They'll Think It's Just Cause We're Young

The next few weeks flew by fairly quickly for Breanne. Her relationship with Lynette had returned to normal, despite the fact that her roommate was barely around. Breanne was just glad that her brother was happy, even if that meant he was whisking her closest friend away. Ryan Duncan had kept Breanne occupied anyway, making it hard for her to dwell on the absence of her friend. It seemed as if her phone never left her hand lately, as Ryan was constantly texting her throughout her day. And Brad didn't seem to mind much that his teammate was obviously interested in his baby sister. Things were going great but Breanne wasn't naive. Things never stayed good for long.

"So, what are you doing tonight?" Breanne asked, stifling a yawn as she collapsed backwards onto her bed. Ryan had barely allowed her to sleep last night even though she had an early class today. Breanne didn't complain though; she adored the intellectual conversation that Ryan was able to provide. Lynette smiled, tucking away her school books before resting on her own bed.

"Brad is taking me for dinner," the Canadian could barely wipe the smile from her pale pink glossed lips. "I'm sure if you don't have anything going on, he wouldn't mind if you joined us." This made Breanne roll her eyes. It was obvious that she knew her older brother much better than his new girlfriend. While the offer was thoughtful and showed just how sweet Lynette was, Breanne knew that Brad would mind. The last thing she wanted to do was intrude on her brother's date.

"I think Ryan said something about running to Walmart tonight," Breanne shrugged, pulling out her sleek laptop and opening Facebook. "He said he needs to pick a few things up before the road trip." Lynette nodded, rolling over onto her stomach and propping her head on her hands. Lynette's eyes shined as she smirked at her friend. Breanne's perfectly sculpted brow shot up, disappearing behind a piece of hair that had fallen out of her ponytail.

"So," Lynette sang, "what is going on between you and Ryan anyway?" Breanne immediately felt her cheeks blaze a hot red as the words left her roommate's mouth.

"I dunno," she attempted to brush it off, "he's nice." Lynette laughed loudly, obviously sensing her friend's urgency to play it cool.

"Well," Lynette stretched the vowel out far longer than needed, "from what I hear, someone in the locker room isn't too happy with your budding relationship and it isn't your brother." The hearsay caused Breanne's eyes to flick back to her Facebook homepage, where a post from Ryan was the first thing in her newsfeed.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Breanne mumbled under her breath as her fingers zipped across the keyboard at lightening speed. Her smirk widened.

"So you're saying the name TJ Oshie doesn't ring a bell?" Her voice was taunting as she eyed her roommate. Squirming under her unbreakable stare, Breanne's hand absentmindedly grabbed the bag of Fritos that she kept beside her bed. Just Breanne's luck, her brother entered their dorm at just that moment.

The bag was snatched from her grasp almost instantly causing a pout to form at her lips.

"Almost two hundred calories, Breanne," he scolded his younger sister who was a spitting image of him. "Do you eat anything that's remotely good for your body?" Breanne shrugged her sweatshirt clad shoulders.

"Sure, I eat at the cafe all the time." Brad rolled his eyes at his sister before a lightbulb went off above his head. Breanne internally groaned. She had never been partial to Brad's ideas. They normally never meant anything good for Breanne.

"You should start coming to the arena with me to work out. You could build muscle and still eat the way you do!" She laughed sarcastically before stopping abruptly.

"No," she told him, picking up her vibrating phone and smiled at it. "I'm leaving," she announced, jumping off her bed and sliding on her shoes.

"With Dunc?" Brad asked, a smile coming to his face. Breanne rolled her eyes at her brother.

"Be good," she warned the couple before skipping out of her dorm.

The walk downstairs gave her time to ponder on what Lynette had let slip. She didn't understand why TJ would be jealous of her new friendship with Ryan. Every time the two had run into each other on campus, a different girl was attached to TJ's side. Or even worse, his lips. Luckily for Breanne, Ryan turned out to be a great distraction.

The short hockey player grinned upon seeing the brunette exit the glass doors of her residence hall. His chest vibrated as he laughed when she wrapped his arms around his middle.

"Nice to see you too, Bre," Ryan laughed out, wrapping his strong arms around the girl. After a long embrace, where Breanne basked in the warmth of Ryan's body, he opened the passenger's door of his truck for her, like a true gentlemen.

"So where are we off to?" Breanne asked, buckling her seatbelt while he took the truck out of park. He glanced at her before pulling away from the curb.

"The boys sent me for a dozen cans of shaving cream," he informed her nonchalantly. Breanne cocked an eyebrow at her newly acquired friend.

"Why on earth do you need that much shaving cream?" She couldn't help but to question, though she wasn't quite sure if she actually wanted to know. It was difficult to not be intrigued.

"Freshman," his response was short and sweet but Breanne got the message loud and clear thanks to his cocky smile that displayed mischief behind it. Breanne couldn't help but to laugh.

Walmart was nearly empty at this time of night. The pair walked hand in hand through the isles. Ryan tossed every can of shaving cream on the shelf into the cart before also grabbing a rope, honey and a toilet plunger. Breanne didn't dare to ask what those would be used for.

She tugged Ryan into the make up isle where he busied himself by inspecting the perfume while Breanne searched high and low for her favorite brand of eyeliner. Just as she was throwing it into their cart, the sound of glass shattering on the ground made her jump. Ryan's light brown eyes grew as wide as saucers as he stared at the broken bottle on the white tiled floor. Breanne stifled a laugh and grabbed his hoodie sleeve, leading him away from the strong smelling liquid mess at his feet. Her other hand pulled the shopping cart and they rounded the corner just before a curious employee had come to investigate.

"You're like a five year old, Ry," Breanne said between laughs. He attempted to bite back the oversized grin that was fighting to break out causing him to resemble child who was getting into trouble.

"Let's grab some food?" He suggested as the two neared the cash registers. Breanne nodded with a sweet smile just as Ryan laced their fingers together. A fire sparked inside Breanne, sending a warm, tingly feeling through every nerve of her body.

"Adorable," the cashier mumbled, sighing longingly. The shy couple blushed madly, looking everywhere but at each other.

There wasn't much conversation as they got back to Ryan's old black truck and began driving down the road. His cheeks still flushed a spectrum of reds, he didn't bother to tell her where he was driving to. So she simply sang along to the country song that quietly played on the radio. It was a comfortable silence as the two had their fingers interlocked in the middle seat.

Soon after, the truck stopped at the same diner that Breanne's brother had introduced her to just a few weeks prior. Ryan claimed they served the best breakfast in North Dakota, so Breanne took his word for it and went on to order pancakes.

Breanne laughed loudly upon seeing two plates full of food being set in front of him. He looked up at her with questioning eyes.

"What?!" He exclaimed as Breanne's plate was set in front of her. "I'm hungry and I had a long practice today." This earned another giggle from Breanne which only made Ryan's smile grow wider.

"Wow, I haven't had breakfast for dinner..." Breanne trailed off after taking her first bite. "Well, since I was a kid." She finished but the boy across from her wasn't listening. However, he was simply watching her with a cheesy grin plastered on his lips. "What?" She asked after a moment of silence, suddenly self conscious of her appearance and the possibility of having something stuck to her face. He shook his head, and stayed quiet for another few seconds before finally speaking.

"Listen Bre," he started, unfolding a napkin that sat in front of him. Ryan shifted in his seat before he brought his eyes up to meet Breanne's. "I really like you, and if you don't want to say it back, that's fine. I just wanted to get it out there." When there was a long pause, Breanne figured it was her turn to speak.

"Ryan, I-" Apparently she was wrong, because he was quick to cut her words off in midair.

"I'll work to get there. I want you to want this as much as I do," he said sweetly. When he realized she wasn't going to run off scared, his hand met hers in the middle of the table and she gave him a reassuring squeeze accompanied by a smile.

Maybe Ryan Duncan was just what Breanne needed.