y/n l/n was well known around the island. some may even say she was "kook royalty," whatever that meant. she was a typical kook, knew she had it better and felt that she was, but at least she was self aware enough to know she could sometimes be a bitch.
topper and ruthie had plans to go to the island club and invited y/n to tag along. she knew it was because if they were left alone together for longer than two minutes, they'd have an argument and probably end up killing each other, which sometimes she didn't think was a bad idea.
the three walked into the country club and y/n immediately noticed the new bartender. she had heard the old one, her favorite, had quit, and she was disappointed that this new girl would have to learn to perfect her usual drink order.
"i'm gonna grab a drink," y/n told topper and ruthie, then headed towards the bar.
"hi, my name's sofia. what can i get for you?"
oh.
the new bartender was easily the prettiest girl y/n had ever seen. luckily for her, she was able to keep her thoughts to herself as she ordered.
on the other side of the bar, sofia couldn't help but feel even more nervous than she already was. she was a pogue, and she always felt unwelcomed by kooks, and now a pretty rich girl was ordering from her.
sofia made the drink as careful and persice as she could, taking deep breaths to calm her nerves, but with the shit luck she had, she spilled the drink just as she was handing it to y/n. "oh my god, i am so so sorry. i'll make you a new one on the house."
sofia couldn’t shake the guilt over how she’d responded to y/n’s invite, but the fear of being humiliated by the Kooks was stronger. she had seen it happen to too many of her friends, and she couldn’t bear for it to happen to her. she wasn’t sure if y/n was messing with her or being genuine—it was impossible to tell. all she knew was that it felt like there was some big joke she was missing, and that uncertainty only made her anxiety worse.
y/n was frustrated with both sofia and herself. was this girl blind? did she not realize y/n liked her? or was she just not interested and too nice to reject her? the uncertainty was driving her crazy. she knew she was overthinking it, but all she wanted was to show sofia that her intentions were nothing but good.
sofia had never received this kind of attention from kooks before. it was always how it started with them. she’d discussed it with her friends, who had warned her that this was where their humiliation had begun. so, sofia knew what she had to do—outplay them before they could outplay her.
a/n: their perspectives being polar opposite is actually making me so sad… sofia she’s not like other kooks 😔
after obsessively analyzing the message she had sent, y/n realized she needed to pull herself together. she was losing sight of who she was—over a pogue, no less. sure, a beautiful and kind one, but still a pogue. she didn’t need to be reminded of that.
sofia felt a wave of nervousness as she prepared for work. she hadn’t replied to y/n's message, and now she was left wondering what kind of consequences she might face. would y/n call her out? ignore her completely? it was hard to predict. kooks were always such a mystery to her.
to her surprise, y/n showed up with sarah today. sofia had thought sarah was firmly in the pogue category by now, but instead of leading them to a table, sarah plopped herself down at the bar with a smug grin. it was obvious she knew exactly what she was doing.
"hey, sarah, y/n, what can I get you?" sofia asked, forcing a polite smile.
"oh, i'll just have—shit, i forgot my phone in the car. sorry, i'll be right back." sarah stood up and headed toward the door.
y/n could've killed her on the spot, because as she walked away, there it was—her phone clearly tucked into the back pocket of her shorts. that conniving bitch.
"would you like your usual? i promise i won’t spill it this time," Sofia said, trying to lighten the mood with a half-hearted chuckle.
"you remember my usual?" y/n raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised.
"of course i do. how could i forget?" sofia smiled back, but when she turned to make the drink, she missed the slight blush creeping onto y/n’s cheeks. maybe she really didn’t know who she was anymore, because no way should she be blushing over something as simple as a pogue remembering her drink order.
sofia had never experienced anything like the party she had just stepped into. topper’s house was more extensive and luxurious than she expected. it made sense to her now why he was always such an arrogant prick—he had the privilege and the money to act like the world owed him something.
as they entered, y/n was greeted by swarms of people, leaving sofia to be pushed aside by the wave of bodies. y/n smiled and waved, saying a few quick words to some of the familiar faces before catching up with sofia.
“sorry about that,” y/n said, offering a sheepish grin. “the crowd’s a bit much.”
“don’t worry about it. you’re ‘kook royalty,’ after all.” sofia’s tone was laced with a slight mockery, and y/n couldn’t help but chuckle awkwardly.
“let’s grab a drink,” y/n suggested, leading the way to the makeshift bar.
once they had their drinks, they found two empty chairs outside near the pool.
“so, what are you like outside of being a bartender?” y/n asked, tilting her head to get a better look at sofia.
sofia took a moment to think. “uh, i don’t really know. guess i’m just not that interesting.”
y/n raised an eyebrow, not buying it. “that, i doubt.”
“why don’t you tell me about you, then?” sofia shot back, a teasing glint in her eye. “who are you under that ‘kook royalty’ facade?”
y/n chuckled, feeling a little caught off guard by the question. “i guess i don’t really know either. i mean, i like going to the beach, but that’s obvious, right? we live on a fucking island…”
sofia nodded, her lips curving into a small smile. “yeah, i guess that’s a given.”
“and I spend a lot of time with my friends, but honestly, sometimes it gets overwhelming. they can be a lot.”
sofia leaned back in her chair, sipping her drink. “so why’d you come tonight, then?”
y/n shrugged nonchalantly. “topper’s my best friend. he probably would’ve whined for weeks if i didn’t show up.”
sofia hummed thoughtfully as she scanned the party. “do you all have parties like this a lot?”
“usually, yeah. i’ve never thrown one, though. i refuse to bring all these people into my house.”
sofia laughed—a genuine laugh. “i don’t blame you. i’d probably be stressed all night long.”
“are you stressed right now?” y/n asked, raising an eyebrow.
“a bit, yeah,” sofia admitted, glancing around at the madness around them. “it’s kind of overwhelming. i’m not really used to all this yet.”
y/n smiled knowingly. “yet, huh? so, you plan on coming to another one of these?”
sofia shot her a sideways glance. “depends on how the rest of the night goes.”
the night stretched on at topper's house, and the party showed no signs of slowing down. music blasted from the speakers, people danced, and the pool became an ever-growing circus of bodies. but amidst the chaos, y/n and sofia found themselves sitting outside on the patio, away from the madness. it was almost as if they had created their own little bubble, one where the noise of the party couldn’t reach them, and the world outside felt far away.
the two had spent the better part of the night talking—really talking—and each conversation seemed to draw them closer.
sofia was more relaxed now. the initial tension had worn off, and she didn’t feel as out of place anymore. her laughter had become more frequent, genuine, and y/n couldn’t help but notice how it made sofia’s eyes sparkle in the soft glow of the party lights.
and then there were moments where they both found themselves just looking at each other. it wasn’t overt or obvious, but there was something about the way sofia’s eyes lingered a little too long when y/n spoke, or how she subtly traced the rim of her glass with her finger when y/n wasn’t looking. every now and then, y/n caught sofia’s gaze and felt a flutter in her chest. her mind would immediately tell her to look away, but she couldn’t seem to tear her eyes off sofia. It wasn’t just her features that caught y/n’s attention—it was the way sofia carried herself, confident yet gentle, guarded but open in the same breath. the way her lips curled up into a soft smile when she was genuinely amused.
and sofia? well, she found herself stealing glances at y/n, too. the way her laugh filled the air, soft and sincere, made sofia’s heart do a little flip. there was something magnetic about her—something that went beyond the “kook royalty” label. sofia knew y/n was beautiful, not just in the obvious, striking way, but in the little things—the way her eyes lit up when she was excited, how she could talk about the most mundane things with so much passion, and how her casual confidence made sofia feel like she mattered in a way that no one else had ever made her feel.
as the night wore on, their conversations turned to more lighthearted topics—memories from their pasts, favorite spots on the island, how ridiculous the party was—but even then, there was an underlying current of something more between them. something unspoken but felt all the same.
