the worst kept secret | part 1
pairing: Allie Hayes x Graham Fem!reader
summary: garrett graham’s younger sister falls for allie hayes, but keeping their secret relationship hidden proves harder than expected.
word count: 5.3k
warnings: men DNI, fluff, light angst, secret relationship, found family, protective brother, wlw, sneaking around.
a/n: i am a big truther about allie being a girl kisser, sorry deanallie fans.
Being Garrett Graham’s little sister came with a lot of disadvantages.
For starters, everyone knew your brother.
Everyone.
It didn’t matter where you went, there was always someone who had something to say about him.
“You’re Garrett Graham’s sister?”
Yes.
“The Garrett Graham?”
Unfortunately.
“Does he know you’re here?”
Why did everyone say it like you were a toddler who had wandered away from your parents?
You were perfectly capable of existing without Garrett Graham hovering over your shoulder.
Mostly.
Okay, maybe not always.
Because Garrett had always been protective. It wasn’t even something he tried to hide. It was just who he was.
He was the type of person who would walk you home after a late night, even if you told him you were fine.
The type of person who would pretend he wasn’t waiting for you to text him when you got somewhere safely.
The type of person who would casually interrogate anyone who showed even the slightest interest in you while claiming he was “just making conversation.”
Garrett had many talents.
Subtlety was not one of them.
And that was exactly why you and Allie Hayes had decided to keep your relationship a secret.
Because Allie wasn’t just some random girl.
She was Allie Hayes.
Hannah’s friend. Which automatically made her Garretts friend.
Someone he trusted.
Someone he’d probably already decided was off-limits before you’d even realised you were falling for her.
And worse?
She was Hannah’s roommate.
Which meant if Garrett found out, you weren’t just dealing with your overprotective older brother.
You were dealing with Hannah.
You were dealing with the guys.
You were dealing with the group chat.
And nobody survived a Garrett Graham group chat.
⸻
The funny thing was, you never actually meant for it to happen.
You and Allie had always been close.
At first, she was just Garrett’s friend who happened to be around when they had parties at the hockey house.
Then she became the person you looked for whenever you walked into a room.
The person you sat beside without thinking.
The person who somehow always knew when you needed a distraction.
Allie had this way about her.
She was confident without being intimidating. Funny without trying too hard. She made people feel like they mattered.
And somehow, she made you feel like you mattered too.
It started with little things.
Small things.
Things you could convince yourself meant nothing.
Like the way she’d save you a seat beside her.
Or the way she’d send you a random meme because she knew it would make you laugh.
Or the way she’d always steal your drink and then act offended when you complained.
“You’re literally the worst,” you told her one night.
Allie looked completely unbothered as she took another sip of your drink.
“You say that every time.”
“Because every time it’s true.”
“And yet you keep letting me steal your drinks.”
You narrowed your eyes.
“Maybe I’m just too nice.”
“Or maybe you like me.”
You scoffed.
“Don’t flatter yourself.”
Allie smiled.
That was the problem.
Her smile.
Because every time she smiled at you, you forgot how to pretend you weren’t completely gone for her.
“Sure,” she said.
And somehow, the way she said it made you think she knew.
⸻
The first time you kissed Allie, it wasn’t supposed to happen.
At least, that was what you told yourself.
You’d both stayed behind after a group night, sitting outside the dorms while everyone else had already left.
The conversation had started about something stupid.
It always did.
You couldn’t even remember what you were talking about.
You just remembered laughing.
You remembered Allie looking at you like she was memorising the moment.
And you remembered the sudden silence.
The kind of silence that felt different.
“Can I ask you something?” Allie said.
You looked at her.
“Depends.”
She laughed softly.
“Why are you always pretending you don’t like me?”
Your heart stopped.
“What?”
“All the teasing. The excuses. The pretending you just happen to be around all the time.”
You opened your mouth.
Nothing came out.
Because she wasn’t wrong.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“All right,” she said, smiling slightly. “Keep lying to me.”
You looked away.
“I’m not lying.”
“All right.”
“You’re annoying.”
“All right.”
“You’re really annoying.”
“Still all right.”
You laughed despite yourself.
And then she got quiet again.
“Can I tell you something?”
“What?”
“I really like you.”
And suddenly all the jokes disappeared.
Because Allie wasn’t teasing.
She wasn’t messing around.
She was looking at you like she was giving you something fragile.
Something that could break.
“I really like you too,” you admitted.
The smile that appeared on her face was something you wanted to remember forever.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
And then she kissed you.
Softly.
Like she wasn’t trying to rush anything.
Like she had all the time in the world.
And maybe that was the moment you realised you were in trouble.
Because it wasn’t just a crush anymore.
You were falling.
Hard.
⸻
Keeping it secret was harder than either of you expected.
Not because you didn’t want people to know.
You did.
You wanted to hold her hand.
You wanted to sit next to her without worrying about who noticed.
You wanted to kiss her goodbye without checking over your shoulder first.
But Garrett was Garrett.
And you knew him.
You knew he’d need time.
You knew he’d make a huge deal out of it.
You knew there would be approximately one hundred dramatic questions.
“Since when?”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Was I the last person to know?”
(That last one was probably guaranteed.)
So for now, you and Allie existed in your own little world.
Late-night conversations.
Borrowed hoodies.
Secret smiles across rooms.
And moments that belonged only to the two of you.
“You know,” Allie whispered one night as you lay beside her, “we’re actually terrible at hiding this.”
You looked up.
“What?”
She smiled.
“We’re terrible at being secretive.”
“We are not.”
“You’re wearing my hoodie.”
“That proves nothing.”
“You’ve been wearing my hoodie for three days.”
“It’s comfortable.”
“You stole it.”
“I borrowed it.”
“You’re never giving it back, are you?”
You smiled.
“No.”
Allie laughed.
And then she reached over, brushing a piece of hair away from your face.
The teasing disappeared.
Her expression softened.
“You know I’m really happy, right?”
Your smile faded slightly.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
You looked at her.
“Even with all the hiding?”
Allie nodded.
“Even with all the hiding.”
There was something about the way she said it that made your chest ache.
Because you knew what she meant.
She wasn’t saying she loved the secrecy.
She was saying she loved you enough to wait.
And somehow that meant more.
“I hate that we have to hide,” you admitted quietly.
Allie’s thumb brushed over your hand.
“I know.”
“What if he hates it?”
“He won’t.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do.”
“How?”
She smiled.
“Because Garrett Graham acts like he’s terrifying, but he’s basically a golden retriever with a hockey stick.”
You laughed.
“That’s the nicest insult I’ve ever heard.”
“I’m very talented.”
“You are.”
She smiled.
And for a moment, everything felt okay.
Until morning came.
And Hannah found out.