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nate rolled his eyes once more, taking a sip of water from the small red cup in his hands, "she's nothing i can't handle." carter nodded, sensing nate's dismissal of the subject of maddy.

nate's coach walked over to the boys, the whistle hanging from his chest swaying as he walked. "keep pulling this shit, jacobs, and i'll bench your ass for rest of the season," he said, pointing his finger in nate's face.

if there was one thing nate hated it was someone who acted like they knew better than him. sure, nate had tackled the kid a bit roughly but he was fine. nate was a good player, the best linebacker east high had ever saw, a small scrimmage incident during practice wouldn't change that. he looked to the ground for a moment, choosing his words carefully, "got it, coach. it won't happen again."

at the end of practice, nate was in the locker room changing in a stall, something he always did that stood out amongst the other guys. he heard carter and jace's voices echoing in the room, lockers shutting between words.

"he better get his head on straight if he wants to keep acting like he's the best on the team," he heard carter say. nate listened for a moment, pulling his shirt over his head as he heard jace's response.

"he's been weird lately," jace said, his voice booming and loud against the concrete walls of the locker room, "he didn't even go to mckays last saturday. maddy must have him on a short leash these days."

"she's a bitch," carter replied, "what do you expect?"

nate decided to exit the stall in that moment, carter and jace's eyes meeting his in surprise. "you think i'm stupid? that i don't have my shit together?" nate asked darkly, his eyes narrowing on the two boys. a menacing smirk was on his face, his tall height causing him to tower over the two boys.

carter let out a nervous laugh, shaking his head. "no man, we know you got it," carter said, his shirt still in his hands. jace nodded, wary of nate's next actions.

nate was loved and feared on the team. he always showed up for games, winning them more times than the team could count, but he had a reputation. nate could be a team player or a nightmare depending on what side you were on, he planned to keep it that way. instead of intimidating the boys further, nate had other plans. he slipped out of the locker room and into the almost empty parking lot by the field, his hand holding his still vibrating phone, knowing it was maddy texting him.

he put the key in the ignition and let his engine roar to life, his body slumping in his seat a bit as he checked his phone.

maddy: i'm not going to wait forever.

maddy: ur being ridiculous

maddy: fuck u, i'm done

maddy: why can't u just call me????

nate sighed to himself, the bright lights that illuminated the field shutting off and encompassing him in darkness. he decided to just turn his phone off before he pulled out of the school parking lot, heading onto the road, the headlights of his tall truck illuminating the road ahead brightly. he drove for awhile, trying his best to clear his head. thoughts of the day before entered his mind, the way his shy prize had spoke to him softly about the book from class, how her tiny hands had fiddled with the heart shaped locket that was usually nestled to her chest. he zoned out as he drove, picturing the differences between her and maddy.

the shy girl was so much more to him, the potential he saw in her far greater than maddys. he had loved maddy once, more than anyone he had loved before, but things changed. they fought more, she was more possessive than ever. sure they had broken up ten million times at this point, even fucking different people to make the other jealous, but now, nate wanted something different. he wanted something easy, something more perfect than he could ever imagined. the shy girl seemed more worthy of his attention than maddy now.

as he drove through the quiet neighborhood, his eyes scanned the houses once more, making sure to note any small changes. they were still the same, the same abandoned ones as well as the small family homes scattered about. he reach the white house, the chipped blue shudders and rose bush still by the entrance. the red car was parked in front, all the lights in the modest house appeared to be off except one, the upstairs. his eyes darted around for a moment, the darkness around him making him narrow his brown eyes up at the dim light coming from the upstairs window. nate reach over into the passenger seat beside him, his fingers wrapping around the handle of his handgun tightly. he couldn't help himself, his mind had wondered earlier that day, imagining how unsafe she may be if he wasn't around to protect her. he had watched her in english class earlier, her eyes never meeting his as the class studied and reviewed the giver. she paid attention, writing notes in her pink butterfly notebook and doodling drawings of clouds and moons on the pages.

nate had thought about all the horrible possibilities of his shy girl being hurt. how an older man would take a liking to her soft beauty, watching her until it was time for him to grab her and push her into his car, tying her up in his basement to have his way with her. or some college guy taking advantage of her, the power imbalance forcing her to look up to him, give herself to him and get hurt in the end. nate couldn't stand the thought; another man snatching her up and not being worthy of the pure and innocent ways in which she operated. she wasn't like the other girls at school, never wanting attention and preferring to stay in the background. nate didn't even know why maddy had became friends with her in the first place, maybe seeing her as a project. he didn't want the shy girl to change at all, maybe just her assumption of him. maybe just her feelings once she realized how much she needed someone like nate to take care of her, protect her.

he watched for an hour or two, his eyes focused on the upstairs light, the only one on in the small home. when he watched her silhouette arrive behind the dimly lit curtain to turn the light out, he held his breath, his handgun still clutched in his hand. how could he possibly leave now? she would be asleep, curled up in her bed, not knowing how much of a target she could be. she was more vulnerable asleep, never knowing who could just break in, someone breaking the screen door on her porch and breaking in through the front door. how'd she be so unaware if someone were to make their way up the steps to her, pulling the covers off her and covering her mouth as she was assaulted. he swallowed at the thought, clenching his jaw as he made sure to study the street around him once more, silently wandering to himself if he was the only one watching. hoping he was.

nate left four hours later, knowing he had to be able to get up for school the next day. after all he had to appear normal, had to keep his head on straight to not fuck things up. he was reluctant to leave the dark quiet neighborhood, his eyes glancing up at the upstairs window once more before he drove away.

he texted maddy back once he made it inside his large home, the extravagant decor a complete contrast to the people who inhabited the space. nate's eyes scanned the family portraits on the walls as he made his way up the stairs, internally cringing at how fake it all was. his father, cal, was very influential in the community. he had built many businesses and housing units in town, earning quite the living in the perfect suburbia he called home. though he held a dark secret, which nate knew about. that was his power over his dad. nate knew. he couldn't unsee it once he had, just a boy watching his father do despicable things to strangers on color coded tapes. nate wondered if maybe that was the moment something switched in him, but deep down he knew he was destined to be who he was from the start, sharing his fathers dna and all. as if on cue his father walked up the staircase, a glass of bourbon in his hand as he greeted his son.

"nathaniel," cal called, walking up to stand beside the tall boy, his arm reaching up to pat his tense shoulder, "where you been?"

nate wanted to scream at him, tell him he didn't need an explanation and to just keep his mouth shut, but he didn't. instead he replied back to his father in a hushed tone, his words icy. "doesn't matter. i'm going to bed."

cal let out a deep laugh, the sound making nate's fists clench at his sides. "that maddy.. she's a handful, i can see it. a distraction that you can not afford, son. straighten up. i heard about practice earlier tonight. how do you expect to make it on a team if you're trying to kill people?"

nate found it almost humorous how his father could talk about what he had done but never admit to what he was still doing. instead of protesting, nate just wanted to the conversation to be over. he looked at the older man at his side, his fathers aged face looking back at him with cold eyes. his father always seemed to be taunting him, searching for a reaction in nate that he wasn't willing to give. "i already told coach it won't happen again."

cal patted his sons shoulder again, his glass still in the other hand. "good. stay focused, nathaniel. if you do you'll do great things, i can see it. i've know it since you were born. you're a fighter, and some people, others, they don't like that. they'll try to distract you, want you to fail. but you're my son, you're much more than them."

his words seemed more melancholy than supportive, maybe even distant. nate just nodded before walking over to his bedroom door, leaving his father out in the hall and shutting the door behind him softly. nate despised his father.

nate: we need to talk. i'll drive u home after school.

maddy: ok?

nate shed his clothes and dropped his duffel bag to the floor of his room, his body tense and his mind still far away. his father was right about one thing; maddy was a distraction, a distraction from what he really wanted. who he really wanted.

he pictured the girl in his mind as he tried to sleep. he imagined her in bed with him, wearing nothing but a white lacy teddy, her soft skin pressed against his own, her wide eyes looking up at him with need. he let his mind wonder, the way her gold heart shaped locket would look, the rest of her bare as she'd pant beneath him, his hands running up her thighs, his fingers gripping the skin. he stroked himself beneath his duvet, his hand gripping himself as he let the images unfold in his mind. he could see it all so clearly, her on her knees before him, his fingers gripping her chin as her doe eyes stared up into his. he panted to himself at the image, how beautiful the sounds she would make would be. her soft voice whining as he took her nice and slow, dipping his cock deep inside her tight virgin walls, how her tiny fingers would grip his shoulders. how out of breath she would be from how full she would feel from him. he felt himself come undone, the hot liquid shooting up onto his stomach and between his fingers as he stroked himself to near overstimulation. he liked how it was almost painful, the sensation and thoughts in his head fueling his indescribable lust. his jaw clenched as he pulled himself up from his bed and into his bathroom, washing himself off and scrubbing himself clean. his thick cock was still hard and throbbing beneath his tight boxers as he looked himself in the eyes in the mirror. he let himself revel in the almost animalistic way his chest rose and fell rapidly, his eyes dilated until they were nearly black, the brown of his eyes gone. he had to have her, it wasn't a question or fantasy, he had to have her.

———

nate woke up only a few hours later so that he could work out before school. nate was strict about his daily regimen, work out until failure, take a shower, brush his teeth, fix his hair, the whole works. he liked being organized, making sure people saw him as someone put together.

he pushed himself hard that morning, laying on his bench press and groaning as he lifted the heavy weight. he liked pushing himself, stopping once all the muscles in his body were throbbing. being seen as strong was important to him, keeping his body in perfect shape and eating the right diet, it was easy for him to maintain routines, though he had been distracted lately. so, he pushed himself past his limits, his hands sore and rough once he was done.

after he popped into a cold shower, scrubbing himself with some expensive men's body wash and some conditioning shampoo, he did the rest of his routine and headed to school. he skipped breakfast, not wanting to be around his father that morning, not wanting to hear the sound of his voice.

once nate parked his truck into a free parking space by the school, his eyes scanned the cars dropping students off and spotting her. it was the same red car he knew of, her small body jumping out of the passenger seat and waving goodbye. she was wearing something nate had never seen before, a black tennis skirt that came down to the middle of her thighs and a matching tucked in black sweater. nate couldn't lie, the sight of her in such dark colors made desire stir in his jeans. and once she walked away from the car he could see cream ruffled socks above her white tennis shoes, making his head spin. he did much prefer her in bright, softer colors, but she was still perfect in his eyes. her hands held the straps of her back pack, her small form walking into the schools entrance, it was then that nate finally decided to step out of his truck.

his eyes scanned the hallways, his own backpack perched on his shoulder as his tall body walked past the other students. he stopped himself from stopping by her locker, wishing more than anything that he could see her, speak to her. but he was surprised when he saw her there already, maddy and kat by her side, talking. he backed away, going to his own locker and peaking out of the corner of his eye at the three girls as he pretended to rearrange the textbooks in his locker. maddy was wearing another revealing outfit as always, with bright pink leggings and a matching cropped tank top that showed off a bit too much to be considered school appropriate. he silently wondered if maddy and kat were to blame for the shy girls sudden change in appearance, now being able to make out a hint of makeup on her soft features, a sharp black eyeliner framing her doe eyes. his chest thumped with annoyance, not wanting her to try and fit in with the likes of maddy and kat. she was too special for that and much too innocent.

the rest of the school day was boring, nate kept his appearances though by chatting with his friends, the typical asshole football players from his team. he kept up his cruel and sarcastic attitude with them, not letting them think something was up with him. he had to make himself the leader still, had to make sure they knew who was in charge despite his recent m.i.a behavior. he laughed along with their jokes and stupid antics, pretending to be who he always was. once classes ended for the day he knew it was time, maddy hadn’t spoke to him all day or sought him out, but he knew he was expected to drive her home and would need to execute his plan.

he was standing by his truck in the crowded parking lot, his eyes on the ground as he leaned against the silver metal. “hey,” he heard her say, her tone a bit aggressive. he knew she had every right to be mad at him, he had been avoiding her after all. but it annoyed him nonetheless.

he looked down at her as she stood in front of him, her hands by her side and her expression perplexed. he wondered if she saw what was coming. “hey,” he replied, keeping his voice especially soft for maddy, “let’s go for a drive.”

she nodded and walked over to the passenger seat, nate following behind her and helping her up the steep step up. once he had jumped into the drivers side, he put the key in the ignition and they were off. maddy was quiet for a moment and nate could feel her eyes on him as he focused on the road. the sun was already setting, the clouds and sky a bright orange as he drove down the busy streets.

“i thought you were just going to drive me home,” maddy said, her big brown eyes narrowing on him.

“i thought we could go somewhere and talk,” nate replied carefully, one hand on the steering wheel and then other rested against the window, his knuckles resting against his cheek as he tried to keep himself in check. he had already thought this through, how to play this situation. nate needed to find somewhere private to talk knowing that maddy would make a scene in public, so he drove to a nearby park right by the lake. maddy was silent in her seat and he could see her gears turning in her pretty head, already suspicious of the situation.

they arrived, his truck parked and the two of them jumping out and walking over to stand by the lake. “you really upset me,” maddy said, her voice sincere as they walked by the body of water, the orange from the sky reflecting on the surface, “i mean… you’re supposed to want to talk to me. you know you can talk to me.”

a normal person would feel a bit of guilt at her words, maybe even debating on wether breaking up with her was the right idea if she loved them so much. but nate wasn’t normal and he had his sights set on someone else. maddy would have to live with it, and the hundreds of other things he’d put her through.

“maddy,” nate said, making sure his voice came out a bit erratic. he turned to face her, stopping her in her tracks and leaving a small gap between them. “i just.. i have to tell you something.”

“what is it?” she asked, her eyes concerned. she blinked up at him, her hand reaching out to touch his shoulder. nate backed away before she could, putting on a show and running his hand through his hair to appear to be distressed.

“maddy.. i-i’m struggling. i’m having a hard time. which isn’t your fault.. it’s not your fault i’m so fucked up,” he bit his lower lip, his jaw tensing. she looked up at him with worry and surprise at his words, her hands reaching out again.

“what-what do you mean? what’s going on, nate? you can trust me,” she soothed, her hand landing on his arm. her small fingers rested there and nate could feel the slight tremble they held.

“no,” he uttered taking a step back from her. this time he put his hands on her shoulders, his grip on her tight, displaying a sense of urgency in his eyes, “you don’t get it. you don’t. i’m sorry you’ve gotten mixed up with someone like me, i’m not some normal fucking guy, maddy. i don’t deserve you… i never have.”

she looked confused, her thin brows pressing together as she took in his words and was held in his grip. he removed his hands from her shoulders, his fingers moving up to his face to press against the space between his eyebrows. this had to work, he had to make this all believable for her, she had to understand.

when she tried to speak, nate interrupted her harshly, his words stern. “i need you to walk away from this. from me. you need to keep yourself away from someone as fucked up as me. you need to save yourself from me before i hurt you. because i will. i have already.”

she crossed her arms, licking her lips before she spoke, “what do you mean? i mean… i love you, nate. please tell me what’s going on, i-i can help.”

nate turned around and began walking away from her, the orange that the sky held finally gone dark as clouds covered the setting sun. you could already see the moon casting a small light on the water and against their bodies. maddy hurriedly caught up to him, her voice filled up empathy. “nate please! i want to understand. i’m perfectly capable of fucking understanding! i care about you, whatever you’re going through, i care!”

nate kept his shoulders tense as he walked, breathing out a bit to stifle a sigh. he was trying to make this easy for her, as easy as he could but she loved him too much.

₊˚ ‿︵‿︵‿︵୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧‿︵‿︵‿︵ ˚₊

this is a long one, i hope the filler stuff wasn’t too hard to read! and yes, this interaction with maddy will be continued into the next part and FINALLY some stuff will start happening between nate and reader<3 i hate for it to be slow pace but i enjoy a slow burn, i think it pays off way more hehe sorry abt it xx i’m planning a felix catton from saltburn fic atm as well if u like him at all hehe i can’t help it, jacob elordi is my muse at this point.

nate came hard, visions of the heart shaped locket against her chest in his minds eye, her delicate hands and pink lips. it was all too much, consumed by even the thought of the way her wide doe eyes had looked up at him as they'd walk down the hall earlier that day. he groaned, egging maddy on more as she whimpered loudly. he wasn't after her pleasure, the truth was he never had been their entire relationship. nate took, that was his way, he was well aware of that aspect of himself. he slipped out of maddy, watching as her petite body almost fell as her knees buckled. he hadn't counted on going so rough on her but he'd been struggling, so worked up, utterly enthralled in his fantasies of his new conquest. he snapped himself out of it, grabbing maddy by her shoulders and helping her stand up before pressing her against his now sweaty chest. she sighed against him and said she loved him.

the truth was nate loved maddy too, or he thought he did. they were awful for each other, he knew that, but she was always there when he called her. even after they'd broken up for the hundredth time, she'd answer his call, cuss him out, and then show up at his front door. but love wasn't enough, nate was exhausted by her drama and the constant fighting between them, he felt that she was too controlling. it was too masculine to him, the way she obsessed and possessed him. he wanted someone docile, someone who knew how to listen and not rebel, someone easier for him to control. as he let maddy cuddle against him under his sheets, them both naked, he stared at the ceiling of his bedroom. he knew he had to come up with a way to break things off with her but maddy was so damn stubborn. it would be hard to shake her. and at the end of the day if he couldn't win over his timid new obsession–but he knew he would–he'd be able to have maddy back that next week. nate was a planner, he waited for the right time, patiently waited to execute his plans. and now his plan was to get maddy out of the picture. he didn't want to hurt her, though he knew he would, it was impossible not to since she was so in love with him. he felt her snuggle close to him, her small hands caressing his stomach as she drifted off to sleep. nate wanted to feel bad, feel some sort of sympathy or guilt, but it was like he was incapable of it. he knew what he wanted now, who he wanted. and he was tired of acting like he could be the person maddy wanted him to be for her, it would never happen. he had to let her go.

the next morning, as he and maddy entered the kitchen for breakfast, nate's mother rolled her eyes. she wasn't a big fan of maddy, and rightfully so as maddy could be obnoxious and rude. someone could give her the wrong look and it would set her off. it used to charm nate, but now it annoyed him. he didn't care what his mother thought though, or his father, they could either live with his decisions or kick him out. and god knows they don't want the whole town talking about how the jacob's couple kicked out their teenage son over a girl. maddy and him headed out to his truck. he opened the door for her as he always did, helping her small figure jump into the tall seat. as they drove, maddy sucked down an iced coffee he had stopped and got her at a local gas station, her eyes glued to her phone and her mouth going a mile a minute about how her friend BB was being a bitch lately. nate kept his eyes on the road, trying his best to act like he was listening by nodding every now and then. maddy didn't seem convinced. "you don't even care about what i'm saying, do you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

nate had to stop himself from sighing, of course she was going to start a fight and ruin the morning. "maddy," he said, furrowing his brows as he kept his eyes on the road, "stop." he heard her huff from beside him, slamming her ice coffee into the cup holder and rolling her window down. he watched her out of the corner of his eye, wondering how he was going to break it off. nate and maddy had broken up more times than he could count, he'd broken up with her, she was usually the one to break up with him. how could nate convince her that this would be the last time? that he wasn't planning on calling her a week later or answering her many texts when she got lonely at night?

"you've been quiet lately," she said from beside him, nate had just stopped at a red light. she really was wanting a fight, nate thought to himself, she's just asking for it. nate swallowed and ran his hand through his hair, the hand on the steering wheel gripping it until his knuckles were white. he turned to face her, his lips in a aggravated line.

"do you always have to be so fucking annoying?" he spit, his expression full of disdain. maddy opened her mouth to speak, her expression a mixture of anger and sadness. nate continued, "i mean, we're driving to fucking school, maddy. we see each other every day. am i the bad guy if i don't want to listen to your stupid friends problems?"

"she's not stupid! and couples are supposed to talk, you just don't want to hear about my life," maddy yelled, her long manicured nail pointing at him. the stoplight finally turned green and nate gunned it, going well over the speed limit at he spoke.

"you have no idea what's going on in my life either," he said sternly, pressing harder on the gas pedal, "everything i do or say is a god damn problem for you."

maddy slammed her hands on the dash, watching the road as nate zoomed by each car. "you're fucking crazy! what? are you trying to kill us?" her high pitched voice rang in nate's ears, making him even more agitated. good, he thought, maybe if he makes her mad or scared enough she'll give him space for the rest of the day. so he decided not to hold back.

he turned his truck forcibly into the schools parking lot. maddy yelled a string of curses at him as he slammed into a parking space, sending her body forward and watching as her back hit the seat behind her roughly. "you fucking psycho!" she yelled.

"just shut the fuck up and get out of the truck, maddy," he spat, his dark eyes burning into hers. she furrowed her brows at him and pointed her finger at him before she spoke once more.

"i can't fucking stand you," she said lowly, before she grabbed her things and opened the door and jumped out of his truck. he watched as she made her way to the schools entrance, her heels clicking as she walked. once she finally made it inside, he leaned back against his seat, rubbing his face as he let out a breath. it was a small, stupid argument, nothing of real substance. he knew it wouldnt be enough to get rid of her though, so maybe he'd just avoid her. though maddy was known to make a scene no matter what and he couldn't have her shy friend see that and get the wrong impression. he let out a groan before slamming his fist against the steering wheel of his truck, trying to hold himself back from just driving away. it wasnt until he thought of the fact that his new prize would be waiting for him before english class to talk that he finally stepped out of his truck. he'd enjoy his time with her today, look forward to it and push maddy far from his mind. he needed to stay focused.

as nate walked the halls of his highschool, his algebra notebook in his large hand, he kept his mind focused. second period was all he had to look forward to, all he had to care about today. as he sat through algebra, his teacher mister hendricks writing equations on the board, nate felt his nerves kick in. he wasn't sure why, he usually had no problems talking to girls. nate was charismatic when he wanted to be, he could put up a good front, have girls begging for more. every girl he had been with craved his attention, and he knew exactly when to give it and when to withhold it. but if he wanted to win this one over he had to be smart. she was shy, hesitant even. he could see in her wide doe eyes how sensitive she probably was, he had to be careful. he was used to girls who were loud about what they wanted from him, the girls that would get on their knees and beg for his pleasure. this one was different, he had to build this relationship and try not to scare her away in the process.

he tapped his foot impatiently, his eyes darting to the clock above the whiteboard in the classroom. nate had to calm himself down, he had to feel confident and calm. he cursed himself internally, reminding himself not to be such a spaz, stop fidgeting, stop breathing so fast, be the man people think you are.

as the bell rang students rushed out of the classroom, nate took a breath, grabbing his things and heading out the door behind a swarm of classmates. as he made his way down the hallway and down the steps, he stopped for a moment, his eyes scanning the halls as students made their ways to their lockers, the sounds of metal opening and slamming shut. he was cautious to avoid maddy if she were around, his eyes searching for her in the sea of highschool students, but luckily for him she was no where to be seen. he was hard to miss, with his tall stature and intimidating demeanor, she would find him. but she didn't, and nate was thankful for that.

he walked down the hallway quickly, students passing by him. he saw her at the end of the hall, her back pressed against her locker as she seemed to be searching for someone. nate's stomach twisted as he realized the shy girl was searching for him, the thought making his insides twitch was bliss. he swallowed before making his way to her, his hands in his pockets as he stood beside her. "hey," he breathed out, keeping his deep voice gentle as he peered down at her. he watched her smile shyly at him, her hands holding her butterfly notebook and novel.

"hi," she said quietly, avoiding his eyes. he liked that, the way she seemed too nervous to face him. he knew he couldn't have her like that for long, she needed to be comfortable with him, needed to be at ease if his plan would be put into motion. so he spoke back to her, his hand reaching up to scratch the back of his head and a smile on his face.

"so, uh, what have i missed?" he said coyly, his dark eyes blinking down at her.

the girl shifted awkwardly, her voice quiet and soft as she spoke, "well mrs. gonzales told me to show you some of my notes, uh, the class has just read the first few ch-chapters.”

nate enjoyed her subtle stammering, the small stutter from nervousness making her even more endearing. he gave her a small smile, nodding his head. “here, let’s talk over there,” he said to her, pointing at the other staircase at the end of the hall. she walked beside him slowly, her hands still holding her things tightly to her chest. “i really appreciate this, i hope you know that. it surprised me that you agreed to catch me up, i probably could’ve just read it myself in the mean time. but still, thanks,” nate said, keeping his voice soft as he sat down on the steps. she smiled at him awkwardly, blinking as she sat down beside him on the stairs, careful to keep a small distance between their bodies.

she adverted her eyes away from him and instead opened her notebook, nate’s eyes immediately noticing her neat, cursive handwriting. he had to stop himself from smirking. he watched as her fingers went over the notes, the heart shaped bullet points beside each sentence on the page making nate only enjoy her innocence more. “right so, the main character is this teenager, jonas, and this world he lives in. it’s devoid of color, everything is super controlled, even emotions…”

nate listened intently as she continued, his eyes flickering over her soft features as she spoke. she spoke eloquently, but not to nate’s surprise, he knew she was smart. she went on to describe the novel more in depth, summarizing the first few chapters with ease. nate had to stop himself from smiling at her, of course his little prize would find a book like this captivating. she suddenly went quiet, noticing how she may have drone on for a bit too long. nate quickly spoke, filling the silence quickly. “sounds like a really messed up society,” he said with a chuckle, his eyes glued to the way she gave him a small smile, “you seem to know all about this. have you read it before?”

her cheeks dusted a rosy pink, “yeah actually. a couple years ago.”

“so this, uh, jonas, he’s the only one who knows what’s really going on, right?” he said softly, “like the whole messed up government controlling everything thing?”

she nodded, her hands reaching up to fidget with the gold heart shaped locket against her chest. she was nervous, nate thought, probably not used to being around someone like him. he wanted to prove her wrong about his reputation, anything she had heard. to others in the large high school, he was a star football player, a confident jock with a dramatic girlfriend on his arm. he didn’t want her to be intimidated by him, though he knew she would be regardless. their extreme height difference alone would make her feel small. “i don’t want to spoil anything, if you haven’t read it. i-it’s really good, different from all the other dystopian tropes in other books.”

she was so sweet to him like this, fidgeting her her necklace and trying her best to keep a small distance between them. nate shifted from where he sat, his mind trying not to focus on the way her sweet, fruity perfume hit his nose as she moved. “you explain it better than most teachers,” nate chuckled, watching as she finally turned to look at him. he smiled down at her, her cheeks still painted pink. “i don’t mind if you spoil it a bit for me,” he smirked. she looked away, letting a soft chuckle leave her plump lips.

“well, um, coming up all the teenagers are assigned their jobs. or like life paths, and jonas gets the highest position,” she said, looking down at the novel in her lap, her eyes scanning the cover. “h-he gets to be the receiver of memories, which means he gets to see the way things were before everything was controlled.”

“only him?” nate asked, keeping his facial expression curious. he had to keep up the act of being interested in the book if he wanted to keep her talking, he didn’t want to act like he didn’t care or blow her off. he needed to keep her talking.

“only him,” she nodded, her voice a quiet murmur. she didn’t seem like she wanted to spoil more so nate stopped himself from asking why, instead finding another way to compliment her, bring her confidence up so she’d like him more.

“well,” nate breathed, giving her another smile, “you make it so sound interesting. i might have to read ahead now.” she laughed at that, a real one, which only made nate’s heart beat faster. “i’m serious. i wish you were teaching the class, i bet you could.”

she shook her head, smiling with the blush still on her skin, “n-no, i just like the book. or uh, r-reading in general.” nate gave her another warm smile, his hands itching to grab her own, to tell her how smart he thought she was and how much he wanted to taste the sweetness of her lips. but he couldn’t, not yet.

“we should probably get to class,” nate said, standing up. he decided to be bold, holding his hand out to help her up. he wanted to feel her small fingers around his if only for a moment, see how they felt in his large hand. she blinked up at him before taking his hand, her small fingers feeling like electricity against nate’s skin. he helped her up politely and let her hand go quickly, not wanting to make her uncomfortable or come off too strong, though he wished he could hold her hand as they walked to class together. the bell rang just as they made it to the door of their ap english class and they entered the now filled classroom slowly, side by side. he watched mrs. gonzales mouth a thank you to the shy girl beside him, to which she nodded at. nate slipped into his desk, right beside the shy little mouses and he turned and smiled at her one more time, his voice soft as he thanked her again.

he licked his lips before he spoke, a couple of students still missing from the classroom and giving him a small window of time to talk to her more. “thanks again. you’re a lot different than most people around here,” he whispered to her, her eyes meeting his for a moment, “in a good way.” she gave him a shy smile and nodded, opening up her notebook to prepare to take notes.

nate was over the moon as class went on, watching his shy conquest out of the corner of his eyes, wondering what kind of impression she had gotten of him. he knew he had played the situation well, she now knew he found her smart, interesting, different. he wondered if she was already starting to like him or if it would take some more convincing, but her small shy smile at him as he got up to leave class as the bell rang made him think he had succeeded at his task. he smiled back at her too, giving her a small wave as he exited the class.

as he watched her enter the school, his eyes searched the red car, memorizing the license plate and getting a glance of who was behind the wheel. it looked to be an older man, possibly her father with grown out facial hair and grey hair. he watched as the man drove through the parking lot before nate started his own truck, the key making the loud engine come to life.

his thought process with simple: investigate who her father was, where he worked, and follow him home to see where she lived. nate silently prayed it was a nice neighborhood, his jaw clenching at the thought of the shy girl surrounded by no good criminals and drug addicts. he followed behind her—maybe—father’s car, only one other vehicle separating them. he had to be careful. he didn't want to draw any sort of attention to himself and make the man driving uneasy or aware he was being followed. but he seemed fine, even stopping off at the mcdonald's drive-thru to get some breakfast. nate sat in the parking lot as he watched, rolling his brown eyes. did the man even have a job? was he providing the best life possible for his innocent little girl? nate swallowed, turning and following the car again as he drove out of the drive-thru and back onto the highway. soon enough, the red car was turning into a neighborhood. nate didn't recognize it. he'd never been to this part of town though he'd lived there all his life. he drove behind him slowly, his eyes glancing around at the many houses. they were modest sizes, more middle class and definitely nothing like the large home he lived and grew up in. a couple were abandoned, paint chipped off and doors boarded shut, windows broken with glass scattered on the worn porches. that didn't sit right with nate. he wondered if there were any creeps hiding out, maybe the shy girl had a stalker just waiting for his time to pounce. he swallowed, unable to stop his train of thought before the red car pulled into a house at the end of the street, a two story home with white siding and blue shutters. he studied it for a moment as he drove past, careful not to drive too slowly as to get caught as the older man jumped out of the vehicle and headed to the front door. he drove down to the end of the block before making a u-turn in his enormous truck. luckily nate was a skilled driver. he drove back slowly through the neighborhood again and reach the house, stopping his truck behind a couple of cars parked on the street as he studied the home. the man driving must've made it inside, no sight of him anywhere. nate furrowed his brows as he looked at the small home, the front door had a screen door attached, the porch was a little worn, the roof seemed to be in good shape. he silently wondered if her bedroom was upstairs or downstairs, trying his best to imagine the layout of the older home. a small white picket fence surrounded the front yard, and a bundle of roses had been planted right by the house. he imagined the shy girl, on her knees, planting the flowers to make her small home seem nicer from the outside. how she'd smiled as she watched them grow and made sure to water them everyday. it was then that one of the curtains behind an upstairs window fluttered open. he hoped it wasn't her father, aware his house was being watched. but no, he took a breath as he saw a large white cat, it's big, blue eyes looking at the birds flying outside. he recognized it from her instagram and he knew he had the right place. he stayed there for another fifteen minutes, scoping out the neighborhood for traffic and any signs of bad people, but nothing. soon enough, he started his loud truck up again and headed back to his high school. he'd be able to make it to second period and hopeful to avoid maddy at all costs, though he knew he had to keep up appearances.

later in the school day, maddy had finally spotted him, pursing her lips in that awful angry way he hated and furrowing her thin, perfectly groomed brows as she walked up to him. he sighed internally, ready to hear a mouthful. "where the fuck have you been?" she barked, looking up at him through her long fake lashes.

he rolled his eyes, "no where. just slept in late after dropping you." it wasn't his best lie, but he felt that she had no right to question him. he could do what he wanted and she damn well did what she pleased. they bickered back and forth before he took her small hand into his, reaching up and running his lips over her knuckles, making her shut up and soften her gaze. he was always so easily forgiven, but she was also so easily manipulated when she wasn't constantly gossiping to her friends about their relationship. he hated that. once the bell rang, nate gave maddy a soft kiss to the forehead as she headed to lunch. he was supposed to have economics but he decided to skip, in hopes of spotting his new target. and he did, and she took his breath away as she walked down the crowded hall, her books pressed tightly to her chest, her long pink sundress swaying as she walked. he stood against a wall, away from her view as he peeked around to watch her. she walked down the hall alone as other students made their way to class, her eyes on the floor as she hurried. he pressed himself against the wall, away from her, as she walked closer. he heard her take a breath before she entered the class room in front of where he was hiding. he had to fight the urge to just reach out and take her, hide her away from the world and make her his. his dark eyes gazed up at the door—ap english. that was his way in.

that evening, instead of following the shy girl home as she drove with her father in the small red car, nate had to—reluctantly—drive maddy home. he drove silently, his hand on her slender thigh as her loud rap music played through the speakers in his truck. she sung along, her voice never missing a word as she put her hand over top of his. he glanced over to her, a smile on her glossed lips. she really had no idea and he planned to keep it that way. after a make out session in the backseat of his truck, maddy finally peeled herself away from him, telling him she loved him and going into her home. nate got up into the front seat, his long legs hitting the floorboard of his truck as he settled himself in. he couldn't deny what he had just imagined as he pressed his lips to maddys. her shy friend invading his mind. he imagined how she would taste as he gave maddy tongue, he imagined how her flesh would feel under his hands as he pressed his fingers into maddy’s slim thighs. he had lost himself in his own wicked imagination, pretending he had tangled his fingers in maddy’s friend’s hair, squeezing gently as maddy had moaned into his mouth. nate would've felt bad if he wasn't who he was. he knew morally that it was probably wrong of him to think what he was thinking, to do what he'd been doing, but he was far too gone now. he knew he was fucked up, but god dammit, maybe he finally found an angel that would ease his worries and pain. be his perfect little slice of heaven.

it didn't do without some minor manipulation and convincing to the older woman before him, the guidance counselor, as he fought to get moved into ap english. he'd even mentioned Cal’s name, his father, if that's what it would take to transfer. of course now miss evan's couldn't refuse him, or his father’s name. and so, his second class period matched perfectly with his new conquest, and he couldn't be happier he'd gotten away with it. he let maddy kiss him in the hall between classes, his hands draping far too low on her body to seem school appropriate, but his mind was somewhere else entirely. his eyes flickered to the clock on the wall, waiting until it was finally time to enter his new english class. maddy walked away with kat, telling him that they were going to skip and head to the mall, begging nate to give them a ride because of course she wanted to spend all the time she could with him. but nate refused, earning a pout and a few curses his way from the short, tan, beautiful girl who loved him. he didn't care though, even as he watched them walk away, he felt his chest flutter with excitement that it was finally second period, finally time to see his new prize.

it was like he had hit the jackpot as he entered the classroom, behind everyone else who'd made their way to their seats. he had to stop himself from grinning as he noticed her sitting in the back, an empty desk beside of her. it was his lucky day. nate walked over to the desk casually, putting his back pack in the floor beside him and pulling out his notebook. he kept his eyes away from her, not wanting to stare and catch her attention. nate knew he had to be smart, had to bide his time before it was time to pounce on the shy girl. he licked his lips as mrs. gonzales stepped into the classroom, beginning class. she noticed nate in the back right away, her lips in a small smile. "well mister jacobs, i see you've transferred into my class," she said softly, her gaze meeting his. he gave her a weak smile as everyone else turned to look at him, and in the corner of his eye, his special prize flickered her gaze to him as well. he just nodded, waiting for the english teacher to either make a snide remark or tell him about the class. his eyebrows rose as mrs. gonzales called on the shy mouse beside him and he finally allowed himself to look at her. she was wearing an off white sweater that was tight enough to show off her upper body, making nate's mouth run dry. the gold heart shaped locket she always wore was pressed against her chest, her hair falling in soft waves across her shoulders. nate kept his expression blank, but his body was feeling much more. "if you don't mind, please help mister jacobs get caught up on the reading. we all need to be on the same page," mrs. gonzales said to her, a smile on her lips. the anxious girl nodded, just as nate thought, she was the perfect teacher’s pet. it was then that her eyes met his, the pink gloss on her lips holding a shy smile. nate just nodded to her, acknowledging her existence finally and feeling his chest ache with longing. being this close to her would prove challenging, especially if she'd be talking to him about whatever book the class had been reading. he finally returned his gaze to mrs. gonzales teaching, finding out they were reading the giver. class ended, the time going by more quickly than nate had liked, wanting to be just in the girl's presence a little longer. he slowly stood up, pulling his back pack around his arm and going up to the front of class to collet his copy of the giver. the shy girl followed him up there, mrs. gonzales’s face lighting up as she spoke to her. "thanks for agreeing to help nate get caught up, i'd suggest getting together sometime before class tomorrow, showing him your notes," she said, her hands reaching up to hand nate the novel. nate nodded his head and the girl beside him flickered her eyes up to look at him, their height difference drastic. nate couldn't deny that it was a turn on, to see her big doe eyes looking up at him from below. he loved how short she was, how easy it would be to pull her around and lift her. it was something he always enjoyed about maddy, her body petite. they walked together and nate tried to find the right combination of words to rightfully introduce himself. he kept his voice soft, knowing the deepness of his tone could be seen as intimidating.

"i really appreciate you agreeing to help me out," he said softly, his large hand gripping the book in his grasp. she nodded, a shy smile on her lips.

"it's no problem," she replied, holding her things to her chest. nate noticed her notebook was covered with butterflies during class, her handwriting neat as she took notes and highlighted important things with her pink highlighter. he liked that. how even though she was so quiet and timid, she still expressed herself with the feminine things she enjoyed. they were walking so close, side by side and he could smell a fresh citrus perfume coming off of her, his stomach turning under his black hoodie.

"you don't have to if you don't want to," nate assured her, giving her a choice even if he knew she was too polite to refuse. he liked how obedient she seemed, how she immediately listened to a teacher’s request and planned to follow through. he wondered what he could convince her to do in the future, how her politeness and willingness to help others would come in handy for his own selfish desires. she shook her head, her perfect smile shy but full as her cheeks warmed up from his words. nate loved it, maybe too much, as he felt his desire stir in his jeans.

"i really don't mind. we…can talk about the first few chapters before class tomorrow," she said softly, her quiet voice soothing to nate's ears. maddy was always so loud and direct, the little shy mouse's voice from beside him was a breath of fresh air. just as he had the thought, maddy spotted them in the hall, smiling as she walked up to him. he guessed her and kat made it back from the mall in time for third period, a surprise as he thought they'd skip the rest of the school day. he smiled at his girlfriend, keeping up appearances and leaning down to give a peck to her warm skin.

"hey you," she flirted, her brown eyes fluttering up at him. "and you," she said poking the shy girl’s shoulder. he watched as they exchanged hellos and plans to hang out over the weekend at kats, and he silently wondered what on earth the girl beside him would have in common with those two. he knew he had to find a reason as to why he would be talking to her. maddy’s jealousy always coming up whenever he was around another female. he draped his long arm around her waist, pulling maddy closer to him before he spoke.

"i switched classes," he said, his eyes moving to the shy girl as he held maddy close, "i got tired of mr. lawrence's impossible pop-quizzes." he lied too easily, a talent he learned he had when he was a child. maddy nodded her head, her expression slightly confused but she seemed to buy his answer.

"so you chose ap english?" maddy replied incredulously, furrowing her brows. nate wasn't the best student but he kept decent grades. it probably seemed strange to her that he'd pick an advanced class, but he'd aced regular english classes plenty of times. nate liked to read. especially books that had good twists and turns or something to do with life skills. he wasn't really open about it, but nate was a complex person. he had many secrets. some he'd keep until his grave. secretly reading seemed like nothing when he compared them to other things he'd done, and even enjoyed.

eventually maddy and him walked away from the shy girl, her soft voice giving them a 'see ya' and her delicate hands moving to open her locker. he held maddy close to his tall form, his hands on the exposed skin of her back due to her crop top. before their next class, nate leaned down and let maddy wrap her arms around his neck, her lips meeting his before the next bell rang and a swarm of students hurried through the hallway. she reluctantly let him go and headed to lunch. he kissed her goodbye, his mind far away. he looked down the hall for the shy girl, watching as she pulled a water bottle out of her locker and grabbed her books for her next class. he leaned himself against some lockers behind him as he watched her. she was completely unaware, which in the moment, nate was thankful for. she was so fascinating to watch, yet he could read her so easily. it would be a matter of time before his lips were pressed against her’s before classes. her body would be attached to his like glue and he'd only have her begging for more. maddy on the other hand, would be a problem. a big one.

**edited: 2/24/26**

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hope you enjoy! there aren't many nate fics that i enjoy so i decided to write my own. i'm no professional by any means but i try haha let me know if there's any ideas or suggestions you have. xx

reminder that there are many trigger warnings and mature themes for this work of fiction. read at your own risk.

Jack knew something was wrong the moment he walked into the house. It was the quiet that tipped him off. It was never quiet. Usually the place was filled with music. Either the soft lull of the radio, or his wife's humming, or both.

This time, though, the house was eerily quiet.

Jack came around the corner to find his wife stood at the kitchen counter. She had a glass of wine in her hand, with the bottle next to her on the counter. She was staring off into space as she took a sip of her wine, her movements almost robotic.

"(Y/N)?" Jack said, cautiously. "Love, are you alright?"

(Y/N) didn't respond at first. She took a long sip before slowly placing the glass down. Jack's worry was growing further. Not only worry for his wife, but worry for himself. If something was seriously wrong with her, then it would result in demotion, or worse, from Frank.

Finally, (Y/N) turned to face him. Her face was so calm that it scared Jack. When she spoke, her voice was also eerily calm.

"I know about Victory."

Jack tried to laugh off the comment. "My job? Of course you know about it, love."

"No," (Y/N) said, shaking her head. "I know what Victory is. I know why we're here, Jack. And what you did to me."

Jack's blood ran cold.

In his fear and anxiety, Jack started laughing again. (Y/N)'s face was still blank as she looked at him.

"I don't know what you're on about," Jack said. "I didn't do anything to you, besides put a ring on your finger."

(Y/N) chuckled, but there was no true humor behind it. "Well, yes, you did actually do that. But you didn't do it the way we've been telling the story, did you?"

Jack started to walk away. He was trying to seem nonchalant, but the panic was starting to overwhelm him. He didn't want (Y/N) to see his panic, otherwise he wouldn't be able to convince her that she was wrong.

He stopped when (Y/N) called after him, "How long do you intend to keep me in this simulation?"

Jack spun around before he could stop himself. "You are crazy! Do you hear yourself? You're talking crazy!"

Emotion was finally showing on (Y/N)'s face. It quickly went from shock to anger. "You're going to call me crazy? When you're the one who has me hooked up to a machine and making me play happy little housewife?!"

"You don't know what you're talking about!"

Jack couldn't help but quickly look around in panic. There was no way Frank was listening in on their private conversations, right? This wouldn't get back to him, would it? He needed to stop (Y/N) before things got too loud or somehow their neighbors noticed the arguing.

He tried a more calm approach, saying, "Love, I don't know where you got this idea. We are not in a simulation, you are not hooked up to machines. I'm sorry I called you crazy, but you have to understand that is how everyone will react when they hear you saying this."

(Y/N) pulled away as Jack tried to reach for her. "I got this idea when I went to the Victory headquarters."

Jack backed away from her. No, she couldn't have been to the Headquarters. None of the wives even knew where the Headquarters was, and they wouldn't be able to even go out that far.

Except for Margaret, but Ted wore he had her under control.

They locked eyes, silently daring the other to make a move. Jack had lost any sense of confidence he had mustered seconds ago. He felt like everything was about to slip from his fingers. Everything he worked so hard to build for him and (Y/N), all gone in the seconds it took for her to utter that sentence. Meanwhile, (Y/N) had gone back to looking emotionless. She didn't even realize how much she was about to lose.

When Jack didn't break the silence, (Y/N) took it as her opportunity to explain, "I was on the trolley and it broke down. The driver told me it would take some time for it to be fixed, so I offered to just walk back to town. But, oddly, the driver started trying to convince me not to get off. He was very adamant about staying on the trolley. I was a little put off by how insistent he was on it, but I thought he was just worried for my safety."

Jack felt himself unconsciously clenching his fists. The damn trolley driver. Couldn't he have been a little more subtle?

"I did stay on for a while," she continued. "But it was just the two of us, and I knew I'd get home quicker if I just walked. So I did. When the driver wasn't paying much attention, I got off and started walking. But we were in the desert, and none of us wives have ever been out that far, so I was a bit lost. I found his building I've never seen or heard of before. I knew I shouldn't go to it, but...my curiosity got the better of me."

Jack felt as though he was going to start crying. Even though he already knew the answer, he asked, "What did you see?"

"Nothing," (Y/N) responded. "Not at first. Not until I touched the building. Then I saw the truth. All of it."

Jack winced.

That's it. There's no denying her when she saw the building.

The truth was that (Y/N) was right: she was hooked up to a machine that was putting her in a simulated perfect 50s town.

In the real world, Jack and (Y/N) were really married. They fell in love young and married right after they graduated university. Everything was great, until Jack lost his job. His company was on a fast downwards spiral that resulted in a number of employees getting terminated, and Jack was one of the unfortunate ones. (Y/N) was still trying to get a job within her field of study, so she was working a minimum wage retail job. While Jack was unemployed, (Y/N) had to carry the financial burdens, and that made Jack feel awful and useless.

Then he discovered Frank and Victory.

Frank promised a perfect world and a perfect life. All Jack needed to do was work for eight hours a day, as well as all the other men within their town, for Frank; for Victory. It was a small price to pay for him and (Y/N) to live their dream life.

And now all of that work was ruined. Frank would take care of (Y/N) for finding out, whatever that meant, and Jack would be exiled from Victory.

He had to sit down.

He lowered himself into a chair at their dining table. (Y/N) was still watching him. He wished she would just do whatever she planned to do; scream, break things, go right to Frank and tell him she knew about everything. Whatever the plan, he just wanted her to get it over with. The unknown silence was killing him.

"Why?" she finally asked. "Why did you do this?"

"For us," Jack said. "So we could live a better life."

"What was wrong with our life before?"

Jack scoffed. "Seriously? (Y/N), we were struggling. I was unemployed, you were working a shitty job. You were pulling all the financial weight, and I hate that all of that was on your shoulders."

"So instead of talking to me about your feelings, you hooked me up to a machine and put me into a simulation without my consent?"

Jack hung his head. There was no way to paint that part in a good light. He hadn't brought up Victory because he was afraid (Y/N) would reject the idea, and he couldn't take their real life for much longer.

"I just wanted to take care of you," Jack said, his voice small. "You were doing it for so long, and you never complained even though I know it was tough. I didn't want you to do it anymore, and Frank offered the perfect life for us."

He heard (Y/N)'s heels clicking against the tiled kitchen floor as she approached the table. He couldn't look up at her as she leaned on the table, basically towering over him.

"What happens if Frank finds out that I know?" she asked.

Jack shook his head. "I don't completely know. He just says he takes care of it."

"Did he take care of Margaret?"

He didn't ask her how she knew that Margaret had known the truth as well. It was probably pretty obvious now that she knew. Instead, he just nodded. "And he told Ted that if he didn't get Margaret under control, then he'd be fired from Victory."

"So, if Frank finds out, this is all over for both of us?"

He nodded again. He had a feeling he knew where she was going with this. She'd go tell Frank that she knew the truth about Victory, even though it would be a risk for her to do so. But the risk would be worth it if it meant Jack was fired from Victory, sent back to the reality that he was trying to desperately to save them from. Once they were back in their own reality, (Y/N) would no doubt divorce him as well. He'd deserve it, of course.

"Then I'll just have to get really good at keeping a secret."

Jack's head shot up quickly to look at (Y/N). There was a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of her lips, and there was something in her eyes as she looked at Jack.

"What do you mean?" he asked, dumbly.

"I mean, what you did was very fucked up. Like, extremely fucked up. Next time you're making big decisions like, I don't know, putting us in a fucking simulation, maybe talk to me about it first. But, with that being said...I'd be lying if I said I preferred our real life over this one."

Jack was stunned. This was not what he was expecting at all.

(Y/N) gestured for Jack to push his chair back. When given enough room, she sat herself on his lap and put her arms around his neck.

"We can't stay here forever," she told him. "We have real bodies that need to be taken care of, and families and people that will worry if we just disappear. But, it's hard to give up on this life. It's so...perfect."

"So what are you saying?" Jack asked.

"I'm saying we put a cap on how long we stay here. Give it...I don't know, another year. We let ourselves be happy, be worry free. Then, however we have to, we get out of here and we get to working on making our reality just as perfect as the simulation is."

"You'll have to go back to work."

She nodded. "I know. But I'm not opposed to working. I did get a whole degree so I could work my dream job, after all."

Jack put his arms around her. He wanted to pull her in close and not ever let her go, but he couldn't just yet. "Why?"

She furrowed her brows. "Why what?"

"Why aren't you more mad? Why aren't you going to tell Frank so that I get in trouble? Why do you want to stay here...stay with me?"

(Y/N) gave him a look like she thought he was being incredibly stupid before cupping his cheeks. "Because I love you, you idiot. And, like I said, the way you went about doing this was very stupid and wrong, but I know you did it because you love me, too. As long as you can agree with my deal, I don't see any reason to be mad and want to leave you."

Jack finally allowed himself to kiss her. It caught her off guard, which made her giggle against his lips. Every memory he had with her, both in the real world and in their simulation, came rushing back to him.

"I agree," he said. "I'll do whatever you want, I promise."

"Right now, I think I want to make love to my husband in our super cool retro bedroom," she told him. "Just to make sure I don't forget how to do that when we get back to the real world."

The first time Eddie came into Scoops Ahoy, he was on a date.

He had been so excited for this date. It had taken him forever to work up the courage to ask the girl, a sweet girl in his grade named Noel. When she said yes, he felt like he could fly. He had planned out the perfect date: ice cream, a movie, and then maybe dinner if they were feeling up for it. If not, a drive in his van to stargaze before he brought her home.

It was all perfect, and it was already going well even though it had only just started.

And then, as he walked into Scoops with his arm around Noel's shoulder, his eyes landed on the girl at the counter, and he found himself breathless.

He hadn't seen her before. He thought he was about to run into Robin Buckley, who he knew had a part time gig at this place and who liked Eddie enough that she might've slipped him a free sundae with two spoons for him and his date. Instead, there was the most beautiful girl Eddie had ever seen standing at the cash, looking down at the book she had opened on the counter. When she heard them walking up, she looked up and smiled, and Eddie felt like she was the only woman in the entire world.

Not exactly the best thing to be thinking when you're on a date with someone else, he thought to himself.

"Ahoy, you two!" she said, marking her book and setting it aside. "What can I get you two?"

Eddie opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came out. Noel looked up at him, and he quickly plastered a smile on his face so she didn't see his obvious attraction to this girl. He looked back down at her and said, "Whatever you want."

She ordered a large sized sundae and asked for two spoons for them to share. The cashier took their payment and got to work scooping the ice cream into a sundae glass. Noel was chattering away to Eddie, but he had a hard time focusing. He tried to keep eye contact with Noel, but he kept glancing up at the worker. She wasn't looking at the two of them, but he wished she would. He wanted her to see him, to maybe have a flicker of the same thoughts he was having about her.

When she passed him their ice cream, she smiled and said, "Enjoy."

"Thank you," Eddie said, pausing to glance at her name tag. "(Y/N)."

~~~~~~

The second time Eddie went to Scoops Ahoy, he was alone.

It was a week later, and he had been thinking about (Y/N) the entire time. He couldn't get her out of his mind. It was summer time, so there was no way for him to try and see her at school. His only hope was to go into Scoops and hope she was working.

Lucky for him, she was.

She was leaning against the counter, reading another book. The place was surprisingly not busy for an ice cream store during the summer, but Eddie was going to use that to his advantage while he could.

"Still not through that book?" he asked, playfully. "You must be a slow reader."

She looked up at the sound of his voice and smiled. "Oh hey, I remember you."

"I would hope so. I like to make a lasting impression."

She chuckled and marked her book. "For your information, this is a new book. Actually, the third new book since you were here last week. I finished that one the day you were here."

Eddie whistled. "That's impressive."

"There's not much else to do during the slow periods. They schedule two of us on at a time and usually by, like, 3pm it dies off here. Everyone is either going home for the day or getting dinner, or going to a movie. Which reminds me, where's your girlfriend?"

Was she asking because she was genuinely curious, or was she trying to figure out whether or not Eddie was single?

"Not girlfriend," he responded. "Just one date, and not a good one at that."

"Oh, that sucks. What happened?"

"I took her to a movie and she really did not like it. She was almost insulted that I took her to it as a first date."

"Which movie? There's plenty of good rom-coms out, and most of them are really good from what I've heard."

"I'm not really a rom-com type of guy, so I took her to see that movie Aliens."

(Y/N) started laughing. "That's a horror movie! You took a girl to see a horror movie on your first date?"

Eddie put his hands up in mock surrender. "Hey! I just said I'm not a rom-com guy! I didn't think that would be a bad choice. Wait, how do you know it's a horror movie? Have you seen it?"

She nodded. "I'm really into sci-fi stuff. I went to see it the weekend it came out."

I'm in love.

They continued to talk for a while until a customer finally came in. Eddie stepped aside so that (Y/N) could do her job. Robin emerged from the back room just as (Y/N) started to get the kid's ice cream and told her she could go on her break. Eddie itched to ask her if she wanted to get lunch together, but he didn't want to seem too eager or obvious.

(Y/N) looked over at him. "I'd ask if you wanted to grab something to eat, but I brought lunch today and I'm not one to waste food."

His heart fluttered. She would've asked. Maybe I'm not too eager.

"That's okay. I wouldn't want you to waste whatever you brought either. Maybe if I'm ever in the area again."

She was smiling again. "Yeah! That'd be cool. You should stop by whenever you're in the mall. It's super boring here when the crowd dies down, and Robin is only good for conversation for so long."

"Hey!" Robin said, throwing a used sample stick at (Y/N).

(Y/N) screeched and moved out of the way. The two were laughing as (Y/N) walked to the back room for her break. Eddie stood for a moment longer, watching her go, before he reluctantly decided to leave the shop. He would've stayed all day if he could, just to talk to (Y/N). But he definitely did not want to give her stalker vibes. Maybe he'd come back tomorrow, or give it a few days. But he would definitely be back.

~~~~~~

Later that evening, while Robin and (Y/N) were doing their closing duties, Robin said, "I didn't know you knew Eddie Munson."

(Y/N) looked at her in confusion. Robin raised an eyebrow. "Long, brown hair? Ripped jeans? Band shirt? Was here talking to you earlier?"

"Oh!" (Y/N) said, the lightbulb of recognition finally lighting up in her head. "That's his name? He hasn't told me yet."

"So you don't know him then."

(Y/N) shrugged. "He came in last week on a date, then came in again today. We were talking for a bit. He seems nice."

"Wait, wait, he was here on a date? Does his girlfriend know he's coming in and flirting up a storm with the Scoops Ahoy girl? You don't want some crazy coming in here ready to scratch your eyes out because she thinks you're trying to steal her boyfriend."

(Y/N) laughed. "You're funny, Robin. He wasn't flirting with me. He was just talking. And he doesn't have a girlfriend. The date went poorly he said."

Robin gave (Y/N) a look. She was surprised to see that (Y/N) wasn't blushing or flustered talking about Eddie. She seemed to genuinely think Eddie was just being friendly while he was there. Had she really been that oblivious to not realize Eddie was smitten with her? He hadn't bought any ice cream while he was there, and left right after (Y/N) went on her break. Was she not connecting the dots?

After a moment, Robin realized that (Y/N) really hadn't.

The next morning, Steve had come in for his shift to find Robin erasing the "You Suck/You Rule" board she had made to keep a tally of all the times he had struck out with girls.

"Finally giving up on your bullying?" he asked her.

"No," Robin said. "I'm starting over with a new target."

At the top of the board, Robin wrote (Y/N)'s name.

~~~~~~

The third time Eddie went to Scoops Ahoy, (Y/N) hadn't been working. He had to order ice cream that he didn't even want as to not seem so obvious that he was only there to see her.

The fourth time Eddie went to Scoops Ahoy, (Y/N) was there. It was the next day, which he felt silly about but he had been sad he didn't get to see her the day before, and didn't want to wait more time before trying to see her again.

Luckily, (Y/N) was working with Steve and not Robin, which was who had been in the day before when he walked in.

This time, (Y/N) told Eddie she hadn't brought a lunch in hopes of seeing him, and they decided to get food from the food court together. They spent the entire half hour getting to know one another. When Eddie told (Y/N) about Hellfire, she seemed genuinely interested, despite not knowing anything about Dungeons and Dragons.

"Do you have sessions over the summer?" she asked.

"Sometimes. I try to give the kids a break from getting absolutely demolished by my sadist campaigns, but they often ask me to hold a session every now and then."

"Maybe I could come by sometime to watch. I would be absolutely garbage to play, I know nothing about the game and I'd definitely hold your team or whatever back, but I'd love to see you in full Dungeon Master mode. You seem to be really passionate about it."

Normally, spectators were absolutely not allowed. New people weren't even allowed to join the campaign unless Eddie approved of them, and Eddie approved of very few people for his DND campaigns.

But he definitely approved of (Y/N). Even if she just wanted to come and spend the entire time not paying any attention to what was going on, he would let her. Just to have her involved with his world.

"I think that could be allowed," he said, trying to remain nonchalant.

"You're too kind, Dungeon Master."

She said it in a teasing way, but Eddie found himself liking the nickname coming from her mouth a little too much.

When it was nearing the end of her break, Eddie walked (Y/N) back to Scoops. Steve was on the cash with a line up almost to the door.

"Shit, I should go help him," (Y/N) said. "Thanks for having lunch with me today. Don't forget to let me know about your next campaign."

"Wouldn't dream of it, sweetheart."

(Y/N) paused at the name. "I like that. Keep calling me that."

Eddie smiled. "Will do."

He watched her rush into work before reluctantly leaving again. Mentally, he celebrated the small wins that he was seeming to have with (Y/N).

Meanwhile, (Y/N) was quick to help Steve fulfil the orders of the sudden crowd they had. Once they were most ways through and no one else was coming in, Steve asked, "How was your lunch date with Eddie?"

(Y/N) gave him a look. "It wasn't a date, Steve. It was just two friends getting lunch."

Steve paused to look at her. The realization that she was being serious hit him as hard as it had hit Robin days before.

When he was able to step away from the counter for a moment, he added a tick to the "You Suck" side of the board.

~~~~~~

The tallies on the "You Suck" side started to add up. Robin and Steve were almost impressed with how quickly (Y/N) was catching up to Steve's score in just a few weeks. They couldn't believe that she was so oblivious to the way Eddie felt about her. They couldn't tell if she didn't feel the same way, or if she just really could not see that Eddie was head over heels for her.

They started spending time together outside of the Starcourt Mall. The next time Eddie had come in while she was working, they exchanged phone numbers and started meeting up when (Y/N) was off. Usually they would go out somewhere or he would go to her place, too embarrassed to have her see the trailer that he lived in. But when she finally asked him at one point about where he lived and he confessed to her that he lived in the trailer park with his uncle, she insisted she wanted to see his place and meet Wayne. She didn't judge him in the slightest as she walked into the tiny, messy trailer, and when she left that night Wayne told him, "I like her. Don't fuck it up, boy."

But it was hard to fuck something up that wasn't really happening. Eddie didn't want to outright say anything to (Y/N) about how he felt in case she didn't feel the same way, but it was hard to gauge how she felt. She was so kind to him. She wanted to know more about him and never judged him for anything that he said or did. She even took interest in the things he liked, like DND and metal music, even when she said it wasn't something she liked. But, on the other hand, there was no clues from her that she liked him any more than a friend. Eddie didn't want to overthink things with her, but he felt like he was getting such whiplash from going back and forth on whether or not she liked him.

One night, when he knew she wasn't working, Eddie came to her house. He knocked at her door, like a gentleman, and smiled when she answered it.

"Hey Eds!" she said. "What's up?"

"I'm taking you on an adventure, sweetheart," he said.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "An adventure, you say?"

"Nothing special, but there's this place I wanted to show you. I promise I'm not taking you to my serial killer spot, though."

She laughed. "Damn, that's too bad. A serial killer spot sounds fun."

(Y/N) called over her shoulder to her parents that she was going out with Eddie before following him to his van.

The ride wasn't terribly long, but once they went off road onto a dirt path it got very bumpy. (Y/N) held onto the door and laughed with every jostle of the van. They came to a clearing in a field that Eddie had found some time ago. He parked the van and turned to look at (Y/N).

"Are you sure this isn't a serial killer spot?" she asked.

He chuckled and nodded towards the back of the van before getting out. (Y/N) turned to see that Eddie had thrown some blankets and pillows into the back of his van. When he opened the back doors, (Y/N) noticed that, this far away from town and with the lights of Eddie's van off, the stars were perfectly clear in the sky.

"Whoa," she marveled.

"Beautiful, huh?" Eddie asked. "I come out here whenever I wanna be alone and have a smoke without Wayne getting on my case about it. I thought...well, I wanted to share it with you."

Eddie climbed into the back of the van and gestured for (Y/N) to follow. She climbed between the seats and sat next to Eddie. He arranged the blankets and pillows around them so that they had some cushioning underneath them. (Y/N) leaned into Eddie, watching the sky with wide eyes. She didn't notice that he was looking at her, a small smile on his face.

"I don't think I've ever really looked at the stars like this," she admitted. "I feel like it's one of those things you take for granted. You don't really focus on how beautiful the sky can be."

"I didn't used to either, but after I found this place I started coming out to appreciate them more."

She turned her head to look at him. "Would you bring me out here to see them more often?"

"If you want me to." She nodded her head vigorously. Eddie chuckled. "Okay, then I'll keep bringing you out then."

And then, in that moment, with her looking at him and the beautiful night sky as a backdrop, Eddie took his chance. He leaned forward and kissed (Y/N). His hand came up to gently cup her cheek at the same time her hand moved to the back of his neck. Her response was a shock to both of them, but Eddie wasn't about to cut this moment short.

(Y/N) ended up pulling away first. She rested her forehead against his and looked into his big, brown eyes.

"Sorry," he said, softly.

She giggled. "Why?"

"I don't know. I feel like maybe I should've asked before I kissed you."

"I liked the spontaneity of it."

"Well, in that case."

(Y/N) giggled again as Eddie leaned in to kiss her again. They ended up tumbling back onto the blankets underneath them, but didn't break the kiss as they went.

"Wait," (Y/N) said. "Wait, you actually did like me this entire time?"

"You didn't know?" She shook her head. "Oh my God. All this time, I just thought you didn't like me back."

"I just thought we were friends!"

"Well, we were, but I had a crush on you!"

She put her hands over her face. "Oh my, God! I'm an idiot!"

Eddie chuckled and lowered her hands from her face. "You're not an idiot. Maybe just a little oblivious, but in the cutest way possible."

"I didn't know oblivious could be cute."

"Everything you do is cute."

His words made (Y/N) want to float into the air, all the way to cloud nine. She cupped his face and started kissing him again. They couldn't get enough of kissing one another.