warning: love triangle, best friends to lovers (jordan brisson), age gap (it’s one year with hughesy), also it’s mentioned that the reader plays softball but its not significant to the story line
word count: 3.5k
a/n: shoutout to @owenpowpow for helping me come up with this idea <3
“please come with us y/n/n. it’ll be so fun,” jordan begged. “i don’t know jordan. i barely know these people, and to spend a whole two weeks with them is not the vibes,” you answered, looking over at your best friend, jordan brisson. “but i’ll be there. and so will brendan and thom, so that’s three people you’ll know,” he continued.
jordan is your best friend. the two of you go to saint mary’s together where he plays hockey and you play softball. you met in one of your academic classes and just clicked, making the two of you inseparable throughout your high school years. it was only natural that you’d spend a portion of your summer with jordan and the brisson family. you hadn’t realized, however, that your time with them would coincide with the annual hughes lake house trip, which led to the situation you were in now: jordan begging you to join him.
“i just don’t want to intrude. these seems like a guy thing,” you said, meeting jordan’s pouty face. “it’s not though! sienna, jack’s girlfriend, is gonna be there too! so if anything you should come so that she’s not the only girl,” he exclaimed, moving closer to your side. you raised an eyebrow at his words, “are you seriously trying to gaslight me into going on this trip?”
“is it really so bad that i want my best friend there?” he answered, his hand coming to squeeze your thigh. you felt heat creep up your neck, but your heart also sank to the bottom of your chest. you were jordan’s best friend. that was always going to be your title. it didn’t matter that you had a huge crush on him because jordan did not have a crush on you. “please y/n, just say yes,” he begged, bottom lip jutting out in a pout with puppy dog eyes to match. you rolled your eyes, pretending to be annoyed. “fine. i guess i’ll come,” you answered. “great! let’s go pack!” jordan replied, grabbing your hand and pulling you up off the couch and towards the guest bedroom, where you were staying. maybe jordan does like me, you tried to rationalize, why else would he want me to go with him so badly.
when you arrived with the brissons, you were surprised by the lack of boys present at the lake house. “are you excited?” brendan asked, as he helped you pull your suitcase out of the car. “i’m great. who doesn’t love going to a house filled with hockey players they don’t even know?” you joked, eliciting a laugh from everyone around you. “you know me! besides maybe we can find you a rich husband,” jordan said, wiggling his eyebrows.
“who’s getting a rich husband?” someone asked from behind you. “y/n,” jordan answered casually, turning to shake hands with whoever this guy was. “oh right, duh,” the person replied, their eyes now barring into your soul. “y/n this is luke hughes, he plays with bren at umich. luke this is my best friend y/n,” jordan introduced, and your mouth parted in shock. no way this was luke hughes. he was much taller, muscular, and handsomer in person than on the tv screen.
“it’s nice to meet you,” luke greeted, holding his hand out for you to shake. “likewise,” you choked out, a flush present on your cheeks as you noticed how his hand absolutely dwarfed yours. a moment of silence fell over the two of you as you looked at luke and he looked at you. “should we go inside?” you asked softly, wanting to escape this awkward situation. “yeah, i’ll take your bag,” both luke and jordan said at the same time.
they looked at each other, eyes wide. jordan was supposed to take your bag; he was your best friend. luke, on the other hand, wanted to make a good first impression, so he felt obligated to take it. neither of them let up as jordan’s hand curled tightly around the handle of your suitcase. “so is someone gonna take it? or should i just ask brendan?” you interjected when it became obvious that their stare down wasn’t going to end anytime soon.
“no i’ll take it,” they both answered, causing them to stare at each other again. “you know what, i’ll take it. thanks anyways guys,” you said, smiling at the two boys as you grabbed your own bag. “right yeah,” luke mumbled, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. “anytime y/n/n,” jordan replied, following you up the stairs, but not before he shot a quick glare at luke. just to prove his point, jordan threw his arm across your shoulders, which you easily took as a sign to move closer to him.
as the week progressed, everyone noticed the tension between jordan and luke. the two boys who were normally thick as thieves were suddenly spending time apart, glaring at one another, and constantly trying to one up the other. you, of course, were oblivious to this new behavior. you and jordan were still being touchy-feely, as always, and giggling about whatever stupid thing came to mind. then there was luke who was constantly looking out for you and just being a friendly face in this sea of unknown.
today, for example, you guys were spending the day on the boat. quinn had packed a cooler full of beers, claws, and capri suns because according to him and jack “if you aren’t in college, you aren’t drinking.” the boys were all taking turns wakeboarding while you just sat back, enjoying the sun and watching them make a fool of themselves. your staring was interrupted by luke, “do you want to try?” he asked and you noticed how his shoulder gently brushed against yours as he bent down to talk to you.
“what?” you asked, pushing your sunglasses off up to your hair so you could see him clearly. “do you want to try wakeboarding?” luke asked again, a small smile on his face. “oh no it’s okay,” you mumbled, face heating up from the way luke was looking at you. “are you sure? i can teach you,” he offered, eyes showing nothing but sincerity. you bit your lip, debating if you really wanted to make a fool of yourself in front of all these guys.
at that moment, luke wanted to take his thumb and gently pry your lip from between your teeth. you were so gorgeous and clearly had no idea the effect you had on him. he was rendered speechless by you, and when the opportunity presented itself to talk to you, he jumped on it. “you promise i’ll be okay?” you asked softly, pulling him out of his awestruck trance. “i promise,” he whispered, gently brushing some stray hair out of your face. you smiled, a wide grin taking over your face. “c’mon lukey let’s go,” you cheered, grabbing his hand as he led you towards the back of the boat.
“when jack’s done y/n is gonna have a go,” luke announced, looking down at you. you smiled up at the older boy, an excited glimmer in your eyes that wasn’t missed by jordan. he watched as you stood next to luke, hands intertwined. jordan glared at the spot. if looks could kill, luke would be six feet under right now.
“let me get you a life vest,” luke said, stepping away to grab one of the smaller life jackets. “so what made you decide to give this a shot?” jordan asked, swooping in. “luke said that he’s help me and you only live once, so i figured why not give it a try,” you answered, watching jack finish up wakeboarding. “hmm,” jordan answered, arms crossed.
he was totally jealous, but no way was he going to admit that to anybody. he wanted to object to luke helping you. he wanted to step in and say that he could teach you how to wakeboard if you’d let him. just as he opened his mouth to speak, luke came back, life vest in hand.
“let’s get you strapped in,” luke mumbled, holding the gear open for you to slide your arms in. “what am i, a toddler? i can do this myself,” you replied, sticking your arms through the holes. luke laughed at your antics, but elected not to respond. he helped fix the buckles and adjust the straps, while jordan stood back, his glare returning.
jordan watched as luke got in the water, before helping you in. he scowled when luke’s hands grabbed your waist to steady you on the small, floating board. his jaw clenched when you laughed at something luke said, and his heart stopped when you begged the youngest hughes not to let go. deciding that he didn’t want to watch this love fest anymore, he turned on his heel and stormed off to the front of the boat.
“jordan where are you going?” you called out, oblivious as ever. the younger brisson ignored you, causing a frown to replace your large smile. “don’t worry about him,” luke whispered and you nodded, but even luke’s gentle eyes and soft touch couldn’t shake the sinking feeling in your gut.
that night, after a successful boat trip filled with wakeboarding, capri sun drinking, and tons of embarrassing photos, you were all gathered around a bonfire in the backyard. you had just come out of the house, jordan’s saint mary’s sweatshirt wrapped tightly around your body to keep you warm. there was some random conversation flowing between the group, but you were more focused on jordan, who was being exceptionally quiet.
“did you see what carley posted on her story? she’s such a copycat,” you joked. “mhm yeah,” he mumbled, not even sparing you a glance. you sighed, trying to think of what could be bothering jordan so much. “is everything okay?” you asked, turning your body to face him. “i don’t know y/n, why don’t you go ask your boyfriend luke,” jordan snapped, voice laced with venom when he mentioned his friend.
your mouth fell open in shock. was jordan seriously mad at you for making new friends? “what’s that supposed to mean?” you asked. jordan looked at you, gaze set into a hard glare. “like you don’t know,” he replied. “if i knew i wouldn’t be asking,” you answered, annoyance also present in your voice, jordan was never like this. not with you at least.
“come on y/n, it’s so obvious that you’re flirting with luke,” he finally confessed. you sat there flabbergasted. “i’m not…i was never…luke’s just a friend,” you stammered. “if you say so,” jordan mumbled unconvinced. “pretty sure i just did,” you mumbled, turning around in your chair to face the fire.
jordan wanted to say something snarky in response but quinn beat him to it. “who wants s’mores?” he asked, getting up from his chair. everyone agreed and you stood up to help him. “i have to use the bathroom, so i’ll come with you,” you offered, pocketing your phone as you and quinn walked to the house.
jordan took your absence as an opportunity to confront luke. “you need to stop flirting with her, hughes,” he said. his outburst was sudden, and so it was only natural that all eyes were on him now. luke smirked, a cocky one at that. “why should i? it’s not like you’re together or anything,” he answered, taking a sip of his drink. jordan’s jaw clenched at luke’s words.
“she doesn’t need you to play with her feelings,” jordan replied. “who said i’m playing with her feelings? i think you’re just mad that y/n might actually be interested in someone who isn’t you,” luke said, standing up to come chest to chest with jordan who was also standing.
“yeah? i never wanted her, so you can have her. in fact, i hate that i brought her here in the first place,” jordan shouted, anger flashing in his eyes. luke stood there stunned, eyes wide and looking beyond jordan. jordan noticed that everyone was looking at something behind him. finally he turned around, and god he wished he didn’t.
you were standing there, mouth wide open. the pack of marshmallows laying at your feet. your eyes met jordan’s and he could see the tears you were trying desperately to subside. “y/n…” he breathed, moving towards you, but you surprised him by darting up the stairs and back into the house.
“y/n! wait a second!” jordan shouted, chasing after you. you ignored him, as you continued your fast pace to get to your shared room. you knew that if jordan tried hard enough he’d be able to catch up with you, but he never made it as you slammed the door in his face. you locked the door once you made it inside, ensuring that he remained on the other side of the piece of wood. “y/n, open the door. please let me explain,” he begged. “why don’t you just go back with your friends and pretend like i’m not here?” you shouted in response, refusing to let up. maybe you were being stubborn, but jordan hurt your feelings and he needed to pay the consequences.
he could tell that you were crying. he could hear it in your voice. “just let me explain please? i’m so happy that you’re here y/n, please,” he begged, his own voice breaking. he kept banging on the door, hoping that you would decide to unlock it. the knocking only stopped when brendan appeared next to him. “let’s go, bud,” his older brother mumbled, pulling him away from the door. “and you can sleep somewhere else tonight, jordan!” you shouted, as brendan led him down the hall and away from you.
the next morning there was a gray cloud hanging over the lakehouse inhabitants. everybody wanted to talk about the fiasco that was last night, but nobody was brave enough to bring it up. true to your word, you had not let jordan into the room. in fact, the door was still locked as of this morning.
“maybe we should just let the three of them stay here to talk it out,” brendan suggested quietly to jack and thomas. “are you serious bren? that’s like the worst idea ever,” thomas responded. “i say we just mind our own business,” jack mumbled, busying himself with the keurig machine as he desperately tried to make a cup of coffee.
“i can hear you know,” jordan mumbled, making his presence in the kitchen known. “that was kind of the point,” brendan answered snarkily. he was probably just as mad at jordan as you were. “i get it bren. i fucked up, please don’t lecture me right now,” jordan whispered, taking a seat at the counter next thom, who simply patted the younger boy’s back. “good. i’m glad you realized that,” came brendan’s reply, and then the conversation was dropped as quinn walked into the kitchen. he shook his head no, silently telling everyone that you weren’t joining them today.
“what the fuck do i do?” jordan cursed, his head coming to rest in his hands as he tried to keep his tears at bay.
meanwhile, luke was knocking on your door. “go away jordy, i don’t want to…” you started but stopped when you noticed who was standing in front of you. “good thing i’m not jordan then,” luke said, trying to get you to crack a smile. it did not work. you simply walked back over to your bed, pulling the covers up over your head. luke took that as his invitation inside. he shut the door before taking a seat on the edge of the bed.
“i’m sorry that jordan said all those things about you last night. and i’m sorry that i came between you two,” luke apologized after a moment of silence. his words caused you to emerge from your cocoon. “you don’t need to apologize for his actions, luke. you had nothing to do with it,” you answered, still blissfully unaware that the older boy sitting in front of you was harboring a d1 crush on you.
“but i did. i practically asked for jordan to snap last night, and i thought that it would give me a better chance, but in reality i just ruined your friendship,” he explained, looking anywhere but at you as embarrassment coated his cheeks. his words hit you like a tidal wave. suddenly everything made sense. why luke was always looking at you in a way that you couldn’t decipher. why jordan was being cold and distant. it all clicked at that moment.
“oh luke,” you managed, sitting up straight so that you could be at somewhat of the same eye level. “yeah i know. not the best decision on my part, having a crush on the younger girl i mean,” he mumbled, his hand rubbing at the back of his neck. “god i’m so stupid. i didn’t even realize you were flirting, i just…i thought you were being friendly and…oh my god jordan thinks i like you back,” you rambled, tone switching from comforting to horrified extremely quick.
luke chuckled softly at you. “i’m sure once you tell him how head over heels in love with him you are he’ll forgive you,” luke assured, his hand coming to rub circles on your wrist. the motion was soothing and grounding, it was everything that you needed from him in the moment, but you felt guilty. luke was a great guy, someone that you could definitely see yourself with, but he was no jordan.
he didn’t know your little quirks, or the things that made you tick with anger. he didn’t understand why you pulled all nighters for tests or how hard you worked on the field. he couldn’t make you laugh with a simple look or even begin to comprehend how to handle you during that time of month. but jordan could because he knew it all; he understood everything about you. when you were with jordan, things were unspoken.
“i should tell him, shouldn't i?” you asked softly, looking to luke for reassurance. “you should. preferably sooner rather than later,” luke answered, giving you an encouraging nod. “i will, i promise, but i need to know that we can still be friends because luke, you’re a really great guy. it’s just that my heart belongs to jordan,” you confessed, a soft blush coating your cheeks as you said it out loud. this was the first time you’d admitted to having feelings for him.
“i’d like that,” luke answered before shoving you out the door. you followed his instructions, making your way down to the kitchen, where jordan was sitting with the others. “jordan, can we talk?” you asked softly, almost as if you were afraid to speak. “yes, yeah, absolutely,” he agreed, eagerly following you out of the house and onto the back deck.
it was silent between the two of you. the deafening kind, where you want somebody to say something, anything, just to end the torture. jordan watched you, afraid to say something that would upset you. he noticed how you were still wearing his sweatshirt, so maybe you weren’t too mad at him. finally, you looked at each other and both blurted out “i’m sorry.”
“why are you sorry?” jordan asked softly. “if anyone should be apologizing it’s me. i’ve been a grade a asshole to you this whole trip,” he continued. you shook your head no, trying to deny his words. “don’t do that. i have been, let me accept responsibility, please,” he begged and you nodded, a silent way of telling him to continue. “i never meant a word of what i said last night. i was just angry and jealous. you’ve been spending all this time with luke, and i’ve seen the way he looks at you, and i couldn’t stomach the thought of you with someone else. but then i realized that if you’re happy with luke, then i can be happy for you. so this is me giving you my blessing, even though i know you don’t need it, to date him,” jordan confessed.
you remained silent, unsure of what to say in response. jordan hated it. he looked at you, and the second he turned to face you, eyes filled with regret and sorrow, you knew what you needed to do. “you stupid boy,” you mumbled, arms snaking around his neck as you pulled his face down to your level. jordan was frozen, unsure of what to do as your lips met his in a meaningful kiss.
it took him a minute to regroup, but once he did he sank into the feeling. his arms wrapped around your middle, pulling you impossibly close, as his lips worked in sync with yours. he groaned softly when you pulled away, never wanting to let you go.
“it’s always been you jordan,” you whispered, as your hand cupped his jaw. “does this mean you’re mine, like officially?” he asked, a hand coming up to trace your facial features. your eyes fluttered closed as you nodded. “please jordan.” he smiled at you, the same one that made your heart stop. “as you wish,” he answered, before wrapping you tightly in his arms.
