#but we got it confirmed by kiara at least

[almond-tofu-chan]

in literally just one year weve lost:

Yozora Mel

Omegα

A-Chan

Hizaki Gamma

Minato Aqua

Amelia Watson

Sakamata Chloe

Ceres Fauna

jesus fucking christ, never ask a holofan what happened in 2024. heres hoping we dont lose anyone else before the year ends, or i dont know if my heart can take it ;-;

[cameronsprincess]

Idk if you can make this into a fic (if you can please do so) but I just wanted to share this thought: so it’s starting to get colder outside and the pogues suggest going in the hot tub but you don’t get and just sit on a chair nearby and then you’re offered a drink and you decline and then you’re offered some weed and decline and someone is like “y/n not going in the hot tub, not drinking, not smoking, you pregnant or something” in a joking tone but then you just smile at jj and everyone realizes that you are and you tell jj that you were gonna tell him tonight before you guys went to sleep.

warnings: pregnancy, mentions of alcohol and weed, jj fluff!🥰

loved this request, unsure how i feel about my execution of it, hopefully i did it justice, i loooove me some jj fluff 🥺🤍

“It’s cold out here, who wants to get in the hot tub?” you hear John B ask.

All of your friends had excitedly nodded at the idea, rushing inside to get themselves ready, no one noticing that you had remained seated. You crossed your arms, rubbing your hands up the sides of your arms as you waited on your friends to return.

JJ was the first to emerge back outside, his face pulled into a frown when he noticed you hadn’t moved from your spot.

“What’s wrong princess, don’t wanna join us in the Cat’s Ass?”

You giggle at the horrendous name he’d given the hot tub, shaking your head as you lift your head to meet his blue eyes.

“No i’m okay”

JJ frowns more, plopping in the chair beside you and placing a warm hand on your clothed thigh.

“Is somethin’ wrong?”

You give him a small smile, placing your hand on top of his large one.

“No ‘m fine, promise”

He nods his head, ultimately letting the subject go and hopping into the hot tub, all of your friends joining him shortly after.

-

“Y/N are you sure you don’t wanna join us?” Sarah asks, her arms tossed over the side of the tub.

“No i’m okay Sare, thank you though”

Your friends glanced around at one another, their eyes finally landing on JJ who just gives them a small shrug.

“I’m gonna go grab some beers, J, you still rollin’ up?” John B asks as he pulls himself from the tub, quickly wrapping a towel around himself.

“Yeah already got some rolled, we’ll light one up when you get back”

John B grins widely, giving a small nod and rushing into the chateau, reappearing minutes later with 6 beers in hand. He begins passing the beers out, slowly walking toward you last, offering you the final beer.

You awkwardly cough, shaking your head ‘no’. “ ‘M good JB, thank you though”

John B narrows his eyes, his head tilted slightly to the side, “What’s up with you Y/L/N? You’ve never been one to turn down a cold beer, or time in the hot tub”

You awkwardly laugh, unsure of what to say to that. You did have your reasons for declining everything so far, but you weren’t ready to speak on it, not until you talked to JJ first.

“I’m just not feeling the best” you lie, but it wasn’t a complete lie, you hadn’t been feeling like yourself lately.

“Well are you at least gonna smoke with us? That might help!” Kiara chimes in, the joint in her hand as she takes a small puff of the substance.

“No, I-I’m okay”

Your friends were beginning to make it very hard to keep your secret, offering you all the things they knew you loved but couldn’t partake in at the moment.

Pope chuckles, “What, are you pregnant or something? No hot tub, no beer, no weed”

His tone was joking, but the smile on your face and the soft look you’d given JJ was confirmation enough for everyone.

“Wait- You’re pregnant?” JJ asks, hopping up and out of the tub, rushing to your side quickly.

He drops to his knees, his arms flying around your waist as he rests his head softly on your stomach.

You run your fingers through his soft blond locks, “Yeah, I just found out today. I was gonna tell you before we went to bed tonight, but I guess now works too”

You hear the whoops and hollers from your friends, everyone rushing from the tub and surrounding you and JJ. You felt your eyes well up with tears, the happiness surrounding you making your heart swell.

JJ chokes out a laugh, his eyes filled with tears as well as he runs his hand over your belly, “My girl is having my baby”

You giggle, letting a tear fall from your eyes, “Yes, we’re having a baby, J”

JJ TAGLIST: @rafeism @ivy-34 @writingjjfics @always-reading @jesssssmaybank @harrys-humble-housewife @maybankspov @immyowndefender @jjmaybankswifes-blog @wetbitchlibrary @lizcameron @xprloki @moremaybank @alexisbaumann2004 @thatsthewaythechrissycrumbles @thewitchesofart @unsaidjaelinrose @itsmytimetoodream @r1vrsefx @mel119g @rafetopia @jade-is-jaded @jjmaybankisbae @lexasaurs634 @fayerite @drewstarkeyslut @presleyanswrites @sierraluvz @carma-fanficaddict @rafescokenostril @madzzz0797 @slytherhoes @jscameron @jjsmarijuana @ijustwanttoreadlols

jj master list | requests | taglist form

[alphinias]

Not trying to be negative, just sincerely asking: How are Kiara physical touch is my love language Carrera and JJ what's personal space Maybank not all over each other all the time?

I don't mean they have to kiss everytime but I think there is a lot of missing casual affection and touches, like the intimacy that you can feel for Jarah.

They touched more before they got together lol

That said, loved everything we got from them, episode 1 will not be topped. The dance, the I love you, the forhead touch. Arrrrgh. I'm feral!

I mean, I don’t think Jiara is ever going to be lovey dovey in the sense like Jarah is. That makes sense for them as a couple to me because they’re still the best friends first dynamic. The only casual thing I’m missing is I really think we should’ve gotten things like JJ giving her a hand into the truck etc when they’re climbing in the back of it. I feel like that’s the type of stuff JJ would always do. And all the touches we’ve gotten are definitely scripted.

Couple wise I think at a glance it also seems weird that JJ isn’t automatically touching her like after the drink got thrown on her, but that’s actually a wonderful detail imo because they have him verbally checking in with her and just being there for her and reading what she needs instead. Kie has never liked to be crowded in moments like those and to me it shows that at the least they mostly understand Jiara in a mature way.

Relationship wise it’s pretty clear JJ is still learning what a relationship is and they’re basically treating the Jiara ship as if 18 months didn’t already pass with them together at all. Which is stupid and not realistic but I honestly am kind of happy about it because I was so mad about missing out on their early relationship lmao.

I think we’ve gotten some REALLY good stuff from JJ (HYPERBOLIC CHAMBER JJ AND PROTECTIVE JJ LOML) but I will say I do want some more scenes of him initiating affection/I love you’s by the end of the season. I want to see some growth there. And I want my damn confirmation that he’s had feelings for her for a long time. That’s the main thing they’ve dropped the ball on so far but overall I’m eating up the season!

My favorite scene so far is their “you almost died” conversation in episode two but literally stuff in every episode 1-4 had me hitting the floor

[fayedartmouth]

Someone asked for 10 not in an ask.

Do I keep writing the same basic fix-it scene a thousand times? Yeah, I really do. Am I going to stop? Probably not any time soon.

"I can't find a pulse!"

It's a matter of course; Pope knows what to do.

JJ's been stabbed, left for dead in a back alley of Morocco.  Kiara is crying, which isn't very useful.  And John B takes his pulse, which Pope doesn't trust at all, considering the other boy barely knows how to keep himself alive, much less someone else.

He huffs, pulling JJ up and supporting his head and neck as he lays him down.  "Put pressure on the wound," he orders, and he's pleased Cleo at least has the sense to listen.

With JJ situated on his back, he reaches up, pressing his fingers to the pulse point on his neck and waits.

You have to wait.  Sometimes it's hard to tell.  With the stress of the moment, your own adrenaline.  Pope waits -- adjusts his fingers -- and checks again.

Before it crashes over him with horrible clarity. "I can't find a pulse!"

Kiara just cries some more, and Sarah holds her.  John B looks at him, wide eyed and terrified.  "What do we do?"

"I'll do chest compressions," he says, not waiting for confirmation as he lines himself over JJ's chest.  "You breathe--"

John B looks like a deer in the headlights, but he seems ready to listen.  Pope yells back to Rafe, "Get us an ambulance!  Or some kind of medical help!  Anything!"

He starts then, pounding with mechanical clarity he remembers from his textbooks.  Two inches, compressing the breastbone.  You have to get enough movement to manually pump the heart. This is the only way to keep the blood circulating.  If you don't do it enough, it won't do any good at all.

It's hard, though.  The force required is more than he imagines.

He looks at JJ's face, too still and growing pale.

It's harder when it's someone you know.

When it's someone you love.

When it's JJ.

He doesn't stop, though.  He continues, a full round of compressions before he falls back and nods to John B.  "Breathe -- pinch his nose--"

John B does, pushing JJ's head back and lifting his chin before he pinches his nose and covers his mouth.  Pope watches as JJ's chest rises -- and falls.  Rises -- and falls.

And then, just like that, he's at it again.

CPR, contrary to popular belief, doesn't restart someone's heart.

It's a stopgap.  It keeps someone alive long enough for further medical intervention.  The idea is to keep the blood moving, to keep the organs oxygenated.  You're just buying time.

Except that's what they've been doing.

Ever since JJ's life fell apart.

They're all just buying time.

Helping him escape from the cops.  Patching him up after a run-in with Groff.  Following him all the way to Morocco to fix his mistakes.  They tolerate his drinking.  They roll their eyes are his fatalism.  Because they're just buying time.

Like they're pounding on his chest.

Instead of giving his heart the spark it needs.

They need to ask him how he is.  They. need to talk about his parentage.  They need to force him to talk about what it means to be a Kook, and how he feels about the fact that all of his parents -- every last one of them -- failed him.

John B breathes for him.

Pope pumps his heart.

But this isn't what JJ needs.

JJ needed intervention long before it got to this point.

They let him slip away.

They let this happen.

His arms are aching, and John B's fingers are trembling as he struggles to get enough air to breathe for JJ.  And just when he can't do it -- just when Pope thinks he's failed -- Rafe comes back.

He's got a woman with him.  She looks past them and right at JJ.  Pope protests as she pulls him out of the way, but then he sees what she's carrying.

It's a medical bag.

And -- more important -- and AED.

"How long has he been down?" she demands, ripping JJ's cloak open.  The blood slicked shirt beneath is ruined and she rips it free.

"I don't know," Pope says.  "A few minutes."

Her face is grim as she unpacks her gear.  She places the electrodes on his chest.  "It's worth a try," she mutters as the machine whirs to life.  And flashes--

"Step back," she warns them, and Pope pulls Cleo free from the wound as the AED delivers a shock to JJ's chest.  His body twitches, just a little, and they all wait, holding their breath--

"Okay," the woman says, visibly relaxing.  "He's got a pulse."

He almost can't believe it.  That JJ's alive.

That they have another chance.

They can still save JJ's life.

They can still save JJ.

"But come," the woman says, prodding him back to action.  "Or he won't be alive for much longer."

Because no more stopgaps.

They're going stop the bleeding.  They're going to stitch up the organs and tend the wound.

Then they're going to fix what's really wrong with JJ, what's been wrong with him all along.

For 19 years, it's been nothing but stopgaps.

But Pope thinks they're all ready to save a life this time.

[imagineblogsstuff]

Imagine: You find out what she’s been doing behind your back

Warning: Arguing, yelling, cheating. girlxgirl

Got inspired from a book I’ve read on wattpad called “ THE BROKEN ONE” It’s a Lydia Martin book. It’s worth reading I promise

You were searching everyone for your girlfriend but you couldn’t find her anywhere. At this point you thought that someone showed up and kidnapped her right under your nose. That was until you heard her screaming. And your whole heart stopped beating, you never run faster than you run in this moment, the sound of her screaming never leaving your ears. But that was until you finally arrived to where the screaming was from, only to find your girlfriend in life and screaming in happines, in the arms of Topper. Her fucking ex Boyfriend. And that wasn’t all. She was kissing him!

“What the fucking are you doing Sarah?” The words left your mouth as anger rise in you. At your voice she instantly pulled away from Topper, her eyes widen as she looked at you.

“This…- this isn’t that it looks like.” The words fell from her lips as she realized in that moment the stupid mistake she did. Topper by now left, only looking in your eyes and he felt fear of what you might do to him.

“You’re fucking kidding me right? You can’t tell me that you weren’t kissing your ex just 2 minutes ago” you said angrily, wanting to hear something of an explanation on why she was kissing Topper.

“It’- Its not what you think, or at least not as bad as you think y/n/n” Sarah said stuttering over her words, but truly she know what she did.

A scoffed escape your lips and you run your hand through your hair, your heart was betting like crazy with anger and sadness. You couldn’t believe that after everything you did for her and after everything you risked for her she’s done this to you. You literally risked your whole life for her.

“Save it, Sarah. You can’t even give me a real reason on why you kissed him.” The monotone in your voice held no emotion, the dark look in your eyes hiding the pain that you fell in your heart and whole body right now.

“I didn’t mean it y/n. It’s was just a stupid kiss.” Sarah voice cracked, her voice hoarse with the reality of what was coming. “Please y/n.”

“Why kiss him if it was so stupid ?”

“He kissed me!” Sarah was trying to defend herself, to make it look like she wasn’t the bad guy in this argument. At the girl words y/n could hear her heartbeat pounding in her ears, the anger was now more than ever.

“Does it matters? You still kissed him back Sarah! “ A million of feelings mixed together was now going on in y/n’s body. Betrayal, grief. She wanted to scream and let all her anger out, actually she wanted to murder someone.

“All this time you’ve been so insecure about me and Kiara, yet you were the one kissing your ex behind my back, I trusted you Sarah, I really did.”

“You can still trust me Y/n. I- I don’t know how it happened. Topper just showed up and the next thing I know we were kissing and laughing.” Sarah again stuttered on her words. Somehow she was telling the truth she didn’t really know how she ended up kissing Topper, all she could remember was that last night Topper came to her with some bruises on his face and he asked her if she could help him and of course Sarah being the caring girl she is, she said yes. And from there everything if black for the blonde girl.

“I don’t care Sarah. You hurt me, I actually trusted you, and I loved you and I still fucking do. But this?” Y/n said as she pointed to Sarah and then to the clothes that were on the ground that only now has she take notice of it. “This is fucked up Sarah. Even after everything I’ve fucking sacrifice for you. And you still did this. We’re done, do you hear me? We are fucking done!” A sobbed escaped the blonde girl body, her hand reaching out to grab a hold of now her ex girlfriend forearm, the flinch she received confirmed the truth. They were done.

Those two words felt like y/n had taken a hammer to Sarah’s heart. A ringing pounding through her ears, as pain ricocheted through her body. The realization of what she’d done to a bond so perfect broke her, all because of the stupid kissed she just shared with her ex.With one last painful look y/n turned on her shoes leaving Sarah. She wanted nothing more than to be a vampire from one of her favorite shows and to just turn off her emotions just like Elena Gilbert did when her brother was “killed”. Sarah watched as the love of her lives leaves her porch. Her heart breaking into a million of pieces.

[lydiaas]

That was a good point. We definitely skipped over the fact that not only was Kie kidnapped in a foreign country, separated from her friends, but then also thrown in a room with Rafe AND was forced to “trust” him to escape (that was her only chance, she had to in my opinion).

Regarding Rafes attitude towards Kie, it seemed like he didn’t like that she ran around with the pogues but he mostly seemed to try to separate her from any issues he had with the pogues (it’s not you we want Kie; stay out of this kiara). This leads me to believe they at least had an acquaintance-type relationship during her kook year when she became close with Sarah. He doesn’t really completely associate her with the pogues. She’s in a different category to him. Maybe due to their short lived acquaintanceship or a weird attraction/obsession he has with her. Her alone is not a threat. But her associated with the pogues is a threat. This leads me to believe he probably would have at least not harmed her. However, she has witnessed him lose it in moments and become violent in previous seasons and during their season 3 time together (choking her in season 1; throwing the guy off the truck during their escape), exactly how he described it to her in their room at Singhs; losing it in certain moments and how he can’t control it. And she was scared. It’s very possible, if triggered, he would have lost control on Kie and done something to hurt her eventually like you said, and that was in the back of her mind.

This got away from me and I rambled lol. Although I am here for Jiara through and through, I do like the Rafe and Kie dynamic. I like that they used it to bring something different to season 3, and it was well received. I think it could be made better by confirming what their past actually is, but regardless I still think it’s interesting and could be utilized in season 4. I don’t think Rafe is very happy about him opening up to her and then her betraying him. He’s probably slightly embarrassed and pissed and would definitely hold that against her, especially after admitting “he’s always liked her” in a not so tasteful way (you’re at least half kook). And if it serves me protective JJ, I am 100% in, sorry not sorry!

Yes completely agree with this. Rafe is fully classist so I think he definitely elevates Kie above the Pogues simply because of who her mother is even if he would throw her to the wolves to save himself.

I think Madison and Drew have good chemistry together (not romantic necessarily but an interesting energy) so I enjoyed their scenes and I wouldn't be averse to more. I love to see her drag him and treat him as badly as he deserves. I think giving him some weird fascination with Kie would be super juicy and interesting although the way that S3 spawned thousands of Rafe x Kie shippers I'm kind of scared of that prospect as well lol

[jaymaybnk]

four months later

the quiet sound of a heart monitor had become an unwelcome white noise in jackson maybank’s life. after everything that happened in morocco, after the stress of getting there, they had lost the crown. and worse, jj almost lost his life — according to the surgeon in morocco who took his insides out and put them back together and saved his life — he had died a few times during the surgery. but he’s been stable for awhile now, and was safely airlifted back to the outerbanks, holding kiara’s hand the entire time as shockingly, her parents took over all the hard questions. mike and anna had been a lifeline jj wasn’t expecting through all this, but it just reminded jj that this is what parents did. parents, no matter how many disagreements you had, showed up during the hard stuff. parents didn’t beat you into oblivion. parents didn’t sell your home out from under you. parents didn’t try to kill you.

because as impossible as it sounded, summer had been right. the conversation they had months ago had been regularly echoing between his ears as time went on. between luke confirming the story the way summer had said he would, and then chandler groff himself confirming that yes, jackson was his son. and then immediately trying to get rid of him. his recovery time in both hospitals gave him far too much time to think about his lack of parents and it hit him. he might not have parents, but he apparently, has a sister. a sister that he wasn’t the least bit nice to the last time they spoke. but jj had some sort of hope that maybe there was a chance for him to apologize.

that chance came after another round at his physical therapy. he wasn’t walking the way he used to. relearning how had been stressful, and he felt like an old man as he struggled with a walker, shuffling the hundred or so steps to the nurses station and back. it winded him, but he wasn’t going to let chandler groff and his stupid sweater across the shoulders win. he had eased himself back into his bed when the door opened. blue eyes glanced up as another blonde walked through the door. “hey, summer,” jj greeted lamely. how do you apologize for not believing that you’re related? “i was kind of a dick the last time we spoke, huh?” lame, but it got the job done. 

Summer was stupid to assume things would turn out differently. What had ever possessed the blonde to think that he would easily accept the truth? In fact, at first the news was met with great resistance by herself. She was a huge hypocrite in that respect. Breathing and sighing deeply as she let her words sink in. Nervousness hummed throughout her being as her orbs took the chance to truly study him. She could tell it was hard to believe, the struggle within. To have some possible hope that maybe...just maybe he could have a better life. A new start ahead. Becoming blatantly obvious as the moments progressed. She didn't want to tell him this way anyway, but he insisted. No, she wasn't going to blame him for how this is turning out. It was her own damn fault for suddenly appearing in his life, and making herself known. Wanting to know more about her brother. To find out what he was like. Simply be around him more. He was just as upset and rightly so. "I'm truly JJ," she whispered. His question resonated in her ears. "I- I just thought that once you knew, everything might change. It doesn't have to be shit. Y-you can leave Luke...if you want to. You might even want to get to know me more?" she questioned softly, albeit, hopefully. Though she wouldn't want to hold her breath for the outcome of his answer. It's pretty much obvious by the mess she's caused. He'd rather her disappear, probably. Which is what her heart and mind are telling her to do now. "Look, I know this is hard to hear. You should take some time, and yeah, who knows, maybe Luke will tell the truth for a change if you decide to ask. I'll get out of your hair. I don't want to cause any more waves. But y-you have my number should you decide you ever want to see me again," she offered a soft smile, with a shrug of her shoulders. Wanting to give him a hug goodbye, she gingerly walked backwards out the door, giving a little wave of her hand instead.

[mariailoveyou-guerin]

Jiaras obx kie fans thinking we hate or dislike kiara so much because she turned pope down or she didn’t like him back which isn’t even true bc okay a lesbian didn’t like a boy that’s not something to be mad about nor be angry or hate kie for but there is so many reason to not like or even hate her for, she did so much sh*t JB too to pope and jj who are my personal favs in the boat show!

1. Kie spent all of s1 only caring about JohnB and his issues not once did she consider pope or jj feelings or care when pope lost literally everything bc of them and jb like his scholarship his future his parents being mad at him etc that’s one, 2. Being the fact that when pope said he loved her she was so unnecessary cruel to him like sure she didn’t like pope ok that’s fine she could’ve turned him down easily but she didn’t she was brutal mean and horrible when JB kissed without her consent all she did was smile and say what are you doing jb but pope pouring his heart out to her and she’s yelling at him saying it’ll never happen! Y’all see the problem she was so nice and calm with jb just kissing her out of the blue but blew up in pope face that’s why me personally don’t like her for 1 but also other reasons like how she talks to them jj and pope how she always act like she’s better then jj how she acts like he’s disgusting or dumb

also y’all think we were mad she broke up with him no it was the way she played him lead him on all the time she was the one to incite everything the kiss them to you know she acted like it was all in his head which was so wrong but she apologised sincerely something she didnt for anything she did in s1 but at least she did now and pope was so mature and understanding for 16 year old who got his heart ribbed out of chest by his bff first love, so yeah can’t personally fault her or hate for that bc she didn’t feel the same way which is fine she tried thought she would but didn’t that’s not her fault and we would never hate her for it! It was just her leading him on playing with him his feelings felt like she just was messing with him and his feelings just to be cruel at first that was sooo fucked up but she really tried tho and gotta give her respect for it and she ended before it went on way to long even tho she should’ve before they slept together but again she’s child too and she made some mistakes! Just wanted to make it clear why she wasn’t liked by pope jj fans I personally wont can’t forgive her for the way she treated pope and jj in s1 but everything else nothing to forgive she apologised the person who’s forgiveness meant anything already gave it to her so how dare we hate her, hold grudge for that

Since I see new fans coming into the show now that s3 was announced an old fans hate for pope is back bc of kie and jiara shippers using it as excuse to hate him for no rzn saying shit like pope just mad kie likes jj and not him so he’s mean to her when all he was upset very sad validly so + as if jiara had even been confirmed in show

Found some people who got it Kie sh*t for the way she treated pope all s1 and s2 that’s why we hate her got it

the way she was just constantly awful cruel to pope for no reason was so unnecessary like fcvk her that bitch+ when he said he wanted to do that surf thing she said same but when pope said he wanted what she wanted she got so mad at him and started yelling at pope like she’s such a bitch mean awful annoying brat character

[collecting-stories]

Loose Lips - Rafe Cameron

Request: hey gorg! i’ve been waiting to request for so long and now they’re open! it’s kind of a basic idea but being kie’s sister and hooking up with rafe on the dl? and john b comes over to see sarah and sees y/n walking out of his room? thank you!!

A/N: This honestly came so easily to me and I’ve been having the hardest time writing so...fingers crossed that’s a good sign. Also, was listening to Lips by The Maine when I wrote this. 

Outer Banks Masterlist

✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰

The sound of the voice calling your name wasn’t unfamiliar to you but it was unfamiliar in this space. That voice, it was your best friend’s deep, raspy like he’d just taken a mouth of saltwater after he wiped out, voice. The tone was confused, naturally, because while he was out of place here to you, you were out of place here to him. You turned away from the bedroom door that you were quietly pulling shut, eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights.  

“John B? What are you doing here?” You’re words came out barely above a whisper, praying that the person on the other side of the door, the person you’d just left, wouldn’t hear the commotion.  

“I swung by to get Sarah...” he trailed off, probably, easily, putting together that you were coming out of not-Sarah's room and you definitely weren’t hanging with Wheezie whenever you disappeared for an afternoon or after a party. “What are you doing here?”

If he eliminated Rose and Ward too, that left one person in the Cameron household. You could see the gears turning in his head, already imagine him trying to blindly text your sister some kind of SOS as he reached his hand into his back pocket. Maybe you could play it off, would you rather he think you were buying coke or that you were here for the actual reason you were here.

“I uh...” you trailed off, looking back at the crisp white door, the doorknob warm in your hand, knuckles turning white as you gripped it. Maybe you could slip back inside and pretend nothing ever happened. “I-”

Before you got a chance to answer him, the doorknob was pulled out of your grasp and you stumbled back as the door opened, the last option John B wanted to believe but the one he knew was it stepping into the hallway.  

“You’re still...” Rafe looked at you curiously for a moment, you were still in the hallway outside his room. But when he turned he John B at the top of the stairs looking a lot like someone who’d just been told that Santa Claus wasn’t real. “You forgot your phone.”

If there was any chance for making John B believe that your trip to the Cameron household was innocent or not-innocent-but-not-what-he-thought, that opportunity flew out the window. Rafe was standing there, holding your phone out to you, in nothing but a pair of boxers sitting so low on his hips it was obvious he’d just pulled them on to come out of his room. His hair was still messed up and there was clear evidence, marks on his otherwise flawlessly sunkissed skin, that whatever happened in there was exactly what John B didn’t want it to be.

“Are you sleeping with Rafe?” He practically shouted as you awkwardly pocketed your phone. Couldn’t you have just stayed in bed ten extra minutes like Rafe had asked, did you have to always be so punctual.

“It’s not what it looks like!” You insisted, not daring to look over at your co-conspirator. You could just imagine him leaning up against the door frame or the wall, arms crossed over his chest, amused grin as you tried to stutter out an explanation. Wasn’t that exactly how you had ended up in his bed the first time?

“Pretty fucking sure it looks like you and Rafe just had sex.” John B replied, sounding both disgusted by the idea and betrayed.  

“Oh, then it is exactly what it looks like.” Rafe piped up. You turned to look at him, trying your absolute hardest to burn him with your glare. He remained unaffected, which didn’t surprise you at all. He usually was unaffected by most things.  

“Does...does Kie know about this?”  

“Please John B, you cannot tell my sister about this.” Sarah didn’t even know and most times you were in the house at the same time that she was. There was no way any of them would take this well. Hell, your sister had thrown a fit the first time John B brought Sarah around. This would be ten times worse.  

“So what’re you saying,” Rafe asked, feigning hurt, “you don’t want anyone to know about us? I’m really hurt Carrera...I thought we meant something to each other.”

“Shut up Rafe!” You snapped, smacking his arm.  

John B ran his hands through his hair, pulling at the ends. He had half a mind to bolt back down the stairs and tell Kiara exactly what he’d seen. You leaving Rafe’s room, Rafe confirming that you were sleeping together. “How long have you guys been together?” He asked you, trying to remind himself that you were his friend, practically his sister, and he owed it to you to let you explain. At least enough that he could get a whole picture of what was going on.  

“Together...would you call it that? Together?” Rafe cut in before you could answer, repeating the word a third time as if he was testing it out. Like he’d never heard it before.  

In all honesty, and maybe somehow it was better this way, you weren’t together. You weren’t even definitely friends. You were just hooking up, strictly sex. And yeah, maybe sometimes after sex you hung out and watched TV or smoked weed or ordered a pizza and then had more sex, but it wasn’t together. It wasn’t a relationship.  

“We aren’t.” You said it like you were promising John B it was nothing serious. “We aren’t together.”

“John B!” Sarah’s voice rang out from the bottom of the staircase, “are we going or what?”  

You mouthed a silent please to him. Please don’t tell Sarah, don’t tell anyone. If your friends found out you would be ostracized, tossed from the pogues forever. You would never be able to show your face on the Cut again.  

“Yeah, yeah...” He called back, waving his hand to her to go outside, he’d be right there. He was still staring at you, as if he could somehow figure out why you had decided to hook up with Rafe of all people. Maybe if he looked at you long enough it would all make sense. “We need to talk later.”  

“We will, just please...I’ll, we’ll talk, I’ll explain.” You promised, trying to buy yourself some time.  

He turned from the top of the staircase, heading down to meet Sarah in the foyer and you heard her ask what the hell was taking him so long when she thought he’d just gone up to use the bathroom. He fumbled through an excuse, casting one more look up the stairs but he couldn’t see either you or Rafe from his position near the door.  

When you heard the door slam shut behind them you pressed your hands to your face, “fuck...fuck.”  

“Looks like someone’s in trouble.” Rafe teased, laughing when you smacked his arm for a second time.  

“Shut the fuck up Rafe!” You grumbled, turning to look at him, “fuck...he’s totally gonna tell my sister, he has no fucking filter. And they’re all shit at keeping secrets.”  

“Well,” Rafe shrugged, standing straight and pointing back to his bedroom with his thumb, “might as well come back in, if they’re gonna know anyway.”

“No, I need to leave, I need to go talk to them or something or try to...explain what’s...” your sentence stuttered, trailing off as you lost your thought. Rafe had crossed the hallway to you, placing his hands on your hips and leaning down enough that he could kiss along your neck and shoulder, over faint marks that he’d left earlier.

“You need to what?” He asked, between trailing kisses.  

“Rafe...”

“You need to what?” He repeated, pulling away just enough to look at you. Right now John B was no doubt cooking up exactly what he was going to say despite promising to let you explain because he had absolutely not self-control and he was always more loyal to Kiara. You needed to leave, to somehow beat him to his own house so you could make them understand that this meant absolutely nothing to you, that they were your friends and they were ten times more important than Rafe Cameron. “You need to...come back to my room?”

“Like ten minutes, tops.” You reasoned, letting him taking your hands and walk you into his room, pushing the door closed behind you with your foot. It wouldn’t be ten minutes, both of you knew that, but you’d been slowly lying to yourself about this whole thing for months. What was ten more minutes?

[hmspogue]

Ok in the first episode of season 3 we need John B to say something to Kie or JJ about the shift between them because if anyone is gonna notice the shift in Kie and JJ’s relationship John B is gonna notice first because it just makes the most sense since John b said in season 1 that JJ is always hitting on her so I need John B to ask JJ something like “what’s up with you and Kie you guys seem to be getting really close” and then JJ is confused too because he has noticed Kie has been giving him more attention and looks that he hasn’t been given from her before so jj is probably gonna say something like “nah you’re crazy it’s just cuz we’re all stuck on an island together” and then John B goes to Kie and maybe teases her about the way her and JJ’s relationship seems different and she won’t confirm or deny… how would you want it to play out like what would you want John be to ask jj and Kie or what comments do you think John b would make?

I FEEL LIKE NOW THAT WE KNOW HOW MUCH THEYRE HANGING OUT ON THE ISLAND THERES NO WAY THEY WONT HAVE SOMEONE COMMENT RIGHT???

selfishly i want JB to zero in on Kiara and Sarah to pick at JJ about it but thats just my Cambank brain talking. i feel like the pogues have got to notice something going on on the island? i would love a moment of John B basically alluding to the fact that deep down he always knew there was something there, at least on JJ's side (bc he already does know in canon re: "youre the one thats always hitting on her"). this would be a really good place for a "doors locked" callback.

if it were Sarah to bring it up to JJ I think it would be super angsty after Kiara is taken, she notices just how inane he's going and she could pull him aside like "you love her." just very simply, not even as a question. and JJ staying silent? i'd fall over dead

[missmouse43]

Nightmares

Summary: Kiara has a nightmare on the island that leaves her shaken. Thankfully there is someone watching over her.

Pairing: JJ Maybank/Kiara Carrera

Words: 1.3k

Read on: AO3

A/N: I finally got around to finishing my first jiara fic and it is totally self-indulgent to hold me over while waiting for the next season lol. So here’s a little taste of the slow burn supremacy I hope we get in season 3.

Kiara felt the fatigue in her muscles, the burning in her lungs, the helplessness of it all as her body betrayed her mind’s mantra of stay afloat stay afloat as it pulled her beneath the unrelenting and unforgiving waves of the Caribbean Sea, weighed down by the unconscious body of a boy she had sworn to herself she would protect. From the Kooks, from his father, from himself. But this...

This was too much.

The strength of Kiara’s resolve to keep them both above water wasn’t enough to make her exhausted legs keep kicking. Knowing she was failing one of her boys wasn’t enough to will the oxygen back into both their lungs as the surface fell further and further from her reach. 

This was it. They were going to drown. She couldn’t save him. JJ took that hit for her—to protect her—and she couldn’t save him.

Summoning every last bit of physical strength she had left, Kiara hugged onto JJ as tightly as she possibly could. Even as pin pricks of black began to dot her vision from lack of oxygen she stubbornly held on. Because if Kiara Carrera was only allowed one final act in this godforsaken life, it would be making sure JJ Maybank didn’t die alone.

She wouldn’t abandon him. Ever.

Kiara closed her eyes and clung to that promise, memories of a shared dream and quiet laughs flashing behind her eyelids as the two sunk deeper and deeper into the dark abyss below…

Kiara woke up with a gasp on her lips and an uncomfortable pounding in her chest. It took her a few seconds to realize it had all been a nightmare. Or at least the ending part of it anyway.

Kiara let out a slow, shaky breath before trying to regain her bearings. She was lying on her back staring up at the endless inky black sky above. The sand beneath her skin reminded Kiara that she had fallen asleep on the beach with the rest of the gang.

Their own little slice of paradise: Poguelandia. Or a prison, depending on how you looked at it.

Kiara pushed herself up into a sitting position and tried to rapidly blink the stinging from her eyes while silently cursing herself for getting so worked up over a stupid dream.

The quiet crackle and glow of the nearby fire was enough to keep her grounded in reality as Kiara checked on each one of the sleeping bodies surrounding her. John B and Sarah spooning by her head, Pope using some driftwood as a pillow by her feet, Cleo curled up on her side below Pope.

They were okay. Somehow, miraculously, they were all okay.

Having the confirmation that her friends were in fact safe was enough of a relief to calm the racing of Kiara’s heart and dull the initial panic that had wrapped itself around her body like a vice when she had first woken up.

Her headcount wasn’t complete, however, until she turned to look directly across from her over the fire pit to where the person she wanted— no, needed to see the most was currently sitting, fully awake, and staring right back at her.

Kiara wasn’t surprised that JJ was still awake. The Pogues agreed on taking shifts throughout the night to make sure the fire didn’t die, and JJ unsurprisingly had been the one to volunteer for the first shift. She must have been restless enough in her sleep to draw attention to herself, Kiara realizes.

That wasn’t embarrassing at all.

“Hey,” JJ greets her, his voice low as to not wake their slumbering friends. Kiara brushes her hair behind her ears to distract herself from the warmth in her cheeks before acknowledging him.

“Hey,” she said just as quietly, avoiding looking directly at his face by focusing in on the pocket knife and newly whittled piece of wood between his hands.

JJ knowingly lifts an brow. “Bad dream?”

“The worst,” Kiara deadpans.

“You wanna talk about it?” JJ tries to keep his voice light and conversational, but Kiara can feel his eyes intently watching her trying to figure out the best way to approach the situation. It wasn’t very often that Kiara allowed her boys to see her so rattled. Today had been the exception, and it was all thanks to this selfless asshole sitting in front of her.

Kiara shrugs in an attempt to mirror his casual approach before finally looking at him properly. “Not really,” she says before squeezing her lips together and pulling a face, because she really, really didn’t want to talk about it. Especially not with him. It hurt too much to think about.

Something akin to pain must have flashed across her face, Kiara thinks, because now JJ is looking at her with this quietly helpless expression. He was hesitating about something; his fingers clenching and unclenching around the items in his hands as if he wanted to reach out and comfort her but didn’t know if he was allowed. Kiara was glad he didn’t.

It would probably make her cry.

“Hey, J?”

“Yeah?”

There were so many things Kiara felt like she needed to say to him in that moment. A moment that would quite possibly be the last time they were given the opportunity to talk semi-privately about what had happened on the Costal Venture while the scars were still fresh.

Things like what were you thinking?

You could have been killed!

Don’t put my life above yours.

I almost lost you.

Never do that again.

Please.

But instead what comes out of her mouth surprises even Kiara.

“Will you wake me if it happens again?”

She doesn’t know why she says it. She half expects JJ to mock her for it. “Stop being emotional! It’s fine!” he had said to her once. But Kiara feels a sweeping sense of relief she wasn’t expecting when JJ’s jaw sets in determination and his steely blue eyes resolutely hold her gaze.

“You got it. I’ll keep an eye on you.”

Logically, Kiara knew JJ had already been watching over them while they slept because that’s just who he is. Still, the verbalization of JJ’s unwavering dedication lifts a weight off Kiara’s shoulders that makes all the traumatic shit they went through today a little easier to cope with.

As tone deaf as JJ could be at times, he was surprisingly perceptive when it came to Pogues being in any sort of emotional distress. Unlike John B and Pope, JJ knew when to push and when to back off. And now was one of those times. Kiara didn’t want to be coddled, but he still knew she needed his reassurance—needed him. Because they were JJ and Kiara. And that’s just how it was.

Then JJ flashes her that classic mischievous smile of his—the seriousness of his tone flipping in an instant, for her benefit most likely—and for a second Kiara catches herself thinking that the hundreds of beautiful shimmering white stars over head had got nothing on the roughish, unkempt boy grinning at her from across the fire pit with a blade in his hand and dried blood still on his temple.

It was a familiar moment of understanding passing between them, one that didn’t require anymore words. She and JJ had always operated like that, sharing their own silent language. It didn’t feel right to thank him, so she didn’t.

JJ watches as Kiara lowers herself back onto the sand, this time using her arm as a pillow and curling up on her left side so she could face the fire. Or rather, so she could face him.

Today had been Hell, there was no question about it. But JJ didn’t drown in her arms. He was alive—she did save him. Now he still had a chance to live out his new surf trip dream once they had the gold. And maybe, just maybe, Kiara thought as she closed her eyes and allowed sleep to take hold of her once again under the watchful eye of her best friend.

Maybe they would get to live out that dream together someday.

[thessaliah]

Beast Lore implication / key words

After that (quite bad) event last december, we at least got some Beast lore answers, Arcade also helped. The follow up is my guess and interpretation, in no way take everything as canon:

Beast class may be chosen or identified calamities the Counter Force selects to accelerate the progression of the Human Order, which is a dangerous gamble. Because they are like cancer in the system, spreads and gets their growth accelerated, feeding on the order and civilization. It bites the hand that feeds them in an untold catastrophic way. Bulletpoints.

The candidates for Beast class are the “evils of humanity,” from which only those who can access a certain type of requirements, including loving humanity, can eventually achieve the "apex" of their group and manifest as a Beast. While it's not uncommon that this evil of Humanity becomes a Beast Larva, it seems extremely unusual for a full manifestation which means humanity (and their Counter Force) defeats them before they become real calamities of the level of Goetia. 

The Beasts’ saint graph has "nega hume" type (or maybe that is just Goetia), and an output / weight of a planetary level class foe depending on their stage of evolution. Goetia was midway through his, even if matured, he hadn't yet fully fulfilled his potential and journey with his Virtual Noble Phantasm. He classified as Second Planetary Class, while U Olgamarie's messed manifestation as Beast VII classifies as Class Three, like Beast VI Larva of Arcade. It's noted by Tamamo that a Larva having that magical energy is unheard of so you might want to keep your eyes open because she might have that amount because it's L and R merged instead of separated, so weights as much as 2 Beasts Larva. L and R seem to be different aspects of the same Beast Throne, but they are to oppose each other and compete. Maybe this VI is an exception for reasons unrevealed.

Each evil of humanity represents a vice of humanity's devolution and progress. The Beast number they correspond isn't necessary "that evil" but a way their aspects can manifest through that evil. It seems only one evil can occupy the Throne or Crown or Horns of the Beast at a time, even if unmanifested and this extends to other parallel worlds too (Beast I manifestation affected and spared the Larvas VI across time and space). As soon as one vacates the Throne, the Order seeks to choose their substitute (Primate Murder seems to have held IV position until he abandoned willingly this so the Counter Force picked Koyanskaya as a replacement in 2017. Koyanskaya seems considered a former Beast Candidate so the IV spot must empty once more).

Their class skills are “nega” (which depends of their personal nature), independent manifestation (which protects them from time paradoxes: so you can prune them as you do with Sefar related things), and authority of the beast/nega hume/anti human order (possible the same nature, judging by Oberon’s profile).

There is a subclass of Beast types known as "beast of the sea" but it doesn't necessarily mean they can be sorted in a number in particular. Perhaps this also means the other type is "beast of the earth."

 As said earlier Beasts Saint Graph have different keywords according to their numbers as qualifiers, similar to how classes work. We have two confirmed more or less, the rest is my speculation:

I: Genesis, past, the apex of the beginning, history (speculation, it must be among these). Known evils of humanity who qualified: Pity. II: No idea. Perhaps is related to dependence and immaturity. Known Evils of Humanity who qualified: Regression.  III: "Mara," temptation, obstacles to personal enlightenment and progress (Speculation because both Kiara and Kama are associated with the "Horn of Mara"). Known Evils of Humanity who qualified: Pleasure, Desire.  IV: Animals, nature. Known Evils of Humanity who qualified: Comparison, Cherish (as pets). V: Unknown. Possibly the kingdom/dynasty destroyer, meaning Daji and Merlin are probably aligned here (while Koyan and Fou belonged to the realm of nature). Ziya's remark of Merlin being beautiful yet evil is a vague reminder of his opinion of Daji. Known Evils of Humanity who qualified: Unknown, but possible “Beauty that destroys Dynasty/kingdoms” (Japanese and Chinese have a specific terminology for this since it’s part of their most famous tales). VI: "City eater." Known of Evils of Humanity who qualified: Green/Gluttony/Accumulation (depending what Beast VI evil is), maybe Retribution (IMO, HF Angra Mainyu could have become a candidate for VI). VII: End, fantasy, future, the apex of the end, possibilities (speculation). Known Evils of Humanity who qualified: Unknown, possible Shame/Regret.

[cherryobx]

Environmentalists//Kiara Carrera x reader

request:

summary: You are an environmentalist who moves to the Outer Banks. When Kiara hears about you, she knows she has to meet you.

warnings: language (1 word lol), fluff, kissing ig

WC: 1,7k

(not my gif, creds to the owner!!!)

You had been planning on moving for a while now. You wanted a quieter life away from big cities and cars honking every two seconds. You hated it. You absolutely hated it. You had known since you were a little girl that this wasn't the life for you.

You were luckily quite wealthy and you had enough money to start a new life somewhere else. When you talked to your parents about moving, they were very supportive of the idea. You told them about where you wanted to move and that you wanted to build your own house there. You had enough money so why not.

So, you quit your job in the city, packed most of your belongings with you and moved to the Outer Banks. Kildare to be specific. The decision to move there wasn’t hard. You had visited the place a few years back and you fell in love with it. It was the most beautiful place to you in the whole world.

When you first arrived there you checked out the property you had bought. The work there had already begun and the fundamentals of the house were already there. It was a good idea to start the process of building before you had even arrived. Your dad had helped you hire a group of people who knew what they were doing but you wanted to hire a few locals as well.

The one thing you decided on was that you wanted to stay on your property while it was being built. So, you rented yourself a caravan to live in.

When JJ and John B saw that there was a really good job opportunity, they decided to take it. The place they needed to work at wasn’t even far away from the chateau so it was the perfect job for them.

“Hey! You’re JJ and John B, right?” you asked the two boys who were walking up to you. They both gave you a confirming nod.

“Yay, I remembered your names,” you giggled. “So the guys are already working over there,” you pointed towards them, “so go over there and ask them what you have to do. And if you want to drink some water or eat some snacks, I set up a table for you all as well. If you have any questions I’ll be in that caravan.”

John B and JJ gave each other a look. It was their first day, they hadn’t even done anything yet, but you were being so unbelievably nice to them. It was something new for them since their other bosses in the past had treated them like shit.

A few months passed and the house was coming together. You had some finishing touches you still needed though. Like solar panels.

You were an environmentalist and doing everything in your power to change the world for the better. But it was hard because humanity had already done so much damage that it was really hard to make anything happen. However, you really tried. Change happens with one person at a time - a sentence you liked to live by.

“Yes, just put them over there for now. We’ll deal with them on Monday. It’s too late anyways. Go home, get some sleep.” You stood by and gave orders as the builders carried the panels one by one. Once they were finished, everyone went home.

“How does she have that much money though? That’s my question,” JJ said, opening the fridge and taking out two bottles of beer, offering one to his friend.

“Her parents are probably rich.” John B shrugged as he took the beer from JJ and popped the cap off.

“Yeah, but like solar panels?”

“What solar panels?” Kie asked as she walked into the kitchen. It was Friday night. That’s when they got together with the pogues to just drink and hang out. Pope was on his way as well.

She hopped onto one of the counters, very interested in the answer that was about to come. “You know that girl who moved here a few months back, our boss?”

“You mean the one who’s building her own house?”

“Yeah, her. She bought solar panels and they arrived today. We’re setting them up on Monday.” Suddenly Kie became very fascinated by her friends’ boss.

“What is she like?” she asked.

“Really nice. The best boss ever, for sure,��� JJ said, taking a swig from his bottle.

John B continued. “Umm she’s a few years older than us. Sometimes she sits close where we are, watches us work and just talks to us. She’s an environmentalist, so the house we’re building is really energy efficient. And yes, she’s the best boss. She pays us generously and we get the right amount of breaks. She even gets us snacks and water. I don’t really know, that’s about it.”

“She sounds really cool. Can I come with you on Monday?” Kie asked, a hopeful look on her face. As soon as John B said that you were an environmentalist she knew she had to meet you. There weren’t many girls like you on the island. Plus, you seemed to be super awesome. She could use someone like you in her life.

“Uhh I don’t know.” John B looked at JJ and he looked back at him smirking. “Kie, you haven’t even met her and you’re already crushing on her.”

Kie rolled her eyes. “Ugh, shut up. Can I come or not?”

They agreed, so on Monday Kiara walked to work with them. She was nervous to say the least. JJ had been right. She hadn’t even seen or met you but she was already hooked. She had fixed her hair at least 10 times before getting there.

“Calm down, Kie,” JJ chuckled, patting Kie on the back.

Then she saw you and she swore her heart stopped beating for a second. You were nothing like she had imagined. You were even more beautiful. She loved the way your hair was moving in the light morning breeze or how you smiled and gestured with your hands as you were talking to your employees. It was like your smile was brighter than the sun. She was so invested in watching you, she almost tripped.

To her luck, JJ caught her just in time. “Relax, Romeo.”

As they walked closer, you finally noticed them coming towards you. You were a bit confused, seeing a girl with them. You smiled and waved at them. They waved back.

“Good morning, John B and JJ!”

“Good morning!” The boys said in unison, making you laugh.

“And who are you?” you turned to Kiara with a warm simile. “I’m Kiara,” she introduced herself, offering you a hand to shake which you did.

“I’m Y/N.” Kiara smiled as she repeated your name under her breath.

“Well, we better go...you know...do some work and stuff.” JJ and John B ran off as you and Kiara stayed back.

“So, what brings you here today?” you asked.

“Umm, I’m friends with John B and JJ and they told me a little about you. They told me that you are an environmentalist?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Me too! When they told me about you I knew I had to meet you. There aren’t many activists around here so…”

“They told you about me?”

“Yeah. I heard them talking about some solar panels and then it led to the conversation about you. They told me great things about you.”

You and Kiara talked for almost an hour before she asked if you’d been to her parents' restaurant. You told her that you hadn’t.

“Well, I can take you there if you’d like to.” She was really hoping that you want to.

“Sure, I haven’t had breakfast yet anyway.”

You grabbed your bike and told Kie to sit on the rack of your bicycle. You didn’t have a car and the reason was simple. You didn’t need one. Why buy a car and waste money on gas (which is harmful to the environment) when you could just use your bicycle to get around. The island wasn’t that huge.

Kie was hesitant at first but you told her that you’d get there quicker. Then she finally agreed to get on the bike. “Wrap your arms around me.” Kie’s heart started beating faster as she did so. You were so close to each other now.

You two rode to the Wreck in about 20 minutes. The silence was comfortable around you two. It was like you’d known each other for years. In reality, it’d been an hour. Well, that’s probably what it was like to meet someone you’re so similar to, someone you connect with.

After eating, Kie took you to her favourite places on the island. You two spent the entire day together. You really liked her. She had this specific energy that matched yours. You felt like you had found the one.

The day ended with you two sitting on the edge of a dock, watching the sunset. You leaned closer to Kie and rested your head on her shoulder. It was a beautiful moment. A one you were sure you’d cherish forever.

Kie smiled. She was happy. Like really happy. She hadn’t felt like this in a while. She liked you as well and really hoped that the feelings were mutual. It was a once-in-a-lifetime thing to find a person you liked like this. She had known you for only a day but she could imagine a future with you.

So when you rose your head to look at Kie, she shot her shot.

She pressed her lips against yours and gave you a short and sweet kiss that left her wanting more now once she’d tasted your lips.

When she pulled away, you had a shocked expression on your face. You weren’t expecting that. But you liked the butterflies it gave you.

“Oh shit! I’m so sorry. I thought-”

You shut her up by kissing her again, but this time deeper. The butterflies in your belly flew at a rapid speed as your lips moved against each other. She placed her hand on your cheek to pull you in even closer.

The kiss ended when you ran out of air and needed a breath. Your foreheads rested against each other as you were catching your breath.

This felt right. All of it. You couldn’t wait for what destiny had planned for you two.

taglist: @www-imbored-com @delightfullynlove @tomhardybby @kindahavefeelingskindaheartless @ilovejjmaybank @allycat449-blog @teenwaywardasgardian @copper-boom @canibeoneofthepogues @ifilwtmfc @bedazzledbanks @jeyramarie @themaddies-obx @pink-meringues @freddymaybank @moniamaybank​ @outerbankspreferences​ @j-j-may-bank @drewstarkeysbitchh

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[jiaraforeverr]

Dancing With Our Hands Tied

Author's note: Hi everyone! This is my very first fanfic so I would love to hear your thoughts! @arcticaid requested this months ago, I'm so sorry it took so long! I started writing it in May, but honestly forgot about it until after I watched season 2.

You can also find it on Ao3 here!

Pairing: JJ Maybank/Kiara Carrera

Kiara lay awake in the spare bed of the Chateau, the heavy and humid air sticking to her skin and making her whole-body flush with warmth. She could blame her inability to sleep tonight on the typical end of summer North Carolina heat, but there was something else on her mind keeping her up. With all the windows propped open as wide as they would go, she could hear the creaking of the old hammock rocking slowly back and forth, keeping her mind from thinking of anything other than the person she knew was also pretending to be sleeping right now.

A couple hours earlier, Pope had said his final goodbye before getting on the ferry to the mainland, where he would be traveling to UNC Charlotte for his first semester of college. He was finally doing what he was meant to, to pursue the future that his friends have protected and encouraged the last few years. But now he was gone, not coming back to the island for at least a couple months.

And that left Kiara and JJ.

It had been almost two years since the gold summer. Two years since they had last seen John B or Sarah. The loss of their best friend had taken a toll on all of them, but especially JJ. John B had been his brother, the first person he really was able to call family, the first person he felt safe with. Losing him had sent JJ down a dark path filled with alcohol and drugs much stronger than weed. It had taken Kiara and Pope about three months to get him back on track, and luckily that included getting him out of his dad’s house and into the Heyward’s care.

The three of them held onto the Chateau though. No one ever came asking about it, and they never brought it up. Currently, JJ was saving up to officially own it so they would no longer have the constant fear of having the last part of their best friend ripped away from them.

With Pope leaving for college, Kiara was left with the impossible task of deciding what she should be doing now. Much to her parent’s dismay, she had already that college wasn’t what she wanted- at least not right now. She can see herself going in the future, maybe getting a degree in marine biology and opening a conservation center of her own. But that was for later. Now, she knew there were still things she had to do.

Giving up the fight with herself to fall asleep, Kiara sits up in bed, sighing deeply as she presses her hands to her eyes. She could help but think about JJ. She was terrified of what leaving him alone would look like. She couldn’t risk losing another friend. A part of her knew that deep down, she just really didn’t want to leave his side at all.

Things with JJ had always been different than it had been with Pope or John B, but even more so after John B’s disappearance. They had a bond stronger than ever before, and Kiara was unsure how to deal with the feelings that had come along with it. She thinks that they’ve probably always been there in the back of her mind. Every flirty comment or wink JJ had given her growing up had always been accompanied by a small tug in her stomach that she now has a sneaking suspicion wasn’t due to annoyance.

Walking through the empty, quiet house, she took no precautions to avoid the loud floorboards like she normally would, and with an ache in her heart realized it was because no one else was here. As she got closer to the back door, quiet music filled the air, confirming that JJ was most definitely not asleep.

She silently made her way towards the hammock where JJ lay with both eyes closed, but he still opened one eye knowingly as she stopped next to him.

“Couldn’t sleep?” JJ murmurs softly.

“No, I just willingly woke up in the middle of the night for fun,” she responds sarcastically, but with no real bite to it.

“Hmm,” JJ closes his eyes again, “I can’t imagine hating myself that much. What a horrible life you lead.”

“What about you, what’s got you up?” Kiara ignores his quip at her, wanting to get to what was on his mind.

He didn’t respond right away, the silence sitting comfortably between them for a few moments. Kiara reaches down and brushes her fingers softly through his blonde hair, prompting him to finally respond.

“What do we do now Kie?” His whispers, just loud enough so she can hear him.

“What do you mean?” She murmurs back, as if she was afraid speaking too loudly would cause him to retreat back into his mind and close up on her.

“Like, we’re not kids anymore. Pope’s gone, you’ll be outta here traveling the world or whatever soon enough. I just feel like I’ve got nothin’ going for me when everyone else does.”

JJ’s admission makes her heart stop, and her breath catch in her throat. It had been a while since John B’s death, but that in no way meant they were over it. And now JJ was facing the very real possibility that he could be losing his remaining friends as well.

Wordlessly, Kiara reaches down again and gently tugs on JJ’s hand, indicating that she wanted him to get up. Predictably, he groaned in protest, but still slowly pulled himself up from the hammock. They both knew he would do anything she asked of him. Kiara leaned over and slightly turned up the volume of the speaker JJ had set up at the base of the tree. The sound of soft reggae music filled the air making her smile. She didn’t think before stepping closer to JJ so they were chest to chest with their noses just about touching. She wound both arms slowly around his neck securing him to her.

“What are you doing?” JJ asks her, a small smile creeping up on his face as his arms automatically wrap around her waist, closing the small gap between them.

“Dancing,” she responds, burying her nose in the crook of his neck, breathing in the scent of the ocean, smoke, and a hint of sweat. She sways their bodies side to side, and feels him drop his head into the top of hers.

“Why are we dancing?” He mumbles, moving his body with hers.

She ignores his question, and just lets the two of them get lost in the soft music and the feeling of being close to one another. A warm breeze rustles the trees above them causing JJ to grip his arms tighter around her. The fairy lights twinkle in the branches, and Kiara thinks to herself ‘how could it get better than this?’

“JJ,” she whispers into his neck, “how could you ever think that I would leave you?”

“Because this isn’t where you belong, Kie. You should be exploring the world, saving the turtles and probably every other animal along the way.”

“I belong where you are,” she says, her voice just loud enough so that he could hear her. “And if I’m leaving the Outer Banks, so are you.”

“There’s nothing out there for me. I’d be dragging you down.”

“You’ve never been out there, how would you know? You could teach surfing lessons and fix boats in a new country every month. We could ride bikes and never have to worry about a car again. Imagine, me and you hitting every country that has an ocean, surfing every wave we can find around the world. John B would be so proud of us.”

Her voice trails off at the mention of their dead best friend, worried she hit a nerve. But JJ just pulls his head away from hers just enough so that he could press his lips softly to her forehead.

“He really would, wouldn’t he?” JJ says with his mouth against her neck now.

“We’ll make it work, J. We always do. I don’t want to do things like travel the world if I’m not doing it with you by my side.”

“When do we leave, captain?” JJ asks jokingly, but in a way that makes her believe he is serious.

“Planning starts bright and early tomorrow, and I think we’d be much more productive if we got some sleep.”

He says nothing in response and the silence sits between them again as they continue to hold each other.

“Can we do this? In every country all over the world?” JJ asks quietly.

“Do what? Dance?”

“No. I- yes. But I mean more like, just like- be together? Like this?”

Kiara didn’t even try to fight the smile that spread across her face at his words. She pressed a kiss on his neck, right below his ear. She knew what their relationship was right now was complicated, but in that moment, nothing made more sense. She was his and he was hers. Simple as that.

“We’ll always be together. We can be like this for the rest of our lives. On our surf trip to every country around the world, and after it and before. I said I’d never leave you, and I meant it.”

[argylemnwrites]

Fight or Flight  - Chapter 15: Hiccup

Pairing: Drake Walker x MC (Riley Liu)

Book: The Royal Heir (canon divergent from the end of book 2)

Word Count: ~4300

Rating: PG-13 (brief language)

Summary: Almost four weeks since The Walker Absconding

Author’s Note: And we’re back! Since it’s been ages... Previously on Fight or Flight - Hana had learned that Barthelemy and Godfrey were working with Auvernal from Kiara, but Liam didn’t seem motivated to take much action regarding that fact. Leo had gotten money and belongings to Riley, who shared an intimate moment with Drake when she returned to their hotel.

This series follows the Walkers, their friends, and Cordonia as a whole after they flee the country with their daughter during Barthelemy Beaumont’s attempted coup. To catch up on this series, check out it’s masterlist. (link can be found via my bio - sorry, Tumblr is once again not putting my posts with links in tag searches)

Liam let out a sigh as he changed the channel back to CBC. He needed to be actively watching, probably should be taking notes, in all honesty. This hour of programming consisted of discussion with three of the most connected political pundits in the country. It was the easiest and most reliable way to get a feel for the leanings of both the journalists and the common citizens, and it aired every weekday, so it was far more up to date than waiting for the biweekly polling.

The issue was that the panelists were revelling in the recent turn of events with such glee. It was understandable, he supposed. This was the most exciting political turn of events this country had seen in centuries. It put the mild speculation that he was Bridget’s biological father, a rumor had surfaced around the time of his announcement that Drake and Riley’s child would be heir and had briefly flared again at Bridget’s first public appearance when people had seen that she indeed looked like a child with some East Asian heritage, to shame. This wasn’t just baseless gossip and stirring the pot to increase ratings. This was true turmoil, plain and simple. There was a relative unknown carrying the power of the Crown, the current Queen-regent had been “kidnapped” and not seen in weeks, citizens were protesting daily, and this was all expected to last for months until the Conclave, where all the tension and drama would culminate in a vote among the five major noble houses to name a new monarch. The journalists and talking heads had a seemingly endless feast in front of them. All of it at his expense.

He took another sip of his scotch as he tried to focus on the screen ahead of him. If he could figure out how to gain a majority of the public’s support, then he could apply some pressure to Kiara and Landon prior to the Conclave vote. Not that he was naive enough to think that would be enough to assure that he would regain his title, but at least it would be one more piece of ammunition in his arsenal.

“The protests outside of the Capital aren’t going to be as easily quieted as the ones in Valtoria, Victor,” Francine Giorano stated, leaning forward and gesturing across the table to Victor Blussé. Blussé was the moderate on the panel, while Giorano was a staunch traditionalist. “They have had fears about the role the essentially-American Walkers played in our government for years, and look how right those fears turned out to be.”

“How is any of this the Walkers’ fault, Francine? This can all be traced to Barthelemy Beaumont!”

“The Conventus Nobilis was written into our foundational laws for a reason, Victor,” chimed in Willa Hyllop, the final member of the panel, added to the program in the past year to bring in a more modern, pro-democratic viewpoint.

“Surely you aren’t saying you are on the side of Beaumont, Willa! He represents an even less progressive faction than Liam Rys ever did.”

“I may not agree with everything he stands for, but I will always support measures that place some checks and accountability on our monarchy,” said Hyllop with a shrug. “Besides, the fact that Rys surrounded himself with yes-men and granted titles and appointments on the basis of friendship since he ascended the throne did little to convince me that he was the ‘progressive king’ he swore he was. He was more of the same, just without the aggressive rhetoric of his father.”

“And look how that turned out! Lest we forget, he stood by while Auvernal brought warships to our shore last year,” added Giorano.

Liam closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Giorano and Hyllop were never on the same page about anything, and here they were, agreeing that he had been an ineffectual king. He tuned out Blussé’s response, knowing that some lukewarm rebuttal from him was going to do little to bolster his confidence. The fact was simple - his fall from grace was widespread. There were few left who saw him as worthy of the title of king. He had failed, completely and entirely.

 “Liam?” Olivia’s voice cut over the television. 

Liam opened his eyes to find her staring at him from the lounge’s doorway, a frown cutting across her face. He forced a smile as he gestured for her to join him. “Just taking a little break from hearing how incompetent I am.”

Olivia’s green eyes narrowed at his poor attempt at humor, but she strode over to him, joining him on the couch, undoubtedly taking in the blank notepad, the untouched stacks of documents, and the glass of liquor that sat on the table in front of him. “Well, that’s the perception we’re going to have to work to change.”

He tipped his head to rest along the back of the couch, sighing as he did so. “I know, Liv. It just seems so impossible at the moment.”

She didn’t say anything for several excruciating seconds. He rolled his head to the side, taking in her face, concerned eyes boring into him as she slid a hand around her neck, her blood-red nails digging into her skin. “We’ve got months still, Liam. Calling our goal impossible is premature.”

“You’re right. I know you’re right, and I’m all ears if you have any recommendations for where to start.”

“Well, I got confirmation that Landon and Emmeline’s driver is loyal to us, so Ray is going to approach him at the Derby this weekend to see if he might be willing to earn a little extra cash by divulging some secrets. And their new head of kitchen has a brother with significant gambling debts, so that’s another lead worth pursuing.”

“Sounds good, Olivia.”

“Now, as far as next steps for you, I was hoping you might give reporters a few minutes for questions before the derby.”

Liam swallowed, his brain scrambling to come up with a reason, any reason, against her suggestion, when his phone vibrated on the table, the name “Bastien” flashing across the screen.

“Why is he calling you?” Olivia asked. All Liam could do was shrug as he leaned forward, grabbing his phone and swiping to accept the call.

“Bastien?”

“I don’t have long,” he started, not even taking the time for a greeting. “I don’t know if you are in touch with Drake, but if you are, you need to let him know that they need to get out of Athens.”

“What are you-”

“Rashad is negotiating with Greek authorities right now to allow the King’s Guard to be the ones to make the arrest. We are waiting on the tarmac for clearance to fly to Athens.”

“How-”

“He’s requesting Greek surveillance of their hotel until we get there. They need to leave now.”

“Bastien, what-”

“I have to go.” And then, the line was dead.

Liam sat there, numb and frozen, trying to process the slew of information that had just been dumped into his lap by his former head of security. 

“What the hell is going on?” Olivia’s voice drew him out of his daze, prompting him to set down his phone on the couch, digging frantically through the stacks of papers.

“I need my burner.” He heard his voice as if he were an outsider observer. It was thin and shaky, frail and panicked. His hands shook as he felt around the table in front of him, knocking over a pile containing reproductions of the accounts of the last Conclave, dozens of papers spilling onto the floor.

“Liam, what the fuck did he tell you?”

“They know where they are. We have to warn them.” All his frustrations and pain related to Drake and Riley suddenly felt so petty, so ridiculous. The stakes were higher for them, always had been higher for them. They were about to get arrested over wanting to keep custody of their daughter. And while they left him to fend for himself, left Cordonia in a state of political upheaval, he knew that was a price that was wildly unfair.

“Who knows where they are? Rashad?”

“Yes,” said Liam, shoving more and more documents around the table. Where was his burner?

“How does he know?”

“I don’t know! Where the fuck is it?” Liam swiped his arm across the table, books and papers flying, the sound of glass breaking echoing through the room as his scotch tumbled to the ground.

A strong set of fingers with sharp red nails slid around his wrist, holding him still. He took a rough breath as he turned to face Olivia, who was eyeing him as she tugged her own burner out of her pocket, only breaking his gaze to glance down at the screen, tapping three times before holding it to her ear and looking back at Liam.

The few seconds of silence on her end were maddening, but then she was speaking, her voice curt and all business. “Drake, authorities are coming. You gotta go. Now.”

Liam tried to rein in his rapid breathing, tried to calm his heart rate down to something more human. “The King’s Guard is flying into Athens. They are leaving now. Rashad asked for Greek surveillance until-” but Olivia nodded at him, cutting him off.

“I don’t know how. But your hotel is about to be under Greek surveillance until the King’s Guard arrives, so you guys have to get moving. Good luck.” She hung up at that, letting out a massive sigh. “Shit,” she breathed out after a few seconds, her eyes bouncing back and forth before she slammed them shut, clearly planning and preparing.

Liam felt her fingers trembling around his wrist for just a second, but then she let go. She pushed herself off the couch with a flourish. “Find your burner. I’m gonna make some calls, but we need to destroy any evidence that we were in contact with them,” she said, nearly jogging towards the door.

“Olivia…”

She spun around and let out a little breath before walking back towards the couch. Her hand settled on his shoulder with a gentle squeeze as she gave him a nod. “We warned them as soon as we could, but we need to be the ones worried about the big picture right now. And things will only be worse for them if you and I are arrested, right?”

All he could do was nod. She was 100 percent correct.

“Okay, so find your burner. I’ll be back in a little bit, Liam.” And with that, she was off, a woman on a mission, leaving him sitting there, shaking on the couch, just trying to find his footing.

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

Hana shook hands with the final citizen, a woman in her late 40s who had been born and raised in Valtoria.

“Thank you so much, Your Grace,” she said, smiling as she returned the handshake.

“Of course. Just because our country is going through a period of transition doesn’t mean that I am going to ignore the needs of Valtoria’s citizens.”

The woman thanked her again before turning and exiting the formal dining room, the location Hana had chosen for the first Citizen Open Forum she’d scheduled. The large table provided ample seating, but the room was close enough to the main entrance to make it unlikely that anyone could wander into private areas of the estate without being caught by staff. 

Olivia had been irritated when Hana had told her she was opening up the estate to the public. “You are giving Barthelemy’s people free access,” she told her. But Hana knew that she couldn’t just sidestep her duties as a duchess. Not only would that weaken people’s perception of Liam by association, but morally she just couldn’t do that. The country was in such turmoil because of a few members of the nobility trying to wrest power from some other nobles. For her citizens to be left neglected due to the whims of the highly privileged was ethically something she couldn’t allow to happen. So she’d hosted the forum, hearing directly from Valtoria’s residents what she should prioritize to improve their lives, but made sure to instruct her staff to notify her immediately if anyone was caught wandering too far from the dining room or bathroom. It was the best she felt she could do under the circumstances.

However, the last citizen had now vacated the estate, and Hana couldn’t help but let out a contented sigh. It had gone well, she thought. She had clear budgetary priorities to request at the upcoming meeting between the social season’s derby and the stop in Lythikos. Plus, one of the leaders of the protesters in front of the estate had come, and conversation with him had been productive. Obviously, she couldn’t outright tell him that she wished she could be right out there with them, carrying a sign that said “She’s their kid,” but he had given her a knowing smile when she told him she saw no reason to intervene when Cordonia citizens were just exercising a right to free speech. He had all but promised her that the protests would stay peaceful and would not target her for her assumption of the role of Duchess of Valtoria.

As she wandered into the kitchen to make herself some tea, she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. She turned on the tap to fill the kettle with one hand as she moved to answer the call with the other.

“Olivia, how are you?” she asked, watching the kettle fill.

“Do you not answer your phone anymore?”

Hana frowned, pulling the phone away from her ear and swiping the screen. “I don’t have any missed calls, Olivia.”

“Not this phone. I’ve called you no less than ten times.”

She turned off the tap and set the full kettle on the counter, a nagging thread of anxiety and fear worming its way into her heart with that statement. “What’s wrong?”

“Turn on the news.”

Hana spun around, finding the remote laying on the island and turning on the television mounted in the eat-in nook.

“-these exclusively obtained photos show a woman who appears to be the former duchess, Riley Walker, conversing with the former Crown Prince, Leo Rys, at a bar in Athens.”

The screen filled with a low-quality image, clearly zoomed in several times. The lighting was a sort of orange color, and the faces were grainy and fuzzy, but there was Riley, although her hair was clearly dyed a much lighter color. Leo’s face was only seen in profile, not as identifiable, but he was obviously talking to her. The screen changed to a new photo, Leo a bit more recognizable in this one, passing Riley something.

“Oh no,” said Hana, leaning against the counter.

“-clear evidence of collusion between the former Crown Prince and Riley Walker, who has been charged with treason and kidnapping of the monarch,” the anchor droned on, but Olivia’s response drowned out the quiet volume of the television.

“Yeah, that’s an understatement. So what was so pressing that you were ignoring your burner?”

“I had the forum with the citizens, and I thought if I was carrying two cell phones, that might-”

A massive groan from Olivia cut her off. “Whatever. Well, you need to destroy your burner. Now.”

“But what about Riley and-”

“I warned them. Hopefully they are able to get out of Athens, but nothing else we can do there. It’s time to protect ourselves.”

“Olivia, what-”

“I gotta go check on Liam. Destroy the phone, Hana. And don’t call me.”

“Why can’t I-”

“-Liam is definitely going to be questioned since Leo is now known to be involved. We can talk at the derby, but if they start monitoring our phone records, I don’t want to give them any reason to think we are scheming.”

Before Hana could as much as tell Olivia she understood, she heard the line click dead. Taking a few seconds for some calming breaths, she centered herself before she climbed the stairs to her quarters, a pit of dread cementing itself firmly in her stomach with each step. She reached her room and opened the top drawer of her dresser, pulling the burner phone out from underneath her nylons. Sure enough, she had dozens of missed notifications from Olivia, and a couple from Maxwell as well. Well, she knew what those were regarding. No need to deal with them at this point. Instead, she walked over to her dressing table and grabbed her manicure kit.

She wandered down the hallway towards the lounge, taking in the quiet and calm. It was odd; the estate probably had more people in it currently than it had for most of the time Riley and Drake had lived there. Hana didn’t feel compelled to aggressively minimize the staff presence like they had, far more used to having employees around from her upbringing. But staff were expected to be as discreet and silent as possible, to make themselves scarce, particularly in the private quarters. 

No one had ever called Riley quiet. There was a certain vibrancy she brought to any room, and her voice and laughter were always echoing through the halls. And even though Drake wasn’t the most talkative, he certainly would quip, snark, and joke in the privacy of his own home. Of course, once Bridget was born, there was more noise and energy and life than ever before. Now, it was just Hana and the corgis. The estate felt hollow and soulless.

Once in the lounge, Hana shut the door behind her firmly. Anderson glanced up, but quickly draped his head back over Vera, all the dogs curled up on their giant cushion in the corner. Hana knew that the maids had cleaned the lounge yesterday, so she was unlikely to be found there. She sat down in one of the armchairs, and pried the cover off the back of her phone using her cuticle pusher. All the electronic components stared up at her, ready for her to do her worst. But before she could bring herself to kill the only connection she had to her best friend, she flipped the phone over and sent one last message to Riley.

I love you all. Stay safe. I’ll find a way to get in touch when I can.

Letting out a sigh, she turned the phone back over. She spent the next 15 minutes prying off motherboards and any chips and cards she could find, dropping them one by one into her container of acetone nail polish remover. Then, she removed the battery before placing the remaining elements into the fireplace. She would just have to store the battery under her floorboards until she could figure out how to safely dispose of it. 

She started a fire, then curled up on the couch, tugging a quilt over her lap as she watched her only connection to the first person to show her unconditional love melt and warp, eventually turning to ash. Tears started trailing down her cheeks, dripping onto her blouse and the quilt, but she didn’t care. She was devastated - for herself, for her found family, and for her country. At some point, Anderson jumped up to join her, nestling in against her legs.

“I miss them so much,” she said, dropping a hand to the top of his head. “So, so much.”

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

Bridget was wailing in her crib, but Riley didn’t have time to calm her. She needed to pack. Now.

When Drake had called her, she knew something bad was happening. He’d left with their passports this afternoon to take them to a cousin of a friend of someone Drake had met at the restaurant, someone who was supposed to be able to help with fake documents and forgeries. The plan had been to change their names and their country of origin, allowing them to catch a flight to the States without getting stopped at the airport. The final destination once there hadn’t been decided. Drake had wanted to go to Texas, but Leona’s presence scared Riley. She had already sold out their safety for a quick payday once before.

But that debate was a moot point now. So was the uncertainty about this unknown forger on whom they were relying. Drake had called, frantic and alarmed, clearly running and somewhat out of breath as he spoke to her. Telling her Olivia had called to warn them they were about to be arrested. Telling her to pack. Telling her they needed to run.

So Bridget was unceremoniously dumped into her travel crib as Riley tried to shove everything into the duffel bags from Leo. She knew she should leave the impractical things, like the framed photos, but those would incriminate their friends. So they had to come with. Toiletries seemed essential, too. Some of the clothes were going to have to get left behind. Some of the toys as well. She had to be able to carry everything in one trip. She had to get to the car as quickly as possible. 

She knew it had probably been less than five minutes since Drake had called, but it felt like she was moving too slowly, taking way too long. Drake hadn’t given her any sort of time frame. Who knew if Olivia had even given him one. But for all she knew, police were rounding the corner, waiting for her in the hallway, about to burst through the hotel door. So she shoved and crammed and squeezed everything she could into the duffel bags and the diaper bag. Those would go over her shoulders, the crib would collapse and go in one arm, Bridget in the other. That would have to be good enough. 

Once she was sure that the bags were as full as they could be, she pulled Bridget out, placing her on the floor as she scrambled to collapse the crib, fumbling with the locking mechanism for just a few seconds before it folded in on itself, allowing her to tuck it into her elbow. By some mad miracle, Bridget was hanging close by, not trying to crawl away to explore and cause trouble. Maybe she was frightened by the way Riley was acting. Regardless, it was a blessing.

Knowing she was as ready as she was going to be, she loaded everything up and grabbed Bridget, pausing just briefly to juggle their possessions as she opened the door. She didn’t bother closing it behind her, just moved as quickly as she could with her load down the hallway, down the stairs, through the lobby, and around the corner to the street where their car was parked. No one tried to stop her or talk to her, so she took the time to toss everything on the ground and properly latch Bridget into her car seat. Then, she threw everything in the hatchback before climbing into the passenger’s seat and locking the doors behind her. Bridget continued to cry, but there was little Riley could do to comfort her at this point. All that was left to do was wait for Drake.

Drake had told her to meet him in the car, but she didn’t like feeling exposed, sitting where anyone could see her during broad daylight. Add to that the fact that she was in the passenger seat, so she wouldn’t even be able to make a quick getaway if need be. Her piss-poor driving skills were just one more area where she was making their life harder, but there was no way to fix that right now. All she could do was hang tight. She was contemplating what in the car she could use as a weapon if it came down to it when her phone buzzed. She swiped to answer instantly when she saw it was Drake’s number.

“Drake, where are you?”

“Around the corner from the hotel. You in the car?”

“Yeah. How did-” but before she could get her question out, she saw Drake through the driver’s side window. She let out a little yelp of surprise before reaching over and unlocking the door, handing him the keys as soon as he sat down. 

He didn’t even bother to say anything, just started the car and eased off the clutch as he shifted into first gear, pulling out onto the road. Bridget quieted soon after they got moving, but Riley didn’t feel any better as the yelling and screaming subsided. She just stared at Drake, one hand braced on the steering wheel, the other on the gear shift, his neck and shoulders so tense and coiled, he looked ready to burst.

“Where are we going?” she finally chanced asking.

Drake shook his head, never taking his eyes off the road. “I don’t know. Out of Athens.”

“Then why are we making so many turns?”

“Don’t know if we were being watched or followed. Gotta lose anyone who might be tailing us.” His voice was clipped and frayed. He sounded about five seconds away from losing it completely. Riley wanted to hold his hand, to comfort him in some way. But she didn’t want to distract him, both from driving and from the tiny amount of control he had over his emotional response to everything that was unfolding. After all, they weren’t safe yet. So she just nodded and grabbed her phone off her lap.

“I’ll pull up some maps, okay?”

He nodded and let out a rough breath at that. “Thanks, Walker,” he said before flipping on the radio. “Can you try and find us a news station?”

“Drake, I won’t-”

“I’ll translate.”

And so they were off, unsure where or how far they needed to go to be safe. All they could do at this point was keep moving forward.

Perma: @walkerswhiskeygirl​ @octobereighth​ @kimmiedoo5​ @mom2000aggie​

TRR/TRH: @twinkleallnight​ @iaminlovewithtrr​ @mskaneko​ @axwalker​ @jovialyouthmusic​ @marshmallowsandfire​ @kingliam2019​ @sirbeepsalot​ @texaskitten30 @princessleac1​ @ladyangel70​ @debramcg1106​ @masterofbluff​  

Drake/MC:  @no-one-u-know   @iplaydrake​

FoF: @burnsoslow​ @bobasheebaby​

[thedakaris]

BREAKING NEWS—THE MYSTERY LITTLE GIRL REVEALED BY ROYAL PALACE!

PLUS AN OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM THE KING

Dearest readers,

Windamere Palace has released an official royal portrait of the current members of the royal family—and to our shocking surprise the mystery little girl we spotted in Sulani during their majesties’ tour of the nine springs, is included in the royal portrait.

According to the Official Palace statement made directly from the throne room. The little girl is an orphan girl that her Majesty, Queen Pearl, spotted hiding in the bushes in Sulani. The little girl was hungry, tired, and alone.

It is confirmed that his Majesty ordered for a full and detailed investigation to be made in hope of finding at least a single relative who could care for the young girl. They found her uncle who passed away one week prior. The uncle was her last living relative.

The Palace Press Officer has stated, “When His Majesty, King Meaux discovered the tragic state of the little girl’s life he felt strongly moved and adopted her with the full support of his consort, Queen Pearl.”

Official Statement From The King:

Miss Zahra Pearl Springs was given Queen Pearl’s first name as a middle name, but unfortunately, Miss Zahra will not be given the title princess or HRH because she is not a descendant of the first King, King Mauricio. Yet, we don't think not having royal blood will be a problem for Miss Zahra Springs based on the newly released photograph—she is getting along very well with the royal children.

Palace insiders have stated that The Crown Prince Marcus who is known for his antisocial antics simply adores Miss Zahra Springs and thinks she's great fun. While Rose, The Princess Royal is delighted to have a sister to play with.

But we can't help to wonder what advice Miss Zahra’s new aunt Kiara, the Archduchess Of Oasis Springs will give her. After all, before Kiara married Prince Ruberto, the Archduke of Oasis Springs, and became the Archduchess of Oasis Springs, Kiara was an orphan girl who was adopted into a wealthy upper-class family. Unfortunately, Miss Zahra may need help navigating high society as an outsider and who's better to do it than the archduchess herself.

What do you think of the new addition to our royal family? Let us know in the comments!

ARTICLE COMMENTS

👨🏾‍🦱: I'm not crying you are! :,l

👩🏽‍🌾: this is so beautiful to see! Just when I think I couldn't love our royal family anymore and they do this.

👩🏾‍🦱: wow, imagine being adopted into the royal family of oasis springs!!! Like what!!! Sucks she can't be called a princess though.

🤱🏽: As a new mom, I totally understand king Meaux and queen pearl’s heart in adopting the child.

👱🏾‍♂️: Aaaayyy we got a new princess she's adorable

🧑🏽‍🦱: King meaux is a decent king. But really? Y'all are already calling the little girl an outsider smh

👩🏾‍💻: prince Marcus is adorable! but I think it's cool they adopted her.

💁🏾‍♀️: I hope Miss Zahra Springs can handle royal life