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plutotcles · 1 year

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BITTERLY, JOSEPHINE SHOUPE ━━━ JJ Maybank.

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PAIRING, JJ Maybank x Josephine "Josie" Shoupe (OC)

CHAPTER SUMMARY, Feeling lonely at a kegger, Josephine indulges into one of her worst habits but luckily for her, someone is always there to pick up the pieces in the morning.

WARNINGS, Some heavy drug abuse, allusions to sex and some hints at suicide ideation

Josephine Shoupe was no stranger to death and destruction. It was the thing that made her sleep at night, the song of death lulled her to sleep as the high of the pills soothed the everlasting low of her thoughts. She buried herself in day-long parties with meaningless hookups and drugs she didn't even know the name of, wrapped herself in a blanket of blissful ignorance and died every night all over again on the floor of her room, still dressed in tull and silk, skin sweaty and vomit in her hair—In an odd way, this is where she felt safest. With the lights dimmed and her rawest self for anyone, who was brave enough to tear down the walls that caged her heart and memories and tears, out on display.

The drugs were her asylum, her ivory tower. They were her lighthouse, the same way JJ Maybank was her siren.

JJ sang his siren-song, as he stumbled into history class, fashionably late, smelling off of weed and the sea with a laugh and the deathly call for an adventure and safety. That was, to Josephine Shoupe, what described JJ Maybank best—He was her safety line and her destruction all in one.

He was the one who did not tear down her walls, but climbed them up—He was the one who held her while she wept and watched her as she roared. And perhaps that was what made him seem so dangerous to her: He saw her at her lowest and did not leave, offered her safety at a point where everyone else abandoned her to fend herself, but to Josie that was not protection; that was a danger.

To be vulnerable to someone was not being strong, it was being weak. To kiss JJ Maybank under a lonesome star was not love, it was her slaughter house.

Josie's father—the great sheriff Victor Shoupe—had always tried to warn her, to keep her away from the scary, scary Pogue boys like JJ Maybank and John B Routledge but with one leg in the Pogue life and one leg in the Kook life Josie was confident she had chosen her family just right in the Pogues. Besides, when had Josie ever listened to her father.

JJ's heart was in the right place, Josie was sure, as was hers. They were two kids, left behind by the world—abandoned, neglected, you name it, they did not know what it was to be truly loved but they did their best. They had each other and if that was not enough, what could be?

"Are you okay?", a familiar voice broke her out of her thoughts, John B pushing a dripping beer right into her face.

Josie turned to face him with a crooked smile, taking the can with a feigned sigh, "Of course I am."

"Now, now, now", John B chastised, pushing her softly so he could sit next to her, "I got you the last cold beer so you better talk or I'm gonna take it back and drink it all on my own."

If there was one person Josie would trust with her life it was John B Routledge. He had been the first person to ever offer Josephine tenderness after her mother had left her all those years ago—He had been the one to save her life in more ways that he knew, the one who had showed up at her house just moments before she was about to end it all because he had a feeling she needed him. John B Routledge, and Josie was convinced of that, was her soulmate and still she felt like she could not talk to him about everything that happened.

Over the past months—ever since shit hit the fan—she had pushed her friends, especially the two J's of the group further and further away from her. In a way it felt solacing to know that she was protecting them from the horror that was her head, still sometimes she longed for just an ounce of comfort. That was typically when her head was up in the clouds and JJ Maybank came into the picture like something brough him to her whenever she needed him.

Josie sighed once again, leaning her head against John B's shoulder, "Seriously, B, I'm okay. Just very tired, dad was screaming at me the entire night."

It was no secret around the island that Victor and Josephine Shoupe did not get along—They used to, years and years ago when Josie was still a little girl with toothy grin and pigtails and Miranda Shoupe was more than just a vague memory of a woman leaving. Now they could not be more different. Josephine sometimes wondered where exactly they went wrong—if she had lost her father the same day her mother had turned her back on them or if her father had lost her the day John B Routledge and JJ Maybank had tripped their way straight into her life and heart. No matter when, no matter if it was a slow process or happened over night, it was too late to turn back now. Screaming matches, threats and lies that could not be taken back had brough them further away from each other until the only thing that connected to them was blood and the same last name.

"Why? What is he mad about now?", John B scoffed, raising one eyebrow in anticipation.

Josie shrugged, "I think it was because someone—and I'm not gonna say that it was JJ but it sure as hell sounds like JJ, made fun of him at work yesterday."

John B chuckled slightly, glancing over to where JJ was actively flirting with a touron that had gotten lost at their kegger, "That sure sounds like him."

"You know," John B continued, putting one arm around her shoulder, "I'm always here for you, right? You can always come to the Chateau if the big sheriff gets a bit too much to deal with." Or your head, he wanted to say but found his throat closing up on him. He had already lost his father, he couldn't bear to even imagine losing his little sister too—so instead he ignored the obvious and pretended like she was still little, old Josephine Shoupe.

"I love you," she muttered in response, laughing as she spotted John B's flirt of the night heading their way, obviously intoxicated, "Now get your girl for the night before she has my head for flirting with her man.", she chuckled, slightly nudging him in the direction of the touron.

John B groaned but stood up nevertheless, squeezing her shoulder one last time. Josie watched with a sense of grief as John B took the girl by the arm, JJ snogged with his touron for the evening and Kie and Pope were both deep in conversation with their own people. Josie pushed one of her hands into the pocket of her pants with a sigh—like muscle memory she fished for the little plastic bags with pills, all fresh and new from the morning. Pushing them into the palm of her hand with delicate fingers, carefully weighing them in.

That morning when she had knocked at Miles's door—the only one brave enough to sell drugs to the sheriff's daughter—his immediate reaction was to frown, You know satisfied customer, good customer but this is the fifth time this week that you're here, Jojo, you sure you're okay? he had asked, one eyebrow raised in true Miles March style.

Josie had met Miles about a year ago, three months before John B's dad had went missing and things officially went to shit. Over the twelve months the two had spend a lot of time together, getting high, cuddling, caring for each other—still, Josie had made it a great deal to keep him as far away from her friends as possible.

Of course I am, she had replied, the words rolling off her tongue easily but Miles didn't seem convinced, I've seen you high off your ass, Jojo, you are not okay and if this is getting out of hand, I am going to pay your friends a visit from one concerned friend. To see him so worked up over a issue that was soley hers felt almost menacing, like he was intruding into a life that was not his to invade but Josie knew he meant no harm, if anything he was looking out for someone along the lines of a friend—she kept persistent still and left immediately after she got the little plastic bag.

Josephine Shoupe, and she knew that much, was not one to get good grades, go to bed at ten and stay clean. She liked to believe she was—She liked to believe she was some kind of heaven sent angel who could do no wrong if only just to please her father but the Josie she had grown to be was far off from that—and so she caved in and knocked four pills at once back.

The hours after that went by in a blur and by the time Josie came to her senses, she was tangled up in her bedsheets at her home, sweaty body sticking to a naked sleeping Pogue, she recognised from school. Josie groaned as the full force of last night hit her like a brick, her head pounding and bile rising in her throat, "Oh fuck"

The Pogue—Amanda Witich, the Cut's newest edition—woke up with a groan, "What time is it?", she rasped, opening one eye to look at Josie.

"Almost noon", Josie muttered. She was vaguely aware of her father's footsteps walking down the hall, humming some country song that she never heard before—It was his day off, his first in many, many weeks and Josie felt her stomach churned at the mere idea of spending the entire day in the same house as him.

Amanda hummed in response and sat up, awkwardly searching the room for her clothes, "I'll think I'll head out then. Can I leave through the front door or should I use the easy way out?", she asked, tilting her head towards the open window.

Josie thought about it for a moment, groaning as her headache only got more prominent. Her father was usually gone or fast asleep during moments like this but then, he was no idiot and probably very aware of what his daughter was up to every night, "Just use the front door, I don't give a fuck.", she muttered exhausted. Her head hit the pillow again and she turned away from Amanda, eyes already closed again and half asleep. She didn't care, truly, she wasn't meant for long term relationships anyway. She fell asleep before Amanda had even left.

When Josie woke up next the sun was long gone, there was a persistent knock on her door and a warm body cuddled against her—Josie didn't need to turn around to know it was JJ. His touch always felt different, their bodies melting against each other like being close was the only thing that made sense to them.

"Josephine", her father's voice came through the door as he fumbled with the handle. He opened the door slightly, just enough for his voice to travel clearly through and to flood the corner of her room with the bright light coming from the hallway, "If you're home, the station called, they need me. I'm leaving now. There's some left over lasagna in the fridge if you're hungry.", he waited for a moment but Josie stayed silent and so with a last frustrated sigh he closed the door again, his footsteps quickly leaving.

Josie could feel the familiar tug at her heart whenever her father spoke to her but before she could let herself break, JJ had already pulled her even further against him, pressing a tender kiss to her head, "Sleep.", he whispered.

Her heart softened ever so slightly at his tired voice. JJ's here, she reminded herself, He'll keep the bad thoughts away. But could he really?

#jj maybank x reader #jj maybank #obx fic #obx x reader #outer banks x reader #outer banks fanfiction #outer banks #victor shoupe #deputy shoupe #obx fanfic #john b x reader #john b routledge #pope heyward #kiara carrera #netflix

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plutotcles · 1 year

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I DID IT, DAD, ARE YOU PROUD? ━━━ Jake Seresin.

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PAIRING, Jake "Hangman" Seresin x Malorie "Raven" Bradshaw (OC)

CHAPTER SUMMARY, Malorie knows that her graduation from Top Gun is something that she should look forward to, however knowing that no one would be there for her put a damper on that.

WARNINGS, past abusive relationship!, mentions of drinking, death, absent family and family issues

The day of your graduation was one of the happiest moments in the career of every Top Gun student. — The moment that all the hard work, every restless hour spend sweating into the uncomfortable material of a flight suit and the days and weeks wasted on sea, away from the ones that loved you finally paid off. The best of the best, the elite... there were many words for what they had accomplished but none could compensate for the feeling of standing on the podium, knowing that this was your moment.

As the day of her own graduation arrived on a sunny Friday evening with just the right temperature to be in a stiff uniform, Malorie did not the share excitement that made most of her classmates grin widley and roam around the base as if they were floating. Instead she was nothing but a miserable face, watching her classmate embraced her mother with an aching heart and a grip to her dogtags, her callsign Raven, a homage to her dad's call sign Goose, daintly engraved in them.

Growing up Malorie had always envied the little girls with their fathers, perhaps that was why she barely visited her godfather Ice as time moved forward, the sight of him with his daughters leaving a bitter taste.

Nick Bradshaw had died, years and years ago in an accident. He had been a Top Gun student just like Malorie was — He too had found comfort thousand feet up in the air, G-forces pushing your body in your seat, your vision tunneling, seconds from passing out — Her father had found his life and purpose in a F-14. He also lost it in a F-14.

It had been supposed to be just a training session just like every other day when the plane got caught up in turbulence and came plunging to the ground. When ejecting her father had hit his head on the canopy and had died moments later from the consequences in the arms of his best friend and pilot Pete "Maverick" Mitchell. When his body had been retrieved after the accident they had found two pictures in the inside of his flight suit: a picture of a one year old Bradley wrapped up in his mother Carole's arms and the first ultrasound picture that had been taken of Malorie.

For the years following that it had been Malorie, Bradley and Carole against the world. Pete and his Wingman Tom "Iceman" Kazansky had swooped in to help immediately but no one could ever replace the man that was Nick Bradshaw.

Years later when the grief had settled and the emptiness in the heart was nothing but a subtle ache that followed one everywhere life had finally started to feel like it was alright and the Bradshaw family was finally content again. Until they weren't anymore.

It had come so quick and unexpected, Malorie hadn't even realized what was happening until it was almost over — One day her mother was dancing around the kitchen in a summer dress, giggling and singing and the next she was in a hospital bed, the life nearly entirely drained from her face as he watched her kids with a ghost of a grin, "I love you so much, my babies. I would never leave you.", she had said and Malorie had believed her.

Her mother died the morning after, one hand grasping Malorie's and the other one ruffling Bradley's hair.

It was then that shit truly went down.

For a brief few years Bradley and Malorie, 15 and 13 of age by the time their mother had been buried, had lived with Mav — It had been a chaotic few years. Malorie loved Mav. He was the closest thing to a father, she ever had but he was not cut out to be a family person. He wasn't suited to stay at home and cook at least one meal a day.

When Bradley was 17 he decided to follow their father's footsteps and enter the Naval Academy — He had been overjoyed and even promised to take her for a joyride one day but his excitement was shortlived when he got the call that his papers had been pulled by none other than Maverick.

Malorie didn't even process what was happening, all she knew was that Bradley had left over night and wasn't returning her calls anymore. Another person had left her.

The last remaining piece of family she had was Pete then and when the final moment came for him to leave to, Malorie was already predicting it. She had come so accustomed to people leaving, she didn't even bat an eyelid when he pulled her papers too and she came home that night to the house empty and the few things that solely belonged to Mav gone — He had called her that evening but she hadn't picked up.

She was on her own.

Over the years, Malorie had still stayed in contact with Ice and even visited from time to time, especially when she had entered the Academy in 2008 and Ice had just risen to Rear Admiral. He was the reason, why she had showed up to her graduation in the first place.

As Malorie made her way around the place, she could already see her uncle near the podium alongside the other admirals. He stood proud and tall, stoic as his call sign suggested but Malorie knew the man that stood beneath that cold exterior. He smiled warmly as she spotted her amongst the crowd, waving her over.

"Uncle Ice!", she greeted him, sighing as he gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze. He didn't blame her — To Ice there had been nothing better than his graduation from Top Gun, he had spend all day basking in the attention he was getting but Malorie had gone through too much for that.

"Hello darling," he beamed, pulling her into a sweet hug, "How are you holding up?"

"I'm getting by.", Malorie muttered and Ice watched with a heavy heart as her eyes darted around the crowd, hastily searching for someone, "He is not coming, is he?"

He lowered his head, "I don't think so."

Her shoulders slumped but she knew it was her fault for thinking her brother would show up in the first place. Malorie wasn't even sure if he knew that she had followed his example and had joined the Navy.

When Malorie had enlisted in the Academy in 2008, her brother had just entered his last year — Malorie had known that he was there, that she would inevitably one day run into him, still when the moment had come her inital reaction had been to bolt but Bradley hadn't even acknowledged her. He had walked straight past her, not even gifting her the relief of a last glance. Looking back now, Malorie wasn't sure if it was because he had simply deemed her as not his burden anymore or if he genuinely hadn't realized who he had bumped into.

After that incident, Malorie had decided to stay as far away from her brother as possible but that didn't mean that some part of her — The seventeen year old girl that had been left and abandoned to fend for herself all those years ago wished for him to come back and tell her he is proud of her.

"I'm sorry.", Ice muttered, taking her hand in his for a brief moment of comfort, "I know it's not much but I'm proud of you and god knows your dad would be too.", with one hand he brushed the multiple medals that graced her chest, smiling fondly.

Malorie felt her eyes well up with tears. She wished she had met her father.

"Now go and make some acquaintances. Can't have you rely on me for dating advice forever.", he grinned, although his face fell as he broke into a coughing fit.

Malorie frowned, "Are you okay?"

Ice wheezed painfully but nodded, "I've been having this sore throat for a few weeks now but I'm gonna be fine," he relented when he saw her face twist with worry, "Probably just a cough."

Malorie nodded but her frown stayed persistent.

"Go!", he stressed pointedly with a swift motion of his hand. Malorie rolled her eyes but complied.

The ceremony had wrapped up well over an hour ago but the place was still lively with friends and family celebrating all around. Malorie felt herself become frustrated — The chatter and laughing gave her a pounding headache and her body yearned for a strong drink and a cigarette.

She knew she should be packing. Tomorrow she would be reporting to deployment first thing in the morning but that was tomorrow and tonight she could still live.

Just as she was about to leave for her car, a warm hand grasped her arm, not painfully tight but tight enought to make her halt in her movement, "What? You wanna leave without saying hello?", a familiar voice teased.

Malorie's head snapped around to face him with a genuine grin, "Jake!"

Jake Seresin had been in her brother's graduation class — His reputation hurried ahead of him and Malorie had originally made it her mission to keep away from him. She heard the stories — Hangman, they had called him and Jake prided himself with his call sign. He basked in the pleasure of leaving people to hang out to dry for just a slight moment of glory just to himself. Jake Seresin had been everything Malorie was afraid of becoming but that was before, when all she had of Jake were whispers in the halls and brief moments during training.

But things had changed — Jake had changed. At least in Malorie's eyes.

Malorie remembered the night vividly — the dimly lit hall, the sound of pounding footsteps running down the hall, the face of her boyfriend distorted in fury.

Malorie had been in love once. The relationship had started of tender and sweet and she had once even thought that they would last forever. However her carefully build up paradise had crumbled down slowly and tediously just three years later. Malorie had noticed the change in him quite early on — The way he would pry more every night about the people she talked with that day, the way his grip tightened on her ever so slightly whenever she talked with another guy, just tight enough for it feel uncomfortable but not enough to hurt. It was all so painfully oblivious and still when it came down to that very night in the Academy Malorie felt like she walked straight into a wall with no warning.

Her boyfriend had laid his hand on her more than once in their relationship, he had always made it up in the morning with breakfast in bed and a bouquet of her favorite flowers but that could never take back the bruises and the scars and the mornings spend in the bathroom, trying to cover it up. Over the months it had gotten worse and worse and when the time came around for Malorie to leave for the Naval Academy, her boyfriend had reached his breakdown. The thought of Malorie being constantly surrounded by men who were all trained and confident with him being thousand miles away was enough for him to go absolutely crazy.

Every day after school Malorie would open up her phone to hundreds of missed calls and angry messages. She tried to reason with him every day that she was there to focus on her career and that he was the only one she would ever love but to no avail.

Malorie had never expected him to actually show up at the Academy, rapping against her door in the middle of the night. But he was there. Malorie remember stepping inside the hallway with him but she had barely closed the door behind her when he already pounced at her with his fists.

This is how I die, Malorie had thought in that moment — and she had felt at peace with it.

But her boyfriend couldn't even get many hits in when suddenly there were rapid footsteps racing down the hallway and he had been ripped away from her — Jake Seresin, her savior in uniform.

Now he was here, once again a shine of light in a world of darkness. The one to show up when no one else did.

"Raven!", he smiled, pulling her in a tight hug, "I am so proud of you! Man, watching you up there had me almost emotional."

Malorie frowned at his words but melted into his embrace nevertheless, "What are you doing here? Were you that bad that they only let you graduate now?"

"Please", Jake scoffed, detaching himself from her but still keeping a comforting hand on her back, "I'm here for you, you dummy. Need to make sure everyone knows my favorite girl is a badass pilot."

"Your favorite girl, hm?", Malorie hummed, leaning her head against his arm, "Well your favorite girl was just about to get the fuck out of here and get herself a drink."

Jake grinned, showing off a row of perfect teeth, "Now we're talking.", he feigned a bow, extending one arm towards the parking lot, "After you, madame."

Malorie's car — a red Pontiac GTO with white vinyl upholstery was her pride and joy. She had bought it all the way back in 2006 after she had saved up every paycheck she got since her 16th birthday for it. It had been with her through everything: Moving out of her childhood home into her first apartment, moving in with her boyfriend, the Naval Academy. It worked like that too. The car itself was from 1964 but had been remodeled to have an upgraded engine, factory AC and a MP3 radio upgrade just before Malorie bought it. The air conditioning had stopped working in 2010 mid-drive and when you wanted to play a song the only sound that came out of the speakers was rustling and murmuring, it smelled like wine and cigarettes in it but nevertheless Malorie would never sell it even if it was the last thing she would do.

"Your car is still driveable?", Jake exclaimed in disbelief as his eyes fell on the red Pontiac sitting in between a Jeep and an Audi, both obviously a recent purchase, like an outcast.

Malorie nodded proudly, absentmindedly brushing the hood of her car. Jake watched her every movement, his always so cocky, confident exterior melting every so slightly at the girl he had grown so fond of.

"C'mon", he muttered, snapping himself out of his daze, "I'll drive — I think you need that drink more than me."

The bar they went to was stationed right at the beach, it was run down and stiffy but the prices were cheap and the drinks strong so it was a popular choice amongst the Top Gun students. Jake and Malorie sat down in a booth next to the window and immediately ordered a beer each.

"So, Hangman", Malorie started as they were settled, "Aren't you supposed to be in like... Cuba?"

"Spain, actually," he corrected, clearing his throat, "I'm on leave right now. I came home yesterday."

Malorie halted in her movement, "You came home yesterday? What are you doing spending your time in this filthy bar instead of with your family?"

"Wanted to be here for you, 's all.", he murmured under his breath, taking a big swing from his beer, "Had to pull a few strings but I'm here, aren't I?", he stopped, starring at his beer intensely.

"But... why?", Malorie stressed, leaning slightly forward to have a better look at his expression.

Jake visibly hesitated for a moment before he too leaned forward, swallowing deeply, "Your my favorite friend, Mal. I didn't want you to be alone for your big day."

Malorie felt her heart swell at his words — He had driven all this way just for her? Her own brother hadn't even texted her in years and here Jake was trading precious hours with his family solely so that Malorie had someone there for her graduation, "Jake Seresin, you fucker, you're gonna make me cry.", she giggled, bringing the one hand that wasn't occupied to where her heart sat. It thumbed rapidly against her rip cage under her fingertips and Malorie swore it would leap straight out of her chest if Jake continued to look at her with so much care and love.

After that particular night in 2008 Jake and Malorie had spend more and more days and nights together and even after Jake's graduation they had still talked and texted almost everyday. At first it had felt unfamiliar and menacing to have someone love and care for you so deeply after being abandoned on the side by so many. Malorie remembered waking up every morning thinking that that would be the day that Jake finally left her too — But that day never came. Even almost four years and thousand miles later Jake was still there, going above and beyond for her.

"Don't flatter yourself, Raven.", Jake teased, retrieving his hand and Malorie couldn't help but scoff: That was the Hangman, everyone knew.

They stayed in that bar for another three hours, talking and drinking the night away. Malorie knew that things would change when the morning came and she would leave for deployment but for now she could stay in this moment forever — When it was just her and Jake and when for a moment, she found where she belonged.

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