Downtown (auston matthews x oc)

-twenty-five-

𝓝𝓸𝓻𝓪

Nora didn't even look back at Auston as she left, still wearing the t-shirt he'd given her. She couldn't have cared less: she never wanted to see Auston Matthews again, and she was damn near certain he didn't want to see her. He, Nora was sure, would spend the rest of the day posting apologies to his socials, sending explanations to sponsors, discussing his supposed "behavior" with team management.

In her time working at the Castle, Nora knew enough about being famous to understand that rumors suggesting you paid a woman for sex were going to be tough to shake. Though, as she left, Auston mentioned none of whatever damage control he would undoubtedly have to do—he just pleaded with Nora to stay. He followed her all the way to the elevator, where he brought his hand between the doors.

"Nor," he begged. "I'm sorry—please just talk to me."

Nora took one step out of the elevator and glared hard at him. "You fucking tricked me," she shouted, too angry to consider the early hour and Auston's sleeping neighbors. "You told me Henley was fine after you rejected her."

"I know," he hurried, reaching for her hand. "I know I fucked up, and I'm sorry, I—"

"If I had known she was still angry, I never would've done any of this," she interrupted, the tears hot on her cheeks. Never in her life had she felt this angry—certainly not since her parents died. She shook her head at him, voice suddenly broken, and muttered, "Fuck you."

She got into the elevator, and this time Auston didn't follow her.

Trick was just outside the lobby doors, yelling at the security guard to let him in. When he noticed Nora through the glass, though, he stopped right away and waited for her to step out into the cold.

"Come on," he rushed when he noticed her tears. He ushered her towards his waiting car, which was driven halfway up onto the curb. "Did you drive here?" he hollered to her as she opened the door to the passenger side.

"No," Nora whispered once they were both inside. "My car—it's at the rink."

"I'll get it later," Trick concluded, and then he was driving away from Auston's building. Nora could see that his jaw was set tight with frustration, eyes frozen on the road in front of them. "Are you okay?" he asked in a soft tone.

That was all it took to send Nora back into a fit of sobs, her chest aching. She felt like an idiot: she was so infatuated with Auston Matthews that she didn't even stop to consider how ridiculous it was that Henley would suddenly just be fine with everything.

When Trick spoke again, his voice was stern. "Did Matthews really tell you that Henley took his rejection well?"

Through her tears, Nora managed a nod.

"Motherfucker," Trick grumbled.

The rest of the ride back to Nora's apartment was silent. When they pulled up in front of her building, Lex was already outside. Nora reasoned she must have been tracking her location all the way there. She ran to open Nora's door, telling Trick to come upstairs once he'd parked his car in the lot.

With one arm around Nora, Lex soothed, "It's okay, Nor. Everything is going to be okay, I promise."

Nora allowed Lex to guide her all the way upstairs and to her bedroom, where both of them promptly collapsed onto the bed. Unable to catch her breath, Nora reached to her bedside table, grabbing the framed picture of her parents that watched over her always. She brought it to her chest and held on tight, so broken and pained that she wasn't sure how she would survive.

Lex just stroked her head, whispered assurances that they would get through anything, but Nora didn't believe her. The world thought she was a whore—thought she had been selling herself to Auston Matthews. She was certain there were screenshots, some doctored and others real, to evidence the few weeks she had spent making content on the internet. It wasn't illegal, and she had no reason to feel guilty about it, and yet, she couldn't help feeling dirty somehow. Like she had ruined Auston Matthews' image simply by existing.

When Trick got to Nora's room, Lex sat up, though she kept her hand on Nora's back. Trick climbed into the bed beside them, slipping his arm beneath Nora to hold her close to his chest. It was some small comfort—to be nestled there where she could pretend the whole world wasn't falling apart around her.

In the back pocket of her jeans, Nora felt her phone buzzing. Against her better judgment, she retrieved it, sighing when she saw the name on the screen: Auston. She declined it, though she didn't put her phone away. Instead, she navigated through her contacts until she found the one she was looking for.

"Nor," Trick started, but Nora didn't want to hear it. She held up a hand to silence him, and he was quick to obey.

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Messages

Conversation with Henley Rogers

Nora
how could you do this?
what is wrong with you?

Henley
you can't blame me for this. i told
you exactly what would fucking happen
if you fucked with me. this is no one's fault
but YOURS.

Nora
i thought we were friends. what
happened to that??

Henley
we've never been friends. i wouldn't
be friends with a fucking whore.

Nora
you know that stuff isn't even true

Henley
the naked pics of you on the internet say
otherwise girly.
by the way, i hear monty wants to talk
to you 🥰

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Monty (Boss-Man)

Monty
call me now. do not come back
to work.