HOW YOU GET THE GIRL

HOW YOU GET THE GIRL

Mat Barzal x fem!oc

Series Masterlist

ONE

I only like the bookstore during the night, when it’s slow and nobody’s around. The lights are flickering and the town suddenly goes quiet in contrast with the bustle of the busy mornings and heavy traffic of the day.

I only work here on the weekends for the closing shifts or the opening ones. Something to make a little more money to fall back on besides my adult corporate job. My parents are proud, more my father than my mother that I’ve begun my climb up the corporate ladder.

I don’t hate my job, far from it. Simply the long hours and bossy bosses that make me pull at my fingers and tug at my hair. Especially with my youth and admitted naivety, those at my job can be wary about me either in the break room or being hesitant to invite me out for drinks.

I’ve been told by my therapist that I rushed my childhood, skipping grades and taking collage classes while also taking highschool classes at the same time. I want to fight her on it, claim that I did have a childhood and had dreams but I know that I’m defending something I never had.

Two parents who were always fighting; hated eachother but swore to stay together because of their vows, “Hey Bella” I smile at the older lady standing at the counter as I tuck behind into the back room and set my purse onto the table and wrapping my apron around my body, “slow day?” I ask as I switch from heels to converse.

“Yeah, it’s the middle of the school season so all the kidlets are probably studying” she sighs out rubbing her tired eyes, “ok, I’m off. Be safe. Please” she reminds me as she pats my shoulder, “I’ll need you to come in a bit earlier tomorrow for the opening shift, we’re getting a new shipment of books for the month”

“Uhh, yeah yeah I can do that, so 5:30 instead of six?” I clarify, as I clock myself in on the timetable next to the register.

“Yes, thank you Emma. You’re a doll” She smiles and blows me a kiss exiting the building as the cold wind brushes against her; gently pulling at the greying blonde hair that’s always been tucked into a a little bun.

I turn on some music to keep my mind from straying as I walk around the store. Gently brushing my fingers against the creased spines and occasional leather covered book. Those nice collectors editions are always Romeo and Juliet, or Hamlet.

Personally I’ve thought Romeo and Juliet a bit childish and immature, but I’ve always been told I’m looking at it from a modern perspective. I believe that Romeo and Juliet is the way to not fall in love.

But then again, that’s coming from the girl who watched her parents try and fix an already broken marriage by having an abundance of kids and forcing themselves to stay together even though, everyone’s known they’d be better apart. Even their own kids.

I tidy up the reading corner, setting the old book. Princess and the pea back onto the shelf and searching for the one tomorrow.

My my fingers pull and push against the covers of the kids books, looking for something different. I don’t pay attention when the bell jingles and jangles while I hear a heavy step quickly become softer. I hear them physically relax as they walk the isles.

I eventually decide on a book with a unicorn and a blonde girl. Something I fondly remember of my own childhood.

I stretch up a little and let my hair down from its clip, it falls unevenly against my shoulders but I don’t mind or even care that much. This bookstore is my happy place; where I am safe and content within my own body. Here I will never care what I look like.

I view the man searching in the fiction section, something specific I can tell by his body language. If he needs help I’ll allow him to ask; yet I’m wary of going up to a man and guiding him to the book.

When he finally notices me watching him he turns around and asks, “do you know where I can find ‘The road’ it’s uh. Geez by I think by Cormac McCarthy?” He stumbles out; slowly dragging a hand across his face and brushing his shaggy brown hair out of his eyes.

His face is soft but sharp; his eyes evoke a warm bubbly feeling inside me. Eyes that make me feel comfortable being alone with him, “yes, I believe we only have a few left” I tell him, walking off to a different section of the store, “I know, our shop is set up weird” I explain.

“And why’s that?” He inquires, his pace isnt rushed or faster than mine. But relaxed and nonchalant. As if he has all the time in the world.

“The original owners, she has a special section called ‘Meine Leibe’ which I think translates to ‘My loves’ or ‘my life’ once she passed her daughter kept it the same so this little section would always be here for her. I find it endearing” I know I ramble on a bit but I’ve suddenly grown afraid of having a silence against the two of us

“It is, it’s just a little place with all her favorite books?” He keeps asking, as I turn into the cozy little corner. I thumb through the alphabetical order.

“Yeah, her favorite chair, pillows. Shannon was such a kind lady” I reminisce, “here is The Road, is there anything else I can help you with? Or will that be all for today?”

“Uhh, ha unless you have ‘The deal’ by Elle Kennedy then I’ll take that too” I think he’s being sarcastic but I can’t really tell.

“I think we do, are you a hockey fan?” I ask walking to the romance section.

“I guess you could say that, do you watch?” He asks, “do you need a hand?”

“I watch a bit, just the New Jersey Devils with my dad. Yeah it’s just above there” I point, even on my tip toes the store has ceiling high bookshelves. And because it’s night the ladders been locked up. I move to the side as he grabs the book.

“Are you from Jersey?”

“Yeah, I lived there before I came to New York for a work deal”

“I’m going to assume it’s not this job.. right?” As he makes his way to the register and I slink behind the counter

“Yeah, my uh big girl job as my mom likes to address it as” I hear the roll in my eyes as I scan the bar codes and ring him up, “will that be with cash or card?”

“Card” He pulls his wallet out of the front pocket of his jacket, “thank you”, he checks for my name eyes staring just above but also at my chest.

I poke my eyebrows up at him praying to god this man isn’t looking at my tits directly; not even with the slightest bit of discretion.

“I’m uh looking for your name to thank you— I swear I’m not looking at your uh. You know boobs” he almost whispers out the last bit before continuing, “not that they aren’t nice or anything but uh” the tips of his ears turn pink and his cheeks suddenly become flushed, “I will just pay now” he groans out softly; handing me his card and rubbing his eyes with his hands.

I ring him up and he puts his pin in, “thank you again, you never told me your name” he questions for that piece of information

“Emma”

“Thank you Emma, have a good evening” he purses his lips and grabs his books. Hands shaking as he smiles and starts to leave.

“You too, wait” I lean over the bar slightly, “you never told me your name?”

“Mat”

“Alright then, have a good evening Mat. Come back soon”

The door jingles as he leaves and I watch him through the window, I see him sigh and smack his books against his head. Though I don’t exactly hear what he says; noises muffled through the glass and the music.

“Huh. What a strange guy”

I WANT YOU

Jamie Drysdale

Me when Mitski 😭😭

It’s him. It’s always been him, no matter the circumstance or the choices I’ve made. Everything I’ve wanted and everything I needed has always been him.

He’s standing there, looking at me like he always looked at me. Soft and kindly a little wobbly like a newborn deer. Standing in the doorway, the light cascades over him. Painting him in this angelic light.

I want to go to him, a string that tugs at my heart and pulls with the strength of a thousand men. I want him so badly. To go to him and be in that warmth he provides me.

I’m stuck in the car, unmoving. My hands feel like their glued to the steering wheel. My lungs can barely function and I don’t know what to do. Nothing could’ve ever prepared me for this.

I want to scream and shout, run up to him and kiss him. Scream in his face and hit him; kiss his face as I tell him how much I love him.

I drag myself out of the car. I walk slowly as I keep eye-contact with him. Finally he engulfs me in a hug.

The door closes and I slide to the floor. A heap of sobs, clutching onto his arms as I cry.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know why!” I cry out as he wraps himself around me. Holding me like this, this is why I fell in love with him. Even though I knew it could never work out with us.

“I love you” he tells me

“It’ll never work with us, Jamie please. My heart, it can’t” I whisper against his lips, “Jamie..”

He closes the gap between us and I crawl onto him, his hands rake through my hair gripping onto my scalp in a needful desire for each other.

“It’s always been you Jamie” I finally confess, the words choke out in this sad little mess of gasps and sobs.

“I know”

DID YOU SEE THE WAY HE LOOKED AT YOU?

Me when Trevor Zegras 😽😽😼😼😻😻😻

I’d never seen him with such a fondness in his eyes. Watching with such focus as I lap around the arena. Stretching tall and lifting legs in preparation of a short routine. His teammates simply talk between each other but he doesn’t utter a word.

I see him in the corner of my eye, crossing my legs to gain speed. I let myself glide for a moment before an axel. The music is in my ears, hair fluttering in a ponytail.

The sharp twists and turns never give me whiplash, nor make me dizzy. It’s the sore of my knees and the shouting of my coach that make this much harder than it needs to be.

“Spin god damnit!” She shouts, “You look like a Floppy Turkey! Use your core not your knees” her hair is neat and straight. Bobbed and she’s wearing a thick coat even as I’m sweating through a tank top.

She doesn’t even let me finish before she sees my knees buckling and kicks me off the ice. She sternly marches onward, “get your knee looked at or I won’t let you on the ice. Do not make the same mistakes I did”

I know she means it from the heart but it still hurts. After giving something your all and still not being good enough. Even though she doesn’t say it it still sucks.

I see him again, still watching me as I plop down next to him to put my guards on. “You were good out there. Really uh delicate on the ice”

I purse my lips and smile and nod deciding to take my skates off and put in my shoes. “Thank you, I’m sorry we took so long. I heard your rink got closed for maintenance” I apologize and make idle conversation with him

“Yeah, don’t be sorry, the boys weren’t to keen but I think we should all be grateful to be skating, right?”

I smile and nod, “y/n” I introduce myself

“Trevor.. maybe I’ll uh see you around” he smiles, “oh do you have a pen?”

I nod and give it to him, he takes my arm and writes his number on it, “I really hope you don’t have a boyfriend”

“It’s a good thing I don’t I guess”

HOW YOU GET THE GIRL

Mat Barzal x fem!original character

SERIES MASTERLIST

In which, Mat Barzal falls hopelessly in love with the girl who works the weekend closing shifts at his favorite bookstore and his attempts at getting her to say yes to a date.

CHAPTERS

PROLOGUE

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

GYM

Jamie Drysdale

I don’t know why, or how Jamie manages to do it but every morning at 5:30 he wakes up and goes to the gym. Not practice but just the gym.

“Babes, you want to come to the gym with me, I think we can get coffee on the way back” He whispers in my ear; sweeping the hair back and kissing just above my temple.

“Mmm.. I guess” I usually whine and complain but today I feel like going. Usually because I don’t get to spend a lot of time with him.

I love the car rides with him; they remind me so much of the airport drives I grew up on. While he drinks preworkout I stick to water.

While Jamie doesn’t take long with his stretches while I take a little longer. I watch him as he does his squat warmups and eventually I join him asking how much he wants to add onto his set, “just give me a ten and I think I’ll be good and I can watch you do yours” he tells me as he sets his tack and I move to grab the weights off and then add it to his set.

“Cute I love this pookie” I Tell him; swiftly kissing his cheek before continuing a stretch as I keep an eye on him.

“I still don’t understand why you call me pookie all the time” He says tucking his head and racking the weights.

“Because, you are my pookie” I tell him; I take the weights off and slowly warm up before adding some simple 25s.

He deadlifts, I squat. Obviously he lifts more than me but that’s simply because I’m not an athlete anymore. I’m enjoying my life, studying to become a doctor. Watching my pretty boyfriend play hockey.

I don’t like working out for too long, and neither does he on the days I join him and even now I sometimes still feel guilty that he’d cut part of his workout short but he says he just likes spending all the time with me as he can before a roadie

I drive on the ride home as Jamie does some work stuff that I don’t ever really understand even though he’s tried to explain it a million times.

I always shower first when we get home because while Jamie showers I do my skincare and make breakfast.

Eggs with toast and avocado, I brew coffee for us and he steps out with sweats on and his hair all damp in the way that makes me want kiss his face all over.

He’ll kiss my cheek and take a plate.

It’s strange usually we don’t talk during breakfast, not because our lives are uninteresting but because it’s hard to decide what to talk about first.

(I dont know how to end this)

VOLLEYBALL SZN

Heavily inspired by @brokenanxiety headcannons of mat barzal dating a vball player ‼️

Mat Barzal x fem reader (volleyball player)

Im a senior in collage. #87 on NYU’s volleyball team for varsity. My boyfriend does his own thing, hockey for the islanders.

Usually our schedules don’t line up, I’ll have a game and he has training. He has a game and I have training. The only time they’ve ever lined up is during training camps. But even then we can barely see each other. And even then our training camps have a no fraternization rule.

The islanders have never been too fond of sharing facilities with a collage v ball team.

“We had a game forfeit so are you still good with me coming to see you play” he whispers into my ear as I rub lotion onto my forearms in preparation for the bruises.

“Mm, if you want too. Usually they make you practice instead right?” I ask as Mat watches me braid my hair and raise it into a ponytail.

“Yeahh.. but I told the guys about this and they wanted me to come.. they’ll probably show up halfway through and bring the team out for pizza” he tells me as his hands rub up and down my thighs.

“Really? You’re willing to feed a group of starved varsity volleyball players after the biggest tournament of the season?” I inquire turning my head around to face him. He’s still all smiles and giggles with his head laid into my neck.

“Is that a bad thing?”

“Never”

Games are always fairly similar; the same nervous buzz that leads into the locker rooms. We all have matching hair.

“You nervous?” Astrid asks as we stretch out and set and serve eachother for our warmups.

“Always, but mat is here for like the first time ever and I’m so nervous” I grin a little bit

“Isn’t he the one you hooked up with junior year? At the training camp?” She gasps out, “holy shit you’re dating?” She whisper shouts which attracts the attention of our other teammates

I nod, “but Shh. We need to win this tournament”

The blonde nods as she puts on her knee guards.

It always feels cheesy when I say that Mat’s cheers are the only ones I can hear against the roar of the crowd. I feel like I’m gasping for breath as I’m diving and saving.

I’m knocking my head sometimes; scrambling for the ball and using my arms to save it.

We end the game in overtime, winning barely with a 2 to 1 score.

I change back into a baggy shirt instead of my uniform but I don’t have the care to change out of my shorts, “Do y’all want pizza?” I ask as we gather up our bags and let our hair out.

“Yess, but who’s buying?” Ella asks as she cracks her knuckles

“Mat, and his team. They said they were gonna take us out for dinner” I inform and Ella grins before rattling out the most Ella like sentence I’ve ever heard

“Do they now how much we can eat?”

“No. No they do not”

There’s six girls, plus six other 6’+ hockey players. It’s a bit of a feast, “fuck are we starved” Abby smiles as the majority of the girls eat.

I’m happily seated next to mat with his hand on my thigh as we eat, “did you have fun?” I ask him

“Yeah, the moms weren’t too thrilled seeing a hoard of hockey players screaming about volleyball” he laughs softly and I smile at him

“Im still really happy you came”

“Me too”

It’s a laughter seeing the team astonished at how much a group of girls can eat after four games and the final five to win.

Mat drives me home and I’m falling asleep in the car ride home, “you must be tired, huh pretty girl?” He smiles against my skin as he brings me up into our room

“So tired”

(Idk how to end it l o l )

I rly hope you like it