𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐀 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐓 qᵘⁱⁿⁿ ʰᵘᵍʰᵉˢ

11

Walking into her condo for the first time after signing the lease, Ivy felt like she had finally began her life. All while feeling completely and utterly alone. Although she hadn't had her family withh her during her travels, she never really had a home to call her own, then. Now, she was entering her first home by herself and it suddenly felt too big for just one person.

The walls were bare, the livingroom empty of any furniture. Her uhaul was still full, giving her time to sit in the empty home, take it all in. Plus, she was waiting for Luke to help her empty it. No way was she carrying her dresser and bed inside on her own.

Deciding to start with small boxes, she brought in some of her clothes, taking them to the master bedroom. Ivy managed to find her speaker in one of her room boxes, taking it out and connecting it to her phone. While it was still cold outside, the snow had started to melt and the sun was bright enough to feel against her skin as she danced through the empty space.

With Frank Ocean blasting through the house, Ivy hadn't noticed the boys walking inside, all watching her off balanced dancing.

"Ivy!" The froze on the hardwood, nearly slipping from her fuzzy socks.

"Jesus christ, Luke!" Ivy shouted, turning down the music as the boys began to laugh. "You brought friends?" She nodded to the three other boys, who all stood by the door with smiles.

"Oh, yeah. You got a lot of shit so I thought a few more hands would be better." Luke answered, pointing back to the three, "this is Mark, Ethan and Dylan." He introduced each of them and Ivy nodded with a squint.

"Hockey players, I'm assuming?"

"Yeah, we all play for Michigan." Mark responded and Ivy hummed, walking towards the kitchen where she had set her camera down earlier.

"You thinking of vlogging again?" Luke asked, the four boys following her steps.

"Yeah, I already filmed a bit of like the inside of the house. Probably gonna do a move in video, wanna be in it?" She turned on the camera, pointing it to the boy and laughed nervously.

"Hi." Luke waved, having always been a bit awkward behind the screen.

"Hi, Ivy's vlog!" Ethan jumped into frame and the woman laughed, focusing in on the blond. "So, today, we're helping this lady, who I met about thirty seconds ago, move in! Okay, wait, Duker—"

"I'm Dylan!" Dylan shouted, hoisting himself onto Ethan's back. "Like and subscribe for more of this pretty face." Dylan joked, lightly smacking Ethans cheek.

Ivy laughed as she set the camera on the counter, pointing it towards the front door to do a montage. They all started bringing her stuff inside, every last thing until the house was crowded with boxes and Ivy knew the next few weeks would be put into unpacking.

As the four made themselves comfortable in the livingroom, using her countless of blankets for comfort—Ivy brought out her laptop. She wasn't sure when they planned on leaving, but Dylan had been talking about watching Tangled for the last hour, so she put it on.

With herself now comfortable, using Lukes legs as a pillow, she was zoned into the movie. She didn't feel so alone now, especially after they all agreed to come hangout with her after she had moved in. Ivy had already assumed Luke would be over often, but she hadn't expected his friends to join.

Halfway through the movie, her front door opened, "since when did I start working for doordash?" Ellie called out as she walked in with several bags of food for them.

"Since you love me!" Ivy retorted, sitting up from the floor and holding out her hands for a bag.

"Yeah, you. But who are the dudes?" She pointed to the three boys she hadn't seen before.

"I adopted them." Ivy joked, digging out a burger from the bag. "Mark, Ethan and Duker." She pointed to the three before passing the bag over.

"Didn't know we were just adopting some college students." Ellie laughed, sitting beside her best friend to see the laptop. "Oh, I'm Ellie, by the way." She waved to the boys, leaning back on a box as she took out her phone.

"Thanks for the food." Mark smiled graciously and the blonde nodded in return.

"So you're all just watching repunzal?" Ellie asked with a smile, chewing on the end on her straw.

"Only the best movie ever."

—

Hours later, Ivy was getting ready for bed, her house now empty of the boys and Ellie. They had ended up finding a deck of uno, playing several games before they all called it a night. Now, she was alone, every sound making her heart race and her paranoia run wild.

As she laid in bed, staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep, her phone began to ring. Ivy quickly rolled over, pressing answer on the facetime as the name made her smile.

"Hey, Q." Ivy smiled, though he couldn't see her through the dark of her room.

"Oh, did I wake you?"

"No, I can't sleep." She answered, leaning over to turn on the lamp beside her bed. "It's weird trying to sleep alone like this."

"I bet it is. Luke said he came and helped you move in." Quinn was laid in his bed in Vancouver, his grown out hair fallen over his forehead. He had the shadow of a beard coming in, he looked good.

"Yeah, they hung out for a bit.. but now it's just so quiet and—I'm kind of scared." She laughed lightly, pulling the comforter to her chin as she laid on her side.

"Oh, V, I'm sorry." Quinn frowned, running a hand through his hair. "If I was home I would come over." He assured her, Ivy's heart warmed at the words and sincerity jn his voice.

"It's okay, can you just stay on the phone until I fall asleep?" She asked, knowing she would feel more comfortable having someone on the line.

"Of course." Quinn answered, she watched as he moved around.

"How was your day?" She asked, hoping he would talk to her as she grew more tired.

"Had breakfast with the team, went to skate and I didn't do much after that." Quinn said, walking around his small Vancouver apartment. She figured he was in his kitchen, noticing the cupboards as he set the phone onto the counter.

"Sounds boring." She mumbled, laughing at his shrug. "C'mon, Quinny, I wanna talk to you but you're so—bleh."

Quinn laughed at that, turning to reach into his fridge, "okay, I slipped on the ice trying to leave the apartment this morning." He told her, lifting his athletic shorts above his thigh to show her the bruise.

"Shit! That looks awful."

"Hurts like a bitch, but I've gotten worse while playing." He responded, she watched as he got out a gallon of milk.

"Please tell me you're not about to make cereal for dinner."

"Now why would I lie to you?" She watched as he poured the frosted wheat's into the bowl, then the milk. "Try to get some sleep, V. I'll be right here." Quinn told her, hearing her loud yawn over his spoon hitting the cereal.

"Promise you wont hang up?" She mumbled, setting the phone down to hug the pillow beneath her head.

"I promise."

Soon enough, Ivy was falling asleep, listening to the tv from Quinns room. She found it comforting, in a way, it felt like he was with her and that was all she wanted. She wanted her Quinn.