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violetpixiedust · 2 months ago

Text

14-02-21

dad!rafe cameron x mom!reader

description: you were somewhat content living in kildare with your beautiful twin girls, collecting child support cheques, and staying out of the kook limelight. that was until your ex and baby daddy rafe cameron got clean. the now head of cameron development finally realized that he needed to step up, and be the father he always promised he would be for your children. not to mention the man you had practically begged for before that devastating night you left him. but will you give him the chance?

warnings: afab reader. no description of appearance. featuring ex!rafe cameron x ex!reader. dad!rafe cameron x mom!reader. girl dad!rafe cameron. toxic!rafe. businessman!rafe. pogue to kook!reader. sweet!reader. florist!reader. angst. not teen pregnancy, but not adult either. co-parenting. mentions of drugs. mentions of domestic violence. 18+. mdni.

a/n: a new series i’m working on! let me know if you’d like to read more?

1. 𓍼

it was awkward to say the least.

that brand new car smell of rafe’s porche made you queasy, holding your breath to the best of your ability despite your twin daughters babbling in the backseat. they were enraptured with the brand new jelly-cats rafe- or perhaps- rafe’s assistant had purchased for them.

it hadn’t always been this way. there had been a time when you believed you knew rafe, the real one behind the glitz and glamour of being outer banks royalty. behind each stinging line and dime bag of coke, cigar smoke, and tightly wound up bills that came with capitalizing on people’s addictions. rafe was top dog, barry his right hand man, running their drug operation past the cut and then some under the guise of cameron development- which had been newly inherited.

amidst the fancy cars, motorbikes, top shelf whisky, tannyhill, designer clothes and 18k gold jewelry, you were rafe’s most prized possession. a sweet little bar cart girl from the country club turned co-ruler of the rambunctious beach side town. you were a pogue turned kook long before rafe had noticed you, but you still managed to catch his eye whilst being decorated in vintage prada and blumarine, skipping in the ocean coast at the boneyard.

your romance grew hot, blooming faster than anybody could fathom. within a week you were the angel bar cart girl turned rafe’s lover. you wanted to believe he loved you, did believe him for longer than you should have. even when his saltwater eyes would be rimmed with scarlet, pupils dilated despite the fact that he promised he would stop dipping into his own supply. even when his once gentle hold would leave an ache beneath your tender skin, his gold signet ring often threatening to leave a brand. even when his booming voice would vibrate off the decorative wallpaper, blowing your hair back with the sheer force of his anger in your face.

and especially when you sat alone at the country club, rafe’s empty seat mocking you from where you picked at your cooling dinner, numb to the local’s pitiful and amused stares.

that had been rafe up until your period was two weeks late, two vibrant lines on four home pregnancy tests snapping him into gear. it wasn’t a discussion. you would be having the child- children- two twin girls, and he would be the father he never had. he would stop the coke, the dealing, the parties. be the man you always wanted. the man you knew when it was just the two of you between your silk sheets. in the early hours of the peaceful and serene morning, staring at his sober expression that was filled with love rather than turmoil.

that had been rafe for longer than you thought he could be.

“you sick or something?” despite your ex’s harsh tone, you knew he wasn’t angry. annoyed most likely- given that this was the first time you had agreed to an outing with him and both of your children since the separation. the children lived in a gorgeous house with you a few blocks from tannyhill since before they had turned one- their fourth birthday now a mere few months away much to your disbelief. rafe had ensured his children would still have a spectacular view of the ocean that he had grown up having. he was good at that. making sure the three of you were taken care of. throwing however much money you needed for necessities, toys for the girls, furniture and decor for the home, and then some for your own pleasure.

your oldest daughter by five minutes- valentine, spoke up. “is mommy sick?”

you quickly turned in your place from the passenger seat, ignoring rafe’s piercing cobalt eyes only to meet valentine’s that matched them almost identically. your mustered up smile quickly turned genuine at the sight of your sweet babies in their car seats, stuffed animals flopped in their laps. “‘m fine, val-“

your younger daughter- rosette- or rosy for short, appeared as a mirror of your younger self- with her doe eyes so similar to yours staring back at you. “pwomise?” her sweet voice was quiet, hiding behind her new scarlet bunny jellycat. your expression softened immensely, holding out your chipped manicured pinky. instantly, both of your daughter’s latched on with theirs, the trio of you giggling for no apparent reason, missing rafe’s uncomfortable expression from behind the wheel.

your twins were aware of their father, which was a miracle given that rafe had always struggled to keep his word about being the dad he never had. a continued presence in their lives despite your separation. as the breadwinner however, he couldn’t be there all the time- and living separately only made things harder. the heir of cameron development visited at least once a week for coffee at your home. the two of you would watch your daughters play with the new toys rafe purchased for them weekly, helping them when they occasionally got stuck. it would be tense between you two at the beginning of every visit. rafe keeping to a strict routine of asking if everything was working properly, that the girls were healthy, that you had enough. you would assure him every time that you did, but held your tongue when describing your week. he had been in the bahamas on business when you had given birth, but had never missed a birthday since. he had been out at the country club with topper when valentine had said her first word- cat, which caused him to spiral when he heard he had missed it. he’d been absent when they learned how to walk, when they were potty training, learned how to talk, learned how to read small words, write small words. still, he couldn’t abandon his legacy for his children that he had spent under a hundred hours with during the year. as long as they had enough.

rafe’s porche eventually pulled up outside of a bakery he had never been to- let alone heard of teetering on the edge of the cut. the blonde held his tongue when you initially offered the location of the establishment you had the liberty of choosing, mentioning that they had a kids menu the girls would enjoy. he wondered if you regularly brought his children to places near or on the poorer side of the island, knowing how firmly against he was on the subject.

it had always been a point of contention between you two that you could never fully assimilate to kook culture. despite your mother becoming a successful name in the real estate business through pure dedication and hard work in your freshman year, you never wanted to take full advantage of it. rafe couldn’t forget your old car, one that was still parked outside of your mother’s house the last time he checked. a violet 1965 chevrolet impala that had been passed down from your grandmother after she died. the doors were squeaky, handles slightly sticky, the silver bumper rusted some, and the paint was chipped, but you refused to get rid of it. it was only until rafe threatened to have the piece of junk towed if you ever thought about driving his children around in that metal death trap that you folded. instead, you picked a sensible audi as your new car when he took you to the dealership a few weeks before your separation. a model so unlike either of you much to his chagrin.

speaking of, your vintage handbag that was speckled with age and decorated with cutesy keychains no doubt picked out by your daughters, jingled in the summer breeze when you stepped out of his car. despite how much your stubbornness and individuality got on his nerves, rafe couldn’t deny that you still held his heart after all these years. you stuck by him till the end of the line. endured his mood swings, his violent tendencies, his addiction, all because you loved him. he couldn’t fault you for leaving when it got to its worst, especially since it was for the sake of your girls. your tearful voice still echoed in his ears as if it were yesterday. i can’t have them growing up in this house thinking that this is what love should feel like, rafe. i can’t. you can’t seriously want someone like you as their example for marriage.

that had kept rafe up at night for months after you moved out.

before he could pull rosy out of her car seat, the blonde heard your soft melodic voice singing from the other side of the vehicle. the short haired man straightened up slowly, as if disbelieving of the sound.

you were cast in a beacon of sunlight. the early summer morning glowing against your stunning complexion that your daughters’ shared. he hadn’t said anything about your darling mini dress when you had opened your front door only a half hour ago, just stared for a moment too long before stepping past you inside. rafe wasn’t sure how to verbalize that every time he saw you, you reminded him that nobody else could ever hold a candle to how gorgeous you were.

the eldest cameron inevitably grew up since you discovered you were pregnant. having shaved off his juvenile curtain bangs, swapping his colourful polos and graphic tees with button down dress shirts and neutral designer short sleeves. wearing the family ring on his finger with pride, along with a watch that cost more than the house you grew up in on his wrist. replacing his dirt bike with a number of luxury cars, each more expensive than the last. despite that, he couldn’t deny that it seemed like not a second had passed since the first time he saw you in that bar cart, all those reinventions of himself ago.

you were still the sweetest girl in the outer banks apparently. only with him, now, you were more reserved. speaking when spoken to and keeping details concise- just in case he had to fly out the door that next minute to tend to a number of other responsibilities a man like him had. wheezie kept him updated. you still smiled at everyone you came across, kook or pogue- your daughters’ following in suit, sharing your sweetness. the residents of outer banks only had nice things to say about his family. rafe regularly heard about you picking some flowers for the elderly woman who lived down the road from your home, as her son was one of his business partners’.

a few weeks ago, you had donated some of the twins’ old toys that they explicitly said they didn’t play with to unprivileged children on the cut. after he heard about that one- he immediately drove to your house to confront you- the gifts for his daughters’ meaning more to him than you had initially realized. even still, you were under the impression that his assistant had been picking them out. sensing he felt as if you were donating his affection.

you were perfect in every sense of the word, and rafe couldn’t help the feeling of your small hand squeezing around his heart- unable to look away from where you and your eldest daughter were singing a song he didn’t recognize. the grip her little hands had on your shoulders tightened after you lifted her up, swinging her around as best you could- much to her delight.

rafe jumped when he felt a tiny hand pull on his left fingers, absent from a wedding band. you two hadn’t gotten that far before everything went to shit. the sun kissed man looked down, your doe eyes staring back up at him from where your youngest daughter was still sat in her car seat. his adams apple bobbed with a harsh swallow, quickly unbuckling the little girl before plopping her on his hip. the scent of the baby shampoo you still used on rosy’s hair wafted up to rafe’s nose after the toddler quietly rested her head in the crook of his neck. a dull ache pulsed behind his cobalt eyes when he remembered his little girl as a baby. the chub in her cheeks had softened since then, and rafe knew her features would only keep growing in every day he wasn’t there.

the exterior of the bakery was painted a deep green shade, and valentine had excitedly commented on how it was the same colour as your neighbour’s new ‘boyfriend’ (engagement) ring. inferiority wormed it’s way into rafe’s chest, a feeling that seemed to make itself known when he was faced with the topic of marriage and companionship. you were raised by a single mother yourself. your father having skipped out on the two of you before you learned how to walk. rafe knew you appreciated everything he did for you, but he wasn’t blind when faced with that bittersweet look in your eyes every time your daughters would mention something rafe had no knowledge of. wether it be a show, something funny that had happened earlier that week, or something you had done.

the four of you walked through the open glass door, with rafe managing to hide his surprise at the charm of the small hole in the wall bakery. the bottom half of the walls were painted a warm butter yellow, the tops cream with matching engraved trimmings, paired with deep grey tiled floors, and a small strip of patterned green carpet that ran beneath the petite tables on the right hand side of the establishment. each small circular table was decorated with a clear vase of stemmed flowers, coinciding with the decorative floral piece that hung from the middle of the ceiling. a leather booth seat ran down the entire right hand wall of the seating area, turning the corner with a window that faced the lot. the left hand side showcased a matching window, displaying freshly baked bread, along with a glass case of sweet and savoury baked treats. behind the long counter and barista machines was a wooden board displaying the menu, which admittedly looked delicious to rafe.

before he could even speak, a short haired woman walked out from behind the serving counter. “hey, you!” rafe watched intently at the way your expression instantly brightened at the sight of the mystery woman. her quirky mushroom crocheted earrings bobbed when she gave you a hug as best she could with valentine between you. jesus, rafe rolled his eyes. it was as if he wasn’t even in the room when the employee started speaking. “i’m so glad you’re here! i was going to text you! architectural digest is doing a segment on flowers in public spaces, and they came in this morning to take photos of your display.”

rafe could’ve dropped rosy at that statement, his pink lips falling agape. architectural digest? your floral display? you made-?

“what?” your normally soothing voice was a mix between incredulous and excitement, teary with emotion. valentine’s cobalt gaze finally tore away from the treats, her eyebrows furrowing in concern at the crystals balancing along her mother’s waterline.

“you- you made that?” rafe asked dumbly, mildly embarrassed at the way his question came out. the employee seemed to register rafe then, her fading smile bleeding with recognition. the cameron man hardened his expression to mask his various feelings at that look, tightening his tense lips before sending a poisonous glare in the short haired woman’s direction. she answered before you did, her initially friendly tone now clipped.

“she did. she’s been making them for us since we opened last year.” guilt immediately flooded the man’s rigid body. last year? how had you- the mother of his children- been making floral displays for the last year, and architectural digest knew before he did? rafe turned to look at you, but you stayed silent, choosing to bounce valentine in your arms to avoid his intense glare. frustration began to seep into rafe’s veins, filtering out the guilt in the only way he knew how.

“she’s always been quite humble, hasn’t she?” it would have been a sweet sentiment, had rafe’s bass toned voice not been coated with distain. why hadn’t you told him this was something you were interested in? something you wanted to pursue? how did you even have the time to do this? who was watching his children when you were doing this?

the short haired woman turned to look at you, her hardened expression softening at the weak smile of embarrassment you sent her unbeknownst to rafe. “well, i bought a hundred copies. along with two extras for you and your mom.”

you gasped, unable to do anything but protest. “sandra, you didn’t-“

sandra, only laughed as if it had been the easiest decision in the world. “of course i did, and to say thank you for bringing ad to the bakery, lunch is on me today. anything you and the kids want.” valentine laughed when sandra tickled her tummy with her pointer finger, causing you to finally smile brightly once again. the two of you hugged tightly once more before sandra left your family to their own devices, another kind looking employee standing on deck behind the counter for when you four made your decision.

“we’re not done talkin’ about this.” rafe harshly broke the silence between your little family. you didn’t respond, only leading the way to a corner table that would allow you two the most room in the albeit empty bakery. there were only two other people enjoying what was assumed to be a coffee date on the other end of the establishment. rafe bitterly couldn’t help but wonder how sandra made any money if her bakery was this empty on a friday morning.

your twins were silent, meeting each others eyes with seemingly twin telepathy. you and rafe didn’t notice when you both sat down on either side of the corner booth, too engrossed in your own thoughts with valentine and rosy in your laps respectively. “mommy, can we have treats later?” valentine peaked up at you unsurely, foreign to the somber energy you were radiating.

tears threatened to drip down your throat. you were so unsure of how a man who had given you the two greatest and sweetest things in your life could be so mean when he wanted to be. “of course, baby. mommy wants some too. we just need to eat some real food first.”

“what d’you girls want?” rafe asked your daughters, addressing them for seemingly the first time today besides his initial hugs and hellos. you released a breath you hadn’t realized you were holding, bouncing valentine on your lap much to her delight while you scanned the kids menu.

“they have pancake cereal.” you managed to put on a grin for your children, valentine and rosy gasping with excitement once they realized what you had said. rafe furrowed his eyebrows, reading over what that was.

mini pancake cereal

fluffy, house made, mini buttermilk and vanilla pancakes with fresh strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries.

comes with your choice of whip cream, maple syrup, or mixed berry compote

“can we please get it, mommy!” rosy exclaimed, one of her tiny fists balling rafe’s black polo in it’s grasp, her other arm clutching her new bunny stuffie to her chest. rafe’s eyes widened to the size of saucers, never having heard his youngest speak so loud unless she was playing tag with her sister. she was usually so shy in her father’s mind. you laughed sweetly, as if you were expecting it.

as if it were a regular occurrence.

“of course we can, lovie.” your ex felt his heart swell and break simultaneously while watching you with the twins. you were such an amazing mother. it was so clear you adored them, and in turn they adored you. rafe swallowed dryly when the kids began to babble nonsense about this supposed pancake cereal, letting himself look at you properly. his cobalt eyes raked across the serene slopes of your face, catching sight of the sparkly eyeshadow and rosy lipgloss that decorated your angelic features. it was like you to put in the extra effort on your appearance when going anywhere, something rafe admired heavily about you when you first started dating, but he couldn’t help but wonder if you had put in a little extra effort for him this time. it had been years since the pair of you went out like this, only now you had two children who emulated your beauty to a tee.

“what’re you getting?” you seemed shocked that he was speaking to you, figuring you would get the silent treatment. rafe sighed through his nose, knowing if he wanted this to be a regular occurrence, he couldn’t let his anger get the better of him. you didn’t deserve that- no matter how much he made you feel like you did. you watched carefully when his large hand began stroking rosy’s back- as if he had been doing it her whole life. rafe gritted his teeth momentarily, looking away before catching sight of the floral display that hung from the ceiling.

it’s textures were dazzling. a tilted silhouette made up of beiges, hints of yellows, pinks, and whites. vines, cotton ball flowers, feathered plants, and dried flowers were among the many plants it contained. it was masterfully chaotic, and acted as a skillful conduit for the outside to match the in. “it’s beautiful- your- uh, your installation, i mean.” rafe caught himself. “i wish that i-“ he bit his lip, chuckling humourlessly at the fact that he could speak to a whole conference room composed of the most powerful businessmen in the country, but couldn’t tell you the truth. “i-i wish that i knew that part of you.”

he avoided your eyes, unknowing to the way they softened at his quiet admission. you knew that took a lot for him to admit, to be vulnerable after everything that’s happened. it wasn’t even a fraction of enough to get you back to the highest of highs in your relationship, but it was the strongest start in a long time. “thank you, rafe.” rafe looked at you then, ignoring the goosebumps that travelled up his arms at the way you said his name. you were blissfully unaware that he just narrowly avoided asking all the questions that balanced on the tip of his tongue. “do you know what you’re getting?”

“i’ll do the same.” rafe decided quickly, your eyebrows furrowing when you realized you hadn’t told him what you wanted yet. his eyes widened a moment later in realization, clearing his throat to the side before mumbling quietly. “you- uh, you always used to get the vegetarian hash at the country club for brunch. jus’ thought you would do the same here.”

a sharp gasp left your glossy lips. you couldn’t believe he remembered that. thankfully, valentine spoke up before you could internalize what that meant. “mommy, could i get orange juice? rosy wants apple.”

rafe held rosy in his strong arms, cradling the little girl to his chest much to your rapidly melting facade. it was completely different watching him interact with them in public. only having seen him somewhat cautiously playing with your daughters’ on your living room rug under your watchful eyes, or scooping them up for a quick hug when he came through the front door at the beginning and end of his visits. “‘course, baby.” rafe answered for you. valentine spared her father a look before turning back towards you for the final verdict. your doe eyes flitted towards your ex, immediately noticing how enamoured he was with rosy on his lap, gazing at her relaxed form with pure adoration. your heart raced at the little grin that spread across his pink lips, rosy staring back at her father with the same agape lips that rafe was often known for supporting.

you spoke up after ensuring both juices were on the menu. “of course, val’s, but you don’t have to ask only me. you can ask daddy too.” rafe inhaled a sharp breath, in utter disbelief that you had just acknowledged him like that. a genuine smile directed towards him spread across your lips for the first time that morning. “coffee. black. no sugar?”

there was something in rafe’s cerulean eyes that gleamed, glittering with cautious hope before he whispered. “yeah. only if you get an oat chai.”

once the food had been brought out, and your girls’ fruit juices had been poured into their travel sippy cups, the four of you began to eat. sandra had gotten the chef to make the pancakes extra mini, allowing the girls’ to use their hands and chew their breakfast safely. still, rafe and yourself stood by in case they needed help.

“s’it good, baby?” rafe whispered to rosy, smiling softly at her nod before pressing a gentle kiss to the chub of her soft cheek. unable to help himself, his calloused fingers pinched valentine’s identical chubby cheek, chuckling at her little grin.

it was clear to both of you that valentine was a leader, taking after rafe in that way. she always looked out for rosy. asking her questions that she could answer yes or no to, letting her parents know what her shy little sister wanted in case she didn’t want to speak. she was fiercely protective and intuitive, which is why you found that she often assessed your reactions with rafe. she loved her father, but you could tell she was having a harder time completely warming up to the man in front of her. meanwhile, rosy was more than happy to fulfill her role as a daddy’s girl. though it made you nervous for when rafe inevitably had to leave. you tried not to think about it, quickly putting on a smile. “what do you say to daddy, lovies?”

“tank you.”

“tank you, dada.”

rafe felt his breath catch in his throat for the twentieth time that morning. it meant more to him than he realized having them acknowledge something so little like breakfast. it was different than toys, a gift. this was time spent with their father, and they were thanking him. the blonde blinked, a wide smile eventually spreading across his pink lips. “you’re welcome. thanks for comin’ out with me today.” despite him looking at your daughters’, you knew the last part was directed towards you. quietly, you reached your left hand out, rafe finally noticing the promise ring he had given you at the height of his addiction adorning your ring finger. it was a smaller gemstone than he would’ve liked, but he knew you wouldn’t have appreciated something so flashy. he hadn’t seen it since your separation. your birthstone stared back at rafe, and immediately his right hand caught yours before you could change your mind.

the pair of you tensed up at the feeling of your hands meeting, before eventually relaxing once the initial sparks subsided. rafe gently ran his thumb over the back of your hand, travelling down to the ring he had given you in the bed of his old truck, parked at the beach all those years ago. it had been a final resort to keep you from leaving him, knowing he couldn’t do the right thing and let you go despite his addiction taking control of his life. rafe could feel the guilt beginning to swirl in his stomach, parting his lips before valentine giggled mischievously.

“mommy and daddy sittin’ in a tree-“ rafe froze, multiple scoldings halted at the hint of shyness that cloaked your giddy expression. you could believe how cheeky your daughters were being in public, but nothing could’ve prepared you for the fire engine red shade that burned atop your ex’s now bare ears.

rosy joined with a delighted laugh. “k-i-s-s-r-o-t.“ you both laughed at the misspelling, letting go of each others hands almost reluctantly. rafe chuckled again before kissing rosy’s head who giggled. your manicured fingers tickled valentine’s tummy playfully, the little girl squirming in delight at the feeling. the sight of your little family together like this had you wishing that it could feel like this all the time. like rafe had been there everyday since the twins came into this world. that he didn’t have to pull several strings to get a day off for the first time in months. you blinked back your approaching tears, hiding your bittersweet smile from behind your lukewarm oat chai.

after cleaning the girls’ up, and rafe admittedly buying too many treats for just the four of you to go- which you promised the girls as dessert that night despite their pleading- you were driving back to your house. it was a gorgeous day out. the sun not even at it’s peak yet despite the heat already making itself more than known to the residents of outer banks. your manicured nails flicked together in contemplation, the feelings of finality weighing heavily in the luxury car. you knew rafe wouldn’t push for more time today. it was a mutual understanding that he was on thin ice, and this visit would be on your terms, but would it be so wrong that you wanted him to stay?

“lovies, do you wanna have a pool day today?” the girls’ cheered before you could take it back. despite the underground pool that took over most of your backyard, you were terrified at the thought of the girls starting to learn how to swim. they were still so little in your mind. so you conceded, buying them a larger than normal pink kiddy pool in the shape of a heart for pool days. you figured this was something you should speak to rafe about, along with a number of things the quicker your girls’ seemed to grow up. while the toddlers talked amongst themselves, you hesitantly rested your hand on rafe’s shoulder at a red light, feeling the muscle tense before relaxing beneath your palm. “you can join too.” the blonde man turned to look at you then, flickering his eyes over your soft expression before nodding in agreement.

rafe stored the treats in your refrigerator while you got the girls’ dressed in their swimsuits. he had a pair of black swim shorts in the trunk of his car, leftover from when topper or kelce had decided they wanted to spontaneously go to the beach a few weeks ago. you had asked him to fill the pool up after he got dressed, which confused him at first, but now he could see the heart shaped kiddy pool about fifteen paces away from the actual pool. the man couldn’t help but chuckle, rolling his eyes half heartedly before he got to work.

once the pool was about halfway filled with lukewarm water- he’d be damned if his babies were cold- he heard the patio door slide open. rafe looked up, spotting the twins dressed in their matching frilly bathing suits with protective hairstyles. valentine’s was a pale teal colour, and rosy’s a vibrant magenta. rafe was ashamed to say he still got the twins mixed up until a few months ago, remedied after he had gifted them little gold necklaces with a ‘v’ and ‘r’ respectively. you had smiled softly at his admission, letting him know that the only way you were able to tell them apart at first was because wheezie had painted one of each of their toenails a different colour. rafe ignored the pang in his chest when you told him that. wishing he could’ve seen it. wishing that he could’ve looked up from his own reflection long enough to help you out more.

their little feet padded up to rafe, standing on either side of his knelt down form as he continued to hold the hose into the pool. rosy’s short fingers reached out to touch the stream of water, flinching away while hissing out a giggle at the funny feeling. rafe grinned, chuckling when valentine cutely dipped her spread out toes into the shallow water, her little hands keeping herself steady on rafe’s shoulder. suddenly, he heard the clacking of heeled sandals, whipping his head up towards the sound before his jaw dropped.

it wasn’t as if rafe hadn’t looked at you romantically since your separation. it was no question that you were the most sought after girl in the outer banks- before and after- the eldest cameron had finally managed to lock you down. he hadn’t slept with you- or anyone else believe it or not- since the breakup. the father of your children had only caught pg 13 moments of you when he was lucky. like a stray bra strap showing when the shoulder of your loose sweaters would fall, or the lace of your panties that had peaked out from beneath your mini skirts on more than one occasion. it had him fucking his fist as soon as he crossed the threshold of his home in a way he hadn’t since he first started puberty, but fuck. rafe really didn’t think you could get any more gorgeous, especially after having his twins. he was wrong. so, so wrong.

a stringy bikini left little to the imagination, revealing your rich complexion that glittered with some sort of oil. the bottom strings were tied high on your hips in bows, while the top was tied behind your neck and between your shoulder blades. you didn’t look exactly the same as you did before of course, but god you looked so much better to rafe. your tits were heavier for lack of a better term, and your bottom had filled out, more perky, rounder. the blonde wasn’t aware of what he was doing until valentine squealed, the hose water spraying her chubby legs rather than filling the pool. he swore softly under his breath, cursing to himself silently afterwards when he remembered he wasn’t supposed to do that in front of the girls. rafe gently pulled valentine further into the sun, giving her nose little butterfly kisses in apology before allowing her to hold the hose for him. rosy glued herself to rafe’s other side, her chubby arms wrapping behind his neck with her warm cheek pressing against his. the elder man smiled widely, wrapping his other arm around his youngest daughter before placing a kiss along her cheek.

unbeknownst to rafe, you weren’t fairing any better either. he had somehow filled out even more since the two of you had broken up. his skin was just as golden as it always had been, prompting his shaved blonde hair, strong bone structure dotted with golden stubble, and blue eyes to stand out that much more. his biceps bulged while he hugged your daughters, their little hands pressed against the defined muscles of his shoulders and back. you bit your bottom lip, sitting down on a stray poolside chair before calling out. “sweethearts. sunscreen time.”

“but mommy-“ valentine whined softly, her feet already dipped in the now filled up pool from where she stood inside of it. rafe stroked the little girl’s back, chiding her softly.

“c’mon now, listen to mommy.” your heart swelled. “we’ll make it quick.” your eldest grumbled half heartedly, her little humph morphing into an excited squeal when rafe playfully lifted her up with an exaggerated groan. both little girls on his hips cheered with delight, held six feet up in the air as if they weighed nothing.

oh god, you were done for.

“can you do mine, dada?” rosy asked sweetly, gently playing with his rope chain necklace from where she laid in the crook of his neck. rafe couldn’t stop his heart from melting, unable to deny his girls anything- unless you said so, of course. maybe.

“‘course i can, baby.” valentine reached out for you, rafe handing her off before sitting on the grassy ground in front of you. the other pool chair too far from you and val for his comfort. you bit your glossy bottom lip, giggling at the way your eldest squirmed at the cool feeling of the sunscreen. practically lifting all of her limbs at you like a spider monkey to somehow make the process go faster.

a few minutes later, rafe had gotten your youngest daughter pretty much covered besides her face, which he took his sweet time with. you furrowed your eyebrows at the way he applied the sun cream with his fingertips, rosy turned away from you. it wasn’t until he turned your youngest daughter around to reveal a little white nose and slightly messy kitten whiskers made from sunscreen, that you laughed louder than expected. valentine gasped, giggling along with you much to rosy’s confusion. quickly, you pulled out your phone, snapping a few too many pictures of your oblivious daughter and an amused rafe behind her. “i want one too!” valentine hopped off your lap, running to her father before presenting her already sun screened face.

you showed the pictures to a curious rosy while rafe got to work, giggling at her little gasp and toothy grin at the artwork on her face. after snapping “a few” more pictures of your little kittens, they ran off into the pool, toys of their choosing scattered throughout the water. you smiled at the way rafe didn’t take his eyes off of them, turning your chair horizontally much to his confusion. “c’mon, we can share it.” the blonde got up after a beat, sitting down while you stood above him. “d’you want a beer?”

a careful eyebrow raised itself on his handsome face. “you tryna’ get me drunk?” rafe naturally smirked when you rolled your eyes sexily, dragging his cerulean gaze up and down your perfect form while you walked back inside the house to get said beer.

soon, you returned with two small coolers filled with ice. the one you placed next to rafe had a few imported beers from mexico, and some drinks for yourself. the ones for your daughters next to their kitty pool held sippy cups of watered down juice, and little bottles of water.

handing an open beer to rafe, you sat next to him beneath the large umbrella above the pool chair. he thanked you, clinking your drinks for good luck before taking a sip. the pair of you sat quietly for a few moments, basking in the heat while watching your daughters play in their pool a few feet away. rafe scrunched his nose suddenly, stroking the back of his neck before leaning forwards- elbows to knees. “so uh.. tell me about your flower installations.”

you smiled softly, shrugging. “i don’t really know what to say. i..” rafe turned to look at you, admiring the way your expression softened when thinking about something that clearly brought you joy. you looked hopeful. such a contrast from the stoicism and defeat you exhibited when you were with him. “you remember topper’s ex girlfriend? ruthie?”

your ex scoffed out a laugh at that, sipping his beer before nodding. “yeah. i remember her.” amused giggles left your lips, reminiscing about how tumultuous their relationship had been when you were only teenagers.

“well, she invited me to her wedding two years ago-“

“no.” rafe laughed incredulously. “you went to that?” you hid your face in your left hand to mask your laughter, birthstone catching his eyes again. before he could overthink it, he nudged your thigh with his playfully. “kay. so after you watched her uncle kiss her cousin, what happened-?”

“oh god. i wasn’t there long enough for that. the girls were at my mom’s and rosy caught a cold somehow-“

“what?” rafe’s relaxed demeanour went rigid. you turned your focus to him, a sad smile painting your lips when you took in his reaction. “why didn’t you call me-?”

“i tried. your phone kept going to voicemail, so i called your assistant and they said you were on business, and that they would let you know i called.” rafe’s mouth fell agape, sighing irritatedly before pinching the bridge of his nose to will away his oncoming tension headache. he hadn’t been away for business. he had taken topper to his bahamas vacation house to drink away his sorrows like a sorority girl. he couldn’t believe- “but she was fine the next morning. the paediatrician told us it was only a twenty-four hour cold. so when you called back, i didn’t want to worry you-“

rafe grabbed your hand before he could stop himself, immediately softening his hold when you flinched out of habit. the elder man swallowed then, eyes filled with anguish before gradually tilting his head forwards to show you he meant no harm. “you don’t ever worry about worrying me, or bothering me. not when- not when it comes to the girls.. and- and especially not when it comes to you, a-a’ight-?“ he cut himself off while he was ahead, unsure of how to continue without ruining more than he already had. you set down your drink, pulling your smaller hand out of his grip softly much to his disappointment. shockingly though, your palms enveloped the sides of his face. rafe spared a look at you, afraid to even breathe at the risk of breaking the moment. as if it were the easiest decision of your life, you stroked the soft pad of your thumb over the approaching wrinkles along his forehead, softening the tension in his face as best you could. gently, you placed a feather soft kiss to the same area, eyes watering at the sound of the shaky breath that left the man who still held your heart after everything.

“i promise.”

the sound of ice pouring into water caught both of your attentions, snapping your heads towards the kitty pool that was now bobbing with ice cubes. valentine gently dropped the empty cooler on the grass, bottles fallen beside it. she placed her sunglasses over her eyes with a sigh before laying in the pool next to her sister- who looked equally as relaxed. your jaw dropped at the way their little arms rested behind their heads, unable to hold back your laughter after rafe commented incredulously. “there’s no way that just happened.”

you attempted to cover your mouth, but just couldn’t stop laughing. “in case you were unsure that val was yours-“

“that has you written all over it! are you kidding?” you knew rafe wasn’t mad despite his indignant tone, his smile threatening to take over his entire face. you giggled, even while standing up to reach for a beach umbrella behind you. “what’re you doing?”

“i’m just gonna go set this up by their little pool. they must be so hot-“ before you could even blink, rafe took the umbrella from your hands. you couldn’t help but stand there dumbly, your ex flicking his head back in the direction of the pool chair.

“relax. i got it, mama.” a red hot desire burst through your veins at how easily those words left his mouth, forgetting how slick it could be. as if that weren’t enough, rafe tucked his head down to place a chapped kiss along your cheekbone, already on his way to your daughters before you could register what had happened.

you could still feel rafe’s kiss on your cheek and his warm face beneath your palms even after he returned to your side. he sat closer to you this time, and you couldn’t believe how giddy you felt. especially after everything that had happened between you two since your first meeting at the country club as teenagers. you birthed his children for gods sake, but it felt as if you had just held hands on the playground for all your classmates to see. “i think they should start learning how to swim. what uh, what d’you think?”

you blinked, watching your girls who were as cool as cucumbers relaxing in their kiddy pool. “i’m afraid i’ve turned them into pool loungers and they wouldn’t like it.” rafe laughed at that, sipping his beer with a warm smile. the kids had lifted up their sunglasses momentarily at his arrival, pretending to be nonchalant but giggling madly when he attacked them with kisses after setting up their umbrella. “but we can try. maybe we could teach them next weekend in the big pool. the shallow end is only three feet.”

“yeah, yeah i can do that.” rafe nodded to himself. “i have a few meetings on friday, but i’ll clear my schedule for the weekend. that work for you?”

“you’d be able to get the whole weekend off?” you didn’t mean to sound disbelieving, but you also needed to make sure that rafe wasn’t making promises to your girls’ that he couldn’t keep. you had been down that road before, and they didn’t deserve that.

the eldest cameron sighed through his nose, quite literally shrugging off your concerns. “it’s my company. i should get the weekend off. simple as that.” you immediately raised a manicured brow at that. where was simple as that when you were deciding baby names? nursery colours? having cravings, morning sickness, giving birth, changing diapers, staying up for hours into the early morning when the twins wouldn’t stop crying? where was simple as that when he missed watching their first steps, hearing their first words, potty training? times two? but yes, the mountain of toys falling off their playroom shelves was enough consolation. two hours a week at most with their father was apparently enough. all the money in the world and he couldn’t tell them apart unless he was able to see the initials strung around their necks. “what?” rafe seemed genuinely confused at the way you shut down, and that was the worst of all. he genuinely couldn’t fathom how much of your life you had given to your children.

you were still so young when you had gotten pregnant. it happened during your year off after high school graduation, you hadn’t even been with rafe for a year, hadn’t even been legal enough to drink. still, ward- albeit geriatric- insisted, stating an abortion would be preposterous, and rafe listened to him. it was no question that you loved your children more than anything else in the world. you would never regret having them for a second. except you couldn’t believe that rafe had promised you he would be there for you, that he loved you, but still left you alone during the most difficult time of your life. all for ward. rafe was able to grow up. rafe was able to reinvent himself. rafe was able to leave when things got hard, and rafe was able to come back anytime he wanted because you let him.

“mommy? i need a towel. gotta go potty.” rosy tugged at your hand, lifting you out of your stupor. you snapped into action, picking up the fluffy pink towel behind you and drying your daughter off as quickly as you could.

“do you need me to come with you?”

rosy shook her head, already running into the house as fast as her legs could carry her. “no. i gotta pee!”

rafe chuckled from behind his beer, but you didn’t see anything funny about the possibility of your daughter having an accident. “where’re you going? she said she’s fine-“

“she could’ve had an accident, and i’m not making her walk out here to tell me. i need you to watch val.” you both turned to catch the girl quickly looking away from your conversation, resuming playing with her toys. “i think you can manage that much.”

“hey-“ rafe’s larger hand just managed to grab your wrist, but you pulled it away twice as rough, moving back a few steps. the man opposite to you immediately stood up, his once intimidating height appearing smaller and smaller the more you let yourself think about the past few years. confusion bled into his hurt expression, his hushed irritation only adding to your turmoil. “c’mon. what’s going on-?”

“you-“ you lowered your voice suddenly to keep val from hearing you. cursing yourself for how it wobbled with tears, teetering on the edge of a sob. rafe could only watch helplessly. that’s all he’s ever been able to do. “you choose when you come and go. you get to break promis-es.” a wet hiccup left your lips, quickly cut off by your shaking left hand. your ‘promise ring’ felt more like a shackle with everyday you spent apart from the man in front of you. rafe’s mouth fell agape, taken aback at how quickly everything had shifted. a watery smile drew itself over your trembling lips, doe eyes staring up at the man in front of you with an eerie sense of glee that withered away the longer they did. “but time is a thief, and he’s robbing you blind, rafe.” rafe swallowed dryly, twisting his face and shifting on his feet before his fail safe expression made an appearance. every feature of his, especially the ones your daughters’ shared, became devoid of any kind of emotion. you sniffled pitifully, wanting to curse yourself for being so stupid. for believing that he loved you despite his first reaction being aloof condescension at the discovery of your achievements. for believing that he abandoned you and the children he forced you to bring into this world because he had no other choice. for believing him about anything. “no amount of money in this world will ever be able to change that.”

with that, you dashed into the house after rosy, missing the way rafe’s stoic expression crumbled behind you.

#i’m really proud of this one tee hee #rafe cameron x reader #rafe cameron #rafe cameron x fem!reader #rafe cameron angst #rafe cameron x reader angst #rafe cameron fluff #rafe cameron smut #dad!rafe au #girl dad!rafe #dad!rafe cameron #rafe cameron obx #obx fanfiction #14-02-21 #pixie’s works * ੈ✩‧₊˚

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obxsummer · 2 months ago

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P4L // JJ Maybank

pairing: jj maybank x reader

summary: aka the season 4 ending the audience and pogues deserved.

warnings: S4P2 SPOILERS

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Morocco was proving to be one hell of a challenge for all of you. Every corner had more of your friends pulling off to play defense or act as a distraction. Pope, Kiara, and Cleo had left in an attempt to hold off the mercenary crew, leaving you, JJ, and Rafe to finish the mission and find the crown.

With Rafe out on the option to climb, JJ had volunteered which left you all in the current situation. JJ was trying to pull himself up on the stone statue as wind and sand whipped at your faces.

“Be careful!” You yelled up to him, hoping your voice wouldn’t get carried away before it reached him.

You’d been so heartbroken for JJ over the past few weeks - from losing Poguelandia, finding out Luke wasn’t his dad, all the shit with the gold and Enduro… you could really use a win. JJ deserved a win more than anything.

“Shit, here they come,” Rafe spoke up as he caught sight of the mercenaries who were catching up. “Stay here! I’ll go down and buy us some time.”

“Rafe, no!” You tried to ignore the pit of fear in your stomach but it was grabbing you tighter than you had ever felt before. “They’ll kill you!”

Rafe shook his head. “I’m a killer too! Got nothing to lose!”

Your face contorted into an odd expression at his response before you let him go and turned your attention back to JJ. He was getting closer and closer to the top but you knew he had no clue what to look for.

“JJ, hurry!” You coughed around the sand in your throat and walked closer to see him better.

After a moment, you could hear him cheer in excitement. “Yeah, baby! We did it!”

You tucked your head down as a particularly strong blast nearly knocked you off your feet. You could barely make out his figure in the storm around you as he stumbled his way toward you. “JJ! We gotta get out of here!”

“I’m good, I’m good!” He reassured as he got closer. “I’m great, actually.”

He shifted the scarf around his neck to reveal the crown, the Blue Crown, that you guys had risked your lives to get here in search of.

“Oh my God,” You gasped before cheering in excitement. “Do you know what this means?”

JJ pulled the headwrap off to see you better, his hands moving the crown closer so you could hold it yourself. “We’re getting it back. We’re getting our home back.”

The celebrating was cut short as JJ caught sight of something behind you before shoving the show of you out of the way. A gunshot rang out seconds later, warning enough that the two of you needed to keep moving.

“Go, go, go. I’ve got ya!” JJ’s hand wrapped itself into yours as he took the lead, weaving the two of you through tunnels and structures before you could even blink. The storm was starting to die down, the wind and sand slowing as you guys moved deeper into the town.

Your run was cut short as JJ slammed on the brakes and you ran into his back. “J?” You asked, confused before you caught sight of the person in front of him.

Chandler Groff had caused JJ so much pain in the few weeks your group had come to know him. From disowning him as a baby, to almost killing him, and the constant manipulation, you were beginning to wonder if Luke was the lesser of the two evils. Life had been so unkind to JJ and you refused to let this man take anything else from him.

Groff gave the two of you a wicked smile. His knife gleamed against the sunshine, the reflection coasting your eyes as you realized you were defenseless. He moved the blade closer in your direction. “You know what I want.”

JJ’s grip on your hand tightened. There’s a lot of things he would do if you weren’t here, but you were, and that meant you were his top priority.

“And if we don’t?” You tilted your head, mockingly. It was two against one here, even if he had a shitty knife.

“Then I’ll kill you both and leave your friends to find you in bits and pieces.”

You squeezed JJ’s hand twice, a silent signal that you were ready if he was. “Yeah, not happening.”

The two of you moved in tandem, your leg kicking up to knock the knife from his grip and JJ pouncing forward to pin his so-called father against the stone wall with an aggressiveness you hadn’t seen before.

Groff groaned as his head slammed into the rough surface, eyes struggling to refocus. JJ leaned closer, his forearm pressing against the man’s throat harder. “Don’t you ever threaten her again, ya hear me?”

When Groff didn’t answer, JJ applied more force, relishing in the way the man groaned in pain. “You’ll regret ever crossing me.”

JJ wasn’t risking it and pulled back before slamming Chandler’s head back, effectively knocking the man unconscious. “Hard pass,” The blond teen spat, giving the man a hefty punch to the head to drive his point home.

“You okay?” You asked quietly as JJ stared at the form of the man who he was beginning to trust.

He twitched at the question before taking a deep breath. “Yeah, yeah.” His hand reached back to you, waiting for you to grab on. “Let’s go find our friends and get the hell out of here, yeah?”

You took his offer, kissing him softly before nodding in agreement. “Let’s do it.”

And the two of you ran off, leaving Chandler Groff to bleed out on his own, taking the karma he deserved with him to the grave. You had a treasure to celebrate.

a/n: fuck u obx writers and goodbye.

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#outer banks x reader #jj maybank x reader #jj maybank #outer banks jj #outer banks spoilers #obx spoilers #obx 4 spoilers #obx4 #jj maybank x you #jj maybank imagine

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avaf00rd · 1 year ago

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Australian kinda Christmas

Leah Williamson x Arnold!Reader

ava what is that shitty header photo job…

tumblr fucked up its quality

anyways I’ve been thinking about writing this one for ages now

enjoy <3

——————————

“C’mon love” you groaned at your 10th attempt to get your girlfriend up from your Power Nap. You pair were already late as it is “Don’t you wanna shower before you can’t for a whole 24 hours?” You asked, her head still buried in the pillows. She stayed like that, contemplating for another second before getting up and heading to the bathroom “Don’t be long” you said before tapping her butt just as she opened the bathroom door.

You got a text from your sister Mackenzie telling you that she was already at her lay over flight and would be boarding again in an hour. This year you pair didn’t get the same flight over for the Christmas break. But it was the first year you would both be bringing your girlfriends with you.

You and leah had been together 4 years now. The second year you spent Christmas with Leah’s family, last year you and mac both went with your parents overseas for Christmas. And this year you would both be bring Leah and Kirsty.

Some how an hour and a half later you were just passing security only just and were going to get some small snacks for the plane. Leah, with the food palate of a 6 year old. Got some watermelon gummies “They help with feeling sick on the plane” she tried to convince you as you glanced over the packet she said was holding.

“4 years and not once have you been sick on a flight” you said

“The headaches” she shrugged and smiled at you. Of course you were gonna grab them off her and buy them for her. You grabbed some random chip snack you found at the front counter and shorty paid before handing the bag to Leah to put in her carry on. You were both absolutely beyond excited. This would be her 5th time in Australia, so she’s been heaps. But you would be staying at your family’s new place on the Gold Coast, QLD. You both sat in the lounge near your gate as you took a photo of Leah as she threw a Lolly into her mouth while smiling. Quickly adding it to your instagram captioning ‘see you soon 🇦🇺’

———

After 26 hours of travel. And your sleepy girlfriend who was currently clinging to your bicep as she slept. It was asked to put on your seatbelts as you went for landing. You slowly woke Leah up slightly so she would be ready for it.

You held hands as Leah started giggling about her funny dream. You looked out the window and squeezed your girlfriend’s hand extra tight as you saw the coastline of Australia.You squealed like a little girl due to your excitement as Leah pressed a kiss to your lips. “Welcome home love” she said before laying back in her seat. You took photos and sent them to your dad and brother to let them know you would be at GC airport in about 45 minutes so they could you pick you both up. You also texted your mum just out of excitement before putting your phone away.

Once you and Leah had gotten off the plane, you walked your tired asses over to the baggage collection. Before you felt someone tap your shoulder. You turned to find your smiling dad and brother. You quickly clung on to them both in a huge hug “oh how i missed you oh my gosh” you said into your brothers neck with a sigh of relief. You also felt small hands tug your sweat shorts, you didn’t realise one of your nieces would be here too.

“Hello beautiful girl!” You squealed pulling away from your brother as you picked up your niece and spun the giggling girl around.

“I missed you so much!” She said before quickly clinging to your neck.

“I missed you so much more” you smiled back. You hadn’t seen the small girl since the World Cup back in August.

You held her on your hip as you turned around to see your girlfriend finally hugging your dad and brother Sam with a big smile. After struggling to get both of your large suitcases off the conveyor belt while you had your mini family reunion.

“Aunty Lee!” You niece squirmed in your arms as you put her down so she could run to Leah.

“Hello you!” Your girlfriend smiled and she knelt down to give her a big hug. It melted your heart the way she was with your nieces.

Leah handed you your suitcase as you pecked her cheek before you rolled it out the airport with your smiling niece riding on top.

“Hello” you yelled out once your dad unlocked the front door to your parents home. You were met with your mum, 2 nieces, Mackenzie and Kirsty all rushing around the corner at the sound of the front door.

You and Leah gave all of them bone crushing hugs and chatted for a little while, had some of the left overs that was left from their dinner since you told them not to wait. It was already 10pm. It was convenient for your girlfriend and you so you could just get yourselves straight to bed.

——————————-

After multiple days of walks down on the beach, family dinners, more surfing lessons for Leah, lots of jet lag, swimming pools and relaxation for you and your girlfriend. It was officially Christmas Eve night and you couldn’t have been more excited if you had tried.

You, leah, Macca and Kirsty were all on the living room floor carpet wrapping presents. Everyone else was in bed. But the four girls in their twenties were not as prepared as everyone else and still had to do all their wrapping.

The holiday played on the TV in front as you had about 40 gifts to wrap for people. For everyone in your family besides the people in the room with you currently. “Stupid wrapping paper argh!” You groaned knocking your head back in frustration as the huge cut of wrapping paper you cut wasn’t large enough by a few centimetres.

“See you didn’t even need to get that gift in the first place” Leah laughed. As you were wrapping your 20th gift for your parents, you comepletely spoil them every year.

You dragged Leah around the large shopping centre to get more gifts for people. “Baby you bought your mum the same scent candle last year i remember you showed me” she grinned as you looked at the box before putting it in your trolley. “Yeah but it probs ran out. That’s the thing with candles lee” you debated back as she shook her head with laughter.

“Sorry I’m just so nice to the People i love” you said to her.

“And you absolutely are, beautiful. But I don’t think we will be able to get return flights anymore once we leave here” Leah said.

“I make alright money Leah Williamson. Plus if you think this is a lot wait till you open your presents.” You smiled at her

“There’s only just a few things I want” she grinned at you as you both walked to the car

“What would those be baby” you smirked back.

“You…and that pop corn machine thing I showed you”

“You showed me that just yersterday! How am I supposed to get that” You panicked. When it came to gifts you were amazing at giving them. Everyone knew that and got excited to receive one from you. If they weren’t perfect for them you would always worry.

“I’m only joking…” she laughed as she kissed your head “at the second one”.

Once you were finished you cuddled up next to Leah on the floor against the couch to watch the end of the movie. Before heading upstairs to your room “night love you” you yelled out softly to mac and Kirsty ��goodnight!” They replied before shutting their door. Leah changed out of her normal clothes that she strangely got into after her shower earlier in the night.

“Please match baby” you pouted, sitting on the edge of the bed holding up the Christmas Pajamas that matched yours.

Leah laughed as she saw them, “when did you get those” she said before cupping your face and kissing the tip of your nose.

“Back in London. I forgot I had packed them. Anyways here” you shoved them into her chest with the wide smile of a toddler.

“Of course I will” Leah skipped away to her dresser to change quickly. You giggled getting under the sheets before Leah jumped on top of you just as you were leaning over to plug your phone in. You laughed as she wrapped her long arms around you and placed kisses all over you shoulder.

“I’m so excited to for tomorrow” you smiled looking down on her.

“Me too” the English girl replied as she rolled over so you could cuddle into her side. That’s how you slept every night. It was just the best way that your bodies melted into each other. “Love you baby” she whispered.

“Night beautiful” you smiled before drifting off to sleep.

——-

Christmas morning started with slow cuddles in bed with Leah before very hyper toddlers came running down the bedroom door. They had forced you to come downstairs because they weren’t allowed to “open presents until everyone is awake”.

Leah gave multiple gifts to everyone in your family. Even though she hadn’t met some of them heaps. You gifted Leah a new designer tote bag, some belt she wanted, 2 new Apple Watch bands, YSL perfume, and Tiffany earrings along with other small gifts. She spoiled you loads as well. You two spent a long phone call with her mum before lunch started.

The afternoon was still hot. As the rain cleared, you dragged Leah, your sister and everyone down to the beach.

You were putting on sunscreen in the long mirror in your room. Leah had just done up her bikini before coming up behind you “let me help” she grinned as you were reaching for your back for the sunscreen. You gladly let her as she took the bottle from you. She rubbed gentle circles into your back with the cream, you groaned when her hands made their way up to you shoulders.

“That’s nice” you breathed out as she massaged your back. She sent a grin to the mirror.

“Let’s go” she said before tapping your butt and heading out the door, sunnies on her head. You laughed to yourself as you followed her out. You carried two of your nieces the whole Walk down while talking with Leah and Kirsty. Talking about Kristy mewis’s new transfer to their club.

“I don’t want to jinx anything. But I had a dream last night I did my ACL” you blurted.

“What-“ Kirsty laughed as you said so

“That’s not funny” Leah said

“And then…I died from it. Is that possible?”

“No it’s not. And you’re not going to do your ACL alright?” Leah reassured

“Shit who’s done their ACL?” Mackenzie said catching up to all of you with your third niece on her shoulders.

“Maybe me”

“What!-“

“No!” Leah said putting her towel down in a mess on the beach. You jumped on macca’s back as she ran down to the water. Leah and Kirsty slowly following down after.

“Come here!” You yelled, arms wide open for your niece to jump into them as you took her to the deep end. Leah laughed taking a photo of you and the small girl. “Get in Lee!” You yelled out to her

“Yep soon hang on” she said typing something on her phone. You rose out of the water, putting the child in your arms down near Mackenzie as you ran up to your girlfriend. “No no no” she said backing away.

You somehow, caught up to her and threw her over her shoulder

“No no I have my phone y/n!” She yelled. You muzzled it out of her hand and slowly put in down on the sand next to you.

“Down we go” you sung. As you carried the laughing girl into the water. Before completely dumping her in fully.

“Your done” she huffed as she pushed the wet hair out of her face. You swam and hid behind your taller sister as she just grabbed you by the shoulders and placed you in front of her, right in target for Leah.

“Thanks” your girlfriend said before pushing your shoulders under. The water was actually cold for the humid weather outside.

————

It was late at Christmas night. Technically very early Boxing Day. And even though at 1am, there was light Christmas tunes playing on the radio tv.

Everyone including Leah was asleep in the house. You came down for a midnight snack. You had been for the past few nights here.

“Shockers” a soft voice was heard a long with footsteps. The presence of your older sister brought a smile to your lips. You stuffed the last bit of pavlova in your mouth. “Anymore of that?” She pointed to the dessert.

You just giggled implying you at the last bit. “Again shockers”

“Oi”

“I feel like I haven’t seen you in a year”

“You never got back to me about meeting back in London. And you missed last camp” you implied

“I know sorry. Promise to try more”

“Stop you do try. You were just injured” you said softly as you poured both of you a water. “Are you planning on going with Kirsty to her family next year?” You asked curious.

“Yeah most likely I haven’t been there for Christmas before. What about you?”

“Yeah I’ll probs stay in London with Leah. I told you Caitlin brought Katie and Jordan here?”

“Yes. I’m shocked about Jordan. Not Katie. Oh I love her” she said sipping her water then refilling it

“They’re just really close as a three. Caitlin said today Sam is heading back to America in 2 days to go back with Kristie”

“Damn maybe she’ll finally feel jet lag for once. And did Caitlin call you?”

“Yeah. Just to say merry Christmas and all that”

“She didn’t call me” Mackenzie said joking in a sour way. You poked your tongue out at her as she yawned.

“Ok I’ll go back to bed. I’ve been up since 5”

“5?!”

“Yeah. The girls woke us up first. Proof I’m the favourite?”

“Maybe I’m the favourite and they just respect my beauty sleep more”

“Keep dreaming. Night. Get to sleep so your not cranky” you sister said, back to her bossy self. You heard more footsteps coming back down 1 minute later.

“Love come back to bed” said your love in a croaky voice. You turned to find Leah in her short Pyjama set and her hair everywhere.

“Hello. Looks like you slept well” you said pointing to the sheet marks left from her pillow on her check las you quickly pecked her all over her face.

“Yes I did. And I would like to get back to it. With you” she tugged you slightly back up the stairs.

“I think I’m still a bit jet lagged” you said as your body stayed leaning against the bench. Eating the strawberry punnet you grabbed out of the fridge earlier before.

“Ya think” she giggled now pulling out a kitchen stool to sit with you. The faint sound of The Christmas song by Nat King Cole was played over the radio.

“C’mon dance with me, then bed I promise” you put both your hands out the help her get up and slow dance with you.

“Only cause I get to sleep” she smiled taking your hands. You slowly started dancing with her as she put her head in the crook of her neck. The dance slowed into a long hug with each other’s embrace in the middle of the kitchen.

“I love you” you mumbled slowly into her hair

“Love you most. And again thanks for bringing me” she pecked your shoulder

“Wouldn’t miss the opportunity for the world”

——————

So this was supposed to come out ages ago. And it’s shorter than I hoped. But hope it was alright. Luv u all❤️🎄

#woso #arsenal women #caitlin foord #katie mccabe #auswnt #mackenzie arnold #leah williamson x reader #leah williamson imagine #leah williamson #leah williamson one shot #woso x reader #woso community #woso imagine #christmas #matildas #l

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ladykailitha · 1 year ago

Text

The Magic of Christmas Part 1/8

Here it is, guys! My first Christmas steddie story. It was a blast to write even though sometimes it was struggle to get words down being so close to the holidays.

Summary: Steve doesn't play D&D, not really. But he's been a fan of Eddie Munson's artwork for Wizards of the Coast for years. So after he inherits the business from his dad, he decides the best use of all his dad's money is spend it on a five piece painting for the Party of their characters fighting a purple dragon. So he hires Eddie to do the work, but because it's so labor intensive, Steve offers to pay all of Eddie's bills plus any expenses he has for the paintings. How is Eddie to say no to that, so he doesn't try. He also doesn't try not falling in love with Steve. Will Steve reject him or will Eddie get a little magic for Christmas?

Words: 17012 CW: none Rating: Teen for swearing mostly Relationships: Steddie, background Buckingham, Jancy, Eden/Argyle, Dustin/Suzie, Lumax, and a surprise later in the story. Mike and El aren't dating in this, but neither is Mike and Will. They're single.

Also, Steve comes off as mildly autistic in this. He's based on a lot of my own experiences, so I hope this doesn't scare you off.

Essentially this is Eddie falls first, Steve falls harder over the course of six months. June and July aren't strictly mentioned, but you know it's happening during those two months.

***

Eddie walked into the high rise office building feeling a little out of place. All right, maybe a lot of place, if he was being honest with himself.

Here he was in a faded leather jacket and ripped black jeans in an actual fucking glass elevator to the top floor.

The doors opened up to warm outer office. It was dark woods and deep reds and golds. He had been expecting it to look like the rest of the building. He skipped forward to the woman at the desk a little unsure if he was in the right place.

“Hey, um...” he began, tilting his head. “I think I might be in the wrong place. But I’m Eddie Munson and I have a two o’clock appointment with Steve Harrington?”

She blinked up at him in shock. “This is Steve Harrington’s office, let me look at the schedule. I vaguely remember him making sure I didn’t schedule anything for this time.”

Eddie handed her the card that had Steve’s name on the front and the date and time on the back. She took it from him and nodded. He bit his lip nervously as she fiddled with something on her computer.

“All right,” she said, “I do see that he has an hour of time blocked off, but let me call him.”

Eddie nodded.

“Steve,” she said into the receiver. “I have an Eddie Munson here for you.”

“He’s here?” Eddie could hear the excitement in the person’s voice. “Send him in!”

She smiled. “Will do.” She hung up the phone. “Looks you’re good to go.”

Eddie smiled back. “Thanks.” He leaned over the desk for a moment. “I’m guessing you don’t know what this is about anymore than I do.”

She shook his head. “Nope. But he sounds excited to see you so you should really do that.”

He nodded back and skipped over to the door where it swung open as he reached it. He turned back to her. “Neat trick.”

She grinned back.

Eddie walked through the door and found that the inner office was very much the same as the outer one. All warm and cozy. And...well. Friendly.

Behind the desk leaping to his feet to greet him was the most gorgeous human Eddie had ever laid eyes on. He had floppy dark golden hair with hazel eyes behind neat glasses. His smile was easy and infectious.

“Eddie!” the Greek Adonis in a smartly tailored suit said brightly, sticking his hand out to him. “I’m so glad you came. When I spoke to your agent I got the impression you don’t usually do commissions.”

He half shrugged taking the outstretched hand and shaking it. “It’s been a slow year and I don’t taking the odd commission when it intrigues me.”

Steve blushed. “I intrigued the great Eddie Munson, I’m flattered.”

Eddie raised both eyebrows. “I didn’t realize you were a fan of my work.”

Steve nodded eagerly. “Oh hell yeah. I managed to get a picture of that lovely mural you did to cover the gang signs in the neighborhood before the cops destroyed it.”

Eddie blinked. Well fuck. He didn’t realize anyone had known that was him.

“You didn’t tell the cops it was me, did you?”

Steve laughed, clear and bright. He sat down and gestured for Eddie to do the same. “Rule number one. Don’t tell cops shit.”

Eddie sat down with a thud. “That’s good to know.”

Steve grinned wickedly at him and pulled out a picture of the mural from his desk drawer. He handed it to Eddie for him to look at.

“Usually it’s on my desk,” Steve said. “But I didn’t want to come across as too much of a fan boy right away.”

Eddie ran his fingers over the glass. It was of a pack of wolves howling at the moon rising over a tall mountain range.

“It’s nice to see that it’ll be remembered in some small way,” he murmured.

“I’ve got an photographer friend who can make a copy for you if you’d like,” Steve said softly.

Eddie’s head shot up. “You’d do that?”

This time it was Steve that gave a little half shrug. “I mean I can tell it was important to you so...”

He grinned. “Thanks, man. So what’s this commission you’re wanting me to do?”

Steve blushed again. “Do you still do illustrations for Wizard of the Coast?”

Eddie’s jaw dropped. That’s where Steve knew his art from, fucking D&D? This day couldn’t get any weirder.

He cleared his throat. “Like, sometimes. Right now I’m not happy with them for trying to take the game away from little homebrew gamers like me and my friends. But yeah, beggars can’t be choosers.”

Steve nodded. “God, I wish we could go back to the days were stupid rich people would hire poor artists to paint for them for a year or whatever. Free paint, free room and board.”

“Lack of freedom of expression though,” Eddie laughed.

Steve laughed with him. “Not if you’re sleeping with the mistress of the house.”

Eddie laughed harder. “Sorry, I’d be more likely to be sleeping with the master than the mistress.”

Steve smiled with a little shrug. “I’d probably end up doing both if they were hot enough.”

Eddie’s eyebrows went up. All right, noted. “Though I suppose in the scenario you’d be the master, so you’d be sleeping with the artist and the mistress.”

Steve grinned. “Well that’s certainly true.”

Eddie needed to get this meeting to move on before he leapt over the desk to fuck this gorgeous man senseless. “You want to be paint something in my D&D style?”

Steve lit up and Eddie had bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from saying something stupid like how hot he found that look on Steve’s face.

“Yeah, I have these...” he said, “well they aren’t kids anymore. But they were when I first met them. They’re really big into D&D. In fact Dustin, the one I’m closest to is the one that got me into your art. They were so well done in the books and then found out you had a website and well...” he blushed. “I really liked the fantasy stuff.”

Eddie smirked. He knew exactly what Steve was talking about. There was a section on his website where you had to put in your credit card information to even view it. Did he know that kids stole their parents’ credit cards to view that part of his site? Sure. But at least it made sure most of the time that the viewer was over the age of eighteen.

There was more to fantasy then elves or dragons. Eddie smiled.

“Did you now?”

Steve blushed deeper. “Not that I want you to do that for this!” he said waving his hands. “They maybe adults now, I’m not that insane! But they have these characters that they’ve had since they were twelve and I was hoping you could paint them fighting a dragon. Especially a purple dragon. Because they are so cool.”

Eddie ran his tongue over his teeth thoughtfully. “What were you thinking in terms of size?”

Steve pulled out another picture and slid it over to Eddie. Eddie picked it up and looked at it. It was one of those wall paintings that were split into separate pieces but if put together it would form a cohesive picture.

“I was thinking 10x18 for the side pieces and 18x24 for the middle piece which would have the dragon,” Steve explained.

“And each of the side pieces would have a different character?”

Steve nodded. “I was wanting it by Christmas, would that give you enough time to do it?”

Eddie sat back and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I’m mean, I guess. A month for each of the smaller ones and two months for the larger piece. It’s doable. If it’s the only thing I work on for the next six months. So I would require at least half the payment up front.”

Steve nodded and pulled out a piece of paper from a leather folio on his desk and handed it over to him.

Eddie started reading and was about half way down when he realized it was a contract. He usually had his own contract to give clients, especially for projects this big. But looking over Steve’s contract, not only was it better worded, it was a lot better offer for Eddie.

“Do you mind if I take this and show my agent before sign?” he asked.

Steve smiled. “No, of course not. Be my guest. In fact, I insist.”

Eddie relaxed. “Thanks!”

Steve ducked his head bashfully. “I really hope you’ll do it. You’re my favorite artist. Dusty’s too.”

Hoo-boy did Eddie know that look. It was the look of someone who was used to being shut down for their interests because they got too excited talking about it.

It was starting to look like regardless of what Chrissy thought about contract, he was going to do it. Because fuck, no one should have to feel like they were too much.

He stood up and shook his hand. “Is the end of the week okay?”

Steve’s head jerked up in shock. “What?”

“For the contract?” Eddie said, holding up the piece of paper.

“Oh!” Steve murmured. “Yeah. That’ll be a fine.”

Eddie got up and shook Steve’s hand. He walked to the door, but paused at the doorway. He turned back and tilted his head down and around. “You don’t have to limit yourself with me, okay? You can be yourself with me.”

Steve’s jaw dropped. “What? I don’t know what you mean...”

“The look on your face when you were talking about me being your favorite artist,” Eddie explained. “It’s something I see all the time with my friends and even myself. You close yourself off because you think you’re going to be shut down and told to shut up or at the very least dial it back. And I’m saying you don’t have to. Not with me.”

Steve blushed and ducked his head again. “You just want to me flatter the hell out of you.”

Eddie laughed. “I won’t deny that flattering works on me. But I mean it, okay? Don’t limit yourself. The people that mind don’t matter and those that matter won’t mind.”

Steve smiled. “Dr. Seuss. I’ll try to remember that.”

“See that you do,” Eddie said with a laugh. He tapped his hand on the door frame and then walked away.

He was almost to the elevator when the secretary said, “I heard what you said just now. About him not needing to hold back with you. Thank you.”

Eddie paused in his step. He whirled around and then skipped up to the desk. “You don’t need to thank me for that. He deserves to gush about the things he loves.”

“His parents would shut him up every time he would gush about anything,” she said. “Even sports. Which you would think would be the one thing that a boy should gush about, but nope.”

Eddie nodded. “Bastards.” He cocked his head to the side. “You are more than just his secretary aren’t you?”

She laughed. “Best friend and soulmate, Robin Buckley.” She stuck out her hand.

Eddie shook it with a wide smile. “Please to meet you. I’m guessing you’re president of the Steve Harrington Appreciation Society. Where can one sign up?”

Robin laughed. “Signing that contract will do the job I think.” She jutted her chin up at the paper in his hand.

He shrugged. “I got have my agent look at it before I sign anything. She’d murder me otherwise.”

“Fair.”

“See you around, Birdie,” Eddie said with a salute.

She frowned. “Birdie?”

He made a bird with his hands or at least tried with the contract in his hand. “Robin. Bird. Birdie.”

“Oh god,” she sighed. “You’re one of those.”

Eddie threw back his head and laughed. “Yup!” He skipped into elevator and pressed the button to the ground floor. He waved as the elevator lowered him down.

***

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

Tag List: @spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @artiststarme @swimmingbirdrunningrock @gregre369 @pyrohonk @a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @chaoticlovingdreamer @maya-custodios-dionach @goodolefashionedloverboi @messrs-weasley @val-from-lawrence @i-must-potato @danili666 @carlyv @rozzieroos @wonderland-girl143-blog @justforthedead89 @emly03 @bookworm0690 @itsall-taken @vecnuthy @bookbinderbitch @redfreckledwolf @littlewildflowerkitten @yikes-a-bee @awkwardgravity1 @scheodingers-muppet @mira-jadeamethyst @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @genderless-spoon @anne-bennett-cosplayer @irregular-child

#my writing #stranger things #steddie #ladykailtiha writes #christmas #artist eddie #businessman steve #autistic steve harrington

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cheriladycl01 · 10 months ago

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Our European Yacht Holiday - Kimi Raikkonen x SpanishOlympicDiver! Reader

Plot: It's summer and Kimi finally is in his off season and you've just competed in the summer Olympics getting a gold medal, what better way to prepare for the next by going around Europe on holiday!

"Okay, are you doing this with me yes or no?" you ask Kimi whose to your left. You were currently on your husbands private yacht, in the off season of Formula one, you'd decided to sail round Europe. Right now you were currently in the seas of the coast of Monaco.

It was you, Kimi, Sebastian Vettel his wife Hannah and their three kids who you and Kimi were god parents too.

"No!" he exclaims looking over the edge of the boat. You shake your head with a laugh.

"Come on, your such a wuss!" you exclaim looking towards him. You were both currently at the roof of the boat. You'd been diving off all afternoon, practicing of course and Kimi had come up saying he wanted to jump off too.

"I am not!" he tells you.

"Come on, you drove cars at 200mph and now your saying you cant dive off the boat with me?" you ask him, you pull on your swimsuit strap to make sure it was fully up over you shoulder.

"It's so high, and it's really really deep here!" he says looking around. In actuality it wasn't that deep, you'd swam here many times and you'd also gone scuba diving and free diving as part of training to keep fit.

"Okay, well I'm going to jump!" you scream before diving into the deep water. You hold your breath just as your body goes into the water hands first soon followed by your head. The rush you felt from your body when you went diving was the whole reason you got into it in the first place.

It's the reason why most athletes love their job, that adrenaline you get when performing.

You resurface padding around by the edge of the boat.

"Y/N! Y/N! I want to jump in!" one of Seb's children says coming up to you. You smile and swim up to them.

"Yeah, is your dad okay with it?" you ask clinging onto the rope that dangled of the back of the boat while you were docked up.

"Daddy, can I jump in with Y/N?" they shout back to Seb whose laying on the upper deck on one of the sofa's with Hanna.

"Have you got your arm bands on?" he asks leaning over the edge, you wave up to him and he nods knowing you'd keep them safe.

"Yeah!"

"Then you can, but you listen to Y/N at all times okay?" he says before laying back down.

"You know, i want to be just like you!" he says, smiling at you. You grin back and wait for him to jump in but he looks a little scared.

"I'll catch you, you trust me right?" you ask and look at the little boy above you. He nods and gulps down the anxiety, he walks back a little before running and jumping into the water right into your arms.

You were an exceptionally strong swimmer due to all the diving you do so holding the little boy up while treading water was no issue.

"Did that look cool?" he asks in delight rubbing the salty water out of his eyes.

"The coolest! I'll teach you how to dive soon!" you grin, and you both swim about a little bit more. You show him how to snorkel using the little mask Hanna had brought and how he had to keep his head at a certain angle so that no water got in the tube. Eventually you hauled him up onto the back of the boat before climbing back on yourself.

Your husband was stood there holding a towel out for you knowing it was slightly cooler now the sun was setting. He placed a light kiss on the top of your head, waiting for Sebastian and Hanna to leave with their son up to the top deck.

"You are really good with kids, we should think about having one!" he says to you suddenly making your head turn to him.

"Yeah?" you ask with a little smirk on your face.

"I think you'd be able to teach them so much!" he smiles genuinely pulling you into a hug and another kiss.

"Come on, we better doc the boat, I'm starving!" you say, giving him once last kiss before running off and hoping down the stairs to shower and change into a nice evening dress.

Later that night, you all went out for a meal in one of Monaco's finest, and being such a small city you bumped into some of the other drivers who couldn't help but ask how you were.

You were sad to see Seb, Hanna and the kids leave but now you and Kimi could sail away to Greece, the next destination for your little holiday away.

y/user

Liked by kimimatiasraikkonen and others

y/user: Sailing across Europe, getting ready for Paris 2024 with the best people ever! <3

Tagged: kimimatiasraikkonen sebastianvettel hannaprater

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kimimatiasraikkonen: Are you proud i jumped in the end?

-> y/user: yes it took lots of convincing though! <3

-> landoswife: no because we need the story behind this

-> vettelredbullera: no for real, was she trying to get him to dive?

Your Instagram Story Caption:

He wouldn’t dive from the boat with me :(

Taglist:

@littlesatanicassholebitch @hockey-racing-fubol @laura-naruto-fan1998 @22yuki @simxican @sinofwriting @lewisroscoelove @cmleitora @stupidandunnecessary @clayra-g @daemyratwst @honey-belden @moonypixel @lauralarsen @vader-is-hot @ironcowboycopnickel @itsjustkhaos @the-untamed-soul @beebo86 @happylittlereader @ziejustme @lou-larcher5 @thewulf @purplephantomwolf @chasing-liberosis @chillyleclerc @chanthereader @annoyingmoonballoon @summissss @evieepepi08 @havaneseoger08 @celesteblack08 @gulphulp @fandom1ruined2me @celebstories @starfusionsworld @jspitwall @sierruhh @georgeparisole @dakotatankbig @youcannotcancelquidditch @zzonsbeek @tallbrownhairsarcastic @mellowarcadefun @ourteenagetragedy @otako5811 @countingstacksandpanicattacks @peachiicherries @formulas-bitch @cherry-piee @hopexcroc @mirrorball-6 @spilled-coffee-cup @mehrmonga @bigsimperika @blueberry64857959 @eiraethh @lilypadlover @curseofhecate @alliwantisadonut @the-fem1n1ne-urge @21stcenturytaegi @dark-night-sky-99 @spideybv28 @i-wish-this-was-me @tallrock35 @butterfly-lover @barnestatic @landossainz @darleneslane @barcelonaloverf1life @r0nnsblog @ilove-tswizzle @kapsylia @laneyspaulding19 @lazybot @malynn @cassielikereading @viennakarma @teamnovalak @landosgirlxoxo @marie0v @jlb20416 @yourbane @teamnovalak @nikfigueiredo @fionaschicken @0picels0 @seomako @urdad-hot @formula1mount @tinydeskwriter @butterfly-lover @ironmaiden1313

#f1 imagine #f1 x reader #formula 1 x you #formula 1 #formula one #formula one fanfiction #kimi raikkonen x you #kimi raikkonen #kimi raikkonen x reader #kimi raikkonen imagine #kimi raikkonen one shot #kimi räikkönen x reader

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dearlot · 13 days ago

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I love the anon who sent thoughts about mermaid!Lottie because now I can't stop thinking about mermaid!Nat and looking at my moodboard of her

https://www.tumblr.com/theprismyyy/758982146787606528/mermaidnatalie-scatorccio?source=share

Mermaid! Natalie would definitely be a half-human child, as if her mermaid mother had gotten involved with her human father (I'm getting Merlia Summers in Barbie vibes). Maybe she could shapeshift into a human form like the girls in H2o, but she doesn't really do that... like, she lived part of her childhood as a human but it didn't work out for her, so she went to the sea where she feels most at peace.

Mermaid! Natalie has a golden orange tail like the girls in H2o...maybe with slight purple patterns that are kind of chromatic, because I imagine each of the girls having different colored tails. The colors of mermaids' tails can indeed be repeated and I think the most common color would be navy blue, while the rarer colors would be orange/gold (like Nat's), slightly grayish purple with details in shades of white and baby blue (like Lottie's) and green with details in blue and purple (like Shauna's, her tail would be similar to Ariel's).

Mermaid! Natalie whose main fun is to make fishermen's lives hell, but not just any fishermen, for example she doesn't do anything to those who do it respectfully, without dumping trash and respecting marine life, without catching more than necessary and stuff like that... now, she loves to make the lives of illegal fishermen a complete hell :)) she's just a little devil with a tail who will tear their nets, pull their fishing rods so hard that they can't pull back and they break or get released, sometimes she just takes the bait off the hooks and leaves them there like idiots😭 she would also scare away the fish nearby and steal any item left on the edge of the boat while they were distracted ;)

Mermaid! Nat likes to peek at the coast of islands and watch people hidden, she finds it fun and I can easily see her appearing to some poor unsuspecting child who was watching the sea😩 she would first scare the child by suddenly emerging from the water, but soon she would start talking to him and stuff :))) some children leave crying with the scare, others leave totally enchanted screaming for their parents to warn them about the "magical mermaid", others are little cheeky ones who engage in a fun conversation with her and ask to touch her tail after promising not to tell anyone <3 in all cases she has so much fun with these little pranks.

Mermaid! Natalie would also steal items forgotten on the sides of any other boat, like a silly hat left by a snobbish old lady on the side of a speedboat :))) Does Nat need this? No, but it's fun and there's always something that ends up interesting some of the girls.

I'm a huge fan of H2O: Just Add Water and I can't stop thinking about this whole AU taking place in the same universe as the series, just in a different time... maybe modern?? Whatever, but think about all the mermaid girls living in the dormant volcano pool on Mako Island😩😩😩 imagine that still around the island there is an entrance to a much larger sea cave that is where they actively live and it's so big and cool<3

Something like this, but completely decorated by the girls with everything they find cool or interesting:

I love mermaids and I clearly got excited

YESYESYES!!! mermaid nat my beloved <3 mermaid nat whose tail can change colors based on how she's feeling? like when you first spotted her, she was kinda surprised and shy, so her tail blushed with hot reds and dark oranges.

maybe reader whose dad is one of those fishermen nat hates??? you go along with him one morning because you really have nothing better to do and you HAVE been wanting to fish for some time. she spots him and scowls, but she tilts her head curiously when she notices you. i think she'd still fuck with you a lil, probably splash some water or hold onto the hook and suddenly let it go so you stumble 😭 but she's just a menace with your dad. he definitely ends up in the water at one point. thinking of spotting her while you're cleaning up and kinda just staring at each other for a moment before she scurries away.

and UR SO REALLLL i loved h2o as a kid bro.....literally top 10 shows ever. thinking about scuba diver!reader who somehow gets injured underwater near the cave and mermaid nat who rescues you!!! dragging you by the fins too because she's kinda apprehensive. maybe she was supposed to be out looking for food and the yjs joke about how it's too early to resort to humans when she brings you 😭 they all help put you on the surface and try to fix your wound, and nat kinda gets attached? idk. thinking of her slapping the other girl's hands away when they try to touch your face or arms because maybe they've never been this close to a human and are curious.

GAHHH. thinking about dates with her in the cave???? nat shoving all the girls out because ur swimming over 😭 bringing a lil picnic basket and a towel to put on the sand so you can lie on ur belly and face her since she'll be in the water and you on the surface. she'd probably decorate the cave with whatever she could find in the ocean and it's so cozy and cool looking 😞

okok i remember the full moon like fucking with the girls powers in the show..... mermaid!nat who turns into a SIREN during the full moon????? thoughts??? suddenly she's so clingy and possessive and maybe she goes onto the surface for the first time in years just to show up at your house.

#theprismyyy #mermaid nat #natalie scatorccio thoughts 💭#natalie scatorccio x reader

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the-yandere-arcade · 17 days ago

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family information

Yandere Emperor Quentin comes from a long like of emperors and empresses dateing back hundreds of years. His father passed some time ago his name was Tyson His mother is still alive though very old her name is Esme. She is a very sweet women and will give you tips on things her son likes He also has two younger sisters twin girls called Daisy and Delia . They are identical in all ways but Daisy has a beauty mark under her left eyes whilst Delias beauty mark is above her lip

he is very close with his sister's and has been known to let them do his makeup and paint his nails something his darling will never know.

Yandere detective Xavier comes from a poor background he only knew his mother and was an only child. So he doest have much family His mother is a hardworking siren known for being the most successful on their hunts for sailors her name is Heather . She raised Xavier on the coast of Australia a place where she deemed safe enough to raise her young son.

Yandere Model

West doest have any family . He was born to teen parents who gave him up when he was five as they couldn't look after him of course back then he was a girl. He moved from foster home to foster home never being able to settle anywhere. He came out as trans when he was 13 , but that was often ignored by his foster family's. He aged out the system at 18 and has worked hard to get where he is at today.

There is one person he classed as a brother despite them not being related and that's his best friend Ryan (oc). The two of them are very close despite being total opposites West being a famous model whilst Ryan is a professor but despite and the fact they are not related in their eyes they are brothers.

Yandere online friend

Domino is the complete opposite of West. He has a big family, with 2 brothers and 3 sisters.

His father is a hardworking business man by the name of Recce

His papa is a man with a heart of gold names Eric His oldest sister is a force to be reckoned with who is called June. His other sister is very much like there papa she is called April. His oldest brother is a musical loving man by the name of Alexander. His other brother is the typical nerdy kid by the name of Chase. His youngest sister is a sweet ten year old who loves dolls by the name of May.

Yandere Bully

Tyler has a smaller family he lives with his Dad and twin brother. His dad is mostly absent being a pilot means he is away most of the time . His name is George. His twin brother is the opposite of him. He is more of the nature type who is always found in mud looking at different animals . His name is Robin

Yandere serial killer

Angel can't remember his family , he doest know them but he has two 'adopted' brothers. They share the cave together and are all killers Lucifer (oc) is a deer hybrid who befriended Angel around 500 years ago and they have always called themselves brothers. Levi (oc) is the last brother . He is a cat hybrid who was picked up by Lucifer , levi was raised by angel and Lucifer since he was only a toddler when he was found. They all class eachother as brothers and looks after eachother

sorry for the late post I got a throat infection so I am struggling to breath and all that

#yan #yancore #yande.re #yandere #yandere oc #yanblr #yandere x ftm reader #yandere x male reader #yandere x reader #yandere headcanons #Yandere oc headcannons #Yandere serial killer - Angel #Yandere bully - Tyler #Yandere detective - Xavier #Yandere Emperor - Quentin #Yandere model - West #Yandere online friend - Domino

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jjmaybankswh0re · 1 month ago

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𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝𝐬 ~ 𝐎𝐁𝐗 𝐅𝐀𝐍𝐅𝐈𝐂

Part 2!

Blurb ~ Kalani thought Midsummers was the hardest thing to shake, but the Pogues’ new adventure plunges them into deeper chaos. Sunken boats, cryptic messages, and John B’s quest for gold lead them to the eerie Crain house, a place steeped in dark legends. As tensions rise, especially with John B’s kiss with Kiara, secrets and dangers unravel.

The revelation that Ward Cameron is John B’s guardian shakes the group, but they press on, following a map to the Crain property. Amid creepy tales and an overgrown yard, Kalani takes a fall, and JJ’s unexpected concern sparks a new, unspoken connection between them. As the mystery deepens, so does the strange bond forming between them, unnoticed but undeniable. ~

Read part 1!

Master List

Word count: 10,011

I woke up groaning, my head pounding, the dull red glow of my digital clock screaming 7:34 AM. Way too early for someone who spent the night tangled in chaos. I rolled onto my back, staring at the ceiling, but the memories of last night wouldn’t let me rest. They played over and over, each one a knot in my stomach.

After ditching the suffocating Midsummers party—and good riddance—the Pogues and I headed to Rixon’s Cove. That’s where we belong, not at some Kook circus with crystal champagne glasses and fake smiles. Kie showed up, too, leaving behind her “perfect” world for the one that actually matters. We all just wanted to chill by the bonfire, forget everything for a bit. But, of course, John B had other plans.

He told us he’d made another discovery about his dad. Another one. Ever since Big John disappeared, John B’s been on a mission, collecting clues like his life depends on it. And maybe it does. His dad’s been gone nine months. Nine months of nothing—no calls, no sightings, just silence. Two months ago, the cops decided to close the case. Told him to sign the papers and declare his dad officially dead. He refused, obviously. Said he wasn’t going to let them write the final chapter when he wasn’t even sure the story was over.

For the longest time, I thought it was just his way of coping. Building theories, imagining his dad out there somewhere, alive. We all did. But last week, something happened. Something real.

It started right after Hurricane Agatha. We took the HMS Pogue out, exploring the marsh, and that’s when we saw it—a sunken boat. A Grady White. It was shiny, new, and way too expensive to be floating half-buried in the mud. Seeing it there, abandoned, gave me chills. It felt wrong, like a secret begging to be uncovered.

Curiosity got the better of us. Of course it did. We dove into the murky water, swimming down to see what secrets it held. John B stayed down the longest, and when he came back up, he wasn’t just holding his breath. He was holding a motel key. The kind with a plastic tag and a room number, straight out of some shady movie.

Not just any motel key either. It belonged to the one motel on the island, the kind of place people go when they don’t want to be found.

We thought about calling it in—reporting the boat to the Coast Guard—but when John B tried, they didn’t even let him talk. Told him to get lost. That’s when we decided to handle it ourselves. We went to the motel, figuring out which room the key opened. Me, JJ, and John B snuck in while Pope and Kiara covered for us. Inside was like something out of a crime novel. A safe with stacks of cash, a gun, and an aura that screamed don’t trust this. JJ claimed the gun immediately, of course. It’s JJ.

We didn’t have much time to process what we’d found before the cops showed up. And not just any cops— Shoupe and that other lady he is always with, the ones who seem more interested in us than in actual criminals. We barely made it out, slipping through the shadows and running like hell.

Later, we learned the boat belonged to Scooter Grubbs, a guy who had no business owning something as fancy as a Grady White. A dirtbag who always seemed broke but suddenly had cash to burn. And now, he was dead, found after the hurricane.

After the body of Scooter Grubbs was found floating in the marsh by a fisherman, everything shifted. The cops suddenly perked up, acting like they cared about what was going on out here on the Cut. They were out there now, combing the marsh, looking for the sunken boat we’d already found. But so far? Nothing.

It’s almost laughable, the way they stumble around trying to piece things together. We’d been there, seen it with our own eyes, touched the secrets buried beneath the surface. But we can’t say a word. Not now.

We went back to the marsh to find the sunken Grady White the cops were searching for. JJ convinced John B to steal scuba gear off Ward Cameron’s yacht, The Druthers. Since John B works for Ward, he could sneak it out without raising suspicion. Once we got to the wreck, John B dove down and returned with a duffel bag.

On the way back to the Chateau, we noticed a boat tailing us. At first, we thought it was nothing, but when they started shooting, panic set in. We pushed the HMS Pogue to its limit, speeding through the marsh, but they wouldn’t back off. Kiara saved us by throwing a fishing net into their propeller, giving us just enough time to escape.

Back at the Chateau, we opened the duffel bag, and out fell an old brass compass—John B’s dad’s compass. It felt like a gut punch. Why did Scooter Grubs, a random fisherman, have something so personal to Big John? John B showed us a hidden compartment in the compass with “Redfield” carved into it, written in his dad’s unmistakable handwriting. It wasn’t random. It was a clue.

A few days later, John B and JJ went to see Lana Grubs, Scooter’s widow, hoping for answers. When they arrived, the same men who’d chased us were tearing apart Lana’s house, demanding something Scooter had. After they left, John B and JJ found Lana in bad shape. When John B asked about the compass, her fear was palpable. She told him Scooter didn’t have the compass and warned him not to let anyone know he did.

John B made the connection between the name “Redfield” and his great-great-great-aunt, Olivia Redfield, whose tomb was hidden in an old graveyard on OBX. We followed him there, through a maze of crooked stones, to a weathered grave. John B found a crack in the stone tomb, climbed inside, and emerged with a small parcel addressed to him from his dad.

Inside the parcel was a voice recorder and a map of the coastline. John B clicked play, and his dad's voice crackled through the tiny speaker: "There she is, kid, the Royal Merchant."

The map had a black "X" marked near the lighthouse, a few miles off the coast. The Royal Merchant is one of the most famous shipwrecks in history—sank with $400 million worth of gold. And John B's dad had been part of the search for it. He found it. Not the gold, but the wreck itself.

Then last night, at Rixon's, John B dropped the bomb that he was meeting Sarah to get an old plat map from her. He’d found a letter from Denmark Tanny, and he explained that if we could get an original map of the island, we’d be able to find the location of the gold. But then he blindsided us with news about Sarah, and Kiara lost her cool—honestly, I couldn’t blame her. That whole mess got worse when we went to the Hawks Nest, where John B and Sarah had planned to meet up. He told us to stay back, wanted to do this on his own. Bad move.

Topper—drunk after Midsummers—decided to push John B off the top of the Hawks Nest. I heard Sarah scream for help, and we ran from the Twinkie, straight to her. John B was unconscious, laying on the grass, and out of nowhere, Sarah kissed him. It was like everything stopped for a second, and then we had to rush John B to the hospital.

Now, it’s 7:34 AM on Saturday, and I can’t shake the images of last night from my head. The chaos, the danger, and the way everything’s unravelling. I keep replaying it all, wondering how much longer we can keep this up before everything falls apart.

I could already feel the weight of the inevitable lecture coming my way from my parents after ditching Midsummers last night, so I had to get out of there before they even had a chance to wake up. I rolled out of bed. I grabbed a white halter top with a low V-neck that hugged my chest, then flared out loosely at the waist. It’s the kind of top that’s cute but still feels laid-back enough for my usual chaos. I pulled on a pair of distressed denim shorts in a dark wash, the kind that were perfectly worn-in and a little frayed at the edges. To finish it off, I slipped on my dirty, worn Converse high-tops—comfortable and a little beaten up, just like me.

I kept the jewellery from Midsummers on, each piece a reflection of a world I was born into—polished, perfect, and just a little too much.

I adjusted the gold necklace with the small sun pendant, feeling it rest against my collarbone like a quiet symbol of something I couldn't escape.

I reached for my perfume, Good Girl Blush Elixir by Carolina Herrera. It was my scent, the one that lingered with me long after I’d left a room. I spritzed it on my wrists, neck, and behind my ears, the soft floral notes a small comfort in the chaos of my thoughts.

Slipping my phone into the back pocket of my denim shorts, I glanced around my room one last time. With a sigh, I stepped out into the upstairs hallway, trying to shake off the lingering tension from the night before and whatever was coming next.

I slid into my car, the engine purring to life as I made my way to the chateau. I had no idea if John B was home, but JJ would probably be there. He usually was. His home life was a disaster—his dad Luke, a piece of work, always causing trouble—and so JJ spent most of his nights crashing on the pull-out sofa bed in the chateau's living room. It was his escape.

When I pulled up to the chateau, everything was eerily quiet. No music, no voices, just a hollow stillness hanging in the air. It felt off. John B always left the back porch door unlocked, so I figured I’d let myself in. I walked around the old, creaky shack to the back porch and made my way up the stairs. The door gave a protesting groan as I pushed it open slowly, peering inside.

The familiar sight of the kitchen and living room hit me. A chaotic mess—empty beer cans, fast food wrappers, half-smoked joints scattered about like confetti from some never-ending party. I stepped inside, shutting the door behind me with a soft click.

My eyes drifted to the living room, landing on the pull-out bed where JJ was sprawled out, deep in sleep. Told you. He was shirtless, his chest rising and falling gently as soft snores escaped his parted lips. His body was tangled in the sheets, half in, half out, like he hadn’t even bothered to get under them properly.

I reached over and tapped JJ lightly on the back. "JJ?" I said, my voice soft but insistent.

He groaned in response, shifting on the bed with a disgruntled frown as he rolled over, still half asleep.

"What?" His voice was thick with sleep, a little annoyed but nothing I hadn’t heard before.

I rolled my eyes, sitting down on the edge of the pull-out bed, careful not to get too close. "Where’s John B? Is he still at the hospital?" I asked, glancing at him while he kept his eyes shut, barely acknowledging me.

“Yeah, Sarah’s probably with him,” he muttered, throwing his arm over his eyes like he was trying to block out the world.

I hummed, a small frown on my face as I started absentmindedly fiddling with the rings on my fingers. "Kie was so pissed last night," I said, more to myself than to him.

“Mhm,” JJ mumbled, sounding like he was on the edge of falling back asleep. "John B’s in a lot of trouble."

I couldn’t help but let out a quiet laugh, shaking my head. "Yeah, a lot. You think Topper caught them kissing up there or something?" I asked, half-curious but also just trying to distract myself from the mess of it all.

JJ gave a lazy nod. "Probably. I mean, Sarah is cheating on him," he said, like it was the obvious conclusion.

"Yeah, she is," I replied, my voice quiet as I processed it. I hadn’t even made the connection until now, but it hit me like a ton of bricks. “Well, John B is fucked,” I muttered, feeling the weight of it. He had no idea what kind of mess he was about to be in.

JJ sat up, dragging a hand down his face, his movements slow, almost reluctant. “You know, John B kissed Kiara a few days ago,” he muttered, like it was just another piece of gossip. But the way his gaze darted to the floor right after? That gave him away. He wasn’t supposed to tell me that.

I froze, staring at him as the words sank in. My jaw dropped, and before I could even think, the word was out of my mouth—loud, sharp, and disbelieving. “What?!”

JJ flinched when my voice shot through the air, his hand coming up defensively. “Jesus, Lani,” he muttered, shooting me a half-hearted glare before looking away. “Yeah, they kissed. But Kiara shut it down, told John B she didn’t like him like that.”

My jaw stayed slack as I tried to process it, the room feeling too small all of a sudden. Kiara shut it down. That sounded like her—always knowing exactly what she wanted, or in this case, what she didn’t want. But still... John B had kissed her?

I rolled my eyes, letting out a dry laugh that barely masked my disbelief. “So, in the last week, John B has kissed Kiara and Sarah?” I said, mostly to myself, the words dripping with sarcasm as I pieced it all together. “Lovely.”

“Yeah, but don’t tell anyone I told you that,” JJ said, pointing at me with a sharp look, his face uncharacteristically serious. “Seriously, Lani. If John B finds out I told you, or if Kiara finds out John B told me—” he shook his head for emphasis—“they’ll both kill me. And you too. So shut your mouth, got it?”

"Your secret’s safe with me, JJ," I said, the sarcasm dripping from my voice. But honestly, it was true. I wasn’t about to go telling anyone about this.

JJ nodded, a small, tired smile tugging at his lips, clearly relieved that I wasn’t going to spill the beans about John B and Kiara. He swung his legs off the side of the pull-out, stretching as he let out a loud yawn that echoed through the room. I barely had time to process it before my phone buzzed in my back pocket, the sudden vibration making me jump a little.

I pulled it out and saw the notification: a message from John B.

John B: Meet @ the wreck, now.

Kalani: You're alive? Thank God.

John B: Yeah, yeah. Just get your ass here, it’s important.

Kalani: K, omw.

I slid my phone back into my pocket and looked up at JJ, who was still sitting next to me, his expression expectant.

"John B just messaged," I said, "He wants us to meet him at the wreck."

JJ raised an eyebrow, clearly confused. "What? Why?"

I shrugged and made a half-hearted "I don't know" sound, then got to my feet. "He said it was important, so put a shirt on and let’s get outta here."

He let out a small groan, but stood up anyway, stretching his arms. He grabbed his shirt from the pull-out and pulled it over his head. It was an old, worn blue muscle tee, faded with the logo of the marina, and definitely showing its age. As he adjusted his cap backward, I stood up and walked toward the door.

I stepped outside, walking around the chateau and to my car. The morning air was sticky with humidity, but it wasn’t enough to deter me. I leaned against the car, crossing my arms as I checked my phone again. I wasn’t sure what John B had gotten himself into now, but with the way things had been going lately, I knew it couldn’t be good.

A few minutes later, I saw JJ round the corner of the chateau. His shirt was on, cap in place, and he wore those black worker boots of his, the rolled-down black socks barely visible beneath them.

I looked up at JJ, giving him a smile before opening the drivers side door and getting in. I slid into the driver’s seat, feeling the familiar cold leather beneath me as I stared at the dashboard of the Audi Q3. Every time I get in this car, it’s like stepping into another world—a world that isn’t mine. The high-tech touch screen, the sleek leather, the polished chrome details—it all feels so... perfect, like it’s meant for someone else. Someone who’s not me.

I never asked for this car. When my parents first asked me what I wanted for my 16th birthday, I had it all planned out. I told them I’d pay for half of a second-hand car myself. I’ve been working at the boutique in town since I was 14, and I’ve saved up a good chunk of change. Enough to cover at least half of a decent, second-hand ride. I didn’t care about fancy new cars or anything. As long as it had Bluetooth, I’d be fine. But they shot that idea down without even letting me finish. No explanation, just “No.”

So, imagine my surprise when I walked outside on my birthday and saw this Audi Q3 sitting in my driveway like it was a joke. It wasn’t a joke. It was their idea of a gift. A fully decked-out, brand new, high-end car that felt like something straight out of a Kook’s playbook. I stood there in complete shock for a moment, staring at it. What was I supposed to do with this thing?

I was grateful, in a way. I mean, who wouldn’t be grateful for a brand-new Audi, right? But the thing is, it wasn’t what I wanted, and it wasn’t what I needed. It was theirs, not mine. It was a Kook car, and no matter how grateful I tried to be, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I didn’t belong in it.

But what could I do? My parents, with their Kook mentality, had decided this was the car for me, and honestly, I felt like I couldn’t even say no. They’re the ones who pay the bills, and they’ve always overdone everything for me, in ways I didn’t ask for. So, here I am, driving a car that feels like a constant reminder that no matter how hard I try to fit into this world, it’s never really going to be mine.

JJ slid into the passenger seat and tossed his cap onto the dashboard with a loud thud. "Nice car, kook," he said, his grin wide as he slammed the door shut.

I rolled my eyes, shaking my head. "Don’t start," I muttered, hitting the button to start the car—no key, just a button, because of course, that’s how these things work.

JJ chuckled, watching me with an amused glint in his eyes. I unlocked my phone and connected it to the car’s Apple CarPlay system, the sleek head-up display flashing on. I handed the phone to JJ, Apple Music already open. Yeah, I know, Apple Music is kind of lame, but it’s what my parents pay for, so I use it.

“Here, you can pick the music,” I said, leaning back into the seat as I shifted the car into reverse, slowly backing out of the gravel driveway.

He raised an eyebrow as he scrolled through my playlists. "What the—why do you use Apple Music?" JJ asked, swiping through the endless options of songs and playlists.

I shrugged, not caring enough to explain further. “Dude, I don’t know. It’s what my parents pay for.” I turned the wheel, heading down the street toward the main road that would take us to The Wreck.

He laughed, tossing a quick glance at me. “Your parents are rich as fuck. They’d probably pay for Spotify too.”

The first notes of “Sex on Fire” by Kings of Leon started blasting through the speakers.

I shook my head, laughing a little. “Yeah, they probably would,” I said, the irony not lost on me. It’s not like I had a say in any of it, but sometimes, I guess you just roll with the punches.

The rest of the car ride was mostly silent, with JJ selecting a few songs while I hummed along, my mind running through everything that had happened. JJ tossed in a joke here and there, and I half-smiled, half-rolled my eyes at his usual antics. It was easy to get lost in the familiar rhythm of the drive, especially with everything else weighing on my mind.

The Wreck was the only halfway decent restaurant around OBX, though Kiara’s parents owned it, which meant it wasn’t exactly our go-to place. They didn’t love the Pogues, and we definitely didn’t fit into their “upscale” crowd. But it was still a good spot, and the tourists made it a cash cow for them.

I pulled into the parking lot, which was still mostly empty since it was only about 9 AM. The only other cars I could spot were the Twinkie (obviously), Kiara’s car, Pope’s truck (the one he borrows from his dad), and a few other cars that were probably from customers already inside. I parked the Audi, the engine quieting as I cut it off, then turned to look at JJ.

He glanced back at me, that familiar smirk tugging at his lips.

“Ready?” I asked, my voice casual, though I was already feeling the tension start to creep in.

He gave a quick nod, then jumped out of the car without saying anything else. I followed behind him, my footsteps heavier, though I didn’t rush to catch up. JJ never waits for anyone, and today was no exception.

The inside smelled like coffee and fried food, a little bit of the greasy, touristy charm The Wreck had going for it. I spotted John B, Pope, and Kiara sitting at a table by the window, and JJ slid into the seat next to John B without a word. Kiara’s face immediately tightened into a scowl, like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. I didn’t blame her; I was feeling it too. I took the seat next to her, not saying anything yet, just waiting for John B to drop whatever news he had.

John B cleared his throat and looked around the table, like he was about to give us a serious briefing. He had that look in his eyes, the one that said something was coming, and it was going to change everything.

“Okay, now that everyone’s here, I need to fill you in on something,” John B said, his voice heavy.

The rest of us leaned in, our attention on him, trying to read his face. I caught a glimpse of the cast on his arm, a reminder of how close we had all come to losing him last night.

“So, Ward Cameron has signed papers to become my legal guardian… foster parent thing, I’m living at Tannyhill” John B said, his words cutting through the room like a knife.

For a second, no one said anything. My stomach dropped at the thought.

I glanced at Kiara—she looked like she was about to explode, her jaw clenched so tight I thought it might snap. I couldn’t blame her. We were all trying to process it. Ward Cameron, of all people, now had some kind of power over John B? My heart was pounding in my chest. This was bad, really bad.

Kiara’s voice snapped through the air, dripping with frustration. “I’m sorry. You’re staying where?” she demanded, her eyes wide as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“Tannyhill,” John B replied, like it was the most casual thing in the world.

Kiara shot him a look, her eyebrow raised. “So, you’re living with Sarah Cameron?” she pressed, not letting him wiggle out of the question.

John B raised his hand to his forehead, rubbing it like he was trying to ease the headache coming on. “Okay, look, the only reason I’m staying there is because her dad bailed me out, all right? And it’s better than foster care, which, by the way, I was about to end up in if Ward hadn’t—”

“Wait, wait, hold up,” Pope cut him off, leaning back in his chair with that smirk of his. “So, do you have a membership to the clubs now? You, uh, joining the country club scene or what?”

I had to bite my lip to hold back a laugh. I glanced at JJ, and I could see he was trying to keep a straight face too. Kiara, however, was all business. No smile, no joke—just that hard, focused expression she wore when she was trying not to lose it.

John B’s patience was wearing thin. He shook his head. “I don’t know, Pope,” he muttered, voice laced with annoyance.

JJ jumped in with his usual teasing. “What about those little golf carts they get to drive around? You get one of those?”

I had to look down at my feet to hide the grin forming on my face. JJ’s timing was perfect.

Pope wasn’t done either. “Does it come with a sweater-vest, or do you have to buy one on your own?”

Kiara rolled her eyes, sitting up straighter in her chair, clearly over it. “Look,” she said, her voice level but tight, “you promised.” She shot John B a pointed look. “You said you weren’t with her.”

John B froze. He’d been knocked out cold the night Sarah kissed him, so he had no idea that Kiara had seen it. He was totally oblivious to the tension in the air.

JJ gave him that look of disbelief. “Bro, just own it. She gotchu,” he said, grinning like he knew exactly what was going on.

I couldn’t help but feel the same. “Look, if you want to hang out with her, that’s fine,” I added, my tone casual but carrying that edge of “don’t drag me into this.” I wasn’t about to get caught up in Sarah Cameron’s mess.

Kiara gave me a sharp look of agreement. “Me and Kalani aren’t doing anything with Sarah,” she said firmly, and I nodded, my lips pressed together. There was no way in hell I was involving myself in anything that had to do with Sarah Cameron.

John B, finally starting to get irritated, rolled his eyes. “Do you guys see her here?” he asked, looking around The Wreck. “No, right? Okay, can we focus here for a second?” He motioned to the table in front of Pope, where an old plat map was spread out. “We’ve got the map, right?” It was the one John B must’ve gotten from Sarah, all folded and crinkled at the corners like it’d been carried around for a while.

“It’s all outta whack ‘cause the guy was ganja’d when he drew it,” JJ says, casually tossing out his explanation like it was the most logical thing in the world.

I looked up at him, narrowing my eyes. “It’s ‘cause the coast has changed,” I corrected, the words coming out a little sharper than I intended.

JJ blinked at me, his mouth opening slightly in a surprised “ooh” kind of way. He gave a nod, clearly playing it off like he knew that, like he wasn’t a second away from looking clueless. “Right… duh, I totally knew that” he muttered, as if trying to save face.

Pope, never missing a beat, leaned over the map with a furrowed brow. “So, we just have to look for landmarks that haven’t changed,” he said, analysing the worn-out map with a serious focus.

John B, who had been staring at the map with a look of frustration, suddenly brightened. “What about the old forts?” he asked, pointing to a section of the map where the fort sites were marked.

“Battery Jasper,” Kiara piped up immediately, her finger tracing the spot on the map. She didn’t hesitate for a second.

I leaned forward, glancing at the map to make sure I wasn’t missing anything important. The landmarks around here were all familiar in a way—places we had all been to a million times.

We all crammed into the Twinkie, the familiar creak of its ancient hinges and the hum of the engine filling the air as we drove out toward Battery Jasper’s lookout spot. Everyone seemed lost in their own thoughts as we bounced along the uneven roads toward Battery Jasper. The faint smell of salt air hit us as we got closer to the lookout, mingling with the engine’s faint whine.

When we arrived, it felt like stepping into a different time. Battery Jasper was one of those places you almost forgot existed until you were standing in its shadow, surrounded by overgrown brush and the sound of waves crashing against the shore. Battery Jasper stood as a quiet, forgotten monument to the past. It felt oddly fitting—us digging through old maps and clues, chasing something that probably wasn’t even ours to find.

JJ had already climbed up onto a large rock, perched there like some kind of pirate lookout. He was scanning the horizon with a casual air, but I could tell his mind was working overtime. Kiara, of course, was wandering a few feet away, crouching down every now and then to inspect a plant or two. Classic Kie. And John B? He was just standing there, staring out at the waves, looking like he was waiting for some divine revelation to hit him. He was about as helpful as a flashlight with dead batteries.

Pope spread the map out over a large, flat rock, his movements careful as he tried to smooth out the creases. His face was a mask of concentration, eyes flicking between the map and the landscape in front of us. “If this is Parcel Nine…” he started, his finger circling a faint marking on the map. His brows knit together as he tried to piece together the lines from decades ago with the current view in front of us.

I leaned over his shoulder, squinting at the map as if staring harder would make it any clearer. “So, Parcel Nine has to be northeast of here,” I said, pointing toward a stretch of the coastline that seemed to match the general direction of the map’s markings. My voice sounded sure, but in my head, I wasn’t entirely convinced. Everything looked so different now compared to the map’s decades-old sketch.

“Somewhere over there,” I added, pointing out to where the land curved and the horizon seemed to shift. Gesturing toward a cluster of trees and rocky terrain.

“Right,” Pope agreed, nodding like he was trying to solidify the idea in his mind.

JJ was still up on his rock, squinting into the distance. “Over there? Guys, that’s not Tannyhill—that’s a subdivision,” he said, gesturing vaguely with one hand like the answer was just going to fall out of the sky.

John B, who’d been staring out at the water like he was trying to will the answers to come to him, crossed his arms. “Tannyhill plantation used to be the entire island,” he shot back, his tone sharp.

I crossed my arms, looking up at JJ with the sun glaring behind him, forcing me to squint. “It got sold into smaller pieces over time,” I added, my voice softer but no less firm. It was weird to think about how much the island had changed—how much had been carved away and sold off.

Pope’s finger hovered over a spot on the map, a section marked with a faint stone wall that cut through the property like a scar. “So, we’re just looking for an old stone wall,” he said, his voice steady but edged with the realization of how impossible that task might actually be.

I looked out at the endless stretch of coastline, the sunlight reflecting off the waves like shattered glass. The enormity of it all settled in my chest like a weight I couldn’t shake. It wasn’t just about finding a wall or following a map. It was about finding something that could change everything for all of us.

We piled into the Twinkie again, settling into our usual spots like puzzle pieces fitting into a well-worn frame. Pope took his place up front with the map in hand, acting like our navigator, while John B, ever the captain, was behind the wheel. Kiara and I slid onto the long, beat-up bench seat in the back, the cracked red vinyl underneath us telling its own story—every rip and scratch like a roadmap of adventures past. JJ, naturally, claimed the oddball seat in the corner. It wasn’t even a real seat, more like a half-hearted addition someone thought might be a good idea. It wobbled if you leaned on it too hard, and the vinyl was just as battered as everything else. Still, JJ perched there like he owned the place, his hat pushed low over his face.

As the van rumbled northeast, the road stretched out ahead like a promise we weren’t sure would be kept. Pope leaned forward, pointing out the windshield. “Okay, the road should split up here,” he said, his tone confident but a little tense.

John B nodded, hands steady on the wheel. “Got it.”

Kiara was beside me, staring out the window with a distant look in her eyes. The soft strumming of Mess is Mine by Vance Joy hummed through the van’s speakers, blending with the steady drone of the engine. The atmosphere felt quiet, like we were all lost in our own heads—until JJ decided to stir things up.

He was sitting directly across from me, and we’d somehow fallen into a game of sticks. My fingers were spread out—three on one hand, two on the other—while JJ held four on one hand and two on the other. It was my turn, and I leaned in, tapping his hand with two fingers to knock out his four.

“You’re cheating!” JJ exclaimed, his voice breaking the calm like a rock tossed into still water.

I burst out laughing. “Am not! You’re just a sore loser,” I teased, grinning at him.

JJ rolled his eyes, throwing his hands up like he was ready to declare war. “No, you definitely cheat,” he muttered, but his smirk betrayed him.

“Sounds like someone’s salty!” I shot back, my voice playful.

The bickering escalated from there, a back-and-forth filled with muttered insults, laughter, and a few not-so-gentle kicks under the seat.

“Will you two shut up!” Pope suddenly snapped from the front seat, whipping around to glare at us. His expression was pure exasperation, like a parent trying to keep a car full of rowdy kids in check.

JJ shrugged, turning to face Pope. “It’s her fault,” he said, his voice full of mock innocence.

I rolled my eyes and gave him a light kick in the shin.

“You little shit,” JJ growled, twisting back toward me.

“Oh, please. You started it,” I retorted, sticking my tongue out at him like a five-year-old. JJ reached over and slapped my knee, a little too dramatically.

“Hey! That was uncalled for,” I said, pointing an accusatory finger at him, my face scrunched into an exaggerated scowl.

JJ leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms, and muttering something under his breath, pretending to sulk.

“Shut up,” Pope repeated, his voice sharp and final as he turned back around in his seat, clearly done with our nonsense.

Kiara snorted beside me, trying to hide her amusement.

“All right. You’re gonna take a left,” Pope says, pointing out the next turn. John B jerks the wheel sharply, the Twinkie bouncing down the uneven dirt road and tossing all of us around like ragdolls. I grip the edge of the bench seat, glaring at him. “Smooth driving, Cap,” I mutter under my breath.

We pull up alongside a mossy, crumbling stone wall, its edges barely visible under a blanket of overgrown bushes and weeds. Pope sighs, leaning forward. “This is it,” he says as John B shifts the Twinkie into park.

“That looks like a stone wall to me,” JJ says dryly, peering out the window.

I give him a sideways glance. “No shit,” I reply, turning back to take in the sight.

It’s hard to tell where the wall ends, and the wild growth begins. The vines creep along like they’re trying to swallow the thing whole. Beyond the wall, I can make out the faint silhouette of a house through a gap in the trees. My stomach drops as I realize where we are.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I whisper, stopping dead in my tracks as the others start walking toward the wall.

“Not the Crain house,” John B mutters, the tension in his voice unmistakable.

Of course, it’s here. Of all the places on the island, it had to be here. My feet feel rooted to the ground, dread clawing up my spine. JJ steps up beside me, his jaw tight, his gaze locked on the house ahead.

“Worst-case scenario,” he mutters under his breath. His voice is steady, but his hand flexes at his side like he’s ready to bolt.

“Why’d it have to be here…” Kiara murmurs, barely loud enough for me to hear.

“Of all places?” I add, shaking my head as my pulse quickens.

“I heard Mrs. Crain buried her husband’s head on the property,” JJ says casually, as if he’s commenting on the weather.

I whip my head toward him, my face scrunched in fear. “Don’t remind me.” The island’s been full of creepy stories about this place for as long as I can remember, but that one always stuck with me.

Kiara’s voice cuts through the rising tension. “JJ, shut up,” she snaps, her glare sharp enough to silence him for once.

“Are we going over?” John B asks, gesturing toward the wall like scaling it is no big deal.

I shake my head, but the rest of them nod like it’s just another day in the OBX. Typical. With a sigh that feels like it comes from my soul, I mutter, “Guess so,” under my breath.

We take turns climbing over the wall, the rough stone scraping against our palms. I land awkwardly in the overgrown yard, the dense weeds clawing at my ankles. The house looms ahead of us, shrouded in shadow and silence. Its dilapidated facade seems to watch us, daring us to step closer.

The wind rustles through the trees, and I can’t help but glance at JJ. “If we die, I’m blaming you,” I say, my voice barely steady.

JJ flashes me a grin, though it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Noted,” he says, stuffing his hands into his pockets as we move toward the ominous silhouette of the Crain house.

Kiara takes the lead, her shoulders squared as she pushes through the tangled mess of overgrown bushes and weeds. I follow close behind, brushing aside stray branches that snag at my shirt. JJ is right on my heels, muttering something about poison ivy, while Pope and John B bring up the rear. The yard is eerily quiet, the only sound the crunch of our footsteps against the dead leaves underfoot.

Me and Kiara keep our eyes locked forward, trying not to dwell too much on the reality of what we’re doing—trespassing into the front yard of Mrs. Crain, the island's unofficial boogeywoman. She’s probably inside right now, totally oblivious to the fact that five teenagers have just vaulted over her stone wall and are trudging through her overgrown front yard, all in the name of hunting for gold.

The place looks untouched, like time forgot about it. Small, moss-covered statues peek out from under the wild greenery, half-hidden like eerie little sentinels. There’s a birdbath that’s cracked down the middle, its basin filled with murky rainwater and a couple of drowned leaves. The once-pristine yard is now a jungle of neglect, but it’s clear this place used to be something else entirely.

I glance around, the ghost of a memory tugging at me. When I was younger, maybe seven or eight, back when I still hung out with the kook kids my parents pushed me towards, we used to sneak into this yard. Back then, it was spotless—perfectly trimmed hedges, vibrant flowers in neat rows, the statues shining bright without a speck of moss or grime. We’d play hide and seek for hours, darting behind trees and crouching behind the garden sculptures. Back then, the Crain house was still mysterious, but it wasn’t this. It wasn’t haunted by the stories of murder or madness.

I slow for a moment, my fingers brushing against the rough bark of a tree as I take it all in. The yard is unrecognizable now, swallowed up by years of neglect. Mr. Crain’s death—or murder, depending on which version of the rumour mill you believe—changed everything. After he was gone, Mrs. Crain stopped caring for the place, or maybe just couldn’t anymore. She’s too old now, and it shows in every vine that’s strangled its way across what used to be a manicured paradise.

It’s sad, really. This yard used to have life, like someone loved it enough to keep it beautiful. Now it��s just... forgotten. I shake off the thought, hurrying to catch up with Kiara as she ducks under a low-hanging branch.

“Look, you guys know whose house this is, right?” I say, looking over my shoulder at the boys behind me still keeping my pace as I walk behind Kie.

“Oh, yeah. No, I do.” JJ says.

“Look- Honestly, I don’t really believe the stories of this place.” John B says, his voice a little too loud.

Pope turns around and shushes him louder than John B was talking.

“What?” John B says a soft whisper that’s barely audible over the soft crunch of leaves and grass beneath our feet.

JJ catches up next to me, walking alongside me rather than behind me I keep my eyes forward as I continue behind Kie. It’s not until JJ starts talking that I look at him.

“Which stories did you hear?” JJ asks me.

We continue to walk through the overgrown front yard, “The one where she killed her husband with an axe.” I say like it’s obvious my voice tight with (add something here) “And that shes been holed up ever since.” I say, looking back at Pope and John B as JJ continues to walk next to me.

“On certain nights, when the moon is full…” I turn to look at JJ, walking backwards, “you can see her in the window!” I drop my voice to a soft whisper lifting my hands up and wriggling my fingers in JJ’s face in a “creepy crawly” kinda way.

“No, Lani, it’s not funny,” JJ says as I turn around making a “Waah!” noise as he continues to talk, “cause its all true.” JJ says from behind me.

“I swear to God, guys, this is all real. I knew Hollis.” JJ continues, looking back at John B and Pope. We walk into a more open area of the yard, it’s a cleared space but still overgrown. There is a statue of a lady and as JJ turns back around, “Jeez!” he says, lifting his arms up, ready to punch.

This causes all of us to jump.

We all stop walking for a second, “Wait, you knew hollis Crain?” Pope asks JJ.

“Yeah, dude.” JJ responds.

Pope puts his hand on JJs shoulder, pushing him back a little, “Dude, how do you know Hollis Crane?”

“She was my babysitter, man.” JJ says, “She told me all about it.” His voice drops to a low whisper, “Told me the truth… about her mother.” JJ says, we all stand around him, looking at him with disbelieving eyes, “About what happened in this house.” JJ says, jerking his head towards the house in front of us.

JJ continued, telling us about what Hollis Crane, JJ’s babysitter and Mrs. Crains daughter, had told him… apparently.

“So as a kid, she heard all the stories that her mother killed her father, and… she was a murderer and all.” JJ says, looking around at us, “Hollis didn’t believe it… until that night.” He says, ominously looking down at the grass.

“What night?” Kie asks, raising an eyebrow.

JJ turns to look at Kie, his eyes boring into hers, “It all came back to her.” He says.

JJ turns to look at the house behind him, “When Hollis was six years old, she heard her parents arguing downstairs.” Sounds familiar, I think to myself.

Kiara is looking around, like as if she is paranoid something or somebody is going to pop out and jump us. My eyes stay locked on the house as JJ recounts his story, my eyes flickering between the various windows to see if I can see Mrs. Crain staring back at me. Nothing yet.

“So, she goes downstairs to see her mom washing her hands in a sink…” JJ takes a step forward to John B, “Full of blood.” He says his voice strong.

John B looks away from JJ, his face is saying everything he is thinking: “Bull shit.”

JJ continues, “Her mother just says that she cut her finger.” Popes eyes are wide like he is believing every word that is leaving JJ’s mouth. “The next morning, she says her father and her split up.”

“But then, Hollis noticed something.” JJ says, looking at John B again. “Her mother going into the parlour. Constantly. In and our and in and out with plastic bags.”

“Weeks pass, and Hollis decides to use the outhouse.” JJ continues, my eyes are still locked on the windows of the house… Hold on, I think I see somethin’ lookin’ at me through dat window. Oh, nevermind, its just a curtain. Ha, Ha, Ha.

“And as she’s using it, she looks down,” JJ pauses for a moment looking down, dramatic effect, I guess. His eyes are still glued to John B like he is trying to convince him that all this is real, he has me, Pope and Kie convinced, that’s for sure. So far, anyway. “And there, in the outhouse,” He looks back up at John B, “is her fathers head,” He points his fingers to his eyes, “Looking straight back at her.” JJ says, emphasising his words.

John B throws his head back, looking up at the sky and JJ looks confused as to why John B isn’t quite understanding the importance of what he just told him. “God, you are so full of shit.” John B says, shaking his head.

“Do you guys even know whose house this is?” I ask, glancing over my shoulder at the boys trudging behind me, my pace steady as I follow Kiara, pushing through the mess of overgrown bushes.

“Oh, yeah. No, I do,” JJ says nonchalantly, as if we’re walking up to the Wreck for a basket of fries and not trespassing on the infamous Crain property.

“Honestly, I don’t believe the stories about this place,” John B pipes up, his voice just a little too loud, like he’s trying to convince himself it’s no big deal.

Pope spins around and shushes him sharply - louder than John B was talking. “What?” John B hisses, his whisper barely louder than the crunch of dead leaves and grass beneath our feet.

JJ picks up his pace, falling into step beside me instead of behind. He’s always like this—itching to turn tension into a story or a joke. “So, which stories did you hear?” JJ asks, his voice dipped in curiosity, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

I let out a short breath as we push through another tangle of overgrowth, the damp leaves brushing against my legs. “The one where she killed her husband with an axe,” I say flatly, my tone tight with discomfort. “And that she’s been holed up ever since.” I glance back at Pope and John B for a moment before turning my attention back to JJ, who’s nodding like this is all completely normal.

“And on certain nights, when the moon is full…” I turn, walking backward now so I can face him, dropping my voice to a stage whisper, “you can see her in the window!” I wiggle my fingers in front of his face in a mock-spooky gesture, barely holding back a grin.

JJ swats my hands away, rolling his eyes. “No, Lani, it’s not funny,” he says, his voice trying to sound serious but failing because of the grin creeping up. “Because it’s all true.”

I spin back around, throwing my hands up dramatically. “Wooooo, scary!” I say in a teasing voice, earning an exasperated groan from him.

JJ doesn’t let it drop. “I swear to God, guys, this is real. I knew Hollis.”

That pulls my attention back. My brow furrows as I glance at him. “Wait—you knew Hollis Crain?” Pope asks, stopping to turn toward JJ, his expression a mix of disbelief and curiosity.

“Yeah, dude,” JJ says, as if this is just another casual fact.

Pope puts a hand on JJ’s shoulder, giving him a gentle shove back. “How the hell do you know Hollis Crain?”

JJ shrugs like it’s the most casual thing in the world. “She was my babysitter, man.” He pauses for dramatic effect, glancing at each of us like he’s about to deliver a mic drop. “She told me everything.” His voice drops conspiratorially, his tone low and chilling. “Told me the truth… about her mother. About what happened in this house.” He jerks his head toward the looming shadow of the house behind us.

“Everything?” Kiara echoes, her voice tight as she glances nervously toward the looming house ahead.

JJ nods, and we all freeze for a moment, the weight of his words settling over us like a heavy fog.

JJ launches into the story, his voice low and deliberate, drawing us in whether we want to hear it or not. “So, as a kid, she heard all these rumors—that her mom killed her dad, that she was a murderer. But Hollis didn’t believe it… until that night.” JJ’s voice is calm, almost too calm, as he looks down at the ground, like he’s pulling us deeper into the story one word at a time.

“What night?” Kiara asks, her voice tight, her eyes darting nervously toward the house.

JJ meets her gaze, his own eyes dark with the weight of the tale. “It all came back to her. When Hollis was six years old, she heard her parents arguing downstairs.”

The words hit me in the chest, unsettling and weirdly familiar. I glance at the house, my eyes scanning the windows, half-expecting to see a face staring back at me. So far, nothing.

“So, she went to check it out.” His voice drops, and he takes a step closer to Pope. “She finds her mom at the sink. Washing her hands. In blood.”

“Her mom told her she cut her finger,” JJ says with a shrug. “But the next day, her dad was gone. Just… disappeared.”

John B scoffs softly, shaking his head, but JJ keeps going, undeterred.

“And then,” JJ adds, stepping closer to Pope and lowering his voice, “she starts noticing her mom going into the parlour. Constantly. In and out. Always carrying these plastic bags.”

A chill runs down my spine as the story twists darker, the tension in the air thick enough to cut. my eyes are still locked on the windows of the house… Hold on, I think I see somethin’ lookin’ at me through dat window. Oh, nevermind, its just a curtain. Ha, Ha, Ha.

“Weeks later, Hollis goes to use the outhouse,” JJ continues, his voice hushed. He pauses dramatically, glancing at each of us before finishing. “She looks down. And there… was her father’s head. Staring straight back at her.”

The silence that follows is thick, suffocating. For a moment, none of us move, the weight of JJ’s words settling over us like a heavy blanket.

John B groans, throwing his head back. “God, JJ, you are so full of shit.” He looks back down at JJ, his voice tight.

JJ’s face falls, genuinely offended.

“Dude, I swear to God, man.” JJ mutters, breaking eye contact with John B, his gaze flicking to the ground. JJ always had a thing about eye contact, like it made him too vulnerable or something.

Pope steps in closer to him, his voice low and cautious. “Did she call the police?”

“She didn’t have time—” JJ starts, but John B shoves himself between them, cutting him off.

“Wait! Hold on—dude!” JJ snaps, grabbing John B’s arm and spinning him around.

“What!” John B barks, and yeah, he’s pissed now.

JJ hesitates, glancing at me like he’s searching for backup, then back to John B. “Are you sure you wanna do this? She’s an axe murderer. You got a cast on, dude,” JJ says, gesturing to John B’s injured arm.

John B narrows his eyes, his voice a sharp whisper. “I don’t give a shit if she’s an axe murderer, okay? I’ve got nothing to lose, right?”

They stand there, locked in a tense stare-down. Pope shifts awkwardly beside them, his eyes darting between the two like he’s watching a tennis match.

“You comin’, or what?” John B says, before turning and stalking off. Kiara and Pope follow close behind him without hesitation.

JJ stays rooted for a second, scratching at his arm. I walk up next to him, nudging his shoulder. “Come on,” I say softly, jerking my head in the direction of the others.

He looks down at me, his face unreadable, then finally sighs and falls into step behind me.

We creep through the overgrown yard, ducking lower as we approach the house. The shadows feel heavier here, stretching out across the ground like claws. John B stops abruptly, motioning for all of us to gather closer.

“Hey, come on. Come here,” he hisses.

I quicken my pace, closing the gap between us. JJ moves up behind me, his presence a comforting weight, even if he’d never admit he’s as freaked out as the rest of us.

John B leans in, lowering his voice. “So, here’s the plan. We need to look for the wheat near the water, like it said in Denmark’s letter.”

Right. The cryptic message we decoded back at Rixon’s the night before. “Wheat” meant gold. Simple enough.

“Okay, but, like, what kind of water?” Pope whispers, his forehead creased in concentration. “Like pond water?”

JJ snickers, never one to miss an opportunity. “Bong water?” he quips in a lazy, exaggerated stoner voice.

I roll my eyes and glare at him, Kiara and Pope doing the same.

“Seriously?” I mutter under my breath.

John B’s patience is clearly hanging by a thread. He sighs, exasperated. “No. It—it just said ‘look for water,’ okay?”

Kiara crosses her arms, raising a skeptical brow. “That’s the shittiest secret message ever.”

“You wanna complain a little more, Kie?” John B snaps, his tone sharp. “Nobody said it was gonna be easy.”

They peel off from the group, leaving me, Pope, and JJ standing awkwardly in the clearing.

Pope turns to us, his expression all business. “I’ll search the northeast quadrant. You two take the northwest quadrant.”

My eyes widen in protest, but Pope walks off before I can get a word in.

“The decapitation quadrant,” JJ mutters under his breath, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Great,” I grumble, my voice barely audible.

JJ glances at me, his smirk softening just a fraction. “Come on,” he says, grabbing my arm and pulling me along through the tangled mess of greenery.

I don’t resist, but as we move deeper into the yard, the air feels heavier - charged, like we’re trespassing on something more than just property. And for once, JJ’s silence doesn’t feel like a joke waiting to happen. It feels like he knows it, too.

“Were you serious about all that stuff with Hollis?” I ask JJ, my voice low but sharp, as his grip on my arm pulls me through the jungle of weeds and crumbling statues.

He glances over his shoulder briefly, his expression unreadable. “Most of it, yeah,” he replies, shrugging like it’s no big deal, before turning his attention forward again.

“Most of it?” I repeat, my tone incredulous. “So, what parts were you not serious about?”

JJ doesn’t even slow down. “The part about her seeing her dad’s head,” he says flatly. “But that’s it.”

I freeze for a second, staring at his back. “Oh, great. Super comforting, JJ,” I mutter, shaking my head as I quicken my pace to catch up to him.

His lips twitch like he’s fighting a smirk. “Relax, Lani. You’ll live,” he says, tossing a glance at me before stepping over a fallen tree branch.

I didn’t even see the branch—it came out of nowhere, or maybe I was just too lost in my thoughts. My foot caught on it, and before I could steady myself, I was falling. JJ’s grip on my arm tightened, but he didn’t have enough time to pull me back.

I hit the ground hard, knees colliding with jagged dirt and rocks. A sharp sting spread through my leg as I felt the scrape.

“Shit! Lani!” JJ’s voice was urgent, panicked, as he crouched beside me in seconds.

I shifted, moving to sit on my butt, lifting my knee to inspect the damage. Blood was already pooling in the scrape, a nasty mix of dirt and raw skin. I winced, letting out a quiet, “Ow.”

“You okay?” JJ’s hand landed firmly on my shoulder, his blue eyes flickering between my face and my knee.

I nodded quickly, even as my face scrunched up from the sting. “Yeah, yeah, I’m okay. It’s just a scrape,” I said, trying to sound tougher than I felt.

“You sure?” JJ asked, his hand sliding down my arm in a gentle but searching way, like he wasn’t convinced.

“I’m sure,” I said, looking up at him. A small smile crept onto my lips, hoping to reassure him.

For a moment, his eyes locked onto mine—those stormy blue eyes that always seemed to be either full of trouble or, like now, concern. Then he stood, brushing the dirt off his knees, and held out his hand.

“Come on,” he said.

I took it without hesitation, his grip steady and strong as he pulled me to my feet. My knee stung like hell, but I wasn’t about to complain. JJ still held my hand for a moment longer than necessary before letting go.

“Next time, watch where you’re going, klutz,” he teased, but his voice was softer than usual.

“Yeah, yeah,” I said, brushing off my shorts and trying to play it cool. My cheeks burned a little, though, and it wasn’t from the fall.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝𝐬, and I hope you are enjoying it so far 😏! Please give this post a like so I know you guys are enjoying it, again thank you so much, part 3 will be out soon 💞

Also... I hope you enjoyed the small Lani and JJ moments I have sprinkled in there 😘

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