Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

hiii!! i saw all the cross shipping on tiktok so i decided to write a fic abt it but we must remember every crossover ship has a messy muit-crossover love triangle. also btw this is my first fic and im a teenager soooo my writing is not the best!! anyway i hope whoever reads the fic enjoys it and yeah! 💗 (also Modern Au)

Chapter Text

The lunchroom smelled like pizza and cheap perfume.

“Do you want your cherry popped?” Jason asked, grinning ear to ear.

Cady smiled politely, brows furrowing. “What?”

Jason snickered. “Do you want us to assign someone to pop your cherry?”

“My what?” Cady asked, confused.

Regina George intervened. She was polished, intimidating, and looked almost like a real-life doll.

She smiled, glanced up at Jason, then darted her eyes to Cady. “Is he bothering you?”

She turned back to Jason. “Why are you such a skeez?”

“What? I’m just being friendly. Can’t I talk to a new student?”

Gretchen rolled her eyes. “You were supposed to call me last night.”

Regina added flatly, “Do you want to have sex with him?”

Cady blinked. “No, thank you.”

Regina smiled. “Good. So it’s settled. Bye, Jason.”

She gave a short, amused laugh as Jason slunk away.

Before Cady could leave, Regina gestured for her to sit with them. Cady hesitated but eventually took the seat.

As the Plastics began explaining the cafeteria’s social hierarchy, Gretchen pointed toward the Band Geeks.

“They’re total losers with no future ahead of them,” she scoffed.

Regina added, “Whatever you do, don’t go to one of their band gigs if they invite you.”

Right on cue, Rodrick Heffley swaggered over.

“Heard something about my band gigs,” he said, smirking. “Any of you fine-looking ladies wanna pull up? Friday, six to seven p.m.”

His voice cut through the cafeteria noise like guitar feedback.

Regina’s smile faltered for a moment — just long enough to notice how he didn’t seem to care who he was talking to. 

“Yeah, no. Bye, Rodrick.” 

Rodrick tilted his head. “We all know you wanna come, let’s be honest.”

Gretchen looked him up and down. “As if.”

Rodrick turned to walk away, muttering, “Yeah, okay,” before spinning back with a grin.
“You’ll change your mind when you see the smoke machine.”

Regina frowned at her food, pretending she wasn’t completely thinking about him.

Karen twirled her hair. “He’s such a loser.”

Regina snapped back too quickly. “Yeah. Totally.”

⸻

Later that afternoon, Regina couldn’t stop thinking about Rodrick’s smug little gig invite — not that she cared, obviously. She was completely, utterly disgusted. That’s what she told herself, anyway, as she walked to her locker.

But of course, the universe had a wicked sense of humor.

As she approached her locker, she overheard a group of wannabes leaning against the wall, their voices practically oozing with excitement.

“Did you hear Löded Diper got a new drummer?” one of them whispered like it was breaking news.
“They’re playing at the skate park Friday. Apparently, it’s actually good.”

Regina rolled her eyes. Good? Please. His band couldn’t even win a middle school talent show.

Still, she listened longer than necessary. Her steps slowed, her hand fidgeting with her hair — but not because she cared, obviously. Definitely not.

Then she heard it.
“Gretchen might go,” one girl said.

Of course Gretchen would. She had the loyalty of wet paper in the rain.

By the time Regina reached her locker, Gretchen was already there — smiling way too brightly, phone in one hand and lip gloss in the other.

“Oh my gosh, Regina,” she started, voice high and bubbly. “Did you know Löded Diper actually—”

Regina cut her off. “If you finish that sentence, I’ll pretend I don’t know you. And if you finish it with ‘fetch’, I’ll murder you.”

Gretchen blinked. “What? I’m just saying, people are talking. They’re like… kinda mysterious?”

“Mysterious?” Regina slammed her locker shut. “All their members smell like Axe body spray. It’s a hazard.”

But even as she said it, a tiny smirk tugged at her lips. She hated that she was even thinking about him.

Now, she was pretending to scroll through her texts, secretly opening her Notes app instead — typing a reminder to not go to the gig. Obviously. She would never go. That would be desperate. And Regina George didn’t do desperate.

Still, as Gretchen rambled on about parties and boys and outfits, Regina found herself zoning out.

Her mind trailed back to him. Rodrick Heffley.

And maybe, just maybe, she wondered what it would feel like to prove she didn’t care at all.

Chapter Text

The bathroom smelled like hairspray and cheap perfume, curling into the corners like it owned the space. Regina stood in front of the mirror, applying her mascara, separating each singular lash.

“Seriously, Regina, you’re barely even touching your lipstick,” Gretchen said, voice high and frantic. “Are you even trying tonight?”

“I’m trying,” Regina said flatly, more to herself than to anyone else. She hated that she even cared about him, Rodrick. Every thought of him made her chest tighten, made her fingers twitch, made her heart do things she refused to admit.

Karen twirled a strand of her hair, frowning at Regina’s reflection. “It’s like… too perfect. Not even natural.”

“Perfect is the point, Karen,” Regina snapped lightly.

Cady hovered in the doorway, looking awkward and wide-eyed.

“Um… are we leaving soon?”

“Cady. Sit. Makeover,” Regina said, smirking at her own reflection. “You have such gorgeous hair, but let’s actually style it.” 

—

“Ah!! You look so good” Karen exclaims. Cady really did look quite good for the band gig. 

Regina tugged on her skirt, glanced at herself one last time. Neon lights from the street streaked pink across her glittered eyeshadow. Untouchable. Foolish. Obsessed.

Cassie’s night started elsewhere, far from polished bathrooms and orchestrated beauty. The skate park smelled of asphalt, sweat, and the faint tang of burnt wires. Maddy, Kat, and BB dragged her through the crowd, laughing, leaving Cassie trailing behind with nerves buzzing in her chest.

Smoke drifted lazily from the machine, curling in the air with a scent of burnt sugar. Rodrick was already on stage, sprawled across his drum kit, a perfect mess of recklessness and indifference. His hair fell into his eyes, the way it always did, and Cassie felt a pull in her stomach.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Kat said. “He’s really is something else, isn’t he?”

Cassie nodded silently. Her chest throbbed. Her heartbeat matched the bass from the stage.

Rodrick’s eyes flicked over her, and for a moment, their gaze locked. She looked away immediately, pretending to examine the crowd, pretending she hadn’t been caught.

“Hey,” he said, voice low but loud enough to cut through the noise. “First time here?”

Cassie nodded. “Yeah.”

“Bold,” he said, grinning. “I like that.” He winked. 

She wanted to tell him something, anything, but the words stuck. She just smiled, crooked and soft.

The band started again. Drums clattered, guitar feedback sliced through the haze. Smoke curled around the stage. Cassie edged closer, drawn by him, by the electricity of the music, by the dangerous gravity he carried.

“You come here often?” he asked, leaning casually on the drums.

Cassie shook her head. “Not really.”

“Figured,” he said. He tilted his head in that careless way that made her chest ache.

She wanted to retreat, to disappear, but the pull kept her rooted. She didn’t notice the way her fingers trembled, the flush in her cheeks, the ache of wanting something she couldn’t name.

“Name’s Rodrick,” he said finally.

“Cassie,” she whispered.

For a long moment, they just stared, the neon pink and blue haze surrounding them. Smoke, sweat, cherry-flavored lip gloss curling in the air. Her chest ached. Her stomach flipped. She didn’t want the night to end.

Regina and her crew arrived fashionably late. Her heels clicked on the concrete. Gretchen and Karen fussed with their hair. Cady trailed behind.

Regina’s jaw tightened when she saw Rodrick on stage. She had told herself she didn’t care — but even as she clutched her purse, a tight, painful pull stirred in her chest.

Gretchen sighs, “Just…try not to act like you’re obsessed,” Gretchen whispered.

“I’m not obsessed,” Regina said flatly. Her heartbeat betrayed her anyway. Regina’s voice lowers, “She’s a complete slut.”

She caught a glimpse of Rodrick’s profile, leaned back against his drums, and something twisted in her chest. 

Meanwhile, Cassie drifted closer to the stage. Every drumbeat vibrated through her chest. Smoke and lights and Rodrick pulled her forward. Every glance, every tilt of his head, every careless smirk, made her heart ache.

She didn’t notice Regina yet. She didn’t see the calculating eyes behind the crowd, the way Regina’s body tensed when she noticed Cassie lingering near him.

Cassie’s world narrowed. She edged closer, every step like a tightrope over restraint. Dangerous. Electric. Irresistible.The night throbbed around her, smoke curling, neon flickering, bass pounding, and she felt suspended in that glittering moment where everything could change, and maybe nothing ever would.

By the time she stepped back, adrenaline settling in her bones, she knew one thing: tonight had begun something she could no longer control.

And she wanted it anyway.