Hockey Imagines

The Rest Of Our Lives | Joel Farabee

#86, Left Wing for the Philadelphia Flyers
Word Count: 3.5 K

"Your brother is going to kill you for this. And for the fact that you called me instead of him."

"The whole point of me calling you and not him is that he isn't going to find out." I snap. "You promised me, Joel, don't you fucking go back on me now."

He sighs frustratedly. "Fine. But you've gotta promise me that you aren't going to do this again." I keep on walking, but Joel grabs my hand so I can't keep going. I huff, turning to face him. "I'm serious. You're going to be eighteen next week. If you get arrested again, it's not going to be this easy. You're lucky that they dropped the charges."

I roll my eyes. "Yeah, and when I'm eighteen, you and I are gonna stop hiding what we are, right, Joel?"

He sighs. "Please don't do this right now. You know that this isn't easy for me."

"Isn't easy for you? How do you think I feel? I can't tell anyone a single thing about my boyfriend, because then there's a chance that he'll be arrested! I can't be responsible for that, Joel. Not for you losing everything you've worked for."

"You don't get to make that decision for me." He tells me. "I've told you since the beginning that I didn't care. I'm the one risking my future, okay? I'm not breaking up with you just because of this. You and I have been together for six months now. And next week, yeah, you and I will be able to go public. But we can't right away, because then not only will Carter be suspicious, but everyone will. I'm telling you, we've gotta wait a little while."

I sigh. "I just. . . I want to be able to talk about you. I want to be able to be seen with you, you know? I hate this."

He pulls me into a hug. "I know, baby, I know. And we'll have that, soon. I promise. Just give it a little bit of time. But for now, we just gotta wait, okay?" He whispers against my hair. "I love you, baby. Isn't that enough?"

I sigh by nod against his chest. "Yeah, it's enough. I love you, too."

He pulls back and gives me a small smile. "Now promise me that you're not going to get arrested for toilet-papering someone's house again."

"She was being a bitch." I shrug.

He shakes his head and chuckles quietly. "You can't toilet paper every bitch's house, baby." He takes my hand in his. "Now let's get you home before Carter questions why I'm not at our place."

He drops me off at my parents' house and kisses me goodbye. He watches me walk inside before backing out of the driveway and heading to him and my brother's house on the other side of the neighborhood.

I close the door behind me with my foot, throwing my bag onto the floor. Mom and Dad are out of town for work, so it's just me for the next couple of nights.

My eyes go wide when I see Carter leaning against the couch. "Hey." I say casually. "What are you doing here?"

He doesn't even act like he doesn't know. "Why did I just see you get out of Joel's car? And why did I see you fucking kiss him?" He demands, walking over to me. I can tell from the look on his face that he is pissed. "You do realize that he is twenty-one and you are seventeen? That's illegal!"

I sink down onto the couch, burying my face in my hands. "I love him, Carter."

"You love him? You love him? You being with him is fucking illegal! What the hell are you thinking? What the hell is he thinking? My little sister, who is seventeen. First of all, when the hell did you two start dating? Second of all, who the hell though it was a good idea for you two to get together?"