She was panicking, and she couldn't stop it. And the only one who could have the slightest chance was the reason she was panicking. It wasn't just because of the silly post the other day, it was because she felt like she'd lost her best friend. And the fact that he left her for another girl absolutely crushed her.
"y/n/n, take a deep breath for me," Chris said, calmly.
"I am, it just feels heavy," she barely whispered. Chris has watched Matt calm her down a million times. He knows that Matt always tries to distract her and make her think about something else. But he wasn't Matt, and that was very clear."Okay, look at me," He tried to tell a story, a story that didn't involve Matt. And that didn't work so much. Her breathing was leveling back out, but her heart was still racing.
Nick came down and recognized the situation. He squatted next to Chris who was clearly struggling. Nick also had no luck.
"I'm gonna get you some water," Nick said while he tried to rack his brain on what to do besides calling Matt. Chris sat next to her and decided to try the topic he'd been avoiding.
"Do you remember that time last summer when you, Matt, and I went to Nate's house, and we went to the ice cream shop?" y/n's mind paused for a minute and she immediately realized what day he was talking about. She smiled slightly.
"When Nate was trying to impress the girl?" She asked. Chris smiled and nodded.
"You and Matt were clowning him the whole ride home," She laughed.
"I mean he made it too easy for us,"
"What did Matt say about his pickup line?" Chris tried to make sure she stayed focused on the memory.
"That he sounded like he got it from the 1940s, and that it didn't even sound like a pickup line. And that he sounded like he was trying to get her not to like him,"
"That was a good day," Chris said, hoping it finally worked."It was," She smiled. Her heartbeat was finally normal. She was okay. "Especially when Nate spilled the ice cream on the girl," Chris laughed.
"Yeah, especially that," Chris nodded.
Although they were able to calm her down a bit, she was still sad. And they couldn't blame her. y/n has liked Matt since they met. He was her best friend. Matt has been with y/n through every heartbreak, heartache, everything. He knew what she had been through with guys in the past, which is why it hurt so bad that she was losing him. No one has ever cared for her the way Matt does, and she didn't take that lightly.
See AlsoThe Hockey Player (Matt Sturniolo) - He Cares - Page 3Say Goodbye Part III (Chris Sturniolo)They all heard the door open and close, signifying Matt's arrival home.
"I'm gonna go," She whispered, hugging Chris. "Thank you," She said.
"I'm really sorry," Chris said, his own heart breaking for the girl. y/n is probably the only girl Chris would ever fully approve of for his brother. And Matt was the only guy he would fully approve for y/n, well that was if Matt wasn't so stupid.
"It's okay, I'll get over it. I'm sorry," She said, pulling away from him. She knew Chris was mad, and she didn't want to ever put something between him and his brother.
"There is nothing to apologize for, I'm glad you were here. I hope I helped,"
"You did, I promise," She did her best to smile. He nodded.
Matt got to the top of the stairs right after she thanked Nick. He tried to hide his smile and push away the warm feeling he got in his chest at the sight of her. But his heart dropped slightly when he saw the look on her face.
No one could read y/n the way Matt could, which is why she'd been avoiding him the past week since the story post. She hated it because being away from Matt meant she also had to be away from Chris and Nick. Meaning she had to be away from ALL of her best friends. She missed them and boy did they miss her too, but they didn't come close to missing her as much as Matt did. y/n was at least texting with Chris and Nick, but with Matt, it's only been short responses, if anything. She couldn't lie to him and that meant not only could she not see him, she couldn't talk to him that much either.
"Hey," Matt said.
"Hi," She said, meeting his eyes for no less than a second. "Uh, I was just leaving," She looked at Matt again, but immediately looked away when she saw his face fall slightly. "I'll see you guys," She did her best to smile before attempting to walk past him. Chris and Nick looked at each other before talking to each other to try and make everything seem normal and avoid the awkwardness between her and him. Matt turned around and grabbed her wrist lightly to stop her from leaving.
"Are you okay?" He whispered. Her heart was pounding out of her chest at the way he was looking at her. She hesitated, hoping he wouldn't notice.
He noticed.
"Yeah. Yes," She said.He stared at her for a moment.
"You haven't been answering my texts,"
"I'm sorry, I've just been busy," She said, finally breaking away from his gaze. He knew she was lying, but he also had the feeling pressing her was making things worse.
"Okay," He said. She was still looking anywhere but at him. He hadn't even realized he was still holding her wrist. He moved his hand from her wrist, down to her hand. "y/n," She looked up at him. "Talk to me when you're ready?" She was frozen in place. The way his hand felt holding hers. She nodded but refused to meet his eyes. He squeezed her hand before she let go and headed out the door.
Matt turned around to his brothers but was too focused on his thoughts of y/n to notice the look on Chris' face. Chris was pissed. He felt like Matt was just playing with her feelings at this point. He knew she was probably sick to her stomach after she got to her car, but he couldn't go after her without making it worse.
"Has she talked to you guys?" Matt asked, genuinely worried. She usually talks to Matt about everything. It was taking everything in Chris' power to remain calm.
"Uh, she- uh," Nick looked at Chris.
"Is she okay?" Matt asked, confused as to why his brothers were acting weird.
"No," Chris said, unable to bite his tongue. Matt's stomach dropped.
"What's wrong?" He asked, his head snapping in Chris' direction.
"Matt, don't act f*cking stupid," Chris said.
"What are you talking about?" Matt asked, dumbfounded. Nick sighed.
"I told you he wasn't acting," Nick mumbled.
"Come on. Don't play dumb! You know how long y/n has liked you right?!" Chris said. Nick shook his head, knowing y/n would be pissed if she found out they told Matt.
"W-what?" Matt asked. His heart was pounding, Matt's had a thing for y/n since the moment he looked at her. But she was their best friend, she was off limits.
"y/n likes you. She always has,""And you waited until NOW to tell me?!" Matt sighed, shutting his eyes tightly and shaking his head.
"You've been too blind to notice it! I don't know how, she didn't even have to tell Nick and me. We figured it out before she could!"
"f*ck," Matt mumbled.
"She constantly pushed aside her feelings for you and whatever girl you brought home. But blowing her off and leaving her for another girl like every other sh*tty guy, didn't exactly go over well!" This couldn't be happening, Matt thought.
"And you waited until NOW to tell me?" Matt repeated.
"We promised her," Nick said.
"And we thought you wouldn't be stupid enough that you'd figure it out! She looks at you like you're the only person in the f*cking room," Chris said.
"She looks at me?" Was the only coherent thought that came out of Matt's mouth.
"Like you're the only person in the room," Chris repeated, shaking his head.
"I've liked her all this time. I didn't know," Matt said.
"We know. You look at her the same way," Nick said.
"You're both just too stupid to look at each other at the same time!" Chris said.
"What the f*ck do I do?" Matt asked.
"I don't know, Matt. You're in pretty deep with this one!" Chris scoffed. To say he was pissed at Matt would be an understatement.
Truth be told, Chris was the first one to know you liked Matt. He figured it out by himself, and it was the only secret he kept from his brothers. That was until Nick figured it out. Then, it was the only secret he kept from Matt.
