𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸
━━━━━

𝐋𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐙𝐈𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐃 𝐔𝐏 her bag as she stuffed her last bit of clothes into her suitcase for the two week trip.

A knock at the door caused Lillian to yell "It's open!"

"What are you doing here?" She added as her head whipped around to see one of the boys stood there,

"You really thought that I'd say leave without saying goodbye?" Mark asked as he placed his hands on his hips,

"Markie," the blonde cooed as she held her arms out letting him hug her,

"In all honesty I was contemplating joining you in Jersey when I heard that you weren't coming to Vegas," the brunette confessed as he pulled her into a suffocating hug,

He didn't want to leave her.

"What's that all about too?" He added as he sent her a confused look,

"Ethan and I just need a bit of space right now," the soccer player sighed as she honestly wanted to go and talk to him about it all but she knew that it wasn't the right time to do that,

"So you did fight," the hockey player let out a soft gasp as he nodded,

"Huh?" Lillian cocked her head as she looked at him,

"Dylan thought that two fought when Ethan told us this morning that you weren't coming anymore," Mark explained as the boys had a whole conversation about their theories when Ethan went to shower,

"How is he holding up?" The blonde wanted to be mad at him but she couldn't ignore the strain her heart felt,

"He's looking rough," the brunette knew that he couldn't lie to the girl who stood in front of him,

"And I don't think that it is all due to his hangover," he added as he let out a harsh sigh knowing that he would be the one who would inevitably draw the short straw of sitting next to him on the plane to Las Vegas.

"How are you feeling?" The boy was quick to ask as he realised that since Indigo left last night nobody had probably asked her that question.

"Good," the soccer player nodded as she was honestly now just excited to go and see Luke as she had pushed the rest of her emotions down,

"This break is a moment to let us step back and evaluate before we get back into things." She added as she wanted to make things work with Ethan but as they say: absence makes the heart grow fonder,

"Let's hope that all you need is these two weeks." The hockey player watched as the girl fiddled with her necklace,

It was weird how for her it had become not only a staple piece of jewellery in her collection but it had also become something she sought comfort in, something that Ethan clearly did not.

⋇⋆✦⋆⋇

Lillian arrived in Newark surprised to see a certain Hughes brother waiting for her to arrive,

"What are you doing here?" Lillian asked as she was met with Jack who was sporting a toothy grin,

"Someone had to pick you up," Jack explained as he gave the girl a side hug,

"And Luke is still sleeping," he added as his brother was fast asleep when he left his apartment,

"Well thanks for coming," the blonde couldn't help but send him an appreciative smile,

"But I could have gotten an Uber," she added as they began walking to the exit of the airport,

"I wouldn't be a good host if I did that," the brunette shook his head,

"You know that you're only here for two weeks right?" He added as he took the girl's suitcase from her,

"That's why I packed light," the soccer player spoke in a duh tone as she looked at her rather full suitcase,

"You're lucky I've only got a suitcase," she added as she had to leave multiple outfits at in Michigan,

"I'd hate to see what happens when you come for longer," the hockey player mumbled as he shook his head,

"When?" Lillian repeated the word as her eyes almost went wide,

"I can't see you leaving Luke for longer than three weeks." Jack teased as he knew that she'd be back eventually.

⋇⋆✦⋆⋇

Jack opened the door to his apartment as the girl let out a gasp,

"Was that a good or a bad reaction?" Jack asked as he watched the girl look around in awe,

"This place is gorgeous," Lillian blurted out as she looked to see that the windows had a full view of down town,

"And really clean too," she added as she took note of how the place smelt like lemon.

"Luke hadn't been here long enough to make a mess," the brunette joked as he shut the door behind him,

"He always has been messy," the blonde nodded as she smiled remembering how often she would go to his room to help him just organise his things,

It seemed like the youngest Hughes brothers biggest enemy was the laundry machine.

"Let me show you the kitchen." The hockey player remembered that he actually had to show the girl around,

"I didn't know what you eat so I just stocked up on everything," he added as the girl followed him into the open planned kitchen that was fully stocked with snacks, drinks, and other foods.

"Jack you did not need to do this!" The soccer player groaned as she felt bad,

Jack had known for a while that Lillian was coming to visit but he was lucky that he had gone grocery shopping the day before as he thought that he still had a week to prepare.

"Apparently you're going to have a few busy days going to hockey games so I had to make sure that you were well fed," he added as he was looking forward to the girl being at some hockey games.

"That's only if you make it through," Lillian pointed out as they had already lost game one to the Hurricanes,

"If?" Jack almost sounded offended by her statement,

"Not when?" He added as he cocked his head,

"Can't be too confident in you boys now," the blonde explained with a shrug,

"Haven't even seen you play in person yet," she added deciding to withhold the fact that she had watched all of their games since December and had full confidence in their abilities to beat the team from Carolina.

"Jack why are there suitcas-" Luke yawned as he followed the sound of noise to the kitchen,

"Oh shit!" He added as he let out a gasp,

"When did you arrive?" The boy was quick to drop his water bottle as he pulled the girl into a hug,

"She landed bout an hour ago," Jack explained as the best friends smiled at each other,

"And you didn't wake me up?" The defender let out a scoff as he furrowed his eyebrows,

"You looked peaceful," the forward shrugged leaning back against his kitchen cabinets,

"I wanted to actually see a bit her before you steal her away," he added as he sent the girl a smirk,

"My best friend," Luke pointed out in a duh tone,

"Staying in my guest room," Jack shot back as he opened his bottle of water,

"No I'm taking the couch," Lillian was quick to shake her head,

"No you aren't," the brothers spoke at the same time,

"You two are literally in the Stanley Cup Playoffs," it was now the blondes turn to look at the boys like they were idiots,

"I'm not taking either of your beds," she added as she knew that Jack only had two bedrooms,

"And here you were saying you thought that we weren't going to get far," Jack couldn't help but tease the girl has he smirked,

"Well I can't be the excuse if you do get eliminated," Lillian shot back as she sent him a grin,

"You ready for a tour?" Luke asked pulling the girls attention away from his older brother,

"Only if it starts at your favourite coffee shop," the blonde practically begged as she was desperate for coffee,

"She'll like the one on Main Street by the bar," the forward spoke up as he knew that his brother hadn't been to any coffee shops since he arrived,

"You two want my keys?" He added as he held out his car keys,

"That would be smart," Lillian nodded as she didn't want to walk into town,

She didn't know how far that was to be.

"Let Lillian drive," Jack threw his keys to the girl who was quick to catch them,

"Really?" Her eyes lit up as she cocked her head ignoring the protests from her best friend,

"Yeah," the forward loved his brother but when it came to driving his car he trusted Luke as far as he could throw him,

"Bye Jack," the duo yelled as they were quick to grab their shoes before they ran out of the apartment leaving the older Hughes brother by himself.

𝐥𝐡𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬_𝟎𝟔 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 !

𝐥𝐡𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬_𝟎𝟔 look who made it to Jersey
👤 𝐥𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐫

𝐥𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐫 I'm back with bestie
_𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐡𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬 can't believe I'm the only brother not seeing you rn
𝐥𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐫 told you to come and visit but you said no

𝐣𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐡𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬 don't crash my car pls
nicohischier how is this reunion going?
𝐣𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐡𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬 I feel like I've been kicked out of my own home
𝐥𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐫 you literally picked me up from the airport
𝐥𝐡𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬_𝟎𝟔 dude we aren't even home rn

𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐩𝐚 you better keep her safe
𝐥𝐡𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬_𝟎𝟔 I'll send her back in one piece dw

𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐫𝟎𝟔 what is she doing with him??
𝐥𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐫 I ask myself this everyday
𝐥𝐡𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬_𝟎𝟔 you're the one who came to visit me

𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐫𝟒𝟎𝟑 she's pretty
𝐥𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐫 you're pretty

⋇⋆✦⋆⋇

The best friends sat at the busy cafe as they caught up,

"Is it wrong that I'm glad you two fought?" Luke blurted out as he watched the girl sip her iced coffee,

"It meant I got to see you," he added as he had seen her raise her eyebrows,

"To be honest I was always going to spend the second week with you," Lillian confessed because as much as she loved the boys in Vegas,

She missed Luke way too much to not go and see him,

"I'm sorry that he was an ass though," the brunette placed his hand on top of hers as they sat across from each other,

"Do you think he might have a point though?" The blonde had sort of gotten into her head during her plane ride over that there might have been something that should could have done to prevent the argument,

"Lilly you have not cheated on him," the hockey player was quick to shake his head as this wasn't the girls fault,

"Yeah but he doesn't have nearly as many female friends as I do male." The soccer player sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair,

"That's not your fault," Luke pinched the bridge of his nose as he desperately wanted the girl to get that message into her head,

"Give him a few days for him to realise that he has fucked up and then all will be good." He added as he knew that it wouldn't take long for Ethan to realise the error in his ways.

"And if he doesn't?" Lillian asked as the look behind her eyes came from nothing more than sadness,

"We will find you a rebound here," the brunette proposed causing the girl to practically choke on air,

"Luke!" The blonde coughed as her eyes went wide,

"What you're not ugly," the hockey player shrugged as he smiled,

"You really know how to make a girl feel special," the soccer player shook her head as she let out a laugh,

It was good to be back with Luke.

⋇⋆✦⋆⋇

On the other side of the country stood the rest of the boys.

"This place is sick," Dylan spoke as they walked into their ex teammates apartment,

"Well I'm glad you think that because you're all sharing rooms," Brendan smiled as he turned his attention to the Canadian,

"And now that Lillian isn't coming Ethan is sharing with Samo," he added as the boys were literally packing themselves into the apartment like sardines,

"Really regretting that you fought now?" Mackie couldn't help but let out a laugh,

He was one of the worst people on the team to sleep in a bed with as he would do everything from snore, to hogging the pillows, but worst of all was the fact that he was a kicker in bed.

"Why don't you all move your bags to your rooms," the Knights player proposed as there was now a cluster of duffel bags on his floor,

The boys were all quick to grab their bags and move as Mark looked down to his phone to see Luke's most recent Instagram post, "She's made it safely,"

"If you wanted to know," he added as he looked up to face Ethan,

"You guys do know that I love her right?" Ethan pointed out as he readjusted his cap,

It was one that Lillian had gotten him for his eighteenth.

"Really?" Dylan let out a dry laugh as he shook his head,

"Cause last time I checked the girlfriend who you aren't talking to is on the other side of the country having the time of her life." He added in a duh tone causing Ethan to grow surprised,

Even in their relationship the first time round Dylan never made any comments when they were fighting but the fact that he was now making those comments clearly meant that he felt strongly about the whole thing.

"All we need is two weeks of space and then we will be fine," Ethan mumbled as he slammed his bag onto his side of the bed wanting the break to already be over.

⋇⋆✦⋆⋇

AN: after writing all of the spring break chapters (there are five) I can honestly say that this is my favourite chunk of the book so far!

And we get Luke and Lillian back ♥️