endless jokes, and his ability to quite literally turn your frown upside down for the rest of your life, but it was your fault.
After you left Travis' apartment, you went downstairs to Nolan's place because you couldn't bear to be alone. He held you as you sobbed into his t-shirt, and when you were done, he drove you home. He and Carter had checked up on you every day since, and while you appreciated their efforts and loved having friends like them, they couldn't replace the bond you and Travis had.
It was 11PM on a Monday night and the Flyers played the Bruins at the Wells Fargo Center tonight. You were supposed to be there, but you were sitting on the couch in your apartment watching The Bachelor on DVR even though you had just watched the same episode an hour ago and drinking your second glass of wine instead.
You weren't a big drinker, so two glasses of wine were enough to get you a little bit drunk, which in turn led to your mind going to dark places whenever you were depressed. Tonight was one of those times, so as you watched one of the girls have a full-on meltdown about a bottle of champagne, you found yourself despairing that maybe love wasn't meant for you. Travis was your person, the only one with whom you could see the signs of a lifetime, but based on the lack of contact and his unwillingness to talk to Nolan, Carter, and even Claude about what happened, you assumed the worst.
A knock on the door interrupted your pity party. You shouted, "Who is it?" but no one replied. Assuming it was just your annoying teenage neighbor Michael and his friends playing a prank on you, you stormed over to the door and opened it without looking at the peephole.
"Listen, Michael, I am not in the mood for your games right..." You didn't finish your sentence because you realized it was not a bunch of hooligans standing on your doorstep, but a sweaty and apologetic-looking Travis instead.
You gasped.
"Hey, (Y/N), can I come in?" Travis asked.
"Uh...sure, I guess." You stepped away from the door and Travis entered, closing the door behind him while you walked over to the couch, picked up the clicker, and shut off the TV.
When you turned around, you found Travis standing a respectful distance away from you. You tried but failed to find something to say, and it appeared Travis was also tongue-tied because silence ensued until he finally found his voice. "We won. Shootout."
"Congrats," you said, but it came out sounding unsure. "What are you doing here?" you tried again, this time commanding a little more control over your voice.
"Luann and I broke up."
That got your attention. "Really?"
"Yeah. I couldn't get what you said out of my mind, and you were right: she treated me like shit and I was unhappy. So I broke up with her."
"Good for you," you said, and you meant it. Even if you had lost the love of your life, at least he wasn't in a toxic relationship anymore and still had a chance to find happiness.
Travis looked down at his shoes before finally raising his head to look at you. "Listen, (Y/N), I'm really sorry about what happened. You were just trying to protect me, and I didn't listen to you. And I should never have picked up the phone in the first place: it was rude and put you in an uncomfortable situation."
"Thank you for saying that, Trav: I appreciate it," you said. "Can we still be friends?"
"Of course, but," Travis took a few steps forward to close the distance between you, "I wasn't just thinking about what you said about Luann."
If your heart wasn't pounding in your chest, it was now. "Oh?"
"Yeah. I love you, too, (Y/N)."
You could barely breathe, but you managed to choke out, "You do?"
"I do." He brushed a piece of your hair out of your face, leaned in, and connected your lips in a soft but passionate kiss. You were in heaven.
When you broke away due to a need for air, you asked, "So what does this mean for us?"
"I'd love it if you'd continue to be my best friend, but would you do me the honor of being my girlfriend, too?"
You smiled. "Yes. Of course, yes."
As you leaned in to connect your lips, you once again saw the signs of a lifetime with Travis. This time, they were bright and certain.