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plot: in which they have to push aside their issues to work together

trope: enemies to lovers

pairings: wbb! south carolina! black!  reader x angel reese

warnings: foul language

a/n: as requested by Grussellsprout1663 🫶 love me some angel 😊

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It started in 2022. Y/n was a sophomore, playing for the South Carolina Gamecocks. She was one of their star players defensively and offensively. Angel Reese transfered to LSU for her sophomore year, and y/n knew that was gonna be a game changer for the Tigers. She knew how good Angel was in Maryland. She didn't have anything against her.

She spoke way too soon.

Just one game in, some trash talk, bad calls, fouls, and physicality was enough to spark hate between them.

The more and more they met up on the court it got worse. The physicality got worse, the fouls got worse, the trash talk was just a cherry on top. Her coach didn't like it either. She knew one game would be the time they were finally gonna explode.

That game was Sunday, March 10th. It was a SEC tournament. They were number 1 seed, obviously. After this, they still had the NCAA tournament, and that was also another tournament they had planned to win. But first, they had to take care of LSU.

"You miss me, Barbie?" Y/n smirked, walking over to the player.

"I live in your head rent free, don't I?" Angel shot back, not pleased to see the girl.

She scoffed, almost offended by her comment. "Like I'd waste my precious time thinkin' 'bout you."

The game started, things were heating up rather quickly. Just five minutes in, Angel was going for a block but missed the ball and knocked y/n in the back of her. She fell to the floor but the ball still went in before the whistle. "Fuck." She groaned, clutching the back of her head as her teammates leaned down to check on her.

"You wanna check out?" Kamilla asked, holding out a hand to her.

"Hell nah." She dismissed, taking her teammates hands to pull herself up. She wasn't give Angel the pleasure of taking her out the game.

She got her free throws and smirked, shooting Angel a little wink after making both in. Angel just rolled her eyes, trying to keep her composure. But with the way the game kept going, the fouls, the calls, the trash talk, the anger was bubbling up inside them.

It was the fourth quarter, pressure was on, tensions were high. When her point guard was running into the paint, they left y/n open and she threw it to her. She Angel tried to run over but y/n let the shot off and got the three. "I told y'all I could shoot from anywhere." She grinned, raising up three fingers as she jogged backwards.

Angel ran down the court with the ball, going into the paint and y/n jumped up to block it. She hit it into her point guards hands and they ran back down the court. She was going fast, knowing she wasn't gonna make it she passed it down to y/n and she got the layup. "That's how it done baby," she grinned, dapping up Te-Hina.

There was five minutes left, y/n was under the basket, pushing up against Angel. LSU had the ball and they were looking to get it to Angel. Y/n couldn't let it happen. She had a foul to use anyways, might as well. They got Angel the ball and as she went to lay it in y/n's arm hooked around her and the other reached up to block the ball, unintentionally hitting her wrist and the back of her head.

She lost her balance and barely let herself fall to the floor before she was pushing herself back up to shove y/n when her back was turned. She stumbled forward but quickly turned around to shove her back. "You wanna try that shit again?! Come on, Reese!" Their teammates had ran over to get in between them.

Kamilla had to forcefully pull y/n away because she was too strong for their guards to hold on. She sighed as y/n and Angel kept shouting insults at each other. "Go sit your barbie ass back down! You ain't 'bout that!"

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The 2024 WNBA draft came up quite quickly. Y/n was fresh off a Sec tournament and NCAA championship win. It was safe to say she was feeling very good about her odds in the draft. "Remember, be on your best behavior. Don't bother her, she won't bother you." She rolled her eyes at her mom/manager's words, staring up at the ceiling.

She was talking about Angel Reese, obviously. She was the only one she had problems with in this class. "Relax. You think I'm gonna screw up this opportunity because of a petty feud? You know me better than that, ma." She sat up to look at her mom, and she wasn't super pleased with her attitude. "I do. That's why I'm asking you to behave. No comments, no looks, nothing. Ignore her."

"Fine. I'll ignore her."

That lasted longer than she thought. Until, of course, y/n remembered she was y/n. As she stepped on the bus in her dress, she noticed Angel sitting beside Kamilla towards the back and walked over, stopping at the seats. "How you doin' barbie? You look good." She wasn't lying that time. Angel did look good, a little too good.

"I'ma pretend you meant that and take it as a compliment 'cause I know I look good." Angel replied, and Kamilla just awkwardly looked in between, waiting for something to go off. "And I'm doin' real good. How have you been? Still got those bruises on your back?" She pouted mockingly. Milla wanted to wince at the reference. It happened in the finals with Iowa. Kate Martin had blocked a shot on her and she hit the court on her back really hard.

Y/n grinned in amusement, her annoyance very visible behind her eyes. "That's cute. I'll remember that when I'm blocking your shot in the W."

Angel scoffed under her breath, "I would love to see you try."

"You look pretty, Mills." Y/n took her college teammate's hand to press a kiss to her knuckles. She smiled warmly, "thank you."

"Hey, y/n! Come sit by me!" Caitlin spoke, waving y/n over.

"Talk to you later I guess." Y/n smiled, turning around and making her way over to Caitlin. She was a little surprised she called her over given the huge upset in the NCAA tournament where SC beat Iowa.

Angel turned to Kamilla, raising a brow, "okay, what was that?" She was clearly referring to the flirty little situation between her and y/n.

She waved it off, not phased by it. "That's just y/n being y/n. She's super flirty with everyone."

"She's not flirty with me," Angel muttered.

"Uh yes she is. She was just checking you out right now. You don't notice?" Kamilla chuckles, finding it funny how she was so wrapped up in hating her she didn't see y/n clearly check her out with a thirsty look in her eyes.

Angel frowned, glancing at y/n who was laughing it up with Caitlin Clark. "She was?"

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It was her first day in training camp. For what team? You guessed it. Chicago Sky. She was drafted 5th overall in the first round by the team. It had it's ups and down. She still got to be teammates with Kamilla. The downside? She had to be teammates with Angel Reese. Should be fun, right?

"Hey, hey, pass!" Angel ignored her and blew pass their practice player for the layup, only to miss. Y/n scoffed, going over and grabbing Angel's arm to turn her around. "I was talkin' to you!" She snatched her arm out of her grasp, "don't fuckin' grab me!"

"Well it's the only way you'll listen! I don't tolerate that no passin' shit. You see me open, you supposed to pass! We ain't gon' get shit done if you can't work with me." Kamilla actually couldn't blame her on this. Angel definitely should've passed.

"Alright, alright, break it up. Come on." Marina got in between them, and Kamilla pulled y/n away.

"Angel, y/n, meet me in my office after practice." Coach said and put Kamilla in to replace Angel. She sat out, and watched practice. Of course y/n and Milla had the best chemistry given their teammate history in college. So it wasn't a surprise when they were making assists and baskets left and right.

After practice was over, the two headed to Coach's office. Y/n got there first, still in her sweaty practice clothes as she plopped down on the chair. "Am I in trouble? Cause I thought I was doin' pretty good out there." The door opened as soon as she finished and Angel walked in, but pulled the chair further away from y/n before sitting down.

Y/n rolls her eyes, "didn't know I had rabies."

"Wouldn't surprise me," Angel mumbles.

Teresa gestures to them. "This is exactly what's wrong between you two. Y'all can't get along off the court so you can't work together on the court. That's a problem." They both sighed, equally disappointed with what she said but she wasn't wrong at all. "Listen, I like you both. I expect to see you both here for a long time. But that can't happen if y'all can't get along."

"So what do you suggest we do? 'Cause I don't think I'm the problem- I mean, I played ball with Ashlyn and I didn't like her for shit." Y/n voiced, and Angel scoffed loudly, turning to her. "Oh so you just gon' place all the blame on me like you didn't ignore me when I was wide open in the corner."

Y/n shot her a bored look, "maybe if you learn how to shoot a corner three I might actually pass."

Angel turns to coach, "you see that? All she does is provoke me and play victim. She's the problem not me."

"Enough." They went quiet at their coach's order. "Y'all are two of the best rookies in your class. You were rivals in college, but that is college. This? This is the pros. Being in the WNBA requires professionalism. You are teammates now. You need to put aside your differences and work together. 'Cause if y'all can't get it together, you'll get cut."

Y/n sighed, running her hand down her face in exasperation. "Alright then. We'll stay back, get some reps in." She glanced over at her teammate, "Sound good, Barbie?"

Angel shrugs, "sounds good."

They stayed after practice, two practice players staying back with them. "Pretend I'm someone you wanna pass to. Someone you don't hate," y/n suggested.

"Megan Thee Stallion," Angel said with a small smile.

"Cool. I'll pretend you're Beyoncé." Y/n grinned, catching the ball from the practice player.

Her tactic surprisingly worked, 'cause they were working together very well after that. It was late at night when they finished, the practice players were exhausted, leaving as soon as y/n gave them the clear. She walked over to Angel, extending a hand to her. "Good job."

Angel hesitated at first but she ended up taking her hand. "Yeah, you too."

She headed down to the locker room and pulled her shirt off. It was covered in sweat, her entire body was dripping in it. She pulled her sweats off next and tossed into her bag. Angel walked in, pausing at the sight of a half naked y/n. She never even realized she had tramp stamp until now. "Tramp stamp?"

Y/n shrugged, grabbing a towel because she was gonna shower off here and then shower again when she got home. "Yeah, it's hot. What? You don't like it?" Angel gulped, turning away when she realized she was staring way too long. "Um, no, it's not that. I just didn't take you for tattoo type of girl. Milla said your family's really religious."

"They are. Don't mean I am." Y/n turned around, not at all hiding her eyes when Angel was changing. It wasn't like she gonna do anything. Nothing wrong with looking. She already seen her body. "But uh...don't tell me I got a tat. They'd kill me." Angel chuckled and y/n headed to the showers.

As she was gone, it made Angel start thinking. That was the first genuine conversation she had with y/n, and she actually...she actually didn't seem as bad as she thought. She was funny, had a good sense of humor, obviously. She was hot as fuck...wait, no, she wasn't supposed to say that. Rewind. Forget about that.

Anyways. Maybe being teammates wasn't gonna be so bad after all.

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The next practice went very good. Y/n and Angel showed their coaches exactly what they worked on and how good they could be when they worked together. It only took a couple more practices for them to get more comfortable with each other. Comfortable to the point where they could joke and laugh together. They learned to be there for each other on the court as teammates. But to really unlock their full potential together, they would need to grow as friends.

"I'll give a 100 dollars to whoever makes a halfcourt," their assistant coach announced.

"I didn't know you was payin' for my lunch today. That's so sweet." Y/n voiced playfully, picking up a ball 'cause she knew she was gonna make this. Halfcourt shots were her favorite.

"I wanna go first," Angel said, picking up a ball to walk over.

Y/n smirked, and just as she was about to heave the ball, she made a buzzer noise to throw her off. She didn't even hit the rim. Angel turned to her teammate in shock and y/n just looked around, pretending to be clueless. "Yo, who was that? That's not cool man. You costed Barbie a bill she coulda used to pay her bills."

Angel laughed, shoving her shoulder playfully, "you're so stupid."

"What? You said I'm supposed to be Megan Thee Stallion. Shouldn't I be rappin' like her?" Y/n grinned, and Angel just chuckled, both not realizing they had the cameras on them.

"What should I do? You want me to sing like Beyoncé?" Angel teased as y/n readied herself for the half court shot. "Nah, just stand there and look pretty, Barbie. I'll buy lunch with this money shot." Angel rolled her eyes, fighting her smile as y/n heaved the ball, and unfortunately, she missed.

The whole team laughed, and she just stood there, pursing her lips awkwardly. "Yup..laugh it up. I'll remember this."

Angel snickered, and y/n glanced at her, "what you laughin' at?" She walked over, immediately starting to tickle her and Angel squealed trying to get out of her arms. "Release me!" Y/n grinned, lifting her off the ground, "say you're sorry! I'll keep you in air jail! Say sorry!" Angel laughed uncontrollably, "okay, okay, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

She set her down and Angel smiled sheepishly, throwing an arm around her. "Don't worry. I'll take you to Red Lobster."

"Girl-" y/n laughed, pushing her away, "get out my face."

It was later that day, after practice and mostly everyone had left, y/n was sitting outside on the curb. She didn't have a car yet so she'd have to call an Uber again. And just as she pulled out her phone to do that, Angel had walked out and spotted her. She walked over, stopping in front of her, "what you still doin' here?"

"I ain't got a car yet."

"A'ight,  I'll take you home. Come on." Angel said, unlocking her car and walking over to it.

She slowly stood up, a little on edge. "Uh..you not gon' kidnap me, right?"

"Get in the car, y/n."

She nods, picking up her bag and getting inside. Angel started up the car and turned to her. "You cool with gettin' dinner first? It's my treat." A month ago she would never imagine getting dinner with Y/n let alone having the girl in her car. And she actually didn't look so bad being in her passenger seat.

"Uh, yeah sure. I could eat."

As she drove, y/n took a look at her, her relaxed position in the driver's seat. "Yo, I got a question for you. Don't be offended." Angel furrowed her brows, really hoping this wasn't gonna get messy. "You like girls?"

She laughed, the question catching her off guard. "What makes you think I like girls?"

"Uh, 'cause the way you're drivin' is giving me very sapphic vibes. I wasn't too sure before 'cause you're very girly so..."

Angel smiled, nodding her head, "I do like girls."

"Ah, so you're a fem." She suspected that, relieved she finally had conformation. She didn't want keep hitting on a straight girl. Angel glanced at her for a split second, "and what are you? Like a mix of both?"

"How you know I'm gay?"

She laughed, stopping at the red light and looking at her incredulously. "One, a straight girl don't talk the way you do. Two, you're starin' at my boobs." Y/n froze and awkwardly looked away, "my bad." Angel smiled, paying attention to the road again. "It's fine. I don't mind. I stare at yours too." Y/n looked away to hide her smile, not sure why that had her cheesing but it did.

When Angel pulled up, y/n glanced out the window to see where they were. It was Red Lobster. She laughed, glancing at a very amused Angel. "Barbie got jokes. I see how it is." Angel couldn't hold back her little snicker, "I had to, I'm sorry. It was too good. We could go somewhere else if you."

"Nah, it's cool. I love me some cheddar bay biscuits." Y/n shrugged a shoulder, opening her door and climbing out.

They sat down in a booth, and ordered some food and drinks. Y/n snacked on some of the biscuits as they waited. "Alright, I'mma just ask 'cause it's been botherin' me for days." Y/n raised a brow, wondering where this was going. "Was that foul in the SEC tournament on purpose?"

Y/n knew her answer, and she wasn't one to lie. "Yes. It was intentional. I was just goin' for a tactical foul. But, hitting you in the head was not intentional. And I hope when you hit me in the head, it wasn't intentional either." Angel nodded almost immediately, glad they were finally talking about this. "Oh absolutely, I was not tryna hit you. I was just goin' for the block."

Y/n smirked to herself, grabbing another biscuit. "You never could get a block on me."

Angel raised a brow, offended by that. "Okay, don't start. I was just startin' to like you."

"Mm, I find it hard to believe you didn't like me in college...even just a little bit. I mean- come on, do you see this face?" She grinned, shooting her a playful wink. 
She took a sip of her water and shook her head, although she found y/n's playful comments cute. She had a very fun personality. "Very cute, but no. I didn't like you and you definitely didn't like me."

"That's not true."

Angel furrowed her brows in confusion, finding that hard to believe. As far as she knew, there wasn't a time they didn't hate each other. "What are talkin' about?"

"I didn't always hate you. I actually liked you in Maryland. Thought you was cute." She admitted, not shy at all. When she felt a certain way, she was gonna say it. She was never one to hold her feelings behind a wall. She had to get things off her chest or they'd stay in her heart forever.

She blinked, eyes drifting off in thought trying to process that. "You thought I was cute?"

"Mhm." She smiled, confidently nodding her head. "Up until you came to LSU and became a pain in my ass."

Angel frowned, pointing to herself, "I became a pain in your ass? Imagine how I felt in our first against each other- you was foulin' me left and right and barely got any calls for it. You was saying all kinds of shit to me-" y/n glanced around, feeling people staring at them. She quickly got up and took Angel's arm to pull her up, "let's just take this outside real quick."

"Oh am I embarrassing you? You don't want people to know how much a bitch you were?" Angel expressed, letting y/n lead her out.

"We'll be right back. We just need to have a private conversation." Y/n explained to the waitress who was super understanding. She just automatically assumed they were a couple. "So now you wanna have a private conversation? It wasn't private when you elbowed me in my chest on a rebound."

Y/n sighed deeply, "is that it or do you got more?"

Angel scoffed in disbelief, not liking her attitude. "You damn sure I got more. You called me a bitch. You called me a broke ass ball hogger and said I couldn't guard you with your hand tied behind your back-"

"Well that one's true," y/n countered, only further angering her teammate.

"I will literally smack the shit outta you."

She raised a brow, not fazed by that threat. Her dad owned a boxing gym. She knew how to fight. And she damn sure knew how to take a slap. "Do it then. You wanna hit me so bad. Do it. 'Cause we both know you ain't 'bout that."

Those three words, the same ones y/n spat to her in college. They set her off. She swung her hand but y/n caught it, a little surprised she actually tried. She smirked, "alright. My turn."

"Wh-" y/n pushed her against the car and grabbed onto the collar of her shirt, bringing their lips together to shut her up. And funnily enough, it actually managed to calm Angel down. The kiss gave her butterflies, leaving her all warm and fuzzy inside. So much it made her frown when y/n pulled away.

"Why'd you do that?"

"Well it worked, didn't it?" She smiled, patting her waist softly.

"No, I meant why'd you stop." She grabbed onto y/n's collar and pulled her back in for more. It caught her by surprise but that didn't stop her from deepening it. She grabbed onto her waist to bring her closer, bodies pressed against each other's. They kissed until their jaws were sore and they needed to come back up for air.

"You still wanna slap me?" She asked with teasing undertones.

She smiled, shaking her head as her arms wrapped around her shoulders. "No."

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