#sister!kiara

[wordsarelife]

—the alchemy

pairing: jj maybank x fem!routledge reader

summary: you always had a thing for jj, while you thought he had a thing for kie. you couldn't have been more wrong..

warnings: none i think

notes: i have absolutely no clue how to play poker, so please don't grill me lmao

the water glistened, reflecting the afternoon sun. you dunked your feet inside, hanging from the bridge you were sitting on. it was lightly moving due to the waves beneath it.

you kept your eyes trained on the horizon, but looking at nothing in particular.

jj came running from the shore, sitting down beside you, letting his feet dangle into the water next to yours. "john b is making food"

"what could he possibly be making?" you smiled, clearly knowing that there wasn't much left in the pantry. you got through the day alright, thanks to both of you working, but you didn't buy any extraordinary things to make sure you had enough money to pay everything else.

“we’re having toast,” jj smirked, then paused for dramatic effect. “but we raided heyward’s for tomatoes, and kiara brought guac from her mom. so it’s fancy toast.”

“fancy toast! the ritz could never.” you hugged your knees to your chest, resting your chin on them, but a smile crept up on your lips.

"what are you even doing out here alone?"

"i'm thinking"

"about your dad?" jj asked carefully. "you know I’m here if you need to spill. no judgment. not even if it’s super depressing.”

"thanks, i know" you were thankful that you had such great friends. people that were like family to you and always made sure you were alright, even if they didn't have much to give themselves, apart from kiara.

"are you going to surf the surge tomorrow?" jj changed the topic, interpreting your silence as answer enough.

"heard agatha's gonna be a bitch" you shrugged. "must be nice to lose a few unnecessary limbs"

"don't be ridiculous, i'm a pro" jj took the sunglasses off his head and pushed them on your nose instead. "are you coming or not?"

"i prefer not to" you giggled, slapping his hand away as he tried to readjust the rest of your apperance. "gonna look good for cps"

"they won't even make it out here, agatha will arrive too soon for that"

"well, then i should be thanking her, right?" you looked up to the sky, the sun still breaking through the slowly arriving clouds, but the darkness of them made it evident that it wouldn't take too long for the storm to arrive. "thanks aggy! sorry for calling you a bitch"

"if that isn't nice" jj grinned. "look at you! such a polite lady"

"told you i could behave better than you" you stood up and waited for him to do the same. "i'm pretty sure they just told you to go and get me not to wait out until they had finished the food, right?"

"caught me" jj shrugged. you knew him well enough to guess that he was trying to escape more work than necessary. "but it did take some time to find you. you weren't in the tower john b locked you in"

"oh, maybe i'm not as well behaved as we thought" you shrugged, following him back to the beach. "you need those sunglasses soon?" you liked the red tinted look of them. you had worn them before and you loved that they made you look like a hippie or vanessa hudgens going to coachella in 2014.

“keep ‘em,” jj shrugged, giving you an exaggerated once-over. “you look better in them anyway.”

you raised an eyebrow, genuinely curious. “how much did these cost?”

jj spun around, pretending to be offended. “whoa, whoa! don’t insult me like that. i didn’t pay for them.”

you laughed. “you stole these?”

“they were like six dollars, okay? i stole them out of principle.” he wiggled his eyebrows like that somehow made sense.

you shook your head amused. “jj, that’s still stealing.”

“nah, see, i was planning on giving them to you for a while, so really, it was a selfless act. call it proactive gift-giving.”

jj’s face lit up, the trademark smirk in place as you walked side by side back toward the beach. he kicked at the sand a little, glancing over at you every few seconds like he was waiting for you to laugh again.

you could hear the others before you saw them—john b shouting something about the toast burning, and kiara’s voice cutting through with, “how do you even burn toast?!”

“so, what’s the plan after we survive this gourmet meal?” you asked, your tone only half-teasing.

jj rubbed his hands together with a glint in his eyes. “well, after we feast on fancy toast and whatever leftovers kiara’s mom sent, i was thinking… poker.”

“poker? don’t we always lose when we play with pope?”

“yeah, but he’s working today, so we have a chance.” jj wiggled his eyebrows as if this were the best news in the world.

you laughed, shaking your head. “so, your plan is to take all my money after i generously agree to participate in poker?”

jj’s smirk deepened. “well, since you’re wearing those shades, you’re bound to win. you’ve got that poker-face-hippie thing going on.”

you shrugged, pretending to think about it. “true. i could absolutely bluff the hell out of you all.”

he nodded seriously. “exactly. so really, it’s your civic duty to play.”

“civic duty,” you repeated, laughing. “sure, sure.”

"sit down, you two" kiara ancouraged when you walked onto the patio.

"where have you been that long?" john b questioned, looking at you suspiciously. "you're always sneaking around together"

"don't be ridicilous, b" you shook your head. "we were just watching the waves"

kiara and jj exchanged glances you didn’t quite understand. it made your nerves tweak to not know what they were hinting at.

“i bet it was a sight so see” kiara said softly, a smirk on her face.

jj nodded. “as always” he shrugged, his eyes still on her.

you had to try hard not to let your face distort into jealousy. you had had a crush on jj for as long as you could remember. and the two of you were close, but nothing ever really happened with your brothers best friend.

being in love with jj was confusing. most of the time, he treated you just like anyone else, acting completely normal. but then, out of nowhere, he'd start flirting, leaving you unsure of what to think.

even though you tried your best, the crush on the boy always resurfaced when he would flirt with you once more, keeping your hopes up.

the meal continued without anything happening and you found yourselves cleaning the table to play a few rounds of poker like jj had promised.

"looks like you're in a tough spot" he grinned.

kiara had put down her cards, while you were trying hard to keep a straight face, knowing you would probably lose.

you shrugged. "i don't see you putting down anything valuable, maybank"

"ohh" kiara and your brother hollored at the same time.

"well, let's see then" kiara nudged jj's shoulder.

the blonde smirked before he revealed his cards to you, flushing a street. "you've underestimated me, guys"

john b and you sighed simultaneously, accepting defeat as you threw your own cards in the middle. while jj was busy mixing the cards, kiara took a look at her phone.

"i think i better head out" she smiled, standing up from her chair. "my mother's gonna go crazy if i'm late again"

you played a few more rounds after the girl had left, john b and you losing to jj each time. you were sure he had gotten help from pope, knowing that his time would come.

john b threw down his cards after one more uneventful round. "i'm heading to bed" he nodded, pulling his snapback down, before he highfived jj and pressed a kiss to your hair. "don't stay up too late"

"night, b" you smiled as you watched after him.

"one more round?" jj giggled.

"i'm all out" you shrugged, pointing at the pile of money on the table in front of him.

"well, if i lose you can have all of it"

"this sounds almost too good" you muttered. "okay, what if i lose then?"

"you'll take off your shirt" he shrugged.

"jj!" you pushed a hand to your mouth, draining out the scream of outrage that threatened to errupt in the air between you.

"what?" jj smirked, looking up at you with wide blue eyes. "am i making you nervous?"

"not a chance," you shot back, trying to keep your voice steady despite the way your heart was hammering in your chest. jj's smirk widened, the mischievous glint in his eyes only growing as he shuffled the cards one more time.

"alright then," he said, dealing the cards smoothly. "prove it."

you glanced at your hand, trying to keep your expression neutral. jj's eyes flickered up to meet yours, watching you intently, and you couldn't tell if he was bluffing or not.

you took a deep breath and played the first card, trying to focus on the game instead of the way jj was watching you like a hawk.

the next few minutes were tense, each of you placing cards with care. it was almost suffocating.

"you're really dragging this out, you know that?" you muttered, glancing up at him.

jj just grinned, his eyes glinting with amusement. "patience, sweetheart. good things come to those who wait," he replied, his voice low and teasing. you rolled your eyes but couldn't help the slight tug at the corners of your mouth.

finally, it came down to the last card. you had one left in your hand, and so did jj. your eyes met, the room silent except for the sound of your heartbeat in your ears. You hesitated for a split second, then threw down your card.

jj's eyes flickered to the table, his face breaking into a triumphant grin. he laid his final card down with a laugh.

"looks like i win," he drawled, his voice smug. your eyes widened as you stared at the cards, disbelief washing over you. how did he keep doing this?

"you've got to be cheating," you grumbled, pushing back from the table. jj laughed, the sound warm, filling the quiet night air around you.

"well, you agreed to do this" he shrugged, like he was completely in the right.

you looked at him without any expression on your face, before you sighed, your fingers dipping down to meet the material of your shirt, as you stood up.

jj's eyes widened at your movement, standing up at the same time. "it was a joke, y/n" he muttered quickly. "you don't have to do anything you don't want to"

you halted in your movement. "if you had won, would you have given me the money, like you promised?"

"of course" jj answered without so much as a thought.

your smile deepend, before your fingers gripped the hem of the shirt, pulling it over you head in a quick motion. revealed was your bikini top. the one jj had seen you in a million times, but still his eyes widened even further.

jj's mouth opened slightly, his usual cocky demeanor vanishing as he stared at you. he remembered seeing you in it before, but this still felt different. maybe it was the intimacy of the dimly lit patio, or the way you stood before him now, your eyes steady and unwavering. you had called his bluff, and he was utterly speechless.

"see?" you said, trying to keep your voice light despite the rapid thudding of your heart. "no big deal. just a bikini, jj."

he swallowed hard, finally snapping out of his daze. "right," he said, his voice cracking slightly. he cleared his throat, his gaze darting away before quickly finding its way back to you. "just a bikini."

you walked around the table, pushing yourself between him and the discarded chair. "this can't really be the reason you're so uneasy"

you tried to read the emotion on his face, but he just looked at you, at a loss for words. you softly pushed your hand to rest against his chest. your eyes widened in surprise. "your heart is racing" you declared with a soft whisper.

"yeah" jj finally found his words. "you're so close"

you looked up at him, surprised at what he was hinting at. "i'm sorry if i'm making you uncomfortable" you tried to step back, but his hand shot out, holding you in place by your elbow.

"jj" you muttered, your voice barely audible. you could feel your heart beat just as fast as his did.

"have i ever told you how beautiful you are?" jj's voice was soft and tender, like he was trying not to disrupt the calmness of the moment.

"no" you sighed, unsure. he came closer, your noses were almost touching. his eyes were ready to close, not far from kissing you. your voice rung out before he could do anything of that sort. "what about kie?"

"what?" jj blinked in surprise, stepping backwards.

"what about kie?" you repeated a little bit louder.

"what about her?" jj laughed, before he saw the confusion in your eyes.

"i thought there was something—“

"between me and kie?" he smiled, shaking his head. "well only that she knew about my crush on you"

"you have a crush on me?"

"i thought it was kinda obvious" he pointed a finger between the both of you. "can i please finally kiss you now, routledge?"

you smiled, your heart fluttering in your chest at his confession. "of course" you watched him step closer once more, before you grinned. "but what about—?"

"—oh would you shut up now?" he pushed his lips against yours, drowning out your giggle as your smile touched his mouth like it was supposed to.

[maybanksprincess]

isnt the same without you.

warnings: comforting, fluff, insecurity, a little bit of blood.

summary: jj goes to a party without reader for the first time, and when jjs phone dies, she starts to overthink. (based off this ask, thank you anon!)

a/n: this is sort of short because its just a blurb, but i really love this request, its so cute!

pairings: insecure!reader x soft!bf!jj

you weren't feeling up to this big party that everyone was attending tonight. unfortunately, you and jj were planning to go for a few weeks now, and since you didn't wanna go, you didn't wanna stop him from attending it as well.

he insisted that he would stay home and look after you, he offered to buy you snacks and even watch those cheesy romcoms that he absolutely despises, but he tolerates them because you love them.

but you assured him it was okay, and he can go even if it made you feel a little uneasy.

you had never done well with being away from jj for long periods of time, let alone him going to a party without you. but you told yourself to 'grow up' and 'stop being a baby' about it. you needed to get a grip.

you decide to text him about an hour in, just to make sure he was safe, and then you promised yourself you would stop bothering him after that.

imessage:

11:01 pm: hey jay! im just checking in to make sure your okay, i dont wanna bother you or anything so im gonna let you have fun! bye i love you <3

-

you chew your nails, anxiously waiting on a response from your boyfriend.

about five minutes went by, and you were constantly picking up your phone, swiping up for any sign that he had read the text or responded. but there was nothing.

you waited another ten minutes, then got back to anxiously checking it again, still nothing. delivered.

you told yourself your being dramatic, and went to occupy yourself with doing the dishes, and sweeping the kitchen floor. by the time you had gotten back to your room about fifteen minutes later, there was still nothing.

you toss your phone down onto the bed, feeling frustrated but also upset at the same time. had he been hooking up with another girl? is he drinking too much? what if hes talking to someone else?

all these thoughts cloud your mind, and you find yourself biting down on the skin beside your nail bed. as your chewing away at your skin, your phone dings unexpectedly, causing you to jump a bit, tearing a piece of your skin off. (ouch.)

the sting of the bare skin makes your eyes water a little, a bead of blood trickling down your finger. "ow." you mumble, before picking up your phone and looking at whoever texted you.

it was jj. all your pain was instantly forgotten the moment you seen his text on your screen.

imessage

jayj🤍: "hey beautiful, im sorry i didnt text you back. i forgot my charger like a dumbass. but im at home now, and i didnt have fun. it was boring as shit without u baby."

you instantly reply to his message after reading it, your heart no longer feels like its carrying a weight anymore.

you: "thank you for texting, i was worried sick baby...i literally hurt my finger trying to answer the phone. I thought you might've been cheated on me or something."

you send that text with a underlying hint of insecurity in it, hoping he wont just brush you off. your in need of some reassurance from him right now.

jayj🤍: "baby you hurt your finger?!! and what do u mean 'cheat on you'? thats not even possible for me mama."

the next text eases your worries a bit, but you wanted to get everything off your chest.

you: "i just hate being without you for a long period of time, i wish i would've let you stay in with me tonight, but i know how excited you were for the party."

jayj🤍: "oh baby, no. parties are not the same without you. i would never cheat on you, im sorry if i made you feel that way, but that isn't me. you know your stuck with me forever mama, whether you like it or not."

now all your worries and insecurities are instantly gone, touched by your boyfriend's loyalty to you.

after you let yourself think for a moment, you remember the minor injury you caused yourself a few minutes back and wince slightly at the sting.

as if exactly on cue, jj double texts you.

jayj🤍: "oh and im on my way with some bandaids and snacks, i love you baby. unlock the door for me beautiful."

after he sends that text, you hear jjs dirtbike pull up.

[xreaderbooks]

Paradise on Earth (22)

Chapter: 22. The Bells

Pair: JJ Maybank x Routledge! Reader

Summary: stuck in a room with Rafe and the impending sense of doom.

Warnings: language, mentions of violence, hostages, strangling, drowning

Word Count: 1.9k

Wattpad | AO3 | Playlist

Chapter 21 | Series Masterlist | Navigation | Next Chapter

Rafe clutched onto your shoulders with a frantic look, "No bullshit, Do you have the diary?" 

You didn't want to talk to him, your eyes traveled to Kie's worried gaze welled with tears, a deep frown set in her features that matched your own. "No." 

It was the only word you planned on speaking to him, one word for him to let go of his hold on you. When he didn't immediately remove his hands from your shoulders, you brushed them off and walked to the opposite side of the room. 

Shit, shit, shit. 

You didn't have the book. Would it even matter if you told Singh that you didn't have the book? With the way you perceived him to be unhinged, you doubted that he would believe you. 

"We're fucked," You spoke directly to Kie with concerned eyes, whatever happened to Rafe was not your problem anymore and if you were being honest with yourself, he never was. 

~~~

You and Kie took up the bed and had Rafe sleep on the floor, your room was long forgotten and it didn't seem like the guards cared, you weren't going to be able to escape either way. 

You dreamt of the water, weaving beds of leaves, and being taught how to spearfish. It was a memory of a lifestyle you lived not too long ago, it felt like a dream. 

Kie was above you a distant look on her face as she spoke to you in a hushed tone, "I have a plan, but you have to trust me." Anxiety settled into your chest as you remembered you were not still stranded on the island or even on the outer banks. The bed you sat up in with eyes still crusted with sleep belonged to a man willing to murder you and your best friend for a diary you currently did not have. 

"What plan?" You rasped.

She moved fast, knocking on the window where a guard stood by and looked at her expressionless. "Go get Mr. Singh, I need to talk to him." She mouthed to him, he didn't move an inch, he simply turned his back to her. 

"Kie, whatever you're planning isn't going to work if you don't talk me through it," You moved out of bed to follow her to the door and noted how sore your body felt. Your leg felt tender and bruised. When you looked down to inspect it, you saw the inside of your flesh from how deep the wound was but it wasn't bleeding so you called that a positive. You limped as you followed her around the room. 

"It has to," She insisted. She pounded on the door, Rafe stirred in his sleep, waking up to her shouting for the man who was posted in front of it. 

"The hell are you two doing?" Rafe's question goes unheard. 

When neither of you two acknowledged him he tried to get your attention, "Hello?" 

Ignoring Rafe, You shook your head,  "I'll go with you. He seems to have some sort of interest in my family history, maybe it'll help." 

"No fucking way," Rafe tells you. "Can someone please tell me what's going on?"

"Stay out of this," Kiara snaps at him. "Y/n, I'm going, you're hurt."

"I was just fine last night," You lift the leg of your silk pajama pants and show her that the bleeding had stopped. "It's a scratch."

She narrows her eyes, "You need stitches. I'm going."

The face of the man who's on guard duty comes in and Kie tells him she needs to speak with Singh urgently. He side-eyes you and Rafe and says, "Yes." He snatches her bicep.

"I got this," She whispers to you before she's dragged out of the room. 

You punched the door in frustration, stressfully running your hands through your hair, and slid down the door, clutching your knees to bend to your chest. You heard Rafe take a step in your direction and your eyes jumped to his tense form. 

"What is she going to do?" He asked. 

You didn't respond, you thought if you ignored him, he would go away. He didn't. 

"Y/n, Can we just talk?"

"No." 

"Is 'no' the only word in your vocabulary now?" 

You wanted to say that it was the only word you thought of when you saw him. It was a no to keep yourself from him, a no that should've been said when you became entwined in each other's lives deeper than they were or should have ever been. His whole existence to you is a no. 

Instead, you said, "No."

"Please, Angel-" He pleaded. You cringed at the nickname that once made you feel weak-kneed, you didn't want to feel anything towards him or the words he spoke. 

"Don't." You sent him a warning look, he didn't deserve any moment in your presence from the moment he strangled you. The moment he shot Peterkin and framed John B, all the way to when he drowned Sarah. He didn't deserve you way before then. 

"Just hear me out, alright?" He kneeled to your level, "Please." 

You turned your head to stare blankly at the wooden floorboards, he wasn't going to stop trying to talk to you. "I have nowhere to go, Rafe, so say whatever you want to say to me but I don't care. It doesn't change anything." 

"I love you," He confesses and your heart tightens. 

You deny it with a shake of your head, you didn't want to hear this, but you did just tell him to say whatever he wanted to. He's trying to lower your guard, you tell yourself. Don't let him get to you.

"I do, you know I do-" He sounded like he was pleading for you to believe him. 

"You shot and drowned your own sister, what do you know about love?" You helped yourself up from the floor and walked around the room anxiously, ignoring the ache in your ankle and picking at the skin around your nails.

You wished Kie would've woken you up earlier and told you her plan. You felt bothered, even more so that she left you alone with Rafe. 

"What went down between me and Sarah has nothing to do with us." 

"There is no us." You laughed humourlessly, "Do you remember strangling me that same night?" 

"I'm sorry, alright, you don't know how sorry I am. I never meant to hurt you." His eyebrows creased to match the pout displayed on his face. "My mind just goes places sometimes."

You halt in your steps and face him, "It is not my job to help you stay sane or to relieve you of your guilt, nor your deep-rooted daddy issues, Rafe."

You barely caught him flinching at your words but you did and didn't hesitate to continue, "I meant what I said that night. That I loved you, I did, but I've gotten over it and eventually you will too so while you deal with that, if you truly do love me then you'll leave me and my friends alone." 

He opened his mouth to say something but Kie came through the door with a forceful shove.

"Kie?" You softly spoke her name, the girl was visibly upset. She held her head in her hands and her face was red. "What happened, what did he say?" 

She avoided looking directly at you, "It didn't work."

"What didn't work, can one of you tell me what you just went to do?" Rafe insisted. 

"After everything you've done, we don't owe you shit, Rafe." Kie sounded tired. "Shooting Peterkin, Sarah, Y/n."

Little did she know you had already had this conversation with him. 

"Peterkin, I was protecting my father, okay?" He came closer to you both and you stepped in his way to block her from him just in case. He glanced at you and Kie, scoffing. "I did what I had to."

You sat next to her, rubbing circles on her back to soothe her, Rafe's voice cut through the calm with his excuses. You noted how he got more defensive around her. 

"I'm as much of a victim as she is- think about it, what did I get from shooting Peterkin?" He waited a second as if waiting for either of you to respond, "Nothing. Okay? I had nothing against her I mean- I liked her, you think I wanted to make that choice?"

Unhinged is the word of the week, you thought, maybe you should spend less time around people like this. You almost laughed at your thought, maybe if you could stop getting kidnapped for more than five seconds. 

"What I did was a gift, from me to my father for him and I got screwed because of it, I lost the only thing that mattered to me-" He glanced at you as he said that last part and focused his attention back on Kie. "So don't get that look when I say I'm a victim."

Kie didn't do so much as glance at him as he continued his rant, but regretfully, you did. You didn't know what was wrong with you, why you felt your heart grow with pity. It was a familiar feeling when you were around Rafe, not that your feelings for him were solely based on the sympathy you felt. It was very much real and pure attraction starting from the branches of kindness he would extend to you, and only you. 

"I will admit, though, what I did to Sarah- what I tried to do- I admit that was wrong." His voice broke and tears were beginning to spill from his eyes. "I know that, so you don't have to remind me." 

"Rafe," You uttered his name barely above a whisper. You didn't want to hear anymore and risk lowering whatever shield you had managed to build to keep him out. 

"She was family, I should've never touched her, I should have never touched you." He reached out to you and recoiled, correcting himself, noticing how clearly you didn't want him to touch you. "I just lose control in moments like that, and I don't know what happened. I'm trying- I'm trying to get better." 

Kie only gave a nod of recognition that she was listening.

"I'm just saying I'm not the bad guy here, but even if I was, bad Rafe Cameron or something- you got no choice. You may not want to trust me, but I'm your best bet." 

You crossed your arms, your only way of denying him. 

"I got a boat that can get us off the island, but first we gotta get out of here and it is better if we work together." 

There was a commotion outside which made Kie rush to the window. 

"They're leaving?" You came up behind her and peered over her shoulder. 

She let out a shaky breath, "They're going to find Sarah and John B." 

"How?" You panicked, "How did he find them?"

Her face contorted into a deeper frown as she finally told you, "They were setting themselves up as bait, pretending to be hostages." 

The panic that had been festering the moment Kiara was tossed back into the prison of a room had sunk in deeper but you couldn't allow it to take over. You had to take this opportunity to form a plan to escape, there was no time to worry about your friends. 

If only you can get the guard assigned to the door to come inside, you begin to think of the possibilities. He would have to think something was going on, something that would force him to come in, get him out of the way so that there would be no obstacle preventing the three of you from leaving the room. 

"I think I have a way to get out of here." 

~~~

let me know if you'd like to be tagged :)

a/n: been a while, how's everyone doing? I'm sorry for the major delay in updating, hope you all aren't too mad at me, its a short update but I figured something is better nothing after months of not being active

taglist:

@deanwherescas - @thtbwltts - @nerdypartytrashpsychic - @random-girl-army - @hereliesjanuary - @instabull -  @sexyfoxlady - @bubs-world - @sdawn03 - @jellybassett - @mendesclines - @simpingbutch - @obx-pogues-4-life - @landosgirlxoxo - @p-prettybitch - @namacissi - @dczedhee - @inkandpen22 - @royalavenger - @ayeitsjustmee - @80strashbag - @onlyangel-444 - @freds-slut - @poppet05 -  @itsjuststaticnoises - @ahnneyong - @lovepizza567 - @jasminfelling - @rana030 - @loki-loveer - @rana030 - @lostinatimeline - @boldlypessimistic - @clinelyn - @a-j-stuffs - @yunhobug - @syd223sworld - @strawberry-fawn- @mysticalavenuecheesecake - @itsmytimetoodream - @natashtessabeth12 - @thatsthewaythechrissycrumbles - @chervbs - @or-was-it-just-a-dream - @newbooksmell777 - @afterzonee - @ilovemen2much - @ilovesteveharrngton - @s1lngwns - @ye0nvibezzn - @ausipcious-manner - @mirellef2001 - @jjmayabnkisbf - - @flairtune - @callsignwidow - @yornayyy - @mxnst3rz

(if youre name is crossed out that means tumblr wont let me tag you, I'm sorry)

[raribella]

Love is Embarrassing | JJ Maybank

summary: although JJ had promised your brother he wouldn’t ever hurt you, you saw him kissing Kie while you were on a break.

pairing: JJ Maybank x Routledge!reader

genre: emotionally heavy anst, fluff in the end

contains: reader being a real bitch, mentions of Luke and parental abuse, inspired by some songs in the album “GUTS” by Olivia Rodrigo, kinda shitty ending but let me know.

word count: 2,7k

author’s note: alright I know I’ve been MIA and a bitch and I haven’t posted anything in months (worse if you see how much stuff is on my “upcoming works” section), but I’ve just had a lot of ideas, little time and little confidence to write. one of my best friends just showed me obx and I’m in love with this blonde and I got (I think) a spoiler about him and Kie and I just had to do something with my feelings.

This is a work of fiction. I do not own the characters of Outer Banks nor any characteristic of the show. I am writing this story solely for my own entertainment and the marvel or comfort of any readers.

“If I fuck up with her that might as well be the last thing I do in my life, John B! I mean it!”

the words that JJ heatedly uttered to your twin brother the day he found out about the two of you were repeating over and over in your head right now. You remembered it all too well; John B was seething, absolutely pissed, seeing red. You and JJ Maybank knew each other for as long as he and your brother were best friends, when you turned 14, he declared to all the Pogues that you were off limits, and about two months ago, you and JJ started seeing each other. One month into it and JB discovered you, which was easy considering JJ already spent most of his time with both of you at the Chateau. JJ promised his best friend that he wouldn’t fuck up with you because two things mattered the most for him in this life; their friendship, and yourself.

But as of lately, he was having some problems with Luke and he asked for some time “out” so he could figure his shit out without involving or hurting you and you disagreed but you’d do pretty much anything in this world for this man so you decided to say yes.

To his bullshit.

Bullshit, you figured out about half an hour ago, when you heard a confusing conversation between him and Kiara – the perfect one – and when you went outside to track the noise, you saw them kissing.

You were fifteen minutes late to leave for the weekly kegger and you forced yourself to lock yourself in the bathroom and call in sick – because that you were, and you wouldn’t handle being out partying and pretending like seeing the kooks, and seeing them two wouldn’t make you feel the same type of nausea at this moment.

Sarah was the third person to try and make you get out of the bathroom. The first being your brother and the second, Pope. Although you were thankful neither JJ nor Kie had tried to talk to you, when you heard your best friend’s voice, you were actually starting to feel sick, you were having a migraine from holding tears up, and you were sweating.

“Y/n, come on! You were so excited to come not even an hour ago, we’re already late and I don’t see why wouldn’t you want to come”

Your vision was blurry as you palmed the door and laid your forehead on it. Sarah realized that you really weren’t coming when she heard your voice crack.

“Sarah please, just, go on out without me this one time, I need not to be there right now and I also need to be alone please don’t ask me questions I can’t handle to answer you this moment I promise-“

As you rambled, she frowned from the other side of the door. Making sure to get everyone to leave for the Kegger, to try and remember asking you about this later on, and to reassure John B that you were actually okay.

You’ve been successfully avoiding JJ for about two weeks now. It started with enough discretion, allegedly going to the bathroom every time he entered a room, or offering everyone any snacks you would spend too much time preparing in the kitchen. For him, it started getting obvious when you looked the other way when he looked at you at the beach, or when you refused to surf and, as of recently, started slamming the doors on him. JJ was getting pissed at this rate. He started by simply frowning and brushing it off, but you couldn’t just keep slamming doors and not even looking at him, and if everyone else noticed, they just wouldn’t budge! The worst part is that he didn’t know what had happened nor if he could fix it. You understood him when he told you he needed time to figure out some stuff with Luke, but the truth was he was still very much freaked out about that. He still loved you, and he couldn’t afford to see you like this anymore, especially when such behavior was being directed at him. JJ missed you. Even if he couldn’t really figure his shit out, he missed you screaming at the top of your lungs as you entered the sea, he missed your smile, your laidback grin that he was the only receiver of, he missed your colorful bikinis, and how they embraced your features as you would jump onto every wooden swing near the shore, your curly hair flying everywhere filled with salt spray. He just missed you, the real you. And he had to talk to you to see if there was even a chance that he could get you back.

You, on the other hand, kept avoiding the questioning looks the pogues would send you every time you were harsh or avoidant at JJ, your brother even attempted to talk to you, silently, just with glances, and figure out if his best friend had hurt you. But even if he did, it only hurt because you loved him too much, and you decided it was best to protect him from John B’s wrath. You felt embarrassed whenever Kiara questioned you with her eyes as well; you felt embarrassed to be near her. You kept crucifying yourself and both her and JJ because of everything, often zoning out of the conversation and just bitterly reminiscing about the times you consoled your boyfriend as he cried late at night in your room, being gentle with his bruises. �� thinking how could you be so stupid? giving up everything, betting on him against your brother’s better judgment. You kept paying attention to Kie and how, since that day, she looked like the sweetest thing of the Cut, the fucking hell-side of the island. Her perfume lingered in the air even at the beach and made you feel sick; you saw her everywhere now, even when you looked at him. You saw the scene of them kissing. Feeling every word she would utter toward you in conversation like bullets on your skin. As it was torture how she was the greatest thing to ever exist – how everyone loved her, how she was so much better than you; poisoning everything that you do and still being the sweetest friend, making you despise how rotten your mind was; how jealous your eyes were.

You were bottled up to the brim.

It started out simple enough. JJ had noticed everyone was doing their own thing at the Chateau; John B was absent for the time being, and you were alone on the couch, fidgeting, focused on whatever. It seemed like the perfect window to try and have an actual conversation about what’s been happening. He just didn’t expect it all to escalate so quickly. He didn’t expect you to have seen a part of his conversation with Kiara about his dad – but not everything, not the ending. – He hadn’t expected a conversation with you of all people to become a bomb with a short fuse that would explode into feelings tainted crimson. watching you bleed, making him bleed all over for you.

"Pogues don't mack on pogues, y/n! this shit freaked me out, your brother finding out freaked me out, yeah, even if he’s my best friend and I was afraid that-”

“Oh, so you go ‘round and fucking get with Kiara?! this is fucking bullshit, JJ! bullshit-

“Y/n, listen to me!”

You both were screaming, Kie’s eyes went wide as she tried calling your name as well but you had already started crying and couldn’t pay attention to anyone but him. At this point, as John B arrived at the Chateau and followed the noise, the people around you calming you down couldn’t be sure if they were afraid of his arrival or actually relieved. You kept interrupting each other. JJ pulled his hair and you pointed at yourself and to your side – as if Kiara was still there – strength marking red fingertips above your chest.

“‘Cause she’s not even a real pogue, right?! that’s why you got so confident about it, huh?”

it was almost as if the room went silent. Kiara decided to step outside to give you space; to take a moment to breathe in and take notice that you didn’t mean that. She was sure you didn’t. The rest of the group started to move aside as well although they could obviously still hear the commotion. Only you, John B, and JJ were in the living room. Your brother grabbed your shoulders from behind trying to ground you in any way he could, JJ growing nervous at the rate of the conversation and his friend’s presence.

You looked into his eyes and it was as if the blue in them was slowly fading, his eyebrows shot up and his mouth twisted in a clearly upset frown. As tears stained your cheeks, pride still overpowering your shame and feelings pent up, you started with more meaningless empty jabs, which, said angrily enough, would only make JJ bleed more as he fell silent himself.

“I really loved you, you know? You gotta laugh at the stupidity.. right? Come on you were going around doing that shit and I swear JJ I used to think was really smart… I was just a mesmerizing, paralyzing, fucked-up little thrill for you, tho… best friend’s little twin… ridiculous.”

At that, John B diverted his attention toward his friend with stern questioning eyes. JJ gulped.

“Look, man I just really need to talk to her and explain myself, ‘aight? I didn’t do what- Things are really not what they seem right now and I need her to-“

“Fuck, JJ, that’s bullshit! How can you not even flinch when you fucking lie like that! Things are just like what they seem you never even fucking loved me! You can’t love anyone, ‘cause that would mean you had a heart, right? But you’re a fucking Maybank! And I really tried to help you out all this time but now I know that I can’t!”

You were calming down, but exploded again, as the words left your mouth though, you started regretting them, the most deeply someone could ever regret anything maybe, worsening by the second as you saw the man you still loved muttering a small “no”, cracking at your words and shedding a tear. As Kiara heard what you said from the outside, she didn’t even think before bursting into the house again, turning every head in her direction.

“Y/n you’re spiraling and you’re saying things you’ll fucking regret! I kissed him, alright?! This is my fault. He stopped me, he loves you and he wouldn’t do that, okay?”

Though the words she was muttering were calming you down, she was calling you out, she was absolutely mad at what you said about JJ’s father because she had context and it was really fucked up. You felt small.

“Kiss?!” John B asked, his eyebrows shooting up. It wasn’t his intention to aggravate the situation but it was his little sister involved. JJ tried to start talking and explain the situation – which Kiara had left him to, but he could really only think about one thing.

“I- uh… did you mean it? What you said.”

JJ rarely expressed any sign of vulnerability, so as his voice broke, you felt like your heart did too, rushing to explain yourself now, and trying to get closer to him.

“I didn’t mean it, J, I really didn’t! God, I don’t even know how you can still even look at me right now I’m so sorry I was just so fucking broken at the idea of you che- of losing you, and I- I thought you had found someone else and I damn near started world war III right now and it’s just because I love you so much and I know you don’t deserve another fucked up demonstration of love, you deserve to feel so good, Jay, and I’m really sorry, I love you so so much, and I will understand if you never-“

You were interrupted by the shock of his own body against yours. The both of you were panting, crying, completely tired sighs leaving each mouth as if this was all going on for days and you were so hurt, yet needing each other so much. John B and Kiara were ‘okay’ enough with the newfound situation to leave you both to your own devices again, and you just clung to one another, sitting on the floor for what felt like hours until he decided to speak again.

“Y/n… I asked for us to take some time because it was becoming too real, y’know? What we felt for each other.. it was, touchable- it is. And when everyone else found out, and then John B… You know I don’t talk about this usually, not with anyone but you, but I didn’t want my dad to find out about us, to find out about you. I don’t want him knowing what you are for me I don’t want him knowing that laying a single finger on you can be worse than any punch he could throw my way. And I wanted to figure this out without you knowing about it because you’d say it’s fine, and I-“

As your mind processes his words, you start to think how in the world you got a man whose the first concern about a monster of a father would be you. How could you deserve it, especially after what you had insinuated about him. “It is! It’s fine, honey, we can-“

“No, y/n it’s not fine because I don’t ever want you to even worry your pretty little head about a situation like that, y’know? And It’s not fine because the pogues are my family and the love I feel for you, if anything would happen to you because of him I’ll be damned, damned, and in jail for murder, you can trust me I will.”

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. All you could do was keep the hold you had on each other, slightly caressing his head.

“Since I didn’t want you to know about it, I went to Kie, that night of the Kegger, and she tried to help me and she said she loved me and I did too but then she kissed me and I assume it’s what you saw but I did step back, I promise! I told her off… Y/n I told your brother that if I intentionally hurt you, if I fucked up with you like this then that might as well be the last thing I did in my life and I mean it. I love you so much, little Routledge, and I’m all in now. We can figure shit out as we go but as long as we have each other, okay?”

As JJ spoke, he held your hands, reassuring you at the end. Hours had passed ever since you started talking, so when the pogues felt everything was calmer they decided to go back in the house slowly – figure out how you were, what were the plans for the night.

“Do you really forgive me for what I said? I will understand, J, I’m so, so sorry, I love you so much” You touched your forehead with his, and JJ sighed, shaking his head slightly. “I love you. I love you, y/n… can’t be without you.”

And as you both kissed each other as if you were making up for ages lost, Sarah smiled at the corner of the room, John B interrupting the show. “Come on with the PDA, love birds… What are we doing tonight, then?” He half-heartedly scolded as you got up, hand glued to the blonde's. You let out a big sigh again, before brushing them off with an honest, but half-assed excuse, already making the way to your room.

“I mean, you could go to Heyward’s… I think we’ll just lie down a bit.. ‘twas kinda draining…” you saw a bunch of side smiles as the group left through the door, Sarah grinned, letting out a puff of air through her nose, and when Pope went to close the door, he screamed back in the direction of your room, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” which earned a scream back from an already lying down JJ, “might as well not do anything!” and for the first time in a while, you laughed, making your way to lie on top of him, his embrace being all you needed.

“You know… we could go out to surf tomorrow,” he offered, still missing the sight of a happy you, your bikini, and the ocean.

“First thing in the morning.” You answered.

[vampiretendencies]

request; jj blurb idea! wearing his clothes for the first time/him seeing you in his clothes for the first time. maybe showering at the chateau but you didn’t bring anything so he gives you a tshirt! hehe literally kicking my feet under the table rn

pairing; jj x fem!reader

warnings; fluff, maybe suggestive

authors note; i was doing the same when you sent this anon in love with this idea ! (req a blurb from below w what’s left on the prompt list, or send in blurb, imagines, & fic ideas) a few more hours until season 3!

other ways to say i love you prompt list

The opportunity to wear JJ’s clothes tainted your thoughts undoubtedly.

Not only because it belonged to him but because everything about JJ’s wardrobe, is so JJ.

No problem with repping any and everything that belonged to your infamous boyfriend. Wether it be wearing his pair of boxers as shorts, a wife beater to slumber in, or a random tee shirt to go out in broad day light.

You just longed for his material to be around your figure.

Congenial and adequate, soft yet comfortable— all elements of his clothes that are alike with JJ.

They are his clothes, after all.

“JJ let go of me!”

Stood smack in the the middle of JJ’s room at the chateau. His window partially open, wind bristling from the night air, making its way through. Whilst the hard wood floors beneath the two of you tracked the imprints of your feet. Bed rolled around in, from you forcing JJ off of you then— merely to let you get up and off of the bed to shower, that you did. Since you came out though, wearing little clothing, (given that there wasn't much of your own items lying around at the Chateau) he hasn't let you be.

He encapsulates you with his sinewy arms, body swallowing you whole. Whilst you forcefully push your hands against his broad, shirtless chest— the skin mellow and thick. Indentations of your miniature hands marking his skin, like your were a rag doll; screaming for dear life.

All JJ could muster was a low, raspy chuckle.

“Say you won’t leave.”

JJ wanted to make love to you all day long.

Not sex.

But emotionally.

To emotionally make love, to have and hold. A day full of luster, every millisecond spent around or with you. To confide in and maybe even shrink you and put you in his pocket.

A keepsake.

“You know I can’t, I don’t have another change of clothes.”

Behind every ‘can’t’ JJ miraculously finds a way, opportunity at hand to see you clad in something of his.

“Lets find you something of mine?”

JJ flicks his tongue, peering down at you due to the fact that he knows he’s won and you aren’t moving a muscle. His hands maneuver themselves to the lower part of your ass, hands habitually grasp the masses with a squeeze of his hands.

“Are you gonna’ give me something to wear then or what?”

You hid your secret giddiness inside, not wanting to be the one to initiate this sentiment— things seemingly working themselves out anyway.

“Actually, baby … just fuckin’ walk around naked … s’even better.”

He acknowledges the glint in your eye, possibly even a twitch that says, ‘get me some damn clothes before I wring your neck.’

“Okay okay, whatcha’ thinkin’ a little Heywards t-shirt action … Bait Shop shirt … ?”

He let go of you distastefully, instantly salivating for the contact again. Walking over to the wooden drawers of his dresser, pulling out multiple options— signaling you to come over and pick.

“Surprise me.”

And you turn around, facing the emptiness of his room, that wasn’t his room, but nonetheless. Rummaging was heard as he hummed and mumbled minuscule things to himself.

“Turn around, pretty girl.”

An off-black brownish t-shirt is thrown into your hands. A decor in the upper left side that read ‘Sex Wax Est 2005’, font circular and embellished with stars on either end.

“Your turn-“

He was already turning around, the gentlemen that he prided on being. You grinned at the cotton beneath your digits, bringing it up to your nose— though it had been washed, his powerful musk still retained it. The silky sensation of yeasty beer and a freshly rolled blunt encompassed your senses.

“Need more time?”

“Just a second, J.”

If only he knew your fixation was obsessive beforehand.

“I’ll just be here … y’know ... missin' my girl."

Feet away, physical touch being his love language fully had a choke hold on him per usual.

After you were done with your inspection you pulled the thin material of your cropped cami past your shoulders, bra clasped tight to your back. Leaving you to remove those lacey pocketed shorts that adorned your body; his shirt lazily pulled past your head, drowning you in its bigger size, falling just to your mid thigh.

The sole way to sleep with JJ disclosed.

You felt more his than you ever had in the past; claiming his array of bib and tucker with exuberance.

His baby suffocating in him.

You cleared your throat gesturing for him to turn around, his mouth gaping open as he's awe struck; open long enough that you were impressed something didn't fly in it.

"Shit you look better than me!"

Ogle eyes whilst his mouth formed a tight-lipped smile, stomach churning and insides wavering at the woman he chose to take part in his life with him.

It may be a shirt to most, but with his person inside of it made it all the more nostalgic, heart growing tender.

"C'mere gotta get a better look at you."

Following suit you step forward to him, lips instantly connecting with your jaw with pure infatuation.

"S'perfect baby."

"Yeah? Think I can pass as the new JJ Maybank?" In the same position the two of you were in minutes ago, except grins are wider and souls aching all the more for eachother; and you mocked him.

"Pass me a beer and a J."

[multifanxtvshows]

YALL I FOUND SUCH A GOOD OUTERBANKS BOOK ON WATTPAD AND FUCKING LOST IT PLS HELP ME 😭😭

IF you know what it’s called pls let me know

[a-aexotic]

i’m so glad u do jj imagines he has my heart😻

anyways so

jj x reader where she’s like really close to all the pogues, and they’re all protective of her, maybe she could be like the youngest one or something, and rafe hits on her at a party and jj comes to the rescue and it ends w them telling their feelings to eachother

i love all your work so much btw!!

pairing. jj x fem!reader

warnings. alcohol consumption, rafe being rafe, mention of hangovers

summary. when rafe bothers reader ar a party, jj comes to the rescue.

➜ missing out on updates? ❪ navigation. masterlist. taglist. ❫

It was all a haze. The drinking, the loud music, the dancing. It felt like a big fever dream. You don't even remember where you are. All you remember is coming in with Pogues and now, you have no idea where you are.

This might've been your 3rd drink. Or wait, was it 5? You can't remember. You were laying on the couch trying to recenter yourself when you feel the couch next to you dip. You turn your head to meet Rafe Cameron's gaze.

You never liked him. He was always mean to the Pogues, including you for a while but he hasn't bothered you since you had started dating JJ. You were the youngest one of the group, just by a few months but the youngest nonetheless so the Pogues were very protective of as well and after a few fights with Kie and John B, Rafe had finally backed off.

Rafe knew better than to mess with JJ's girlfriend and the Pogues beloved baby Pogue. Or so they thought.

"Hey Y/N." He spoke, a smile playing on his lips.

You were confused on why he was even acknowledging you, he usually just ignored your existence. "Hey."

"How are you enjoying the party, is JJ here?"

You paused for a second, why did he care if JJ was here or not? "Uh, yeah. He's somewhere."

You were to drunk to realize that Rafe was very much flirting with you. He talked your ear off about golf and you were getting overwhelmed. Rafe had gotten closer to you, the music was too loud and you were nauseous from the drinks.

"Hey!" You heard someone shout. You turned around to see JJ walking towards you, a scowl on his face. You were instantly relieved because golf wasn't that interesting to you and you were getting tired; you just wanted to go home and sleep.

"JJ." Rafe sighed, as if even seeing him was an inconvenience.

"The fuck you talking Y/N for, huh?" JJ had grabbed your arm and pulled you up, putting an arm around your waist. His touch had help your sense calm down a bit.

Rafe rolled his eyes, getting up. "Calm your tits, man. I was just having friendly-"

"Friendly, my ass. You talk to her, again, I'll kill you." JJ had let go of you to get in Rafe's face to make his point. Rafe had let out a small laugh before raising his hands up in defense, walking away.

JJ turned to you, a sigh escaping his chapped lips. "You okay?"

"Yep, I feel a bit..." You paused, feeling your stomach grumble in pain. "Nauseaus."

JJ laughed and went over to you, putting an arm over your shoulder to help you walk. "How many drinks have you had?"

"I don't know like, five?"

"Five? You're a lightweight."

"Shut up." You grumbled unhappily. "Or I'll throw up all over you."

"Okay, okay. But Kie isn't going to be happy with you drinking that much because she had to take care of you last time."

You groaned at the mention of that night. And then you remembered that tomorrow, your hangover was probably going to be worse. JJ softened his gaze as he looked over at you.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of you this time."

"Thanks, J." You smiled painfully before JJ bent his head towards you so he could plant a kiss on your lips. You melted into the kiss, your stomach pain gradually going away the more passionate the kiss became.

[futuremrscameron]

bailey bass is kiara maybank genrette-carrera

[yiiyiiwrites]

Friend or Foe? - Older Carerra sister Fic

Summary: Kiara's sister bumping into her and the pogues. Naming her sister Kaya. Kiara x older Carerra sister - Featuring JJ and Pope briefly. Older Carerra sister x Rafe. 1,610words

Kaya stared at her younger sister across the country club, to say they were different was an understatement. The eldest Carrera enjoyed the finer things in life and used it to further her education and get out of the outerbanks. Kiara on the other hand was still hanging around with her pogue friends and fighting injustice of anything and everything. That was one thing Kaya liked the most about her, her bravery to raise her voice when things were wrong.

Now any other day she would have put her head down and avoided Kiara hanging out with her two pogue friends, but not today. She stormed towards her, heels tapping against the pavement. The tall blond boy behind Kiara spun her around and pushed towards Kaya.

She glanced to the boys, nose wrinkling at the sight of the group covered in sweat and muck. Her sister looking like she'd been dragged through the forest. Kaya hooked her hand around Kiara's elbow and tugged her away.

"Hello, to you too," Kiara said slipping from sisters grasp.

Sliding her oversized sunnies over her head, she let them rest on her plaited hair. Her hazel eyes squinting in the harsh sun. "I don't need a hello when I've got mom and dad on my case because you've been gone for three days." Kaya crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her chin, the added plus of being slightly taller than her sister in heels, made her feel a little more stronger.

Kiara rolled her eyes and turned to walk, "you could have told me that over there."

"No, wait." Kaya shuffled forwards blocking Kiara's path and held up her hands. "This is a private family matter, I don't ask your friends about their home life." She glanced over her shoulder at the pogues, looking back as soon as her eyes met theres. Kiara couldn't help but laugh at her awkwardness.

"Look I really don't have much time to..." Kiara side stepped her, brow creasing as Kaya fell into the step with her.

Kaya plaid with sparkling charm on her bag, arm hugging the distressed leather. "Just come back home tonight," she placed a gentle hand on Kiara's arm, "and if you want to sneak out later I won't say a thing."

Stopping once more, Kiara eyed the turtle charm she'd gifted her sister before she went off to college. "What is that?" Kiara said poking her sisters shiny handbag.

"Ohh," her eyes lit up, strap slipping from the crook of her elbow to balance on her out stretched wrist. "Vintage, Kie. I never thought the whole sustainable thing would rub off on me..." She babbled on about how she came across the bag, smile pulling her plump lips.

Kiara raised a brow, "I mean tell that to the crocodiles."

"Wait, what." Kaya examined the harsh exterior, teeth sinking into her bottom lip.

She didn't notice how close she was to her sisters friends, her gaze snapping to the tall boys. She remembered Pope, the only one she'd met a handful of times whilst he delivered groceries. The blond standing beside him did everything but look at her, his fingers tapping against thigh.

Before she could open her mouth to speak, she spotted her friend in the distance. "I've got to go, but I'll see you tonight." She smiled to her sister, her hand dove into her bag retrieving some rolled up money. Perk of her internship meaning she could give some to her sister instead of her having to ask their parents and their hundred questions why. She tucked it into Kiara's pocket, her sister protesting but later giving in.

"Rafe!" Kaya called to her friend, raised her hand to wave, but it was yanked down as soon as she'd said his name. She frowned at her sister's tight grip on her wrist.

"What are you doing?" Kiara tugged at Kaya's wrist to gain her attention, face scrunched up in confusion.

Kaya stilled, she could hear Rafe calling for her, his voice getting closer. "I'm meeting my friend." She said trying to escape her sisters grasp.

"You are not going anywhere with him." Kiara said pulling her sister along with them.

"Kiara stop," Kaya tore away from her, finger massaging her wrist. "What is up with you? Actually I don't want to know, just don't get me involved." She shook her head, smile dropping from her face as her Kiara blocked her path.

She placed her hands on Kaya's shoulders stopping her. "He's a bad guy. Please just listen to me and stay away from him." She pleaded, the two boys muttering along with Kiara about steering clear of the kook.

Shrugging Kiara off, she placed her sunglasses back over her nose. "I've known Rafe since school and he went to the same college as me before he dropped out. I think I know him better than you do." She nudged her sister out of the way. "Maybe if you tried a little harder at the academy you'd make more friends." She didn't mean to sting her sister with the same line her parents threw at her, but she was mad being told what or who to be around.

"Ouch, that was bitchy, but I'll overlook it this one time." Kiara said walking beside her, gaze sweeping to Rafe as he leant against his bike. "Stop, just listen." She glanced to JJ and Pope making sure they were out of ear shot. "You see the gash on Popes face, near the brim of his hat?"

Kaya's gazes scanned his face, then to JJ's cut lip. "What about it?" She sighed, but did not look away from the two boys.

"Rafe did that, you know your friend." She paused, a small gasp escaping Kaya lips as she brought her attention back to her sister. "I don't want you getting hurt okay."

**

The last week came crashing down on Kaya, the thrill of having fun slowly dwindling into guilt. The once light touches and stolen kisses now weighed down on her, how could he be so nice to her, but horrible to others? She had yet to witness the wrath her sister had warned her about.

Rekindling the flame with Rafe from college and sneaking around during the summer seemed right when they'd bumped into each other. It was like time hadn't passed, no exams or work to weigh them down, but that was all wiped away with the new found knowledge of him having another side to him.

He's a bad guy...The words kept echoing in the back of her mind and she found herself searching for the small cues to back up her sisters statement. Kiara always told her the truth, so why was she finding it so hard to believe?

"What's going on in that head of yours." Rafe's hand rested on her upper thigh, fingertip creeping up the hem of her short dress. The broken skin and scabs on his knuckles, bothering Kaya more now that she knew where they came from. His nose nudged the side of her jaw, lips tracing her neck.

Kaya moved off his lap to straddle him. She placed her hands on either side of his neck and looked into his eyes, if he lied she's sure she'd see it in his gaze. "My sister."

Rafe chuckled, his palm tracing her back and smoothing the tension from her shoulder blades. "What did she do now?" Both the eldest in their family and knowing the responsibility of trying to keep everything together, to make the family look good.

The tug of his lips made her smile too, she almost forgot what she was going to ask him. He pinched her hip, squeal escaping her lips as he waited for her to respond.

"It's just," Kaya licked her lips, "she said that you fought with her friends." She wished she was more outspoken like her younger sister, the knot in her stomach tightening about the exchange.

"Look they were asking for it." Rafe said, the tic in his jaw flared and his hold on her hips tightened at the mention of them. "Pogues,' he spat.

"I really don't understand this whole kook vs pogue thing." Kaya shook her head and smoothed her hands down his shoulders, resting them in her own lap.

Rafe cupped her face, thumb brushing along her cheek. "It's always been this way Babe, you just had your nose stuffed in books to notice." Rafe laughed at the memory, sweet Kaya buried in books instead of focusing on the world around her.

She played with the hem of her dress, "I mean we're older now, the whole Kook vs Pogue thing isn't something we need to focus on."

"Your sister's really got in your head, eh." Rafe scoffed, pushing her off his lap.

Kaya stumbled back, catching herself before she fell to the floor. "I'm just saying, I don't want to get involved with any drama." She wasn't sure why she was trying to backtrack, the rise and fall of Rafe's shoulders, the muscles shifting under his tight t-shirt reminding her how strong he was and if it was ever directed at her, well she wasn't sure how it would go.

The thoughts were squashed though the moment Rafe turned back to face her, gentle hands finding a place on her arms. Lips pressing to her forehead. "No drama. Promise." He said lifting her chin with his finger to kiss her.

She melted into his embrace, heart drumming against her chest. He had a knack of making her forget about the world around her, maybe the summer wouldn't be that bad.

Part two

✨ Older Carerra sister and Rafe's secret summer fling 🤭 - Yiiyii

Please do not take and post my creations, you may reblog/like but do not take and claim as your own.

[a-dauntless-daffodil]

ancient vitani WIP be freeeee

[xreaderbooks]

Paradise on Earth (21)

Chapter: 21. Poguelandia

Pair: JJ Maybank x Routledge! Reader

Summary: island paradise fades into memory when you and the pogues are rescued by a strange man

Warnings: language, violence, jealousy, kidnapping, plane crash, animal cruelty (i guess), guns, allusions to murder, let me know if I'm missing anything.

Word Count: 7.2k

a/n: idk if you guys listen to lana but i feel like jj x y/n are so 'chemtrails over the country club' coded

Wattpad | AO3 | Playlist

Chapter 20 | Series Masterlist | Navigation | Next Chapter

You once believed that the Outerbanks were as close to peace and paradise as you would ever get. The waves on the beach, tanning on the boat, and beers that tasted like shit but were a refreshing lifesaver on a hotter-than-hell day. You were wrong.

Poguelandia was your Paradise on Earth.

You were aware of how insane it must be to be glad you were stuck on an island with absolutely no way of getting back to modern civilization, but the whole experience of this place was out of body. You were in the most ideal situation of your current stranded status.

You weren't alone, you had your family with you, with your combined strengths and skills you were all able to build a system on how to survive.

The first week was full of prep, foraging fresh fruit, gathering coconuts and wood, figuring out how to boil fresh water, and weaving a shelter from when it rains out of leaves and long sticks. 

JJ made sure to claim the island with a flag made out of his white T-shirt and ash from the fires you all made to keep warm during the night. He climbed high up on top of a palm tree to tie the flag. Just as he said he would, it read 'Poguelandia' with a chicken laying back with its arms (wings) behind its head, chillin' in a coconut bra and Crocs, smoking a joint. 

Sure, fresh water was a bitch and a half to make and food came straight out of the ocean but when you thought about it- the only difference between Poguelandia and the OBX was that the Chateau was a slightly more stable shelter. Well, that and here you had free food.

In all honesty, if there was a boat that miraculously did find a way to this island that could take you all home, you weren't sure if you would want to leave.

The only person whom you shared this confession with was JJ. He confessed he felt the same.

On week two with no sign of life, the reality of the situation slowly creeps its way into the group's minds, with plenty of time to think about what you wanted from life, if there was one past Poguelandia- this was what you wanted. The life JJ's described to you a million times before.

The boards were the only thing lacking, however, JJ was prepared to chop down a tree with his pocket knife and make one through trial and error.

Late one night, the others were fast asleep, you had taken a nap earlier during the day and were the last one still up, you took a walk to the beach and let the cool water trickle over your feet. You stood there with your eyes closed until you felt yourself shiver from the cold.

You were thinking about curling up by the dying fire and willing yourself to sleep, that was until you flinched at the 'Hey dude' you heard to your left.

"Hey," You replied once your heart calmed. "Thought you were knocked out."

"I was but then I felt someone was missing," He nudged you with his elbow. "Had to make sure you weren't eaten by a jaguar or something."

"I'm pretty sure if there was a jaguar here, we would know by now."

"Or would we? They really got that sneak attack down pact," He spoke in a knowing tone.

You nudged him back with two fingers on his shoulders, "Then I suggest we get hunting." JJ looked like a God in sunlight, but under the moon with the view of the water it made you want to kiss the life out of him. Neither of you ever acknowledged the moments in the dark of night during the summer when John B was presumed dead, you knew he didn't want to. 

It was in the back of your mind constantly these days, you no longer pushed back on the thoughts that told you he possibly wanted more, you could file everything under him being a protective best friend and that he was only looking out for you cause he didn't want to see you get hurt, John B would kill him if he could've prevented something from hurting you. Including himself, a voice in your head urged you to consider.

"What?" JJ asked, a nervous smile peeking through. You blinked, realizing you'd been staring at him. 

"Nothing. Sorry," You shook your head with a smile of your own. You both stood in silence for a minute before you gathered the courage to ask him, "If we had a way of getting off this island, would you?" 

"Hell no," He responded without hesitation. "Nah, I mean, would you?"

You scoffed out a laugh, "No, Yes. No." It was a dream you didn't want to wake up from, waking up would be coming back to reality, realistically you couldn't stay here in this moment forever but it will be engraved in your mind for the rest of your life. 

"I get it," He shrugged.

"Do you?" You questioned with no other underlying connotation but hope. He had nothing in the OBX, other than problems, disappearing off of the face of the earth was in his favor. You had... well, you had John B and the Chateau. Was it worth going back for the latter? 

"Nah, not really, we've been living here." JJ spread his arms out and turned in a circle to compliment the island. "Best life I've lived on this here, Poguelandia." 

"Yeah," You fixed your gaze back on the water. 

"But you, I guess, you'd wanna go back to school or something," JJ sniffed.

You raised your eyes to look at him, he thought that you were concerned about school? With all that you've been through, that was the last thing on your mind, that's probably on top two of Pope's list. You supposed that if you were talking about reasons to go back, if you had to, finishing school would have to be a priority in getting your life together. 

"J, fuck school."

He barked out a laugh til he was wheezing, hands on his knees, face red (from what you could see with the darkness), clutching his stomach as he gathered himself. "Fuck school." He nodded and coughed out the rest of his amusement. 

"This was the goal, wasn't it? To stay, I want to stay."

"Yeah you do," He grinned. "If the lady wants to stay, we'll stay."

The deal was sealed with the handshake made years ago, on the last side bump and snap you both stood looking at each other for a second longer than necessary.

"I thought it'd be weird if I just said that I wanted to stay, we have no reason to go back, at least you and I don't."

"Now you know I got you, you stay, I stay. The rest of them can fuck off," He turned back to see everyone still asleep. "Not really, they should stay too, but you get what I mean."

"Yeah, dude." 

 Something slithered past your foot in the water and you jumped. 

"Oh my fucking god!" You squealed, stepping away from the water and onto the safety of the beach sand. "Did you feel that?"

JJ bent a little, reaching his finger into the water, "What, this?" He splashed water up at you.

"JJ!" You giggled and kicked water at him in revenge. "Your ass is mine."

"Promise?" A bigger splash came your way. 

~~~

You, Kie, and JJ were carving wood into spears to hunt for fish when Kie brought up the same topic you and JJ were talking about a couple of weeks ago. She thought aloud about potentially being rescued.

"Rescue?" JJ scoffed, "From what, Paradise? I'm not going back." 

Kie glanced at you with an amused smile and continued to stare at JJ as he admired the island. 

"Look around, we got everything we need, right here." JJ sent you a quick wink, causing you to smile knowingly as you finished wrapping the sharp rock around the rigid stick.

"Just like we talked about," Kie mused. You were taken aback slightly at the romanticism behind her tone. 

With a nod of his head, JJ agreed, "Exactly."

The time on the island has given you time to reflect and accept what's always been there, and you are no longer going to deny the attraction in Kie's eyes when she looks at JJ. There had been a shift in the dynamic and you weren't sure how this would end. Last you checked, JJ was in love with Kie, Kie never batted a lash at that fact, you were in love with JJ- something you never openly confessed to anyone except Kiara. It's not like you needed to anyway, they all more or less knew. 

"We ready to provide for the family?" JJ hops up and twirls the sharp stick. 

"Let's do it," You dust off your shorts. 

"Let's go kill something!" JJ practically skipped in excitement at the thought of action. 

Kie cringed, "You don't have to say it like that." 

"That's exactly what we're gonna do." 

"It sounds barbaric," Kie didn't like the idea of killing an innocent creature but even she had to admit that surviving on fruit was simply not enough. 

"Circle of life, Kie, unless you want to eat coconuts forever" JJ's mention of the fruit made your stomach turn. 

"After the past month, I think I'm good on coconuts," She admitted. 

The three of you traveled to the west side of the beach where there was known to be constant active sea life, as noted by JJ. He instructed you both on how to stand and how to stab the spear into the water, you and Kie practiced until JJ said he saw something moving. 

"Remember, watch your shadow, they see that and they're gone" JJ warned you both. "Here we go."

You weren't entirely confident in your newly acquired skills but it was your nerves or your dinner, and you were starved. 

You spotted something in the water, silver and gliding smoothly in its environment. "Guys, look!" 

"It's a skate," JJ confirmed, "Get 'em."

"Got it!" You went in for the kill but it swam away faster than you could stab. "Kie, he's coming toward you." 

"I can't," She hesitated. "I really can't." 

JJ follows the fish and spears the stick into the water with a grunt, "Damn it, I missed it. Where is it?" 

You snorted, "So do we all just suck at-" Before you could finish your sentence, Kie lifted the makeshift spear with the skate at the end of it. 

"Oh my god," She exclaimed and jumped into JJ's arms. 

"You did it!" You cheered her on despite the jealousy gnawing away at you. 

JJ hugged her back with one arm, "We're having skate tonight!" 

Your nose wrinkled at the blood that dripped from the fish, "Full Pogue." You murmured. 

"Full pogue!" JJ repeated in a loud shout. 

~~~

You came back heroes to the rest. Cheers echoed when you came back with protein. 

You sat around in a circle with adequately full stomachs, a game of truth or dare started not too long ago, it went back to Sarah whose turn it was to ask. 

"John B, truth or dare?" She took the hat made out of leaves and tossed it to your brother who chose truth. "If you could do it all again... what would you do differently?" 

Your mouth formed an 'o' as you nodded, the question was a good one, you knew everyone had plenty of things they'd do differently from the beginning.

"Get the gold before Ward did," JJ spoke. 

"Hide the cross a little better," Pope stated after. 

"Not yell 'murderer' at Ward, maybe," Kie side glanced at you guiltily, her shoulders hunched in a shrug.  

"Steal a couple of bottles of rum before we jumped off the boat," John B answered. 

"Yeah, why didn't you do that, actually?" JJ whose back was facing the group had turned to ask him. 

"Cause I was running for my life, maybe," John B looked at you all for help jokingly. 

You chuckled, "I'd probably not sleep with Rafe." You winced at your own confession. Sarah's eyebrows shot up. 

"Hold up," She let out a laugh of disbelief and straightened on her place on the log, "When was this?"

"Feels like long ago, at this point," You released a stressful sigh.  

"Yeah, we've all made some crazy ass choices," Kie came to defend. 

"I guess we're even now," Sarah eased back into her seat. "You're taste is despicable though."

You couldn't help but look at JJ for a second, to see if he had any reaction, he kept quiet and continued drawing random patterns in the sand with a stick. 

Cleo broke the slight tension that was creeping its way in, "I would look both ways before crossing the street." 

"Yeah, my bad," John B laughed. 

"You're turn, chief." Cleo focuses on John B to ask the next person. He turns to Kie and asks her to pick, plopping the hat onto her head.

She chose, "Truth." 

"If you could go to your parent's house on figure eight this instant, would you do it?" 

She deliberates for a short while, "No chance." 

"Seconded," Sarah agrees. 

"Hear, hear," JJ lifts his coconut. 

"The shower's tempting though."

You groaned at the thought of a shower, "I could use a good shower right now." 

Kie throws the hat JJ's way, it falls to the sand before he picks it up, "JJ. Truth or dare."

"I mean, do you even need to ask?" He fixes it on his head. 

She points to the highest cliff in view, "Big jump. Nobody's done it yet, dare." 

There wasn't a hint of hesitation in his expression as he went straight up the cliff. The rest of you waited down below cheering him on as you saw his small figure standing on the edge of the rock. 

"There he goes," You say to no one in particular. 

Kie stands to the right of you with her arms crossed, shaking her head with a smirk, "He's not gonna do it."

"Oh, you think I'm not gonna do it?" Somehow JJ heard her from all the way on top. Part of you thought he wouldn't either, he's been up there for a few minutes now as if he calculating the height and the possibility of him dying from the rocks below, though you couldn't recall when was the last time he cared.

"He's gonna do it," Pope counters. "It's highly dangerous, zero reward? He's doing it." 

JJ howled to the ocean, exerting the energy he would need to jump. He took several steps back before going into a run and his body hit the waves. 

He swam to meet you all on the shore, Pope and John B tackled him into the water as soon as he was able to walk away from the waves that were calling to the group. 

While the boys drowned themselves, you and the girls ran into the water, letting it cool you down from the heat of the day. 

You didn't know the guys were done with their mini wrestling match, and let out a surprised scream at a pair of arms circling your waist from behind you and lifting you out of the water to then be body slammed in. 

JJ emerged at the same time you did, you parted the hair from your face as you came up and launched yourself at him in an attempt to 'drown' him. It didn't last very long, his arms were around you once more and carried you bridal style out of the water, following the group back to the shelter. 

"I actually thought I was gonna die, I'ma be honest!" He admitted. 

"You looked like you were gonna die," Pope told him. "I thought you were gonna die." 

"You can put me down now, thanks," You glared at him with no real malice. Your arms were still wrapped around his neck. 

He shook his head, "Nah, I'm good." 

You rolled your eyes, and only missed his warmth a little when he set you back on the ground to walk back where the others were already starting a fire for the night. 

Silence befell the group as the sun went down and the sky grew dark, the lighthearted fun turned into a peaceful calm as you all sat around the pit of burning embers. 

~~~

"Y/n, wake up," You felt your shoulder being pushed. You shoved the hand away from you, you had found a comfortable position a couple of hours ago in your sleep, you were in deep. "Come on."

With an irritated huff of your breath, you wiped the sleep from your eye and saw that mostly everyone was gone, Sarah was hovering above you. You sat up quickly, and your eyes widened at the sound of the blades of a plane. 

You walked over to the figures of your John B, Kie, Sarah, and JJ. The latter looked back to you with a frown, an astute look at what lies ahead if the plane heard the shouts of your brother. 

His voice cracked from how loud he was trying to make himself shout, "We're right here!" He waved with his arms stretched high. 

Pope and Cleo were gone, and you knew that they went to start the signal fire Pope thought to build. Piles and piles of dried leaves and wood to a fire for whomever to see, smoke, an SOS. 

You and JJ shared a frown, neither of you wanted to move. You couldn't help but notice Sarah's lack of enthusiasm as well, it didn't matter, none of you could stay. 

John B wanted out, and Sarah would follow him anywhere. Kiara had her parents, and so did Pope, Cleo had nothing to lose either way. 

You felt guilty for not feeling the sense of emergency the others did, dread overwhelmed you. Kie, and John B, screaming at the top of their lungs. The sound of disappointment as the plane flew into the distance, panic from almost being rescued became relief. 

It came back soon again as the others noticed it turned back around. 

"He's going to the pond," John B announced. "Come on, come on." 

You grudgingly went along behind them, as JJ and Sarah did. John B and Sarah were the first ones to the plane. Cleo and Pope are close behind with Kiara trailing them. 

JJ held your wrist as you were going to follow, you halted your steps and turned your neck to see that JJ had his head down, jaw set, he didn't want to leave. 

You knew, and you didn't want to either, you twisted your wrist out of his grasp and abruptly brought him in for a hug. 

"I know," You whispered in his ear. He gave you one tight squeeze and let you go.

"Come on," He encouraged you to come along with the quietest voice. 

Pope, Cleo, and John B let out exhilarated cheers as they approached the man who opened the cargo door. 

"What do we got here?" The man had a dark striped linen shirt, red shorts, and sandals. A hat dangled from his neck underneath his long brown hair tied back into a low ponytail, and aviator sunglasses to complete the look. 

You thought it was a bit odd for a guy to just so happen to fly by the area when in the month that you've been here there hasn't been a peek of air traffic. 

"Oh, you know, just a couple of castaways." John B always the leader, responded casually. 

"Well, I'll cross that off the grocery list," A southern accent came through. You didn't like that you couldn't see his eyes behind his glasses. "Hold on, I got just the thing for y'all." 

John B appeared to be hopeful, beside him, Sarah had said nothing. It didn't seem like she trusted this guy either. "Hey no, Look at this guy, you think he works for your dad?"

"Two things you need on a deserted island-" The guy continued. 

"It's okay," You heard him try to convince Sarah when she shook her head in denial of his words. You didn't know if this guy worked for her dad or not but there was something off about him. 

"First aid and rum," He brought out a red kit and a bottle, tossing the glass full of liquid at Sarah who let it fall into the water, Pope caught the red box easily. "So, what's the story? You guys sank a boat?"

"Jumped off one," John B shrugged. "Her dad's."

You narrowed your eyes sharply at the back of John B's head, he shouldn't be giving this guy a lick of information, but he was practically giving it all away. What if he was working for Sarah's dad? 

"In-laws, man," The guy drawled out. "They're tough. Well, have no fear, Jimmy's here." 

"Well, all hail Jimmy, guys!" Cleo declared. "Let's go." 

"Welcome aboard the Flying Fish, y'all, I'm Jimmy Portis." He introduced himself as the group boarded the small plane. "I'll be your captain today, now, is this all? Seven of you?"

"Yeah, is that okay?" 

You tuned out their conversation and hung back with JJ, not willing to go back but you knew that John B would drag you back over his shoulder if he had to. You'd like to believe that he'd accept it if you wanted to stay behind but the truth was you only had each other. He wouldn't leave you and you... you can't just leave him. 

Your footsteps felt heavy while walking up the steps of the cramped plane, you said a silent goodbye to Poguelandia. 

~~~

You sat in the back of the plane, across from Kie atop a box, it gave you flashbacks of the shipping container. Though this is much less spacious. 

"What were you doing all the way out here?" You elevated the tone of your voice so it could be carried to the front of the plane for Jimmy to hear. 

"I got a little guide outfit in Saint Vincent, I was spotting fish," He replies. 

You didn't know much about fishing or fishing seasons but his story didn't feel right. He was flying a plane to spot fish, alone? 

"What were spotting?" JJ asked a follow-up question. He was crouched behind the co-pilot seat. 

"You know, the usual, Wahoo." 

John B's head lifted and he caught JJ's eye, moving his head slightly, the small shake of his head was enough to tell you that what that Jimmy guy said wasn't right. 

"I'd hang on to something, get a little spicy on takeoff," Portis warns you and puts on the headset. 

You grab ahold of a hanging handle as the plane takes off. 

The radio is rattling off stats you had no comprehension of, you were all officially in the air. 

JJ beckons you all the move forward, so you all scoot to the front to hear him. 

"Wahoo don't run in September," He affirms. "Ever, alright? So whoever this man is, he's not a fisherman." 

"Maybe the run just starts earlier out here," Pope suggests.

"You sure about that?" The expression on JJ's face said it was highly doubtful. "In the Caribbean?"

"No, I know what this is, he's working for my dad and he's probably been looking for us the entire time," said Sarah.

"We gotta find out, start looking for some sort of clues," JJ trails off when he spots the bag hanging from the back of Jimmy Portis' seat. He signs for John B to distract the pilot while he- the certified Klepto- gets to snooping. 

John B taps on the man's left shoulder as John B is behind him and gets him to look over while JJ works to the right of him. He begins to chat up the pilot with questions about his life and JJ digs through the bag, pulling out a book titled 'The loss of El Dorado'. 

He opened the cover to find a picture of the coastal venture, the ship you had all escaped from. 

Sarah grabs the picture and shows John B, "This is the boat we were on, with Eberhimi and the cross." 

"So he was looking for us," Cleo said more than asked. 

"He's working for my dad." 

The aircraft shook suddenly, making you jump where you sat. 

"Y'all better hold something, we got some unexpected turbulence up here!" Jimmy cautions you all. 

You look out the window to see the mainland in view, "Guys, whatever's happening is happening fast." 

"That looks like Barbados, I've been there with Terrence," Cleo recognizes. 

"There's six of us, one of him, you know vote." JJ, as always, suggests violence. "We storm the cockpit." 

"No, w

"Who's gonna fly the plane, dumbass?" John B rationalized. 

"I've seen Pope fly simulators."

Pope stutters, "I crop-dusted for my uncle last summer, this is not the same thing."

"We are going to die," You accepted your fate. 

Kie speaks up, "No we are not, and we don't have time to pretend that's a real option." 

"Do you have an idea?" JJ snarks back.

"Something safe." 

"Why don't we just wait until the plane lands somewhere safe and then we sneak out," Pope forms a plan. "If somebody comes to mess with us, we mad-dog them." 

Nobody protested the idea, it seemed generally solid. Kie told JJ to put the stuff taken out of Jimmy's bag back before he noticed but as he was in the process of doing so, John B's distraction didn't work so well the second time and he turned his head, catching JJ in his bag. 

"The hell are you doing?" Jimmy shoved JJ out and JJ pushed back, he was fighting with one hand and lost control of the plane. 

You didn't have time to think, the plane was going down, and everybody flew to the front as the Flying Fish dove straight into the water. 

The plane was filling up quickly, already halfway full, you coughed up water as you pulled yourself up from one of the hanging handles. 

John B kicked open the door, and immediately protested, "Oh no, no, no, no. They don't look friendly." 

"No, they look very unfriendly," Pope looked out next to John B. 

"We gotta go."

The vessel was sinking fast, John B was helping everybody get out, Cleo went first, then Sarah, Pope dove out after, and JJ next. 

"Y/n, come on!" John B yelled. 

Your leg got caught on one of the ropes, "I'm going." 

"What's wrong?" Kie panics looking at you. 

"I got it, it's okay, go." You were busy trying to untangle your foot. You heard JJ call out for you guys to hurry before it sunk. 

"Hang on!" She yells back at them and helps you. 

"Shit," You curse, the rope that was tied around your ankle had given cut you from what you assumed was when the plane went down. It was twisted twice around your foot but you were both able to set it free. "Got it, Kie, let's go."

"Portis," She swims to the man who was unconscious, "Help me get him out." 

Fuck, you curse mentally, this thing was sinking fast. You already wasted time trying to set yourself free, now you had to help out the guy who kidnapped you guys. 

You and Kie carried him out with the help of the water, you were both struggling to swim yourself until you reached the shore with no sign of the others. 

You grunted as you dropped your half of the man to the sand, two locals came to help. 

Your ankle now stung with a medium-sized gash was sliced around half of your leg. You coughed out the salty water you swallowed while swimming with the man who was now alive. 

"Thank you," His bloodshot red eyes looked at both you and Kie as he expressed his gratitude. 

"You lied to us," Kie growled. "Who are you?" 

"Kie," You saw men coming in ATV's. "We need to go." 

You were tired of running, but what would happen if you didn't was worse. 

"Shit," She hisses. "Let's go." 

You ran ignoring the stinging sensation of the cut, the adrenaline helping you out, the panic and anxiety set in, and that made you feel more than the open wound spilling blood. 

"Over here," you found an old wooden boat painted blue, rusty oil containers that could shield you from view. You both hid in between them, catching your breath for a good couple of seconds before you were found. 

A man crouching down to look and Kie punched him, and you both ran. There were four men with vests and guns, two on either side. You went one way, she went the other, and you ran straight into them. By the sounds of the struggle, Kie got caught too. 

You flailed your arms and tried to push down his arms from where they were around your waist but it was no use. You kicked your legs, and your elbow hit something but that made the man's arms crush you in his hold. 

"Let go of me!" You screamed and growled. The other man grabbed your legs with no remorse for the cut. You didn't stop moving, you scratched the man who held you in his arms deep enough to draw blood. 

"Fucking bitch!" He squeezed until you felt a deep pain in your ribs. 

They didn't stop moving until they had you on the back of a trunk with your hands tied behind your back. 

Kie was there, shivering in her place, you stopped fighting once you saw her. You supposed now you would have to accept whatever was going to happen together. 

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Fucking amazing," You grumbled. "Are you?"

"Never been better."

And who else showed his face other than Jimmy Portis? 

"We saved you," Kie snarled. 

"I know, I know, I'm sorry" He looked weak and spineless. "I'm gonna try to help you guys, okay? I swear, I didn't know it was gonna be like this. Look, if you don't fight, if you just do what they say, these guys probably won't hurt you." 

He didn't know it was gonna be like this; meaning he was not high up on whatever fucked up chain this was, which meant his promise of helping meant nothing. 

"What did Ward promise you?" 

"Who?" He gave Kie a quizzical stare. "Just take my advice, do what they say. Good luck."

Another man with a vest sat in front of you both, giving you a hard glare, probably a buddy of the one who grabbed you. If the whole no-fighting thing was true, you were screwed, then again it didn't matter what you did- if he didn't know who Ward was then that meant you didn't know what you were dealing with and you were screwed anyway. 

~~~

The anxiety pumping through your chest was overstimulating. Your body was shivering intensely, at first it was from the initial shock of the surfacing from the fresh water. Now you were sure the events of the day were catching up to you, putting a physical strain on your body, but you fought through it. 

You observed the roads your kidnappers had taken, memorizing as many details as you could for when you would eventually escape. With Kie by your side, the both of you could surely find your way through this town. 

The truck slowed to a stop, the driver rolled down his window to talk to an armed guard with an intimidating German Shepherd. One quick look and one of the two men standing in front of the gate, lifted it for the truck to go through. 

You looked around at your surroundings and noticed this place was heavily guarded, practically a fortress. Miles and miles of land with men stationed not five minutes away from each other.

The estate was several stories high, again- guards posted everywhere. You and Kie were yanked to the front door, and let in by a housekeeper. 

To the right of the foyer, you immediately notice the artifacts enclosed in glass cases.

"Take them upstairs, Orinoco room for this one-" The Housekeeper instructs the guard who grips Kie's bicep and takes her up. "Nazas room for that one." 

The same man who you scratched snatched you similarly to how the other one did Kie, with more unnecessary force than needed in your opinion. "Up." 

"Y/n?" Kie's neck turned to you. 

"I'm right behind you," You reassured her. 

He took you to a room next to Kiara's, he tossed you inside with a sneer, slamming the door behind himself without a word.

"Hey!" You yelled. "What the hell am I here for?" 

No response. 

You pounded on the door to hopefully get an answer, "Who do you work for? Why do they want us here?" 

You grumbled to yourself taking in the room they stuffed you in, you were scared you admitted to yourself. They could have at least kept you both together, you knew they probably wouldn't do that since they could clearly care less about your comfort after kidnapping you... 

The room had three windows with a nook, floral printed curtains, walls painted a coral color. The four-poster bed facing the door, your brows scrunched in confusion at the open wardrobe to the left of the bed with hanging identical red dresses. You walked over to it and plucked the note with the words 'pick your size' written. 

The question 'What the fuck?' just gets deeper and deeper. You aggressively crumbled up the paper into a ball and threw it at the door. 

You sighed and walked to the open door next to the one the guard shut, walking in, there was a mirror and a sink with a shower to the left. You took one look at yourself and winced at the difference you saw from the girl you were. 

Aged, matured, whatever you wanted to call it- that was you. You stood straighter, your hair was frizzed and you were darker than your normal tan from the sun you took on Kildare. Your nose and cheeks were tinted red; burnt. 

Your shoulder slumped from exhaustion, hold it together, you told yourself. You can break down later. 

~~~

The shower was reviving, you felt refreshed your hair felt soft again, and you relished in the feeling of being clean and slipped on one of the dresses that were in your size. You were impressed with the size range the mysterious nabber had. They even had several pairs of heels to match, you released a laugh and felt delirious, this was unreal. 

You admired yourself from different angles and did a double-take when you saw a third door. You went for it and turned the knob, it was unlocked, it creaked open and you gasped. 

Kie's room. There she sat in a dress the same as yours, color and style, down to the heel. She had her head clutched in her hands, lifting her head up at the sound of the door. 

"Kie, oh my god," You strode over to her with arms outstretched. She mimicked you into an embrace. It was comforting to know you weren't entirely alone anymore. 

She sighed into you, "Did the guy tell you anything?" 

You pulled away and shook your head with pursed lips, "No, did he?" You asked if her guard gave her any information.

"Dinner, at eight." 

"Oh yeah? Just a casual sit-down dinner while holding us hostage," You replied sarcastically. "Sounds like an entertaining night."

"At least we have adjoining rooms," Her lips twitched upwards. "If Ward wasn't the one searching for us then who is this guy?"

"Didn't know we had so many enemies," You took the liberty to sit on the edge of her bed. 

"Should we even be surprised at this point?" She rolled her eyes. 

"Nope."

Your heart felt heavy. 

~~~

A knock on Kie's door startled you both out of the reminiscent conversation you were having about the island, life in high school and how you both thought last year's summer was gonna go before this whole mess started. 

The maid from earlier appeared you both scrambled out of the bed and fixed your dresses. You glanced at each other, you linked arms as you walked down the steps, and you resisted the urge to take Kie and run through the front doors where you knew you'd be shot down the minute you stepped foot out of the perimeter. 

She directed you both to the dining room, a man was standing with his back to you, serving himself a glass of an amber liquid. 

"Excuse me?" Kie spoke first in a shy tone. 

The man turned and your stomach sank, Rafe. It was Rafe who stood there, in a white button-down shirt and blue blazer. His hair was buzzed, and you felt your heart in your throat.  

"You," You hissed, marching up to him. "You were behind this." 

Rafe sized you up, flashing one look at Kie, "Y/n, what?"

"I knew it had to be you and Ward," Kie jeered at him, a few steps behind you.

"What are you talking about?" He faced you both head-on, "Are you trying to weasel in on my deal, is that what's going on?"  

"I wondered if your little reunion would cause sparks, you know," A voice cut through from a room to the right of the dining table. A tanned man with a beard smirked as he strolled over to you three. 

"Who are you?" Rafe stepped forward. 

"Me?" The man in the grey suit pointed to himself. "My name is Carlos Singh, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Cameron. Ms. Carrera, and Ms. Routeledge, I do apologize for the rough tactics in bringing you here. But, please, come sit down."

Apology not accepted? You wanted to say but refrained from doing so, the air around him was not in the least bit friendly or open and inviting though it sounded like he was trying to be. 

"Come now, I don't bite," He waved you all forward. 

You dared to walk through the threshold first, sitting on a sturdy chair that felt expensive underneath you, Kie sat next to you with a round coffee table in between both seats. 

Your eyes stayed narrowed at Rafe as he followed suit, visibly stressed, rubbing the lines on his forehead. "Rough tactics, what about me?" 

Singh poured himself a drink, "Yes, Mr. Cameron, false pretenses. But the ends justify the means, I'm afraid. Sit down, we have a lot to talk about." 

Rafe takes the chair across from you, leaving the one next to him, open. 

"Why are we here?" Kie tensed. 

"Well, Ms. Carrera, Routledge, Mr. Cameron, we share certain interests. Objectives." 

"Is this not about the cross?" Rafe interrupts. 

"It is, tangentially, it is about the cross." He confirms, "It's also about something much, much bigger than the cross by order of magnitude." 

The man stood in front of a painting, "The completion of a grand quest. You see, the story goes that four hundred fifty years ago- a Spanish soldier came out of the Orinoco Basin with a few gold beads, and when they asked the Spanish soldiers where the beads came from the Spanish soldier replied he got them from a peaceful indigenous tribe who lived in a city of gold. El Dorado.

"And for the next four hundred and fifty years, people tried to find that gold. They tried." Singh picked up a knife from the desk cabinet below the painting. "Conquistadors, knights, captains of ships, tribes; entire nations. All fighting each other in a race for the end of the rainbow, thousands of lives laid on the pyre of gold fever, and it falls to me." 

"It falls to me to complete the task," Singh strolled over to you, knife in hand. Your eyes never strayed from the hands that handled it. "To bring full circle a quest that has gone on for almost five hundred years, perhaps the greatest quest in the history of the western hemisphere. You three, are going to play a part in that." 

"Ms. Routledge, daughter of a man who was interested in making history, don't think I don't know you're family history." 

You cleared your throat, "Past, present, future. They all kind of mesh together in my head sometimes, you know." 

"Yeah, I didn't listen to a word you said, okay?" Rafe chimed in, "How much are you gonna keep philosophizing?" 

"You are direct, aren't you, Mr. Cameron?"

"What do you need from us?" Kie asked. 

"I've come to believe that you and your friends are in possession of something that can help me get what I want."

"Which is?" You couldn't think of something he could possibly want. 

"An old manuscript, a diary, actually."

You kept your features neutral, giving away nothing, "A diary?" 

You were starting to notice a pattern with people who talked, thought, and associated with the cross. All greedy fanatics.

"We don't know anything about a diary," Kie shrugged casually. 

"How else could you have learned that the cross was on the Royal Merchant."

"We would help you if we could but we can't."

"I was hoping you wouldn't say that you know, because unfortunately, I don't believe you. you and your friend here," He pointed to Rafe, "Couldn't have found the cross without it." 

"He's not our friend," You clarified. 

"We can't all be friends," Singh's tone was grim. You didn't want to know what was gonna happen, knowing you couldn't give him what you wanted- even if you wanted to the diary was in Kildare. 

"This is ridiculous," Rafe stands, "Okay, I'm out. I don't know anything about a diary." 

He walks backward with hands half raised in surrender to then face one of the many, many guards in the house, gun across his vested chest. 

"Do I look like a fool to you, Mr. Cameron?" Singh grew dangerously impatient with Rafe. "You have the cross, their friends had the cross at one point, so one of you has the diary."

Rafe's eyes bore into yours, you let him, your own gaze unwavering. 

"And if you really don't know, then I suggest you convince your friend to tell me, once I have the diary- you'll be free to leave." He lightens his tone before it darkens again. 

He leads you three up the stairs and into Kie's room, "I must warn you though, I am not a man of infinite patience. You have one day, go to the window for a little demonstration." He pats Rafe on the shoulder before exiting.  

You heard the click of the lock, solidifying the trap. You clenched your fists, fingers cracking to help with the anxiety at what you were going to witness. 

Rafe protests and yanks at the doorknob, Kie comes up behind you as you open the curtain, and then Rafe joins you on the other side. 

You heard shouts, and then Jimmy Portis being dragged by another guy. 

"Who is he?" Rafe being this close to your ear made you shuffle closer to Kie. 

"It's Jimmy Portis, we know him," Kie responds for you. 

You felt a stab of guilt, "He must've been trying to help us." 

Singh looked up at the window where the three of you stood watching, he had a handgun, making it obvious of his intention. He walked out of view where Jimmy was, there was a cock of the gun clicking, and not a second later came the booming shot fired. 

~~~

a/n: SEASON 3!!! thank you all for your love and patience, i love you all, let me know what you think

let me know if you'd like to be tagged :)

@jbassettjmaybank - @deanwherescas - @thtbwltts - @nerdypartytrashpsychic - @random-girl-army - @wisegirlies - @instabull - @sexyfoxlady - @bubs-world - @sdawn03 - @mendesclines - @obx-pogues-4-life - @mentalforfics - @p-prettybitch - @namacissi - @dczedhee - @inkandpen22 - @royalavenger - @ayeitsjustmee - @80strashbag - @onlyangel-444 - @freds-slut - @poppet05 - @itsjuststaticnoises - @ahnneyong - @lovepizza567 - @jasminfelling - @rana03 - @loki-loveer - @rana030 - @lostinatimeline - @boldlypessimistic - @clinelyn - @a-j-stuffs - @yunhobug - @syd223sworld - @strawberry--fawn - @mysticalavenuecheesecake - @itsmytimetoodream - @natashtessabeth12 - @thatsthewaythechrissycrumbles - @chervbs - @or-was-it-just-a-dream - @newbooksmell777 - @afterzonee - @hana-1235 - @ilovesteveharrngton - @s1Ingwns - @jesssssmaybankk - @auspicious-manner - @mirellef2001

if your name is cross that means tumblr won't allow me to tag you, i'm sorry :/

[raribella]

To Say “I Love You” Right Out Loud | JJ Maybank

summary: JJ revisits his childhood and how he grew up with you through every side of life until he finally understands why this makes you so special

pairing: JJ Maybank x Routledge!reader

genre: fluff, a spark of angst

contains: a combo of “Both Sides Now” by Joni Mitchell and Love Actually (2003), mentions of death and child abuse. John B and JJ are childhood friends in this. I don’t know how to write dialogue. Drug usage (beer, weed).

word count: 6k

author’s note: I was immediately triggered by Joni’s astonishing performance at the Grammy’s and by remembering that the song is in one of my favorite movies. This is my favorite fanfiction I’ve probably ever written and I put so much time and love into this I really hope you like it.

This is a work of fiction. I do not own the characters of Outer Banks nor any characteristic of the show. I am writing this story solely for my own entertainment and the marvel or comfort of any readers.

Rows and flows of angel hair, and ice cream castles in the air; and feather canyons everywhere. I looked at clouds that way. But now they only block the sun, they rain and they snow on everyone; so many things I would have done, but clouds got in my way.

College had finally ended. They had finally done it. Against all odds and contrary to the expectations of others, the pogues were finally free to embark on their own paths. And so, they gathered for one last celebration, a bonfire near the Cat's Ass, surrounded by shotguns, snacks, and reminiscing in the familiar feeling of just being together.

Spreading themselves along the space at the Chateau's yard, most of them ended up divided the comfortable water at the tub and the warmth of the fire, their laughter mingling with the sound of running water as they shared stories of what each of them could remember of their time roaming the Outer Banks as this fearless gang; the sentiment of each flashback was being intensified from the time they spent apart. As they were the pogues, it was not like their time together was abruptly interrupted, but the responsibilities and the minor distance happened during college, and they couldn't run away from it's effects; but the memories of those days seemed tattooed into their hearts and minds as they could recall every moment in lighthearted detail.

In a corner of the Cat's Ass, JJ found himself lost in a sea of memories, surrounded by the comforting embrace of his friends. You sat beside him in the water, the coolness soothing against your skin, while Cleo and Pope nestled comfortably at his other side. Outside, John B, Sarah, and Kie laughed and joked, their voices carrying on the night breeze. As he watched them, a faint, nostalgic smile tugged at the corners of JJ's lips, his heart heavy with the weight of their shared history, thinking back on how far they had come. They had started as a trio—himself and the Routledge twins, bound together by fate and circumstance.

The tree of you lay sprawled out on the sand for what seemed like hours, your eyes tracing the ever-changing shapes that danced across the sky. Castles, pirates, turtles—your imaginations ran wild, weaving tales of adventure and intrigue as you watched the clouds drift lazily overhead. At nine years old, you had joined your brother and JJ just a few moments ago, after spending the afternoon at a friend's house watching a Christmas movie, "Love Actually," with her mother.

As you settled into the sand, JJ couldn't resist a playful jab at the movie, dismissing it as a "dumb chick flick." his mind still floated between that child-like distaste of girls and the appreciation of you tagging along with him and John B back then. You swatted at him, your tiny arms barely reaching his chest, but it only elicited a smirk from the blond pogue. It was nice for you to actually share a moment with a nurturing figure at the absence of your own mom, who had just recently left for Colorado. Besides, you had eaten a whole bag of M&M's that she bought for you to share and you really liked the movie, even if it was funny how sometimes Mia's mom would tell you to close your eyes, your ears, or how sometimes you didnt really catch why she was laughing at some weird scene. You just rolled your eyes and brushed JJ's comment off, suggesting the sky gazing then relishing in the opportunity to spend time with him and your brother.

Your days were often filled with moments like this, carefree and full of laughter, the sound echoing against the backdrop of crashing waves. JJ's mother would eventually come to fetch the three of you, ushering you inside for sweet treats and cozy nights spent squeezed together in JJ's tiny room. Or you'd spend hours playing in the grass, watching as the river met the sea, until Big John's bell rang out, signaling the end of another day. You would get home covered in dirt, JJs hair color nearing yours and your brothers, so you would have a nice shower and come out to your dad telling treasure tales and making you hot chocolate.

One day, as Big John finished building a set of three swings for you, JJ's parents arrived. Standing side by side, the couple had brought beer and peanuts to complement what your dad already had inside for the night. That day, you were playing for hours, your small frame struggling to mount the swing until the duo stepped in to help. John B had made a mess while trying to help you hop on, and  JJ stepped forward to push you, but in excited haste, he pushed too hard, and you tumbled to the ground, scraping your knee. As your first cry pierced the air, the adults rushed to your side, JJ's mother soothing your pain with stinging medicine and comforting words.

In the corner of your eye, you caught sight of JJ, guilt etched on his face as he watched you wince in pain. But your brother nudged him, urging him to shake off his guilt and claiming that this was just a mere blip in the larger scale of the adventure you lived today.

And as the sun began to dip below the horizon, casting a warm golden glow over the beach, Luke took charge, setting a bonfire ablaze near the ancient tree in the backyard. The flames flickered casting shadows that stretched out against the sand. You gathered around the fire, marshmallows in hand to be skewered and toasted, laughter filled the air and echoed into the night. The hours slipped away unnoticed, so as the night wore on and the fire burned low, reluctantly, you bid farewell to your blonde friend as he left with his parents.

The life you lived was simple; living in the less fortunate side of the island, you couldnt really enjoy much more than moments like these; the food wasn't fancy, the drinks weren't expensive, your houses weren't pretty and big, so you relied mostly in home made playthings and your own imagination, but you were happy that way; the youthful innocence made all the diferences between you and the kooks be seen with rose coloured glasses, and while in the company of your brother, your best friend, and the team of parents that you saw as guardian angels, it all just seemed warm. It seemed like it would be fine.

One day, though, just as the sky turns cloudy at the end of summer, signaling the onset of storm season, JJ's demeanor shifted, casting a shadow over his usual brightness. At fourteen now, he had been seeming distant and preoccupied at school for weeks, until one day after class, he reached out to you with a heavy heart. Fidgeting nervously, his hands clammy and cold, he confided in you about his mother's illness, the weight of the words hanging heavy in the air. Knowing how much his mother meant to you both, he sought solace in sharing his burden with you, trusting you with his vulnerability. "Mumma's sick, I think... been in the hospital for a while now," he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. "But I can't visit because I'm not sixteen yet... I- I wanted you to know, but you can't tell John B." And as you hugged him, you promised to keep his secret, the first one you kept just between the two of you.

And as JJ clung to you and John B in the solemn silence of the cemetery, the stark reality of their loss weighed heavily upon you, casting a shadow over your once bright and colorful world.. JJ's mother's absence lingered like a specter in their home, his father grappled with the weight of his grief, seeking solace in alcohol and spiraling into a downward spiral of despair. The once vibrant hues of their family life began to fade, replaced by the darkness of addiction and aggression. JJ watched helplessly as his father's temper flared more frequently, his outbursts leaving scars both physical and emotional. The sanctuary of their home became a battleground, each day a struggle to navigate the minefield of his father's unpredictable moods.

In the aftermath of his mother's passing and the turmoil within his home, JJ withdrew into himself, building walls around his heart that even his closest friends struggled to breach. He became increasingly unreachable, his once vibrant presence dimmed by the weight of his grief and the scars of his father's aggression. Some days, he would disappear altogether, only to reappear with a purple eye hidden beneath dark glasses, a silent testament to the struggles he faced behind closed doors. And when he did show up, his demeanor was somber, his face etched with a perpetual frown as he rejected activities he once enjoyed. Even cloudgazing at the beach became a source of frustration for JJ, as he lamented the impending rain or the end of summer, his words tinged with bitterness and resignation. As you and your brother looked on, helpless in the face of his pain, you could only watch as JJ retreated further into himself, the vibrant colors of his spirit muted by the shadows that engulfed him.

The tension crackled in the air as you confronted JJ, frustration bubbling to the surface like a storm about to break. "Why won't you just watch 'Love Actually' with me, like, once? It'd help distracting you, y'know!?" you demanded, your voice tinged with exasperation. "You can't keep avoiding fun, JJ. You can't lose hope and light just because things are tough."

But JJ's response was sharp, his tone laced with bitterness. "Those things are for kooks, y/n" he retorted, his words heavy with the weight of his pain. "Pogues can't afford to indulge in luxuries like love and hope. We have to focus on surviving you know."

Your heart sank at his words, feeling the distance between you grow with each passing moment. "If you really look for it, JJ," you countered softly, your voice barely above a whisper, "I've got a sneaky feeling that love is all around. Even for us Pogues." But JJ's expression remained hardened, his walls firmly in place as he turned away, the gap between you widening with each step he took.

John B stepped in a while later, his voice calm but firm as he defended his friend. "He's been through a lot," John B interjected, his eyes meeting yours with a mixture of empathy and understanding. "Give him time, he'll come around. I know he will."

But despite John B's reassurances, the weight of your worry and frustration bore down on you like a heavy burden. Unable to contain your emotions any longer, you sought solace in the arms of your father, tears streaming down your cheeks as you poured out your heart. "I didn't mean to be petty," you sobbed, your voice choked with emotion. "But I'm just so worried about how Luke has been treating JJ. I miss him, Dad. I miss the way things used to be." And as your father held you close, comforting whispers soothing your troubled mind, you cried yourself to sleep, longing for the comfort of simpler times and the warmth of JJ's presence by your side.

A few days after the heated exchange, JJ found himself drawn to the familiar solace of the beach. As he laid alone on the sand, the rhythmic sound of the waves echoing in the background, he cast his gaze upward, chuckling at the shifting shapes and colors of the clouds above. Yet, amidst the tranquility of the moment, a pang of longing stirred within him.

Reflecting on recent events, JJ realized that he had begun to see clouds from two distinct perspectives—from the highs and lows of life's tumultuous journey. But amidst the solitude, his mind drifted to an understanding; to how he seemed to have looked at clouds like this from two different perspectives now, from up and down, and still he would recall better colorful and elusive memory of your company. He remembered the joy of pointing out funny shapes at the sky with you and your brother, laughter echoing into the vast expanse. It was a memory painted in hues of warmth that contrasted with the darker shades of recent events. In that fleeting moment of recollection, JJ yearned to return to that moment exactly, to say sorry, at least. And alone at that same beach, he felt like he had a perspective of a future for the first time in a long time. He wanted to see if he truly knew clouds at all, or if there was a new side to it.

JJ was abruptly brought back to reality by Pope's punchline of a memory of his own; he was retelling the story of how he met Cleo at college, and how she wouldn't have passed half her subjects f it wasn't for him. As the group erupted into laughter, he did the same to mask the fact that he had zoned out for a minute, but JJ's gaze instinctively sought yours, his heart yearning for the comfort of your smile. And as his eyes met yours, a warmth spread through him, his thoughts drifting to another memory

Moons and Junes and Ferris wheels; the dizzy dancing way that you feel as every fairy tale comes real. I've looked at love that way. But now it's just another show, and you leave 'em laughing when you go. And if you care, don't let them know, don't give yourself away.

At sixteen years old, you had a full understanding of the dizzying, electric sensation that washed over you whenever JJ emerged from the sea, his board in hand. It was a feeling that stirred deep within you, igniting a spark that refused to be extinguished. Yet, despite the intensity of your emotions, uncertainty plagued your heart. You couldn't decipher JJ's true feelings for you; for every significant gesture or word he offered, there was an equal measure of aloofness or distance.

There were moments when JJ's actions spoke volumes, leaving you breathless with hope and anticipation. But just as quickly, he would retreat into himself, leaving you to question whether his affections were genuine or merely fleeting. And then there were the times when he would disappear into the crowd at a kegger, his attention captured by another girl, leaving you to grapple with the ache of unrequited longing.

Fearing the consequences, you kept your emotions hidden from your brother, John B, despite his keen intuition and suspicions about your lingering glances. Instead, you found solace in the companionship of Pope and Kiara, the only other pogue girl. Your friendship with Kiara blossomed rapidly, providing a safe haven where you could confide in her about everything, including the complexities of your feelings for JJ, seeking her guidance and understanding.

In December of that same year, a vivid memory remains etched in your mind—the day JJ was meant to pick you up from work and take you to the Chateau to meet up with the rest of the crew. Kiara had proposed the idea of a secret Santa, with the stipulation that the gifts could only be candy or chocolate—She herself aiming to guarantee that she'd get a bag or two of Sour Patch Kids. As you exited the souvenir shop, clutching your own "Paradise On Earth" cap, you spotted JJ waiting for you by the Twinkie—the van John B claimed would be safer than the bike. With both hands hidden behind his back, you shot him a questioning look. "Hello?" you greeted tilting your head slightly to the side, to which he responded with a playful smile, feigning surprise at seeing you. "Oh, hello ma'am, your carriage is right here!" he exclaimed, extending his arms towards the open door of the van, one hand tightly clutching something that piqued your curiosity. Hopping onto the Twinkie, you couldn't help but wonder about the mysterious object as JJ closed the door and took his place behind the wheel.

During the ride, JJ attempted to coax the name of your secret Santa out of you, but you remained tight-lipped. Upon parking the van at the Chateau, he sat in silence for a few moments, and you studied him intently. "Oh, before I forget," he said non-chalantly, reaching into his pocket and offering you the object he had been concealing—a ceramic lobster adorned with a tiny Christmas hat, clearly crafted by him. "This is for the nativity scene you keep in your room, I just didn't have time to make the other one..." he explained, a hint of nervousness in his voice as he confessed that he hadn't received your name for the candy exchange but couldn't bear to leave you without a gift.

You stood in awe for a moment, marveling at the thoughtful gesture and the evident reference it held. JJ's apprehension melted away as your eyes met his, a radiant smile spreading across his face. "Wait, wait, wait... Are you trying to tell me that there was more than one lobster at the birth of Jesus?" you quoted, teasingly. JJ rolled his eyes playfully, completing the reference with a loud "duh!" his laughter mingling with yours as you stepped out of the car into the moonlit night, making a lighthearted entrance at the Chateau and eliciting a knowing look from Kiara towards John B.

As time passed, you welcomed Sarah into the fold, introduced by John B with starry-eyed affection that spoke volumes of their budding romance. With the dynamic between her and Kiara settled, John B wasted no time in proudly declaring their relationship to the group—a declaration met with hugs, smiles, and lighthearted jokes about not hurting each other.

One day, Sarah suggested a surf trip to a lesser-known beach nestled between Figure 8 and the Cut, its pristine beauty a sight to behold with crystalline waters and powdery white sand. As you surfed the afternoon away, basking in the warmth of the sun, you found yourself sprawled on the sand along with the rest of the group, supporting yourself on your elbows and catching your breath as you watched JJ roll a joint with practiced ease. "I like this shit," JJ declared, his voice tinged with a hint of defiance. "We can be neglected misfits or whatever, but I love leading this life with you guys. I don't even care about what people think of me! "long as I have a board and you guys, 'm gonna be saying I'm rich... Especially if I have this!" He gestured towards the joint, his words met with cheers from the group.

Your smile started weak but grew as the group cheered. In that moment, you felt a sense of family, and your appreciation for JJ weighed heavily on your chest. Despite the challenges, he had found a way to see life in a positive light, even after Big John went missing. As the wind blew sea salt into your eyes, you turned your face toward JJ. "Yeah, yeah… you know, I keep saying it… but if you really look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling you’ll find that—"

"Y/n, if I hear that quote just one more time!" Sarah interrupted, and the others joined in with her lighthearted protest.

With time, JJ's behavior became increasingly perplexing since after sharing moments like this, he would leave you alone, retreating into the company of the other Pogues with a suddenness that felt jarring and awkward. His focus would shift, his attention consumed by their own banter, leaving you to wonder where you fit into the equation.

It was during these moments of isolation that doubts crept in, whispering of insecurities and unspoken fears that lingered just beneath the surface. Wondering if you did something wrong, you couldn't help but feel a pang of longing as you watched JJ immerse himself in the dynamics of the group, his laughter mingling with theirs as you stood on the sidelines, a silent observer to a world that felt increasingly distant and unfamiliar.

One morning, as you shuffled through the Chateau's corridors, the aroma of breakfast lingering in the air as John B shuffled through the kitchen, you noticed JJ's door ajar. You peeked inside with the intention of wishing him a good morning, only to be met with a sight that shattered your makeshift reality of him. JJ hovered over another girl in his bed, their closeness echoing a betrayal that left you speechless.

"Hey, whoa! Sorry!" His voice softened as he realized it was you, not your brother, at the door. The shock on your face was palpable as you hastily pushed the door closed, shaking your head to dispel the image burned into your mind. Stumbling down the corridor, you muttered a distant "morning" to Kie and Pope, who were still groggy on the couch, woken by the commotion.

Throughout the day, both JJ and yourself moved in a state of flustered avoidance, exchanging glances laden with sheepish guilt. JJ's eyes mirrored the remorse of a caught wrongdoer, but you couldn't summon anger; instead, you carried the weight of hurt and confusion, grappling with the realization that he wasn't yours to claim.

As the day waned and the sun dipped below the horizon, casting a warm glow over the Chateau, you found solace on the hammock. With the remnants of the day lingering, you confided in Sarah about the events, the words tumbling out as the weight on your chest grew heavier. The hammock cradled you in its gentle sway as another day ended, leaving you to confront the tangled emotions that now clouded the once-clear skies of your friendship with JJ.

JJ vividly remembered June of the following year, with your birthday fast approaching. Usually, you wouldn't stop talking about how much you loved having your birthday during the summer, and everyone would plan something special to mark the occasion. Kie and Sarah would always get you fancier gifts, like a new top or necklace, while the boys made sure there was a cake to share, probably under the tree lights at another night spent at the Cat's Ass, chuckling at the stupid name JJ had given to the tub.

But this year was different. You and the girls wouldn't stop talking about this idiotic touron, Jeremy, who had apparently flirted with you when you helped him at the store. Now, your attention seemed solely focused on him, much to JJ's annoyance. He rolled his eyes and huffed aloud whenever Jeremy's name was mentioned, with Pope nudging him to keep his cool.

"He's gonna take me to a summer fair," you grimaced, looking into the mirror as Kiara clasped a necklace around your neck. Sarah and JJ hovered on the kitchen counter, Pope sat on the couch, and your brother leaned against the doorframe of your room with a protective frown on his face. John B always believed you and JJ would end up together, and he felt safe with that perspective because he knew and trusted JJ. But that didn't happen with Jeremy.

Across from him, you, Sarah, and Kie giggled with scenarios and provocations, "What if he brings you a giant teddy bear and tries to win you a goldfish?" Kiara teased, a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

Sarah snickered. "I can already picture it!"

Meanwhile, JJ fought to keep a frown from appearing on his own face. He was unwilling to let you know how he really felt about the situation, and he avoided giving his jealousy away to his friends. As you exited laughing with the guy in his car—a godforsaken Jeep, for crying out loud—JJ was still unknowingly clenching his jaw, his mouth twisted in a disgusted frown.

Sarah, the only one still outside by now, smiled to herself and snuck up on him before reaching a hand to pat his back. The gesture was meant to silently convey far more than his poisoned mind could grasp at the moment.

He chuckled at that memory; you had to endure a girlfriend of his own during college, and he watched as two or three other guys broke your heart as well—he wanted to go out there and punch them every time, but preferred that only John B externalized that thought. From those memories, he realized he had looked at love from both sides of it with you, from give and take, but years later he wasn't so sure if you'd be keen on the idea of him ever again. JJ turned to you in the tub, whispering, "Where's that lobster I gave you that Christmas?" You were a bit taken aback by his sudden recall but smiled back, mimicking the tone of his voice, "Been keeping it on my bookshelf all year long now."

John B and Sarah were now playfully arguing about the two perspectives from when she joined the group, with Kie tagging along to remind them of how they had to make amends beforehand. It made JJ come back fully into the scene. As he looked around, he realized they were sitting in couples, at least Pope and John B, and he held back a nostalgic smirk at the thought of how his younger self would react to both his old friends now "pussy whipped," stuck in relationships and breaking the "no pogue on pogue macking" rule—he didn't know love at all.

He was different too, at least Kiara said so, coming at him a few days ago before graduation with a whole "you've changed, became more yourself and know how to separate what you went through from what you are, I'm so proud you're opening the surf shop—but please make it eco-friendly" speech. It was nice to look back and realize how his years and moments with the Pogue family kept balancing out all the rest. Now he would open a sick surf shop, Poguelandia flag above it and all, right in the corner from the souvenir one you worked since you were fifteen—he didn't know if you had bigger plans than that after graduating though, but that was an uneasy thought he preferred to ignore.

Tears and fears and feeling proud to say, "I love you" right out loud! Dreams and schemes and circus crowds, I've looked at life that way. Oh, but now old friends they're acting strange, and they shake their heads and they tell me that I've changed. Well something's lost, but something's gained, in living every day.

Kiara was the first one to leave, claiming that this was really good and that she knew that with the pogues there were never really goodbyes, but that she had an early morning tomorrow with a sea-turtle project. Then, as the fire died out and the minutes turned into hours, the two couples left as well. Pope and Cleo claimed that they still had to shower before going to bed, and John B only snuggled with Sarah, pushing her towards the house. As the couple giggled, JJ noticed from his peripheral vision when you jiggled your eyebrows at Sarah, but the blonde only winked at you, pointing at the both of you at the tub before turning back. You sighed, distancing yourself from him now that you had more space in the water, and JJ held back a smile as the tree lights illuminated your pink cheeks. At twenty-two, he felt just like a teenager in that moment.

There were a few quiet minutes then, you were looking intently at him, drawing each of his features with your eyes as if trying to tattoo the image of his wet torso on your brain, but JJ didn't notice; he was lost in thought, provoked by being alone with you again. JJ realized that ever since he could remember, even though your brother was his de facto best friend and even as the group grew larger, you were there. For every phase and every belief that each one etched into him, you were there. As he looked at both sides of life, at win and lose, you were right beside him, either winning and losing as well or just supporting him emphatically through it.

Somehow he could always just recall how his pogue life acquired a rose-colored filter with you in it; he'd recall life's illusions with you at his side. You were there. You were it. And he didn't know his next step at all, but he wanted you in it; ached for it even.

He feigned cold as an excuse to get you both out of the tub, grabbing the one towel thrown onto a chair and wrapping it around you as you exited as well. He threw a familiar, amicable smile in your direction to disguise how he was, again, lost in his own train of thought. A hand rested on the small of your back as he led the two of you to the Chateau. As you got to the front porch, the other reached for your pulse gently, trying to stop you from entering. JJ became conscious of how he was dripping onto the wooden porch, but he didn't care, calling you by your nickname in a low voice. He was acting fast, planning something but also acting instinctively, intending to speak just from memory.

"Hey, uhm..." he stopped himself again as your eyes locked onto his, growing a little bit nervous now. Your eyebrows shot up expectantly, and some of your hair was sticking to your wet face. You'd be the death of him.

"With any luck, by next year, I'll be going out with one of these girls..." Your brows pinched, and eyes flashed with recognition as JJ shuffled his phone, some drops falling from his hair onto the screen before he turned it in your direction with a picture of Kendall Jenner and sliding his finger so it would also show one of Giselle Bündchen. You laughed, gulping expectantly.

"But for now, let me say, without hope or agenda, just because we finished college— even though it's at Christmas that you tell the truth." You chuckled again, but felt like you were hyperventilating, unable to believe that this was really happening to you. Much less that JJ Maybank had memorized a scene from the "dumb chick flick" you obsessed with since you were a mere child. You battled with your own feelings as you tried to let him finish.

"To me, you are perfect, and my wasted heart will love you until you look like this..." He shuffled again with the tiny screen, a smirk on his face as he turned it to you. A photo of a very old and wrinkly woman made you chuckle. Under it, it read "former surfer lady turns viral as she advises to the risks of not wearing sunscreen." You couldn't hold the cackle that left you at that, not even worried about the rest of the group sleeping inside the house, which made JJ smile widely as well.

"Oh my God! Oh my God, I love you..." A loud sigh met a sob halfway as you looked up, feeling pounds lighter after saying so naturally something you had been burying for years, feeling absurdly proud of just that. "I love you so much, what the fuck! I've loved you forever." You beamed at him again, relief written all over his face as he said it back proudly. "I'm sorry for the wait; it wasn't on purpose—Swear it." He grabbed both your cheeks as you laughed, smiling from ear to ear as his face etched closer to yours by the second. Your noses were touching already when he whispered in a low tone, "fuck, y/n..." as your mouths glued together longingly.

The world seemed to fade away as your lips met, a rush of warmth spreading through you as if the sun had risen inside your chest. JJ's touch was electric, sending shivers down your spine as his hands cradled your face gently, his fingers tracing the curve of your jawline. Every moment felt like an eternity as you lost yourselves in the kiss, the taste of saltwater, beer and weed mingling with the sweetness of the moment.

For JJ, it was as if everything he had been holding back, every unspoken word and hidden feeling, was finally pouring out into this one embrace. His heart raced in his chest as he kissed you, his mind buzzing with the realization that he had found something truly precious in you. It was a moment of pure, unadulterated bliss, a culmination of years of friendship and longing finally coming to fruition.

As you pulled away, breathless and flushed, JJ's eyes bore into yours, filled with an intensity that took your breath away. In that moment, you knew that nothing would ever be the same again. You had crossed a threshold together, stepping into a new chapter of your lives filled with love, laughter, and the promise of a future together. And as you stood there, wrapped in each other's arms, you knew that this was just what you wanted; like you were made for just that.

"I don't even want to come inside, I don't wanna-" you said, sighing mid chuckle, "don't wanna do anything right now, God, JJ, I'm like in a haze!" He clung to you, chuckling, his hands going to your arms, your neck, your hair—he wanted to touch all of you. "Always have the hammock..." he suggested, and you rushed your way there as if just walking would make you lose any time with him.

After you spent a while staring at the stars in the sky, listening to the chirping of crickets in between small, sloppy kisses, JJ sleepily muttered "I feel like I'm fucking high right now," you both laughed "like I'm floating—life accomplishment kind of thing." you swatted at his chest, lightheartedly telling him to stop being silly before readjusting in the wet towel that served as a blanket for the two of you.

Wrapped in each other's arms, you drifted off to sleep, the sound of the river running to meet the ocean lulling you into a state of contentment. In that moment, nothing else mattered except the warmth of JJ's embrace and the soft rhythm of his breathing. It was a moment of pure bliss, a fleeting glimpse of perfection in an imperfect world.

The warm rays of the morning sun gently kissed the faces of the sleeping pogues as they stirred awake, the sounds of birdsong filling the air. Stretching and yawning, they emerged from their makeshift beds scattered across the Chateau, the pull-out couch and matresses on the floor.

As they gathered outside to clean the space free of empty cans and wrapping paper, rubbing the sleep from their eyes, John B's gaze was the first one to fall upon the sight of JJ and you nestled together in the hammock, still fast asleep. He nudged Sarah first, but soon a collective smile spread across their faces as they exchanged knowing glances, a silent understanding passing between them.

"About time," Pope muttered under his breath, eliciting chuckles from the others.

John B grinned, looking at Sarah. "Looks like our boy finally made his move."

Sarah rolled her eyes playfully. "Took them long enough," she teased, but there was genuine warmth in her voice.

Kiara smirked, crossing her arms, she showed a satisfied facade even though she was jumping inside, bubbling with happiness for the both of you; the sparkle of her eyes being hard to hide. "Well, better late than never, I guess."

With a chorus of laughter and gentle ribbing, the pogues left JJ and you to enjoy your moment together, the feeling was that their little family had just grown a little bit stronger. You had woken up the moment the front door banged back against it's frame as it closed the first time, but feeling JJ's chest under your head, you decided to just keep your eyes closed, fighting a grin to show on your face at your friends' commentaries. You were home. And you only wanted to know life now if it was by JJ's side; especially if he'd be scratching your hair like he was doing just now, half a smile on his lips—"Did I take that long?" he questioned, jokingly.

"A lifetime."

If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love, actually, is all around.

[vampiretendencies]

throw another stone at a glass house

request/summary; your writing literally gives me life. love it sm <3 would you be able to do something where jj and the reader get into an argument at dinner but they have a rule to never go to sleep mad at each other?

pairing; jj maybank x fem!reader

warnings; fluff & angst, maybe a bit suggestive

authors note; love loved writing this anon :,) pls continue to send in requests ! gif creds to owner

His cured blood was boiling— searing even.

Eatery being complacent, fairy bulbs roped neatly and whimsically throughout the establishment. Fake plastic plant leaves braided about the paneled open roof. The trimming on the tables simplistic and clothed white, any other vibrancy would clash with the modern elegance that was being established. Clammer from steel trays and the mouthy Kooks that JJ was rubbing elbows with.

His attire is classy to fit his false image— dapper wrinkle-free black button up: buttons done up until the narrowing of his chest, not too revealing, not too Pogue-like. Arms broad and fibrous, giving quite the show whilst they bulged and unbulged with every movement he made. Grey slacks, steamed specifically for this event, an absolute fool as to not recognizing himself cleaned up so pleasantly.

The amount of meals he missed simply for this one meal, to scrimp and scrape pennies together merely to see a joyous picture-perfect smile planted on your face.

And he hadn’t told you he was doing so, but for about around a month now he’s been saying ‘Got a special night for us in the works baby.’

You knew it was tonight and you knew the address.

It wasn’t a familiar one, no, the both of you, Pogues, and not having heard of such a lavish restaurant. Hell, JJ was even awestruck himself when he stepped foot in the door.

But to him it was showing you a glimpse into the future with him. The life he would scavenge to define, to escape the one he’s living in now.

Full Kook.

But, nevertheless a Pogue at heart.

With that being said, he cannot fathom as to why you wouldn’t be here.

As to why you wouldn’t be here basking in the night, with him.

As to what could possibly be any more revelation, right here.

“Sir, are you ready to order yet?”

The same lanky waiter, with a nasal like voice spoke— and the irritation of it made JJ’s skin crawl. His class bow tie, with upheld posture was something JJ cut his eyes at, interrupting his thoughts as he already done prior.

“I told you no the past three times, didn’t I?”

JJ bit back at the man, partially because he’d been to JJ’s table all those times within the span of twenty minutes, not to mention prior to when he’d arrived two hours ago. The waiters mouth turns up in disgust.

“M’waitin’ for my girl, alright?”

He proceeds to add, confirming again to not come back unless he proclaimed he was ready. A kind way of saying ‘fuck off’.

“We cannot continue to keep holding your table this long, there are other people waiting to eat.”

“I’ll call her.”

The waiter clicks his tongue, spinning on his heels to the rest of his section to serve. And JJ presses your contact in his phone, as he did thirty six calls ago— to be exact.

Pitiful, going straight to voice mail, beating organ falling straight to his half-cut boot clad feet.

Pissed, seeing to it that he should be. All this money, all this devotion, only for it to go to waste due to you not being on time?

JJ would give his soul away not feel this.

On the verge of flipping over this table and making a scene just for shits and giggles, or to cope.

The reason you were late was anonymous to him. A slumber took over you, sleeping in later than usual after work, exhausted in that shared apartment. Forgetting to charge your phone, all events that pushed you farther and farther behind. Remnants leaving you pressed to get ready for the event, all whilst having to catch a ride from Kie.

One would probably wonder why JJ simply didn’t wait for you to get ready and just drive you to the surprise himself. He was too adamant, prying on the idea that, even appearance would be a remembrance factor.

Small heels colliding with cement in a clack sound, digits on the iron knob studying the building once more, to assure yourself this location was right.

Pulled straight out of a dream.

And you prodded on the thought of JJ affording this, the effort that went into it. Wondering why he thought he had to spend so much just on you, yet impressed with your boyfriend— if only you knew the sheer devastation upon him.

The red lacey satin of your dress was enough to turn heads and you did just that, strutting whimsically to the front podium to be sat at the table with JJ. Every Kook eye studied you, but you spotted one head of hair in particular. Sat in a dainty wooden chair that caused his back to be turned to you.

Numerous round tables, purely yearning for just that one.

That one with the unearthly being; light locks dancing over his features, and a jawline fierce enough to cut paper.

The one that’s battling with himself as to wether or not to make a big deal out of this, the moment he saw you next.

Little did he know you were feet away, gawking at him and the entirely ethereal gesture he did for you.

Jesus, he looks so fucking hot.

Dapper.

Heat growing on his neck whilst he feels a shadow standing over him, he continues to play with the given metal utensils in front of him.

Perhaps the knife grazing past his fingertips, would pain much less than the ache of disappointment surging in him.

He almost, turns to face the shadow preparing to tell the waiter off. But as his sense receptors fill with that familiar warm vanilla scent ...

He doesn't.

He doesn't because he knows it's you.

And he's gathering himself for the argument that's about to ensue.

Did JJ want to fuss and fight with you?

Absolutely not, he avoids confrontation at any given moment.

However, he is also human and can only take so much.

Your graceful hand stretches over his flexed back, tensing up at a touch that would normally lull him away into no tomorrow. Blue orbs daggering into your figure overtop his eyelashes, clearing his throat at your presence. Your chair scratched along the patterned wooden floor, a notion JJ always does; pulling your chair out.

This time, you do it with no complaints; declaring to avoid the subject at hand. Acknowledging that you were in deep shit with your lover.

That exact lover teaching you so: deny, deny, deny.

And God, that dress is hugging you so tight his hairs stand up on his neck. Alluring and sensual.

If he wasn't so fucking livid, he'd rile himself up enough to temper delicate, mouth-biting, love marks to your neck.

Over

And over

Again.

Until he got his fill.

You're supposed to be mad at her, JJ thought to himself.

"Hi, J!"

His insides rumbled as if he ate sour food.

But, no food would be eaten tonight.

"Hey."

His tone laced with malice and defeat. The worse kind of greeting, not the usual 'baby' or 'pretty girl' attached to it.

Then you knew were in for it.

"Thank you for tonight, s'so pretty baby."

Reading you, he knew you were probably thinking how he managed to get a table here. But something this polite, it was uncalled for to ask such a question.

"Yeah, it was prettier earlier."

He muttered under his breath, with his face contorting into a frown. Across the table yet so far away, the bright light of the eatery highlighting his cheek bones so handsomely. And you longed for him to be, himself.

"What'd you say?"

His words unclear, he was someone that usually has a voice prominent enough to hear from miles away; so it couldn't have been anything loving.

"Nothin'."

Accent think and harsh, eye contact here and there, though it wasn't anything promising.

"Gonna' have to fix your face J, it might ruin the night."

You gasped out a laugh, but to JJ it wasn't fucking funny.

If he wanted to glower, then he'd do so and he meant it.

How dare you joke about something he busted his ass to do, money that could've been enough to pay the apartments rent that month.

He thought you were being ungrateful and that you didn't appreciate him.

First you were behind time, and now you're laughing in his damn face beating around the obvious bush that was weighing him down.

And he can't help himself.

"No ... you ruined the Goddamn night!" He spat, voice broad and demanding, through grit teeth. Knowing that if he spoke any louder the couple would be asked to leave.

He's disgusted with you for being so careless with his feelings.

A night that was supposed to be filled with desperate, needy touches, and bellies full of the finest food; JJ could find it coming to a halt.

You grew ansty in your seat at his remark, lungs missing air and guilt replaced it.

Remorse entering your features.

Falling apart at the cause of his disfunction being you.

"I didn't mean to, JJ."

You reach for his hand across the table, veins apparent and digits long; in effort to console him for your mishap of being extremely late. And he lets you interlock your finger with his upsettingly, though he waited for that same touch all night; unable to deny any touch from you.

To get his point across, he lets go.

"But, you did."

He corrected you with a tilt of his head, replacing your missing fingers with a comb through his hair.

"I-I overslept after work ... and-"

"That's such bullshit. Do you know how many long hours I worked for tonight? Just for you to not be here?"

The palm of his hand slams against the table, drawing the attention of the couple next to the two. You hurriedly shush him, bringing his anger back down to earth.

"M'trying to say sorry JJ."

Both sets of eyes glare at eachother as if in competition, and JJ's stomach whirls.

"I don't want a sorry, I wanted you to be here."

"Well ... well, I'm here now. We can still order, J."

You try again but ultimately fail.

"M'not sitting here with you and pretending like everything's 'dandy', when you fucked everything up."

His words were cold and emotionless. You search for everything to say, but all that JJ said clarified it for you. Your sullen heart thumped, salty tears brimming at corners of your eyes.

Making you feel small.

Fighting to prevent them, so you didn’t fall apart in the middle of this restaurant.

“C’mon, let’s go.”

He wasn’t cruel, not enough away, to leave you here with no way back to the shared home.

No matter how big the fight or the cause of it, it always left JJ wondering if you still besotted him the way he did you.

He wondered why, altogether going with the fact that nothing was ever permanent in his life,

Did you still crave him— on your lips, in your lungs, and beneath your skin?

One way to describe the ride home was— sickeningly tense.

Amid his rage, his hand clutches the wheel so tight that his knuckles turned white. Stealing glances at you, hoping you didn’t hate him. Neither of them able to etch a sentence, whilst the radio played and you sat turned with your knees to the door staring out of the window.

Oddly close enough to your position now.

On the edge of your side of the bed. Admiring JJ peel off his pants and unbutton his shirt, leaving them aimlessly on the carpeted floor— stripped down to his only boxers.

You’d thought you wouldn’t get much comfort tonight, being that he avoided even still after arriving home. Mustering a ‘gonna’ pick up the kitchen’, knowing full well it was only to an excuse to not be up under you while you both were overstimulated and on edge. Leaving you to get the bed ready and practice your night time routine. That’s why you are in the pajama attire of JJ’s t-shirt, his musk still attached to it.

His flesh on fire, conscious that you were boring at him.

‘When you fucked everything up,’ stung your chest and tainted your mind.

Reflecting, he’d wished he would’ve cut you some slack.

His baby, that he hoped for on nights when he had no one.

He baby, that he hoped for on every shooting star.

His baby, that he hoped for in a crowd of people.

His baby.

There was this rule book.

This rule book, was true and real, and contained all the expectations you and JJ had for eachother being together. It was for numerous reasons to begin with, but a year passed by and another and they fully became implicated.

The rule book was a thin black note book, adorned with two red pairs of lips. One was yours, and one was JJ’s— having put red lipstick on his puckered lips, afterwards staining your entire face with them.

Painting your face with his desire for you.

And still that notebook remains framed in the living room, just above the TV.

Rule #1: Never go to sleep mad at eachother.

It was in big, chunky black letters— JJ wrote it and with every letter he wrote he meant it more. One would think cheating would be at the top of the list— but that wasn’t a worry.

It wasn’t a concern because if JJ could inject you into his veins he would do just that.

And so would you.

Opening up his heart to you was not a thing he’d ever regret doing.

Letting himself become infatuated with you, and letting you treat him the way he deserved to be.

You’d silently prayed that JJ would enforce the rule tonight, seeing as even though you did fuck up, you had reason to be irate as well.

His feet pad against the khaki carpet to switch off the bedroom lights. Miscellaneous TV show, playing whilst it illuminated his appearance. He made a b-line for his side of the bed, queen size engulfing him. And you did the same, twisting to lie in bed next to him, but not right beside him.

Lying the exact same— backs flat against the black silk sheets, duvet pulled up past either arms. Pairs of eyes darting at the the other. Except JJ’s left arm is behind his head, the muscle fissuring with ease as it grooved forward from the small glance you got. His right arm is the one closest to you, flat in the open space between the two.

He doesn’t know what to do.

He doesn’t know how to lay.

He is so use to having skin on skin contact, but now he’s lying alone and deprived of your touch.

And you would initiate but you quiver at being denied again.

“Y’know you can’t go to sleep yet.”

His raspiness booms and echoes off the walls, causing you to jump in the slightest. Still continuing to look forward at the cinema before him, you bore into him with furrowed eyebrows— head turning on the firm pillow.

“How come?”

His insides fluttered at your melodic and rhythmically put together voice.

He’s still scolding to the touch, but realizing his tad of unreasonableness consumes him. Turning to his side, he faces you, an everlasting lump in his throat.

“Rule number one-“

“Never go to bed mad at eachother.”

You finish his sentence, and his mouth is partially open. Heartbeat becoming deathly, hands clammy at him bringing the rule book up. He remembered.

He remembered it all.

“So can we stop being mad?”

He pleads, voice cracking in the slightest.

Giving himself to you in every way possible.

Vulnerability only amendable when he’s near you.

Enchanted and explicitly, letting you suck his soul in.

And he didn’t care.

“I was never mad at you J, you were mad at me.”

Solely, truthful acknowledging that you couldn’t be viled at him chewing you out at dinner. Feeling like you deserved every bit of it.

“I s-shouldnt have said that, baby m’sorry.”

His lone hand encapsules your shoulder, the pet name leaving his mouth smoothly, a part of his everyday vocabulary. You crane your neck to place small pecks to each one of his knuckles, showing each one more attention than the last.

“S’okay, I get it J.”

“Just wanted us to have tonight, for us.”

“I ruined it, I know-“

“Nothing’s ruined … we still have us.”

His head lowers, lips puckering in the faintest way. Softly pressing with yours, all whilst enveloping you closer into his frame. An embrace his sore body hungered for. Tongue delving into your mouth, molding together like puzzle pieces. Angrily kissing to make up for the love lost today, he hummed at the comforting sensation.

“And m’not letting go of that, baby.”

[obxsummer]

Break in the Line // The Pogues

pairing: platonic!pogues x maybank!reader

summary: having the maybank name attached to you was a curse. you've never had to pay for it until a drug dealer decides to take his revenge against your brother and dad out on you.

warnings: physical violence, cursing

navigation 

--

When people heard the name Maybank, it generally didn’t mean anything good. Luke Maybank was a local piece of shit and JJ Maybank did enough to get himself into trouble more often than not. The one time the name meant something good, was when it applied to you. You weren’t your brother and you definitely strayed from your dad at every moment possible. People questioned often how you managed with an out-of-control sibling and a drug addict father, but it never seemed like that for you. Sure, your dad sucked, but JJ never seemed too out of grasp for you. In fact, your brother was one of your best friends, but that didn’t mean you had to act like him or vice versa.

The Pogues looked to you more often than not to keep them from doing something stupid, which happened more than it should. In turn, they tried to keep you from their shenanigans as much as possible. You didn’t mind when they did things that were slightly illegal but at some point, you had enough with the crazy adrenaline and left them to their own devices. 

You weren’t oblivious though, as much as you wish you didn’t know what they got themselves involved in. You knew your dad painted a large target on yours and JJ’s back with the way he acted. Hence, the situation you found yourself in right now.

The day had started off fine. You were hanging out with the Pogues on the boat, happily content with the sun on your skin and the laughter of your friends surrounding you. These were the moments you savoured, when you could just act like kids and not have to stress about life at home or where you would get your next meal. 

“Y/N, heads up!” You barely had time to open your eyes before a beer can was being tossed your way. Cold ice dropped on your skin from the drink as you sat up to shake the cold water away.

“I know you did not just throw my sister a beer, John B.”

You rolled your eyes. “Chill out, JJ.” You glared at him from behind your sunglasses, annoyed with the off and on babying he often treated you with. You guys weren’t too far apart in age but JJ took every opportunity to annoy the shit out of you when he could. 

You’d grown comfortable being around your brother and friends for majority of your life. You had known John B since you were practically born with Pope and Kie close behind. Sarah was the newest addition but the two of you formed a relationship relatively quick. She understood what it was like to be on the shy side and a little more introverted. The others definitely were not in that boat in the slightest.

“Sooo,” Kie pulled the attention back as she sat down from getting her drink. “There’s a kegger tonight and I think it’s pretty much obvious that we should go.”

“I’m down,” John B instantly agreed, lifting his drink in agreement.

Pope shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t have to help Pops at all so count me in.”

“It’s not like I have shit to do so.” JJ turned his hat backwards as he looked over to where you were opening your drink. “Y/N?”

You hummed for a moment in thought. “I don’t know, guys. I might just crash at the Chateau for movie night.” In your defense, you’d spent the entire week with the group nonstop. Minus the few classes you didn’t have with one of them, you’d seen them every day and quite frankly, your social battery was past empty.

“I’m with Y/N,” Sarah raised her hand slightly only to be hit with a groan from her boyfriend. “Seriously, John B. You guys can go and Y/N and I will chill until you get back. It’ll be fine.”

It took a little bit of persuading but eventually, the rest of the gang piled in the Twinkie to head to the kegger while you and Sarah bundled up for a classic movie night. JJ said something about not burning the house down on his way out, to which you flipped him off in return. Sarah managed to find some not-expired popcorn in the cabinet and made it for the two of you before you settled in to watch your film.

“I’m really grateful you’ve been spending time with everyone,” Sarah spoke up about halfway through the movie. I gave her a deadpanned look. She shoved your shoulder lightly in return. “Seriously. I know it’s not really much of your scene but it’s nice to have another person around to buffer the chaos.”

You shook your head. “I definitely had my fair share. I’m just glad you backed me up about staying in tonight. They can go-go-go nonstop and I need a six day recovery inbetween school days.”

Sarah opened her mouth to respond to you but was cut off by a crashing noise coming from outside. The two of you froze, staring at each other in horror for a moment. You waited for a second before moving slowly and opening the patio door, wishing for once JJ was here with his gun. Sarah moved quietly behind you as you stepped down onto the grass.

“Who’s there?” You tried to make your voice seem menacing, to show no fear. You were terrified.

“There she is, there she is.” Your heart dropped at the sight of Barry jumping from around the corner with a clear taste for vengeance in his eyes. “Just the Maybank I was looking for.”

“What do you want, Barry?” You backed up slightly as he neared you. “I don’t have anything to do wit-”

He laughed and rubbed his hands together as he took you in. You felt small in your oversized sweats and a t-shirt that definitely belonged to one of the boys. “See, that’s the thing, princess. You seem to have everything to do with this.”

A harsh slap to your cheek had you cowering back, Sarah gasping out your name as she moved to your side to hold your arm. The two of you weren’t prepared for something like this in the slightest. 

“Your shitty ass father didn’t give me my money, your brother still owes me, and since they seemingly aren’t bothered by it, I’m gonna send them a message instead.”

Barry ripped you out of Sarah’s arms and threw you to the ground before you had a chance to defend yourself. The pain came soon after, moving faster than you could keep up with. Punch after punch becoming numbing. You could vaguely hear Sarah’s shouts to stop but Barry was determined.

A sharp hand around your throat chopped your airflow off before Barry lifted you off the ground and slammed your back against the house. Eyes blurry with tears, you did your best to look him in the eye and act like you weren’t afraid, weren’t fearful that he could easily kill you.

“Sorry to mess up your face, princess. It’s nothing personal,” Barry let out a sick laugh before releasing you to the ground. You could hear the crunch of his footsteps as he ran away. 

“Y/N, Y/N.” Sarah’s hands were shaky as she kneeled next to you. “I-I called John B and JJ, a-and Kie and Pope but nobody’s answering!”

You coughed aggressively once you got air back into your lungs. “Inside,” You choked out as you let Sarah pull you to your feet. A small yelp left your mouth as your left ankle gave out but your friend was quick to step in and help you inside.

Sarah was absolutely panicking as she helped you settle on the pull-out that the two of you had previously occupied for movie night. You hissed as you settled into the mess of pillows and blankets but thanked her regardless.

“You okay? What can I do?” Sarah ran over with a mix of frozen vegetables and ice packs that she could find before she was applying them to your already bruising skin.

“I’m okay,” You mumbled as you accepted a bag of frozen peas for your throbbing black eye. “Did JJ answer yet?”

Sarah took a quick glance at her phone before shaking her head. As much as she wanted to believe you, she could tell you clearly weren’t holding up well. Moving into the bathroom, she found some painkillers and some relatively new first-aid supplies that she figured would help. 

You tried not to panic about what had just happened but in the silence of the room, your mind started wandering. What if Barry found JJ next? Did your dad set the two of you up? Would he come back if this pattern continued? You would do anything for JJ, that much was guaranteed, but you weren’t up for taking shots meant for your father. 

“Whew! That was a good one if I can say so.” JJ’s voice rang through your ears just as Sarah was returning with some meds for you to take. You knew shit would hit the fan the second JJ, John B, and Pope caught sight of you. Sarah offered you a cup of water to take the pills with when the screen door swung open.

“What the fuck?!” Your brother’s yell rattled around the house as soon as he caught sight, causing you to wince at the sharp noise. “What happened?”

“Why are you yell-” John B’s question was cut off as he entered his home to see his girlfriend with various bandages and meds before his eyes drifted to your bruised and battered body. “Okay. What the hell happened?”

You groaned, “Please stop yelling, holy shit.” Kie rushed around the boys to climb on the other side of you. Her hand was gentle as possible as she took the frozen veggies from your hand so they could assess the damage.

“Who did this?” Pope’s question was demanding as he stood behind the other two boys, the three of them radiating enough anger to wipe out the island. 

“Barry,” Sarah answered softly. She and Kie made moves to help you sit up as easily as possible to pull your shirt from your frame, leaving you in a sports bra with more bruises filling into view.

Pope shuffled over next, pushing pillows behind your back so you could lean against them a bit more comfortably. He took some of the supplies from Sarah’s hands and gently applied some Neosporin to the small cut on your cheek from Barry’s rings. 

JJ’s vision was red as he took in the sight of you. He was supposed to stop this from happening, supposed to protect you as your older brother from the shitty people in your life. This was never supposed to happen. “I’m going to fucking kill him. Let’s go, John B.” The threat was real, all of you knew that. Once JJ got in a mindset like this, it was hard to pull him out of it. 

“Jayje.” 

The nickname was quiet coming from you. It was enough to snap him out of his rage for a moment, taking a second to consider his actions before he was replacing Kie’s spot and holding an ice pack against your injuries. He could see the heaviness in your eyes and knew it was taking a toll.

“I know you’re tired, but you have to stay awake.” JJ watched as you took a shaky breath but nodded slightly to him nonetheless. “Tell me what happened.”

Sarah had wrapped herself in John B’s arms, still shaken at the turn of events. “We were just watching the movie and heard this crashing noise from outside, so we went to investigate. Barry showed up right after.”

“Said it was a message to you and Dad,” You finished her story and blinked up at your brother with teary eyes. “I’m scared, J. What if he comes back?”

JJ was fighting every urge to bust through the door and teach the drug dealer exactly who he was messing with. He knew it wasn’t the time or place. “Not gonna happen. Not with me here, okay? I’m sorry, Y/N. I should’ve been here.”

“It’s not your fault. He’s a raging psychopath, can’t exactly predict when he’s coming. Just promise me you won’t do something stupid? Any of you.” Your comment was directed to the three boys, more so John B and JJ knowing they would take off as soon as you fell asleep. 

It took some convincing for everyone to settle down and eventually, the six of you agreed to finish the movie you and Sarah had started hours before but never finished. You had fallen asleep soon after, wrapped in various blankets and tucked in between JJ and Kie as the sound of the TV lulled you into a deep slumber.

JJ was still raging, even if he wouldn’t admit it. He couldn’t stand the thought of someone putting their hands on you in regard to the shitty things he and your dad did. It made him sick to think that you would pay for their mistakes. You, who had absolutely nothing to do with the chaos he put you through.

John B glanced back at your brother, having a sense that he hadn’t let it drop. One look from JJ confirmed the Routledge boy’s suspicion: nobody messed with their baby Pogue and they’d make sure of it.

--

navigation 

[a-aexotic]

hii! could i request a jj x reader angst? possibly cheating whatever is fine with you ❤️

hey love, ofc i can! i hope u enjoy<3

taglist: @eli-yeah @hallecarey1

cw's: angst, cheating, mention of crying

When you had heard about what JJ had done to you behind your back, you couldn't help but feel betrayed. It was the absolute worst thing a partner could do to you.

You felt like a huge chunk of your life had been a complete lie. JJ had been your best friend and now, boyfriend but he just tosses the life you'd built together away just for a quick fuck?

You had been with JJ at his worst moments, held him when he cried, took care of him and took him in when he even his closest friends wouldn't. He knows everything about you and for a time, before this, you thought you knew everything about JJ.

It made you spiral; it made you rethink every single moment of your relationship with JJ. Had you done something wrong? Had you not done your job as his loyal and beloved girlfriend? Was it your fault?

You spent days and days trying to think about what you were going to do. Ignore it and let him take advantage of you or talk to him and ruin your relationship?

The worst part was you had to act like nothing was bothering you, especially with the Pogues. You couldn't tell them what your friend had told you; it'd ruin their relationship with JJ as much as yours. You had to joke around like nothing was wrong, you had to look in JJ's eyes and see them filled with love and adoration but you knew it wasn't real.

When you finally decided to break the ice, to rip off the bandaid, you were more hurt seeing him cry than anything else.

"JJ, I know."

He paused for a second, furrowing his eyebrows.

"I know about the girl."

JJ's faced turned blue had he just seen a ghost. He was silent for a second as tears began to fall from your eyes. His heart broke.

"Was I not enough for you?" You whispered. "Tell me JJ, was it me?"

He shook his head, his body beginning to tremble. "N-No, of course not. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me-"

"Then why'd you do it?"

He was silent, his eyes beginning to water as he watched tears fall from yours. "I-I don't know."

"That's the best answer you got?"

He began to cry, putting his hands on his face. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry isn't enough, JJ."

He broke your heart and you managed to shatter his. Cheating was a nonnegotiable for you. Loyalty was the most important part of a relationship, if was unsatisfied then he should've spoken up.

JJ was the most important person in your life and it was never going to be the same without him in it, but it didn't matter. Someone who loved and respects you wouldn't do what he did.

[futuremrscameron]

luke being mean to these babies i’ll kill him