#issac walter x reader

[idontknowulol]

Isaac Garcia x reader

JEALOUS

Summary: You get jealous of how much time Isaac has been spending with his tutor Grace and you get really upset.

Warnings: all fluff, swearing

I honestly have never hated myself as much as I do right now, I have so much going on in my life outside school as well as in school, but when Isaac came to me asking for me to tutor him for chemistry ,as it is the only subject he isn't do well in, I felt really bad saying no to my boyfriend as I have no free time,so I asked Grace if she could as I know how good she is at chem ,and she said yes, and let's just say it came back to bite me in the ass.

I was sat at the lunch table with Jackie and Skylar as I took a extremely aggressive bite out of my apple as I watched them laugh at whatever the hell they were looking at , " are you okay Y/N?" Jackie says staring at me with a concerned facial expression, "yeah why wouldn't I be?" I continuing to aggressively bite into my apple. " because you look like your about to scrap a bitch" Skylar states bluntly and I look up at him and Jackie in surprise, " do I really?" I say curiously they both look at each other and nod in union, and I sigh and look away in embarrassment, " I don't know, its not that I don't like Grace she is lovely, I just hate how, well much time she has been spending with my boyfriend, I mean we have been texting and calling and speaking to each other every day it’s just, I feel like I haven’t seen seen him you get me?” I say shyly Skylar and Jackie both nod at my words, “ it was my idea so I shouldn’t be upset,I just miss him a lot recently and I regret saying no to tutoring him, because at this point it’s the only time we would have together” I say sadly. Skylar and Jackie both smile at me, but Jackie is the first to speak, “ how about you go up to him and try make some plans with him?I mean all you really want to do is see him your not really concerned what you guys are doing, from what it seems” Jackie states. “ you know what I think I will, thanks Jackie,You too Skylar”I say, they both just smile and I get up from my seat in the cafeteria and walk over to where Isaac and Grace are, when I reach them they are still laughing and Isaac looks up at me, and his face instantly lights up when he sees me, which I will admit makes me soften a little.

“Hey baby” Isaac says to me, “ Hey” I say back quietly, feeling quite weirdly shy, “hi Y/N” Grace says in a friendly tone, “ hey” I say back, “ um Isaac can I speak to you for a sec?” I say nervously, Isaac notices this as he smirks at me and gets up from his seat, “ I’ll be back in a sec” he says to Grace, she nods and me and Isaac head out of the cafeteria and into the hallway and find a empty classroom where we can be alone. As soon as as we enter the room Isaac wraps his around my waist and pulls me into him hugging me , which I reciprocate as I have been feeling really needy when it comes to my boyfriend recently, “so baby, what did you want to talk about” Isaac says nuzzling my neck which he does on purpose because he knows it makes me giggle, “ can we do something today” I thread my hand through his hair, “ I feel like I haven’t really seen you much Isaac and I hate that” I say quietly into his chest, “ me too me too, but I can’t today baby, I am revising at the library with Grace after school, I have that big Chem test coming up tomorrow,and you know I can’t fail it again, otherwise Aunt Katherine will kill me” Isaac says shuddering at the thought, I can’t help but make my body freeze at his words as I feel the jealousy coursing through my body, what he is saying makes perfect sense I know it does,but that just makes me more agitated for some reason.

“Oh that’s fine, don’t worry about it then, I’ll call you later then? I say quickly pulling away from Isaac feeling tears sting my eyes, “yeah wait Y-, I sprint out the room before Isaac can finish too overwhelmed to go back, I know he wishes he had time, but I just wish that he had that right now, I sound really really selfish, but I just really need him today and he can’t be there and that kinda makes me feel like shit. The tears begin to fall from my eyes as I speed walk out of school, not caring if I get punished for skipping.

In the end I drove home climbed into bed and put some Netflix on to try and cheer me up, but all that was replaying in my head was me and Isaac’s conversation, I have been so overdramatic , but I don’t know why, I think I’m just having one of those days, I feel my phone vibrate and I instantly know who it is and I put my phone on silent,then I feel a light knock on my window , I sigh quietly when K see Isaac and open it to let him climb through, which he does before plopping himself next to me on the bed, “ Hey” He says looking at me “ Hey aren’t you supposed to be in school?, you know Katherine is going to kill youu when she finds out you skipped” I say confused as to why he is here at this time of day “ I know I know but I had to though” he says staring intently at me “ and why is that?” I ask curiously . “ because I need to know why my girlfriend left school on the verge of tears” Isaac says seriously, I look away in shame,embarrassed that he knew I was upset, I though it was obvious but I didn’t think it was that obvious. “Don’t be ashamed for having feelings” Isaac states reading me like a book, “come here”Isaac says with open arms, I climb onto Isaac’s lap, and wrap my arms around his neck, he rubs my back gently in and up down motion,whilst the other hand is on my waist, he places his lips on my head and just holds it there before speaking. “So, how are you actually feeling hmm?” Isaac asks gently continuing to rub my back.

Just those words alone are enough to make me burst into tears, from all the pent up frustration I have been holding in, this causes Isaac to pull me closer. “ Baby” He says softly, placing a kiss on my forehead urging me to go on, “It’s stupid, you know how you came to me asking me to tutor you?” Isaac nods at me as he wipes fresh tears falling from my face, “ well,I regret saying no, and let’s just say it’s been eating me up, I wish that I had the time on my hands to help you out as , you wouldn’t be spending so much time with Grace, and I would get to spend some time with you alone,which I haven’t had a lot of recently and it’s made me realise how much I miss you Isaac, and I have been feeling stressed and overwhelmed about school as I’ve been feeling like I need you but I pushed you away, and you just help me forget, and that’s one of the reasons why I love you, I know I have no right to be mad at Grace, as she is a sweet girl and I asked her to help you I just can’t help it” I say finishing quietly, laying my head on his shoulder.

“Is that how you really feel” Isaac states as he continues to cuddle me, I just nod quietly, Isaac’s face pulls into a small smile which confuses the hell out of me. “Baby, why didn’t you just tell me? you know I would never want you feeling overwhelmed and feeling like you need me and can’t reach me” He says, “ yeah I know,you just have a lot on your plates right now, and I didn’t want to add to it” I say in a hushed tone, “oh Y/N, baby you need to understand,anything your going through is never a issue or work added to my plate, your problems are my problems too because your my girl, and we’re a couple we’re supposed to go through our issues together, your problems won’t make me love you any less then I already do, and trust me I love you a insane amount” Isaac states simply which makes me flush hard, and pulls a laugh out of Isaac.

“ Thank you Isaac” I say hugging him tightly, “anytime baby” Isaac says hugging me just as hard, we pull back a bit and Isaac cups my cheek gently and kisses me deeply and I kiss him back with just as much passion and the kiss quickly because heated and we start to make out, Isaac breaks the kiss and lightly presses kisses all down my neck drawing little sighs out of me which pulls a smile to his face, “I have missed you” He says his voice in a husky tone from all the heavy kisses as he kisses my neck one last time, and pulls me back into him.

“ soo is jealous Y/N a thing now??” Isaac asks with a smug look on his face, “what are you talking about Isaac? I wasn’t jealous” I say stubbornly when I know I fully was, “mhmmm are you sure baby cause I’m pretty sure multiple people have told me they have caught you shooting daggers at Grace” Isaac says attempting to hold in his laughter but failing miserably, I look at Isaac appalled which makes him laugh harder “ was I actually?” I ask feeling bad about what I did to Grace,l mean sure I was jealous of how much time she was spending with Isaac, but she is a sweet girl and didn’t deserve that, “ Don’t worry tomorrow is our last study session, since I am also sitting that test tomorrow, so you can apologize then” Isaac said once again reading my like book. “We should probably go now” Isaac says getting up from my bed, “ go? Wait where are we going? I ask in confusion. “My house of course I can’t show up without you there, cause she won’t kill my whilst your there” Isaac says bravely and I slap his head at his words and he flinches, even though Isaac is only a softy for you he still has his jerk moments, “geez Y/N I was only joking, I just wanted us to finally be able to spend some time together” I blush from realization at his words.

Let’s just say Katherine wasn’t too mad when she found out why Isaac was skipping, a ‘hopeless romantic’ is what she called him, if someone told me a few years ago that Isaac Garcia was a hopeless romantic I would probably wouldn’t believe you.

[strawberryforks]

the cole walter effect // cole walter x reader

summary: you fall victim to the cole walter effect, then he, falls for you.

warnings: swearing

word count: 1850

a/n: requests/asks open and encouraged! <3

one look and you were a goner. two, and you were a blushing mess, sitting beside erin, your best friend. desks pushed up against each other, wondering what business letters had in maths class and what business cole walter had being so… so him, you toyed with the mechanical pencil in your hand, pushing the led in and out.

even acting like a jackass, cole had a sweet smile and was the king of gestures—grand or otherwise. hanging around him could light up you day (or darken it substantially depending on his mood) but mostly, cole walter made you feel special for however long you managed to keep his attention.

since he’d hurt his leg and lost his spot on the football team he’d been treating everyone awfully. you, erin, the dozens of other girls he led on, his parents, siblings, himself. it wasn’t like cole but it didn’t seem like there was much anyone could do…

you made a point to cherish the good moments even more.

when someone bumped into you in the hallways he scooped up your books and handed them to you. “sorry about that, y/n, some people don’t pay enough attention to their surroundings,” he watched the perpetrator retreat, glaring at their back all while helping you up.

when you two skipped school together and he brought you to his favourite spot. the sun beat down on the lake and reflected on your faces. “happiness looks good on you, sunshine,” he’d been trying out stupid nicknames all day and none of them stuck, not until then, you scrunched your nose and shook your head, laughing at him and he smiled back. you’d listen to that stupid nickname every day for the rest of your life if that was your reward.

and that time you got stuck walking in the rain. it was storming and you were supposed to be on your way to his house—to hangout with danny, but still. when you were late he cared enough to call your mom and when she said you’d left on foot fifteen minutes ago he was out the door in no time at all. he pulled up alongside you and let you climb into his truck even soaking wet. “sunshine, you’re shaking,” you were, you were drenched and chilled to the bone. “here.” he shrugged off his jacket, gave it to you, and cranked the heat. your teeth chattered while you thanked him and he brushed it off, said: “no worries; it’s nothing.” what he didn’t know is that it was everything.

you felt bad for cole walters and his devilish grin but you felt other things too. in that ooey gooey crush phase where a wink could turn you bright red and you treasured each and every conversation—dissected each word and then talked about it with your best friend.

“he’s pretty, i’ll give him that.” she said, giving you the sense that wasn’t all. “but?” you encouraged.

“but he’s kind of an ass and he stopped treating me right a long time ago. casual hookups are all he can offer, y/n.”

you’d be fine with that and you love erin but you don’t really believe her. no, it’s not that you don’t believe in her it’s just… you believe in cole. believe he can do better, be better, and be more.

still, her tone worries you. you know something’s up so you push a bit. you’ve known her since you were in diapers and cole was her off-and-on-again boyfriend for quite awhile. you have a crush on him but who doesn’t? falling prey to what dozens of your peers have dubbed the cole effect is almost easier than breathing in this tiny town. “are you sure you’re okay with—“ you gesture between you and then point out the window to where the eldest walter boy stands talking to his twin, danny. there’s no other way to explain it, really. there is no you and cole, you’re just hoping that one day there could be. erin looks out the window, “to clarify you’re talking about cole, right?”

you nod quick and when she seems relieved your mouth tumbles open. you gasp and erin’s hand flies to the back of her neck, cheeks turning red, “yeah,” she admits. “i’m suddenly only okay with you going after one of the walter boys.”

“you like danny!” you whisper-shout. “that’s fantastic, that’s just so great! i’ve known him for ages i can totally set you up. would it be okay if i gave him your number?” erin nods, grateful, and you can’t wipe the grin off of your face all day.

you see danny and rush over to him. you pluck his phone out of his hand and he messes up your hair with his hand, “i’m just putting erin’s number in!” you defend, “she’s interested in acting” and you, you omit, “and since you’re the best actor i know, i figured you could help her out!”

danny smiles and stuffs his hands into his pockets and shakes his head. he’s your other best friend, the one you tell all of your walter free drama. to spare his sanity, not once have you mentioned your massive crush or burdened him with your boy-problems. boy-problem, you corrected, seeing as there was only one. “you coming over after school?”

“only if you’ve got room!”

“we do. always. and see if your friend erin wants to come with.”

your excitement is palpable as you nod quickly. Then, you skip off to find erin, plans already forming in your mind.

You’re the first one to the car–you call shotgun and slide into the passenger seat, looking at cole. earlier, you’d slipped issac, lee, and nathan $10 bills to manoeuvre themselves so erin and danny would have to sit next to each other. To add insult to injury, or the cherry to your sundae of a master plan, you slip issac an extra $5. he sits with his legs spread and rests his elbows on his thighs hunched over. he sits his backpack beside him and when erin figured out where she had to sit–having only half a seat’s worth of space, you swear, she had a mini-aneurysm or something. you almost felt bad. erin glared but you played dumb you did feel bad. a little. until cole hit a bump and looking in the mirror you saw them holding hands. a victory, a smile, now it was your turn.

being cole walter’s friend was surprisingly easy. turns out, he just needed someone to really hear him. To really listen. Sure, to get to that point you had to push a little (but two shouting matches later and) “it’s just–there was all this pressure on me to make a comeback. I love footbal, i do, but it doesn’t change the fact that my foot is fucked. mom and dad spent all this money on my rehab and it’s still useless.” you hugged him tight, “but you’re not. Not useless.” he sighed, holding onto you, like the lifeline you allowed yourself to be. he didn’t believe you when you told him he was worthy, that he was good at things other than football, but maybe one day.

winning over cole took more attention to detail and care. care was the big thing–thoughtfulness, kindness, creativeness. cole walter does things for people and he doesn’t have to be asked or begged. you’re certain his love language is acts of service and yours is a combination of several. you like physical touch as much as the next person, gift giving, and quality time. when you combine all three? it’s his turn to blush.

you find field and pick a handful of flowers–all as close to his favourite colour you could find. you arrange them in a tinted and curved glass vase you found at the thrift and you write him a letter. when you deliver your gift, passing it over, your hands touch. “who’s this for?” he asks, confusion present on his face. He’s thinking maybe it’s for his mom, maybe parker?, when you tap your index finger against the envelope and he reads his own name. he’s caught off guard. he takes the gift, thanks you somewhat awkwardly and then walks off. (you think you failed until he returned the sentiment the next day and you found flowers in your locker)

the next thing that you do isn’t even intentional. you don’t do it to make cole like you more, it just happens that way. “Hey!” you shout, walking up to the new quarterback. “taking his number and flaunting it around like that–well that’s a real shit thing to do.” lake houses with colourful chairs aren’t made for confrontations like these. nor are you usually, not in front of your peers at least. but after a cup full of liquid confidence, well, you’re in the middle of a truth or dare game and things are about to get messy. you’re to his left and if he leans in the only kiss he’ll receive is from your knuckles. “i dare you,” he rolls his eyes, “i pick truth.” you scoff and when some of his friends laugh too, one crowing “what are you, scared?” he doesn’t budge. “truth, then. do you think you’re better than cole?” he gulps, “even with an injured leg he’s a better person and player than you could ever dream of being.” cole watches from the sidelines, ready to intervene if necessary but also… he’s thinking. thinking hard and wondering where the hell you came from.

he taught you how to ride horses, you taught him how to paint–painted him, actually, which his mom just thought was the best thing in the entire world. “she’s so sweet, george.” katherine told her husband, “she’s so good to him. just what he needed.”

you take the liberty of walking him to a few of his classes and he pays you back by driving you places–your home, his, issac jokingly called you cole’s passenger princess and the second eldest walter boy didn’t correct him. being cole’s anything gave you butterflies.

but still. the one step you wouldn’t take was the one that took him the longest–it was the label that stopped him, that scared him. the exclusivity (he hadn’t so much as flirted with anyone else since you two started hanging out more) and the fear of error, of messing up. a month later was when he finally asked you to be his girlfriend. the two of you went on a picnic (he cooked all of the food but didn’t tell you in case there was something there that you didn’t like) and brought you flowers and a letter. “who’s this for?” you asked, grinning. it was a full circle–one with a curved line and two dots inside of it. you were beaming and when you finished reading the letter you threw yourself into his arms. your hands found both sides of his face and you pressed your lips against his.

the cole walter effect got you, but you weren’t mad about it.

[coraline-jones353]

I'd Love to Dance with You

If you're going to reblog give me credit!

Prompt: Soulmate Au (You see each other in your dreams)

Pairing: Alex Walter x reader (girl)

Summary: After Jackie moved in with the Walters she really missed her best friend Evangeline. After hearing from Katherine that Jackie is having a hard time adjusting she thinks it's a good idea to pay her best friend a visit.

Warnings: angst, there will be a part 2 if anyone wants it!

Jackie had just finished talking to Evangeline and she knew she already missed her. She sighs as she goes back to living her new life and forgetting about her old.

She goes downstairs to see Katherine talking to Cole about his grades but as she comes in Katherine puts on a smile and seemingly forgets about the entire issue.

Jackie waves at the pair as she walks out the door, thinking a jog would do good for her busy mind.

But what she doesn't know is that the fight between Cole and Katherine was just a way to get her out of the house so they could continue planning.

They could tell that she was missing her old life. Katherine after overhearing a conversation of the two girls where Evie said she wished she could come to visit came up with a plan to make that happen. She will arrive tomorrow after school and stay for 2 months to help cheer up Jackie.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I can't wait to go see Jackie. I think as I pack the last of my bags for the trip. It had been paid for by Richard who wanted to help lift his nieces spirits. I was now on my way to the airport hoping Jackie wouldn't try to call me again and ruin the surprise.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jackie's school day has been so long. I had to just sit in her room and wait for her to get home, of course with the occasional asking if I wanted anything and me being polite, said yes to just about anything I wasn't allergic to.

I start to hear multiple footsteps so I know it is time to hide. Thank goodness for the fact that Jackie isn't one to hit you because you surprised her because this will surely make her jump.

As she walks in I hear her drop her bag on the floor and plop down on her bed in a huff. She seems tired or frustrated, I don't really know I hate trying to guess emotions.

I quickly and quietly open the closet door and plop on the bed next to her, "So what's got you all in a huff?" I say jokingly as I watch her jaw drop in shock. She quickly just pulls me into her embrace and I fear she won't ever let go. I just hold her while rubbing her back to soothe her.

After our beautiful reunion she walks me downstairs to meet the Brady bunch. I am terrible at names so I try to remember features or anything different about them. I categorized them by personality or something that made them stand out. Cole: arrogant, flirty, asshole. Lee: Skater boy. Issac: Lover boy. Danny: Actor. Andrew: musician. Parker: the only girl. Benny: the youngest. Will: The oldest/about to be married. Jordan: Why won't he stop filming me?!?!!?

Also why is their family so big!??! How am I supposed to remember all these names.

There was one other kid though. He came in late apologizing for his mistake and saying he didn't know he wouldn't make it in time for dinner. As we make eye contact I look at him shocked. Jackie has been telling me about her love triangle between Alex and Cole and now seeing him and noticing who he was I was freaking out.

Alex just sat down and kept staring at me and Jackie while I tried to avoid his eyes.

That night as I was brushing my teeth in the downstairs bathroom Alex came up behind me. I knew what he wanted to discuss but I just couldn't.

I turn to look at him after putting my tooth brush away and he just stays there staring at me. "I don't know what to say." I look at him puzzled that he decided that those would be the first words he says to his soulmate.

"I've imagined this moment; when I met you for so long. But I don't know how to proceed now that I know who you are. You and Jackie have a thing going on, i'm here to help her not make it worse."

Sincerely, Coraline Jones 🐈‍⬛

[julieloves074]

I'm yours (Alex Walter x Reader)

Summary: When Jackie comes to town your best friend, and childhood crush, Alex Walter falls head over heels leaving you left behind but when you attend Will's wedding with someone something changes...

Warnings: Swearing, kissing, heartbreak

Words: 6.1k

(Not my GIF :))

The day Jackie arrived in town was an interesting one to say the least. The Walter house was a second home to me all my life, growing up at the ranch next door meant I grew up chasing around the fields with the Walter kids.

It was during dinner at theirs, Walter games night, that Katherine announced her dearest friend had passed away in a car accident and her daughter was going to move in with them. The reactions around the table were mixed, but mostly everyone was just shocked. Over the next months there were whispers and chatter, but I was not prepared for what it would be like when she arrived.

“Morning,” Katherine says when I walked through the front door, her and George were putting on their shoes and jackets.

“Off to get Jackie?” I asked already knowing the answer, I was curious about her, it would be nice to have another girl around.

“Yeah, are you staying around for dinner tonight? It’ll be nice for Jackie to have another girl around today I reckon,” Katherine asked, quite literally reading my mind.

“That would be nice thank you,” I answered, and George let out a laugh opening the door, Katherine gave him an inquisitive look, one brow raised.

“I thought we were past asking each other stuff like that Y/n practically lives here,” Katherine and I looked at each other and burst into a giggle, he wasn’t wrong.

“Alright well we better be off, Alex is in the living room with Issac playing some kind of video game,” Katherine announced grabbing her coat and leaning over to kiss the top of my head.

I muttered back a thanks and headed deeper in the Walter house and to no surprise I found my best friend exactly where Katherine said.

“Y/n hey!” Alex examined practically jumping out of his seat

“Dude! Dude the game- we’ve nearly-” Issac stood with the remote but quickly slumped back down into his seat as the television made a noise to signify the end of the game, “What the hell Alex, that was the closest we’ve ever gotten!” he continued to complain.

“Y/n’s here,” Alex simply pointed out, that Goofy smile on his face, all his teeth showing in his grin.

“Yeah, yeah Y/n’s here,” Issac mocked rolling his eyes at his cousin but giving me a smile and a fist bump as he walked past.

Soon enough Alex and I found ourselves laying around on the sofa with snacks and a random film on. I suggested we head outside, I wanted to work on my tan but he said him and Cole argued again and he was out there with some of the other Walter siblings. I tried not to roll my eyes, I know these boys love and care for each other so why make it so difficult.

“Your parents out of town again?” he sat up to look at me, I reluctantly tuned my head away from the tv and put down the popcorn bowl on the coffee table.

“Uh yeah, they’ve got another showcase a couple towns over, won’t be longer than three days,” I answered, mom and dad were well known by their refined tastes, before I was born they started being judges in all kinds of food showcases all around the country, it all slowed down after I was born but they were still offered lots of positions and sometimes they just couldn’t say no.

“You’re more than welcome to crash here,” Alex said, some of his smile seemed to crumble a little. It’s not that my parents weren’t good parents we just weren’t as close as the Walters and that was that. Plus, I have school, even if I wanted to travel with them when they did it wasn’t always possible.

“Hey, I need to look after Daisy,” I said with a smile, my golden retriever could not sleep unless she’s  in one of our beds, “Plus everyone else is still there,” I said confidently kicking his leg to brighten his mood. Mom and dad offer a program where you can come live on the ranch and help with the work for a small wage and all accommodation provided, people who want to travel jump at the opportunity all the time, we have a waitlist, it’s nice being able to meet people from all around the world.

“You know I’m always here for you right?” He asked all serious, hand reaching out to touch mine, I gave him a smile and his hand a squeeze and pulled him into a hug. It felt different somehow these last couple of weeks. I’ve liked Alex, like liked Alex for as long as I could remember and recently it started feeling like maybe he liked me too.

“I know, I’m here for you too,” I whisper back.

“We’re back!” George’s voice announced to the house, Alex stayed sitting on the sofa, but I walked up to the doorway.

“Jackie this is Y/n, Y/n Jackie,” Katherine said with a bright smile. I gave the girl a smile, she looked exactly as I expected she would, beautifully luscious hair and clothes with a scarily perfect posture.

“Hi,” I said reaching out my hand,” I live next door but half the time I swear I spend more time here,” I laugh, and a smile appears on her face, and she shakes my hand.

“Oh, and this is Alex,” Katherine says as we walk past the living room, my eyes go to him like muscle memory, but his don’t even glance my way, he’s looking at her. I feel something then near my heart, a new kind of pain, but I put on a brave smile.

“Theres still two bags in the car would you mind getting them?” George asked Alex who shook himself slightly out of his trance. He stood quickly and headed towards the front door.

Unsure what to do with myself, this was a new feeling, I followed Katherine and Jackie to the kitchen, she poured us some lemonade when her phone started to ring, and she excused herself. From what I gathered she was being called for a job, Katherine was incredibly hard working and did not get half the recognition she deserved.

She apologised and said she was needed for an animal emergency. The job of showing Jackie around was passed onto me and Will who had just walked through the door and introduced himself.

We headed outside and finally I was blessed with the rays of sunshine dancing on my skin, the weather was truly magnificent. Will continued pointing everyone out to Jackie and I looked at each of the Walters outside in turn, I really was lucky to be surrounded by these people, and Jackie would soon know that she ended up with the most loving people in the world.

“Who’s that?” she whispered to me when a certain blonde, very dramatically, flipped back his hair and climbed out of the pool. I shook my head turning to see her practically gaping at him and let out a giggle.

“That’s Cole, the big flirt of the town,” I explained, her eyes never left him.

“Do you want to introduce yourself?” Will asked, he was too busy answering Parker’s question to hear Jackie and I.

Cole sat back on one of the lounge chairs brushing his hair back with one hand, the other already resting under his head. He opened his eyes ever so slightly to look in our direction, “She’ll figure it out,” he said in that teasing Cole voice.

“Told ya,” I continued, and Jackie laughed, I looped my arm through hers, ‘I’ll show you to your room then,”

“And Cole and I will start brining up your belongings right?” Will commanded more than questioned, Cole let out a groan but got up.

After a few minutes Alex had bought up Jackie’s other two bags and started helping Cole bring up her boxes of stuff which there seemed to be a lot of. I sat there with Jackie helping her unpack her suitcases and giving her some insight into town and the school. I had to watch both the Walter brothers try to make her laugh and shine their beautiful eyes at her each time they interchangeably came up.

“So, are you related to the Walters or?” She asked when Alex left after dropping off another box, I couldn’t help but let out an audible laugh.

“Oh no, no, I’ve grown up next door so basically know them since we were all in diapers, but no not related” I explained and she nodded, placing some stationary precisely on her desk, “So if you ever needany blackmail let me know,” I whispered and we laughed together. Katherine was right, I hope I was making this easier for her.

Katherine arrived back in time for dinner, George prepared a barbeque, Alex and I set up some tables outside and bought paper plates. It almost seemed like any other dinner apart from the fact that Alex spent almost all of it staring or talking to Jackie. He wasn’t the only one though. Cole. This was my new reality I realised and start bracing myself mentally.

Even with the family’s insistence I left right after dinner with the excuse that I had some last minute homework I needed to finish for tomorrow’s English class. It had been a long day, and I just needed some space to process and breathe.

I was almost to the gate when Alex ran up to me, “Hey you alright?” he asked walking alongside me, I nodded and told him that I still needed to finish reading that one short story, which was true, and before he could tell me to just read his copy hear I asked him a question.

“What do you think of Jackie?”

“She’s, uh, she seems really nice,” he almost seemed a little flushed, “I’m excited to get to know here, I think she’ll like it here,” he said, “What about you? You guys seemed to get cozy gossiping away”

“She seems lovely, this obviously isn’t easy for her, it’ll be nice to have a girl my age around the ranch,” I said honestly, things were going to be different now, so I just had to learn to roll with it and make the best of it, even though I see exactly how this is going to play out, I need to gossip with Danny about it, see if he agrees.

***

It’s been just over two weeks since Jackie has arrived at the ranch, and so far things have been pretty normal, if not better. We hung out every day, I showed her around school, we avoided Erin together and I introduced her to Tara and Skylar, but her and I got close quickly.

I had to finish my group project with my science class mates and it was the worst experience of my life, they were all absolutely useless, as much as we aren’t really fond of each other I’d hope they’d be able to put those feelings aside just to finish this project but no, they like to make things difficult. Now I wanted nothing more than to flop on Alex’s bed with some ice-cream and complain about it for half hour whilst he tried and is mostly successful in making me laugh.

My plan was not going to go quite as I wanted though, I walk through the farm’s beautiful, wooden gates only to hear Alex and Jackie talking. At first I reminded myself to not think anything of it, they too were starting to become good friends, which was good- so why did it hurt hearing her laugh that enchanting, contagious laugh from inside the barn that contained the loft. Kid’s heaven as we liked to call it. Alex and I called it our getaway when we needed to talk about something serious, it was also a non-judgement zone.

I approached the barn cautiously in hopes of not being spotted, this wasn’t spying it was- information gathering to make the best possible choices going forward. Who am I kidding this was stupid, I needed to walk away or make myself obvious. Running a hand through my hair I turned to walk towards the house, maybe Katherine was around.

“Spying are we y/n/n?” Cole asked, causing me to jump slightly, one of my hands landing on my chest.

“Jesus Cole I’d like to live to my thirties- at least,” I let out wacking him on the arm, he let out a laugh, one too similar yet so different from Alex’s, yet his knowing glance didn’t change, “No I was not spying I just didn’t want to interrupt,” I said defensively brushing past him.

“Whatever you say…” he started, managing to get perfectly in step with me, “Suppose I don’t need to tell you then,” he continued to tease. I kept my sight ahead of me, lips pursing together, running my tongue over my front teeth, I would not give him the satisfaction.

Cole found out about my little thing for Alex from Erin, her and I used to be best friends before she became ‘popular’ she used the information to get Cole’s attention in the first place, but this didn’t mean I needed to give Cole the power now.

We kept walking towards the house in silence, it was eating away at me and my lack of patience. I let out a huff as we got onto the porch, “What were you going to tell me?” I asked reluctantly.

“Oh how I could bully you right now,” he clasped his hands together mischievously and I turned away from him to go into the house, “Okay, okay,” he said grabbing hold of my arm and pulling me back towards him, we both leaned over the railing.

“He likes her doesn’t he?” I asked even though I already knew the answer, I could see Cole nodding his head in the corner of my eye. Damn how quickly Alex Walter fell.

I turned to face him; he kept looking out at the fields.

“You like her too,” I said in a whisper, it was a realisation I hadn’t meant to voice out loud. He sucked in a deep breath.

“I mean I don’t really know her, she just moved her but-”

“You feel like you’ve known each other forever? There’s just something fascinating about her that you can’t let that little flame of hope give out?” I asked, completely monotone, I related too much to what I was saying.

“Wow we’re saddos,” he laughed nudging me to the side.

“Yeah we really are,” I said, leaning against the railing again.

“But you don’t want to hurt him do you? We don’t need a repeat of the Paige situation,” he tensed up at my words, even though Alex is my best friend all of the Walter kids are my friends and they’re all family. I know Cole didn’t know about Paige and everything was blown out of proportion. But the fact that it was all a miscommunication but we were still suffering the consequences now and we did not need another destructive wave.

“Come on lets crash their little moment,” he said changing the subject, refusing to talk about it, the normal playfulness of his voice gone. I sighed and nodded, we headed towards the barn in perfect time to see Alex brushing Jackie’s hair out her face.

“Uh-um” Cole’s voice beamed into the mostly empty building, both of them turned to us and stepped apart.

“Oh y/n I have to show you this new board game Jackie and I bought in an antique shop the other day,” he came towards me, turning around to smile at Jackie once more, “Don’t forget the book, it’ll be nice to talk to someone who actually likes the Hobbit,” he said playfully turning to me, “Unlike some who don’t appreciate the art,” he continued.

That comment should not have hurt as much as it did, it was a light-hearted joke but it felt like it was leaving a gap in my heart causing my heart rate to increase.

“I’ll see you in a bit Jackie,” I said with as much of a smile as I could muster, she nodded back, clearly not wanting to be left alone with Cole after the whole bleach situation, and the good friend part of my didn’t want to leave her stranded, but Cole is a good guy- for the most part- and he deserves a chance to apologise for his sometimes stupid behaviour.

Alex started to describe the game excitedly as we headed towards the house, we were walking up the stairs when a voice called from behind us.

“Hey, Alex, Y/n hold up! I’ll come play with you!” Jackie shouted jogging to come meet us, and that’s how I ended up playing a board game with the two of them subtly flirting for two hours before finally having a chance to excuse myself.

***

Mom and dad have never gone away over a holiday before, but this thanksgiving I was left all alone in our house. Or more accurately I was being left with the Walters. This was a different kind of travel though. My grandmother from my dad’s side was getting continuously worse but they didn’t want to interrupt my holidays and wanted to keep me in a routine, so they asked me to stay and took Daisy with them.

I had slept at the Walter house last night, Jackie and I fell asleep on the sofa watching Lemonade Mouth, I knew Jackie was dreading today and did not want to cook so I promised I’d cover for her and cook a plate in her honour instead while she went on her food delivery rounds. Little did she know her uncle Richard was coming to the dinner.

I wasn’t supposed to know either but I had accidently walked in when Katherine was on the phone to him and she did a little excited dance move when I assumed he agreed. I think this will be good for her, seeing a familiar face. Getting her to come back to the house for dinner without revealing the surprise was going to be harder.

I thanked Katherine for grabbing the supplies for some bacon-topped green bean casserole, mom’s favourite recipe and stepped into my chef era in the kitchen. My side dish can be eaten cold or heated up so I decided to cook before everyone else piled into the kitchen.

Singing along to one of my playlists I moved around the kitchen like it was my dance floor, I’m not a fantastic cook, but I’m not the worst so I just tried to make it fun whilst stimulating my short attention span.

I heard footsteps and a voice, not a great one, joining in. I smiled and looked up from the cutting board to see Alex dancing awkwardly around the kitchen island.

“Oh I love this song,” he enthused coming towards me, I tried to move away and resist, but he took the knife out of my hand cautiously and pulled me closer, both his hands in mine and we rushed around the kitchen singing our favourite song. I should have known the second this tune came on it would act as a whistle to the Walter boy.

He twirled me around five or six times causing me to get a little dizzy, we giggled like five year olds without a care in the world. Unfortunately, as the song came to end so did our moment. We stood there for a couple moments trying to catch our breaths. I couldn’t help but gleam.

One look at Alex’s red, out of breath face and I burst into laughter again.

“Stop it! Come on stop  it I need to breath,” he managed to get out between attempted breaths and laughter.

“Well, I didn’t know you were such a confident dancer Walter,” I said winking at him. He smacked my arm walking around to put some bacon in his mouth, “Leave it alone or we’ll have none for later,” I chided playfully.

“More of a confident dancer than a confident cook,” he said and I couldn’t agree with him more, “Thankfully mom has let me get away with just making the mash this year,” and we all thanked her for it.

“Do you remember that time you were trying to cook some chicken and somehow managed to get it spilt half over the floor and the rest drowning under the undercooked cheese sauce and almost gave both of us food poisoning?” I asked chucking a green bean into my mouth. He covered his eyes with his hands and sighed at the memory.

“How many times can I apologise for that? Also come on I was like twelve, how much can a twelve year old boy know about cooking?!” He asked running a hand down his face.

“Well, I’d assume more than that, your mom and dad are incredible cooks,” I said, then got interrupted when the phone on the counter started playing a happy tune, it wasn’t mine.

Alex picked up his phone to look at the caller before turning back to me, “Give me a sec just gotta answer this,” he said before sitting down and speaking into the phone. I run my hand over my nose and returned back to my station and cutting up the bacon into smaller slices, every now and then looking up to Alex, watching the smile that takes over his whole face, trying to guess who was on the other side of the phone even though deep down I think I already knew.

“Yes Jackie I’ll make sure to remind you about that later, okay bye,” he said followed by a laughter. My suspicions were confirmed and all of a sudden there was nothing more interesting in the room other than my cutting board, I was nearly done then I could get out of here for a couple of hours. If Jackie could so could I, especially considering I didn’t actually live here.

“I’m going to talk to her today, I’m going to tell her how I feel,” Alex announced bravely.

My hands stopped in motion, and I looked up at him, not quite sure I heard him right, “ You’re going to do what? Do you really think that’s the right thing to do? I mean especially now at thanksgiving when she’s missing her family and-” I started but cut myself off before I could ruin Jackie’s surprise for anyone else.

“Things have been going really well y/n, I thought you’d be happier for me if I’m honest,” a bit of his smile faded and I looked back down at my cutting board, throwing the rest of the bacon into my casserole.

“I just meant you guys live together, let’s say things go south, what happens then?”

“Why do you always have to be so negative about this, every time I talk to you about Jackie you get like this,” he was hurt, I could tell by the slightly change in his tone.

“I’m being realistic, you’ve got to think about the rest of the family as well,” I defended myself turning around to wash up everything I used I wanted to add you’ve got to think about me, how after all this time, when we too acted like that can you didn’t see me too.

He huffed and then just as his steps came closer they got further way, and with each beat my heart sunk further and further.

I spent the dinner watching him watch her, watching Cole watch her, and the whole debacle with her uncle go down and Erin sat two seats down from me- what was happening? How quickly do things go so out of control. He wouldn’t even spare me a glance, all of a sudden I felt invisible at the Walter table, which now I suppose that could happen effortlessly with purely the number of us.

We all sat in the living room later that evening, after Jackie decided she was going to stay, playing card games and laughing along to some general knowledge game show where people were barely ever right because the questions were so bizarre. Jackie left after a little while claiming she just needed some time to process this whole day.

What hurt was the way Alex followed her up a few minutes later like a lost puppy. I knew where he was going, what he was going to do and say, it was making me feel physically sick. Like someone was squashing both my stomach and my heart at the same time. I went to get some water. I took a few deep breaths while standing at the sink, but I still felt like I couldn’t breathe so I went out towards the barn. I sat on the fence and looked out onto the ranch, not allowing myself to look back at the house.

That wasn’t the worst of it though. I thought it couldn’t get worse, more painful, but never say never. Jackie called me up to her room later, I’m staying the night at the Walter’s for two more nights until my parents got back. Hearing her explain what happened in detail was much, much worse than sitting on the fence outside and imagining how it played out.

She sounded so excited talking about how they kissed and how he gave her this whole cute proclamation, she didn’t realise that every word, every description she gave me pushed a knife a little deeper into my heart. He took her to our spot where when the sun starts going down it shimmers perfectly between two tall trees. I nodded along and tried my best to feign excitement, but I couldn’t tell how good of a job I was doing, she was too caught up in her giddiness to notice if I was doing a shit job.

I knew it could be worse though I told myself, this whole explanation could be coming out of Alex’s mouth, and if it did I think I would actually, physically be sick. I couldn’t see him right now or talk to him. I needed to not be at the Walter house for a couple of days so I could avoid the incoming PDA.

I told Katherine one of the volunteers ended up coming back early after the holiday and that I offered to go spend the evening with them, so they weren’t alone, she wasn’t too thrilled about the idea but she let me go, I think she sensed my urgency but didn’t want to press. I think she probably knew more about what was at play here than we realised.

***

Over the next couple of weeks, the sight of Jackie and Alex became imprinted in my mind. I didn’t avoid either of them, but I didn’t go out my way to spend time with them either, mostly because they were always together and always touching, but it’s not like they showed much of an effort to reach out to me either. I knew of course that they were in the honeymoon stage, but I also knew the best way to stop breaking my heart was to limit contact.

When I realised that this thing was going to be a thing for a while I started reaching out to my other peers more, hanging out with new people in the time I used to spend with the Walter’s and Jackie. Turns out one guy from my science group was actually quite nice, and he wasn’t bad looking. No matter what he was not Alex but I could see myself being happy with Seb. We talked, called, and hung out more and more until we officially started dating, he agreed to attend the oldest Walter brother’s wedding with me which was kind of him since he didn’t really know any of them very well. I think that was why I was drawn to him; he was outside this bubble and I desperately wanted to get out too.

 “Aren’t you excited? You love the Walters,” Seb asked as we walked through the big wooden gate. My arm was looped through his. I took a deep breath and smiled, it was genuine, I was excited that Will and Hayley were finally doing what was going to make them happy and that we all got to be here to celebrate with them, in the place that we all love. Mom and dad already joined the Walter’s earlier to help set up.

We were met with the twins by the entrance to the field, and for today the wedding venue, many guests were already sitting down, Nathan sat on the other side of the gate tuning his guitar, I’m so glad they let him do this, it’ll be a memory he’ll hold for the rest of his life.

“You look beautiful,” Danny said as we got into conversation, Seb was seemingly finding many common subjects for them to talk about but my mind was distracted as I tried to stop myself from looking around and looking for him. Blue was my colour he’s said it himself many times before, maybe he’ll give me a compliment too, like he used to.

“Looking good Jackie,” Danny said as she came our way, mom said she basically planned this whole event by herself.

“You look great Jackie,” I added with a smile, she also wore a beautiful baby blue dress with a shoulder cover, her style choices never missed and whoever came up with the colour scheme should be given a bonus.

“You too Y/n, feels like I barely see you now a days, but we’re seated together so we’ll have the chance to catch up,” she smiled and reached out to hold me hand, “come on lets sit down we’re going to start in a minute”.  I called Seb and we went to sit down.

“Hi y/n you look lovely, Seb,” Alex came up to us to sit next to Jackie, we’ve talked here and there, and god did I miss him and his goofy smile. He put his arm around Jackie and we all talked a little, Seb’s hand landed on my knee and whilst usually it was quite nice right now it felt suffocating, like I was in a prison of my own making.

The actual wedding ceremony was beautiful, they both looked great and you could just tell by the glimmer in their eyes that they’re so in love. Everything was going smoothly until Cole’s speech, he didn’t do anything wrong, he was honest and spoke from the heart, whether I could believe entirely that it was just about Hayley and Will I wasn’t sure but who else but us kids would be able to tell.

It was during the speech that Alex started getting fidgety, I wanted to reach out and hold his hand, run my thumb over his skin soothing him  but I couldn’t, Jackie wasn’t helping much either, staring at Cole as if he’s some kind of god, eyes almost watering as he spoke.

Seb put his arm around me and I learned into him, my head on his shoulder eyes closed. When I opened them back up after Cole finished Alex was looking directly at me. I gave him a smile, but he looked away quickly.

 I regretted complimenting the flowers as soon as Nathan explained their meaning and Jackie’s and Cole’s eyes found each other like magnets again, but when I looked to Alex his eyes were once again on me, he put his arm around Jackie and whispered something in her ear, she nodded but her eyes were cautious, unsure.

The dancing began soon after, Seb quickly asked if I wanted to dance sensing the awkward atmosphere at the table, he wasn’t so good with dealing with awkward bless him. Jackie and Alex didn’t take long to join us, they danced closer together whispering in each other’s ears, his hand ran up and down her arm.

I couldn’t watch any longer, “I’m sorry, I need to just take a second,” I hurried out of Seb’s, who now looked very confused, arms and towards the house. I could hear him faintly asking if he wanted me to come but I couldn’t answer, I grabbed onto my chest trying to get myself to breathe normally. I hope my exit wasn’t as dramatic on the larger scale as it felt.

The downstairs bathroom was girl heaven in this house, the one place where all you could smell was some kind of flowers, every surface was constantly clean and it was a clear zone from the Walter boys.

“Y/n/n,” a voice asked followed by a series of knocks, I would know that secret pattern anyway, I wiped my nose again, I wanted to tell him to go away, I didn’t need him seeing me like this, pitying me. “Come on Y/n can we talk?”, after a few seconds he still stood there, waiting, “I know I’m idiot, please,” this time I could clearly hear the desperation in his voice.

I opened the door and leaned to sit back down on the side of the bath. I didn’t want to meet his eyes. He reached out for my arms and lifted me up, my gaze still on the floor. I wasn’t expecting him to pull me into the biggest embrace of my life. I frozen for a second unable to move, but I melted into the hug, my hands sound their way around his neck and he pulled me closer.

“I’m so sorry Y/n I’ve been an idiot, who didn’t know what good he had until he lost it,” he pulled away just enough to see my face, “and now I’ve made you cry, wow I really am the worst,” I chuckled at this.

“I ended things with Jackie, I think we were both pretending that we worked because we were both scared,” he said with contemplation.

“Scared of what?” I asked but it came out as a whisper.

He looked between both of my eyes, his hands unravelled from around me to secure a place on my face. We were so close I could feel his breath on me.

“To do this,” he whispered back and closed the gap between us, his lips met mine, my hands went to his waist and he pulled me closer and closer. When he pulled away it seemed like I was in some starstruck haze, we’d kissed before at some party playing spin the bottle but that was nothing compared to this.

“Will you forgive me? Can we start this over?” He asked hopefully. I wanted to immediately jump into his arms and kiss him again but then there was Jackie and Seb.

“What about Jackie?” I asked weakly.

“I think we both know her and Cole have had this connection from the beginning it, but I was her safe option, just like she was mine and Seb is yours, my god I couldn’t watch any time his hands came anywhere near you, knowing that should have been me, it could have been me all along,” he said and this time I went on my tip toes, arms around his neck and kissed him like I’ve never been kissed before. Now I would just have to figure out a way to tell Seb.

“Don’t think you’re completely off the hook for ditching me for a girl,” I said walking out of the bathroom with a glance over my shoulder.

“Oh no I know I’ve got to work for it, but where are you going I want to kiss you, I need to kiss you come back!” he called trailing behind me.

“I need to talk to Seb,” I said solemnly, though I’ve got to admit a wedding is the worst place for all of this to work out. Seb was very understanding, I think he could tell what was coming from miles away but wanted to give me the benefit of the doubt. We hugged one last time and he went over to talk to Danny and some of the others.

Jackie started walking towards the barn, Cole must have ran away too, I chuckled to myself, she turned around for a second meeting my eye. She gave me a bright smile and put up both her thumbs up at me, I put a thumbs up back, and that was how I knew we were okay.

“So you want to dance?” Alex asked pulling my attention back to him. I agreed but only if it was proper dancing not whatever weird arm tugging thing he was doing with Jackie.

And so we danced the night away, all of us kids being the last ones left out in the night. We sat around and talked, played board games in one of the tents till morning, it was finally like everything was in place.

I leaned my head on Alex’s shoulders as everyone started heading to bed. Now everything was in place.

MASTERLIST

[strawberryforks]

extra credit // cole walter x reader

summary: you and cole had a falling out. you’re not friends anymore but you still can’t sit back and watch him fail all of his classes—when you decide to tutor him, things are revealed, and things are fixed.

warnings: swearing, crying (this one has a happy ending don’t worry)

word count: 1730

a/n: requests/asks open and encouraged! <3

you hated cole walter more than was probably healthy. he broke your heart in fifth grade when he destroyed the science fair project you’d spent months working on and telling him about. family dinners were awkward as sin because even though you’d fallen out with the walters, your parents hadn’t… they owned a neighboring ranch and had know the walter family your entire life. so yes, you hated cole walter but you didn’t hate yourself which was the only reason you’d agreed to tutor him. your mom had begged you and your teacher mentioned that it would look good on your transcripts. in class, when you looked over and saw a red ‘f’ circled on the corner of his assignment, you almost felt bad. he’d shook his head and stuffed it into his bag. when the bell rang he was the first one out of his seat—you slung your bag over your shoulder and followed behind him, legs working twice as hard to catch up to his insanely long ones. “walter!” you shouted, “wait up!” he didn’t slow his pace but lee turned and tilted his head to the side. “not you.” you dismissed. “cole!” you tried again. this time he stopped. In the middle of the hallway teeming with teenagers, all in a rush to get home, he stopped. cole turned around and his blue eyes were full of confusion. it made sense, his apprehension, because you hadn’t spoken to him directly in years. yeah, you could hold a grudge. he looked side to side, almost expecting there to be another person with the same name. when there wasn’t, he gulped. “y/n/n?”

it was your turn to gulp. you hadn’t been called that in quite sometime. not by someone who mattered—who had mattered so much to you. “just y/n please.”

cole nodded and muttered his apologies, he could give you that much. “do you need a ride?”

“i need to talk to you, but we can do that in the car if you’ve got room.”

cole nodded and left through the double doors heading out to the student parking lot. He cast glances over his shoulder checking that you were still there and not a figment of his imagination. He opened your door and you scoffed but slid in anyways. “Thought I called shotgun!” Issac yelled, knocking into the passenger door before sliding into the back. cole shot him a look—one that said ‘shut up’ and he did. lee slid in beside him and then alex. the rest of the boys climbed in as well. you peaked over the back of your seat, meeting issac’s gaze. “sorry ise, i had no idea. we can swap spots if you want.”

“he’s fine,” cole said. he reached across you, grabbed your buckle, and plugged it in. “i could’ve done that,” you grumbled. cole didn’t care. he cranked the tunes, you switched the station and because you were talking to him, because you hadn’t in so long and he’d quite literally dreamed of this moment, he let you. he sat and listened to the shitty station you chose with a smile. danny bumped your shoulder on the way in and in the living room, you sat close to alex. your legs touched and though you thought nothing of it, cole was far from happy. alex whispered in your ear, “stay here for a second, i’ve never seen cole so red in the face.” you rolled your eyes, “i don’t need to make your brother jealous, alex. one—you have a girlfriend,” jackie was at one of her friend’s houses, “two, i’m not interested, and three, you guys don’t need another reason to fight. you hit him last time and i bet he’s itching to get even.”

cole passed you a glass of juice—your favorite and when his hand was empty he grabbed your arm and pulled you up. “what did you need to talk about?”

you weren’t stupid, you knew that was his way of getting you away from his brother. you didn’t care, though. you followed him and instead of leading you to his bedroom he took you out to the loft. you two had spent plenty of time together out there and you wondered if that was intentional. you climbed up and sat down, balancing on your favorite beam. cole inched closer, so he could reach you if he needed to. below there was only hay, but still, he was nervous, “i hate it when you sit there.”

“i know,” you said, but didn’t move, and that was that. “what’s up?” he asked softly.

“your hair. the middle part, i don’t like it.”

subconsciously he drug a hand through his blond locks then he saw a smile split your cheeks. you started laughing and he rolled his eyes. “had me ready to ask my mom for a haircut, y/n. not cool, not cool.”

this, you two, it felt too normal. too comfortable. too right. it was hard to remember that you were mad, let alone why.

you coughed a little, cleared your throat. “your grades, cole. they’re bad. i mean they’ve never been good—but you’ve really fallen off.”

cole’s smile flattened but you considered your small verbal assault “even when you were busy with football and with me it was never this bad, so what’s going on?”

“it’s not like i can go to college. football was all i had, it was my way out. when i lost it i had nothing, y/n. the only reason i haven’t dropped out is—“

“is because katherine and i would kill you?”

“i didn’t know you cared.”

“oh my lack of caring is not the problem here. it’s never been so don’t even start.” you take a breath, “ms jacobs said you’re doing bad in everything and worse in english—not in those exact words, so don’t start pouting or anything. i went around and talked to your teachers and got the work you missed, what they’re willing to let you redo, and extra credit assignments. so, get to work. i’m officially your tutor and no one i’m tutoring is getting anything less than an eighty.”

cole groaned when you handed him the pile of work but when you divided it by subject and deadline it was less overwhelming. the two of you worked in tandem for hours. he wrote, you edited. he attempted problems and you corrected them it he was wrong—explaining how to fix things. you went over formulas until he swore they were permanently burned into the backs of his eyelids.

“we’ll call it a night.” you decided when a quarter of the pile was completed. “you write an essay tonight and email it to me—i’ll edit it for you. the rest we can do when we meetup another day.”

“okay.” cole insisted on helping you down, and then when you turned to head out the driveway he grabbed your arm. “where are you going?”

“home.” you said.

“stay the night. you can take my bed and i’ll sleep on the couch. it’s dark and walking alone, especially at night, isn’t something i want you doing.”

“cole.” you warned.

“i don’t want anything to happen to you.” more than anything it was a confession. “stay for dinner at least, if you still want to leave i’ll drive you home. if you’re dead set on walking, i’ll walk with you.”

you couldn’t argue with that, not when kathrene and george were such great cooks. you headed inside and cole pulled an extra seat up to the table for you. “just you tonight, y/n?” george asked.

“yeah. mom and dad are at home, i just came over to help cole with… uh…” you didn’t know if all of his siblings and parents were aware of how he was struggling so you opted to say nothing. “with my truck,” cole supplied when his mother pinned him with a glare full of suspicion. “i love your outfit,” you tell parker when she passed you butter to twirl your corn through. cole passes you the salt before you can think to ask and it’s nice that he remembers these things. a smile tugs at the corner of my lips. small but bright.

after dinner you give in. you agree to sleepover and decide that you’ll take the bed and cole can sleep on the couch. when you’re settled in his room he leaves. you’re about to go to sleep, blankets piled on top of me and a smell that is so uniquely cole all around me when something catches my eye. it’s… it’s your project. you stand quick and cross to the closet, pulling it down carefully. the project he ruined in fifth grade is all there—glued back together. it’s perfect. you cry. it’s like you can’t stop crying. relief, anger, sadness, happiness, the emotions all slam into you with such force. tears trail down your cheeks and the wetness is still there when you find cole staring up at the ceiling, on the couch. he stands up quick—you’re upset, crying and he hates it. he doesn’t know what to do, what happened, how to fix it. you wrap your arms around him and squeeze. with your face buried into his chest you sob, “cole you fixed it,” it’s then that he finally clues in. “i couldn’t fix us so i… i fixed that. i never meant to break it.”

“i’m sorry!” you cried—loud and quiet at the same time. “no i am. i should’ve tried harder to explain myself,”

“i should’ve let you, cole. i never gave you a chance.”

“will you? give me a chance?”

you nodded. having cole back was the best thing that’d happened to you in a long time. family dinners became less awkward, you hungout with the walters more and a few weeks later, when it was time for the semi-formal dance, he asked you. picked you up in his truck (it was fixed and working great), gave you flowers, and spun you around all night. you held onto his arm, chatted, and at the end, you two stood outside under the stars, not quite ready to say goodbye or goodnight.

“i love you.” he said—it suprised you but not too much.

“i think i love you too.”

"you think you love me?" he asked with a teasing smile. “what if I kiss you right now? would that make it fact?"

you nodded, your lips met, and then the night was perfect. the project was fixed and so were you and cole. your best friend was now your boyfriend and you couldn’t be happier.