Summary: You’ve moved to a new town and decide to join the soccer team, which you begin to develop feelings for your coach. As your connection with him slowly deepens, things become increasingly complicated, especially with the fact that he’s still married.
Pairings: Negan Smith x F!reader
Content: Slow burn? Non, apocalypse au.
Notes: Hello!! This is going to be a long fic series! I decided to give it a try, so let me know what you guys think about it. Sorry, I wrote so much for the first chapter! For the next chapter, I’ll probably do a one week time skip. Enjoy!
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It was your first day of senior year at a new school. Your dad had gotten a better job offer, and before you knew it, you and your parents were moving to Oakridge, Oregon.
The town sat deep in the mountains, surrounded by endless forests and fog that never seemed to fully disappear. The streets were quiet, the buildings old, and the pine trees stretched so high they blocked out the sky.
It wasn't a bad place, though. At least, not from what you'd seen so far. The people seemed friendly enough. Then again, you hadn't actually spoken to anyone yet.
"Remember your father and I-"
"You and Dad won't be home! Got it!" You said as you grabbed your bag, running out the door.
"She'll be fine." Your father put his hand behind your mother.
You lived in a small neighborhood with neatly kept lawns and driveways lined with parked cars. Just outside the neighborhood was a small gas station and liquor store. Which was nice, you supposed.
Grabbing your skateboard, you stepped off your porch and glanced across the street. One of your neighbors was standing outside beside his car, keys in hand. A woman came out of the house. She walked over to him, looking angry, still talking as she reached the car, while he just ignored her and climbed into the driver’s seat. The door slammed shut before she could finish whatever she was saying.
You waited at the end of the driveway while he backed out. Instead of driving off right away, he stopped and motioned for you to go first. You gave him a small nod before pushing off on your skateboard and crossing the street. Once you were past, he drove away, disappearing into the morning fog that hung over the neighborhood.
You had finally made it to school. The building was bigger than you expected, hallways already filled with students moving in clusters, voices bouncing off the walls, lockers slamming shut.
You kept walking, weaving through the crowd until you finally found your first period classroom. The moment you stepped inside, the noise from the hallway faded into a low murmur behind you.
The room was already half full. You looked for a seat, then headed toward one of the empty desks in the back and sat down.
On your right, a girl was leaning back in her chair, completely locked into a conversation with two guys beside her.
On your left, a guy was picking his nose as he had absolutely no awareness of the concept of other people.
You stared forward instead, choosing not to react, already realizing this year was going to feel very long.
"Hey, you’re new, aren’t you?!” The girl on your right said, turning around in her seat.
“Yeah, I am.” You looked at the girl.
“Cool. This is Carl, Ron, and I’m Enid!” She pointed at the boys next to her.
“Y/N.” You smiled as you looked at them.
“Nice meeting you!” Enid said brightly.
Before anything else could be said, the classroom door opened.
“Alright, settle down, everyone! I know it’s the first day back, but let’s get through this.” The teacher walked in.
"I’m Mr. Rhee, and I’ll be your English teacher for this year.” He looked at the class, already looking tired.
“I heard Maggie, his wife, got pregnant over the summer,” the boy you assumed was Ron said, leaning back in his chair like he was sharing breaking news.
“And how would you know, Mr. I can’t even pass Geometry?” Enid shot back. Carl snorted, trying not to laugh.
“I-okay, whatever!” Ron said, throwing his hands up before turning back toward the front of the room, pretending to focus on Mr. Rhee.
“We could go to the diner later and just ask Maggie.” Enid said.
The bell rang, cutting through the chatter. Chairs scraped against the floor as everyone started packing up.
You stood up, slinging your bag over your shoulder.
“What’s your next period?” Enid asked, already gathering her things too.
“Statistics.” You let out a small sigh.
“Oh, you’re smart,” she said immediately, smiling.
“Thanks.” You gave a small smile back.
“Can I walk you there?” she added, tilting her head slightly. “It’s right across from my class… kind of.”
"Yeah, sure," You Nodded. "That would be nice." You grabbed your bag and headed out with her.
“I’ll catch you guys at nutrition!” she called over her shoulder, already halfway out of the classroom. She then turned back to you.“So where are you from?”
“California,” you said, adjusting your bag on your shoulder.
“Oh, nice,” She nodded. “Well, I hope this town’s treating you well. Do you like it out here?”
“Can’t really say yet. I haven’t really looked around the town.” You shrugged a little.
You reached your next class already.
“Why don’t you wait for me here after second period?” she added. “You can hang out with my friends and me.”
“Yeah. That sounds cool.” You nodded.
“Yeah, cool! I’ll see you right now.” A bright smile spread across her face.
She waved and walked off down the hall.
It was nutrition time, and you waited outside your classroom, leaning back slightly against the wall as students moved through the halls.
You looked up and saw Enid walking toward you, Carl and Ron following behind her.
“Hey,” you said, straightening up a bit.
“Sorry it took so long,” she said, laughing. “These two idiots were taking forever.”
“Yeah, right!” Carl cut in immediately. “You were the one who couldn’t decide whether to sign up for soccer or not.”
“I wanted to see who else signed up!” Enid rolled her eyes.
"Speaking of soccer, you should sign up.” She says as she turns to look over at you.
“I actually like soccer,” You said with a small smile. “I used to play at my old school.”
“Oh, sweet! We need people who actually know what they’re doing. Please sign up!” Enid’s face lit up. "Please! Please! Please!"
"Shouldn't have said anything," Carl says as he laughs, looking at you.
“Okay, okay. I’ll sign up. Where do I go?” You laughed.
“You have to sign up with the coach,” She said, glancing toward the two gym doors. “And since we’re seniors and don’t have PE, we just go straight to him.”
“Great. More running.” Ron groaned behind her.
“Come on, I’ll show you.” Enid ignored him as she grabbed your hand. "Will both be back after. Don't do anything stupid!" She says as both the boys laugh. Enid, holding your hand as you both run to the gym.
“How’s the coach like?” You asked as Enid knocked on the gym door.
“He’s nice,” She said, then hesitated. “But he can be kind of an asshole sometimes. Depends if he likes you or not.” She knocked again, harder this time. “Hopefully, he doesn’t hate us.”
Before she could bang on the door again, it swung open.
An older man stood in the doorway, gym lights behind him.
“My friend wants to sign up for soccer,” Enid said quickly. “Can we come in?”
“Enid, when I said to recruit more people, I didn’t think you’d actually take it seriously.” He said as he stepped aside.
“You’re welcome,” she said cheerfully, already walking in.
The two of you followed him across the gym floor, sneakers squeaking slightly against the polished wood.
“What’s your name?” he asked as you reached his small office.
He finally turned around fully, and your stomach dropped slightly.
It was the man from your neighborhood this morning.
“Y/N L/N,” you said, a little quieter than before.
“Y/N…” He repeated your name slowly as he wrote it down on the sheet.
“Alright,” he said after a moment. “You’re all signed up.”
Then he looked up and stopped.
His expression changed, enough for you to notice.
The bell rang through the gym.
“Well, you both should head to class before you’re late,” He said, clearing his throat as he straightened up behind his desk.
“Okay, well, thank you, Coach!” Enid said quickly.
“Yeah,” You added with a small nod.
He didn’t say anything else, just watched as the two of you turned and headed back toward the gym doors.
“So, that’s Coach Smith,” she said, and with that, she kept walking, motioning for you to follow as the hallway filled back up with students rushing to class.
The final bell of the first day rang out through the school, students spilling into the parking lot. You walked with the crowd, slipping your wired headphones on as you headed toward where you’d left your skateboard.
“Yo! New girl!” a voice called out.
“I told you her name’s Y/N, idiot!” another voice snapped right after.
You turned toward the sound and spotted Enid leaning halfway out of a car window, waving at you.
“Hey?” you said, pulling your headphones off.
“We’re gonna go to the diner nearby,” Enid said. “Wanna come?”
“Uh, I would love to, but my skateboard-”
“Put it in my trunk!” Ron interrupted, already popping it open.
“Thanks,” you said, walking over and lifting the trunk lid a little higher. You hesitated for a second, glancing between them. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, just shove it in there!” Ron said, waving you off.
You placed it carefully into the trunk before shutting it, then opened the car door and climbed into the back seat.
“Are we all ready?” Ron asked as he shifted the car into drive.
“Let’s go!” Enid said, already leaning forward.
The car was merging into the road as the campus slowly disappeared behind you.
“Nice car, by the way,” you said, watching the trees blur past the window.
“Thanks, my parents just got it for me!” Ron replied, a little too proudly.
“Slow down!” Enid said as the car picked up speed.
"So how was your first day of school?" Carl says, looking over at you.
"It was chill, I guess?" You shrug. "I like most of my teachers."
"That's good," He says as Ron pulls into the diner parking lot. "Come on! They have the best milkshakes here," He smiles as you guys get out of the car.
Carl holds the door for you as you guys walk in. Inside the diner was small and cozy. The smell of fresh coffee, fries, and hamburgers filled the air as soon as you walked in. Red booths sat along the walls, and a few people quietly talked while music played in the background. The windows fogged up a bit due to the weather. We headed over to a booth in the corner.
"Where's Maggie?" Enid asked as she sat down beside you, the two boys sitting across from you.
"Uh, not sure," Carl said, looking around. "She's coming."
Just then, a woman walked out through the double doors. She wore a white shirt with a black apron tied around her waist, a small notebook in her hand.
"Maggie!" Carl, Enid, and Ron called out at the same time.
"Hey, guys," she said with a smile as she walked over.
Her eyes moved from Carl and the others before landing on you. She glanced over at Enid, curious.
"So, you gonna introduce me to your new friend?" she asked.
"This is Y/N!" Enid said, grinning.
"Welcome, Y/N. I hope these three troublemakers are treating you well. I'm Maggie, by the way." Maggie smiled. Then, turning back to you all. "So, what do we want today?" She flipped open her notepad.
"Can we get a basket of fries?" Ron asked.
"A basket of fries," Maggie repeated, scribbling it down.
'"And can Ron and I get two chocolate milkshakes, please?" Carl added.
"Y/N, you should get a strawberry milkshake with me. They're really good." Enid said
"Oh, I don't have any money on me," you stated. Enid immediately shook her head.
"No worries. I got you, okay?" She said, smiling.
Before you could argue, she looked up at Maggie.
"Two strawberry milkshakes, please."
Maggie smiled and wrote it down.
With that, she tucked the notebook under her arm and headed toward the kitchen.
"Enid, you didn't ask her if she's pregnant!" Ron said.
"Well, I'm not just gonna ask her!" Enid shot back, shaking her head. "What if she's not, huh? Then she'll think I'm calling her fat! Honestly, Ron, I have no idea how you're in honors."
"You're like the closest to her out of all of us," Ron insisted. "Just make sure to ask before we leave. I've been dying to know."
"So that's the lady dating our English teacher?" you asked, glancing toward the counter where Maggie had disappeared.
"Yeah," Enid said. "We're close 'cause she's been working here since I can remember. I'm always here, so she talks to me a lot. She's really sweet."
After a bit, Maggie came back with a tray in her hands.
"Basket of fries, two chocolate milkshakes, and two strawberry milkshakes. Anything else, guys?" she asked as she set everything down.
"That's all. Thanks, Mags," Enid said with a smile.
Maggie gave a small nod and started to turn away.
Under the table, Ron suddenly kicked you by accident. You jolted and looked over at him with a scrunched-up expression.
He immediately mouthed, Sorry, then reached over and hit Enid instead.
“Hey-ouch!” Enid snapped, turning to Ron.
Ron ignored her, eyes darting toward Maggie like he was trying to signal something.
“I have a-” Enid started.
“How was-” Maggie began at the same time, stopping just as quickly.
“Oh, my God!” Ron blurted, half-rising from the booth. “Someone just go, for crying out loud!”
“I was just going to ask how school went?” Maggie blinked at him, clearly confused but still polite.
“Oh, school was-” Enid started, but got cut off again.
“School was good!” Ron jumped in quickly. “We’ve got your husband as our teacher!”
“Nice…to know?” Maggie paused for a second, then gave a small, uncertain smile.
Ron nudged Enid under the table again, earning a sharp look from her.
“Uh… is it true that you’re pregnant?” she asked, forcing a nervous smile.
Carl quietly grabbed a fry and ate it, watching the exchanged looks. While you stayed quiet, sipping your milkshake, unsure of where to look.
“Oh! Yes, I am.” She gently rested a hand on her stomach. “How did you know?”
“Some kids at school were talking about it,” Enid looked at Ron.
“Yeah,” Ron added quickly, leaning back. “It’s basically all the gossip right now.”
“You keep up on the-” Maggie started, then paused, shaking her head. “Never mind. Enjoy your fries and milkshakes.” She turned and walked back toward the counter.
“You scared her!” Enid said immediately, grabbing a napkin, crumbling it, and throwing it at Ron.
“What the-hey!” Ron protested, catching it mid-air. “As I said, I just wanted to know, okay? And I think it went great.”
“It did not go great!” Enid shot back.
“Really? Because I think it went splendidly,” Carl said dryly, sipping his milkshake.
Enid narrowed her eyes and threw a crumpled napkin at him, too. Carl hid his face as it bounced off his shoulder.
You let out a small laugh.
“You two are annoying,” Enid said, grabbing a fry from the basket and eating it.
A little while later, the tension faded into easy conversation.
“Okay, wait-” Carl said, making a confused face. “You’re telling me Coach Smith, like the P.E. teacher, is having problems with his wife?”
“Hey! Don’t quote me on anything, okay?” Ron said quickly. “It’s just what I’ve heard.”
“So first it’s that Maggie’s pregnant, and now that Coach Smith is having issues with his wife?” Enid said, leaning back in her seat. “Yeah, no, that’s insane.” She turned to you. “Don’t you think that’s insane?”
"I don't know." You shrugged slightly. “I don’t really know him. And why is it such a big deal if he's having problems with his wife?"
“Right…you’re new,” Ron said slowly, pointing at you like that explained everything.
"What's that have to do with anything? You spoke up.
"Nothing," Carl said. “Just that back in late August last year, he kind of had this whole thing.”
He leaned in a little, lowering his voice like it was some big secret.
“He and his wife went to this bar, right? And everything was fine until some guy started messing with him. Coach Smith just wanted to play a song for his wife, something special, but the guy kept shutting it down, acting like he owned the place. It turned into a whole argument.”
“And Coach Smith snapped. Like, really snapped,” Carl said, leaning back in his seat. “He fought the guy right there in the bar. He’s technically not even supposed to be working at the school because the guy he beat up was the father of one of his students. I guess he just got away with it.”
"Uh, how do you know all of this?" You asked.
“He only knows this because his dad was there,” Enid said immediately.
“Hey! Keep my dad out of this,” Carl shot back.
“How can I keep him out of it if he was literally there?” Enid asked, confused.
“Well, I’m not supposed to know, so-” Carl muttered, rolling his eyes.
You blinked, processing that for a second.
“Wait..your dad’s the sheriff?” you asked, surprised.
The table went quiet for a beat as everyone looked at Carl.
“Yeah, and his dad hates Coach Smith,” Ron added casually.
“What?” Ron replied, genuinely confused. “It’s true. You have to be new not to know. So…” He gestured towards you. “She knows now.”
“Wait, what-?” you said, squinting at all of them.
“My dad hates Coach Smith, but I don’t really know why,” Carl said with a shrug.
“That’s what he says,” Ron added, sipping his milkshake as he looked out toward the sunset through the diner window.
You stared at them in confusion, trying to piece everything together.
Then Enid spoke up again, dead serious.
“Surprised they’re not dating…”
“Here we go again.” Carl let out a long sigh.
“Enid,” Ron said, exhaling, “believes that Carl’s dad and Coach Smith hate each other so badly that they secretly, like…yearn for each other. I don’t know.” He shakes his head in disbelief at even having to say this.
“Listen!” Enid said, sounding passionate. “You have to see my point of view! They’re always at each other’s throats! No one cares that much unless they’re, like…into each other.” She drinks the last bit of her milkshake.
“That’s insane, Enid,” Ron said, shaking his head. “I’m pretty sure there isn’t even a universe where those two end up together.”
“And my dad’s not gay,” Carl added flatly. “And he’s married to my mom. He has me, Enid. A child.”
“He could be…you never know!” Enid insisted. “What if, in another universe, your mom died, and after a while, your dad met him!”
“Okay, I think it’s time to go,” Carl said, standing up. You followed him, getting out of the booth as well.
“Okay, but listen!” Enid called, stepping out too. “They would both still hate each other, but your dad would look at him with, like…with anger but lust-"
“Dude, what the hell is wrong with you?” Ron tried not to laugh.
“I kinda see her point,” you said, trying not to laugh.
“Thank you, Y/N,” Enid said immediately, looping an arm through yours as they all started walking out. “This is why you’re now my favorite. Not that any of you were my favorite to begin with.”
“Cool,” Carl muttered, hands in his pockets.
“Oh my gosh!” Enid suddenly gasped, eyes lighting up again. “The ship name would totally be something like Regan!”
The misty evening air hit you as you stepped outside, the diner sign glowing behind you.
“Bye, Maggie!” they all called back toward the door as it shut behind them.
Carl and Ron walked ahead, Carl slipping into the front passenger seat and Ron getting into the driver's seat. Enid, still having her arm looped with yours, still talking.
“Ew, stop,” Carl said, leaning back. “You’re like weird, okay? Why would people ship two straight guys just because they hate each other?”
“Because you never know,” Enid said dramatically, buckling her seatbelt. “People would post about them on Tumblr, no doubt.”
“What's Tumblr?” Ron asked as he started the car.
You paused for a second as you buckled in. “It’s like an app where people post stuff, photos, edits, and text posts. A lot of fandoms are on it. People make theories, ships, aesthetics, basically anything. It’s kind of chaotic but also really specific about random things.”
Carl glanced back at you from the front seat.
“That actually sounds terrifying,” he commented.
“You’re cool,” Enid said with a smile.
“Okay, let’s change the subject,” Ron said, shifting in his seat as he started the car.
“Ugh, finally,” Carl muttered, leaning back.
“Y/N, where do you live so I can drop you off?” Ron asked as he pulled out of the parking lot.
“Uh…by the liquor store,” you said after a moment, pointing ahead as he started driving.
“Oh,” Enid said, turning slightly in her seat. “You live near all of us, actually.”
After a few minutes, he finally pulled up in front of your house.
“Here we are,” Ron said, smiling as he unlocked the doors.
“Thanks, guys. That was a nice hangout,” you said, stepping out with a small smile.
“See you at school tomorrow!” Enid called after you.
“Bye, Y/N,” Carl added, giving a quick wave.
“Bye, Y/N, and don’t forget your skateboard,” Ron said as he popped the trunk open.
“Oh, right. Thanks, guys. See you tomorrow,” you replied.
You walked around to the back, opened the trunk a bit more, and grabbed your skateboard. Stepping back onto the curb, you waved as Ron drove off, the car disappearing down your quiet neighborhood street.
You stood there for a moment, still smiling slightly, watching until their headlights were gone.
That’s when a loud door slam broke the silence.
Across the street to your left was Coach Smith’s house. The front door had just swung shut hard. He stormed out, clearly angry, heading straight for his car.
His wife followed behind him, calling after him as she stepped onto the porch.
He didn’t respond. Instead, he got into the car, slammed the door, and backed out of the driveway. As he passed her, she was still yelling something you couldn’t quite make out.
Right before he sped off, he raised a hand and flipped her off. The car disappeared down the street, leaving nothing but the sound of tires fading into the distance.
You stood frozen for a second, skateboard in your hand.
Who would be dumb enough to date someone like that?
I will write part 2 soon!! Love you guys!
