Not So Double Date
Jack Abbot x fem!reader
Doing a double date with someone from work shouldn't feel so daunting and stressful for you. But when you unintentionally invited your attending that you had a crush on for years now for a double date with his dating app match, you might as well have signed your own death sentence.
TW: angst, cursing, shitty romcom movies, unrequited love (or is it? 🤔)
A/n: this fic got away from me. I mean 4k+ words??? Dayum gurl i never knew i had it in me 😭 I honestly didnt want to end it like this but I had to cut it short for my own sanity. Because of that, I'll probably post a part two if anyone's interested
~The Pitt Masterlist~
You were casually talking with Jack just as you were doing your handoffs when you absentmindedly mentioned the movie date. You didn't know what you expected from him, but you couldn't exactly say you were thrilled when he mentioned his own date with a laugh.
Jack shared how they met on a dating app—you remind yourself to strangle Shen the next time you see him when you learned how he was the cause of all of this—and was actually planning to go on their first date.
The moment the words came out of you in a rush of panic, you knew you were doomed.
"What about a double date?"
What an idiot.
You had to give him some slack though as he initially declined the offer, muttering something about not wanting to spoil your moment with their little awkward first date jitters. But you didn't let up, arguing that going on a double date would only make it more fun.
As they say, the more the merrier.
Later that day, Ellis practically chewed you out where your dumb ass could only respond with a grimace.
Now here you were, outside the movie theater with Sam who was your date for the night.
You both arrived earlier than the agreed meeting time with Jack and his date just so you could buy the tickets and popcorn without rushing. If you were being honest, it was just a pathetic excuse to give yourself time to pull yourself together before the actual double date.
Today would be your third date with Sam, and so far, it had been great.
Objectively speaking, he was a good looking guy with a nice personality. He did all the sweet things that you could think of ever since the first time you were set up on a date by Santos. In fact, he was so nice that even Ellis gave an approving nod when he picked you up at PTMC with your favorite flowers in hand just 30 minutes ago.
He's a really great guy. He's just not Jack.
You've had a crush on Jack for years now. If you were being honest, you probably had that crush ever since you first set foot in the Pitt. You were under Robby's wing then, still not entirely sure about the idea of giving up your precious—more like barely there—sleep schedule for a night shift residence. But the more you got to interact with any of the night shift people during handoffs, the more you were convinced that sacrificing your sleep wouldn't be such a bad idea.
The actual decision was made when you finally met Jack, the attending that somehow got everyone on the night shift excited for you to meet.
The way you fell for him wasn't some big fireworks display. It was quiet, endearing in a way that makes your skin crawl with anticipation.
It was in the way he looked out for you. A granola bar here, a small compliment there. It was all those little things that merged into one big feeling that took space inside your heart. Whether it's a temporary or permanent residence, you knew it would leave a gaping hole should it leave your life.
But then you remembered where you were. You remembered who you were.
You were a resident and he was your attending. Your boss and his subordinate. Everything about it screamed messy and deep down, you knew there's nothing you could do about it.
That's why you're here, stressfully munching down on the popcorn you were holding, with Sam by your side. He was talking animatedly about something that happened at his work. You nodded absentmindedly and made a little hum here and there. But in truth, you were thinking about this date and what it truly meant to you.
This was safe. Clean. Nothing like the chaos that would ensue should you act on your true feelings.
But when you saw Jack and his date walking towards you at the corner of your eye, something else laid down over your thoughts.
This hurts.
Jack looks goddamn gorgeous. You never got to see him outside the scrubs because you never got to see him outside the hospital at all—and no, the SWAT uniform was not "outside" clothes even if it did almost put you into cardiac arrest when you first saw him in it. So when he showed up in simple jeans and a dress shirt, your knees almost buckled.
But what did spoil the moment was when your eyes locked on to the dainty hand on his arm. You then followed the hand to the owner who was equally fucking breathtaking. Holy shit.
Did you forgot about a software update in dating apps or did they only truly work for beautiful people like them?
There goes my non-existent chance.
All night, you couldn't take your eyes off of them. You were silently thankful that it was a movie date and not a date where you were forced to chat with anyone. Because if it was, you knew you would blurt out every stupid thing you were thinking about.
On your way to your seats, you did your best to make small talk with Jack's date, who you learned was named Lara. You offhandedly made a comment about how she had the same name as one of your favorite characters from a popular game. But the confused look she gave you only made you chuckle nervously, your brain short circuiting as you fumbled your way through explaining who she was and how you thought she was as gorgeous as the character.
You decided to clamp your mouth shut when Lara only smiled politely at you before returning her attention to Jack.
For your sake, you tried to focus on the movie. But not even halfway through it, your mind was permanently fixed on the other side of your double date.
You silently cursed Sam for your seating arrangement. You knew he was only being kind, letting you sit beside Jack as your respective dates were seated at both ends. You did mention to him about Jack's concerns regarding the date. Sam then insisted on letting you sit beside each other to "make it a smoother transition between two dates".
You couldn't exactly tell him that with this situation, you felt like you were on a date with Jack.
The theater was cold enough for a jacket, yet the goosebumps on your arms never bothered you for a second. Because no matter how low they set the temperature in this room, it would never be as cold as the ache in your chest that won't go away as your eyes capture the sickeningly sweet picture of Jack's arm around the back of Lara's seat while she snuggled up to him with a big smile on her face.
You immediately turned away, furiously blinking away the tears slowly forming in your eyes as you clutched the popcorn bucket harder.
You almost didn't catch Sam's voice whispering your name amidst your silent breakdown if it wasn't for him getting closer to your ear to catch your attention more.
"Is everything okay?" He whispered, his voice dripping with concern. Even in dim lighting, you could see the worry in Sam's face.
"Mhm," you nodded at him, not exactly trusting your own voice at the moment. But when a small sniffle came out of you and betrayed your resolve, you were forced to say, "Just cold."
"Oh, you want my jacket?"
For some reason, you looked at Jack from the corner of your eye at the question. But when your eyes met his curious ones, you immediately looked away.
"No, it's okay. I'm good."
His eyebrows furrowed, "Are you sure?"
You nodded firmly at him this time, "I'm sure."
Sam studied you for a moment before nodding back and returning his attention to the film. You ignored the curious glances you were getting from Jack's side of the seat, focusing instead on the drama that was unfolding on the screen in front of you. You barely knew what was happening but the amount of tears and screaming from the actors were enough to pull you away from your own tragic love life.
You vaguely remember Sam telling you summary of the movie's plot as you waited outside the theater. Something about a girl who was madly in love with his childhood best friend but couldn't do anything about it because he was in love with someone else.
How fitting.
When the movie ended, chatter around the theater rose up along with its owners. Your own group was having your own commentary about the movie as you all walked out of the theater and into the busy sidewalk.
Lara was laughing at whatever comment Sam made about the protagonist when she stopped walking, her words directed at us but her eyes were only on Jack's, "I gotta go to the restroom. Can you hold my jacket?"
"Sure, no worries," Jack smiled, holding out his hand to take her jacket.
As she started walking, Sam immediately turned to you, "I also have to go. Wait for me here? I'll walk you home, I promise."
You nodded with a smile, "Okay."
You watched their backs as they walked to the direction of the restrooms inside the lobby of the theater. It didn't even occur to you that you were left alone with Jack for the first time tonight until you heard him clear his throat.
"So, what do you think of the movie?"
You tilted your head in fake contemplation, amusement glinting in both of your eyes as you waited a moment before answering, "It was shit."
He barked out a laugh, your own giggles following after. And just like that, the night felt lighter.
"Oh my god, I thought I was the only one," he said just as he finished laughing.
"You're definitely not," you replied, shaking your head, "Don't get me wrong, though! I love a good rom-com. But that was just not… it."
"Why did you even choose this movie?" he asked amusedly.
"I didn't. It was Sam," you grimaced, "He'd been wanting to watch this movie for so long. So when it ended and I heard him chatting with Lara about how good it was, I couldn't really say anything else."
His eyes softened, a warm smile gracing his lips, "That's very sweet of you."
You shrugged, chuckling nervously as you ignored the heat blooming in your cheeks, "Yeah, that's me."
You stayed silent after that, staring at each other with the warmest grins on your faces. Everything blurred around you and all you could see was him. The loud chatter of the people around you served as background noise to the sound of your own heart thumping its way out of your chest, as if your ribs were at fault for keeping your heart inside your body.
The cold night breeze was gently blowing through your bodies. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see Jack's hand slowly reaching up by your side. A shiver went down your spine as you felt his fingers guided your hair away from your face, the pads of his fingers softly grazing itself across your temple.
You didn't notice how close the two of you were standing until you heard Sam's laugh. You immediately jumped away, scrambling to act normal as your dates got near. You ignored the way your pulse was so fast it was making you dizzy or the way the skin on your temple was still buzzing where Jack had touched it.
When you spared a glance on Jack, hurt and disappointment flooded your veins when you saw how unaffected he was. It was as if nothing happened at all.
And maybe, nothing really did happen. Maybe it was just him being kind enough to fix your appearance for you.
Either way, a stab wound would hurt less.
You turned away from him, choosing to focus instead on Sam who wrapped an arm around you the moment he was by your side.
"Well, it was nice meeting you both but we have to go. Little missy here decided it would be a great decision to pull a double shift the day after our date," Sam said teasingly, tickling your side which made you laugh.
"I'm sorry I forgot!" you exclaimed.
"You're doing a double?"
The concerned tone on Jack's voice made you look at him. You smiled sheepishly before answering, "Yeah. They needed an extra hand and Robby asked me yesterday if I was up for it."
He frowned, "Robby didn't tell me this."
You shrugged, "It was an impromptu thing. Maybe he forgot to tell you."
Jack only hummed in response, his concerned frown already making a permanent residence on his face. You couldn't help the reassuring words that came out of you, all so you could remove that frown that was already making your heart clench just seeing on his face.
"Don't worry about it. I got it handled," you smiled brightly, "I'll just take all the rest I could get before I have to start my shift."
Maybe it was the way you smiled at him or the way Lara wrapped her arms around his bicep. Either way, his face softened and finally nodded in content.
"Well, you heard the lady," Sam butted in, already guiding you both away from the two, "Have a nice night!"
You waved goodbye at them before letting Sam steer you home. You thought you felt Jack's eyes lingering on you as you walked away. But when you glanced back at them, they were already walking towards the opposite direction.
On your walk back home, Sam filled the silence with his review of the movie. You listened to him as he described the way he felt after watching particular scenes, reacting properly whenever the conversation demanded a reply from you. Even then, you weren't that great of an actor to begin with—one you realized too late when Sam paused in his ramblings.
"You're quiet tonight."
You suddenly stopped in your tracks, Sam following you just a second longer. When he saw the hesitant look on your face, he sighed, some sort of understanding already passing through him.
"Sam," you sighed, chewing on your bottom lip, "I need to talk to you."
"Is this about Jack?"
You stiffened, your eyes widening at his response. Maybe you haven't been as subtle as you thought you were. You couldn't answer right away, and that was all he needed for him to know.
He gave you a tight-lipped smile, hurt yet understanding filled his eyes, "Yeah, I kinda got that."
Your shoulders dropped, a frown gracing your lips, "I'm sorry." For leading you on. For using you as a distraction. For choosing to sacrifice your happiness to protect mine.
His eyes softened, "It's fine. For what it's worth, I had a fun time with you."
You smiled sadly at him, your hand reaching out to squeeze his own, "Me too."
You stood like that for a bit, the air between you heavy yet steady in a way that a mutual understanding could bring.
Sam was the first one to let go with one last squeeze of your hand. "If there's something I learned about loving someone, it's that nothing else mattered but them. Not your social standing, nor your principles in life. There's nothing worse than losing the love of your life over something as trivial as whatever is stopping you from pursuing him right now."
You inhaled sharply as you let his words sink in, your own voice airy as you blurted out, "I didn't say I love him."
He smiled softly, "You didn't have to."
With that, Sam stepped back and started walking away. Your eyes couldn't leave his form as you watched his back get smaller while the distance between you get larger—leaving you with the mess you're about to put yourself into.
As you laid down on your bed, you exhaled deeply, your eyes stinging with tears—with relief or regret, you're not so sure. All you knew was that you made the right decision of letting him go. Maybe not for your sake, but definitely for his. You don't have the heart to hold on to him knowing that your heart was already in the hands of another, whether or not Jack knows it.
Safe to say, you didn't sleep a wink that night.
You were grateful you were at least used to pulling an all-nighter as a night shift resident. But even then, you still got enough sleep in between shifts on a regular basis. Which is why you weren't feeling the effects of your less than an hour combined rest until a couple of hours into your shift.
You were finally graced with time to sit down after being on your feet for a whole day, the charting station serving as your temporary reprieve from the exhaustion of facing patients once again despite the station being at the literal center of the entire ED. Your will to live was only fueled by the thought that you were finally done with half of your shift. Checking your watch, you sighed with relief that you were only half an hour away from starting your night shift.
Minutes later, you heard Santos sit down beside you, her own exhaustion evident on the way she slumped down on her seat. You gave her your own tired smile before continuing with your charts.
"How's Sam?"
That made you pause on your words, the microphone you held to your face suddenly feeling very heavy in your hand. It looked like she didn't notice your silent distress as she continued talking to you.
"I haven't heard from him since your little date at that Italian restaurant and I heard you went on another one last night." She turned to you fully now, her eyes pleading, "I beg you, let me live vicariously through you."
You laughed, "I get it. Things are not going well with Garcia, huh?"
She rolled her eyes, huffing as she crossed her arms across her chest, "I don't want to talk about it."
You smirked, putting your hands up in surrender, "Okay, fine. I'll stop."
She pursed her lips, thrusting her chin at you, "So, what's up with Sam? Finally got him to ask you to be his girlfriend?"
You sighed inwardly. You honestly didn't want to talk about it as well but you owe it to Trinity to be honest with her. In fact, you wouldn't be on a date with someone if it wasn't for her.
"We're not seeing each other anymore."
"Who isn't seeing who anymore?"
You turned your head so fast, Jack was concerned you'd get whiplash. You gaped at him, words failing you when you needed them the most. Without missing a beat though, Trinity answered Jack's question for you.
"Her and Sam."
He immediately looked at you, shock evident in his face, "Why? What happened?"
You happened.
You shook your head with a smile, "Nothing. He just wasn't the one for me, that's all."
He narrowed his eyes at you, concern and a hint of protectiveness lacing his tone, "Did he hurt you?"
"No, I promise. It's all good," you said earnestly. Earnest enough that he visibly relaxed right in front of you before frowning at you once again.
"That's unexpected," he hummed, resting his arms on the counter in front of you, "You looked nice together last night." Your eyes shifted from his face to his arms for a second before you forced yourself to look away, catching Trinity's eyes who was boring into you.
Her suspicion only got higher when she heard what Jack said. "What do you mean 'last night'?" she asked Jack despite how her stare never wavered from you.
You could practically hear the smile on his face as he answered her. "We went on a double date with them," he shrugged, "Great time. Not so great movie."
"Oh? Is that so?" Trinity reacted, sarcasm coating every single word she was saying.
You grimaced, smiling sheepishly at her as a response. Before she could get another word out, you turned to Jack with newfound interest.
"Speaking of, how was your date with Lara?" you smirked, your eyes narrowing in curiosity. The soft smile on his face when he heard her name though made your resolve shake with uncertainty.
"It was great," he replied, "So great that we agreed on a second date."
Yeah, curiosity definitely killed the stupid cat.
"Well, it was nice talking to you ladies but I gotta run," Jack said, his gaze landing on you, "I'm here if you need someone to talk to."
You nodded with a small smile, "Thanks."
He grinned back, "No problem."
You watched him walk away towards the direction of the locker room, your eyes lingering at the spot where he turned a corner and disappeared from your line of sight. It was honestly also a way for you to avoid Trinity's glare that you could practically feel burning through the back of your head.
Taking a deep breath, you finally turned to her, immediately flinching at the intensity of her glare.
"I never thought I would meet someone as stupid as you."
"Hey!"
Her glare only hardened at you. But when she saw the way your shoulders drop slowly and the growing heartbreak on your face, she sighed.
She knew about your crush on the attending. Having a similar situation with her, you knew you could trust her with your secret. That didn't mean you were safe from any teasing from her. But now that she witnessed the truth behind your sudden fallout with Sam, she knew that no amount of teasing would get you smiling for now.
"I was gonna tell him how I felt today."
Trinity's eyes immediately went wide as saucers at your confession, "You what?!"
You slapped a hand on her mouth, effectively shushing her as you smiled apologetically at the people looking at you. When you were sure that the attention of the ED wasn't on you anymore, you turned back to Trinity who was still looking at you like you told her you were actually a ghost taking control over an unsuspecting body.
"Keep your voice down!" you hissed, slowly removing your hand from her mouth.
"I'm sorry," she shook her head in disbelief, her voice turning into a whisper, "but did you just tell me you were about to confess your feelings to Abbot?"
"I did," you sighed dejectedly, "It's mostly the reason why I ended things with Sam. I couldn't bear the thought of being with him when I knew deep down he wasn't the one I wanted in the first place."
She nodded, understanding flooding through her mind, "At least, you're more mature than I am. I would've, at the very least, fucked him before I dumped him."
You groaned, a small laugh escaping you before you could even think about it, "God, Trin. You're such an asshole."
"Better to be heartbroken and an asshole than just be plain heartbroken."
"Wise words, indeed." You tilted your head back, studying the ceiling for a bit as you exhaled slowly, "But I guess it's too late to do anything, now that he's with dear Lara."
She snorted, "Why are you saying her name like that?"
"Because I complimented her by saying she had the same name as Lara Croft. She was even gorgeous like her but she looked at me like I'm some random kid that doesn't understand what they're saying." You threw your hands up in exasperation, "I even tried explaining to her who she was! But apparently it wasn't enough reason to continue talking to me 'cause she just politely smiled at me then immediately turned to talk to someone else."
"Yeah, that makes sense," Trinity shrugged, "Lara Croft should not be messed with."
You pointed at her with wide eyes, "Exactly." You then sighed, finally turning your attention back to the monitor in front of you, "Anyways, I got to finish my charts before I get called into another emergency. You should go home."
You heard her hum in agreement before standing up. You put out a hand to wave goodbye to her when you were suddenly pulled up off your chair and onto your feet.
"Trinity! Wha—"
"You're going out with me. Right now."
You blinked at her, "I mean, I know I have a shitty love life but I don't really swing that way. No offence."
"What? No!" She exclaimed, "I meant we're going out for some drinks tonight. And maybe a little karaoke for some needed therapy. God knows you need it."
Your body slouched, your bottom lip protruding in a sulky pout, "I can't. I'm pulling a double today."
"No, you're not. I call emergency lifeline."
You gasped, "You're using your lifeline of the month? For this?"
She nodded firmly, "I am."
"I—fine," you sighed in surrender, "But I'm not the one talking to Abbot about this."
"Talk to me about what?"
You jumped back towards Trinity, an apology spilling from you when you almost took her down with you. You immediately turned back to Jack who was sporting an amused smirk, "God! You got to stop doing that!"
"Sorry," he snorted, putting his hands up in apology, "So, what do you want to talk to me about?"
You looked at Trinity expectantly, nodding in satisfaction when she answered for you.
"She can't work tonight."
Jack's stare shifted between you two, his eyebrows furrowed, "And why?"
"Heart emergency."
You facepalmed at that. Why you expected anything normal from Trinity, you will never know. All you knew was that you were getting nowhere with her answers, which was further cemented when you saw the growing confusion on Jack's face.
"Ending things with Sam wasn't as… easy as I expected. I didn't really get any sleep last night because of it. I'm asking if I could cut my shift short with a promise that I'll make it up to you next time?"
His gaze softened at your words, "Of course. Don't worry about it. You already got your hours today, anyway. No need to push it further. We can handle things from here."
You smiled at him, "Thank you."
He shook his head, fully dismissing you with a small wave, "Go get some rest."
By the time you left PTMC with Trinity by your side, you knew you wouldn't get some rest until tomorrow morning. And if you were being honest, being left alone with your thoughts that night wouldn't make any difference.
Jack and Lara. Lara and Jack.
You've got to admit, they sound good together. Your choice of karaoke songs though begs to differ.