⊹︵︵ ♪ ︵︵ ⊹ ORBIT PT1 ⊹︵︵ ♪ ︵︵ ⊹
- pairing: f!reader x zayne, caleb
- tags: childhood friends, coming of age, modern au, highschool au, love triangle, angst, jealous!caleb, yan!caleb, tension, possessiveness, rivalry, caleb may go cray-cray, sweet zayne, younger reader, yeah idk they're all weird, also this was inspired by a comic from @b.1_r0 on insta!!
- a/n: not much to say lol this is my first fic on here and i wrote it in one sitting so it's not great.. but if you can get past the mediocre writing stay tuned for part 2!!!
Ever since you could remember, Caleb and Zayne had always been by your side. Following you everywhere, hanging out together all day.
They themselves had been best friends for what seemed like forever. Where Caleb went, Zayne followed, and vice versa.
Unfortunately for Caleb, though, you were no exception. He would never admit it out loud, but deep down, Caleb always saw you as his claim. After all, he was the one who first came up to you when you were kids. You had just moved into the neighborhood and was too shy to get to know anyone. And so, curious little Caleb didn’t waste a second and immediately adopted you as his ‘little sister’.
He loved the way you subconsciously clung to him. The way you used to turn to him for everything. The way you cried for him whenever you got hurt.
Until Zayne had decided to start tagging along, of course. For a reason Caleb couldn’t pinpoint, Zayne was always seen as the more reliable one. All serious and no-nonsense Zayne who was there every time he wanted to spend time with you. Zayne who was the reason you didn’t give him your undivided attention anymore.
But he tried. He really tried. Caleb didn’t like sharing, but Zayne was still his best friend, and you seemed so happy with the two of them. So he allowed it, until it became all too familiar.
Him and Zayne, wrapped around his little pipsqueak’s finger. It wasn’t so bad - you loved them both equally, after all. Caleb still wanted you for him and himself alone, but he wanted you happy more than anything else.
That is, until high school.
Caleb knew that Zayne was smarter than him. He spent all his time studying and buried in books, which didn’t go unnoticed. Both the teachers and students sung his praises day and night. And it also didn’t go unnoticed by you.
You now constantly went to Zayne for help with your homework. Why?
It’s not like Caleb wasn’t smart. He was the top of his class. He could help you with everything. So why did it have to be Zayne?
Slowly but surely, you were now spending more of your time with him. Caleb started noticing the way the dynamic between the three of you shifted. Things like laughing at inside jokes only you and Zayne knew while he was left confused. Walking home together on days where he had basketball practice. Things that seemed unsignificant at first glance, but oh how they made his heart ache.
Jealousy was an understatement for what Caleb felt. You were the center of his world. Ever since he met you, you were the one thought that never left his mind. So why were you paying more attention to Zayne? Zayne didn’t love you the way Caleb did. He could never care for you the same, never protect you the same. He didn’t know you like Caleb knew you.
Day by day, he grew more and more irritated by your closeness with his best friend. He even started treating it as a competition. Caleb found himself saying yes before you even had the chance to ask. If you mentioned needing a pen, he already had one in his hand. If you complained about being hungry, he’d disappear and come back with your favorite snack. If you sighed over homework, he’d pull his chair beside yours before you could even think to call Zayne. He wanted to be your everything, just as you were his.
He would stop at nothing, even pushing Zayne away from the both of you. His best friend. His brother.
But alas, he still managed to steal precious moments with you away from him. Caleb didn’t worry, though. He believed that eventually, you’d find your way back to him, and you’d realize that after all, he was all you could ever need. It was only a matter of time, and patience is a virtue.
Though, what Caleb didn’t know, was that spending so much time with you caused you more problems than he could ever imagine. He was the golden boy of the school. Everyone adored him. Girls confessed to him almost every week, and were always met with a friendly rejection. In his eyes, you were the only one who mattered.
He failed to take into account the fact that he wasn’t the only one who felt jealousy. The countless girls who were met with his rejections turned their anger towards you. It was obvious to everyone but you that you were the only one he was interested in. And teenage girls are teenage girls, so you quietly suffered their petty bullying time and time again.
At first, it started out with snarky comments and giggles about your appearance. Then, it turned into direct confrontation and even physical bullying.
Still, you refused to bother Caleb with it, and simply wished they would get bored and move on soon enough.
It was a dry autumn afternoon where the sun shone through the windows of the empty classroom. You, on the other hand, were anything but dry.
That day, you had made the mistake of going to the bathroom shortly after classes ended. Needless to say, you certainly didn’t expect stepping out completely soaked, after a whole bucket of cold water was dumped on you.
So now, there you were, shaking like a leaf, in sticky clothes, wrapped up in a big zip up hoodie you looked ridiculous in. It smelled like him. Clean and warm. Like Zayne.
He had found you, dripping and freezing, desperately trying to warm yourself up. He didn’t say anything then, just draped the hoodie he was wearing over you, and dragged you to an empty classroom.
He sat across from you without a word, and just stared at you.
You looked down at your knees, ears flushed. The silence between you two was oddly comforting in a way that made you want to never break it.
A few minutes passed by, before Zayne tentatively reached out to brush your wet hair behind your ear. You looked up at him then with teary eyes, and he wrapped his arms around you, holding you close.
You tried to fight the tears, but you ended up bursting in them, crying against his chest and probably soaking his uniform.
He just held you tight, caressing your hair and pressing soft kisses along your forehead.
Just then, you heard the floorboards slightly creak, and tried to turn your head towards the noise, but Zayne’s strong arms coaxed you into staying squished against him, and you wouldn’t dare complain.
How could he have been so stupid?
How could he have been so wrong?
Caleb sank to his knees beside the classroom door.
Of course, deep down, he knew he had no one to blame but himself. He knew this would happen, but insisted on deluding himself that he was the one you would choose in the end. He got it all wrong, of course.
While you were the center of his world, he wasn’t even in your orbit.
@calebsfavoriteusedthong in case you wanna read it!!
dividers by: @anitalenia and @im4yeons
