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helloalycia · 22 days ago

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𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐍 𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐀𝐋 [𝐓𝐖𝐎] — 𝐉𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐈𝐄 𝐓𝐀𝐘𝐋𝐎𝐑

one / masterlist / wattpad

summary: despite being 'over' each other, jackie still finds a way to ruin your new relationship.

warning/s: again, just jackie being her closeted self.

author's note: and here’s the second and final part! this one was fun to write even tho it took me forever to finish (and i definitely didn’t know how to end it lol), but i love jealous jackie

Lottie's parents were never home, which was extremely unfortunate except in the instance she wanted to throw a house party. Then, it was kind of perfect.

Putting it simply, she was rich which meant her home was big enough to house the whole school. Actually, I could bet my life most of the school was here tonight. Whether they were or not, I didn't care as my only focus was on Lauren, who I'd brought as my plus one.

It was fun to just unwind, hang out with my friends and my girlfriend and not think about school or soccer or anything else. Maybe that was why it was too good to be true.

About an hour in, Lauren and I were sat in of the spare rooms, needing some peace from the loud music and even louder guests. Admittedly, it started off as us chatting and her getting a little tipsy, which then turned into a heated make-out session on the couch.

Lauren was practically on top of me as we made out, and it probably would have gone further if the door didn't suddenly burst open, startling us apart. Catching our breath, we both looked to the door to see who had interrupted and my heart sank a little when I saw it was Jackie. She was taken aback, looking between us both, and I realised how compromising our position looked.

"Sorry," she blurted, finding her words and averting her conflicted gaze. "Was looking for Jeff."

Neither Lauren and I had chance to respond before she left, closing the door behind her. I swallowed thickly, hating how awkward and mildly guilty I felt that Jackie had walked in like she had. It looked like Lauren and I were about to have sex, which wasn't a problem, but it only reminded me that Jackie and I never did. We'd waited and she'd wanted it to be special, but we never did. And now it looked like I'd moved on.

Which I had, of course, but it felt an awful lot like I was rubbing it in her face, and for once I wasn't.

My head was mush as I looked to Lauren, who didn't know what to do, still flustered from the kissing and being walked in on.

"I should check on her," I said quickly. "See what's up. Sorry."

Lauren's gaze flickered to me, unreadable, before she nodded. "Sure."

Without wasting another second, I left the room and walked down the hall, pushing past drunken guests and in search of Jackie's familiar blonde hair. I caught her just as she was on the last step of the stairs, going down, and chased after her.

"Hey," I said over the music, stopping before her, aware that I wasn't thinking straight.

Her cheeks were flushed as she forced herself to look at me with indifference. "Hi."

My heart was racing, no doubt a consequence of the situation. "That wasn't what it– we were just kissing," I felt the need to explain.

"Do what you want with your girlfriend, it's none of my business," she spoke through gritted teeth, but she looked hurt.

"I know, but–"

"But what?" she snapped. "Make out with her, feel her up, have fucking sex, I don't care. All things your last girlfriend couldn't give you, right?"

Her eyes were watering as she studied my expression and my heart ached, for several reasons. How could she say that when she'd ended things before it could go anywhere?

"I didn't break up with my last girlfriend, remember?" I said gently, a frown on my lips.

This only seemed to rile her up further as her glare hardened and she looked like she was about to unleash more yelling, but then her eyes flickered behind me, distracted. Curious, I looked too, eyebrows raising as I saw Jeff making out with some girl, the two of them clearly drunk out of their minds as they could barely connect lips for long enough.

I looked back to Jackie, feeling even worse for her despite our predicament. "Jackie–"

"Speaking of breaking up," she muttered angrily before shoving past me to approach Jeff.

I sighed deeply, unsure why I still cared so much. And then I heard the yelling behind me and knew it wasn't worth staying to watch.

When I returned to Lauren, who was where I'd left her, though drinking from a bottle of water, I offered an apologetic smile.

"She good?" she asked when I sat beside her, and I couldn't tell what she was thinking.

I nodded. "Yeah. Sorry about that. She's my teammate and I just... yeah."

She shrugged, not meeting my eyes. A pause, and then, "Can you take me home?"

Worried I'd upset her, I straightened up. "What? Why?"

"I'm just tired," she said, before glancing at me. "Too much to drink."

I frowned, nodding. "Yeah. Sure. C'mon."

The two of us left Lottie's in an uncomfortable silence, the drive back to hers just as awkward. I wasn't sure if it was because she was drunk or if it was something I'd done, but it didn't feel right. And admittedly, I was also still distracted by my conversation with Jackie.

Once we reached Lauren's, I guided her out the car and walked her to her front door to say goodnight and hopefully clear this tension between us. But before I could speak, she did.

"The girl you were with last," she started quietly, eyes flickering to mine, "it was Jackie, wasn't it?"

My eyes widened slightly. "What?"

Lauren knew of my last relationship and loosely of the way it had ended, but I'd never told her who it was with, out of respect for Jackie not wanting to come out.

She smiled sadly. "It's okay, I won't tell anyone. But I'm not blind."

Panic growing, I asked, "What do you mean?"

She looked down at her feet. "Jackie still cares about you, Y/N. At first, I thought it was the overprotective friend or team captain that cares too much. But you aren't friends and it's more than a team captain looking out for her players. It's jealousy."

I swallowed thickly, unsure what to say or how to even defend myself.

Her eyes met mine disappointedly as she continued. "You care about her, too."

"It's not like that," I spluttered. "It's–"

"It is like that," she interrupted. "You still care about her. Not to discredit your feelings for me, but they're stronger with Jackie. Otherwise you wouldn't care so much about her, about what she thinks, or get so annoyed by her remarks."

I frowned, guilt pressing down on my chest. Maybe she had a point, one I was too afraid to admit, but I didn't want it to be like that. I didn't want to care about Jackie at all.

Lauren sighed quietly. "I don't want to be competing."

I shook my head quickly, stepping forward and reaching for her hands. "It's not a competition."

"It is," she retorted, pulling her hands back. "But I don't want to play."

Every part of me was panicking at what she was implying, expecting the worst. Tears pricked my eyes as I studied her expression.

"I'm sorry," she muttered, frowning, "but you should sort your shit out. It's not fair on whoever is with you."

Her words were like a stab to the heart, and she only sealed the deal when she kissed my cheek softly.

"Please," I pleaded, searching her gaze. "It's not like that. With Jackie, it's– it's not like that."

She ignored me as she took a step back. "I'll see you around, Y/N."

"Lauren," I said, her name barely coming out as a whisper, tear rolling down my cheek.

She didn't look back as she let herself into her house and closed the door. I stood there for a moment, in disbelief at how quickly she'd ended things. Contrary to belief, I did care about her, so much.

Returning to my car, my cheeks were hot as tears streamed down them. How had I lost her so quickly?

—

The remainder of my weekend was spent sulking and mourning the end of my relationship. All I could seem to do was replay that night over and over in my head, as if I could somehow magically change the outcome.

I still couldn't believe it, but I also knew there was some truth to Lauren's words. Maybe Jackie was still haunting me whether I liked it or not. Still, it wasn't something I wanted to think about when it was much easier to be sad instead.

My mood must've been very obvious since Van cornered me at school, demanding to know why I was so upset. Without telling her the specifics about Jackie, simply that Lauren had broken up with me, she seemed to understand and I at least had someone to share everything with.

It certainly didn't help the situation when we walked past Jackie in the hallway. She was giggling with Jeff, the two of them holding hands by his locker as if his cheating had no impact on their relationship.

For the first time, I let myself be infuriated by it. It wasn't fair. Why did she get everything and I was still left with nothing? Why did I have to get my heart broken repeatedly and she got her happily ever after?

Whatever the reason, it stung just as much as the breakup, but I tried to ignore it as I went through the week in a haze, trying not to miss Lauren.

Soccer practice was on Thursday though, and clearly my mood wasn't the best which meant my performance was subpar at most. I knew it, but there was only so much I could do about it when I just wanted to go home and curl up in my bed. If Van hadn't convinced me to go, I was prepared to pull the sick card.

Of course, it wouldn't be the shittiest week of my life if Jackie didn't notice how poor I was playing and decide to comment on it.

We were in the middle of a scrimmage, myself playing as a defender, when Shauna managed to dribble the ball right past me and score a goal. It wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't the third goal her team had scored at my fault.

I sighed and rubbed my face with frustration, internally scolding myself for messing up yet again.

"What the hell was that?" Jackie's voice shouted from behind me, and I groaned inwardly before turning around to see her storming towards me. "That's the third time, Y/N!"

Definitely not in the mood to argue, I gave in with a nod. "I know, I know. I'm sorry."

"You gonna say sorry when the other team slip past your defences in the real game?" she asked with raised brows, not holding back in the slightest, no doubt a continuation of her frustrations from the party. "You think that'll change anything?"

"Jackie, she knows," Lottie stepped in, as the other girls took notice of her scolding. "We're practicing for a reason, yeah?"

Jackie scoffed as she glared at me. "You need to lift your eyes from your shoes and pay attention. Shauna shouldn't be able to cut past three times."

Her annoyances were clearly much more than the given situation, as they had been for months now, but I truly had no energy to fight back.

"You're right," I said with a halfhearted nod. "I'll do better."

Her eyes flickered with confusion, scanning my expression for some hint of retaliation. "What?"

"Give her a break, Jackie, she's working on it," Van intervened, jogging up from behind me. "She's got a lot on her plate right now, okay?"

I glanced at Van with an expression that screamed for her to be quiet. The last thing I needed was Jackie being all up in my business about my break up.

"I don't care what's on her plate," Jackie retorted to Van, before fixing me with a disapproving stare, "it's separate from the game."

Van smiled bitterly. "When you break up with Jeff, everyone hears about it. Is she not allowed to be upset once because she's going through a breakup?"

"Van!" I interrupted in a warning voice, shooting her a glare.

Jackie hesitated, hazel eyes flashing with surprise before meeting mine. Her volume lowered as she spluttered, "I didn't know that. You- you're- you broke up?"

"It doesn't matter," I said firmly, hating the direction this conversation had taken. "I'll play better. Just- just go."

She paused, as if to say something, before finally nodding and returning to her side of the pitch. The girls watching did the same and Van patted me on the back apologetically before returning to the goal.

The only upside to that whole thing was Jackie finally laid off for the rest of practice. I played somewhat better but still terribly, my head just not in it at all, and the other team still won.

Just when I thought I could finally escape and go home once practice ended, I was mistaken. As I was walking back to my car after showering and changing, I felt a presence beside me and groaned at the sight of Jackie catching up to me.

"I'm not in the mood," I said bluntly. "I'm sorry I was playing shitty, I'll do better next time."

"No, no, it's not that," she said quickly, shaking her head. "It's just– I'm sorry for being rude to you."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, her apology meaning nothing to me, but then she stood in front of me, stopping me from walking.

"Y/N, I'm sorry," she repeated softly, eyes searching for mine.

I sighed quietly, looking to her. "It's whatever."

"I didn't know you and Lauren broke up," she tried to explain, which actually did make me roll my eyes.

"And what? If you had, you'd have been nicer?" I asked with raised brows. "Let's not lie."

She frowned, looking down, knowing I was right. After a moment, she asked, "Was it mutual? Or, erm, who–"

"She broke up with me," I snapped, my irritation returning. "Happy now?"

It might have been a little unfair to take it out on her, but I couldn't help it, not when everything was still so fresh. It was her fault. Mine too, but it was easier to blame her when everything she did seemed to infuriate me lately.

"No," she responded quietly, eyes flickering between mine apologetically.

I rolled my eyes and pushed past her without saying another word, afraid I'd say something I'd regret if I entertained her any longer. Thankfully, she didn't follow.

—

I'd like to say I got over Lauren quite easily and soon forgot all about her, but it wasn't that easy. I was getting there – at least to a point where I was no longer crying whenever I thought about her – but I did miss her sometimes.

A month later, it was the last game of the season and the Yellowjackets were playing none other than the Cubs AKA our rival team AKA Lauren's school. It didn't bother me, not at all, not even when I knew there would be a chance I'd see her at the game...

...but then I saw her in the stands and she was holding another girl's hand and I soon realised she'd moved on. She looked happy and I was happy for her, but it still stung to see her with someone new. I was getting over her, but seeing your replacement was never fun.

Despite this, I was determined not to let it bother me, nor let it hinder my soccer abilities. So, with that lovely sight behind me, I put my all into the game.

Luckily for us, it was an easy win, with the Yellowjackets taking a two nil advantage. We were all over the moon, already talking about how insane the after party would be, but admittedly, I was still a little bummed out. The thought of attending, knowing Lauren and her new girlfriend would be there, was off-putting to say the least.

So, after getting changed after the game, Van stopped by my car with me in the parking lot.

"See you later, yeah?" she asked with a grin, still buzzing with excitement from our win.

I scrunched my nose. "Yeah, about that... I don't think I'm gonna go."

Her grin was replaced with a frown. "Why not? We won, Y/L/N!"

"I know, I know, it's just–" I sighed awkwardly. "Lauren's gonna be there."

Van quirked a brow. "So?"

"With her new girlfriend," I added. "She's clearly moved on and I guess I have too, but I'm not in the mood to see it, y'know?"

Van's expression softened. "I understand. But you shouldn't let her ruin your celebration."

I shrugged uncomfortably. "It's okay. I'd rather just stay home."

Van nodded. "Right. Well... I can stay home with you if you want the company. We can rent some movies, get some snacks."

I smiled at her offer. "It's okay, Van, you go celebrate. Tai wants you there."

"You sure? I don't mind and Tai will get over it," she pointed out.

"I'm sure," I said with a knowing look. "You go. Tell me all about it tomorrow."

She nodded before pulling me in for a hug. "Alright. Don't sulk for too long."

At this, I shoved her away and she laughed at my dismay. A ghost of a smile was on my lips as I flipped her off before getting in my car.

Staying home was definitely the right choice and surprisingly not a terrible one. I got some snacks and had some alone time playing video games which wasn't awful.

Only, later that evening, I was still up playing in the living room and my parents were asleep upstairs when I heard a knock on the front door. I froze at first, unsure if I'd heard correctly, but then the knocking grew more incessant and impatient, frightening me because it was almost midnight and who the hell would be knocking at this time?!

Naturally, I grabbed a baseball bat from under the stairs, knowing I needed to answer the door otherwise it would wake my parents, but also not stupid enough to go unarmed. With a deep breath, I approached my front door, unable to make out the silhouette in the glass, before yanking it open and raising my bat.

"Who the hell–" I started, before my eyes widened with surprise. "Jackie?"

She straightened up when she saw me, fist lowering from its knocking. "Y/N."

I raised my brows, glancing up the staircase to make sure her loud knocking didn't wake my parents, before pushing her backwards and stepping outside, semi-closing the front door.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" I whisper-shouted at her. "You're gonna wake my parents!"

She exhaled, eyes meeting mine, twinkling and slightly dazed. A soft smile appeared on her lips and all she could say was, "Hi."

I refrained from raising my voice as I repeated quietly, "What are you doing here?" I glanced around and didn't spot a car or anything. "How did you even get here? Weren't you at the party?"

She nodded, moving her hair from her eyes. "I wanted to see you."

I furrowed my brows. "You... what?"

She swallowed thickly, trying to find her words, and that was when I took note of her inability to stand still, the breathlessness, the dilated pupils.

"You're drunk," I said, my surprise deflating, like it all made sense. "And you've drank too much. Where's Shauna, Jackie?"

"One of the baseball team guys gave me a ride," she explained, stumbling over her words. "I wanted to see you."

Before I could say anything, she moved one of her hands from behind her back and held some terribly-picked flowers out towards me. My eyes narrowed as I studied them, seeing the soil still clinging to the roots and recognising the flowers themselves.

"Wait, are those–" I stopped and looked behind her, where my mum's peonies were planted, my eyes widening when I saw the gap. "Did you just tear those from my mum's flowerbed?!"

Cheeks flushing a deeper shade of pink, Jackie said, "I wanted to give you them."

Frustration returning, I snatched the flowers from her hand and met her gaze firmly. "Jackie, what are you doing here?"

Her eyes flickered between mine. "I've been a bitch, I know it. But I miss you."

I couldn't help but scoff at her words. "You're drunk."

"No," she blurted desperately, before shaking her head. "Well, yes, but I mean it."

I rolled my eyes, not believing a word from her right now, not when she was like this. "Where's Shauna? I'll call her."

Her expression fell. "She's still at the party."

I groaned inwardly before pointing a finger at her. "Wait here. I'll drop you off home."

"No, Y/N, wait-" she started, but I ignored her and stepped back inside to grab the car keys.

After listening out once more to make sure my parents weren't awake, I pulled on my shoes, grabbed a jacket and left. Hopefully I could be back before they even realised I was gone.

"C'mon," I said to Jackie, before walking past her and to my car.

I heard her grumbling behind me but she did follow. Once we were in the car, I set off with the intention of taking her home in silence, but of course, Jackie couldn't have that.

"You weren't there tonight," she said softly, and I could feel her eyes on me.

I kept mine on the road. "I know."

"I wanted you to be."

I resisted the urge to scoff as I said nothing. How could she say that? How could she mean it?

"I'm sorry," she spoke quietly. "I know your ex is with someone new."

"Seems to be a pattern, I'll live," I mumbled bitterly.

She fell quiet at that and I was glad for it. The rest of the drive was done in silence, my fingers gripping the steering wheel a little too tightly. Jackie's eyes kept glancing over to me, but I merely ignored her.

When I pulled up outside of her house, I gave her a look that told her to go inside.

"Please, I just want to talk," she tried once more, pleading.

"It's late, Jackie," I reminded her, frustrated. "Just go."

She sighed deeply before giving in and unbuckling her seatbelt. It took her a few tries, but I was insistent on letting her help herself. So, I sat there and clicked my jaw as she spent a whole minute untangling herself from the belt and searching for the door handle. She finally got it open, climbing out the car and tripping over the edge of the pavement in the process. I rolled my eyes as I watched her close the car door, but when she tried to leave, she was stuck.

"For fuck's sake," I mumbled, noticing the end of her jacket was caught in the door.

After turning off the engine, I climbed out and rounded the car, giving her a disapproving look. She straightened up slightly, guilty, but let me open the door and steady her before she fell over.

"Jesus Christ, Jackie," I muttered, closing the door and locking the car. "C'mon."

Keeping her upright, I led her down the pathway to her front door, wishing this night would end already. We finally reached her door and I was about to ask her for her keys, but she spoke first.

"I'm sorry your relationship ended," she said in a way that wasn't sympathetic at all.

"No, you're not," I called her out, narrowing my eyes.

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'm not. But I...," she paused, expression softening, "I'm sorry you got hurt."

"I don't care, Jackie."

She didn't respond, only stared at me. I was ready to pat her down for her keys until she decided to speak again.

"I'm still in love with you."

I tensed my jaw. "You shouldn't say things you don't mean. You won't even remember this in the morning."

"I will," she said with certainty, nodding. "I'm not that drunk."

I sighed, a long heavy sigh, begging god to see the end of this conversation.

"Please, listen," she tried again, taking my hand with shaky fingers. "I know I'm awful. I ended things because I was scared. I treated you horribly. I know that– I– I know that I don't deserve you, but I want you so bad."

I blinked, taken aback by her trembling admission. What was she saying? Why was she saying it? Why did I truly wish she meant it?

Before I could even think of how to reply, she suddenly kissed me. It was a mess of teeth and tongue and the remnants of beer and tobacco. It wasn't romantic or affectionate or anything of the sorts, but I'd missed it. I'd missed her.

I almost kissed back, almost wanted to melt into her and pretend things were how they used to be, but then I remembered two things – she was drunk, and she was dating Jeff.

"Jackie," I got out after pushing her back, looking between her dilated eyes. "Stop– you're– you're with Jeff."

She shook her head, trying to lean in again. "I broke up with him last week."

This caught me off guard. She'd broke up with him?

Her lips found mine again and I couldn't seem to push her away. She was magnetic and I'd always been weak in the knees for her. Her hands found my jacket and tugged me close, and I closed my eyes for just a moment, but a clicking sound made us pull apart. The porch light turned on and then the front door was open, revealing Jackie's mother.

My heart was racing as the older Taylor blinked tiredly, looking between us as if trying to make sense of our presence. Clearly she'd just woken up.

"Sorry for the disturbance, Miss Taylor," I spoke, still in disbelief but trying to hide it. "I was just dropping Jackie off home from the party."

Miss Taylor nodded, giving me a grateful smile. "Thank you, Y/N." And then her eyes fell to her daughter, disapproving. "In you come, Jackie."

Jackie pressed her lips together, and I tried not to look at them as her saliva glistened under the porch light, a reminder of what we'd just done. She glanced at me, eyes unreadable, before going inside. I smiled at Miss Taylor once more before swallowing thickly as the door closed.

What the hell just happened?

—

My thoughts were purely Jackie and what she'd said and what she did – what we did. I tried to get my mind off it the next day, doing homework in my room, but my conflicted heart was stuck on thoughts of the blonde who'd ruined my life.

When the phone rang, I was relieved for the distraction, answering it instantly. "Hello?"

"Y/N? It's Van."

"Hey, Van, what's up?" I sighed, rubbing my forehead.

"It's just us on the line?" she checked, careful.

I furrowed my brows, confused. "Yeah, why?"

A pause and then: "You dated Jackie?!"

My eyes widened slightly. "You– I– what?"

"Jackie was super drunk last night, like suuuuper drunk," she explained. "She let it slip to the whole team. Going on about how you both dated for a whole year apparently?"

I opened and closed my mouth, speechless. Jackie had told everyone? She'd actually admitted it? Out loud? To other people?

"You didn't think to tell your best friend?!" Van shouted, a mixture of surprise and excitement. "You hid it so well!"

I scrunched my nose with awkwardness. "I know, I know. I–"

"Y/N!" my mum called from downstairs, cutting me off. Thank god for the interruption.

"Mum's calling, gotta go," I said quickly.

"No, wait–!" she tried to stop me, but I slammed the phone down with a breath of relief. I could deal with that later.

If my brain wasn't mushed before, it certainly was now. Jackie had been so adamant on hiding her feelings and sexuality, but she'd told everyone... maybe she actually meant what she'd said to me last night? Maybe it wasn't just a drunken mistake?

My mum called me again, so I forced myself up and out of my room, going downstairs.

"Sorry, I was talking to Van," I said as I found her in the living room, only to stop when I saw Jackie sat on the couch.

"Jackie's here to hang out," my mum said, before grabbing her keys from the table. "I'm getting groceries. You want anything?"

I stood there awkwardly as Jackie offered me a small smile, leaving a funny feeling in my chest. "Er, no."

My mum nodded before kissing the side of my head and leaving the house. I swallowed thickly as I looked over Jackie, making sure she was really there.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, finding my voice. "How are you even here right now?"

"I borrowed my mum's car," she said matter-of-factly, standing up. And when I quirked a brow, she added, "I can drive, I just choose not to."

"Huh."

Her confidence was replaced with a nervousness I didn't know she possessed. "Can we talk?"

I nodded slightly, knowing it was definitely needed. She chewed her lip, collecting her thoughts, and took a seat on the couch again. As I watched, waiting patiently, I noticed her mild discomfort in the crease between her eyes.

"Are you okay?" I asked, taking a seat beside her.

She rubbed her head slightly. "Slight hangover. I'll live."

My eyes traced her profile, hesitant. "Do you even remember last night?"

Her eyes snapped to mine, determined. "Of course I do. That's why I'm here."

"So you remember ripping my mum's plants out the ground and giving them to me?"

"What?"

I nodded. "Yep. She hasn't noticed yet. I'm hoping she won't."

Jackie winced, pink dusting her cheeks. "Sorry..."

"Do you remember the party?" I asked, unable to look away from her.

"What about it?"

My expression softened as I braced myself for her reaction. "Van just called. Apparently you told the whole team we dated."

Her eyes widened with surprise. "What?"

I couldn't read if she was mad at herself for letting it slip or not. "Yeah. So, that's out."

She looked ahead, swallowing hard. "I didn't remember that, but it makes sense..."

I nodded, looking at the coffee table, unsure what to think.

"I remember other things," she muttered, looking to me. "Like what I said to you."

I glanced at her, frozen in place by her gaze.

"I meant every word," she continued, eyes flickering between mine. "I'm truly sorry for everything, Y/N. For hurting you. For being such a bitch. For being too scared to be myself. But I don't care anymore – I miss you." She paused, sucking up a breath. "I'm sorry I told everyone, but I'm also glad I did. And I'm sorry I shared all of this with you whilst I was drunk. I planned to tell you in a better way, but it just happened."

My heart was thrumming in my chest as her words settled, only confirming what I'd hoped she'd meant last night. This was a new side to her, a certain one. It was all I'd wanted her to be and it left me speechless.

Her hands found mine. "You kissed me back. Right? I didn't imagine it?"

I shook my head. "No, you didn't."

She was trembling, hazel eyes searching mine. "Do you hate me?" she muttered, as if afraid of the answer.

I looked at her hands, holding mine gently. "I really wanted to, but I couldn't. I was just... so hurt after you left."

She frowned guiltily. "I'm sorry."

I looked up, tilting my head. "I know you are."

She didn't move, didn't speak, and the simple touch of her fingers against mine sent shivers down my spine. And then she cupped my cheek, so tender that I could've melted under her touch.

"I'm asking for one more chance," she spoke quietly, desperately. "I won't mess it up this time."

I tensed my jaw, hand resting on hers on my cheek. Was I a fool for giving in? I wasn't sure, but I only had my heart to follow, and right now it was yearning for Jackie Taylor.

I nodded slowly, giving in. We had stuff we needed to work through, but I'd missed her more than I could admit.

She began to smile, relieved, before her eyes flickered to my lips. I didn't waste a second as I pressed mine to hers, capturing her bottom lip between mine.

After all, we had lost time to make up for.

#yellowjackets #yellowjackets imagine #ella purnell #jackie taylor #jackie taylor imagine #jackie taylor x reader #jackie taylor x you #yj

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helloalycia · 26 days ago

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𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐍 𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐀𝐋 [𝐎𝐍𝐄] — 𝐉𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐈𝐄 𝐓𝐀𝐘𝐋𝐎𝐑

two / masterlist / wattpad

summary: after you and Jackie break up because she can't be open about her relationship, you're left to deal with your bitter ex.

warning/s: hints of homophobia but not really, just jackie being her closeted self.

author’s note: finally got this one written after a million years! hope you like it :)

Dating someone who was too afraid to be themselves was hard enough, but that person being both the most popular girl in your grade and the team captain of your soccer team was even worse. It meant I saw her everywhere, when hers was the last face I wanted to see.

Jackie Taylor was living in denial.

We'd dated for a whole year and, whether it was my teenage naivety or general absolute insanity, I truly believed she was the first and last girl I'd be with. Our relationship had been a secret to everyone and I didn't care, if it meant I still had her in my life. I assumed she'd eventually feel comfortable enough to come out with it. Oh, how wrong I'd been.

We shouldn't have worked on any level – she was stunning and confident and perfect and I was, well, none of that – but we did and I was in love with her. So, when she suddenly decided she couldn't do it anymore, it was a horrible shock. A hurtful one.

Fast forward past the screaming and arguing and inevitable breakup, I now found myself despising her for the way she treated me, and was forced to see her every day at school. If she wanted to live her life in denial, fine. But I didn't want to see it.

Especially when she got together with brainless Jeff Sadecki who'd been trying to get with her for the duration of our relationship. It stung when I saw them together the first time, making out in the hallway before class, barely two weeks after we broke up. But she didn't need to know that. As far as she knew, I didn't care anymore, just like she didn't.

I was certain I wouldn't move on, not as soon as she did anyway, but things started to look up when I met someone at a party after one of our soccer games.

Van – my best friend and teammate – and I were chatting with our other teammates, Taissa and Lottie, the three of them drinking as I stayed on water since I was the designated driver tonight. It was when I left to grab a drink when I met Lauren, a girl who went to the school of our rival soccer team. We got to chatting about the most random of things and I found myself stunned by her pretty smile and easygoing nature. And the fact that she was equally as flirty back had me forgetting all about Jackie, even for a moment.

We talked for a while, settling by the bonfire and getting to know each other better. It was only when I glanced around as I spoke of my teammates to her when I saw Van spinning in circles, beer in hand, and Taissa laughing at her like it was the funniest thing ever.

"I'm sorry, but I think I should go take my friend home," I said, glancing at my watch and seeing how late it was getting too.

Lauren followed my gaze and stifled a laugh. "Of course. That's more important."

We both stood up and dusted ourselves off, myself giving her an apologetic smile.

"I gave you my number, so I do hope you'll call," she said playfully.

"I will," I promised, excited at the thought of getting to know her without worrying about my drunken friend in the background.

"See you soon, Y/N, hopefully," she said with a smile, before resting a hand on my shoulder and pressing a kiss to my cheek.

I didn't expect it, blinking with surprise, and she merely laughed at my expression before walking away to rejoin her friends. I swallowed thickly before a dumbstruck smile fell upon my lips.

Van and Taissa's laughter pulled me from my daydream and I headed over there, stopping Van's spinning before she threw up.

"Woah, slow down," I said between a stifled laugh. "You've drank way too much."

Van gave me a look. "I'm surprised you noticed, Miss Flirty Pants. Who was the girl, huh?"

Taissa snorted with amusement and I gave them both a disapproving look, but it was hard not to smile. Before I could reply, Shauna and Jackie approached us and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at the blonde's presence.

"I'm gonna take Van home," I said to Shauna with a knowing look, since she was also the designated driver.

"Wow, you really looked after her tonight, didn't you?" Jackie commented over her drink, glancing at a giggling Van.

"Hey, not fair," Van suddenly pouted, but I ignored her and instead fixed my glare towards Jackie.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I said bitterly.

"Jackie," Shauna said warningly, but Jackie pretended not to hear her as she lowered her drink and met my glare halfway, hazel eyes sparkling with irritation.

"What? Maybe if Y/N here wasn't hitting on random girls, Van wouldn't be so out of it."

I clenched my jaw, eyes narrowing at the blonde as if we were having our own private conversation. She knew exactly what she was doing, even if the others didn't. What the hell was her problem?

"I can do what I want, matter of fact," I reminded her. "You're the team captain, not my mother."

She began to laugh sarcastically. "Right, of course. My bad. Sorry for caring for my dear friend Van."

"Van is fine," I snapped. "How about you stick to sucking Jeff's face in the corner instead of worrying about what I get up to?"

Van and Taissa exchanged glances as Shauna sighed.

"Y/N," she warned tiredly, clearly not in the mood for petty team arguments. If only she knew it was so much more.

Jackie's face was burning with anger as she glared daggers at me, but I only returned the favour. How dare she try to make me feel bad for flirting with someone when she took exactly a minute to move on after our year-long relationship!

"Drive safe," Shauna said to me, before tugging Jackie away.

I rolled my eyes as they left, irrationally angry.

—

Despite Jackie's special talent of pissing me off, Lauren and I continued to see each other after that, and it only reminded me of how freeing it could be to hang out with someone who wasn't ashamed. We didn't argue and Lauren wasn't in denial about her sexuality – it was refreshing and I deserved to be happy too.

We got together soon after that and it wasn't a secret but I was never one to air my life to the rest of the school, so the only person who really knew was Van. Some of the others in the team knew too, but merely through passing.

About a month into our relationship, Lauren's birthday was approaching and I was struggling to get her a gift because I didn't know how elaborate I was expected to be. We hadn't been dating long and the last thing I wanted was to go overboard, but equally not impressive enough either.

I was asking Van, Taissa and another teammate Natalie for their opinions after soccer practice, chatting casually as I brushed through my wet hair from showering. They were surprisingly being helpful when none other than Jackie just had to interrupt our conversation with her presence. Everyone fell quiet without intending to and she noticed instantly.

"What? Are you bitching the captain?" she joked as she went to her locker, glancing between the others.

I rolled my eyes as I looked back to my locker.

Natalie, however, answered, "Nah, we're just helping Y/N decide on a birthday gift for her girlfriend."

I closed my eyes, sighing quietly at her revelation. In her defence, she couldn't have known of how that news would worsen Jackie and I's dynamic.

"Girlfriend, huh?" Jackie spoke, voice faltering.

Annoyingly enough, a part of me felt bad that she was finding out like this. I wasn't sure what the alternative would've been – me telling her directly? No way – but it still felt like it was throwing it in her face. But equally, she never cared how I felt watching her get together with Jeff barely two weeks after our breakup, so why should I care now?

"Yeah," I said, closing my locker once my bag was in hand. "It doesn't matter."

"Oh, it does," she corrected, voice void of emotion. "Congrats."

I glanced at her with furrowed brows. What game was she playing?

"As long as this new relationship of yours doesn't affect your focus in practice," she added slyly with a tilt of her head.

I scoffed as the others booed her, unimpressed and probably thinking she was just being a difficult team captain and not an irritating ex.

"What? It's true," Jackie defended confidently, crossing her arms and looking to the others.

"It's not exactly what someone wants to hear though, is it?" Taissa pointed out, saying what everyone was thinking.

"It's fine, guys," I assured them, though glanced between them gratefully. Then, I returned my gaze to Jackie, trying not to give her the reaction she wanted. "It won't affect anything. It's separate to this, don't worry."

"Good," she said, eyes lingering on mine knowingly.

I clenched my jaw and said nothing more, leaving for the day. She could play this silly little game of hers all she wanted, but I didn't have to play along.

—

Of course, keeping my relationship separate to Jackie wasn't as easy as it could've been when we lived in the same neighbourhood.

Lauren and I had just gone on a cinema date, walking out of the finished screening and chatting about the film. As we were walking out, I did a double take at the two figures who were walking into the cinema. It was Jackie and Shauna, and I was a deer caught in headlights when Shauna noticed me too, smiling and waving.

Awkwardly, I raised my hand and gave a poor attempt of a wave in return, and then my eyes glanced over at Jackie. She wasn't as happy to see me as Shauna was, her eyes flickering between Lauren and I with an unreadable expression. Lauren hadn't met the team before – not really counting the party – and this certainly wasn't the time.

"Oh, do you know them?" Lauren asked when she saw where my gaze was.

We kept walking, past Jackie and Shauna who thankfully kept their distance as well.

"Yeah, they're on my soccer team," I answered.

She nudged me in the arm gently. "You can say hello if you want. I'm not in a rush."

I gave her a small smile, hoping she couldn't see my internal conflict. "Nah, it's fine. I see them every day."

She chuckled at my response but thankfully didn't question it, instead linking arms with mine as we left the cinema.

—

As if Lauren almost meeting Jackie wasn't worse enough, they ended up actually meeting in the worst way possible.

Lauren, Van and I had plans to hang out after soccer practice one day, so I'd told her to meet us in the car park or come to the bleachers if she got there a little earlier. It was the first time she'd come to the school, other than for the game the night we met, so when I caught sight of her walking to the bleachers, I was momentarily distracted. It was a second, if that, when I waved at her with a smile, and then I stumbled back when the football hit my shins at full speed.

We were playing a scrimmage and I looked up, seeing it was Jackie who had kicked the ball to me. Because I didn't react in time, Mari – who was playing on the opposite side – stole the ball back which led to them eventually scoring.

"What the hell was that?" I asked Jackie when she approached me with a fiery glare.

"Pay attention next time!" she scolded.

I raised my brows with disbelief. "It was two seconds! I looked away for two seconds!"

She jabbed her finger in my chest as she pushed me back slightly. "And two seconds is the difference between winning and losing!"

I was ready to shove her back just as hard, but Shauna came out of nowhere and stepped between us.

"It wasn't a big deal, Jackie," she said sternly, looking to her friend disapprovingly.

Jackie scoffed before yelling at everyone to come together for a debrief. I clenched my fists with irritation as everyone stood together, counting down the seconds for this practice to be over.

"You know why we never made it to nationals this year?It's because of playing like this!" she scolded everyone. "You all need to lock in and do better, you hear me?" When nobody responded, she waved a hand. "Dismissed."

"She's got a stick up her ass," someone mumbled, and I couldn't help but mentally agree as a few others hummed.

"What was that?" she snapped, eyes roaming everyone impatiently.

"Nothing," I assured her, when nobody spoke, muttering under my breath, "Stalin."

Natalie snorted with amusement from beside me, making me crack a smile.

"That's it," Jackie said with crossed arms and a firm stare directed at me. "Five laps around the field."

My eyes widened. "What?!"

"Now," she said roughly.

Natalie exhaled with disbelief. "Jackie, c'mon, that's out of order."

Jackie glanced at her. "You wanna join her?"

I scoffed quietly at her stupid power trip, whilst Natalie rolled her eyes.

"Jackie, you're not being fair," Shauna tried to reason with her gently, but Jackie wasn't backing down.

"Coach would never do this," I told her with narrowed eyes.

"And Coach is off sick," she reminded me, "so start running."

I tensed my jaw, studying her furious gaze. Why was she being so bitchy? She was the one who broke up with me!

"Van, can you tell Lauren I'll be a little late?" I asked Van as she watched the whole disagreement take place, clearly as surprised with Jackie's behaviour as the rest of us.

"Yeah, sure, 'course," she assured me.

And with that, having no choice but to appease Jackie's dictatorship in Coach Martinez's and Coach Scott's absence, I started running.

I was already exhausted from practice, so another five laps on top of that had me panting and sweating like crazy. When I returned to the bleachers, I noticed Lauren was nowhere to be found, but Jackie was still out here, as if enjoying watching my suffering. I was desperate for my water bottle, which should have been on the bench but was now being held captive by Jackie.

"You should watch how you talk to your captain," she said nonchalantly.

I glared at her, breathless, before attempting to grab my water bottle from her hand. She was quick as she pulled it back.

"Fucking hell, Jackie," I panted, bent over as I caught my breath.

"Only students of Wiskayok High School can be present for practice," she continued with a hint of bitterness in her voice. "Your girlfriend is waiting for you in the parking lot."

I looked up at her with disbelief. "Are you kidding me?"

"I don't kid about the rules," she said with narrowed eyes.

I swallowed thickly, straightening up as I tried to make sense of her erratic behaviour towards me. "What the hell is your problem?"

She shrugged. "Don't have one."

I regulated my breathing as I shook my head. "You're being a bitch. And for what? Are you jealous? Because in case you forgot, you broke up with me!"

At this, she stepped forward slightly, glowering at me. "Don't flatter yourself."

My heart was still thumping in my chest, mouth as dry as sandpaper, but I refused to back down from her stupid staring match.

"Practice is over," she declared, before tossing my bottle to me and not bothering to see if I caught it.

I was vibrating with anger as I gulped it down, the urge to strangle her growing more and more every day.

When I returned to the locker room, the other girls were almost ready. Jackie was a few lockers down from me, but I ignored her as I went to grab some things to shower with from my own. A few of the girls gave me sympathetic glances, but nobody dared say anything, not with Jackie still on her period. Well, almost nobody.

"Van was saying how Lauren is picking you both up to get food," Natalie said to me as she pulled on her shoes. "That's cute. Should make up for the ruthless end to practice." At this, she gave Jackie a sideways glance, and the blonde merely scoffed as she focused on her locker.

"Yeah, it'll be fun," I agreed with a sigh. "It's nice to be the passenger princess for a change, y'know? Usually I'm the one who has to do all the driving. It's nice to have my girlfriend do it."

Okay, so it was a slight dig at Jackie since she had never driven me anywhere whilst we dated, and she definitely knew it as she rolled her eyes and suddenly slammed her locker before heading to the showers. I didn't care though. She deserved it.

"Seriously, what is her problem?" Van asked what everyone was thinking now that she was out of the room. She looked to me with a quirked brow. "Did you do something? Because she's seriously hating you right now."

"Not in the slightest," I answered with a shrug. "She's just being a bitch."

Taissa snorted with amusement as Shauna came to her best friend's defence yet again.

"Guys, c'mon, be nice," she said disapprovingly, gaze eventually landing on me.

"I'm curious, Shipman, don't you ever get tired of riding Jackie's dick all the time?" Natalie asked rhetorically, making the others laugh.

"Try running five laps then get back to me," I told her when she ignored Natalie's comment and kept looking at me.

Shauna sighed as the others started cracking more jokes, and I just tried to focus on hanging out with my girlfriend.

—

I yawned as I walked to homeroom, not in the mood for anything this morning. And as if God himself was testing me, I saw none other than Jackie and Jeff making out on my desk. They'd literally broken up days ago, but as usual with their on and off relationship, they were probably back together. Whatever the reason, it didn't need to happen on my desk.

Scoffing quietly, I approached them and attempted to get their attention. "Can you both move?"

When neither of them showed any sign they were listening – Jeff sat at the edge of my desk and Jackie stood between his legs, the two of them locking lips – I lost my patience.

"Hey!" I shouted loudly without warning.

They jumped apart, startled, and other students in class began to laugh at their reddened expressions.

"Suck each other's faces on your own desks," I grumbled, shoving Jeff off my desk so I could put my books down.

"Sorry," Jeff mumbled with embarrassment as he went to his own desk. Jackie simply avoided my eyes.

I hated sharing homeroom with them both solely for the fact that it was a constant reminder that Jackie was living in denial and I somehow wasn't enough for her yet Jeff was.

—

Lottie, Van, Shauna and I were studying together in the library for our shared History class when the sound of someone dropping their books on the desk made everyone look up. Naturally, I rolled my eyes when I saw it was Jackie, sliding into the seat next to Shauna with a groan.

"What's your problem?" Lottie asked with amusement, looking up at her.

She groaned in response, head in her hands dramatically, as Van grabbed the loose sheets of paper from the top of her pile of books.

"Looks like... French class," she told everyone for Jackie, eyeing the papers before setting them down and smirking. "You still shit?"

Jackie didn't bother looking up, but threw a middle finger up in response.

Van laughed as Shauna gave her a reproachful glance. Meanwhile Lottie nudged my side.

"What?" I said, quirking a brow at her.

"Didn't you tutor her last year?" she recalled. "Can't you help her out again?"

I bit my tongue from retorting so quickly, though every part of me wanted to scream that it was the last thing I ever wanted to do.

"I don't need her help," Jackie spoke quicker than I could, finally looking up and barely sparing me a glance as she focused on Lottie beside me.

"Good, because I don't have the time," I said with a hint of bitterness, before facing Lottie, losing my irritation. "I can't tutor, I've got my own classes to catch up with."

Lottie hummed, though wasn't sure what to say as she could tell there was clearly some unspoken tension between Jackie and I. Judging by Van and Shauna's questioning glances, they were thinking the same, but I didn't have the effort to deal with it. So, I merely looked back down to my textbooks to make more History notes.

Admittedly, my heart ached in my chest. Offering to tutor Jackie last year was what had led to our relationship in the first place. We were only friends and teammates then, and when she said she was struggling with French, I offered to help out of kindness. It started with us meeting up once or twice a week, in the library or each other's houses, and then I started to look forward to every session. I saw a side of Jackie I'd never seen before. Though, I thought it was a simple one-sided crush...

"Jackie, you're not even listening to me," I said with a sigh, looking over at her as she laid dramatically on her bed.

She groaned before rolling onto her side to stare at me as I sat by her desk. "I have an idea."

"Is it practicing our verbs and nouns? Because that sounds perfect," I retorted, making her pull an annoyingly cute face.

"No," she said with disgust, before sitting upright. "I'm, like, totally not in the mood to study right now."

"Are you ever?"

She narrowed her eyes playfully. "So, I think we should watch a movie."

I couldn't help but let out a quiet laugh. "Jackie, I'm here to tutor you, not hang out."

She waved a hand dismissively, already standing up to pull her shoes on. "We study so much. Let's just hang. Friends can hang, right?"

I watched her with mild disbelief, trying not to laugh again. "Yeah, they do when they agree to hang out. I believe this was organised solely to be a study session."

She was touching up her lipgloss in the mirror before spinning around to flash me a picture-perfect smile. "Come on. It's Friday night."

"You picked today to–"

"I regret it," she cut me off before dragging me off my seat. "Let's go to Blockbuster. Find a movie. I'll even let you pick it. We can come back here and eat all the snacks in the kitchen. Sound good?"

I debated it, unsure whether I should give in to her obvious distraction. She never was the easiest student to tutor. "I'm not sure–"

"Great! I knew you'd see reason," she said with a grin, squeezing my hand. "C'mon. You can drive."

And just like that, we left for Blockbuster.

She certainly kept to her promise of letting me pick the movie, but she didn't even bother to check it until we got back to hers and I was setting it up on the TV in her bedroom.

"I think you got the wrong one," she was saying from her bed, reading the VHS case. "It's not in English."

As I finished setting up the tape, I waited until the penny dropped. And as I crawled onto her bed to sit beside her, her eyes widened.

"You asshole! You got a French movie!"

I laughed as she smacked me in the arm. "Relax, it's an American movie. Just dubbed with French."

"Why the hell would you do that?!" she asked with a pout. "That's no fun!"

I stifled another laugh as I took the VHS case from her hands and put it on her bedside table. "We're here to study and this will help you." As she continued to shoot me glares, I added, "It's got English subtitles, don't worry."

She huffed as she crossed her arms and stared at the screen. "If I wanted to read the damn subtitles, I would've opened a damn book."

I smiled with amusement as I let my eyes flicker over her pouty expression. She was adorable when she was mad, even if it was irrational.

"You'll love it," I assured her, before getting comfortable and looking at the screen. "It's a rom-com, your favourite."

This seemed to make her lighten up as she, too, got comfy, settling in soon enough.

It was going well, aside from the odd complaint she'd make known throughout the first half of the film. And then she finally fell quiet and focused on the plot. At least I thought she was until I felt her hazel eyes burning into the side of my head. I sighed deeply before tilting my head to look at her.

"You good?" I asked playfully, expecting her to complain yet again.

She blinked, not glaring like I thought she would be. "What?"

I smiled, teasing her a little now. "You're staring, Jackie. Is it seriously bothering you? Because we can always go back to studying. All you have to do is say pl–"

She cut me off with a kiss, to my absolute surprise. One second she was staring holes into my face and the next her lips were pressed to mine, hesitant yet rushed all at once. I didn't know how to react at first, having never kissed anyone before, and then she pulled back slightly.

"I– was that okay?" she asked quietly, eyes flickering between mine.

I swallowed thickly, lips tingling. All I could manage was a sheepish nod, eager to kiss her again. And then she cupped my cheek and kissed me once more, this time with more intention. And this time, I kissed her back, melting right into her and thanking my lucky stars that I hadn't fallen for her impossibly.

Sometimes, and now more than ever, I wondered if it would've been easier if it was one-sided.

#jackie taylor x you #jackie taylor imagine #jackie taylor x reader #jackie taylor #yellowjackets #yellowjackets imagine #ella purnell #yj

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