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nylqnder · 14 days ago

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DANCING WITH OUR HANDS TIED SIDNEY CROSBY

pairing: younger!gf x sidney crosby

summary: after a night of celebrating, one photo changes everything. a private moment goes public, sparking rumors, opinions, and a whole lot of judgment. suddenly, it feels like the world is closing in, and you and sidney have to figure out how to deal with the chaos.

warnings: age gap (12 years, reader is 25), appearances from natemac + charlotte, steph marner and lauren kyle, people online sucking and being rude, angst

wc: 6.32k

notes: based on dancing with our hands tied by taylor swift. obsessed how everyone's collectively agreed that sidcros canonically has a younger gf lmao

Sidney wasn’t the type to bring people along — no charity events, no team functions, nothing that risked exposing too much. Privacy was his shield, one he’d spent years perfecting, carefully keeping his private and professional lives independent of each other. And, in the several months you’d been together, that instinct had only sharpened. No one knew about you, not really. Not the media, not the fans, not even some of his teammates.

But when he asked, voice soft and edged with something unspoken, you couldn’t say no.

He would never admit it. He would never outright say that he wanted you there, that he needed you there.

But you could hear it anyway — in the way his voice hesitated just a fraction too long before he asked, in the way he didn’t meet your eyes at first, like giving you the choice to say no made it easier for him to ask at all. Sidney wasn’t one to lean on others, not openly, not in ways that could be perceived as weakness. But this? Inviting you to Four Nations, to a tournament where every move was scrutinized, where the weight of expectation that comes with representing your country pressed down like a vice?

It wasn’t just about wanting you there. It was about needing something steady, something certain, in the chaos of it all. You weren’t just a spectator to him. You were an anchor. And even if he’d never say it, this was the closest he’d come to asking you to stay.

So here you were, in Montreal, tucked into the quiet luxury of Sidney’s hotel room, the hum of the city just beyond the window. His duffel bag sat half-zipped on the floor, his team-issued gear folded neatly beside it. Across the room, Sidney leaned against the dresser, still in his sweats, still fresh from practice, watching you as you stood in the middle of the room with your coat draped over your arm.

“You didn’t have to do that,” you told Sidney who was watching you with that quiet patience, waiting for you to tell him how your afternoon went.

The invitation had caught you off guard. Sidney wasn’t the kind of guy who asked for favours, who made a fuss over things most people took for granted. But somehow, between morning skate and team meetings, he and Nate had quietly set this up.

No one here really knew about you. Sidney had made sure of that — not out of shame or secrecy, but because privacy was the only way he knew how to protect something that mattered. And because of that, you didn’t have the built-in connections the other WAGs had. You weren’t part of the tight-knit circle that formed around a team, the kind of bond that came from years of shared seasons and shared memories from teams such as these.

But then Nate’s fiancée, Charlotte, had texted — a casual, no-pressure invitation to lunch with her, along with Mitch and Connor’s wives, Steph and Lauren. It had been arranged so seamlessly that you knew it had come from someone other than them — Sidney or Nate, most likely, making sure you weren’t alone in a city full of people who knew each other.

He shrugged his shoulders, nonchalant. “I didn’t do anything.”

You gave him a look, dropping your coat and pulling off your heeled boots before sitting on the foot of the bed. “Nate, then.”

Sidney huffed out a laugh, gaze flickering away for a moment before settling back on you. “Maybe.”

It was so like him — so like them — to do something thoughtful and then pretend like it hadn’t taken effort at all. You should’ve expected it.

Still, it had felt strange walking into that restaurant, into a lunch with women who had a history with each other, a rhythm you hadn’t yet learned. The gap between you and them was obvious in some ways — you were newer, younger, and the age difference between you and Sidney wasn’t exactly subtle.

But they hadn’t pried. They hadn’t judged.

They’d just… welcomed you.

“You were right about them,” you said finally, drawing your legs up beneath you on the bed. “They were really nice. They didn’t ask a bunch of questions or make it weird.”

Sidney’s shoulders relaxed slightly, but he stayed quiet, letting you fill in the silence at your own pace.

“I mean, I know the age difference is… noticeable,” you continued, watching his expression carefully. “I figured there’d be some curiosity, maybe even skepticism. But they didn’t make me feel out of place. It was just… easy.”

Sidney let out a slow breath, his fingers tapping absently against the dresser. “Good,” he said simply, but there was something heavier beneath it.

You tilted your head. “You were worried?”

His lips pressed together in a way that meant he was choosing his words carefully. “Not worried,” he admitted. “Just… I didn’t want you to feel like an outsider.”

Something in your chest tightened, warmth spreading through you at the quiet sincerity in his voice. He hadn’t asked you to come here lightly. He hadn’t arranged this lunch on a whim.

“I didn’t,” you reassured him. “It was nice to feel included.”

Sidney nodded, a small, almost imperceptible shift in his posture that told you he was relieved. He glanced down at the floor, then back up at you, his mouth quirking into something almost shy.

“I’m glad you’re here,” he said softly.

Your breath caught for half a second, but you smiled. “Me too.”

The days began to blur together as the tournament came into full swing. You’d only just begun to experience the ebb and flow of regular hockey seasons, but with the Penguins missing playoffs last year, you hadn’t experienced the business of meaningful hockey. One moment, you were in Montreal, adjusting to the rhythm of Sidney’s world, and the next, you were on a plane to Boston, the city humming with anticipation for the final game.

It was in those moments, where Sidney was being whisked away to the arena for practice and media, that you were glad to know the other girls now. Mornings you likely would’ve spent alone were now spent getting brunch with the girls or checking out local boutiques together.

The final game felt different. The energy in the arena, the weight of expectation in the air — it was tangible, pressing down on everyone in attendance. You could feel it in the way the fans leaned forward in their seats, in the nervous tension woven between every play. The stakes were everything. Canada versus the U.S. A rivalry as old as the game itself, culminating in one night, one moment.

You sat beside Lauren in the stands, your fingers curled around the armrests of your seat as the game unfolded at a breakneck pace. Every shift was a battle, every second a test of endurance and will. Sidney was relentless, his presence a steady force on the ice, his every move calculated and precise. And yet, it wasn’t just him — it was the whole team, a collection of the best, playing as one.

The game stretched into overtime, the tension nearly unbearable. You barely breathed as Canada took a faceoff and gained possession in the offensive zone. The entire arena seemed to hold its breath as Mitch passed the puck to a wide-open Connor right in front of the net before he wired a wrister past the goaltender. The building erupted, the horn blared, and suddenly, everything was chaos.

You screamed before you even realized it, jumping to your feet, arms wrapping around Lauren as you both nearly lost your balance in your excitement. The ice was a blur of movement — sticks and gloves flying, players leaping over the boards, crashing into each other with unrestrained joy. The Canadian bench emptied in an instant, the celebration spilling across the ice in waves.

You finally see the 87 on a red jersey joining the throng of players. He wasn’t the first into the pile, likely wasn’t the loudest in his celebration, but the second he reached his teammates, the weight he carried seemed to lift. His grin was wide, eyes crinkling at the corners, his arms tight around Nate as they half-collapsed into the growing huddle. It was rare to see Sidney lose himself in a moment, to let his guard down completely. But here, now, you could see it. The pure, unfiltered joy of winning, of achieving something monumental on the international stage once again.

Your throat tightened, emotion catching you off guard. It was one thing to know how much this meant to him, but another to see it written across his face so clearly. Sidney wasn’t one to need validation, but this — this was different. Winning for his country, leading on the biggest stage — it was everything.

Tears burned behind your eyes, but you blinked them away, unwilling to miss a second. Lauren squeezed your arm, her own excitement mirrored in her bright smile. “They did it!”

You nodded, laughing breathlessly. “I can’t believe it.”

The medal ceremony was a blur of red and gold, of cheers and anthems and beaming faces. When Sidney stepped forward to receive his medal, you swore your heart clenched in your chest. He looked up into the crowd, and for a fleeting second, his gaze found yours. He didn’t wave, didn’t do anything that might draw attention to the connection, but the warmth in his expression was unmistakable. And that was enough.

The bar was packed by the time you arrived, a haze of celebration thick in the air. Team Canada had all but taken over, their roped-off section teeming with players, coaches, and close friends, the space a sea of red and white. Laughter and clinking glasses filled the room, voices raised over the pulse of music and the distant roar of fans still celebrating in the streets.

You had barely stepped inside when you felt a presence at your side, warm and familiar.

“You made it.”

Sidney’s voice was quieter than the surrounding noise, but you’d have heard him anywhere.

You turned, and there he was — still in the team-issued hoodie he must have thrown on post-shower, hair damp at the edges, eyes alight with something soft and tired and incredibly alive. The gold medal was slung around his neck, a casual afterthought despite the magnitude of what it meant.

You exhaled a breath you hadn’t realized you were holding. “Of course I did.”

His hand found yours instinctively, fingers warm against your wrist, brushing against your pulse. He didn’t pull you in right away, but there was something unmistakable in the way he looked at you. A silent acknowledgment. A quiet gratitude.

And then, just like that, the space between you was gone. His arm wrapped around your waist, tugging you close, the solid warmth of him pressing into you. He smelled purely of champagne and beer that had been poured on him post-win. His lips found your temple first, then your cheek, slow and deliberate. He hadn’t had a second to himself since the final horn, but here, now, with you, he let himself pause.

“Thank you,” he murmured, his voice barely audible over the noise.

You leaned back just enough to meet his gaze. “For what?”

“For being here.”

It was a simple thing, and yet it held so much. For seeing him at his most intense and still choosing to stay. For understanding the gravity of nights like these and letting him exist within them without expectation. For knowing when to stay in the background and when to step into his orbit.

You smiled, fingers grazing the medal at his chest before gripping the front of his hoodie, tugging him down just enough for your lips to brush his. “Wouldn’t have missed it for anything.”

His breath hitched slightly, just for a second, before he kissed you properly, with the kind of certainty that came with knowing, without a doubt, that this was right.

The moment was brief, fleeting — Sidney wasn’t one for public displays — but when he pulled away, his fingers still rested against your hip, grounding you to him.

“C’mon,” he said, voice lighter now, that rare post-win ease still settling into his frame. “Let’s get a drink.”

You let him lead you deeper into the celebration, past teammates who clapped him on the back and playfully nudged him at the sight of you together. He took it all in stride, offering nothing more than a smirk before ordering two drinks, his hand never once leaving yours.

The morning after the celebration felt slow, almost suspended in the quiet hum of a city still revelling in victory. Sunlight streamed through the hotel curtains, casting long, golden streaks across the unmade bed where Sidney lay beside you, his breathing steady, the weight of exhaustion still heavy in his limbs.

His back rose and fell with each slow breath, the muscles shifting beneath skin mapped with faint freckles and the ghost of old bruises. The warm glow of morning light traced the sharp angles of his shoulder blades, pooling in the dip of his spine, highlighting the way his skin gleamed with the remnants of last night’s sweat. A few stray curls clung to the nape of his neck, dark against the pale sheets.

You shifted slightly, careful not to wake him just yet, reaching for your phone on the nightstand. The moment the screen lit up, your stomach twisted. Missed calls. Unread messages. Group chats that had been dormant now lit up with notifications.

Your pulse quickened. Something had happened.

You shot upright, legs swinging over the side of the bed as you scrolled through the never-ending stream of notifications. Sidney stirred beside you, a low hum escaping his throat as he blinked against the light. “Morning, hon.”

You didn’t reply, rather scrolling through messages and posts to find the root of the uproar. “Babe?” he asked. When met with more silence, he sat up, placing a calloused hand softly on your shoulder. “Y/n? You okay?”

You hesitated for half a second before exhaling sharply, tilting the screen toward him. It didn’t take long for Sidney to make out what he was seeing on your screen. A single image had spread like wildfire across social media overnight — a photo taken at the bar, capturing the two of you in the kind of intimacy that left nothing to interpretation.

The photo on your screen was bathed in the warm, low-lit ambiance of the bar, a moment frozen in time. Sidney stood before you, his smile soft yet intense as he gazed down at you. Your arms were wrapped around each other, bodies pressed close, foreheads nearly touching, lost in a private world amid the dimly lit crowd. The golden glow of the room kissed your skin, the soft waves of your hair cascading down your back as your fingers rested lightly on his bicep.

The comments were filled with vitriol.

Since when is Crosby into arm candy?

She looks way younger than him…

Is this a mid-life crisis thing or…?

Damn, never thought I’d see Sid with a gold digger.

The words made your chest tighten. It wasn’t just gossip; it was venom. Assumptions turned into insults, speculation sharpened into accusations. People who didn’t know you — who had never even seen you before this moment — had already decided exactly who you were.

Sidney pulled back, retreating to his side of the bed. He swung his legs off the side of the bed, grabbed his phone and scrolled through his equally endless notifications. They all contained the same things; questions about who this mystery girl was, asking since when was he into younger girls. The queries about who you were rivalled the amount of congratulatory text he had received about winning gold.

You glanced over your shoulder, seeing the way his shoulders were tensed up as he hunched over his phone. “Sid,” you started, voice careful, but he shook his head.

“I should’ve been more careful,” he muttered, mostly to himself. “I should’ve known someone would take a picture.”

You swallowed hard. “It’s not your fault.”

He let out a slow breath, running a hand through his hair. “I know, but that doesn’t make it easier.”

Sidney had spent his entire career guarding his privacy, crafting an existence where the only thing the world saw was the player, never the man. And now, in a single night, that careful boundary had been breached.

You crawled across the expanse of the king bed, the sheets rustling softly beneath you as you moved closer. Your fingers found his shoulder first, hesitant yet deliberate, the warmth of his skin grounding you as your palm flattened over the tense muscle. He exhaled at the touch, a barely-there sigh, but he didn’t lean into you.

“What do we do?”

He exhaled sharply. “We don’t do anything.”

You blinked. “Sid—”

He stood up, your hand falling from his unclothed shoulder as he turned to face you. “People are going to say what they want, no matter what we do. If we respond, it adds fuel to the fire. If we stay quiet, it dies down eventually.”

You knew he was right, but it didn’t make it easier. Your fingers curled against the sheets, frustration simmering beneath your skin. “It’s just… ugly. They’re making it seem like you’re some predator and I’m some money-hungry girl taking advantage of you. And they don’t even know us.”

Sidney’s expression softened. “I know.” His hand found your chin, tilting your head up to look into his eyes. “But I do. And that’s what matters.”

You studied him for a moment, searching for any trace of doubt, but there was none. Just the unwavering steadiness that defined him, the quiet certainty that had always drawn you to him in the first place.

He let his hand fall, exhaling slowly before running his fingers through his still-damp hair. The weight of the moment settled between you, thick and heavy, but Sidney didn’t flinch under it. He just stood there, watching you, waiting.

Then, his phone buzzed again. A call. He glanced at the screen, lips pressing into a thin line before silencing it.

“Who is it?” you asked quietly.

“Geno,” he muttered. After a beat, his phone buzzed again. “Tanger too. Probably checking in.”

Of course. The photo was everywhere. His teammates weren’t oblivious. They knew what this meant — what it meant for him.

Sidney sighed, rubbing a hand over his jaw. “We should pack. Our flight’s in a few hours.”

You nodded, though the tension still sat heavy in your chest. This wasn’t something you could outrun, not even by getting on a plane and heading back to Pittsburgh. But if Sidney wasn’t going to let it dictate his next move, you wouldn’t either.

The hotel lobby was eerily quiet compared to the chaos of the night before. A few lingering fans still loitered outside, hoping to catch a last glimpse of the players before they departed for their respective cities. The gold medal around Sidney’s neck had been tucked away into his carry-on, but there was no mistaking who he was — who both of you were, now, in the wake of the photo.

You spotted them before they spotted you.

The girls stood near the hotel entrance, their voices hushed but animated. You could tell they had been talking about it — about you. The moment they noticed you approaching, their expressions shifted, morphing into something softer. Understanding.

“Hey hon,” Charlotte murmured, stepping forward first, her heels clicking against the marble floor as she pulled you into a quick hug. “I saw everything online. Are you okay?”

You hesitated. There wasn’t an easy answer to that.

“I…” you exhaled, forcing a small smile. “It’s a lot.”

Lauren scoffed, arms crossing. “People are awful. Like, seriously, do they not have anything better to do than rip apart someone they don’t even know?”

Steph nodded, her brows furrowed in frustration. “I don’t get it. As if Sidney would ever be the type to entertain a ‘gold digger’ — like, come on.”

Their voices overlapped, indignation building on your behalf, and the warmth in your chest surprised you. You hadn’t expected this. Not really. You’d half expected them to finally let their fronts up and admit that they thought the age gap was weird, that they agreed with the strangers online who called you an opportunist, who speculated about your intentions, who dissected every interaction like it was proof of some ulterior motive. You’d half expected them to nod along with the cruellest comments, to tell you, gently but firmly, that they understood why people were saying those things.

But they didn’t.

Instead, their outrage was genuine, layered with protectiveness you hadn’t dared to hope for. Their voices rose over one another, dismissing the gossip with a ferocity that made your throat tighten. Something was reassuring about their presence, about the way they made it clear you weren’t alone in this. You hadn’t been part of this world long, but in the span of a few days, they had made space for you in it.

Sidney stepped up next to you, his hand brushing against yours. “We should get going, the cars waiting out front.”

They nodded in understanding, exchanging quick hugs before stepping aside, letting you both pass. As you exited the hotel, the cool Boston air hit your skin, crisp and awakening. Sidney’s hand found the small of your back, guiding you toward the car waiting to take you to the airport.

The chartered flight back to Pittsburgh was quiet. Sidney had never been a man of many words, but this silence was different — it was thicker and heavier. The silence threatened to suffocate the two of you.

You sat beside him, your fingers twisting idly in your lap, the occasional hum of the airplane engines the only sound between you. Every now and then, your phone would vibrate with another notification, but you had stopped checking them hours ago. You knew what they would say.

Sidney, on the other hand, hadn’t stopped scrolling. His jaw was set, shoulders tight, his focus glued to the screen as he combed through the online storm that had erupted overnight. The same cycle of cruel comments, the same intrusive headlines. Sidney didn’t even use social media, at least not publicly. He only had it to keep up with his closest friends and family.

But that didn’t stop him from looking. From searching his own name. From refreshing the threads and articles that dissected the photo. It was a compulsion, a need to know — even if knowing only made it worse. His grip on his phone tightened with every cruel joke, every twisted narrative about the two of you. You could see the tension in his jaw, the flicker of something raw in his expression, but he wouldn’t tear his eyes away.

Eventually, you reached over, your fingertips grazing the back of his hand, urging him to stop. He didn’t pull away, but he didn’t look at you either.

“Sid,” you murmured.

A long exhale. He finally locked his phone and set it face-down on the table in front of him. He rubbed his hands over his face before turning his gaze toward the window, watching the clouds roll by.

“I didn’t want this for you,” he said finally, voice barely above a whisper.

You swallowed hard. “I know.”

He turned then, looking at you for the first time in what felt like hours. “It’s not fair,” he said, the words sharp with frustration. “You shouldn’t have to deal with this. I should’ve—”

“Sid.” You cut him off before he could start blaming himself again. “This isn’t just about you. We knew this could happen. We just didn’t know when.”

His lips pressed together, unhappy but unwilling to argue. He reached for your hand then, lacing his fingers with yours, grounding himself in the simple connection.

But even as he held you close, you could feel the shift between you.

The weight of it all didn’t lessen when you returned to Pittsburgh. If anything, it only grew heavier.

Sidney was different. Not distant, exactly, but careful in a way he hadn’t been before. The easy rhythm you had fallen into over the months — the stolen moments, the quiet evenings spent in the comfort of each other — had been disrupted.

Now, everything felt… tense.

You noticed it in the way he checked over his shoulder for any signs of intruding cameras before reaching for you, in the way he kept a careful distance between you in crowded spaces, his hand hovering near yours but never quite closing the gap. He still looked at you the same way in private, still touched you with the same quiet reverence. But beyond closed doors, it was as if he had retreated behind an invisible wall.

It wasn’t intentional. You knew that. This was how he had survived in the public eye for so long — by being careful, by maintaining control.

But this time, it wasn’t just him anymore. It was you, too.

And you weren’t sure how much longer you could pretend it didn’t hurt.

The first fight — the first big fight — came late one evening, when the weight of everything became too much to ignore.

The living room was quiet except for the low hum of the television, its blue light flickering against the walls. Sidney sat beside you on the couch, one arm draped along the backrest, his other hand absently tapping against his thigh. He looked tired — more tired than he had in a long time. The kind of tiredness that went deeper than physical exhaustion.

TNT was on, background noise to the silence neither of you seemed eager to break. Then, Paul Bissonnette’s voice cut through the quiet, casual but laced with something more. Something biting.

“Look at our boy Sid, huh? Maybe all he needed was a new young toy to bring some life back into him.”

The words landed like a slap.

Sidney stiffened, every muscle in his body coiling tight. Without hesitation, he grabbed the remote and shut the TV off in an instant, the screen snapping to black.

You sat in the newfound silence and the air between you suddenly charged.

For a moment, neither of you spoke. Then, Sidney exhaled sharply, rubbing a hand over his jaw. “I don’t know how we can keep doing this,” he muttered, voice strained. “Not if this is what people think.”

Your brows knitted together, confusion laced with hurt. You uncurled yourself from Sidney’s side, turning to look at him. “Since when do you care what people think?”

“I don’t,” he snapped, then sighed, shaking his head as if trying to correct himself. “It’s not about me.” He turned to you, his expression raw in a way that made your stomach twist. “It’s about you. The way they talk about you. The things they’re saying.”

You stared at him, heart pounding. “Sid, they don’t know me. They don’t know us.”

“They don’t have to,” he said, voice edged with frustration. “They’ve already decided. And now every time someone looks at you, that’s what they’ll think.”

Anger flickered in your chest, an ember catching fire. “So what? That’s their problem, not ours.”

Sidney pushed a hand through his hair, exhaling hard as he stood up and paced a couple of steps in front of the still-warm television. “You don’t get it. It’s not just a few comments. It’s not just gossip. It’s relentless. It follows you. No matter what you do, no matter how much time passes, they’ll keep talking. They’ll keep judging.”

You scoffed, the weight of his words sinking in, settling like a stone in your stomach. “So what, then? What are you saying, Sid?”

He hesitated.

That hesitation — more than anything else — made your chest tighten.

“I love you,” he said, voice barely above a whisper. “And that’s why I can’t subject you to the kind of judgment that us being together will bring you.”

Your breath hitched. The room suddenly felt too small, the walls too close. “Are you—” Your voice broke slightly. You swallowed hard, forcing yourself to meet his eyes. “Are you ending this?”

Sidney didn’t answer right away. He didn’t need to. The answer was written all over his face.

He wasn’t looking at you anymore. His gaze was cast downward, jaw tight, hands shoved deep into his sweatshirt pocket like he was holding himself back from reaching for you. When he finally spoke, his voice was low, reluctant. “I just… I don’t want this life to hurt you.”

You let out a hollow laugh, shaking your head in disbelief. “That’s bullshit, Sidney.”

His head snapped up, eyes darkening. “It’s not.”

“Yes, it is,” you shot back, anger rising in your throat. “You’re not doing this for me. You’re doing it for you. Because it’s easier to let go than to fight for something that actually matters.”

Sidney’s jaw clenched. “That’s not fair.”

“No?” You let out a humourless laugh, standing up and getting in his space, forcing him to look at you. “What’s not fair is you making this decision for me. You think I don’t know what I signed up for? You think I don’t know what comes with being with you?”

He stepped back, needing to put a few feet of distance between the two of you to remove the temptation of reaching for you. Frustration was etched into every line of his face. “You shouldn’t have to deal with this.”

“But I chose to!” you said, your voice coming out slightly more raised than you intended. Your voice cracked, hands trembling at your sides. “You don’t get to decide what I can handle, Sid. I’m not a fucking child, Sidney! God. You of all people should know that.”

The silence that followed was heavy, suffocating. Sidney’s chest rose and fell with a slow, measured breath, his jaw locked so tight you swore you could hear his teeth grind. His hands curled into fists at his sides before he forced them open again.

“I know that,” he said finally, voice rough. “I know you’re not a child.”

“Then why are you treating me like one?” Your words came sharp, slicing through the tension between you.

He faltered. His lips parted as if he had an answer ready, but nothing came. He swallowed, shook his head slightly, gaze flickering toward the ground. When he didn’t speak, you felt something crack inside you, something that had already been splintering under the weight of this conversation.

Your laugh was bitter, humourless. “You don’t even know, do you?”

Sidney’s head snapped up, a flash of something — guilt, maybe, or shame — crossing his features. “That’s not—”

“No,” you cut him off, stepping closer, your heartbeat pounding in your ears. “You’re scared.”

His brows knit together, but he didn’t deny it. Couldn’t.

“You’re scared of what they say. Scared of what it means to have something real and complicated and worth fighting for,” you pressed, voice shaking with something between heartbreak and fury. “You’re a coward, Sidney.”

He flinched. The word hit its mark, a direct shot to his pride. For a second, you thought he might lash out, might argue, might fight for himself — for you — for this. But instead, his face softened, the anger slipping away like a tide receding. He exhaled a slow, unsteady breath, and dragged a hand down his face.

“I’m sorry.”

It wasn’t a defence. It wasn’t an argument. Just those two words, heavy with meaning, with regret, with something that almost sounded like surrender.

But you weren’t sure you could accept them.

Your arms wrapped around yourself instinctively, like you were trying to hold yourself together, keep your heart from shattering entirely. “Sorry doesn’t change the fact that you’re willing to let them dictate this.”

Sidney stepped forward, just slightly, like he wanted to close the space between you. “I don’t want to let them dictate anything. I just— I don’t want this to hurt you.”

You squeezed your eyes shut, the fight draining out of you all at once. Because that was the part that made this hurt the most. He wasn’t lying. He truly believed he was doing the right thing. That protecting you meant walking away from you.

But that wasn’t protection. That was fear.

You exhaled sharply, opening your eyes to meet his. “You already hurt me, Sid.”

He looked like he wanted to say something, anything to fix it. But there was nothing he could say. Not now.

The air between you was thick with everything unsaid, the silence pressing in on all sides. Sidney’s face was tense, his shoulders rigid, but his eyes — God, his eyes — were the only part of him that betrayed how much this was killing him.

Your heart clenched, an ache settling deep in your chest. Maybe this was it. Maybe this was the moment you walked away. You took a step back.

But then—

“I don’t want this to end.”

The words came out hoarse, almost broken, and the moment they did, it was like something inside of him finally cracked wide open.

Sidney exhaled shakily, hands raking through his hair like he was trying to keep himself from falling apart. “I don’t want to lose you,” he admitted, voice thick. “But I’m scared, okay?” His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard. “I’m scared of what it means to bring you into this. Scared of how they’ll tear you apart. Scared that one day, you’ll wake up and realize you don’t want this life anymore, and I’ll lose you anyway.”

His words hit you like a tidal wave, knocking the wind from your lungs.

That was it. That was the truth of it — not just fear of what people said, but fear of losing you.

You stepped forward, closing the distance between you. “Sid,” you whispered, heart hammering. “You don’t get to push me away because you’re scared.”

His gaze flickered to yours, conflicted and vulnerable in a way you’d never seen before.

“You think you’re protecting me, but you’re not. You’re just making the decision for me,” you said, voice steady despite the way your emotions threatened to break free. “If you want this to work, you need to be more like the Sidney that doesn’t give a damn what the media says. The one who only cares about what happens on the ice and in his own life. You’ve spent your whole career tuning out the noise — why can’t you do that for this?”

He let out a breath, shaking his head. “Because this is different.”

“It’s not.” You reached for his hand, gripping it tight. “It only feels different because you’re letting them make it different. If you want this — if you want me — you need to stop letting them dictate what you do. What we are.”

Sidney stared at you, his fingers tightening around yours like he was anchoring himself to you. And for the first time since this fight started, you saw it. The fight in him.

He wasn’t letting go. He couldn’t.

A muscle ticked in his jaw before he exhaled, like he was finally letting himself breathe again. “I want you,” he said, the words low and certain. “I want this.” His voice dropped even lower, almost like a confession. “I love you too much to let you walk away.”

“Then stop being scared,” you murmured.

You squeezed his hand one last time before pulling your hand gently from his. As much as you believed Sidney when he said he wanted this to work — wanted you to work — the fear was still rooted in him. It lingered in the way his fingers twitched as you let go, in the way his breath caught like he wanted to say something but couldn’t.

You had spent so much time trying to prove to him that love didn’t have to be terrifying, that not every open door led to something painful. But fear like his wasn’t something you could love away. It had to be faced. By him.

So you stepped back.

His eyes flickered with something — panic, maybe, or understanding. Maybe both.

“I—” he started, but the words never fully formed.

You gave him a small, sad smile. “You have to figure this out, Sid. I can’t do it for you.”

The night air wrapped around you as you left his home and for the first time in a long time, Sidney let you go.

The door shut softly behind you, the quiet sound somehow louder than all the shouting, all the arguing, all the things left unsaid between you.

Sidney stood there, staring at the empty space where you had just been, his chest rising and falling with shallow, uneven breaths. His hands clenched at his sides, then loosened, like he wasn’t sure what to do with them. Like he wasn’t sure what to do with himself now that you were gone.

The house felt impossibly empty.

He turned toward the window, catching a glimpse of your silhouette as you walked down the driveway, your shoulders squared, your pace steady. But then, just before you reached your car, you hesitated.

Sidney held his breath.

For a second — just a second — he thought you might turn back. That you might give him another chance to fix this before it was truly broken.

But then you inhaled sharply, set your jaw, and climbed into the driver’s seat. The engine roared to life, headlights cutting through the darkness.

And then you were gone.

Sidney exhaled shakily, dragging a hand over his face as he turned away from the window. His heart pounded, a dull, aching rhythm that matched the pulsing regret settling deep in his chest.

He had been so afraid of losing you.

And now, because of that fear — because of his own cowardice — he might have lost you anyway.

#˚₊۶ৎ˙⋆ nylqnder #sidney crosby #sidney crosby x reader #sidney crosby imagine #nhl #nhl imagine #hockey #hockey imagine #pittsburgh penguins

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channieismyboy · 9 months ago

Text

chanel chance

{dilf!seonghwa x f!reader}

synopsis: When y/n is alerted that there's been a flood in her apartment and no one can take her, what will she do when Mr. Park asks her to stay with him?

masterlist | part 3 | part 5

warnings: age difference (y/n is 21, seonghwa is 29), eventual smut, language, kind of slow burn, sad attempts at humor - wc: 2.3k

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ*:･ﾟ

Everyday, a man lives a debilitating cycle. He wakes up, goes to work, sleeps, and repeats this endless circuit. He has gotten used to this schedule over the last few years. The only joy in his life would be brought on by his little daughter, whom he loves with all his heart. He tries his very best to put on a facade of happiness whenever he spends time with her. Wanting to protect her innocence from vague feelings of misery for as long as he possibly can, until he eventually matures.

There was no room for love in his life anymore. Romance is certainly unattainable for him due to his lack of availability. It is not like he does not have opportunities to date, there are plenty of women and men who often throw themselves at him. However, it is merely for his title or money. They want to gain something from him.

This man views love differently than the people who he converses with on a daily basis. Most of those individuals view marriage, or dating as a contract. As an opportunity to enlarge their company’s resources, get more publicity from the media, or even to trick the public to buy more of their products. Since this man has seen this happen numerous times in his lifetime, even had a hands-on experience of it in his home, he has made a choice that he would no longer give romance a chance. As those couples that marry for money, or titles, almost certainly end up unhappy, divorcing quickly after marrying, or scandals of them cheating on one another are posted publicly on the news.

However, this man’s principles had begun to change once he had met someone different. Someone who he found beautiful in every way imaginable, who made his heart skip a beat in a way he never knew it could…

This man is Park Seonghwa.

You check the time, it is now 11:37 PM. You're lying awake, staring aimlessly at your ceiling, with the fairy lights illuminating your otherwise dark room. Replays of a few nights ago rerun in your head. You think about how gentle Mr. Park was with you, and how caring he is with his daughter. It makes your heart ache. You sadly have never got to experience a proper father-daughter relationship, or even one at all. However, you're grateful you have your uncle and your aunt. They've truly made your life special in every way imaginable. Your eyes begin to feel heavy, and the familiar wave of tiredness hits you until you're asleep.

It is now saturday morning, today you will babysit Jieun and today you will finally see Mr. Park. You get slightly too excited about that last part, and shake your head at your thoughts. You have been thinking about him a lot recently, you really shouldn't, for the sake of keeping your job.

You wake up and check your phone, scrolling aimlessly through your socials and texts from Minho and Jisung. Replying to the endless amounts of texts they've sent along with pictures of them on their vacation to Jeju Island. You struggle to get through the pure amount of them.

The afternoon passes calmly. You quickly make yourself some dinner and shower after precisely picking out your outfit to go see Mr. Park while on a facetime call with both Minho and Jisung. as annoying they are, they are never caught wearing a bad outfit.

"Are you calling us so you can look great for Mr. Hot ceo?" Minho asks with a deadpan tone, which juxtaposes with the cute cat in his lap that he's petting every so sweetly. "You wanna impress him?" Jisung adds while wiggling his eyebrows.

"It's not that, I just want to look presentable is all" you fib, while showing them the black skirt, black stockings with a deep burgundy Ralph Lauren knit sweater that jisung had picked out. Minho looks at you with an 'I'm not buying it' face and you cave in.

"Okay fine! Can you blame me for wanting to look nice when babysitting a good looking ceo's daughter? Plus I do have to look professional for this job, I can't just show up in sweats. and he probably thinks I'm a kid, so it doesn't matter anyway" you say, opting for the look you have on.

"Honestly, I would do the same" jisung adds after applauding your look.

After your shower, you get dressed and put on just a bit more makeup than usual, and spray on your 'Chanel Chance' perfume. It won't hurt to look nice for the man anyway. You board the bus and sit down while listening to some music. you're now deep in thought, thinking back to minho's comment. it won't hurt to look good for the man anyway. He's literally a high power ceo, regardless of how he looked, you had to go to his home and look presentable anyway. with a posh neighborhood like his and such a fancy house like his, you would look like the odd one out not arriving dressed in the very few expensive clothing items you own.

Your stop arrives and you head out quickly, mentally preparing to meet John again and explain why you are there. You feel slightly awkward just walking up a hill with nothing else but your purse and phone in hand. You wish you had a car that can drive you around, but it broke down on you and is in the shop being replaced. You try not to think about the bill ahead of you, that's too many scary thoughts in a row.

Trailing along, you are soon met with John at the gate. He looks at you up and down. "Can I see some ID?" he demands. You open your purse and show him your driver's license. He lets you through, luckily Mr. Park's home is close to the gate, so it's not a far walk. You stop at the familiar home. it's 6:25 PM, you're grateful that once again you're early. You quickly double check your hair and retouch your lip gloss before knocking on the door. You wait a bit until it opens.

This time you are greeted directly by Mr. Park, and he glances at you up and down before welcoming you with a polite smile. You do the same, and note how nicely dressed he is. The black buttoned up shirt with just a few buttons undone tucked into his black trousers complement the glasses he's wearing, he look's so professional with them on.

"Hello Ms. L/n, it's nice to see you." he says with a slight smile on his face. "Hello Mr. Park" you greet back with a bright and polite smile.

"Laura, my housekeeper isn't here on Saturdays so it's just going to be you and Jieun for today. Please come in," he gestures into the home. You take off your shoes and enter the place after closing the door. You look around his place once again, still in shock by its size and beauty. Mr. Park sure has taste. You walk behind him and follow him to the living room, where Jieun is already sitting, watching cartoons.

He turns to face you, eyes directly on yours. Suddenly it's quite hot in the room. "I'll leave you both here and I'll be back just before 9:00 PM, call if anything happens, although I know she's in great hands" he says to you before saying goodbye to his daughter.

"Enjoy your meeting Mr. Park!" you say. He exits before lovingly wishing his daughter goodbye.

Your time spent with Jieun is always pleasant. She's as bright and playful as ever, telling you about her latest works of art (cute scribbles) and her excitement to learn more at pre-school. She has such a bright future ahead of her, you think. The time passes quickly as soon it's almost 9:00.

You hear the familiar pitter-patter of raindrops beginning to fall down, and you silently curse to yourself. You did not bring an umbrella with you and now you'll have to walk down in the rain until you reach the bus stop. Your thoughts are interrupted when you hear Jieun scream out for her dad. You raise your head up and you greet Mr. Park.

He places Jieun down and tells her to get ready for bedtime. She does just that after saying goodbye to you with a warm hug that you so happily reciprocated.

"Alright," he says while reaching into his wallet and pulling out many bills. "This should do it for the night" and he gives you the money. You check the amount and your eyes bulge out a little at the amount. 150$ you count and recount again quickly, this is much more than last time. You shake your head and attempt to give him back the money.

"Mr. Park, this is way too much. I cannot accept this amount."

"Please, just take it. It honestly isn't a lot for me and I'm just happy you made Jieun smile so brightly." His tone and expression are so genuine you have no choice but to give in and accept it.

"Okay, I'll accept it this time Mr. Park. Thank you very much."

You head to put back on your shoes and prepare yourself to walk back in the rainfall. He watches you intently, with his head turned to the side as he leans on the wall. You feel as though you're being watched by an eagle, as you feel his eyes never once leaving your form. your cheeks burn slightly.

"Are your friends here to pick you up?" Mr. Park speaks up. "No, it's just me on my own this time" you answer.

"You're not walking home are you? I didn't see a car parked in the driveway when you came." He asked with concern laced in his soft spoken words.

"No. I'm just going to walk to the bus stop nearby-"

"I'll drive you there then" he cuts you off. He sees the familiar look of 'you don't have to' already on your face, the one he just saw moments ago while paying you. Before he lets you speak, he explains himself. "I just don't want you to get a cold out in the rain. I need my babysitter to be in perfect condition, you know."

Yet again, Mr. Park has made it impossible for you to refuse him. "Alright, if you insist, then I have no choice but to say yes" you say with a smile, and you see him laugh slightly at your words.

To say his car is nice, would be a great understatement. You have no knowledge of cars, but even to a novice like you, this car is down right spectacular. The nicely polished black outside with leather seats, just how rich is this man?

Mr. Park opens the door for you and ushers you in gently. He gets in quickly after, and you glance at your phone, after realizing it's been buzzing for quite a while now. You see all the missed calls from your Landlady. Panic surges through you, did you forget to pay your rent? No you remember sending out the amount just a week ago. what could it be then? Mr. Park can tell you're anxious.

"I'm sorry," you mutter. "It's something to do with my apartment, could I quickly make a call?" you ask. "Of course, be my guest," Mr. Park says, gesturing for you to dial the number.

The phone rings and she picks up quickly. "Hello?"

"Ms. L/n, there has been a minor flood in the apartment. You must come quickly and evacuate all of your belongings. We'll need to undergo repairs for about 3 days." You let her speak, and your face drops.

You face Mr. Park and judging from his expression, he's heard everything from your call.

"Were there any damages to my apartment room?"

"Luckily your floor had no damages, it was the floors under you that mainly got affected. Still you'll need to leave for a few days. Please come quick and find a place to stay until then. Goodbye."

You hang up the phone and think to yourself silently. Wondering who you could stay with. Mr. Park asking you the same question out loud. Minho and Jisung are too far away and you don't have a key to their apartment you explain to them.

"What about your uncle?" Mr. Park asks.

"I wish but, they're having renovations and there's barely any room for them in the house." you answer.

It's silent for a moment, the raindrops splattering heavily as the rainfall speeds up, a storm is starting to form outside. You think about any other people you know that you can stay with. The list is already quite short.

"Stay with me," and you turn your head to meet, a shocked expression to his lighthearted smile.

"I really can't. I don't wish to intrude like that." you shake your hands in defense.

"Unless you have anyone else to turn to, I'm your best bet Ms. L/n. You won't be intruding anyway. I'm not uncomfortable with it and I think Jieun would be delighted to have you over for 3 days." he shrugs, waiting for you to answer.

This is the third time he has persuaded you this night. No wonder he's a successful businessman, he can talk you right into doing whatever wants, and you're not opposing any of it.

Staying with him won't be too bad right? I mean he must have room in this mansion of his. Plus he is always busy and I have class so we won't interact as much right?

Your face begins to heat up at the thought of being in such close proximity to Mr. Park. Wait, why are you thinking of that right now?

You exhale and look at him as you've made your decision.

"I'll stay with you."

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ*:･ﾟ

a/n: hey yall! so long time no see. i'm going to continue this series after not touching it for almost 2 years. i'm sorry for the delay but even i had to know how this was going to end. i hope some of yall are interested in it still (praying actually). anyways please enjoy this part, i'll see you soon!!

please let me know if you wanna be added to the tagslist!!

tagslist: @miamyre @flowersiinherhaiir @vvsmydiamonds127 @prodsh00ky @jhmylove @sunwoosberrie @jenotation @seonghwasstar @zwiehe @nagadiluc @kodzukein @heavenly-mobo @nevieatiny @smeetb0ne3 @yeosxxx @koalakoala8 @imalildelulu @sookacc @lunaa2210 @asjkdk @wal-nutt @iheartyeonjunnn @yoonsanbin

#ateez series #seonghwa imagines #seonghwa smut #seonghwa scenarios #ateez smut #ateez imagines #ateez x reader #seonghwa fanfic #seonghwa fluff #seonghwa x reader #seonghwa x you #seonghwa oneshot #ateez fanfic #ateez oneshot #san smut #seonghwa ateez #ateez fic #ateez

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cassiesc0rner · 6 months ago

Text

Impurities VI

Synopsis: You're the new girl at East Highland High, your only goal is to get through school. Until you come across Nate Jacobs

Genre: slight fluff, suggestive

Pairing: Nate x fem!reader

Warnings: manipulation, lying, jealousy, consumption of alcohol, mentions of weed, Imk if I missed something

Song rec: doin’ time - ldr I lauren - men i trust | the color violet - tory lanez | outwest - jackboys | private landing - don toliver

WC: +7,1k

Other parts: previous part, next part

A/N: Thank you guys so much for being so patient with me I really appreciate it, a special thanks to @lilyrachelcassidy for proofreading, and helping me with this part💋 and also thank you 💿 anon for the ideas you gave me in your asks ᥫ᭡

A few days have passed since Nate and Max's encounter, and to Max's dismay, Nate was now involved in the planning of his birthday. It wasn't only weird for you, because you felt like Max was scared of Nate, it was also extremely uncomfortable for Max, who felt like he was walking on eggshells.

The three of you sat together in a nearby café, as you went over the final details for the party. You couldn't help but notice that something was off. Something about the way Max avoided looking at both of you, and the way he sometimes stumbled over his words when he explained something.

He wasn't like this when you two met up alone. He was funny, constantly cracking jokes, talking to you normally and he was full of enthusiasm. He wasn't this nervous or quiet and reserved.

You tried to ignore the feeling, reminding yourself that this was for Nate's birthday, and that everything should be easier now that he's in on the plan. But you just couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right.

You glanced at Nate, who looked as calm as ever. But something about his calmness made you suspicious, because you were sure that Nate was really perceptive, always paying attention to his surroundings and the way people behaved.

He wasn't oblivious, so why didn't he ask Max what's going on? Did he simply not care, or was he still mad because you met up behind his back? Did they have a fight you didn't know about?

You felt like, every time Nate said something or disagreed with something Max said, Max got quieter and agreed with him.

It made you feel weird, and you just wanted the meeting to end as quick as possible, so you could escape the tension and be alone with Nate. You remembered thinking about hanging out with both of them when you met up with Max for the first time.

But this is not how you imagined it.

"What do you think about that?" Nate suddenly asked, as he placed his hand on your thigh, the touch pulling you back to reality. You looked back at him, as you tried to remember what they were talking about.

When Nate saw the confusion written all over your face, he continued "Max and I were talking about who we should invite, and I said that we should only invite a few people from the team, the cheer squad and some of the other popular students."

You nodded along, trying to catch up "That sounds good.. but don't you think we should also invite those, that aren't necessarily popular?" you asked nervously.

The popular crowd always used to intimidate you.

No matter which school you went to, the popular kids would always make you uncomfortable. Whether it was because they saw everyone else as below them, or because they bullied everyone who dared to disobey them.

You didn't really interact with any popular kids yet, except for Nate, Maddy and Max, and you were absolutely scared about what the others might think of you.

You didn't dress like them, you didn't act like them, and you were well aware of the looks some of the girls gave you, when you walked hand in hand with Nate, not to mention the chuckles and giggles that would follow sometimes.

You weren't sure how you're supposed to spend more than five minutes in the same room with them. You didn't expect Nate to be by your side the entire time either, of course he would want to talk to his friends.

Nate pretended to think for a moment as his gaze sharpened "I'm not sure, baby.. I don't want a bunch of randoms at my party. I mean what if they cause problems?" he reasoned calmly.

You nodded understandingly before you responded "No, you're totally right.. It's just I really think, it might be a good chance for other students to feel included too, you know?" you explained carefully.

Nate didn't give a crap about the 'normal students' and he felt like you shouldn't either. Sure, some of them were your friends now, but he couldn't help but feel like you both were above them.

He couldn't tell you that though, you would get the wrong idea of him. "Fine.. I mean you can invite your friends too, it's just that I don't know the other students. I'm not.. excluding them or anything just because they're not popular. I just know the popular crowd way better, and most of them are cool." he explained

"Right Max?" he asked as his gaze wandered back to his teammate. Max nodded "Yeah, they're super chill." he quickly replied, as he looked at you –but not for long, way too scared that Nate might misinterpret it again.

You nodded understandingly "Alright, thank you for letting me invite my friends.." You smiled at Nate, who smiled back at you as his thumb rubbed over your thigh. "But there are some people who definitely aren't welcome, like Maddy and Cassie, and their friends.. They're just bad news." Max nodded in response.

"Are you sure they'd even consider coming in the first place, though?" he asked softly, to which Nate shrugged "I'm sure Maddy and Kat wouldn't, but Cassie... I mean fuck, she still used to text me everyday until recently." Nate scoffed.

That was new.

Why didn't he tell you about that? You furrowed your brows as you looked at Nate "What do you mean she still texted you until recently?" you asked, completely bewildered. Nate just shrugged nonchalantly "Why didn't you tell me?" you added.

Nate sighed "Because it's not important, I don't care about what she does." He reasoned. You nodded "Okay, but I think it's important. I mean, she's clearly harassing you.." you responded.

Nate wasn't sure how to feel about this side of you. He's seen you jealous before, but you never verbally showed it, so this was new to him. "Well, what am I supposed to do? I already blocked her, but she still calls me with an unknown number.." he defended himself.

The truth was, he didn't exactly block her.

He was seriously scared that Cassie would approach you one day, and tell you everything that happened between them, or him and Maddy.

That's why he was scared to block her at first. He even tired threatening her not to do it many times, but she had nothing to lose and he knew that.

"Maybe I should talk to her." you mumbled grumpily. Nate immediately shook his head "No absolutely not, you're not gonna talk to her, alright?" he declared, his tone more serious "Cassie's fucked in the head, you can't talk to her, who knows what she'll do.." he reasoned.

"Then it's even more important that I talk to her, because she clearly didn't listen to you." Nate sighed again "Y/n, please.. can we just not talk about this in front of Max?" he asked, his tone just the slightest bit annoyed. You shook your head "No, I'm actually glad he's here, I'd love to hear his opinion."

Max swallowed harshly. He was so glad he wasn't a part of this discussion so far, and now he had to give his opinion on something like this, while Nate was right in front of him.

"Um.. I'm sure if Nate says he handled it, you shouldn't have to worry." he shrugged. You sighed "He clearly didn't handle it if she still calls him."

Nate liked how much you cared about him, and how furious you seemed to get, just because another girl was texting and calling him. But he also felt weird because his girl was trying to take care of his business, when it should be the other way around.

Nate looked back at Max as you continued "I mean, calling your ex with an unknown or hidden number is so.. creepy. Especially if you bombarded them with texts for literal weeks." you explained.

"She's gonna stop eventually, it's really not that deep." Nate reasoned casually. "No, you don't get it. Do I have to remind you how angry you got when you found out Max and I were meeting up behind your back? How is this any better?" You suddenly blurted out.

Max was so sure he couldn't feel more uncomfortable at the beginning of your meeting, even when it became gradually worse, but now he was sure it was still possible.

He looked at Nate with fear in his eyes, sure that he was probably about to get mad at you, when he saw that cold look in his eyes for a split moment.

Nate looked back at you "You can't compare that. You literally lied to me when I asked you who you're meeting up with, I didn't lie to you about Cassie." he said, his voice slightly lower than before.

"Yeah, and instead of trusting me, and letting me handle something, you forced the truth out of me." you retorted sarcastically. Nate didn't like your tone at all, and he wanted to assert himself "Look, I'm sorry okay? I'm sorry for caring so much about you, and wanting to know the truth, jesus.."

You squinted your eyes at him, because that's exactly what your mother would say, when she tried to make you feel bad for something she did. You were sure that Nate didn't do it with any ill intent, and that he probably just did care a lot, but you couldn't help but notice the similarity.

And Nate seemed to notice that you were thinking about what he just said, just by the look on your face "That's literally something my mom would say in an argument." you pointed out, before raising your hand in defeat. "But, hey, I get it, you're worried and we both made mistakes. But please understand that I don't want Cassie to harass us."

Nate nodded understandingly, calming down just slightly, once he heard the sincerity in your voice. "I'll take care of it, don't worry, alright?" he said, as he stroked your cheek gently. Despite not wanting to let him go that easily, you couldn't help but smile and lean into his touch.

He knew this would work, it always did when you were to disagree with him.

"So, where were we?"

A few days had passed after you two met up with Max, and with the birthday party just two days away, you were more than glad the stress of planning everything was over.

You even found a birthday present for Nate.

You recently went to a jewelry store nearby, where you came across a silver bracelet. It was classy, but not too extravagant which meant he could wear it all the time. You even decided to pay some extra money to get the initials of your first names engraved into it, just to make it even more special.

You were sure you'd be broke after Nate's birthday, since you also had to buy something to wear to the party.

Which is why you were at the mall right now.

When Nate asked where you'd be going after school and you told him you'd look for something to wear to his birthday, he immediately wanted to come along, to help you choose.

But you wanted your outfit to be a surprise, and you definitely wanted to impress him and show him that your sense of fashion changed for the better.

You entered one of the many stores in the mall and immediately felt somewhat.. strange.

You were so used to going shopping with Nate, that it felt strange to enter the shop alone now. It felt like your social anxiety got even worse now that you were alone with all these people in the store.

You wished you were invisible.

It was hard to understand why you felt this way, because you were so sure that you missed going alone, with your earbuds in, trying to ignore everyone else around you. But now you wished Nate was here with you, holding your hand and almost dragging you along with him when he found something new for you to wear.

You didn't like how dependent you were on him, because you didn't want to burden him in any way. Just because you were together didn't mean you'd have to be glued to each other all the time.

But the urge to call him and tell him to come right now was immense. Especially because Nate told you that you could call him if you want him to pick you up from there.

You tried to calm down, and turned the volume of your music up, before taking one last deep breath, and walked further into the store, deciding to check the dresses out first.

Once you saw the rack of dresses, you instantly knew you had to get one since you were sure Nate would want you to wear one.

However, upon further inspection, you noticed that they were all either short, see through, or both. You were used to wearing skirts on the shorter side, so you decided that choosing a short dress wouldn't be that bad.

Not to mention, that you were sure the other girls would also wear something that would show a lot of skin. You didn't want Nate to look at them, and be sad that his girlfriend didn't dress nicely.

You took three different dresses, and made your way to the dressing room.

Once you closed the thick lilac curtain, you sighed feeling relaxed now that you were truly alone. You tried each of the dresses on, looking at each and every angle.

Then you finally decided to wear the last dress you put on: A sultry black satin dress, which had a more sexy look compared to the others. It was also rather short and contained two strings next to the waist, which you could use to adjust the length of the bottom.

You missed wearing darker clothes, and this dress was the perfect opportunity to do so, while also making Nate happy.

You made your way over to the cash register, trying to calm your nerves as you prepared what you were going to say to the young woman. Usually Nate always handled this kind of stuff, and you never had to say anything to the cashier, except for a 'bye' once Nate was done.

But you had to get used to it, you didn't plan on letting Nate do everything for you in the future.

"Where are you going dressed like this?"

You were just about to leave for Nate's party when your mother interrupted you.

It wasn't just the fact that you wore a short dress this time, no. You were well aware of the fact that you looked like you were about to go to a club.

You adjusted the length of your black dress on one side earlier, causing the dress to expose one of your thighs. You also decided to wear some simple, matching black heels, which you wore to one of your dad's company parties, as well as the YSL bag Nate bought you.

And yeah, maybe you also wore more makeup, and smelled like you bathed in perfume, but today was an important day after all.

"I'm going to Nate's birthday party.. I already told you." You rolled your eyes, not ready to have yet another discussion with her, just because of the way you dressed.

"Yeah, of course you are.. why did I even ask." Your mother scoffed, to which you rolled your eyes. "Your dad and I have to talk to you.. either now or when you're back." she announced.

You tilted your head and looked past her, your eyes landing on your father who was sitting in the kitchen. You gulped, scared of what they were about to tell you.

"Fine, just tell me tomorrow.." you said. Sure, you were curious about what they wanted to tell you, but in case it would ruin your mood, it would be better to find out after Nate's birthday.

You didn't want to be pissed on his special day. Also, you and Max worked so hard to make this day perfect and you wanted to enjoy yourself. Not to mention that you couldn't possibly hide your feelings from Nate.

Your mom nodded in response "Alright," she eyed you up and down in a disapproving manner once more, "have fun at Nate's party." she added coldly, but you didn't miss the undertone.

You subtly narrowed your eyes at her before leaving. Now you were sure whatever it was your parents wanted to tell you, would put you in a bad mood.

You were well aware of the fact that they disapproved of your relationship with Nate, and it was safe to assume that they were about to try to separate the two of you.

"Max, where are the balloons?" you shouted across the huge living room "Um.. I think they're still in my car, I'll get them just gimme a sec!" he yelled back.

You two were currently decorating the living room, since the party was about to start soon. You told Nate explicitly to let you two handle the decoration alone.

Which obviously irritated him again.

Not really because he was scared that you'd cheat on him, it was more the fact that Nate had no control over what the two of you would be talking about. What if Max would come clean with you, and tell you everything Nate said to him in the locker room?

Nate knew deep down that Max probably wouldn't do that, or that it might only happen if you would confront him about it. But since you didn't have any suspicions in the first place, he was sure you wouldn't ask.

Not to mention that Nate could –and would– ruin Max's life in return.

Once Max returned from his car, you started pumping them up together. "I'm so glad almost everything went well." you sighed. "What didn't go well?" Max asked as he furrowed his brows.

"Actually, the most important thing.. It's not a surprise anymore." You replied "But that was his fault, not ours." you added jokingly. Max nodded in return, contemplating whether to ask you about what happened or not. But his curiosity got the best of him.

"How did he find out by the way? You never told me, you just texted me that he knows." Max asked carefully, yet with a hint of a chuckle to keep the conversation as lighthearted as possible.

You sighed in return "He.. got mad at me. Apparently he saw me get into your car after school, and he thought I was cheating on him." you rolled your eyes.

Max chuckled nervously "Oh.." he was so glad that Nate didn't approach him first, because he definitely wouldn't have listened to Max. Hell, he'd be glad if he'd even still be alive afterwards. "Yeah, I was so sure he didn't see me.." you frowned.

Max was also sure he couldn't have possibly seen you.

Because when your lessons ended, Nate still had one lesson left. So how was he able to see you get into his car when he was sitting in his classroom?

The only possible time when he could've seen you two together, was maybe at the mall in case he rushed there after school for some unknown reason. Or... when he drove you home..

Goosebumps broke out on his arms at the mere thought of him following you around. Sure, Nate was possessive, but that possessive? "Yeah, same..." He added as he played around with the balloon.

"But.. why did he think you're cheating on him?" Max started again. "Probably because I lied to him about going to Mia's place." You explained, "He basically had to force the truth out of me." you joked.

Max suddenly looked up from the balloon in his hand. "He forced it out of you?.. How?" He asked hesitantly, not sure if he wanted to know what horrible things he put you through in order to get you to speak.

This time you looked down at the balloon in your hand. You didn't want to think about it, you knew he was just scared and acted out on it. "Oh he just... kinda lost his temper.." You responded softly.

Max cursed himself for actually caring. He shouldn't be this close with you, even if he had no romantic intentions with you.

Nate made that very clear.

But he just couldn't help but feel incredibly bad for you. "He didn't hurt you.. right?" he chuckled drily, his eyes scanning your expression.

You quickly shook your head, chuckling as well "No, Nate wouldn't hurt me.. he just got angry and hit the wall.." you trailed off.

Sure, that's what happened, but you definitely left out a few things. The fact that he said a lot of condescending things, and pushed you against said wall, for example.

Max noticed that there was more to the story, simply by the way you were fidgeting with the balloon. But he decided not to press any further, since he didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable. Plus, he could already tell that Nate probably berated you.

"Jesus, that sounds pretty rough.. I hope you're okay now." Max responded to which you nodded "Yeah, everything is fine now, don't worry." you reassured him.

Just as Max was about to say something, you were interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. You didn't pay attention to the time as you two decorated everything, so you didn't notice that it was that late already.

You looked at Max, as he stood up and went to open the door. You were praying that it was one of your classmates which you invited earlier this week. But once you heard multiple voices, which all didn't belong to any of your friends, you started to feel on edge.

Max came back into the living room with three other girls and two guys. You smiled at them as you greeted them. You noticed that the girls were part of the cheer team.

You haven't really talked to any of the girls from the cheer team before, but you were sure that Max was close to them. So the thought of just sitting there while they all chatted and laughed, made you feel extremely anxious.

But to your surprise, they were friendlier than you thought. Once they entered the room they greeted you, the girls even complimented your look, despite them looking just as good.

And as you chatted with them, the time seemed to go by so much faster. Until everyone arrived and it was finally time for Nate to arrive.

It wasn't a surprise party anymore, but you demanded Nate to only come once everyone arrived and you finished decorating.

You looked into the mirror in the hallway once more to check if you still looked as good as you did when you left the house.

You quickly grabbed your purse and refreshed your perfume before fixing your dress a little bit "Y/n, Nate just pulled up in the driveway!" Max whisper-yelled. "Coming!" you responded.

You asked Max if he could buy a cake for today and luckily he found one. He even refused to take your money when you wanted to pay for it.

You placed a few candles onto the cake, ready to welcome Nate with the cake in your hands. "Did you light the candles?" You asked as you quickly jogged into the living room. "I'm on it.." He said, as he and another guy from the football team lit the candles.

You heard the thud of Nate's car door, and looked back at the candles which were finally lit. Then you quickly took the cake into your hands while Max made his way to the door, opening it before Nate could ring the door.

Nate's eyes widened in surprise, as everyone said "Happy birthday!" in unison. But even despite the fact that there were about 40 people in front of him, his eyes landed on you, his beautiful, gorgeous girlfriend who smiled so lovingly at him.

And then his eyes were fixated on your dress.

And the way your current position allowed him to catch a glimpse of your chest "Make a wish!" you pushed him, as if the candles were waiting to be blown.

He chuckled, before closing his eyes and quickly thinking of a wish. Then he blew the candles out, and everyone cheered.

And still, he only spared them a quick glance and a smile before putting his focus back on you, and making sure to place a kiss onto your lips. This again caused some of the guys to roar once more.

"Thank you guys for coming, I really appreciate it," Nate finally spoke. "and thank you, for planning all of this with Max." he smiled down at you, as he cupped your cheeks. "Can we get a round of applause for my beautiful girlfriend?" Nate added, which caused you to shyly nudge him.

And as if on demand they started to applaud you.

It always fascinated you how much influence Nate seemed to have over almost everyone. No matter what it is, they'd literally do anything if he demands it. You couldn't help but wonder what caused everyone to just blindly follow him like that.

After a few minutes, the party finally got started. Hip-Hop music was blasting through the speakers, and some of the students already made their way to the kitchen, grabbing bottles of liquor and cups, ready to mix their drinks.

Some other students were simply sitting in the living room while chatting and laughing, some were outside smoking. And you were left with Nate who just smirked at you.

You chuckled once he stayed silent "Why are you looking at me like that?" Nate scoffed "Have you seen yourself? You look fucking amazing." he reasoned, as his hands made their way to your waist.

"Can't believe you chose that dress..." he added, as he paid attention to how the material felt under his hands.

"I'm glad you like it.." you smiled.

"Shit, I don't just like it, I love it." he confirmed.

"I wish I could take it off though.." he added as he looked down at your cleavage. You shyly glanced around, hoping no one saw or heard the two of you. "Can we go outside for a moment? I still need to give you your present." you smiled proudly.

Nate furrowed his brows. Did you really buy him something? After you must've spent so much for this party already. "What present? I thought this party was your present already." he chuckled.

You shook your head "Nope, I got you something." Nate blinked at you, seemingly at a loss of words. "Come on, I wanna give it to you!" you exclaimed as you grabbed his hand and pulled him outside.

Nate was still dumbfounded, trying to guess what you could've possibly bought him. "Close your eyes and extend your hand." You grinned. Nate scoffed before he complied.

You quickly pulled the small gift box out of your purse, before softly placing it in his hands "You can look now.." you whispered. Nate slowly opened his eyes and inspected the gift box, before looking back at you "Y/n, you really didn't have to do this. I'm sure the party was expensive enough.."

And he really meant it.

He knew that Max also paid for some of the stuff, but that didn't change the fact that he didn't want you to spend that much money on him. He was the man in the relationship, and he should pay for your things, not the other way around.

He already planned on paying you back, giving you princess treatment, taking and eating you out, the list was long.

"I know, but I don't care if I spend money on you for once. It's your birthday after all, and today should be your special day." You smiled, and he couldn't help but lean down and press a slow, loving kiss onto your lips.

You kissed him back softly, before Nate looked down at you and caressed your cheek "I don't deserve you.." he whispered softly as he frowned.

You shook your head in response "I don't deserve you, Nate." you responded, as your hand stroked Nate's. "You've done so much for me, it's only right I treat you good too for once."

Nate knew he was right. He didn't deserve you.

But he just had to be selfish and keep you all to himself. He was sure you two were meant for each other in a way, and he'd try his best to make you happy.

"Come on now, open the present!" you urged, excited to see his reaction. He chuckled in return before finally turning his attention back to the box in his hand. He lifted the top and looked at the bracelet inside.

Then he removed it from the box and inspected it further. "Do you like it..?" you asked nervously. When Nate didn't respond and just continued to inspect the bracelet, you added "I actually... engraved something into it."

Nate looked at the silver rectangle-shaped charm, which indeed had their initials engraved. Nate swallowed harshly as he just stared at it for a moment.

While his silence was a sign of adoration and appreciation, you took it as a negative sign, maybe he didn't like it, or it was too much that early into your relationsh- "Y/n..." he said softly.

You looked up at him "Y-yes?" Nate averted his gaze from the bracelet back to you "Fuck.. I don't even know what to say..."

Nate recently thought about buying promise rings for you two, but he didn't want you to think things were moving too fast, so he decided to wait.

But your present just showed him that you felt the same way about him. He couldn't help but feel proud as he looked at you "That's probably the best present I've ever received. Thank you so much.."

He opened the bracelet and tried to put it on, as fast as possible. When you noticed how he struggled however, you chuckled "Come on, let me help you.." Nate held his hand in front of you, and you instantly closed the bracelet. "I'm so glad you like it." you finally squealed in excitement.

Nate chuckled before wrapping his arms around your waist and leaning down to press kisses all over your face, and neck.

God, he needed to be inside you.

"I love you so much, princess," he whispered into your ear. "Can't wait 'til we're all alone later, so I can show you just how much I appreciate you," he rasped, which caused your eyes to widen in both excitement and shock.

"Is that a promise?" you asked shyly "Of course it is." He smirked in return. "Let's go back inside, and get something to drink, yeah?" You nodded in return, as you followed him back inside.

Nate made a beeline towards the kitchen, your hand in his as he pulled you through the crowded living room. "So... I assume you never really drank any alcohol before, right?" he asked as he opened Max's fridge.

You nodded slowly "I had like.. one glass of champagne at one of my dad's company parties.." you stated, hoping he wouldn't think you're too boring "Cute." he chuckled "But I'm gonna show you the real stuff now, I'm sure you'll like it."

Nate placed a cup in front of him before he grabbed a bottle of bacardi, and poured some of it into the cup. Then he placed the bottle back onto the cabinet and grabbed some pineapple and coconut juice, also pouring some of it into the cup.

He himself grabbed a bottle of vodka and poured it into his cup, not bothering to mix it with anything. Once he was done, he handed you your cup and smiled at you. You excitedly looked into the cup, and took a sip of it.

You furrowed your brows, since you expected it to taste a lot like alcohol, but for some reason you could only taste the juice. "Wow.. you're a pro at mixing drinks." You smiled "It barely tastes like alcohol, right?" he smirked, to which you nodded.

Nate took a sip of his cup as well, his facial expression barely changing as he drank the vodka. "Can I try yours?" Nate smiled in return "You can, but I'm not sure if you really want to." he held his cup invitingly towards you, before you grabbed it and took a small sip.

Your face almost immediately contorted as you shivered. Your stomach started to heat up, as you felt the hard liquor run down your throat. "Ugh.. How can you even drink that with a straight face?" you asked.

Nate couldn't help but laugh at how innocent you were as you looked up at him, completely confused. "You just get used to it when you attend a lot of parties." he reasoned.

You shook your head "I don't think I can attend enough parties to make this taste fine.." Nate chuckled, as you took a few large sips of your own cup, to make the taste go away.

Then you placed your cup down onto the counter "You want me to mix you something new, before we go back to the living room?" Nate asked, once he noticed your cup was almost empty.

You contemplated for a moment before finally nodding "Sure, as long as it's not just vodka.." you joked. Nate smiled before reaching for your cup.

While he was busy mixing you a new drink, you couldn't help but think about what he said earlier. You were anticipating whatever Nate would do to you later. No matter what you two did so far, it always felt good and he paid so much attention to your pleasure.

You noticed however, that he was holding back sometimes, maybe because he was scared to hurt you, or afraid you'd judge him. You weren't sure.

You were hoping that Nate would let go tonight, and fully trust you. But no matter what would happen, he promised to appreciate you tonight.

And you knew that Nate always kept his promises.

Nate and you made your way back to the crowd as the loud music blasted through the speakers. some students were dancing, some were chatting, and some were downright making out.

Nate walked over to the couch, before plopping down next to one of his teammates, who was clearly in another world judging by the look on his face.

Nate smirked, as he patted his lap invitingly. You shyly sat down, not putting your full weight on him until he pulled you closer towards him. The smell of weed filled your nose and you scrunched your nose in return.

"Yo.." he slurred, as he held what you assumed to be the source of the smell in his hand. "Is that your first one tonight?" Nate nodded towards the joint in his hand. The other guy shook his head "Nah, probably my third." He mumbled before taking a drag.

Then he held it towards Nate, offering him a hit as well. Nate hesitantly took the joint out of his hand before taking a drag.

He wasn't sure how you'd react to him smoking, maybe you'd think bad about him, or dislike it. But once he noticed you were just raising your eyebrows at him in surprise, he was sure you didn't.

"Didn't know you smoke." you said teasingly, which caused him to chuckle. "Yeah, I mean I don't do it regularly of course.." Nate defended himself before taking another drag, and passing it back to his friend.

"Why? Do you mind?" he asked nonchalantly, wanting to make sure you really didn't mind. You shook your head "No, as you said, you don't do it everyday." you replied.

To be honest, you were curious about what it felt like to be high, but you were way too nervous to try it. Everyone perceived it as something dangerous, and your parents warned you, telling you it’s a dangerous drug.

It was already exciting enough to drink properly for the first time, and so far you didn't really feel much. You just hoped nothing bad or embarrassing would happen to you.

Nate paid close attention to your cup, encouraging you to take a sip from time to time. And whenever it was empty he'd ask if you wanted a refill.

After your third refill you started to notice the effect of the alcohol. You were currently sitting next to Nate, since his friend decided to get up at some point.

Nate observed you well enough to notice that you were starting to get tipsy. He was surprised it didn't happen earlier since you were so new to drinking.

But it didn’t bother him, he knew there was enough alcohol left to get you absolutely drunk. "Everything alright?" he asked, placing his hand on your thigh to get your attention.

You slowly looked over at Nate and nodded with a content smile "Yeah.. what about you?" you asked, visibly tipsy. Nate chuckled "Yeah me too. Is your cup empty? You haven't tried malibu one yet." He added.

You chuckled in return "Malibu.. sounds fun, I'm in." you quickly emptied your cup, and hummed afterwards. Then you held your cup towards Nate, your moves uncoordinated.

"Don't you wanna come along?" he asked as he got up. You pouted and shook your head "I like the couch, it's comfy." you mumbled before leaning your head back onto the headrest.

Nate actually would've preferred it if you would've come along with him. He didn't want to leave you on your own in your current state.

He didn't trust the other tipsy or drunk guys around you, who knows what kind of ideas they might get. He sighed "Alright, I'll be right back. Stay here okay?" he said sternly, but the tone didn't reach you "Yeah sure.." you smiled, as you closed your eyes.

As Nate rushed into the kitchen, you lost yourself in the music which was blaring through the speakers, as the bass vibrated through your body. And before you knew it, Nate already returned with your cup in his hand.

"Wow, you were so quick." you exclaimed as you tried to sit up straight again "Yeah, didn't want to leave you alone here." he explained, trying to sound neutral.

Your eyes followed his every move as he sat down next to you again. Your gaze completely fixated on your boyfriend. You still weren't over the fact that you got so lucky to be dating him.

You couldn't help but stare at him as the dim party lights illuminated his face. He looked so pretty while he took a sip from his cup, before licking his lips. Everything about him was mesmerizing.

Your eyes trailed down from his face to his shoulder, then to his muscular arm which held the cup in his hand. You wanted nothing more than for Nate to manhandle you. You blamed it on the alcohol, as if you didn't also have these thoughts when you were absolutely sober.

"You still there, Princess?" Nate asked, as a smirk threatened to make its way to his lips. Nate felt your gaze burn into his side, and when he looked at you he instantly knew what kind of look that was.

"Mhm, why?" you asked before taking a sip from your cup. "Mhh, is this the malibu drink you were talking about?" Nate smiled as he nodded "You like it?" you took another large sip before answering "Yeah, this might be the best drink I've had tonight." you said.

Nate chuckled before leaning back against the sofa. When you remained quiet for some time, Nate glanced over at you, noticing that you were still staring at him "What's wrong, hm?" he asked as he turned towards you.

You giggled in return before averting your gaze back to the cup in your hand. "Nothing 's just.." Nate waited patiently for you to continue "You just.. you're really hot.. you know?" you finally responded.

Nate chuckled in response, "That so?" he asked before leaning in closer "What's so hot about me, hm?" You swallowed, because even that was hot.

"Where do I even start," your speech seemed to have become more slurred by now "you're so, so tall, your voice makes me feel things I didn't know I could feel."

Nate raised an eyebrow at your bold confession, not used to you being so open about your thoughts with him, but also loving every second of it. Then your free hand moved towards his arm, slightly squeezing at his biceps "And your arms.. hmm.. so strong." you giggled.

The way you talked to him made him want to ditch his own birthday party, and take you home to have you in every way possible. Nate leaned in even closer "My arms huh?” he teased, slightly flexing the muscle below your hand. “What else, Princess?” He asked, his tone almost teasing as he was genuinely curious.

You smiled, your heavy lidded eyes glued to his face. “Everything about you is hot.” you confessed, the alcohol clearly loosening you up. “Your jawline,” you breathed “your eyes– the way you look at me sometimes.”

You felt a shiver run down your spine once you noticed, that Nate was giving you the exact look you just mentioned. “The way I look at you.. How exactly do I look at you?” he asked, “I don’t know how to explain it, it’s like… you only have eyes for me,” Nate hummed in response.

“like you own me.” you pointed out, too amazed to stop the words from slipping out. Nate raised his eyebrows ever so slightly, pleasantly surprised by your words. “Like I own you, huh?” he murmured, his voice low enough to make your stomach flip.

He leaned in, his lips nearly brushing the shell of your ear “Maybe that’s because I do.” he whispered, his hand slowly moving to rest on your thigh, and his grip firm enough to make you gasp.

You felt a wave of heat wash through your body. The alcohol in your system seemed to make things even more intense than they were already, everything around you felt blurry, but his touch and his words were crystal clear.

He pulled back slightly, just enough to meet your gaze “Do you like that? Knowing you’re mine?” he asked, as his thumb stroked over your exposed thigh. As if on autopilot you felt yourself nodding.

“Yeah?” he pressed, loving the way he clearly affected you. Before you could answer his hand slid further up your leg “Good,” he said, his voice low and commanding.

“Because you’ll always be mine.”

✎Holy shit this took way too long, but here it is. I’m currently working on the next part and hope that I can finally add hyperlinks again since it hasn’t been working for a week now. As always I hope you guys enjoyed it, and I’d like to thank you all for reading and supporting me throughout this truly awful time.♡

- Cassandra

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#div.creds:anitalenia #euphoria #euphoria imagine #jacob elordi imagine #jacob elordi x reader #jacob elordi x y/n #nate euphoria #jacob elordi x you #nate jacobs imagine #nate jacobs #nate jacobs scenario #euphoria fanfic

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bucketbueckers · 3 months ago

Text

I'D RATHER PRETEND

CHAPTER SEVEN

tags: @angryflowerwitch @avvwritesstufff @melpthatsme @rebecca-woso @bueckersg1rl @l0verl4ne @clouded-whispers @dolliest-thena @katemartinlvr @numberonepartyanth3m @glamourdaya @pbbucks @unadulteratedcyclepaper @paiges-1vur @thelightknight21 wc: 5.5k notes: she master on my list til i chapter seven (im sorry i dont know what this is anymore) ummm im apologizing in advance for this chapter, it's pretty crucial but the first half is kinda buns and also i wish tess kennedy was real because she'd would stream the fuck out of crybaby by sza like thats her song. last chapter of angst but next chapter is tournaments and march madness and shit and we all know what happened so idk if its angst ? i just work here man. merry christmas eve btw, expect something later tonight to make up for this chapter 🎅 as always i hope we enjoy 🫶

‘Home for the Holidays’

November and December are hailed as the happiest times of the year. In November, families from all over reunite for Thanksgiving and toast to good times. December is home to Christmas and New Year’s Eve, where families bond over gift-giving and their shared hope for a successful year ahead. These two months are the most festive times of the year, but basketball fans are celebrating the holidays with new reasons to be thankful and joyous – Tess Kennedy and Paige Bueckers.

If you have been following us for a while, you may remember their long-awaited hard launch in June of 2023. They had a quiet few months between July and November, although those were incredibly busy times for the student athletes. Between summer practices, traveling, the start of the fall semester, and the start of the new basketball season, social media candids were far and between, although Bueckers and Kennedy certainly spoiled us during Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s.

Per their social medias, Kennedy spent Thanksgiving with the extended Bueckers family in Minnesota. She was only there for a few days, but the content was limitless – Bueckers’s sister, Lauren Fuller, shared a photo of Bueckers and Kennedy cuddled up in an armchair on Thanksgiving Day; similarly, Bueckers herself shared a family photo (which included Kennedy) where the entire family wore traditional, festive sweaters. Her caption was simple, only reading “Thankful 🙏”.

Throughout December, fans speculated if Bueckers and Kennedy would spend Christmas together. While it appears they spent Christmas Day separately with their families, Bueckers flew out to New York to spend the last three days of the year with Kennedy. They shared photos of their gifts – a sentimental bracelet charm for Kennedy and a rose thumb ring for Bueckers – then spent New Year’s Eve in New York City to watch the Times Square Ball Drop. A fan who was present in Times Square at the moment wrote to us and shared that Bueckers and Kennedy were each other’s New Year’s Kiss, although they disappeared shortly after midnight.

As the Gamecocks gear up to host the Huskies in early February, fans are eagerly awaiting the clash of the dynasties. Kennedy has not yet been cleared for play, but many supporters feel as though this matchup is a house divided. Critics question how Bueckers and Kennedy will be able to handle the pressure of competing against one another now that they are together, though a greater majority argue that they are mature enough to not let their relationship interfere with the game. Marriage politics aside, we are eagerly awaiting this thrilling match up between South Carolina and Connecticut, and cannot wait to see what February 11th has in store for us.

-Penelope Lancaster, Bleacher Report

FEBRUARY 2024

To no one’s surprise at all, Tess and Paige don’t talk about New Year’s.

Tess knows how she feels about Paige. She’s not concerned about her feelings suddenly changing for Paige overnight, not after how nice New York was in general. It was the first time they’d truly spent romantic, alone time out in public without regard for the press. New York was crowded – they walked down the streets late at night and many didn’t care to bother them. They had sat in a secluded spot during dinner where they flirted all night, toeing the line between pretend and for real. When they watched the ball drop, they were in a pretty secluded place, too, and most of the crowd was full of a bunch of inebriated party-goers. Tess had an amazing time in New York, and if anything, her feelings for Paige only got worse and harder to hide.

The issue is Paige doesn’t mention anything. At all. It’s like it didn’t even happen. If Tess didn’t spend almost every minute of every day thinking about it, thinking about how Paige kissed her fucking scar and said she was beautiful, then she’d worry that she just imagined it all. It’s agonizing because she knows where she stands but she just can’t figure out how to ask Paige about it. She can’t just call her up and say something like, hey, remember how you fucked me within an inch of my life on New Year’s? Did that mean anything to you? That was not happening. So, here they are – back at square one.

Things are fine the first week of January. They text where they can. Coach Staley is slowly working Tess back into practice. Her past few months of PT have been full of insurmountable growth and Tess feels better than she has in ages. She’s so close to getting back on the court, and when she’s not stressing about her situation with Paige (which she stresses about pretty often), all she can think about is how quickly March is approaching and how soon she’ll be back playing. A new basketball redshirting rule had been finalized – an athlete would be able to play up to five games after suffering an early injury (whether it be offseason, preseason, or early in the regular season) that forces them to miss most of the season and still hold on to an extra year of eligibility if they healed completely before the end of the season. It seemed situational on paper, but Tess passed the board consideration with ease after she demonstrated that she was in good health and her doctor confirmed that she’d be fully healed and safe to play by March.

So with Tess getting busier, and knowing that Paige is incredibly busy, too, she doesn’t think too much of it when they text once or twice a day. A good morning here, a how’s practice? there. Things aren’t bad. They’re just…okay, which is strange. It’s like they don’t know how to act around each other. Tess is sure she knows why. She shouldn’t have been so sure that her relationship with Paige would stay the same after they had sex, because why would it? They could argue they were blurring the lines when they’d nap together and kiss, but now, the line isn’t even there and everything is just so confusing.

Tess microdoses a crash out the entirety of January. She can tell that something is wrong but nothing is wrong at the same time. Paige pretends like nothing has changed. Maybe it hasn’t. Maybe this is what happens when you let yourself fall in love with someone you’re supposed to be in a fake relationship with. This is what happens when you agree to casual and then you can’t keep it casual. She let her feelings for Paige get out of hand and now she’s facing the repercussions of that. The worst part is that the only person Tess can actually be mad at is herself. It’s not Paige’s fault that she’s funny and kind and charming and beautiful and sarcastic and gentle and intense and magnetic and literally everything Tess didn’t even know she wanted in a partner until she allowed herself to yearn for something more. Bree and Kamilla warned her – they told her she needed to focus on recovery, not Paige; they told her she couldn’t get caught up in her, and against her better judgement, she did. Now, everything is messy, and the only person at fault is Tess.

Then February comes around. South Carolina was set to host Connecticut on the 11th. Maybe she and Paige would be able to talk after the game and finally get their minds straight.

Or so Tess hoped.

FEBRUARY 11, 2024

Tess spends the entirety of warm-ups nervous as hell. Her shot is off, her handles weak. She’s thankful she’s not playing in this game because at the rate she’s bricking, she’d lose the game for South Carolina by the second quarter. Eventually, she gives up on shooting and decides to rebound for Raven and Bree. That doesn’t go well either. Standing under the basket puts Paige directly in her line of vision, and tearing her eyes off of her is a task easier said than done. The last time they saw each other in person was at the airport on New Year’s Day. Tess knows she’s standing only a court away from the same Paige who’d carried her into the bathroom when her legs didn’t work, though part of her wonders what happened in the month they were gone that would make her doubt that. Her hair is up in the same game day style that Tess knows so well by now, her face impassive, the gleam of sweat shining under the arena lights. Tess can’t look away. Part of her wants Paige to look at her, to give her something to work with, but Raven draws her out of her thoughts with an impatient ball to the ass.

“Ouch!” Tess exclaims, rubbing her cheek, although it didn’t really hurt. She watches Raven bend down to grab the ball with a smirk on her face.

“I know you ain’t playing, but some of us are, and we’d appreciate it if you stopped making bedroom eyes at your girl,” Raven sasses. She shoots the ball from the free throw line and it swishes in seamlessly. Tess catches it as it falls and passes it back her way.

“I am not making bedroom eyes,” Tess grumbles. Raven huffs out something akin to laughter, backing up to shoot the ball from the top of the key. It clangs off the rim and Tess smiles at her. “Karma,” she says as she passes it back. “That’s why we be nice to Tess Kennedy.”

“Tess Kennedy needs to be nice to us and lock the fuck in,” Raven states, shooting again. It goes in and Tess passes it back. “Y’all been together, what – eight months now, nine? This long and y’all actin’ like a middle school couple?”

Tess rolls her eyes, blushing, but she doesn’t entertain the conversation anymore. “I’m not playing. I don’t need to lock in. You need to worry about getting the ball through the net and not my love life.”

“Damn,” Raven says, kissing her teeth. “I get it now. You need to get laid.”

“Do you want a rebounder or not?”

Raven, blessedly, shuts up, but Tess casts one last glance across the court. Paige is sitting on the Huskies’ bench, her pant leg rolled up while a shorter woman kneels in front of her and prods at her knee. Tess almost thinks nothing of it until she watches a smile spread across Paige’s face, the way the woman’s hand lingers on her leg as she looks up, a beaming expression of her own on her face. Oh, Tess thinks. Okay.

Bree has been right about every single thing she’s ever said to Tess and Tess was stupid enough to sit there and think that Bree was overreacting. The humiliation burns low in her gut, but combined with anger, a deep sadness, and a thick terror, Tess feels like she’s going to be sick.

She barely pays attention to the game once it starts. She locks in for the first few possessions – South Carolina wins the tip-off, Te-Hina scores, then Paige scores, then Te-Hina with a three-pointer. South Carolina ends the first quarter in the lead, 19-11. It should make her happy, it’s her team, but the sudden tension between her and Paige makes her queasy. By halftime, South Carolina still holds a healthy lead, 44-30. Tess follows her team and her coach into the locker room, glancing once more at Paige as she regroups with her team, and she can’t help but feel like something’s wrong.

Tess doesn’t listen to anything Coach says while they’re in the locker room, lost in nervous thought. Halftime passes, then she’s back on the bench for the third quarter, her knee bouncing up and down. The quarter passes. 69-44 South Carolina. The fourth quarter starts. It ends. 83-65 South Carolina. When the final buzzer and her team celebrates, Tess can’t find it in herself to be happy about it. Bree and Raven jostle her, cheering, but her eyes are firmly locked on Paige, who stands from the bench to receive her teammates.

They line up for handshakes. When Tess and Paige reach each other, Paige doesn’t even glance at her, half-heartedly saying, “Good game,” and Tess scoffs loudly. That finally gathers Paige’s attention, whose head snaps back to look at Tess indignantly, but Tess is over it. She moves on, annoyance and fear simmering beneath her skin. If that’s the game that Paige wants to play, then Tess will play.

She gathers her belongings from the locker room in record time, telling Bree to not wait up for her as she walks through the halls briskly. Her phone has been blowing up ever since the pressers ended. Knowing that the countless text messages and missed calls are from Paige, she pays it no mind as she silences her phone so she can return to her apartment in peace. Paige had a month to suddenly remember she cared about her. She had the entirety of the afternoon – yes, they were opponents, and Tess would be content to leave it at that if she knew there wasn’t something else going on. She wasn’t born yesterday despite the fact that Paige seems to think so.

When Tess finally makes it back to her apartment, she leaves her duffle bag in her room as she makes her way into the kitchen to make some coffee. The caffeine will undoubtedly make sleep difficult, but Tess can’t find it within herself to care. She’s nearly shaking from rage because what the fuck is even going on? Things were weird – she made her peace with that, but this cold shoulder bullshit is getting old, fast, and Tess doesn’t even know where they went wrong.

The coffee trickles out of the Keurig and Tess stares at it numbly. It finishes, then she dumps sugar and creamer inside and stirs. It burns her tongue when she drinks it, but Paige has her so pissed off she barely registers it. She needs food, or a hot shower, or maybe a couple episodes of TV to get her mind off of the last few weeks of bullshit. Before she can sit down, there’s a few impatient knocks at the front door.

Tess sighs, thinking Bree had forgotten her keys, but when she opens it, she wishes she’d checked the peephole first. Paige stands outside with an obviously annoyed expression, and Tess is honestly tempted to shut the door on her. Paige beats her to the chase. “Let me in,” she says, her tone not indicative of a request. “I’m not havin’ this conversation out here.”

Tess laughs again, mostly in disbelief, but lets Paige inside and shuts the door. “Didn’t seem like you wanted to do a whole lot of talking earlier,” she points out.

Paige rolls her eyes, crossing her arms. “Is that really what you’re pissed about? I didn’t talk to you before the game?”

“Okay, this is what we’re doing?” Tess demands. “Don’t act so fucking naive. You sat there and pretended like I didn’t exist. The media is going to eat that shit up, Paige. They’re going to say that we’re fighting, or breaking up, or–”

“The media’s gonna eat it up anyway, Tess, that’s what they do!” Paige exclaims, exasperated. “They’re vultures. If I showed up and acted like I was in love with you or some shit, the media’s gonna say I’m too worried about you and not worried enough about my game. They’re going to say that I’m throwing the game to make you feel better about not playing. They’re already saying we’re not mature enough to compete against each other!”

“Are we?” Tess asks. “You act weird for a month, like I don’t even fucking matter to you, and you barge into my apartment like you suddenly care about me again?”

“I wasn’t acting weird,” Paige defends, though her entire demeanor shifts.

Tess scoffs. “You weren’t? God, Paige, I know you were busy, but you changed. Something changed, we changed, and you’re pretending like nothing happened. I feel like I’m losing my mind. I know something is wrong with us and you’re not giving me anything to work with! And then, you can’t even fucking look at me, but you can smile at that woman and you let her touch you?”

Paige blinks once before her gaze hardens. “You mean the trainer? If you have sum’ to say, then say it with your chest, Tess.”

Tess doesn’t even realize she’s crying until the tears burn her cheeks on the way down. She gestures wildly with her hands as she explains. “The only reason why your manager placed you with me was because you slept around and people started noticing.” Paige recoils, as if struck, like she immediately understands where Tess is going with this. “So what am I supposed to think? Fuck, you barely talk to me, you can’t even look at me, and another girl’s touching on you like that? When I told Bree about us, she said it looked like I was just your new flavor. She told me I’d end up being just another notch on your bedpost. She was right. I spent months defending you and looking like a fucking idiot because you told me it wasn’t true, and I believed you?” Tess hiccups, her chest constricting. “When you said you could do casual, I didn’t know that included cruel, too.”

Paige is silent for a moment before huffing. “You caught feelings, didn’t you?” she asks, suddenly looking terrified, and Tess feels her blood run cold.

“What?”

“You caught feelings,” Paige says, like it all makes sense. Her eyes are wide and panicked as they water. “You caught feelings and, what, you thought that changed things?” Paige’s voice cracks. Tess flinches. “We agreed we couldn’t let this get out of hand. You agreed. You couldn’t separate your feelings from the job we had to do and you’re pissed at me about that?”

Tess is breathing heavily by the time Paige finishes. Her nails are likely drawing blood from how hard they’re digging into her palms. She doesn’t care. She’s sure she could deny, deny, deny, but what good could it do either of them? Tess is fucking over it. Her reputation wasn’t worth it. She would give up all of her brand deals and her public image if only it’d hurt less.

“You know what?” Tess cries. “I did catch feelings for you! I’m in love with you, you asshole, is that what you wanted to hear? Yes, I broke our rules, but you broke them first when you kissed me in that fucking hotel room and told me that I didn’t have to be scared with you. Did that mean anything to you? Did it mean anything to you when you told me that we ‘didn’t have to label it’ and we could ‘just be us?’ You told me I didn’t have to be scared and I gave you everything, Paige, literally every-fucking-thing. I gave you my heart, my first kiss, my fucking virginity on New Year’s, and you just pretended like none of that happened. You pretended like you didn’t even care about me or what we did. And maybe I was just stupid enough to think that would have mattered to you.”

The apartment is agonizingly silent for a moment as Paige stares in near disbelief, looking as though Tess just pulled the rug out from under her. She looks shell-shocked, like she wasn’t expecting Tess to admit that she was in love with her, like she wasn’t expecting Tess to blame her for all of this. Then, in a weak voice, she says, “I was your first?”

The laugh that rips from Tess’s throat is watery, surprised despite herself. “That’s what you’re concerned about?”

“Tess–”

She raises her hands, backing away, her fingers shaking with rage. “No, you know what? I shouldn’t even be surprised.” Paige takes a cautionary step towards her, but Tess takes two more away from her, her gaze disappointed and somber. “God, you are such an asshole.” She opens the door, stepping out, but meets Paige’s eyes. “Lock my fucking door before you leave,” she says, then slams it shut behind her. Paige doesn’t chase after her. She’s not sure if that relieves her or distresses her.

Tess doesn’t even know where she’s going, but her legs do. She buries her hands in her hoodie pocket, the chill of the weather freezing the tears to her face. She doesn’t bother wiping them as she makes her way down the sidewalk, down to Senate street, and before she knows it, she’s walking into the Tin Roof, the bar she used to haunt before sobriety.

She knows she should leave. She’s surrounded by people of varying levels of drunkenness, and the stench of alcohol makes her nose wrinkle. She’s ten months sober – that’s a lot of progress down the drain, but she’s hardly thinking as she slides into a seat at the bar.

“Rough day?” the bartender asks kindly, wiping the inside of a glass.

Tess snorts, finally wiping her eyes with the sleeves of her hoodie. “You have no idea,” she jokes, and the bartender’s laugh makes her feel a little better about herself.

“What’ll it be?”

Tess pauses for a while, taking a deep breath. What is she doing? She doesn’t know the answer to that, but she just doesn’t want to hurt. Her knee, her mind, Paige. But she knows it’ll just hurt even more if she goes down that path again, so she says, “Can I just get a sprite, please? And like, a small cup of cherries, if that’s possible? I’ll pay.”

The bartender nods, already reaching for a clean glass and using the soda gun to fill it with sprite. “No worries, okay? On the house.” Tess opens her mouth to argue, but she figures she’s had enough of arguing today, so she just quietly thanks the bartender as she fills a small serving bowl with maraschino cherries. She slides both the drink and the cherries her way with a smile. Then she’s off to help someone at the other end of the bar.

Tess pops a cherry in her mouth, feeling a little more regulated, and takes a sip of her sprite. The TV in front of her is playing the Stanford-Washington State game. Cameron Brink is an incredible player. Tess might like to play with her someday.

They go into a media timeout when Tess feels someone slide into the stool next to her. She doesn’t have to look up from her sprite to know it’s Paige, the scent of her perfume filling her nose. Neither of them say anything for a while as Tess eats her cherries and drinks her sprite, but Paige finally breaks the silence when she says simply, “I’m sorry.”

Tess hardly reacts. “How’d you know I was here?”

“You still share your location with me,” Paige admits. “I’m sorry.”

Tess laughs humorlessly. “Yeah. I heard you the first time.”

“I mean it.”

Tess finally glances at Paige. She’s drawn into herself, her lips pursed, eyes guilty. Tess knows her well enough by now. She truly does mean it, and maybe that’s the worst part. She knew Paige better than she knew herself and still didn’t expect Paige to break her heart like this.

“I’m sorry for what I said. For ignorin’ you at the game today, for actin’ indifferent after New Year’s.” Paige swallows thickly. “I’m sorry for making you doubt how much I care about you. I’m sorry about the trainer situation – that did look weird as hell.” That makes Tess laugh quietly. “I’m sorry for accusing you of catching feelings. I was a dick.”

“Wasn’t an accusation,” Tess says. “It was the truth.”

“It was an accusation ‘cause I acted like I was blameless,” Paige clarifies, which confuses Tess. She’s silent for a beat, drumming her fingers on the bar. “Do you regret New Year’s?”

“No,” Tess answers without hesitation. That makes Paige smile a little bit. “I don’t think I ever could. Not when it was with you.”

“Why did you never tell me it was your first?” Paige asks quietly.

“Would you have done it if you’d known?”

Paige smiles somberly at her. “I woulda done it nicer. More romantic and shit. I defiled you and then you went home to your parents. I should send them an apology card.” Tess can’t help her burst of laughter. She buries her head in her hands, shaking her head, knowing that her response was so wholly Paige that it was kind of sickening.

“It was…intimidating,” Tess says slowly, lifting her head. “I’m not experienced. At all. You were my first in so many ways and none of it was even real. That’s embarrassing to admit because you’re the complete opposite of that.”

Paige scratches the back of her neck. “Not really.”

“No?” Tess inquiries.

Paige inhales deeply. “I know you have no reason to believe me, but I never…slept around. I slept with one girl before you and she was my first. We were together. Didn’t end well. I dated around for a bit and she spread the rumor that I was sleeping with them. Couldn’t really address the rumors, my brands were freaking the fuck out, my manager suggested a PR relationship… Rest is history.”

Tess suddenly feels like a complete idiot. She lays her head down on the bar as she groans, completely embarrassed. “You sat there and let me call you a whore?” she demands, her voice a silent hiss. “Oh my God. I’m literally such a jerk. Why did you never say anything?”

“Was embarrassing,” Paige says, shrugging a shoulder.

Tess huffs, quirking a smile. “Touche.”

“When did you realize?” Paige asks. “That you were in love with me.”

“In New York, when we were walking to Times Square,” Tess admits. Paige exhales sharply. “I’m sure I felt it for a while. I just couldn’t name it. But…we were walking, and you looked so pretty in the city lights, and I was thinking about when we first met, in Gampel. I wanted to get to know you then. Playing against you was unlike anything I’d ever experienced. But I missed my shot and it’s just…insane to think about the fact that almost three years after that, we’d be in New York together. And then you smiled at me and squeezed my hand and you were my New Year’s kiss. It was inevitable.”

Paige glances at her. “I realized I was in love with you after dinner, the day before.”

Tess can hear her heartbeat in her ears. She turns to stare at Paige, almost waiting for Paige to admit that it was just some sick joke, but the blonde is gazing at her fondly. “You what?”

“I realized I was in love with you after–”

“No, I heard you,” Tess says, laughing in disbelief. “There’s just no way you mean it. Not after you said ‘you caught feelings and thought that changed things.’”

Paige sinks into herself, looking guilty again. “I didn’t mean that,” she says. “I was scared. I know, stupid excuse, but it scares me, Tess. I’ve never loved anything or anyone like I love you. I’ve never really had anything permanent. My parents divorced when I was three. When I was old enough to realize what that meant, I felt like, I’on know, I wasn’t enough for them to stay together. I love my step-parents but… it was so easy for them to love someone else. It’s stupid–”

“It’s not stupid, Paige,” Tess interrupts, her heart hurting, suddenly understanding.

Paige’s smile is somber. “I dated around to find something that would last, but it never worked. It’s lonely being me. Nobody gets it – the pressure, the expectations, the sacrifice. I felt like I was searchin’ for something I couldn’t find until I got to know you and realized I was looking for someone like you. ...For you specifically.” Tess has no words for that, her pulse thrumming in her chest. Paige sighs. “When I said what I said to you, I thought I was protectin’ you. I’m not someone who lasts. I’ve never been good at long-term, but, fuck, Tess, I want long-term with you. I didn’t wanna hurt you. I was scared that I would, so I said all that ‘cause I thought you’d maybe move on from me and find someone you deserved. And I ended up hurting you, anyway.

“I realized I was in love with you after dinner,” Paige says again, undeterred. “You were wearin’ my sweater and you looked so fuckin’ beautiful. Then you fell asleep with me and I called Aubrey. I told her I thought I was in love with you – and you were layin’ there, jus’ soft, and happy, and I thought, ‘I can’t hurt her.’ But I’m selfish. I wanted to keep you. I meant it when I said you don’t gotta be afraid with me. And I only said we didn’t have to label anything ‘cause I didn’t want to lose you. I never thought we’d be here – never thought you’d love me, too, so I just wanted to enjoy it while nothin’ was wrong. It all mattered to me, Tess, everything mattered to me; every time you called me, when you trusted me, when you first held my hand, when you first kissed me, when you let me show you how much I loved you even though we didn’t have the words for it yet. It all mattered to me and I’m so fuckin’ sorry I acted like it didn’t.”

The two of them sit in contemplative silence for a while. Tess can hear – and feel – each and every one of her heartbeats. For a long time, this is all she’s wanted to hear from Paige, the apology, the explanation for the private parts of her she couldn’t ask about, the I’m in love with you, too. Now that she has it, she doesn’t want to fuck it up, but all of this is so scary. It was easy to deal with the emotions when they were in New York and nothing was wrong, when it was easy to pretend that they could have all of the love without the ugly parts. Now, they’re forced to see all of each other. They have so much more to lose now.

Tess has historically made a bad habit out of getting in her own way. She overthinks constantly. It’s Murphy’s Law – if it can go wrong, it will go wrong. She scares herself out of opportunities. But when she just stops thinking and lets things happen, she builds rickety foundations in her relationships. All of the times she thought she was saving herself heartache by avoiding the difficult conversations just so she can keep Paige have backfired on her. It led to their argument on Thanksgiving, to their argument now. Had she been a little more honest to Paige, to herself, about how she felt, then perhaps she could have saved the both of them months of anguish.

So, Tess meets Paige’s hopeful eyes, and she says carefully, “We can’t keep hurting each other like this.”

Paige exhales, not expecting that response, but she nods. “I know,” she agrees. “Whatever you want, I’ll do it – just… fuck, I don’t wanna get on that bus tonight and not be yours. For real. You’re all I want, Tess. I can’t let you slip away from me again.” Paige searches Tess’s expression, her eyes wide and yearning and pleading. Tess can’t help but soften. Haven’t they been through enough? Wondering what was real and what wasn’t, suffering through arguments when they could have easily fixed their problems with a conversation. Tess doesn’t want to go to sleep tonight and not be Paige’s, either. It’s all she’s wanted since June.

But Tess knows that they can’t pick up where they left off. They both have to heal, understand their relationship and its boundaries a little better, and for the love of God, get rid of those fucking rules (although the communicate one had some credence).

“I want to take this slow,” Tess says after a while. “We need to do this right.”

Paige relaxes, relief on her face as she nods in earnest. “I can do slow,” she promises. “Just want you.”

Tess cocks a smile, her gaze warm, and Paige’s expression is so full of love that it’s almost disarming. “Maybe we can start slow later?” she suggests, watching the gears turn in Paige brain.

Once it clicks, Paige doesn’t waste any time. She leans forward, one hand cupping Tess’s cheek, her kiss softer than anything Tess has ever felt before. She tastes like a promise, like the vow that they’re going to do right by each other from now on. The knowledge that this is real, that there’s no catch or stipulation or some stupid fucking rule, makes their collide sweeter. They were inevitable, tied together by one strand of fate; it’s taken them a while to get here, but Tess is Paige’s and Paige’s is hers, and that’s all Tess can ask for right now.

They eventually have to break away – Paige can’t stop smiling, which makes it difficult to do much of anything. Tess shoves her back with a hand to her chest, grinning softly. “You’re so fucking annoying,” Tess says, hopelessly endeared.

Paige just smirks proudly. “Not annoying. Just in love.”

Tess rolls her eyes fondly, drawing Paige in to murmur against her lips, “Same difference,” and in the same bar Tess almost threw her life away in, she kisses the woman she’s in love with, the woman who reminded her of its importance, and she knows everything is exactly as it should be.

#paige bueckers #paige bueckers x oc #uconn #uconn wbb #ncaa wbb

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peachhcs · 3 months ago

Text

moments on the ring 2

hughes!sister x will smith au (samy + will)

more moments on the ring camera doorbell capturing all of the precious moments (can be read as a stand alone too)

wc: 3.1k

i'm back with a second part to another one of my favorite fics that makes me really wish i had my own ring doorbell. the last part doesn't really match with the au timeline, but let's pretend it does for the sake of this fic :)

au masterlist | part one

ONE (samy's senior prom)

will nervously stepped onto the porch with his mom, gabe, drew, and aram all behind him dressed in their best suits while the other three stood by colleen watching. the hockey player had been a crazy nervous wreck all morning as he got ready in a navy blue suit that would match samy's puple dress. after spending the past few months wondering how exactly he felt for his best friend, he wondered now what this night would mean for them. obviously, samy was bringing him as a friend, but was there really something more behind that? will rang the doorbell where he eyed the camera on top, offering it a small wave hoping it didn't pick up on his shaky hand.

colleen was behind the boys recording to get the reaction and samy's mom was recording her as she pulled the front door open. the girl stood in the entry way in her purple, floor length dress and white heels that brought her almost eye to eye with will. the blonde flushed, unable to take his eyes off of her. "woah," he mumbled.

"hey," samy flushed too, unable to take her eyes off will too. they stared at one another like that another minute until gabe poked will's back with a small snicker to break him out of his trance.

"y-you look..wow. pretty. these are for you," the blonde snapped from his daze and shakily showed samy her corsage. she smiled, admiring the purple and blue flowers to match what they were wearing.

"i love it. let me get your boutonniere," the girl rushed back inside to get the plastic container while samy's friends, lauren, marcie, and riley greeted gabe, drew, and aram who were their dates for the night. will stood off to the side watching his friends greet the girls and compliment their appearance while waiting anxiously for samy to reappear.

he swore his brain short circuited for a second when he saw the brunette all dressed up like that. it probably wasn't gonna be the last time either. luke poked his head out the door to greet the others too, smiling and dapping them up. samy came back out a moment later, smiling at will again.

"does everyone want pictures in front of the door while we do the corsages?" ellen asked and everyone agreed. they let samy and will go first since they were already on the porch. will got the corsage out from the box and smiled when samy stuck her wrist out for him to put it on.

ellen and colleen snapped way with their photos while the boys snickered watching the exchange knowing all too well. will just hoped samy couldn't tell his hands were shaking. the youngest hughes took his boutonniere from the box, her own hands shaking and began pinning it on the lapel of will's suit. his eyes were glued to her, loving how hard she was focusing to make sure she didn't prick either of them. sounds of ellen's camera going off faded out of their ears and it was only samy and will on that porch for a few seconds, especially when their eyes met again once samy got it pinned.

"you look really gorgeous," the blonde mumbled, admiring the gems in parts of samy's hair, the way the curls fell perfectly down her shoulders, her dress hugging all the right places—he was so gone.

"thank you, you look really handsome," samy complimented back, her hands brushing down his suit as a way to try and make them stop shaking.

"okay, get together and smile big!" ellen broke them from their little bubble. will quickly wrapped his arm around samy's waist, a bit of pride flooding his chest that it was finally him holding onto her and he was her date. samy leaned into him, her one hand on his lower stomach and they smiled wide just like ellen said.

everyone but the parents exchanged more knowing glances and they all hoped this night was lead to something very soon between their two friends.

"okay, smile at the ring camera so jack and quinn can see too," ellen said before will and samy walked off the porch. the two turned and bent down, nervous but bright smiles on their lips as they flashed two thumbs up for the brothers not there.

they got off the porch a second later so the next two could take their turn.

once everyone was finished, everyone grabbed some last minute things inside before they left. samy walked out with her purse and turned to the camera again, "wish we luck guys, i'm super nervous, but moosey said it'd be fine," samy laughed mostly to ease her nerves. sometimes she liked talking at the ring like it was a vlog and her brothers and parents were the audience.

will walked out behind her, flashing one more thumbs up for good luck before he helped samy to his car.

—

it was late when will and samy walked back up the front porch again. will was holding samy's heels for her since she took them off after an hour in because they were hurting her feet. the brunette had will's suit jacket on over her dress that he offered her before they left the venue. everyone else had already gone in before them a minute before, loud laughter and chatter passing through the camera.

"thanks for bringing me, that was a lot of fun," will said as they stepped onto the porch. the brunette smiled.

"i'm glad you had fun. thanks for being my date," samy hummed, reaching for the door handle.

"of course," will smiled back. he wondered a lot of times that night if it would be appropriate to kiss her, but considering he didn't wanna fuck anything up on a night they were just supposed to be having fun, he thought better of it.

instead, he'd take seeing samy wear his suit jacket which happened to be the same one he wore when he got a hat trick in one of the last games of the season before u18 worlds coming up. now that suit would just be his lucky one because it definitely brought him good luck. he'd take not kissing her for now if it meant he was at her side all night looking like her boyfriend. the hockey player winked at the camera as he followed samy inside.

TWO (winter of samy's second year of college)

"will, it's snowing!" the youngest hughes exclaimed when she opened the front door. "really?" will yelled and then the door closed again. three minutes later, it reopened and the couple was racing down the steps into the snow.

samy immediately fell onto hr back to start making a snow angel while will balled up the snow in his glove. the brunette was too caught up in her snow angel that she didn't see what her boyfriend was plotting until it was too late and he threw it at her chest.

her eyes widened, "will!"

"sorry, babe," the blonde shrugged and hurried to make more. samy jumped up, eager to fire back at him. she balled up the white powder and gave her best aim as his arm. it landed with an oof.

"don't start something you can't finish," will warned and the girl raised her eyebrow.

"you started it, not me."

will, who had made four, threw them one after the other at his girlfriend. she shrieked, covering her face as they exploded on her arms. the hockey player laughed. "oh, i see how it is. two can play at that game," it was challenge now. samy hurried to make more and so did will.

they began chasing one another through the yard. the ring camera caught glimpses of the couple running by, occasionally getting a shot of will or samy hitting one another with the snowballs.

samy had a pretty killer aim due to her impressive hand-eye-foot coordination. her throws also hurt more than will expected them too. "ow, that hurts babe!" he complained.

"aw, you can't take my snowballs but you can take getting shoved into the boards? how sweet," the youngest hughes threw another one that will failed to dodge.

"not what i meant," will mumbled, struggling to keep up with the amount samy was throwing and making. somehow, she'd gotten a lead on him and anytime he paused to make more, she came around the bushes and took her sweet aim.

"if anyone can hear me, i need backup out here!" will yelled at the camera hoping luke or someone inside happened to take a glance at the feed.

"they can't save you, babe. might as well take your defeat," samy snickered, running after the blonde again when he took off away from her.

someone answered will's prayers because luke came out a second later, laughing when he watched the blonde get pelted by samy. "i heard your call for help," the brunette called.

"please, she's somehow out numbering me," will pleaded and luke quickly ran to join them.

he was quick to ball up a bunch of snowballs and throw them in his sister's direction. she shrieked and ran off to the side of the house. "ha! you're running now!" luke chased after her giving will time to collect himself and stock back up.

the blonde quickly loaded himself with snowballs as he went to find luke and samy. they were off to the side throwing snowballs back and forth at one another when will came in full force with his. he didn't show any mercy as he launched them at the soccer player who was now the one outnumbered.

"okay, okay, truce. please," she begged.

"fine, truce," will agreed and held his hand out. they shook on it meaning the snowball fight was over..for now.

instead, samy made will and luke help her build a snowman. the boys worked to roll up the base and then lifted the middle section up. samy rolled the head up and then they had a snowman. he just needed arms and a face.

"i'll find a hat," luke hurried back inside.

"here, use these branches," will snapped them off one of the trees and stuck them into the sides. the couple found random rocks as the eyes, mouth, and buttons. luke ran back out with an old baseball cap and a carrot for the nose.

"i think he looks cute," samy smiled, admiring their work.

"alright, i'm beat. i'm heading back inside," luke determined and made his way back to the porch. samy and will agreed they should go inside too before they got frost bite or something.

on their way back up to the front porch, will hooked his arm around samy's shoulders, leaning in to press a kiss to her temple, "thanks for dragging me out,"

"of course. maybe next time i'll win the snowball fight," she grinned.

"you better wish you will," the blonde said, pinching her arm as he opened the door for her. the ring camera capture their snowman for the next week as it continued snowing and a loving moment they could look back on later.

THREE (the summer samy and will broke up)

it was late when samy opened the door to her house and immediately turned to the ring camera sitting above the door handle. it looked like she'd been crying based on her red and puffy eyes. "hi, it's late i know and no one's probably watching this or ever will, but i just wanted to come out and say i was watching old videos that have been captured on here and it just made me really miss those times," the youngest hughes sniffled a bit.

that was all she wanted to say and she was about to open the door again when a voice talked at her through it, "samy?" it was quinn.

"quinn?" she copied.

"what are you doing? are you okay?" the oldest hughes had gotten the notification on his phone that there was movement detected and he went to check it out, not expecting to see his sister outside.

"oh, yeah. i just..am feeling sad," she admitted with a frown.

"what, why? what's wrong?" yes, he probably should've called her instead of talking through the doorbell like some weirdo, but she was just right there and this felt more convenient than making her get her phone to talk.

"i was watching old ring videos from the past like few years and a lot of them were of me and will and things he did that i didn't even notice after we hung out like smile at the camera or flash a thumbs up and it just made me miss him is all," the brunette explained and quinn frowned even though she couldn't see him.

"pop.."

"it's soo stupid i know. i need to go to sleep," she laughed away the heartbreak she was currently feeling.

"no, it's not stupid. you have every right to feel upset. i'm sorry," the older boy sympathized with her, but the brunette shook her head.

"sorry i woke you up. i just wanted to say that. i'll be fine," she mumbled.

"no, wait. you didn't wake me up, i promise. have you considered reaching out to him or something? to talk more?" quinn stopped her before she could go back inside again.

"he's off doing a bunch of things..i don't wanna bother him. i don't even know what i'd say because i already said what i could to him. it's not like he wants to talk to me anyway. it doesn't even seem like he's hurt by it," samy scoffed a bit.

"he could be just really good at hiding it," quinn pointed out.

"i just really miss him, honestly. this is the first summer we aren't talking or hanging out. it feels so weird being at the lake house without him. i feel like i don't know who i am without him," that made the older boy frown again. he hated seeing and hearing how heartbroken his baby sister was over all of this. he honestly couldn't believe will either.

"pop, you're so amazing with and without will. i know this really sucks, but you're great just on your own. you don't need will with you for you to know that about yourself."

"i know, but i just wish he was here. it's so stupid too because i'd take him back so fast if he asked," the girl laughed a bit more bitterly this time, "that's how much self-respect i lack for myself."

"that doesn't mean you don't have any self-respect, samy. none of this is stupid. you're allowed to feel this way, breakups really hurt, especially when it's with someone you really love and have been friends with for years," the dark-haired boy sympathized with her.

"this is why i thought we shouldn't date because of this exact reason. we break up and it ruins everything about us. we don't even have a friendship anymore," samy frowned.

"are you and quinn talking through the ring camera right now?" the front door opened and a bleary-eyed luke came outside. he had kept getting the notifications about movement on his phone and decided to finally go investigate it.

"yeah, sorry moose. i just got sad, but i'm fine," the younger girl mumbled.

"sad? about what?" luke rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he woke more up.

"missing will," samy admitted and the second youngest frowned.

"i'm sorry, pop. he didn't deserve you," luke pulled her into a hug that made quinn smile on the other side as he watched them. "let's go back inside. it's late and i'm sure talking inside will be better," the curly-haired boy waved to quinn through the camera.

"night q, thanks for talking," samy said.

"night, squirt. love you guys," the older boy said and the two echoed his statement before heading back inside.

FOUR (the small bit of summer left when samy and will get back together)

everything was perfect again. samy and will sat out on the swinging chair watching the sunset together trying to soak up the last few days of summer and finally being back together after a rough summer apart. will's legs were stretched out on the railing that he used to rock them gently back and forth. the brunette was curled into his side, half asleep as will ran her fingers through her hair.

"samy?" the hockey player hummed.

"yeah?" the girl wondered even though her eyes were stil closed.

"i'm sorry for the way things happened this summer. i know i've apologized a million times already and i probably will keep apologizing, but i really am sorry. i feel horrible for treating you like that and nothing i do could probably ever repay that," will was feeling a bit sentimental as he reflected on the past few months and how much of a shitty person he was to the one person that had stuck by his side since the beginning.

samy slowly sat up so they could meet each other's gazes. will's was full of guilt and her heart broke seeing him look at her like that, "will.."

"i know i fucked up, samy. i don't really know why i thought breaking up with you would make things easier because i realized how not easy it is without you around," the blonde continued now close to crying which samy hadn't seen him do often. she quickly put her hand on his face so he'd look at her still.

"it's not gonna be all easy peasy all the time, but we're gonna fix this between us, i promise. we already are. i love you, will. i wanna fix this between us," the girl reassured.

"i really don't deserve you," will mumbled, leaning forward to kiss her palm. she flushed at his affection and used her other hand to drag it through his hair.

"we all do things we don't mean and things we regret. i took you back because i also can't do life without you and i really want you in my life," samy said softly and it eased some of the ache in the hockey player's heart. "let's just enjoy where we are now and the little time we have left until you go to california, yeah?" he quickly nodded and she pressed a sweet kiss to his cheek.

she readjusted so her own legs stretched out to the railing, but her head stayed tucked into the crook of will's neck. he kissed the top of her head, resting his own atop hers.

"you're gonna be a big shot hockey player and i can't wait to watch you chase your dreams all over again," samy mumbled.

"i really couldn't have done it without you. you showed up for me and helped prove to me i could do it," he squeezed her hand where they were intertwined.

as the sun set, the couple shared a passionate kiss that told each other everything words couldn't convey. the heartbreak turned into only love and they chose to believe that things were definitely going to be okay between them.

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luvjunie · 2 years ago

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— when the dam breaks

contains: third person pov (42!miles’), no reader, feelings of anxiety, some harsh language, use of the n-word once, a one-sided fight, angst, mentions of grief, brief comfort at the end

summary: miles was holding himself together just fine, until he wasn’t. wc: 2,748

a/n: this fic is based on one of my headcanons from this post,(the 12th one). handling the grief of losing a parent is one of the hardest, most painful things to navigate, especially when you’re a teen and in school. i can directly relate to miles!42 because of this, which is probably why i’m able to go so in depth with his character. i’m really proud of how this turned out so i hope you guys enjoy reading <3

The back of Ms. Bellam’s history class was Miles’ favorite spot to sit in. The seat by the window, specifically. Where he could gaze out with the fantasy of being anywhere else but stuck listening to the lecture in his fifth block; forced to hear his teacher rave on about some old expedition he couldn’t bring himself to give a shit about.

But today, Miles was not in the back of the class.

He had a bad feeling the moment the bell rung and the projector powered on to display the newest assignment the tall, stocky woman had on the agenda; a partnered project. Which, unfortunately, meant a new seating chart was on the horizon.

Miles must’ve spaced out during the introduction of the assignment, but his teacher’s assertive voice brought him back to the very moment he was dreading.

“Cody, you’re paired with—“ Ms. Bellam pulled a small slip of paper out from a little bucket of randomized names on her desk. “—Lauren.”

She ignored the quiet groan she got after unknowingly pairing two exes together and drew two more names. “Bailey, you’re with Lucas.”

“Sarah, you’re with… Faith. And Miles,” The brunette-haired teacher stuck her hand into the bucket once more to pull out the very last slip of paper, and read it with finality. “You’re with Gabby.”

Miles lifted his head and did a quick scan of the faces around, until he met the eyes of his new partner, Gabby, who gave him a small wave from the front of the class. His jaw clenched at the realization that he’d have to give up his safe corner, since the seats around him were filled, while the one next to her was open.

“Alright everyone, if you’re not already next to your partner, go find them.”

With an inaudible grumble and something along the lines of ‘i hate this fucking class’ and a mix of ‘kill me now’— Miles rose from his chair, snatched his backpack up with a little too much force, and crossed the classroom to plop down defeatedly next to the girl he was paired with.

Chin tucked in his hand and eyes glued to the ticking clock above the white board, he didn’t know how long he sat like that, or how much valuable information he’d missed while he ignored the overly peppy, thirty-year old’s directions to the class. But he did know that the minute hand on that damn analog device wasn’t moving fast enough for his liking. The droning of voices overlapping and the bouncing of ideas filled the once silent air after instructions had been given, but Miles was far from focused on the task at hand.

The incessant tapping of his pencil against the hard plastic of his desk, matched with the clearly agitated bounce of his leg had his partner stealing experimental glances in his direction— her lips having been licked ample times from the stress of debating on whether to make the difficult decision of speaking to the boy who was clearly not interested in conversation— or even being here at all.

She spoke up anyway. “Um… So most of the other groups have pretty much chosen already. That means we’re left with James Cook, Vasco de Gama, Ferdinand Magellan, or—“

“You can pick for us. I don’t really care which one.” Miles interrupted.

“Oh—“ Gabby blinked. His response was curt, but at least she got one. “Okay then, Ferdinand Magellan.” Flipping through the rubric that had been passed out at some point, she referred to the second page with her index finger. “It says our presentation has to be between six to eight slides, which includes the works cited for our research. So we could do one introduction slide, and maybe about,” she paused to think. “Four?— information slides? And then we could add some fun facts and trivia questions at the end so we can get our class participation points in without too much effort. That cool with you?”

Gabby was a nice girl. She never bothered him, never looked at him weird when he’d come into class late sometimes, and had actually ran through the hallway to return the notebook that fell out of his open backpack just last week. He wasn’t aggravated at her, but more so at the fact that everybody could stare at the back of his head now instead of the other way around, like it was before. It made him self conscious about everything, even down to the way he was sitting in his chair. He could feel a few beams on his back right about now, and adjusted his position slightly.

Miles sighed and reminded himself to respond to her politely. “Uh-huh. Sounds good.”

A voice to his left behind him caught his attention, the voice in question belonging to one of the most obnoxious boys he’d ever had the displeasure of knowing— Ethan Thompson. Someone who always had too much to say and nothing productive or appropriate to add— it usually being something creepy or gross about a girl he wanted to ‘get to know’.

Miles would’ve tuned him out, like he always did, but this time it was impossible. Probably because out of all the conversations regarding the explorers meant to be researched, this one had absolutely nothing to do with history, or even school for that matter.

“Bro, did you hear about what happened to…”

Miles strained to hear as best as he could without moving from his seat, though it was a struggle since Gabby was still talking his ear off to the right of him about who would do what when it came to their workload.

“Miles?”

He ignored her as another voice chimed in, and his back stiffened.

“I know dude, my sister told me about it. Said he was killed in action or somethin’ like that… I just know his mom is crushed. I feel really bad.”

Miles knew people talked about this, he wasn’t dumb. But damn, did they have to do it when he was right there?

Then, there was a laugh.

Miles was confused. He didn’t find anything regarding the topic of their conversation even remotely comical.

“Fuck that,” Ethan quieted his voice, though not quiet enough. “That just means Mrs. Morales is single and up for grabs now.”

It took less than a second for Miles’ blood to simmer to a scalding boil. He held a subtle finger up and quieted Gabby, who was currently asking him about what they should research first.

“Can you give me just… one second?” he asked gently.

Gabby’s words died on her tongue and she gave a muddled nod.

Miles threw his elbow over the back of his chair when his torso whipped around, his eyes glazed with enmity and immediately catching Ethan’s.

“The fuck you just say?”

Ethan froze.

Miles’ tone was lethal, rage lifting the volume above the blurred chattering around, venom spitting from his tongue like he intended to kill the boy with words alone. The speed in which the class fell silent would’ve been humorous had there not been such hostility within the air.

“Miles, language!” Ms. Bellam’s eyes snapped up from her computer screen, her face a picture of disbelief at his unusual vitriol. He was always quiet as a mouse in her class, well behaved above all.

Jaws hung slack, the gazes of the students around darted back and forth between the two boys continuously, the tension in the room palpable.

Miles sat up straighter in his seat, jaw clenched and his patience dwindling. To say he was seething would be a dangerous understatement.

“Nah, nah Ms. B,” His head cocked, and his eyes narrowed at Ethan, ruinously. “I wanna know what this nigga just said ‘bout my fuckin’ mom.”

“Oh shit…” Gabby gulped. Today was the most she’d heard Miles speak in class almost the entire semester.

“It was a joke, bro.” Ethan huffed a chuckle, a nervous thing that his friend easily picked up on. Miles was not one to bluff, and Ethan was notorious for taking things too far.

“Don’t bro me, repeat that dumb shit you just said and watch how fast I knock your ass out.” Miles gritted through his teeth, hot air puffing through his nostrils like a bull who’d just seen red.

“Boys, enough!” Ms. Bellman was standing now, hands planted to her desk as she watched with bated breath, just like the rest of the class-now-turned-audience.

Ethan shrugged, and Miles swore he felt his eye twitch.

Strike one.

Then, the boy playfully nudged his friend’s arm with a cocky smirk, as if he thought the threat he’d just received wasn’t one that would be carried out.

Strike two.

“He’s baiting you, Miles…” Gabby whispered dejectedly, in warning, only so Miles could hear. But his tunnel vision had already set in.

“Go ‘head. Repeat yourself.” Miles demanded.

Nails digging into the skin of his palms hard enough to leave crescents in their wake, there was a voice in the back of his mind, reminding him that he could get into serious trouble if he didn’t get his emotions in check, fast. He’d progressed so quickly in his after school M.M.A classes, that now, even getting into a simple fist fight could land him a serious assault charge. A judge would take one look at the history of his intense training, and the option to deem his hands as deadly weapons in the case would immediately be presented, and most likely acted upon.

Knocking the teeth out of a rich white boy would never be the smart decision here, especially not for someone who looked the way he did.

He’d be sent straight to juvie.

“I mean, all I was sayin’ is, technically—“ Ethan threw his hands up in a careless manner. “If I play my cards right, I could be your future step-daddy.”

Strike three.

Ms. Bellam was yelling now. “Ethan, principal’s office, now!”

And that probably would’ve been the better option, had he actually had a choice.

Miles’ movements were swift when he shot out of his seat, and the students in his way followed suit with yelps and gasps as they quickly removed themselves from the area. The desks blocking his pathway to pummeling the shit out of this kid loudly screeched against the school’s tile when they were shoved out of the way, and the one he’d mindlessly flipped over in his stampede proceeded to erupt the room into pure pandemonium.

One punch would’ve been good enough, Miles knew that. But in this moment, thinking rationally was so far out of his reach he would’ve missed it even if he’d jumped for it. He’d swung a closed fist to Ethan’s jaw and knocked him to the floor with ease, then followed him down, sat on his chest and had the boy’s arms pinned under his knees so he couldn’t protect his snobby-ass face. One punch would’ve been good enough, but just two vehement blows later, the satisfying crack of a bone that wasn’t his under Miles’ knuckles had him sending a few more into the reddened face of the boy beneath him, just to really get his point across.

“Jesus Christ— Miles!” Ms. Bellman scrambled from her seat in a panic and rushed to fling the classroom’s door open, her desperate yells directed to anyone who might’ve been strolling the hallways. “We need security in here! You-!” She pointed to a student with a bathroom pass. “Go get security, and tell them to come to room 205, now! Go!”

Everyone was yelling at once, but Miles couldn’t hear anything other than the ringing of rage in his ears. Anger is only grief turned sour— a terribly perilous thing to leave untreated.

Some of his classmates were frozen with shock, or fear, maybe— hands clasped over their gaped mouths while others had their phones out with the camera app open—vampires for some good drama while they hooted and hollered at the most exciting thing they’d seen this entire year.

“That’s enough!”

Strong arms suddenly hooked under Miles’ armpits and prevented his fist from worsening the damage already done. Two male teachers from neighboring classrooms had rushed in and yanked him up and off Ethan, his hips bucking as he kicked his way up onto his feet. Miles’ chest expanded and collapsed with the weight of his heaving breaths, face flushed with the remnants of his lost temper as he directed his attention to Ethan’s friend, who looked like a deer in headlights.

“When your boy wake up, tell him watch his mouth next time!”

Miles didn’t know why he was yelling. It was common knowledge that it’s pretty rare for someone who’s unconscious to understand what you’re saying to them.

He didn’t struggle when the two teachers dragged him away, but when they shoved him out the door and into the hall with more force than he thought necessary, he snatched his arms away from their grasp with a rolled shrug, and huffed a frustrated grunt about how he knew how to walk on his own.

—

The drive home was eerily silent. The radio hadn’t been touched, and neither had Miles by his mother’s gaze the moment they’d left the principal’s office after he received his verdict.

Out of school suspension. One week.

It was the best the administrative staff could do after Rio swallowed her pride and went as low as begging them not to expel her boy.

Slumped in the passenger seat with his hands in his lap, Miles didn’t bother to look at the bruises he knew were forming on his knuckles. It was a familiar feeling, and at the moment he was more concerned with why it felt like his throat had been stuffed with cotton when he tried to talk.

“Mamá, I—“

“Do not. Speak.” Rio’s breath wavered, her hands clutching the wheel so hard she thought she’d crush it. She tried not to let her voice break. “Not one word.”

Silence.

—

It all settled in as they climbed the stairwell, the images of what just happened flashing back in his mind every time he blinked; what he’d done playing over and over again in a continuous loop. The wooden railings creaked under the weight of his mother’s hand, and as she knowingly skipped the one that had weakened over the years, he knew the home that held every single emotion he tried to leave behind when he went to school was now just a few steps up.

Rio’s key twisted in the lock before she opened the door, and Miles followed behind her, shoulders slouched dispiritedly. He resembled something of a stray puppy; desperate for attention, but acceptant and grateful that it, as much of a nuisance as it may be, was being tolerated enough to stay on it’s finder’s heels.

He thought being scolded by his mother was bad, but the lack thereof was even worse. Her brows were clenched, and her conflicted yet somehow blank expression told him that she truly did not have any words for him as she leaned on the kitchen counter, hands clasped firmly around the edge so tightly her knuckles paled. She didn’t even know where to start, and Miles didn’t blame her. He refused to explain why he’d snapped when it was asked of him. When his mother’s widened eyes had pleaded with him to tell the principal what happened in that classroom that set him off in such a way, he didn’t. He had no reason not to, at least one he could think of right now, but his voice just wouldn’t allow it. Both in that office, and now in their kitchen, dimly lit by the warm light above the stove, the weight of his mother’s disappointment clung to the suffocating silence, like a fish to a hook and he just couldn’t take it anymore.

“Mamá, I’m sorry.” He whispered in a quick breath, the lump in his throat painful when he swallowed it.

“Good money, Miles.” Rio shook her head, a hand coming up to rest over the rise and fall of her chest. “Good money! We paid good money to get you into that school, your dad and I. I work hard to keep you there and you just—“

Dad.

And the dam broke. Though its foundation wasn’t very strong to begin with— Miles’ shoulders crumbled under the weight of his actions and his tears flooded past his waterline with choked sobs that left no room for air.

Whatever Rio was going to say had been forgotten. The sight of her son sobbing in a way she hadn’t seen since the night they’d received the news immediately put a stop to her reprimanding. Now, she was truly worried.

“Oh Miles, come come come,” She hastily tugged him into a hug and wrapped him firmly in her arms, her hands repeatedly rubbing up and down the expanse of his back. “¿Qué es Mijo? (what is it, son?) Talk to me. No te lo guardes, ¿recuerda?” (no holding it in, remember?)

Miles could barely catch his breath, and somehow talking about it was just as painful as the ache that resided deep in his chest.

“I—It was Dad, it was about—“ a quick breath in split his sentence in half. “About Dad. He was—talking about what ha—happened and I—“ Miles tried for another, but it caught in his throat, ragged and choppy and had his ribcage stuttering from the lousy attempt to cease his hyperventilating. The fact that he couldn’t get his words out uninterrupted only frustrated him more; only made him cry harder. He scrubbed at his tears with the back of his hand, but it was no use. He couldn’t stop crying. Why couldn’t he stop crying?

“He said—“ Another wilted inhale, and a hiccup. “It was abo—about you, and it was terrible and I— I just, I got so angry, and I tried Mamá, I did. But I couldn’t and—and then I was on him and I’m sorry—“

“Shh, shh. It’s okay, it’s okay.” Rio used a hand to bring his head into her shoulder, his cries muffled and his tears wetting the sleeve of her blouse as his rambling came to a halt. Miles clutched onto her tightly, arms round her waist as he fell apart in front of the woman who’d tried her best to piece him back together.

“Respira, Mijo, respira… (breathe).” Rio whispered. “Please.” Seeing her son so distraught had brought on tears of her own, but she shut her eyes, and tucked away her own feelings so she could focus on his. “It’s okay. It’s alright.”

“But you’re mad at me, I don’t want you to be mad at me—“

Rio shook her head and tutted at him. “I’m not mad at you, papa. I understand. Okay? I’m not angry. No.” She couldn’t be upset with him for something like this, not when he could barely shelter himself from his own guilt.

“It’s okay. You’re okay, baby. I’ve got you.” Miles was inconsolable as Rio continued rubbing his back, and her voice shook when she spoke, but she kept the uncertainty she held within her heart concealed from her promise to him.

“We’re going to be okay.”

#junie’s works ᥫ᭡#across the spiderverse fanfiction #earth 42 miles angst #miles morales fanfiction #prowler miles fanfic #miles morales angst #tagging x reader for reach #earth 42 miles x reader #earth 42 miles morales x reader #miles morales x reader #atsv fanfiction #atsv angst #miles morales fic

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skendoss · 5 months ago

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Seishiro Nagi x Corporate Worker!Reader

A short drabble on coming home to Nagi after a long shift in the office🩵

wc: 639

cw: none, just domestic, fluffy Nagi!

Nagi doesn’t quite understand your way of life. He’s told you time and time again that you don’t need to work. He earns enough to comfortably support your lifestyle. And as much as you appreciate this, your pride and eagerness to make your way up the corporate ladder means that you still (reluctantly) drag yourself to your dull office job Monday to Friday. Nagi just doesn’t get it.

Much like he doesn’t understand how much you do on a day to day basis. ‘Sats? Average handling time? Aftercall? Direct Debit payments?’ Nah. Never heard of her.

When you drag yourself into your shared apartment after a particularly ball-busting 9-5, Nagi will always be found in one of two places; the sofa, or your bed. Always horizontal, always with his face in a mobile game.

Today was Thursday. A working day which resulted in nothing but non-stop meetings with rude clients. Your head is battered, you’re tired physically and mentally, and to put it bluntly, you look like how you feel.

On days like this, you lug yourself up the stairs to your apartment, one by one. You enter the living room, drop your bag to the floor and slump yourself down on the sofa by Nagi’s feet (because OF COURSE he’s having some horizontal time, what else?🤭)

You sit in silence for a moment. You huff once, twice, three times….. Nothing. You huff again, extra loud and dramatically. He finally lowers his phone from his face. “Oh, hey.”

This is the point that your rant begins. Nagi may not be the most attentive boyfriend, but he is wonderful to spill the tea to. He always seems like he isn’t listening, but in reality he clings on to every word you say. He’s all caught up on the workplace scandals, who is your colleague sleeping with now?? He knows each name. Is your manager still being a bitch??? A question that he asks regularly.

He lets you let it out. All that pent up anger and frustration that built up during that 7 hour shift. Once your rant is over, you sigh and revel in the moment of silence that follows.

You look back at Nagi, who is still looking at you intently, his slate grey eyes examining every inch of your face. He doesn’t say anything, but just opens his arms, inviting you into his soft embrace. You fold immediately, climbing over his legs and slumping on top of him. You breathe in his scent and you’re overcome with instant relief.

Have you ever smelled the Men’s Green Fragrance by Ralph Lauren? That’s what Nagi smells like. At. All. Times. It’s such a comfort to you.

He wraps one arm lazily around your waist, and his other hand strokes through your hair for a moment whilst he places a series of tender pecks to your forehead.

“You can quit anytime, you know. You don’t have to ask me.” He mumbles into your hair.

“I know.” You reply. “But not now. I’ll get there one day.”

“Sure you will. Because you’re awesome. And beautiful. And I love you.” Nagi tells you nonchalantly whilst picking his phone up with his free hand. “Anytime you’re ready babe.” Your heart swells. How can someone so detached be so precious?

You don’t say anything in return, but you nuzzle your head into his chest further and just take some time to breathe. To be y/n, and not just a number in a corporate company.

Nagi may not be the perfect boyfriend. He’s messy, he’s lazy, he sometimes seems distant and acts a bit silly. But he’ll be damned if the one he loves feels worthless, or stressed because of work. One thing he will always do, is be there with open arms ready to embrace you at the end of a shitty, shitty shift.

My first ever bllk piece🤭 Honestly - this is just me being sick of work and projecting with a hint of Nagi. I actually wrote this during work whilst multitasking looool, please mind any errors 🩵

#blue lock #blue lock x reader #nagi x reader #seishiro nagi x reader #seishiro nagi fluff #nagi fluff #bllk x reader #nagi drabble

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hellokittykookies · 1 month ago

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Pose for me - ONE

──── sypnosis ✮⋆˙ After years of running from the life you never wanted, you thought you had finally succeeded. erasing y/n, becoming ji-ha, and leaving your past behind. But then came him. A model you accidentally brought to a cotillion, a man effortlessly loved by the woman who had become family to you. And it just so happens He was connected to the one person you abandoned nine years ago. You were supposed to avoid him. To walk away. So why did you keep finding yourself right next to him?

──── pairings ✮⋆˙ Model! jk x Photographer! reader (y/n also ji ah)

──── genre ✮⋆˙ slow burn, fake dating, forced proximity, angst, romance, mutual pining, emotional hurt/comfort, smut, hidden identity, jealousy, Fashion industry au.

──── WC ✮⋆˙ 2k

You walk the streets of New York, heels clicking against the pavement, your Birkin slung on your arm

Your white double-breasted wool coat from Balmain wrapped around you like armor, the black turtleneck from Ralph Lauren hugging your frame beneath it. A sleek leather pencil skirt, black tights, Valentino heels. every detail perfect, deliberate. The soft leather gloves from Hermès warmed your hands, and atop your head sat your favorite beret from Maison Michel. You never held back when it came to dressing. Luxury was no longer a fantasy. it was your reality.

You worked for this life hard, and you were gonna enjoy every single minute of it.

But of course, you weren't Y/N anymore. In New York, you were Ji Ha. Or Jiji, as people called you. It had been nine years since you left everything behind at seventeen. Your home, your family, your past. You ran to New York, chasing something that once felt impossible. Fashion was your world, your love, your escape. Designing, creating, capturing beauty through a lens. every part of it set your soul on fire. But to your family? It was nothing. A waste of time. A foolish little dream you'd never achieve.

Yet here you were.

You had Jane to thank for that. You met her on a beach back home. a british girl visiting for a month. Somehow, in that short time, she became everything to you. Your best friend. The person who helped you run away, who gave you a place to stay, who made sure you could study, work, survive. Jane had a family who supported her. You didn't. That was the difference.

So you changed your name. Not because you were hiding. Y/N was still there, on paper, in documents, in a missing person's report no one cared to follow up on. But you became Ji Ha because Y/N was the girl who sacrificed everything for this life.

And if they ever found you? you'd be fucked. But as far as the world was concerned, Y/N would already be dead by now.. but she wasn't. she was alive, well, pretty, and expensive.

You sighed, sipping your coffee as you stood at the crosswalk, city lights glowing around you. This was the life you built, the life you won.

The ringing of your phone pulled you out of your thoughts. You glanced at the screen—Jane's mom.

"Dear, are you going to Mini's cotillion?" she asked, her voice as warm as ever.

At this point, Jane's parents had become as much your family as they were hers. You two were like long-lost sisters, inseparable. Unlike your past family. who only cared about money, bragging rights, and belittling people with dreams that weren't doctors or lawyers. Jane's family actually loved you. And for the first time in your life, you had people who believed in you.

"Of course, Mum, I wouldn't miss her debutante ball," you said with a smile, continuing your walk. "Who's escorting her?"

"Charles, of course," she chuckled.

"Oh, I thought- never mind." You shook your head, dismissing your own thoughts. "Alright, Mum, I have a photoshoot today, so I'll catch up with you and Jane later?"

"I still remember when you and Jane had your cotillion," she mused fondly. "Now look at you two- adults."

You chuckled softly. "Oh, Mum, I'm sorry, I really have to go. Bye!"

Hanging up, you stepped into the building, heading straight for the elevator. The exhaustion was already creeping in. Being both a creative designer and a photographer was your side quest. when you're in the mood to make yourself struggle and suffer. especially when you were fully booked.

Your assistant had already taken your materials up to the studio. All that was left was for you to do what you did best.

Settling onto a chair, you waited for the model to arrive.

And then he walked in.

Dressed in Calvin Klein, obviously. Curly dark hair, strong gaze. His jeans hung low purposely to expose the branded boxers beneath, a denim jacket draped over his frame.

The shoot began. You directed, he followed, but you didn't have to do much. he was good.

Next, a black shirt. He kneeled on the floor, lifting the hem just enough.

"That's great," you murmured, more to yourself than anyone else.

Hours passed, and finally, it was break time.

You sat in front of the monitor, quietly eating a small sandwich as you scanned through the photos. But then, you felt it. his eyes on you.

He was watching you. As if he was trying to read you.

"Hey."

His voice was smooth, close. You looked up. He extended a hand toward you. You took it.

"Hello," you said, raising a brow as he let out a small chuckle, almost awkward.

"What's your name?"

You blinked, still smiling. "Ji Ha. You?"

"Jungkook."

He studied your expression, his lips curling slightly.

"Was I posing alright earlier?"

"It's okay," you said simply. Before he could respond, the director clapped his hands, signaling the end of the break.

Jungkook flashed you a small smile before heading back to his spot. And every now and then—he kept looking at you. More than at the camera.

────୨ৎ────

The shoot wrapped up at almost 6:00 PM.

"Shit." Your eyes widened as you rushed to grab your things, suddenly remembering Mini's cotillion.

"Seems like you're in a rush."

Jungkook's voice crept up behind you, making you jump.

"God, Junho- Jung- Jung- whatever! You can't just sneak up on people like that," you huffed, rolling your eyes as you checked your phone notifications.

Jane: Bring a date today, maybe? You wouldn't wanna be the only one lonely ;)

You had no time.

Without thinking, the words left your mouth. "Can you come with me?"

Jungkook tilted his head, amused.

"...Sure," he said, too casually. "And it's Jungkook, by the way."

You almost choked on air. Did I just invite a random guy to escort me?

────୨ৎ────

The car ride was.... something

"Hey, Mum? I'm on my way. I'm so sorry, I'll be late- shooting took longer than expected."

Jane's mom reassured you. "It's fine, dear. Come straight to the penthouse—your dress is here. Jane said she's bringing her boyfriend. Are you bringing yours?"

"Uh- uhm- boyfriend?" you stammered.

Jungkook, who had been watching you, bit his lip to suppress a laugh.

"Yeah, yeah, I will," you chuckled nervously.

"Oh, wonderful! I'll have Patty set up a tux to match you. Can I get his measurements?"

"He'll tell you when we get there. Gotta go- we're almost there!" You hung up quickly, looking at Jungkook, not knowing what to say.

"...Pretend to be my boyfriend," you deadpanned.

"Alright."

You blinked. "That's it? Just 'alright'?"

"No why? No questions?" You let out a small, incredulous laugh.

"Why not? A pretty girl asked me."

Your cheeks burned. You bit your inner cheek to stop it.

"I can see you blushing," he teased.

"No- I just put on a lot of blush today," you muttered.

"Whatever you say, pretty."

────୨ৎ────

"What's your full name?" you asked quietly.

"Jeon Jungkook."

Your breath hitched. Your eyes widened. Oh... a Jeon.

He raised a brow. "What? You gonna call me a nepo baby too?"

"No... just shocked."

Jungkook was that Jeon. The son of Jeon Ha Neul and Oh Yu Mi. They were one of most famous and influential Korean models who had moved to New York after getting married.

"...How about you?" he asked.

"Kim Ji Ha."

The lie was second nature now, but it still felt strange.

────୨ৎ────

Arriving at the penthouse, Patty was already setting up a matching dress and tux.

"Go get sized up. I'll go change." You pushed Jungkook toward the living room before rushing to your room.

You slipped into your custom made Dior black off the shoulder satin gown, adorning yourself with Swarovski earrings and Jimmy Choo strappy heels. A deep purple Bottega Veneta velvet clutch in your hand, you checked yourself in the mirror one last time before stepping out.

The moment you descended the stairs, you felt Jungkook's eyes on you.

He was already in a tux, a deep purple bowtie matching your clutch. But his gaze? It held something else entirely. Like he was looking at the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

"You're beautiful," he murmured.

His hands landed on your waist, pulling you slightly closer. Your breath hitched.

"What are you doing?" you whisper-yelled.

"Acting like your boyfriend," he smirked.

That smirk made your blood boil.

"Come on. We're late," you huffed, dragging him toward the door.

Something told you that tonight was about to get very interesting.

────୨ৎ────

The ballroom shimmered under the grand chandeliers, the soft hum of classical music filling the air as elegantly dressed guests sipped on champagne, engaged in lighthearted conversation. You kept your posture poised, fingers lightly resting on Jungkook's arm as you guided him through the crowd.

"Better behave nicely," you murmured, your smile sweet but your tone sharp.

Jungkook chuckled under his breath. "No promises."

You greeted Jane and her mother, flashing your best polite smile.

"Uh, this is Jungkook-"

Before you could even finish, Jungkook smoothly cut in, "Her boyfriend."

Your eyes darted to him, barely masking your surprise, but you played along, smiling as if the words didn't catch you off guard.

"Oh dear, you picked a handsome one," Jane's mom chuckled, winking at you.

"Oh, please," you laughed, waving it off before grabbing two glasses of champagne from a passing server. You handed one to Jungkook, who accepted it with an amused smirk.

"So," Jane started, eyeing the two of you with suspicion, "how'd you two meet?"

You sipped your drink casually. "Oh, he was a model I was photographing at work."

Jane's jaw dropped dramatically. "I knew you had a thing for Calvin Klein men!" She pierced you with a playful look, making your eyes widen as you frantically shook your head.

"No, no, I don't," you laughed awkwardly.

Jungkook, of course, took that moment to smirk at you, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

"I'll go see Mini," you said quickly, still gripping Jungkook's arm.

As you led him through the ballroom, he leaned in, his voice low and teasing. "So... you don't have a thing for them?"

"No, of course not," you huffed, rolling your eyes.

Jungkook just chuckled, clearly enjoying this far too much.

But before you could fire back, the music softened, and the host's voice echoed through the ballroom speakers.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this evening's debutante cotillion. Tonight, we celebrate Mini's grand entrance into society, and of course. her escort, Charles Montgomery."

The applause erupted, guests turning toward the grand staircase. The double doors at the top of the steps opened, revealing Mini in a breathtaking gown, glowing under the golden chandeliers. Beside her, Charles stood tall, offering his hand for her to take as they gracefully descended the stairs.

But you weren't looking at them.

Because beyond them, in the sea of guests, stood him.

Your breath caught in your throat.

Kim Taehyung.

Your brother.

The boy you left behind nine years ago.

He wasn't near the staircase, wasn't standing in the spotlight. But he didn't have to be. He was there, on the far side of the ballroom, lingering in the shadows, a glass of whiskey in hand. His tuxedo fit him perfectly, sharp and effortless, like he had stepped straight out of a fashion editorial. His expression was unreadable, calm, indifferent even. But his eyes. his eyes were on you.

Your stomach twisted painfully.

He looked different. Older, sharper. The boy you once knew had vanished, replaced by a man whose gaze felt like a quiet storm. There was no anger, no relief, no sadness. just a steady, unreadable stare that sent a chill down your spine.

Your fingers tightened around your champagne glass.

He wasn't supposed to be here.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

Your heart pounded violently against your ribs, but you refused to react. You refused to give anything away. You had spent years perfecting the art of control, of keeping your emotions locked away where no one could reach them.

So, you did what you knew best.

You pretended.

Taking a slow sip of champagne, you forced yourself to look away, as if he was just another guest. As if you hadn't just come face to face with the ghost of your past.

But you could feel it.

His gaze. Heavy. Unrelenting.

Jungkook shifted beside you, sensing something was off. His voice dropped lower. "You okay?"

You blinked, snapping back into reality before forcing an easy smile. "Yeah. Just... zoned out."

Jungkook followed your gaze briefly, scanning the crowd, but when he turned back to you, he didn't ask any more questions. He just nodded and took another sip of his drink.

You swallowed hard and turned back to Jane, forcing yourself to focus on the conversation, the music, the soft glow of the chandeliers—anything but the weight of your brother's stare.

This was just another night.

Another event.

Another performance.

But somehow, you already knew this was only the beginning

────୨ৎ────

You could still feel Taehyung's stare from across the ballroom, but you refused to look back. Instead, you downed another glass of champagne and focused on the role you were playing. the graceful, untouchable Ji Ha. The woman who had everything. The woman who had moved on.

Jungkook, on the other hand, was as relaxed as ever, hands tucked in his pockets, watching you like he was thoroughly entertained.

"You sure you're okay?" he murmured, amusement laced in his voice as he leaned in, close enough that his breath fanned against your ear.

You scoffed, tossing him a side glance. "I don't remember hiring you to be my babysitter."

Jungkook grinned. "You did ask me to be your date."

"Out of panic," you reminded, taking another sip of champagne.

His smirk only grew. "Still counts."

Before you could retort, the music slowed, and couples began gathering at the center of the ballroom.

Jane and her boyfriend swayed together, Mini and Charles joining them as the first waltz of the evening began. You took a deep breath, silently praying you could slip away unnoticed.

But, of course, Jungkook had other plans.

A warm hand wrapped around your wrist, pulling you in before you could protest.

Your body nearly crashed into his as he led you to the dance floor, a knowing smirk tugging at his lips.

"Jungkook- "

"Come on, sweetheart," he murmured, voice dripping with amusement. "Wouldn't want to make a scene, right?"

You clenched your jaw, but you forced a smile, letting him guide you into the slow rhythm of the waltz.

His hand rested lightly on your waist, fingers pressing just enough to remind you he was there. His other hand held yours, warm, firm. too steady for a man who was doing this just for fun.

Your body moved naturally with his, each step effortless, precise.

"You're a good dancer," you muttered begrudgingly.

Jungkook chuckled. "You sound surprised."

"I am surprised. You don't exactly scream ballroom trained."

"I'm full of surprises, Ji Ha." His voice dropped, his grip tightening just slightly. "You should know that by now."

There was something dangerous in the way he said it.

The way his dark eyes flickered down to your lips for just a second

And then, before you could react, before you could even think

Jungkook leaned in and kissed you.

It was slow, unhurried, yet deliberate. A kiss meant to test you. To see if you would pull away or melt into it.

Your heart slammed against your ribs.

For a split second.

you almost kissed him back.

But reality hit you like a freight train.

You tore yourself away, breathless, eyes narrowing as you stepped back. The music still played, couples still danced, the world still spun as if nothing had happened

But something had happened.

And you needed to put an end to it.

You straightened your dress, tilting your chin up as you met his gaze. His expression was unreadable at first, but then- then that damn smirk returned, slow and teasing, as if he knew he had just cracked something inside you.

You refused to let him win.

"This is nothing," you said, your voice even, sharp. "We are nothing. You're just a crappy Calvin Klein model I accidentally invited out of panic."

His smirk didn't waver.

"After this, let's not meet again, Jungkook."

You turned on your heel, ready to walk away, ready to erase whatever just happened.

"You're lying," Jungkook murmured, amusement clear in his tone.

Your steps faltered, but you didn't look back.

"You don't mean that," he continued, as if enjoying this.

You exhaled sharply, already irritated beyond belief. "And what makes you so sure?"

His voice was lower this time. Darker.

"Because you wouldn't be running if you didn't feel something."

Your stomach twisted.

He was enjoying this. Too much.

Jungkook liked the chase. He liked that you weren't easy, that you weren't fawning over him like every other woman did. He liked that you fought him, resisted him. because it only made him more determined to prove himself.

To get what he wanted.

And right now?

What he wanted was you.

──── end of the chapter ────

──── taglist ✮⋆˙ @lovingkoalaface @mar-lo-pap @wintaemoonjen @bgfdcvbnjk @whothefuckisthishoe @honeybloomyyyy @snow-strawberry

Go to my masterlist for the next chapter!

#rispwr #bts #bts x reader #jungkook ff #jungkook #jungkook smut #bts smut #jungkook fluff #jungkook x reader #hellokittykookies #hellokittykookie fics

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gunnerfc · 11 months ago

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Just Friends, Right? | Lauren James x Chelsea!Reader (18+) [Sunday]

Summary: A night celebrating the end of the season leads to a drunk hookup with one of your closest friends who you happen to have a crush on

Warning: drinking, top lauren, bottom reader, strap use (r receiving)

WC: 2.3k

Night After Night masterlist

You panted as you waited for the ref to blow her whistle, your team a few seconds away from securing a league title. You jogged slightly as your defenders kept the ball between them and away from the opposing team. From the corner of your eye, you watched the ref raise her whistle to her mouth before blowing on it to end the game.

The Chelsea fans in the stands cheered as your team celebrated on the pitch, hugging and cheering at your success. After a tight hug from Guro, the Norwegian was replaced with Lauren, your best friend. The forward’s arms were wrapped around your waist tightly as the two of you stumbled slightly. Your arms wrapped around her neck, keeping her close to your body.

You and Lauren have been best friends since you met in Chelsea’s youth academy. Over the years, how you felt about her changed into something more romantic but you kept them to yourself. The two of you were always together, so much so a few of your teammates found it shocking you weren’t dating.

“I’m so proud of you,” you beamed as you all but yelled in her ear. Lauren dramatically flenched at your loud voice but her smile matched yours as she let go of you.

“I’m proud of you too,” her voice was quieter but still held the same weight as yours.

You were pulled away from each other for media but all you could think about was how it felt having her arms wrapped around you. You tried your hardest to focus on the questions being asked but your thoughts strayed to your best friend often. You were thankful when you told you were good and made a quick lap around the pitch to thank the fans for their support.

Your teammates were already blasting music in the locker room when you entered, loud cheers and laughs mixed in as well. Everyone was quick to shower and change, an earlier agreement to celebrate at a local bar on everyone’s mind. As you changed into something more casual, you felt eyes zeroed in on you but when you looked around the room, everyone was focused on getting ready.

As you turned your head back to your shoes, Lauren’s eyes locked on you once more. Her feelings for you had grown into something more over the years as well but she was scared to tell you and push you away. Her eyes scanned up and down your body as you stood, shamelessly checking you out while you weren’t paying attention.

The forward jumped from her seat when you started heading to the door, her arm reaching out to hold the door for you to exit first. You sent her a small smile when you noticed her holding the door for you. Lauren exited the locker room right after you, her stride matching yours as you both headed for your cars.

Neither of you spoke as you walked to your cars that were parked next to each other, your teammates’ loud cheers filled the silence between you effortlessly. “See you at the bar,” you sent her a playful wink as you got into your car, a small surge of confidence filling your body.

Lauren chuckled as she got into her car, letting you leave first so she could follow you. A few of your teammates who left before you had already gotten tables and a round of drinks. You took the shot Millie offered you when you sat down, downing it quickly. You grimaced slightly as the alcohol burned your throat. The defender laughed at your reaction before she was pulled into a conversation.

Lauren sat opposite you at the table and while she was listening to Fran, her eyes stayed on you. The forward nodded along to what your teammate was saying though every time you moved her eyes followed you. Maybe with some liquid courage, she’d be able to tell you how she felt.

You could feel Lauren’s eyes on you as you laughed along with Erin and Millie and you had to resist the urge to lock eyes with her. If you did, you would have ended up confessing you’d been in love with her for the past year or so. You gladly took the drinks offered your way, hoping that it would distract you from the big crush you had on your best friend.

You and Lauren seemingly matched your drinking and every time one of you had a new one, so did the other. You both giggled as you watched some of your teammates dancing along to the music that was playing. You weren’t sure how long the team had been out, but when a few of them started leaving you knew it had been a while.

You downed the rest of your drink, sighing when you placed the glass back on the table. “I think I’m gonna head home,” you called out to whoever was listening at the table. You might have been drunk but you knew you weren’t in the condition to be driving.

“Yeah me too,” Lauren’s voice echoed in your head as you clicked through your phone trying to find the Uber app.

You groaned when you were unable to find it, a grumpy pout on your face as you turned your phone off. Lauren laughed softly at your defeated look before pulling her phone out to order an Uber. “You can just stay with me tonight, I live closer anyways,” the forward shrugged as she finished ordering the car.

You nodded happily, your mood changing instantly at the thought of spending the night with your best friend. You two made your way outside after telling the team goodnight, the cool London air hitting your face the second the door opened. You shivered slightly as you two stood waiting for the Uber, the cold affecting you more than you would have thought.

Lauren laughed softly before pulling you into a hug, “C’mere,” she teased as her arms wrapped around your body. You sighed softly as her body started warming yours, your head resting on her shoulder. You two stood together for a few moments before the Uber pulled up and you whined softly when Lauren let go of you.

You sent her a small smile when she opened the door for you, letting you scoot in first. You said a quick hello to the driver, grateful that the heat was on. Lauren was quick to follow you, closing the door behind her and letting the driver know you were all good.

You leaned your head to rest on Lauren’s shoulder, her thigh pressed next to yours while her hand rested on her thigh, close to landing on yours. The car ride was comfortably silent as you headed to Lauren’s place, the alcohol in your system starting to make you tired.

You thanked the driver once you had arrived, telling him goodnight as you got out of the car. You two hurried into her place, ready to be out of the cold and somewhere quieter than the bar you were at. After taking your shoes off and throwing the light jacket you were wearing off, you two dropped onto her couch.

The silence that filled the room felt heavy, both of you thinking similar things as you stared at the blank TV in front of you. You turned your head to stare at Lauren’s side profile, your eyes scanning her features as your breathing picked up. Lauren turned her head toward you when she felt you staring, her eyes dropping to your lips quickly before her eyes met yours.

You slid closer to her until your thighs were touching again, your foreheads almost touching as you stared at her lips. She licked them softly, watching as you mimicked her. “Can I kiss you,” you whisper, your chest heaving a bit faster than normal.

Lauren nodded before leaning in, her lips grazing yours before pulling you into a deep kiss. She moved one of her hands to rest on your cheek to hold you in place as you both sighed into the kiss. The kiss picked up slightly, a light moan from you driving Lauren crazy as her hand moved from your cheek to your thigh.

The position you were in was becoming slightly uncomfortable so you shifted forward, moving until you were straddling her lap. You moved your hands to rest on her cheeks, her hands falling to your waist, holding you close to her. Your hips rolled as you kissed her, your sleepiness having left your body the second she kissed you.

You were too focused on her lips to realize she stood up, your legs automatically wrapping around her waist as she brought you to her bedroom. You had slept in her bed plenty of times before, but this time it would be different. Your back met her mattress softly, her body pinning you to it as she propped herself up.

Lauren moved her lips away from yours and down your cheek to your neck, leaving light kisses on any piece of skin she could find. You moaned when her lips sucked a bit harder, a hickey sure to form in that spot later. One of her hands pushed your shirt up your body, the piece of clothing in her way.

She pulled away from you to help you take your shirt off, throwing it to the floor to be picked up in the morning. Her hand was back on your body, running up and down your torso as her lips moved down your chest. As quickly as she took your shirt off, your bra was treated the same way. Her lips left small kisses around your bare breast, your body jerking slightly as she kissed your hardened nipples.

Lauren pulled away from you completely as she moved off the bed, your breathing heavy as you watched her move around her room looking for something. “Take the rest of it off,” her voice was rougher than normal as she gestured to your pants.

You listened quickly, the rest of your clothes joining your shirt and bra on the floor. You could feel how wet you were and it only grew when you finally looked at Lauren again. Your eyes dropped to the strap on in her hands, your thighs rubbing together softly as you thought about her fucking you with it.

The forward was quick to strip her clothes off, tossing them to the floor before harnessing the toy to her body. You lay back against her bed, watching as she moved to the end of it. You waited for her to tell you what to do, ready to follow her orders the moment she said them.

“Hands and knees,” she ordered, though her tone was still soft, not wanting to make you do anything you didn’t want to do.

You bit back a small moan as you listened, balancing yourself on your hands while you waited for her to touch you. Lauren’s eyes trailed over your body from behind as she knelt behind you. Her hands traced your body before landing on your waist, her grip tight yet soft as she held you.

You whimpered before a raspy “please” escaped your lips. Lauren’s eyes rolled slightly at the sound of you begging her before moving one hand to line the strap on up with your dripping cunt. She thrust her hips slowly, easing the toy into you to let you get adjusted to it.

Your head dropped as you moaned louder, your hips attempting to push back against her. Lauren smirked at your eagerness, her hands keeping your hips still until she bottomed out. She pulled the strap on out of you slowly before roughly pushing it back in, a loud gasp from you echoing off her bedroom walls.

Her hips roughly snapped against yours, the last bit of softness she had left her body when you moaned her name for the first time. You gripped the cover under your hands tightly as she fucked you, the sounds of her skin hitting yours had your head spinning even more than it was.

“L-lauren, please,” you begged as your breathing hitched when the strap on hit that familiar spot.

Her hips moved faster, she was determined to give you one of your best orgasms ever. She leaned down to place kisses on your back before returning to her original position. You could feel the familiar coil in your lower stomach tighten each thrust and you knew you were going to cum soon.

“You wanna cum,” she grunted from behind you, a smirk on her face as you blabbered out a response.

“Y-yes! Please let me cum,” you whined, your arms giving out from under you as your head hit her mattress.

Lauren drilled into you as you came with a loud, drawn-out moan. She slowed her hips slightly but kept going, helping you through your high. You whimpered at the oversensitivity, your body jerking slightly from your orgasm.

Lauren pulled the toy out of you and took it off to toss it to the floor. Her hands ran up your back softly as she helped you roll over. Your eyes were closed as you tried to catch your breath, though it was hard to accomplish with her lips leaving light kisses all over your body.

“Fuck,” you rasped, swallowing softly as your eyes fluttered open. Lauren moved to lay next to you, propping her head up on her hand, her eyes locking with yours. She laughed softly at your exhausted expression, though she wore a similar one.

“What about you,” you pouted, your brows furrowing as you tried to sit up.

“Maybe in the morning, you’re exhausted, y/n/n,” she teased, her hand pushing you back onto your back.

You huffed, but you knew she was right when your eyes fluttered closed and a yawn escaped your mouth. You were going to hold her to her words, determined to treat her the way she treated you. Lauren watched as you fell asleep, this wasn’t how she imagined telling you how she felt but if it didnt happen, she wasn’t sure if she ever would.

She placed a light kiss on your forehead before helping you get comfortable, sleeping taking over both of you.

#woso x reader #engwnt x reader #lionesses x reader #chelsea women x reader #lauren james x reader #lauren james

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bqstqnbruin · 12 days ago

Text

Desire

Look, I know I dropped off the face of the Earth for like three weeks and even my computer was confused when I opened it for the first time in that long, but hey, here we are. This is a fic I actually started last February and never could find the inso to finish.

Anyway, this is for the absolutely lovely @laurenairay for her birthday bingo that my computer isn't letting me screenshot and edit because this thing is too old to do that. BUT I did get bingo by doing Matching Making, Fake Dating, Love Language, and "It's Always Been You." I know I'm posting this on the last day you asked for it but, hey, I got there (I'm not even sure if it's still the 24th where you are, I'm so sorry).

So, happy birthday Lauren! I hope you like this and I hope you have an amazing day love 💛💛💛💛

This is Nico Hischier x Fem!OC ft. Jack Hughes for the drama

Warnings: swearing, drinking, a bad poem that came from here

WC: 5841

__________________________

“How many times do you think we have to go through this before I actually find someone decent?”

“Statistically, you should have found someone by now.”

“How do you think that helps me?”

Liv came home from yet another disastrous Hinge date, her roommate, Milly, doing nothing to comfort her in the fact that finding love was hopeless when all the good people to date were either way too far away from where they lived, taken by other good people, or simply did not exist.

“You didn’t ask for me to help, you asked me how long you have to keep dating. I gave you an answer.”

Liv groaned, flopping down on the couch with her hands over her face. “I hate this.”

“Are you going to tell me what happened?”

“Nico wants to hear it too, he’s on his way over.”

Liv had called Nico from the Uber ride back, just like she always did after a disastrous date, to tell him he needed to come and bring her and Milly wine and ice cream. The routine was unfortunately something that was turning into a once a week affair with every failed outing Liv had gone on.

Before Milly could say anything else, Nico was opening the door, letting himself in and kicking off his shoes. “You guys really need to start locking the door. One of Liv’s dates could come in and just kill you two.”

“Again, how do you think that helps?” Liv asks while Milly laughs. “I need better friends.”

Nico hands the girls their ice cream, the wine sitting on the coffee table near their feet. “You can’t find a boyfriend, what makes you think you’re going to find better friends?”

“I don’t have to stay here, I have keys and my own car. I can just leave.”

“If you really wanted to do that, you wouldn’t have called Nico and we all wouldn’t be sitting here. So what happened?”

Liv started to recount the date, which was a disaster from start to finish. First, her Uber was late, which meant she was going to be late. Then, her date, Spenser, who told her he had made a reservation at the restaurant, actually lied and didn’t make one, and they ended up having to wait an hour for the table anyway, even with her being late. Then, he ordered for her, and wouldn’t let her tell him that not only did she not want what he ordered, she was allergic to one of the main ingredients, so she had to flag the waiter down and tell him to make sure that she didn’t get sent to the hospital. Spenser spilled his drink all over the table, and then got mad when she wouldn’t give him her drink while he waited for a new one. “And, it somehow gets worse.”

Liv watched her roommate and her best friend try to hold back their laughter while they waited for her to finish. This one took the cake for the worst date she had ever been on, easily, and they knew it. Nico’s face was bright red, Milly clutching her sides while Liv just felt more of her heart breaking at the fact that she had another failed outing. She just wanted someone who would care for her the way she saw her brother care for his girlfriend, her sister care for her partner, all her cousins, aunts, uncles, her parents, love their person.

“There’s no way he did anything else after that,” Milly says.

“He pulled out a poem.”

Nico nearly chokes on the swig of wine he took. “What do you mean?”

Liv pulled out the piece of paper from her bag. Spenser insisted she keep it as a way to remember him and to make her want a second date. His words. “A poem.”

“Oh, my god,” Milly squeals, snatching the paper from Liv’s hands and showing it to Nico, bursting into laughter at the sight of what is probably the most ridiculous thing Liv has ever been given. “Did he fucking burn the edges of the paper?”

“Looks like it,” Liv groans.

“Our love is like a bowling ball, like a brand new Brunswick Red Zone. It rolls and rolls down the alley of desire, and rolls and rolls and rolls. I will keep you out of the gutters, my love, and put my fingers in your holes?” Nico yells at the end.

“No fucking way,” Milly says, continuing to read the horrible thing out loud. “Every kiss, a strike or at least a spare, our future a perfect game.”

“You know what makes this even worse?” Nico asks through fits of laughter.

“There’s no way it can be worse than, ‘our love is like a bowling ball, our scores will rise and rise. I shall never step beyond the foul line and I will rent your shoes,’” Milly wheezes.

“No, it is. I think he plagiarized it.”

Liv’s jaw drops. He couldn’t even be bad on his own? He had to look up and purposefully pick a bad poem and take credit for it? It didn’t even make sense. There was no mention of bowling at any point during their conversations before or during the date, and there definitely wouldn’t be any now that the date had happened.

Nico hands her his phone, the website pulled up with the poem on it, clear as day. “Why did you know this was a thing?”

Nico shrugs, “We get bored in the locker room after practice sometimes.”

“So all guys are fucking weird?” Milly asks.

Liv interrupts their back and forth with another groan, covering her hands with her face again as she leans back on the couch. “I’m going to be alone forever.”

“No, you’re not.”

“How am I so unlovable?”

“We love you.”

“You don’t count. Am I ugly? Is it that I’m not attractive?”

“I once saw someone say that your face is a combination of hundreds of people who have fallen in love throughout the years,” Milly offers, taking a sip of wine from Nico’s bottle.

“Then why have all of Liv’s exes look like horses?” Nico counters, Milly nearly spitting the wine back out at him.

“That’s uncalled for,” Liv groaned. “Is my personality bad?”

“You literally just keep giving shitty guys a chance, it’s nothing actually wrong with you.”

“I would say that’s a flaw, actually,” Nico points out, earning a smack in the shoulder from Liv.

“You’re two seconds away from being kicked out.”

“If I go, the wine goes.”

“Ok, how do we fix your bad dating life, what’s the plan?” Milly pulls the two of them out of their bickering match. She looks at Nico, his eyes locked on Liv despite her looking down at her phone. She smiles, knowing exactly what that look meant. He looked at her like that whenever he thought no one else was looking, especially not Liv. She had caught him looking at her like that every time they were together. “What if Nico takes you on a date so he can show you what you should look for in a good guy?”

Nico’s eyes bug out of his head as he snaps his head towards Milly. She looked at him with a sly smile, one to let him know that she knew what he didn’t want Liv to know. She’s known for a long time, at this point, pretty much since they met him, that he was practically in love with her roommate. He came over after every date Liv had, taking shots at the guys more than Milly did, going through the same conversation every time trying to convince Liv that she deserved more than the guys she was dating.

“What?” Nico chokes out, praying that Liv doesn’t notice the strangled tone in his voice.

“Yeah, ok,” Liv dismisses before Nico or Milly can keep going, Nico seeing her start to chew on the inside of her cheek. “Aren’t any of your friends single? Statistically speaking, can you have that large of a group of guys and have all of them be taken?”

“We should start a new drinking game where every time one of us uses the word, ‘statistically,’ we take a shot.”

“I work with numbers, what do you want from me? And we can’t afford that kind of hospital bill when we inevitably get alcohol poisoning,” Milly says. “But, yeah, there’s that one guy who always hits on Liv, right? James? John?”

“Jack doesn’t hit on her,” Nico says, glaring at Milly while Liv remained oblivious.

“Every time Jack sees Liv, everyone knows that he’s undressing her in his mind.”

“And he’s cute, too,” Liv points out, Nico getting jealous at the smile growing on her face. “Set me up with him. Please?”

“I don’t know,” Nico hesitates.

“What’s the worst that could happen?” Milly asks, “They fall in love? Liv can finally stop going on horrible dates? You save money on gas and wine because the currently weekly occurrence of making fun of her bad outings wouldn’t happen as much?”

Nico stammers something unintelligible trying to figure out what to say, looking back and forth between Liv’s pleading face and Milly’s ‘gotcha’ expression. Jack and Liv? He lets out a sigh, “Do you really want me to ask him if he’s interested?”

“Do you think he would take me on a good date for once?”

He could lie. He knows that Jack likes Liv. He knows that Jack wouldn’t do anything to hurt her and wouldn’t purposely take her on a date that sucks, unless his own stupidity got in his way. He could tell her that he was talking to someone else that Nico didn’t know, that he was sure he had someone. But looking at Liv’s face, the more than fifty bad dates running through his mind, watching her recount everyone that ended in the same question of why she wasn’t good enough for a good guy when all he wanted to do was give her a date and a relationship he knew she deserved, he couldn’t tell her that.

“He would probably take you on the first good date you’ve had in a while.”

__________________________

Nico had promised Liv he would talk to Jack about going out with her after their practice the next day. Of course, that led to him having one of the worst practices of his life, his thoughts occupied with his friends going out and potentially falling in love just like Milly had said. An unfortunately vivid picture of the two of them going on a perfect first date played in his mind, followed by more and more dates, Jack eventually being the one she called when she needed or wanted someone to talk to who wasn’t Milly, then moving in together, Nico being at their wedding, standing there while he watched them build the life he wanted with her.

For fuck’s sake.

“Liv really wants to date me?” Jack nearly yells, acting like a kid who was just told they could buy any toy they wanted. “Me? Seriously?”

“What are you talking about?” Nico mumbles, already hating that he had to bring it up in the first place.

“I always thought she was into you.” Nico scoffs, knowing that there was nothing between them despite how badly he wanted something to happen. “You’re the one she calls when she needs something, you’re the one she bee-lines to when we’re out at a bar, you’re the one she texts before and after every game to wish you like, congratulate you, or comfort you if we lose. You’re telling me all of that means nothing?” Jack asks.

“We’re friends.”

“You want more than that.”

“It doesn’t matter what I want,” Nico snaps, walking out of the locker room, Jack at his heels. “Liv wants to go out on one date that doesn’t end in her needing to get drunk while ranting about it to me and Milly.”

“Why haven’t you asked her out yet?” Jack probes, following Nico to his car. “You want to go out with her, it’s obvious to everyone.”

“Apparently it’s not obvious to her,” Nico mumbles. “Look, it doesn’t matter. She asked me to ask you if you were interested. We all know you like her, too, and you’re the one she wants to go out with. What am I supposed to do?”

“So you admit you like her.”

“I’m going to run you over with this car.”

“You can’t do that, we can’t afford to be down two players.”

“Yeah, that’s the only issue that would come of me hitting you with my car.”

“Nico, just ask her out. I like her, so what? You love her.”

“She likes you.”

“She loves you.”

“As a friend.”

“As more. You want more.”

“We’ve been here before.”

“I recognize that tree,” Jack jokes, finally earning a smirk from Nico. “What if I talk you up on the date?”

“Because that wouldn’t be weird.”

“What if I take her on an awful date.”

“Do that to Liv and I’ll do more than run you over,” Nico threatens. “You will either take her on a good date, or you won’t take her out at all. I will not have her suffer through another bad date and watch her be crushed, again, except this time at the hands of the teammate she asked me to set her up with. Are we clear?”

“Aye, aye, captain,” Jack says with a smug look on his face, saluting Nico as he gets into his car.

“I need better friends,” Nico mumbles.

__________________________

The restaurant was dark and loud, something Liv wasn’t expecting and something she normally hated. It was hard to hear and hard to see, already increasing her anxiety that she was about to have another shitty date to add to the list of reasons and horrible reminiscences that she, Milly,and Nico would have later that night. The worst part is that this date involved someone who was close to Nico, someone he still had to see every single day.

Jack was already sitting at the table, waiting for Liv and looking nervous. For some reason, that calms her; most of the guys whom she had gone out with had this arrogance about them when she met them as if she should be happy they decided to give her the time of day.

He finally sees her coming toward her, getting out of his seat to hug her. He did really like her, but he couldn’t seriously date her when it was so obvious that Nico loved her more, could he?

“Have you been here before?” Liv asks him, sitting down and starting to go through the motions of the normal first date that she dreaded. Maybe that was part of her problem; she seemed to relive the same date over and over again no matter who was sitting on the other side of the table. The conversation almost always followed the same mundane script, the guy had an attitude that rubbed her the wrong way, the food she had placed in front of her either wasn’t something she enjoyed or didn’t fill her enough.

“Nico’s taken a few of us here before after a few times,” Jack explains, a sly smile on his face. He looked like he had a plan, one Liv couldn’t figure out.

“Nico did?” her ears perk up at the mention of her best friend.

Jack takes a sip of his water in front of him, nodding, a smirk on his face. “He’s always doing stuff like that, when he’s not with you.”

“What do you mean?”

Jack smirks, the look on his face giving Liv a slightly unsettled feeling. “You know that he’s going to do anything for the people he cares about. We said we wanted to try this restaurant, so he took us here so we could.” Liv nods along. “Just like he’d do anything for you.”

Liv felt a warm feeling rush through her. She could think of all the things Nico would do for her as soon as she asked him. He’s gone as far as Facetiming her during a game because he knew she wasn’t feeling good and Milly was away for a work trip. Not only that, but he was there at her door, ready to spend the night with her so he could take care of her. “He would. He does.”

Jack laughs. “Well yeah, because he’s into you.” Liv raises her eyebrow, raising her water glass to her lips. Nico is her best friend. Jack rolls his eyes, “Oh,come on, you know he’s in love with you.”

Liv starts choking on her water. “Absolutely not.”

“Oh please, it’s so obvious.”

“Then why would he set us up?”

“Because he knows I like you and that I’m the guy who wouldn’t hurt you.”

“So you’re saying,” she starts, putting the drink down, “That he likes me so much, he set me up with you because you like me.”

Jack shrugs. “It’s a crush. He gave me a chance.”

“But?”

“But you’re also in love with Nico.”

Liv laughs. “Please.”

Jack shakes his head. “You can’t see the look on your face when Nico’s name gets mentioned or when you’re thinking about him. If you don’t love him, then whoever you do love is in for a ride with you looking at them like that.”

Liv can feel the heat rushing to her face, their waitress thankfully interrupting them to ask for their orders, as if Liv had even had time to look at the menu in the first place, her mind still swimming with Jack’s words. She and Nico weren’t in love with each other. “Believe what you want,” she tries to pass off her obvious spike in anxiety from his words as anything else, hoping he doesn’t hear the shaking she feels in her voice.

“I believe it, Milly believes it,” Jack starts, ignoring Liv’s scowl. “The entire team believes it. I’m pretty sure our waitress believes it.”

“This is a really shity first date,” Liv mumbles, rolling her eyes at Jack’s laugh.

“I know for a fact that this is still the best first date you’ve had in a while.” Liv rolls her eyes again. “I have an idea for you.”

“Oh no.”

“Hear me out,” Jack begs, flashing a puppy dog face at her. She sighs and nods, already feeling the headache coming on. “How about you and I pretend that we’re actually dating?”

“What do you mean?”

“We tell Nico that we really hit it off. We pretend that the two of us are actually dating, and it pisses him the fuck off. He finally realizes and admits to you that he’s in love with you, and you two finally get together.”

Liv stares at him, her mouth hanging open. “You have never had an intelligent thought in your life, have you?”

“I had this one, didn’t I?”

__________________________

“Where the fuck are they?” Nico paces back and forth in front of Milly, repeatedly checking his phone to see if Liv had texted him.

He hears Milly sigh. He stops pacing, staring at his friend sitting on her couch, engrossed in something on her phone. “On the date you set them up on, probably.”

“This is your fault,” Nico accuses, sitting down next to her on the couch and putting his hands in his face.

“No.”

“No?”

“No,” she repeats, the same deadpan tone as before. “You are too stupid to ask her out, and because of that, you would rather have set her up with your teammate who likes her instead of do the thing you actually want to do because you’re scared.”

“What am I scared of?”

“Dating Liv and it not working out,” Milly shrugs, not looking up from her phone screen. “Duh.”

Nico glares at her. “Why am I even here?”

“Because you’re waiting for Liv and I’m the only one who would stop you from driving to the restaurant they’re at and ruining what’s probably the first good date she’s had in years.”

“You can’t stop me.”

“I think you would lose that bet if you made it.” Nico lets out an exasperated sigh, knowing that, unfortunately, Milly definitely had enough willpower and spite to stop him if she needed to. Hell, she could probably do it just if she wanted to. “Check her location if you’re so worried about her.

Nico pulls out his phone, pulling up the app to see Liv and Jack’s bubbles right next to his and Milly's, indicating that they were right outside on the sidewalk.

Nico ran to the window, the girl’s street facing apartment coming in handy for the drunken hilarity that happened more than once. This time it was handy for making him want to fling himself into a river (he could swim).

The color drained from his face, something so apparent that even Milly could tell just from his back that he needed to be pulled back in.

Nico had watched Jack pull Liv in for a kiss, seeing him squeeze her waist and the smile that grew on her face as the girl he wanted more than anything with someone else. Someone he set her up with. Someone he was close friends with, who he knew liked her, too.

“I’m a fucking a idiot,” Nico whines, plopping back on the couch with Milly, finally earning a sympathetic look from her.

“Want to go hide in my room so you don’t have to see her when she comes up?” Milly offers, knowing he won’t accept. Nico shakes his head. “You don’t mess with tradition, right?”

The two of them sit there in silence, Milly turning on the tv in front of them so Nico could have something to drown out his thoughts. They were interrupted by the sound of two familiar voices in the hallway outside the door.

Milly and Nico exchange looks. Liv never brought the guy upstairs.

Nico could run for it. He was fast. They were on the third floor, easily enough to climb down the fire escapes and the window ledges if he really needed to, right? He could take Milly’s offer up and hide in her room, hoping that Liv didn’t notice his car still parked on the street because she was too enamored with Jack, that the two of them wouldn’t check his location and see that he was still in the building, just feet away.

But he wanted her to notice. He wanted Liv to notice that he was around, just like he always knew when she entered the same room as him. He wanted her to notice that he was there just like he noticed how she scrunched her nose up when she truly found something funny, knowing that she couldn’t hold that kind of laughter in even if she tried. He wanted her to notice because it would tell him that even though she was on a date with Jack, she was still looking for him, just like he looked for her everywhere he went, even when he knew she wasn’t around him.

“Hey, guys,” Liv comes in, beaming in a way he never saw her before. He could feel his heart splintering at the sight of her hand entwined with Jack’s.

“So, I take it the date went well?” Milly asks as Jack and Liv sit across from them, Nico wanting to gouge his eyes out every time they inched closer together.

Jack looks at Liv and smiles. Nico hated this. “Yeah, we’re going out again on Thursday.”

“We’ve got that event that night,” Nico points out.”

“Yeah, Liv’s going to be my date.”

For fucks sake.

__________________________

The boys leave, Nico first, Jack after the two of them filled in Milly.

“This is an awful idea, you know that, right?” Liv says when Milly calms down from her laughter. She found it hilarious, much to Liv’s dismay.

“That’s why it’s so funny,” she says, wiping tears from her eyes. “You can’t act to save your life. You think you can convince Nico, the boy who can see through you and knows your every move, that you’re dating Jack and actually enjoying it?”

“Jack thinks I’m in love with Nico.”

“So he does have a brain.” Liv stares at Milly. “Babe, you and Nico are the only ones who don’t know that you’re in love with each other. You’ve loved him since the moment you first spoke to him, and we know damn well he’s been in love with you since the first moment he saw you.”

Liv shakes her head. “So what?”

“So you two need to stop fucking around and finally date each other. Jack’s plan is surprisingly smart.”

__________________________

Nico was in hell.

Jack suggested that since Nico was on the way to Liv’s place, he would pick up Nico and Liv, and the three of them carpool to the event together.

Now, he’s stuck in the back seat of Nico’s car, staring at the center console where Jack and Liv’s hands are, together, while they talk about something Nico couldn’t even be bothered to listen to.

“I can’t believe you brought me flowers,” Liv gushes, Nico feeling like he was going to vomit when Jack got out of the car, leaving Nico to trail behind up to the girls apartment. He hadn’t noticed the flowers, hadn’t noticed that they were sunflowers, Liv’s favorites. But he had noticed the way her face lit up when she saw Jack, and the way she brightened even more when he handed her the bouquet.

She was always at her happiest when someone gave her a meaningful gift. Even the worst dates she went on could be brightened when the guy gave her something that she mentioned she enjoyed. He still hated the one book she kept on her nightstand, a copy of her favorite book and movie signed by the author and the cast.

Now he had to spend the night with them, looking at Liv in a dress that somehow managed to hug every curve on her body in a way that made it look customized to her measurements, while she and Jack fawned over each other.

He should have had Milly come, too, as his date. At least that way she could give him comedic relief or talk him down from wanting to commit a felony (although, she might encourage it for some drama).

Nico hadn’t even noticed Jack had left the table to do god only knows what, until Liv sidled up to the seat next to him.

“Why are you being an ass?’

Nico grimaced. She was right, unfortunately. He had barely said more than three words to her. He couldn’t even work up the courage to tell her she looked nice, something Jack had been able to do multiple times in the hour they were together. “I don’t feel great.”

Liv squinted at him. “Why are you lying to me?”

Nico sighed, shaking his head, trying to seem convincing. “I’m not.”

“Whatever,” she said, getting up, probably off to find Jack.

He should get up to find her. He knew that.

He found Jack first, standing at the bar waiting for drinks, two already in front of him. “Liv’s not with you?”

Jack shakes his head. “She’s supposed to be with you,” he replies, a knowing smirk on his face that left Nico feeling uneasy.

Nico shakes his head, trying to scan the crowd for her. He didn’t know why he bothered, he could already tell she left the room. He made his way towards the door leading to the bathrooms, pushing through people who wanted to talk to him despite his lack of interest. He only wanted to find Liv.

“Took you long enough,” she says, Nico coming up to her in the hallway.

Her snark made him smile, trying to fight the one that threatened to grow on his face. “What’s going on with you?” Liv rolled her eyes, letting out a long sigh. She wouldn’t look at him. Suddenly, his mind went to the worst. “Did Jack do something?”

She gave him a look, immediately telling him he was wrong without having to verbalize it. “We both know he would never.”

“Olivia,” Nico says, using her full name to be sure to get her attention. “Jack is in there waiting for you.”

“I know that,” she snaps, clearly getting more agitated. Nico had no idea where this was coming from.

“Then why aren’t you spending your night with him? Why are we out here?”

“I don’t want to be here with him, you idiot.” Nico blinked, not sure if she was done. “Jack is great, but I don’t want to be with him. I don’t care that he’s in there acting like he and I are dating. I care that you don’t seem to care.”

Nico takes a second to process the words coming from her, Liv talking so fast he could barely keep up. “What do you mean, ‘acting?’”

Liv lets out a laugh, a flutter in Nico’s stomach in anticipation for what he hoped she was about to say. “Milly said I wouldn’t be able to keep this up for long.”

“Liv, keep what up? Fill me in, please,” he begs, taking a step closer to her.

She shakes her head, explaining the whole thing. “Jack and Milly think we’re in love with each other. Jack thought we should pretend to date to get you to finally ask me out.”

Again, he took a second to process. “What?”

“God dammit, Nico. I love you and everyone is telling me you love me,” she spits out, tears building up in her eyes. She thinks it’s not true. How could she think he isn’t so in love with her, he’s not sure he’ll ever be able to look at someone the same way he looks at her? Liv keeps rambling, but the thoughts in his head were much louder than anything she could be saying right now. He should be listening, but he couldn’t believe that the girl in front of him, the one he knew everything about, the one he would do anything for, didn’t think he was in love with her.

“Liv,” he starts, trying to get her to stop. She doesn’t. “Liv.”

She stops after him saying her name four more times, only when he finally puts his hands on her arms. “You think I’m not just as in love with you as you are with me? God, if you’re in love with me even a fraction of the amount I’m in love with you, I would count myself lucky. I love everything about you, from how you chew on your bottom lip when you’re trying to concentrate, how you bite your left cheek when you want to say something but you’re trying to figure out if you should. I love how your eyes light up when you know someone is listening to you talk about something you’re passionate about, how you make me feel like the luckiest guy in the world just because I get to say I know you.”

Nico steps closer to her, leaning down to whisper in her ear as people walk by them, Nico wanting these words to be only for her. “I want to push you against this wall and I want you to push me back. I have wanted to punch every guy you have ever gone out with because they were getting to do everything and anything I could ever dream of doing with you.” He steps back when he hears her let out a shuddering breath against his neck, looking at her as she stood there with her eyes closed, a slight smile on her face.

“If you think I’m not in love with you, that I don’t want to be the one buying you sunflowers, making you your favorite food, being the person you can be in love with, too, then you don’t know me.”

“So,” she starts, chewing the inside of her cheek, making Nico smile. “Are we doing this?”

Nico’s smile grows wider. “God, I hope so,” he tells her, pulling her toward him and finally kissing her.

__________________________

“So, how was it?” Milly asks when Liv opens the door. “Where’s Nico?”

Liv practically throws herself on the couch next to Milly. “He said he was on his way up?”

“Are we really going to wait for him to come up before you tell me how your anniversary date went?”

“It’s tradition.”

Liv knew that Milly hated the tradition at this point, but it had been going on for years. She had to wait for Nico.

He comes in the door before Milly can say anything else. “Parking on your street is becoming the biggest pain in my ass,” he mutters, kissing his girlfriend on the head before handing off the unopened bottle of wine he bought just for Milly.

“I knew there was a reason we kept you around,” Milly says, popping open the bottle and drinking straight from it while Nico sits down across from them, ignoring his eye roll. “So, tell me about your big two year anniversary dinner that she couldn’t shut up about until now.”

“Wait, Jack is coming, too,” Nico says, his phone buzzing in his pocket with notifications that his teammate was on his way up to Milly’s apartment, too.

“What the fuck?” Milly asks, staring at Liv’s face, trying to read the surprisingly discrete look she was wearing for once.

“We have to wait for Jack, too. It’s only fair,” Liv insists, fidgeting with her hands behind her back.

Milly groans, downing more of the wine, launching into a rant about making her wait when she just wanted to be in bed with the bottle. Jack finally arrives, much too slow for Milly’s liking, which she wasn’t afraid to tell him.

“Ok, ok, can you calm down?” Jack says, dodging a pillow launched at his face. “I’m here.”

“Tell us about the date, please” Milly begs, clearly getting impatient.

“It was really good, “ Liv starts, the heat rushing to her face.

“Oh, come on, you have to give me more than that,” Milly complains. “At least tell me you fucked in the bathroom, or something.”

Nico rolls his eyes. “She can’t be your maid of honor, she’s going to say something like that in her speech,” he looks at Liv.

“She’s going to be my maid of honor unless she’s in jail and not allowed out or in the ground dead.”

“Wait, wait, maid of honor?” Milly asks, finally noticing Liv’s heads folded in her lap. “Holy shit!” she screams, launching herself at her best friend, tears starting to roll down her face when the realization hits her.

“It took you two long enough,” Jack says, staring at the ring on Liv’s left hand. “Since I got you together, does this mean I’m the best man?’

“Absolutely not.”

#nico hischier #nico hischier fic #new jersey devils #devils #new jersey devils fic #jack hughes #nhl #nhl fic #hockey #hockey fic #if there are typos I'M SO SORRY

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