Summary: After the crash, came the need for survival. And with that, came the hunger. When you get selected as The Queen of Hearts, your girlfriend Lottie does everything she can to keep you safe, and starts to think of you of some kind of almighty being
Warning(s): obsessive behavior, possessive behavior, cannibalism, mentions of blood, Lottie being a cult leader, power dynamics, protective!Lottie
Word Count: 2.6 k words
Request: here
A/N: might make a part 2 idk
Masterlist: tba
You had lost count of how many months you have been stuck in the forest with your teammates.
You used to keep a very precise count. Every time you woke up, you would add another number to the figure. You would repeat it throughout the day, like a mantra that kept you sane.
You stopped counting when Jackie died, and Lottie started to talk about the Wilderness.
It made no sense to keep count anymore. No one would ever come to rescue you. You didn’t want them to, after what you had done. You all had broken a sacred human oath; you had eaten human flesh. Your soul would be forever tainted. It was only fair that you had to live the rest of your days like that, always hungry, always weighed down by your mistakes.
Lottie had changed too, but in a way you didn’t expect to. She was the leader of the group now, always keeping everyone on check.
She also kept them fed.
You never questioned her. You knew her. You knew she was doing whatever she could to keep the group together, and alive. You had known her your entire life, you knew she wouldn’t hurt a fly.
You knew it.
So when they started doing the card game, and she was a willing participant, you knew it was for the best.
“We have to do it, Y/N,” she whispered quietly, rubbing your back as you dry heaved over a bucket. You were in the attic, it was late at night. You could see her silhouette only because of the moon light, shining through the naked trees.
“I know,” you whispered. You moved away from the bucket. No matter how much you hated yourself, your weakened body couldn’t bring itself to throw up.
You had just eaten a person, and you were so hungry you would have gone for another round.
“Come here,” she whispered. Her hands were cold, but when you rested your head on her chest, she was warm. So damn warm against the coldness.
“I hate it,” you said. You wanted to sob, but were too tired to do so.
“I know, baby.”
Her voice was soft, unlike when she talked to the group. With you, she was still warm, she was still Lottie.
“What do you think we would be doing now, if the plane never crashed?” you asked. You used to ask a lot of questions lately; you needed to hear her voice, so it would drown out everything else.
“We’d be in college,” Lottie said. She ran her hand through your hair, and you sighed. “We would be in the same university. I would’ve gotten us a place close to college, and we would be living together.”
“You think?” you asked, sleepily.
“Yeah,” Lottie said, with a certainty that made you feel relaxed. “We’ll always be together, baby. Always.”
You hummed, closing your eyes. You fell into a dreamless sleep, and Lottie allowed you, sitting down on the floor. When she was certain you wouldn’t wake up, she carried you to bed and put all the blankets she could find over your body.
She left the attic with a kiss on your forehead. Almost everyone was already sleeping, laying as close to the fire as they could be. Natalie was laying against one of the walls, deep in thought.
“Have we run out of meat already?” Lottie asked. She crossed her arms, waiting for the blonde to reply.
“We have food for tomorrow’s lunch,” she said. Her eyes were on the rifle, as if she was considering how crazy it would be to get out in the middle of the night to find an animal.
“That’s it?” Lottie looked out the window, as she too was wondering the same thing.
“Yeah,” Natalie sighed. She looked reluctant to even speak the words. “Tomorrow, we’ll have to play again.”
Play. Lottie almost laughed at the word. They haven’t played in too long. Not even since the plane crashed.
“Okay,” she said instead. “I’ll work on it.”
Lottie came back to the attic, and laid down beside you. She put her hand on your cheek, and smiled when you moved closer, seeking her out even in your sleep.
Lottie knew what they were doing, what she was doing, would be considered psychotic if anyone outside of the group were to find out. But they couldn’t hear the whispers that came with the wind, they couldn’t feel the hunger that stuck like cheap gum on long hair. They couldn’t, but she could, and she knew she had to listen to the wilderness to keep you alive.
You were the most important person in her life. You were her lifeline. When she first saw you, her breath had stopped for a second. She had wanted you ever since, and had done everything to ensure you stayed by her side. She had the means for it. Especially now, in the middle of nowhere, with a group of people that would do anything she asked for.
“I’ll keep you safe,” she whispered against your hair. “I promise.”
The Queen of Hearts.
The card stared back at you, almost mockingly.
You swallowed hard, looking around the room. You wanted to take it all in, the tranquility of the cabin before you turned the card around and everyone would be craving your meat like wild animals.
Your eyes caught Lottie’s. She looked beautiful, with her antler crown and her dark brown hair falling on soft waves. She looked back, always aware whenever you looked at her, and the smile she gave you froze midway when she noticed your face.
“No,” she said, arms falling down to her sides. All strength seemed to leave her all at once. While the others kept choosing a different card from the stack, she walked up to you in fast steps.
“Run.”
You looked into her wild eyes, feeling her fingers digging into your arms. You blinked once, twice, and then once more, and before you knew it, the card was on the ground and you were running towards the door.
“It’s Y/N,” Shauna said. She looked detached, gone. Her eyes no longer had any warmth in them.
“Fuck,” Natalie said, looking at Lottie. She rushed to grab the rifle and held tight onto it, making sure no one else would grab it and use it to hunt you.
“She can’t get away,” someone said, and it was as if a light switch was turned on.
Everyone except Lottie and Natalie left the cabin, searching for you. They screamed your name, running in different directions to find you.
“This can’t be right,” Lottie said, completely out of it. She stared at the door, eyes out of focus. “Y/N is mine. They wouldn’t hurt her. The wilderness promised. I promised.”
“I—” Natalie was lost for words. She had never been okay with anything they were doing. She felt guilty; if she had managed to find enough food to keep everyone well fed… “I’m so sorry, Lot.”
Hours went by, and you remained hidden.
You moved stealthily, remembering all the advice Nat had taught you in those times you hunted with her.
Keep your head down. Use the woods to your advantage. Never look back, always move forward.
You did as she had told you all those weeks ago. You could hear them all around you, steps that never flattered unlike yours, screams that called for your blood, for your death.
You kept going, until you fell down. You almost moaned, but held yourself back in time. If they heard you now, it would be over.
You looked at your foot, grabbing it. It hurt like a bitch.
Something moved to your left, and you ignored the pain to get up. You couldn’t fight anyone sitting on the floor.
Instead, you found yourself staring at a white hare. You blinked in disbelief. It couldn’t be possible. Nat and Travis had said time and time again there were no animals left to hunt.
So why was a hare right in front of you?
You watched as it dug into the snow, disappearing from sight. You crawled towards the place the animal had just been at, and you noticed a small hole. With desperation, using the last remaining rays of sunlight, you moved the snow away, trying to find what you thought could be your salvation.
The hare’s den.
Your hands were numb and freezing by the time you found it. There were at least ten of them, piled up together in their home to keep safe from the cold. You felt sorry for a second before you reached for the first one, wasting no time to twist its neck.
“I’m so sorry,” you whispered as you sobbed. You took off your jacket, and laid the animal there. You did the same with the others, only thinking of how long they would keep the group fed.
They wouldn’t go rotten for a while if you kept them by the snow, and someone could make broth with them. If the group was smart, the animals laying on your jacket would keep you fed for well over a month.
You got up when you were done, trying not to think of what you had just done with those innocent hares. Your steps were clumsy and uneven, what with the snow and your throbbing ankle. You took a big sigh, and walked back to the cabin, hoping you could explain yourself before you were attacked by someone, anyone.
When you saw lights by the cabin, you almost went back into the woods. They had regrouped, probably arranging themselves into different groups to cover the entire forest until they found you.
Taissa was the first one to notice you, limping toward the cabin. In a moment of loyalty you had thought long forgotten, she shut her mouth and turned back around, giving you some ahead time to run.
But you didn’t. You moved forward, stepping loudly so everyone could hear.
“Y/N,” Lottie said, out of breath. She ran towards you, wrapping her arms tightly around you, knees deep in the snow you had just fallen to, incapable of holding yourself up anymore.
You knew then, with the way she was holding you, that she would die protecting you. She wouldn’t move away from you even if they crawled at her skin until they reached muscle and bone.
“Lottie,” Shauna said, almost weary. “Move away from Y/N.”
“You won’t take her away from me,” Lottie said. You had never heard her sound so fierce.
“We need food,” Misty said.
“I have food,” you said. Your voice was muffled by Lottie’s chest.
“What?”
You moved away from your girlfriend, and rested the jacket on the ground. Silence was the only response you recieved.
Everyone looked at the hares, in complete confusion.
“It’s not possible,” Natalie said. She kneeled down in front of you and grabbed one of the hares, as if to check if they were real.
“It is,” Lottie said, with a conviction that made you furrow your eyebrows. “Y/N has brought us food. She’s the Wilderness’ daughter.”
“What?” Shauna asked, looking between you and the hares.
“Can’t you see?” Lottie asked, getting up. She faced the entire group with a smile on her face. “She is mine, and she is protected by the Wilderness. The Wilderness is her mother.”
You wanted to shake your head, to tell Lottie to shut up, but you were still in shock. In a few days, you would process everything that had happened and finally understand the severity of the situation, of just how close you had been to being hunted by your own friends, but at the moment you couldn’t think of anything except how scared you were, so you just allowed Lottie to wrap her arms around your forearms, trying to help you get up.
“My foot,” you complained.
“Someone hurt you?” she asked, sweetly. Too cheerful given the situation.
“No.”
But Lottie didn’t hear you. She got up again, looking at the crowd with fire in her eyes.
“Do you see what you have done?” she asked. “You hurt her. You know what would’ve happened if someone had taken her from me?”
The group remained silent, looking at Lottie as if they were mesmerized. A few of the girls had kneeled down to grab one of the hares, them checking too if they were real, and had stayed there, kneeling in front of your girlfriend.
“Everyone would have been killed by the Wilderness. She has been benevolent this time, allowing you to hurt what’s mine and still keeping you fed. But it won’t happen again.”
You looked in disbelief as everyone nodded.
“Now go work on dinner, and be thankful for the food she has brought.”
To your utter surprise, Lottie grabbed you bride style and lifted you up. She made you rest your head on her shoulder, and carried you back to the cabin.
“I’m sorry, darling,” she whispered as she sat you down in one of the chairs that were by the fire. She kneeled before you, and took off your shoes. “I should’ve kept you safe. You shouldn’t have gotten hurt.”
You watched as she got up to get the little medical supplies there were left. She kneeled and grabbed your swollen foot, and left a kiss on your shin.
“I’ll do better next time,” she promised. She wrapped some bandage over the afflicted zone, apologizing when you complained. “I will. No more card games for you. No one is ever going to touch you again. No one but me.”
“Lottie…”
She gave you a smile after she was done with the bandage. It was slightly crooked, and a little tight, and she knew she should have asked Misty to do it, but she would rather die than see another woman touching you.
You were hers. She could finally understand— it had all happened for a reason. The two of you meeting, you joining the football team, the plane crash… It was all for a reason.
“Don’t you see, baby?” she asked, eyes wide open. A smile split her face in half, making you slightly uneasy. “You are mine. My queen. The child of the Wilderness. We both look out for you.”
On any other day, you would have been combative. You would have told her she was overreacting, and that she should calm down. That the entire thing was maddening, and it was no one’s fault.
But you were so tired, and your leg hurt, and you wanted to cry over the betrayal you had felt when your friends had tried to kill you to eat you.
So instead, you nodded, and followed her back to the attic.
“My baby,” Lottie wrapped a jacket around your shoulders. “You must’ve been so cold. But not anymore.”
She kissed your shoulder when you laid behind her on the bed, and you allowed her to hold you through the night.
Lottie smiled when she felt your breath slow down, indicating you had fallen asleep.
She could hear noises downstairs. The girls were already preparing dinner. She would go down in a while to grab food for the two of you, but until then, she held you tight.
Summary: despite what the entire team thinks, Jackie doesn’t have a crush on you. So why does it make her skin crawl when she sees a guy trying to flirt with you?
Warning(s): jealous!Jackie, possessive!Jackie, oblivious!reader, pre-crash!Jackie, Nat being a little shit, simp!Jackie
Word count: 2.6k
Masterlist: tba
No matter how much the team teased her about it, Jackie Taylor did not have a crush on you.
Did she like your soft smile? Yes. Could she spend days on end listening to a recording of your cheerful and sweet laugh? Why, of course. Did her heart stop whenever you looked at her a second too long? Maybe, but it was only because she thought you were beautiful —in a platonic way.
She did not like you. She didn’t think of you every night before she went to bed. Nope. Not at all. And Nat could shove her own words up her ass, because she sure as hell wasn’t a simp for you.
Yeah, as if.
“Hey,” you waved your hand in the air as you walked towards the field. You had just changed into your football uniform, and looked around. “Is everyone ready for practice?”
“Yeah,” Nat said, stretching her arms. “We were waiting for you for like, I don’t know, ten minutes.”
“You’re the last one. You know what that means,” Van smirked at you, and if it wasn’t for Tai’s presence next to them, you would have walked over to smack them in the face.
“Gotta run for ten minutes around the field,” Lottie said in a singsong voice. You narrowed your eyes at her.
“I’m gonna get you, Matthews,” you threatened with mock anger.
“What’s going on?” Jackie, who had been talking to coach Ben about something, asked. Her smile grew a little bigger when she noticed you within the other team players, and you swear you heard Nat and Shauna giggle to each other.
“Y/N was last,” Nat said. “She has to run for ten minutes.”
“Okay, fine—”
“That won’t be necessary,” Jackie said. Her voice, always soft and bright, was commanding. She wasn’t the Jackie who played around anymore, she was captain Jackie, and everyone in the team knew it.
“What?” Van asked, offended. They looked between the both of you, mouth ajar. “That’s not fair! It’s a tradition you started, Jackie. Last one has in the field during practice has to run while the others train. Y/N was the last one today.”
“Enough, Palmer,” Jackie gave them a stern look. “Y/N was late because of me.”
You gave her a surprised look, taken aback by her lie. You should not have been bewildered, though— Jackie always had your back no matter what, using her easy charm to cover up for your slip-ups
“Making out before practice?” Nat asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
Jackie’s cheeks turned a bright red color, but she didn’t dare to look at you. Instead, she clapped her hands together a few times, and everyone around sobered up.
“Divide yourself into two teams,” Jackie raised her voice. “Whoever team wins, gets to rest while the others run a lap.”
Everyone groaned, looking around to start to form the groups, trying to be as equitative as possible.
“Shauna, you’re captain of team green. Team blue is my team,” Jackie called, and the brown eyed woman nodded, wasting no time to craft the perfect team in her mind as she looked at everyone in the field.
“Okay, cool—”
“Y/N,” Jackie interrupted her best friend. “You’re on my team.”
“And in her heart,” whispered Nat.
Thankfully, neither Jackie nor you hear it.
If Jackie did not like you, she obviously also didn’t feel any ownership over you. She wasn’t jealous, she wasn’t possessive; there was no point in being those things, as you were both just two good friends.
But sometimes, someone would walk up to you and Jackie forgot her inner mantra, throwing it out the window of her mind. The person would smirk and lean in close, feigning they could not hear what you were saying, and Jackie would feel something dark and uncomfortable burning inside of her.
Sure, you weren’t hers, but that didn’t mean anyone had the right to talk to you, so obviously trying to flirt it was painful to observe.
They didn’t have the right because— because— well, because she said so.
“Hey, Y/N,” Jackie said, walking up to your locker.
Her voice was high-pitched, and you turned to look at her. Anyone else would have thought nothing of her tone, but you knew her; it was the same voice she used when she wanted to be rude but knew she couldn’t.
“Hi, Jackie,” you said, completely forgetting about the man who was talking to you about the chemistry test you both had next week.
Jackie walked with purpose, and she stood in front of you. She wrapped her arm around your shoulders, pulling you into her body. You sighed in relief; it was starting to get cold, and her warmth was welcomed.
The woman smiled when you rested your head on her shoulder, and big green eyes twinkling as she started the man down.
“What were you talking about?” she asked, even though she wasn’t interested in the least. She knew how men were— she suffered their unwanted advances on the daily. It was all an act to get you on their bed.
“Oh,” the man said, clearing his throat. “We were discussing the next chemistry exam—”
“Well, I hope you study hard. Bye.”
You barely had time to close your locker before Jackie was pulling you away from that man.
“Hey— Jackie,” you complained, pulling your books closer to your chest. “What was that for?”
“That boy is a womanizer,” Jackie said through gritted teeth. “He just wanted to get in your panties.”
“You think?” you asked, turning slightly to look at the boy, who was leaning against your locker and staring at you. When he saw you looking back, he smirked and waved. “I think he just wants help studying.”
“You’re too naïve,” the blonde said. “He has tried that same trick with half the school.”
“Really?” you whispered conspicuously. “I thought he was just being friendly.”
Jackie shook her head, leaning in to kiss the side of your head. Her arm was still around you, and it made you walk awkwardly. You still didn’t complain.
“Boys are never friendly just because, Y/N,” she said. “They only got one thing on their mind.”
“Kissing?” you raised an eyebrow at her.
Jackie’s laugh could be heard all around the halls, a melodic sound that carried you out of the building.
“Every year it gets colder earlier,” you complained, shivering slightly.
“Are you cold?” Jackie asked, finally pulling away. You almost moaned in complain at the lack of warmth on your side, but before you could voice your discomfort, a weight was placed on your shoulders.
You looked to your side to see Jackie’s team letterman jacket resting over you. You smiled, putting your books in one hand to put the sleeve on.
“Thank you,” you said, with genuine gratitude. Jackie shook her head, simply reaching over to grab your books so you fully put on the jacket.
“Wanna hang out in the field?” she asked. Once you had the jacket on, she wrapped her arm around your shoulders again, because she wanted to but most importantly, because she could.
“The one time we don’t have to train, and you still wanna go over there,” you rolled your eyes, but followed her steps when she changed course.
She laughed again, turning to look at you. With bright big eyes, and lips pulled into a tight smile, you thought no one would ever be as pretty as she was.
As you walked, Jackie peaked behind you and saw the same man, looking over with frowned eyes. As she heard you talking about your day, she raised her arm enough for everyone to see the back of your jacket, where Taylor stood proudly over her team number.
She’s wearing my jacket, not yours. Dipshit.
To say she was ecstatic at his scolf was an understatement.
Yeah, she thought, let everyone know she only wears my number. Let everyone know she’s mine.
That time, she didn’t try to correct herself.
“I think Jackie has a crush on me.”
Van, who was tying up their cleats, stopped suddenly.
“Uh?” they asked, blinking a few times.
“I—” you cleared your throat, your cheeks suddenly turning red. “I think she might like like me.”
“Oh, shit,” Van said, rubbing their face.
“Did— did I say something wrong?”
“Yes!” Van let go of the laces, irritated. “You weren’t supposed to find out until November. You just lost me ten bucks!” they groaned. “Thanks, buddy.”
“What?” you gave them a puzzling look. “Wait— you have bet on me?”
“No,” Van waved their hands around. “Not on you. On your inability to see what’s happening right in front of your face, to be exact.”
“Okay, rude,” you said. “I’m not that oblivious.”
“Oh, no. Of course not,” Van said. Their tone was laced with sarcasm. “You joined the team two years ago, and only now you have realized.”
“Wait, she has liked me for two years?” you asked in a whisper.
“Duh,” Van gave you a long look. “Jesus, you’re a lost cause.”
“Screw you.”
“What made you realize?” Van asked, with genuine curiosity. They put their feet back down on the ground, leaning over the bench to look at you.
“She, um—” you looked around, making sure no one else was in the changing room. Feeling guilty over spilling such deep secrets, you moved over and sat down next to Van, so no one else would hear. “She kind of lied, the other day. So I wouldn’t have to run around the field.”
“She always lies,” Van scoffed.
“Jackie never lies,” you said, firmly. You gave the redhead a look, one that would have been threatening if it wasn’t coming from you. “She’s an honest person.”
Van chuckled. “She will lie to save your ass,” they said. “Because she’s the fattest crush on you.”
“Fuck,” you whispered.
After practice a week later, instead of going back to the changing room with the rest of the team, you grabbed Jackie and pulled at her hand, forcing her to move toward the bleachers. She went willingly, allowing you to take her wherever it was that you wanted her to be.
She would walk through fire if it meant holding your hand.
In a platonic way, of course.
“Jackie,” you said in a serious tone. You took a deep breath, and stared into big green eyes who looked back with passion. “We need to talk.”
She frowned her eyebrows, quickly picking up on your mood swing. “What’s wrong?” she asked, moving closer.
Jackie’s hand rested on your waist when she saw you starting to pull away. She hated it; hated whenever there was distance between the two of you. She wanted you close to her always, holding your hand and laughing with you.
“I think— I think you might be interested in someone.”
Jackie gave you a puzzling look. Her, being into someone? Not a chance.
“What are you talking about, Y/N?” She asked, as confused as she has ever been.
“Don’t make me say it, please,” you moaned, like a petulant toddler. “This is embarrassing.”
“Well, I can’t read your mind, can I?”
You looked away from her, incapable of looking into her eyes as you spoke.
“I think I might like someone, too.”
Jackie froze at your words. Her jaw dropped, eyes open so wide it looked like they might jump out of their sockets.
“You…” she gave a bewildered look. “You like someone?”
You nodded, and her hand tightened on your waist, as if she needed some support to keep her from falling over.
“This can’t be happening,” she whispered, closing her eyes. You gave her a concerned look.
“Jackie—”
“Is it that boy from the locker? The one who kept trying to flirt with you?”
“No. It’s—” you cleared your throat. “It’s not a boy.”
“Oh, no,” Jackie blinked away the white spots that were starting to form on her vision. “Nat? Tai? Or—” she gasped, looking at you accusingly. “Don’t tell me it’s Shauna.”
“Why would it be— No! It’s not Shauna.”
“It’s not?” she gave you a look. “Thank god.”
“It’s you,” you whispered.
“Me?” Jackie asked, trying to make sure she had heard you properly. “You like me. Me.”
“Yeah. I like you, Jackie.”
She leaned in close to you, looking at your lips. You closed your eyes, preparing yourself for her kiss. Instead, you felt her weight over you, literally on you.
“Jackie? Oh my god!”
Safe to say, it took the Yellowjackets over a month to get over the little spectacle you and coach Ben had pulled off when Jackie fainted.
You had wanted to keep it a secret, of course— Class Queen and captain of the football team, fainting because a girl had confessed their feelings to her? The rumor would be too juicy. But you also couldn’t control yourself when Jackie fell on top of you, eyes closed and mouth open, and it took you approximately ten seconds to take all the information in before you were screaming for help.
The help came in the form of Ben, who had come over running. He frantically looked at the team captain, laying on the grass as you fanned her with your hand, and he ran back inside to get Bill’s help.
It didn’t take long for the girls to come out of the changing room, and soon enough they pulled the pieces together; your conversation with Van they had told the entire team (which had led to Tai waving around fifteen ten dollar bills around the showers), your nervous attitude over practice, the tension they had felt before they left the two of you alone…
“Holy shit,” Nat said, smirking as you tried to wake Jackie up. “She fainted. She actually fainted.”
The story soon spread, faster and more explosive than gunpowder around fire. Soon enough, Jackie Taylor’s untaintable reputation got washed away by the new knowledge that she was a hopeless romantic.
Two months later, people would still whisper about Jackie whenever she walked down the corridors of Wiskayok High School.
“You think you will still be Class Queen after… what happened?” you asked, taking notice of how many students were staring at the two of you.
“Of course,” she smiled that charming smile you loved so much. “I’m Jackie Taylor, baby. This highschool would be nothing without me.”
“You’re too full of it,” you rolled your eyes.
She wrapped her arm around your waist, pulling you in close to her. She kissed your cheek, smiling.
“It doesn’t bother you?” you asked once you reached your locker. “Y’know, everyone still talking about it?”
“Let them talk. They aren’t mean, anyways,” Jackie said, raising her shoulders. You gave her a look; she would never notice just how many people thought ill of her. She thought too kindly of the world, but that made it two of you. “As long as it makes them talk about how you’re my girlfriend, I don’t care.”
You put the books you no longer needed back into your locker, and once you closed it, she pressed you against it.
When her lips pressed against yours, you stopped worrying about the whispers and the teasing from the team; Jackie was right.
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