✧˖*°࿐ CHAPTER FORTY ONE!
❪ in real life ❫
⎯⎯⎯ 𝐈𝐍 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄,
ISABEL TIGHTENED HER GRIP ON LACY'S HAND AS THEY MADE THEIR WAY THROUGH THE LARGE CROWD OF PEOPLE. Hawkeye fans had never showed up and showed out as much as they were this season. Every game was sold out and not a singular person with a ticket dared to miss out on the Lady Hawkeyes give an outstanding performance.
Luckily, after many stressful minutes of Isabel trying to find an outfit to wear, the two of them had made it to the arena in time to catch tip-off. Though, unfortunately, Kate had more than likely already seen her family and Isabel had missed the reaction.
She could hear the sound of the announcers voice in the distance, picking up her speed in step when she realized he was calling out Iowa's starters. Lacy huffed loudly, trying her best to keep up with her fast paced best friend—who had been the one to put them behind schedule in the first place.
They maneuvered their way around people decked in gold and black, apologizing under their breaths when they would bump into them. Isabel let out a sigh of relief when she finally found the tunnel leading down to their section. The two of them took the stairs quickly, eyes set solely on their seats. Luckily, Isabel had managed to secure seats only two rows behind the Iowa bench, so they would have a great view of the game.
Isabel smiled, now slightly out of breath, as she sat down next to Kennedy. "Issie!" Kennedy exclaimed loudly, making the rest of Kate's family look over at the brunette with grins. "I was beginning to wonder if you were even going to show up."
"Outfit issues," Isabel explained, "Your sister took back the sweatshirt I was planning on wearing."
Jill reached over her daughter's lap to place a warm hand on top of Isabel's. "Hi, honey." Her tone was as sweet as it always was, and her lips were graced with a happy smile. Matt also looked around his wife and gave Isabel a little wave before falling back into conversation with Trevor.
"Hey, Mrs.Martin," Isabel responded, leaning back to unblock the view of Lacy. "This is my friend Lacy." A timid expression took over Lacy's features as she mumbled a hello to Kennedy and Jill.
Seconds later Isabel was locking eyes with Kate, who had just taken the court with the rest of the starters for tip-off. She sent her an encouraging head nod in hopes to give the girl some reassurance. Kate hadn't directly said that she was nervous for this game, but Isabel could just sense it. It was a rivalry game that was a big deal to both teams and both would be playing their hardest to secure the win.
"Is," Lacy whispered as she tapped on her shoulder. Isabel drug her eyes away from her girlfriend and over to her best friend. Though, Lacy wasn't looking at her. Instead her eyesight was trailing off into the crowd, making it hard for Isabel to pinpoint exactly where she was glancing.
"What?"
"Look." She didn't point but inclined her head into the direction that she was wanting the girl to look in. "Why is she staring at you like that? Do you know her?"
Isabel squinted her eyes, a scowl replacing the smile on her face as she locked eyes with Allie Monroe. She was seated in the Iowa State student section, surrounded by random students and big posters. And despite being far away from each other, Isabel could still see this iciness in her gaze.
Allie gave no reaction when Isabel finally looked her way. Her sight had been set on the girl as soon as she saw her taking the steps. It only further pissed her off when she realized Isabel was heading straight to the seat next to Kate's family. That should be her—not Isabel.
Isabel tore her gare away when Allie turned to whisper something to her friend beside her. "That's Allie," She sighed.
"That bitch?" Lacy asked loudly, eyes wide.
Kennedy leaned over Isabel, looking between the two friends curiously. "Who are we shit talking? We all know I'm nosey, so spill!"
Isabel laughed, watching as Caitlin drained a three to open up the game. She waited until the crowd quieted back down to start talking again, that way Kennedy would be able to hear her clearly. "There's a girl over there in the student section that Kate used to 'mess around with'." She threw up air quotation's around the last part, since technically Kate and Allie never were official.
"Ew." Kennedy's face scrunched up.
"Not like that," Isabel clarified quickly, though she had a humorous undertone. "I'm not calling your sister a slut or anything." Kennedy only shrugged. "It's just that before we got together, her and Allie were kinda seeing each other— that's her name, by the way."
"Allie.." Kennedy sat in thought, mulling over the name. "Yeah, no, Kate's never mentioned her before. Not that I can remember, at least." Isabel smiled at that. "So why exactly do we not like her?"
All three girls stood up to cheer obnoxiously loud as Kate made the layup for an and 1. She drained the free throw before Iowa State's coach called a time out. Kate everyone a nod of her head as she took her seat in the team huddle. However, the sight of Isabel's slightly angry expression made her wonder what had gotten the girl upset.
"For multiple reasons," Lacy chimed in.
"We all thought she was cool at first," Isabel said, "Except for me, but that's probably because I was just jealous."
"Didn't you have a boyfriend?"
Isabel's face flushed, "Austin, yeah, but we don't talk about him. He was a cheater and the worst part of my life."
"Oh, babe, I'm sorry," Kennedy frowned, laying a comforting hand on Isabel's shoulder. "He's a piece of shit."
The two girls nodded—Lacy nodding rather ferociously. "Yeah, he is. Anyways, the night that Kate and I first kissed, it was after one of their home games and we were all out to eat. Allie, reason unknown, tagged along with us. So, after Kate and I came out of the bathroom, Allie noticed my lipstick on Kate's mouth—oops!"
"Hold on-" Kennedy shook her head, putting up her hands. "Yours and Kate's first kiss was in a bathroom? Really?"
"That was my reaction, too," Lacy said.
"Shut up! It was just heat of the moment, okay? I wasn't particularly thinking about our location," Isabel giggled. The crowd went crazy, Kate's mom jumping up as Sydney took a charge. "Alright, back to the story. Allie was upset, as anyone would be—Kate and I both apologized to her about the timing of it and we admitted that we were in the wrong. But she tells my ex-boyfriend about it and a couple of days later it's going around campus that Kate cheated on Allie, even though they never actually dated."
"What a cunt." Kennedy rolled her eyes. "Did people believe him?"
"Some, I guess." The whistle blew as the minute of the timeout ran up. "My next Instagram post was of Kate and I, and I got a few comments about it. I don't know if it was people from campus or if it had somehow gotten out to Kate's fans, but whoever it was, they weren't very nice about it."
"Kate has fans?" Her sister laughed, not fully believing it.
Isabel's nodded her head quickly, "Gosh, does she. They love Kate. You should see the edits they make of her."
"I'm sure you watch them enough for the both of us." Lacy let out a quiet snicker at Kennedy's dig.
"Please. Kate watches them more than I do."
THE STADIUM WAS CURRENTLY GOING WILD CELEBRATING THE HAWKEYES WIN. The rivalry game win had not been easy for them to secure but they had gotten it done in the end. Kennedy had to remind her mother multiple times to breathe throughout the game, and Isabel had to do the same with Lacy.
Isabel and Lacy followed behind the security guard that was leading them onto the court—per Gabbie's request. Due to safety protocols, only family members and staff of either teams were allowed onto the court. Unless, there was a court storming but that was clearly not going to be happening tonight as the home team had lost.
"Guys! Come here!" Gabbie waved them over, surrounded by her excited teammates.
Kate's eyes lit up as she saw her girlfriend nearing her. Opening up her arms, she was expecting Isabel to jump right into her but was surprised when she ran straight past her and attached herself to Molly. Kate's mouth fell open, watching as Isabel stuck her tongue out at her childishly.
Molly huffed at the impact though hugged Isabel back with just as much intensity.
"Molls!"
"Issie!"
"Okay, Molly you can hand over my girlfriend now," Kate said jokingly, grabbing Isabel by her waist and slightly lifting her off the ground. She pressed a sloppy kiss to her lips, smiling into it. "Did you know they were coming?"
Isabel nodded, a teasing glint in her eyes. "Kennedy told me at Thanksgiving, but asked me not to tell you."
"Sneaky. All of you."
A few moments later, Kate was being dragged away to see her family and Isabel was being engulfed by Gabbie and the rest of the team.
"Y'all nearly gave me a heart attack," Isabel huffed out, putting a hand over her chest. "Too close for comfort, guys."
Caitlin grinned, shrugging her shoulders as she wrapped her arm around Isabel's shoulders. "We'll bring you out to hit some three's next time then."
"No, that's okay. That's all you, babe."
As they were all taking amongst each other, a certain voice made Isabel freeze. "Great game, girls," Allie said in a sickly sweet tone, offering up a smile to all of them. A girl decked in Iowa State gear didn't say anything and instead sent them all dirty looks.
"Thank you," Sharon offered up after no one had responded. They all just looked blankly at her, some sharing awkward looks with one another. Isabel raised her eyebrows, wondering why she was still just standing there.
Allie nodded her head before walking on—her friend being sure to send one last glare at the group before following behind her. The girls all looked at each other in confusion before busting out in laughter.
Though, Taylor's eyes had followed the girls every step and widened as she laid a hand on Kate's shoulder. "What the fuck is she doing?"
Isabel turned her head quickly to see Allie shaking hands with Jill. Her hands clenched together in anger, though she could've laughed upon seeing the harsh gaze of Kennedy set on Allie. She didn't look enthused once so ever.
"I'll be right back," Isabel told them before sprinting over to her girlfriend.
She smoothly made her way between Kate and Allie, making the girls hand fall back to her side. Kate sent her a bewildered look as she wrapped her arm around her waist and pulled her closely into her side. She went down to press a kiss to the side of Isabel's head, "Why is she here?"
"I don't know," Isabel whispered through the fake smile she had painted on her face.
"So, you and Kate are friends I assume?" Jill asked.
"Yes, ma'am," Allie confirmed, "I'm on the Iowa Soccer team so we've ran into each other from time to time. You've raised a lovely daughter."
"Thank you." Matt beamed at the compliment, looking at Kate in admiration. She ducked her head, not to hide her cheeks flushing at the attention, but to hide her annoyed eye roll.
Kennedy let out a low scoff, making Allie look over at her. The two made tense eye contact for a few seconds until Jill started to speak again. Trevor elbowed his sister discreetly, throwing her a puzzled look as to why she was acting as if she didn't like the girl.
"Well, I think we're all about to go grab some food. Allie, you're welcome to join us if you'd like." Kate and Isabel couldn't maintain their faux smiles any longer, as both girls' expressions dropped as they looked at each other out of the corner of their eyes.
However, Allie's smile was now fully genuine. "I'd love to."
𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞,
THIS CHAPTER ISN'T EDITED‼️😳‼️😳
sorry for not updating been busy😍.
also still recovering from the many heart
attacks the championship game gave me.