Chapter Text
Almost a year later, it still hit Yannick from time to time.
This time, it was a guy at a café. Yannick was lost in thought, headphones in his ears, tote bag with his textbooks slung over his shoulder, determined to make studying a little more bearable with an iced latte.
He was looking at his phone when he got in line, texting his mom.
And then, when he looked up, he saw him: the guy in line a few meters in front of him. White t-shirt, short blond hair, broad shoulders. And in that split-second before his brain caught up, his entire body froze, heart clenching so hard he felt it all the way down in his stomach.
Like an over-eager dog, it went Luca?
And then the guy turned his head, talked to the girl next to him, and his nose was all wrong and he wasn't wearing glasses.
No, not Luca.
Was it normal to still be this hung up on a guy you had dated for a few months in school? Probably not. But Yannick couldn't help it.
There were lots and lots of pretty blond boys in Berlin. But it never felt right, not with any of them. Nobody could compare.
Yannick's heart was still beating into his throat when it was his time to order.
-♥-
Life in Canada felt like it wasn't real, like it was a dream Luca would wake up from any minute now.
He was playing hockey for a living now, and in a few weeks, he'd be playing on a team with Ilya fucking Rozanov.
Nobody really understood why, and neither did Luca, but, gift horse and all that.
Ilya Rozanov.
It felt surreal.
When Coach told them about it, Luca's first thought was, I need to tell Yannick.
He didn't, of course.
Because they weren't talking anymore.
Because it was better that way. Easier, maybe.
But that night, Luca lay awake, staring at his phone.
You remember the guy from the poster you teased me about when we had our first time in my bedroom? Yeah, he'll be joining my team next season. And how's your day going?
But he didn't type any of that. Didn't even type a Hi. Or an emoji.
The last message in their chat was from over a year ago.
Have a good flight, Yannick had written, followed by a red heart.
Luca had sent a red heart back.
And then nothing else.
Maybe it just took time to get over someone who mattered to you that much. Luca was weird with dating, so he was probably also weird with break-ups. Surely, Yannick was doing much better than him.
Surely, Yannick was dating (or sleeping) his was through Berlin now. Surely, there were lots of pretty boys available there.
Luca just hoped they were nice to Yannick, and treated him well, even if the thought made Luca want to curl up into a ball and cry.
He'd be fine, eventually.
For sure.