Nat Scatorccio's Paramore

welcome *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ about me

name: river

pronouns: she/her

age: 19

fandoms: yellowjackets (main), Harry Potter (I hate JK), the hunger games, teen wolf, others!

music: pixies, hole, Joan Jett, mazzy star, Fiona Apple, the smashing pumpkins

other interests: fashion, thrifting, fanfics, poetry

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ about my blog

It may get hectic here because I plan to post: fanfics, misc. writing/art, photodumps, and just random thoughts! Enjoy the ride :)

Boundaries: everyone 16+ is welcome unless a fic/chapter states otherwise, no hate is tolerated here!

Fic requests welcome for any of my fandoms mentioned :)

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ fic master list

𝖭𝖺𝗍𝖺𝗅𝗂𝖾 𝖲𝖼𝖺𝗍𝗈𝗋𝖼𝖼𝗂𝗈 𝗑 𝖥𝖾𝗆𝖺𝗅𝖾!𝖱𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋 (ONESHOT)

𝖲𝗒𝗇𝗈𝗉𝗌𝗂𝗌: 𝖸𝗈𝗎 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖭𝖺𝗍𝖺𝗅𝗂𝖾 𝗐𝖾𝗋𝖾 𝖼𝗁𝗂𝗅𝖽𝗁𝗈𝗈𝖽 𝖻𝖾𝗌𝗍 𝖿𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗇𝖽𝗌, 𝗎𝗇𝗍𝗂𝗅 𝖺𝖿𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝖽𝖺𝖽 𝖽𝗂𝖾𝖽, 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗁𝖺𝖽 𝖺 𝖿𝖺𝗅𝗅𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗈𝗎𝗍. 𝖶𝗁𝖾𝗇 𝗂𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗐𝗂𝗅𝖽𝖾𝗋𝗇𝖾𝗌𝗌, 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗀𝖾𝗍 𝖺𝗌𝗌𝗂𝗀𝗇𝖾𝖽 𝗍𝗈 𝗌𝗁𝖺𝗋𝖾 𝖺 𝖻𝗅𝖺𝗇𝗄𝖾𝗍 𝖽𝗎𝖾 𝗍𝗈 𝗇𝖾𝗂𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝗈𝖿 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗁𝖺𝗏𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗌𝗍𝗋𝗈𝗇𝗀 𝖼𝗈𝗇𝗇𝖾𝖼𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇𝗌 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝖾𝗂𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝗈𝖿 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗀𝗂𝗋𝗅𝗌 𝗈𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗍𝖾𝖺𝗆.

You looked around at your new “home,” a grungy street lined with boxy trailers at different stages of deterioration, as your dad walked a five-year old you into a dingy yellow single-wide. 

“It’s not much, but it's our’s,” your dad reassured, hoping you couldn’t read his disappointment at the luxury he has failed to give you. 

You silently let go of your dad’s hand and explored the home, turning around each corner like you were scared something would come out and bite you. It didn’t take you long to find the bedroom that housed boxes labeled with your name, and a naked twin bed pushed against the wall. 

You climbed your little body onto the bed and laid on your back, until you heard your dad shout out, “why don’t you go outside sweetie? The neighborhood kids are playing!”

You remained silent, but obeyed your dad, tying your pink converse and shyly stepping outside. Across the street there were boys chasing each other, girls playing hopscotch, and two ladies smoking cigarettes in their plastic adirondack chairs. What drew your attention the most was a girl your age squatting alone, poking at something on the ground. You stared at her, nervous to approach, until she looked up and shot you a wide tooth grin, with her front tooth missing. 

That goofy grin gave you the confidence to tiptoe over to her and ask, “what are you looking at?”

Her smile only widened as she proudly pointed to the frog in front of her. You giggled, and kneeled down right beside her.

—

The night before sixth grade, your parents had somehow agreed for you and Nat to have a sleepover. You sat across from her, fiddling with the CD player with your left hand while she painted the fingernails on your right. 

“This color looks good on you,” she said, with her face concentrated as she tried not to get any “plum purple” on your skin.

You blushed and thanked her, scanning the nail polish options for the color you thought would look best on her. You really thought all of them would look great, but ended up landing on “candy apple red.”

That night you wore your matching pajamas, that you had saved up all your lunch money to buy, and climbed into bed. As you closed your eyes, you hoped that you would be able to fall asleep tonight. Starting when you moved into the trailer with your dad, falling asleep became an issue for you. You’d close your eyes, but your mind would race with different questions and scenarios, until you’d notice the sun was up and you’d have to start the day. Usually, after a few nights you’d be so exhausted that your body would manage a couple hours at least, but that night, laying next to Natalie, you just couldn’t shake the thoughts of losing the people most important to you. 

When having your eyes shut became boring, you decided to open them, and look at Natalie, who seemed to be sleeping peacefully. It comforted you to know that she was right there next to you, and that she wasn’t going anywhere, at least for the night. In the middle of that thought, her eyes slowly opened, and she noticed you looking at her. 

She shot you a sheepish grin and asked, “why aren’t you sleeping?”

You questioned whether or not you should be honest, or if you should give her the quick and easy answer. Not wanting to keep your best friend up on a school night, you went with the ladder. “Just nervous for tomorrow I guess.”

Nat seemed to become fully awake, and she sat up in bed. She looked you directly in the eyes, like she was giving you another chance to be honest, before stating kindly, “you’ve never been a good liar. What’s really wrong?”

You picked at the lint balls on your sheet and avoided eye contact while you explained everything, the sleepless nights, the fears of losing the people you love, the days at school where you felt like a zombie because you hadn’t slept in forty eight hours. 

Nat just looked at you, you began to feel worried that she would say it was dumb, and then she hugged you, tight. “I’m not going to sleep until I know you aren’t awake, and if it takes me strangling you to show you that I’m not going anywhere, then strangle you I shall," she joked, through a strained voice. 

You giggled and replied, fighting for air, “that’s awesome Nat, but if you don’t loosen your grip a bit I will be sleeping permanently.”

The two of you giggled, but she wasn’t joking. She held you in her arms until you drifted off to sleep, for the first time in days. Though your problems weren’t magically solved, after that, things got a lot better. Whenever your mind would race you’d think of the two of you laying like that, and if you still couldn’t sleep, you’d call her to come over, and she always would. 

— 

Three years later, the two of you are lying in that same twin bed Natalie comforted you in. Except now, it is dressed nicely in purple sheets, and is filled with a potentially embarrassing number of stuffed animals for a fourteen year old to have.

Natalie scooped up one named “Brownie the Bunny”, as she turned onto her side and sighed, “I can’t believe we are going into high school soon.”

“I know right,” you giggled, “it feels like just yesterday we were playing with frogs in front of my trailer.”

Nat laughed and then grew serious. “I hope nothing changes too much,” she said in a low voice, while looking up at you.

You sighed, “I’m sure a lot will change Nat. But never us, okay?”

This made Natalie smile, and turn back onto her back to toss Brownie up and down as she quickly changed the subject to some new band she’s been listening to. You just looked at her, not really listening, feeling hopeful for the next four years together. 

—

Your promise reigned true for the first few months of freshman year, until Nat’s dad died. This set off a whirl wind that even your years of friendship wasn’t immune to. She started hanging out with her guy friends instead of you, and drinking way more than you’d ever seen her do before. Whenever you would show up to her place, there was always some excuse why you couldn’t hang out. Until one day, Vera got to the door before Nat, and since she never really cared about anything anyways, she let you in without question. 

You gently knocked on the door to Nat’s room, which you had done so many times before. When she opened the door to see you, her face dropped. “What are you doing here?” She asked, almost annoyed. 

“I just miss you Nat. We haven’t hung out in weeks,” you explained, upset that it wasn’t obvious to her.

“Yeah well, I’ve been busy,” she used as her excuse. 

“You never used to be too busy for me,” you almost whispered.

Natalie pulled the door shut as you stepped further inside her room, changing places with her. She ran her hands through her hair and saif “god, why can’t you accept that things change?”

Your heart broke a little, and you remembered your agreement. Did that not matter to her? “Weren’t you the one who was saying how you hoped things didn’t change?” You asked her, trying to fight the urge to cry.

“Well, I was naive then, and sometimes wishes aren’t enough. Sometimes shit just happens to you,” she harshly argued. 

You began to understand she was talking about her dad, which made you angry because you felt like you should be the one that she turned to, not Kevyn. “Yeah, sometimes they do Nat. But that’s not my fault! I mean it isn’t my fault your dad died-” you exclaimed, without thinking.

“What and it’s mine?” She yelled.

“God-” you realized what you insinuated and continued, “no. You know I didn’t mean that.”

“You know what?” she spat,  “Save it. Because honestly I’m tired of you chasing me down anyways. Like are you lesbian or something? Just learn to take a hint and leave me alone!” 

Your stomach dropped. This whole time you thought she had been distancing herself because of things going on in her life. You never thought it had anything to do with you as a person. You stared down at your feet and quietly stated, “you won’t have to worry about that anymore,” before turning and leaving.

—

Ever since that day your life has been completely different. Natalie was practically your only friend, so you started spending your time alone. Occasionally you would hang out with girls from school, but you never really clicked with them. You had gone from feeling bad about your dad’s loneliness, to him feeling bad about yours, so he would randomly ask if you wanted to come to work with him when he did weekend overtime. 

The only thing that was the same was that you were still on the soccer team. When you were still friends with Nat, she forced you to join the team with her, and even after you guys fell out, you couldn’t bring yourself to quit. The girls on the team were nice, but you barely spoke to them unless you were on the field, because it just didn’t feel right. In your mind, they belonged to Nat, even though they weren’t exactly buddy buddy with her either. 

Natalie usually completely avoided you, but when you did talk, it was either the minimal communication needed to effectively win a game, or bickering. Somehow though, the two of you managed to cooperate enough for the team to win states. 

You thought your life couldn’t get more fucked up, until your plane crashed on the way to nationals. 

—

When you found the cabin, things started to look up. It wasn't exactly a Hilton resort, but at least you wouldn’t be sleeping outside again. That was a positive, until it came to arranging the sleeping situations. 

“Okay, so that leaves me sleeping with Shauna, Van sleeping with Tai, Lottie sleeping with Mari, and-” Jackie looked up at her remaining teammates, “you two sleeping together,” she motioned towards you and Nat. With the limited amount of blankets, two people had to share, and since Nat and you weren’t exactly the social butterflies of the team, you were defaulted together. 

You began to sit down on your blanket when Nat spoke, “really? I mean, where is Misty gonna sleep?”

You rolled your eyes at how she acted like you would give her the plague if she slept next you and replied, “she refuses to sleep anywhere besides next to Coach. Now stop being a baby and sit down.” 

Natalie looked around, as if trying to find an argument, before rolling her eyes and sitting next to you on the blanket, dramatically putting her back to you. You rolled your eyes again, and laid on your side, back facing Nat. She stayed in her position for a bit, before mirroring you. 

—

Later that night, when everyone else was sleeping, you stared at the ceiling, like you had almost every night since the fight. It seemed like all of the progress you had made went out the window the day that you left Natalie’s house. Instead of replaying the memory of her cuddling you to sleep, you’d replay her asking “Like are you lesbian or something?,” wondering what the right answer is. 

You laid there for fifteen more minutes before you felt movement beside you, which prompted you to turn over and see Nat propped up on her elbow.

 “God, can you go to sleep? Your awakeness is making me wake up,” she complained. 

You just sighed, “I would if I could Natalie.”

The blonde’s expression softened, “you still have trouble sleeping?” She asked, showing more interest in you than she had for the last three years.

“Yep, don’t exactly have therapy money,” you replied dryly, causing Nat to chuckle.

“Oh really? I know this really good one. Her name is Mary Jane. She’s kinda pricey but I highly recommend,” she replied, causing you both to laugh, before realizing you may wake the others and putting hands over your mouths to shush yourselves. 

Your quiet giggles reminded you of all those nights you spent together, stealing your parents VHS tapes of movies you were too young to be watching, playing MASH, listening to music and talking about which member of the band you’d wanna be with the most. It almost didn’t make sense how you were the same two people now as you were then.

As your laugh faded out, your face dropped as you asked, “how did everything get so fucked up?”

Natalie looked back up at the ceiling, thinking of how to answer. If she was going to be honest, she didn’t really know herself, so she came up with the best excuse she could,  “my dad died, and I became a bitch.”

You giggled at her bluntness and then realized that her answer didn’t satisfy you. Through a frown you questioned, “but you’re not a bitch. I see you with your other friends, so why me? What did I do?”

Nat frowned, and stayed silent. You almost turned back around, thinking she wasn’t going to answer, when she muttered quietly, “you just cared so much, and I guess I kind of thought I was going to lose you eventually. I figured it would be better if it happened on my own terms. It’s stupid, and I shouldn’t have said all that dumb, untrue shit that night.”

Your jaw dropped. You weren’t expecting to ever get an explanation for why your friendship ended. You weren’t sure if you even wanted to know. Your eyes landed back on that familiar spot on the ceiling as you relived the night your friendship ended. How she acted like you were some stalker following her around, and like she didn’t even care about all those memories you had made together. It still stung, but hearing her explanation made it seem like she was just damaged, just like you, and that to her it was just painful means to an end. 

You cleared your throat and convinced yourself to ask the question you were dreading the answer to, “did you really feel that way about me though?” You paused for a second and whispered, “you can be honest.”

Nat frowned. She realized that what she said actually did more damage than she had intended. “Of course I didn’t,” she reassured. “I was the one shutting you out, you did nothing wrong.” She felt nervous to say the next part, but did it anyways, “and if you actually were like a lesbian, that’s not bad or anything.”

You fought the urge to get defensive, and instead just nodded. “I’m still mad at you ya’known,” you expressed, trying not to laugh.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” she smiled. She had a look on her face like she was thinking something she shouldn’t be, and she took a look around the room, almost as if she was checking if anyone was listening. “Listen,” she started quietly, “if you really can’t sleep, I can help you.”

Your face flushed a bit, and you wanted to hold your ground, to protest, but you really did need to sleep. You figured the next day wasn’t going to be all rest and relaxation, so you turned around on your side, and quiety said “okay.”

You felt nat scooting closer to you, and her arms wrapping around your waist like they had so many times before. You ignored the goosebumps you got when she whispered, “don’t you dare tell anyone about this,” and then drifted off to sleep. 

I love so many genres (horror, comedy, romance, etc) and I’m also down for an anime.

𝖭𝖺𝗍𝖺𝗅𝗂𝖾 𝖲𝖼𝖺𝗍𝗈𝗋𝖼𝖼𝗂𝗈 𝗑 !𝖥𝖾𝗆!𝖢𝗁𝖾𝖾𝗋𝗅𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋!𝖱𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋

chapter 1 here for those who missed it ;)

𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗌𝗎𝗆𝗆𝖺𝗋𝗒: 𝖭𝖺𝗍𝖺𝗅𝗂𝖾 𝖼𝗁𝗈𝗈𝗌𝖾𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗅𝗈𝖼𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝗈𝖿 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝖿𝗂𝗋𝗌𝗍 𝗁𝖺𝗇𝗀𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖺𝗌𝗌𝗂𝗀𝗇𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍, 𝗐𝗁𝖾𝗋𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗉𝖺𝗋𝗍𝖺𝗄𝖾 𝗂𝗇 𝖺 𝗇𝖾𝗐 𝖾𝗑𝗉𝖾𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗇𝖼𝖾, 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖭𝖺𝗍𝖺𝗅𝗂𝖾 𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗋𝗇𝗌 𝗆𝗈𝗋𝖾 𝖺𝖻𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝗒𝗈𝗎.

𝖼𝗈𝗇𝗍𝖾𝗇𝗍 𝗐𝖺𝗋𝗇𝗂𝗇𝗀𝗌: 𝗌𝗎𝖻𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗇𝖼𝖾 (𝗐𝖾𝖾𝖽) 𝗎𝗌𝖾, 𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇𝗌 𝗈𝖿 𝖻𝗎𝗅𝗅𝗒𝗂𝗇𝗀, 𝖺𝗀𝖺𝗂𝗇, 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗀𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝖼𝗈𝗎𝗅𝖽 𝖻𝖾 𝗂𝗇𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗉𝗋𝖾𝗍𝖾𝖽 𝖺𝗌 𝗂𝗇𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗇𝖺𝗅𝗂𝗓𝖾𝖽 𝗁𝗈𝗆𝗈𝗉𝗁𝗈𝖻𝗂𝖺? 𝗄𝗂𝗇𝖽𝖺 𝖺/𝗇: 𝖨 𝖺𝗆 𝗌𝗈 𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗉𝗒 𝗍𝗈 𝗌𝖾𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗉𝖾𝗈𝗉𝗅𝖾 𝗅𝗂𝗄𝖾𝖽 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖿𝗂𝗋𝗌𝗍 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋! 𝖨𝗍 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗅𝗅𝗒 𝗆𝗈𝗍𝗂𝗏𝖺𝗍𝖾𝖽 𝗆𝖾 𝗍𝗈 𝗐𝗋𝗂𝗍𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗈𝗇𝖾 𝗊𝗎𝗂𝖼𝗄𝗅𝗒. 𝖨 𝗁𝗈𝗉𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝖾𝗇𝗃𝗈𝗒 𝗂𝗍 𝗃𝗎𝗌𝗍 𝖺𝗌 𝗆𝗎𝖼𝗁, 𝗂𝖿 𝗇𝗈𝗍 𝗆𝗈𝗋𝖾 ;) 𝖠𝗅𝗌𝗈, 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗌 𝗐𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝖻𝖾 𝗌𝗆𝗈𝗄𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖺 𝗃, 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖨 𝗈𝗇𝗅𝗒 𝗌𝗆𝗈𝗄𝖾 𝖼𝖺𝗋𝗍𝗌, 𝗌𝗈 𝗌𝗈𝗆𝖾 𝗂𝗇𝖺𝖼𝖼𝗎𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗂𝖾𝗌 𝗆𝖺𝗒 𝖺𝗋𝗂𝗌𝖾, 𝗉𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗌𝖾 𝗂𝗀𝗇𝗈𝗋𝖾

You try not to laugh as the salon worker scrubs your feet with a stone.

"It tickles doesn't it?" Jackie says with a smile.

"Oh my God, so much!" You giggle in response.

"So how are you feeling about your psych partner?" Jackie inquires, a knowing look in her eyes.

You sigh and splash the water with your free foot before responding, "I was feeling okay at first, until I tried talking to her and she literally acted like I killed her dog! Or cat, she seems like a cat person actually."  

Jackie laughs, in that "make everything better" kind of way. "I guess she is kind of shy," Jackie says, empathy seeping through her words.

You shoot her a look that says "Are you crazy?!" before proceeding to actually say, "Are you crazy?! That's like saying Satan is shy!"

Jackie laughs again, this time loud enough to prompt the lady working on her feet to look up at her sharply, causing  Jackie to cover her mouth. "Listen, she may listen to loud music, and drink a lot, and do drugs, and get with a lot of guys-"

"Jeez Jackie.." you interject.

"BUT, she is still my teammate, and deep, deep, deep down, I think she is a sweet girl who seriously needs some female friends," Jackie finishes. 

One thing you love about Jackie is how she always finds at least something good in everyone, even the people she is usually talking badly about. You begin to agree with her sentiment until your phone buzzes: 

Unknown Number: this u pompoms?

"Never mind, she's still Satan!" you groan, "I mean, who starts a conversation like that?"

Jackie peeks over your shoulder to see the text message and giggles. "Well, you better respond... pompoms," Jackie teases.

"Ha Ha," you deadpan, while formulating your response. For some reason, a wave of nervousness flows through you when you click send.  

You: Sorry, I don't have this number saved :( Is this wannabe Kurt Cobain?

You tap your foot anxiously in the water, causing the worker to firmly grab your ankle to make you stop. "Sorry," you squeak out shyly. You don't know why you're so nervous. It can't be because of Natalie. Maybe it's because you're cheering at a game tomorrow? Yeah that must be- SHE TEXTED BACK. 

Scatorccio: real funny. so we gonna meet for this project or wut?

"Huh, I'm surprised she is actually putting in the effort to do the assignment. Normally she just takes the F if she doesn't wanna do something," Jackie said, before leaning back against the salon chair. 

"Maybe she likes me," you joked, causing Jackie to look back at you incredulously, sending another head-turning wave of laughter through the nail salon. 

Natalie rolls out of bed at eleven a.m that Saturday, and checks her phone to see a message from you.

PomPoms: Don't forget, my house @ 11:30, for psych. Be on time.

Nat chuckles at how uptight you are until she realizes she is supposed to be there in thirty minutes and is still in her boxers and t-shirt from last night. "Shit," she curses, while rushing to the bathroom.

Normally, she'd just change her pants and head out with her leftover makeup from last night, but something in her tells her to put some effort into her appearance. She just doesn't want to prove to you that she's dirty trailer trash like you're probably already thinking. That's the only reason why. That's why she re-does her makeup, tries on three different outfits, and shows up twenty minutes late to your house with an awkward knock on the door. 

"Oh, I'm sorry, did the last part of my text not send? You know, the part that said 'be on time?'" You interrogate her, as you lean on the door frame of your, what Nat is noticing to be, nice ass house. 

"Yeah, ya know, I just couldn't find this place through all the picket fences and perfectly trimmed bushes  everywhere," Nat replies, following you inside as she shamelessly glances around in awe. 

The place is spotless, with perfectly polished hardwood floors, incredibly high white ceilings, and a bright white sectional couch in front of a television that could fit in at a movie theatre. 

"Holy shit-" Nat remarks, still taking in the sight of everything that is the L/N abode. 

"What?" You ask, almost cluelessly. 

"What do you mean, 'what?' Your house is nice as hell!" Nat replies, surprised at your lack of understanding. 

You blush at the compliment, but Nat notices a weird look on your face that makes her think you've heard this a million times before, and aren't the biggest fan of the statement.

"Yeah well, don't go switching up on me now" you joke in response. 

"Me?" Nat dramatically gasps and fakes an offended hand on her chest, "Never," she replies while picking up and putting down random items you have scattered around. 

"Do you want something to drink before we start?" You ask politely, reminding Nat that she is here just for a project.

"I'm good," she replies. Nat has never really been someone who is good at accepting offers, even something as small as a glass of water. 

You plop down casually on the jumbo couch like it's nothing special. Nat sits gently, like she could break it if she moves wrong. 

"Relax Scatorccio," you start, "you're acting like you're trying not to get caught stealing," you joke. 

Despite your lighthearted intentions, Nat gets annoyed by the comment. Rumors fly, and she's sure that you've heard, and spread, your fair share of them. "That girl's no good, she stole from a liquor store," "Stay away from that Natalie girl, she's a whore," "Did you hear that Scatorccio girl killed her dad-"

"Natalie?" Her thoughts are interrupted by your voice. She is surprised at how sincere you sound, like  you care about where her mind was just at. She assumes you're just faking it, like your smiles when you cheer. 

"Did you hear me? I said we should start talking about the assignment now," you add. 

"Oh, yeah. Right," Natalie replies. 

"So it says we are to hangout for two weeks, at least three times a week, preferably more, and mark our emotional and social observations as we 'dive into our new friendship'" you read off the packet Mr. Nolan gave you.

Nat scoffs. "So the assignment is literally just to hangout with you?" She asks, confused on what the point is. 

"Yep," you reply.

"Well that's gonna be hard," Natalie says, half joking. 

"Tell me about it," you reply. 

"So does this count as a hangout?" Natalie asks. 

"Well it says the hangouts should be formatted like how you would hangout with any other friend. Would you say you and your other friends usually sit around on the couch talking about psych class?" you ask sarcastically. 

Natalie pictures you at one of her and her friends' typical hangouts and laughs. The thought of PomPoms smoking weed in the park at three a.m is really something. 

"What's funny?" you ask.

"Nothing," Nat starts, "I just can't imagine you'd like the kind of things my friends and I do."

"Likewise," you retort, "but we need to do it for the assignment." 

"Okay, so let's just do every other hangout" Nat plans. 

You nod, and finish her thought, "you pick the activity one day, and I pick the next."

"So when do we start?" Nat asks.

"Now."

"Where are we going?" you ask?

Somehow Nat convinced you to let her drive your car to her location of choice. She claimed it was for the "element of surprise" but deep down you wonder if she is going to murder you out here. 

You look out the window and see trees. Not unusual for Wiskayok (good), but also not helpful for identifying where you are (bad). Eventually, you pull into an empty parking lot, and follow Nat out the car door. 

"This is it?" You ask, looking around for some clue of what you could possibly be doing here. 

"Yep," she replies, like she is allergic to providing details. 

"I knew you were weird Scatorccio but being entertained by tarmac is a whole new low," you tease. 

Natalie rolls her eyes and prompts you to follow her to a bench that looks like it could collapse from the rust at any moment. For some reason you sit down, hoping the dirty seat doesn't stain your pink skirt.

"Now look who needs to relax," Natalie says with a scoff. 

You roll your eyes, waiting for Natalie to explain what her plan is. 

"You said we should do what we normally do with our friends," Nat begins.

"You better not try to give me a blow job," you jab.

Nat, trying to ignore your comment, continues on, "well, usually my friends and I go to some empty place, smoke weed, and talk about the world."

You shoot onto your feet, "no,no,no, we can not smoke," you whisper the word smoke, like your parents will hear you from here. 

"Why not?" Nat asks, genuinely curious. 

"Well, we certainly can't write about that in the report!" You argue. 

Nat laughs "so write that we 'explored each other's hobbies.'"

You slowly sit back down, staring down at your shoes nervously. "I've never done it before," you say shyly. 

Nat is genuinely surprised by this. She was sure some jock would have peer pressured you into getting high at a party or something. She starts to regret pushing it and says, "I mean, we don't have to."

Though you know you should deny, some part of you wants so badly to say yes, and that part of you wins, "screw it," you say. 

"Wow, PomPoms is all badass now," Nat teases. 

You roll your eyes as you watch her flick her lighter. 

"So," Nat begins, rotating the joint as she lights it, "you just bring it up to your mouth, and inhale a small amount, then blow it out, easy as pie," the blonde explains. 

You grab the joint from her, your fingers brushing as you do, sending a shiver through your spine that you choose to ignore, and you do as she said. Except it was not "easy as pie" and you begin to have a coughing fit, making Nat double over laughing. 

"It's normal PomPoms, don't be embarrassed," she reassures ineffectively, as she is still cackling. 

Nat puts out the joint and looks up at you, sprawled out on the bench, staring up at the now setting sun. 

"Wowww," you whisper, "so this is what it feels like to be high."

Nat chuckles and asks, "so what's the verdict?"

You send her a lazy thumbs up and continue staring up at the sky. She uses this as an opportunity to get a good look at you. She always knew you were pretty, it's obvious. But looking at you under the orange light of the sky, she can see you aren't just commercial pretty, you're write a poem about you pretty. 

She erases the thought from her mind and tries to remember all the reasons you never hung out before. It's not just the fact that you're a pretty cheerleader, but it's also the fact that the people you choose to be around are the exact people that have made her high school years hell. She wonders if you really believe all the things people say about her, and if you do, why are you here with her, looking goofily up at the sky?

"Why are you looking at me Scatorccio?" You ask, not in a sharp, accusatory tone, but in a hazy, curious tone. 

Nat clears her throat and says, "shouldn't we be asking each other questions? Like, for the project."

"Ohh, right, the project," you say, adjusting your body into an overdramatic "serious" position, with your legs crossed and your hand on your chin. "Ask away, detective."

"So uh," Natalie struggles to find a question to ask, despite not knowing anything about you, "What do you like to do when you're alone?" She lands on, instantly regretting how pervy the question came out. 

You giggle, "at least take me to dinner first." Nat blushes and you continue, "Well usually I'm so tired when I get home, because of all the people I see," Nat wonders if you were trying to rub in your popularity, or if that was really how you felt, "so I just put on some music and stare at the ceiling."

Huh, Nat thinks. Not what she was expecting. She doesn't know what she was expecting actually,  maybe for you to just come home and call some guy or something? But the answer makes her see you a little bit differently, not enough to want to be friends, let's not get ahead of ourselves, but enough for her to wonder what kind of music you listen to, even though it's probably shitty. 

She indulges herself in asking, despite her suspicions, "so what kind of music do you listen to PomPoms?"

Your eyes light up, like you just came up with the most brilliant idea, and you grab onto Nat's shoulders like a little kid, "that should be our next hangout!" you remark, "I can show you my music!"

Nat looks at both of your hands on her shoulders and a feeling somewhere between disgust and excitement jolts her out of the moment. 

"Sure, but we should get going," she says dryly, standing up and tearing your hands off her abruptly. 

She ignores the way your slight frown makes her feel, as she heads towards the car, ready to drive you home, leaving this night behind her. 

𝖺𝗇𝗈𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝖺/𝗇 𝖻𝖾𝖼𝖺𝗎𝗌𝖾 𝖨 𝖼𝖺𝗇'𝗍 𝗌𝗁𝗎𝗍 𝗎𝗉: 𝗐𝗈𝗐 𝖺𝗇𝗈𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝖽𝗈𝗇𝖾! 𝖨 𝖿𝗂𝗇𝖺𝗅𝗅𝗒 𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗋𝗇𝖾𝖽 𝗁𝗈𝗐 𝗍𝗈 𝗆𝖺𝗄𝖾 𝗆𝗒 𝗉𝗈𝗌𝗍𝗌 𝖺𝗍 𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗌𝗍 𝖺 𝖻𝗂𝗍 𝖼𝗎𝗍𝖾𝗋, 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝗌𝗍𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝗍𝖺𝖼𝗄𝗅𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖧𝖳𝖬𝖫𝗌… 𝖨 𝖺𝗆 𝗌𝗈 𝖺𝗉𝗉𝗋𝖾𝖼𝗂𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗏𝖾 𝗈𝖿 𝖠𝖭𝖸 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖺𝗅𝗅 𝗂𝗇𝗍𝖾𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇, 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗈𝗋 𝗋𝖾𝖻𝗅𝗈𝗀𝗀𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗂𝗌 𝖬𝖴𝖢𝖧 𝖺𝗉𝗉𝗋𝖾𝖼𝗂𝖺𝗍𝖾𝖽 𝖺𝗌 𝗂𝗍 𝗁𝖾𝗅𝗉𝗌 𝗆𝖾 𝗄𝗇𝗈𝗐 𝗉𝖾𝗈𝗉𝗅𝖾 𝗅𝗂𝗄𝖾 𝗆𝗒 𝗌𝗍𝗎𝖿𝖿, 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗆𝗈𝗍𝗂𝗏𝖺𝗍𝖾𝗌 𝗆𝖾 𝗍𝗈 𝗄𝖾𝖾𝗉 𝗀𝗈𝗂𝗇𝗀.

kiss/cig divider by: @strangergraphics

content warnings: internalized homophobia if you squint the squintiest squint anyone has ever squinted, but basically none :)

A Natalie Scatorccio x Cheerleader!Reader story where they are forced to work on a psych project together (shitty overview but you need to read to find out)

Your psychology teacher's face becomes a blur as you zone out while staring at the lecturing man. Your mind wanders off to your afterschool plans which include cheer practice, meeting up with Jackie to get your nails done, and-

"Mrs. L/N!" Your thoughts are interrupted by your teacher's hoarse voice. 

You look up to see his gray mustache downturned into an almost cartoonish frown, as he appears to be awaiting a response from you. You perk up just enough to respond with an almost overenthusiastic "Yes, Mr. Nolan?"

"Though I know my face is quite interesting, I'm afraid you won't learn psych by staring at it the whole period,"  he replies, while turning back to the whiteboard. 

The class bursts into a collective laugh and your face burns as you make a mental vow to never zone out in this class again. You turn to your best friend Jackie, and notice she is already looking at you with an apologetic smile, which somehow helps to ease some of your embarrassment. You manage to mouth an exaggerated "Oh my God" through a stifled giggle, causing both your's and the dirty blonde's smile to grow. 

In that moment, Mr. Nolan's voice began again as he explains, "Actually, as time has it we are just about done for today-" these words trigger the class to loudly begin packing up, prompting Mr. Nolan to quickly interject, "Not so fast! We have to discuss our new project so you can begin working on it over the weekend."

The class lets out a groan. Not only did you face an incredibly embarrassing moment, but you are now being bombarded by the news of the dreaded weekend homework. 

Mr. Nolan begins to explain the project, hoping to calm the aggravated class, "We are going to be doing somewhat of an experiment," the students start to loose interest, "and you all will be the subjects-" that regains their attention.  "I will be pairing you off into groups of people who I have not seen interact much, and you will log your experience of getting to know each other for the next two weeks in a journal. I'll hand out packets explaining the guidelines of the assignment in greater depth," Mr. Nolan continues, while walking around the room handing out composition notebooks with a packet tucked behind the front cover. 

Your mind begins to race as you look around the classes. He said you would be partnered with someone you don't know well, which is just about everyone in the class besides Jackie, and the few JV cheerleaders who sit in the back. Obviously you know all the football guys, but not enough for Mr. Nolan to note them as your "friends" right? The idea of having to spend two weeks, one on one, with a football jock should make you excited, but for some reason the idea puts a pit in your stomach that you choose to attribute to the idea of explaining why you have a boy over to your parents. 

Mr. Nolan stares down at a sheet of paper and begins to rattle off names of people who are paired together. Jackie gets paired with a shy girl in the front of the room, so you turn to see her reaction when you hear Mr. Nolan say your name, "you will be paired with," he pauses to check the paper again, and clears his throat before saying "Natalie Scatorccio."

You turn your head to see a bleach blonde girl already looking your way, you attempt to smile at her but she turns her head back around before you get the chance. Okay.., you think to yourself, hoping she is just having an off day, and will magically become personable when you start to work on your project. 

Mr. Nolan dismisses the class, and everyone rushes out, supplies half way out of their book bags.  You bee line for the blonde you were paired with, hoping to exchange contact information before she leaves for the weekend. When you finally find her, she is already at her locker, so you stand behind her, waiting for her to notice your presence. 

She gives you a somewhat of an annoyed glare, and you can almost see your awkward stance through the reflection of her bright blue eyes, causing you to straighten your posture before saying "Natalie?"

"That's me," she replies with a bored tone. 

"Um, I think we just got partnered for the psych project," you reply, trying not to sound affected by the disinterested look on her face.

"Yeah," she replies, putting no effort into the conversation, and turning back to close her locker. 

Though you are a cheerleader, and have been voted homecoming queen the past two years, you never considered yourself to be a mean girl. Yes the people you hang out with occasionally let out a snide remark about people who are less, um, conventional, than yourselves, and yes you sometimes laugh at those remarks, but you never considered yourself to be a "mean girl" and try not to judge others without getting to know them. However, something about Natalie's overall unwillingness to have a productive conversation with you sets you off.

"Look Scatorccio, I don't want to do this assignment any more than you do, but we got paired up together and that is just the facts. So can you please just cooperate and give me your phone number so we can get started?" You spit out, your rude tone sending a shiver down your spine. 

"Damn, Pom Poms, if you wanted my phone number you could have just asked, no need to get all pissy about it," the blonde replied, already scribbling her phone number onto an open gum wrapper.

Your face flushes, you blame it on your annoyance, as you try to utter out some defense, "What? It's not like- No. I don't WANT your phone number, I NEED your phone number-" you cut yourself off as Natalie's smirk grows wider, and you decide just scoffing is probably the option that is least likely to deepen the embarrassment hole you've dug yourself into. 

With one hand on your hip, you stick the other out sassily to accept the crumbled wrapper as you notice she's finished writing her number on it. Natalie drops the wrapper into your hand and  turns around while muttering "Seeya, PomPoms," and marching for the exit. 

You try to mutter out an annoyed "my name is-" but the girl is already out the door, leaving you to roll your eyes, and head towards the locker room for practice. 

*ೃ༄

Natalie walks onto the field, the cold, autumn, air brushing against her pale face as she approaches her teammates for practice. 

"About time you join us Nat," Jackie says while stretching. 

"Just be glad I did, captain,"  Natalie replies sarcastically while joining the girls in the stretch circle and grabbing her ankle. 

Jackie rolls her eyes and continues to chat with Shauna as Nat's eyes wander to the track behind where they are stationed on the field. A familiar looking cheerleader catches her eye as she flies through the air with a mile wide smile on her face. You. Her eyes roll in disbelief that anyone could really be that  happy to be in the air with only a few teenage girls below to catch them. 

She continues to watch you practice, wondering how much of your demeanor is an act, and how much of that she'd find out in the next two weeks, if she even chose to participate in the assignment. She watches your hair bounce, and your smile never falter, until her thoughts are interrupted by the sound of a whistle.

"Natalie! Get your head out of your ass! It's time for partner passes," Coach Martinez shouts. Natalie walks towards her usual partner, a wavy haired girl with tan skin, until she hears a chirpy voice directed her way, "Not so fast Nat! Shauna will partner with Lottie today, I wanna pass with you," Jackie says while jogging to get in front of Nat for the exercise. 

Nat wonders if Jackie is about to give her another talk about drinking too much, or being a better "team player" when it comes to showing up for team bonding activities, as her and Jackie never really got along well enough for the girl to willingly partner up with her. "Uh okay," Nat mumbled, while passing to Jackie.

"So," Jackie began, "you're partnered up with y/n for psych. That's fun right?" 

Nat just looked at the girl confused while receiving her pass, and kicking it back in Jackie's direction before sneaking another quick glance at you in the distance. "What's fun about it ? It's just a psych project," Nat replied, in a disinterested tone.

"I don't know, maybe if you guys get along you might wanna come to more team activities! She's usually hanging around with Mari or I," Jackie explained. 

Nat scoffed at the idea of her ever "getting along" with you, and the concept of Jackie's Brady Bunch fantasies she has. "Don't count on it," Natalie retorted, before she was saved by the sound of Coach Martinez's whistle, ending the warmup. 

By the end of practice Nat is drenched in sweat, and ready to go home. She heads for the locker room, watching as you head in the same direction. Her eyes roll at how you seem to glisten from the layer of sweat on top of your smooth skin, as opposed to how she is dripping and red. In the locker room, she takes notice to how you laugh with and get along with everyone on your team. Well, it's a cheer team, what is there to disagree on? Which RomCom is the best? She continues to glance at you until you begin peeling off your pink tank top, and her eyes dart to the ground in front of her, the redhead beside her scoffing as she apparently notices Nat's "totally not red" cheeks.

"What's funny Van?" Nat says, a bit more defensively than she intended.

"Nothing at all Natalie," Van says with a goofy smile.

Natalie quickly shoves her dirty close in her bag and behind to turn around to leave when she is met with the smell of strawberry shampoo breezing past her and the smooth sound of you saying "Don't forget to call me Nat" as you leave the locker room with a grin.

Nat grows angry as her teammates tease her with remarks like "is that your new friend?" and "you got a date to get your nails done Nat?" 

She slams her door shut and does her signature stomp towards the door, picturing how the next two weeks are gonna play out. 

This is gonna be fun, she finally decides. 

Afternote: OMG my first chapter done! I can't wait to hear feedback. Please be mindful that I am so new to this so the upcoming chapters may not be exactly like this as I find my footing. Thank you for your support :)

DISCLAIMER: I am a brand new author, just trying my best to feed the hungry Nat fans :) I am not exactly sure where this story will take me, but I am gonna go with the flow here. Please provide any feedback, positive or negative, that comes to mind (as long as you're respectful about it.. duh). Anyways, enough with the yap! Enjoy the story ;)

BIO: A NatxReader story in which a high school psychology project brings Natalie, angsty soccer player, and reader, popular girly cheerleader, together. Through awkward introductions and countless misconceptions, they learn they may not be as different as they, and everyone else at Wiskayok High, thought.

NoCrash AU! Lesbian reader, gxg, possible mature content? IDK haven't figured it out yet, gonna try to keep 90's vibes, but probs some modern technology to make my life easier (ex. cell phones)

stay posted for upcoming chapters :)

CHAPTER 1