#but then yesterday happens and she decides that complete kook shit is the way to go

[medicinemane]

From what I can tell my mom also decided not to season the stir fry today... so cool... that's nice

[rafescoke]

Older ; Rafe Cameron (Part 2)

masterlist

#Part 2

#Part 1

Pairing: Rafe Cameron x reader

Summary: Maybe falling in love with a Maybank wouldn’t be too bad.

Warnings: Smut! (Reader is 17, Rafe is 19), substance, swearing, reader being an asshole

A/N: I do not condone doing any sexual activities if you’re underage and everything that I wrote are solely for entertainment purposes. Take care of yourself always <33

p.s; send requests!

“What the fuck!”

“Good, you’re awake,” Rafe groaned, rubbing his eyes with his palm against the bright sunlight. He sat up straight, trying to regain his bearings and sighed.

“I can’t remember anything.”

“You can, you just choose not to,” Rafe replied, walking towards the bathroom. He felt the morning breeze nipping at his skin from the open window, and blamed it on the uncertain weather of Obx. Last night, he would’ve stripped naked if it wasn’t for the girl sleeping right next to him.

“Oh my god, where are we?”

“A hotel,” he mumbled from the bathroom, leaning onto the sink before reaching for the toothbrush. “We didn’t do anything, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“I’m not thinking about that,” she grunted, and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Do you have a phone?”

She grabbed for the red phone by the bedside table when he muttered the answer, dialling her brother’s phone number with trembling fingers. She sucked in a breath, waiting impatiently.

“Hello?”

“JJ! I-”

“Save it. I heard everything. Are you really that fucking stupid, (Y/N)? Rafe fucking Cameron?”

“What?” She sat up straighter, her hair falling down to her shoulders. Rafe watched her from the mirror, his eyebrows raised and his eyes worried.

“Don’t play dumb with me, fuck,” he groaned, “Come back home now, or I won’t talk to you ever again.”

“JJ-”

She sighed when JJ hit the end call, throwing the phone onto the bed exasperatedly. She understood why he was acting berserk at the thought of her and Rafe, but why would he even made this into a huge issue?

“You okay?” Rafe asked, wiping his lips with the towel. “Is it the brother?”

“Yes, it’s the brother, and he wants me home,” she grunted, pulling the covers off of her and standing up. She stumbled backwards, still feeling so light, but put her hand up when Rafe tried to help her. “Can you order an Uber for me? Please? I lost my phone.”

Rafe scoffed, putting the discarded shirt on the floor over him, “Don’t be stupid. Let me drive you home.”

“He’s gonna kill you,” she sighed, biting her lips. Rafe had to look away, pushing away all unwanted thoughts.

“Let him,” he mumbled, grabbing his car keys by the television and fixing his hair without even looking at the mirror. He huffed, thinking it must’ve been better, and waited for her by the door.

“Oh god, I look like we fucked,” she groaned, putting her head down as they walked quickly to the car. Rafe laughed, watching her beside him, and shrugged. “Is that a bad thing?”

“Yes, it’s a bad thing,” she widened her eyes, and waited for him to unlock the car. “We’re not the same, Rafe.”

“Really? I thought you didn’t care about the whole kook and pogues thing,” he asked, half-amused. He watched as she entered the car, not saying anything. He placed a hand on her lap, and watched as she grunted again.

“Don’t.”

“You were begging for it yesterday,” he smiled, igniting the engine before focusing on the rearview mirror. “Rafe! Please, just touch-”

“I did not say that.”

“You did,” he nodded, and laughed again. “Not exactly. But you did wanted me to fuck you.”

“That’s not me, that’s the alcohol.”

“Oh, does daddy know you drink?”

She stiffened, and Rafe cursed silently at the sight of her frown. He completely forgot how she had confessed to him yesterday, and took a glance at her before sighing.

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean it like that.”

“Like what? What are you sorry for?”

“(Y/N), I forgot that-”

“I didn’t say shit to you, Rafe. Can you please shut up and just bring me home?” She yelled, her eyes flaring in anger and her chest heaving. Rafe stayed shut for a second, being caught off guard for just wanting to console her, but he decided to let the calm side of him took over.

“Okay. I’m sorry.”

The drive to the outskirts of The Cut was silent, and Rafe didn’t even bother to turn on the radio. He stopped at the gas station and asked her if she wanted anything, but she stayed silent as ever and looking out of the window at a random bald guy pumping his car.

“Fuck, you’re impossible,” he grunted when he entered the car again, placing a chocolate milk on her lap. She jerked at the cold temperature of the bottle, and gave him a glare.

Rafe couldn’t deny the sudden tug on his heart when he turned into the corner to the small house located at the end of the road, biting his lips and constantly glancing at the girl. He wasn’t scared of JJ, but he was dwelling on the possibility of Luke Maybank hitting (Y/N). He wished he could be with her, but even a crazy man would say that’s beyond impossible.

“Give me a call if you need anything.”

“Thanks,” she muttered, stepping out of the vehicle before flinging the door shut. Rafe grunted at his door shutting roughly against his car, and wondered why girls would even do that when they’re mad.

He watched as the door opened to a furious JJ, his eyes bloodshot red and his hair frenzy. (Y/N) said something to him, and Rafe read the lines of ‘I don’t want to hear it’ and ‘not bringing you to a party anymore’ from his mouth, and before he could read anything else, JJ’s eyes met his.

“Yo, is there a problem, Cameron?” JJ yelled from his front porch, flailing his arms as he walked towards the car. Rafe cursed, fumbling with his break, all while listening to (Y/N) trying to hold her brother off.

He sped away, glancing at the rearview mirror as the small house became even smaller, and let out a tired sigh.

It must be fair, he guessed, for JJ to act like that with him. Rafe went absolutely crazy when he found out that Sarah was with John B, constantly thinking about how he wouldn’t treat her as good as anyone else. JJ must’ve been thinking the same way, but Rafe didn’t know how he could convince JJ that he would never hurt her in any way possible. He shook his head at the thought, thinking how they wouldn’t even be a thing, not when the only proper communication they could have is when she’s drunk.

The next few days were a blur to him. Everytime he went down to the restaurant to catch a glimpse of her, even the tiniest look, she would return back to the kitchen and a different server would come and serve him.

It was like she was trying to ignore him, and Rafe knew something happened. She didn’t have the usual glow with her, that smile she’ll put when she’s talking to the bratty customers, and she was even yelled at by the manager in front of everyone, to which she yelled something back before yelling ‘I quit!’ and running towards the exit.

Rafe wanted to run after her, but knew he would annoy her even more. The good thing from that was he wouldn’t have to spend more money eating the tasteless food now, but he didn’t know where to look for her anymore.

It had been 2 weeks now, and Rafe still hasn't seen her since the day in the restaurant.

“God, you’re fucking hooked.”

“No, I’m not,” Rafe shook his head, attempting to drink the cold drink to ignore his friend. Topper rolled his eyes, patting his back before sighing.

“And she’s a minor, too.”

“It’s just 17,” Rafe shrugged, “And I’m still 18. Technically.”

“19 next month,” Topper reminded him, “There’s a long list of girls who would die for you and you’re after a pogue?”

“Don’t say that,” he groaned, pushing the glass further from the edge of the table. “And I don’t like her. I just think about her.”

“Whatever,” he shook his head, “But tell you what. There’s a party tonight, and it’s going to be huge.”

“Not interested,” Rafe mumbled, thinking of a peaceful night of sleeping instead of out partying. He didn’t feel like meeting Dee too, who had been trying to contact him since the day of the bonfire night.

“Come on,” Topper groaned, “It’s only for a few hours. A few hours to let loose.”

“I’ll think about it,” he lied, wanting to end this conversation already. He didn’t feel like drinking or snorting anything, and he wasn’t even sure why. All his teenage years, Rafe had been a party animal, always there at every party in Obx and just enjoying his life.

He didn’t feel like that Rafe Cameron anymore.

“Maybe (Y/N) would be there.”

His head perked up, “No, she won’t.”

“She will,” Topper shrugged, “Everyone’s going to be there. Are you not desperate to see her or something?”

Rafe thought about the possibility of this, and even if she’s not at the party, he was sure he could find her friends and ask them about her.

He sighed, “Fine.”

“I’ll pick you up at 9. Relax, man. You look like your fucking father.”

Rafe laughed with Topper at that statement, his heart set on one thing; (Y/N).

. . .

The loud music thrummed against his eardrums as he tried to cloud his mind, his head already ringing from the amount of drinks he had tonight.

Topper and Kelce had told him that he was too worried about the uncertainties, and he had dwelled so much on that statement that he decided to down so many drinks one after another.

“I didn’t mean for this to happen,” Topper mumbled to Kelce, watching as Rafe situated himself on the sofa, head back, grunting slightly. “But whatever works, I guess. He’s fucking hooked, I swear.”

“Fuck, is that (Y/N)?”

Topper widened his eyes at the sight of the younger girl with Carter entering the party, his arms around her shoulder as he greeted his friends. He thought about amazing she looked, and how he understood Rafe now, but he didn’t know she would come here with a plus one.

He couldn’t let Rafe see this.

“You wanna go back home?” He laughed awkwardly, placing himself beside Rafe and glancing at a giggling (Y/N) with Carter. He looked at Rafe nervously, and cleared his throat. “I’m tired, man. We should go home.”

“Nah, I’m okay,” Rafe replied, feeling his body relaxing. “You’re right, man. All I need is a party.”

“Ha-ha, yeah, now all you need is your bed.”

“What the fuck?” Rafe laughed, turning sideways to look at the state of Topper. He laughed again, “What’s wrong with you? Is Sarah here or something?”

He looked around, his mind woozing, and what greeted him felt like a smack across his face.

(Y/N) Maybank and fucking Carter.

“Oh, fuck,” Topper said to no one in particular, and grabbed Rafe’s hand before he could stand up. “Chill, man. They’re just talking.”

“He tried to touch her,” Rafe mumbled, his eyes flaring up. Why would (Y/N) even allow herself to be in the same room as that stupid boy? She ignored him for 2 weeks, and now this?

“Don’t do anything stupid,” Topper warned, knowing that this would bound to happen. He didn’t know it would be this quick, though.

“Is killing him stupid?”

“Jesus, Rafe, just don’t do anything, okay? If he tries to touch her again and she looks uncomfortable, then do-”

Rafe stood up before Topper could finish his sentence, walking to the pair with a frown settled on his face.

“Cameron,” Carter greeted, a smirk tugging on his lips as he pulled (Y/N) closer. “What’s the deal?”

“What are you doing?” Rafe hissed, looking straight at (Y/N) as she tried to look away. He turned to Carter again, “The bruise looks a little bit dull. Want me to colour it for you?”

Carter stepped up, to which (Y/N) quickly placed her hand against his chest, rolling her eyes. “Stop it. Carter, let’s just go.”

“Are you serious?”

“Rafe, just go,” she threw him a look before parting away with a smirking Carter, to which he groaned and cursed angrily.

“I need a drink,” he said to Topper, and Topper hesitated before handing him his glass. He watched him downed the remaining content of the glass, placing the bottle next to him before throwing his head back again. He tried to say something, but was halted when he saw Dee walking towards them.

“Hey, Rafe.”

Rafe looked up to her brown eyes and sighed, “What do you want?”

“Do you wanna talk? Like somewhere?”

“We can talk here.”

“I mean like privately.”

A sudden thought occurred to Rafe, and he formed a sly smile; if she could do this to him, he could do it back.

When (Y/N) tried to pull away from Carter, saying she needed the bathroom, she had come across a drunk Rafe flirting mindlessly with the same girl who had asked her to reheat her pasta. She watched from the corner, feeling some kind of an emotion in her, and went back to Carter, who was in the mid of a conversation with his boring friends.

“I need you.”

“Now?” Carter glanced at her, “We just arrived.”

“I need you,” she pulled him again, to which he quickly bid his goodbyes to his friends and following her to the extra rooms upstairs.

It was like a reflex; Rafe saw her pulling that obnoxious guy upstairs, and he didn’t think twice before going after her, leaving Dee alone again, all stressed out.

He felt a wave of anger as she laughed at something he said, his hands balling into a fist. Carter tried to kiss her, to which she flinched quickly that his lips had connected with her cheeks instead, and watched as she giggled.

“I can fuck you right here and right now,” Carter sighed, still so absorbed into the moment and the thought of touching her. (Y/N) laughed, pinning him against the wall, and whispered into his ear.

“In a few minutes.”

Rafe watched as he laughed, his hands around her waist now, and all he felt at the moment was to punch the shit out of that pogue for touching her.

“I need the toilet,” she held a finger up, and placed a soft kiss against Carter’s cheeks as he groaned, muttering a ‘in a minute’ before fleeing to the far end of the floor. Rafe glanced at Carter before walking towards the bathroom, his heart hammering against his chest.

“You’re satisfied now?”

(Y/N) looked up from the sink to the mirror, watching Rafe’s reflection before sighing. Her heart soared, and she felt butterflies in the pit of her stomach at the sight of the angry boy. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I really don’t understand you,” Rafe said, walking closer towards her. “Why are you back with that guy?”

(Y/N) rolled her eyes, turning to look at him, to which he slowly filled the gap in between them. She gulped at him being too close to her, and she could feel the warmth radiating from his body.

“I can do whatever I want, Cameron.”

“So ignoring me for 2 weeks and making me jealous is your plan all along?”

“There’s no plan, and you know it,” she scoffed, and tried to push him away. She yelped when he tightened his fingers around her arms, keeping her in place.

She wasn’t sure if she liked it or not.

“Is this your payback for me not fucking you?” He whispered, his eyes glancing down to his lips, and he thought about biting the pink lips and fucking her until the next morning. “Huh? Is that what you’re mad about?”

“Fuck off, Rafe,” she sighed, “I’m a minor, remember? Isn’t your reason as to you’re not fucking me is because I’m a minor?”

“Oh, I see it now,” he laughed, tilting his head backwards before inching closer to her lips. He could feel her temperature rising, and couldn’t push the amusement in his body for getting her all worked up. “It is because I don’t fuck you. Do you feel rejected?”

“Fuck off,” she said, trying to push him again, but to no avail. She hated how turned on she was in that moment, and wished she had had her priorities straight.

“Do you want me to fuck you now?” He asked slowly, his lips grazing against her cheeks. She held her breath, and watched as he laughed. “Now you won’t speak?”

“Rafe, I-”

“Do you want me to fuck you now?” He repeated, his breath heavy. He looked down to her lips again, noticing her biting it, and cursed silently. “Answer me.”

“Yes.”

“Huh? I can’t hear you.”

“God, yes, yes,” she placed her forehead against his, and she could feel her core begging to be touched. She pushed her thighs together, finding some kind of friction for release.

Rafe trailed his fingers down to under her skirt, his mouth slightly apart and his breathing heavy as he watched her squirm, her eyes closed.

He bit her lips, “Open your eyes. Look at me.”

She opened her eyes, watching him intently as his fingers slipped into her panties, teasing her entrance and sending her in an euphoric state. She moaned lightly, and tugged on his wrist before he could continue.

“We’re still in the bathroom,” she said, her thighs trembling for his touch.

“I’ll fuck you in the living room if I have to,” he grunted, and before she could say anything, he turned her over so she could stare at herself in the big mirror.

She bit her lips, hearing him unbuckling his belt and positioning himself before her. She never imagined it to be like this; but she was sure anyways. She never wanted anyone so bad as much as Rafe.

“Faster.”

“Patience,” he groaned, and looked at her through the mirror. He licked his teeth, “Beg for it.”

“Fucking hell, no,” she rolled her eyes, to which he quickly grabbed her face and forced her to look at him through the mirror again.

“I said beg for it.”

“Please,” she whispered, and pushed herself against him, to which he grunted at the sudden touch. He grabbed her waist, pulling her close, and slowly slid himself into her.

He watched as she closed her eyes as he pounded into her, holding his hand against her mouth to shut her moans. He grunted again, telling her to open her eyes, and she obliged quickly.

“Oh my god,” she moaned against his hand, feeling so good that she didn’t ever want to let go.

“Wrong name,” he muttered, trailing his hands down to her neck now, and watched as she clenched around him, sending him to complete stars.

“Fuck, you’re so good,” he expressed, feeling himself getting sloppier, and his hands dropped to the sink to stabilize himself. Her moans were getting louder now, and he didn’t care, because all of his wet dreams before were coming to life.

“I’m close,” she stuttered, feeling all of him inside her now, and she swore no one had done it the way he did. Her hands grabbed onto his, feeling so close now, and screamed as she released herself.

“Fuck,” he groaned, pulling himself out and turning away from her, feeling all kinds of shocks as he came, his chest heaving and his forehead clammy.

Before he could guess their next move, (Y/N) pushed him against the wall, lowering down to her knees and gazing up at him from her position.

Rafe groaned, feeling himself getting hard at just her look, and bit his lips. “Still so sensitive.”

“So?”

“Oh my god,” he grunted, gripping onto her hair as she wrapped her lips around him, bobbing her head and Rafe had a sudden thought of how amazing she was. He felt the familiar feeling approaching again, and grunted again.

“You’re so good, baby.”

She hummed, sending vibrations throughout his whole body causing him to jerk forward, piling her hair up into a ponytail and helping her hit all of the spots to reach his end. He could feel her teeth grazing him, and he could’ve sworn he felt his heartbeat stopped.

“Fuck. You’re killing me,” he expressed, feeling so close now, and before she could prepare herself, the hot load hit the back of her throat, and she giggled as he pulled himself away.

“Holy fuck, you’re amazing.”

She showed him her tongue, all coated with his seed, and Rafe felt like kissing her and marking her as his forever. He didn’t ever want to let her go, now when she was like a precious gem to him.

She swallowed his load slowly, gazing at him with those eyes again, and Rafe had to turn away to stop himself from getting hard again. He placed a soft kiss against her cheek, pulling his jeans up and helping her dress down.

“We should do that again.”

“Oh, we will,” he smiled, turning the faucet open to wash his hands. He waited for (Y/N)’s turn and turned the faucet off before opening the door.

(Y/N) walked past him into the public, and before he could think of anything else he pulled her against his chest again.

“What?”

“We still haven’t kissed,” he said, and watched as she blushed heavily. “Do you wanna kiss?”

“I don’t kiss older guys,” she huffed, her mouth forming into a smile. “Wait until I’m 18.”

“Are you serious?”

She laughed, pulling herself away from him, “I’ll think about it.”

“You know where to find me, Maybank.”

-

@okayshoto @joselyn001 @onceuponateenagetrash @dyingsleeping @iwannabeapogue @meaganjm @rafesobxs @flossy2929 @unfortunatekiwitrash @scottybitch @asimpwriter @amaya124 @tommy-tommo @thatshithurted8 @fallincindy @marvelwhor3 @rafeswh0ree @kookap @supernaturallydc-blog @blank-velvet @alaniskauany @kiiim8 @witchywrter @kaitlyn2907 @heyimflo @overcookedpastasause @tsukkiswifeey @spidey-d00d @anonymousobxfan @gotmeinloveagain @chicagoblackhawkslover96 @lexi-writes @classydragonthingknight @belongtoyou-u @badbussylol @savannah-elliott @angelreyesgirl100 @haterpenny @beehappyyy @alwaysclassyeagle @maybankslut @kayleea122 @clearbolts @lovelyxtom @christianaevans @jemimah-b99 @opierdalacz @dangerdolns @wildflowerliv @classygirlything21

[jiminrings]

OKAY LISTEN idk if someone or you already planned sth like this but how about y/n finally decides to confess/tell jk but someone else claims to be her before she could do it so * cue to the angst bc y/n sees the whole thing/she hears from her friends * and ofc koo eventually finds out bc that b*tch doesn't even have the fucking lunchboxes 😑

cold senior!y/n x stem major!koo masterlist :D

stem koo's the three-peat king for having the best research papers, but he's the worst when it comes to believing the right person

"i think i'm gonna tell him."

you say it to no one in particular, really, but you hear yoongi rISING from his nap on the couch

it wasn't meant to wake him at all

it was just an epiphany of sorts that popped into your head

physically felt as if your head would just bursT if you didn't say it out loud to affirm your own thoughts lmao

"for real???" he's rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, very evident that he wouldn't wake up to finish his thirteen pending assignments but he 10/10 would wake up to hear your epiphany

yoongi is awake for the action!!!! lmao does professor roux from calculus think that he wakes up at the morning and doing shapes (or whatever they teach at calc) is the fIRST thing in his mind????

"interesting," he nods solemnly when you nod your head, reaching out for a fist bump before he plops to your shoulder, "i suggest dressing like a virgin wearing H&M when you confess. it would hit close to home."

yoongi's the touchy affectionate one between the two of you but you'll forgive him bc he's still sleepy

NOOOOOOO

jungkook doesn't look like a virgin wearing H&M :((((

his clothes aren't from there lol

"pass."

"say that you're a top verified contributor both in quora and brainly."

PLEAAAAAASE SJWHSHWHHWV

"nice idea," you snort as yoongs genuinely thinks that it'd get jungkook to propose on the spot, "but no cigar."

"pretend to love big bang theory."

"you're getting onto something here."

"your hobby is fact-checking rick and morty."

"yoongi wow you are on fIRE today-"

"your guilty pleasure is not wearing protective gear during experiments."

"where is this coming from??"

"OH!!!! i'll pretend to mug him or something and you can attack me!!!"

....

??????

yeah yoongi's train of thought just crashed

you were pretty sure he was going on a science theme there wHY DID IT DERAIL

yoongi looks confused because you look confused, as if he didn't just give you the mindblowing idea,, free of charge

lol but no he really didn't

"i'm not doing any of that shit, yoongs."

"oh yeah???" he squints at you and hollows his cheeks, taunting you entertainingly while he worms his way to your lap to nap again

"what are you planning to do?"

holy sHIT this is nerve-wracking

she feels like she's gonna pass out the whole time that she's been rehearsing this in her head

she's been waiting outside the classroom for twenty minutes now and the bell finally rang and she can't believe it!!!! omg is it game-time now

everyone's filing out of the room and she could just feel that jungkook would come out of the room last-

ALRIGHT FUCK THE BELL RANG

you could do this!!!!

everyone's filing out of the room and you know in your heart that jungkook would stay behind, his routine being to politely chat with the professor before he leaves

you're a lil nervous alright

you're scanning the room and there's only a few people left and your eyes instinctively go to the mini desk next to the door and-

FUCK

DID YOU FORGET TO BRING IT HOME YESTERDAY??????

goddamn it

yesterday was when coach jeong was mad because someone from your team just hAD to bring beer!!! and not even have the common sense to put it on a discreet thermos or sth and you know!!!! to not drink it in public or in front of the coach!!!!

doing laps on the oval field will now make you hurl on command just by thinking about it

you physically did not have the cognizance to go and fetch the lunchbox to wash it,,,, or like even move at all

FUCK IT

how are you gonna swipe the lunchbox now? now when the professor's packing up, jungkook's loitering around the classroom, and there's this girl who's-

wait

who's this girl??

who is she and wHY IS SHE EYEING THE LUNCHBOX

fuck it!!! here goes nothing

she's stepping completely into the room and making sure her block heels generate enough clacking,, hands already moving in practiced moments as she attempts in making it seem like she's rushedly putting the lunchbox bag into her tote — as if it's from there, and she's always done this

jungkook hears noises coming from the back of the room, eyes widening before he comes up the stairs in record time

"no. get your own."

he grips the girl's wrist, about to pry off her hands from his lunchbox

he hears her giggle sweetly, the melody being something he's heard before

"i did. after all, i did get you these."

:O

"hyeji?"

hyeji's a pretty girl!!! a nice girl in jungkook's year that wears fit dresses and cartier bangles :D

she stands out really, sometimes literally because she appears in the school's flyers and advertisements

"hyeji," jungkook breathlessly connects the dots including the fact that she looks caught in the act; holding his lunchbox, her tote bag open, and a peek of another completely different lunchbox in her other hand, "i-it's been you this whole time?"

hyeji blushes, sheepishly tucking her perfectly shiny and neat hair behind her ears, "you caught me then."

kook laughs both in nervousness and giddiness, pushing his glasses up and suddenly conscious that he should've worn contacts, "b-but how? we don't share this class."

:O

hyeji bursts into a giggle, blushed cheeks staining further than the five minutes she tried getting the perfect amount

"r-right! kinda amazing what depths you'd go for a person you like, hm?"

jungkook is about to pass out

HE'S PUT IN A SITUATION

a situation that he likes and is too giddy to find a reply for

he apparently doesn't need a reply, because a chair scrapes harshly against the floor and it brings him down to reality immediately

you cannot fucking believe what you just witnessed

you stand abruptly from the seat you've been frozen in with a great deal of urgency because you cAN'T stand to be in this room any longer

they actually forgot that the two of them aren't alone

that you're still here

little miss hyeji's just as shocked

you feel stupid and even more stupid that you're still holding a stupid notebook you even decorated

it has a doodle in the front and all the remaining pages are of the copies you've replicated on jungkook's sticky notes — the same ones you've been trying to make perfect just for him

"y/n!" he sputters when your backpack accidentally leans too much to your side and hits him on the way out

"move."

you’re feeling everything but fine and god you just hated that you always willed yourself to move oN

you’re beyond mad when you put on your jersey!!!

you’re irrevocably dejected when you put on your cleats!!!!

you feel cheated on when you zip up your duffel and walk all the way to the field!!!

it’s a combination of the type of frustration that makes you want to move plus the type that paralyzes you, the whole thing unlike anything you’ve ever felt before

you’re clearly in your head and frankly, you’re just too good

too good that there's no game at all because the only thing happening is you scoring

there's no passing going on or the sort

everyone is just :O looking at their captain to be in the most furiously determined state that they’ve ever seen you in

you don’t even realize that you’re the oNLY one moving in the whole field

“alright, alright — jesus christ! go to the bench and sort your head out, captain,” coach jeong literally has to JOG over to your spot to jolt you

oh there he is again

jaehyun just had to bench you didn’t he

sometimes it’s lost on you that jaehyun, just like seokjin, used to be your senior

he hated juniors with a burning passion and you’re the ONLY one he’s taken a tolerance for

((you lent him your umbrella and it coincidentially had to be a bad day for him tHEN that made him like you))

you’re having none of it though because this time, you’re the one who has the bad day and the captain title does nothing to appease you

“sure, coach.”

you mumble just as lively and walk to completely the fURTHEST side of the bleachers, being so far out that you could barely see your team

what are you supposed to do? simmer in the thoughts you so badly didn’t want to have in silence??????

"y/n?"

the voice you least expected to hear perks up right next to you

what the hell is jungkook doing here now??

he looks lost, two hands clinging onto his backpack straps before tentatively looking at you again

“did i do anything to upset you?”

so he wants to ask that?

you snort automatically, suddenly wishing that you didn’t walk this far because you can’t make an excuse that jaehyun’s calling for you

"because my bag accidentally hit you on the way out? no, jungkook."

jungkook knits his brows in question, seemingly take offense to what you’ve just said to hom

"we're not exactly associated for me to be mad at you, are we?" you emphasize even further, not caring the least bit that your words have an edge to them

he deadpans, pursing his lips before sarcastically smiling at you

".... so you're upset at me?"

://

jungkook takes your silence for him to delve further, not paying attention to how your eye is begging to twitch at him

"i asked if i did anything to upset you, and you said no. but that doesn't necessarily mean you aren't. you could be upset at me even if i didn't do anything to you."

wow

you sound like a real fucking nerd jungkook

"do you have any idea how condescending you sound right now?"

kook barely has a solid inch on you yet the nagging feeling that he’s belittling you makes you grip your fists tight, posture wavering

"so you do admit that you're upset at me?"

he’s not the most patient person either but something about you and the situation right now just makes him tick a little faster

your eyes narrow at what he’s aiming to get at, your hand on your hip feeling heavy at this point

"what does it matter to you if i'm upset or not? we are not-"

"i am associated to you!!! even to a degree!!! you walked me home!"

jungkook is the one who breaks first and he doesn’t look fazed to have opposed you so loudly, still standing by himself

"i would walk anyone home."

"no you wouldn't-"

"i would walk anyone who was as vulnerable and as anxious as you were, jungkook!!"

it is true

you’d walk anyone home within reason regardless if they were jungkook or not!!!

the guy in question only looks at you straightly, brows not stubborn but still just as unrelaxed

:((

"good to know. then you're not upset at me, and i didn't do anything to upset you."

"sure."

you only say just to spite him, about to turn your back and leave him completely to go back to your practice game

jungkook surprises you again and flips a switch just as quick as your mini argument of sorts escalated

"anyways!! i'm sorry for being a little off when i interviewed you that day. i got a 100 on that assignment, by the way :))"

what?

what’s he still doing here?

he’s talking about his grades and whatnot to you as if literally twenty seconds ago did nOT happen!!

"why are you still-"

"and the one who's been giving me my lunchboxes confessed to me today!! for hyeji to be the girl giving me them, it makes perfect sense."

you shrug away the weirdness that jungkook’s moved on from the argument as fast as this, trying a take two for a peaceful conversation

this time, you’re the one who unknowingly flips a switch at her name — something so foreign and sudden yet something you quickly grew to hate

"i wouldn't be so trusting if i were you."

that seems to hit a nerve on him again, making him scoff in reply

"good thing you aren't me then."

what is ON with him????

"watch it. i'm your senior, kid."

you’re more irritated than the first and second time around that you’ve been agitated this day

"why? are you normally this self-absorbed that you wouldn't trust a girl who's confessed??"

self-absorbed?

you aren’t the most selfless person ever but god do you know for a fact that you’re not vain as jungkook’s insisting you to be

you hate him.

you hate this version of him that isn’t the same jungkook you’ve known to like ever since the start of the semester

"same thing as polygraphs not being a hundred percent reliable. anyone could tell the truth as long as you ask the wrong questions," you detail on further because jungkook loves details, right? might as well give him several

"or did you even ask?"

jungkook scowls as if you’ve insulted his mother and his entire lineage, face contorting into everything but warm

"what does it matter to you? didn't you just tell me that we aren't associated? why are you projecting all your moaning on hyeji?"

WHAT

WHAT????

"you know what? maybe i am associated to you. i think i'd also tell this to everyone i'd walk home — maybe you shouldn't be too trusting, huh? maybe you shouldn't just let anyone walk you home."

the tears this time are more insistent to come out this time but you’d rather dIE than for jungkook to stain your pride like this

"no one should walk me home, besides you? is that what you're trying to say?"

no!!

for fuck's sake you aren't even finished with your point!!

before you could continue, jungkook shakes his head at you — the most disappointing shake of his head that it curses you soft

"what am i even doing? you wouldn't understand."

he closes the distance that’s been alarmingly shorter throughout the whole time, jungkook being the one to break it

"because no one gives you lunchboxes. no one exerts effort in making you cheerful — no one wants to go the extra mile for you, and no one wants to walk you home."

he's insulting you right to your face and that’s when your dam breaks, lips quivering impossibly as you stare him down with a genuinely pained gaze you didn’t know you carried

"you wouldn't know what i feel, because no one likes you."

jungkook gets the last word in.

he leaves you in the same field he's first approached you in nervousness.

today, he leaves it differently.

sweat isn't the only thing on your face but instead it’s the frustrating hot tears you haven’t had in awhile

your fists are balled but there's no power to the anger behind it

you’re almost always alone outside the company of the closest friends you’ve ever had — but this is the only time that you truly felt that you are alone.

today's a good day to give up on jungkook.

[hellimagines]

Collateral -- JJ Maybank (Part One)

Masterlist

Summary: JJ’s stunt with Barry bites him in the ass when the angry drug dealer kidnaps you and decides you’re JJ’s collateral for the stolen money.

Warnings: kidnapping, violence, angst, mentions of child abuse and drug use

Pairing: JJ Maybank x fem!Routledge!reader

Word Count: 4,800+

A/N: I started writing this after binge-watching Outer Banks, and before I knew what was happening, I had written 20 pages of this and hadn’t even gotten to the climax… So, this has clearly been broken up into parts. I have part two already finished, and I’m almost finished with part three, but I’m not uploading them tonight because I want this to see the light of day first, and gain some love before I do anything. Please let me know what you guys think of this! I know there isn’t a lot of mushy-feely stuff in this chapter, and it’s mainly angst but, I had so much fun writing this, so please give it a chance and tell me what you think. Also, it’s canon divergent because I tweaked the DCS storyline and everything after John B. finds the first gold bar.

|Part Two|Part Three|Part Four|Final Part|

Your shift at The Wreck had been a long and strenuous one, more so than usual, because Kie hadn’t shown up for her night shift which left you to pull a double and cover for her. In your opinion, the nighttime customers were always worse than the morning customers since they typically consisted of kooks and tourons who expected the best of the best and nothing less. You had a short fuse, similar to your boyfriend, and would often get snippy with customers who complained about trivial things: their drinks having too much ice, their salad too much dressing, or their Chef’s Board not enough cheese or the wrong kind of cheese. Kie’s dad kept you on morning and afternoon shifts as much as possible due to the locals of The Cut coming to the cafe during those times, and your ability to make them feel at home while they ate their toast and sipped their coffee. So, having to work a night shift unexpectedly without a break from your morning shift left you feeling exhausted and detached from the world.

As peeved as you were with Kie for pulling a no-call-no-show, you were more worried than anything; especially when you noticed JJ wasn’t waiting outside to walk home with you like he normally was. You hadn’t heard from any of the other pogues since yesterday, when you had to go to work and they went over to Crain Mansion in search of the gold. You would’ve gone with them, but you couldn’t risk missing another day of work and possibly being fired. After your shift yesterday (and noticing the lack of blond curls outside the cafe), you had headed home with the plan to meet up with your friends and learn of any new updates--but, when you arrived, nobody was there. You waited around for the rest of the day, but when 10 o’clock rolled around and nobody had shown, you retreated to your bedroom and fell asleep. When you had woken up around 5 a.m to get ready for your shift at work, you were relieved to find JJ curled around you fast asleep, and your brother, Sarah, Kie, and Pope passed out together on the futon in the living room. They had a pot cradled between the four of them, but you thought nothing of it as you got ready for work. You left behind a note, asking them to stop by The Wreck when they woke up to fill you in on whatever you had missed, but they had never shown up. 

Now, as you locked up The Wreck at the end of your 10 o’clock shift and waved to the cooks and other wait staff as you all parted ways, your worry only increased. The Cut was warm and humid as you made your way toward the chateau, forcing you to shed your work shirt in favor of the tanktop laying beneath. Your hair was pulled into a high-pony, and while it had been sleek and put together at 6 o’clock this morning, you now had frizzed strands falling into your face and the bottom of your hair was sticky from an exploded champagne bottle earlier that night. Your feet ached and your hips felt unbalanced from the constant speed-walking and maneuvering around tables and patrons, and you wanted nothing more than to collapse against JJ in your room and sleep for a solid 12 hours straight. Before you could do that, though, you had to continue your thirty-minute walk to said paradise and make sure everyone was okay. 

As you left the hustle and bustle surrounding The Wreck and the docks, and ventured further into The Cut, you felt the tension beginning to ease out of your body at the familiar surroundings. As much as you loved The Wreck, you were not a fan of the kooks and tourons that migrated there throughout the night, bothering you during and after your shifts. As expected, the night held the worst of the batch, with alcohol and other drugs filtering their systems and giving them loose tongues and firm hands. Even though you could handle yourself and those who tried making a move on you, you never felt at ease or safe while leaving The Wreck; unless JJ or your friends were with you and you didn’t have to check over your shoulder every few feet. Crossing the imaginary threshold between The Wreck and The Cut always eased your mind, allowing you to slow your steps and cease checking your shoulder. This was also primarily because on The Cut, people knew who you were--not only as a waitress, a pogue, or (Y/N) Routledge, but as ‘JJ Maybank’s girl’. It pissed you off to no-end that people referred to you as ‘JJ’s girl’ more than your own name and you’d often chew people out on it, but you couldn’t deny the protection (and love and warmth and all-things-JJ) it gave you. You and JJ had been dating for two years, and while you loved him more than life and he loved you more than surfing, you often wished you could be seen as your own person: as (Y/N). Regardless of your annoyance at being solely known as JJ’s girl, as you walked the barely-lit streets of The Cut in nothing but a tank top and shorts, you were appreciative of your unofficial title. Very few people were walking around this late at night, but those who were offered you a simple nod or kept their eyes trained on the ground as you passed by, a complete contrast to the tourons near The Wreck. You expected this to continue until you reached your house, no longer looking over your shoulder for an unwanted kook or a touron that didn’t know the rules. 

You turned another corner, now only fifteen minutes away from home, and rolled your shoulders to try and release some of the built-up tension you gained from your shift as you walked. You closed your eyes for a brief moment, letting your muscles relax and a gentle breeze from the ocean to cloud your senses. Just as you were about to open your eyes and continue forward, you heard footsteps approaching you from behind. Your eyes shot open and your body turned but before you could see who it was, you felt the barrel of a gun press against your lower back. The metal was cold against your tank top as it dug into you, the owner’s hand coming up to grab your shoulder and keep you from moving away. 

“Maybank shouldn’t be leaving his things unattended, especially ones as pretty as you,” a voice muttered into your ear, jabbing the gun harshly into your spine. You froze, trying to place the voice to a face as you heard a vehicle approach and stop beside you.

“I’m not a thing, actually,” you retorted, keeping the fear out of your voice as the man behind you jerked you forward toward the black SUV. The backdoor swung open, but you couldn’t see who was driving it or if there was anyone else waiting for you inside. “What do you want? JJ isn’t his dad, whatever Luke’s done to piss you off is his own problem, not ours.”

The man laughed sharply in your ear as he shoved you forward, causing you to drop your shirt and tumble off the sidewalk, and your torso to fall into the backseat. You yelled out when the man grabbed your legs and pushed your body into the car, your body bending painfully as he slid in beside you. The door slammed shut and the man backed you into the corner of the SUV, caging your body against the door. Your hand shot down to the door handle, yanking on it to open the door and let you fall out, but it didn’t budge. 

“Child lock, snowball. You’re not going anywhere.” 

You looked up, finally able to see the man’s face as he grinned down at you. His grill shined each time the SUV passed under a streetlight and the black hair dangling in his face tickled your nose from how close he was. Instantly, you brought your foot up and kicked him in the stomach, pushing him away from you as you struggled to sit up. 

“What the fuck do you want, Barry?” you snapped while the dealer across from you laughed loudly and held onto his stomach. 

He smirked at you, “I forgot how much of a kicker you were, snowball.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have been tryin’ to sell blow to fucking 8th graders,” you shot back, glaring at him. “Now tell me what the fuck you want.”

He raised his hands in surrender, the smirk never falling from his face. “I want my fucking money back. You little shits stole 25k from my goddamn house.”

“What the fuck are you on about? The last time I went to your shithole was a year ago to buy an 8ball,” you scoffed. 

“And while I do miss the revenue you brought me during your time as a cokehead, I’m not talking about you, snowball. Your boy, your brother, your brother’s new whore, the ex-kook, and Heyward’s son stole from me. I know you’re too smart and levelheaded to pull a stunt like that, and the ex-kook and her boyfriend have too much going for them to fuck it up by crossing me. This means it was either your boy or your brother,” Barry explained, his jaw tight with anger as he spoke.

“First of all, Kie and Pope have names. Second of all, they’re not dating. Third of all, what makes you think it wasn’t Sarah? From what I’ve heard, the Cameron’s have a history of robbing you blind.”

“Because my sister is too much of a pansy to pull a stunt like this, and she doesn’t even know who the fuck Barry is.” Your head shot up at the new voice, and you made eye contact with Rafe in the rearview mirror. “You dirty pogues have corrupted my sister.”

“I see someone’s been bitched,” you chuckled with a roll of your eyes. Rafe’s foot slammed on the break and caused you to slam into the back of the passenger seat with an oomph. He turned around, his arm already raised to throw a punch, when Barry grabbed it first.

“Chill the fuck out, Country Club. Can’t go beaten on her just yet. Now hurry the fuck up and get us to the hanger.” Rafe’s nostrils flared at Barry’s demand, and after a moment of his fist flexing in Barry’s hold, Rafe relented. He jerked his arm back and continued driving in silence. “Don’t piss off the driver, snowball,” Barry tsked, waving his finger in your face.

“Look, why would JJ or Birdie steal 25 thousand dollars from you? You know how much JJ despises you and your business because of what it’s done to his dad and the hole I fell into last year, and my brother doesn’t even know who the hell you are. It doesn’t make any sense.” 

Barry chuckled, “I see they’ve kept you in the dark. Did they tell you about the gold they found? That they tried pawning off to me this morning?” At the frown on your face and your furrowed brows, Barry laughed even harder. “Oh yeah, they brought in a seven-pound chunk of gold to the shop this morning. Offered ‘em a cashier’s check worth a couple thousand, but your boy is quite the negotiator. So, I sent them to the warehouse for the cash they wanted.”

“And let me take a wild-fucking-guess: on their way, you jumped them, stole the gold, and left them with nothing but dirt under their nails?” 

Barry grinned at your words, his tongue sliding over his grill as he laughed. “See, this is why they should’ve brought you along! Would’ve saved them from all the trouble they’ve gotten themselves into.” 

You rolled your eyes, “Well fuck, no wonder they stole from you. You stole from them first, Barry. An eye for a fucking eye, it’s the way of the jungle ‘round here. It’s the only damn law you follow.”

“You’re right, it is the only law I follow. Which is why you’re here, snowball. You see, before I could complete my task, they jumped me and stole my wallet and the gold. You’re smart, I bet you’re starting to see the problem now. No gold, no wallet, no 25k,” Barry seethed, the smirk falling from his face as he leaned forward, pushing you back into the corner of the seat. “JJ Maybank stole from me, plain as day. If I had seven pounds of gold in my hand it would be different, I wouldn’t be as pissed. But, you see, I don’t. So, as you said, it’s an eye for an eye. And what better to steal from JJ Maybank, than the only thing he cares about? The only thing he owns?”

“He doesn’t own me, so jot that down.”

Barry threw his head back and laughed loudly, shooting an unnerving feeling down your spine. Rafe laughed along, though anyone could tell it was forced as his eyes darted from the mirror to the road. “This entire goddamn island knows that he owns you, snowball, and you damn well know it too. Which means until I get my money back, you’re my collateral.”

--

The bruises decorating JJ’s torso ached with each step he took, but he had to keep moving toward the chateau: he had to prove to the others that he was good. He had to prove that he could do the right thing with the money he stole. Even if his dad couldn’t do the right thing, and wouldn’t let him back in the house without another beating, JJ could do the right thing and be good. Even if he stole the money it didn’t matter, because Barry stole his life, and Barry didn’t deserve the money, and Barry wasn’t good. The money would pay off his restitution, and you wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore and Pope wouldn’t have to feel guilty or worry about it anymore, either. Nobody would have to worry about him anymore, and it would all be good. 

But as JJ limped up the chateau’s steps, repeating to himself that, ‘it was all good, he was good, and everything would be good,’  he wasn’t expecting for the screen door to slam open and for John B. to body slam him into the ground. The blue thermos shot from his grip as he was flung down the stairs, and JJ couldn’t bite back his scream of pain when his already-aching body slammed into the dirt. He didn’t get a second to gather his bearings before John B. was pummeling his fists into his stomach and his arms and his face and anywhere else he could land a hit. JJ couldn’t even lift his legs to fight off his best friend from beating on his twice-battered body.

“This all your fault!” John B. screamed, his face an angry red as tears and spit rained down onto JJ. “He took her because of you!” He ceased his punches only to wrap his hands around JJ’s throat, squeezing and pressing down in an attempt to strangle the life out of his best friend.

Faintly, JJ could hear Pope, Kie, and Sarah screaming, but he couldn’t understand what they were saying. His entire body felt cold but his head felt hot, and the buzzing in his ears was growing louder and louder until it was all he could hear. He could see John B.’s face above him, his lips moving as he screamed and sobbed, and JJ could see his own blood splattered on his best friend’s jaw and shirt. Black spots began to dance in front of his eyes, moving inward until he could only see the murderous rage filling John B.’s eyes. Just as the darkness settled over him, he felt John B.’s weight lift off of him and air came rushing back into his lungs. For a few seconds, all JJ could do was choke on the air whilst his body convulsed, and someone rolled him onto his side in a desperate hurry.

“-eathe, breathe JJ, come on.” Someone was talking to him, rubbing their hand up and down his back as he continued to shake. He still couldn’t see anything and he couldn’t tell who was talking to him and rubbing his back and all he really wanted to do was blackout for a bit. A harsh slap against the center of his back had other plans, causing the air to finally force itself into his lungs. JJ began to cough violently, continuing to choke on the air that was now entering his body. He tried pushing himself to his knees as he dry-heaved onto the ground, but his shaking arms and legs were too weak to support him.

Pope was yelling in the background, “Chill the fuck out, JB! You almost killed him!”, his voice bringing JJ’s senses back to where they belonged. 

“He fucking deserves it! He’s the reason she’s gone!” John B. yelled back, his voice deeper than JJ could remember. JJ blinked a few times, trying to focus on the bloody grass in front of him while his two friends continued fighting in the distance. 

“Hey, just keep breathing,” the person helping him - who JJ now recognized as Kie - soothed, pulling his sweaty hair out of his face as more blood dribbled from his lips. She was upset, JJ could tell by the way her hands were shaking and the sound of wet sniffles every few seconds. He opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, who John B. was talking about, but all that came out was a harsh wheeze from his burning lungs and even more blood. “Don’t- don’t say anything. Please, JJ, just… just breathe for a few minutes,” Kie whimpered before a sob slipped from her lips. 

He did as she asked and allowed his eyes to close, his body sinking into the ground as he focused on regulating his breathing. After a few minutes, JJ could hear John B. storm inside the chateau, kicking JJ’s crumpled body on his way up the stairs.

“John B., stop it!” Sarah yelled as she followed him inside. 

Pope came and knelt in front of JJ, wrapping an arm around his shoulders to help him sit up. “You fucked up, JJ, worse than I ever thought possible,” Pope sighed as he adjusted JJ against the railing. 

“What-” JJ broke off to cough into his fist, ignoring the blood that splattered across his hand, “what happened?” His voice was hoarse and barely understandable, but Kie and Pope knew what he was saying. 

“You stole twenty-five-thousand dollars from a drug dealer. One of the most nefarious drug dealers on this island, that’s what happened,” Kie said, standing up and pacing in front of the blond. “What did you think was gonna happen, JJ? That he’d let it go?”

“What did he take? The HMS Pogue?” JJ rasped, looking up at his friends in confusion. “(Y/N)’ll be pissed, but we can get it back, or I’ll buy her and John B. a new one with the money.” His thoughts didn’t make sense inside of his pounding head, but he still voiced them regardless. 

“How are you so stupid?” Pope yelled, causing JJ to flinch as the other to shot to his feet. “Why would John B. try to kill you over a boat? Don’t you think (Y/N) would be out here yelling at you, too?”

“My girl doesn’t yell, you know that, Pope,” JJ shook his head. “She’s got work and the boat- the boat is all they’ve got left of Big John,” JJ said, coughing a few times. His head was foggy and his vision was still blurry, so he couldn’t see the mentioned boat sitting on the dock to his left.

“No, JJ,” Kie sighed, “Barry didn’t take the HMS. He took (Y/N). He left a note on the van--he wants his money back, plus the gold, and an extra 5k in exchange for (Y/N). He’ll be back in a week to make the trade.”

“He didn’t say what he’d do to her if we don’t give him what he wants but… it’s not something that needs to be said,” Pope whispered as he carefully watched for JJ’s reaction.

A cold chill fell over JJ, causing him to shiver violently despite the warm temperature outside. “You’re lying,” he spat, forcing himself to his feet. Pope and Kie backed up, steering clear of his sudden burst of energy. “You’re fucking lying, she’s not- she’s not gone, he didn’t lay a fucking finger on her. Barry knows better. You just… you just want me to return the money, that’s it, she’s fine, she’s inside right now, she’s-”

“JJ, stop, please,” Kie cried as JJ spun around, tripping over himself in his haste to run up the stairs. Pope grabbed ahold of him before he could make it very far, pulling him away from the house and John B.’s anger. JJ flailed in his grasp, but he was too weak from the lack of oxygen and two beatings his body had just endured, to fight Pope off. 

“She’s fine!” he screamed, not noticing the tears that were falling from his eyes. “I told her I would protect her, I promised nobody would ever lay a finger on her! She’s inside, and she’s fine--Barry didn’t fucking touch my girl, you’re lying,” he sobbed, straining against Pope’s hold on his biceps.

“Why would we lie about this?” Kie yelled back, suddenly overwhelmed with having to watch JJ fall apart like this in front of her. “Why would your best fucking friend try and beat you to death if it wasn’t true? Why would the gold have been included in the letter? Huh JJ? Do you think (Y/N) would have ever gone along with something like this?” she screamed, her voice hoarse from crying as well.

“We’re telling the truth, JJ. She’s gone,” Pope said, holding onto JJ even tighter as his thrashing momentarily increased. 

JJ let the words wash over him, the truth of his mistake settling deep in his bones. The guilt, and the grief, and the anger weighed him down, and before he could stop himself, he let out a deep, guttural, inhumane scream of agony. Pope couldn’t hold him up anymore as JJ’s knees gave out, his entire body collapsing to the ground while he screamed. His throat burned more than it had before and he didn’t notice when his voice gave out, leaving him a mess on the floor with spit and blood dribbling from his gaping mouth. Pope cradled JJ to his chest, crying into his best friend’s shoulder while Kie fell beside the two, trying to get JJ to breathe again through her own tears.

--

Half an hour later, you were pulling up beside a hanger at the very back of a storage facility. You knew kooks used this area to store their boats, planes, cars, and other expensive things when they weren’t intending to be used in the near future--so you weren’t surprised when Rafe got out of the van and opened up the hanger, revealing a vintage boat and a handful of different furniture. With hurricane season already underway, and summer having begun, you knew kooks weren’t going to be visiting the storage facility very often, meaning there wasn’t a high hope that someone would stumble across you. 

“Welcome to your new home, snowball,” Barry leered, before opening the backdoor and dragging you out of the SUV. He kept the gun pressed against your waist while leading you into the hanger, leaving Rafe to pull the SUV around the corner. It was cold inside, much colder than you were expecting, and you had to fight to keep a shiver from trickling down your spine. “You and I are gonna be real comfortable in here for the next week, maybe longer if your boy doesn’t come through.”

‘He’ll come through’, you thought to yourself, worry spiking inside of you at the mention of JJ. You looked over your shoulder as Rafe came into the hanger and loudly pulled the door down behind him. “So, what? You’re just going to keep me locked up in here until you get what you want? I have a fucking job, Barry. I’ve already called out enough as it is, pulling a no-call-no-show for an entire week is going to get me fired.”

Barry reeled around to stare at you, an incredulous look on his face. “I’ve just kidnapped you and held you at gunpoint, and you’re worried about your damn job?” he asked, waving the gun in front of your face for emphasis.

“Uh, yeah, no shit. My job is the only reason DCS hasn’t snatched me and my brother into the system. Mr. Carrera has agreed to help us maneuver a few technicalities with DCS--so long as I take on extra shifts when needed, and show the fuck up. Plus, a week’s worth of zero tips means bills won’t be paid and stomachs won’t be fed,” you scoffed, knocking the gun away from your face.

“I don’t think you understand the situation you’re in, snowball-”

“Ay, nuh-uh, Country Club. Get your own nickname,” Barry cut in, prompting you to raise your eyebrows.

“But you-”

“Nope. Get your own.”

Rafe paused, glaring down at you in thought, before nodding to himself. “I don’t think you understand the situation you’re in, Maybitch-”

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me,” you groaned, pressing your fingers to your forehead in exasperation. ‘It’s got a nice ring to it, though, and JJ would eat it up… Could even get a laugh out of Pope, I bet,’ you couldn’t help but think.

Barry knocked the gun against Rafe’s shoulder, shutting him up with a look of annoyance. “Your boy has gotten himself in a lotta trouble, 25k worth of trouble. So until I get my fucking money, you’re not going anywhere,” Barry simplified.

You pouted in mock disappointment, “Could you at least write a note to my boss?” Barry groaned with a roll of his eyes before he nodded his head at Rafe and directed him toward something you couldn’t see. “Look, I’m gonna be honest with you, Bear. JJ and the others have probably spent the money already. JJ’s got restitution to pay, Pope has an interview he needs a suit for, Kie’s been wanting a new surfboard, and Birdie’s been wanting to fix up our boat with somethin’ pretty. There’s no way they’d let 25 thousand dollars burn a hole in their pockets.”

Barry chuckled darkly with a shake of his head and turned your body around. He forced you to face the spot he had sent Rafe to, where you saw a metal chair bolted to the ground with Rafe stood beside it. He held a boat chain, a lock, and zip ties in his hands and a wicked grin was cracked along his face. Barry moved your ponytail out of the way so he could lean his chin on your shoulder, taking satisfaction in the way your body trembled. “Trust me, snowball, after they see how well you’ve been treated at Hotel Barry, they’ll find a way to get me my money. And you,” he paused to laugh softly in your ear, “you’ll be providing me all the information I need on where to find the rest of that gold.”

‘I’m so fucked.’

--

All Writing Taglist (OPEN): @sophster1881​ @alilcloudy​

[jeyramarie]

Midsummers- Pogues x OC

summary: it’s party time on Figure 8 which brings a ton drama and questions, as usual.

wc: 3,038

a/n: here it is!! believe me it’s gonna get crazier. happy reading 🦋

prologue~ pilot~ the lucky compass~ the forbidden zone~ spy games

Previously on good life… 

“Wait for me outside tomorrow.” Rafe nodded and she got out of the car quickly walking to her front door. Fallon waved at him before walking in, feeling dizzy from the special moment. The kook smiled and drove to his house as a certain pogue stared at the car. JJ stood alone on the street, holding flowers, completely shocked at what he had just seen. He wanted to go to Fallon to apologize for what happened but instead he showed up to see the kiss. He took a deep breath and walked around, making his way back home as he threw a dozen roses to the side of the road. 

The day finally came, with a bright morning sun and a cool breeze. Midsummers, a day where rich people gather in nice dresses and flower headsets to talk about their wealth. Of course, pogues were never invited nor allowed to go. It would be like putting a prey in its predator‘s cage. 

Kiara and Lani decided to get ready over at the Carrera’s. It was the kook’s first midsummers which gave her a lot of anxiety which caused the pogue to invite her. Lani didn’t know what to do with her hair, giving Kie the perfect opportunity to have fun with the kook’s curls. 

“So these are going on my head?” Lani asked as she held white flowers while sitting on Kie’s vanity chair while her hands were moving around the curls. 

“Yes, they are. Almost everyone wears them.” 

“What color are yours?” 

“Purple, I think. I’m not sure what color my mom chose.” Kie said, lifting her brow in confusion as she braided a section of Lani’s hair. They stayed in a comfortable silence the rest of the hair process, until the kook was about to start her makeup.

“So, what’s going on with you and JJ?” Kie timidly asked as she braided and pinned her own hair. 

“Um.. nothing’s going on. We’re just friends.” 

“I don’t know, you guys seem pretty close..” Lani turned her head to Kie and stared sincerely as she put down her powder brush. 

“Nothing’s going on, I promise. He’s like madly in love with Fallon anyway.” They chuckled and the pogue looked in the mirror feeling a bit more relieved. 

After an hour, both girls were done with hair and makeup which only left the dresses. Lani wore a satin yellow dress, similar to Kie’s but it had a lower cut on the back. Meaning that she couldn’t really wear a bra for it. They were gossiping over customers from the Wreck when Ana bursts through the door, quickly walking towards Kie’s bedside table. 

“Sorry girls, just borrowing some earrings.” she smiled as she tilted her head to put them on. Kie and her mom, out of nowhere, start to talk about what has happened after the storm. About how people over at the Cut don’t have water nor power and yet the Kooks are enjoying a party. Lani just sat there, looking at them arguing, not knowing where to go or what to do. Ana concluded the argument when she told them that it was time to go. ‘Finally.’ Lani thought as she grabbed her small purse and walked outside. 

When they arrived, everyone was piling outside waiting for the Cameron’s to arrive. The waiters were walking around, holding platters of small portioned foods as other’s held mainly alcoholic beverages. Lani spotted Pope first and nudged Kiara’s arm, making her look to find the pogue carrying things with his dad. As they went and talked to the pogue, Fallon stood outside waiting for Rafe. She tapped her heel against the pavement in a constant rhythm, feeling nervous about everyone’s reaction to her walking in with the Kook king. Especially her friends’ reaction (she didn’t care about Lani’s). 

“Are you waiting for someone, ma’am?” a voice asked, making her smile, knowing exactly who it was. 

“As a matter of fact, I am. I’m waiting for a tall, handsome man. Maybe you’ve seen him around?” Fallon said smiling as she turned around to see a grinned up Rafe. 

“You look… wow.” he said as he grabbed her hands, taking a better look. 

“You don’t look too bad yourself.” 

“Are you ready?” She nodded and intertwined her fingers with his as the Cameron’s began to make their entrance. Ward and Rose walked in first, then Wheezie, Sarah, leaving Rafe and Fallon for the end. The pogue looked around with a bright smile on her face as she walked out on the beautifully decorated porch. She stayed looking around for a bit until she saw her friends. All three of them looked at her with straight confused faces. 

“Fallon and Rafe? When did that happen?” Lani asked Pope and Kie who stayed looking at the pogue in shock. 

“I-I don’t even know what to think right now.” Kiara stuttered as her mouth stayed agape. They stared at them for a bit until the kook decided to change the subject. 

“Have any of you talked to JJ?” 

“No.” Pope said dryly, turning around to handle the food he was serving. 

“He's probably fine. He has the survival instinct of a cockroach.” Kie said, turning her face away from the Cameron’s to look at her friend, who had a worried expression. They ignored Fallon for the rest of the evening, not wanting to handle that situation at the moment. Lani stayed with Kiara drinking from their slightly alcoholic beverages when JJ showed up. The kook was explaining something to the pogue as she saw something from the corner of her eye, she turned as saw the blonde making her gasp. Lani gave Kie her drink and quickly went to the dance floor just when he was turning around to leave. 

“Lani!” “JJ!” they both said happily resulting in a chuckle which quickly ended when the kook saw the bruises on his face. 

“I was worried yesterday.. I’m pretty sure your dad didn’t tell you but I was the one that bailed you out..” 

“You bailed me out?” 

“Yeah, I- I just had to do something.” Lani said with sad eyes as she fidgeted with her fingers. Suddenly, he pulled her towards him by her shoulders and wrapped his arms tightly around her. She wrapped her arms around him taking in his beach boy scent. 

“I saw what he did to you… I don’t know what I can do to help but you’re always welcome in my house.. You know, if things seem to get out of control or something.” she muttered into his neck making him tear up. No one has ever been this kind to him, ever. 

“That’s enough, Lani. You have no idea how thankful I am.” he said and sniffled, then pulled away. 

“I have to do this shit for John B. I’ll see you later.” the kook nodded and watched as he jogged away, inside the house. Lani walked back to the porch and stood next to Kie who handed her a drink. The pogue turned her head to the side and saw a very (disgusting) explicit site. Fallon and Rafe were making out against the porch railing, in front of everyone. 

“Ugh, can they be more disgusting?” Lani turned her head as she drank her beverage, immediately choking on it. 

“Oh my god, he’s literally massaging her throat from the inside.” she coughed out putting her drink back on the table. 

“I still don’t know why or how that happened.” 

“I’m as clueless as you are, Kie.” 

“It’s disgusting really.” The pogue stared as she grew more and more uncomfortable. 

“Let’s just not look at it.. Okay?” Lani said, turning Kiara by her shoulder. 

“What did JJ want?” 

“I don’t know. He said something about him doing some shit for John B, I don't know.” she shrugged and before Kie could answer the same blonde was being taken outside by one of the guards. When Fallon heard the commission she parted away from Rafe and turned her head towards the noise. To see the pogue already staring at her in disappointment. JJ finally got out of the harsh grasp as he walked out into the dance floor, yelling all sorts of things. 

“Let go of him!” Kie shouted, making her parent’s head turn to her immediately. 

“You can’t boot him!” 

“Excuse me, ma’am?” 

“Really?” Mike asked angrily.

“I invited him here.” 

“Kiara, stop it.” Ana said with gritted teeth as she grabbed her daughter’s arm. 

“I am a member of this club.” The guard got so focused on Kiara and her “speech” that he did not realize that his grip on the pogue was beginning to loosen. Giving JJ the perfect opportunity to break away from the grip and start to jog backwards. 

“Sorry bout that. Hey, mandatory power hour at Rixon’s, Kie. Pope, Lani, you too.” He shouted pointing at all his friends until finally making eye contact with ‘his girl’.

“Princess, come on!” Fallon smiled and looked up at Rafe with sad eyes. She turned around and started walking down the stairs of the porch towards the dance floor where JJ and John B waited. Pope took off his apron and ran towards his friends while Heyward shouted at him to come back. Kie turned to her parents and apologized continuously as she walked backwards towards the stairs, ignoring their shouts. Fallon was almost with them when she saw Lani running towards JJ. 

She jumped into his arms and he gave them a twirl making her stop dead in tracks. The pogue stared as they smiled at each other with joy. JJ put the kook down and turned to make sure that Fallon was behind him. Once he saw her stand in the dance floor alone he stopped too and stared at her with nothing but sadness. Her eyes became watery with tears as she slowly turned around and walked back to Rafe who received her with open arms. JJ saw the whole thing, feeling his heart crumble as the Kook king hugged the love of his life. Rafe looked over Fallon’s shoulder to see the blonde still standing there, without a second thought he gave JJ a death stare to warn him. 

“JJ! Come on, man!” John B called out from the van when he noticed the blonde still far away. He snapped out of his trance and ran to the van quickly getting in. 

“My dad’s already going to kill me so can you please explain what’s this mandatory meeting for?” Pope asked, getting comfortable on the seat next to Lani. 

“Might as well tell them, man.” JJ said as he changed out of the suite he had worn to pose as a server earlier. 

“So.. the gold never went down with the Royal Merchant.” John B grinned as he switched his head from his friends back to the road. 

“Oh my god.” Lani muttered in annoyance as Kie rolled her eyes and Pope groaned. 

“Not this again, John B.” 

“Seriously, dude?” 

“Just hear me out, please.” He said as he pulled into a secluded part of the beach, between the trees. JJ got out first and started a fire while John B put down a few beach chairs and a big tree log. Everyone sat around the fire, staring at the kook who started explaining everything about the gold. It never left the island, about Tannyhill. Everything was smooth sailing until a certain name was brought to topic. 

“Sarah Cameron’s coming tonight-”

“Hold on, Sarah? W-why Sarah?” Kie said cutting John B off in the middle of his sentence. 

“Oh boy.” Lani muttered under her breath as she spread out her dress. 

“She.. um.. She got me into the archives in Chapel Hill yesterday. That’s how I got the letter.” The pogue said nervously as everyone stared. 

“You were in Chapel Hill?”

“He’s mackin’ on her.” JJ muttered looking at his shoes with his hands in his pockets. 

“I wasn’t mackin’, I’m just using her for access.” 

“There was access alright.” 

“J, stop.” The kook said softly as she nudged her head to the side signaling to the pogues. 

“Did you tell her about the treasure?” Kiara asked with furrowed brows as John B stuttered out an answer. 

“I was trying to get into the archives-“ 

“Is that a yes?” She yelled, feeling betrayed. 

“I left out key details!” He shouted back making Lani’s eyes open wide, no one expecting him to shout back. 

“What? You let a Kook in on our secret?!” He was about to answer as he pointed at Lani to make a point but her anger was louder. 

“What about Pogue Lyfe? What about our t-shirt company, bro?!” 

“I’m just using her for information.” 

“Why don’t I believe you?” 

“Okay, guys let’s just.. breath, okay? I get you’re both crazy annoyed at each other right now.” Lani said standing up as she looked back and forth between the pogues. 

“I’m trying to make us filthy rich here.” Then he moved on to explain what he’d do with the money. 

“You can’t trust her.” Kiara said, looking at the pogue with worried eyes. 

“What did she do to you, anyway?” The kook asked, ignoring the boys’ bickers. 

“She’s like… like a spitting cobra.” The pogue stated moving her hands to simulate the animal. 

“Cobra’s spit?” Lani whispered, leaning towards Pope. 

“Yeah they do, there’s like this tiny opening in their mouths-“ 

“Listen to me! Whatever we get she’s gonna try to take.” Kie shouted, interrupting Pope’s explanation. 

“I’m sorry about Fallon.” Lani said sitting next to JJ who stayed quiet for a while.

“Nah, it’s fine. Just… wasn’t expecting it, you know?” The kook nodded in understanding and grabbed his hand. 

“I know it’s hard but you’ll get through it.” The blonde smiled at Lani as his grip on her hand became tighter.

“Thanks.”

“No problem, J. I’m here for you.” 

After some more arguing between them, they all got into the Twinkie and started driving towards Hawk’s Nest. John B pulled up a bit far away, afraid someone would see him, and began to discuss the plan again before he got out. The teens were left alone inside the van giving Pope time to explain the whole spitting cobra thing. Minutes went by when screams were heard from afar, it sounded like Sarah. Lani noticed first and quickly climbed out of the van, making a run for it. John B had been pushed off the tower, landing flat on his back. Sarah was crying hysterically over him as she asked him to wake up but nothing happened. Pope called for an ambulance as JJ asked the Kook princess what happened on the tower. 

After what felt like hours, the ambulance arrived taking John B away with Sarah who had strict instructions on keeping the pogues updated. JJ drove Pope and Kie to their house which left Lani to be the last. She knew he felt bad about Fallon and Rafe but she felt the need to talk about it, as a good friend she is. 

“Are you okay?” She asked softly not wanting to startle the blonde. 

“Um, yeah..yeah. Why do you ask?” 

“That whole weird thing between Rafe and Fallon. I know you saw it too and I know you like her so..” 

“Yeah, it was weird but I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.” He said, giving the kook a fake smile. Lani didn’t ask anything else since it was obvious JJ did not want to talk about it. All the way home, the only thing she could think about was if Fallon was thinking about the blonde the same way. 

“So what happened back there with Maybank?” Rafe asked as he sipped from his drink, standing next to Fallon who was leaning against the railing of the porch. Watching the employees clear tables, fold chairs and unhinged the fairy lights. 

“Nothing, just… I thought it was gonna go differently. I was wrong.” She chuckled dryly, turning to him. 

“I’m glad I stayed here with you though. I had a nice time.” Fallon continued, placing her hand on his chest and looking up at his blue orbs. Rafe smiled and slowly leaned down, giving her a passionate sweet kiss. 

“Can you drive me home? My mom already left.” 

“Yeah, you have to come home with me though. So I can get my car.” Fallon nodded and smiled, taking his hand. Rafe walked in front as they both made their way outside where Ward was waiting for them. The ride was filled with wandering hands, whispers and giggles. 

They walked into Tannyhill hand in hand as everyone went up to their rooms. Leaving them alone, playing with each other’s hands as the sexual tension grew faster. Suddenly, Rafe grabbed her cheeks with both his hands and pulled her into a kiss. Their lips moved in a perfect rhythm as Fallon’s hands went up his chest to the back of his neck, pulling him closer. They parted to catch their breaths with their foreheads together. 

“Do you wanna see a movie? In my room, it’s still pretty early.” Rafe said, looking at his watch and back at the pogue. Fallow nodded and he immediately grabbed her hand, both of them making their way up the stairs. She walked into his room in awe, feeling surprised with how neat it was. She stood in front of the shelves next to his dresser, staring at vintage car figures. 

“I didn’t know you collected things.” 

“Um yeah, I’ve bought one in every country I've visited. Some of them were my grandfather’s.” He said standing next to her as she continued to admire him. 

“I like them. They’re… cute.” They laughed and moved to the bed, sitting next to each other with their backs against the headboard. Rafe placed his hand on Fallon’s lap, grabbing her hand. She placed her head on his shoulder half way through the movie, making him peck her forehead. The pogue looked up at him and began to lean in. Their lips met in the middle in a soft peck, until it began to grow into something more intense. She slowly straddled him as his big hands went up and down her back, in search of the zipper. Clothes flew across the room as they explored each other's bodies under the covers. The movie was still on, giving them a bit of a background noise as their breaths got heavier. 

Most of the night consisted of heavy breaths and soft moans. The sun came through the window in the morning, shining on the messed up sheets. Rafe and Fallon laid in bed asleep until the pogue opened her eyes slowly. She looked around the room and down at her naked body, remembering the events of the night before. 

“Oh my god.” She whispered, running her hand through her hair in disbelief. 

good life: @ilovefandoms102 @agardenofbooks @cloverrover @lynlovesouterbanks

[annab-recs]

Midsummers Nightmare - JJ Maybank

Rafe seems to have a little crush on you and you do not realize it until it’s too late. You don’t react as he had hoped, and you don’t have the best timing when it comes to telling your friends and boyfriend, JJ.

Requested by @rochyu 💙

Warnings: some curse words; small amount of verbal and physical abuse

Word Count: 2.2k+

--------------------------------------------------

"I hate your brother." The insult falls from your glossed lips as you roll your eyes at the eldest Cameron who stood farther away from you and Sarah, his blue eyes locked on your swaying figure. Sarah chuckles before nodding in agreement with your statement.

"Yeah, he can be an ass," the blonde in the elegant white dress acknowledges as she grips into your arms gently and spins you two around so that you don't have to be in his line of sight anymore. You give her a small thank you smile as you get back to dancing with your friend. The midsummers music flows through the two of you and together, y'all sway your hips and spin around as giggles fly from your mouths.

"I think he has a crush on you, to be honest." Sarah's sudden words cause your eyes to widen.

"But I'm with JJ." She laughs before leaning into you to whisper in your ear.

"Let me tell you a little secret. I'm with Topper but I'm crushing on someone else too." She pulls away from your ear with the deepest hue of red spreading across her cheeks.

"Who?" Your curiosity is just dying to know but she shakes her head, indicating she will not be speaking more on the subject. You decide not to pester her any further and just vibe to the music with the brown-eyed beauty next to you. All good and fun vibes leave as soon as you feel a tap on your shoulder and turn to see who it is. Rafe.

"Can I help you?" Sarah spoke harshly to her older brother but was soon distracted when Wheezie came running up.

"I just want to talk to you. Please? I won't bother you anymore." The way he spoke sounded like there was something more bothering him and his blue eyes appeared to be almost scared. That in turn worried you and caught your attention so you nodded your head, letting Rafe grab your hand and lead you away from your friend and the crowd that had gathered on the dance floor.

"Okay, so what's wrong?" You asked him as soon as y'all were alone in a room upstairs. He still had that worrisome expression on his face and it just made you even more anxious.

"I need girl advice," he mumbled softly. Relief washed over you as your mind could quit making up worst-case scenarios and focus on the frazzled boy in front of you.

"All right, spill," you instruct, and he nods before beginning.

"Well I like this girl a lot, but I don't know if she feels the same way as I do. I think she does, but I don't know. I feel like something is holding her back."

"Do you think the thing that is holding her back can be overcome?"

"Yes, and if she's scared to overcome it by herself, I'll surely help her." It was nice to see Rafe be so vulnerable and open and it was a side you wished to see more of. As being friends with Sarah for a long time, you had known Rafe for equally as long. You have seen him be nice and sweet but as he's grown, he's become harder and meaner. You don't know why but by the way he's acting now, you see the sweet Rafe you had known when you were younger.

"Have you told her how you feel?" You question as you lean against the wall next to you.

"No, but I have made it so obvious," he states as he takes a few steps closer to you. Absentmindedly, you take steps back as well.

"Rafe, you like this girl. Tell her how you feel. Make your move." You feel your back hit a wall behind you.

"If you say so." His hands lay softly against the sides of your face as your mind tries to understand what happening and when it all clicks, his close proximity to you, how he's always staring at you, how Sarah literally said earlier that she thinks he has a crush on you, how the thing that's holding you back is JJ, it's too late. Rafe's lips are on your own.

You push against his chest to get him off you and your face shows nothing but pure disgust. As Rafe watches your actions, that soft and sweet Rafe you saw previously had left as quick as he came, and his demeanor changed completely. He raises his hand in the air before smacking it across your face.

"Rafe!" He has never done anything like that to you before so to say you were shocked would be an understatement. His hand comes towards your face again and grips your jaw harshly.

"I was going to try to save you from the dirty pogues, but I see that you are the same trash that they are," he spoke through gritted teeth. Using the grip he had in your jaw, he pushed you back into the wall, your head hitting the wood enough to leave you with a pretty bad headache. Your hand flies to the back of your head as Rafe walks over the window, gazing at the party below. 

"Looks like your dirty pogue has arrived. I'll take care of that." And with that, he left. You had no doubt in your mind that JJ couldn't handle Rafe, so you stayed put, mainly in fear. You could feel the stinging handprint on your face, the pounding in the back of your head, and it was almost as of Rafe's hand still had a hold of your jaw.

You sat there as tears brimmed your eyes. You would have to go downstairs eventually and have to face the people you had grown up around. You also didn't want to pass Rafe or his two lackeys, Topper and Kelce. Not wanting to see anyone just yet, you sit and think back on all that just occurred to you. You had never expected the man in the baby blue tux to come on to you like that and you definitely didn’t think he’d hit you.

Scrambling to your feet, you slip out of the room to a bathroom next door to examine your face. You didn’t look too bad. No one should be able to tell anything after you fix your makeup. Thankfully, you had brought some with you in your purse and applied it to where it had been smudged by Rafe’s hands. Your eyes are still tear-filled, but none have fallen just yet. You are not going to let yourself break until you are home, alone. When you finally build up enough courage to go back down and leave, you are met with a bit of commotion amongst the party as you watch JJ shove a guy in a black suit.

“Hey, mandatory power hour at Rixon’s, Kie and Y/n,” the battered blond speaks to you both as he points at you two. He moves his finger towards Pope. “Pope, you as well, all right? Rixon’s Cove. Let’s roll.” His attention goes back to you and Kiara. “All right, girls, come on. Workers of the world unite. Throw off your chains!”

You happily run to your boyfriend and jump into his arms after he and John B salute each other. He spins you around as you three wait for the other two who have to put up a small fight against their parents. Pope runs up to y’all as his father yells from afar and he wraps his arms around John B. Kie comes seconds after, laughing as she runs into JJ’s arms. Pope pulls you into him as the five of you run away from the kook-filled place, but not without John B yelling, “Later losers!”

Soon enough, y’all make it to Rixon’s Cove, get a fire started, and sit around discussing what the mandatory meeting is about. John B explains that the gold in on the island before providing the evidence of Denmark Tanny and how he used the gold and his whole story.

“So, what’s the plan?” Pope questions as he looks at the letters with a flashlight. You look over his shoulder to get a look at them too.

“Good question. So, Sarah Cameron’s coming tonight. She’ll bring an original survey map-” John B starts but is cut off by Kie.

“Hold on. Sarah? Why Sarah?” John B stays silent while JJ mutters, “This is gonna be good.” You were just as confused as Kie. Why was Sarah getting involved in this? She was your friend, but she was not near as close to you as the pogues were and this was a pogue thing anyway.

“Sarah, um, she got me into the archives in Chapel Hill yesterday, and that’s where I got the letter.” John B tells her as you watch the disappointment and betrayal wash over her features.

“You were in Chapel Hill with Sarah Cameron?” She asks as he agrees. Of course, JJ has to make the situation worse with his little comment, “He was mackin’ on her.”

“I wasn’t macking.”

“You were totally macking Sarah Cameron.”

“So that’s what Sarah meant earlier when she said she had a crush on someone else that wasn’t Topper,” You add before the boys go back to arguing.

“I wasn’t macking on her, okay? I was using her for access.”

“There was access, all right.”

“Did you tell her about the treasure?” Kie interrupted the two boys bickering.

“I was just trying to get into the archives.” John B defends himself, basically admitting to telling her.

“Is that a yes?” Kie pushes.

“I- I left out key details.” He still doesn’t deny telling Sarah Cameron about our secret.

“Yo, what? You let a kook in on our secret? What about pogue life? What about the t-shirt company, bro?” Kie continues as Pope and you sit back and watch it all unravel. They all continue to talk as you zone out watching the fire until Pope speaks from beside you.

“Her brother did hit me in the back with a golf club.”

“Yeah and he kissed me, slapped me, and pushed my head against a wall earlier.” The group fell silent at your confession. You didn’t realize you had spilled until the silence came over you.

“He what?” JJ spoke as he walked over to you from beside John B and Kie.

“When did this happen?” Kie asked you.

“An hour or so ago. It was right before we left. I came down and you were going off about coming here. I wasn’t going to bother you with it until later because I know how heated you get,” You say calmly as you grab his hand to make sure he doesn’t get too riled up and angry, but your attempts seem to fail.

“I’m gonna beat the shit out of him,” JJ speaks through gritted teeth as he stands to his feet.

“No, JJ.” The softness of your voice brings him back to where you stand. The tears have come back, and one manages to escape despite your efforts to not cry. The blond pulls you into his embrace where you finally break down, the hurt and pain from Rafe’s actions finally taking a toll on you. Soon, you are wrapped up in all the pogues' arms as they comforted you. Later, you and JJ left for the chateau while the other went to meet Sarah.

“Why didn’t you say anything sooner?” JJ asked you as you laid against his chest, his fingers fiddling with the ends of your hair.

“I didn’t want you to worry about it and if I had told you there, you would’ve fought him right then and there. I couldn’t tell you then.”

“I’m still gonna beat his ass.”

“That’s okay but be with me first. Your time for revenge will come, but don’t insinuate it. Okay? I don’t need you getting hurt more than you already are.” You lean up to rest your chin against the top of his chest as you stare into his gorgeous blue eyes. You bring your hand to rest on the side of his face, and he leans into your touch before letting out a sigh.

“Fine. I won’t do anything until it’s time.” You rubbed your thumb over his cheek softly as his eyes fluttered closed. When he opens his eyes again, they appear to be glossy.

“What’s wrong, baby?” You ask as you sit up. He follows suit, leaning against the wall.

“I never want you to have to experience what you did tonight.” His sad eyes lock with yours.

“JJ, I’m okay. It’s okay,” you speak softly, running your fingers through his smooth golden locks. You let your hand trail down the side of his face to his arm and finally, it meets his hand and your fingers interlock with his.

“It’s not okay. You may be okay, but what he did was not. I’m not going to let that happen again. I should’ve been there with you tonight, but John B-”

“John B needed you. That’s okay. Let’s just go to sleep and forget about it, all right?” He nods as the two of you go back to laying down. You rest your head back down on his chest and with the soothing sound of his heartbeat, you fall asleep in seconds.

[camillemonty]

Crush

JJ x Reader|Kook

Summary: You just moved to outer banks and you are not so thrilled about your new kook life as your parents and are curious about how your summer will be.

As the summer goes on surprises come along with ups and downs, tears and laughter, new friends and family.

Masterlist

Chapter 8 - Lighthouse

“You are distracted today” Cooper voice reached your ears as you missed the shot for the third time, you tilted back your head and sigh, your grip getting tighter in the golf club “everything ok?”

“Sorry” you huffed “I just can’t stop thinking about it” you glance at him while he was putting another ball for you.

“And for that you mean the kegger from two nights ago?” he stands next to you “yeah” you replied while getting in positions your eyes glued to the little white ball “what happened?” he asks as you shoot this time hitting the ball “good” 

“Lane didn’t tell you?” you turned at him and he shook his head “well first Rafe and Liam were acting like idiots but that’s not a surprise, then I was with JJ and he went looking for beers and next thing I I know he’s fighting with Liam” 

“Didn’t know you were friends with Maybank” he said frowning his brows.

“I’m not” you said almost immediately “well I was or I still am, I don’t know” you shrug.

“And that’s why you are still upset? Because the fight?” his voice was exasperating calm.

“Well not only that” you started, trying to find a way to say it without being awkward “Liam was a jealous boyfriend and he thinks that you…” you say and Copper scowls, not getting what you meant “he thinks that you and I...”

“Oh!” he interrupted; you could feel your cheeks hot and looked away.

“Well not only you, he also thinks that about me and JJ” you added “And I’m mad because he practically screamed that so probably half of the island thinks that too” 

“Oh I see” he nodded “well maybe what you need is a weekend on a beautiful boat in the middle of the ocean” you chuckled “you know, to leave your problems behind and pretend everything is ok” you looked at him, both of you smiling “did you asked your parents?” you shook your head “well think about it, it can be fun” he placed his hand in your shoulder “thank you” you said as a grin covered his lips “well let's go back to the lesson” 

An hour later Cooper was parking his car in front of your house; you got out and said goodbye. Inside was oddly quiet since you knew your parents were home, you walked around the floor and just when you got to the living room you realized the rumor outside. You saw your mom and dad sitting at the table with another couple, from the distance you couldn’t recognize them, you walked towards them trying your best not to be noticed but failed when your mom saw you.

“Y/n you arrived!” she said happily “come here” you obeyed her and got closer, and recognized the couple from midsummer, they were important people but you could remember the last name.

“Let me introduce you my daughter” your dad said “y/n these are the Cameron’s” Cameron! You remembered “but wait aren’t they” “I think you know his son Rafe and his sister…” your dad stopped trying to remember her name.

“Sarah” you said “yeah I know them” you looked at the couple with a smile on your face “nice to meet you”

“Nice to meet you” the two replied.

You sat there a couple of minutes but escaped to your room as soon as possible. You put on a movie to distract yourself but the sudden hunger didn’t let you concentrate so you went downstairs for something to eat, it was still early only 1:15 pm, you grabbed some leftover from yesterday and heated them, just to go to your room and eat while you watch the movie. When the movie ended you peeked through your window and saw an empty backyard, they were gone. You went down to the kitchen and saw your parents there, and talked about how your lesson was, of course, you didn’t say anything about the four missed shots.

“There’s something I wanted to ask you” you said and they exchanged looks for a second, your dad nodded indicating that you could continue “the Millers, Lane parents, invited me to spend the weekend with them in their boat” you said as you felt your body felling with anxiety waiting for their answer.

Your parents looked at each other again “where are they going?” your mom asked.

“I understood that they just wanted to take it out not that they were planning on going somewhere” you explained.

“Oh well I don’t have a problem with that” your mom spoke and turned to look at your dad “me neither” you couldn’t stop the big smile forming on your face “but you have to keep us informed about everything” your dad spoke.

“Of course” you nodded quickly a couple of times “thank you” you said and hugged them. Back in your room, you decided to text Lane to give her the news.

“What do people pack to spend the weekend on a boat?”

What you received as a response was a voice from Lane screaming from happiness.

When you stepped out from the so-called boat that was as big as a house for the first time in 2 days you sigh in relief as you felt the earth on your feet. 

“Oh I had so much fun!” Lane said wrapping an arm around your shoulders “we have to do that again” you agreed with her.

You spent the weekend soaking in the sun in the morning and playing pool or watching movies with the two brothers during the night, it was the most fun you had since the night of midsummer. Cooper and his dad taught you how to fish and Lane taught you how to drive the jet ski, but one drive was enough for you. Your favorite night was the last one, they had planned a fancy dinner of which the only warning was to bring a pretty dress but it all ended gloriously with the three of you playing karaoke and laughing your lungs out. Of course that after this weekend you were more close to Lane than ever, you slept in the same room even if there were to spare, and with Cooper too, you hanged out with him all day, the first impression he gave you at midsummer was completely erased and changed with this new version of a fun and sweet Cooper.

They drove you home almost not wanting you to leave them. You walked inside and greeted your parents that were already waiting for you, you had dinner together and you told them everything about your weekend. You went to bed early literally falling asleep as soon as you relax your body in the bed.

The next day after you did your morning routine you texted Sarah, she texted you while you were away and you promised to let her know when you arrived. She answered minutes later. 

“Let’s go for something to drink later, I’ll pick you up at 11” she said.

You went outside and sat in one of the couches from the backyard with your book from your summer read. The time flew by and before you knew it Sarah texted you. 

“I’m here” 

You grabbed your things and went outside. When you opened the car door Sarah glanced at you with surprise “oh my god who is this tanned goddess that it’s getting inside my car” she almost screamed, making you laugh “you are gorgeous” 

“Thank you” you replied smiling.

She drove until a cafe shop minutes away, you two sat at one of the tables outside and ordered a soda, and chatted as your drinks arrived right away.

“So how was your weekend?” she asked and you proceed to tell her the same thing you told your parents, she listened to everything you said and made a few comments here and there “what about you? How was your weekend?” you asked.

“Oh well you know, the usual stuff” she started. After almost an hour of talking and your drinks over from a while ago she said something that got your attention “my dad and rose are planning an end of the summer party, they are inviting all figure 8”

“Oh maybe that’s why they were at my house the other day” you said most to yourself connecting the dots. Sarah continued talking until her phone buzzed on the table, she read the message and replied fast.

“Are you free for the rest of the day?” she asked and you nodded “because John B is inviting us to spend the day at his place, maybe eat something and watch a movie or light up a bonfire outside” she said.

“Yeah that’s sounds fun” you grinned at her.

“Perfect, let’s pay so we can go” 

Five minutes later you were already in Sarah’s car driving towards John b’s place. When you arrived the house was curiously quiet, Sarah guided you inside to find John b sitting on the couch scrolling on his phone, he glanced up and his eyes got brighter when he saw Sarah, he got up almost running and hugged her as if he had spent days without seeing her.

“Hi y/n” he said to you and offered you a hug too “my god you are so tan it’s almost like you have been living all your life here” he teased making you laugh. You three sat on the couch to talk, ten minutes later you heard the van parking outside and the doors being closed, John B walked towards the front door but stopped to glance back at you with widened eyes “shit I forgot to tell you that JJ is coming too” 

“Don’t worry I imagined that” you say calmly.

Pope and Kie got in the kitchen and stopped almost immediately when they saw you “Hi girl!” Kie screamed and threw herself to you for a hug; you wrapped your arms around her giggling. When she let you go it was time for Pope to hug you. The two of them also complimented you for your tan making you blush. 

“Where is JJ?” John B asked.

“I’m here” the boy screamed from the door, to busy looking at his phone, he entered the kitchen and glanced up stopping abruptly when his eyes laid on you, apparently no one told him you would be here either, it took him two seconds to get back to normal “Hi” he said shyly, his hand scratching the back of his neck.

“Hi” you replied, the other four looked in between you two.

You all seated across the tiny living room, chatting and laughing, you tell for the third time how your weekend went and heard about theirs, JJ was unusually quiet but you noticed the quick glances he threw at you, a couple of times you locked stares and for your surprise he was the one that looked away. At some point in the evening, John B stood up and went to the kitchen to grab snacks and beer, and the six of you were seated there for who knows how much time. When JJ opened the last can of beer, Sarah stood up and went with John B and Pope to buy more, Kie stood up too, to clean around and you followed her, JJ stayed still seating on the floor, you offered to throw out the garbage and walked outside. JJ whispered something in Kie’s ear and she nodded, when you came back the house was almost empty, almost because JJ was the only one inside, you saw Kie rocking herself in the hammock, and glanced over JJ that was cleaning the dishes. 

“Need help?” you asked from the distance.

“Mmm yeah if you want you can dry them” he offered and you nodded, standing next to him with the cloth in hand. You felt your chest tight and chewed the inside of your cheek knowing that this was all in purpose, anxious expecting for him to talk.

JJ felt no different, his hands slightly trembling but he did his best to keep them steady, and not noticing his right feet was now bouncing against the floor, desperately trying to find something to say “you are tan” as the words slip from his mouth he mentally slapped his face “fucking idiot” he thought “I mean you look good, not that you didn’t look good before, it's different” he rambled and shut his eyes.

“Thank you” you mumbled biting your lower lip to avoid the laugh to escape from your mouth. You finished the dishes in silence and turned your heels to find Kie outside.

“Wait” JJ spoke trying to catch your hand with his wet one, making you stop “I Mm… I wanted to apologize” he stuttered, his voice oddly low.

“You already did” you remarked, carefully nor to sound mad.

“I know… and I really mean it” he said “I… know I was an idiot” he scratched the back of his neck again.

“Yeah you were” you agreed, he looked up finally meeting your eyes, and you felt the air leave your lungs, your eyes softened at his sight “I forgive you” you said as JJ let a huge sigh out and a grin appeared on his lips.

“Thanks” he said, he felt a weight disappear from his shoulders “Too soon for a hug?” he asked his voice calmer than before, you chuckled and shook your head slightly opening your arms, and he smiled and pulled you into a hug.

You two went outside to keep Kie company, she smiled at you when she saw you smiling and giggling with JJ. You sat there waiting for the others to arrive, the air around you felt lighter and JJ felt that too. When the others arrived with more beer you three shouted cheering, it didn’t take them much to realize that things were back to normal between the two of you, mostly because JJ was now speaking louder and laughed a lot. The day went like this and when the time arrived the boys lighted up a bonfire. Sarah couldn’t stay the night and you took the opportunity to go home with her.

“Bye guys” you said from the porch.

“Wait” JJ stopped you “we are going surfing tomorrow, do you want to come?” 

“Sure” you nodded “I don’t surf though, but see you guys tomorrow then”

You woke up the next day expecting Sarah’s message to go to the beach, by 9 you were ready to go, seated on the couch scrolling to your phone. When the notification of the message appeared you practically jumped to the front door, your mom screaming at you not to forget to put on sunscreen, you shut closed the door and jogged to Sarah’s car with your backpack bouncing, Kie was there too. The ride to the beach was fun, music blasting through the speakers and windows rolled down, catching every one glare. She parked in front of the beach; you helped Kie with her stuff as she carried a bag full of sandwiches; you saw the guys in the distance heading to the water, Sarah screamed at them but they were too far to hear her, you three put your towels on the sand next to the one from the boys. You took your shirt off and sat with your arms on your knees and your sunglasses on, looking towards the water at the three boys they were amazing, but you had to admit that JJ was better, he never fell, it was like he was born for it, and of course, he looked amazing while doing it so you just enjoyed the view. Kie palmed your shoulder with a beer and you accepted it. Minutes later you hear the laugh of the boys closer and you turn around, they were walking back towards you three, you smiled at them, and taking advantage of your dark sunglasses you let your eyes linger in JJ’s body, maybe more than you should. 

“Good morning girls” the three hummed making you laugh. John B and Pope proceeded to hug their girls; JJ sat next to you and gave you a shy smile that you returned. 

“Hi” he spoke.

“Hi” you replied “you are good” you stated shyly, he turned at you confusion in his eyes “surfing, I was watching you”

JJ felt his chest swell, proud of himself, he knew he was good but hearing it from you gave him satisfaction “Thank you” he beamed “I can teach you if you want” 

“Don’t worry I’m good at land” both of you chuckled.

The other four joined the conversation and you stayed there for almost an hour until you suggested going into the water, well not suggested, you stood up and took off your shorts, JJ not missing any move you made. You looked at the group seating in front of you, your mouth never asked the question but they stood up as an answer, John B pushed JJ and started running toward the water, followed by Pope, and JJ that shouted and ran. Sarah huffed and rolled her eyes “boys” she said before she started running taking you and Kie by surprise, you two ran behind Sarah to the water, giggling and splashing. The water was cold against the heat of your body, and it arrived fast at your chest, you swam until your feet couldn’t touch the sand under them.

“Though you were scared of deep water” John B said.

“Only if it’s dark” you corrected.

You lay in the water, floating, your eyes closed at the sky, you heard the splashing around you. You stayed there listening to them talk, smiling to yourself.

“What are you thinking about?” you heard JJ’s voice talking to you.

You looked at him “nothing, I’m just happy” you said.

“Just happy” he repeated grinning.

You walked back to the shore with JJ following you closely; you two were the last to get out of the water. He smiled as he glared at you dry your hair and body and sit next to Kie, his eyes meet yours for a second and softened as the light pink tinted your cheeks and looked away. You were talking, all of you were talking but he focused only on your voice and the way the words sound from your lips, how you wrinkled your nose when someone said something you didn’t like, or the little crinkles by your eyes when you smiled. His trail of thought was interrupted when Kie handed everyone the sandwiches she brought, the meal was surprisingly quiet just some comments here and there, for the time you were all done you were talking with the girls while John B and Pope talked about who knows what, nothing they say could keep JJ’s eyes away from you, unless until John B threw JJ his shirt in his face.

“What?” JJ asked turning around at his friend.

“What?” he mocked JJ “we are trying to talk to you here” 

“Well what do you guys want?” 

“I have to help my dad in the morning and wanted to know if you two want to come with me” Pope spoke

JJ nodded and his eyes traveled back at you, for his surprise he meets your eyes that were already looking at him, he beamed shyly, as you looked away. All conversation stopped when a phone started buzzing in a backpack, you stood up knowing it was yours and pick up the call, walking away from the group. 

“Everything ok” John B asked when you came back.

“Yeah it was Lane” you explained “I have plans with her too today” the five nodded as you put your shorts and shirt back on “she’s coming for me” JJ felt slightly disappointed that you weren’t going to stay all day.

Not even five minutes later Lane’s car parked in front of the beach, you grabbed your stuff and said goodbye to everyone with a hug, and walked towards the car. The driver’s seat window rolled down and you frowned looking at Cooper instead of Lane, he got out of the car and opened the back door for you at what you laughed loudly. All smile disappeared from JJ’s face and his hands became fists so tight that his knuckles were white, he scoffed at the sight of you hugging Cooper and all his friends noticed it. 

“Look at JJ all jealous” Kie teased bringing everybody’s eyes on the boy.

“I’m not jealous” he denied.

“My god, stop denying it!” John B huffed “you like the girl admit it”

“I don’t” he answered making everyone rolls his eyes at him “whatever” Kie mouthed.  

Lane was in the passenger seat, and practically threw herself to the back for a hug “I missed you” she said “after a whole weekend with you I don’t want to leave you” you laughed at her hear turning back the hug.

“Where are we going?” you asked once she let you go.

“I don’t know I was thinking maybe we can grab something to eat and watch movies later” she offered.

“Uh I like the plan” you agreed 

“What if we go home and order some pizza for the movie?” Cooper suggested and you both agreed immediately “How was the beach?” he asked you.

“Fun, the water was amazing” you replied.

You arrived at their house and as you walked in Cooper called the pizza place while you and Lane choose some movies to watch. “Twilight?” Lane suggested but Cooper screamed “No” from the other side of the house. 

“Spiderman?” you asked. 

“Which Spiderman? There are three” Lane added “Toby” Cooper screamed closer “What do you girls want in your pizzas?” he asked, “Pepperoni” Lane screamed “Just a margherita” you said.

Lane guided you to the movie room as she called it, Cooper arrived seconds later and started the movie. Half an hour later the doorbell rang. Cooper came back with the three boxes of pizza, you two cheered up and started eating. For the second movie pizza was over, but Lane went looking for ice cream in the kitchen. At the end of the third movie it’s was already dark outside and Lane was lightly snoring next to you, you looked at her and chuckled. Cooper stood up and turned off the tv.

“My butt is plain” he said massaging it.

“My back hurt” you complained as you stood up and stretched.

“We are too old to sit for more than three hours” Cooper and you chuckled.

“Would you mind take me home?” you questioned “I mean I was going to ask Lane but…” you said pointing at her.

“Of course, no problem” he said.

You followed him to his car. The ride was quiet, music played low in the speakers, as he tapped the steering wheel at the rhythm of the music. He parked in front of your house and gave you a quick glance, his hands got clenched the steering wheel for a second as you glanced at him.

“What are you doing tomorrow?” he asked without looking at you.

“Mmm nothing” you replied “why?”

He stayed quiet for a couple of seconds looking for the right words “do you… want to go to the lighthouse? We can grab something to eat and talk” 

“Yeah I would like to” 

He let go of a tiny sight and looked at you whit a smile “See you tomorrow then” you smiled back at him and got out of the car.

You got into your room and decided to call Amy; you haven’t talked to her for a couple of days now. She answers and you two talk about everything that had happened in your lives lately. You told her about JJ and that things were ok between you two, everything was normal until she screamed in your ear.

“You are going on a date with Cooper?!” 

“What? No! We are just going for something to eat” you explained.

“Well y/n that’s a date”

“No it’s not” you fight back.

“Isn’t this the guy his sister told you he liked you?”

“Well yeah…”

“And you spend the weekend with him and his family” she continued “yeah…” you rolled your eyes “and now he invited you to go eat, the two of you alone” she remarked “yeah…” you huffed “He asked you out on a date!”

“Oh my god” you said as you sat on your bed “he asked me out… my best friend’s brother asked me out”

“Careful there I’m your best friend” she said making you chuckled. 

“What am I going to do?” 

“What do you mean? You go to that date and have fun!” she demanded “it's a pretty place?” 

“I don’t know” 

“Well they have money I’m sure it’s a pretty place, what are you going to wear?” she questioned.

You keep talking for a couple of hours, she made you sent her pictures of your clothes and helped you choose something decent for tomorrow. Before you went to sleep you checked your phone one last time and saw a message from Cooper.

“I didn’t ask you what time”

“4?” you replied.

“Perfect, see you tomorrow” 

You unconsciously smiled at your phone before locking it; you left it on the nightstand and went to sleep.

The next day you woke up already anxious, you found yourself tapping the table with your fingers so hard that your mom asked you if everything was ok. By 12 when your mom called you for lunch you barely ate, she told you she was going out whit your dad and probably come back late at night. By 3 you were ready, seating in the living room with your leg bouncing on the floor, you were wearing a yellow floral summer dress, your hair was down and you put on light makeup, not wanting it to be too much, your hand was playing with the charm of your necklace when you hear the doorbell, you looked at your phone, it was only 3:15, you frowned at how early he had arrived and walked to the front door, you swung the door open and your eyes widened in surprise.

“JJ” you spoke at the blonde boy.

“Hi” he said low with his hands in his pockets.

“How are you?” you asked.

“Good” he nodded and looked at you up and down “you look…nice, I mean you look pretty” he corrected himself fast and coughed.

“Thank you” you smiled shyly and felt your face hotter.

After a couple of seconds of silence he finally spoke “I was heading to the beach” he said pointing back “and well I thought about you” his hand went to his cap to fix it “if you wanted to go?” 

“Oh I’ll love to but I already have plans” you said; JJ face fell but he had already assumed it when he saw how you were dressed “sorry”

“Don’t worry, maybe another day” he offered.

“Yes of course!” you nodded quickly “I’m free tomorrow if you are”

JJ face lighted up “yeah I’m free” 

“Tomorrow then” you two stayed there smiling at each other like two idiots until JJ’s phone buzzed in his pocket. 

“Bye" he said and turned around. 

You closed the door and pressed your back at it, letting out a huge sigh, the smile never leaving your face. Not too much time after that you heard the doorbell again, this time when you opened the door Cooper was at the other side, he was wearing a light blue bottom shirt and jeans, his hair was at a side as always.

“Ready?” he asked with a big smile, you nodded and grabbed your purse and keys “you look beautiful” he said.

“Thank you” you smiled glancing at him.

“My lady” he said as he opened the car door for you making you chuckle.

He started the car, music played low through the speaker as you chatted about trivial stuff. He parked in front of a tiny restaurant close to the lighthouse; you got out of the car and walked inside next to him, he gave his last name to the waitress and she guided you to a table outside. The view was amazing, the lighthouse in the distance and the sea in front of you. You two sat at the table and the girl left the menus for you, it didn’t take much for you two to choose something to eat and you told the lady right away. 

“Do you like it?” he asked.

“It’s beautiful” you replied nodding.

“I’m glad you think so” he grinned “I think I never asked you why you moved here?” 

“My dad was offered a job” you explained.

“Oh ok, do you miss home?”

“I miss my best friend” you replied “what about you, have you lived here all your life?”

“Yes ma’am Outer Banks born and raised” he replied. 

“And do you want to stay here?” you asked 

“God no” he chuckled “I was supposed to go to college when the summer ends but I chose to have a sabbatical year” he explained “I want to travel and I don’t know do fun stuff and relax”

“That sounds nice” you agreed “what would be the first place you want to visit?” you questioned.

“Amsterdam” he replied almost immediately.

“And what are you going to study?”

“Well my dad is a doctor so of course he wanted me to study medicine too but that’s not for me, I want to be a software developer” he replied “what about you? What do you want to do?”

“Well I still have to finish high school” you two giggled “but I always liked psychology”

“Wow I never would have thought that” he said “what about you, If you could go to another place right now where would you go?” 

“London” you replied immediately.

“Why?” he asked curiously.

“I don’t know” you chuckled.

The lady arrived with your food and you kept talking through all the meal, well mostly him. You felt silly for being so nervous before, Cooper had always been nice to you and somehow managed to make you feel comfortable around him. You two ended up ordering some dessert too and stayed there for almost two hours. He stood up to go to the bathroom and came back with the bill paid, you rolled your eyes at him but deep down you knew he wouldn’t let you pay anyway. He drove you back home, the ride was lighter than the first, the music was a little louder and you two sang to a couple of songs. He parked in front of your house and threw you a quick glance you did the same thing, feeling your hands get colder. 

“Do you want to stay a little?” you asked suddenly, taking him by surprise. 

“Yeah sure” he replied.

You got out of the car and looked around realizing your parent's car was gone and remembered your mom saying earlier that she was going out with your dad, you freaked out, not wanting to give him the wrong idea, you glance back at him when he closes the car and opted for walking towards the dock, he followed you closely; you rested your arms on the railing of the dock and he did the same next to you, the sun was already setting and the sky was tinted with orange and pink. He laughed at something you said and you turned at him, Cooper took the opportunity and his hand came closer to your face as he tucked a wild lock behind your ear, your breath got heavy knowing what was about to happen, his eyes trailed to your lips and he slowly came closer and closer, until his lips were pressed against yours, you kissed him back, his hand went to the back of your neck but you stayed still. You kissed for minutes until you pulled away.

“I…” you started “I broke up with Liam not long ago, I…” 

“Don’t worry, I get it” he interrupted you. 

“Sorry”

“Don’t be” he said and smiled “I mean yeah I like you, but I love you as a friend too and I’m not going to risk not having you around” he shook his head, you smiled and hugged him, he wrapped his arms around you and squeezed you making you giggle. You two stayed there for a little while more until the sun was completely gone, you walked with him towards his car and waved him goodbye. You were going upstairs when your phone lighted up with a message.

“Hey it’s JJ, I asked Kie for your number” “See you tomorrow?”

Without even noticing it you were smiling at your phone and you felt your heart jump in your chest.

“Hi! Yes, what time?” 

“10?”

“Perfect” 

“See you tomorrow then” he texted.

“See you tomorrow”

You went inside your room with the silliest smile on your face and jumped to your bed letting out a huge sight. Your phone started buzzing again and you saw Amy written on the screen, she warned you she’ would call so you could tell her everything about your date, you picked up and talked for hours.

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Sugar and Coffee [20]

Chapter 19 - Chapter 20 - Chapter 20.5 OR Chapter 21

➜ Words: 4.5k

➜ Genres: 99.5% Fluff, 0.5% Angst, Pâtisserie school!AU

➜ Summary: It isn't hard to be a pâtisserie chef, but it's not a piece of cake either. It seems like for you in particular, life keeps throwing in one wrench after another. It always finds ways to make your sweets bitter. The cherry on top is Jeon Jungkook — a rival with a sensitive sweet tooth who always finds ways to complain about you.

cr.

Breakups are the worst.   You know from first-hand experience — how it feels like your entire world is crumbling. How the most important person in your life that was the most involved is suddenly a stranger. How you lose not only a lover, but a friend, someone who was considered family.    So witnessing Hoseok becoming despondent and sluggish, and being an observer to the heartache, it’s surreal.   “Are you okay?” you lean over to ask.   The yells of Taehyung, Super Smash music and sound effects are loud in the living room. It’s unusual to gather on a Tuesday night when there’s class early tomorrow, but you know everyone’s gathered for Hoseok.   No one might pour their feelings onto the table and talk about what happened, but you’ve quickly caught on that this is all meant to act as a distraction. Not a counselling session.   Still, you want to ask him in case he does want to talk about it.   “I’m….holding up okay.”   “If you ever want to discuss anything, I’m here.”   “Thanks.” The both of you turn back to the screen where Yoongi, Taehyung, Jungkook and Jimin are duking it out. At times they’re screaming at each other and at others, they fall into silence.   You stare at Jungkook — the way his thick brows are furrowed in concentration, how the tip of his tongue is peeking out, nose scrunched, his body leaned over with his elbows on his knees, forearms exposed and the veins popped. Jungkook looks angry and it’s hot as fuc— “Hey, Y/N?”   “Huh?” You turn to Hoseok, hoping it wasn’t obvious that you were salivating over your boyfriend. “Y-Yes?”   “Has Aeri said anything?” he asks hesitantly, quietly. “I know you and her are close, so….”   “She did talk about it with me…” You pause. He seems to wait, so you go on, “She said you guys broke up after a lot of arguments, that it seemed like you were more mad at each other than happy and decided to end it. She doesn’t hate you, Hoseok, if that’s what you want to ask.”   The man nods.   You know what it’s like — he wants to hear every detail but doesn’t at the same time. So you spare him from it. “Thank you. Tell her….tell her that...nevermind.” Hoseok sighs. “I’m just glad she has you for support.”   “It’s nothing,” you say sincerely. “Trust me.”   It simmers into quietness again. But when the match ends, you jump into the game with them. And while Hoseok protests, mumbling that he doesn’t want to play, Jimin forces him to hold a controller and naturally, he joins too.   It’s fun to play — Jungkook and you secretly have an alliance and you team up to crush the others. And when it’s just you and him left, Jungkook lets you win. Taehyung yells that it’s totally not fair each and every time but your boyfriend feigns ignorance, citing that you’re just too good.   After seven more rounds, you begin to get drowsy and check the time.   “Oh, we should go.”   Yoongi quirks a brow. “You two have somewhere to be?”   “It’s snuggle hour.”   Jimin pauses the game. Everyone whirls around to stare.   Hoseok grins. Yoongi remains puzzled. “The hell is snuggle hour?”   “It’s nothing!” Jungkook suddenly interjects, eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights.   “What do you mean it’s nothing?” Your jaw goes slack — just yesterday he said it was his favourite part of the day. It baffles you that he’s outright denying it now.   “It’s something Y/N likes, not me.”   “Excuse me?!” It was him who came up with the entire concept — personally, you could take it or leave it.   “Can we keep playing or what?”   “No.” Jimin disregards Jungkook’s attempt at changing the subject and eggs you on, “Y/N, what’s snuggle hour?”   “It’s a designated time slot in our schedule to snuggle for an hour everyday. Jungkook likes being touched,” you state it in a matter of factly way, deadpanning it before your boyfriend can stop you.   “Babe.” Jungkook’s face is bright red. He turns to his friends. “That’s not true.”   “Ugh, gross.” Taehyung’s entire face scrunches in disgust.   “Not like that, you idiot. It’s not sexual.”   “Babe!” Jungkook shouts and you redirect your attention to him. He’s shaking his head, horrified. “TMI.”   “Why are you embarrassed?” you question with a frown.   “Aww, Kook likes being touched?” Jimin teases, leaning over to hug Jungkook. “I knew it!”   “Get off me,” he huffs and pushes the other man off. “She’s kidding. It’s her who wants to cuddle.”   You scoff. “That’s a blatant lie.”   “Oh shit.” Taehyung lifts his brows, head darting between you and Jungkook and your exchanges of expressions. The brunette looks like he’s about to grab a bag of popcorn and neither you nor Jungkook appreciate it.   “Are you ashamed of me?”   “No—”   You cock your head to the side. “Your ego is too big to be romantic?”   “Can we do this later?” Jungkook ducks his head and whispers harshly as if they can’t hear. “You can’t do that in front of our friends. You can’t tell them.”   “Why not?” you bite back loudly, arms crossing. “You’re embarrassed? You’re too good for me to love you?”   “It’s not like that,” he sighs.   “I think it is.” You grab your coat and your bag. “I’m leaving.”   “Y/N.” Jungkook stands up, following after you. “Wait. You’re not upset, are you?”   “Nope. Not at all. I’ll see you tomorrow.” You offer a stiff smile and the door slams shut with you on the other side.   It’s awfully silent.   It happened so fast, he’s still reeling.   “I don’t miss that.” Hoseok smiles gingerly.   “What just happened?” Jungkook returns to the couch, completely bewildered.   “I think you just missed out on snuggle hour,” Yoongi snickers.   //   The next time Jungkook sees you, he’s wary. But you greet him as if nothing happened and the two of you go on about your day.   Yet, the boy is unsettled and constantly glances at you from the corner of his eye. He finally decides to clear his throat stiffly and go in for the kill. “You’re not still upset from yesterday, are you?”   “No. I get it. You think it’s personal and you don’t want to share what we do in our down time with your friends.”   “Exactly.” Jungkook’s entire body drowns in relief, shoulders easing from their tension, muscles no longer stiff. He’s so glad you get it.   You smile. “I’m sorry for lashing out and being crazy.”    “It’s okay.”   “So it’s true then.”   “What?”   “You think I was being crazy?” There’s an extended pause. You stare at him — he stares at you. Jungkook pales, not knowing what to say, but then you burst out laughing. “Kidding!”   He starts laughing too. “You almost got me there.”   “Did I?” You laugh some more.    Then it goes silent. The only noises in the corridor are your footsteps and Jungkook takes a moment to glance at you. It doesn’t take a second thought for him to reach down and take your hand. But before he can grip it tightly or lace his fingers through yours, you shake his grip off.   He looks at you in surprise.   “Nope.” You shake your head, keeping your eyes trained forward. “You’re too cool for that, remember?”   “What?” Jungkook increases his strides when your steps begin to speed up. “I thought you said you weren’t mad!”   “I’m not. But what if your friends see? We can’t risk that,” you say, feigning worry and it’s almost mocking.   Jungkook scoffs. “Who cares?”   You hum. “But see, you do. You gotta remain cool for your friends, Jungkook.” You turn to pat your boyfriend’s head once and then you’re walking away.   The boy’s left absolutely appalled, but unable to say anything when you keep barrelling straight down the hall.   Jeon Jungkook knows he’s fucked up.   //   Jungkook isn’t a particularly confrontational person — he’s not big on arguing and fighting, but you always seem to be the exception to every rule of his. From the beginning, you’ve gotten under his skin and the pair of you have bickered back and forth relentlessly. Even now that your relationship has changed, he discovers that he would rather have you angry and shouting at him. He’d rather you quarrel, so at least he can apologize and things can go back to normal.   He can’t keep up with these mind games. You’re just teasing him at this point.   When he puts an arm around your shoulder, you slink away. “Let’s not get too touchy here, buddy. Someone might see.”   When he comes to stand next to you, your shoulders brushing against each other’s, you immediately step away from him like he’s got the bubonic plague. “Appropriate spaces between us only, Jeon. You gotta stay cool and hard. God forbid, someone finds out you’re a giant softie.”   Jungkook never realized just how much he naturally reaches for you throughout the day. Not until you were pointing it out and avoiding all acts of physical affection.   But the last straw is when he’s in your room, reaching in for a kiss, and you dodge him completely. His mouth nearly smashes on the wall. “Oh! Can’t do that, can we? You never know who’s watching!”   “Okay, okay. I’m sorry, alright?” Jungkook breaks first. He can’t take this anymore and turns to follow you, watching you crawl into your bed. “I’m sorry for acting like I’m too good for you and being embarrassed and I’m sorry for all of it. You’re right. Who cares. I made it a big deal when it didn’t need to be.”   You get settled into the covers and stare at him impassively, as if you were the queen judging if he, the jester, should be executed or not. Then a tiny smile of victory pulls at your lips.   You untuck your feet from the blankets and hold the left one in the air. Jungkook already knows what to do and sits down, placing your foot in his lap. He holds and cradles it behind the heel, rubbing and squeezing at the tender parts, making you sigh. Nothing beats his massages.   “You know I’m not actually mad.” You grin and squirm when he hits a ticklish spot. “I just like teasing you.”   Jungkook scoffs and sulks. “I don’t like it when you tease me.”   “Oh, poor, baby.” You laugh, but you can’t taunt him when he begins massaging harder. You hiss when his fingers slide towards the base of your heel and back to the top.   “Feel good?” He smirks at your reaction.   “Uh-huh.” You open your eyes again. “I get it though. I do. You don’t want Taehyung and Yoongi and them to make fun of you. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable either, so I won’t talk about our private things anymore—”   “It’s okay,” he hums, “I don’t care. I shouldn’t anyway, they’re all just jealous of us.”   A light laugh falls from your lips and he relishes in how the sound tinkles. “So you’re not ashamed anymore?”   “I wasn’t in the first place. I love you.”   “You always know the right thing to say at the right time.” You scoff, but reach for your boyfriend anyway. You take his arm, pulling him up to you and you plant a small kiss on his lips. You smile. “Get over here, Jeon. It’s snuggling time.”   “My favorite time of the day.” He grins and the two of you shuffle to get comfortable.   He wraps his arm around your shoulder, pulling you closer so you can rest your head against his chest. You throw your legs over his, tangling your limbs, arm snuck over his torso.   Jungkook’s such a big baby, you don’t know what to do sometimes. You wonder if he knows it, but you wouldn’t want it any other way. After all, cold, bad boys are overrated.    Jungkook might be corny, sappy, a giant softie yet you love him all the more for it.

When you see Jungkook in the morning, his eyes light up and he doesn’t hesitate to come over to give a short peck to your lips. When he pulls away, you’re smiling and he hums, leaving to get his food.   Yoongi, on the other hand, is gagging from across you.   “Oh, grow up.” You debate on throwing your fry at him, but you decide not to in case he lunges over the table to fight you for getting oil into his poreless skin.   “I can see you two made up.”   You scoff, a smirk playing at your lips. “Oh. We made up alright.”   Yoongi lifts up his palm. “Spare me the details.”   “Wouldn’t tell you even if you begged me to,” you snicker mischievously much to the man’s dismay.   You’ve learnt to treasure these moments of the day. Times when all of you can gather together for a meal in the dining hall or maybe late on a Friday night at the apartment or someone’s dorm room. There doesn’t even need to be any meaningful conversations, any exciting news to share — as long as there’s each other’s company, it seems to be enough.   You try to savour these moments, even if they’re frequent. Since it’s these meaningless moments that will one day become fond memories.    When everyone’s graduated, gone their own paths to continue developing their skills and chasing their dreams, it will be hard to gather. To banter over mediocre food, to play games and chit chat without a care, to have ridiculous debates and fights.    And as you become vigilant and learn to care for those precious moments, you inadvertently become afraid of time every now and then. It was only ten months ago that your relationship with Jungkook began to alter and change, that you both saw each other in a different light and started an unlikely friendship. And it will only be seven more months until graduation is here.    You didn’t know that time could move so quickly. It makes you scared of what’s to come.   “Afternoon, Y/N.” Taehyung plops down and waves a hand in front of your face. You snap back to reality with a curious look and he grins. “You were spacing out.”   “Sorry. I’m just a bit tired.”   “Wonder why,” Yoongi deadpans. “Maybe it has something to do with Kook and you making up.”   “Ugh, gross.” A disgusted expression creeps onto Taehyung’s face.   “I thought you said you didn’t want to talk about it.” You eye the lethargic man who only shrugs.    “I’m just stating the facts you gave me.”   You scoff, right in time as Jungkook and Jimin sit down with their dinner trays. But your boyfriend pays no mind to the conversation. His attention is immediately taken by the silver bowl his friend has on the table. “What’s that?”   “Oh, it’s cookie dough!” Taehyung grins. “Want some? I made too much during class and couldn’t bake it all, and I thought it would be a waste to throw it away.”   Jungkook grabs his spoon but you stop him. “Wait. You can’t just eat cookie dough. Did you learn nothing from baking safety?”   “Why?” Taehyung blinks. “It’s fine.”   “No, it’s not. The eggs are raw and it could give you salmonella, and the flour could be filled with bacteria. You might end up in the hospital with e.coli. People have died from that.”   “I’m going to have to agree with Y/N there,” Hoseok pipes up.   “Just save it and bake it later, Tae,” Jimin offers.   But your boyfriend disagrees with them. “You can’t get salmonella if the eggs are pasteurized. And contamination of raw flour is rare.”   You whip your head over to your partner, baffled that he could be so dumb. “You know better than that. Why would you even want to risk it?”   He shrugs. “Don’t we risk our lives daily? We get into cars that could technically crash.”   Yoongi grabs his spoon and digs into the cookie dough without hesitation. “We’re all going to die anyway. Live a little, Y/N.”   “That’s gross.”   “It’s delicious,” your boyfriend corrects, about to dig in too but you grip his elbow.   “I’m not going to show up to the hospital if you get sick.”   He smiles in spite of your threat and pulls himself away from your restraint to scoop into the batter. Taehyung grins and offers Jimin some, but he adamantly declines like you, expression queasy.    Hoseok is in the same boat. “I’ll pass, thanks. I’d rather not get sick.”   “Oh, c’mon.” Taehyung chews. “It’s not going to kill you.”   “Except it might.”   “A little is fine,” Jungkook says, smacking his lips together.   “A little is enough to get you ill,” you retort. “How can you be so stubborn about something you’re so wrong about?”   He scoffs and blatantly eats a spoonful in front of you. His eyes shut and he hums in delight as if it’s the most delicious thing he’s ever eaten. But Jungkook’s exaggerated reaction does little to tempt you to the dark side. “Maybe because I know I’m right and you’re too stubborn to admit it.”   “This is like baking safety basics.”   “Yeah and it’s basics not to let saucepots burn but you do it anyway.”   “Oh. So this is how it’s going to be, Jeon?” You narrow your eyes.    It’s personal now.   “I can’t admit I’m wrong when I’m not, babe.” Jungkook slyly smirks, the corner of his mouth curled.   There’s a clear division of teams — Jimin and Hoseok are disgusted like you are, but Yoongi and Taehyung can’t seem to care any less that they might be inviting bacteria into their bodies. And Jungkook appears to be eating more just to spite you.   The argument is different this time around. No one’s backing down this time.   “Oh, would you look at that?” Jungkook nudges you hours later.   “What?”   “I’m not sick from the cookie dough.” He grins, but you only give an impassive expression, turning away from him.   //   Jeon Jungkook can argue what he wants. But you were educated and you have the facts.   It’s late the next night when his phone lights up with a text from you, despite you sitting right beside him. “Did you just text me a link to webMD on...salmonella?”   “Did I?” Your head quirks to the side, lashes fluttering. “Must’ve been a mistake.”   Jungkook scoffs.   //   The following morning while on your way to class, he shows you a picture on his phone.    “My mom found this yesterday. Look.” It’s an old photograph with a smaller version of Jungkook. Perhaps when he was four or five — red shirt and blue overalls — so cute your heart might explode. He’s got big, buggy eyes and giant nose, tiny body and an excited expression. Mini Jungkook is sitting on the kitchen counter with his mouth open wide, half-way to spooning something in.   But you don’t need to ask what it is he was eating. He tells you—   “I was eating cookie dough! Looks like I’m still alive today, huh?”   “How lucky,” you deadpan.   “Lucky enough to live this long and meet you, babe.” The little shit leans down to press a kiss to your cheek. Your eyes bore into his backside when he walks ahead.   //   It’s in the evening after dinner when you’re both in the library and Jungkook suddenly sighs. “I can’t believe school just started a month ago and now midterms are coming up.”   You hum, unloading your bag of textbooks to start studying. But Jungkook notices one in particular — it catches his eye enough that he stops taking notes of his readings.   “Isn’t this our baking safety textbook from last year?” He frowns, picking it up.   “Yeah, I brought it along.” You smile at him. “Thought you should do some reviewing.”   Jungkook scoffs.   You maintain your welcome, friendly demeanor that a perfect girlfriend would have. And you keep exaggerating it when you notice how much it irks him. “You’ve probably forgotten about the contents we learnt about, sweetheart. Wouldn’t want you to forget important facts.”   “You’re so considerate.” His smile is stiff. “I’ll consider reviewing then.”   “You really should.”   “Thanks.”   //   The back and forth continues for a while. It’s small and incremental mentions, from him linking you pictures of kids eating cookie dough to you sending back pictures of what it looks like to have e.coli. In the middle of your snuggle session, Jungkook mentions he craves some cookie dough and in passing, you quote news articles of people getting sick from it and what the FDA thinks.   You can tell Jeon Jungkook isn’t going to back down or give in. And with no end in sight, you start to plan one.   “I don’t feel like studying anymore.” You close your textbook, pouting at him when he lifts his head up from his own pages. “Can’t we just go back to your room, Jungkook? I’m tired.”   Jungkook smiles at you, wholly unsuspecting and dancing right in the palm of your hand. “Okay.”   “Are you hungry?” he asks on your way back.   You hum. “Not particularly.”   “Alright.”   The both of you walk the rest of the way in silence, but the second you get back to his dorm room, the door slams shut, your bag drops and you shove Jungkook against his own bed.   He laughs, allowing himself to fall back onto the mattress. “I thought you said you were tired.”   “I was,” you correct. “Not anymore.”   You waste no time — moving to climb onto him and sitting yourself down on his crotch. You get comfortable and swivel your hips hard. Jungkook grabs hold of your waist as his breath stutters. “F-Fuck, Y/N.”   “Like it?” You cock your head to the side.   But he doesn’t answer. Instead, Jungkook reaches up to you, his hand slinking to the back of your neck pushing you downwards, so he can kiss you. You follow his command and at once, his hot tongue intrudes into your mouth for a slobbery, eager kiss.   You try your best to work him up as much as you can, letting Jungkook grope you anywhere he likes while you touch him gingerly. And after a few minutes of heavy petting and making out, you pull apart, sitting back on your heels.   Your hand slinks down to his hardening bulge. Jungkook’s breath hitches in anticipation.   You smirk mischievously. “Want me to keep touching you, Jeon?”   His brows are knitted together, not sure where you’re taking this, but he nods. “Y-Yes…?”   “Then I need you to do one thing for me.” You tuck your hair behind your ear, softly whispering. You allow your hot breath to skim against his exposed skin. “Just...one...little...thing. Please?”   “What is it?” Jungkook exhales shakingly, swallowing hard.   “Admit you were wrong,” you mutter like a seductress hypnotizing him, “Cookie dough is bad for you.”   Immediately, Jungkook freezes beneath you. Your hand is right on his goods, caressing and squeezing his crotch. He shudders and shuts his eyes. Unbeknownst to you, Jungkook wasn’t relishing in your touch — he’s gathering willpower that he doesn’t know he has.   Suddenly, a yelp sounds from your chest, and then you’re the one being pinned to the mattress with Jungkook on top of you. He’s flipped you over before you’ve even had a chance to blink.   “I don’t think so.” He grins while you pout at him. Jungkook’s thighs are pushing your legs together, his hands holding down your wrists beside your head. He’s got you fixed right where he wants. “You really thought you could use this tactic to win?”   “I’ll never give you what you want until you admit it,” you bite back even in this compromised position.   He clicks his tongue in annoyance. “Brat.”   Cockiness is a good look for Jungkook. But it’ll also be his downfall.   Your leg moves and you knee him right in the ass. It’s enough to catch him off guard and when he jolts, his hands on you loosen and you laugh, taking the opportunity to tackle him down. It’s your turn to be on top. “Admit it, Jeon!”   “Never!” He laughs and wrestles against you. The two of you roll around in his bed, ruining the covers and wrinkling the fresh sheets, all while giggling.   You try to tickle him until his strength overpowers you. You could never win against his muscles anyway, but it was worth a try.    Finally, Jungkook gets you on the bottom again with your arms above your head. “Can’t we agree to disagree?”   “No, because you’re wrong,” you laugh.   The boy shakes his head, eyes full of endearment. “You always have to be right about everything, don’t you?”   “Only on the things I know I’m right about.” Your legs wrap around his waist and you pull him closer to you until your hips and pelvises are rested against each other. The movement renders his bottom half immobile and with Jungkook closer, you quirk your head again, lips pouting. “Plus, if you get a bacterial disease and die, how am I supposed to live without you?”   “Are you worried about me?” Jungkook grins, the strands of his dark hair brushing against yours. “Is that it?”   “That and the fact that I can’t have my boyfriend be such an idiot.”   He scoffs and one of his hands comes down to jab at your sides, making you squirm. “You gotta live a little, Y/N.”   “I’m very content with my life, thank you very much. I’d rather not risk anything,” you tell him. “And if you want to blame anyone for that, blame yourself. You made me this way.”   Slowly, an even bigger grin spreads across his face — enough to swell his cheeks and break his face. Jungkook giggles full-heartedly, giddy and amused. He’s unable to resist and leans down to capture your mouth with his.   It’s a fight that never ends up finishing. But by the end of the night, neither of you have half a mind to continue on the pointless debate.   Not when you’re tangled in the sheets and each other, more content than ever.

Time. It’s a scary thing. It goes by too fast and you’ll never know how much of it is left. But it’s what makes you savour moments. It keeps you cognizant and aware, not to take any hour for granted.   “They have a special over there,” Jimin announces, taking his place at the table. “Does anyone want pineapple pizza?”   “Me!” — you exclaim at the same time as Jungkook’s face wrinkles. — “That’s disgusting.”   You look at each other and there’s a playful exchange of expressions that feigns offence.   Time and time again, you hope Jungkook will always be the one here to have meaningless arguments with you.

[apoguecalledjj]

Bruises

Summary: Rafe isn’t too happy that you constantly reject him, and has no problem taking it out on you. The last thing you want is for the pogues to find out, especially JJ.

Word count: 3208 (Went a bit overboard on this one oops)

Pairing: JJ x reader

TW: Physical abuse/assault, vomiting

Requested: @maybebanks​

You weren’t sure how you, a pogue, had ended up working for a kook party, but here you were, trying to clean up wasted alcohol as quickly as it was being spilled and running around grabbing dirty glasses.

You looked out through the window, across the yard of the Cameron’s mansion. Everyone looked like they were having a good time, but you didn’t find yourself wishing to be partying with them, because they were all kooks. And you couldn’t stand kooks.

Someone tapped you on the shoulder, and you turned around to face Rose, the reason for this grand party. “Y/N, you’re free to go now. I think we’re good around here.” She pushed a few hundreds into your palm and smiled.

You forced a smile back and started the dreaded walk you would have to make through the party. You pushed your way through the thick crowd, most people not even noticing you but a couple glaring at you, wondering what a pogue was doing at their oh so fancy party.

A sigh escaped your lips as you realized you were approaching the edge of the lot. It was right next to where your car was parked, and that made you happy, but the edge of the garden was where the teenagers tended to congregate. This was confirmed when you noticed Rafe Cameron approaching you with a smirk on his face.

You put your head down and sped up, acting like you hadn’t seen him and hoping he would leave you alone. That plan failed though, and you heard him right behind you. “Y/N. Don’t run away.”

You turned to face him and had to fight not to roll your eyes. You had only talked to Rafe a couple times, but both those times he had completely disrespected you and made you very uncomfortable. All he cared about was sex, and you had no interest in having sex with him.

“What are you doing, a pogue at a fancy kook party?” He eyed you up and down, biting his lip.

“I was just leaving.” You said firmly, and you tried to turn away.

He grabbed your wrist, and you winced at how hard he held you. “Come on, babe. You have my permission to stay. I don’t mind.” He winked at you, and you tried hard not to gag. You could smell the booze practically radiating off of him. Disgusting.

“I actually have somewhere else I have to be.” You lied and tried to pull your wrist free. That only resulted in him grabbing it even harder, and you knew it was going to leave bruises.

You could see how angry he was getting, and you were scared about what he might do. Rafe could be unpredictable. “Why the fuck do you keep rejecting me!” He yelled, and you flinched back.

“Because I think you’re absolutely disgusting!” You yelled back, realizing your mistake way too late. You should have never said that. You saw Rafe raise his hand and on instinct closed your eyes. You felt his fist connect with your shoulder and you fell to the ground, letting out a cry.

“Fucking! Bitch! Fucking! Pogue!” He swore at you, kicking your side in between words. You curled up, not bothering to try and fight back, just waiting for the pain to stop. You glanced up quickly, hoping someone would see and help, but you were sheltered from the adults by a tree and the teenagers were too busy getting drunk to notice or care.

Rafe muttered something else under his breath and finally walked away. You let out a sob, and pulled up your shirt slightly to reveal bruises already forming. It took you a minute, but you managed to pull yourself up and get to your car.

Your car was shitty, to say the least. It was old, and cheap, and didn’t always work the best but you had saved up to pay for it yourself and it was one of the few things you were proud of. You sat behind the wheel, brushed the tears away and pulled out of the lot.

You had only just entered the cut when you saw your friends, JJ, John B, Pope, and Kie walking along the road. You hoped that they wouldn’t notice you, but JJ raised his hand up to you and you knew you couldn’t ignore them.

JJ hoped in the front seat and the other three climbed into the back. “Man, I am so happy you have a car,” JJ said, plugging in the aux to your phone that was sitting in between you guys. John B’s van was currently not drivable, and Kiara has a hard time getting her family’s car, especially late at night.

You pulled your sleeve down to hide the bruises forming on your wrist. “How was the party?” Kie asked.

“Fine.” You muttered, forgetting about the pain and letting anger take over. Your friends kept talking but you drowned them out, focusing on the road in front of you. You clutched the wheel harder and harder, until your knuckles turned white. Reaching over, you turned up the volume so whatever rap song JJ had turned on was blasting through the speakers.

This caused JJ to finally focus on what you were doing. He turned back around in his seat and stared at you, his eyes widening. “Y/N, fucking slow down! You’re gonna kill us all!”

You finally glanced down at the speedometer, and noticed you were going an easy 30 mph over the speed limit. “Fuck sorry.” You muttered, and slowed the car down.

Pope reached forward to turn the music down. “What’s going on Y/N? There's something wrong.”

You sighed, knowing you wouldn’t be able to escape their interrogation. “It’s fine, guys. Rafe was flirting with me again, wanted me to sleep with him probably. It’s nothing.”

You had told them already about the other times Rafe had flirted with you, and that had pissed them off enough. There was no way you were letting them know that he had hit you this time.

“Fuck, Y/N!” JJ pounded his fist down on your dashboard. “Please let me beat the shit out of him.” 

“It’s okay, JJ.” You told him, even though you knew it was not. Your sleeve started to ride up again and you quickly pulled it down, hoping no one had noticed.

“It’s not okay for him to make you feel like that,” Kie told you. “Next time you have to work a party let me know and I’ll come with you.” 

You nodded, but you know that wasn’t going to happen. There was no way you were letting Kie, or the guys see how Rafe truly treated you.

you could tell JJ was fuming. He was so overprotective over you, way more than he was over anyone else, and you weren’t sure why. You liked it though, it made you feel safe whenever you were with him. You reached out with one hand to grab his, the other staying on the wheel. 

“It’s okay, really guys.” You said, quickly turning to flash a smile at your friends.

You just hoped they couldn’t tell how forced it was.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You grimaced as the waves caused you to knock up against the side of the boat. It was a couple weeks after the party, and Rafe had continued to harass and assault you every time you worked for Rose. You wanted to quit so bad, but you needed the money more than anything.

You shifted so that your bruised side wouldn’t hit the boat again. John B had suggested you guys go fishing, and you were all quick to agree. Luckily, it was a bit chillier so no one questioned the fact that you were wearing a sweatshirt instead of your normal sweatshirt.

JJ came and sat next to you, lazily throwing his arm over your shoulder. You tried not to show your pain as his arm hit one of the places Rafe had hit you just yesterday. “Want some?” He asked holding out the joint in his hand.

You nodded and took it from him, hoping that the weed would help you drown out some of the pain. John B stopped the boat and came to join you guys. “So I heard the kooks are throwing a party on their side of the beach tonight. We should go.”

The rest of your friends were quick to agree, and you tried to hide your nerves as you nodded as well. JJ grabbed your hand and squeezed your hand. “You okay, Y/N? We won’t let Rafe hurt you.”

You smiled at him, but that didn’t stop the bad feeling that was making a home in your stomach.

A few hours later, and you guys were stood around at the party. John B, JJ, Pope, and Kie were all drinking, but you stayed sober so that you could drive them all home.

You patted your pockets and realized you left your phone in your car, which was parked quite a ways away up by the road. You glanced around but couldn’t see Rafe anywhere, and you hadn’t seen him all night, so you decided it was safe to go.

After telling your friends where you were going and convincing your friends that you were fine to go alone, you started the walk up the beach.

You had only just made it up over the hill to the road, about to open the door to your car when you heard footsteps behind you. You turned quickly, hoping it was one of the pogues but your heart dropped when you saw Rafe.

He smirked at you. “I’ve been watching you all night, waiting for you to leave the stupid pogues. How about we go back to my house?” He asked you and you quickly shook your head. This pissed Rafe off, like always, and he wasted absolutely no time slamming your head down on the hood of your car. 

Your vision went blurry, and you blinked a couple times waiting for the next hit but it never came. Your head was pounding. Just as you managed to regain your vision and glance up, Rafe swung his fit and hit you in the stomach. You doubled over, the pain taking over as you started gagging and the contents of your stomach spilled out onto the ground. Rafe was about to land another punch, but his face screwed up in disgust as he watched you throw up. “Gross.” He muttered, turning to walk away. “Don’t fucking tell your pogue boyfriend about this.”

You quickly jumped in your car and locked the doors, grabbing your phone to call JJ. He answered after a couple of rings, and you told him you were heading home because you had a headache, and you would come back to pick them up when they were ready. Not a lie, but not the whole truth either.

“No, we’ll come now, we’re bored anyway,” JJ told you, and you heard him telling the others before he hung up. You focused on stopping your shaking before they made it to the car.

Only a couple minutes later, you heard someone banging on the window. You looked up, terrified to see Rafe again, but it was JJ, banging on the passenger side window.

“Why were the doors locked?” He asked after you left him and the others in.

“Must have leaned on it.” You couldn’t look him in the eye.

“Hey, who the hell threw up right outside your car?” John B asked, sliding in the back seat.

“Was there when I got here.” You lied again, starting the car and pulling out. Your head was throbbing.

“Are you okay?” Pope asked, noticing something was off.

“Yeah, just got a headache. Probably from the music.” You lied for the millionth time that night, before tuning them out to focus on just getting home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was the next day, and you weren’t as lucky as you had been the days before. It was extremely nice and warm out, and your friends planned to go surfing.

You threw on another sweatshirt and shorts before leaving to meet them down at the beach. Hopefully they wouldn’t ask any questions.

The pogues weren’t stupid though. “That doesn’t look like something you would wear surfing!” Kie yelled as soon as she spotted you. 

You were wearing your bikini underneath, but you had no intention of taking off your sweatshirt due to the bruises left from Rafe. “Come on, the waters great Y/N!” John B yelled out at you from where he was in the water with Pope. Kie and JJ were on the beach, obviously waiting for you.

“I think I’m going to stay on the beach. I’m a bit chilly, I must be coming down with something.” You lied to them, but JJ knew you too well and seen right through you.

He lightly grabbed your shoulders, but that was enough to make you flinch as he put his hand right on one of the bruises. His eyebrows furrowed, and you knew that he had noticed.

“What’s wrong?” John B and Pope were approaching, wondering what was taking so long. “Take off your shirt,” JJ commanded you.

“Bit forward there aren’t you JJ?” You tried to joke, but it didn’t come out right and the others could now tell that something was obviously wrong.

“John B, come help me hold her down.” You realized what they were trying to do, and your eyes widened, immediately shaking your head no. 

“No guys that's really not necessary. Please don’t. Stop!” You protested as the two boys gabbed you and gently pushed you down to the sand. You glanced at Pope and Kie for help, but they just shook their heads, knowing this had to be done.

You fought and screamed and kicked, but JJ finally got your shirt up and you heard Kie gasp as the bruises were revealed. You looked up with tears in your eyes as JJ clenched his jaw and ran a hand through his hair.

“Who the fuck did that to you!” You flinched again as JJ yelled, and John B glared at him. 

“Come on, let’s get you to the house.” John B said, bending over to help you up but JJ pushed him out of the way. He bent down and you thought he was going to help you up, but instead he picked you up and held you in his arms. You leaned into his chest and sobbed.

“It was Rafe, wasn’t it?” He asked, and you nodded against his chest.

He carried you to the house, John B, Pope, and Kie following quietly behind. He put you down on the couch, and Kie immediately started to pull your sweatshirt off. You didn’t have the energy to stop her.

Finally it was revealed how bad it really was, and JJ began pacing around the room. “FUCK. FUCK. Fuck.” His voice got quieter as he took in the sight of you, still sobbing on the couch.

“How long?” Pope asked. 

“Since the party, that night I was speeding.” You whispered, not able to look any of them in the eye. You were so embarrassed. 

“Why didn’t you tell us?” John B asked, clearly stressed out. JJ punched a wall and you cowered back into the couch. “Hey, JJ, stop.” John B told him.

“You guys have your own problems.” You finally said. “I didn’t want to bother you with mine.”

“I’m gonna kill him,” JJ said, finally stopping and just staring at you.

“Don’t.” You whispered. “Please, just come here. Hold me, JJ.”

He slowly walked over and sat down, pulling you into his lap. He brushed over the bruise on your shoulder, then the one on your hip. “It started that night at the party.” You started, deciding to tell them the story. You went on to explain all the other times when you had worked for Rose, and finally last night by your car.

Kie put her head in her hands. “I should have noticed something was wrong.” You shook your head slightly.

Before you knew it, you and JJ were surrounded, the pogues pulling you into a gentle group hug so they wouldn’t hurt you. Kie began to sob. When they pulled away, you noticed John B’s eyes watering and tears falling down Pope’s face.

“We promised to protect you.” John B whispered, a tear finally falling. “We failed.”

You assured him it was okay, and then JJ spoke for the first time in a while. “Can we have a minute alone?” He asked.

The others nodded, and went outside. JJ looked down at you. “Princess.” He said, tears falling onto your shoulder. This was the first time you had seen JJ actually cry, and not try to hold it in. “You do not deserve this. This should have never happened to you. The way Rafe makes you feel, that’s not how you should feel. We’re gonna fucking kill him, I promise.” He ran his fingers through your hair.

You smiled up at him, and for the first time in a while, it wasn’t forced. “I don’t want you to kill him, JJ. I feel safe now. I feel safe with you.” He pulled you in even closer and kissed the top of his head. You listened to his heartbeat, and it helped you relax.

You don’t know how long you guys sat there like that, but eventually your friends came in from outside. They tried to reassure you some more, but you insisted they change the topic, you didn’t want to talk about it anymore. So you guys ended up just laying around, talking about anything except Rafe.

JJ didn’t leave your side for the rest of the day. “I’m never letting you out of my sight again. I swear.” He whispered in your ear, so the others couldn’t hear.

And he kept that promise. From that day on, JJ always held your hand, or stayed close enough so that he could always keep an eye on you. 

He convinced you to stop working for Rose, and Kie got you a job at The Wreck so JJ and the others could always be around.

He made it his goal to prove to you the opposite of everything Rafe had said, making you feel loved and beautiful and worthy. He was constantly complimenting you and telling how much you meant to him, and it wasn’t long before he told you he loved you and asked you to be his girlfriend.

John B, Pope, and Kie saw it coming, and were just as excited as you guys were when they heard JJ had finally told you how he felt.

The 5 of you were constantly together, now even more than before. Your bruises healed, and you spent more time laughing and smiling than crying. The boys made sure Rafe stayed away, and you hadn’t even laid eyes on him in weeks. You knew JJ and John B had beaten him up, which you were upset about at first but you could never stay mad at them for long. 

You were finally happy, and you knew Rafe would never hurt you again.

[bxthharmon]

Never Go Home Again, Pt. VIII || JJ Maybank x Reader

Words: 4102 (jeez, making up for a short last episode??)

Series Warnings: violence / talking about abuse / toxic relationships / talking about nudes sex tapes and sex tapes / drugs / underage drinking

Pt. Warnings: Breaking and entering? / underage drinking

Series Summary: A new girl, a shoebox of old memories, a past she’s trying to forget coincide with a hotheaded, but selfless, boy.  teenagers getting in way over their heads

Pt. Summary: Midsummers takes place as the pogues make headway in the hunt, Y/N struggles with her two friends’ enmity.

A/N: okay so longgg chapter. hope it’s not too bad, and i only hv one chapter left in my drafts so im gonna have to start writing instead of just editing... hopefully updates will stay just as frequent tho. lemme know abt tags and feedback, and pleaseeeeeee send requests!!! lockdowns giving way too much time.

Chapters linked in my masterlist.

“masterlist”

You borrowed your dad’s car, and dressed in the simplistic, elegant dress intended for your prom back in LA, you arrived at the party. 

You found yourself surrounded in summery cocktail dresses and flower crowns, tuxedos that ranged from elegant dark blue to pastel pinks, a couple of floral patterns spicing up the mix. Soft lights hung loosely over the patio, lights hardly noticeable in the soft, bright hue of the evening, the sun yet to fall into the glittering sea stretched out from the view in the hotel. You worked your way through the silks, chiffons and satins. Drinks were pushed into your hand, tapas offered and awkward smiles shared. By the time you found Kie, you were armed with a glass of champagne and the feeling of not belonging. She laughed at your already exhausted smile, and had dragged you to find Pope. Once you were with Kie, it took twice as long to get anywhere, because everyone seemed to stop her and ask about her parents, the restaurant, or to offer criticism on her choice of friends, giving you side-eye. You were the one who spotted Pope, pointing him out and letting her drag you over to him.

“Excuse me, sir,” Kie mocked a British accent, “do we have to shuck these ourselves? ‘Cause it might mess up my costume.” 

You all laughed, hugging him in greeting. “We wouldn’t want that now, would we?” Pope returned the joke, doing your pogue handshake.

“That accent was bad.” You shook your head.

“Yeah, it was. I was gonna let it go.” She laughed, “Y/N’s is way better.”

“Oh stop it!” you joked, in your British accent, pretending to blush, “You’re making me blush.”

“You ever seen this many kooks in one place?” Kie asked.

“Yeah, last year.” Pope grinned.

“We’re in the lion’s den.” You sighed. “Hey, have either of you heard from JJ?”

They looked at you sympathetically, shaking their heads.

“He’ll be alright.” Kie soothed. “He’s got the survival instincts of a cockroach.” 

“In the month I’ve known him, this is the longest I’ve gone without hearing from him.” You sighed, and Pope looked down guiltily.

“This is my fault.” 

“You didn’t do this, Pope.” you assured him, “Topper almost killed you, remember? JJ chose to, you know him, always putting others first. You can’t carry the blame, that’s not fair on you.”

You turned to the noise of an applaud, seeing Sarah and her family entering. You held back a snigger at the sight of Rose’s crown, but smiled at Sarah, who smiled back.

“Here come Lord Capital and the exploiters.” Kie sighed.

“She’s definitely gonna poke someone’s eye out with that.” Pope commented, and you looked back at Rose’s headdress, this time unable to contain the giggle.

You chatted for a while longer, finishing the lavish champagne and wanting to have some fun. You had practically dragged Kie to the dance floor, making her dance with you as a steady flow of drinks passed both your systems. Eventually, she was summoned to talk with her parents, leaving you alone on the dance floor. Before long, you found yourself dancing with Sarah, spinning her round, and exaggerating the both of your moves, mocking the way the adults were dancing. You went to get a drink after a few songs, and walked straight into JJ.

He was just as surprised as you, but you reacted quickly, pulling him down into a soft kiss by his collar. You looked over your shoulder, blushing at the sight of Pope and Kie clapping and giving you thumbs up. You turned your attention to him, tracing your thumb over his split lip and the bruises on the left side of his face. The dark cut contrasted the pink of his lips, and the bruises looked a painful, mottled purple that spread over his jaw and up to his cheek bone.

“JJ,” you murmured, “Did your dad do this?” 

“My dad, got a nice right jab, ya know?” he tried to joke, seeing the worry in your eyes. The light he hoped would return to your eyes stayed gone, as anger took over your features.

“JJ, I’m gonna fucking kill him.” you seethed, “He had no fucking-”

“Y/N,” he said, cupping your face, “leave it, okay? It’s nothing that hasn’t happened before.”

“JJ that’s not making me feel any bet-”

He kissed you again, taking you off guard, and you smiled softly when he pulled away. “I gotta go,” he mumbled, “I’ll see you in a bit, I promise, babygirl.”

You nodded dumbly as he walked away, turning back to Sarah, and seeing her wiggling her eyebrows suggestively at you. You rolled your eyes at her, making an excuse to leave, and walked over to Kie, who started pestering you for details, which you supplied. Your discussion with Kie was cut short by the sight of JJ being hauled out of the house and into the garden.

“Hey, Mr Dunleavy, I see you got your drink. Good, that’s really nice of you. I’m actually gonna down that.” he took the drink, and, well, downed it. “It’s okay everybody!” he yelled, “Do not panic. Leave it to the men and women in uniform! Let’s hear it for them!” he shouted, making you and Kie smirk, trying to hide your giggles. “Rose! You look like lady liberty. Good to see you again. Hey, buddy, can I have one of those?”

“Let go of him!” You called, working your way towards him.

“You can’t just boot him!” Kie backed you, ignoring the warning looks you were both getting from her parents. He looked up at you, a tiny smile on his face. “I invited him here! I’m a member of this club.” she continued through her parent’s protests. JJ turned and pushed the guard into the crowd, stumbling in the opposite direction.

“Sorry about that! Hey,” he pointed at you and Kie, “mandatory power hour at Rixon’s, Kie, Y/N. Pope, you as well, alright? Rixon’s cove, let’s roll! A’ight Y/N, come on!” You grinned, he turned to Kie, “Workers of the world unite, throw off your chains!”

Kie and Pope ran ahead, both hugging John B, and you ran straight into JJ’s arms, letting him swing you around and kiss you, for once, not caring that everyone was staring.

--

“Hey, guys, so like, my dad’s already gonna kill me.” Pope said as you all settled around the campfire. “So what’s this mandatory meeting about?”

John B shot finger guns to JJ, who looked up, “Might as well tell him, man, before we’re all gaffed.”

“You ready for this? John B replied.

You and Kie looked at each other, “Yeah.” you said, in unison.

“So, the gold never went down with the Royal Merchant.” John B started.

“Here we go again.” You muttered, settling into JJ’s side.

“No, alright? Wait. Hear him out, alright?” JJ backed John B, and you frowned, shrugging and gesturing for him to continue.

“It’s been here the whole time. It’s on the island.”

“Are you serious?” Kie asked. “Oh my God.”

“I’d like to voice my skepticism.” Pope spoke.

“I’m sure you would, Pope, but can I please present you with my evidence, Sir?”

“Proceed.” Pope mocked.

“Alright, so, in my backpack, I have a letter from Denmark Tanny.” 

“Who the fuck’s that?” You questioned.

“Denmark Tanny was a slave who survived the Royal merchant wreck. Check this out.” he handed Kie some paper, “So slaves weren’t mentioned as crew members on the ship, but my dad, he found the complete manifest. That was his big discovery. So Tanny used the gold from the Merchant to buy his freedom.” Kie passed you the paper. “After that, he bought his farm. Drumroll please,” you drumrolled on your thighs, “because that farm is… Tannyhill Plantation.”

“Tannyhill?” Kie affirmed. You passed Pope the paper.

“Yeah.” John B continued, “so after that, he used his money to free even more slaves. And then he sold a shit ton of rice, which pisses off all the white planters, and then they decide to lynch him. So on the day they were coming to get him, he writes a letter to his son as a farewell, and in the last line of that letter, he leaves a coded message about where to find the gold.”

“Where?” You whisper excitedly.

“Harvest the wheat, in parcel nine, near the water. Except, there’s no wheat. You see, wheat is code for gold. Check this out.” he shows you another piece of paper, and a map. “The gold is in parcel nine, near the water.” you and Kie squeal, laughing excitedly, “All we need is an original survey map of the property, and we’ve found the gold!”

“Okay, so, this might have a small chance of actually being true.” Pope said, and JJ got up from beside you.

“Dude,” you laughed, “this is like, King Tut!” 

JJ pulled John B into a hug, lifting him up. “Hello, fire! You’re near the fire. You’re gonna burn.” John B warned, and JJ put him down. “I’m so proud of you right now.”

“Thank you.”

“That’s really sweet of you.” JJ looked at you, “And jeez, Y/N, what is it with you and Tutankhamun?”

“4th Grade history?” You guessed.

“Okay, so, guys,” Pope brought the attention back. “What’s the plan?”

“Good question.” John B agreed.

“How long does this go on for?” you moaned, “Wrap it up, JB.”

“Sarah Cameron’s coming tonight.” he simplified. “And she’ll bring the original survey.”

“Hold on.” Kie stopped him, “Sarah? Wh-why Sarah?”

“This is gonna be good.” JJ muttered, and you raised your eyebrows at him.

“Sarah, um, she - she helped me into the archives at Chapel Hill yesterday, and that’s where I got the letter.”

“You were in Chapel Hill with Sarah Cameron?” Kie frowned, anger contorting her features.

“Are you guys macking?” you asked, a disbelieving smirk on your lips.

“He was mackin’ on her.” JJ confirmed, interrupting John B’s pitiful attempts at an explanation, and earning him a giggle from you.

“For real?” you asked John B.

“I wasn’t macking.” John B defended.

“You were totally macking Sarah Cameron.” JJ repeated.

“I wasn’t macking on her, okay? I was using her for access.”

“There was access, alright.” JJ mumbled, earning another giggle.

“Okay,” you piped up, “JB you should have consulted first, Kie, she obviously did something shitty, but JB, using her is pure shitty, so you better just be covering for yourself right now.”

He looked at you defeated, and you groaned. “Did you tell her about the treasure?” Kie asked.

“I was just trying to get into the archives!”

“Is that a yes?”

“I left out key details!”

“Yo, what? You let a kook in on our secret? What about Pogue Lyfe? What about the t-shirt company, bro?”

“I was just using her for information.”

“Why don’t I believe you?”

“I’m tryna make us filthy rich here! Okay, so that we can pay off a boat, or - or, uh, send you to autopsy school to study dead bodies! Look, you guys know me! Do I look like the kind of person who would fall for Sarah Cameron?”

You and JJ made eye contact, “well..” you started.

“Um.” he chuckled.

“Do you want us to answer that, or-”

“Just - just stop.” John B looked at the pair of you, defeated.

“Look, you don’t know her yet, I do! You can’t trust her!”

“Her brother did hit me in the back with a golf club.” Pope pointed out.

“Rafe and Sarah are different human beings.” John B countered.

“What did she do to you, exactly?” you asked Kie, wandering how she could hate your friend so much.

“She’s like a - a spitting cobra. First she - first she blinds you and then she-”

“This is a bad analogy.” you mumbled.

“Listen to me!” Kie demanded, “Whatever we get, she’s gonna try to take.”

--

You and JJ were lying on your bed, not having bothered to get changed before getting under the covers. You interlocked your fingers with his, snuggling closer, your eyes barely open. “What do you think Sarah did?”

JJ turned his head to look at you, he could tell it was tearing you up. “I… don’t know.” JJ sighed, defeated. “I’ve known Kie for years, and she’s never talked about it.”

“Sarah was super kind to me, I don’t understand why Kie is so against her. It’s so shitty, ‘cause they’re both my friends, and I want them to get on, but they obviously won’t.”

“They might?” JJ muttered, thinking.

“C’mon, Jay, you know it’s impossible. And I don’t even know what happened between them, so I can’t fix it.” 

“You know it’s not up to you to fix it, right?”

“So why do I feel like I have to?”

“Because you’re an empathetic, kind, brilliant person?”

“Jay,” you groaned, as he kissed you, “Be serious!”

“I am.” he mumbled, kissing you again.

“You’re infuriating,” you giggled, “you know that?”

“It’s all part of my brand.”

“Your brand?”

“Oh yeah, super-hot surfer pogue, insanely funny, get’s the best weed on the island, you know, the usual.”

“You’re full of shit.”

“Hey! At least I have a brand!”

“Is that a comment aimed at me?” you mocked offence.

“I mean, your brand is ‘mysterious new girl’.”

“You think I’m mysterious?”

“I mean, yeah, none of us know, like, why you moved or anything about you.”

Your heart twinged, but you covered for yourself, mocking him, “It’s all part of my brand.”

--

“I’m sorry, you’re staying where?” Kie passed John B to get to the bar, the group having gathered in the Wreck.

“Tannyhill.” John B repeated, and you shook your head, disbelieving.

“So you’re living with Sarah Cameron?”

“Okay, look, the only reason I’m living there is because her dad bailed me out, right?”

“I still can’t believe you got pushed off that wooden frame thing.” You muttered, and he smirked, fighting down a laugh as you and Kie went to the group’s table.

“And it’s way better than foster care,” he continued, “which, by the way, where I was about to go if Ward didn’t-”

“Hey, so do you have membership to the clubs now?” Pope asked.

“I don’t know, Pope.”

“What about those little golf carts that they drive around?” JJ added, “You get one of them?”

“Does it come with a sweater-vest, or do you have to buy one of those on your own?” You add.

“Look, you promised.” Kie brought the focus back, like always. “You said you weren’t with her.”

“Bro, just own it.” JJ backed, “She got you.”

“Look if you wanna hang out with her, that’s fine.” Kie sighed, “I mean, Y/N sometimes hangs out with her. But I’m letting you know right now that I’m not doing anything with Sarah.”

“Do you guys see her here?” John B pointed out, “No, right. Okay. A little focus would be fantastic. We’ve got the map, right?”

“It’s all out of whack ‘cause the guy was ganja’d when he drew it.” JJ commented.

“No,” you corrected, “the coastline changed, dummy.”

“So we just have to look for landmarks that haven’t changed.” Pope clarified.

“What about the old forts?” John B suggested.

“You know, the more you guys talk, the more I realise that I know nothing about this island.” You observed, treasuring the feeling of JJ running a hand through your hair.

“Battery Jasper.” Kie pointed.

“Let’s go.” you  stood up, leading the group out to the VW.

John B drove, none of you really paying attention until you reached the landmark.

The five of you looked out over the island, expansive green leading to expansive blue, you were at a high point. “We’re in battery, right here.” Pope points on the map. “So if this is parcel nine, then it’s somewhere northeast of here.”

“Somewhere over there.” Kie points, and you take JJ’s juul off him, taking a puff, then handing it back.

“Over there?” JJ followed the point. “Guys, that’s not Tannyhill, that’s a subdivision.”

“Tannyhill Plantation used to be the entire island.” reminded John B. “It got sold into smaller pieces over time.”

Pope inspected the map again, “So we’re just looking for an old stone wall.”

You ventured back to the Twinkie, following Pope’d instructions, again. John B took a sharp left, pulling up next to an overgrown stone wall.

“That looks like a stone wall to me.” JJ said, almost proud.

“This is it.” Pope confirmed. Your car doors clattered open as you hopped out of the car.

“Not the Crain House.” John B sighed.

“Are you kidding me?” Kie repeated the sentiment.

“Worst case scenario.” JJ confirmed.

“Why’d it have to be here of all places?” Pope asked.

“Hang on a second.” You turned to your friends, your lack of apprehension standing out in the group. “It’s just a house. What’s the big deal?”

“I heard Mrs Crain buried her husband’s head on the property.” JJ told you. You all looked at him, the other’s in fear, you in skepticism.

“Well that’s bullshit.” you shrugged, taking a hold of the top of the wall and pulling yourself up, throwing your legs over and landing in the overgrown thicket. You pricked yourself in the brambles, and swore. The pogues on the other side of the wall immediately started asking if you were okay, making you giggle. “Just be careful of the brambles.”

Once they were all on the inside, you began to venture inwards. “Look, Y/N, you know whose house this is, right?”

“Some old lady’s?” you guessed, and were greeted with four unimpressed stares.

“Honestly, I don’t really believe the stories of this place.” John B joined your skepticism, but was shushed by Pope.

“Which stories did you hear?” JJ asked Kie.

“The one where she killed her husband with an axe and that she’s been holed up ever since.” said Kie, making you snort. “On certain nights, when the moon is full…”

You saw where it was going, and joined in with Kie’s mockingly spooky hand movements as she finished, “... you can see her in the window!” the pair of you giggled.

“No, girls, it’s not funny, ‘cause it’s all true.” JJ shook his head, as you and Kie made ‘Waah’ noises. “I swear to God guys, this is all real. I knew Hollis. Jeez!”

You smirked, “Yeah, jeez. Who knew you were superstitious? And who’s Hollis?”

“Wait, you knew Hollis Crain?” asked Pope.

“Who’s Hollis?” you repeated, ignored again.

“Yeah, dude.” JJ confirmed.

“Dude, how do you know Hollis Crain?”

“Dude, who is Hollis Crain?” you mocked Pope’s anxious movements.

“She was my babysitter, man. She told me all about it.” He looked around the group, “She told me the truth… about her mother and what happened in this house.”

“And what would that be?” You asked, still skeptical as you looked up to the unkempt house.

“So as a kid, she heard all the stories that her mother killed her father, and she was a murderer and all. Hollis didn’t believe it. Until that night.”

“What night?”

“It all came back to her.” JJ turned to look at the house, “When Hollis was six years old, she heard her parents arguing downstairs. So she goes downstairs to see her mom washing her hands in the sink full of blood. Her mother just says that she cut her finger. The next morning, she says her father and her split up. But then, Hollis noticed something. Her mother going into the parlour constantly, in and out and in and out with plastic bags. Weeks pass, and Hollis decides to use the outhouse. And as she’s using it, she looks down, and there, in the outhouse, is her father’s head, looking straight back at her.”

“God, you are so full of shit.” you and John B outburst in unison.

“Dude, I swear to God, man.” JJ shook his head.

“Did she call the police?” Pope asked.

“She didn’t have time.” you and John B started to walk on, only to be grabbed and pulled back by JJ.

“What?” you asked, confused. He turned to John B.

“You sure you wanna do this? She’s an axe murderer. You got a cast on.”

“I don’t give a shit if she’s an axe murderer, okay? I got nothing to lose, right? You comin’, or what?”

You follow John B through the garden, and he gathers you in a semicircle. “So here’s the plan. We need to look for the wheat near the water like it said in Denmark’s letter.”

“Okay, like, what kind of water?” asked Pope, “Like, pond water?”

JJ chuckled, “Bong water?” you slapped his arm lightly.

“It just said look for water, okay?”

“That’s the shittiest secret message ever.” Kie moved past John B.

“You wanna complain a little more, Kie? Nobody said it was gonna be easy.”

“I’ll search the northeast quadrant,” Pope started, addressing you and JJ, “you two search the northwest.”

“The decapitation quadrant?” JJ objected, and you took his arm, pulling him with you.

You scanned your area, coming up empty, then followed John B into the basement. You went in before JJ, who started singing a song about how Mrs Crain was going to kill you all.

You and Pope turned, shining your torches in his face.

“Can you stop?” You hissed, and he shut up.

You swung the torch light over the room, the broken and discarded furniture giving the room a horror-movie vibe. You’d never admit it, but you were beginning to feel creeped.

“This is the part of the movie where we get attacked by the old, half-dead blind lady.” You muttered, and JJ nodded, gesturing to you as if you had predicted the future, the others rolling their eyes.

“See any water?” Kie asked, five torches sweeping around the place. You felt a tickle on your arm and slapped, your palm coming away with the brown stain of squished insect. “Another dead end?”

JJ ran his hand on the pipes, “There’s not even water on the pipes.”

“There’s no water here.” Pope confirmed as you slapped another bug, noticing that it was a mosquito.

“Not a dropamino.” JJ continued.

“Know why we didn’t find it?” Kie piped up, “Bad karma.”

“Oh, God, here we go.” John B muttered.

“You know, we had a good thing going. And then you decide to rope in Barbie, and now the trail’s gone dry.”

“Literally,” smirked, “there’s no water.”

“Coincidence?” Kie continued as Pope and JJ sniggered, “Probably not.”

“This is exactly why I didn’t wanna tell you about Sarah.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“What the hell’s the deal? What’s going on with you two?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing? Is it because I kissed you? Is that the problem?”

Your eyes widened, your mouth forming a little ‘o’ as Kiara slapped him, JJ and Pope both calling out in surprise.

“Stop treating me like I’m some girl that’s obsessed with you instead of your best friend who’s actually trying to look out for you.”

The pair of them started bickering, slapping each other, using skeeters as excuses. You slapped your leg, seeing the brown stain of a mosquito, again.

“Why the fuck are there so many mosquitoes?” you fumed, slapping yourself again.

“Dude, I know, seriously. Tiny little vampire bats, just leave me alone.” JJ added, the pair of you slapping again, and again, and again. “Oh my gosh, can we leave? ‘Cause I’m already itchin’ to leave. Haha, punny.”

You looked at Pope, who was staring at the floor, his torch shining over it. You both stomped on the ground hearing the hollow sound as JJ tried to show you ‘Mrs Crain’s voodoo doll’. You picked up a stone, dropping it through the crack in the floorboards, and hearing the ‘plop’ as it landed in water. You and Pope scrambled, pushing the loose bits of wood out of the way to lift the board, opening up the well. Pope shone his torch down.

“Well, well, well.” he joked.

“Water great discovery.” You added.

“Great dad jokes, guys.” John B sighed.

“They built this part of the house right over it.”said Kie.

“This is where she hid the bodies.” JJ nodded.

“JJ, just stop.” You shook your head.

“No, I’m dead serious.”

“Yeah, you will be, because I’m seriously considering pushing you down that well.”

“It was never an outhouse.” JJ continued.

“She probably doesn’t even know it’s here.” Kie shrugged.

“So, we found water.” Pope looked to John B.

“We’re gonna need a really big rope.”

Tags: @tangledinsparkles @jellyfishbeansontoast @lolitstiana @ilikealotofpeople-younotsomuch @teamnick @thoughtsofthestars @obxmxybxnk @jjmaybankswife @kaelyn-lobrutto24 @sxcretinhuman @alexa-playafricabytoto @angvelics @badwolf00593 @coloradogirl07 @mendesmaybank​ @jiaraendgame

[imkylotrash]

What Happens In The Dark

Pairing: Rafe Cameron x reader

Request prompt:  “You’re a bad person, Rafe.” “Everything I did was for you, you’re ungrateful.” Anonymous. 

Warnings: Substance abuse, mentions of OD, assault, swearing. 

A/N Honestly this took a turn I did not expect. Please don’t read this unless you’re completely comfortable. I advise everyone to read the warnings before continuing. I’ll add a “Keep reading” before anything happens. And I really hope I’ve tagged all warnings. 

The party scene is not unfamiliar to you considering you’re dating the Rafe Cameron who’s known for a good party. For the better part of two years you’ve been his person who he’s told everything to. How he never feels good enough for his father, how upset his sister makes him. There has been no secrets between the two of you but tonight there is. Topper let it slip the other day that Rafe’s been dealing - something you would never ever condone. Your biggest concern is whether he’s only dealing or if he’s started taking it too. You’ve already lost a person to that shit and you refuse to watch him slowly slip into the same problems. As you watch him from afar you’re reminded of your sister and the way she acted in the last couple of days when her addiction was at its worst. It’s similar to how Rafe is acting now. The big eyes and very animated speaking. He is throwing his arms around and you can see sweat gather on his forehead. He looks high out of his mind and you feel horrible that you haven’t noticed it before. 

“Y/N! Come over here!” He spots you even as you try to keep your distance. He’s always had a way of knowing when you were close. Any other night you would find this endearing but right now you really wish you hadn’t come. 

“Hi,” you say walking towards him. Immediately he pulls you into his lap almost spilling his drink on you. Topper just laughs and takes a swig of his beer. He doesn’t seem too concerned with his so called best friend being high as a kite. 

“Maybe we should go,” you lean in whispering. 

“I’m having the time of my life. Why would I leave?” He’s talking loudly and without caring about anyone else here. This isn’t him - you know it isn’t - but right now this is what you have to deal with. 

“I just don’t feel too good.” That’s when you notice it. The small trace of white powder under his nose that he didn’t wipe away. It’s the proof that pushes you over the edge. You can’t do this again. 

“I’m going to go,” you whisper starting to get up but he grips your arm tightly. 

“Well, I’m not ready to go so stay.” Suddenly all goofiness has left his voice and it scares you. What he might do under the influence. 

“Let me go. You’re hurting me.” You’re not whispering anymore but it’s like he doesn’t hear you. In need for a better option you look to Topper for help but he’s staring very intently at the wall. Of course the two of them has each other’s backs. 

“Rafe, come on. I just want to go home,” you say switching approach. You move your hips a little so that you rub up against him. The reaction almost comes instantly but it brings you no pleasure this time. Finally he agrees to get up making you sigh in relief. Maybe if you can just get him outside then you can calm him down. 

“Come on. Let’s go.” It takes everything in you to stay calm and not run when he finally lets you go. You wouldn’t make it far. In this place Rafe definitely has more support than you. 

“My room,” he commands pushing you in front of him. There’s no way out. You know that. This is not the Rafe you know and love. This is something dark and out of control and you have no idea what to do. He opens the door to his room and drags you inside. The panic is starting to take over making it harder than ever to stay calm. As much as you want to convince yourself that he wouldn’t hurt you, you also know that right now he’s too far gone to be trusted. 

“I hate this zipper,” he sneers deciding that ripping your dress is a better approach. Goosebumps spread down your back. It’s cold and this is in no way what you want. He pushes you on to the bed and falls on top of you. 

“Please don’t. Can we just cuddle?” 

“Why are you such a buzzkill? I’m having such a good night and this is the perfect way to end it,” he says starting to pull down your panties. You’re in shock, unable to move. How is this happening right now? You’ve always known that Rafe has had issues but you never imagined yourself to be in this position. 

“Rafe, I’m not in the mood,” you say trying to hold him in place but it’s useless. You’re not nearly as strong as him. 

“Well, I am.” He’s about to open his belt when he stops moving altogether. He looks up at you completely white in the face. He must be crashing. Quickly you get out from under him and run for the door. Passing Topper on the way down you tell him to go check on Rafe. Even after what happened you stay long enough to see Topper go inside his room and hear him yell for someone to call an ambulance. 

The next day Sarah texts you saying that Rafe got admitted but he is coming home in the evening and he wants to see you. Despite his actions you do want to see him again. You want to tell him how shitty he is and that he needs to get his act together. You want to end things on your terms and regain some of the control. So in the evening you’re standing in front of the Cameron’s house waiting. You notice his dad first who greets you warmly. Clearly he has no idea what went on yesterday. 

“I’ll give you two some privacy.” Rafe is looking at you like you’re a stranger.

“I don’t remember much from last night, but I’m sure I wasn’t very comfortable.” 

“You tried to rape me.” There’s no running from what he did. He doesn’t get to say that he doesn’t remember it because you do. His face lets you know that he lied about not remembering. 

“You disgust me. You’re a bad person, Rafe. And this is the last time I’ll ever come near you. I just needed you to know that last night was one of the worst nights in my life. You were terrifying and used power to hold me down. If you ever come near me again, I will tell the police everything.” You try to keep images of him standing over you out of your mind but it keeps flashing before your eyes. It’s like it’s burned into your eyelids. 

“I’ve done everything for you and you’re seriously going to give up because of one bad night. It won’t happen again.” 

“This wasn’t one bad night! You did drugs and then assaulted me.” He doesn’t get to run from the truth. You won’t let something this serious slide. He deserves to feel horrible about it. But somehow your comment just makes him angrier. 

“Everything I did was for you, you’re ungrateful. Honestly you’re acting like a bitch.”

“Everything you did? What have you done for me?” This is a ridiculous discussion but you’re trapped in it. 

“I gave you social status. I’ve payed for everything. When we started going out, you were just a filthy pogue! And now you might as well be a kook.” 

“Then I guess I’ll go back to my filthy people. We are done, Rafe. Done!” you say with as much disgust as you can muster. “If you try to come near me, I won’t hesitate to call the cops. I don’t ever want to see you again.” 

As you walk away the tears threaten to spill down your cheeks but you refuse to cry over him. He does not deserve your tears or to be in your head at all. He is nothing to you from now on. 

[dayas]

1,3,20 and 25 for the writing ask, I wanna know it all!

First off, I wanna say thank you for giving me this ask because now I have something to think about instead of just being in a sad cloud ❤️ it’s nice to have a little break 💞

1. Tell us about your current project(s)  – what’s it about, how’s progress, what do you love most about it.

Not to expose myself but I have like 5 WIPS 😂

War Of Hearts (jiara reincarnation au), a not so secret combination Dimya fic (flower shop + mob au), an angsty gotham/the batman (fc wise djdjsjsn) BatCat one shot (selina meeting bruce after he left in a slightly unexpected way), and I’m trying to draft/spin ideas for a POTC Klonnie au (calypso and davy jones’ story). With WOH, I’m filling in the second chapter which is taking FOREVER (sorry y’all), but I’m actually super excited for it to drop! With the work entirely, I definitely love all the little hints and breadcrumbs. It’s gonna start coming together more in the second chapter and I’m super pumped to see what y’all think! I’m on Chapter 1 of the Dimya Fic and searching for my inspiration but I know how it’s gonna go and that makes me happy. I love the combo aspect of the fic and how it’s a mashup, plus there’s some not so subtle underlying themes that I think are cool to explore! With BatCat, I wrote some yesterday! It’s a songfic and I love that about it, but also just the angst and flashbacks included, I think it’ll be really cool! And for the Klonnie fic, I haven’t even started 😭 Someone was basically like ‘write this!’ so I was like ‘okay!’ but I don’t know them that well yet writing wise so I need to explore 😂 tbh it’s just a concept that I really, really love and I have some ideas for the melody that goes along with it. Unsure if it’ll be a multi chap or a realllyyy long one shot once it drops but I’m thrilled either way! The technical “fifth” wip is for everybody who asked me when Kie would find out JJ is Sarah’s bf’s friend so watch out for that 👀 y’all ask, I answer 😂

3. What is that one scene that you’ve always wanted to write but can’t be arsed to write all of the set-up and context it would need? (consider this permission to write it and/or share it anyway)

GOD! THIS! Okay okay okay I’ve ALWAYS wanted to write a Jiara break up scene but there’s SO MUCH WORK THAT GOES INTO THAT LIKE THE SET UP AND THEN BUILDING INTO AN EXPLOSION SO here’s a no context, cliche, dramatic af breakup scene for jiara thank you for giving me the freedom to write this 😂

“We need to talk.”

That alone stops what she’s doing. JJ and Kiara don’t usually ‘talk’. They can have serious conversations, but they tend to reserve getting deep for when they’re either really really high, or the issue around them has to be resolved. They’re not in high school anymore, but old habits die hard. Still, she shakes off the pause, drying another dish as she says,

“About?”

“... stuff.”

“Stuff. Real eloquent there, JJ.”

His eyes are practically heating the soapy water up themselves. The kitchen at the Chateau isn’t exactly prime real estate as far as cleanliness goes, but since they’re around here more often than not, Kie decided to make an effort to spruce it up a little bit and dragged JJ into it.

Something’s wrong. He’s fiddling with his rings underneath the water at a faster pace than normal, leaning heavily against the lip of the sink.

“Dude, are you okay?”

Her voice is soft as she dries her hands off, coming up to him and slipping her arms around his chest, cheek pressed into his back. He tenses underneath her, shrugging her off and backing away.

“JJ,” Kiara’s voice is concerned now, “What’s going on?”

“Weneedtobreakup.”

His sentence is a blur that knocks into her, rattling around her brain as it spins like a top. As all tops do, the spinning eventually stops, leaving her with the capacity to space out the miniature word flood that left his mouth a few seconds ago.

We need to break up.

“What?” Kie says, panic creeping into her system, “Why?” She begins to think of what could have gone wrong, what could have prompted this.

“It’s not you, it’s — ”

“If you try to feed me one of your bullshit lines that worked on the ghosts of hookups past, don’t.”

He has the decency to shut up then and there, turning instead to lean back against the cabinets, hands gripping the edge of another counter.

“Is this about what my cousin said?”

A few weeks ago, they’d been invited to a formal family gathering on her mother’s side. Some crazy expensive week in Hawaii. Well, Kiara had been invited, and she brought JJ for two reasons. One, he’s her best friend which legally obligated him to help her out in a spot. Two, they were getting pretty serious (or so she thought), and she couldn’t hide in the OBX forever, so why not kill two birds with one stone? At an extremely over the top event, one of Kie’s drunk cousins approached JJ and started spewing some nonsense. Kiara intervened, of course, but later, she remembers, another one approached. Completely sober. She hadn’t been paying attention to that conversation, occasionally glancing over to make sure JJ wasn’t floundering. He’d been restless the entire night and a few days afterwards. But when they’d come back home, all was well. Or, again, so she’d thought.

She should’ve just chucked the damn stone at herself.

He grimaces, and it’s to her horror that she realizes it’s true.

“What the fuck did she say?”

Her voice is low and dangerous, a tiny sliver of a hint as to what’s hiding behind her eyes.

“Doesn’t matter,” JJ shrugs, eyes everywhere but her.

“Of course it fucking matters, JJ! What did she say?”

“Nothing!”

“That’s a lie.”

“I already told you it doesn’t matter.”

“If it doesn’t matter then just tell me!”

“Fine!”

They are two powder kegs on the verge of an explosion. Kiara lit the spark, jumping the gun to shouting. He followed, and and now they’re at a precipice.

“You really wanna know what she said? Fine. She said that I’ll never be good enough for you, and you know what? She’s right.”

They tilt on the edge, still caught in the middle, unsure of where to fall.

“No. She’s not.” How can he even say that, let alone believe it? Kie isn’t always a fan of the cheesy, but it’s a cold hard fact that the man standing before her is one of the best things in her life.

“She is, Kie. You know she is. You’re not a Kook, but your family... they can give you so much more than I can. Opportunities and shit, the chance to get out of here. What do I have going for me?”

“Everything! You know I don’t want any of that bullshit or the baggage that comes with it — I want you.”

“I’m not gonna be enough. One day you’re gonna look up and realize that you want out of this place. Or I’m gonna look up and realize I turned into my dad.”

A bitter laugh leaves him, slicing them both to ribbons in the process.

“You’re not him, J. You’re not your dad and you never will be your dad.”

“You don’t know that! I don’t know that!”

They step closer at the same time, spark relit on the fuse to destroy them.

“JJ — ”

“No, Kiara. We can’t keep doing this. I’m stuck, and I’m not dragging you down with me.”

“You’re not dragging me down if I want to be here!”

Four more feet and they are two steps away from each other. They’re both tired, oh so tired, yet neither one is willing to give up the fight for their cause. The frustration builds, coiling tightly around them as JJ steps forward and shouts,

“I’m gonna ruin your life!”

“Then ruin it!”

Kie’s scream is passionate, every emotion inside of her escaping in those three words as she steps up to meet him.

“Ruin my life, JJ Maybank. Because I’d rather be in ashes with you than anywhere with anyone else.”

He takes one look at her and the pause between them could stop a train. Then, his head ducks down and his lips crash against hers. She reciprocates, sinking both hands into his hair. He picks her up and she wraps her arms around his waist as he sets her against the counter. Dishes crash onto the floor but neither of them are even remotely half assed to care. His lips attach to her neck and she exhales sharply.

“Stay,” Kiara whispers. And she wishes he did. If she would have been controlling their story, they would have taken this to Big John’s room and the breakup talks would cease. But she put everything in his hands, as he’s making the decision here. So when she tells him to ruin her life, she watches him grapple with himself. For a second, she sees his head tilt ever so slightly forward. He reels himself back in a second later, and the fire in his eyes burns out.

“I’m sorry,” JJ whispers, shaking his head and backing away from her.

“JJ,” Kiara calls after him, “JJ!” She’s immobilized, feet stuck to the floor.

This isn’t happening. This is not happening.

Something inside her breaks and she runs, tearing through the house. He’s already on his bike as she gets to the front porch, and curse him, he looks back. He puts the helmet in his hands on (she bought him that for his birthday — “You’re not getting fucked up on my watch. Put the damn helmet on.”) and drives away.

Kiara doesn’t know what happens next. When her faculties return her knees are scraped up, blood trickling down. She’s still on the porch and her face is wet, cheeks marred by liquid pooling in her eyes. Someone is crying, loudly, like their heart was ripped from their chest. No, she thinks, like someone else’s heart was ripped from their chest, someone the person crying loved. Because if her own heart was ripped out, she would not be able to feel. What Kiara wouldn’t give to not feel a goddamn thing right now.

She calls Sarah. Her friend comes and picks her up, and they go to her place. Kie can’t bear to be in the Chateau or her own room. Sarah’s is devoid of memories, for the most part. She explains what happened through her tears as her friend holds her, gently carding her fingers through her hair comfortingly. They light up, and then get a little tipsy and Kiara doesn’t know if it’s better or for worse. But it’s something. She’s reminded of after the Phantom went down, that night on the beach when she discovered the freedom to be. In this moment, Kiara’s free to be something. Anything. Whatever she wants. But the one thing she wants removed himself from her life, so she settles for being a mess instead. Sarah settles in with her when they’re all worn out, falling asleep quickly. Kiara’s vaguely aware that the person next to her is not who she wants it to be, that this is wrong in the sense that someone else should be here. She’s too cold, unraveled.

“Stay,” she whispers, but this time to herself. If she can stay for tonight, she can stay for tomorrow, and the day after that until she eventually finds her way back to who she is without him in her life. She’s not the same Kiara as she was this morning. She’ll be a different Kiara when she wakes up tomorrow. The Kiara she is wraps her arms around herself to keep whatever’s left from pouring out. She will do what he refused to. When the morning comes, she will face the world. While the moon is out, she is free to dream.

She dreams one last dream of him.

20. Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?)

Okay LOOK 😂 there’s so much I wanna say on this but it would be so spoiler-y BUT for War Of Hearts, do some scanning! There’s a lot to unpack there, some obvious, some not! It becomes more evident in the chapters to come. I wish I could say more and I totally would if all of it was published 😭😭😭 OOO but I do enjoy referencing my works in other works (literally did that in the mini scene above lmao) so there’s a good chance that I riff off of previous concepts or something else across the stories/one shots that I write! There’s so many references I throw in too. For example, the ‘I hope you care to be recalled to life’ part in It Wasn’t Special Til I Met you is from A Tale Of Two Cities. I definitely love exploring concepts in my work, which I guess is why it kind of reads as flowery when I dig into it 😂

25. What part of writing is the most fun?

To me, I really love when I’m able to come up with good dialogue or a good scene and I’m like ‘OOO YES THIS IS IT!” It’s super fun to explore the underlying themes and symbolism in pieces; I totally love and live for weaving stuff together like Blues Clues 😂 I also adore dropping references to various works or songs because people will catch them and be like ‘wait is that xyz?’ and I’m like ‘yeah! yes it is! you get it!’ And that’s just a wonderful feeling 😊🥰

That’s all for me! Thanks for asking!

[rxsie-the-demon]

Brooklyn Baby | JJ Maybank

SERIES MASTERLIST | chapter one 

chapter summary: Nikki goes out of her comfort zone and bonds with Kie, while still remaining curious about what happened last summer. At a party, Topper gets a little too touchy, and Nikki (surprisingly) befriends Rafe and Wheezie.

warnings: drinking, smoking, HARD DRUGS, swearing (oops), HARRASSMENT (topper gets VERY touchy) so if that makes u uncomfy just skim over that, and a conversation about addiction/rehab and therapy

word count: 5029

Chapter 2: Cinnamon Girl

If I had to choose, B Days would be my least favorite. On B days, I have no classes with anyone I know, except English with Kelce at the end of the day.

And no one to sit with at lunch.

On my second day of school, when I realized I had no one to sit with, I ate in the library. You’re allowed to, so long as you clean up after yourself and stuff.

Walking into the huge cafeteria, with clean white titles and those long foldable school tables, I decided to do the same thing today; just sit in the library by myself, and maybe read or shop online, The tall walls of the cafeteria were decorated with motivational quotes and the school’s athletic accomplishments.

But when I was walking towards the lunch line, I saw Kiara sitting by herself out of the corner of my eye, head down on the table. Which made me feel really, really sad for her.

I stood in line quietly, AirPods in my ears, scrolling through Instagram when I found Kiara’s page. I didn’t want to seem like a stalker, but my curiosity got the best of me and I clicked on it.

Her page reminded me of this social activist that I follow that of a social activist I follow, the difference being that Kiara’s page was mostly environment-focused, with the occasional selfie and pics of her friends.

Clicking on one of her them, a selfie with her and her four friends on a boat during sunset, I saw a slightly sunburned brunet with his arm wrapped around one of the most beautiful girls I’ve ever seen. She’s probably a TikToker, I thought. Sunburn had a dark blue bandana wrapped around his neck and had his shirt unbuttoned. Major surfer boy vibes. 

Next to Tiktok, was Kiara, with bright eyes and a bright smile. Completely different from the girl who sits behind me in APUSH. The boy next to Kiara had dark skin and curly hair. He was wearing a hat, like Sunburn and the other boy next to him. And judging from the way his arm was around her waist, Hat totally had a thing for Kiara.

But the last boy, holy shit, if I thought Sunburn was cute, Hot Blonde Boy was another level. He was the one taking the picture, with one arm stretched out to hold the phone and the other one, covered shiny rings, was posing with, like, the rock hand sign? I think that’s what it’s called: with his index and pink fingers up, and the rest like they’d be balled in a fist. His messy blonde hair was being held together by a red snapback, and he was shirtless except for his shark tooth necklace. His tan went well with his bright, energetic eyes and big smile but...oh my gosh. His hands. They were big, with long fingers, and his arms were a little veiny and-

I put my phone away. Nuh-uh, I’m not going to be thirsting over a random guy’s hands, especially when that guy could literally be dead, or worse, the crazy dude who tried to shoot Topper.

Not that I don’t understand why someone would want to shoot Topper.

I grabbed my tray, putting a Chicken Caesar salad bowl (yum), a bowl of grapes (double yum), and a water bottle onto my tray. Remembering that Kiara didn’t have any food with her, I grabbed a hamburger, too.

I paid for my food and walked towards the utensil holder, debating whether or not I should just go to the library or sit with Kiara. I mean, I should sit with her, she’s by herself and is going through a hard time, but then again, I hardly know her. Besides exchanging numbers with her yesterday and not even texting her, I never interacted with the girl. She’ll probably think I’m just talking to her to get tea for Topper and Scarlet.

But then again, I already bought her a hamburger.

I walked over to her table. She was wearing a similar outfit as she was yesterday, the only difference being she was wearing light blue jeans. So, yay? A bit of color?

I sat down across from her and put my tray down quietly, not wanting to scare her. “Hey.”

Her head shot up immediately. Her soft brown eyes looked so tired, her light brown skin looking ashy and dull. Her dark brown hair, with it’s nice, defined beach wave curls, was tied back in a bun in her hood. When she saw who it was, her face softened. “Oh, hi.”

“I hope it’s ok I’m sitting with you, I don’t know anyone else in this lunch and I thought it’d be good to discuss our project.” I waved my hands around a bit before opening the plastic lid of my salad.

She nodded, eyeing my food for a second.

My heart hurt. Of course, she has the money to buy food, that’s not the issue. She probably hasn’t been eating out of grief.

“So I’m Indian, duh,” I waved my hand in front of my face and she smiled softly, “and I thought this was a chicken burger, but it’s beef. And I can’t eat beef, because, ya know, Hindus don’t eat beef. So, like, could you do me a solid and eat this for me? I hate wasting food and I’d feel awful if I threw it out.” I slid the burger towards her.

She nodded, pulling it towards her and taking a small bite.

I poured my croutons into my salad and started quietly eating when I heard Kiara mumble, “Thank you.”

I glanced up at her for a second, only to look back down. “Don’t thank me. I bought that on accident.”

“I saw you staring at me in line. And...I haven’t eaten in the past two days.”

I looked back at Kiara, who was looking everywhere but me. I decided to just ask.

“It’s because of what happened to your friends, right? You’re mourning?”

She nodded, still not looking at me.

“I understand. Grief isn’t something that has, like, a definitive answer. You just gotta let it run its course,” I said, putting my hand in front of my mouth because I was chewing.

Kiara nodded again and took another bite, a bigger one this time. I mentally high-fived myself for getting her to eat. I didn’t think it’d work.

“So, what do you want to do for the project?” I asked.

Kiara shrugged. “We could do current events. Maybe something environment related?”

“Like, an advertisement? We make a video talking about pollution or something?”

“Yeah! Or maybe we could organize something and get a bunch of people to come together and, like, clean up the beach?”

“Or we could go out on boats and find trash in the ocean?”

“That too!” Kiara’s eyes were shining now, and she was smiling. Wide. Much like the girl whose Instagram I was stalking.

“Sweet. Ok, so, the environment is one thing, do we have any other ideas? Like, isn’t the Outer Banks also famous for shipwrecks or something? I heard The Royal Merchant sank here. Maybe we could do a project on that?”

Kiara stiffened up when I mentioned shipwrecks. Did I say something wrong? 

Shit. Her friends died at sea, how could I be so stupid?

“That’s...not a bad idea, actually. I happen to know a lot about The Royal Merchant. More than I want to know, actually,” She chuckled. She looked down at her hands, and then looked back up. “John B, my friend who died at sea over the summer, he and his dad were obsessed with finding it. We actually-,” she leaned closer to me. “We actually found it. But, uh, the gold isn’t there.”

My eyes went wide. I leaned forward, too. “Well, where is the gold then? Do you know?”

Kiara nodded. “In the Bahamas.”

“How the f- How did it get there, if the shipwreck happened here and no one knew where it was until you and your Pogue friends found it?”

She sighed. “Long story. I’ll tell you another day.”

“Wait-”

The lunch bell rang. I sighed as we stood up and grabbed our bags, walking towards the doors to leave for class. I really want to know how the gold ended up in the Bahamas.

“Well, thanks for lunch, Nikki!”

“Of course, Kiara, that’s what friends are for,” I smiled.

Kiara beamed. “Call me Kie.”

I was overjoyed. A friend. A real, actual friend. “Kie. Fantastic. Hey, Kie, do you know anyone named Rafe by any chance?”

Kie narrowed her eyes. “Yea, why?”

“Oh, nothing, I was just invited to his birthday party this Saturday.”

Kie rolled her eyes. “Be careful around him, ok? Talk to you later!”

“Uh, bye!”

************************************************

Yellow, or blue?

I held both dresses up to myself, looking in the mirror.

Saturday came, and it was time for Rafe’s party.

The party starts at 9 and was gonna last all night, but Topper wanted to take me out to eat, so at 7:30, I’m still deciding which dress to wear.

Both dresses are sundresses, short, flowy with shirred backs and knotted straps. They are literally the same dress, down to the little polka dots, just in different colors. I could wear either one, because I kept my makeup simple: concealer, nude eye shadow, mascara, and clear lip gloss.

I texted Kiara, asking her to choose a color, to which she responded yellow. We managed to get really close in just three days, which made me happy, because I felt that she was my only real friend at school, and, well, I was her only friend there.

I slipped the dress on and matched it with my white Birkenstocks. I went over to my dresser table (yes I have two mirrors in my room, sue me) and put on my white tassel fringe earrings. I kept my ‘Om’ necklace on.

I admired myself. My light brown skin looks good with the yellow and white, and my jet black hair, which I decided to not straighten, had slight waves, and reached my shoulders. I look like a rich, beach girl. A Kook, I suppose.

I grabbed my phone, taking a quick mirror selfie and snapping it to Topper, captioned ‘i’m readyyy’. He opened it immediately.

‘Damnn u look hot,’ he typed out. Ew.

‘aw ty,’ I typed back. ‘where r u?’

‘I’m omw. U have ur bag? The party’s on a yacht and there’ll be a pool.’

‘swim suit’s packed’

‘Fantastic. I’ll be there soon.’

I locked my phone, putting it into my purple and black NYU drawstring bag that also held my black bikini and a towel. I grabbed the bag hopped down the stairs.

Mallory and Krish, my sister-in-law and brother, were sitting on the couch, watching TV. 

“Hey losers. My friend’s gonna be here any minute to pick me up.”

Mallory turned to face me, smiling. “Aw, you look cute! Have fun, and be safe, ok?”

“If you’re gonna be coming in, like, super late,” Krish added, not taking his eyes off the TV, “try to be as quiet as possible. Diya is a really light sleeper.”

Diya, my 5-month-old niece, made baby sounds. I took a couple steps forward and saw she was spread out on the floor, in her fluffy pink blanket, chewing on her gloved hands. I waved at her.

“Don’t worry, if I wake her up, I’ll take care of her. I don’t plan on drinking or smoking or anything tonight. Well, maybe drinking, but that’s it.”

They laughed. “Ok, ok, just have fun,” Mal said.

I sat on the floor, playing with Diya, until 7:50, when the doorbell rang, revealing Topper, wearing a black button-down shirt that was rolled up to his elbows (bless), Air Force 1s, ripped jeans, and a Gucci belt.

He smiled. “Ready to go?”

I smiled back. “Yep.” I turned to face Krish and Mal. “Bye Mom, bye Dad!”

“Bye, hun!” Mallory called out. They smiled and Top, too, and waved.

I closed the door and left, and Topper grabbed my hand to lead me to the car. “Sorry, I’d have introduced you to my parents, but they were too busy, like, ogling at my baby sister,” I half lied.

Topper laughed, “No worries. I’ll have plenty of chances to meet them, I hope?”

I smiled. “Yep, I hope so too.”

A complete lie.

******************************************

Dinner with Topper was...interesting. Instead of taking me to some fancy restaurant or whatever, he took me to this cute little diner closer to the beach, but not close to The Cut, according to him. “There are a bunch of restaurants here in the Banks,” he had said. “But not a lot of people know about this one. That’s why it’s my favorite.” He winked, and I nearly vomited in my mouth.

The place was real old-timey, with the little booths and a jukebox. We had burgers and shared a plate of fries and a milkshake. And honestly? It would’ve been really romantic if I actually liked Topper like that.

Don’t get me wrong, Topper is hot. He’s sweet to me, like cotton candy sweet, and really affectionate. I love touchy boys (consensual, of course, or they get their shit rocked), but he’s always grabbing my hand and playing with my hair. Which would be fine, but I barely know him.

And ever since he admitted to drowning that John B kid, whatever potential feelings I had just...disappeared. That paired with his Holier-than-thou attitude and his blatant classism makes him everything I would hate in a person, let alone a potential boyfriend.

Besides, I know the real reason he’s flirting with me. The Kook King of High School needs a Queen, and with his ex gone, everyone wants me to step into that role. Any other time, I’d be happy to be That Girl. But something just feels wrong about this.

Lots of people have told me I remind them of Sarah, apparently because she, too, was a bit of a social activist and an environmental freak (no wonder her and Kie were friends) which just confirms the fact that I’m just a replacement.

But, besides Kie, I have no other friends at OBX High. I have no choice but to go with it.

Driving close to the dock, I could hear loud music playing from somewhere. Leaning forward, I saw the yachts, one of them in particular already pretty full of people and neon lights.

“Yeah, Rafe tends to go all out on parties,” Topper remarked, gesturing towards the boats as he parked. “But they’re always fun.”

I nodded, plastering on a smile. I grabbed his hand. “Fantastic. Lead the way.”

**********************************************

Ok, I have to hand it to OBX kids. They know how to get turnt.

At 9:30, the yacht left the dock and headed towards the sea. By 10, the party was in full form, with kids dancing, singing, swimming, smoking, drinking, everything!

It was a glorious mess.

Right now it’s 10:30, and I’d been dancing with Top when we decided to go get something to drink.

We went to the bar and I told Topper to just one of whatever he was drinking for me, so he got two Mai Tais. The bartender looked really worried, because, you know, more than half the kids at this party are underaged, so I slipped him a 50 for his troubles.

Top and I walked away, laughing at the bartender’s confused face. The familiar feeling of alcohol started to wash

We walked around and talked about life and the universe, and when we finished our drinks, we went to the deck.

I leaned onto the railing, staring into the ocean.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” I asked softly. Growing up in Brooklyn Heights, I was never one for the ocean. I mean, sure, there were beaches an hour or two away from my old home that I visited often, but I was always a city girl. But this, this was something else entirely. The way the pale, white moonlight shined on the dark blue ocean, it was comforting, almost.

“Yeah,” Topper whispered back, wrapping his arm around my cold body, “really is beautiful.” I turned and saw him staring at me, smiling just a tiny bit. I shoved him lightly.

“You’re so corny,” I laughed.

“Maybe, but I made you smile, didn’t I?”

“...Shut up.”

We laughed, and he wrapped both arms around me and pulled me close to him. I stiffened a bit. Calm down, Nikki. It’s not that big a deal. But it is. I hate leading people on and I hated that he was always touching me.

I snuck my arms around his waist and rested my head on his chest. I’m short, I’ll admit it, standing at a towering five foot four with my two-inch platforms. Topper, on the other hand, is six feet tall, so my head tucked in just underneath his.

We stayed like that for a bit, swaying softly to some pop song. I felt myself relaxing, but I knew it wouldn’t last long.

“Hey, Nikki?”

“Yeah?”

“I, uh, I really like you.”

I pulled back and looked at Topper, who was fidgeting with my hair, and I narrowed my eyes “Wait, actually?”.

I hope he’s joking. He’s known me for less than a week! I mean, sure, you can have an instinct attraction to someone, yadda yadda, and maybe he wants to get to know me better, or whatever. Fine. 

Maybe it’s because I don’t like him that, but I find his declaration of feelings a little ridiculous.

“Yea, I do. I know we just met, but I really want to get to know you more. No, I’m not asking you out...unless you want to date, that is, but I feel insanely attracted to you.” He brushed his hair back nervously.

I could reject Topper, and risk my popularity and social standing. It could end up well, it could end up terribly. But if I say I like him back, which is a lie, I guarantee my place as the most popular girl in the Outer Banks.

I place my right hand on his shoulder and my left hand on his cheek. Standing on my toes, I gently guide his face to mine.

As I close my eyes, I imagine that I’m not about to kiss Topper, but Hot Blonde Boy from Kie’s Instagram.

His lips are soft, really soft, and Top’s hands drop to my waist to pull me closer to him.

After we pull away, he tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear and gently kisses my forehead.

“I like you too, Top,” I lied, “but I don’t want to rush into anything. We just met, and I’ve rushed into things before, and they never ended well, and-”

“Hey, hey, I get it,” he takes his hand to my chin and lifts it up so that I’m looking at him instead of the floor. “We can go as slow as you like, all right?”

I smile and nod. Top cups my face in his hands, and right before he can kiss me, I pull away and say, “Let’s go swimming! I’m going to go change, ok?”

He nods, ruffling his hair. I turn, pulling my phone out from my duffel bag and sending a text to Kie.

‘sos i just kissed topper.’

I walk into one of the changing rooms and change into my bikini. As I’m stuffing my dress into my bag, I see I get a text back.

‘dumbass!!’

**********************************************

Apparently, when I said I wanted to go swimming, it translated to yeeting me into the pool and then jumping in after, and then us splashing each other, non-stop. I mean, I guess that is what you do at a pool party, but I have no idea. Usually, I just stand around and eat food and, you know, don’t actually go into the water.

It was fun and all, yea, but I was uncomfortable the entire time because he couldn’t- no, wouldn’t- keep his hands off of me.

After it became too much, I jumped out of the pool and sat down on one of the chairs, wrapped my towel around myself and feeling really uncomfortable. Topper climbed out after me and sat down at my feet. “Did I, uh, do something?”

Yeah, you won’t stop touching me, bro.

“No, no, it’s fine, I just got a bit claustrophobic, that’s all.” I checked the time on my phone. I had an idea. “Hey, I’m going to go find Kelce and Scarlet, ok?”

“Uh, sure, do you want me to come with you?”

Not really, no. “Uh, if you want, but I was just gonna have, like, a girl’s talk with Scarlet?”

Topper nodded and smiled. I stood up, shoved my towel into my bag, slipped my shoes on, and ran off.

I felt a little weird just walking around in a bikini, especially since I don’t know anyone here, but remembering that everyone else was just as scantily clad as I was made me feel a little better.

I went to the highest deck, where the eldest kids (and by kids I mean like seniors and 20-year-olds), hoping to find Kelce or Scarlet there because I hadn’t seen them anywhere else. But I couldn’t see them on the deck.

I walked around a bit and then decided to text Scarlet.

‘where are you?’

I got a text back immediately. ‘Top deck, near the front. I’m with the little kid.’

Little kid? I walked towards the front side of the ship and indeed saw Scarlet, wearing a dark red colored bikini, sitting in a lounging chair with a girl who looks like she’s in middle school. The kid was pale, with freckles, dark hair, and glasses. She was the only one at this point not wearing a bathing suit.

Why is there a kid here?

I sat down in the seat next to Scarlet and gave her a hug. “Hey!” I slipped my bag off my shoulders and leaned forward to face the young girl. “Hi. What’s your name?”

She smiled. “I’m Wheezie. My brother’s the birthday boy.”

“Wheezie?”

“It’s a nickname, my real name is- Oh, hey, Topper!”

I spun around. Topper was standing in front of me, arms angrily crossed over his bare chest. “Hey, Wheezie. Nikki, can I talk to you?”

“I’m enjoying the company of my new friend.” I gestured over to Wheezie.

“Yeah, well, I want to talk.” He roughly grabbed my wrist and yanked me up.

“Ok, jeez, lemme grab my bag.” I pulled myself from his grasp and turned around to grab my bag. Scarlet mouthed the words be careful, to me. I nodded.

“Bye, Nikki, it was nice to meet you!” Wheezie called out. I shouted pleasantries back. Topper grabbed my wrist again.

After dragging me halfway across the deck, he let go of me and turned around. “What’s wrong with you?”

“What’s wrong with me?! What’s wrong with you?! You’re the one who, one, won’t stop touching even though we’re not dating and we barely know each other, and two, literally dragged me away from my friends when I was having a conversation with them! Are you like this with all the girls you like? Huh? Maybe that’s why your girlfriend left you for some Pogue, not because Pogues steal things, but because you-” I stepped forward and shoved Topper, “-don’t know how to treat a girl, no, a person, with respect!”

I stopped talking and realized that a lot of people had gone quiet. My face flushed with embarrassment until I heard someone shout.

“WOO! You tell him, Nikki!”

I turned and saw Scarlet and Wheezie jumping up and down and clapping. Soon, all the girls (and some of the boys) around me were clapping and cheering for me, congratulating me and telling Topper that he’s a dick.

I stepped towards Topper. “You and me, whatever thing you think we had going on, it’s done.”

I turned around and beckoned Wheezie and Scarlet to sit back down with me on the deck. The partying resumed, and I went off chatting with the two girls, but I saw out of the corner of my eye that Topper was getting all huffy and puffy.

I pointed that out to the girls. “Should I be worried?”

Wheezie wheezed laughed. “He’s probably just going to call Rafe and get him to tell you off.”

“...He’s gonna get the host of the party, who I don’t know and never met, to yell at me? Fantastic. Good thing he’s your brother.”

“Technically half brother, but yes, a good thing. Oh look, there he is right now!”

I turned around and saw Topper marching towards me with another equally tall, equally blonde boy right behind him. The difference is, this boy didn’t have as much of a hostile aura as Topper has right now.

“So, which one of you embarrassed my boy Top?”

************************************************

The boy, who introduced himself as Rafe, the host, beckoned Scarlet, Topper, and I inside of his suite. He closed the door on Wheezie, though. Bummer. I liked her.

Inside his suite were a bunch of twenty-year-olds, drinking hard liquor, dancing, and sitting around this big table. Rafe took his seat in the middle, told everyone else around him to fuck off, and had us, except Topper, sit across from him. Topper took the seat to his right.

He offered us a bag of white powder, to which Scarlet and I declined. Topper took it, though, and started setting it up to use.

“You use coke?” I asked Topper in disgust. I have nothing against most drugs, like weed or psychedelics, which can be fun to use sparingly at parties or whatever, but not hard drugs like opioids.

Topper shrugged at my question. “It’s not a big deal.”

“It is a big deal. What the fuck is wrong with y-?!”

“Ok, no fighting at my party, please?” Rafe sighed, rubbing his temples. “I brought you guys inside so that everyone else can enjoy the party while you guys have your little marital dispute-”

“WE’RE NOT DATING!” I shouted.

“Whatever,” Rafe sighed.

I stood up. “I’m gonna go hang with Wheezie. Scarlet, you coming?”

She was about to respond when Rafe stood up and said, “I’ll join you.”

I shot a confused look at Scarlet, who just shrugged.

I slipped my bag over my shoulder and walked towards the door, which Rafe held open for me, and we stepped outside, the air making me shiver.

Rafe pulled a pack of Dunhill cigarettes out of his pocket, put one to his mouth, and lights it. He gestured the box towards me and I take one, leaning forward a bit so that he could light it for me.

I rest my arms on the railing and close my eyes, breathing in the burning smoke and exhaling it slowly, being submerged in the light-headed haze of nicotine.

“How old are you?” Rafe’s voice interrupts my zen. I open my eyes and look at the boy, who’s very obviously checking out my bikini covered body.

I laughed and took another drag. “Sixteen,” I exhaled the smoke from my mouth.

Rafe’s eyes went wide, and he turned back to the sea. “Oh shit. My bad. Uh...how’re you liking the party?”

“It’s pretty good. Besides, you know, Topper being Topper, and you forcing me to talk to him.”

Rafe laughed. “Yea, I didn’t mean anything by it. I have a reputation of being a prick, and I’m trying to be better but, you know, not a lot of people respect you when you go from being a douche to a nice guy.”

I nodded, understanding what he meant by that. “Reputation with friends?”

He laughed. “Just,” he waved his hand free hand around, “Everyone. I wasn’t a good person. I’m trying to be better, but it’s hard when everyone already expects me to act a certain way and don’t give me a chance to change.”

I noticed the rings on his hands, like that boy from Kie’s Instagram. But unlike Hot Blondie, Rafe’s too old for me.

Which leads me to wonder…

“Did you know Sarah Cameron, by any chance?” I asked.

Rafe’s eyes went wide, and then he started coughing up smoke.

“W-Why do you ask?” He stammers, still coughing.

I gave him a weird look and just shrugged. “Curious, I guess.” I looked back at the ocean. “I’m the new girl, and everyone keeps telling me about all this stuff, but won’t tell me what actually happened, and I dunno, I’m just so confused.”

I turned to face Rafe, who was looking away, and I think I saw tears forming in his eyes. “Yea, Sarah’s my sister.”

Now it was my turn to cough up smoke. “W-”-cough cough- “Wait”-cough cough- “a minute.” I gasp for air and continue coughing. And after I finally manage to get some oxygen into my lungs, I say, “Sarah Cameron’s your sister? Shit, I’m so sorry, Topper never told me.”

Rafe shrugged, fiddling around with his rings. “It’s alright, I was just...surprised. No one asks me about Sarah or the Pogues anymore. After I came back from rehab-” He stopped, probably because he didn’t mean to say that, but he continued, “After I came back from rehab, I just...stopped beefing with the Pogues, especially JJ, Kie, and Pope. You know them?”

I nodded. “I know Kie, we’re friends. But not JJ and Pope. Never met ‘em, don’t even know what they look like, yet I’ve heard so many things about them.”

Rafe nodded. “They’re not bad kids, really. My time away made me realize how much of a prick I’ve been to them. Like, I caused them a lot of pain, and for what? For nothing. Literally just because I thought that, because they were poorer than us, they weren’t as good as us.”

I nodded. Then I turned and smiled, and stretched out my hand. “Well, it was nice to meet you, Rafe Cameron.”

He smiled and shook back.

_______________________________

chapter three

[artbysarah98]

Part 12 Uncle, who is Ethan?

When we're young...series

Masterlist

Part 11 Why is it so f*cking hectic?

Ella

Ella stirred awake as the sunlight hit her eyes. She was not ready to get up and turned around onto her right side away from the window to sleep a few hours more. Although something didn't exactly feel right, she couldn't remember what. Lazily Ella rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Her vision became better, and her eyes focused on the side that Tae should have been on. It was empty. Then she bolted upright, 'Where is Taehyung?'

Confused and somewhat disappointed, she thought that he left without notifying her. Ella looked around the room for any signs that said that he was still in here with her. The fear she felt at that moment made her forget that she could just search for his heartbeat by concentrating and directing her vampire hearing to this room only. If she would have done that, then she would have noticed that the beating of his heart was in the bathroom.

'His phone is on the table,' though Ella as she had got up. She walked around the hotel room, searching for a sign that Taehyung was still in the hotel room. When she was about to go to the kitchen part of the room as noise alerted her,

'Wait, what is that?'

Ella followed the source of the noise and ended up in front of the bathroom. It was then that she discovered that the sound she heard was actually her man. He was quietly singing his first part in Boy With Luv going over into the chorus. It was then that Ella realized that she completely forgot that she is who she is, scolding herself in her mind, 'Stupid, stupid! Ella, you're 50% vampire! Why didn't I use my vampire hearing? That would have given me peace of mind much sooner!' Outside of the door, she leaned against it. She kept on listening to the sweet and alluring sounds he was producing in the shower.

"Your every picture Nae meorimate dugo sipeo oh bae"

"Come be my teacher Ne modeun geol da gareuchyeojwo Your one, your two"

"Listen, my, my baby naneun Jeo habeureul nopi nalgo isseo (Geuttae niga naege jwossdeon du nalgaero) Ije yeogin neomu nopa Nan nan nune neol majchugo sipe Yeah, you makin' me a boy with luv"

"Oh my, my, my (uh) oh my, my, my I've waited all my life"

As Taehyung's sweet voice continued singing the rest of the song, Ella decided to get changed as she didn't want to disturb him to freshen up. She grabbed her blue suitcase, that she had rolled into the corner opposite of the bed last night, and carefully threw it onto the bed. Opening her trunk, her original ARMY Bomb Ver. 3 - back in July, she had gotten it as an apology from the members when Taehyung got her involved in their infamous scandal - rolled out and onto the ground with a rather loud thump.

'Shit, I hope it isn't damaged,' though Ella, as she crouched down to pick it up to inspect the damage letting out a relieved sigh as she saw both functions still worked, 'Oh god, I'm glad it still works. If I had broken it, I wouldn't have gotten the experience tonight that every other ARMYs would have.'

To ensure that it wouldn't fall on the ground again, Ella placed it on the bedside table near Taehyung's side of the bed. Her calm feeling returned to her as Ella walked back to her suitcase and picked out her outfit of the day. She doesn't know what started her routine in picking out what she was going to wear, but it always started with the shoes. Always! For today she picked out her black leather-look ankle-boots and coördinated her outfit from there.

After ten minutes, she stood in front of the mirror and inspected her outfit. In the end, she decided on a white T-shirt with the text 'BTS World Tour - Love Yourself, Speak Yourself' on the front in black letters that she had knotted up at the bottom showing off her bellybutton. Underneath that, she wore a dark denim pair of ripped shorts giving the look something edgy and, of course, at her feet the black ankle-boots.

She topped her outfit off with a bandana that she had 'borrowed' from Tae's suitcase to keep her pony out of her face. It had stuck to her face the entire day yesterday due to the hot weather in Saudi Arabia, even though it is already the middle of October. Stuffing her other potential outfits back into her suitcase, Ella decided she really had to interrupt Taehyung's shower time as she still needed to brush her teeth. Honestly, she didn't want to, but her toiletries were in the bathroom, including her toothbrush and toothpaste.

Just as her hand touched the doorknob, there was a knock on their hotel door, and she heard Jung Kook's voice calling out, "Hey, are you two still in here?"

As Ella made her way to the front door, there was more impatient knocking, "V-hyung, Ella-dongsaeng, I know you're still in here as bodyguard Young said that you haven't called for breakfast yet."

"Calm down! Calm down!" said Ella frustratingly as she swung the door open, "Has your mother never told you to wait patiently for the inhabitant to open the door? Haven't your hyungs taught you some manners?"

Ella could see that Kook was not expecting her to explode like that on him as his eyes went wide in surprise while bowing his head the apologies rapidly falling from his mouth for being unthoughtful. She let out a deep sigh starting to feel bad for reacting in the way she did.

"Sorry, Kookie. I didn't mean it in that way. I just got kinda frustrated from your rapid knocking. It's still rather early after getting back so late last night. Combine that with me not being a morning person, and you get me frustrated very fast."

"No, Ella-dongsaeng, it's my fault. I should have waited for Tae or you to answer the door. Instead, I got impatient as I'm starving from hunger. Anyways, I had to ask from Jin-hyung if you two wanted to join us for breakfast."

"Oi, what did I tell you about calling me dongsaeng? We've been besties for three months now, and you still call me that after I told you not too. Just call me Ella or El, but not dongsaeng."

Ella was so caught up in voicing her frustration about being called dongsaeng even though he wasn't much older than her, just 9 months to be exact, that she didn't see Jung Kook's face change from apologetic to mischievous as he looked over her shoulder. During their conversation at the door, Taehyung had emerged from the bathroom dressed and ready for the day. He was still drying the last parts of his hair dry as his eye had fallen on them at the door. He had overheard something about breakfast. He threw his towel on the bed and tip-toed to the pair at the front door. Taehyung placed a finger on his lips to tell Kook he had to stay silent now that he had almost reached Ella in hopes of surprising her.

Ella noticed that she had lost Jung Kook's attention to something behind her, so she decided to close her eyes and concentrate on Taehyung's whereabouts. Unsurprisingly, he was directly behind her, so she decided to play along with whatever Taehyung had planned for her. She felt his arms sneak around her waist. He pulled her into his warm chest, resting his head on top of hers.

"Did ya miss?" said Taehyung in a loud and exciting voice.

Ella shot Kook a piercing glare, unbeknownst showing her true colors as her offended emotion got the better of her, as she heard him snicker at her 'surprised' yelp. She was more surprised at hearing his voice so loud in her ear.

She saw his eyes go wide as his face morphed into a 'Jungshook' one causing her to look into the mirror, which was conveniently placed on the left wall next to the door and was greeted with glowing yellow eyes with veins underneath.

Somewhat uncertain as to what happened Jung Kook rubbed his eyes and blinking a few times before starting to speak, "What is wrong -"

"Nothing, there is not a thing wrong, Kook!" cut Ella him off panicky, showing him a pair of pleading eyes not to say anything as her face had morphed back.

"Okay, then, I guess...," faded Kook's hesitant voice away while Ella could clearly read on his mind, 'She needs to explain what happened. I did not imagine that just now.' Ella gave him a subtle nod of the head and freed herself from Tae's arms, walking back to the bed, "Do you want to come in? Taehyung missed you last night. He said something about going to you for cuddles."

A silence fell over the duo at the door. JK started laughing very loudly, probably waking everybody on the floor, as Tae let out a displeased response. She stuck out her tongue playfully before picking up Tae's towel and retreating into the bathroom.

Quickly locking it behind her as she heard rapid footsteps coming to the door trying to open it.

"Yeah, sure, hide!"

"Calm down V-hyung. If it makes you feel better. I also wanted to cuddle with you last night or any member, really. That last interview gave me an upsetting feeling."

"Oh, don't start about that interview. I'm still trying to forget it. Why do the interviewers always ask such questions?"

"I don't know, Tae, I don't," said Kookie before going over into a quieter voice, "Did you see how hot Ella looked? I barely survived it. I don't think the other members will. How do you get through one day with her looking like that?"

"Okay, don't call my girl hot. It sounds strange coming from you," said Taehyung in a disgusting voice, probably showing a face just as disgusted, before continuing in a more amused voice, "Get used to it, Kookie, as I'm not planning on letting her go. The boys will have to as well. Actually, I don't know either, but I do. I know one thing for sure though she will always look smoking."

By now, Ella was as red as a tomato while showing a very bright smile. 'What did I do to deserve such a man as my boyfriend? What did I do to deserve such a group of loving friends?' said the voice in her head. Honestly, she still doesn't know, but she does know that she loves hearing the boys talk like that. Casual and without a care in the world away from prying cameras. Shaking her head, Ella tried to focus on what she should be doing. Brushing her teeth. She grabbed her toothbrush and -paste from where she left it last night. She thoroughly brushed her teeth, especially her canines.

Ella had learned from her dad to take extra good care of them as they are to most important weapon for a vampire. On top of that, when she reveals her true colors, the attention goes to her teeth first half of the time, so she has to make sure they leave a lasting impression.

As Ella was almost done flossing her teeth when she heard a knock on the door and to her surprise, heard RM ask, "Slowpoke, are you almost done?"

"Yes, I just have to put my toiletries back into the toiletry bag, then I'll be out. When did you get here?"

"Owh, it's not just Namjoon-hyung. We're all hungry and waiting for Tae and you to come to join us. If you couldn't, that Jung Kook would come back. We sent him here about 25 minutes ago, so we decided to see what is taking so long," said Jimin in response.

Ella threw her toothpick away and opened the door with an enthusiastic swing revealing the waiting boys. All their heads turned in her direction as they stopped their chat. She heard a few good mornings coming her way, so she wished them the same. From her right side, she saw Taehyung flash her a boxy smile while extending his hand to her. However, before she could take it, Jimin grabbed her wrist and dragged her to the elevator leaving the door open for his bandmates, "Come on, boys. She's finally done. Let's go to the restaurant."

"Jimin, I could have walked here myself. My legs are in perfect condition."

"I know, but it was fun to drag you away from Taehyung-ah," said Jimin in a fit of giggles as the others reached the elevator.

"Jiminie," said Hobi in a hushed voice, "you better stop laughing. Taehyung is upset with you for taking his girl away."

"Jimin-ah," heard Ella coming from a pissed-off Taehyung as she looked to the direction of the voice. Jimin's giggles were immediately cut off as he started looking pretty pale. He thought that Tae was actually pissed off at him. Ella leaned against the back of the elevator and watched the scene unfold, sensing that Taehyung was playing a game with him.

Amused Ella pulled the right corner of her mouth up into a grin. She saw Tae trying to maintain his pissed attitude across Jimin, but after a minute, he started cracking up, letting out a few giggles. He placed a hand on Jimin's shoulder, "Next time, please, alert me when you want to kidnap my girl. I could have played along with you. Duh."

This threw all the boys into a joyful laugh. Ella, however, pulled up her eyebrows in annoyance and let out a cough getting the Hyung-line's attention. The makneas were still in a fit of laughter and didn't see the look on Ella's face that had silenced the hyungs. Starting to get pissed off, she pursed her lips together into a thin line.

"Ahem," let Ella out now louder than the previous time, gaining the attention of the remaining members paling when they saw her expression, "Glad that I've got your attention. One, Jimin didn't kidnap me. If he did, then I'd have kicked him so hard in his jewels that he wouldn't be standing now." The ding of the elevator reaching the lobby came in between her words. Jimin grabbed his private zone while grimacing as he thought about how much it would have hurt. Unconsciously, all the others did so too. Ella saw her uncle's face appearing outside of the doors, "Two, at the moment, I think you have to be more worried about getting on time then about kidnapping me," pointing towards her uncle.

She saw all of the boys gulp when they turned their heads to where she was pointing. Her uncle looked rather displeased, "You're supposed to be eating already. We're behind on schedule, get a move on."

Vince turned around, taking off towards the restaurant. The boys slowly started taking off after him. The previous conversation was entirely forgotten. Jung Kook was the last one off the elevator. Ella followed behind, calling out to him, "Kook? Do you got a minute?"

Jung Kook turned around, and she directed with her head towards the corner left of the restaurant entrance. "What is it? Didn't you hear what your uncle said?"

"Yes, I did. I promise it won't take long."

She saw JK look judgingly at her as if he knew it was about what he saw upstairs at the front door. Ella couldn't let them in just yet. They aren't ready yet to know about their world, referring to both her and her uncle. It's too dangerous, especially when she, herself, still has unanswered questions. So she decided to do what she does every time somebody saw something they shouldn't. She had to compel him to think he saw something else this morning.

Ella's eyes slowly turned golden, and veins started showing up underneath them. Again she saw his eyes go 'Jungshook,' "I knew it. I didn't imagine it." His eyes started twinkling with curiosity as he opened his mouth again, "How do you do that? Are you a -"

She didn't, well, couldn't let him finish his sentence as her pupils dilated and took him into a trance. She let out a heavy breath, knowing that she might come to regret this decision. Ella opened her mouth, ready to compel him to forget what he saw this morning, but the guilt she felt for needing to take away his choice started eating at her. He is her best friend. They share everything together. So why not this?

"I want you to stay calm. You will not discuss anything we talk about with the others. You will only bring this up when it's only you and me in a room together. Oh, and uncle Vince. Can you out loud agree to this?"

She saw that Kook's mind was in conflict. She did not know if it was because he didn't agree to the terms or because it would mean that he would have to lie to his best friends. It amazed her how long he able to resist her compulsion. After a minute, he looked like he made up his mind. The curiosity must have taken over as she didn't expect him to say his next words.

"Yes," let Kook out, shakily, "Yes, I agree."

She slowly let Kook out of her compulsion, but still, the heavy feeling was on her shoulders. The guilt ebbed away, but she knew that it would be a heavy conversation to get through. Jung Kook shook his head as he got out of his hazy state of mind, "What just happened? How did you do that? What's going on?"

"Remember what you just promised. Calm. I can still make you forget everything. Don't push it," said Ella as she held him up by his throat against the wall. Once again, her real face shined through her facade.

"Yeah, I remember. Can you please put me down?," said Kook rubbing his throat as she put him back on his feet, "I do, however, still I have questions, and you said we would talk. So talk, please."

"Okay," said Ella, still slightly irritated at JK's pushy behavior, but let it slide as she saw he genuinely wanted to know more. Ella let out a heavy sigh, 'Better fast, than never at all,' so she blurted out her secret, "I'm a hybrid."

"You're a what?" let JK out in a rather loud voice. His face morphed into confusion.

"Quiet, we don't want everybody to know what we're talking about know, do we?"

Kook quickly shook his head, slightly fearing she would push him against the wall again, "No!"

"Great. To answer your question, I'm a hybrid. I'm a part vampire and a part werewolf. What you saw earlier this morning and just know is part of my true face. Truthfully, this morning was a slip-up. I never intended you to find out like this, but I couldn't take away your choice to about this."

The pair was so caught up in their conversation that they didn't see Vince nearing them. He started listening in on them as soon as they fell behind. Despite knowing that Ella can handle herself, Vince was still protective over her and wanted to make sure that she was okay after yesterday. He, even now, wondered if those events were what she wanted to talk about to him. When he heard Jung Kook said that he didn't imagine it, he started to slowly walk over to them. Fearing that she might do something that she would regret.

"Ella," came her uncle's voice for behind them, "What are you doing? Why did you tell him your secret?"

Their heads turned in his direction and saw him waiting for an answer. Ella froze up, not knowing what to tell him. Before she could speak up, Jung Kook opened up speaking his sincere thoughts, "Please, don't be mad with her. I found out this morning, and she gave me my choice in this matter. If you feel conflicted about this, she already made me promise not to tell the others."

Uncle Vince looked from Jung Kook to Ella and back, letting out a heavy sigh, "Okay, I don't know how it happened, but we'll talk about this later, Ella, alone!"

"Okay."

"Now, come on, the others are already eating. Go grab your food. Jung Kook, if you want to talk about it now, then tell me so. That way, I can say that you two are having a heart to heart conversation and need a little more time therefor joining us later at the venue."

"I'd appreciate that. Thank you for not taking away my choice. Do I have it right that you aren't normal as well?"

"I'll let Ella tell you that. Kid, you're really too curious for your age," shaking his head as he left towards the others to inform them of the situation.

JK and Ella looked at each other. "That ended somewhat well," said Kook. Ella shook her head, "Go get your breakfast. I'll look for a more private location."

Jung Kook quickly left toward the walking buffet, and Ella looked around for a secluded table. In the far right corner, she found an empty table with fewer people around and started heading towards it. On her way there, Ella passed the others, who were seated at a large table against the left wall. Stuffing their mouths with food and talking amongst each other. Like any other group of people in the restaurant.

Ella was somewhat surprised that they hadn't encountered any fans in the lobby while heading toward the dining area. She felt relieved that she could at least have a quiet breakfast, before heading to the venue, which meant meeting the Riyad ARMY again.

She shook the thoughts away. From the corner of her eye, she saw her uncle stopping Taehyung from calling out to her, saying something about her talk with Jung Kook not being over yet. They just located it here as Jung Kook still had to eat. Otherwise, they would arrive even later.

She felt her phone - a purple Samsung Galaxy S20 with BTS logo on the back - vibrate, indicating that she got a text. Samsung and BTS are currently working on a collaboration for the newest generation of Samsung phones that are coming out in 2020. Her old S7 decided to take a swim, and through Taehyung talking about it to the representative from Samsung, they gave her a collaboration S20 to replace it. Gave, not for a special prize. Entirely for free. In her opinion, the company did it to have her test the device thoroughly before it would arrive on the market. It also came with a limited edition pair of Galaxy Buds and a charging pad. Both in BTS purple style. The phone, however, was so new that Taehyung had to give her a speed course on how to use it.

Tae-Tae: Since Jimin dragged you out the room earlier, I took your ARMY Bomb with me. It's in my bag when you need it. Your uncle said that you and Kookie are having a heart to heart. Is everything okay? Should I be worried?

Ella: Thank you! You're the best boyfriend in the world!

Ella: Everything is okay. I just needed Jung Kook's opinion about something we've talked about a few weeks back. It's nothing to worry about.

Tae-Tae: I know I am. If you say so. You know that you can always talk to me, right?

Ella: I know! I will, next time, okay? I love you!

Tae-Tae: Okay! I love you more!

Ella put her phone away as Jung Kook took place at the table with a plate to the edges filled with food, "Have a nice meal!"

"Thank you," said Jung Kook after he swallowed his first bite. He tilted his head to the left side clearly debated whether he should ask it and went for it anyway, "Don't you have to eat?"

"Not necessarily. It doesn't feed me in the same way it does you. I only eat to keep up my cover or when I truly want to eat it," said Ella earnestly, looking him straight in the eye. Jung Kook continued eating, not looking away for even a second. Well, only when he grabbed a new piece of food to stuff in his mouth, "The only food supply that truly satisfies my hunger is, well, blood. It can be any kind of blood. Bunny, deer, fox and... human."

The last word hesitantly fell from her lips. From JK's face, Ella couldn't quite read what he was thinking. Jung Kook tilted his head to the other side as another question fell from his lips. One that she didn't expect to come first.

"How does it taste? Human blood, I mean?"

"Uhm, it tastes different for every vampire and per human. I don't necessarily have a preference, but my uncle has an entire stash of A+ in a cooler at your company. So yes, Vince is a vampire."

"Now I know why he didn't want me to touch his cooler. He was very strict about his cooler at the company. Nobody is allowed to touch it. Well, I guess nobody but you," stated Jung Kook calmly despite what they're talking about, "Have you ever bitten one of us? Or wanted to bite us?"

"The very first day we met. That was the only time that my hunger tried to take over. I would never do anything to hurt all of you. That includes biting one of you. I don't think my emotions could survive that."

"Hmm," nodded Kook in acknowledgment, "That finally explains why you suddenly had to go to the 'ladies room' without announcing it yourself."

They both let out a laugh remembering how Ella reacted when her uncle told them that as an excuse. A message notification came from Jung Kook's pocket. Ella scanned the restaurant realizing that the others were already gone. They probably were already busy practicing for tonight.

"So that was bodyguard Young. He said we really have to go to the venue now. The staff is getting worried about the soundcheck and everything else they need to get ready for tonight and need me for."

"I can understand. Well, let's go then."

"Before we go, Ella, when are you going to tell the others? More importantly, when are you going to tell Taehyung? If you can't tell everyone at once, as it is a critical and big secret to take in, then you should start by telling him."

"Err, I first need to talk to my uncle about something important. I promised Tae I would talk to him about the events from yesterday so I'll tell him then. The others, well, I don't know yet."

"At least, you don't have to worry about me telling them. Not because I can't, but because I also wouldn't betray your trust. I hope you know that."

"I do, Kook, I do. That's why you're my best friend. At least I hope we still are?"

Ella looked at him with an expectant look on her face. Jung Kook showed her his bunny smile, "Of course, we are. What you are doesn't change who you are."

"Great," said Ella as she smiled a smile that reached to her eyes.

The boys were going through the entire show before the fans that bought VIP soundcheck tickets would be allowed into the stadium. Ella sat a few rows away from the stadium watching them goof off from time to time, but definitely working as, well, the professionals they are. They listened to hints and tips from their staff just as their crew listened to what they had to say. It showed the mutual respect they had for each other as artists and employees. It was impressive to see.

Ella happily swayed her head along to the tunes off Boy With Luv that the boys were at now. Taehyung flashed her a wink as he sang bae. She shook her head. She didn't want to believe that he was flirting with her, especially with so many people around. He had been at it ever since Jung Kook and her arrived at the venue. His concern from earlier nowhere to be seen.

"I hope for you that he won't be openly flirting with you during the concert. I don't think the ARMYs will survive that," said uncle Vince shaking his head as he took place next to her.

"Don't even start. Taehyung has been at it ever since I got here."

"Must be those racing hormones in his body. I can sense his arousal from here, and I don't have your sense of smell."

"Luckily, he smells even better when he is aroused. Otherwise, I really needed to find a solution to this problem."

"Speaking of solutions, how did everything with Jung Kook go?"

"Okay, I guess," said Ella as she scratched the back of her head and looked at the said man, "He took it in really well. Better than I thought, he would take it. I answered as many of his questions before we had to leave, but I'm sure he has more."

"Okay, okay," said her uncle while following the boys with his eyes. The protectiveness for them shining through. If anything were to happen, then he would be there in the blink of an eye.

"Uncle, who is Ethan?" said Ella gaining her uncle's full attention. He whipped his head in her direction. It showed an emotion although she couldn't decipher which.

"Where did you hear that name?"

"I didn't hear it. I remembered it. To be more exact, the entire memory of... of my parents' death flashed back into my head yesterday when I collapsed. In that memory, I heard that name. The attacker from that day said that Ethan would keep sending people after us until all the members of the Young family are dead. What happened that this man, Ethan, wants all of us dead?"

Vince let out a deep sigh and sunk his head onto his folded hand deep in thought. He tilted his head to the side to look into Ella's eyes, "I guess you deserve to know."

Straightening himself up and shifted in his seat so he could look directly at Ella without having to turn his head.

"Ahem," coughed her uncle awkwardly before starting to talk, "The news of your mother being pregnant with you traveled around the world faster than we liked. That news also reached somebody who we thought we got rid of a long time ago. That somebody was Ethan. We, Bekha, your father and I, met Ethan Montgomery somewhere in 1506 about 500 years before your father met your mother. Ethan was at that time a knight serving a lord who resided in Lille, France, and we were members of a noble family, which was our cover at the time, staying at his mansion before continuing our journey back to the Netherlands."

Ella was attentively listening to her uncle's story wanting to know everything about this Ethan Montgomery. Vince turned his head to the boys who were taking a break. When they saw the pair looking at them, they gave them a wave, except for Yoongi. He settled that a nod was good enough. Ella saw Tae and Kook whisper to each other. Probably about the fact that she was finally talking with her uncle. Meaning that she was going to talk to Tae about yesterday's events. The two of them gave a wave back before uncle Vince continued his story.

"The evening before we planned to leave in November 1506 that a group of local robbers attacked the place. They probably hoped to get some quick money. We were woken up by the heavy smell of blood in the air and joined the ongoing fight with the guards. Nik, however, couldn't control his hunger, as it was a long time ago since he fed, and attacked one of the robbers drinking him completely dry. Ethan witnessed that entire event, and when they locked eyes, the disgust, anger, and fear were clear on his face. He probably thought that be would be next. Your father wanted to compel him to forget about what he saw. However, Ethan got pierced in his stomach by a sword and fell to the ground. Nik told me that he seemed dead on impact, only faint breathing and pumping of the heart was hearable. So faint that he would die within a few minutes. Your father continued to keep up the facade taking out the remaining robbers left in the mansion."

"Well, he clearly isn't dead, otherwise that vampire wouldn't have mentioned him."

"You're right, Ella. He survived that attack, but only because your aunt, Bekha, took pity on him and fed him her blood, not knowing what had transpired before that. She had hoped to heal him, but he had lost to much blood already and turned into a vampire. When we discovered what Bekha did, we wanted to guide him, hoping that he would accept our help, but his turning only fueled his disgust and anger, blaming all three of us for what happened to him. He said that if we never stayed at that place, then he could have at least died with some honor. We stripped his choice away from him. He swore that day that he would find a way to get rid of us. The entire Young family. Once and for all. After that day we hadn't seen him for years. We started thinking at some point that he was able to let go of his anger."

"So then how did he find you again?"

"Ethan showed his face in 1970, six years before your mother was born. He tried several attempts to take out one of us but failed as he was on his own while we worked together to save our lives. The last time Ethan tried was in 1976. This time he had gathered a large group of followers who wanted the same thing as him, revenge for what happened to them or their family. Or see the extinction of the Young family and all vampires. I still don't know how, but we managed to survive that attack. So did he and some of his followers. I think he learned that time and started building his larger army of followers so he could slowly plot the ultimate plan to kill us all off. I think you can guess how he took the news of your birth."

"Not too well if he sent somebody to kill on my 16th birthday."

"No, he did not. He was furious and started sending out more of his lackeys to take us out. I think he desperately wanted to get rid of you as you were the most vulnerable. One of the reasons that your parents created the Boarding School was to keep you safe, and it did until 2014. The rest of that day is now history, but the reason that we also left you on your own was so that Ethan didn't know you survived the attack. So we went to different places on the planet so that he would have to divide his attention and completely missed anything regarding you."

"Then what is he doing now? You're the bodyguard of the world's most famous boyband. Why hasn't he come after you yet? Why hasn't he come after me yet? I've made world news several times now."

Her uncle shook his head, "I truly don't know, but always watch your back. It might not take long before he shows his face again. For all, we know he might already be plotting his next move against me. You have aged much since 2014, so he might not recognize you."

Ella nodded her head in agreement, "You might be right, and you know I always watch my back."

Her uncle stood up, shaking his head in disbelief at her words.

"Uncle, thank you. For clearing up and answering my questions."

"You're welcome. You can come to me if you have any other questions, okay?"

She nodded her head. This time he truly walked away, leaving her alone with her thoughts. It seems that the story had taken up quite some time as the boys were not on stage anymore, and one of the staff members alerted her to follow him backstage. The VIP fans were about to be let into the venue. So she had to be out of eyesight. Ella attracted just as much attention from the fans just as much as the members did.

Ella was greeted by a pair of arms engulfing her into a massive hug as she entered the backstage area. The person was still sweaty from the recently finished practice, but she didn't mind as she recognized the scent. He nuzzled into her hair and mumbled something in it.

"Care to repeat that?"

"I missed you."

"I was here the entire time," said Ella while looking up to him and seeing his boxy smile drop from his face, "But if it makes you feel better, I missed you too."

His smile returned just as fast as it had disappeared upon hearing her words. Ella tried to free herself from her boyfriend's arms that pulled her even closer. She let out a desperate huff as he didn't let go, but stopped moving when she saw the serious look on his face.

"What's wrong?" asked Ella worriedly.

Tae left out a sigh as he let her go slightly, firmly placing his hands on her shoulders. He looked her directly in the eye, "I saw you talking with your uncle during our last walkthrough. Did you manage to get answers to your questions?"

"I did," nodded Ella, "He cleared up some things about some old memories that I remember during yesterday's events."

"So, are you going to tell me now what happened yesterday?"

"I will, but it's not easy for me to talk about as the memory is a big part of the reason why it happened," said Ella straight into his eyes, "To clearly tell you all the details of the story, I think that it's the best to talk about it when we've reached the hotel."

She saw Taehyung's serious look falter into a sad look. He looked somewhat hurt as he tore his gaze away. Ella carefully took his head in both her hands and directed his attention back to her. She stood on her toes, placing her forehead against his, "I made a promise yesterday and intend to keep it. You know that, right?"

He nodded in confirmation as he lost his ability to speak. "Great," said Ella while showing him a sad smile, "I just don't want to ruin your mood for today's concert."

Ella saw open his mouth to respond, but was cut off by J-Hope placing a hand on his shoulder, "I hate to cut your conversation, but duty calls Taehyung. We have to go out for the VIP soundcheck. The fans are waiting for us."

Taehyung nodded while Hobi let go of his shoulder, "I'll be right there." He directed his attention to Ella, "You'll have to let go of my face. I'm needed on stage. Time to entertain our fans!"

"I won't until you show me how excited you are instead of this glum look."

"Pfft," let Taehyung out as he tried to contain his laughter, "Okay, okay, I give in. I feel pumped. Mark my words, my girl, I'll make sure you know how much I love you. You won't be able to look away. You'll be begging for my attention tonight, after our talk."

Ella shook her head as she let his go. "We'll see about that," called Ella out, watching his figure retreat and disappearing behind the curtain leading to the stage. She could hear the fans scream in excitement. Ella was about to walk to manager Sejin for instructions on where she could watch the concert after the soundcheck was over when flashes of yesterday's events shot into her mind due to the screams she heard now. Her pupils dilated in fear, and her heart was beating over time due to the stress. She placed a hand on her chest as she recognized the upcoming panic attack. She's been having them since the day she lost her parents.

A few meters away, her uncle saw the signs as well and called his team over to instruct them to watch over her tonight. He feared that if she already got triggered by this. That she might go into a full one during the concert. Not that Ella noticed anything of that happening. She was too caught up in trying to calm herself down.

'It's okay. You're safe. Nothing will happen to you. The security team showed that yesterday and the team will do so now.'

Now that she was calm enough not to be shaking while standing on her legs, she walked over to Sejin. When he noticed her presence next to him, he looked up from his paperwork.

"Can I help you with something, Ella?"

"I was hoping you could," said she nervously tapping on the table that he was sitting at. Sejin placed a hand over hers to stop her hand movements, "You don't have to be nervous around me. You can ask me anything. I hope you know that."

"Okay," said Ella let go of a breath that she didn't know that she was holding, "You said I had to follow either your or my uncle's instruction while on tour, but neither you nor my uncle has given me instruction of where I can watch the concert tonight. Taehyung said that you had already approved that I could watch from the venue instead of from the backstage to let met experience the real deal."

She took in a breath afterward because she said everything in on breath as she tried to get it out of her mouth as fast as possible.

"Inhale Ella," said Sejin, "You have to keep breathing. Don't have to talk so fast. To answer your question, we've reserved a chair for you in the VIP section. The section of which the fans are now enjoying the soundcheck. You'll join them later on. We decided to place you there so that you can enjoy the show in a somewhat less crowded part of the audience, but also has the smallest chance of getting recognized by fans."

Ella nodded to show her understanding as Sejin continued, "The fans in that section have been asked to sign as form regarding no leaking of information like seeing you there or asking you personal questions or take photographs. If any of them don't follow those rules, please notify the security around. They know what action to take."

"I will do that if necessary, but I hope not," said Ella in a hopeful tone, "Is someone going to escort me to my seat before the concert starts?"

"Yes, your uncle will take you there himself."

"Okay, thank you for the information," said Ella walking off to the dressing room. In search of her ARMY Bomb and to get some rest before the concert starts. She wished Sejin good luck with his paperwork.

Part 13 Taehyung, I'm not the girl you think I am

[apoguecalledjj]

Fixation (Chapter 2)

Series summary: Eleanor is new to the outer banks, and the pogues are quick to take her in. But so are the kooks, and as she grows closer with Rafe, trouble emerges. Trying to balance her relationship with the pogues and the kooks, as well as dealing with her own personal problems, Eleanor falls into a hole she may not be able to dig herself out of.

Chapter Word Count: 3447

Chapter Warnings: Drug use

Previous Parts: Ch. 1 Ch. 2  Ch. 3 Ch. 4 Ch. 5

Ellie had expected to spend her first night in the Outer Banks in her new bed at her uncle's house. Instead, she woke up in an unfamiliar room, an unfamiliar arm draped over her, completely naked with a pounding headache.

She could briefly remember the night before. Speaking with the pogues, going to get another drink, meeting Rafe, spending the night...

Shit. Spending the night. Ellie sat up abruptly, waking the boy laid next to her but that was the least of her worries. Her uncle had told her not to stay out late. Glancing at the clock on the nightstand, she saw it was 9:17 AM. That definitely classified as late.

“Mhm. What’s wrong?” Rafe muttered sleepily, barely able to open his eyes. He lazily reached his arms out to wrap them around her waist, and that’s when Ellie remembered she was naked, hastily grabbing the sheets and wrapping them around her.

“I have to go home. Where are my clothes?” She glanced frantically around the room. 

Rafe finally sat up next to her. “Was I really that bad?” He teased. He knew he wasn’t bad, both of them could remember the way she had screamed last night.

Ellie’s stomach rolled, and she prayed she wouldn’t throw up, at least not till she left Rafe’s house. The last thing she needed was to vomit all over his room. She stood up, finally spotting her shorts and top from the night before. Walking over to retrieve her cardigan, she noticed remnants of white powder on top of the desk.

Cocaine. Had she done it last night? No, she wasn’t that drunk. She would remember. A part of her screamed run, telling her to stay away from the boy behind her. Drugs were a bad idea, addiction ran in her family and she had spent the majority of her life avoiding them at all costs. But the other part of her wanted to stay. She enjoyed being with Rafe, she had a good time with him, and it was only cocaine. Nothing like meth, or the heroin her mother did. 

It’s only coke, she finally decided. And it’s not like she was going to do it. She was just spending time with Rafe, who happened to do coke. No big deal.

Ellie pulled on the cardigan and turned to face him. He was still sat up in the bed, gazing at her with a small smile on his face. His hair was messy and fluffy, and she had to admit, it looked better than when it was slicked back.

“Enjoying the view?” His smile turned to a smirk, and she shook her head, chuckling.

“I have to go. Thanks for a great night!” She turned to open the door, but Rafe jumped out of bed.

“Wait!” Ellie turned back around, watching as he rushed to get dressed. “It’s raining. Let me drive you.”

He led her to his truck. “You said you’re staying with Travis right?” He asked, and she nodded.

There was silence for a couple minutes, then Rafe spoke again. “You shouldn’t be hanging with the pogues.”

Ellie, confused, furrowed her eyebrows. “Why? They seem nice.”

“They’re not. They’re dirty, good for nothing criminals. Always getting in trouble with the police and starting fights. How do you think I got this?” He pointed to a bruise on his jaw that she hadn’t noticed before.

She said nothing, instead just nodding and staring out the window. Rafe glanced at her and she smiled, trying to show him that what he had said didn’t bother her, even though it did. The pogues were really nice to her.

The rest of the ride was comfortably silent, the radio playing an unfamiliar song that Rafe hummed along to. He pulled into her driveway and shot her a quick smile. “So will I see you again?”

Ellie nodded. “Of course. Give me your number?”

He took her phone and added his number before driving off, and Ellie began the walk to her front door, dreading facing her uncle and aunt. She opened the door, immediately spotting her uncle sat on the couch in the living room.

“Did you have a good night?” He didn’t seem mad.

“Yeah I did, I’m sorry I didn’t get home last night I-”

He cut her off. “Was that Rafe Cameron that dropped you off? Good family, those Cameron’s are. I guess you spent the night with Sarah then? I forgot she was around your age.”

Ellie simply nodded, she hadn’t even had to lie, her uncle easily created a story for her.

“At first I was upset that you didn’t let me know you weren’t coming home but then I realized I never even gave you my number! What kind of guardian am I?” He chuckled and then rhymed off his number, and Ellie quickly added it to her phone.

“Thank you for being so understanding uncle Travis. I’m going to head upstairs to shower, I start work in an hour!”

Ellie rushed up the stairs, actually quite excited to start work and see her friends again. She felt bad for ditching them last night, but she had also felt uncomfortable around them, they easily fell into conversation with each other and she didn’t fit in. They all seemed preoccupied with their own things last night anyways, so hopefully, they wouldn’t mind.

As she showered, she couldn’t stop thinking about the way the pogues had looked at Rafe last night. And the things Rafe had mentioned on her way home this morning. Both groups seemed nice enough to her, and she didn’t understand why she couldn’t be friends with both.

She shook the thought, rinsing the shampoo out of her hair and moving to grab her loofah. The last thing she needed was to be late for her first day of work at The Wreck.

Ellie quickly got dressed. She grabbed an umbrella, planning to walk the short distance to the restaurant but her uncle stopped her. “You got your license?”

She nodded, she did have her license but could never afford a car. That’s one of the many reasons she was so eager to work: she wanted to be able to drive around.

He pulled out the keys to his truck and tossed them at her. “Here, might as well drive then.”

The trip to The Wreck was much quicker in the truck, and Ellie had missed driving. Pulling up to The Wreck, she noticed Kie’s car as well as the same van that had been there yesterday, so she assumed it was one of the guys.

Opening the door her theory was confirmed, Kiara was stood behind the counter and the three boys were stood next to her, talking. Kie noticed her first and waved her over, “Hey Ellie!”

She walked over, greeting the group with a smile. Kiara waved her behind the counter and passed her an apron. “There’s not much to do right now, so we're just talking.” She giggled and Ellie nodded, knowing how this job usually went anyways.

“Hey, where’d you go off to last night?” JJ asked her.

“Yeah, we saw you with Rafe.” John B added, and Ellie’s cheeks flushed red.

“Oh my god.” They all knew what the blush on her cheeks meant, but Pope was the first one to speak.

“Did you go home with him?” JJ asked. All four pairs of eyes were on her now and her eyes were wide, glancing back and forth between the four.

“Uh yeah? He seemed nice.” She didn’t understand the way the pogues were reacting, nor the way Rafe had reacted. It seemed silly and stupid.

“He’s definitely not nice. He and his fucking friends beat the shit out of us every second day.” John B explained. 

“I’m a kook and even I say you should stay away from Rafe and his friends. He’s bad news.” Kie chipped in, the boys nodding along.

“Thanks, guys, I appreciate the concern, but he said the same thing about you guys.” Ellie just wanted the drama to stop.

“You have to believe us, Ellie. Rafe will say anything to keep you away from us. He’s not a good person.” Pope sounded serious, and the way he was staring at her freaked her out.

She nodded. “Okay, I’ll stay away from him.” She knew that wasn’t true, she had a great time with him the night before and wanted it to happen again. She just wanted the topic to change.

A couple walked into the restaurant and Kiara sighed, shooing the boys away from the counter. “That’s our cue,” She said to Ellie. “Time to get to work.”

John B glared at JJ as soon as the two girls walked away. “Bro if you keep acting like that she’s gonna notice somethings up.”

JJ was confused. “What are you talking about?”

“Clenching your jaw and glaring and all that shit. You look pissed.”

JJ sighed, he had hoped no one had noticed. “I really don’t like the idea of her sleeping with Rafe.”

Pope joined into the conversation. “JJ, dude, she’s her own person. She can make her own decisions. Why do you care so much anyway? We only met her yesterday.”

JJ bit his lip. “I know. She just seems really sweet, and I know Rafe is gonna hurt her. He always does.”

“Do you like Ellie?”

JJ’s eyes widened. “No! I don’t fall for people. One night, that’s it. Plus I don’t know her. Like you said, we only met her yesterday. Just don’t want to see her get hurt, is all.”

John B and Pope could both tell JJ felt something for the girl, even if it was just a little crush based mainly on physical attraction. But they both kept their mouths shut, instead waving Kie back over to order some food.

---

Once Ellie’s shift had ended, she drove to John B’s, punching the address into the GPS. Pope told it wouldn’t bring her straight to the house, but she’d be close enough to know where to go.

Kiara’s shift had ended an hour before hers, and she had invited Ellie to hang out with them at John B’s house, which they called The Chateau. She had happily agreed, excited to have plans and friends. She didn’t have that when she lived with her mom.

She finally found the house, if you could even call it that. It was more of a shack, with a rundown porch and a chicken coop off to the side. She could see her new friends sat on the front porch, and she parked and made her way to them.

“Holy shit. That your truck?” John B asked.

“Nope. Uncle Travis’s.” 

“You park like shit,” JJ said, grinning at her parking job.

Kiara slapped him lightly. “Stop insulting our new friend!”

Ellie laughed at the banter. “Don’t worry, I know. I hate driving a truck. I’m used to a little car.”

It was still quite early in the day, as Ellie and Kiara both had short shifts, and it was a beautiful day, so they decided to go out in boat. The HMS Pogue, JJ explained to Ellie, blabbing on and on about their precious boat.

Once they were all situated, and John B was working on untying the rope, Ellie turned towards the others. “I have a confession. I’ve never been on a boat. Besides the ferry, obviously.” 

“Hopefully you don’t get seasick then.” Pope giggled.

John B had untied the boat and started the engine. Ellie moved to sit down, but she was seconds too late as the boat lurched forward and she fell backward.

She waited for her butt to connect with the hard surface, squeezing her eyes shut to prepare herself for the pain, but it never came. Instead, she fell into someone, their arms wrapping tightly around her waist to steady her.

“Woah there!” JJ’s voice came from directly behind her, as he stepped back slightly to stop himself from stumbling over with her added weight.

The three other pogues laughed, and Ellie couldn’t stop the blush from spreading on her cheeks. “I told you guys I’d never been on a boat!”

JJ carefully lead her over so she could sit, his arm still wrapped tightly around her waist to make sure she wouldn’t fall again. Once she was finally settled down, he reluctantly removed his arm and shifted away, just slightly.

“Thank you,” Ellie said to JJ, sending him a smile that made his heart flutter.

He had never felt like that before. He wasn’t sure what it meant, but it scared him. JJ had only known Ellie for a day, yet she was causing butterflies in his stomach and his heart to beat faster. 

Eventually, they decided to anchor the boat and go swimming. Ellie didn’t have her swimsuit on, so she decided to stay on the boat. John B offered to stay with her, assuring her that he didn’t really feel like swimming anyways.

“So,” He said as he sat next to her, taking JJ’s spot. “What brings you to the Outer Banks anyways?”

Ellie paused for a minute, thinking of what to say. She wanted to keep her story a secret, at least for a little bit longer. “There were some issues at home,” She finally said. “I needed a change.”

John B could tell that she didn’t want to get any further into it, so he changed the subject. “What do you think of it here so far?”

This was something Ellie didn’t mind talking about. “I love it here! It’s so different from West Virginia.” She smiled, glancing around at the water around here. “There are so many new things for me to experience. And so far, the people are super nice. Although, I haven’t met many.

“I think I’d like to learn how to surf, but I’m not a great swimmer, so I’m not sure how that would go. Can just barely keep my head above my water.” She laughed.

John B grinned. “We all love surfing. But JJ’s definitely the best. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind teaching you!” 

Ellie glanced at JJ in the water, and couldn’t help but blush once again. She couldn’t deny that he was attractive, and being alone with him on the beach might not be such a bad idea. 

John B noticed her stare and teased her, “Checking him out now are we?”

She playfully shoved him. “Shut up!”

Ellie loved how comfortable she felt with John B. He was easy to get along with and she enjoyed talking to him. It felt like they had been friends forever, they quickly fell into conversation and before she knew it the pogues were climbing back on the boat.

John B immediately told JJ about the fact that Ellie wanted to learn how to surf, and he agreed to teach her right away. It was an excuse for him to get to be alone with her, to get to know her a little better.

JJ couldn’t help but stare at Ellie as they made their way back to land. She was beautiful, he admired the way her hair fell on her shoulders, how her eyes glistened in the sunlight, the way she smiled while Pope was talking and laughed when Kie teased him. 

Ellie’s phone chimed and she picked it up, reading the text. It was from Rafe, asking her if she was busy, and if she wanted to come over again later. She quickly responded yes, smiling as she thought about seeing the boy again.

JJ didn’t miss the way she smiled at her phone, or how her eyes lit up. He quickly looked away, not wanting to think about who made her smile like that. She probably had a boyfriend. For the rest of the ride, JJ was silent. He shouldn’t feel like this anyways. He hardly knew her. And even though he had never felt like this before, he brushed it off, convincing himself that she was just another girl he wanted to fuck.

---

Ellie made her way to Rafe’s house for the second night in a row. She told her uncle she was spending the night at Sarah’s again. She had apologized profusely, feeling bad that she hadn’t spent more than an hour in her new home, but her uncle insisted it was fine, he was just happy she was making friends. 

Except she didn’t have a clue who this Sarah girl she was ‘staying with’ even was.

Ellie walked up to the front door of Rafe’s house (which was much bigger than her uncles) and knocked. A blonde girl around her age opened the door and smiled at her. “You must be Ellie. Ready for our sleepover?”

Ellie frowned, looking at the girl. “Sorry?”

The girl burst out laughing. “I’m Sarah. I saw your uncle Travis at the store earlier and he mentioned you spending the night with me last night... Of course, I don’t seem to remember that but I went along with him anyway, don’t worry.”

Ellie looked down sheepishly, she hadn’t expected to get caught in her lie. Sarah continued, “I assume you’ve been spending time with my brother. It’s all good, I don’t mind covering for you. Come in.”

Ellie stopped to talk to Sarah, she didn’t want to seem rude by running away, especially since the girl was helping her out. She was extremely nice, and they even made plans to hang out sometime.

She eventually made her way to Rafe’s room, knocking lightly on the door. “Come in!” Pushing open the door, she saw Rafe sat at his desk, lines of white powder present in front of him.

He wiped his nose. “Sorry. I wasn’t expecting you for another 15 minutes.”

Ellie sat on his bed. “It’s okay,” She said quietly, eyeing the substance. It’s not like she hadn’t seen it before, but it intrigued her. She thought back to this morning when she had first seen the signs that Rafe was a drug user. 

He bent down, snorting another line. She watched closely, impressed with how effortless he made it. Ellie had never even smoked weed, terrified of falling in her mother’s footsteps. But Rafe made this look so cool, like it wasn’t even a big deal.

And maybe it wasn’t. Everyone had done coke a the parties she used to go to, treating it as nothing more than a sip of alcohol. Of course, no one had ever offered her any, knowing the story of her family. The story that Rafe didn’t know.

He noticed her staring. “Want a bump?”

She hesitated, knowing she shouldn’t. One line was all it would take. But Rafe was staring at her, a small smirk on his face, one line of powder left on the table. The look in his eye told her that he didn’t expect her to do it though, and she had to prove him wrong, she just had to. Plus, one line wouldn’t hurt. 

Ellie had seen her mom, seen what drug abuse turned into. She wouldn’t let that happen to her. A little bit of cocaine would hardly have an effect, she convinced herself, even though she knew that wasn’t true.

But she had a point to prove, and Ellie’s spitefulness wouldn’t let her say no. She knew she was younger than Rafe, and she didn’t want him to think of her as a frightened little girl. She had to prove herself to him.

She promised herself she would only do it once as she walked over to the desk and snatched the rolled bill from his hand, leaning down to the surface. As she breathed in, her nose burned slightly, the drug irritating her nostrils. Ellie stood back up, feeling slightly dizzy as she wobbled a bit.

Rafe reached out to grab her, pulling her down so she was sitting in his lap. “First time?” He asked as he reached around to brush the remains of the coke off her nose. She sniffled slightly, her nose already starting to run.

Ellie nodded, leaning back into his chest. Her head felt fuzzy, similar to alcohol, but not the same, and she found herself loving the feeling. It was better than alcohol had ever made her feel, and she wanted more, forgetting about the promise she had made herself. Her hand slightly trembled as she grabbed Rafe’s, gently rubbing his thumb. 

He turned her slightly, leaning in to press his lips to hers. His pupils were dilated and slightly bloodshot, and she knew hers would probably soon be the same. He slipped his tongue in her mouth, moving his hand down to squeeze her ass.

He pulled back. “Want to go to the bed?” 

She glanced back at the desk and the small baggie before shaking her head. “Let’s do another line first.”

Taglist: @prejudic3 @margaritatimebaybee 

[rxsie-the-demon]

Brooklyn Baby | JJ  Maybank

SERIES MASTERLIST

A/N: heyo! so i haven’t written fanfic in FOREVER, and i never have on tumblr. so please be patient with me (haha). this is gonna be a series, basically everything that i want (dreamed?) about that happens in season 2 of outerbanks. i hope you enjoy!

chapter summary: Nikki Reddy is new to Outer Banks High School, aka ‘Kook Academy.’ After befriending Topper, Kelce, and Scarlet and getting a crash course on OBX culture, she meets the school outcast, Kiara Carrera

warning: swearing, mentions of drowning, shooting, death, smoking, etc. nothing super bad, just usual stuff from s1

word count: 2075

CHAPTER 1: Shades of Cool

I honestly had no idea what was going through my brother’s head when he decided to say, “Fuck it, let’s move to the Outer Banks.” In the middle of the school year. In the winter!

Like, he could’ve at LEAST waited ‘til the summer or spring. But nope, we’re going to the Graveyard of the Atlantic in fucking January.

JANUARY.

I can’t even wear cute sandals or shorts.

I sighed deeply and turned into the parking lot of Outer Banks High School, or as some kid I heard called it, Kook Academy. I have no idea what that was supposed to mean because no one at the school seemed crazy. But then again, this was my third day here. For all I know, these kids are batshit crazy.

I parked her white Lamborghini Aventador that I had gotten for my sixteenth birthday (just Sweet Sixteen things) and grabbed my pink Kanken backpack and flung it over my shoulder, brushing her shoulder lengthed hair out of my way. Stupid hair always getting in the way of everything. While I walked into the building, I pulled her schedule out of the pocket of the bag, not remembering where my AP US History class was.

“Nikki! Hi!” I heard a girl’s voice call out. Turning around, I was met with the energetic, and for a lack of a better word, preppy girl who was assigned to show me around the school two days ago. Scarlet, I remembered. The girl whose name matched her hair. Next to her, the tall, HOT, tan blonde friend wearing khakis and a sweater, and the other boy, also tall, equally hot, dark-skinned friend. Topper and Kelce, was it? I couldn’t remember. Or was it Topher, like Christopher? I knew a guy who went by Topher instead of Chris. He was a weird guy.

“Hey! Scarlet, right? And...Topper and Kelce?” I gave them a sheepish grin. “Sorry, I suck with names.”

“No, it’s all good, broski,” Topper smiled. “And you got them right if that makes it better.”

I sighed with relief. “Oh, good.”

“I LOVE your dress,” Scarlet cooed. I did too. A yellow plaid cami dress over a thin, white turtleneck sweater, complete with white converse and a simple silver necklace with an ‘Om’ symbol.

“Aw, thank you! I love your outfit, too! I could never rock a green tube top and jeans, you’re BLESSED.”

“We should start walking to class, guys,” Kelce interjected, “Otherwise we’re going to be late, and Miss Newbie here doesn’t need that on her third day of school.” Topper rolled his eyes and laughed.

“Facts, love. Let’s get a move on,”

As we turned to walk to class, we passed by this girl whose rather dull aura caught my attention. I only saw part of her face when we walked by her, but she had sunken eyes as if she hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in who knows how long. Her frizzy brown hair was spilling out of the hood of her black sweatshirt, and her hands were stuffed in the pockets of her black sweatpants.

Honestly? I thought she looked like shit. But not in an insulting way, in an “Are you ok? Do you need a hug?” kind of way.

“Hey, Top,” I turned next to him to asked, “Who’s the girl in all black that looks like she’s gonna pass out?”

The three OBX OGs spun their heads around to catch a glimpse of who I was talking about, before letting out a laugh at her question. “Ah, that’s Kiara. She’s a freak.” Top responded, chuckling.

I smiled sarcastically, a little mad that they outright insulted someone like that, but couldn’t show it because, well, I had no other friends. “True, but uh, how so?”

“She’s friends with Pogues, that’s how.”

“...Pogues?”

“The poor kids on the island, from The Cut. They’re all freaks and whores, they run around, stealing stuff, trying to shoot people.” Scarlet chirped up, emphasizing the different words. I nodded slowly.

“Yeah! This one Pogue, John B, like, he stole my girlfriend, uh sorry, EX-girlfriend from me, and his buddy JJ tried to shoot me in the head!” Topper exclaimed. Nikki’s eyes went wide.

“Wait...hold up, wait, he- WHAT? WHY did he try to shoot you?”

“I got into a fight with John B.”

“OK BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN HE’S GONNA- WHAT?”

“OK OK, I may have stuck his head underwater for a bit. I wasn’t gonna KILL him, I was just messing around, you know?” Topper looked at Kelce and Scarlet, who agreed with him, “Gotta show those dirty Pogues their place.”

I laughed dryly. What the flying fuck?

We stepped inside the classroom and took our seats, with me right behind Scarlet, and Topper and Kelce on either side of her.

Scarlett spun around. “Bro, our teacher isn’t even here!” She rolled her eyes and pulled out her Puff Bar from her bar and took a hit. She looked over at me and held it out for me. I shook my head no and turned to Topper. “Wait, Topper, that ex-girlfriend. Does she go here?”

Kelce and Scarlet immediately looked over at Topper, who looked like I just ran over his cat. 

“Oh I’m sorry,” I immediately apologized. “I shouldn’t have asked about-”

“No, no, it’s ok,” Top said awkwardly and coughed. He turned to face me with a sad smile. “Uh, remember how I mentioned she’d left me for some Pogue?”

“John something, yea?”

“Well, he killed her and himself, about six months ago.”

My jaw dropped. “What the fuck?! How are you so casual about- Shit I’m so sorry.”

“Yeah, he shot the last sheriff, Sheriff Peterkins, who by all accounts was actually a sweetheart. Then he proceeds to convince Sarah, or maybe he blackmailed her, I don’t know, into riding his boat into a tropical depression. We found the wreckage of the boat a couple weeks later, but...their bodies were never found...”

“Holy fucking shit.”

“Yeah... That girl, Kiara, she was best friends with both John B and Sarah. John B was, by all accounts, trash, but he was still her friend, I guess.”

I nodded slowly, trying to process all the information Topper had just dumped onto me.

Despite my extremely wealthy upbringing, I was raised to not be classist. Or at least, I hope that’s how I turned out; Scarlet, Topper, and Kelce also don’t seem like the most honest people. But these...Pogues that they were talking about...don’t seem like the sweet people.

But something about that girl’s eyes...they seemed so sad. You don’t feel for someone like that unless they’re a good person. Right?

*****************************************************

Our teacher was droning off about...gosh who even fucking knows, I stopped paying attention the second he walked in.

I was on autopilot mode, taking down notes but not, like, actually paying attention. Instead, my mind was on these really cute boots I saw while online window shopping yesterday. I had bookmarked the link. Maybe I’d buy those?

“Nikhita!” My teacher called out. Hearing my first name, I snapped back to reality.

“Hi!” I smiled back. The class chuckled a bit.

Mr. Obi, a Nigerian man with the biggest glasses I’ve ever seen, rolled his eyes. “Hello. Did you hear what I said?”

“Not at all, sir, not at all.”

Topper and Scarlet were losing their minds; the former had to put his head down on his desk because he was laughing so hard.

He sighed and shoved his glasses up his nose. They slid down again. “I asked you what was the impact of the election of 1860?”

Shit shit shit shit shit

“Uh...wait, we want to war? Yea, that, like, started the Civil War.” I said, thankful I knew the answer. Mr. Obi was unimpressed.

“Mhm. Anyway, so...” and he continued to drone off.

Topper turned to me, smiling, and we both laughed.

As the lesson went on, I kept glancing at the clock. Ok, 45 minutes left, which means we’re halfway through class.

Mr. Obi kept going on and on about the Civil War, until, 15 minutes later, a little alarm went off on his phone. He turned and pressed the ‘Stop’ button.

“Right on time. Ok, so, I shortened today’s lesson because I wanted to talk about your project. Nikhita, you got here two days ago, the first day back from winter break, so you have no idea what I’m talking about, and I’m sure most of your classmates have forgotten. So I’ll refresh your memories: the second semester of U.S History is not going to the usual. You’re going to have a semester-long project that can be about anything. Literally anything, so long as it has something to do with either world history or current events. Yes, I know this is a United States history class, but we expanded this project to make it more interesting for you guys..”

Mr. Obi stopped for a second, looking at all of us. I nodded, partially because I felt bad because everyone was just giving him black stares, and because I found this project interesting.

“Now, in the past years, I left my classes to choose their partners or groups. But before the break, I’m sure you all remember the catastrophe that was your mini-project, yes?”

The class mumbled something incoherent, except for the boys in the back of the class who started cheering, which made our teacher smile.

“Well, because of that, I’ve decided to choose your partners for you. Well, more like the Pyramid of Doom.”

The Pyramid of Doom. This mini pyramid statue that has a little opening on the top, with all of our names in them.

Mr. Obi opened the Pyramid and began. I stayed quiet, listening to see who I was going to be paired with. Hopefully one of my three friends, or maybe one of the boys in the back. They’re cute.

When my name was called, I leaned forward to pay attention. The intensity, the suspense. Who was gonna be my partner?

Mr. Obi stuck his hand in the Pyramid and pulled out the next piece of paper. “Kiara Carrera.”

My eyes went wide.

******************************************************

“So, you excited to be partners with the freak for class,” Topper asked, taking a bite of his pasta. I laughed sarcastically.

Outer Banks High School has an A/B schedule, which means third block is two hours instead of 90 minutes, and everyone has a different lunch at a different time, depending on their class. On A days, I have lunch with Topper and some other kids. On B days, I’m by myself.

Today’s an A day.

“It’ll be fine. She doesn’t seem that bad.” I turned to my left to face him, popping a grape into my mouth. Yum. I love grapes.

“Yea, just wait ‘til you get to know her,” this boy across from us said. “She’s so weird. She hates being a Kook. Like, she never goes golfing.”

“Or shopping!” One girl piped up. “She just likes to sit at the beach and surf, and smoke weed and stuff.”

“Well, that sounds fun,” I shrugged. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love going to country clubs, and shopping, and going out to get breakfast, but I love chillin’ at the beach. Maybe she just has different interests?”

“Ok, that’s fine,” Topper stated, “but she’s friends with Pogues. And not just any Pogues - John B Routledge, JJ Maybank, and Pope Heyward.”

“Ok, but like, one of them’s dead. Look, I’m all for holding people accountable for their actions, but...bro, stop tryna cancel a dead dude,” I laughed. Topper punched my arm, and I winced jokingly.

He wrapped an arm around my waist, and I blushed a bit. Topper’s cute, definitely, and I like the attention, but I knew what was going on. Sarah Cameron, the dead girl, was this school’s Queen, with Topper as King. He’s looking for a replacement, not an actual girlfriend.

But...I liked the attention. I put my head on his shoulder.

“Hey, so, my friend Rafe’s 20th birthday party is this Friday. He’s a family friend and I would love it if you’d join me at the party.”

I turned to look at him, debating whether or not I wanted to go to some rando’s birthday party. But Topper knows him, and it seems like everyone else does, too.

“Sure,” I smiled. “Why not.

__________________________________

chapter two