#katseye imagines

[edamameimei]

falling isnt that bad

"baby, you are really something else 'cause i don't think i have smiled like this before. when i spend my time with you it tends to stop. honey, being around you is all i need."

pairing: megan skiendiel x gn!reader (university au)

synopsis: having a crush on one of the most popular girls on campus had to be the dumbest thing you've ever done. but megan's idea to help you be with her has to be even dumber.

feat: yunjin from le sserafim, keeho and intak from p1h

tags: just pure fluff for those enjoyers <3 university au, reader is a simp as per usual. CW: drinking, kissing, lots of swearing lol suggestive themes so MDNI!

an: just want to put out there that this is NOT A REAL portrayal of the people mentioned in this fic. all events are fictional and are for entertainment purposes only.

wc: 5903

now playing: honey - boypablo

“No.”

You turn away from Megan, an amused smile on your face as you hear her groan from behind you. You continue to make her coffee, trying to be as quick as possible before your boss finds you giving your best friend yet another free drink. 

“Y/n! Come on, it’s foolproof!” You shake your head, pouring the espresso inside the plastic cup. “Well, too bad you’re kind of a fool, Mei,” You say through a chuckle. As you finish her coffee, you already know there will be a pout on her lips once you turn around. You put a lid onto the cup, spinning around to prove yourself correct. Megan had her arms crossed on the counter, a giant pout on her face. You place the coffee cup in front of her, turning around to clean your station. “Don’t you wanna get her attention?” You wipe down the counter and roll your eyes at her question, shaking your head. “No, I’d rather be pining forever than do that.” You turn back around and lean against the coffee counter. “Also, weren’t you the one complaining a few days ago about how we haven’t hung out in forever?” You ask, wiping the remnants of ground espresso beans off your hands. 

Megan takes a sip of her coffee, shrugging. “That would be us hanging out, wouldn’t it?” You snort, raising an eyebrow. “Us fake dating is not the hanging out I want to do this weekend.” You say, throwing the dirty rag you used at her head. Megan frowns, allowing it to collide with her face and fall onto her lap. She grabs it, throwing it back at you, her frown growing even more when you catch it with ease. “Dude, her birthday party is literally the perfect opportunity to do something like this!” She takes another sip from her coffee, adding, “I also think it would be a funny bit. Like, a silly goofy prank, y’know?” 

You walk around the counter, claiming the seat next to your best friend. You give her a pleading look. “Megan we are not going to fake date at Yunjin’s birthday party this weekend, okay?” You stare at her, waiting for her to respond but she only gives you a sly smile. It makes you roll your eyes again, grabbing her shoulders to shake her gently. You speak frantically, “Megan Skiendiel! We are not going to fake date at Yunjin’s birthday party this weekend, say it with me!” You continue shaking her and she pushes you, scoffing loudly. “Fine. We are not going to fake date at Yunjin’s birthday party this weekend.” You sigh in relief, letting go of your best friend. You give her a small smile before getting up from your seat. 

“We’re gonna have fun, okay? No crazy Megan ideas.” She nods, saluting you playfully. You give her one last hug before turning away. You walk back to the coffee counter to continue doing your job and as you do, you miss the way Megan smirks to herself, hiding it with another sip from her drink. 

The birthday party is already in full swing when you and your friends walk into the loud atmosphere. You scrunch your nose as your senses begin to be overwhelmed by the smell of cheap beer and sweat. You aren’t a party person by any means, you were mostly a homebody. But it was Yunjin’s birthday and there was nothing that could stop you from attending. Your heart races when you think about how Yunjin invited you personally, handing you the invite with a sweet smile. In her own words, she told you she “hoped” for you to be there. And now that you are, you kind of want to go home. 

You watch Megan run excitedly toward the kitchen, pulling Lara behind her as Manon and Daniela follow them to make a drink as well. You’re about to follow suit but a hand grabs your wrist and it causes you to widen your eyes, turning around to face the culprit. Your mouth goes dry when you see Yunjin in a light pink dress that shows off her long legs. Her hair is curled at the ends and you notice how flushed her cheeks were. She looks at you, her brown eyes shining with happiness as she pulls you into a quick hug. It was so quick that you weren't able to react fast enough to hug her back. She pulls away, shouting over the music, “You came!” 

You nod, smiling shyly. You shout, “Of course! I wanted to celebrate you…” Her eyes soften, her hands finding yours and squeezing them. “You’re so sweet, Y/n. I’m so happy you’re in my life.” She slurs her words a bit and you’re not too surprised. It was her birthday party after all, she has every right to let loose tonight. She hooks an arm around your neck, pulling you close. The action makes you feel light-headed, especially when she leans close to your ear, her breath hot against your skin. She giggles, “Chaewon said she wanted to talk to me later… I’ll let you know what she says!” 

Your face falls slightly at the mention of Chaewon. You shouldn’t be disappointed– you’ve known about Yunjin’s crush on Chaewon since the semester started. But you can’t help the way your heart aches when you remember. You open your mouth to respond but you feel a hand slide into yours, pulling you close to their side. Yunjin stumbles back as you are removed from her hold, a frown forming on her lips. You give her an apologetic look, not bothering to see who the intruder was. You knew Megan like the back of your hand, you knew her just off touch alone.

Yunjin’s small frown is removed when she sees the Chinese girl and waves excitedly, her eyes widening. “Megan! It’s so nice to see you!” You hear Megan laugh beside you, letting go of your hand to hug your arm. She rests her head against your shoulder and you instinctively pat the top of her head. You are a bit annoyed, but the soft spot you have for Megan makes the feeling go away shortly. You attempt opening your mouth again to speak but your thoughts are once again cut off by Megan who says a statement that makes you want to implode on the spot. 

“Yeah. I was just checking on my partner.” 

You whip your head toward her, your eyes wide. You look back at Yunjin who looks just as shocked as you. The Korean girl asks, “You guys are together now?!” You’re speechless. You look back at Megan who only rubs your arm, shouting, “Yeah! Super in love!” 

You rub your face with your hands as you pace the empty bedroom you dragged Megan into after the very awkward interaction with Yunjin. She sits on the bed, looking up at you with amusement. You stop in front of her, pointing a finger. “What did I say earlier?!” The Chinese girl raises her hands in defense, her eyes lit up with a glint of playfulness. “Y/n… Trust me! She’s gonna get so jealous that she’ll be all over you in no time!” You groan, throwing your head back dramatically as you reply, “Mei! I told you no crazy Megan ideas!” You look at her, exasperated as you continue, “This! Is a crazy Megan idea! And I told you! I am totally okay with pining for the rest of my life!” Megan stands up, placing her hands on your shoulders. She tilts her head and looks at you with sincerity in her eyes. She whispers, her eyes teasing, “Well. That’s stupid.” You push her away, rolling your eyes. 

You begin pacing again, your mind racing with thoughts. You wave your hands around as you speak, “It’s not stupid! Huh Yunjin is literally the girl everyone dreams about being with!” You stop for a moment, pinching the bridge of your nose. “She’s in love with Kim Chaewon! Your plan! Is stupid! Like always!” Megan crosses her arms, biting her lip to contain the giggle that wants to escape her lips. “I’m so glad you’re staying calm right now.” The deadly look you give her makes her realize that maybe you were just a little bit pissed off. She uncrosses her arms, walking toward you slowly. She wraps her arms around you, placing her head on your shoulder. 

You knew what she was trying to do and it was kind of working, sighing as you wrapped your arms around the girl. You whisper, “You really think this would work?” She pulls away, her eyes glistening a bit with tears as she nods. You can’t help but feel bad. You knew Megan was only trying to help– that’s all she ever wanted to do. She always just wants you to be happy. You rub her back comfortingly, finally giving in. “Okay, okay. God! Okay!” You close your eyes, taking a deep breath. You open them, looking at Megan with a small yet exasperated smile. “Okay... You can… Be my fake girlfriend, I guess.” She squeals, pulling you back into a tight hug. She jumps excitedly and you allow her to do so, leaning your head back with a slight deadpanned expression. 

When she finally pulls away, she looks at you with her whisker dimples, a happiness in her eyes that makes you go soft. She extends her pinky out to you. “If this goes incredibly wrong, I’ll buy you ice cream.” You shake your head, connecting your pinky with hers. “And if this somehow, surprisingly, goes right, I’ll buy you ice cream.” 

Your arrangement officially begins after the weekend ends. 

She climbs into your car, a wide smile on her face and it annoys you immediately. You just know she’s been plotting. When you start driving toward campus, you feel her grab your hand, lacing your fingers together. Your other hand grips the steering wheel. Megan always held your hand, especially when you drove her to campus, but now that she’s your fake girlfriend, you can’t help but feel the action has an ulterior motive. You are proven right when you see her pull out her phone from the corner of your eye. “Are you being for real right now?” You ask, keeping your eyes on the road. She giggles beside you, replying, “Come on, Y/n. It’s just for jokes. It’s all a part of the plan, trust the process.” You glance briefly at her, seeing her trying to take a picture of your connected hands. You look away with a roll of your eyes. She finally lets go of your hand after taking the perfect picture to post. 

But you weren’t quite satisfied, for some reason. If you were going to go along with this, you might as well go bigger than just holding her hand. You grab her hand again, saying, “Wait. Take it like this.” You bring her hand to your lips, kissing it. Your lips linger on her skin to allow her time to take a picture. She giggles loudly which causes you to smile against her hand. “Take the damn picture, bro!” Megan pulls her hand back, her laughter ringing throughout the car. “I did! I did!” She speaks as she types out her caption, talking in a high-pitched voice, “When they drive you… to campus… heart emoji…” You snort, covering your mouth. Your words are muffled as you speak, “This is fucking goofy.” She only smiles in response, shrugging, “Look. We gotta do all the couple-type shit, y’know? Drive Yunjin crazy…” You nod, repeating back, “Drive Yunjin crazy. Gotcha.” 

No one is surprised when you walk into the Performing Arts building with Megan’s hand in yours. Every week you walk in together, it’s not breaking news. It wasn’t even shocking when you had Megan’s dance bag swung over your shoulder. The Chinese girl knows this and knows she is going to have to try harder for people to be more interested. How else would Yunjin go crazy over the idea of you and her together? It had to be something everyone talked about. Especially amongst their small performing arts community. If every Performing Arts major knew about you and her, then there would be no possible way to avoid it. 

Megan whispers to you as you walk together toward the dance room. “Put your arm around me.” You look at her, your eyebrows raised. “Excuse me?” She pokes your side causing you to yelp in surprise. She lets go of your hand and whispers again, her tone much harsher, “Put your arm around me, bitch!” You quickly obey, putting your arm around her. She leans up, kissing you on the cheek sweetly. You fight back the urge to roll your eyes. You instead pull her closer to your side, putting on a faux smile. When you finally reach the dance room, you hand her the bag with an annoyed expression on your face. “This is so stupid.” She sticks her tongue out at you. “You’ll thank me later, I promise.” Before walking inside, she leans up, kissing the corner of your mouth. It happens so fast that it gives you whiplash. Megan tells you a quick goodbye and skips into the dance room, leaving you alone with wide eyes. You look around and notice several of the performing arts students staring. You look down, putting your hands in your pocket as you speed walk away. 

“You and Megan are together?” You look up from your notebook with wide eyes. Keeho looks at you with a mischievous glint in his eyes. Your cheeks began to burn, looking back at your notebook. You try to continue taking notes as you ask,  “How’d you find out?” He slides his phone toward you and you glance at it. It was a group chat amongst his group of friends. A message from Intak catches your attention. 

Intak: i saw meg n yn kiss in the hallway…… iktr 

You chuckle nervously. Of course, the tiny kiss near your mouth looked less than innocent from another point of view. And you knew that was a part of Megan’s plan. You slide Keeho’s phone back toward him, shrugging. “Oh, yeah. We’ve been together for a minute. We recently just started being public about it though…” The lie rolls off your tongue with ease. It was the story you and Megan came up with the night before. There was also a bottle of wine involved, but that’s irrelevant. Keeho raises his brow, leaning back in his seat. “I thought you were like. In love with Yunjin, no?” The mention of Yunjin causes you to freeze, your heart beating rapidly. You clear your throat and try to think of a response.

“I had a crush on her but it wasn’t that deep. I only talked about it recently so people wouldn’t be nosy about Megan and I,” To add to the story, you quickly say, “People kept asking about us since we were already so close… So…” You look up from your notebook to see Keeho nodding. “Yeah, that makes sense. I always thought you and Megan were gonna be a thing eventually.” His statement surprises you. You tilt your head, curious. “Wait, really?” He chuckles and crosses his arms, giving you a knowing look. “Yeah, dude. You two are always together. She follows you around like a lovesick puppy. I’m surprised it took this long, to be honest.” You let his words sink in. 

It sounded so silly. You’ve known Megan for years and never thought for a moment that the girl would like you romantically. She is always so affectionate with her friends– so lovable with a lot of love to give to everyone she meets. You lean back in your seat, slightly in disbelief at how ridiculous the whole thing is. “Well! Look at us now!” You find yourself saying. Keeho laughs and you just hope he doesn’t see right through the lie. 

It’s been a week into your arrangement and you can’t help but feel that Megan’s plan was actually working. 

It was a long week of posed Instagram stories, posts, and a lot of Megan directing your every move. It was irritating at first, but as the week comes to an end, it has become somewhat fun. You began to become more comfortable with the idea of fake dating. It really was just another one of your inside jokes with Megan and everyone was eating it up. It often made you giggle with Megan as you two scrolled through the comments of a post you two made, all of them gushing over how adorable you were together. What made it even better was when Yunjin would watch the stories, giving you a bit of hope that maybe it was making her feel some type of way. 

Your delusions are fed even more when Yunjin texts you, asking if you’d be down to study for exams together. After walking Megan to class, you hurriedly make your way to the library where Yunjin waits for you. You find her sitting at one of the tables and you walk up to her, an apologetic smile on your face. “Sorry I’m late, I walked Megan to class and lost track of time.” Yunjin waves you off, smiling gently. “It’s okay! I’m happy to see you.” You can’t help but feel giddy at her words. You sit down in the chair across from her and begin unpacking your stuff. Yunjin opens her laptop to begin working on her assignment. “You and Megan are really cute together…” She sighs, her eyes kept on her screen. “You seem like a good partner.” You pause for a moment, slowly setting your textbook down on the table as you try to remain nonchalant, “Really?” 

She giggles, looking away from her laptop. She looks at you with admiration. “Yeah. You’re always walking her to class, driving her to campus, taking her places… I wish I had someone like that. Someone who just genuinely likes my company.” Your eyes soften at her admission. Without thinking, you respond, “I like your company.” You watch as she looks away from you, a faint blush on her cheeks that doesn’t go unnoticed by you. She bites her lip as if deep in thought. You open your mouth to ask if she was okay but she finally speaks, her usually loud voice going soft. “I… Too bad you’re taken though.” You stare at her, her words making your mind go blank. You clear your throat, looking down at your unopened textbook. You bite your lip, trying to contain your smile. You whisper, “Yeah… Too bad.”  

Two weeks pass and you find yourself sitting cross-legged on Megan’s bedroom floor, your whole body warm due to the trend Megan convinced you to do to continue moving the plan in motion. 

Megan swats at your arm, causing you to wince slightly. You grab it, rubbing the area with a frown on your face. “You need to stop moving around!” You glare at her, scoffing. “Well, my bad! It’s not like I’ve never been in this situation before!” And you weren’t lying. After cuddling in her bed for hours, scrolling through TikTok, you two come across a trend that you refused to participate in. Megan on the other hand thought it would be perfect. And once the Chinese girl gave you her puppy eyes, you knew you’d be fucked. 

You widen your eyes as she straddles your lap, her legs on either side of you. She places her hands on your shoulders, looking down at you with a small pout. The way she looks at you makes your heart beat rapidly. Her eyes twinkle with mischief and she pulls back her bottom lip with her teeth. For some reason, your head spins. The warmth throughout your body begins to burn as she whispers, “Do you trust me?” Your mouth goes dry as you nod. You’d trust Megan with your entire life. Sure, she was a bit of an impulsive person. She rarely thinks before acting and she gets you into precarious situations that you often have to resolve with no help whatsoever. But, it’s why she was your best friend. She kept you on your toes and made your life a million times more exciting. Without Megan, you’d probably be bored out of your mind, doing absolutely nothing but studying and continuing longing to be with Yunjin. 

Oh, right. Yunjin.

Your cheeks burn at the thought of the other girl. You had completely forgotten, for a second, that the reason why you were in this situation was because of your crush on Yunjin. It was small at first. You met her at a party that was being held by Sophia and the Filipina introduced you to her. You two clicked instantly, talking for the rest of the night. Without Yunjin there, you were sure you would have gone insane. Megan wasn’t able to go that night because she was too busy with assignments so Yunjin’s presence was honestly a gift from above. Soon enough, the crush on Yunjin began to evolve into something more. As you continued getting to know the Korean girl, meeting with her for coffee and random chats at night over the phone, you started to fall for her. 

After a few more months of hearing you yap endlessly about the girl, Megan’s plan began to develop in her head. And now here you were, being straddled by your best friend, and watching her reapply her very red lipstick. She puts the cap back on, placing it on the floor before her hands find your shoulders again. She squeezes them, looking at you with concern in her eyes. “This is… You’re not uncomfortable, right?” You shake your head and smile, ignoring the way your heart continues beating rapidly as you look at Megan’s lips. “No, not at all.” And to you, that was a big problem. You weren’t uncomfortable at all. If anything, if you were being honest, you were actually very okay with this. Megan smiles at you, her whiskered dimples on display. She takes a deep breath and leans close to you. Her lips ghost the shell of your ear and it sends a shiver down your spine. 

“Tell me if you want me to stop…” You close your eyes, feeling slightly nervous. You just nod in response because what the fuck else were you supposed to say? Suddenly, you feel Megan’s lips press against your cheek. And then they move somewhere else on your face. She pulls away slightly and giggles. Her hand reaches up to your face, tilting it to look at her work so far. “Cute…” She whispers and your cheeks flush. She leans back in, peppering your face with more kisses. The playfulness in her actions causes you to giggle in response, your hands finding her waist to pull her closer. She pulls away, only to lean back in to pepper kisses on your other cheek. Your arms wrap around her waist and you can’t help but laugh, scrunching your nose. She giggles against your cheek and squeals, “Y/n! Stop moving!” You tighten your arms around her, shaking your head. “It tickles! My bad!” She pulls away, still giggling. You smile up at her, noticing the way her lipstick is smudged.

You think about reaching up to swipe your thumb against her lips. Your mind races with more thoughts of what you’d like to do with Megan and it makes your smile falter a bit. There’s a feeling inside you that builds with every passing second. You know you should look away but you can’t seem to do it. You watch Megan’s lips part slightly as she lets out a shaky breath. Her eyes look into yours and for the first time ever in your friendship, you had no clue what was going through her head. You’re about to ask but without any preparation, she leans back down, pressing her lips against your neck. Your eyes flutter close, your arms tightening around her waist. 

You tilt your head, allowing her more access. She takes the opportunity, her lips against your neck moving slowly. Her teeth graze your skin slightly as she moves to the other side to give it the same treatment. You hum in response, biting your lip to stop yourself from letting out a sigh. You can’t help but think this was really strange. And it was even more strange because you were enjoying it. And what made it even fucking stranger was the fact it was Megan Skiendiel. Your best friend since forever. You knew this was a line being crossed but there was a purpose. 

There was a purpose, right? 

You’re so lost in your thoughts, so mesmerized by the feeling that you don’t even notice when Megan pulls away. You come back to reality when you hear her giggle loudly. She gets off your lap and reaches for her phone. She uses her free hand to grab your chin, positioning it for the photo. You sit there, a bit dazed as she snaps photos for God knows what social media platform. When she is satisfied, she stands up, still staring at her phone. “You look so cute, Y/n! This is gonna make everyone go crazy– Especially Yunjin!” She says the last part with a wink and bounces away, typing a caption on her phone. You stare at her, a bit dumbfounded. Your face and neck were littered with Megan’s lipstick stains and your whole body was on fire. 

What. The. Fuck.

It’s a month of fake dating Megan and you seriously begin to think you’re going crazy. 

The point of this arrangement was to make Yunjin jealous, realize her feelings for you, and eventually tell you. But recently, you’ve started to lose track of the plot altogether. 

Originally, you and Megan were doing things you always had done before fake dating. Holding hands, walking each other to class, and you two were always affectionate with each other. You never batted an eye at these interactions, passing it as you and Megan just being you and Megan. But as time passes, you begin to become more hyperaware. Especially after that day she basically assaulted your face and neck with her lips. At every social gathering, she would be perched on your lap, her arms hooked around your neck. Your arms would be loosely wrapped around her waist as you engaged with your friends, talking to them as if you weren’t pretending you were dating your best friend. 

There would be days when you and Megan would go somewhere together, just the two of you. There is no real reason to pretend but you find yourself wrapping your arm around her shoulder as you walk together down the street. You kiss her cheek when she does something adorable. The day before, you two went to get dinner together. You remember reaching over the table and grabbing her hand as she talked about her day. You watched her talk animatedly, her brown eyes lit up as she talked about her favorite part of the day. You also remember how your smile fell when you watched her take her phone out, snapping a photo of your connected hands. 

The plot. You’re doing it for the plot. 

The plot thickens at yet another party Megan drags you to. 

It wasn’t a party per se. It was a small gathering of some of Megan’s close performing arts friends. You insisted on not going but Megan convinced you with her puppy eyes (and she also promised that Yunjin would be there. “It would be perfect, you know?”) So, you sit in a circle with them, feeling a bit uneasy with Yunjin sitting next to you and Megan on the other side. The Chinese girl hugs your arm, watching the bottle in the middle of the circle spin. When Intak suggested the game, you immediately declined. But when you watched Megan join the circle, you couldn’t help the frown forming on your lips. It bothered you for some reason. Why was she so quick to join? Who was she trying to kiss? 

An ugly feeling gnaws at you as you squeeze yourself in between Yunjin and Megan. It grows as you watch it get closer to Megan’s turn and it feels somewhat out of control when you see her reach over to grab the bottle. Everyone watches her, a surprised look in their eyes. They didn’t expect her to participate since you and her were allegedly dating. But she confidently spins the bottle, oblivious to everyone’s stare. You watch the bottle spin in anticipation. There’s an annoying voice in the back of your head begging it to land on you. You try to shake it away but as the bottle begins to slow down, the voice gets louder. It begins to scream when it lands on someone who isn’t you. Your cheeks burn, looking at Megan with wide eyes. She looks at the person the bottle points at and as you feel her remove herself from your arms, your thoughts go into overdrive. 

You cup her cheeks, turning her head to face you. Without a second thought, you crash your lips against hers. After a few seconds, she begins to respond, her lips moving against yours. Her hand finds the back of your neck, pulling you even closer. She kisses you as if she were desperate– as if she had been waiting to do this for so long. You melt into the kiss, getting lost in the way her chapstick tastes. You feel a slight disappointment when she pulls away but then you remember you were very much in public. You sit back, embarrassed. Your face begins to burn even more when you hear Intak whistle loudly and you wish you could just disappear. As the game continues, Megan at some point leans over to you. She cups your ear and whispers, “Good job. I think you really sold it.” 

You simply just nod, murmuring, “Yeah. Sure.” 

You stand outside on the patio, needing fresh air. 

After your kiss with Megan, it has your mind reeling. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. You were supposed to be making Yunjin jealous. So why did it make you feel jealous to think that Megan would just kiss someone for a game? This was supposed to be a bit, a funny thing you and Megan would be able to look back on because it was so fucking ridiculous. But, it wasn’t funny anymore. It just left you confused with no idea of what you wanted. You hear the patio door open behind you and it makes you jump slightly. You turn around to see Yunjin who smiles at you apologetically. “Sorry, did you want to be alone?” You shake your head, gesturing for her to come stand with you. 

She walks over to you and places a hand on your back, rubbing it gently. “You good?” You chuckle, looking at her with a small smile. “Yeah, just a little tired I guess.” She lets out a breathy sigh, nodding in agreement. “I get that…” A silence falls between you two and it makes you feel awkward, looking up at the sky. A month ago, you would be jumping for joy at the fact you were getting alone time with Yunjin. But for some reason, you really just wanted to go see Megan so you two could go back to your apartment. You wanted to get into PJs and cuddle with your best friend until you both fell asleep. Pretending started to become exhausting and if you had to pretend for another second, you think you’d explode. 

You try to come up with an excuse to leave but Yunjin speaks up, her voice soft, “Can I tell you something?” You look at her, suddenly feeling bad about trying to leave. You nod, whispering, “Of course…” The Korean girl looks down at her feet and you notice how her demeanor changed. She seems nervous about something. When she finally looks up again, she takes a deep breath and you notice there’s a slight hopeful look in her eyes. “I know this is really shitty of me to say because… You’re with Megan but…” She looks into your eyes, stepping closer toward you, “I think I really like you. And I feel so stupid because it took me this long to realize.” 

You feel frozen when you hear her words. Holy fuck. Megan’s stupid plan actually worked. 

After receiving your text, Megan meets you on the patio a few minutes later. She looks at you curiously. The moment you asked to talk to her, she left the conversation she was in without even saying goodbye. Before you texted her, she noticed you were alone with Yunjin, so whatever you needed to talk about, it had to be something about that.

You turn around to look at your best friend, a slightly distressed look on your face. Megan looks at you with concern. She walks toward you, immediately pulling you into a tight hug. She buries her face into your neck and whispers, “I’m sorry, Y/n… I really tried.” You chuckle, wrapping your arms around her. You shake your head as you respond, “I… Owe you an ice cream.” She pulls away, surprised. She places her hands on your biceps and grips them tightly. “Wait, you owe me ice cream? But… That means…” You nod, biting your lip. She looks at you, a bit confused by your expression. She expected you to be so excited but why do you seem so disappointed? 

You take a step back, looking away from her nervously. She observes you silently, waiting for you to explain. You suddenly groan and throw your head back. You knew it was now or never. “I owe you an ice cream but when I take you to get one, I really hope it can be a real date.” She widens her eyes at your words. She opens her mouth to say something but you continue, the words tumbling out before you can stop them, “And I know this was a silly bit. And we were just fucking around but I don’t know if I’m fucking around at this point. And I know you’re my best friend but I really don’t think I can keep pretending like this is nothing because to me this is like, everything and I’m really really sorry if I fucked everything up but–” She cuts you off, kissing you with everything she had. 

Her arms wrap around your neck, pulling you closer and you can’t help but think this kiss was even better than the first. You place your hands on her waist, your lips moving against hers in a rhythm that drives you wild. After a few minutes, you pull away, a bit breathless. “This was definitely surprising…” Megan plays with the collar of your shirt and leans up, her nose brushing against yours. “It was worth it though, right?” You nod, ghosting your lips over hers as you whisper, “So worth it. I love a good crazy, Megan idea.” She giggles, closing the gap between you both once more. 

an: i hope you guys enjoyed :) i rlly liked writing this one tbh. ive felt like my writing has been ass lately so i lowk think this one was a good one! anyway, lmk wht u guys think <3

requests are open

[c4llezz]

31. first dating scandal

after daniela broke up with you, she shoved everything that reminded her of you in a box that she later hid in her closet thinking she would never see you again. years later she still reminisces about her time with you and thinks “i should’ve taken more pictures”

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[lara4eclipze]

— 𝓑reakin' dishes

— ( 🎻 ) I'm breakin' dishes up in here, all night (uh-huh) I ain't gon' stop until I see police lights (uh-huh) I'ma fight a man

meret manon x fem reader, jealousy, angst(?), fluff, mentions of men , party, swearing, protective!manon, loser!reader, wc [?], tags listed below

manon had been excited about this party for the longest time — she had everything planned out, what she would wear and how it would match what you'd wear too

it was the annual hybe anniversary party — all sorts of idols and staffs will be there which intimidated you, i mean not to be boastful or anything but your girlfriend is one of the most talented people ever which is why she'd probably not recognize the problem of you coming along

you are a very private person, barely posting on your socials nor making that many friends — you talk to 4 people max

"come on love, I'll be there! — and the rest of the girls" manon says convincing you as she applies her gloss, you have worn a black cocktail dress with pearl accessories which the ghanian also had to force you to wear

"plus look at you, you're the prettiest girl right now — and every day, i swear my love no one would judge you" the older compliments with that smug grin plastered on her face

"okay enough of you miss bannerman" you roll your eyes at manon due to her teasing — you both walk out of the apartment her hands on your waist as if you were gonna run off which made you internally laugh

during the drive, you felt the older woman's eyes glued on you, you smirk a bit because of how flustered she makes you over small things

manon is the epitome of obsession, even her members can testify to that, her wallpaper? you, her necklace? your initial, everything is you basically

the place was lively and loud to say the least, many famous faces were running around, dancing even singing — manon's eye immediately lit up with excitement which you found adorable

the party was amazing, you and manon had a great time, well until she got sweeped up by her friends, it was scary to you especially you didnt know anyone at all and not to mention you didnt even work under hybe

manon was busy talking to some friends and god you couldn't stop staring at her she looked so beautiful under the messy lights, her lips looked much more enticing especially when it was covered in liquor

"hey there pretty" you hear a man snicker behind you, despite your initial discomfort you decided to talk to him, he reeked of alcohol and he wasn't much of a looker neither

"hi" you shortly responded turning your attention back at your phone, but he was just getting closer by the second the next her hand was on your chair

"come on flash me a smile, don't be rude" his annoying remark well annoyed you, you wanted to push him off but it wouldn't be right since you barely knew this dude

his hands suddenly grasp your shoulder and you froze in spot, mainly out of fear and partly disgust, a man had this much audacity even when you have shown clear signs of dislike to him

"are you fucking mute or what bitch" the man sneers you wanted to run but you were unfortunately cornered and no one would look at where you were sitting

your hands started getting sweaty from fear as your heart thumped against your chest, the urge to scream was definitely there but you couldn't bring yourself to

"hey get the fuck off her, are you seriously cornering my girlfriend?" you hear manon speak behind the man pushing him off you as he falls you see a look of anger flashing in his eyes

manon was even more mad though, her stance indicated she was ready to fight if needed, her fists clenched and her eyes darken, "ill give you a chance to fucking leave or I'll get security to drag you out" manon mutters trying to relax

you look at manon, very grateful you had a strong girlfriend but scared that she might get hit by the dude, you walk up beside her holding her arms with yours

"let him be, let's go please" you silently plead to the older girl, afraid of the lengths she would go to for you, especially when she had seen how the guy disrespected you

manon scoffs, holding your wrist tightly as you two walk away, going near the rest of the kats, worry plastered all over their faces as they notice the oldest demeanor

at home the ghanian girl looked rather guilty, as she watches you get ready for bed — her eyes telling you just how bad she felt

"baby, are you alright?" you ask manon, sitting beside her as you trace circles on her arms a comforting gesture that had always calmed her down

"i just- I'm so annoyed with myself, I thought you were flirting with that dude earlier, that's why I stormed over" manon admits her eyes watery, as her lips pout out

"baby its alright, i understand i should've told him off when it started" you coo at her

"but still, i shouldn't be that easily jelous" manon frowns, "but its okay!, manon we all feel emotions — i understand how you felt now stop being mad at yourself" you respond

"and hey you defended me from that creep, okay? don't be harsh on yourself" you mutter taking the girls face in your hands kissing her cheeks till it was tinted pink

"i love youuu, please don't stop being jealous i find it quite hot" you whisper to the girl who cracks a smile at your declaration

"i swear i was gonna beat him up-" you cut off the older kissing her lips "okay maybe not that aggressive, love"

note : hi ppl sorry for lack of updates life has js been hectic for me :((, anyways love u alll!!!

[lafortezanjz]

Your camera roll as Lara’s partner;

[lafortezaboy]

when you first met lara, it had been an accident. you had been walking around the mall with your friends, and you were on your way out of the building when your body collided with another girl's. this wouldn't have been a problem, had you not been holding a smoothie in your hand. the pink liquid ended up covering both of your shirts, and you were stuttering out apologies when your eyes met hers. your brain short circuited the second you looked at her, and with the way she grinned at you, she could tell.

feeling bolder than you were, you offered to buy her a new shirt, and when she agreed, you told your friends to go ahead, that you'd get a cab home. it surprised you that lara broke off from her friends to go with you, but you weren't complaining when it meant you got her all to yourself. the two of you talked the entire time you were together. eventually you both picked out shirts and got changed, and you were about to say your goodbyes when she offered to replace your smoothie. when she said "as long as you don't spill this one on me" with a teasing grin, you knew you were hooked.

she got you a new smoothie, and before you left, she wrote her number on your hand. the second you were home, you saved her number to your phone and texted her, not really wanting to wait to talk to her again. that began your friendship, but you two talked every minute you could. you were always texting or on the phone with each other, and eventually it led to the two of you hanging out with each other. and as the weeks turned into months, you knew you had fallen for her big time. luckily, she had fallen for you too, and even luckier for you, she wasn't someone who liked to wait. by the three month mark of you two knowing each other, lara had pulled you into a kiss and made you hers.

dating a pop star was a lot easier than you expected it to be, and dating a streamer was a lot easier than she had expected. the fact you both understood being busy, having schedules you couldn't get out of, it helped your relationship a lot. there was no annoyance when something unavoidable came up, and when you two did get to spend time together, it wasn't uncommon for you to be editing content while she worked on music. just being together and existing together was enough for you two.

you weren't sure whose fans first began piecing things together, but at some point, there were compilations of you mentioning your girlfriend, which turned into twitter threads speculating who she was. then lara posted selfies in a jacket that fans recognized from your merch line. then lara started mentioning being your friend on weverse, she revealed how you two met accidentally and just became friends. it was quickly pieced together that the jacket was yours, and eventually, it just became an unspoken thing that fans knew you were together.

like meeting, your reveal that you were dating was accidental too. you had been streaming when lara came into your room, leaning down to kiss you. you didn't hesitate to kiss back, but you froze when you remembered the camera was on. you tried to play it off by saying "you all knew anyways", but deep down you were terrified she would be upset. ten minutes later though, lara was on weverse laughing about it, so you figured things were good.

once you two were public, things didn't change too much. you posted pictures of her on instagram occasionally, and instead of saying "my girlfriend" you just said lara's name. but other than that, you didn't really change. lara had you be in a few tiktoks with her, and she didn't mind appearing in the background of a few streams, but she kept your relationship pretty private too. all in all, fans knew you two were happy, and they respected your privacy about each other.

[sillymommy6969]

.𖥔 ݁ ˖ BREAKIN' BONES ᝰ! S.L.

trying to be subtle and secret with sophia!

˚⟡˖ ࣪ ⋆౨ৎ ❪ 𝑦𝑡 𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑜. ❫ ｡ sophia laforteza x f!r 𖥔 fluff ── disclaimers: katseye 7th member au (read in dark mode!) / pt. one, two / ℭatalogue

N/NFIZ NOT BOTHERING TO HIDE THEIR RELATIONSHIP ANYMORE FOR 14 MINUTES GAY (p.s. happy n/nfiz anny!)

100.2k likes | 580k views | 13th Feb, 25

˚⟡˖ ࣪ ⋆౨ৎ Clip one: [ YT VIDEO ] Halloween w/ KATSEYE!

Sophia, you, Daniela, Lara and Yoonchae (in that order) sat along the table of decorated ornaments. Five pumpkins sat before you, carving tools laid around it. Quickly, the five of you got to work designing personalized jack-o-lanterns, but being the middle children you were, you and Daniela seemed to have declared a war on pumpkin guts.

“Oh--Dani, stop!” you squealed, dodging another handful of guts hurled your way. “They’re gonna have to clean this up!”

It didn’t stop you from scooping a new chunk of pumpkin to slap on Daniela’s hand. The Latina’s dancer reflexes kicked in, jerking her hand away, along with her pumpkin. She screamed, her shrill shriek ringing and blowing out the microphones taped to her back. Lara, who sat on Daniela’s other side, leaning back into her chair to avoid Daniela’s swinging arms.

[ oml you can’t take these two anywhere- ]

Yoonchae eyed Sophia on your end of the table, the editor for Katseye emphasized how fearful Lara and Yoonchae seemed, before editing a fake knight’s armour on Sophia.

“Okay, okay, Dani, that’s enough!” Sophia stretched an arm out, keeping the latter from slamming anymore pumpkin guts into you. You stuck your tongue out when the Latina scoffed in disbelief, gesturing towards you as Sophia gave her a stern look. The blonde narrowed her eyes, clenching her jaw as she sat back down. You shot her a taunting smirk, as Sophia helps clean whatever leftover pumpkin was on you.

“Why am I the one getting yelled at, she literally started it!” Daniela whined, pursing her lips. “That’s not fair!”

“Dani, if I hear another word from you, I’m putting you on Megan duty the next week.” Megan duty was the rotation Lara explained on live a few days ago, where each member helps take care of Megan and anything she needed because of her back. The redhead could be a real piece of work though, especially since the injury had not dimmed her big personality. “No more messing around, Avanzini, I’m warning you.”

[ mommy? sorry. mommy? sorry. mommy? sor-- *gunshots* ]

Sophia brushed your arm of anything else, before holding out a bag for you to dump your guts into. Daniela sulked the rest of that video, in a sour mood because she got in trouble with the leader for something you had obviously started.

“You know better than to mess with y/n when Sophia’s around, Dani, that’s on you.” Lara snorted, earning a harsh swat to the arm from the girl. “Hey--! I’m just saying, she’s untouchable.”

“Hey, you’re exaggerating,” Sophia groaned, “I was just tryna stop the two of them from fighting.”

You looped your arm under the Filipina’s, laying your head on her shoulder as you carved a face into your pumpkin. You chuckled along at the older’s attempts to defend herself, but all five of you (and eyekons too) knew better than that.

“Oh, yeah? Then why am I always stuck getting in trouble when y/n threw the first punch?” The blonde loudly protested, “Last night, y/n and I were making a late night snack at like three am, and when y/n accidentally dropped a pot and woke up the whole dorm, I got banned from the kitchen for the next week because Sophia found some food on the counter when she came downstairs.” Before Sophia could defend herself, Daniela held a finger up to her face to silence her. “y/n did not get punished for waking everybody up, but I can’t make toast on the kitchen now cuz there were crumbs on the table.”

“You made the kitchen super messy! It was horrid.”

“No it wasn’t! There were crumbs, that was it, at least I wasn’t the one who woke up Yoonchae.” If you couldn’t tell, Daniela was still quite bitter for Sophia getting you out of trouble with the dorm’s drill sergeant. “Yoonchae wouldn’t talk to me all day after, but y/n got off scotch free ‘cuz Sophia was there.”

“Dani, you’re so dramatic. It was not that deep,” she scoffed.

Daniela stood, pointing and swinging her carving knife at the cameras, “Eyekons, if you guys are watching this, find every single time y/n and I have messed around and only I get in with Sophia for it. I swear, there has to be a million out there, so please feel free to send it to me on Weverse.”

[ the war dani started with this is insane eyekonville really went to work for this (there was a 16 minute video of it on weverse) ]

“You’re just salty ‘cuz you’re a loser,” you bit back.

“n/n, I swear to God, I’m going to jab this into your ear,” the blonde threatened, holding the knife towards your head. She was quickly stopped by Sophia, who clicked her tongue and instructed for her to sit with a harsh glare. Lara began laughing hysterically at the Filipina proving Daniela right. “Man--screw this, Chip, switch seats with me right neow.”

[ poor dani… best be known y/n has her own bodyguard ]

˚⟡˖ ࣪ ⋆౨ৎ Clip two: [ VLOG ] y/n day w/ Katseye! (09:16)

“Hey, guys, it’s seven in the morning of y/n day!” She cheered and hollered under her breath, clapping her hands softly. “The girls are up and getting ready right now, but y/n’s still sleeping. We have a whole day planned for her today, so we need to stay quiet and make sure we don’t ruin the surprise.”

The members each occupied a section of the vlog, individually tasked to do different errands to make for a smooth transition into the surprise party they had planned for your birthday.

Manon and Daniela were sent to grab decorations, Megan and Yoonchae were asked to prepare the food and Sophia put it upon herself to get you the gifts alone. Lara volunteered to distract you for the morning whilst the girls got ready for the party, her planning a whole trip to the spa and then a massage place as a “birthday treat”, and you, of course, agreed.

“Okay, last month, y/n and I were out walking around this exact mall, and she saw these ugg sliders that she really wanted.” Sophia held the camera, looking past the lens at where she was going. She was strolling through a mall alone, people seen walking past and behind her. “So, I’m gonna go get them so she can keep her feet warm this winter.”

[ when she remembers small things >>>>>>>>> ]

She greets the worker standing by the door, quickly going to the section the two of you frequented the last time you were there. The shoes you wanted were still there, she picked a pair up, asking one of the staff for your size.

Once she had paid for them, not even bothering to check what the price was. She bid the employees goodbye, before smiling into the camera at a successful start.

[ where’s my sophia laforteza… it’s not fair y/n gets her ]

“They were almost out of stock, I’m so lucky… Okay, guys, we’re now moving to Sephora. I noticed n/n’s running out of her favourite perfume, it’s a gift she got from her mom so I’m going to get her another so she can refill that bottle,” Sophia announced, her voice peppy with excitement, “Bear with me here, I’m about to leave this place with so many bags.”

The vlog cuts to Sophia setting the camera down on a makeup table, she had a tiny Sephora basket in hand.

“I’m back, and I’m gonna give you guys a haul of what I got for y/n, okay?” She started rummaging through the basket of products, before pulling out a makeup palette. “So, Lara told me this new palette was good, she’s been trying out new brands and stuff so she wanted me to get this for y/n. Megan and Yoonchae already got y/n this self-care basket, so I’m getting the face masks they wanted to put in. I know Manon and Dani definitely have more of an ‘experiential’ gift planned, but--Oh! Here’s the perfume y/n loves.”

She held a beautiful box up, opening it to reveal the bottle within. It looked expensive, just based off the packaging.

[ that thing is half my rent >:0)) sophia really don’t play when it comes to spoiling her girl ]

“I called up mama l/n last night just to make sure this was the right one. I can’t wait to see y/n’s face when she gets this, she’s gonna be so happy,” Sophia gazed down at the perfume bottle in her hand, smiling sheepishly. “I can’t believe she’s turning XX, it feels like I’ve seen this beautiful, sweet woman grow up and into herself. I’m so happy to apart of it.”

[ only y/n has sophia giddy like that in the middle of sephora ]

“Anyways, I think we’re good here. I just need to pick up one more package--it’s gonna be a surprise for when y/n opens it later, even you guys aren’t allowed to see it yet.”

Later in the video, we see Daniela and Manon set things up in the dorm’s backyard. They set up an arch with your age on it, tables of food Megan and Yoonchae almost burnt down the house whilst preparing, and Sophia had set the wrapped and bagged gifts on another table. The mystery gift sat front and centre amidst the pile, a purple and (your colour) bow on it. It was almost golden hour, and the lights around the garden dimly lit the area perfectly. It looked perfect, and Sophia was beyond excited to welcome you--her birthday girl--home.

“Remind me to get Lara mad snacks later, she’s done such a good job keeping y/n busy all day, like, ‘phew’!” Manon sighed, dragging the back of her hand down her forehead.

“Yeah, she rocks at this. n/n gets a nice little spa day before coming home to all this.” Daniela cooed, “We spoil her.”

“Our girl deserves it,” Sophia replied softly, “It’s been a year.”

[ it’s actually pulsing her name in morse code im so single ]

Yoonchae hummed, “y/n has worked so hard this year.” She turned to the camera set on the girls just lounging around, “She loves Katseye and she loves Eyekons, so I’m sure she will love spending this special birthday with you all as well!”

When you finally came home, you walked into the yard per Lara’s guidance. You immediately gasped, the girls tackling you in a hug with a loud, unanimous, “Surprise!”

“Oh my--So this is ‘work’, huh?” You eyed Lara, who shrugged.

You gave each of them a hug, and when it came to Sophia, she wrapped her arms tightly around your neck, swaying you as you chuckled at her refusal to let you go. “Fia, I can’t breathe.”

She pulled away, cupping your cheeks. She gave you a beam as your hands dropped to her waist. “Come on!”

[ they are in love your honour, cade closed ]

As you soaked in the set up of everything the girls had prepared, the video dragged on with celebrations, fun activities, a little heartfelt moment of you thanking everybody before you got a little video message from your parents. The video brought you to tears, and Sophia immediately hopped out of her seat on the end of the couch to engulf you in a big hug, shielding you from the cameras as you composed yourself. She brushed your hair out of your face. “Come on, y/n, don’t cry--Let’s go open some gifts!”

You started unwrapping each gift, thanking each individual member for their respective presents. Sophia watches, a small, genuine smile paired with a soft gaze as she watched you happily unveil your gifts. The moment didn’t escape eyekons.

[ this single-handedly proved how down bad sophia was ]

It wasn’t until it came down to the mysterious gift, it wasn’t big, but just a tiny box with a bow of your colours on it. You immediately looked up at Sophia, getting an encouraging grin back as you pulled apart the paper. You popped open the box, and the camera zooms in on whatever is in hand.

A black key fob, with a small golden mustang at the bottom.

All five girls gasped, immediately crowding around you with looks of disbelief as the room fell silent for a moment. You looked up at Sophia, who just flashed you that innocent, wide smile. “Sophia, what the fuck.”

“Happy birthday, mahal.” she stated casually.

“You got me my dream car?” you scoffed, immediately throwing yourself onto the Filipina. You wrap your arms around her, practically suffocating her in a tight hug. “Sophia, holy shit, you should not have done this!”

[ get you a millionaire girlfriend who loves you huh ]

“I know you’ve been saving for it, but I figured I’d use the money I’ve saved to sponsor you instead. My parents helped a bit. They say ‘happy birthday’, by the way.” Sophia brushed some tears, now of joy, out of your eyes.

[ the in laws are in love with y/n as well they’re so fairy tale couple JUST COME OUT ALREADY ]

“We can finally match like fast and furious!” Daniela squealed.

You sniffled, unwilling to let a chuckling Sophia go. She rubbed your back, running a hand through your hair as you gave her a tight squeeze. “I can’t believe it, that’s too much!”

“It doesn’t matter, as long as you’re happy.” Sophia stated.

“Happy? Fia, I can’t even begin to describe how grateful to you I feel right now,” you stayed stuck to Sophia, front pressed against hers as the other girls cooed. Finally, Manon clasped her hands together, “Okay, are we taking this baby out for a joyride, or are we leaving it to rust in the garage?”

You held the keys up, grabbing Sophia’s hand. “Say no more.”

˚⟡˖ ࣪ ⋆౨ৎ Clip three: [ ELLE ] Phoning it in w/ y/n of Katseye!

“Hello, I’m y/n l/n from Katseye, and today I’m going to be prank calling my friends, family and team. This is Phoning It In with ELLE.” you introduced yourself, smiling from ear-to-ear as the series intro sounded. First came the screen of you with your bandmates at your recent MAMA performance, the words, “Katseye members” appeared onscreen.

“Okay, I need to figure out who to call--If I call Manon or Dani, they probably won’t pick up, so… I think I’ll call Sophia. Sophia will answer.” you tapped on her contact name, holding the phone out, ringing for “Laffy <3”.

[ the nickname and the heart?? y/n you’re sick for this ]

The line rings for a second before, “Hey, mahal.”

[ mahal???????? sophia laforteza the woman you are ]

“Hey, Fia, I’m not distracting you from anything important right now, am I?” After a quick denial from Sophia, you continued, “Okay, so, I know I’m in the middle of media day, but I really, really, really need to ask a big favour from you.”

Sophia hummed, “Okay… whatever you need, lay it on me.”

You catch the staff swooning at Sophia’s sweet tone, biting your lip. You tried not to giggle, as to not give the prank away, but the way the women in the corner of the room were cooing at the Filipina’s words was all you could see.

“So basically, I’m in the bathroom at ELLE’s warehouse right now, and I kind of need you to bring me some pants.”

Sophia paused for a moment, and you squeezed your eyes shut as you held in laughter. Bless her heart, she must be so confused. “You need me to bring you… pants? Why, honey, did you sit on something? Did you lose them somehow?”

You couldn’t hold back the single chuckle leaving your lips, “No, I was eating this big thing of chocolate before I got on set, so I left it on my chair when I went to work. The heat was cranked up high and the chocolate was open. When I came back, I forgot I put it there and kinda sat on it… Now I just look like a little kid who couldn’t hold it in, so I really need you to bring me some fresh pants before somebody sees.”

Sophia was never one to laugh at another’s misfortune, especially not yours. You knew she would be a fun person to prank because she’d be oh so eager to help little old you.

“Okay, I’m just at lunch with Dani right now, but I’ll be there as soon as I can. Which pair do you want me to bring?”

[ the way she immediately drops everything… im folding ]

You hummed, pretending to be in thought, “I don’t know.”

You could hear her getting up from sitting and packing up her things, before her keys jingled. Her phone was quickly snatched from her hands, as given away by the loud, “Hey!”, she let out. A familiar cackle sounded from the line, putting a big, amused grin on your face.

“Oh my God, you stoopid! There’s no way you’re trapped looking like you [bleep] yourself at ELLE. Take a pic, this is going on our wall of iconic moments.”

You rolled your eyes, “Absolutely not, Avanzini. Now, give the phone back to Sophia, I’m on a mission here.”

“No--! I want to see a pic, please!” she whined.

“Dani--Give me that!” A brief struggle could be heard from the other end, you buried your face in your free hand as the two bickered childishly for Sophia’s phone. You were glad this was at least the kind of entertaining ELLE was looking for, but you couldn’t help but feel slightly embarrassed at the humorous unprofessionalism your twenty year old bandmates were showing. “Eat your food, I’m gonna go get y/n her pants. You better not go crazy at the ice cream shop when I’m gone.”

You snorted out loud, knowing Daniela, she was definitely planning on it. “Fia, honey, I need to tell you one more thing.”

Sophia hummed, “Anything, mahal. What is it?”

[ the pet name, my knees bucked… MY KNEES BUCKED ]

“This is a prank, I’m sitting with ELLE right now, this is Phone It In.” You hear Daniela’s faint groan of disappoint, before Sophia shushed her. “I’m sorry, honey, I didn’t mean to ruin your lunch plans, but I figured you’d be most likely to pick up between the six of you.”

[ mahal? honey? they’re so domestic coded please-- ]

Daniela scoffed, “Hey! I definitely would’ve picked up.”

“It’s okay, y/n. If you were anybody else, I’d be mad at you for taking advantage of my kindness,” she teased, “But I’m just glad you didn’t actually sit on chocolate and look like you crapped your pants on a media day.”

“I know, I’m sorry. You guys enjoy lunch though, I’ll make it up to you soon.” You held the phone away from your face, looking down in anticipation of the leader’s response.

“Sounds good. I love you. Have fun pranking other people, mahal, I’ll see you at home.” Sophia made kissy noises.

“I love you too. See you guys.” You smiled, before hanging up.

[ felt like i was interrupting something while i was editing ]

˚⟡˖ ࣪ ⋆౨ৎ Clip four: [ WEVERSE LIVE ] 14/01/25 Sophia (13:05)

“Yes, I’ve seen Wicked. y/n and I went together last week, it changed my life.” Sophia commented, digging into the snacks laid out before her. She tilted her black Katseye hat up, her hood draped over the front. “y/n looked at me like i was crazy ‘cuz I was full on sobbing at the end. She still gave me hugs and bought me ice cream, so I forgive her.”

[ she looks so content talking about their date i can’t ]

“Speaking of, I’m pretty sure our girl’s on her way here… she just texted me she’s off work.” Sophia smiled, doing a little dance as she glanced back at the chat. “Yeah, looks like you guys are just as excited to see her as I am.”

user01 she’s immediately in a good mood when her wife’s otw

user02 she’s so real for giggling like this

user03 it’s y/n so i completely get it sophia

user04 MY PARENTS ARE COMING TOGETHER??

“Oh, yes, I’m pretty sure y/n and I are gonna see Gladiator 2 later tonight. She’s really into that one actor… Pedro Pascal?” Sophia mentioned, “She loves star wars and stuff, so when she heard the guy in The Mandalorian is gonna be in Gladiator, she’s making me go. Haven’t seen the first one, but guess I’ll find out what happens along the way.”

[ A WOMAN A WOMAN A WOMA-A-A-A-AN ]

As Sophia conversed and entertained the fans, you would eventually arrive at Geffen. In one of the many meeting rooms Sophia seemed to be occupying then, you knocked, hearing a soft gasp from the other side of the door.

Sophia glanced at the phone, “y/n’s here!”

She wheeled her chair out of frame, pulling the door open. Standing in your outfit with two cups of coffee, you greeted her. “Well, hello, stranger. I got you a little treat.”

The two of you come back into frame, you handed Sophia one of the cups. She held it up to her nose for a sniff.

She gasped, “Oh my God, is this a--?”

“Hazel nut latte? Absolutely. I made sure they put whipped cream and chocolate syrup on top,” you answered. You waved at the phone, “Anyway, I thought I’d come and keep you and the chat company before we leave for Gladiator.”

user05 Y/N COME HOME THE KIDS MISS YOU

user06 i’m no longer a child of divorce

user07 why is nobody talking abt y/n knowing sophia’s order?

“We were just talking about Gladiator. The eyekons are wondering what we’re doing for dinner after,” Sophia read, casually grabbing at your hips to sit you on her lap as the two of you scanned the screen. “Also they’re asking about your Pedro Pascal obsession.”

user08 omg the way sophia grabbed her waist

user09 SEDATE ME THAT WAS MUSCLE MEMORY

user10 idk who i want to be more rn

The two of you didn’t seem bothered by the comments flooding into the chat, especially those about your close proximity. Eventually, it was time for the two of you to leave for your plans, though the fans were sad to part with you.

On Weverse, Sophia posted lots of photos of you posing with Pedro Pascal on Gladiator 2 posters. Even some of the two of you standing in line for food, with your arms around her and your cheeks pressed together.

[ i can make so many of these videos #n/nfiz is definitely real ]

˚⟡˖ ࣪ ⋆౨ৎ ❪ 𝖈alliope 𝖘peaks! ❫ 。 succumbing to popular demand once again, so here’s breakin’ dishes pt. 3! i do enjoy making these a lot and knowing you guys love them is fantastic. let me know what else you wanna see. happy reading! xx

@sillymommy6969 © ──────────── Feb 2025

[coolwyous]

┈─★ 𝘪 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵 ( 𝗯𝗼𝘆, 𝘁𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗲𝗿𝗼 )

   ⊹ ࣪ ˖ everyone has warned you about the less than shining reputation of women's hockey team captain daniela avanzini. arrogant, hot-headed, so, so bad for you, and extremely off-limits. so why is it that you can't get the blonde out of your head?

         ˎˊ˗  ❄️  ⊹ ࣪ ˖  🔓୭˚.  ⠀ ᵎᵎ ⠀ 🗝️

   ➴ pairing: hockey captain! daniela avanzini x coach's daughter! f!reader

   ➴ genre + wc: 23k, college au, forbidden/off-limits romance, friends w benefits to lovers?, sneaking around, slow burn, angst, bad communication, they start off toxic sorry not sorry, fuckboy/fratboy jock dani, reader's "i can fix him" energy is much too strong, however "you fall first she falls harder."

   ➴ you might want to tune in...: te quiero - kiss of life

┈─★ a/n: and we are all now officially full circle in the ditto verse to welcome home our fav fuckboy daddy dani <3 let me know what you think. i know it was a ton but i had so much fun exploring this dynamic i just couldn't stop adding to it. i'm gonna miss u hockeyverse!wigline but they were genuinely so much fun to write. hit me up with any ideas for anyone, i'd love to write a few shorter things/imagines and get more creative! thank you again for your time and all the love everyone has given this series! <3

cw:// mentions of recreational drug use, suggestive themes, mild violence but it's a hockey fic so that was to be expected i think....

[*set one year following the events of ditto/hlbwfil!]

“and another thing, your location stays on at all times.” your dad’s rambling to making sure you know exactly how little freedom you have. “you go to class, you come to practice, you go to the library maybe, and you go home.”

you cross your arms. “dining hall?”

“fine, dining hall.” he huffs. “i want permission before you step foot off this campus.”

“not happening,” you tell him simply. the vein in his forehead looks like it’s about to burst. 

“oh, are you paying for your own lawyer? after all the shit you pulled, you’re lucky you were even able to transfer.” he glares you down, his brow twitching. “i’m trying to keep you from ruining your life, y/n.”

“y/n,” your mom adds sternly, as a warning. “you have no idea how lucky you are that you get to start fresh after this.”

“yeah, no cheer, no friends, basically under house arrest, finishing college in the stupid boring city i grew up in instead of literally anywhere else. i feel like a real winner,” you roll your eyes, disappearing upstairs to go find your laptop before they can keep lecturing you.

you can talk back all you want, but they’ve never listened anyways. 

the last thing you want for your junior year of college is to have to start over, but here you are, trying to memorize the layout of this confusing campus before classes start tomorrow. you slip your earphones in and close your eyes, trying to get some rest. you have a feeling this semester is going to be a hard one.

-

you’ve always hated growing up in this city. he drives you to campus together and you hate the fact that you’re a year away from graduating and getting a ride from your dad still. you find your way around your first few classes and end sitting next to a gorgeous bobbed girl in your world literature class. 

“do you care about this stuff?” you ask, figuring you might as well make friends if you’re going to have to start over.

“i do,” she nods.

“would you be down to study with someone who doesn’t?”

she laughs and gives you a quick once-over. “you give trustworthy vibes.”

your dad was extremely clear. classes, practice, then straight home. you make your way to the stadium to get to their practice, under your dad’s direction after you get lost twice. you hate feeling the eyes on you as you walk into the training area, clearly a new face amongst people who’ve been training together since the summer time.

“new prospect?” someone asks. 

your dad clears his throat and motions to you. “this is y/n, my daughter, she’ll be shadowing for the season.”

“i didn’t know you had a girl, coach,” a blue-haired girl says curiously, waving up at you as you set your stuff down on a bench.

you’re not surprised. he usually only talks about the boys, your two older brothers, and how one is currently a commentator for the nhl and the other runs a hockey training camp on the east coast. 

“she’ll be stats manager,” he tells them, and it catches you by surprise— it’s the first you’re hearing of it. 

“isn’t that the assistant coach’s job?” you question.

“always good to have an extra pair of eyes,” he says, glaring over at you, almost threateningly, and the double meaning isn’t lost on you.

“welcome to the team,” a tall brunette says to you as she gets on the ice, and you smile appreciatively at everyone who acknowledges you, even if it’s just kissing your ass to get better with your dad. 

you hate starting new. you watch a red-haired girl, a ginger, and a blonde coming down the rafters, gear in hand, the blonde laughing as the red-haired girl tries grabbing her by the shoulder. they’re approaching you quickly, and maybe you should move out of the way of the player box, but by the time the thought occurs, they’re in front of you. 

“off limits,” you hear the red-haired girl say quickly.

“what is?” you ask, but you’re cut off by a rush of someone in your bubble. 

“hi,” the blonde girl, now just inches out of your face, greets breathlessly, a giant smile on her face. “you are absolutely gorgeous.”

oh god. it’s a strong first impression, but the way her dimple creases in the corner of her cheek makes your heart thud. you feel your cheeks turning red and already abandoning you.

“thank you,” you manage, before the taller ginger yanks her back.

“are you sure you’re related to our coach?” the red-haired one laughs. “the big bald dude who looks like he’ll shit himself at minor inconveniences?”

“dna test says i’m his,” you joke weakly. 

you can hear them mumbling amongst themselves as they get on the ice and skate away.

“god damn,” the blonde shakes her head. 

“off limits,” another girl echoes, shoving into her shoulder. 

your dad hands you a clipboard, and the assistant coaches comes up to you to break down your new job. you look up and spot the blonde on the ice. the assistant coach’s words get lost in your ear. maybe you’ll let yourself enjoy the view.

practice is long and tedious. you’ve never been a hockey girl, much to your dad’s frustration, so watching this is like torture for the past two hours. 

you hear a sharp whistle, the one that someone blows from between their teeth. your eyes snap up to meet those sharp mischievous ones, staring you down from the ice. 

“dani, don’t fucking start–” you hear the goalie warn, but the blonde is already blasting past her, building up a dangerous amount of speed. 

realizing her pleas are on deaf ears, the goalie cheers instead, hollering at the top of her lungs. you laugh. what a girl– if you can’t stop her, might as well cheer her on.

without a single ounce of hesitation, this “dani” girl pivots to skate backwards, braces down, and leaps up to land a recklessly tossed backflip. you almost wish she’d crash, just to wipe that shit-eating grin off her face– but no, she wobbles but sticks the landing, and you get the hint that this isn’t the first time she’s done something like this.

“avanzini, we said no more with the fucking backflips! stop showing off,” the assistant coach grunts. “ten laps since you want to be such a smart ass.”

she looks over at you one last time and flashes a grin at the assistant coach. “i’ll do eleven as an apology.”

she’s still doing laps when your dad gives a quick reminder about tomorrow’s practice and waves the girls off. they trickle off the ice and towards their gear one by one. you’re waiting for your dad before you hear a tap on the plexiglass, turning to spot the blonde waving at you from the other side.

“hey, don’t forget about me when you leave here today, alright?” she grins.

“already forgot your name,” you tell her, and you won’t mention having picked up on it from the goalie.

“it’s dani.” she breathes up against the plexiglass and traces the letters in. she grins charmingly, pointing to the word written in the fog of her breath against the glass. “d-a-n-i. now you won’t forget it, promise?”

you shake your head laughing as she skates past you. your dad is on another lecture as the two of you drive home, him rambling something about who knows what. you’re not listening, anyways.

you don’t want to give her the satisfaction, but her stupid antics worked. you can’t get the blonde out of your head. 

-

chaewon, the girl from your literature class, adopts you and somehow you’re always 2 degrees of separation from that stupid team. chaewon is dating one of the defenders, the blue-haired girl named yunjin, but luckily chae’s other friends don’t care for hockey quite as much. 

going to practice is still a pain, but the girls are never mean to you. you start to pick up on the names, the dynamics of the girls, and how your dad sees them. he mentioned last names to you before, but the names never stuck. you’re way better with faces anyways. 

there’s a clear star on that ice, an insanely fast ginger who pushes so hard, she’s dripping sweat within minutes of each practice starting. 

your dad never critiques one of the goalies, simply nodding at everything she does the way he used to approve of your brothers. you pick up on her likelihood of being your dad’s favorite and make a mental note of it. she’ll be the one you hunt down when you need to get out from under his radar. 

and that damn blonde. you see the way his head gets progressively redder and redder each time he screams at her. but what you like about her is she bites right back— for every call your dad makes that someone else swallows and takes on the chin, daniela is pausing practice entirely and challenging him on it. 

“i’m not arguing with you again, avanzini,” he growls at practice during week 2 of school. his face reddens as he blows the whistle. as much as you expect for the whistle to resume play, daniela holds her hand up to the rest of the team. they stay frozen on the ice. 

listening to this girl, instead of the head coach? when you did cheer, your coach’s word was like god. to see just how much influence the blonde has on the group is terrifying. 

“give me one good reason why kazuha should sweep left if she’s right dominant instead of passing,” dani questions.

“throws off incoming offense,” your dad responds.

“no, it throws off our outgoing offense,” daniela pushes back, nearly a growl. “if zuha passes backwards to yunjin, megan’s fast enough to catch whatever she sends up and i can block off anyone incoming.”

“megan’s fast but not—“

“i can be faster,” megan chirps up, nervous eyes on your dad as she hides behind the shorter blonde. “dani always knows where to put the puck. if we fake it and send it back to yunjin, dani can make a hole, and i can be there.”

“do you hear how insane you guys sound, intentionally losing ground?” your dad balks.

“kazuha’s strongest doing what she does best: covering right. yunjin’s powerful enough to get the pass up, and megan is fast enough to receive it.” daniela skates right up to your dad, where he stands in the player box, and gives a confident smirk. “and i’m damn smart enough to see who’s gonna try to intercept it.”

you can tell this is the girl that has cost him many sleepless nights. “the shit-head” as he used to refer to her when he’d rant about work. 

-

the team has a friendly scrimmage against a neighboring team later that week before the season starts, you see the team’s synergy on full display. your dad runs them like a well oiled machine, working like a pack of lions to take down a kill with your dad orchestrating all of it.

and daniela, with that damn smirk as she blasts past everyone on the ice with expert precision.

“she’s not exactly the biggest, but she’s smart on that ice,” your dad tells you in the car after their scrimmage win, shaking his head. “smart as all hell. kills me that our team captain is such a shit-head, but damn can she can perform.”

“and left wing, that position with that ego?” he keeps rambling. “when i met her before her freshman year, when she had first signed with the university, i was shitting myself thinking she’d be a puck hog, but she’s such a team fucking player. her and kazuha set megan up like clockwork. that little megan is shaky off the ice but such a force when she’s got the right set up.”

“and daniela is the right setup?” you question curiously.

“daniela and kazuha. they work together.” your dad explains, gesturing with two fingers side by side. “the defensemen keep to the back to support the goalie, and the wings work together up front to support the center.”

“okay,” you breathe, but your mind is still on that damn captain for reasons you can’t explain. maybe hockey has some redeeming qualities.

“you know, kiddo, it’s nice to see you so interested,” he smiles as you guys pull into the driveway.

you choke back the laugh. maybe you’ll spare your poor dad from your inner thoughts.

-

the hockey girls are nice to you, but almost too nice. you can tell they’re tip-toeing as they assess how delicate you are. it sucks, because you’d love to make friends with them if you have to spend every day seeing them, but at least you have chaewon, and she’s exactly who you seek out when you decide to do a little digging.

“what do you know about daniela avanzini?” you ask her one day out of the blue, as you’re in line together for coffee. 

“oh, she plays hockey with my girlfriend,” chaewon says, but you can tell there’s more she’s not telling you just by how she stiffened at the name.

“and?” you press.

“she’s the captain of their team.”

“and?”

“y/n, what are you trying to find out?”

“i��m just curious,” you shrug. “my dad can’t stop talking shit about her but she’s nothing but nice to me.”

“i’m sure she’s nice to you, just like all the girls are, so your dad doesn’t kill them,” chaewon laughs. she pauses, then shakes her head, letting out a sigh. “yunjin has her thoughts. dani’s… somethin’. i’m not a fan, personally.”

“you’re the first person that’s been honest with me,” you thank her. you hold onto her words for the rest of the day, even at the end of the night when you’re curled up in bed scrolling through your powerpoints for the next day.

chaewon doesn’t forget, and sends you a link. you open it and it sends you to a tik tok. 

“who on the team would you not let your kid date?” the girl behind the camera asks, before cutting to several other girls on the team.

“dani.”

“oh, definitely daniela.”

“daniela avanzini.”

the final scene of the tik tok is the blonde herself, a big toothy grin, clearly not in on the joke.

“my name is daniela and i’m a left wing.”

you stare at the comments. 

oh i get it

HI DANIELA (louder than the rest)

raw, in reverse, on my knees, whenever she wants it, til the bed breaks, til the neighbors call the cops-

you feel your curiosity multiply at the next related video, one of her giving a few press statements following last year’s championship win. 

“we played smart and worked together. the only thing you can ask for is unity, and this year proves what a good unit can do.” she seems so serious in the clip, yet equally playful as you’ve seen her. an interesting balance for the face of their team.

“you were able to focus on all his despite losing player of the year?” the interviewer asks.

“i’m player of the year in many people’s hearts, and that’s good enough for me. gotta keep a good head game up if i want to rep that C,” she responds.

you roll your eyes at the way she smirks at the camera. the comments all go crazy over her suggestive double meaning, but it’s the most viewed video on the account, so you kinda get it. dani is infuriatingly charming, and that makes for a great face for the team. 

you feel your pulse race. god, what is it with you and the intrigue of this girl who everyone is telling you to run far, far away from?

-

“hey!” lara greets you the next day after the girls all finish up with physical therapy. she’s always been particularly passionate about making sure you feel included, and recently, you’ve let yourself believe it’s a sincere attempt at forging a friendship.

“what’s up?”

“a few of us are going back to my place to watch tapes on the tv, prepping for the game.” she hands you her phone, opened to the dial pad. “you’re welcome to join us.”

“you sure i won’t be intruding?” you ask before giving her your contact info.

“not at all. we’ll be up late. it’ll be like a fun hockey sleepover.” lara smiles, before motioning over to the ginger. “don’t let the puppy dog scare you off, we fed her once and now we can’t seem to get rid of her.”

“if i knew being your housemate meant you’d keep making that stupid stray dog joke, i would have just stayed living in the dorms,” megan glares at the older girl. 

you laugh and nod in appreciation. “i’d love that. i think chaewon is getting tired of me interrupting her study time. i’ll be there.”

your dad is actually quite pleased to hear you’ll be reviewing tapes, and drops you off at lara and megan’s place just a few minutes off campus. you figured lara’s name would be the key to getting out of house arrest, and you were right. 

the house is huge and slightly messy, littered with clothes and meal prep boxes, the clear home to some very serious student athletes. 

you’re getting comfortable on the couch as megan runs to get you a water bottle, when a bedroom door opens and you’re staring directly into the dark mischievous eyes that have been stuck in your head for the past two weeks.

“what are you doing here?” she asks quickly, narrowing her eyes in confusion. 

“reviewing tapes.” you blink as you realize whatever room she came out of, she came out in only some shorts and a sports bra. you try not to objectify her, but damn is she making it hard. “same as you?”

“i live here,” daniela responds quickly, and you come to the realization that lara didn’t specify megan as her only roommate.

“put some clothes on,” lara rolls her eyes, throwing a hoodie in dani’s direction. “we have company, you animal.”

“sorry you’re jealous of my insanely hot bod. if you looked like this you’d be half naked everywhere too,” the blonde pushes back, and you try to ignore the way you feel your heartbeat in every vein as she hops over the back of the couch and gets comfy next to you on the couch as lara turns on the first video.

you begrudgingly share with lara that your dad is extremely protective, and she’s the only one he trusts you to hang out with. she beams proudly and promises to not get you into any trouble with curfews or whatever.

lara’s girlfriend joins you guys just a few minutes later, as do a few other girls from the team. being alone with them away from your dad helps them loosen up a little, and it’s actually really fun to see their actual dynamic instead of the fake niceties you see as they try to be on their best behavior at practice. 

11pm rolls around, and your dad shoots you a text letting you know he expects you back before midnight. you want to scream at how little freedom you have even at your grown age, but the girls are all extremely understanding and offer their own solutions to helping you get home without having to rely on your dad to come pick you up.

“i can uber,” you wave them off, not wanting to inconvenience anyone.

“no, dani’ll drive you home,” lara states firmly, pulling out her phone. “i’ll vouch to your dad for you since i’m your designated guardian angel.”

you don’t want to be a burden, but the thought of getting to finally talk 1 on 1 with the girl stuck in your head sends your pulse racing.

“is that okay with you?” you ask, turning towards the captain in question.

“yeah,” she nods, getting off the couch and slipping on her sneakers. “lar, give me the keys.”

“no stops, no detours, no nothing,” lara warns, tossing her the keychain. “it takes 15 minutes to get there so i’m gonna watch your location. if i don’t see you driving back home in 16, i’m calling the police on you.”

“fine,” the blonde responds curtly, motioning for you to follow her outside. 

“daniela, i’m so serious,” lara threatens. “be decent.”

dani rolls her eyes and waves her off as you two make your way to the car. 

“thanks for being willing to take me,” you tell her, trying to be loud enough over the heater blasting. you don’t know how she’s able to just be out in the fall-time weather in a hoodie, shorts, and some socks.

“no worries.” she shakes her head, eyes locked on the road. “coach doesn’t want you out of his sight or what?”

“he thinks being on high alert keeps me out of trouble,” you roll your eyes.

“what kind of trouble did you get into?” she asks curiously.

you freeze. ugh. and this was supposed to be your fresh start. 

“i just really, really like doing things i’m not supposed to,” you answer after a moment, hoping it’s enough.

“ah,” she says simply, her jaw hardening, but there’s a smirk threatening to come out. “that’s my bad habit too.”

you admire the way the red lights illuminate her skin, the roundness of her features, the contrast against the sharpness of those mischievous eyes. 

“kind of embarrassing that you know my dad like that,” you wrinkle your nose.

“he’s not that bad, as far as coaches go, obviously can’t speak about him as a dad.” she snorts. “i’d kill to have a dad that passionate about hockey.”

“have your parents ever seen you play?” you ask, hoping to get to know more about this girl.

she looks at you in surprise. you wonder if she’s ever been asked this question or what.

 “when i was a kid, they were at every game. not so much for collegiate.”

“live too far or what?” you ask curiously.

she smiles, but it’s a smile of hesitation. you try to read what she’s debating within herself.

“they cut me off when i was 18.” 

“why?”

“tried to bring a girl home for my birthday.” she clicks her tongue. “big mistake.”

“you’re serious?” you ask, half-shocked at the answer.

“they cut me off, and the girl dumped me. double whammy. luckily, lara’s family took me in for the summer.”

“how far back do you guys go?” you ask, curious about their dynamic. of course they’re also close with megan, but lara has always seemed particularly protective of dani, weird considering dani is technically in a position of power over her friend.

“we met at a hockey camp in the 5th grade,” daniela smiles. “every time her parents see us play, they cheer for me too.”

she’s so sweet, sharing this piece of herself with you, you figure she deserves a piece of your puzzle too. 

“i got kicked out of school because they caught me with drugs.” you confess, and you don’t know what it is about daniela’s sincerity that makes you feel like you can trust her. “they weren’t mine. they were my friend’s, and she needs to be there, getting a cheer scholarship, going to school.”

“you took the fall?” she asks, and her voice is full of surprise without being full of judgement.

“i have a family, a house,” you explain, “she had literally nothing.”

she arches a brow and smiles at you through the corner of her eye, still looking at the road.

“i just thought you had a bad attitude,” she teases.

you laugh. “i have that too.”

“as someone who could have easily been in your friend’s shoes, she’s lucky to have someone like you,” daniela tells you, and the sincerity in her voice makes your whole body go warm. you can’t help but dive into a deeper question, something that’s been clawing at you.

“dani,” you start, your voice dropping quietly. “can i ask you something?”

“as long as you’re prepared to not like my answer,” she laughs, and you catch yourself in the shimmer of her tooth gem. 

you breathe out softly, trying to connect the dots. 

“how come everyone is telling me not to be friends with you?”

daniela’s smile falls ever so slightly, her hands tightening around the steering wheel.

“are they?” she wrinkles her nose. 

“kazuha said i’m off limits, lara’s whole ‘be decent,’ thing,” you remind her, trying to think back to other times the team has been weird about dani being around you. “have you bullied people off the team before or what?”

“something like that,” she shakes her head, staring off at the street. 

“you’re the only person who doesn’t treat me weird because of my dad,” you tell her, “you’re not delicate or super nice to me like i’m going to snitch on you.”

“i’m an asshole to everyone,” she laughs.

“but you’re not an asshole,” you push. “you’re actually very, very decent.”

“is that a compliment? i’ll take it as a compliment.” she beams. “i thrive off attention, in case you haven’t noticed.”

“you’re hard to not notice,” you poke back.

you both laugh together as the car pulls into park. you half think about asking her to kiss you, those insanely beautiful lips achingly close, but your eyes dart to the time and you realize it’s 30 seconds until lara threatened to call. you hate this stupid house arrest shit. 

“hope you don’t get your ass beat,” she says simply, and you laugh again. 

“thank you for driving me.”

“don’t get used to it,” she reaches over your lap to unlock your car door, and the proximity of her body sends your brain into overdrive. she swing the door open and pulls back into her own seat. “you won’t get the princess treatment here.”

“wouldn’t want it anyways.” you give her a quick once-over before leaving the car, taking the moment in one last time. she waves as she watches you disappear back inside.

maybe the team thinks they know her, but the version you saw tonight of the blonde makes you feel like you’re going crazy. daniela checks off all the boxes. authentic, unfiltered, and infuriatingly hot. you fall back onto your bed once you get upstairs and let your mind roam into fantasy world, and you finally admit to yourself what it seems your body has known for much, much longer.

you have a crush on daniela avanzini. 

-

the first game throws you straight into the deep end of college hockey. you didn’t realize how serious women’s hockey was to the university until you see the jam-packed crowd, nearly every single seat in the arena filled with screaming fans for the team’s season-opener game. 

“good luck,” you tell the girls, nerves fluttering in your chest as you take to the coach’s bench next to your dad and the assistant coaches.

you spot megan press a quick kiss to her girlfriend’s lips and raise a thumbs up at you. a few other girls nod at your well-wishes, but that blonde is pushing past them all without an ounce of fear. 

“don’t need it,” dani tells you simply, grinning before hitting the ice. 

the game is insanely fast paced, and you never realized just how fun keeping up with hockey can be when you’re actually invested. the scrimmage was interesting but the actual game is addicting, violent and coordinated all at once, making it impossible to tear your eyes away. the girls dominate the first period, keeping an early lead on the other team. the second period is a strong play for defense to keep their lead up. it’s in the third and final period where they get a little shaky, the rookies starting to stand out from the veterans as a missed play accidentally gives up a shot to the other team, tying them back up 1-1.

your dad, infuriated by this misstep, calls a timeout and the girls all come zooming to the player box, dripping in sweat and drinking hurriedly from their water bottles. 

“who cost us that fucking shot?” your dad roars angrily from the time out. 

you know the only reason the other team got the puck was because of that new little freshman eunchae, who was losing steam in this last period and ended up too far back in her zone to catch the pass back from yunjin, giving it up by accident to allow the other team to score. 

“me,” daniela immediately speaks up, and you feel your face twist in confusion. “it was me. i wasn’t open for eunchae to make it to me.”

before you can call her out for the lie, she shoots you a glare, and you realize what she’s trying to tell you. 

“you’ll feel it in practice,” your dad threatens.

“i’ll get us up by two,” daniela bites back immediately.

“big talk for someone who just let us get tied in the bottom of final period.”

daniela leaps over the wall and takes back to the ice before the timeout is even called over. she’s skating hard enough to look like she’ll smash through the ice with each stride.

you analyze it. lara and yunjin sharing a look, eunchae looking both panicked and relieved as she sits on the bench and lets the other defenseman swap her in, megan skating up to dani and trying to say something to her. but daniela waves her off, pointing to a few spots on the ice, before the timeout ends, kazuha regains her position, and the faceoff starts once more.

you hate to admit it, lest it feed your crush any more, but holy shit, is daniela good. 

the debate with your dad ramps her up into 6th gear. she was good before, but she’s insane now, her movements sharper, her skating harder. every time the puck ends up in her control, if she’s not taking a shot, then she’s making sure megan can. she’s absolutely relentless in her pursuit of catching up.

“she’s freaking their goalie out,” the assistant coach says, realizing what daniela’s intention is. the blitz at every opportunity has clearly exhausted the goalie on the other team, meanwhile lara in the goalie box has barely gotten a chance to see the puck due to dani’s aggressive offense. kazuha passes to dani, who makes a shot to bring them up a lead 2-1, but it doesn’t seem to be enough for daniela.

true to her word, the buzzer hits with dani sending a pass to a waiting megan, who scores them a final point.

ending score: 3-1.

“i better see you a half hour early tomorrow for that extra point you cost us,” your dad huffs at dani as the girls are barely coming off the ice. 

“bring me a donut, big guy,” she bites back dryly, her chest heaving. you’re amazed she can manage to get the words out after how tired she seems.

you wait in the car as your dad does the post-game debrief, but when he gets in the driver’s seat, you have some pressing questions based off what you saw.

“she got the team up to the win. why are you so hard on her?” you ask as your dad drives you guys home. 

“avanzini? that’s what a captain is for,” he responds in confusion.

“to be a punching bag?”

“to be responsible,” he corrects. “it was her call to start eunchae instead of letting her watch from the bench. i’m not blind, i know it was hong’s fault she lost that pass.”

“so then why did you let dani take the fall if it wasn’t her fault?”

“because it was her call.”

“but this is eunchae’s first game. i’m sure it gave her tons of confidence to see playtime and know her mistakes won’t cost her.”

“then hopefully avanzini finds it worth it.”

you won’t pretend to understand. you finally decide to commit and follow each of the team members on instagram. they all follow you back within the hour– all except for daniela.

-

your crush only grows, and yet, you feel like since that night in the car, something shifted for her. she’s less attentive to you, less eager for your attention, almost intentionally cold. she avoids your eyes during group meetings, stops sitting next to you during tape reviews, and she still hasn’t fucking followed you back on instagram. you don’t know what her deal is, but your intuition tells you to push deeper.

that’s why, when you spot the blonde curls peeking out from under a beanie at the coffee shop near your house your dad gave you permission to walk to, you tug her by the sleeve and smile as she turns around, pulling her headphones off her head. 

“hi, did you drive here?” you ask curiously, noting that she’s breathing heavily and covered in sweat.

“i always stop here when i finish my runs,” she answers, but the way she’s eyeing the door makes you wonder what exactly she’s so eager to escape.

“perfect,” you sing song, reaching out to her with your hand outstretched.  “walk me home?”

“bad idea,” she says quickly. 

“good idea,” you push back. “plus, i owe lara her textbook back.”

it’s true, lara’s girlfriend had let you borrow a book for your class, and it’s sitting on the corner of your nightstand. maybe you just need an excuse to talk to her again, to figure out why she’s playing this game of hot and cold with you, and you figure she’ll respond best to directness.

“you’re avoiding me,” you tell her, less of a question than an observation. 

“not true.” she shakes her head, taking a sip from her drink.  “just been busy.”

“yeah, busy avoiding me,” you push.

“maybe you’re just annoying as shit,” she bites back, but there’s a slight grin at the corners of her lips that make it feel more teasing than hurtful.

“you wouldn’t know if i’m annoying or not, ‘cause you’re avoiding me, remember?” you answer.

“fine,” she gives in, wrapping her headphones around her neck and reaching for your arm. “ i’ll walk you home, just to prove my point.”

you can’t deny the satisfaction of knowing she’s giving in, and the way she guides you out of the door of the coffee shop by your arm makes you relish in the closeness. you’ve only had one real conversation with her, but it was enough to crave another one, and walking side by side up the sidewalk gives you a warm sense of victory in your chest.

“i know you covered for eunchae,” you start, feeling the breeze nip at your nose.  

“don’t know what you’re talking about,” she smiles playfully, eyes focused on the concrete. “you know me, i just like making coach mad.”

“if you want a dad to yell at you ‘cause yours doesn’t, feel free to keep him.”

“you make me sound super fucked up when you put it that way,” she shakes her head. “like it’s a daddy issues thing.”

“the way you try to push his buttons on purpose makes it seem like a daddy issues thing,” you laugh.

“i just like getting under people’s skin,” she shrugs, and you feel your heart thud at that stupid damn dimple.

“you’re good at that,” you admit, and you almost forget what exactly you two are talking about.  “too good.”

before you know it, you’re in front of the house, a cozy two story with a giant tree in front of your window that you and your brothers had planted when you were just kids. 

“this is where coach lives?” daniela asks, looking up and down in surprise.

“i grew up here. i’d rather live alone in a dorm than with my parents, but that’s consequences or whatever,” you roll your eyes. “let me give you lara’s book. it’s upstairs.”

you push past the front door and realize dani is still lingering on the porch, staring hesitantly at the entrance.

“you can come in,” you reassure her, before noting, “nobody’s home.”

you see her eyes flicker up to you, assessing the lack of cars in the driveway, before she kicks off her shoes and follows you in. 

daniela avanzini is in your room. you try not to make a huge deal out of it, but your mind is absolutely racing. 

“don’t mind the boxes, i still haven’t unpacked all the stuff i brought back from school,” you warn. motioning to the piles in your otherwise tidy room. 

“cute,” she smiles, pointing to the framed picture of you with your former cheer team. “do you miss them?”

“all the time,” you admit. “but we talk a ton, so it’s easier.”

“this one’s hot,” she says, pointing to the picture. 

“don’t piss me off,” you warn, laughing. 

you see something return to those mischievous dark eyes of hers as they flicker up to meet yours, her tongue pressing against her teeth.

“what if i like pissing you off?”

“you’d be admitting to liking me,” you answer quickly, and she grins back at you.

“you’ve got a smart fuckin’ mouth on you,” she says, wagging a finger in your face. 

“yeah?” you challenge, feeling your pulse race as you push her finger away. “you’re pretty cocky yourself.”

“i like the attention,” she reiterates.

“but not from me?” you question playfully, taking a step closer into her bubble. “why were you avoiding me?”

“i was avoiding you,” she finally admits, reaching up to rub her jaw as she avoids your eyes. “i know you’ve done your research.”

“i want to get to know you, and you’re not letting me get to know you,” you push back, reaching out softly to link your fingers. the touch sends sparks through every nerve in your limb. 

“i need to stay away from you,” dani groans, but the way her eyes come to fixate on you abandons what her words try to convey. you realize what’s happening– she’s cracking.

“says who?” you ask, reaching down so your fingers playing with the hem of her shirt. your fingertips brush lightly against the dip of her abs and you feel your mind go numb.

“says literally everyone,” she laughs lowly.

“everyone also says you have a mind of your own,” you push back, tilting your head to look at her.

“that i do,” she breathes, and her tongue darts out to wet her lips as her gaze flickers across your features. you feel drunk under the dizziness her gaze alone has.

“so are you going to think for yourself?” you challenge.

“i’m not a decision to take lightly,” she mumbles, bringing her fingers to trace up your arm and across your collarbone. “i think you’ll hate me if you get to know me.”

“i want to make that decision for myself,” you experiment with your fingers running along the elastic of her shorts. your hands are both starting to seek more and more skin along the other’s body.

“they made it crystal clear how off limits you are,” she groans. “you set me up to fail, and i fucking hate losing.”

“i think you should kiss me, like, now,” you breathe anxiously. you feel your pulse in your ears as she watches as she leans closer and closer.

but before she can close the gap between you two, you hear the loud shut of the front door, and the click of your mom’s heels against the floor. dani’s eyes flash to the open door, and she cooly moves away from you to sit easily on your bed, pushing you away ever so gently.

“y/n? d’you get back from your walk yet?”

“hi mom,” you call out. “ran into dad’s captain and she walked me home.”

“hi, mrs. y/ln,” dani grits through her teeth, eyes still locked on you, as your mom comes upstairs and greets you both. you hope the flush of your skin isn’t enough to sell you out.

“daniela, nice to see you again. thanks for keeping an eye on y/n for us.” your mom smiles sincerely, and you figure you’re in the clear. “i didn’t know you and y/n were friends, you’re welcome to come around more often.”

“i think coach y/ln would flip if he saw me here,” dani smiles knowingly, flashing you a quick look. “but i’ll be around.”

dani excuses herself, and your mom starts going on about the lawyers calling and how your case is going to get argued down to something that’ll easily come off your record. it’s a relief, but she’s still clearly irritated with the whole situation, and you ask to go to bed early to end the conversation there.

you look down at your phone as you make it back into your bed. dani has finally followed you back, and you see a private story posted.

a picture of the top of her head, simply captioned “tryna get up to something.”

you feel a pit in the bottom of your stomach and decide to just go to sleep. at the very least, you know you didn’t make it up.

-

“coach, can y/n come out with a few of us tonight?” lara asks at the next practice. you look up at her in surprise. they had just gotten back from an away game and lara had mentioned something about a greek life party she was eager to hit up. you knew there was no chance, but lara gave you a confident shake of her head and insisted she’d figure something out to get you there. you didn’t think this meant being so confident as to ask your dad directly.

“something small?” he raises an eyebrow at her. 

“i’ll share my location if it makes you feel better,” she smiles.

“i trust you. stay with lara,” he waves you off, and you stare at the red-haired girl in disbelief. you won’t test your luck. she gives you a time to be ready to get picked up, and you thank god that your dad has favorites.

your history with college parties has been iffy at best. your cheer coach was notoriously strict. you’re jealous that the hockey girls have a different standard, but you try to push that thought away and focus on the positive: at least now, you can party without fear of punishment. 

there’s another thought you want to push away: the thought of daniela in your room. lara, megan, and their respective partners are all in the car when they stop by to pick you up, but dani is nowhere to be seen. you make up your mind that tonight, you’re going to get over this stupid fucking crush, and you’re going to do so at all costs.

you’re only a few minutes in to the less-than-tiny house party and lara has already disappeared somewhere to go be alone with her girlfriend. megan is outside in the backyard laughing insanely loudly on the swingset with her own girlfriend. you start to regret not inviting chaewon or someone else outside of the hockey team, leaving you there alone on your own.

but then blue haired yunjin is popping up in your peripheral, offering you a shot, and you take it, deciding you have nothing to lose. 

“no girlfriend tonight?” you ask.

“chae’s studying for her comps,” she wrinkles her nose. “i’d give anything to be making out with her right now.”

you laugh. “i’ll kiss a few strangers in honor of chae.”

“she’d hate that,” yunjin cackles, before serving you another drink. “but i love your intentions, so let’s pick your victim.”

“no, i get too picky,” you shake your head. “give me a criteria and that’ll be my victim.

“oh fuck yeah,” yunjin laughs, and you love how down she is. “hmm. next person to offer you a drink?

“you better put that fucking bottle down then or your girlfriend will kill you.”

yunjin shrieks with laughter and sprints off to leave the bottle back at the bar. she finds you once more and you two dive into the mosh pit of bodies all dancing together. she dances stupidly alongside you, and for a split second, you’re grateful that despite all you’ve been through this year, you can still find decent people you enjoy being around. 

a pair of hands snake around your waist, and you see a bottle of tequila get presented to you from behind you. you feel the sweat and the faint musk of a familiar clean cologne from the stranger behind you. you nod at the bottle, looking up at yunjin as you realize your victim has been selected. 

but yunjin simply stares back at you with wide eyes, shaking her head as if to warn you, before you turn and realize just what has her in such a panic. 

or rather, who. 

the stranger grabs your waist and pulls you closer, and you turn to come face to face with that mess of blonde curls. dani’s skin is flushed from what you assume is both adrenaline and drinks in her system. the two of you lock eyes and you feel the room slow down.

“hi,” you greet, wrapping your arms around her neck. 

“hi,” she breathes back. those damn eyes scan over you, searching for something. 

“we should find somewhere quiet,” you tell her simply. she eyes you, something dangerous in that dark gaze, but within moments she’s leading you upstairs, grasp tight around your wrist. you can see the shimmer of someone else’s lip gloss smeared on her mouth already, and part of it infuriates you. 

but you’re finally alone, the back of your legs hitting the bed and leading you to sit down. she’s quickly invading your space, stepping in and planting an arm on either side of you to lock you in beneath her. 

“i don’t make good decisions,” she warns you, and you let your hands untuck the front of the jersey she’s wearing, exploring the skin of her torso experimentally. she doesn’t stop you, and it makes your whole body tense.

“that’s fine,” you breathe quickly, the proximity dizzying you.  “the bad choices are always more fun.”

you see her jaw clench as your fingers trace along her back, your nails pressing into her strong shoulders as an experimental test. 

“last warning,” she breathes into your ear, her head falling to press her temple against yours. your heart feels like it’s about to leap out of your chest with how her guard falls. 

“you’re finally going to let us be friends?” you grin, watching as she pulls away to go lock the door.

she glares back at you, something dangerous in those eyes, and reaches back to pull her shirt off in one smooth motion before a devilish grin takes to her lips. 

“we’re not going to be friends,” she says simply, before leaping forward to finally claim you.

-

“you look like you’re in a good mood,” chaewon chirps as you race into the seat next to her in the early morning literature lecture.

you mention nothing of the fact that you’re on 2 hours of sleep, waking up late, ready to fall asleep at the table. 

“did i miss anything?” you huff, trying to get a grip.

“colonization, racial undertones, empiricism, the usual good stuff,” she smiles, before eyeing you in concern. “i’m serious, everything okay?”

it’s one thing to hook up at the party, but when lara called you to let you know it’s time to go, it’s another thing to be pushing daniela off you so she doesn’t make you sound suspicious over the phone. 

the ride back was spent in complete silence, lara not at all suspicious as to where you both disappeared for the few hours, but by the time you get back to their place, dani is covering your mouth with her hand to slip you into her room instead of letting you sleep on the couch where lara had initially offered.

you shudder as you fight off the flashbacks and try to focus on the lecture. “i’m totally good.”

“yunjin said she had fun hanging out with you last night,” chaewon goes on, showing you a picture the two of you had taken together that yunjin had sent her. “you guys went to that party together?”

“we ran into each other there,” you smile, loving how yunjin was so immersed in the party and still found a way to include her girlfriend. “we missed you. we both would have killed to have you there with us.”

“next time, maybe i’ll join,” chaewon smiles, and you drop your head into your hand. 

class ends, and you’re almost disappointed to not see anything from daniela. no texts checking in on how you got home (an uber to your house before your dad woke up) or dm’s letting you know she’s even alive. you’ve never been clingy before, and you don’t intend to start now, but just being acknowledged would be nice.

your head is pounding as you walk to practice. as soon as you get home, you’re going to sleep as long as physically possible, and try not to think about how incredible daniela’s hands are at–

you push the thought away, but you spot the flash of blonde curls approaching the stadium at the same time. you swear she spots you out of the corner of her eye, but she keeps walking, bag slung over her shoulder.

you’re no stranger to one night stands, but at the very least an acknowledgement would be nice? you have to work together for the rest of the season. the least she can do is not be a giant fucking jerk.

you speed up to catch her and shove into her to get her attention.

“hi, i’m alive or what the fuck ever, if that matters to you,” you push into her shoulder.

“i warned you, and you found me.” she gives you a disinterested glare, and you almost can’t believe this is the same girl you had played such a fun cat and mouse game with. she keeps walking, and you speed up to keep up with her as you guys head to the locker room. “if you’re pissed that i didn’t call you, just call me first.”

“you are really fucking full of yourself,” you spit angrily. 

“you can’t say you weren’t warned,” she shrugs, entering the empty locker room to put her bag into a locker. she takes off her jacket and hangs it up, reaching for her helmet out of her bag. “i’m not stupid. i know every single person on this team warned you about me. if you didn’t listen, that’s on you.”

“are you proud of that reputation?” you ask in disbelief. 

“i know your type,” she smirks smugly. “you play hard to get and then you’re pissed when you give in ‘cause there’s no more mystery.” 

“you don’t know shit about me,” you growl back, and something about having shared so much with her stings. you’re not mad about the hookup, you’re mad about buying all her vulnerable bullshit and thinking she wasn’t going to be every bit as shitty as everyone warned you she’d be.

“i know what you sound like screaming my name and you can’t take that shit back,” she laughs, and you want to absolutely fucking murder her. 

“i don’t know why the fuck you’re being such an asshole, but you’re a piece of shit, and i hope you choke on that ice today,” you blurt, storming off towards the player box.

“you good?” yunjin asks, noting your expression as you two cross into each other.

“i’m fine,” you wave her off, and you have to bite back a scream as daniela hops on the ice, laughing her head off with megan and lara as if your interaction had never happened.

you try to hide your disappointment. a crush you had believed in so wholeheartedly, only to see that everyone else was right to warn you.

- 

you’re relieved that your dad makes you stay home for the away games, and a break from having to see dani’s stupid face is exactly what you needed. the team leaves that weekend for a game and your mom takes over the hawk-eyed supervision, but it gives you a chance to introduce her to some of your new friends. chaewon comes over to do homework with you and brings along a friend from her english class named sophia, and you find out sophia is friends with megan’s girlfriend. 

you desperately need someone to open up to about your entire experience with daniela, but knowing chaewon is less than her biggest fan, and sophia does her best to avoid hockey drama, you realize you’re probably shit out of luck. plus, you were fairly warned by literally everyone, and you still were stupid enough to get yourself involved with her, so really, it’s a fitting punishment that you deal with the consequences.

halfway through the study session, megan (sweet, angelic megan,) reaches out to you that night to ask you to run her stats from the game. the assistant coach took from the game, and you start running the numbers while sophia and chae bicker about where the best study spot on campus is. you feel your heart sink as you realize you’ll have to do this all over again for the rest of the semester: run the numbers from every game and inform the players, and you let out a loud groan.

“i fucking hate hockey,” you tell them, interrupting their debate.

“oh, do you know how beat up my girlfriend is when she comes home to me?” chaewon shrieks. “she’s like a zombie half the time. i can’t wait for her to be done with this stupid sport.”

“all the players are massive-ego’d idiots,” sophia echoes. “well, maybe not yunjinnie–”

“no, i’m not offended, yunjin can be so loud,” chaewon butts in, wrinkling her nose. “but that megan is really sweet.”

the three of you laugh. the ginger may be single handedly balancing the reputation of the team on her shoulders. 

“well, they have an idiot for a leader,” you say, and they both chirp in agreement.

“i just have to hear about them, but you’re up close and personal,” chaewon gapes, shaking her head. “you’re a saint for dealing with all of them.”

you feel your ears get red. your closeness with daniela would probably be categorized as anything but holy, but that’s something you’ll end up taking to the grave, it turns out. 

you guys end the night with a quick goofy round of youtube karaoke, sophia and chaewon trying to out-do each other so loudly your mom drops by in concern, and you can’t help but feel a little better at the idea of facing the team tomorrow. 

“it’s like what, three more months left in their season, and then you’re free?” sophia reminds you as her and chaewon get into the car. “so easy.”

you’d like to believe her, but unfortunately, daniela wants to make it anything but easy for you.

you go player by player before practice starts, pulling them aside to show them their graphs. lara smiles at her current save rate, megan nods as you show her how fast she’s improving on her shot ratio, kazuha mumbles something to herself about more strength training when you give her the statistics on her pushbacks.

you suck in a deep breath and approach the blonde last, out of all the girls, to try and get it over with the fastest. 

“your numbers are dropping.” you tell daniela simply, dropping the clipboard in her lap as she laces up her skates.

she shoots you a glare, biting the tip of her glove to pull it off her hand and flip through your pages, and you have to physically remind yourself to stop thinking about what those teeth felt like on your skin…

“what?” she questions, brows furrowing. you’re almost surprised by how shocked she sounds. clearly, you’re telling her something she isn’t expecting.

“your average. compared to this time last season, you had this many assists under your belt.” you point to the comparison curves on the graphs. “this season, you’re hitting numbers almost a third lower. harder time keeping up?”

“check your math, there’s no way,” she huffs, standing up and tossing the clipboard off her lap. you feel your blood boil at her attitude, but there’s something giving you a power trip about seeing how angry she’s getting.

ugh. you don’t want to admit the high it gives you to get under her skin.

“ouch, that struck a nerve.” you observe, fighting the grin that wants to take over your features. “you’re underperforming, avanzini.”

“i’m competitive,” she says curtly, eyes darkening, and skates off without another look in your direction. you hear her mutter something with a curse word in spanish, and somehow, it feels like a win in your book. 

it’s not that you want to give daniela a hard time, especially if you’re going to have to be stuck together for the rest of the season, but by the time practice starts, she’s looking over at you every time she makes another pass or takes another shot. you won’t admit how much you like the attention she’s giving you, even if it’s just to prove that she’s every bit as good as her ego claims, but you hold onto the feeling of irritating her and how satisfied it makes you feel. 

lara invites you out to dinner with them again, but dani stays back on the ice after everyone else leaves, and you consider yourself the winner that day. 

dani calms down the rest of the week at practice, and is right back to ignoring you as you do your best to ignore her. you know there’s a chance you two can coexist peacefully– your friendship with lara and megan is actually quite enjoyable, even if dani makes a big deal of disappearing every time you come over or join the red-haired girl and her ginger sidekick. you kind of like the ability to not have to worry about daniela being around, but something in your stomach lurches every time you realize you’re still on her close friends story and she’s posting another shirtless photo surrounded by gorgeous random strangers. 

you know she’s probably not even thinking about you, but she’s so fucking aggravating, you need to get back at her somehow to regain your sense of control. 

so at the next evening practice, you decide to test another theory.

usually it’s just your dad who gives feedback to the girls, but he’s busy chatting with the assistant coaches and the trainee physical therapist, so you decide to put your clipboard down and lean against the half-wall to call out to the girls as they continue through their drills.

“nice shot, kazuha.”

as if they’re surprised to hear your voice, nearly half the team looks up at you, kazuha herself looking confused before breaking into a giant grin. 

“oh, ah, thank you, y/n,” she beams, and the pure joy in her face makes you wonder what the fuck your dad puts these poor girls through if the slightest affirmation is enough to excite them this much.

“me next, me next!” lara calls out to you, and the two of you laugh as you wave her off. these poor, compliment-deprived jocks.

“you gotta do something worth cheering on, first,” you yell back to her, and all the girls scramble on the ice to push further. your original plan was to compliment every single player and leave out the captain, but as you look up, dani is glaring daggers at kazuha, who is still smiling from your call out.

maybe this will be a little easier than you thought. if dani is the attention seeking type, what easier way to piss her off than showing her how easily she can be ignored? and if you can find someone specific to make it feel personal, even better.

you try remembering the dynamics you observed among the team. your dad mentioned kazuha and daniela being partners on the ice, you know she’s protective of megan so that probably won’t make a difference, lara is too goofy to take the compliment anyways–

it clicks. you remember the way chaewon doesn’t like daniela. yunjin and dani might have some kind of rivalry between them.

you pray yunjin won’t make things weird. but as if perfectly on cue, yunjin practices a spinning check on daniela and sends the captain flying backwards, slamming into the plexiglass as easily as pushing a child.

“good shit, huh,” you call out loudly as the defender skates off. yunjin’s head snaps up from the ice, and she shoots you a bright grin and a thumbs up. a few of the girls even go so far as to laugh, and you send her a matching thumbs up to emphasize your point.

you look over at the blonde, and you see dani’s jaw twitch. something about yunjin specifically strikes a nerve. bingo.

your dad takes over practice again, and daniela skates like she’s trying to smash through the ice with each stride. she’s ignoring you fully this time, taking all her passes and shots as if she’s trying to break her stick each time she hits the puck, and you’re absolutely relishing in the fact that you got the upper hand. you write down a few notes in your binder and lose yourself in thought, before a whistle from your dad catches your attention.

“huh was wide open, avanzini,” your dad glares.

“i had a clear shot,” dani shrugs. you look over at yunjin, who is shrugging confusedly at lara and rolling her eyes.

“it was your idea to pass back to her,” he reminds her.

“an idea,” dani bites back, before skating off. “not a promise.”

your dad gives some quick recap speech about the upcoming home game, and the girls break. a majority of them head straight to the showers, and you’re there waiting for your dad to finish touching base with the assistant coaches, but you notice a small handful stay on the ice. all the starters, actually. you figure it’s what gets them their starting position– extra effort, extra talent.

kazuha is the first to leave after an extra 15 minutes on the ice. then lara follows, and yunjin. your dad is back out 45 minutes later, hand on your shoulder.  you wave him off as he asks about taking you home. 

“i’ll get a ride with lara or stay at her place. is that okay?”

“you want to watch these two? i knew there was a hockey girl inside there all along,” he smiles proudly.

“i want to finish my notes,” you tell him, pointing down to your clipboard.

“go home,” the assistant coach tells the girls still on the ice. it’s just dani and megan left taking shots, passing between the two of them, now almost an hour after practice has ended. you have no idea how the two have the energy to make it through practice, much less show up early and stay behind this late, and not be collapsing the next day. finally, an hour after practice, megan leaves to go to her girlfriend’s, and that leaves you alone with daniela. 

she glares over at you, cold stare as she heads into the locker room. you follow, like a moth to a flame, not even sure what you’re planning on getting out of this conversation besides hopefully irritating her even further.

“i thought you weren’t a puck hog?” you taunt her, in reference to the reprimand from your dad for dani not passing to yunjin.

she shrugs, avoiding your gaze, as she pulls her helmet off her head and drops her gloves into her bag. “what can i say? i like the eyes on me.” 

“hm, i can tell.” you say back. 

“did you have fun watching huh today?” she asks, her tone dripping with sarcasm as she peels her jersey off her back. the black compression shirt she wears underneath is clinging to her, drenched in sweat, and it takes everything in you to peel your eyes away.

“yunjin is my friend, and i’m allowed to fucking cheer her on,” you remind her. “i thought you guys were friends?”

“we are friends.” before reminding you, “you and i aren’t.”

“you seem really weirdly jealous of someone you call a friend,” 

“i don’t want to talk about yunjin,” she nearly growls, and you can’t wait to keep exploiting this soft spot of hers.

“why not? she’s improving, like a lot, and it didn’t sound like she had a lot to work on–”

in seconds, she’s grabbing you and pressing you against the locker, her hand against the bottom of your jaw.

“y/n,” she seethes, “if you want my attention that bad, you fucking have it.”

“tell me you’ve been thinking about me,” you press, and it feels almost obsessive. her full weight is pressing against you into the lockers and it makes your pulse race att the memory of her touch. “there’s no way you’re that fucking good at pretending.”

“of course i haven’t stopped fucking thinking about you,” she breathes, and it feels like a confession. “i’ve been trying to ignore you but you’re annoying as shit. are you pissed, or do you want me? you’re sending mixed signals.”

“i thought you could think for yourself?” you challenge back.

“i can,” her eyes are trailing off to scan up your body, her grip still firm against your jaw. “if it were up to me, i know exactly what i’d want from you. but coach’s daughter is extremely off-limits, in case you didn’t remember.”

“i know what i’m getting into,” you push back.

“i warned you the first time too,” she reminds you.

 “just don’t play games with me,” you growl. “do what you want, and i will too.”

“it sounds like you want me,” she grins, leaning in so that your foreheads are almost touching.

“you think everyone wants you,” you roll your eyes, but your hands are already pulling at her waistband to pull her close. something about the fresh layer of sweat slicking her baby hairs to her neck and forehead is infuriatingly attractive to you.

“that’s ‘cause they do,” she hums back easily.

“you look at every reflective surface you walk past.” you shake your head. “you’re obsessed with yourself.”

“you’ve seen what i can do, i think you get it.” she leans down, experimentally letting her lips brush against your neck. “i’m pretty easy to be obsessed with.”

you don’t want to give her the satisfaction of a single word more, but the proximity between you two and the craving inside your bones takes over. she’s sweeping you up in one easy motion, your lips colliding with bruising force, and you lose sight of whatever it was you two were fighting about. when dani’s hands take over, everything you hated her for disappears from your mind, and all you focus on is losing your fingers in those curls as she pulls you into the showers with her.

-

you told yourself you wouldn’t get involved with anything dangerous at this new university– no bad influences, no friends that did illegal things, no risky behavior that can make things worse for you when you’re trying to start over. but when you made this list, you never considered that you’d get addicted to hooking up with the very hot, very irritating, very bad-for-you hockey team captain that already makes your dad’s life a living hell. 

and it’s confusing, to say the least. she ignores and avoids you through the day, and then stays fixated watching you throughout an entire practice. she can go hours without texting you back but as soon as you post that you’re out with yunjin and chaewon, she’s climbing up the stupid tree in your yard to tap on your window and sneak in as if she hadn’t been radio silent the whole day. 

you know it’s just a hookup, and nothing more, but something about how she overdoes it with ignoring you makes it even weirder when you two are rushing to see each other, desperately making up for the time spent apart. you won’t complain: between school, practice, friends, and now daniela keeping you busy, you don’t even have a chance to think about getting into anything else.

“i know what you’re doing,” she warns you one night after sneaking into your room again. she pushes you off her lap when you’ve spent a little too much time with your lips on one spot on her neck.

“feeling possessive,” you hum, running your fingers through her curls, admiring your work against her soft skin.

“you’re fucking crazy,” dani groans, but you catch the way she grins looking at herself in her phone. “it’s getting late, i should go.”

some would even call it romantic the way she steals lara’s car to come park it up the street and sneak into your room on the nights you can’t spend with her at her place. you guys are quiet enough to make sure nobody else hears, and you’ll admit that the sneaking around part makes things so, so much more fun.

“just leave before my dad wakes up,” you tell her, pulling her down by the neck to plant another kiss against her jaw. 

“i’m only gonna spend the night in your room once you specifically ask me to,” she pushes you away and smirks at you playfully. “i’ll be around if you need me.”

“whatever.” you roll your eyes and turn to pull up your phone. “not gonna beg.”

“someone else will,” she says back, but not before jumping on the bed to plant a forceful, dizzying kiss on your lips. “bye, y/n.”

you want to rip your hair out, but it doesn’t make your heart thud any less watching her climb down and out of your bedroom window. you roll your eyes as she stops, looks up at you, and does another one of her stupid backflips right on your front lawn before disappearing into the night.

dani shows up to practice the next day wearing every single hickey you gave her on full display. she didn’t even try to cover them up. you guys lock eyes briefly and you can’t tell if she’s playing a mind game with you, or is just trying to play with fire and test your limits. you won’t give her the satisfaction though– part of you likes knowing the secret stays between you two.

“ah, heartbreaker dani strikes again. another sorority girl?” kazuha arches a brow, shoving playfully into daniela’s shoulder. lara shakes her head laughing and follows onto the ice. 

nevermind. you feel your blood boil. maybe next time you should leave your initials. 

your dad makes dani get off the ice and go put on a neck guard to stop distracting everyone. dani rolls her eyes but does so begrudgingly. your eyes meet as she hops off the ice and towards her bag. 

“are they really a distraction?” she asks you casually.

“extremely.” you say, trying to match her non-chalance. “tell your girl toy to stop trying so hard next time.”

“she’s got a mind of her own,” she shakes her head, eyes lighting up with something unholy. “but i’ll do my best.” 

-

the weeks pass and you guys don’t discuss the nature of your arrangement, but you both know it’s critical to keep it under wraps. your dad is thrilled that you’re spending so much time at lara’s, and lara and megan are too busy with their own things to notice dani either disappearing all night or letting you in. 

your phone buzzes in the middle of homework and you spot the number, saved simply as “captain.”

come over

say please

i don’t beg but i’ll make sure you do so, again, come over

you roll your eyes at how easily you’re convinced. 

“taking the car and going to lara’s,” you call out to your house, and your dad calls back in approval from the other room.

your stomach hasn’t quite stopped flipping when you pull into the trio’s driveway. daniela is already in the doorway, looking stupidly attractive in her oversized hoodie and baggy shorts, and you two nearly don’t make it to her room before she already has her hands on you, pulling you in.

you two fall back onto the bed and you’re straddling her much too quickly to call it casual. she pulls at your top and you try to regain some of your dignity by poking fun at her. 

“wasn’t i just here this morning? so eager to have me back so soon,” you tease.

“you can stop showing up whenever, you know,” she bites back, putting her hands over yours to guide them to her hoodie. you take the hint and pull her hoodie off over her head, biting your lip in eager anticipation.

“you’d miss me too much,” you clip back easily. she smirks and reaches up from beneath you to capture your lips with hers, her fingers hooking into your waistband to start sliding your pants down your thighs. you know the motions by now and start to lean up to let her get them off from your ankles.

that is, until you hear the door swing open.

“have you seen my bite guard? i left it in the–” megan starts, but immediately pivots into a half- scream, hands flying up to cover her eyes. “oh, bro, jesus christ–”

oh fuck. 

you and dani move equally fast to push off each other. you truly had convinced yourself that you two had mastered the whole sneaking around thing, so you’re not exactly prepared for whatever may come next. the dread sets in immediately. you can trust daniela, and you can trust yourself, but the last thing you need is someone else involved.

“you can’t tell my dad,” you blurt out immediately. 

“oh my fucking god, not coach,” megan panics. “he’s going to kill me if he finds out.”

“why would he kill you?” dani squints at the younger girl.

“bro, i’m letting this happen.” megan brings an open palm to her forehead, beginning to pace around daniela’s room. “i’m complexit, or whatever.”

“complicit,” dani corrects quickly

megan ignores the correction and keeps rambling. “no, this is so bad. i’m basically putting the strap in your hand.”

“okay, meg, please, too far,” you groan, and daniela lets out a loud hollering laugh.

“i’m going to die and i literally just barely beat the virgin allegations,” she gasps.

you shake your head and give a look to daniela. is she always this neurotic? 

“meg, please, go like, take some deep breaths over there. we’ll stop if it’s freaking you out that bad,” daniela tries to soothe her, pointing out the door.

“how long?” the ginger asks.

“oh my god bro, we’ve only fucked like, the past month.”

megan’s dark puppy eyes go wide, honing in on you. “a month is more than zero. i was hoping you would say zero.” 

“are you asking for an apology?” you try to ask, desperate to make sense of why exactly she’s panicking. 

daniela groans and finally gets out of the bed, tossing a hoodie over herself and handing you your pants back. she grabs megan by the back of her neck and waves over to you. “we’re gonna go.”

“where?” you question. it’s nearly 10pm and the tail end of a freezing october. 

“where else? the lake, duh. she needs to hit the ice to calm down. we’ll be back.” she groans and grabs a few sticks tucked away in the corner of her room, before she drags the ginger out the door and shuts it behind them.

you let your head fall backwards onto dani’s pillow and stare at the ceiling, the dread sinking in. 

-

you’re not quite sure when you dozed off, but you’re woken up to the sound of the door creaking back open. the familiar curls enter the room and dani comes to kneel in front of the bed, eye to eye with you. the gesture is sweet, almost tender, as if she’s trying to be close without waking you.

“i didn’t think you’d still be here.” she tells you quietly, before gently poking at your cheek. “awake?”

“i told my dad i was sleeping over at lara’s and he has my location. i can’t just leave my phone here,” you groan groggily at her. “meg okay?”

“she’ll be fine. she won’t say anything. believe it or not, we can keep secrets surprisingly well. ask lara what we pulled for her girlfriend last year.” she sits on the edge of the bed. “you stayed?”

“does me being here ruin your plans somehow?” you ask, confused about what she expected.

“i mean, no, i’m going to a party anyways.” she shrugs, her demeanor hardening. “might bring someone back. if you don’t want the couch, then you might want to room with lar.”

“you’re a fucking joke,” you blurt at her, sitting up to meet her eye-level. “always so irritating.”

“what happened to feeling possessive?” she arches a brow playfully.

“no, shut up dani. tell me something– why were you so much nicer to me before we started hooking up?” you question, narrowing your eyes at her. “you weren’t this big of a dick until the first time. i didn’t even think you were capable of being this big of a piece of shit.”

“i didn’t know you noticed how i treated you before,” she says simply, crossing her arms over her chest and giving you a curious look. “you cared about that?”

you take a second before ripping her a new one and read into her implication. it really does make sense in her head that if you only wanted her for sex, there was no need to keep up the dynamic from before. 

is this the root of all this confusion? is daniela just playing a role she thinks you assigned to her?

“tell me something about you,” you blurt out. 

she un-crosses her arms and arches a brow in confusion. “like?”

“anything. what’s your favorite color?”

“blue.” she pauses for a second. “yours?”

“blue,” you repeat, and she smiles at the coincidence. 

“do you miss cheer?” she asks quickly, as if to not let the silence take over.

“you remember that i did that?”

“yeah,” she says simply, before fishing in the pocket of her hoodie for a protein bar she had clearly just been eating. “do you want a bite? did you eat while i was gone?”

you feel rattled by her sudden change in demeanor. where did the fuckboy from 5 minutes ago disappear to?

“where is all this coming from?” you ask.

“if you wanted to be friends, you just had to say so.” she seems so casual about it, the flip, but you won’t question it further. this feels like the dani you met in the car, that first time alone. the sincere, unabashed one you got so inexplicably hooked on, and you want to make the most of it while she’s still showing you that girl still exists.

you take the protein bar as a peace offering and take a bite. “i do miss cheer, if that matters to you.”

“try out for our team,” she says quickly, like the solution is obvious.

“it’s not that easy. it’d be like you trying to play for a new team right now in the middle of your season.”

“so then cheer just for me,” she grins.

“i’d rather die than be an ice girl.” you roll your eyes. “i can’t even skate.”

“seriously? with your dad?”

you pinch the bridge of your nose, closing your eyes. “dani, please don’t talk about my dad while i’m debating getting naked for you again.”

“yeah?” the way she grins at your confession makes your heart thud. 

“but you said you had a party to get to, so…” you trail off, eyeing her. 

you almost let out a scream as daniela leaps and tackles you back into a laying position, biting playfully at your jaw. 

“you’re going to get me in so much trouble,” she sighs, pressing feverish kisses against your neck.

“good thing he won’t find out.” you lift her chin to face you and press a finger to her lips, admiring her pretty, pretty face. “don’t tell me you’ve never kept something a secret before?”

“i’m gonna have to,” she breathes, her arms snaking under your back, “‘cause i’m having a hard time keeping my hands to myself.”

“do something about it,” you grin, and dani doesn’t make you wait.

-

there’s no point in lying to yourself. you can fool the world, maybe, between the stolen glances and rushed kisses in the empty locker room or in the secrecy of your bedroom, but you can feel the way dani’s eyes never quite leave your head. you find yourself thinking about her at every turn, remembering new things as she keeps opening up to you about her past, her hopes for the future, her experiences as captain. you want to think that of course, if she’s the best hook up you’ve ever had, it’d be obvious why she’s on your mind, but you know it’d be a lie to pretend your feelings weren’t getting involved, despite your better judgement.

each time you watch her wink at you from the ice, or order your coffee perfectly as if she’s memorized it, or see her leave a stupid cute note on your clipboard, you can’t help but wonder if she’s this damn charming with all her other hookups too. 

you try not to overthink it and instead focus on the newfound freedoms your dad is slowly loosening up to allow you, with each passing week that you stay out of trouble (at least, trouble that he’s aware of.)

can i go to a party if i stay w lara and megan the entire time?

You’ve got some nerve asking If I call you need to pick up at any point

i’ll leave with her and text you each step of the way

you text to the group chat that you’re good to go and they all send a variety of cheering gifs or stupid memes about how fucked up they’re going to get you.

(at least, all of them except for dani, who never acknowledges your texts in the group chat.)

you appreciate that they’ve finally stopped treating you just as coach’s daughter, finally brave enough to stop babying you. you’re especially grateful when you get to the party and yunjin is feeding you shots much to chaewon’s disapproval, the defenseman screaming laughing as lara and kazuha try to race to take down their drinks before megan even manages to take a single, nervous sip from her cup. you’re grateful to have made so many stupid fun friends who are so so nice to you, but you can’t help but feel like the shenanigans would feel complete with the presence of one particular frat-boy-like captain who thrives in these environments. 

you try to not be obvious about looking around to seek her out, but you can feel the eyes on you from the other side of the room. like two magnets finding the opposite ends of each other, always pulling to touch.

unfortunately, when you do spot her, looking painfully attractive in an oversized university polo and a backwards hat, she’s standing way too close to a random girl for your liking. you guys had never discussed the parameters of what was and wasn’t allowed, and a part of you had always known she wasn’t likely the type you could lock down if you were just friends with benefits. 

fine. you don’t owe her anything. you turn back around and reach for chaewon’s hand, inviting your friend to dance with you as lara’s girlfriend hands you another drink. you’re over trying to push dani. if she wants anything from you. she knows exactly where to find you.

you’re almost able to push her out of your head until chaewon trades to be dance partners with kazuha, landing you with yunjin holding you by the waist. you think nothing of it– her super secure girlfriend is literally two feet away from you, doing the same with kazuha, and yunjin has always been nothing but platonic with you, doting on how much she loves chaewon.

“i’m sure these moves have your girl so, so happy,” you laugh, motioning to how she can manage to both lead you so smoothly and also trip up over her own feet at the same time.

yunjin grins back at you in response. “i always step on her feet, and she’ll still kiss me. i think she pretends it doesn’t even happen.”

“now that’s true love,” you coo, motioning over to the bobbed girl in question, who blows you both a kiss as kazuha dips her over and over.

“i like to think she’s into me,” yunjin smiles.

“y/n isn’t drunk enough to be able to keep up with your whack ass moves, huh.”

the hair on the back of your neck tingles. you’ve gotten too good at picking up daniela’s husky voice absolutely anywhere. 

“funny. if anyone knows about getting shit-face wasted, it’s you, cap.” yunjin raises her cup to the blonde, words teetering dangerously on the edge of disdain. she motions to you and shoos you two off irritatedly. “take it away.”

before you can protest, dani is pulling you into the hallway, secluded from the bustle of the party centered in the living room.

her hands are all over you, her teeth in your neck painfully fast with no warning, as if to assert herself. you shove her away. 

“what the fuck, dani?” you hiss, wincing at the sting of your skin.

“missed you,” she says simply, pressing you back up against the wall, and you’re in shock about hearing her blatant confession. you think back and realize it might be the first time she’s ever admitted something like that. 

“you’re sending me mixed signals,” you call her out, putting a hand on her chest to keep some space between you two. “you don’t want me to get mad at you but you go crazy when you see me complimenting someone else.”

“fine then,” she growls, though you knew she’d avoid taking accountability for the whiplash she’s putting you through. “so should we just fucking quit while we’re ahead?”

you see the way her eyes change, something pressing beneath that calloused exterior, you know dani, deep down, and you know what it means when she acts out. so you decide to take a chance. 

“i want to know more about you,” you breathe gently, looking around quickly to make sure there’s no prying eyes, before cupping a hand to her cheek. “and i want to keep seeing you. please stop trying to fuck with my head.”

her eyes soften, and your heart melts. your bet pays off– her guard is dropping.

“you won’t like what you find,” she warns, and the way her voice hardens makes you wonder what she’s possibly been through to think so low of herself. 

“let me decide that on my own,” you tell her, tilting your head. “why do you keep pushing me away?”

“i thought i was fine with it, but i kept thinking about it. and i don’t want to hook up with someone who’s just using me to get back at someone else.”

“me liking you had nothing to do with my dad. it’d be easier to like you if my dad wasn’t terrified of you,” you shake your head, realizing how fucked up the reality of the situation is.

you don’t realize what’s slipped out of your mouth until daniela’s eyes are lighting up, even in the dim lighting. her voice is so, so eager, you want to risk it all and kiss her right there and then.

“y/n, you like me?” she questions.

“duh,” you wrinkle your nose, embarrassed but unable to find a way to take it back. “are you blind? is it seriously news to you?”

“i thought yunjin was fucking with me.”

“god, yunjin could see it,” you want to shrivel up and die– you had never mentioned dani to her, but yunjin is dating chaewon, the super genius, and is clearly no idiot herself.  “but why would she lie to you?”

dani bites back a guilty smile. “i’ve been kind of shitty to her before.”

you remember the first time watching their rivalry at practice, the smoothness with which they play but the very obvious tension off the ice. you even remember how dani didn’t bother you until it was yunjin who started dancing with you. 

“why are you so fucking weird about yunjin?”

you expect an excuse, but dani simply grits her teeth and lets out a breath. “yunjin is like, what i could be if i wasn’t so fucked up. she’s confident and stupid but people really like her.”

“people really like you,” you press back.

“people put up with me,” she corrects, smiling painfully. “you and i both know i’m bad news.”

“that’s not true.”

“you know it is,” she insists “coach only tolerates me because i’m lara’s best friend, and because i got captain.”

“you’re a star player, that’s why you’re captain.” 

“megan is a star player,” she corrects you again. this is new territory for you– daniela’s always been so infuriatingly cocky, you almost don’t know what to make about the overload of sincerity she’s sharing with you. you regret every time you’ve talked shit about her ego, realizing it was probably the only thing protecting her from this terrible notion she has of herself.

“you almost won player of the year last season,” you remind her, the party now lost behind you both. “that’s nothing small.”

“your dad got so mad when i got nominated that year and not lara,” she laughs, but you can hear something painful in her voice. the pain of being constantly compared.

“you earned it for a reason,” you answer quickly, and you see something click in her.

“you’re the only person who’s never sized me up to lara,” she tells you. “or yunjin.”

“no comparison,” you answer quickly. “you’re so one-of-a-kind, dani. it’s mesmerizing.”

“i love lara, but even she puts me in this box, like i can’t be trusted. i know she means well but it’s hard sometimes. she’s so perfect, yunjin’s so likeable, and i’m too much,” dani breathes. 

“you’re not too much,” you disagree. “you’re so human. you’re like the most authentic person i know.”

“i feel like my feelings are too big for my body sometimes,” she admits, and you can’t believe she’s sharing all this at a frat party at like 1 in the morning. “like they control me instead of the other way around.”

“that makes you so special. you’re not hiding away like everyone else. you’re not scared to treat people like human beings.”

“nobody cares about that,” she snorts.

“i care about that. my dad always treats me like i’m some breakable doll.” nobody has ever made you feel safe or seen enough to confess the frustrations of being the youngest in your family comes with. “my brothers were always the ones allowed to get away with everything but i had to be under his thumb.”

“i wish we would have met any other way,” she says simply, and you feel the weight of her words resonating from inside of you. she leans in before adding a quiet whisper, “y/n, you like me?”

“i should have never said something,” you roll your eyes, but she reaches for your hand.

“you guys okay?” 

your eyes both snap up at the voice. you breathe out a sigh of relief as you realize it’s those big brown puppy eyes looking back at you. 

megan.

“i was going to steal lara’s keys so we could go–”

“kiss, a lot,” her girlfriend chimes in, cheeks flushed from clearly one too many drinks.

“no, she’s too tipsy for that, ignore her.” megan wrinkles her nose, holding the girl tightly by the waist to help hold her up. “i was going to let her sleep it off in the car but i’ll just get us an uber to take her home. take the keys, and go talk. that way, nobody interrupts.”

“i’m gonna teach her how to rock your shit once you’re all sobered up,” dani promises, pointing a finger at the both of them.

“dani, i am so serious, please shut the fuck up,” megan begs, and you can see her ears flushing red from beneath her beanie.

her girlfriend grins mischievously. “nooo, you should hear what she can do when–”

megan interrupts by simply turning them around and walking away with the girl in tow, throwing the keys at your feet as her eyes go wide. you hear her tone soften as she walks off in search of somewhere to let her clearly drunk girlfriend sober up. “okay, baby, not now, but especially not ever with dani…” 

-

you’re a little nervous that you’re being driven home without lara present, but you figure being home is better than staying out in your dad’s book. dani admits she hadn’t actually been drinking that night, which is a surprise to you, but you’re absolutely counting it as a win that she confessed all these thoughts sober.

you don’t remember who reaches out first, but her hand is holding yours as she drives down the familiar streets to your house, and you feel like you can picture it forever. 

“how did you get captain after lara turned it down?” you ask, after she had opened up about so many other issues in her life, answering each of your questions more honestly than the last.

“it was our old coach, she was training your dad before she transitioned to a new team.” you remember this. your dad had been assistant coach for years, and when the old head coach announced her retirement, your mom threw the biggest celebration to cheer him on for his promotion. “coach misty looked me in the eyes and told me that even if the athletics department wanted lara, i was always her first pick.”

“really?”

“she said i needed the responsibility so i wouldn’t do more stupid things.”

“that worked out,” you deadpan.

“i was worse, when i first joined the program. i’d skip practice, i had a shit attitude, i’d show up to games hungover. i threw up once offsides because i had been partying the night before too hard. at least now i stop before i get sick.”

“really?” you can’t imagine it. as destructive as dani is off the ice, her commitment to her sport is sacred. sure dani can be a goof during practice, but never during the drills themselves, or the games. you’d never once seen her show up with less than 110% when it comes down to it, laser-focused on whatever she’s doing.

“she saw the worst in me, and still believed i could be good,” dani shrugs. “good enough to announce me captain. i cleaned up my act a little once that happened. wanted to make her proud.”

“someone believed in you, once upon a time.” you tell her softly. “maybe you should remember that when you feel reckless.”

“fine.” she lets out a sigh and taps the steering wheel as if she’s thinking. you’re about to make a dumb comment about how good she looks in that hat, but she catches you off guard with her next statement: 

“i think we should stop hooking up with other people.”

“what?” you question, as if you heard her wrong.

“just make it easy.” she shrugs again, avoiding your gaze. “plus finals are coming up, we’ll be able to stay focused and blow off steam with less time in between.”

you’re too caught off guard to give a straight answer. instead, you want answers to your pressing questions. “when we first met, why did you get weird when i told you everyone was warning me about you?”

she hums for a moment, her thumb running across your knuckles. “i let myself start to like you, then i remembered who i am and what i do.”

“you’re not a bad person, dani,” you shake your head.

“you can’t even claim me,” she pushes back, pulling up in front of your house. 

“you’re not exactly showing me off either,” you point out.

“your dad would kill me,” she laughs, pointing to your house with all the lights off, “and i have one more year before i go pro.”

“fine.” you turn in the seat to face her, bringing your interlaced hands up to examine her knuckles. “we keep it secret for one more year, and once we graduate, if we’re still together, we say something.”

“so, we’re not gonna sneak around forever?” she asks, eyes lighting up.

“i’m private, but i want to make it very clear that i’m not ashamed of you.” 

“you’ll hate me in a year,” she pushes you teasingly. 

“i hated you for a little bit, but you grew on me.” you reach over to plant a soft kiss on her lips, feeling much too bold considering your dad is asleep just inside the house. “maybe you’ll hate me in a year.”

“guess you’ll just have to stick around a year and find out,” daniela smirks, before reaching across your seat to let you out of the car door once more.

you make it upstairs to your room, and she sends you a screenshot of her lockscreen.

look at what time i made it home. 

the time is irrelevant. all you see is that her background has been changed to a team photo, where you and her are sharing a glance. your heart thuds as you hunt down the same photo and change yours too. 

“this fucking stupid ass crush,” you mumble to yourself, before letting yourself fall asleep. you don’t have to have a name for it. whatever it is with dani, at least as of tonight, is perfect.

-

there’s two semifinal home games left until the championships, and you’ve never felt more anxious to be through a game in your life. between finals coming up, your dad extra on edge, and now trying to make time to see dani outside of just when the sun is gone, you feel like something is dangerously close to bursting, and yet you’re not sure which part of your life is bound to burst first.

the semi-final game, however, gives a hint that hockey is probably going to be a huge stressor for the next two weeks.

the game is absolute insanity. the girls are playing like maniacs, both intense and borderline sloppy as they barely manage to keep a lead up above the attacking team. your dad is beyond himself, screaming so hard he ends up snapping a clipboard over his knee out of frustration when the team lands another foul and gets away with it.

dani, however, is not one to let things slide, and makes sure the team knows she won’t tolerate a dirty play against megan under any circumstance.

daniela takes the other team’s center down, gripping her by the back of her jersey, and slams her into the ice. she drops on top of her, swinging two fast blows in succession against her helmet before the ref can swing over. yunjin jumps in quickly, dogpiling onto the other girl as her teammates come to her rescue. kazuha, freakishly strong, reaches down to yank a girl off dani’s back. 

the referee finally makes his way over and calls a 2 minute penalty for daniela. it’s the first time you’ve ever seen her in the box. she storms over and slams the half-door shut, watching anxiously as her team tries to play without her for the next 120 seconds.

“never seen you fight before,” you tell her through the glass, trying to distract her as her eyes stay laser focused on the ice.

“this team fractured my eye socket last year.” she tells you back sharply, and she seems genuinely pissed. “and now trying a high-stick on meg? they had it coming.”

they barely scrape by with the win, and you have to sit through your dad’s lecture about how playing sloppy is almost worse than losing.

you, the golden trio, and their girlfriends are all leaving the stadium towards the parking lot, ready to go to their place and go straight to sleep after such a heavy game. but there’s an unfamiliar voice calling out from the dimly lit lot.

“you had to try and play dirty to win?” the girls call out, and you recognize them as some of the players from the other team. you look around and realize it’s just the few of you in the parking lot, last to leave. you get a sinking feeling in your stomach.

dani, fearless as always, is the first to step in front of your team and snap back against the attempts at intimidating her team. 

“i was gonna apologize for beating your ass bare in front of thousands of people, but it sounds like you deserved it,” she bites back.

“you call a dirty dogpile beating my ass?” the girl scoffs. “try again alone and you won’t come out as easily.”

“not worth it,” lara rolls her eyes, unlocking the car door to load her stuff into.

“easy to say when you can only win on home turf,” the girl responds.

“home court advantage? are you serious? look at our fucking record. you talk a lot of shit for a team that just got their asses whipped,” dani bites back, chest puffing as lara reaches out to hold her back. you feel frozen at the exchange.

megan is stepping backwards with nervous eyes, tutor girl pulling her by the wrist to try and distract her.

“oh come on, come step up like a fucking grown up.” the other team’s player points at the ginger in question and how tutor girl is trying to redirect her. “or does your little loser girl do all the hard shit for you?”

you see something twitch in megan’s jaw, her eyes blowing dark. 

holy shit. 

within seconds, megan is launching forwards, both hands pressing into the other girl’s shoulders and sending her slamming into the ground with one harsh push. she stands over her as you all bolt to grab her.

“next one ends as you with no teeth,” megan says, voice cold and even. you have never once heard megan talk like that, much less think she was capable of it.

ugh. to be her girlfriend, having someone claim you that hard. 

“she gets it, baby,” tutor girl pulls her back.

you can tell this was the catalyst to something terrible.

“you wanna start something then not finish it?” the other girl snaps angrily, lifting herself up off the ground with the help of the two other girls.

“your girlfriend says that’s a pattern of your’s,” dani snips. 

oh, this idiot and her big mouth.

“try it again, blondie,” she challenges, gesturing for her to approach.

“walk away, daniela,” lara pushes her, but dani’s too fucking stubborn to back down. 

in seconds, dani’s shoving into the other girl, despite the height difference, pressing her face into the other girls’ fearlessly. you’re in awe of how she seems completely unphased.

“they might not fight, but i do,” she bites, “and i’m not known to fucking lose.”

the other girl shoves back and before you know it, they’re at blows, even scarier now without all the padding from the game. you’re seconds from running in to try and pull them off of each other when you see a flash of another girl coming up behind her. you realize her intentions look less than a friendly way to blow off steam.

megan’s scream is the loudest. “dani!” 

the girl lifts her foot to land a kick straight into the side of dani’s knee, and you see the sickening bend of a joint that shouldn’t go in that direction. 

daniela screams and drops to the ground face-first, and the other team’s girls freeze as they realize what just happened of their teammate taking it too far. they sprint in the opposite direction, disappearing into the night, and you feel your heart start to race as dani stays on the ground. you’re waiting for her to make some stupid joke, to pop up and do a backflip or something, but once you see her swollen cheek and bloodied lip dripping with silent tears as she grips her knee, you realize something is horribly wrong.

“dani?” you whisper.

“i think we need a doctor,” lara utters, starting the car.

“dani, can you get up?” megan asks worriedly, and daniela keeps ignoring everyone to clutch her leg.

“this is not good,” you whimper, feeling your body go numb.

you immediately direct megan to help dani to her feet, and lara is racing to pull her car around. megan and her girlfriend help dani limp into the car, and the blonde is ignoring all of you with wide eyes. 

“i think she’s in shock,” lara says worriedly, and you bring a hand to dani’s face. the gash above her eye from where she hit the ground is bleeding profusely, and she looks pale.

“hey, you’re okay,” you reassure her, trying to bring her back to earth.

“y/n, i felt two pops. both my ligaments.” she says it solemnly, eyes still wide, as if she’s processing it over and over. “that’s my knee. that’s my career.”

“you also hit your head which i’m sure didn’t help,” you push back, knowing dani always manages to get out of things with the craziest of luck. you press a kiss to her knuckles, forgetting the world around you. “you’ll be okay.”

“that’s it for me,” she says quickly, before her face pales again and her head slumps forward, the shock clearly wearing off.

the ER nurse takes one look at daniela, bloodied, bruised, and her limp body only held up by megan’s sheer strength at this point, and hurriedly gets her in a wheelchair and out of the lobby.

your group waits anxiously in the lobby, intentionally leaving out mentioning this your dad yet. you can already hear what he’s going to say to her, and you figure the last thing she needs is to hear his lecture right about now. hours pass by, megan and her girlfriend curled up in one chair, lara falling asleep on your shoulder, as you fidget with your phone waiting to hear literally anything back.

they allow one person back to go see her, and lara wakes up and volunteers immediately. part of you wishes you could go back with them, but you figure if only megan knows, you shouldn’t be spilling to just anyone especially when dani can’t stand up for herself.

lara comes back a few minutes later, shaking her head. the disappointment is written clearly on her features.

you realize now, why it had to be dani as captain. yes, lara is lovely and easy to like and responsible, but as soon as the pressure hits, you can read the distress all over her features. she’s shutting down, clearly bearing bad news.

dani would be frustrated, maybe, but her energy would stay up and she’d find some way to make even the biggest problems seem like no sweat. that’s what coach misty had seen in dani, all that time ago, to appoint her captain. an undying tenacity and a willpower of steel– the kind that inspires people.

“the forehead needed three stitches, which they did.” she lets out a sigh. “um, but they’re putting her in for a cat scan right now to see what’s going on with the knee and how bad it is.”

“they’re going to go straight into surgery to see what they can repair in her knee. the acl and the mcl both ripped from the impact. they said we should look into pressing charges.”

your heart drops.

“the good news is my girlfriend has seen plenty of acl rips that can heal fast enough to finish a season. we might not have her for championships but she’ll be with us next year.”

you look over at megan, who is teary eyed at the thought of all of this. “can we see her?”

lara nods. “she has a room, they’ll let us know when we can go in.”

lara decides to be the responsible one and steps outside to call her girlfriend first, and then face your dad. once a nurse comes down to say she’s accepting visitors (albeit, sleepily due to the pain meds,) megan is leaving you guys in the dust to race upstairs towards the room. 

dani’s peaceful snores from her bed bring you some source of comfort. megan curls up in the chair next to the bed and pulls out her phone, mumbling something about calling out from class the next day. 

lara’s girlfriend arrives and the other girlfriends wait outside the door, peeking in through the crack in case dani stirs.

“poor lar is still on the phone with coach y/ln. you can imagine how it’s going,” she wrinkles her nose. tutor girl grimaces.

“hate to be her right about now.”

“check it out. your puppy dog doesn’t want to leave her side,” you laugh. 

“you haven’t either,” tutor girl points out playfully. 

“someone sane has gotta keep an eye on our captain,” you shrug. 

“dani is like a big sister to her,” tutor girl says worriedly, watching from the window as megan lays her head on dani’s bed. “she loves her.”

lara’s girlfriend turns to you, and with zero judgement in her voice, asks simply: “what’s she to you?” 

“loaded question,” is all you say, and they both laugh in response. 

megan bursts out the door with an eager smile. “she’s awake!”

you let the other girls go in first and say their pieces. at this point, it’s nearly 2am after all the waiting, and the adrenaline doesn’t balance out how tired they all must be from the game and being up this late. you let them trickle out of the room as they finish up, last out being megan, before you nod to her and promise you’ll keep an eye on her best friend through the night.

they leave, and you step into the room, feeling a small breath escape you at the sight of her.

she’s sitting up in the bed, beaming that stupidly gorgeous smile at you, but the stitches on her forehead and the scrapes and bruises on her face make your heart ache. she looks so small in the hospital gown, your otherwise larger than life daniela, but all you can think about is how grateful you are that she’s in one piece.

“will i sound too familiar if i start screaming about your dumb fucking choices tonight?” you start, but your voice can’t hide the fact that you’re not actually angry at her, as stern as you’re trying to be.

“sorry i’m such a shit-head,” she apologizes simply, the smile never dropping. 

“how’d you know my dad’s nickname for you?” you tease.

“‘cause he calls me it like it’s my government name,” she winkles her nose back at you, looking around before reaching out a hand to you.

“i don’t think you’re all that bad, daniela avanzini.” you smile gently and take her hand in yours as you stand next to the bed.

“you haven’t known me long enough,” she snorts. “you’ll find something.”

“shockingly, i’ve liked what i’ve seen.” you press playfully into her chin. “i hope i get to know you long enough to prove you wrong, but you’re gonna have to stop doing stupid shit like this.”

“careful,” she clicks her tongue. “people might think you’re soft for me.”

“you got under my skin at some point.” you shrug, the smile on your lips only growing. “unfortunately, i think i like you there.”

she pauses for a moment, and you wonder if she’s going to say something stupid, but instead, she simply looks up at you with those sharp gorgeous dark eyes. 

“will you stay, please?”

“you know,” you tell her, relenting instantly and cuddling into the bed with her, “i had this sick fantasy of finally hearing you beg, but now that you’re begging, i feel like a horrible person because it doesn’t actually turn me on.”

“you’re so evil,” she laughs. “maybe we are meant to be.”

“slow down, playboy,” you tease, before letting out a quiet nervous breath. “what’d the doctor say?”

“good thing i’m still insanely hot,” she says, flexing her biceps beside you, “cause it sounds like i’m never playing hockey again.”

your heart drops. “what? but lara said–”

“recovery for all the ripped joints is well over a year. that’s this and next season.” she holds up two fingers. “there’s no chance i’m going pro missing my rest of my junior and then my senior season, and that’s if my knee even heals right.”

“dani…” you feel your heart ache at the implication.

“that’s what, almost 15 years? just down the drain.” she shakes her head, dropping back against the pillow with wide eyes. “everyone is asking me what the fuck i’m going to do next and all i can do is stare back like an idiot.”

“you don’t have to know that yet,” you tell her gently, resting your head on her shoulder. “i think you should give yourself a chance to rest.”

she scoffs and runs a hand through her hair, sarcasm dripping in her voice. “still want to sneak around with me? broken knee, no more games, useless ass captain with her career down the drain? at least i can smoke so much more weed while i rot on the couch.”

you blink once, twice, as you realize the warmth in your chest has overflowed in a way that never had anything to do with daniela’s status. you like her for her, and you’re hurt she couldn’t see that from the start.

you cup her face gently in your palm and turn it to face you.

“dani,” you say quietly, trying to take in every inch of her features, her poor cut up face. “i don’t think i want to sneak any more.”

your heart pounds at the way her eyes light up.

“even like this?” she questions.

“especially like this.” you nod. “just give me some time to find the right chance to talk to my dad. maybe you can tell lara. we can figure it out from there.”

you’re mentally prepared for an excuse, from the pushback of wanting to still be single. you’re prepared for her to flip that switch and slap you with some stupid fuckboy ecxcuse, as she does whenever feelings start to get too heavily involved, but you know that’s a risk you run wih her anyways.

instead, she just stares back at you with those beautiful eyes, her smile threatening to split her face in two. 

“okay,” she says simply, and it’s enough for you.

“you’re going to be okay,” you reassure her, carefully leaning into her chest to not disturb her bad leg. she wraps and arm around your shoulder and plays mindlessly with your hair. “you’re so one of a kind. things always work out for you.”

the night finally catches up to you, and you fall asleep in her arms. at this point, you don’t care who sees you. all that matters is dani needs you, and you want to be there for her, and there’s nothing your heart wants more than to make her feel cared for. 

-

the championship game finally arrives two weeks later, and your heart breaks as the teams make it a special point to roll out a carpet on the ice to celebrate dani, who limps out in her leg brace and blows kisses all around her at the roaring fans. 

the collegiate sports world was rocked by the news after your dad helped file the police report last week. the headlines hit immediately after: 

“hockey champion’s career cut short due to violent assault from opposing team.” 

you know it breaks her heart to have to watch the game from the bench, but dani’s calling out and making suggestions to your dad, screaming at the girls from the box to make sure they know she’s down but not out for the count. you can tell it does wonders for their morale, their leader still pushing as hard as she can from the constraints she has. 

they’re wobblier on the ice than usual– like a creature on four legs that just lost it’s front foot. megan is compensating for the new left wing, who doesn’t match up with kazuha quite as gracefully as dani did, but they’re making it work. the game stays at a tense 0-0 even down to the bottom of the final period, and that’s equally lara’s job as goalie as well as yunjin’s work as defenseman to keep the puck away from their net.

it’s the offence that is feeling dani’s absence the most. it had always been kazhua to dani, zuha making a hole as dani runs the puck up, and then both of them clearing a clear pass to megan to make the final score. megan is overcompensating, somehow in multiple places at once, and by some miracle, makes a buzzer-beating shot that brings them up to their second championship victory.

1-0, and no easy feat.

the girls all swarm megan on the ice, but you quickly realize megan is crying her poor little eyes out as she races out of the swam and instead runs straight to the player box, crushing daniela in a hug as she tosses her helmet to the side.

dani furrows her brows and gives megan back the tightest hug she can manage with all the padding still on her. the other girls come to quickly trickle in and follow suit, and you can hear megan’s loud sobs heard over the hums and sniffles of the other girls. the reality sets in. their  beloved captain is done for.

“we’re going to announce the next captain tomorrow after the championship recap press release,” your dad tells them, after a few pictures with the trophy and a debrief about the game. “get some rest, you all played your best tonight.”

he points to yunjin and daniela and motions for them to follow into his office. you figure you’ll give them some space and wait outside with lara and her girlfriend, but once you see yunjin step out and hurry away, you hear the volume increase. lara and the physical trainer both exchange concerned glances and walk away to offer them more privacy. you try to focus on other things, but you hear a thud of something hitting the desk, and walk into the office.

you catch the tail end of their argument. daniela’s jaw is hard and her face is red, almost as red as your dad’s, and you can tell the two have probably been screaming at each other a fair amount of time before you got there. 

“captain goes to yunjin.” he presses firmly, slamming his fist down again into the table. “you thank the program for their time, you make the announcement that it’s huh, and you train her until the season starts. you can still see your scholarship out as long as you’re training with us since the injury wasn’t your fault.”

“i don’t give a fuck about my scholarship. yunjin is the wrong call for captain,” daniela bites back fearlessly. 

“if you wouldn’t have gone looking for trouble, we wouldn’t have to be making this call.” he growls, shooing the both of you out of his door.  “you don’t get to call shots any more, avanzini, you are done for. do what i say. announce huh at the press conference and stop causing issues.”

daniela storms out of the office, and you follow behind her, your dad slamming the door shut behind the two of you.

“if i wasn’t stuck in this fucking brace, i’d beat his ass too,” she rants, waving lara over. “let’s get the fuck out of here.”

“enough with fighting people,” you growl, following them to the car.

you spend the night, and daniela doesn’t want to say a single word more about it, instead simply laying in the bed and letting you play with her hair until she falls asleep. you want to leave it there, but something inside you is pressing to dig a little deeper, so you slip out of the bed as gently as you can without waking her, and ask lara if you can borrow the car to make a quick trip. your dad is clearly too stressed out about the conference tomorrow to be checking where you are, so you figure maybe you can dig a little deeper into this as you give chaewon a quick phone call. 

you make it to chaewon’s apartment complex and just as you had the hunch, yunjin is pulling up at the exact same time, looking like a zombie as she tries punching in the access code to the front door. you park and race up behind her before she can leave you behind.

“hi yunjin,” you greet, making your presence known.

“y/n.” she forces a smile, spinning on her heel. caught. “good to see you.”

“i thought we were cool, but you don’t seem that thrilled to see me,” you wrinkle your nose. “did chae tell you i was asking about you?”

“unfortunately, yes,” she wrinkles her nose back at you. yunjin straddles the line between being confident and cocky, just barely able to rein it in that you’re never quite that annoyed with her. 

“sorry for you, but i need answers,” you press.

“all for a girl who won’t claim you?” she arches a brow.

you bite back a grimace, not wanting to admit how deep that cuts. “this isn’t about dani.”

“when it comes to this team, everything is about dani.” she shakes her head.

“when it comes to dani, everything is about the team,” you insist, and you see yunjin’s eyebrow twitch slightly.

“i hate admitting when daniela is right, but i also disagree with the call to make me captain.”

“so don’t accept,” you state simply.

“i have to,” yunjin sighs. “it’s not that easy.”

“why don’t you think it should go to you?”

“i love hockey, but i don’t live and breathe it. coach y/ln just wants an incoming senior who can say the right polite things, keep the sponsors happy, and then graduate and be out of there. i’m the closest she could get to lara raj. dani, as much trouble as she caused, also got us the right kind of attention. it was supposed to be her keeping captain until she graduated. someone like that isn’t going to pop up again. lightning doesn’t strike twice.”

you marinade on her words. that might explain why dani is so irritated about the call– yunjin seems ready to be a puppet for the next year, and daniela would rather die than let captain go to someone who doesn’t see the sport as their whole life.

“i’ve never seen her like that before, so reasonable. she’s crazy about you,” yunjin adds as an afterthought. “she met her match in you.”

“crazy knows crazy,” you laugh.

“i think you believing in her changed her.” yunjin corrects you, offering a small smile as a peace offering. “she’s a pain in the ass, but she’s our favorite pain in the ass, so thank you for taking care of her.”

suddenly the door swings open, revealing a sleepy-eyed chaewon.

“oh hi, y/n,” she blinks, looking between the both of you. “i wasn’t expecting you to actually come over.”

“not crashing, just needed to find yunjin. thanks, chae. see you tomorrow.” you nod to them both and head off. you don’t have a plan, but you at least have a better idea of what’s going through daniela’s head, and maybe that can be enough for now. you drive back to her place and squeeze right back into bed with her, wondering what this new chapter could possibly have in store for you.

-

the press conference finally comes the next day, and you’ve never seen so many bodies packed in the conference room before. photographers, reporters, even what looks like scouts and coaches invited from other teams. yunjin is seated next to you in the front row by the coaches, and megan and lara are right outside the door watching on the screen outside the room with the rest of the team. 

dani limps her way onto the stage, unreadable expression on her face. they offer her a roaring round of applause, their university’s mini-celebrity, before quieting down as she takes to the microphone to start the speech.

“hockey has given me the most beautiful past 15 years of my life. i’d like to thank the program, for giving me a home to call my own, and the coaches, for pushing me to be my best. i’d like to thank the girls, most of all, for trusting my decisions, following me into the dark, and picking me up every single time i’ve fallen in pursuit of perfection.”

“as we celebrate this win,” she continues, “i know my time as captain has come to a beautiful end. i will mourn the season i never got to share, but i know the next captain is going to set the most incredible example for the team moving froward. being captain changed me. it gave me something to be responsible for, and a reason to believe in myself, even on the hardest days, when nothing felt redeemable. this is not a decision the program has taken lightly, as the job of team captain is only for those strong enough to lead by example, and believe in themselves to do it with a clear focus on the team.” 

she presses her lips into a fine line, clearly trying to fake a smile. your heart aches as you know she’s being forced to do this against her better hopes.

“i am proud to announce my successor,” she starts, her face cold. 

theres a pause, and you see her eyes change. she looks up at you and that glint of mischief shines as your eyes meet. you whisper a scolding to yourself but the grin on her face tells you that her mind is made up. she leans into the microphone and takes measures into her own hands.

“the women’s hockey team is in no better hands next year than incoming junior megan skiendiel. thank you,” she nods and stands up, and the conference room bursts into a roar of flashing cameras, overlapping questions, and a few whistled cheers.

you know your dad is going to fucking kill her but she walks off the stage with no fear and heads backstage. 

tutor girl texts you immediately. 

holy shit

daniela’s too smart. the university is in too tight of a position to retract her statement. dani is adored by thousands, and the sob story of her early retirement locks in her legacy as a hero– if your dad retracts her statement, he’s as good as dead.

you all rush to find her backstage as your dad scrambles to the mic, announcing “no further questions.”

megan is the first to spot her, and you can already see the color drained from her face in shock as her lip quivers. “dani–”

“listen, megs.” daniela grabs the taller girl by the shoulders, pulling her in to look her deep in the eyes. “you are our top scorer. you are first to practice every time and always the last to leave. you live, breathe, and die by this sport. everything i know, i’ve taught you, and you’ve surpassed me. you are a better, younger version of myself and you are the heart of this team.” 

you didn’t know where dani’s head was at with yunjin, but you can see it now. experience and composure vs talent and dedication. yunjin is perfect on paper, but megan is obsessed with the sport down to her very core. and when daniela needed a reminder she was more than just a stupid little problem child, she recognizes that megan needs the same push to see she’s not just some nervous idiot little kid. 

“i can’t do what you do,” megan hiccups, and you can see how hard she’s biting down on her lip to stop herself from bursting into tears. “i can’t do any of this without you.”

“you won’t have to.” dani pulls her into a crushing hug, and you feel your heart warm. “i’ve got your back, and you’ve got all of ours. believe in yourself, or at least remember that at least one person believes in you, and the rest will come naturally.”

your dad’s voice booms over all of you, interrupting the otherwise tender moment. 

“avanzini, my fucking office, now.”

he’s stanced menacingly in front of the group, finger pointed in the direction of the coach’s offices. you all fall silent, clearly terrified of what comes next from him.

well, all except for daniela, who steps right up to him and points a finger just an inch from his face. 

“yeah, keep swearing at me ‘cause i got more to say to you, you bald-headed bitch,” she pushes back fearlessly. 

“oh, don’t start, avanzini,” he groans, backing down and walking towards the office. 

you want to die of laughter as you watch her limp after him. daniela and her incessant need to run her mouth.

you give megan a quick squeeze of reassurance and leave her in the arms of the girls. whatever is about to go down between daniela and your dad should probably involve a witness, so you chase them down and follow into his office. they don’t even notice you entering, right back into a screaming match they’re all too good at. 

“do you know the shit you just got us into? i have a whole department losing their minds over their top spokesperson having to transition off and now you’re going off script picking your own fucking captain! do you know the position that puts us in?” he’s seething so hard, you see the spit flying from his lips as he can barely contain himself. “do you ever fucking think about anything besides yourself?”

“yes, actually.” daniela’s face is hard, she’s standing tall, taking the verbal beating but snapping back just as forcefully to make sure he knows it won’t be an easy fight. “i think about a lot of other people, actually.”

“forgive me for finding that hard to believe, between the partying, the disrespect, and the self-centered attitude.” he holds up a finger for each vice he lists. “you carry yourself like some cocky frat boy and i’ve enabled you for way too fucking long. sometimes i wonder what the fuck goes on up there in that brain of yours besides thinking about yourself.”

you see daniela’s fists clench, and she lets out a sharp breath. 

“you wonder what i think about?” she snaps, before taking a step back and laughing bitterly. “this is a great time to tell you that i’m in love with your daughter.”

you freeze. oh christ.

“don’t joke like that, avanzini.” he waves her off, immediately attempting to call her bluff.  “you’ve already put my blood pressure high enough. don’t pick the low fucking blows.”

“coach,” dani says simply, and her eyes flicker to you. 

you look back at her, and realize your dad is staring between the two of you. his face falls instantly as he sees the look you share.

“y/n, if she’s roped you into some prank, it’s not fucking funny, and this is not the time. this is serious, kiddo, you can’t let her use you to make a joke at my expense–”

your eyes meet dani’s once more, and you realize you have a choice. be stuck under his thumb forever, or choose to be impulsive and brave. 

and something about those eyes makes you feel like maybe, it wouldn’t kill you to be your own person. 

“i know daniela is a pain in your ass, but she’s also passionate, and brave, and she loves hard.” you start, and your dad groans in exasperation as he buries his face in his hands.

“not you, y/n, i literally told them the only rule was not you,” he sighs, before pointing back at daniela. “i should have known i couldn’t fucking trust you.”

“you don’t see the good side of her because you’re too busy wishing she was lara, or yunjin.”

you see dani and your dad tense simultaneously. 

“i’d be pretty annoying too if i couldn’t exist by myself,” you continue. “you’re always comparing her and she never gets a chance to just be celebrated for everything she does right.”

“no. not being trusted is a consequence of your own decisions,” he tells her.

“you don’t know everything about me,” daniela growls. 

“no, avanzini, i do know you,” he snaps back quickly, an accusing finger in her face. “i know you’re arrogant and hot-headed. i know you act first and think later, and that’s if you even think at all.”

“and all of those things make her someone you can depend on to give 110%,” you jump in to her defense. “do you know how many times she’s shown up to cheer someone up after a hard game? how she teaches others how to show up first to every practice? how she’s there the moment anyone needs someone? every time the girls start to beat themselves up because you’ve been a dick, she’s the first one helping them feel better about themselves.”

“it’s not just about being composed,” you go on, “it’s about being connected, and daniela cares about everyone equally. doesn’t pick favorites, unlike you.”

“y/n, are you trying to kill me?” he runs a hand over his bald head, his skin redder than you’ve ever seen it before. he glares once more over at daniela. “and you, shit-head, you are to stay away from my daughter or i kick you from the team.”

“i’m not approved to play anyways,” dani snaps back immediately. “you can’t stop me from shit.”

“kicking her isn’t your call,” you push back.

“she’s going to ruin your future,” he warns, but it feels like the weak final attempt of someone losing to try and get the upper hand.

“you not listening to anyone else is going to ruin yours. watch how your team falls apart without dani to guide them,” you snap back, grabbing daniela’s hand to yank her out of the office with you. “she’s not some fucking monster.”

you pause for a second in the doorway, before adding a final thought.

“and for the record, dad, dani did everything possible to ignore me. i sought her out, over and over, because she was the only person who treated me like a human being and not like your little puppet.”

your hands are shaking as you two simply keep walking, making your way out of the building. you’ve never once pushed back against him like that.

“holy shit,” daniela says simply, slumping up against the giant oak tree by the athletics building. 

it’s not enough for you, you’re all adrenaline, and if there was ever a time to claim and be claimed, it’s now.

“you could say it to my dad, right in his fucking face, and yet you can’t look me in the eyes and say it to me?” you tell her hurriedly, grabbing her hands and holding them in your own shaky ones. “you can look him in the eyes, tell him off, tell him you’re in love with me, and still not be able to look me in the eyes to say it here?”

“i didn’t think the chance would ever hit me again,” she admits. “i did it, but i was fucking scared.”

“big bad avanzini, scared?” you laugh, throwing your head back. “never thought i’d see the day.”

“i want to be a different person for you,” she tells you, her tone dropping into a more serious one, as she brushes a few strands of hair from your face. “a good one.”

“you are a good person,” you press, taking her face into your hand. “i wanted you then, before you knew you were good, and i want you now.”

“it’ll kill me if i hurt you,” she clenches her jaw.

“dani, we’ve already hurt each other and we weren’t even together.” you shake your head at all the time you two had wasted being stupid and playing games. “and you forgive me, and i still forgive you, and i still know you’re good at your core.”

“i want you bad, y/n,” she breathes shakily. “but things i’ve loved in my life never really end up working out.”

“because you sabotage them, thinking you’re not worth it.” you hold her perfect face in both of your hands, forcing her to look at you. “you are perfect for me.”

“it’s risky,” she warns you, but you can see her guard falling one last time. “being in love can be really fucking painful. it’s a huge risk.”

“luckily for me, i fell in love with the most reckless, relentless daredevil i’ve ever met,” you grin, and she matches your smile with her own. “i trust you, daniela avanzini. with my whole heart, actually.”

she pulls you into a searing kiss, and you realize it’s the first time you’ve ever kissed in the fresh air, not hidden in someone’s room or in a dark hallway. you relish it, her soft, warm lips against yours in the brisk winter time air, the way she pulls you in to press your bodies flush together. your heard thuds at the realization. 

it’ll be the first of many.  

-

megan taps the microphone nervously, pulling at her tie to loosen it. 

“uh, hi.”

tutor girl is recording next to you, looking like a proud soccer mom. she told you just moments before how hard megan had worked on this speech. the summertime pre-season press conference is no joke, usually it’s how the program will set the tone for the upcoming season, and the team is eagerly waiting in the front row of the conference seating to cheer on the ginger on stage.

“i take the torch of leadership from a mentor who is extremely dear to me.” she starts slowly, and you notice that she has no notes in front of her, having memorized the speech itself.  “i’m excited to work to bring out the best in this team, the way our former captain brought out the best in me, and in every one of us. i will aim high not to achieve, but to improve. all i will seek is that we improve upon ourselves, and the rest we’ll take as it comes for the love of this beautiful sport. thank you for believing in me, and i hope this season gives everyone something to be proud of. my name is megan skiendiel, and i am extremely honored to be named the women’s hockey team captain.”

she nods, bowing slightly, and stands up once the photos have all been taken.

dani watches on the other side of you, arms crossed. her lips are pressed into a grin. 

“you did this,” you tell her, motioning to the packed conference and the roars of cheering fans from outside the conference room. “your stubborn self made this all happen.”

“someone once described me as relentless,” she smiles, poking you in the hip.

“no, i said you’re annoying,” you correct, as the two of you make your way back towards the coach’s area.

“i’ll be honest, i probably wasn’t listening either way.” she teases, and you roll your eyes. “you start yapping and i get lost in those eyes.”

“okay, alright loverboy,” you push her face away, but she presses back twice as strong to plant a kiss on your cheek. you squeeze her cheek in response. “ugh, you’re so fucking cute it makes me aggressive.”

“you’re always aggressive,” she laughs. 

“don’t let anyone look at you during the faculty meeting,” you warn. “if someone smiles at you, you say–”

“‘i have a girlfriend, i love her with my whole heart, and she’ll kill you,’” dani nods, remembering the lines you two playfully ran the night before.

“you’re so good.” you hum happily.

“if anyone looks my way, i’ll call you and then punch them in the head,” she reassures you, laughing.

“no violence.” you warn her. “you’re not a frat boy any more.”

“i love you,” she says simply, but the firmness in her tone and the way she reaches for your hand speaks volumes. 

you grab her by the chin and stare deep into those beautiful dark eyes. her tooth gem sparkles as she smiles widely back at you. 

“be good, and have fun. i’ll wait for you at home.”

“naked, hopefully,” dani quips back quickly.

“we can’t keep traumatizing poor megan,” you laugh, shaking your head.

“you are the best thing that ever happened to me,” she tells you earnestly, eyes looking over you as if seeking something.

“if someone discovers how to quit you, i hope they let me know,” you wrap your arms around her neck and plant one last kiss on her forehead.

“hope that never fucking happens.” she says easily. “you’re stuck with my ass.”

“ugh.” you push her away with one last kiss to her cheek. “go be charming and stupid somewhere else before i drag you into a bathroom.”

she looks so fucking cute in the university polo. a popped collar and a red cup in her hands and she’d look much too comfortable throwing back to her frat boy days. she runs off and joins the familiar figure of your dad as the hockey program faculty head into a meeting room.

your dad shoves her, and she grins twice as big up at him as she jumps up to slap the back of his big, bald head and then sprints off. he grumbles something and you watch as the two disappear into the room with the rest of the staff. you couldn’t be more proud of the way dani has found a way to keep chasing her dreams.

daniela avanzini. incoming senior, and new assistant coach in training.

and, her title for you and you alone, daniela avanzini. the most passionate, caring, insanely brave girlfriend anyone could have ever imagined.

[zuhaism]

⊹ ｡˚ 𓂃 ♡ PUPPY LOVE ?!

[ navigation ]

pairing : sophialaforteza x brothersbff!reader

synopsis : sophia laforteza spent years convincing herself that whatever she felt for you was just a childhood crush. something she buried the day you left. but then you came back, slipping into her life like you never left at all.

a/n : i wrote more than this lol. this is like the intro ig they in for a ride😛😛. and i js realised i named the guy alex cs i was reading mammamia by @/cinnamanz shout out to bro for making that masterpeice and im sowy 😔. btw making a dani christmas fic idc if its not chrisms im making it vro 💔

when sophia was nine, she was an absolute menace. not in a cool, rebellious way. more like the annoying little sister who wouldn't take a hint. she knew it. her brother knew it. his friends definitely knew it.

but not to you.

during one instance in summer and you all spent your days biking around the neighborhood, playing ding-dong ditch like a bunch of reckless kids with nothing better to do, she insisted on joining in.

her brother had scoffed, “sophie, you suck at this game. you’ll get caught in two seconds.”

she had pouted, “no i won’t.”

the others laughed,”no just stay on your bike.” one of them said. but you just grinned and shrugged, “let her try.” you dismissed them and there’s audible groaning from the group of boys.

and just like that, she had your approval. that was all she needed. she beamed at you. she knew the basic rules of ding dong ditch. ring the doorbell, pedal like hell, don’t get caught. easy. but when it was her turn, nothing went easy at all.

her heart pounded as she sprinted up the porch, her small fingers trembling on the doorbell. the chime echoed in her ears, and as soon as she hit it, she spun on her heel, ready to run. but her foot caught on the edge of the step and in an instant, she was falling.

the pavement met her with a rough scrape, and her knees burned from the impact. a sharp sting shot through her, but the rising panic in her chest drowned out every other sensation.

the porch light flicked on.

her stomach dropped.

she scrambled to her feet, but she was too slow. her brother and his friends had already melted into the shadows, their bikes disappearing into the distance. and there she was, left alone, frozen on the pavement with a bloody knee as the front door creaked open.

she was so dead.

but then, out of the dim light, you appeared.

she barely had time to register before you stepped in front of her, leaning casually against the porch railing like it was no big deal. your expression was calm, as if she didn’t just screw up infront of you.

“sorry, sir,” you said smoothly as the old man peered at you from inside. “wrong house. thought this was my friend’s place.”

sophia’s eyes widened. the man grumbled something about “kids these days” before retreating inside, closing the door behind him with a final thud. the moment the door clicked shut, you reached out and grabbed her wrist, gently yanking her up onto her bike.

“let’s go, sophie.”

she didn’t resist, she simply followed, her legs pumping furiously even as the pain in her scraped knees nagged at her. her heart wasn’t just racing from fear. it was racing because you had come back for her. you turned back and didn’t leave her there. Helpless.

sophia was raging with disappointment and also something else as she pedaled the bike. Her gaze landing on your back pedalling down the neighborhood. when you finally regrouped with the others, her brother was already laughing.

“sophie can’t even ditch properly” “you didn’t even try” “sophie just stay on your bike quietly next time”

sophia’s face flushed, and she hugged her arms to herself as embarrassment and shame mingled into a burning heat along her neck. she wished she could just vanish. then you sighed, cutting through the teasing.

“oh, come on,” you said, your voice gentle yet firm. “she tried her best. cut her some slack. she actually has a conscience. not all of us enjoy terrorizing innocent neighbors.”

sophia blinked, her eyes darting from you to the sneering faces around her. the others groaned and rolled their eyes, but in that moment, she couldn’t care less. all she felt was the overwhelming throb of her heart and a strange, warm flutter deep inside her chest.

the ride back to her house felt different. as you pedaled side by side, she kept sneaking glances at you watching how your hair caught the light in the wind, the slight parting of your lips as you focused on the road. you looked so effortlessly cool, so completely unbothered by everything.

by the time you reached her driveway, the sting in her knees had become a dull ache that reminded her of every fall she’d ever taken. she hopped off her bike and winced, trying to mask the pain.

“hey,” you said, noticing immediately as you slowed down, everyone already left while you stayed behind to ask. “you okay?”

she forced a smile, shrugging off the concern. “yeah, i’m fine.”

but you knew better. you knelt down in front of her, tilting your head as you inspected the scrape on her knee. a messy ribbon of dirt and dried blood tracing along her skin.

“that’s not fine,” you murmured.

before she could protest, you rushed inside dampening a paper towel. when you got back out sophia was sitting on the stairs. “this might sting a bit,” you warned as you knelt in front of her. she braced herself as you gently dabbed at the wound. a sharp hiss of pain escaped her lips, and you couldn’t help but smirk softly.

“baby,” you teased, though there was genuine care in your tone.

her face flushed deeper, and she mumbled, “i’m not.”

“whatever you say,” you replied with a light chuckle, fishing out a band aid out your pocket then pressing the band-aid over the scrape and smoothing it down with careful, deliberate strokes. “there. good as new.”

she stared at her knee, then at you, her wide eyes searching your face.

“what?” you asked, raising an eyebrow.

she shook her head quickly, turning away as if to hide her vulnerability. “nothing.”but it wasn’t nothing. in that tender moment, as she tried to mask her pain and embarrassment, she felt something shift inside her, an undeniable spark that made her heart beat faster. nine-year-old sophia laforteza was completely, hopelessly in love, even if she didn’t fully understand it yet.

sophia still remembers the day you left. it had been a summer afternoon, thick with the smell of cut grass and the distant hum of cicadas. you stood on her driveway, kicking at a stray rock while her brother complained about you moving away, arms crossed like his sulking could somehow convince you to stay.

but sophia? she just stood there, gripping the hem of her shirt so tightly that her knuckles turned white. she wanted to say something. anything. but all she could do was stare at the ground and swallow around the lump in her throat.

you had crouched down in front of her, tapping a knuckle under her chin to make her look up. “hey,” you had said, smiling softly, “don’t look so sad. i’ll visit. it’s not like i’m disappearing off the face of the earth.”

but you did disappear.

there were a few texts at first. pictures of your new neighborhood, jokes she barely understood, casual check-ins. but then middle school started, life got busier, and slowly, inevitably, the messages faded.

before she knew it, you became a memory. a childhood chapter she tucked away, rereading only when nostalgia hit late at night. she convinced herself that whatever she felt back then. that stupid, childish crush was gone.

until one fateful day it all came back. sophia wasn’t expecting her day to be anything special. she was walking down the hallway with her friends, disappointed with her grades on the recent exams, when she saw you.

leaning against a row of lockers, casually talking to her brother like you had never left, like you hadn’t been gone for years. her feet stopped before she even realized it.

“what—”

“no way,” she whispered, heart hammering against her ribs.

you looked different. taller, sharper around the edges. your uniform slightly rumpled, hair messier than she remembered. but the moment you smiled. that same easy, lopsided grin. she felt something inside her lurch violently back to life.

she barely had time to process before you looked up. and the second your eyes found hers, your whole face lit up. 

“soph?”

you pushed off the lockers, taking easy strides toward her. laughing. it hit her harder than she thought possible because it was the same.

the world narrowed to just you.

the second your voice cut through the noise warm, familiar, so casually affectionate. it sent a violent jolt down her spine.

“holy shit,” you grinned, stepping forward like this was the most natural thing in the world. “come here, baby.”

baby?

the word crashed into her, loud and deafening, like someone had just rung a bell directly in her skull.

because, god, it had been years since she’d last heard you call her that. since she had been the baby of your little group. the youngest, the smallest, the one trailing behind while you stayed with her and her brother ran ahead.

back then, she hated it.

“i’m not a baby!” nine-year-old sophia had whined, stomping her foot.

but you had only laughed, ruffling her hair and calling her baby anyway, and for some reason. it  sounded different coming from you.

so she never told you to stop and now she’s facing the consequences. 

her body froze, breath caught somewhere between her lungs and throat. her friends barely had time to react before your arms wrapped around her, pulling her in.

the warmth of you hit her all at once. solid, grounding, impossibly real. she felt everything. the way your chin brushed the side of her head, the slow rise and fall of your chest, the way you smelled exactly how she remembered.

her hands hovered mid-air, uncertain, but her body betrayed her. before she could think, she was gripping the back of your blazer, her fingers curling into the fabric like she needed to anchor herself. because if she let go, if she even moved too fast, she was terrified she’d wake up and this would all be some elaborate, messed-up dream.

her friends were losing their minds behind her. manon’s choked gasp. megan’s loud, “oh, what the fu—” lara grabbing her arm, shaking her violently.

but sophia couldn’t focus on any of it.

because your arms tightened around her just slightly, a slow, lingering squeeze before you pulled back just enough to look at her, hands shifting from her back to her shoulders. your eyes flickered over her face, scanning, like you were checking to see if she was still the same girl from all those years ago.

she didn’t dare move. barely dared to breathe. and then, just like before, just like always, your hand lifted. before she could react, you were ruffling her hair, laughing. “you got taller.”

sophia sucked in a sharp breath.

it wasn’t fair.

how easily you fit right back into place, like you had never left. how you could just stand here, completely unaware of the way her heart had just thrown itself against the bars of her ribs like it was desperate to escape.

she scowled, nose scrunching as she smacked your hand away, even as heat crawled up her neck. “and you got uglier.”

you only laughed, unbothered.

her stomach flipped.

you pouted, tilting your head, teasing. “aren’t you excited? your favorite person is back in town permanently now.”

her favorite person. that's what youve always been. she has a feeling it’s going to stay that way for a long time. she scoffed, rolling her eyes like it didn’t affect her. like you didn’t affect her. “you wish.”

you gasped, pressing a hand to your chest, dramatic as always. “you’re so mean to me.”

“you deserve it.” she grumbled, crossing her arms.

before you could say anything else, another voice cut in.

“wait, hold on—”

manon was staring at her like she had just witnessed the moon landing. her eyes darted between the two of you, a grin way too knowing stretching across her face. “is this the cutie you used to talk about when—”

oh, absolutely the hell not.

“okay, we’re leaving.” sophia grabbed her wrist and dragged her away before she could finish that sentence. “oh, come on!” manon whined. behind her, megan and lara were already snickering.

“wait” lara grinned, “so that was y/n?”

lara finally asked after sophia had dragged them to a more secluded space. sophia glared ahead, jaw locked. “no idea what you’re talking about.”

megan lifted an eyebrow, arms crossed. “liar. your ears are so red”

sophia groaned, picking up the pace, yanking them along with her. the teasing turned into background noise, but the weight of it all settled onto her chest.

you were back. after years of being gone. after she thought she had finally let go of whatever childish feelings she had for you.

except now, she wasn’t a kid anymore, and neither were you. but the way you had smiled at her. so easily, so effortlessly. like nothing had changed. her stomach twisted.

she clenched her jaw and shoved it all down, deep, where it couldn’t reach her.

it didn’t mean anything.

she wasn’t nine anymore.

and she wasn’t going to let you get to her again.

the second tragedy of sophia’s day was sitting at her dinner table. the first, of course, was the fact that she had spent the entire afternoon thinking about you returning like you never left.

which meant she had gotten absolutely nothing done.

calculus? a lost cause. chemistry? an afterthought. all she could do was replay every second of seeing you again. every teasing grin, every laugh, the way you looked at her the same with a little something she couldn’t pinpoint. 

and now, as she stood frozen in the doorway, her stomach plummeted.

because there you were. in her house. sitting comfortably at the dinner table, chatting with her dad like you weren’t the reason she had stared blankly at her notes for hours.

“sophia, honey, welcome home,” her mom’s voice cut through her panic. “come sit next to y/n.”

her heart actually stopped. because, of course, there was an empty seat right next to you.

perfect. just what she needed. another excruciatingly painful evening of trying to act normal around you.

she took a breath, squared her shoulders, and willed herself to move. you looked up as she approached, and there it was again. that smile. the one that had derailed her entire day.

“hey, soph,” you greeted, warm and easy, like it was completely normal for you to be here, in her house, in her life again.

she swallowed, nodding stiffly before sliding into the seat beside you. you nudged her lightly with your elbow. “long day?”

sophia forced herself to breathe. “yeah.”

“extra classes?”

“yeah.”

you hummed, picking at your food. “what’s got you stuck this time?”

“calculus.”

“oof,” you winced

her mom perked up at that, setting down her chopsticks. “oh! y/n could help you with that.”

sophia froze.

you? helping her? absolutely not.

“she’s been acing her ap calculus class,” her mom continued, beaming. “it’s perfect!”

sophia clenched her jaw. of course you did. you were always a natural at things you didn’t even try for. meanwhile, she had been drowning in numbers for weeks, getting nowhere.

“maybe you should let y/n tutor you,” her mom added, smiling like she hadn’t just ruined sophia’s life.

great. fantastic. because the one thing she needed less than anything in the world was to spend even more time with you.

“no thanks,” sophia muttered, stabbing at her food.

you gasped dramatically, hand over your heart. “wow. you wound me, baby.”

sophia choked.

her fork slipped from her fingers. she did not just hear that. you did not just say that. again.

she whipped her head toward you, eyes wide, betrayed. but you just grinned at her, all shameless and teasing, like you hadn’t just sent her into a full-blown internal crisis.

and worst of all? no one else at the table even reacted. her parents just kept eating, like this was completely normal.

like this wasn’t the most earth-shattering moment of her life. her grip tightened around her fork, heat crawling up her neck. “don’t call me that.”

you blinked, tilting your head. “what? baby?”

oh my god.

she kicked you under the table. hard. you yelped, nearly dropping your spoon. “hey!”

she scowled at you, but you were still smiling. that same stupid grin, like you knew exactly what you were doing to her.

“take the tutoring, soph,” her brother chimed in. “god knows you need it.”

sophia turned even redder. “this is none of your business!”

he shrugged. “what? your last test score was—”

“okay! fine!” she snapped, fists clenched. she turned to you, glaring. “you. library. tomorrow. after school. no funny business.”

you raised your hands in surrender, grinning. “scout’s honor.” she narrowed her eyes, warning you one last time before turning back to her food mumbling about you being a weirdo.

it has been a week tutoring and sophia convinced it was torture. she had to always keep herself in check and try to not look to stupid infront of you. but what made it worse is you’re so understanding. 

its frustrating. 

you never made her feel dumb, never handed her the answers outright. instead, you guided her, nudged her toward figuring things out herself. you’d lean closer always too close. tapping the edge of her notebook as you encouraged her to think it through.

and it worked.

somehow, against all odds, she had started understanding calculus. started answering questions in class, participating.

even her friends had noticed.

“no lara …ive had tutoring.”

“what you need to set me up soph, im drowning”

sophia only rolled her eyes and left class with lara calling out for her. 

other than the improvement in her attitude during class, sophia absolutely loathed when you tucked her hair behind her ear so you could see her work.

hated the way it happened so effortlessly, like it was something you did without thinking. like it was just natural to reach over, brush your fingers against her skin, and push those stubborn strands back. 

her entire body locking up as she tried desperately to keep her expression neutral, to not let you see just how stupidly, embarrassingly affected she was. hated how it made her feel unsteady. 

it made her wonder if you had always done this, if she had just been too young, too naive to notice how close you always were, how easy it was for you to slip into her space like you belonged there.

and when your fingers brushed her skin, when you leaned in slightly she could smell that familiar scent of yours, the one that had embedded itself into her memories. she refused to acknowledge the way her heart kicked against her ribs just like she did last time. 

she has grown out of it. so she would force herself to react the only way she knew how. with annoyance. with a sharp, “can you not?” or a dramatic sigh as she swatted your hand away. 

rolling her eyes as if that would somehow erase the fact that her face was burning. but it never worked. because you’d just laugh it off completely unbothered. and go right back to helping her like you hadn’t just made her feel butterflies.

whats worse is youd be all sweet after, and treating her to something like boba, ice cream or whatever. just because. 

“bubble tea?” she had a problem of never saying no to you. pathetic. she thought to herself. but a small voice in her head was thrilled that you asked.  she convinced herself it was the after effects of calculus. 

the night was windy. the silence was deafening but also comforting to sophia. she could hear barking in the distance that reminded her of her own dogs and how she was going to be with them after.

you and sophia walked side by side. the quiet was only broken when you asked, casually, like it was just another thought that had floated into your mind, “so, you seeing anyone?”

sophia almost tripped over her own feet. she froze for a full three seconds.  before she managed to scoff and shake her head. “what? no”

you hummed, hands in your pockets, tilting your head as you glanced at her. “really?”

she frowned, shifting her backpack higher on her shoulder. “why do you sound surprised?”

you gave her an easy smile, and she felt that stupid tingle creep up her spine again. “c’mon, soph. you’ve grown so beautiful—there’s no way no one wants you.”

she could feel heat creeping up her face before she could stop it. why are you saying this so casually. she forced herself to roll her eyes, trying to act unbothered despite the fact that she was literally about to explode on the spot. “shut up.”

you only laughed, completely unfazed by the way she was actively fighting for her life.

before she could even process what was happening, you reached for her backpack, slipping it off her shoulder effortlessly.

“what—” she started, but you just slung it over your other shoulder, adjusting the straps like it was yours now.

you grinned, glancing down at her with an amused glint in your eyes. “this bag is, like, ten times bigger than you, baby. i don’t even know how you’re carrying this around all day without toppling over.”

sophia gawked at you, her mouth opening and closing. she was offended. she smacked your arm as hard as she could, she knew it did no damge to you. but you still gasped, all dramatic, clutching your chest like she had just mortally wounded you.

“wow” you breathed, “why am i getting bashed for doing public service” 

“because i don’t need your public service,” sophia huffed, crossing her arms.

you just laughed, adjusting her bag on your shoulder like it weighed nothing. annoying.

the walk to the boba shop was short, just a few blocks away from campus, but sophia felt every single step. maybe it was the way your arm would occasionally brush against hers, or how effortlessly you carried both of your bags like it was the easiest thing in the world. maybe it was the fact that you had called her beautiful like it was something undeniable. she scowled to herself. no. youre not thinking about that. 

before the moment could get quiet again, the boba shop came into view, the neon sign casting a soft glow against the pavement. you pushed the door open, motioning for her to go in first, and she absolutely did not feel anything about that. not at all.

the familiar smell of tea and tapioca filled the air as you both stepped inside. the shop was mostly empty, save for a couple of students hunched over their laptops in the corner. the cashier perked up as you approached the counter, giving a friendly nod.

she watched as you stepped up to the counter with effortless ease, ordering like you’d been doing this for years. she didn’t even need to say anything—you already knew her usual. it was something small, something insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but it made her feel something she absolutely did not want to name.

the cashier punched in the order, and before she could even think about reaching for her wallet, you had already handed over your card.

“my treat,” you said, completely casual, like it wasn’t a big deal. “for doing so well in calculus.”

sophia stiffened. you said it like you were proud of her. like it actually meant something. her fingers twitched at her side, the automatic urge to argue bubbling up, but she clamped her mouth shut.

she exhaled through her nose, muttering a small thanks while eyes darting anywhere but at you. 

the walk back to campus was calm, the kind of quiet that felt easy. sophia focused on her drink, letting the cold seep into her fingers, every now and then glancing at you as you absentmindedly shook your cup to mix the boba. she hated how natural this was starting to feel, falling back into your orbit like no time had passed at all.

as the campus gates came into view, you turned to her, tilting your head. “you want a ride home?”

sophia shook her head without thinking. “no, it’s okay. basil’s got it.”

you slowed your steps, raising an eyebrow. “soph. he’s gonna leave you stranded for at least an hour” she winced. you weren’t wrong. basil had a horrible habit of showing up ridiculously late. still, she shrugged, acting like it didn’t bother her. “it’s fine.”

you sighed, shaking your head. “c’mon, don’t be dumb. i’ll give you a ride home. i have to pick up something at your place anyway.”

the city lights flickered through the windshield as you maneuvered through the streets. one hand on the wheel, the other lazily adjusting the air conditioning.

its crazy how natural you looked like this. relaxed, the faint glow of passing headlights casting soft shadows across your face. she hated that she noticed.

she looked away quickly, pretending to be very interested in her boba. “so,” you said, breaking the silence, “how’s school been? besides me making you a calculus genius, obviously.”

sophia snorted, shaking her head. “hardly a genius.”

you hummed, shooting her a knowing look. “lara says otherwise.”

“lara?” sophia repeated, trying to keep her voice neutral, but she could already hear the edge creeping in.

you glanced at her, amused. “yeah” sophia knew she was being irrational. knew it was dumb to be irritated by something as small as you acknowledging lara’s existence. but she couldn’t help it. because you were supposed to be hers. you were already invading her space, was it so much to ask that she didn’t have to hear your voice saying someone else’s name?

she took a long sip of her boba, mostly just to have something to do with her mouth that wasn’t pouting like a child. “since when do you talk to lara?”

you laughed, drumming your fingers lightly against the steering wheel. “since she’s in my music club”

 oh.

sophia frowned slightly. lara hadn’t mentioned that. she should have known, lara told her everything, and yet somehow, she’d never thought to bring you up? before she could dwell on it, you kept talking.

“she talks about you,” you added, throwing her a quick glance before looking back at the road. “don’t worry, it’s good stuff.”

sophia’s grip tightened around her drink. “…like what?”

you smirked. “like how she overheard the teachers saying you’re almost one of the best in the class.”

her lips parted slightly. what. she didn’t even know the teachers said that. lara never told her. but you knew? how did that make any sense?

she didn’t know what to focus on. the fact that she was apparently good enough to be talked about like that, or the fact that you were the one telling her. she forced herself to scoff, looking away. “tch. what can i say im self made.”

you tapped your fingers lightly against the wheel. “ofcourse you are, you put in the effort. you show up to tutoring, you do practices and you actually care about getting better. you deserve everything good that comes your way.”

her breath caught in her throat.

the words hit her square in the chest, and suddenly, it was hard to breathe. how could someone be this kind? how could you say something like that so easily, like it wasn’t something that would sit in her ribs for the rest of the night?

her fingers tightened slightly around her boba shes surprised it hasn’t exploded and before she could stop herself, her eyes drifted toward you. your profile was illuminated by the city lights outside, jawline sharp, mouth relaxed, brows furrowing just the slightest bit in focus. you looked so… at ease. saying things like this came naturally to you.

because how could she get all the credit when you were the one who spent your free time tutoring her? when you were the one making sure she understood things, guiding her without ever making her feel stupid for free, and still somehow acting like she was the one who had done all the hard work?

she should look away. she knew she should look away. but she couldn’t.

then—

“if you keep looking at me like that, i’m gonna think you’re in love with me.”

her head snapped forward so fast it was a miracle she didn’t get whiplash. “shut up,” she muttered, taking a very long sip of her drink just to avoid saying anything else.

you laughed, amused, clearly enjoying the way she was stunned. “i’m just saying.” she ignored you, staring straight ahead, praying to every higher power that the ride home would be over soon.

as soon as you pulled into the driveway, sophia was out of the car like it was on fire, barely sparing you a glance before disappearing into the house. you huffed a quiet laugh, shaking your head as you followed her inside.

basil was in the kitchen, lazily scrolling through his phone, but he barely got the chance to look up before sophia breezed past him, dropping her bag onto the floor with a little more force than necessary.

“dude, i was just about to head out,” basil said, glancing at her.

“shut up,” sophia muttered, opening the fridge for a cold drink. she needed it with the day she had. 

you snorted, leaning against the counter. “yeah, an hour from now.”

basil shot you a look, unimpressed. “why are you even here?”

you grinned, holding up the gaming controller you’d come to grab. “came to pick this up. also, saved your sister from being stranded at school.” basil rolled his eyes dismissing yn. 

sophia grabbed a water bottle from the fridge, twisting the cap open as she turned on her heel, fully intending to escape upstairs before she did something stupid. 

but before she could make it past the doorway, she felt a gentle tug at her wrist.

she nearly dropped the bottle.

you were still leaning against the counter, a lazy grin tugging at your lips as you looked at her. “my hug as thanks?”

sophia stared at you, her thoughts scrambled. her skin burned where your fingers lightly curled around her wrist. “for what?” she blurted, attempting to sound annoyed, but it came out a little too breathless.

your grin widened.  “a week of tutoring and for saving you from sitting around for an hour waiting on basil.”

basil scoffed from the kitchen, but sophia barely heard him over the sound of her own heartbeat.

she hesitated, but you tugged her just slightly closer, tilting your head like you were waiting. expecting.

her body moved before her mind could catch up. stiffly, awkwardly, she stepped forward, wrapping her arms around you in what was probably the worst hug of her life.

but you didn’t seem to mind.

you hummed, warm and solid against her, your arms looping around her shoulders with ease.your comforting scent drowned her receptors. 

sophia wanted to shove you. wanted to roll her eyes and scoff and say something sarcastic.

instead, she stayed there for a second too long, breathing you in, feeling the steady rise and fall of your chest against hers and then, before she could completely lose it, she pulled away, muttering a quick, “goodnight,” before practically sprinting upstairs.

rumors had been circulating that alex was planning to confess to sophia at the fundraiser. the very idea made her stomach turn.

she hated alex. he was one of basil’s friends. the one who never missed a chance to add salt to the wound whenever she messed up in front of the group. he made sure she felt like an outsider. 

and now, all of a sudden, he liked her? 

alex had spent years making her life difficult, and no amount of sudden affection was going to erase that. she wanted to tell him to get lost. 

whenever alex pushed too far, you were the one who stepped in, the one who made him back off before things could go too far. you were the only one who ever really seemed to notice when she was uncomfortable, the only one who cared enough to make sure she was okay. and sophia hated the way that made her feel. she hated the warmth that crept in at the thought of you. 

sophia groaned, slumping against the lockers as lara dug through her bag. “this is actually my worst nightmare.” sophia scowled, arms crossed tight over her chest.

lara finally glanced at her, unimpressed. “you’re being dramatic.”

“am not.” sophia huffed. “alex is the absolute last person on earth i’d want confessing to me. i mean, the guy made my childhood miserable! he’s a fucking bully and now he suddenly likes me? like, what—am i supposed to just forget years of bullying and fall into his arms?” she threw her hands up.

 “i don’t want a confession! all i want is a handwritten apology letter with tears on it”

“who’s confessing to who?”

sophia stiffened. you.

she turned her head just in time to see you strolling up, brows raised in curiosity. the sight of you with hands shoved into your pockets, head tilted ever so slightly as you looked between her and lara. 

lara, the traitor, wasted no time in answering. “alex. apparently, he’s planning to confess to sophia at the fundraiser.”

sophia braced herself, expecting you to tease her, maybe even laugh about it.

 but instead your expression shifted.

it was subtle. your shoulders tensed just a little, your jaw tightening, something unreadable flashing behind your eyes before you quickly masked it with an easy grin. “oh?” you drawled, but your voice wasn’t as lighthearted as usual. “so, what—he’s just gonna make some big public scene about it?”

lara shrugged. “maybe.”

you scoffed, and sophia swore you rolled your eyes. “you could always just make it clear you’re not interested before he tries anything.”

sophia narrowed her eyes. “what do you care?”

“i dont” you said too fast, you were trying to cut off the conversation before it could lead anywhere dangerous. but then you hesitated, backtracking, exhaling softly through your nose before tilting your head toward her, your voice lowering just a bit. “but you do. and if you don’t like him, that’s kinda annoying, isn’t it?”

she knew you had a point, but she wasn’t focused on that. she was focused on the way your fingers twitched at your sides, the way the muscle in your jaw flexed before relaxing, the way your eyes were carefully fixed on some random spot on the lockers instead of on her. 

before she could say anything, your phone buzzed, and you glanced down at it, thumb moving lazily across the screen. “basil said to wait by music room three after school,” you muttered, still half-focused on whatever was on your phone.

lara perked up immediately. “ooh, band practice?”

that finally got your attention. you looked up, smirked, and shot lara a wink before going right back to your phone, like it was nothing. “well see you later.” then you left. 

sophia felt it like a physical blow. her stomach twisted, heat creeping up her neck before she could stop it.

that was hers. that wink, that stupid smirk, the teasing lilt in your voice. a jealous feeling clouded her mind. 

before she could even think about it, she turned to lara, brows furrowing. “how’d you even know about that?” she tried to sound casual, but there was a slight edge to her voice, one that lara definitely caught.

lara just smiled, slow and knowing, like she was enjoying this way too much. “music club.” sophia clenched her jaw. 

for the whole week, sophia couldn’t get a moment of peace. alex had been relentless, hovering around her like an annoying gnat that just wouldn’t go away. he was everywhere. before class, after class, during lunch. and she couldn’t even focus when she was with you. 

not because of you, obviously. if it were just you, she wouldn’t mind. but alex had somehow made it his mission to sit with you two every single day, running his mouth and making so much noise that sophia could barely concentrate.

it was finally friday, and she was trying. really trying. to focus on solving an integration problem, gripping her pen just a little too tightly as she stared down at the numbers.

“and then my parents wanted me to go to princeton,” alex droned on beside her, leaning back in his chair smugly. like he belonged there with you two, “but i thought—”

sophia didn’t even look at him. she just clenched her jaw and kept scribbling in her notebook, pointedly ignoring him.

you, on the other hand, were visibly tense. she could tell by the way your fingers tapped impatiently against the table, the way your jaw clenched tight and defined, the muscle flexing beneath your skin.

she hated that she noticed.

alex was still talking. still. he had barely shut up the entire session, and it had been four whole days of him yapping while she was just trying to learn.

you exhaled sharply through your nose and finally snapped, turning to him with an expression so flat it sent a thrill through sophia’s spine.

“alex,” you said, voice edged with frustration. “shut the fuck up.”

alex blinked. “huh?”

you tilted your head, feigning patience, but your tone was anything but. “for the past four days, you’ve done nothing but talk about shit no one cares about while soph is literally trying to learn. do you even need to be here?”

alex scoffed, shifting in his chair. “damn, no need to be so hostile.”

“no, actually, i do,” you shot back. “because you’re annoying as hell and we’re trying to focus. so unless you suddenly became a calculus tutor, fuck off.”

sophia had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling. the look on alex’s face was priceless. eyes wide, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water before he muttered something under his breath and stood up, huffing as he stomped off.

you let out a long sigh, rubbing your temples before turning back to her.

“finally,” you muttered. “now, where were we?”

sophia blinked down at her notebook, heart skipping a beat. “integration” she murmured.

sophia woke up to the soft glow of sunlight filtering through her curtains, warming her face. but more than that, she woke up to the sound of music. faint but distinct, a steady rhythm pulsing through the floorboards.

she groaned, burying her face into her pillow for a moment before sighing and pushing herself up. rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she shuffled out of bed, still dressed in her pajama shorts and an oversized hoodie, her hair a mess of waves from sleep.

it was saturday. finally. she’d been dreading the weekend for one reason only. alex’s ridiculous plan to confess at the fundraiser. but after you had told him to fuck off in the bluntest way possible, she was praying he’d finally take the hint and drop it.

but that wasn’t her concern right now. because where the hell was that noise coming from?

barefoot, she padded downstairs, the music growing louder as she made her way to the basement door. it wasn’t just any music. it was live music, the deep hum of a bass and the sharp strum of a guitar.

she pushed the door open and peeked in, blinking at the sight before her.

basil and the rest of the band were scattered around the basement, instruments in hand, deep in the middle of rehearsal. the air buzzed with the sound of drums, the occasional offbeat note, and laughter between takes.

but her gaze landed on you immediately.

you were sitting on a stool, guitar resting on your thigh, fingers effortlessly plucking at the strings. you were focused, brow slightly furrowed, bottom lip caught between your teeth. and god, it was stupidly attractive.

before she could even process that thought, you looked up—and your gaze locked onto hers.

for a second, the rest of the basement faded away.

your eyes flickered down, taking in her disheveled appearance, and then you grinned, that slow, teasing kind that made something in her stomach tighten. “morning, sleeping beauty.”

sophia huffed, crossing her arms, suddenly very aware of how she must look. “why the hell are you playing so early?”

“it’s literally noon.”

she scowled, making you chuckle as you set your guitar down, leaning forward on your elbows. “you mad ‘cause we woke you up or ‘cause you missed half the practice?”

her cheeks warmed. half the practice? how long had you been down here? she glanced at basil, who just raised a brow at her knowingly before returning to tuning his bass.

“whatever,” she muttered, shifting on her feet. but before she could turn to leave, you reached out, catching her wrist gently.

“stay,” you said, softer this time. “we’re almost done, and you can judge our setlist.”

sophia hesitated. the way your fingers curled around her wrist—light but firm—made her brain stall for a second.

but she rolled her eyes, feigning disinterest. “fine. but if it sucks, i’m telling you.”

you smirked, giving her wrist a small squeeze before letting go. “wouldn’t expect anything less from you, baby.” her cheeks immediately turned red. 

sophia couldn’t stop staring.

you moved effortlessly, arms flexing as you adjusted the equipment in the truck, the fading sunset casting a golden glow on your skin. your sleeves were rolled up, exposing the lean definition of your forearms, and when you lifted a speaker into place, the wind tugged at the hem of your white button-up, lifting it just enough to reveal a sliver of your stomach.

“soph, get the fuck in the car.”

her brother’s voice snapped her out of it. she blinked, heat creeping up her neck as she realized she had been blatantly staring. jesus christ.

rolling her eyes to play it off, she huffed and strode toward the truck. she was dressed for the fundraiser. her silky top tucked neatly into a fitted skirt that accentuated her figure, her hair styled effortlessly, makeup subtle but effective. she knew she looked good. she just wished she wasn’t thinking about whether you thought so too.

she barely had a second to settle into the truck before you slid in beside her. and then another bandmate followed, cramming into the seat on your other side.

the space was ridiculously tight.

sophia sucked in a breath as your thigh pressed flush against hers. your shoulder bumped into her, and you let out a quiet grunt, shifting slightly. only for the guy next to you to do the same, squeezing you further into her space.

“fuck,” you muttered, glancing down at her. “okay, this is—hold on.”

before she could process it, your arm lifted and draped over her shoulders.

her breath hitched.

“what the hell are you doing?” she hissed, stiffening.

“trying to not breath down your neck,” you deadpanned, tilting your head toward the guy practically squishing you from the other side. 

sophia clenched her jaw, but she didn’t shove you off. mostly because you were right. the way you were packed into the truck, this was the only way to make it even remotely comfortable. but also…you were warm. and close. and smelled stupidly good.

your fingers lightly rested against her arm, thumb brushing against the fabric of her sleeve as you got settled. and when you turned your head slightly, murmuring, “better?” so close to her ear, she almost forgot how to function.

she exhaled through her nose, rolling her eyes as if her pulse wasn’t racing. “couldn’t get any worse.”

you chuckled, clearly amused, but you didn’t say anything else. just relaxed into the seat, arm still loosely slung around her. and sophia sat there, unmoving, fighting the urge to lean into you.

the whole ride was oddly comforting. light chatter from the front row with the soft music playing.  

the way your fingers absentmindedly tapped against her arm, keeping time with the soft beat of the radio. the occasional hum under your breath when a song you liked came on. the lazy tilt of your head against the seat, eyes half-lidded, relaxed, completely unaware of the absolute disaster unfolding beside you.

she felt trapped. surrounded. every inhale filled her lungs with you. she hated to admit that she liked it. 

the truck rumbled to a stop, and sophia barely had a second to process before she felt you shift beside her. your arm, the one that had been slung so casually over her shoulders the whole ride, lifted away, leaving behind a ghost of warmth that sent an involuntary shiver down her spine.

she exhaled sharply. god, she needed air.

but before she could bolt, the door swung open, and basil was already barking orders.

sophia rolled her eyes as she slid out of the truck, stretching her arms over her head, letting the crisp evening air cool the heat simmering under her skin.

the fundraiser was already coming to life around them. the sun was starting to lower on the horizon, painting the sky in warm hues of orange. carnival lights flickered on, illuminating the fairground in a golden glow. the scent of fried food and kettle corn drifted through the air, mingling with the distant laughter of kids running past.

but before she could take it all in, a heavy weight landed on her shoulders.

“carry that inside, yeah?”

sophia scowled at basil, who had just dropped a coiled-up cable over her like she was some kind of pack mule. “are you serious?”

basil only shooed her away. before she could snap at him, you walked past, effortlessly carrying an amp under one arm, a guitar case slung over your back. you shot her a grin over your shoulder. “c’mon, soph, at least pretend to be helpful.”

she grumbled something under her breath but followed anyway, dragging her feet as she carried the cable toward the stage area.

sophia cleared her throat, shifting on her feet. “alright, i’m gonna go find lara,” she announced, directing it mostly toward you and basil as you both worked on setting up. she needed to move, to go, to be anywhere but here—somewhere alex wouldn’t find her.

but before she could slip away, you turned to her, wiping your hands on your jeans, eyes locking onto hers, big wide doe eyes. “hey, you’re gonna come watch us play, right?” almost pleading. like her presence mattered

and god, why couldn’t she say no to you? why was that even a question?

she hadn’t seen you play in years. not since you were kids messing around in her garage, when your hands were too small to reach all the chords properly, when you’d grin at her between strums like you knew she was watching.

and now? now you were standing in front of her, taller, sharper, so much cooler than before, looking at her like it would make a difference if she was there.

she knew she should say something, but her mind was blank, lost in the way you tilted your head, looking at her expectantly.

sophia swallowed. tried to look unaffected. failed miserably.

“yeah,” she blurted out, barely a whisper. then, as if that wasn’t pathetic enough, she cleared her throat and tried again. “yeah. of course. i’ll be there.”

your face lit up instantly, all bright eyes and easy joy, and before she could even process what was happening, you wrapped your arms around her.

your arms were strong but gentle, warm but not suffocating, like you were made to hold her. you smelled like soap and a little bit of sweat from moving equipment, and it should not be as intoxicating as it was.

her hands hovered awkwardly on your back. patting it lightly not enough for you to notice, but enough for her to feel like she was about to melt straight into the ground.

then, just as quickly as you hugged her, you pulled back, grinning.

“awesome,” you said, still holding onto her arms for a second before finally letting go. “i’ll look for you in the crowd.”

she just nodded, not trusting herself to speak. and then scurried away to find lara and get alex out of sight, out of mind. 

-

after what it seemed like minutes of having fun with her friends. the sun started to set slowly. and that was her que to leave. “gotta go guys” she said amongst the laughter. 

“what. why so early?” megan perked up. “shes going to see her hot rockstar girlfriend” said lara with a smirk. 

lara’s smirk deepened when sophia didn’t immediately deny it. “oh my god,” she drawled, nudging megan. “did you see that? she hesitated.”

sophia’s eyes widened, heat creeping up her neck. “i did not hesitate.” megan gasped theatrically, pressing a hand to her chest. “you totally hesitated.”

sophia groaned, shoving at lara’s shoulder. “she’s not my girlfriend.”

“yet,” lara shot back smoothly.

“shut up,” sophia muttered, but her ears burned.

her friends weren’t letting up. “nah, this is crazy,” megan grinned. “you got all dressed up just to go watch her play, huh?”

“that’s- i always look good!” sophia stammered. They were so annoying.

lara sighed dramatically, shaking her head. “it’s okay, soph. we get it. the effortlessly cool guitarist, the stage presence, the stupidly hot arm veins—”

before lara could even finish her sentence, sophia was already looking the other way, walking to the stage. she didn’t even turn around. she just flipped them off as she walked away, which only made them cackle harder.

sophia could already feel it before she even saw you—the buzz of anticipation in the air, the excited murmurs from the crowd, the way her pulse started to pick up as she pushed through the sea of people. and she finally got a good spot in the middle. 

and then you walked onto the stage.

and sophia completely forgot how to breathe.

god.

the warm tones of the sunset traced every sharp angle of your jaw, the slope of your nose, the stray beads of sweat along your temple. the silver rings on your fingers caught the light as you flexed your hands, rolling out the tension before picking up your guitar. your sleeves were haphazardly rolled to your elbows, exposing the lean muscle of your forearms, your collarbones peeking through the loose neckline of your button-up.

you looked unreal.

her breath stalled in her throat as she watched you tilt your head back slightly. her fingers twitched at her sides, like some pathetic, desperate part of her wanted to reach for you.

then the first strum of your guitar broke through the air, and the sound of it. low and rich and you sent a shiver down her spine. the band kicked in, bass thrumming in her chest, drums pulsing like a heartbeat. 

she wanted to keep watching forever. but then something blocked her view. a shadow fell over her, and her stomach dropped.

her focus wavered just enough for her to realize. alex.

he was saying something, voice edged with nervous excitement, but she wasn’t listening. couldn’t listen. not when you were right there, bathed in golden light, bass slung over your shoulder, looking like something out of a fever dream.

then, as if you could feel her staring. 

you looked at her.

the air in her lungs vanished.

it wasn’t immediate. you didn’t react at first, just held her gaze, steady and unshaken, fingers still moving over the strings, body still swaying with the rhythm. but sophia felt it.

the weight of it. the intensity of it.

your lips parted slightly as you breathed through the lyrics, loose strands of hair falling into your face, eyes barely lidded under the glow.

she had to look away. because if she didn’t, if she kept looking, if she let herself fall for you again and she wasn’t sure she’d survive it.

alex was still talking. something about how he’s liked her for a while, how he wanted to tell her properly, how he knew the timing wasn’t great.  her pulse was still in her throat.

her thoughts were spiraling. all she could think about was you. she felt exposed. like something inside her had cracked wide open, and every feeling she had been pushing down for years was crawling out, raw and desperate, begging to be acknowledged.

she had spent too long convincing herself this was over. that whatever she felt for you was just nostalgia, and that she wasn’t still looking at you the same way she did when she was nine. hopelessly smitten.

she was right back where she started. and she was drowning in it.

“—so would you go out with me?,” alex was saying infront her. but all she could look at was you. 

she barely even registered his voice. her thoughts were screaming. she needed to stop this. she needed to push it all back down, needed to bury it so deep it never saw the light of day again.

before she could think, before she could stop herself, the words were already tumbling out. 

“yes, alex. i’d love to go out with you.”

[jihyoruri]

❚ ❚ ❚ ❚ ❚ ❚ ❚ ❚ 𓍢 FEMININOMENON daniela avanzini x reader

↳warnings: 7th member reader, boys…, swearing, fluff, daniela is down bad

the cool night air mirrored the emotions swirling inside daniela as she crossed her arms over her chest, letting out a quiet sigh.

how did she fall for it again?

every time, a guy boosts her ego, filling her head with how cool she is how they watched the show on netflix, how much they admire her and next thing she knows, he’s off flirting with one of her members.

this time was even worse. he took her out, and for a moment, it felt amazing a nice restaurant, good food, everything just right. but then the bill came, and he just sat there, expecting her to pay. and the worst part? she did.

as if that wasn’t humiliating enough, the night ended with a group of his friends pulling up to take him out somewhere else, like he hadn’t already been on a date. before leaving, he barely spared her a glance, just shrugged and said, “can one of your members pick you up? or, I don’t know, a manager or something?”

so here she is doing exactly what he told her, waiting for one of her members to pick her up.

“finally,” she muttered as the car pulled up walking quickly towards the passenger seat, letting out an annoyed groan.

“hey, it’s your fault for calling the worst driver in the group,” she turned at looked at yn who had het hands on the wheel giving her a smile, and then looking down at cup compartment, “I got food, I know you ate already but junk food sounded like a need.”

daniela let out an exasperated sigh, leaning back into the passenger seat as yn pulled away from the curb. she barely had time to register the comforting hum of the car before yn tossed a bag of chips into her lap.

“eat,” yn said simply, keeping her eyes on the road.

daniela huffed but opened the bag anyway, popping a chip into her mouth. “you know, I was having such a good time at first. it was nice. for once, I thought, ‘hey, maybe this one is actually decent.’” she threw a hand up dramatically. “but no. of course not. because why would a man ever act right?”

yn snorted. “that’s what I’m saying.”

daniela rolled her eyes, crunching down on another chip. “like, the absolute audacity of this dude. the bill came, and he just stared at me. didn’t even pretend to reach for his wallet. and I, like the dumbass I am paid.” she groaned, slumping further into the seat. “then his friends show up like we weren’t just on a date, and he asks me if one of my members can pick me up. can you believe that? like I’m some lost child who needs a ride home.”

yn clicked her tongue, glancing over at her. “so, lemme get this straight. he gassed you up, took you out, let you pay, ditched you, and then had the nerve to act like you were his little sister waiting for pickup?”

“exactly.”

“wow.” yn shook her head. “maybe it’s time to switch.”

daniela let out a startled laugh, looking at yn with wide eyes. “switch? as in…” she trailed off, raising a brow.

yn shrugged, a teasing smirk playing on her lips. “I mean, look at the pattern here. you keep going for men, and they keep disappointing you. maybe it’s time to explore… other options.”

daniela laughed again, but it came out a little shaky. “nah, nah, I love men.” she waved a hand dismissively before grumbling, “they’re just… the worst.”

yn chuckled, reaching over to steal a chip from daniela’s bag. “yeah. they are.”

when they got back to the group house, daniela was still fuming, but at least she wasn’t alone in her misery. yn had listened, thrown in her witty remarks, and even let daniela yell dramatically into the car’s ceiling a couple of times. by the time they stepped inside, she was feeling a little better.

until yn did… something.

it was so small, so insignificant that daniela couldn’t even explain why it made her stomach flip. maybe it was the way yn casually reached up to the kitchen cabinet, stretching just enough that the hem of her hoodie lifted, revealing a sliver of skin. or maybe it was the way she grabbed a glass, filled it with water, and handed it to daniela without a word just a soft look that said, drink, you’ll feel better.

daniela took the glass, suddenly hyperaware of the warmth of yn’s fingers against hers.

okay. weird.

she shook it off, convinced it was nothing, but then it

daniela took the glass, suddenly hyperaware of the warmth of yn’s fingers against hers.

okay. weird.

she shook it off, convinced it was nothing, but then it kept happening.

at practice the next day, yn was focused, hair tied back, brows furrowed in concentration as she nailed every move with precision. daniela had seen her dance a thousand times before, but for some reason, this time felt different. like every movement was sharper, every glance was more intense.

at one point, yn pushed her hair out of her face, sweat glistening on her neck, and daniela had to physically look away before she embarrassed herself.

then there was the moment in the kitchen again, except this time, yn was cooking. she moved around the space effortlessly, flipping something in a pan with the kind of confidence daniela wished she saw in more men.

“you cook?” daniela blurted out, standing awkwardly near the counter.

yn glanced up, raising a brow. “yeah?”

daniela cleared her throat. “like, well?”

yn chuckled, plating the food before sliding it toward daniela. “you tell me.”

daniela hesitated before taking a bite and of course, it was good. stupidly good. annoyingly good.

she groaned. “you’re making it really hard to keep my standards low, you know.”

yn shrugged , wiping her hands on a towel. “not the first time someone has said that.”

daniela rolled her eyes at the smug look on yn’s face, “shut up.” she grumbled, her mouth still full with food.

and that was when daniela knew she was in trouble.

it became a problem. a big problem.

yn wasn’t even doing anything special, yet everything she did suddenly seemed so attractive.

daniela caught herself staring way too often, lost in the way yn’s fingers moved over her guitar strings, the way she tilted her head when she listened, the way she remembered things daniela said in passing and brought them up later like they actually mattered.

it was infuriating.

she found herself comparing thinking about the way men had treated her versus the way yn did things effortlessly. yn never made her feel like an afterthought, never left her stranded, never expected anything from her, and that was just her being a friend, it made daniela wonder how she is when it’s more than that.

she was just… there. steady. reliable. and it made daniela’s heart race in a way she wasn’t ready to admit.

but then one night, as they were sitting on the couch, yn tossed a blanket over daniela’s lap and said, “you looked cold.” just like that. simple. no big deal.

except it was a big deal. because no guy had ever thought to do that for her.

daniela stared at yn, heart hammering in her chest.

“what?” yn asked, amused.

daniela swallowed, suddenly remembering their conversation in the car.

maybe it’s time to switch.

she took a shaky breath, forcing a smirk even though her hands felt clammy. “remember when you said it’s time I switch?”

yn tilted her head. “yeah?”

daniela exhaled, eyes locked onto hers.

“…I think you might be right.”

[nakylvr]

— BREATH AWAY

sophia laforteza x loser!g!p reader

summary: sophia takes care of her members all day, only being vulnerable enough at night for you to take care of her. you don't think it's anything other than hooking up despite being absolutely in love with her. until the night she brings up something.

warnings/tags: nsfw content, language, 7th member!reader, they're not in a relationship, unprotected sex, breeding kink, cumming inside, not proofread

yeah so i made something based off this thought so what?

over the past few months, you didn't know what you were doing. to be fair, you didn't know since the beginning. you don't even remember how it started, it just...did. one night she came into your solo room and the rest was history.

you knew you shouldn't have feelings. feelings for your leader, you knew it wasn't going to work. but you couldn't help it. you were completely in love with sophia laforteza.

the first time it happened you thought it wouldn't go any further. only for the same thing to happen for months.

you tried not to show it at first, how down bad you were for the filipina. but it was obvious to the members, specifically megan and daniela who had been there the longest with you two since dream academy. you had fallen for her since the moment you saw her. who couldn't? you knew it was dumb, but you couldn't help it. to be fair, you didn't think you would end up debuting, but that's the least surprising thing that's happened in the year.

then, you started not being able to contain it. you showed signs, whether they were obvious or not to sophia was a whole other question. you got her favorite coffee every morning before anyone else was awake, you helped her with managing things that she couldn't do, you would linger around her more. you were basically a puppy doing everything for her attention. attention she only gave you at night.

she didn't have feelings for you in that way. you assumed that once it was months in. it was strictly hooking up. nothing else. she needed a stress reliever from everything, and that was you. you didn't mind it at first. but the more you thought about it, the more you realized there was no point.

so you stopped.

she would come into your room still, and you would pretend to be asleep. for multiple nights in a row. you stopped getting her coffee, you stopped hovering around her. that's when she knew something was wrong with you. but, she didn't know what to do about it.

it was awkward for some time between you two. but you figured this was better. you were breaking your heart slowly but surely every time it happened knowing she won't see you that way. you'd rather have the awkwardness than losing your sanity and heart.

you don't know why you were watching her live, she was in the next room, you could hear the music faintly as you sat on your bed. but you were. mindlessly listening to her talk, not really paying attention until she said something that caught your ear.

"yeah, i'd want kids– IN THE FUTURE." she emphasizes, eyes wide while shaking her hand to keep it from blowing up in her face.

you knew she was talking about someone else. you were in the present, but you wouldn't be in her future like you wanted to be. you were okay with that. you could come to terms with that. you turned off your phone and rolled over onto your side, curling up in on yourself and closing your eyes, still hearing the music in the background.

you wouldn't be hers really, and you could come to terms with that.

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈

it was barely six in the morning when your door slowly creaked open, and you groggily opened your eyes to see sophia standing in the doorway.

"yn?"

you tensed up. she knew you were awake, you were staring right at her trying to calm your irregular heartbeat down from exploding out of your chest.

"yeah?" you respond quietly.

"can i come in?" she asks hesitantly.

"sure," you reply, sliding up to rest your back against the headboard.

sophia walks inside, closing and not-so-subtly locking the door behind her, making your breath hitch in your throat. she makes her way over to you slowly, every step making it harder for you to breathe when you see she's only wearing one of your hoodies and judging by her bare legs, only in her panties underneath it. she stops in front of you and climbs onto the bed next to you. she looks at you silently, waiting for you to say something, but you can't get anything out. you're staring back at her with your pupils already dilated just at the sight of her in silence.

her hands move to cup your face, her thumb drawing small circles on your cheek as she slowly leans in and kisses you softly. you can't help the little noise of surprise that escapes your throat when her lips touch yours, your face turning red embarrassingly. to her surprise, you kiss back. your lips move against hers perfectly, and you forget for just a moment that this is the most you'll get from her.

"wait," you quickly pull away, panting a little bit.

"what's wrong?" sophia asks.

"what about the girls? i don't–"

"they're crashing at emily's for her birthday, remember?" sophia cuts you off. "it's just us here." a moment of silence passes between you two. "do you want this?" she asks you.

it takes you a minute to answer. you don't know what you want anymore. the only thing you want is her, and her completely.

"yes."

a small smile curls on her lips and she nods before kissing you again.

you're not sure how it happened. your shirt and sweatpants off tossed somewhere in the room, your boxers at your ankles, sophia naked under you. but you don't care. not right now.

you pull your lips away from hers to breathe, trying to keep yourself from busting immediately. you sit up and reach into your bedside drawer, finding a condom and taking it when sophia suddenly grabs your wrist, making you freeze.

"you don't need that," she says.

your eyes widen slightly. sophia, the one who always insisted on you wearing a condom letting you go in raw? you thought she was joking, but the look in her eyes told you otherwise. with a nod, you toss it back in the drawer and position yourself on your forearms near her head.

looking down at her, you search her eyes for approval, and when she gives you a nod you slowly push inside her. a moan comes from both of you at the feeling, her arms wrapping around your neck and pulling you closer. once you're all the way in, you stop for a moment, giving her time to adjust and you to calm yourself down from the feeling of her warm, wet walls snug around you.

"please," she breathes out.

you slowly start moving your hips, building a steady rhythm making you both moan. "fuck..." you groan. "s-so tight." your eyes squeeze shut, breathy moans falling from your lips. "fuck, you feel so g-good, soph," you whimper.

soft moans escaped sophia's mouth without realizing, the noises right next to your ear only spurring you on further. her hand gripped your hair in a tight grip, tugging on it lightly. "faster– fuck, please, baby."

picking up your pace, sophia lets out a loud moan, tugging on your hair again as the sounds of the bed squeaking beneath you gets louder at every thrust you make. the dull pain in your head from pulling your hair has you opening your eyes, finally looking down and seeing her — eyes hooded, mouth agape with whines and moans falling from her lips that were swollen from kissing, chest heaving up and down. all because of you. "you're s' pretty like this," you murmur.

"oh, fuck!" sophia gasps when your thrusts start turning more rough, feeling the tip of your cock hit her g-spot. "right there, mahal, right– shit! mnnh you feel s-so good. making me feel so g-good, don't stop!" her moans proceed to get even louder, and you're grateful that the members are out of the house to not hear the sinful act you two were participating in. anyone would be able to tell with the way the bed was squeaking and the headboard hitting the wall repeatedly.

you slam your cock in and out of her, grunting every now and then with moans freely leaving your mouth. your eyes lock with hers, and she pulls you down into a kiss. one different feeling than the rest. one filled with all the love she had for you.

parting from the kiss, sophia rests her forehead on yours, her eyes staring up at you. she feels you throbbing inside her, twitching and desperate for release, and she decides now is the time.

"cum in me," she whispers.

"what?" your eyes go wide, your hips stuttering for a second.

sophia wraps her legs around your hips, pulling you impossibly closer so you were flush against her. "please, mahal. please, i want you– i want your cum in me, please. please, i need you so bad. wan-wanna have your babies– fuck, please!" she begs, tears building in her eyes.

your eyes darken at her words, feeling a newfound desire in you as you nod, your hips snapping against hers at a fast pace that had both of you moaning loudly. "gonna fill you up so good...gonna give you every last drop– fuck, you're so tight–"

sophia cuts you off by pulling you down into another kiss, mainly just you two panting against each other's lips. "i love you," she murmurs. "i love y-you so much, yn."

"i love you too," you reply without even thinking of what she said. "f-fuck, i'm gonna cum!" you whine.

"cum for me, baby," she tells you. "make me yours, please."

with a few more thrusts, you let out a long groan, spurts of your cum filling her up making her cum right after you, feeling her walls milk you for all your worth. you slouch against her, your arms sore from holding yourself up as you breath heavily to recompose yourself.

one of sophia's hands gently runs through your hair, her eyes closed while she also tries to catch her breath. when you pull your head from her neck, she opens her eyes and looks up at you. her hand pushes your hair out of your face and cups your cheek as she leans in, pressing a deep kiss on your lips. when she pulls away, she just smiles at you.

"i meant what i said, y'know," she says softly. "i love you, yn. and i want to have a family together."

your eyes widen, not being able to contain the surprise you felt as you tried to find any sign of her lying or just saying it to make you feel better. "really?" you can't help but ask.

"yeah." she nods. "i want to be with you, not whatever this is."

the smile that grows on your face has one growing on sophia's as you lean down and kiss her passionately. when you pull away, you both have matching smiles on your faces as you look at each other.

"i love you so much, sophia," you tell her.

"i love you too, yn," she immediately responds.

[overadores]

જ⁀➴°⋆ Love Me Like A Friend ୨ৎ Daniela Avanzini

“Every night you're sleeping in my bed”

“Every morning you're fucking with my head”

୨ৎ synopsis. When Katseye’s main dancer, Daniela Avanzini makes her debut, no one is aware of her secret friends-with-benefits arrangement with chart-topping producer and singer Y/N L/N—a relationship they’ve kept under wraps due to Daniela’s strict no-dating rule. However, as rumors circulate about Y/N’s supposed affairs with other women, and her enigmatic song lyrics appear to reflect Daniela’s mixed signals, tension starts to build. With public speculation intensifying and jealousy brewing behind closed doors, their closely guarded secret is on the verge of unraveling, compelling them to face what they truly mean to one another.

୨ৎ tags. fluff, crack, smau, little writing, friends with benefits, sexual jokes, mention of substance and alcohol, toxicity, red flags, tiny bit of angst, profanities, kys jokes, friends-lovers, suggestive themes.

୨ৎ pairing. daniela avanzini x producer!reader

୨ৎ guests. billie eilish. renee rapp. ph1 ( hwang intak ). enhypen ( lee heeseung ). katseye. other celebs.

"Every morning you love me like a friend"

୨ৎ status. ୨ৎ finished. (02-01-25)

୨ৎ author's note. This is an original work of smau, and is written for entertainment purposes only. Any names or characters, businesses or events or incidents, are fictitious and for the lore the place is going to be in Los Angeles. The characters identity have no relation to the actual persons/portrayers— and are solely based on the author's imagination. Don't bother looking at the timestaps 'cause it's not that important unless stated and also the face claim would be random masc peepz at pinterest so ctto. taglist is also open.

୨ৎ in queue never be the same - camila cabello, mgk; wicked games - kiana lede; into it - chase atlantic; echo - the marias; heaven - julia michaels; after hours - the weeknd; butterflies - denise julia; easy - haven, wild

୨ৎ profiles. gaybies pop dani-thology '25 pop dani-thology '25 2.0

୨ৎ chapters

01. hear me out

02. such a tease

03. win streak

04. spoil her too much

05. dropping by

06. my girl

07. stereotypical lesbian

08. any guess?

09. THE sabrina carpenter

10. GOT IT.

11. MIDNIGHT

12. in a relationship

13. lunch

14. jealous dani

15. infinity stones

16. just friends

17. lay low

18. surprise collaboration

19. perfect chemistry

20. are you even real?

21. can't with you

22. meet up again

23. short n' sweet

24. another pop base

25. jenna ortega

26. DANI OVULATING

27. are they dating?

28. TASTE MV

29. toxic

30. let her go

31. consecutive days

32. echo

33. its all over now

34. cure my boredom

35. simps in my tweets

36. pack it up

37. tsunami

38. is it really over?

39. make me fall in love again

40. dream

41. lovesick (the end!)

taglist: @sunshinez4 @haerinkisser @altaroflux @kristalag@1luvkarina @p1hbrook @xochitlisbest @peanutbutterlover05 @goofymickeyr @ourlovesarang @meizinisnumberone @linnnsworld @bandaidss320 @meiphobic @yeetaberry127 @urmom2314 @chaepu @leotapes @gtfoiydlyj @ratzeye @cassiespoiler @wtfisthisnoclueman @bowforgodjihyo @skz-xii (taglist closed)

[edamameimei]

Perhaps, Even This —chapter 33

A year ago, you were known as your friend group’s “sunshine.” You were able to light up a whole room with your energy and everyone could rely on you for your quick wit and easy humor. You lived life simply one day at a time. However, seemingly out of nowhere, that all changes. Now a Junior in university, you find it extremely difficult to do all the things you used to do. Especially being the Resident Assistant for the Geffen Dorms. New residents begin to move in and one them is a girl you could only describe as “radiant." Her name is Megan Skiendiel, and at first, you don’t welcome the positivity but as you two continue to meet and hang out, you find yourself becoming the person you used to be. Will you be able to be that person you were a year ago? Or will everything just stay the same?

33. spidey senses

a/n: and w that bein said about reader....... next few chps r gonna be a bit rough LOL ngl chat

prev ✿ masterlist ✿ next

requests are open

@saysirhc@urfriendlylocalidiot@daniiii267@xochitlisbest

✧.* taglist is open ✧.*

[ninguitar]

꣑ৎ　────　LOVE ON A WIRE !

𝓢YNOPSIS ❛ megan has never, ever wanted anything as bad in her life, until you—an underground singer and songwriter, is unemployed, and the textbook definition of a loser—stroll into her heart and her life. matter of fact, what happens when she accidentally replies to your thirst-traps that were a rebounding joke after a rough break-up, on twitter, and on the official katseye account? ❜

STARRING.　megan skiendiel.　x　songwriter!reader.

CAST.　katseye, aespa, le sserafim, tomorrowxtogether, p1harmony ++ cameos

GENRE.　smau + written, wlw, crack, fluff, uni au, & more.

A/N.　this does not accurately portray any of the idols mentioned, so read with caution🙏 in addition, reader/yn has no race & the photos used do not portray yn. for the lore, the kpop groups mentioned will be based in california rather than south korea 💆‍♀️ ++ PROFANITY, MENTIONS OF DRINKING/DRUGS/SMOKING, & SEXUAL JOKES

NOW IN QUEUE. 　black sheep by metric ft. brie larson, infrunami by steve lacy, all i want is you by miguel ft. j. cole, she plays bass by beabadoobee, i think by tyler the creator, and all mine by brent faiyaz

PROFILES.　xXunicornlovers123Xx　,　aegyo masters

00. elon musk count ur days. 　01. LOSING MY HEARING IN MY LEFT EYE

02. 9ft tall and a feminist btw 　03. beabadoobee notice me pls

04. number one girl 　05. word on the block

06. NOT a WHORE　07. are u deaduzz

08. i want nunu 　09. mbti - fine

10. who dat in the back　11. our song btw

12. two homotrons 　13. #doomedyuri

14. fumble of the century　15. c u girl :3

16. i got that dawg in me　17. team #larayn

18. cool, no doubt.　19. day 1 of mourning my fumble

20. life is swell!　21. 50% SALE

22. flattery only gets you so far　23. happy monday

24. talk to the hand.　25. no balls

26. oh shes prob hitting it rn　27. #NewProfilePic

28. my 2 man　29. megan + yn takeover

30. scratches head　31. beyond cooked

. . . MORE TO BE ADDED

𝓽aglist (closed 46/46) :

@sed7ction @1luvkarina @ssamlovr @goofymickeyr @yeetaberry127 @urmom2314 @meganskiendielsbtc @fruityg0rl @fearnotfearmore @justtluvrr @meiyaes @sixflame438 @arihiu @vrtualstar @grahstumhurts @jaythegirlkisser @namojoon @saysirhc @gtfoiydlyj @catdonut657 @inybits @vivilvr @c-yerim @meizinisnumberone @blue-kye @linnnsworld @k31k0w @hazel-tanthamore22 @raviolisupremacy @cassiespoiler @weirdossclub @sunshinez4 @xochitlisbest @ratzeye @meiphobic @soobnotfound @kristalag @snoopyiz @itzkatflixs @spongebobtentacles @mirophobic @apersonwhowrites @bowforgodjihyo @mandydxndy @chuugetmesohigh @karli6

[pupuyvs]

Race of Your Life

pairing: sophia laforteza x fem!reader

wc: 5k+

warnings: car accident???? its in f1 though so..

a/n this is a req which can be seen here and here, sorry anon for how long this took 😅 anyways i may further this universe we’ll see though 🫣 ps. this is inspired by romain grosjean crash at 2020 bahrain grand prix (dw no one died he actually got away with burns on his hands and sprained ankle) so if ur curious as to what everyone wouldve seen u can search it up (its not graphic so again dw)

Formula 1. A sport known for its riches, flashiness, and speed; all aspects that pulled you in.

You were ten when you went to your first grand prix, the seats terrible due to them being a bonus given to your dad by his company, but you didn’t let that hinder you. Hearing the sounds of the cars as they raced by, the crowd cheering, feeling adrenaline as the cars came close to each other — you were hooked.

Your parents were hesitant when you showed interest, karting was expensive, and well, you were a girl. But you were determined, telling them you would die if you couldn’t do it, you regard this memory as being very dramatic, but it worked. Your father, clearly exasperated by said dramatics, made a deal with you, he’d help you in karting, but you couldn’t quit, no matter what. And being the stubborn ten year old you were, you agreed.

And thus you started.

The first year was the hardest, girls weren’t the most common in karting, add on to the fact you weren’t rich it was like you practically had a sign on your back saying, “pick on me!” But you didn’t care, you were there for one thing and one thing only, racing. While your parents fought for you verbally, you fought on the track.

You found yourself more often than not on the podium, losing was not something you could afford.

As the trophies racked up so did the respect, arguments were hard to have when you couldn’t back it up when it came down to it. And it continued this way as the years went by, karting turned into Formula 4, then 3, then 2, and it stayed that way for a while.

Women hadn’t made their break into Formula 1 yet, you were good, but it seemed not good enough for them. You watched as your friends began to make their transition into the top of the league, and you were happy for them, but it was also bitter to watch them get chances that you couldn’t afford yet.

Until 2021.

Mclaren had just released their driver line up for a younger, newer lineup for the 2022 season. Your longtime friend Oscar got called up first, you were happy for him, he was one of the few people in karting who was kind to you, so to see him awarded for his talent you couldn’t be happier. But you didn’t know that Mclaren didn’t just want Oscar, no, they wanted to be first in everything, not only racing.

Your signing made headlines everywhere making Mclaren happy, especially with the word “history” attached to their name. But with this came pressure, a huge amount of it too.

Your first season was much like your first year in karting — rough. The drivers are kinder this time around, well most of them, it’s the garage this time. You were iced out from most of your team, aside from the team managers and Oscar most of the team didn’t want you there.

That wasn’t the top of your worries though, sure it sucked, but you had bigger issues.

A drivers car is essentially a part of them, an extension of them if you will, they can only drive as well as their car runs, and your car did not want to work with you.

You knew it wasn’t because of the team, they would never purposely sabotage you, winning was more important to them than anything else.

It was hard on you going from top of the grid, podiums a normalcy, to being in the back of the pack. What used to be single digit placements became double digits with a swiftness, with each result you could feel your seat being taken from you, you needed a win.

The Italian Grand Prix was famous for its long straights, practically begging for speed. It was one of the later races in the season, a race meant for grabbing points to cement your position in the driver’s cup or the team cup. But it wasn’t just that for you, there was talks about replacing you if you didn’t give results soon, and you couldn’t allow that.

You were starting in fifteenth place, not an uncommon place for you, and you had to get at least in the top ten if you wanted even a chance of being considered to stay. Adrenaline coursed through you as the lights turned off and the race began. It was a battle for places in the first turn as always, and you luckily succeeded in snatching two leaving you now in thirteenth place, a good spot but you needed more. And it seemed your car understood that too.

For the first time that season you felt like you were back to your old self. The joy you felt as you passed car after car was euphoric after months of not having it.

The race ended with you seventh place, but it might as well have been first to you. An eight position climb was uncommon and hard to accomplish, but you somehow had done it and your team was ecstatic. Your career only went up from here, no longer were you in the bottom, you had found yourself back in the top, not quite podium but it didn’t matter you were still scoring points for your team.

At the end of the season you and Oscar ended up in the top ten for the drivers cup, and were re-signed immediately.

But as the new year rolled around you felt something was missing.

The 2023 race season started off strong, the team had worked vigorously on the car and your team was faster than ever. Now instead of finishing in just the top ten you often found yourself in the top five, which should’ve made you happy, but something was off and you wouldn’t know what it was until Miami.

Celebrities weren’t an uncommon sight in Formula 1. The glitz and glam of it practically called to them like a siren song. Hence why when Katseye's schedule had coincided with the Miami grand prix Hybe had immediately sent them.

The company had gone all out getting them all access passes, anything for promotion they had stated.

The tour around the paddocks was fun, even with the cameras in their face due to content being filmed. But of course something had to go wrong.

Sophia wouldn’t say she had a terrible sense of direction, just not the most perfect. And truly it wasn’t her fault!

She had stepped away to get a closer look at one of the cars, and when she turned around her group was missing.

The leader part of her would’ve asked for help, after all it’s the responsible and smart thing to do, but the new idol side of her didn’t want to be a burden so she decided she’d find her members herself.

It wasn’t the smartest idea, and she’ll admit it each time she looks back on it. This sport comes down to milliseconds at times, each team making changes to beat the others, so none of them will take kindly to a random person walking around.

As one of the employees of the team yelled accusations at her, Sophia only had one thought she was getting fired. That is until you showed up.

Sophia will always say she found you charming when she first laid eyes on you. Your voice, your calming smile and the way you lightly grabbed onto her wrist to guide her away, everything about you was just charming.

When you finally reached a seemingly neutral spot you let go of her wrist and turned to her, a soft smile on your lips.

“I’m assuming you’re part of that girl group touring today?” The question shocked Sophia, she hadn’t expected any of the racers to know about them.

“Yes, and I swear I wasn’t trying to steal anything or spy or whatever else that man said. I truly got lost. I didn't mean any harm or anything like that, me and my group are good peopl-” You cut her off with a laugh and a shake of your head.

“Calm down, I know,” you told her, “I doubt other teams are using singers to spy.” You hold your hand out for her to shake.

“I’m Y-” It’s her turn to cut you off.

“Y/N Y/L/N. I think I’d be crazy not to know who you are.”

And it was true, you were a sought after prospect due to just how much of a commercial success you were. After the Italian race the endorsements practically came running in which Mclaren praised, their name attached to such big names did nothing but raise their stocks and publicity, it also helped their sales skyrocket since more and more women were buying their cars. With all these positives teams were practically foaming at the mouth to sign you and your publicity.

You laughed shyly at her response, “Right.” You said as you rubbed the back of your neck. You cleared your throat once the red in your ears disappeared.

“What’s you and your group's name?” Sophia gasped at the question, feigning offense. She laughed as you panicked rushing to apologize. Sophia stopped you before you could ramble.

“I’m just joking with you,” she started, “I wouldn’t expect you to know us just yet, we’re pretty much in that stage before debuting.” You sighed out in relief at her words, nodding in understanding.

Sophia realized she still hadn’t said her name, “I’m Sophia, the leader of Katseye.”

She cringed slightly at the clear training that was drilled into her. And you noticed it too as you struggled to not laugh.

“Well Sophia, leader of Katseye,” the playfulness is clear in your voice, “Where is the group you are currently leading?”

She rolled her eyes at the clear teasing, before she realized she had no idea where her members nor staff were.

“I…actually don’t know.”

You raised an eyebrow, “Well, did they mention where they were going next?”

She stops to think about the schedule the guide had told them, furrowing her brows, “Mercedes?” You groaned at her words, which had worried her.

“Did I say something wrong,” she asked.

You quickly shook your head, “No, it’s just it will be a bit difficult to bring you given..” you trailed off as you raised your hand to point to your team logo on your shirt.

She nodded in understanding however before she could offer to leave you alone and somehow find her own way, you spoke once more.

“I’ll just have to bring you just outside their garage, so I don’t get encaptured in rumors of cheating and conspiracy and all that.” You stopped with a laugh at just how ridiculous it was.

“Okay, but are you sure?”

You nodded, “I am. Come on.”

As you two walked, you found yourselves falling into a natural conversation. She told you about the show her group formed from, which you promise to watch later, and you told her about the first race you won.

It was the happiest you had felt in awhile, it’s there you realized what was missing.

So when you had reached your stop you found yourself struggling to say goodbye. What you hadn’t known was Sophia was struggling too.

“Thanks for walking me,” she finally said, breaking the silence you both created to avoid it ending.

“Yeah of course, it was fun.”

“Really,” she asked while raising an eyebrow. You nodded, scratching the back of your neck nervously.

“Well,” she trailed, clearly trying to buy time, “I should go in and find my members.”

She waited for you to say something, and when you didn’t she frowned believing she had read the whole situation wrong. When she turned to walk away though, you called for her.

“Can I have your number?”

Sophia stopped, silent as she felt relieved by not being wrong. However, her silence gets read wrong by you and you beat yourself up for possibly having overstepped.

“I don’t have my phone on me right now, you know filming and stuff, but if you give me your phone I can put my number in and you text me, when I get my phone back I can text you back.” You nodded and handed your phone to her, quite desperately too. As she entered her number her members walked out of the Mercedes area, and practically screamed when they saw you and her.

You jumped as they barrelled towards the two of you.

“Hi, you’re Y/N, right?” Lara asked you. You nodded with a small smile.

“You must be the Katseye members.” The girls all started to freak out as they realized you knew them. You laughed as you accepted your phone back from Sophia, which garnered the attention of Daniela, but she stayed silent as she remembered that there were cameras around.

And she wasn’t the only one that remembered the cameras as the girls’ managers came forward, “Would it be okay if we took a picture and you guys filmed a quick video together?”

You hesitated, “My manager isn’t around,” you watched as Sophia pouted slightly and immediately changed your mind, “But I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”

And based on the girls’ reactions you know you had said the right thing. After taking a picture with them and recording a video saying people should check them out, you said goodbye to them, sending Sophia one last smile.

You and Sophia started talking frequently after this day, messaging each other whenever you could. You asked her out on race day, seeing it as the best time since her and her group would be leaving the next day.

She had said yes immediately, and so after the race instead of attending the usual party you had raced over to your hotel to get ready.

When you had arrived at her hotel she hesitated when she saw your car, her friends had warned her to be careful with you, racers didn’t have the best reputation for dating. It hadn’t helped your case when you showed up in a clearly expensive and flashy car.

She pushed the warnings to the side when she saw you leaned against your car, a gift bag in hand and a shy smile.

Her members, who had followed her under the guise of safety, though she knew it was out of pure nosiness, all rushed to get a closer look at the car. The rushing clearly shocked you as you jumped, she laughed when you looked at her for help.

When she hadn’t moved you instead moved away from your car, which was now being opened by Megan and Yoonchae, who screamed when the door went up instead of out. You stopped just in front of her and took in her beauty, a smile had automatically found its way on your face.

“You look stunning,” you had breathed out. You blushed when you noticed she had heard you. You cleared your throat to fight the blush that fought its way to your face.

Sophia jumped when you held up a small gift bag in her face. Shock had crossed her face when she opened a jewelry box and found a diamond bracelet in it.

“I hope that’s okay,” you said. “My manager and the lady at the store said it was a perfect gift for the first date.”

Sophia could only scoff in disbelief, “They said diamonds are great for a first date?”

You nodded, but quickly shook your head when you had seen the look on her first. “I knew it was stupid, I should’ve got the necklace, if you want I can take it back and get it traded.”

However when you tried to grab the bag Sophia had immediately pulled it back, “I never said it was bad, just surprised. Thank you.”

You nodded once more before you gestured towards your car, which her members had been taking pictures in, “Ready to go?”

She simply nodded and you both entered the car, after saying goodbye to her members and promising Daniela that she could drive it one time.

You had taken her to an expensive steakhouse that resided along South Beach. It was awkward at first, you being nervous and her trying to figure out if this was all a ploy to feed your ego.

It wasn’t until she spilled her wine on your shirt trying to hand the menu to the waiter did the awkwardness finally stop. You laughed as she tried to wipe your shirt with a napkin, a dried one at that, and reassured her that it was fine, because truly you liked her so much it didn’t bother you even a bit.

You had stopped laughing when you noticed she was truly panicked, you lifted your hand and lightly grabbed hers and reassured her once again that it was okay.

When she noticed you were serious she calmed, and your dinner finished without a hitch. After dropping off the five extra meals you had bought for her members at your car you both walked along the beachfront and enjoyed the business of the nightlife.

You two talked about nothing and everything until her manager texted her telling it was time to come back.

This date marked the beginning of what would be your two’s relationship. It was rough at first, with you traveling so often due to races, facetime had been essentially a third in your relationship.

However, you didn’t let the distance hinder you guys, as you had bought a house close to the group’s apartment and had visited her every break they had given you.

Which led you guys to where you are now.

“God I don’t know how you guys don’t get lost here, this place is huge,” Manon says as she places the snacks she bought on the table. She doesn’t receive a response as all the other members rush to get their favorite snacks first, the slight chaos makes your parents laugh.

It’s an action that would’ve gotten them scolded by Sophia but she was too busy eyeing the door to the room.

It wasn’t often Sophia could come to your races, being an idol in her first year meant she was busier than ever, but any time she did get to go she was always a nervous wreck, only being calmed when she would see you before you went down to the grid.

When she saw the door knob move she immediately stood, running when she realized it was you. She jumped on you leaving you to drop your bottle of water to catch her.

“Happy to see you too baby,” you whisper in her ear. She responds by tightening her hold on you.

You laugh as you move to put her down, though she latches onto you still. She had an extremely bad feeling since this morning and it made her not want to let go of you.

You moved her to your side and wrapped one of your hands around her waist, while she kept both of her arms circled around yours.

You both walked over to where the rest were standing, Sophia moving so you can greet your parents and her members, and when you finished she went back to her previous spot by your side.

“You excited? Only two more races after this then you’re off,” your father asks.

You shake your head, “I’m more so nervous.” Sophia perks when she hears that.

“Why?” She feels you jump slightly at her intrusion, not expecting a voice to come from her direction.

“Just not used to the track and its turns yet.” Your dad comes beside you and pats the shoulder Sophia is not currently resting her head on.

“You did great during practice and quali, I mean you’re starting fifth.”

You nod your head at your dad’s words, “Yeah, it’s probably just preracing jitters.”

The room door opens again and in steps one of your team members. “Hey, Y/N, it’s time to get ready.”

“Alright.” You turn to your parents first, Sophia stepping away momentarily, but she stays near watching you. You hugged your dad first and then your mother, who pressed a quick kiss to your head. Each member wishes you luck, Yoonchae even showing you the sign she made you with Megan and Manon, which made you laugh and thank them.

Everyone in the room moves back to let you and Sophia say your goodbyes.

“Hey,” you say as you lift her head, “You okay? You’ve been very quiet.”

She tightens her grip slightly. “Just…anxious.”

You smiled at her to reassure her, when you still see the fear in her eyes you lean down and give her a peck. You feel her ease slightly, “Everything will be okay. I’m gonna win and then come back up here with the trophy and you and the girls can sign it.”

She nods, but you can still see the hesitation, “Baby-”

You're cut off by the staff coming back again, motioning that it’s seriously time to go. You sigh before looking back at Sophia.

“I have to go now, It’ll be over before you know it.” You kiss her once more and she tries to pull you closer, but you pull away much to her dismay.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.” She makes sure to say back, the bad feeling in her is overwhelming at this point. And when you walk out with one final wave, she finds herself struggling not to cry.

“Hey, you good?” Manon asks her, concern clear in her voice. She nods and when she turns back she sees everyone else also looking at her with worry. A blush raises on her face due to embarrassment.

“Just nervous, that’s all.” Manon nods, she clearly doesn’t believe her but drops it for her sake.

Down in the garage you fasten your helmet, assuring that it's tight on your head before lowering yourself into your car. One of the engineers taps the top of the helmet and holds his thumb up and you respond by putting yours up too.

You feel them lift the car and begin to bring it to the grid.

You hear your team manager’s voice come alive on the radio in your helmet, “Y/N do you copy?”

“Yup, all clear.”

You and him check through everything ensuring the car is ready as your crew take care of the outside.

“Alright, the grid is clearing for formation lap, try to warm the tires as much as possible, they’re a little cold today.”

“Alright.” The grid clears and the formation lap starts, you feel the car stall at certain points, but your team manager assures you it’s nothing too serious, and it’ll go away during the race.

The lap ends and everyone takes their spots. The silence that falls over the grid before the start of a race is peaceful. You breathe in before bringing your hand to where your lips would be and press it against the number printed on your helmet, 31, representative of Sophia’s birthday.

As the lights lit up you held your breath, your heart pounding against your chest loudly, the hum of your car coursing through your body. And then the lights shut off.

Accidents weren’t an uncommon occurrence in Formula One, drivers crashed regularly. But none to this level.

It started off fine, you made the first turn perfectly fine, but when you went into the second your car stalled and you went straight into the wall. It would’ve been fine, if it wasn’t for the fire.

Sophia swears she’ll never get your mother’s screams out of her head. She feels the air get sucked out of her body as she falls to her knees, someone comes to her side almost immediately, and by the coldness of their hands she can tell it's Daniela.

She hears her saying something, but she can’t process them, all she can think about is the fact you’re still in that car. She watches as medical people try to get close, but the fire is even too hot for them, and Sophia doesn’t want to think about what that could mean for you.

Time seems to go slowly, though it’s probably only been fifteen seconds it feels like years as red flags go out on the track, an ambulance now racing onto the track.

Sobs fill the room as each second goes by, and Sophia thinks she’s going to throw up.

Until Lara yells.

It almost seems fake at first, a hand bursting out from flames, but then another follows. And suddenly you’re out of it, two medical personnels grabbing onto you as you shake your hands, others spraying you and the fire with some sort of chemical. You limp your way to the ambulance as cheers erupt from the circuit, but Sophia doesn’t pay them attention as she’s already running out of the room to somehow find you.

She hears Daniela call for her, but she doesn’t listen, her entire being is out of place and it’ll only be fixed if she sees you. But before she can run onto the track cold hands grab her, and she curses Daniela’s unbelievable stamina.

“Sophia-” Daniela cuts herself off when she sees the look on Sophia’s face. It’s clear to her instantly that Sophia isn’t mentally there with them anymore, she won’t stop repeating the same phrase between quick breaths, borderline hyperventilating.

“I need to see her.” She repeats for what must’ve been the hundredth time and Daniela knows she’ll probably repeat it until she sees you. She knew before she did anything else she needed to calm Sophia down, so she brought her into a hug.

Sophia tenses at first, and Daniela can’t help but compare her to a feral animal as she herself tenses for any reaction may come. But to her relief, Sophia sobs, the sounds of them breaking her heart.

“It’s okay, she’s okay.” Daniela repeats this phrase like a prayer as she rubs Sophia’s back. After a while Sophia finally calms enough to speak.

“I’m sorry.”

Daniela immediately shakes her head, “Don’t be. You alright?”

Sophia shakes her head, “No, but I will be when I see her.”

Daniela nods and pulls away from Sophia, her shirt now with a clear wet spot on it, but she doesn’t mention it as she grabs Sophia’s hand.

“Let’s go find out what hospital she’s in and go.” Sophia simply nods as they go back to the room. When they enter the members all rush to them, but when Manon sees how distraught Sophia is she pulls the others back, which Daniela thanks with a nod.

“Where are her parents,” Sophia asks once she finally gathers the courage to look up.

“They went to the hospital, they wanted to wait for you, but…” Lara naturally trails off and Sophia nods.

“Did they say which hospital?”

“Yeah,” Lara starts, “Mercy.”

Daniela pulls out her keys and lifts them up, “Let’s get going.”

They all go to Daniela’s car, Sophia sits in the front as the others squish in the back, none of them bothering to complain. Daniela puts the address on her phone and immediately takes off, her speed possibly comparable to one of a racer.

When they make it to the hospital Daniela barely gets to stop when Sophia jumps out, refusing to waste any more time away from you. Your dad seemed to have been waiting for her arrival as she barely even gets to the front desk when he calls for her.

“Where’s your members?” He asks. And on cue the other five come rushing in, racing to them immediately.

“Perfect, come on she’s on the fifth floor, they got her a room already.” The elevator ride is quiet aside from the dreadfully happy music and Sophia’s constant shuffling. When the door opens she has to remind herself she just can’t rush past your dad and she has to be patient, you having a room meant a good thing.

And it was as they got closer she could hear you and your mom arguing.

“I don’t want this cast!”

“You broke your ankle, it doesn’t matter what you want!”

And Sophia would have laughed if she wasn’t so tense, when they make their way inside your mother and you turn towards them, your eyes lighting up at the sight of her.

It quiets as everyone takes you in, no one moving. That is until Yoonchae runs and practically jumps on you.

“Yoonchae!” Manon yells going to pull her off of you, but you hold your non wrapped hand up. When Manon stops in her tracks you hug Yoonchae back and Sophia realizes that Yoonchae is crying.

You were close with all the members of Katseye, but it wasn’t a secret that outside of Sophia, Yoonchae was the one you were the closest with. Growing up as an only child you always wanted a sibling so when you met Yoonchae she naturally took that position.

She pulls away sniffling, “You scared me!”

You pout at her, as you use your hand to wipe away a tear. “I’m sorry.” She shakes her head before hugging you once more, this one more careful.

“Are you okay,” Megan asks, speaking for the first, and based on the fear lacing her voice Sophia can tell she wasn’t silent by choice.

“Yup, just some minor burns on my fingers, sprained wrist, a broken ankle and probably a ton of bruises.” You finish your list off with a laugh, but quickly silence yourself when no one else does.

“Geez, it’s like someone died.” You thought you had muttered it low enough that no one could hear you, but the slap on your thigh from your mother tells you otherwise.

“Don’t joke like that.”

You raise both hands in surrender before turning your stare to your girlfriend who looks like she’s about to break down.

“Hey guys can you give me and Sophia a couple minutes?” The question causes everyone to stare at the girl and at the way she looks they all agree. When the door closes you try to sit up, wincing slightly from a not yet formed bruise.

At the sight of you in pain Sophia immediately rushes to your side, “Are you okay?”

You nod before pulling her to you. The slight force of being pulled causes her to sit on the edge of your bed as you hug her.

You can feel her trying to pull away and tighten your hold. After a couple more failed attempts she gives up and lets you hold her. She closes her eyes as she listens to your heartbeat, her body calming more and more with each beat.

Tears begin to well up in her eyes as the thought of almost never experiencing your warmth again crosses her mind.

When the first drop hits your hospital gown you look down at her.

“Baby…”

And the dam breaks.

Her sobs break your heart, pain coursing through you as she pulls on your shirt when she clenches it in her hands, but you don’t mind. You place kisses on her head until she calms down and then tell her to look at you.

When she does, you offer her a smile, “Hi beautiful.” You laugh at the blush that rushes to her cheeks, placing a small kiss on one of them.

You let her calm down before speaking once more, “Feeling better?”

She nods slightly, because truthfully she does feel better, but fear still courses through her veins. “I almost lost you today.”

You hum as you rake your fingers through her hair, the feeling of it light due to the numbness of your fingers. You inhale the scent of lavender as you close your eyes, a bright orange slowly fills in the blackness and your eyes shoot open once more. The quickening of your heart causes Sophia to pull away to look away.

“I’m okay,” you quickly say. Before she can question the hospital door opens.

“Sorry, just the doctor here.” You nod at Lara and Sophia stands. The rest of them walk in with the doctor following right behind.

The doctor goes through her regular checkup, when she finishes she turns and jumps when she is met with everyone staring at her expectantly.

She clears her throat. “Right, Y/N seems to be well given everything. We are going to keep her overnight for observation, but other than the obvious, she will be perfectly good to go home tomorrow.”

The doctor jumps once more as the group, sans Sophia, exclaims. When she leaves the girls all take turns writing on your cast with a couple of pens your mother found in her purse. The hospital room becomes even more livelier when your teammate Oscar shows up. Though loud it puts your mind to ease.

They all stay until visitor hours end, the nurse revealing only one person was allowed to stay with you. Your mother and Sophia argued about who should stay, both believing the other should.

Your mother ultimately wins by stating she has to use the hotel room she paid for. You both know it’s a lie, you have never made your parents pay for a hotel for any of the races they have attended, but before either of you can tell her that she pulls your father out the room and leaves.

Sophia stands to the side as a nurse readies the cot for her and does a final check on you. When she walks out you call Sophia’s name, when she’s close enough you pull her into the space you made when she wasn’t looking.

She freezes at first, but before she can move you speak. “Don’t move, just let me hold you.” You can tell she’s hesitant, but after a few moments she laxes in your hold.

A silence falls between you two, her listening to your breathing and you enjoying the heat from her skin.

“You know,” you start, “There was a moment in there I thought I wouldn’t make it.” You pause for a second to take a breath and her grip on you tightens.

“I felt the heat, and saw how it was all around me and I just accepted it. I closed my eyes and thought ‘Well, at least I had a good life.’ But then I heard the noise of Mario Kart.”

You both laugh at the absurdity of it, and you close your eyes to take in the sound of hers, you always loved how it sounded. When she calms you continue.

“As crazy as it sounds, it was that sound that brought me back to being with you, and of course your members. But the thought of leaving you, of possibly not being by your side anymore immediately made me want to fight to live.”

You look down to find her looking at you which causes you to smile, though you’re not sure she sees it due to the darkness, but you don’t mind as you bring your hand up to her face and caress it.

“I tell you this because I want you to know how much I love you. You are my world, Soph. As long as you’ll have me I’ll never leave your side.” She doesn’t respond as she pulls you into a kiss, it’s a bit of a mess due to both of your limited views, but it doesn’t bother either of you.

She pulls away, but you peck her lips once more and lean your forehead on hers.

“I love you,” she whispers, “Don’t ever leave me.”

“I won’t, I promise.”

And you meant it, you would always be by her side.

[lascvitae]

⌗ . ᵎᵎ ⸝⸝ be my baby .ᐟ ೀ

synopsis. after y/n’s school crush has a nasty break up and randomly likes her pictures on instagram, y/n finally gets the confidence to ask her to prom. little did she know, she would be the perfect decoy for sophia’s plan to get back at her (ex) boyfriend. until sophia began to feel things for the girl.

pairing. sophia laforteza x fem!reader

genre. smau, fluff, angst, crack, high school!au.

warnings. profanity, dark humor, underage drinking, smoking, katseye as popular girls, sophia is lowkey mean at first, suggestive themes/jokes, friendly bullying, use of aave, ignore the times on tweets, hair colors etc. in photos aren’t important.

feat. all of katseye, minju of illit, belle & natty of kiss of life, hanni of new jeans, heeseung & jungwon of enhypen, jooyeon of xdinary heroes (+ more!!)

status. coming soon.

PROFILES.

hot nerds. | katdashians.

CHAPTERS.

000.

sold prom tickets (open) — @saysirhc @1luvkarina @fruityg0rl @sunshinez4 @wtfisthisnoclueman @falling-intoo-deep @meganskiendielsbtc @rdfgfv @rosiehrs @haerinkisser @yazzyminny @jaythegirlkisser @yeetaberry127 @kristalag @aedollie @peanutbutterlover05 @linnnsworld @firstclassjaylee @sixflame438 @peranoo @gtfoiydlyj @syronns @enhamonsterghoul @ccchuro

[spiderb00]

DRIVE ME CRAZY

Daniela Avanzini x reader

"You are the only person who can drive Daniela's car (besides her), and only she knows why"

Genre – fluff Warnings – none (request)

now playing - No Pole, by Don Toliver

Leaving the party, you had Daniela leaning on you, the Latina too drunk to stand. Manon was behind, holding on to her girlfriend, a little more sober than Daniela. You had the day off, and you took advantage of it to have some fun together.

"Yn, you can go with us if you want, you don't need to call an Uber, we'll drop you and Dani off at home" Manon says, her girlfriend nodding and agreeing.

"What? No, thank you guys, but we're going in Dani's car." You said, taking the keys out of your pocket, opening the passenger door and placing Daniela in the seat.

"But how is Dani going to drive? Is she drunk as hell?" Manon said, not even crossing her mind that you would drive.

"She's not driving, I'm going." You said, as if it were obvious. Manon's jaw dropped.

"Daniela lets you drive her car?" Manon asks in complete shock.

Daniela had never let anyone touch her car, Manon had tried more times than she could count and the blonde had always refused every time. Daniela considered that car her baby, the most precious treasure she had, the red car was simply treated better than many people.

"Yeah, why are you so surprised?" You asked, really confused as to why Manon was so surprised.

Manon didn't even bother to answer you, walking past and going straight to Daniela, you and Manon's girlfriend shrugging.

"Dani, look at me." Manon said, patting the Latina's face, who was almost asleep in the passenger seat. "You let Yn drive your car, but you didn't let me go to the mall that day?" Manon asked, receiving only a drunken smile from the blonde.

"My baby can drive my other baby." Daniela said, reaching up and giving Manon a little "boop" on the nose, laughing and throwing her head back on the seat.

Giggling, you twirled your girlfriend's car keys in your fingers, leaning close to the passenger door and checking to make sure Daniela didn't have any body parts outside the car before closing the door.

"Good night everyone, stay safe and drive carefully." You said, winking at Manon as you got into the car, starting it up and making the engine make a satisfying sound.

Manon was left with her jaw on the floor, only to be pulled out of her stupor by her girlfriend.

"Damn, she's so fucking charming."

Manon thought that was just an isolated incident, Daniela was drunk, that was the only reason you had the power to drive Daniela's car. She couldn't be more wrong.

You, the Kats, and the Kats' girlfriends were relaxing, all of you playing the monopole that Yoonchae had won from Manon. Daniela was starting to get hungry, and leaning over she rested her head on the chest of the woman who was sitting behind her.

"Baby, can you please go buy food?" Daniela asked, kissing your neck and smiling innocently.

Smiling at her, you placed your hand around her neck, bringing her in for a quick kiss, then standing up.

"Does anyone need anything?" You asked, taking Dani's car keys from her hand as she held it out to you.

"Oh, could you bring me-"

"Wait, wait, wait! Is that your car key? Didn't I see it outside?" Manon asked, making all the girls turn their attention to Yn.

"It's my car." Daniela says, shrugging as if it were obvious.

"Are you serious?" "Are you kidding?" "I can't believe this!" The voices were heard, all surprised, making Daniela raise an eyebrow and you become confused.

"Why are you so surprised?" Daniela says, looking at all the girls for answers.

"You don't let anyone drive your car!" Sophia said, making Manon point at her in agreement.

"THAT'S IT! I'VE BEEN SAYING THIS AND NOBODY LISTENS TO ME!" Manon says, jumping in her place on the floor, making her girlfriend try to calm her down a little.

"Guys, Yn is my girlfriend..." Daniela tried to end the discussion.

"WE ARE YOUR BEST FRIENDS!" All the girls screamed in leather.

"Yeah, but Yn looks sexy driving my car." Daniela said, looking at you and biting her lip ignoring the "ew" leather that was coming from the girls.

The road was empty, you had your left hand on the steering wheel and your left hand on Daniela's thigh, who was sitting in the passenger seat. Daniela's playlist played softly through the car speakers, and you were relaxed by the caresses Dani was giving the back of your head.

"I love seeing you like this..." Daniela said, looking at you and biting her lower lip.

"Like what?" You asked, even though you already knew what the Latina was talking about.

"Driving, all focused..." Daniela said, buckling her seatbelt and leaning in to kiss your jawline as you stopped at a red light.

"Dani... Get back to your seat, baby." You said, unconsciously lifting your head and exposing your neck for the blonde to kiss.

"But you look so sexy like this, I want to make you feel good." Daniela said, placing her hand on your cheek and pulling you into a hot kiss.

Your two tongues danced together, Daniela's lip gloss gave the kiss a good taste, your sighs could be heard, but the music drowned most of it out.

Startled by the horn that sounded behind you, you and Daniela quickly moved away, the blonde laughing while you shook your head, giving a little smile.

"We'll finish this when we get home." Daniela said, buckling her belt again and winking at you.

Well guys, requests are finally being taken!!!

if this has any errors, sorry, I brought my mom to the salon and I don't have my computer, so I wrote everything on my phone.

but, I hope you like it <3

xoxo, spider.