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Allie walked from her car to the sliding doors at the front of the grocery store, rubbing her arms to shield from the slight chill in the air. There were a few things Uncle Patrice didn't have at his house, and she had some money. She hurried past the people, ignoring their glances as she rushed past them, looking up at the white labeled signs. She caught sight of the "Fresh Fruit" aisle and walked briskly to it, before heading to the so-called 'Junk Food' aisle. She grabbed the All-Dressed chips from the third shelf and packed them in the crook of her arm. She held the bag of apples in her other hand, looking down at her items and laughing at her chosen groceries. Allie shook her head and headed back down the aisle, in the direction of the cash registers. She turned to the left, her eyes on the white floor. She traced the specks of black before glancing up and immediately feeling her heart stop. She quickly looked back down at her feet. Now that her heart had restarted, it had sped right up. That couldn't be healthy. Allie took a deep breath and looked up again just to see if she had yet reached the cash register she had aimed for - and met Tyler Seguin's eyes. His face lit up with recognition and he flashed a brilliant smile. He nodded in greeting, and as he headed confidently in her direction, Allie knew she was going to have to face the butterflies head on. Awesome.

"Hey... Allie?" he said as he neared her. He raised his eyebrows to make sure he had the name right and she nodded with a laugh.

"Tyler?" Allie pretended she hadn't memorized his name.

He nodded and grinned. He got in line behind her, and she tried not to pay attention to his body behind hers. It was hard not to, as he leaned forward to grab the grocery divider and his arm brushed Allie's. He murmured an apology, and she wondered if he was apologizing for leaning over her, or for making her blush. He had a small smirk on his face as he asked, "What are you up to today?"

As the guy in front of her finished paying, Allie moved forward, said hello to the cashier, and turned back to Tyler. "Studying I guess. I don't have class today, so." She threw him a smile and then paid for her few groceries. She wasn't sure if she should wait for him, but he solved that problem by speaking up.

"What are you studying for?" he questioned as the cashier rung his stuff through. He only had a few items, and so he was done quickly.

"Journalism," Allie informed him. He fell into step beside her and nodded approvingly.

"Nice."

"Yeah, I like it."

"You gonna be a sports journalist?"

Allie could hear the smile in his voice as they walked side by side. "Maybe," she replied with a meek smile of her own. As she reached to push open the door, Tyler's arm reached over her shoulder and held it open for her. She thanked him quietly before glancing at him and jutting her thumb to the left. "My car's this way."

"Mine's this way." Tyler pointed in the opposite direction. He smiled. "Good to see you."

Allie nodded, averting her eyes, but trying not to make her uncomfortableness obvious. "You, too." She shot him a quick glance and a smile. Tyler smiled wider in return and lifted his hand in a wave. She turned to walk towards her car, the grip on her grocery bag tightening as she felt his eyes on her back. She resisted the temptation to look back.

***

Allie closed the front door and set her groceries on the table. She set down the keys to her small blue car and rested her elbows on the granite counter, leaning her chin in her hands. She sighed and let her head fall forward to rest in between her elbows.

"Rough day?"

Allie jumped and turned around to find her Uncle with a grin on his face. She gave him a look and sighed again. "I'm only three weeks in and I already have an English test," she informed him. "Major studying."

Uncle Patrice nodded empathetically and walked over. He leaned on his elbows across from her, glancing in her grocery bag. "Any exciting news from the grocery store?"

She knew he was just making conversation, but she still felt her cheeks heat up. "Um, not really." Allie paused before blurting, "I saw Tyler there."

"Segs?" Uncle Patrice raised his eyebrows, and she nodded, looking anywhere but his eyes. She felt his eyes on her, and when she glanced at him, hoping to stop him from whatever he was assuming, she saw the smirk grow on his lips. "Really, Al? Segs?"

"Uncle Patri-" Allie began to groan.

Her uncle held up his hands and leaned forward. "Tous les filles dit qu'il est tres beau," he said with a wink.

"Peut etre," she responded in French before continuing in English. "He's not my type, and I'm not his. I don't know why I'm even..." She sighed frustratedly. She pulled over a stool and sat on it before picking at her nails.

"What is it with these 'type' things?" her uncle questioned. "If you like him and he likes you, why does it matter?"

Allie gave him a look. "It's not that simple. Besides, I don't even know him!"

Her uncle threw his hands up in the air. "Then how do you even know his 'type'?" He quoted his fingers around the word 'type'.

She groaned again. "You can just tell these things, Uncle Patrice." He raised an eyebrow and she continued, "He just seems like a jerk. I mean, he was drafted, what?" Allie stopped to think. "Second overall?" She glanced at her uncle and he nodded, crossing his arms. "It's obviously gone to his head. Just the way he carries himself, ugh, I don't know. I just get this vibe, okay?"

Her uncle raised both of his eyebrows now and held his hands up in surrender. "I can see what you're saying, mon cherie, but you won't know who he really is until you get to know him. I mean, il et une homme, but he's a respectful kid in the room. Takes jokes well," Allie's uncle grinned.

Allie sighed, running her fingers through his hair. "Thanks, Uncle Patrice, but that doesn't mean he's a good guy to girls." She glanced at him and couldn't help but giggle. "I can't believe we just had this conversation." She hopped off the stool and grabbed her grocery bag, heading into the hallway.

As she turned the corner, she heard her uncle yell, "You know if hockey didn't work out, I was going to be a love doctor!"