Teach Me How to Dougie

My phone started blasting on the table in our apartment, where I sat looking through Facebook on my computer. It nearly scare me to death.

"Hey Dougie. What's up?"

"Hey Chlo. Just sitting around at home."

I could hear Ryan and Reilly talking in the background, Reilly yelling "Hi Chloe!!! I missss you!" and Ryan yelling his hellos, as well.

"Tell your roommates that I say hi so they'll shut up."

"Hey guys, Chloe says hi. But she says she likes me the best."

I rolled my eyes at his ad-libbing, not that what he said wasn't true.

"I'm just hanging around at home. Holly will be home in a few minutes and then I have to go buy a poster at the bookstore for a project."

I thought for a second, realizing that I hadn't seen Dougie in nearly a week. We both had been super busy, so I hadn't had the chance to go over to his place all week. I knew that the B's had a week long break from games, due to busier schedules later in the season, so Dougie had a few nights that were free.

"Would you wanna come over? Holly and I were gonna go to the game tonight, but we can just hang here instead. I miss you."

"I'd love to come over. But, you don't have to cancel your plans. I mean... As long as you don't mind me tagging along with you to the game."

OMG yes! I'm so stupid! I had honestly thought about inviting Dougie to come to a game before. But, I figured that someone whose life revolves around hockey probably wouldn't want to focus on it during his free time. Plus, he was a Boston celebrity. Not only would his being out gather attention, but it would also draw attention to the two of us together. We had never discussed what our relationship was defined as, but we spent a ton of time talking, whether it be in person or on the phone, and obviously had a physical connection as well. I was scared to bring the conversation up.

"Would you really want to come? I kinda figured you were all hockey-ed out."

I heard Dougie's warm laugh fill the other end of the line.

"I may spend most of my life on ice, but that doesn't mean I don't like to watch hockey on my days off."

"Oh, right. You're Canadian. If you didn't like hockey, you'd be shunned.. right?"

"Yep, exactly. But seriously, I'd love it if you came to the game with us. I'm sure Holly would, too. I can get you a ticket from a friend."

"Actually, Coach Smith told me to stop by for a game sometime when I met with him. So we could just use those tickets."

My mind flashed back to that day, the day I first met Dougie. Funny how things have worked out since then.

"Oh really, that would be cool! Come over whenever and we can all head to the game."

"K, see you soon."

I hung up the phone and set it down. I realized I still needed to go buy that stupid poster for my project, so I grabbed my purse and ran out to get it.
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I walked into the apartment, bright pink poster in hand, and was surprised to see Dougie was already there, talking to Holly as she finished doing her hair and preparing for the game.

"Hey guys! Let me put my stuff down and we can head out."

I ran over to Dougie and kissed him on the cheek, dropping my poster on the table and running to the closet. I changed into a long-sleeved shirt with my school's logo on the front, completing my outfit of jeans and riding boots. I took my hair out of it's bun, shook it out, and decided to throw on my school's baseball hat, as well. School spirit was important, right?

I walked out of the closet, entering the living room where Dougie and Holly stood, still talking. We left the room and walked down the stairs, leaving the apartment and beginning our walk to the game.

The three of us walked side-by-side, chatting as we walked in the cool autumn breeze. The sun was just beginning to set, so there was still a nice light cast over the city.

"So, Dougie said that Coach Smith hooked him up with some sweet tickets for the game tonight."

"Oh, really, huh?"

I looked at Dougie, who nodded as he pulled the baseball cap that had been tucked in his back pocket out and placed it on his head. I stopped in my tracks as I saw the emblem on his hat.

"Excuse me, Douglas Jonathan Hamilton. What is that horrible thing on your head?!"

His hat was representing our school's biggest rival, who we happened to be playing tonight. It had the name, bold and bright, on the front, and I was horrified. Holly stood in front of both of us, facing Dougie as well.

"Ooh, bad move. That's not cool."

"Hey, their coach gave me a hat and Coach Smith didn't!"

I crossed my arms and looked at him, face-to-face. I was attempting to act mad/intimidating, but my height compared to his and inability to keep a straight face made that difficult. He crossed his arms, too, and scrunched his eyes, pretending to be intimidating as well.

I lost it after a few seconds, bursting out laughing. Dougie started laughing, too, pulling me into a hug that I tried to squirm out of. Holly urged us along, the three of us continuing on to the rink.

We entered the building, which was packed with people. This game was a huge deal, so a lot of alumni were here to watch it. Since our "stare down", I'd kept a normal distance from Dougie. I wasn't sure if he wanted rumors swirling and did my best to make us appear as just friends. But, even in doing so, I noticed a few heads turn as we walked in and approached the gates.

We showed the employee our tickets and were ushered through the gates. As we walked, a saw a few more heads turn, including those of a few girls standing at the bottom of the stairs.

I didn't want to seem insecure or rude. But, I couldn't help the worries that were filling my head. These girls were really pretty and were all dressed in short skirts, booties, and various tops. I felt inferior and knew that they probably were very nice people, but the anxiety still filled my stomach.

I felt Dougie's hand in mine, giving a light squeeze. I looked up at him, and he smiled. Feeling a little calmer, I smiled back.

Our seats were in a box, which didn't surprise me too much considering they were a gift from Coach Smith himself. They were definitely an improvement from the crowded student section we were usually stuck in. We stood along the front of the box, looking out onto the ice as the game was about to start.

"You know, you're gonna regret wearing that hat after they lose."

"Oh really?"

"Yep."
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Dougie evidently did not regret wearing his hat, because the other team beat our team 5-3. I had spent the entire game cheering my heart out, as Holly did. Dougie made sure to yell and clap whenever his team scored. My throat felt a little raw from all of the yelling.

We made our way out of the building, Dougie getting a few "hellos" and waves along the way. But, the whole way, he kept his hand in mine.

"Hey guys, I'm gonna go visit my friend who lives over here. I'll be home soon."

Holly scurried off after giving Dougie and I both a hug. We started walking back to my place, the sky dark and the sidewalk filled with a mixture of happy and disappointed fans.

"What a stupid game. Totally rigged."

"You're hilarious. I've never seen you watching a game before. You're quite the fan, eh?"

Dougie let his Canadian sneak through, which was always amusing. I shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess. Hockey's okay."

We continued walking hand in hand, crossing busy streets as we approached the heart of campus. I felt my phone buzz in my pocket as I received a text from Holly.

*Holly: This picture is so damn cute that if you don't post it somewhere, I will.*

Attached was a picture of Dougie and I that I guess Holly had taken while we were having our fake stare down. Dougie had his arms wrapped around me and had a big grin on his face, laughing as I pretended to be mad. I had my face turned to the camera, eyes closed and laughing as he held me close. I couldn't deny that it was a really, really adorable picture. I showed it to Dougie, who laughed as he saw it.

"I like it."

"Holly threatened me if someone didn't post it."

"Yeah, you don't want to mess with her. I can post it, ya know."

I looked at him, surprised. He had a Twitter, but it didn't have any tweets on it. He handed me his phone and I opened up Twitter, selecting the image, which I had just sent him.

"Well, what should I caption it? I'm so bad at those..."

Dougie took his phone from me, stopping on the side of the path as he thought of a caption, typing away on his phone.

"Here, this should work" Dougie said, handing me back his phone.

Below the picture of us read, "She may be rooting for the wrong team, but my girl looks better in black and gold, anyway."

A massive grin spread across my face as I read those words over and over again. My girl. I couldn't help myself from standing on my toes and kissing Dougie.

"I love it, as long as you'll be my boy."

"Absolutely."

I sent the tweet, still smiling as Dougie and I continued walking hand-in-hand.

I opened the picture on my phone in Instagram, typing a quick caption, which read "My team may have lost, but I'm still a winner for getting to have this guy in my life. <3." Sorta lame, but when I showed Dougie he smiled again.

"Perfect."

We walked back to my apartment, rushing inside. I was leaning against the wall next to our apartment's door, and Dougie towered over me. He leaned in and kissed me. Each kiss deepened and I wrapped my arms around his shoulders as I pulled him down to me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and drew circles on my lower back with his fingers, which was mesmerizing. We were full-on making out in the hall when the door to the stairwell opened, causing us to jump apart. My neighbor walked down the hall, looking up briefly before unlocking his door and heading into his apartment.

"Yikes, that was close."

I looked back up into those beautiful eyes and pulled Dougie in for a hug, the two of us holding on tight to each other.

"Good night Chloe. I had a really nice night with you. I'll call you tomorrow."

He kissed me quickly and headed out, as I shouted "Good night!"
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As I lay in bed, scrolling through the usual apps, I was astounded at the reaction to the picture.

I had received a bunch of text messages from friends saying they had no idea I had a boyfriend and asking if the guy was "really Dougie Hamilton". I had received numerous likes on Instagram, plus quite a few comments from my friends, freaking out. I forgot that my Insta was attached to my Facebook, so I had quite a lot of likes on their, too, as well as a slew of comments from friends and family.

Dougie's tweet had gotten even more attention than mine. Not only was it his first tweet ever, but it was also a picture with a girl. Even more attention grabbing, it was a picture announcing that said girl was his girlfriend. I noticed that Reilly had retweeted it, adding "About damn time!" Ryan and numerous other team members favorited the tweet, as well as Pasta retweeting it and adding "#baegoals". I couldn't help but laugh at that one.

I noticed quite a few comments and retweets from people on Twitter, some just saying hi to Dougie or saying how cute we looked. There were also a few that were negative, calling me a puckslut or commenting on how Dougie should have "chosen someone else". Those really stung, but I was honestly still buzzing with so much happiness that I tried my hardest to not let them get to me. I still sent Dougie a text, though.

*Chloe: Jeez, thanks for the boost in followers!*

*Dougie: lol No problem. I've gotten quite a lot of great reactions, too.*

*Chloe: Yeah, some not so great as well. :/*

*Dougie: Don't worry about those idiots. They are just jealous and insecure. You're beautiful and I wouldn't want to have anyone else as my girlfriend.*

*Chloe: :) I guess you're a pretty great boyfriend, too.*

*Dougie: :* *

I set my phone down, silencing it so it wouldn't wake me as notifications came in. Smile on my lips, I drifted to sleep, sure that any dreams I had wouldn't live up to the dream I was living.

Notes