Watch & Learn
pairing: jarren duran x fem!reader
Chapter One: The Meeting
summary: she thought she had everything figured out. senior year, a leadership position in her sorority, a bright future, and a perfect boyfriend. just a perfect little life. until her perfect boyfriend decided to dump her out of the blue. her perfect little life now had a crack, and her entire winter break was spent heartbroken. by spring semester, she’s determined to move on. then, she unexpectedly runs into her ex one night. he swore she was still hung up on him. panicked, embarrassed, and desperate to save her ass, she blurts out that she has a boyfriend. the problem? she doesn’t. the bigger problem? the arm she grabs belongs to one of the most recognizable athletes in Boston…and her ex’s favorite baseball player.
warnings: none really for this part, age gap (reader is abt to graduate, yall don’t have a cow), no use of y/n.
a/n: i’m so proud of this one yall 🤭 (buckle up, this is about to get crazy). reminiscing my sorority days so, reader is a sorority girlie (so sorry). i am also a sucker for the fake dating trope soooooo, yeah.
We all know that one girl who seems like she has her life together, right?
Well, that was her.
She was possibly the most perfect girl you could ever think of. Her grades were perfect, her sorority life was perfect, her boyfriend was perfect, and not to mention, her looks were perfect. Had she not been taken, every guy in passing would be trying (and probably failing) to get with her. She had to work hard for this life though. She busted her ass in her classes, tried her damndest to be liked enough by her sisters so they would nominate her for philanthropy chair, and dedicated almost eight years of her life to her high school sweetheart, Brady. Brady was her constant in her crazy college life.
Her friends swore up and down that they were about to get married. Which, she had hoped, was true. Eight years and no ring was starting to get a tad bit embarrassing. However, she just told everyone it was because they were waiting until after graduation. Time was starting to tick though. The fall semester was almost over and, soon enough, Brady would be at development camp. Another thing to add to the perfection, Brady was a Bruins prospect; she really did have it all.
It was just another perfect day for her. The day before winter break was always an exciting one. She would finally get a much needed break. The student union at Boston University was always buzzing during this time of year. Students were either cramming for their last midterm, or winding down from one. For her, it was the winding down. She was simply just writing in her color-coded planner for the next semester. Her phone buzzed on the table, showing a text from her perfect boyfriend.
Hey babe, can you meet me after practice? I need to talk to you.
She smiled down at her phone. Even after all these years, she still got butterflies at the thought of seeing him. She quickly typed back,
Of course, honey!
She quickly packed her things into her bag and left. She was so hopeful. Maybe they were about to discuss their winter break plans. She had been hoping that he would use winter break to propose. She had already dropped a few hints earlier in the year for ring ideas. Brady had also talked to her little about possibly taking her to a beach. He knew that a beach was her dream proposal. Maybe he was about to tell her he was taking her on a trip.
A short drive later and she pulls into the parking lot of Agganis Arena. She hops out with a little extra pep in her step. She was extremely excited to see her perfect man. She walks towards the door, but stops short when she sees he’s already standing there outside of it. Her smile immediately widens as she closes the distance.
“Hey, baby” She smiles, wrapping her arms around his neck. He offers a tight smile and reciprocates the hug before pulling back and lightly pushing her waist. He steps back and creates some distance.
“Hey, bee” She doesn’t remember when exactly he started calling her Bee, she just knew it was because she was scared of bees and he thought it was a cute and funny nickname. Her smile drops a bit at his tone and the fact he basically pushed her away.
“Everything okay?” She asks. He hesitates for a moment.
“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something…” He says as he rubs the back of his neck. She feels a little glimmer of hope spark. He was so about to enact his proposal plan. She smiled again, bigger this time,
“Really?” She asks with a knowing smile. He lets out an awkward laugh.
“Yeah…” He sighs. “Look, bee…I’ve been thinking a lot about our relationship.” Brady gently takes her hands in his and starts rubbing slow circles on them with his thumbs. Her breath hitches as she waits for the question she’s wanted to hear for years. “This next phase of my life is everything to me. Going pro has always been my dream, you know that.” He smiles at her. She nods.
“I know, and I’m so proud of you, baby” She squeezes his hands. He hums.
“I do have a lot of expectations on me though. This league requires a certain level of commitment. I’m going to be spending a lot of time away from you…and that’s going to be hard for us…” She figured this was his opening to talk about marriage. So, she just shrugs while maintaining her perfect smile.
“I know, but we’ll figure it out. We always do.” He sighs and tilts his head as he smiles at her.
“Your optimism is one of the things that makes you so perfect…” He lets go of one of her hands to gently brush a stray hair behind her ear. “That’s why it’s hard for me to say this but…” He gently cups her face. “I think we should break up” She freezes, her smile instantly dropping. Her usual confidence slips and is replaced by a wave of heartbreak. Silence fills the air as she searches for the right words.
“What?” Is all she can manage out through her soft, hurt, voice. Brady lets out a breath, awkward tension clouding his movements.
“I’m sorry, babe. But, my future depends on how I handle this next year. I need to be completely focused with no distractions. You get that, right?” She flinches a bit at his words. Her eyes well with tears that are a mix of sadness and anger.
“Since when am I a distraction?” She asks, her voice firm and offended. Brady’s hands drop from her. He shifts uncomfortably as he chooses his next words carefully.
“Come on, bee. You know this isn’t about you. It’s about the mental space. Everything is moving so fast. The press, the training, the travel. I can’t be what you need right now, and I can’t pretend I have the energy for both.” He takes a careful step back. “It’s better if we just…cut it off. Before it hurts us any more than it has to.” She scoffs.
“Are you serious right now? Almost eight years together. And you’re just gonna throw that away for a season?!” She raises her voice in anger. Brady flinches, his sympathetic smile faltering slightly.
“I’m not throwing it away, bee. I’m just getting my priorities straight. I don’t want to fail just because I was too preoccupied. You understand that, right? Think about it like you think about your grades.” Her face twists into pure disbelief at his audacity. She lets out a breath and finally lets a few tears fall.
“Do you…do you at least still love me?” She asks through her tears. Brady’s face drops. He looked like he was debating on an answer. It should’ve been a simple answer, but apparently it wasn’t.
“Bee…I’ll always care about you. You know that. You’ll always be my girl.” He offers another sympathetic smile. He steps forward and cups her face again, leaning forward to press a kiss to her forehead. She lets out another sound of disbelief. She steps back from him and just glares at him. He sighs. “I need to get back. Take care of yourself, babe.” With that, he turns and walks back into the arena. She’s just left standing there.
Heartbroken and with tears streaming down her face.
Two months later and she was officially locked back in on life. Sure, the majority of her winter break was spent crying and vegging out on ice cream. However, the last couple weeks, she got her ass back in the gym and lived by the motto “out of sight, out of mind.” She hadn’t seen Brady since the day of the break up, thankfully. She’s now feeling free and hotter than ever this semester. Her confidence was at an all time high now that she was single. It was almost like she was a new version of herself.
The “pretty, perfect, and put together” image was now a tad bit cracked. Who cares though? What does having or not having a boyfriend matter when you’re hot and about to graduate? Though, sometimes she still catches herself missing him. Having Brady always made certain parts of her life easier. Sorority dances, philanthropy fundraisers, and plenty of other social events. Having a boyfriend for those things made her a little less stressed.
Having a boyfriend was also helpful for nights like this. Thankfully though, she had her sisters with her. Her little, Anna, and another sister Kayla, were currently out with her at a bar. It was pretty crowded, BU had just won a hockey game. She had prayed and prayed that Brady wouldn’t be there. Unfortunately for her, she didn’t always get what she wanted.
“Brb, I need a refill” She tells Anna and Kayla. They nod and tell her to be safe. She gets up and walks over to the bar. She wedges herself between two men. To her left, she sees a broad back and dark, curly, hair peeking out from under a hat. She didn’t see his face, all she saw was a very sexy back. She just shrugged and gave the bartender her order.
She patiently waits for her drink, tapping her nails on the bar as she looks around. She hears an awfully familiar voice. The voice also happens to be coming from right beside her. She tenses up.
No this can’t be happening.
The back that was to her right gets shoved back into her slightly. Probably from his teammate shoving him playfully. Brady turns around with an apologetic smile.
“Oh my god, I’m so-” His eyes catch the all too familiar figure that he was shoved into. His lips curve up into a little smirk. “Bee” He says the nickname in a teasing tone. Her eyes meet his and she sees a totally different man. His usual sweet demeanor was replaced with something a little cockier. She could’ve thrown up at the sight.
“Brady” She says in a cold tone. Brady just maintains his smirk at her tone.
“What a coincidence running into you” He mocks as he crosses his arms. “It’s almost as if it wasn’t one at all.” She rolls her eyes.
“Hop off the high horse, Thompson. I’m just here to get a drink.” She turns back to the bartender as she waits for her drink. He laughs.
“Mhm, sure. A drink at the bar you know the team goes to after wins.” He leans against the bar. He was close enough now that she could smell his cologne. She used to adore that scent. Now, she just wanted to dowse him in the drink she was about to get.
“There’s only so many places to get drinks, Brady. Not everything is about you.” This earns her another laugh.
“Come on, bee. Don’t act all chill now.” He leans in a little closer, voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “I saw you stalking all my stories over break. It’s getting a little sad, babe. I thought you would be over me by now.” She finally snaps and shoves him away.
“I am over you, asshole!” Her face is completely opposite to how she used to look around him. That gentle, sweet, loving girl was now replaced by pure irritation. Brady raised an eyebrow at her.
“Really? Because I have ears, bee. I know that you’ve been rejecting a bunch of guys.” She scoffs.
“What? So, you’re keeping tabs on me now? Sounds like you’re the one still hung up.” She knew he was sort of right though. She had been stalking him a bit, but she was finally at a place where she was content being alone. Though, Brady refuses to let it go.
“It’s like I told you, you’ll always be my girl” He grins, brushing her hair away from her shoulder. “You’re never gonna be over me” She narrows her eyes at him. The sheer audacity of his comment had her burning with rage. She knew that this was probably caused by alcohol consumption. Still, that didn’t stop her from opening her big mouth.
“I am over you, Brady! In fact, I have a boyfriend!” The lie slips out before she can stop herself. Brady’s smirk drops and he pulls his hand away. His eyes narrow at her and he looks unconvinced.
“Really?” He crosses his arms. “You have a boyfriend?” She nods.
“Yep.” Her voice sounded a little shaky, the tell tale sign that she was lying. Brady could see right through her. He knew that she was bullshitting him right now.
“Come on, bee. You really expect me to believe you magically found a boyfriend within the span of two months? Stop embarrassing yourself and just admit you’re still obsessed with me.” He says, stepping forward a little. She takes a small step back, trying to keep the distance.
“I do have a boyfriend.” She holds her hand up as a motion for him to stop moving closer. “And I don’t think he’d be too happy that you’re all up on me right now” He lets out an amused noise, leaning back.
“Is that so?” He tilts his head as he looks her over. “Where is he then? Seems a little odd that he’s not here with you right now.” She knew that she should just walk away. Tell Brady that it was none of his business and move along with life. However, her pride got the best of her and she stands firm. Panic sets in though.
How was she supposed to show him her boyfriend if she didn’t actually have one? She was truly just digging herself into a deeper hole, but she refused to let Brady win this. She starts looking around for a solution. Suddenly, she remembers something…or rather, someone. She looks over her shoulder to see the broad, sexy, back still standing there. She gets an idea and smirks a little. This was definitely a stupid idea, but she figured she was already past stupidity.
She doesn’t think twice before reaching back and tugging at the man's arm. She pulls him so he’s standing beside her and facing Brady. She had a proud grin as she motions to him, without looking up to see his face.
“Here he is” She says. Brady’s face goes pale. Almost like he had seen a ghost. He looked like he was trying to find words. She wears a proud smile. The smile wears off when she looks up though. Her eyes meet the man she had just claimed was her boyfriend. They almost shoot out of her head as she sees who was standing next to her, looking down at her in pure confusion.
“Holy shit…” She mutters.
“Um…hi?” He said with an amused grin. Her breath hitches as she realizes how deep her grave was that she just dug. Because standing right beside her, was possibly one of the most recognizable faces in Boston. A face that she knew all too well from her time with Brady. Mainly because it was his favorite baseball player.
“No fucking way.” Brady finally speaks. “Jarren Duran?!” Jarren looks over to Brady and raises his brows.
“Yep…that’s me” He says, still utterly confused as to what he was just pulled into. Brady stares for a second, looking between Jarren and his ex. After his momentary silence, he bursts into laughter.
“Oh my fucking God.” He holds his stomach as he laughs in her face. “You seriously expect me to believe you’re dating Jarren Duran?!” Jarren’s eyebrows shoot up as he looks back down to her. Brady looks at Jarren as his laughter calms down. “I’m so sorry, man. She’s just a little desperate for my attention right now. Don’t mind her. Big fan by the way.” He says. Jarren looks back to Brady, eyes narrowed a bit as he analyzes him.
“Desperate for your attention?” He repeats. Brady nods.
“Yeah, dude. She’s trying, and failing, to prove that she’s over me.” His cocky attitude has her rolling her eyes again. She lets go of Jarren’s arm, giving up on the lie, and crosses her arms.
“Go fuck yourself, Brady.” Jarren looked back to her, his lips curving into a little smirk at her attitude. He finally had time to take her in. She sure was stunning. She also looked like she could kill him. Which he found pretty hot. This was probably a really idiotic idea to play along to. However, he was bored and she looked embarrassed despite her defiant attitude towards the other guy.
Jarren thinks about it for another second before he internally sighs. Before Brady could come up with another jab, Jarren slid his arm around her waist.
“Damn, baby. You’re so cute when you’re all mad.” She froze at the action. His hand was heavy on her hip as he pulled her closer. She couldn’t believe Jarren was actually playing along to this. Brady froze as well. His cocky grin fell into a confused frown.
“Wait, what?” He asks, looking between the two. Jarren looks back to Brady with his own cocky grin.
“You’re still confused, man? This one’s mine.” Jarren’s thumb starts rubbing slow circles into her hip. She tries not to think too much about that. Though, her mind is kind of blank. A literal major league baseball player was pretending to be her boyfriend right now. Brady looks like he had just gotten shot. His jaw drops and Jarren has to bite back a laugh.
“Wha- When-...” He stutters, looking back to his ex. “Since when?!” Brady almost sounded like a child whining. She finally snaps out of her trance and plays along. She shrugs and leans into Jarren.
“It’s pretty new. We’ve been keeping it on the down low.” She finally uncrosses her arms and wraps one around Jarren’s shoulder; the same thing she used to do when Brady held her like this. Jarren couldn’t help but smile as she did this. He was a competitive guy by nature. Even if he didn’t know this girl, he loved that he had won her. Even if it was pretend.
“You’ve never called me your boyfriend before, though.” Jarren teased her, letting his nose brush her temple. The scene looked like an affectionate couple, exactly what she had wanted. She tries not to get flustered by his actions, but she can’t help the smile that made its way onto her lips. She looks at him mimicking the same way she used to look at Brady.
“It felt fitting” She teased back. Jarren squeezed her a little tighter as he smiled at her. He finally got a better look at her face. His breath nearly got caught in his throat as he saw her eyes. She had possibly the prettiest eyes he had ever seen. His own eyes softened as he looked into hers. The little moment was quickly broken by Brady’s voice.
“You’re dating Jarren Duran?” He asks in pure disbelief. “No way” He lets out an embarrassed laugh. “No…no you…you’re just doing this to make me jealous, aren’t you?” He panics as he tries to reason with the situation. Jarren finally tears his gaze from her and looks back at Brady with a slightly annoyed expression.
“You’re still here?” He asks. He huffs. “Look, man. I’m not sure what your obsession is with my girlfriend, but I need you to get the fuck away from her, okay?” Jarren gave him a tight smile. He didn’t need to raise his voice to be intimidating to Brady. Brady looked like Jarren just stole something from him (he sort of did).
“Obsession? She’s my ex, dude” Jarren let out a laugh. He shakes his head in disbelief before looking back at “his girl”
“Don’t tell me you actually dated this clown.” Brady looked extremely offended by that. She had to fight back the urge to laugh. She just sighs dramatically.
“Unfortunately, yes, I did.” Jarren winces dramatically.
“Shit, baby. I’m sorry.” His voice drops to a gentle tone as he speaks to her. Her stomach did a weird flip that she wasn’t used to. She couldn’t remember the last time her body reacted to a man like this. She’s actually not sure it ever has.
“Bee, are you serious right now?” Brady asks, ignoring Jarren’s insults. She just rolls her eyes and looks at him.
“Yes, Brady. I’m serious.” She huffs. “Look, you’re irritating the fuck out of me right now. So, please leave me and my boyfriend alone.” Jarren finally lets out a loud laugh. Her attitude really had him intrigued with her. Brady looks absolutely defeated. Jarren shrugs tauntingly.
“You heard her. Get lost, man.” Brady shoots Jarren an annoyed glare. He gives his ex one final look of hurt before turning and storming off. When he’s out of sight, she lets out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding.
“Holy fuck” She says. Jarren laughs as he looks at her. She looks at him and immediately removes her arm from his shoulders. She backs away, creating some distance. “Oh my God, thank you. So much. I owe you big time.” She laughed awkwardly. Jarren just shrugs.
“No worries, baby” He teases. She playfully rolls her eyes at the pet name.
“Seriously though, you saved my ass from some major embarrassment." She leans back against the bar. She turns her head and notices her re-filled drink. She quickly grabs it and starts sipping on it. Jarren watches her with an amused smile.
“Happy to help. Though, I gotta say, grabbing a stranger's arm and saying he’s your boyfriend is a very interesting move.” He teases her. She laughs as she sips her drink.
“Not my best moment” She says. Jarren laughs a little. They stand in a comfortable silence for a minute. He just looks at her, almost as if he was trying to figure her out.
“What’s a girl like you doing with an asshole like that?” He asks, genuinely curious. She sighs. She couldn’t believe she was about to tell a stranger her boy problems. To be fair though, she also didn’t expect to claim a stranger has her boyfriend either.
“He wasn’t always an asshole. I’m not sure what happened in the last two months, but he definitely changed.” Jarren nods.
“Sounds about right. Let me guess, he hit it big?” He asks. Her eyes narrow at him.
“How did you know?” Jarren just laughs.
“His shirt said BU hockey on it. I assumed that’s why his ego was through the roof.” She smiles at him.
“That was his reason for dumping me. He needed to “prioritize his career”.” She scoffs. “Eight years of my life wasted” She sips her drink again. Jarren’s eyes shoot out of his head.
“Eight years?” He lets out a low whistle. “Damn, baby. You would think you two would be married by now.” She shoots him a glare before huffing.
“I know.” She turns and sits her drink down on the bar. “Don’t remind me about that crushed dream.” Jarren’s face softens a bit. He could tell she was still hurt by all of this. Even if she denied it. Her feelings underlined her words.
“Marriage is overrated anyways.” He says. She raises her brows at him.
“What makes you say that?” She asks. Jarren shrugs.
“It’s just unnecessary pressure. Relationships are fun and all, but I don’t understand why people act like marriage is the finish line. If you’re happy together, why risk changing something that already works?” She looks at him with a surprised look. While what he said sort of made sense, it didn’t change her view on it.
“Marriage isn’t the finish line for me. It’s a promise that when life stops feeling all sunshine and rainbows, we still decide to choose each other.” Jarren hums at her response. It made sense, but he still thought it was a waste.
“I doubt your life ever lacks sunshine and rainbows” He teases. She rolls her eyes.
“You’d be surprised.” She says softly. Jarren just hums again before looking around the bar.
“Well, this was fun. I should probably go find my buddie though” She nods and waves him off.
“Yes, you should” She laughs “Thanks again for playing my boyfriend. Like I said, I owe you big time.” He laughs and steps closer.
“You don’t owe me anything” He says gently. He reaches in his pocket and takes out his phone. He opens a blank contact and passes the phone to her. “A number would be nice, though” She couldn’t stop her face from flushing. She didn’t have any words. All she did was take his phone and type her number in.
“There” She says, handing the phone back to him. Jarren smiles and puts his phone away. He leans forward and gives her a light kiss on the cheek before stepping back.
“I’ll see you later, baby” He tells her before walking away. She felt her stomach do the weird flip thing again at his words. She just stands there replaying her night. She couldn’t believe she let things get this far. One second she was planning her perfect little life. The next second she was pretending to date a professional athlete.
Not to mention, anticipating a text from him.
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