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driversatellite · 11 months

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cruel summer | r.c | part one

synopsis: after she had been left heartbroken by jj maybank, y/n had felt herself feeling withdrawn from everything around her, it seemed that nothing could make her feel better, except for maybe her best friend sarah’s older brother, rafe cameron. the two had a rivalry that began before either of them could remember but after her heart was broken y/n found herself enjoying rafe’s presence more and more, maybe he wasn’t who she thought he was.

rafe cameron x desi!reader

part one: cried like a baby coming home from the bar

word count: 4.2k

a/n: hi everyone!!! sorry for being so mia, i’ve lowkey been going through it, but it’s okay! anyways i know i said that i had another harry series coming, but i’m kinda in a writing slump for that especially cause it’s so school based and i’m in a very summery mood right now, and this idea was kinda birthed because of that, but don’t worry, i’ll get that series out soon, but while you wait for that, i hope you enjoy this one, it’s got a few of my fav tropes and i’ve had a lot fun writing it, i’ll try to get this one out on a schedule, but life happens so no promises about that! but i hope you all enjoy! as always endless love to you all <3!! (also omg new olivia rodrigo music, i’m so excited!!!)

series masterlist | main masterlist | next part

It was a typical Friday night for the teens who lived on Kildare island. This night was especially special because it was the first official boneyard party of the summer and everyone was ready to really let loose after how tough their school year had been. Y/N showed up to the party a few shots in, her arm hooked around her best friend Sarah’s. She was a giggling mess as Sarah dragged her to where the pogues sat. Once she spotted JJ sitting on the log Y/N quickly slipped her arm out of Sarah’s and headed toward her boyfriend, greeting him with a sloppy kiss on his cheek.

JJ looked at his girlfriend in confusion, “Did you pregame?”

Y/N giggled and nodded, “Sar and I wanted a little something before.”

JJ just nodded and didn’t say anything more, tuning back into the conversation that the rest of the pogues were having. That was pretty unusual for him, typically he’d ask about Y/N’s day and she wanted to walk closer to the water so they could talk more, but that night he barely greeted her and didn’t even ask how she was.

She let out a small hmph and looked over to her side where Kiara was sat, “Want to get a drink?”

Kiara nodded and grinned and the two girls got up and started towards where the drinks were, Y/N turned around and saw that JJ hadn’t done anything to acknowledge that she was leaving and she let out another huff, Kiara looked at the girl with a knowing look.

“What’s up with you?” Kiara questioned as the girls got farther from where the pogues were and closer to the drinks.

Y/N sighed and shook her head, “It’s nothing, I’m probably just being dramatic.”

Kiara nudged the girl affectionately, “I’m sure you’re not being dramatic.”

“Well JJ’s acting weird, I don’t know what’s up with him. Has he been acting weird around you too?” Y/N asked.

Kiara shook her head, “I don’t think so, he hasn’t been as talkative, but nothing else seems off.”

Y/N sighed, “I don’t know, it’s just weird. Like this is going to be our last carefree summer and I just wanted to let loose and enjoy it, like I worked so hard during high school and now I can finally breathe before college and it just seems like he doesn’t like me letting loose.”

Kiara nodded along, “Yeah, him asking about you pregaming was weird, acting like he doesn’t pregame before every single party.”

“Will you talk to him for me? Or maybe I could get one of the guys to, I just want to know what’s wrong, if I did something or if it’s something else.” Y/N rambled.

“You’re stressing out about this too much Y/N, it’s the beginning of summer, we can’t have any negative thoughts weighing us down tonight.” Kiara said as she handed Y/N a red solo cup, “Now drink up, so we can have fun.”

Y/N took the cup and didn’t think twice as she downed as Kiara cheered, “Give me another one, I’m gonna need it to let loose tonight.”

Kiara just laughed but obliged and handed Y/N another drink before the girls headed to where John B and Sarah were dancing. They joined their friends and Y/N felt her stress slowly leave, Kiara was right, tonight was not the night to have any negative thoughts, she just wanted to let loose.

The girls had been dancing for a while before Sarah pulled Kiara and Y/N with her to grab some more drinks and some fresh air.

“God, I needed this.” Sarah said as she took a sip of beer. Kiara and Y/N nodded along as they too took sips of their new beverages.

“I’m gonna go find Jayj, I’ll find you guys later kay?” Y/N said as she looked around the beach, it had been awhile since she had seen him and wanted to check in. Kiara and Sarah nodded and Y/N was off to where the pogues were previously sat, she spotted JJ’s familiar mop of blond hair sitting on a log, along with some other pogues that she had met, but couldn’t remember their names.

As Y/N neared the group, she could make out what JJ was saying, “I don’t know, it’s just weird, with college and all, I don’t know what to do.” Her brows scrunched in confusion at JJ’s words but she didn’t pay much mind to them as she leaned down and wrapped her arms around his shoulders from behind. JJ nearly jumped at the feeling of arms around him, but slightly relaxed once he spotted Y/N’s perfectly manicured and bracelet adorned hand.

“Come dance with me Jayj, you’ve been sitting here the entire time.” Y/N whined.

“Babe, I'm in the middle of a conversation.” JJ said

She rolled her eyes, “You can finish it later, come dance with me.”

JJ let out a huff but got up and Y/N grinned as she slipped her hand into his and tugged him along to where she had left the rest of their friends.

“Why are you being like this?” JJ asked and Y/N halted and turned to him in confusion.

“Being like what?” Y/N questioned.

JJ shrugged, “I don’t know, all giggly and drunk, it’s not like you.”

“Well, I graduated as valedictorian, I think I’m allowed to get drunk and celebrate that.” Y/N snapped and JJ rolled his eyes and she scoffed at him, “Do you have a problem with it?”

“No, it’s just weird. It’s not like you. Are you gonna be like this in college?” JJ asked.

“Why do you care?” She asked.

“Well I want to know if you’re gonna go get wasted every week when you’re across the country.” JJ said.

“You do it.” She challenged.

JJ sighed, “Yeah, but that’s different.”

Y/N’s eyes narrowed, “How is it different? Why am I not allowed to have fun?”

“I never said that.” JJ grumbled.

“Well you implied it.” She retorted.

JJ rolled his eyes, “Can we not fight? You’re being unreasonable about this.”

She scoffed again and then pointed to herself, “I’m being unreasonable?” She then pointed to JJ with a frown on her face, “You’re being an asshole JJ. You’ve been an asshole for a while, but I haven’t said anything to you about it.”

“I’m being an asshole? How am I being an asshole?” JJ questioned as he crossed his arms against his chest.

“Where do I even start? First, we haven’t been on a date in weeks, you’re always busy whenever I ask. You’re also questioning my every move, you don’t control me. You’ve been super moody and today you didn’t even greet me properly.” She ranted.

All JJ could do was scoff and roll his eyes, “I told you, I’m busy. I have work, I’m not some kook who’s going to college and getting their entire future paid for, I actually have to work and I’m in the wrong for asking what you’re doing, you’re always complaining about how I don’t seem to care enough, isn’t me asking you caring? So what if I’m moody, some days you’re a bitch, but you don’t see me telling you that.”

“I’m being bitch?” She snapped.

“That’s all you took from that?” JJ asked.

She just shook her head in disbelief, “Do you have a problem with me going to college JJ? Cause I want to know, you’ve only started acting like this since I committed to Cal. I know it’s across the country and it’ll be hard, but we can do it, if we try.”

“That’s what they all say.” JJ mumbled.

“You don’t think we’ll make it through college?” She questioned.

“Look at us Y/N, we’re not supposed to be together, you’re a kook and you’ve got your whole life planned out and paid for you, you don’t know what it’s like to work for a living.” JJ snapped.

“I might not understand what you’ve had to go through JJ, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t had any hardships.” She said.

“Right, I forgot, your mom got you the wrong colored Prada bag.” JJ snarkily replied.

Y/N frowned, “You’re being mean JJ.”

“I think we should call it.” JJ murmured and Y/N held her breath.

“What?” She whispered.

“We should call it, we won’t be happy if we keep doing this.” JJ said.

“You want to break up?” She whimpered. JJ couldn’t even give her the decency of eye contact, he was looking everywhere but her.

“It’s for the best.” JJ said.

“What about the past 2 and half years?” Y/N asked.

JJ shrugged, “It was fun, but I just don’t think we’ll work. I don’t have time for a relationship right now.”

She shook her head, “No, you just don’t care enough to put the effort in, Sarah and John B are staying together and Sarah’s going to Georgia, but they care enough to put in the work.”

“It’s just I’ll be so busy with work that I won’t have time for a relationship, I wish it could be different.” JJ said and Y/N had to hold in her eye roll, “Sorry tonight went this way.” He mumbled.

She scoffed, “Whatever JJ.” She gave the blond boy one last glare before stomping away, all she knew is that she wanted to get out of there.

Her tears were blurring her vision as she headed to where the cars were, so she didn’t see Pope coming her way and it was too late when they crashed into each other. As she landed on the ground the tears she had been so desperately trying to hold him burst out and she just started sobbing.

Pope, who was wearing a grin on his face, quickly scrunched his eyebrows in confusion, “Wha-Y/N what happened?”

“He broke up with me.” She whimpered out through her sobs. Pope didn’t waste time pulling the girl into a hug, JJ may have been his friend for longer, but he and Y/N had grown incredibly close in the years that they had known each other and seeing her like this broke Pope’s heart.

“Let’s go find somewhere to sit.” Pope said as he helped her to her feet. All she could do was nod and follow as she continued to cry. Pope led the girl to where a few logs were haphazardly placed and helped her sit down before grabbing his phone and sending Kie and Sarah and code red text. After sending the text, he took a seat beside Y/N and wrapped his arm around her shoulder and let her cry into him.

It wasn’t too much later when a confused Kie and Sarah approached the pair, but as soon as they saw Y/N’s tears they didn’t question anything, they just pulled their crying friend into their arms.

“What happened, y/n/n?” Sarah questioned as she pulled away from the hug.

“He dumped me.” Y/N murmured through the hiccups and tears.

“He dumped you here? In the middle of a party? What an asshole.” Kiara scoffed as she wrapped her arm around Y/N’s other side.

“It’s his loss y/n/n. Just remember that, you’re one of the most incredible people I’ve ever met and if he doesn’t see that he doesn’t deserve you.” Sarah tells her

Y/N gave her friends a watery smile, “I love you guys, thanks for being here for me.”

The three of them just smiled and pulled her back into a hug, all they wanted was for their friend to feel better.

It had been a few days since the party and Y/N was still moping but Sarah had dragged her along to the club so they could sip on mai tais while lying poolside. She knew it was risky with all the adults around, but she couldn’t find it in herself to care. Her half-drinken mai tai sat on the side table along with a plate of truffle fries as she flipped through the pages of her latest read, a murder mystery novel, she couldn’t bring herself to bring a romance novel, her broken heart wound still being too fresh. Sarah had abandoned her to go grab some more drinks and it felt like ages since she had disappeared. Y/N scanned the club and spotted Sarah talking to a few people that they had gone to school with and knew she would be awhile when she saw that Sarah hadn’t made it to the bar. She let out a huff and flipped onto her stomach and slipped her sunglasses back on before going back to the book, but before she could fully be invested in her book a shadow loomed over her and she looked up and let out a groan when she saw a smirking Rafe Cameron.

“What do you want Rafael?” She questioned, not bothering to get up.

Rafe just smirked, “Drinking out in public? That’s bold of you Y/N. I thought you wouldn’t wouldn’t want to tarnish that good girl rep.”

Y/N rolled her eyes and sat up and reached over to grab her mai tai before bringing it to her lips and draining the whole thing in one gulp, “I don’t care and I don’t have a good girl rep.”

Rafe just chuckled, “Keep telling yourself that miss goody two shoes.”

“Leave me alone, Rafael.” Y/N grumbled as she settled back into a comfortable position with her book. Though she and Sarah had been best friends since before she could remember and so had Rafe and her brother Neal, she had also been enemies with Rafe before she could remember. Okay, maybe enemies was too harsh a term, but the two had been rivals since they were little, making sure to get on each other’s nerves whenever possible. Sometimes their siblings joined in on their rivalry, but usually it was Rafe versus Y/N. She can’t even remember how their rivalry started, but she knew it wasn’t ending anytime soon, Rafe still managed to get on her nerves and she knew she got on his nerves and that feeling of satisfaction was just too good for her to stop playing their childish games.

Rafe just smirked and languidly walked away from the agitated girl, he had done his job of annoying her and now he wanted to treat himself. Y/N just rolled her eyes and went back to her book.

It wasn’t too much later that Sarah came back with new drinks and the club’s famous arancini balls, “Damn, you finished your drink? You never finish a drink from here.”

Y/N shrugged her shoulders, “I wanted to. It helps drown out my sorrow.”

Sarah rolled her eyes, “Ok, ok, no more wallowing in self pity. It’s his loss and if you keep being sad about it he’s winning. Just show him that you don’t care.”

“I just don’t understand Sar, everything was great, I don’t know what changed.” Y/N mumbled.

Sarah gave the girl a small frown before wrapping her arms around her, “I know it’s hard, but sometimes things happen for a reason, maybe you two aren’t meant to be and that’s okay, there’s gonna be someone out there that’s perfect for you.”

Y/N smiled and leaned into Sarah’s arms, “You always know the right thing to say Sar.”

Sarah smiled and hugged her friend tighter, “I’ll always be here for you y/n/n, no matter what.”

It officially hit the two week mark since Y/N and JJ’s break up and even though Y/N still wasn’t feeling 100% better, she was slowly getting there, which is why she agreed to go to the chateau that night. Sarah and Kiara had begged her to come, telling her that it was going to be a super chill evening, just them and some other pogues just having fun. Y/N begrudgingly agreed, it had been a while since she had been out and she decided that she needed to stop letting JJ stop her from having fun, she deserved to have fun.

The trio was getting ready at Kiara’s place and pregaming there too.

“So who’s gonna be there?” Y/N questioned as she applied her blush.

“The usual people, us, the boys, and a few other pogues and some tourons. John B said it wasn’t going to be super small, but it’s not gonna be super big.” Sarah told her and Y/N nodded, she could do that, as long as she didn’t have to make conversation with JJ she’d be fine.

The girls took a few shots and made sure that they looked good before ubering to the chateau, they could hear music and chatter as they stepped out of the uber and Y/N relaxed knowing there’d be enough people to shield her from JJ.

Sarah tugged her friends along as she looked for her boyfriend and it wasn’t too long before she spotted John B, Pope, and Cleo all conversing near the drinks and they made a beeline towards them.

“Finally, you guys made it.” Cleo said as she greeted the girls, she had opted out from getting ready with them to finish some work, but had promised them next time she’d join them in getting ready.

“Sorry, we took a bit longer than expected, we took a few little shots and lost track of time.” Kiara explained and Cleo laughed.

“Well, let’s get you guys some more drinks.” Cleo said, handing each of them a cup full of a beverage. The girls happily accepted and they all downed their drinks before dragging Cleo to dance with them, Pope and John B staying behind.

Y/N was having fun, actual fun and she couldn’t be gladder. She was worried that she’d be in that sad broken heart phase forever, because it felt like that for her, but she was glad to be drunk and having fun with her girls, she had desperately needed it. They danced for what felt like hours before stumbling to where the hammocks were and seating themselves as they caught their breaths.

“God, I needed this.” Y/N panted out.

“We’re glad you came out with us, it’s been a while.” Cleo said.

Y/N nodded and smiled, before leaning her head on Sarah’s shoulder, “I just needed a bit of time to recuperate, but I’m glad to be back.”

The girls smiled and they caught Y/N up on what she had missed at the previous parties, all of them laughing and having the time of their lives. It wasn’t too much later that John B and Pope joined them, and Y/N felt at peace, she had missed this, missed them.

But her happy bubble burst as soon as she saw JJ. He was heading their way and he had his arm draped around a girl, a girl that Y/N didn’t recognize. She swallowed and sat up straighter as the two of them approached the group. The laughter and chatter ceased as JJ brough the new girl to them, everyone unsure what to say.

JJ cleared his throat, “Hey guys, this is Rina.”

The rest of the pogues gave Rina a tight smile, confused on what JJ was doing.

“It’s so good to meet you guys, Jayj is always gushing about you.” Rina rambled out, wrapping her arm around JJ. Y/N swore she felt her patched up heart crack at the sight of that and the use of JJ’s nickname, her nickname for him.

John B was the one to break the rest of the group’s silence, “It’s good to meet you. Are you new here? I haven’t seen you before.”

Rina nodded, “I’m new. Just moved to the island, I met Jayj working at the docks, he’s been helping out with my uncle’s fishing boat.”

“Sounds like JJ’s been a great welcoming committee.” Kiara snarkily said.

Rina grinned, it didn’t seem like she picked up on Kiara’s tone, “He’s been the best.”

Y/N wanted to walk away, but she knew she couldn’t, she didn’t want to make a scene and she had just spent the entire night convincing her friends that she was over the break up and if she did anything to counter that, she would continue to get all those pity looks from them and she couldn’t bare it.

“Well, I just wanted to introduce you guys, I think we’re gonna go grab a drink now.” JJ said as he made a move to turn towards where the drinks were, but Rina stopped him grabbing his hand.

“Jayj, you said we were gonna tell them tonight.” Rina whispered, but it was loud enough for everyone to hear.

JJ nodded and swallowed hard, “Right, yeah, um, well, I don’t know how to say this-”

Before he could get through the rest of his sentence Rina interrupted him, “Jayj asked me to be his girlfriend a week ago!”

The statement was met with complete silence from the friend group, none of them knew what to say, all they could do was glance at Y/N who sat with a blank expression.

Y/N felt her heart break at the announcement, she couldn’t believe he had moved on so fast, especially after he had told her that he didn’t have time for a relationship and that was why they were breaking up. She dug her nails into her palm and bit her cheek to stop herself from bursting into tears right there. She just wanted someone to say something and for them to walk away so she could be left alone to her own thoughts and cry in peace.

It was John B who broke the silence seeing as no one else was willing to do it, “Wow, a week?”

Rina nodded excitedly and JJ just gave him a curt nod, “Well, we’re gonna go grab some drinks, see you guys later.”

The group waited for the new couple to be out of earshot before whipping their heads towards Y/N, who was hanging on by a thread.

“Y/N are you okay?” Pope asked. She could do nothing but nod, she didn’t want to cause a scene and cause a rift in the friend group.

“I’m fine, we’re broken up, he deserves to be happy.” She said.

“But-” Kiara went to say but Y/N shook her head, “No, really, I’m fine. I’m over it.”

It was a lie and Y/N was hoping none of them could see that, she just wanted to go home and cry, she was so completely over everything. The rest of the group exchanged looks, they knew that Y/N looked far from fine, but they knew not to push it, the boys got up and walked away, leaving just the girls alone.

“It’s just us y/n/n, you can talk to us.” Sarah said.

“I already told you, I’m fine. Please can we just drop it?” Y/N snapped, she didn’t mean for it to come out so harshly, but she just wanted to forget that past ten minutes had happened.

“Okay, yeah, we can go get more to drink.” Kiara said.

Y/N shook her head and glanced down at her phone, “Actually, it’s pretty late, I have to run errands with my mom early tomorrow morning, I think I’m gonna call it a night.”

“I can come with you.” Sarah offered.

“No, it’s okay, I’ll just get an uber, you guys stay and have fun. I just need to call it an early night.” She said as she stood up and headed towards the front of the chateau. The girls shared a look with each other, they knew that their friend was far from okay, but they didn’t want to push her, they knew she’d come to them eventually.

Y/N hadn’t called an uber, she had called her brother, knowing that he was already on the cut, she just wanted to get home. She had wrapped her arms around herself to keep warm and sat on the front steps of the porch to the chateau. It wasn’t too much later when she saw her brother’s black Range Rover pull up and she quickly stood up and made her way to the passenger side, but was surprised to see Rafe sitting there. She just let out a huff and slid into the backseat wordlessly.

Neal, her brother, turned to look at her, “What’s wrong? Why didn’t you get an uber with the rest of them?”

She shrugged, “I didn’t want to, can we just go home, I’m tired.”

Neal didn’t want to push it, he could sense something was off, so he dropped it and started towards figure 8.

Rafe glanced at Y/N through the mirror and noticed her melancholy expression and how quiet she was being. Growing up together meant you learned a lot about each other, so he could easily read her like a book and he too could tell something was off. He had noticed something had been off since a couple weeks ago, when Sarah, Kiara, and Y/N had a sleepover, but tonight she looked especially somber. He knew not to push her tonight, but he’d figure out what was wrong, one way or another.

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humblequestvinyl · 1 year

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HUMMINGBIRD

HUMMINGBIRD, DAD!JJ MAYBANK X MOM!READER

APART OF THE HUMBLE QUEST SERIES

SUMMARY: when it becomes jj and y/n daughters fifth birthday, the two take a trip back down memory lane, remembering the 9 months before their daughter was born.

inspired by hummingbird by maren morris

cw: mentions of pregnancy, jj’s dad, abuse, and swearing.

lowercase is intentional! wordcount: 2.1k

a/n: this song is so so so sweet :( one of my absolute favs from HQ. also we’re three away from a new writing series?? #IAMEMOTIONAL

“MAMA! MAMA! MAMA!”

y/n’s head whipped around the corner, before seeing her four year old daughter come barreling through the door, and ran straight into her arms, “you’ll never believe what dada and i did today!”

“what did you and dad do today?”y/n asked, before juliette beamed with absolute joy, “we went and saw uncle jb!” y/n’s face went into a surprised look, seeing jj out of the corner of her eye, “without me?!”

“dada had to pick up my birthday present for tomorrow!”juliette giggled, before wiggling out of her moms arms, and running down the hall, leaving y/n and jj standing there, looking at each other.

looking at jj, y/n could see the same boy that he was when the two were young kids, having one of their own almost five years ago.

→

YOU’RE MEXICO IN THE WINTER, YOU’RE TENNESSEE IN THE SPRING,

“this can’t be happening.”

the 18 year old girl whispered, standing over not one, not two, but five positive pregnancy tests, causing a 19 year old jj to come barreling into the bathroom. the two stood next two each other, staring at the tests, wondering how much their lives were about to change.

how could one beer turn into two best friends standing in the bathroom at the chateau, looking at positive pregnancy tests, with both not being able to wrap their head around it.

“they aren’t-”y/n cut jj off mid sentence, knowing exactly what he was going to say, “yes jj they are real.”

the two looked at each other, with a silent knowing that everything was about to change. jj quickly wrapped up the girl into a hug, one she quickly reciprocated back, knowing how dizzying and panicking this situation was about to be for the two.

“we’re going to be parents.”

YOU COME AND GO LIKE A WHISPER, LEAVING ME THE MOST BEAUTIFUL DREAM.

MONTH THREE

HUMMINGBIRD, HUMMINGBIRD, YOU’RE THE SOUND OF THESE STRINGS,

tightly gripping onto jj’s hand, y/n laid on the examination table, as her obgyn pressed the doppler to her stomach, and the sound of a heartbeat immediately filled the room, causing y/n to look over at jj, with her mouth slightly ajar.

“and there it is.”dr.meyer smiled, looking at the two teens, “a strong one too.”

“are they growing okay?”jj quickly asked, and dr.meyer nodded, “perfectly.”

“can we get photos?”y/n softly questioned, and the dr nodded, before pressing a few buttons on the machine. soon enough, the heartbeat stopped as the doppler was removed, and photos were handed to the two pogues.

“make sure you schedule an appointment for this time next month.”dr.meyers reminded the two before they left, and y/n sent her a soft smile before nodding. stopping by the front desk, the girl made an appointment, and the two left, heading back to the chateau.

the entire drive back was content, with music playing softly in the background, and soon enough the two were back to the chateau, with nobody else in sight. walking inside hand in hand, y/n glanced around, trying to see if anyone was around, before jj took the two into the spare bedroom, and the two were grinning ear to ear as y/n pulled the sonogram pictures out of her sweatshirt pocket.

“i can’t believe i’m carrying a tiny human.”y/n spoke softly in case any of the pogues came into the chateau, due to the two of them not telling anyone yet.

“i am so unbelievably proud of you.”jj mumbled against her skin as he tucked his head into the crook of her neck, looking at the photos with her, “the strongest girl i know.”

smiling down at the blonde, she kissed his forehead, before the two continued to look at the photos with admiration.

HUMMINGBIRD, HUMMINGBIRD, NOW YOUR HEART BEATS IN ME.

MONTH FOUR

I’VE BEEN WAITING ALL MY LIFE FOR YOUR COLORS,

“you know we can’t stay here for much longer right?”

jj looked over at y/n who sat on the bed scrolling through baby name websites, “what do you mean n/n?”

“the chateau can barely fit john b and the rest of our friends. i can guarantee you it will not fit a little maybank.”she brought up, and jj hummed, knowing she was right, “plus im pretty sure if we bring in a crib without them knowing it’ll raise some questions.”

“and that you are right.”jj mumbled, before flopping down next to her, “you got any ideas?”

“yeah. that little house down the road thats for rent.”she mentioned, causing jj to raise an eyebrow, “we can talk with the relator about it.”

“and we could paint hummingbirds room with little trees, and put all the decor we can afford in there.”y/n continued on, trying to completely sell the idea to jj.

“princess you had me sold when you said that it was down the road.”jj grinned, causing y/n to burst out giggling, getting excited over how many ideas the two were going to have for their child’s room.

“i can’t wait.”

NOT KNOWING YOU’VE BEEN WITH ME ALL ALONG.

MONTH FIVE

HUMMINGBIRD, HUMMINGBIRD, ON MY SKIN REST YOUR WINGS.

“okay, i think that’s it.”

john b placed the final box down in the new house as all the pogues stood around, and sarah asked the burning question, “hey, is there a certain reason why you guys just moved suddenly?”

“yes actually!”y/n exclaimed, before rushing towards the door, “stay here!”

quickly running out towards the car that the two had bought a few months back, the h/c girl grabbed the unmarked bags, and raced back inside before jj helped the girl hand them out to the rest of the pogues.

y/n and jj watched as the pogues opened up the bags, before kie and sarah’s lit up, “no way!”

y/n nodded before the girls started screaming, and pope grinned before high fiving jj, “i’m gonna be an uncle!”

“can i tell them?”jj looked down at y/n, asking for permission to reveal something that only the two had known. y/n nodded, knowing how excited the four were about to be.

“her name is gonna be juliette callie maybank.”

“its a girl?!”kie yelled, and the two laughed, before kie wrapped y/n in a hug, and the two squealed with joy, “i'm going to have a niece!” so much joy filled the room as the pogues were overjoyed for the two, so excited for jj to be a girl dad, almost as much as he was.

“we have to go shopping soon for her room!”sarah gasped, causing the two girls to look at her, “can you imagine how many clothes and little boots we can get for her!”

“that is definitely a day the three of us are setting up the nursery.”john b spoke up, causing all the pogues to laugh.

little jc was about to be so loved.

ILL HOLD YOU IN MY LOVING ARMS, BUT I’LL LET YOU FLY FREE.

MONTH SIX

ILL NEVER TRY TO CAGE YOU,

“are you excited to be a dad?”

jj looked over at john b as the two were building juliettes crib, and jj nodded with a small smile on his face, “surprisingly yeah.”

“i just don’t want her to have to go through what i did with luke.”jj brought up, screwing in a piece, “i wanna be there for her, i want her to trust me enough to come to me with anything without being worried if she’s gonna have the shit beat out of her.”

“jj you are nothing like luke.”john b reassured him, before tossing a piece over to him, “you saying you don’t want to abandon her just shows how much better you are than him.”

“thanks man.”jj told him, before the two heard honking outside, and they walked out, seeing the three girls and pope unloading two cars filled with bags. “holy shit.”john b laughed, seeing jj’s face fall knowing how much they would have to put away later.

“we’re back!”sarah announced, before y/n hopped out, with her baby bump finally showing, “help us out please!”

“what in gods name did you guys buy?”john b asked as jj wrapped y/n in a side hug, and both kie and sarah grinned, “clothes, blankets and toys!”

“but this much for a newborn?”pope questioned, and kie grabbed a few bags from the car, “it leads little maybank all the way up to 24 months old!”

“you’re kidding me.”jj gave them a ‘are you serious’ look, and the three nodded, “she’s set for the first two years!”

“i’m just-”jj cut himself off by shaking his head, and pressing a kiss to y/n’s, figuring how tired she was from standing most of the day.

“how much of the nursery did you guys get done?”y/n asked as the six walked into the maybank household, and jj lead the girl to the room.

“everything but the crib.”he grinned, and y/n looked up at him with such joy, “thank you jj.”

“little miss jc is gonna be so freaking loved.”

TAKE THE SKY THAT GOD GAVE YOU.

MONTH SEVEN

HUMMINGBIRD, HUMMINGBIRD, YOU’RE THE SOUND OF THESE STRINGS,

“jj can you hurry up! we’re going to be late for the photo shoot!”

“alright, alright i'm coming.”jj ran down the stairs, dressed in a white button up and some jeans. a wide grin spread across his face as he saw y/n dressed in a white dress, one they knew both opened up at the stomach.

“its less than five minutes away, we will be fine i promise you.”jj pressed a kiss to the girls head, before they were out the door and heading towards the destination. “i know but i want to get our photos before sunset.”

“and we will, i promise.”he reassured her, and sooner than they knew it, they had pulled up to the location, with the sandy beach ahead of them, revealing the icy blue ocean. maybe having a maternity photoshoot in the middle of april wasn't a great idea, but the two wanted them before they got all ramped up with fixing everything.

meeting up with their photographer masey, the two did the photoshoot without a hitch, before y/n headed into the freezing water, wanting to finish up the photoshoot quickly due to both the sun setting, and the temperatures dipping.

as soon as they were finished, jj wrapped y/n up tightly in a blanket, making sure to keep both her and jc warm. after the two had thanked their photographer, the two headed into the car, seeing the sun had now almost fully set.

“do you wanna stop by the wreck to see kie and grab some food?”jj asked, and a wide smile spread across y/n’s face as she nodded.

“i’d like nothing more than that right now and so would jc.”

HUMMINGBIRD, HUMMINGBIRD, ON MY SKIN REST YOUR WINGS.

MONTH EIGHT.

I’LL HOLD YOU IN MY LOVING ARMS,

“do you wanna hold her?”

jj looked over at y/n who had just woken up from a four hour nap, and she smiled seeing him holding their daughter. june 19th, six pounds, eight ounces and she was four weeks early. the two were absolutely ecstatic at her arrival, and so were her aunts and uncles. y/n nodded, before slowly sitting up, and jj carefully placed the girl into her mothers arms.

a wide smile immediately spread across y/n’s face as her daughter grabbed onto her index finger with all she had, making sure not to let go.

“she’s going to have your e/c eyes.”jj mentioned as he sat next to his two girls, looking down at the newest edition, “and definitely your kindness.”

“she is definitely going to have your charm thats for sure.”y/n fired back, causing the two to laugh slightly as juliette moved slightly in y/n’s arms. it was silent in the room for awhile (besides the obvious noise of machines), and the two sat there, soaking up time before y/n spoke up after awhile.

“hummingbird.”

jj looked at her, slightly confused before y/n looked at him back, “it was my nickname for jc before we had decided a name for her.”

a wide smile graced jj’s lips, before they looked back down at jc, admiring the girl with so much love.

BUT I’LL LET YOU FLY FREE.

HUMMINGBIRD, HUMMINGBIRD, NOW YOUR HEART BEATS IN ME.

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theitgirlnetwork · 1 month

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Milan Cabot aesthetic $<3

#rafe outer banks #rafe cameron #rafe obx #dark rafe cameron #rafe x reader #rafe cameron x you #rafe cameron imagine #rafe cameron outer banks #rafe cameron fluff #series #outer banks #sarah cameron #john b.#jj maybank #pope heyward #kiara carrera #what are you willing to do?#milan cabot

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gh0stsp1d3r · 2 days

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Hunger games au

Character inspo: Rafe: coryo, JJ: sejanus, Kiara: Lucy gray, John B:Peeta, Sarah: Katniss.

I don’t think this has been done? If it has lmk ): i was rewatching all the movies for fun and this came to my mind I have sm brainrot. Probably not making this into anything this is just for fun(:

Rafe would be the academy’s darling boy. Always was the top of his classes, and was a hell of a good mentor, even led his mentee to victory before climbing his way to the top and becoming president. When he was president, he hosted beautiful galas and balls, and no one questioned the man, especially not after his old victor disappeared.

JJ is a born rebel. He never liked the games, never supported them. He was open about it most the time, but no one knew he would take it far enough to the point it got him killed. It hurt his heart seeing them be sent through the games, and if he got killed for it, so be it. He was dying for something he believed in, and to him, that was all that mattered.

John B is a rather charming boy. He loves his group, but more than anything or anyone, he loves Sarah. He would do anything for her, he’s more than willing to sacrifice himself if it meant she was okay. He’s kind, truthful, and he’s the golden boy of the games.

Kiara is a sweet girl, she cares for others, animals a lot as well. She’s loved throughout all of district 12. She stuck with her group of rebels, JJ, John B, Sarah and Pope till the end. And she would do anything for them. Until her name was picked for the reaping, she heard multiple outcries from her friends, her looking back at her loved ones, JJ mostly, as she was dragged up on the stage. She was met with her mentor, Rafe. And the rest was lost to history.

Sarah is an independent, brave girl. She’s skilled, and she makes it clear that she doesn’t really need anyone. However, she falls for John B during the games and the revolution. But she’s also falling in love with Topper, which causes some problems between John B and her. Eventually, they sort it out and Sarah is back with John B, her soulmate. Everyone in the capital loves them, they’re the best couple to come out of the games.

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lydiaas · 1 year

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So stay there / 'Cause I'll be coming over / And while our blood's still young / It's so young, it runs / Won't stop 'til it's over / Won't stop to surrender - sweet disposition, the temper trap (2008)

#jj x kie #outer banks #obx #obxedit #jiaraedit #jiara #outerbanksedit #jj x kiara #jj maybank #kiara carrera #jjmaybankedit #kiaracarreraedit #obx spoilers #jiarasource #this was gonna be in the pogue song series or a john b set but....#it's jiara or nothing at the moment #and it will be that way for a while so

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peeta-mellark · 1 year

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JIARA

Outer Banks 3x04 ↳ “The Diary”

#jiara #jj maybank #kiara carrera #kiara x jj #jj x kiara #obx season 3 #obx #outer banks #outer banks season 3 #outer banks spoilers #outer banks s3 #jiarasource #obxedit #obxs3 #obx s3 #mine #*#netflix series

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hardlypartying · 2 months

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“There’s, um,” He has never seen her fumble with her words, Rose taps her nails on the metal arms of the chair, “I have your mother’s ring— if you should ever want it.”

Astonished, Rafe cannot find himself able to respond to that. His head is full of cotton candy and his stomach suddenly sits still. His throat bobs with the words that won’t come to him.

“I saw the way you two were today and,” Rose bites her smile and nods at Kiara, “I’ve never seen her like that, or you for that matter.”

“I— it’s,” Rafe’s mouth opens and closes, completely losing all sense of articulation. Words leave his mouth with no idea what they’ll form. “I’m… we—”

Rose grimaces apologetically, knowing she’s just pulled the rug under Rafe. “I understand it’s early. You and Kiara probably don’t want to think about all that but, just wanted to let you know. It was always meant to be yours. I don’t mean to scare you or anything.”

There’s anything but fear running through him. Only the same weightlessness he felt when he broke his leg as the adrenaline pumped through his body to protect his mind from the pain. There’s no pain now, never was, just the absence of any fears because there’s something even more powerful coursing through him.

Read chapter 17 of Kiara and Rafe’s Comprehensive Guide here

#Pintrest came in clutch with those photos of them at sushi 🙏 I nearly busted #double date!!!#krcg social media au #riara #riara fanfic #obx fanfic #Rafe Cameron fanfic #rafe cameron #kiara carrera #the series of events in this post and the dialogue I chose is so funny out of context bc what the fuck is going on hahahhah #this chapter is a long one so pace yourselves!!!#for your well-being and totally not at all for me to go back and make edits I missed

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summermil · 5 months

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𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑟 ❀

𝑟𝑎𝑓𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑜𝑛 𝑥 𝑓𝑒𝑚 𝑜𝑐

𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠: 𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑠𝚑𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑦 𝑓𝑎𝑟𝑡𝚑𝑒𝑟, 𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑦 𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑦 𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑦 𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑡𝚑𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑠𝑡

𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡 ꕤ

𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑝𝑎𝑑ೀ

𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑏𝑢𝑠𝑦 :( 𝚑𝑜𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑢𝑝𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒

𝑎𝑙𝑠𝑜 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑜𝑛 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑝𝑎𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝚑𝑒 𝑚𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑠 !

angel's eyebrows raised in surprise. "midsummers?" she asked, slightly shocked.

"yeah, have you heard of it?" her dad questioned, suspiciously.

"uh..no, well- maybe, i think rafe said something about it" she stumbled over her words, trying not to let her dad see into her lies.

her father's eyes narrowed and angel panicked, thinking he'd seen deep into her lies. "rafe huh?" he almost spat out his name, like it hurt to say. "well, his dad does have a great connection to the event. in fact, he was the one who invited us there" he continued with a horrible grin on his face.

both of his children were silent, both lost in their own thoughts. their father sighed, knowing he lost the battle of entertaining any of them. he waved his hands in the air, dismissing tommy. angel thought this was an invitation for her to leave as well, but as she scraped her chair on the wooden floor the dreaded man spoke up again.

"no angel, you stay"

angel wanted to scream. she knew there was a catch and she was about to be faced with it, right now.

"you, young lady, are going to be getting a job, at the country club" he pointed a stern finger at her.

"a job? are you serious?" she argued back.

"enough of your rudeness. me and your mother have decided that you need to be put to use-" he started.

"put to use?" her tone was aggressive "i'm not a damn, dog, or a housemaid, you can't just shape me into whatever you want" she was starting to get pissed off with the way this man treated her. the sound of her chair scraping across the floor so violently dully rung in her ears, she ignored it as she stormed out of the kitchen.

but before she reached the doorway, she turned back around to say one more thing. "you and i both know that mom would never want this" her words were true. she knew her mom had no say in this- even if she did, angel was sure her words wouldn't even make it into his brain.

with that, she stormed out of the kitchen. not before missing his final "you start tomorrow" which only made her groan and slam her head into her pillow once she reached the comfort of her room.

the blonde girl laid there for a bit, just thinking. it was probably a dangerous thing to be doing- and she recognised that, pulling out her phone from her pocket and opening the chats with sarah, trying to get everything off her mind.

to: sarah 👙

angel🪽

do u know where the country club is??

sarah 👙

yeh, why?

angel🪽

my dad got me a job there

apparently, and i start tomorrow 🙄

angel🪽

also, he said we are going to midsumers!!!

sarah 👙

WAITTTT, really?

angel🪽

yess!! idk what to wear though

sarah 👙

omggggg!! can u come over tmrw?

angel🪽

yesss probably like.. after my shift 🙄 why??

sarah 👙

perfect, I'm finding you a dress!!! see you <33

⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊

angel smiled to herself, tossing her phone onto her pink bedding and rolling on her back. she decided to freshen up, throwing her legs off the bed and walking to the bathroom, twisting the hot tap on her shower a perfect amount. the heat soaked into her skin, the suds from the shampoo danced around in the air.

some time later, she was curled up in her bed, her strawberry body wash lingered in the air. the lights were dimmed and she had bid goodnight to the rest of her family- minus her dad, who she couldn't find anywhere. an abundance of thoughts crowded her mind, eventually sending her off to sleep.

⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊

that next morning, she woke to banging on her door. she rolled her eyes, turning over, assuming it was just her brother trying to annoy her. but the hard knocking continued, and as she opened her eyes to listen better, she realised the sound was much more firm than her little brothers could ever be.

shit.

she scrambled out of bed, ignoring the blankets that dropped to the floor. the door handle swung open with the force she applied- and there stood her dad. she evened out her breathing, trying to stand confident up to the man.

they stood in a silent stare off for a second. "first day of work" he tried to smile, but it was a dull grimace- at that.

her eyes widened slightly, she'd completely forgot. better than being grounded, she supposed. she fought down a groan, deciding to put on a brave face.

"when do i start?" she asked.

he glanced down at his glimmering watch "30 minutes" he said, walking away from her room and back to the staircase.

she spun on her heels without a second thought, 30 minutes was definitely not enough time.

"your uniform is outside your door" she heard him call, making a mental note in the back of her head as she rushed to get ready.

some light makeup later, the folded uniform sat neatly in her hands. a golfing-type skirt and a polo shirt. how classy. seemed like polo shirts were the necessity for this island. speaking of polo shirts- her mind wandered off to rafe.

the option of texting sarah weighed in her mind, but in her eyes- angel didn't even know rafe. she decided against it, taking a lucky glance out the big window in hopes he would come roaring past on his bike. but the only roaring sound she heard was her dad's voice.

"angelica! hurry up!" he shouted up the wooden staircase, his shout echoing off the walls.

it seemed to snap her out of her little daydream, grabbing her phone and sprinting down the stairs, trying not to trip over her own feet. she glanced at her sock clad feet, then back to the shoe rack.

"what shoes should i wear?" she asked him.

but- the man just shrugged, the keys jingling in his hand as he exited out the front door, leaving her standing there. she scoffed when it was certain he was out of ears. the one time she tries to have a civil conversation.

there wasn't much selection, so she just grabbed the cleanest ones, tying the laces carelessly and jogging to catch up with her dad.

the car engine came to life the second she shut the door, she didn't even manage to get her seatbelt on before he sped out of the driveway. she then, realised how awkward it was. she'd barely been in the car with her dad alone- hell, she'd barely been in the car at all. he purchased it a few months ago, the check pretty hefty. it was his prized possession- to be honest, he treated it better than he treated his own kids.

but the harsh reality scared her, so she pulled out her phone to distract her self. she sent sarah a quick message, informing her that her shift started soon. sarah sent good luck back, telling her how she'd be great and to 'remember you r coming over later!'

suddenly, her dad took a quick turn, almost making angel drop her phone. she looked up from the screen, shocked by the view. he'd turned into a gated area, but she could still see past the large metal objects. the grass was so bright, almost blinding, golf buggies littered the area- she assumed it was a golf course.

she didn't listen to the words her dad exchanged with the security, but as the gates opened- a large building appeared in her eye line. some sort of restaurant, she suspected.

the hand break creaked, and angel was too busy staring at the sights that she didn't notice they had parked up.

"good luck"

it was enough to snap her out of her trance. she turned to look at him as if he'd been speaking in a different language. but as soon as his nice facade came, it dropped away.

"go on" he ushered "the entrance is there, and you are 5 minutes late, hurry"

her movements were frantic, the door handle slipped out of her hands a few times before she finally swung it open, slammed it shut and ran towards the door he had pointed at. she was definitely getting shit for that later.

the door was locked, so she knocked. nobody answered for a few minutes, but as she went to knock again, the lock twisted. it opened slowly, the horrible creak made her ears wince.

a man stood at the door. he was a short, old man - who was also, dressed in a polo shirt- and he greeted her with a friendly smile.

"can i help you?" he asked.

"uh... i'm here for a job?" she questioned, now faced with the reality that she really had no clue what she was doing. "my dad sent me" she added when the man's face fell into a confused look.

"oh, yes!" it lit up again. "angelica seaver?" he said, looking up like he was reading it from the top of his head.

"yes" she gave him a polite smile "um i, prefer angel though"

"very well, angel" he smiled "follow me, i'll get you set up"

so she did. he walked her through the entire process. it was only the morning when she arrived, and by the afternoon the place was flooded with people. she had a pretty good idea of what she was supposed to be doing: serve the customers and hand out refreshments to the people playing golf. simple enough.

the first task she was given was handing out the drinks to the golfers. the man, who she learned was called dennis, gave her an approximate location, handed her the drinks and keys to a golf cart, then sent her on the way.

she took a breath when she made it to the vehicle. information had been fed to her for hours, and it was starting to take a toll on her. maybe this task would be relaxing. begrudgingly, she twisted the keys in the ignition and set off in the direction she was given.

the task was easy, and although the wondering eyes from the men she served made her skin crawl, she got it done pretty quickly. now, she was just stalling. the sun burned across the island, reflecting off the sand. luckily, her visor gave her some shade, but she could feel the rays burning her arms. she cursed herself for not bringing sunscreen, making a mental note to apply aloe vera when she got home.

she swerved the cart around a corner, lost in her own thoughts. but that was a mistake, as she nearly hit the familiar boy who was lying on the ground. she looked at him closer, squinting to try and get a better look. he was rolling around, almost like he was in pain. she killed the ignition and hopped out, now feeling the burning sun all over her exposed skin.

"pope?" she called out confused.

she heard him groan, and as she got closer she noticed the blood dripping down his face. the girl gasped, kneeling down in the sand next to him. "a-are you okay?" her voice was weary.

"no" he said, crimson covering his white teeth.

"oh..can you stand up?" she didn't know what to say, the other day was no indication if the boy liked her or not, he didn't really say much.

with a grimace, he pulled his body weight up to a standing position. she copied his movements, her hand ghosting on his arm as he wobbled to the side.

"come, sit" she beckoned over to her golf cart. he eyed it reluctantly, but ultimately decided that it would be a better idea if he did, he could trust her.

she drove back to the country club building in silence, the occasional groan of pain from pope when they went over a speed bump and the same amount of apologies spilt from angel's mouth when she went round a corner too fast. she didn't want to ask how he got into the condition he was in, afraid of over stepping boundaries, so she just kept quiet.

the buggy was parked in the wrong spot, courtesy to her, she hoped dennis wouldn't come out and see that she screwed up on day one.

"i'm going to get you some ice, okay?" she told him, one leg already on the ground. "i won't be a second" there was barely any time for him to respond anyway, as she sprinted off to the door as soon as the last syllable left her mouth.

a few small bags of ice were in her grip as she rummaged around drawers for a first aid kit, cheering silently when she found one. she slipped out the door, praying that no one had seen her. but to her surprise, when the golf cart came into view, she noticed another familiar face.

rafe.

taking a deep breath, she prayed that she wouldn't embarrass herself in front of him. but, she failed to notice the way he was threateningly standing over pope.

the ice dropped on the seat next to him. alerting the, now group, of guys that stood around the cart.

"angel" the man said, leaning his arms on the top of the buggy as he pointed at her name badge.

"hi, rafe" she spoke, turning popes head towards her and digging in the medical kit she managed to retrieve.

"didn't know you worked here" he said, giving her a charming smile. she refused to look at him though, the nerves coursing through her veins.

"uh yeah.. i started today" the antiseptic she was poring on a paper towel dripped onto the seat, she cursed to herself.

"not sure doctor is part of the job description of a drinks server"

she mumbled under her breath, using the sterile paper town to clean the cut on the top of pope's head. he winced at the pain "sorry!' she squeaked, trying to work fast.

"what was that?" rafe asked, teasingly.

most of the blood was gone, so she handed pope the bag of ice. "keep that there, for a few minutes" she gave him a kind smile. he returned it, still not speaking.

rafe's chuckle echoed in the background as she checked pope over for any more injuries. "alright, i get it. give me the silent treatment after i saved your ass from being gr-" he started.

"rafe!" she cut him off, not wanting pope to hear the rest of his sentence. surely he'd tell all his friends that she was grounded for two weeks, and then they would assume that she probably committed a crime, and then they'd hate her.

rafe's smirk dropped. if she was looking him in the eyes, the way they darkened would of been visible in the sunlight.

"look, i'm trying to help pope because, i don't know if you can see, but he is bleeding! can you just.. give me some space..please?" she knew the regret of snapping at rafe would come later, but all she needed now was to make sure pope was okay - and to not be fired on her first shift.

he sucked on his teeth, his glance said it all as he turned back to his friends- the guy sarah named 'topper' and another boy she didn't recognise. not even a second glance was sent her way as he walked back onto the golf course.

a sigh left her mouth. cleaning up the medical kit that was still sprawled out over the leather seats. the situation felt so strange to her. the fact that she found pope in the middle of a path, bleeding out- what the fuck had even happened? the courage built up in her, along with the curiosity, so she decided to ask.

"wha-"

"angel!" a shout echoed across the landscape.

"shit!" she exclaimed. "er.. you can keep the ice and just go home, maybe?" the words came out in a spurt as she hid the medical kit in the back.

"sorry" she back tracked. "just- i don't know, good luck!" those words were also a frantic panic as she ran towards the origin of the shout.

⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊

the sun barely peaked from behind the clouds when she finished her shift. her first proper shift. the rest of the day hadn't been very interesting, the club seemed to flood out, by mid-day it wasn't very busy- she just opted to stare at the landscape for a couple of hours. the bright rays no longer shone over the golf course, and the lights that lit the path to the parking lot seemed a bit dim. the bulbs must of not have been changed in years.

it wasn't cold- so to say, but the breeze was picking up slightly and angel regretted not bringing a thin jacket with her. she stood in the middle of the parking lot- it was practically empty apart from a few shiny looking jeeps and soft tops. she reached for the phone in the smart pocket of her skirt, hitting the button a few times before realising the familiar picture of the sunset in her home town didn't light up the screen.

a sigh left her mouth- her phone was dead. her eyes glanced around, spotting a little make-shift bench around a big planted tree. she resided there for a while, just watching the sun finally disappear behind the dark clouds. only then did she realise how dark it really was, and only then did she feel the first spit of water on her skin.

she assumed that her dad would pull through the gates in his flashy car to take her home. but after waiting a while, she began to dwell on the thought that none of that would happen. it only began to rain more. it wasn't heavy so to say, but if she stayed out here any longer she was sure to catch a chill. the girl looked up at the sky, she couldn't believe how fast the weather changed on the island. one second the sun was burning her skin, next minute the same sky was soaking right through her.

the blonde wrapped her arms around herself for warmth, finally deciding that her dad was not coming to collect her and she would just have to find her own way home. she picked herself up off the bench, stretching out her legs slightly. nobody was around anymore, she watched the last car go almost ten minutes ago. just one car remained, and she assumed it was the owner of the club- maybe she'd have to ask them for a ride.

the raindrops splashed against her skin, soaking her hair. she squinted as she tried to look around in the little light she had to see where a possible exit was. as she turned her head to the right, she noticed a figure. angel stood still, and so did the shadow. nobody should be around- even the one person she assumed was still left wouldn't of been stood in the direction she was facing.

without a second thought, she bolted. her feet hit the ground faster than the thoughts entered her head- she didn't look back with a glance. the shoes she picked that morning gave her a leverage, making her decent even faster. but there was one problem- she didn't know where she was going.

a corner came into her view, her body swerving to narrowly miss the side of the brick wall. like a swivel, her head turned to see if the figure was still visible. that was a mistake- as soon as she lost attention of her footing, she ran into something solid. her body recoiled back, but the object seemed to stay still.

her eyes drifted up. it was a man- in a polo shirt, a very familiar one at that. wait..

"rafe?" she exclaimed, looking him in the eyes- he seemed just as confused as he was.

"angel?" he asked, bewildered.

she stumbled over her words, blinking the water from her lashes. her movements were frantic as she looked from rafe, back to where she came from.

"what... was that you?" she questioned, her chest rising rapidly- as if she'd just run a marathon.

another puzzled look flashed over the boy's eyes, he seemed to take in the way angel was shaking, obviously soaked through from the cold. rafe shook his head, fiddling with the keys in his pocket. "you need a lift?" it was dark- and obviously way past the end of her shift so he assumed nobody had come to pick her up yet.

she didn't answer, continuing to stare into his eyes like he was speaking a different language.

"alright then" he tutted, turning sideways past her and walking in the direction of his car. she followed immediately.

"no!" her voice rang "or.. yes! i don't know!" concern grew in him- he'd never admit that though. she seemed genuinely confused. before he could even blink, angel shot into the passenger seat- apologising for damping the expensive leather.

"where too?" he asked, switching on the engine.

again- no answer. he turned to look at her. she was leaning against the window- trying to peek into the distance, almost like she was being followed. "what the fuck?" he voiced out loud. "are you being followed?"

with wide eyes, angel turned to look at him. "that wasn't you?" the panic evident in her voice. she had no time to think logically, but the chance of that figure being rafe was near to none- how would of he got in front of her that fast?

rafe just chuckled, backing out of the parking lot as he shook his head. "always sarah's friends" the words came out quietly, like he was afraid of her hearing- like he'd be giving any of sarah's friends a ride home.

thankfully, angel didn't pick up his sentence, the name of her friend only falling on her ears- reminding her of the plans they had. "can you take me to sarah's..." she asked, timidly. forgetting the fact it was his house too.

the boy didn't say a word, continuing to drive down the dark lanes with one hand on the steering wheel. angel felt the silence consume her- the weight of what she said to him earlier still lying on her shoulders.

"i'm sorry.." she admitted, focusing her eyes on the footwell.

he only chuckled, giving her a half smile which she failed to notice. "you're good"

although the cameron boy felt conditioned to hate all of his sisters friends, he couldn't quite help but think of angel differently. much to his dismay- he knew deep down he was beginning to take a liking to her. the thought weighed down his head- that couldn't go on for much longer.

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maybanksbabe · 21 days

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𝐁𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐥 ➢𝐅𝐢𝐯𝐞

𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑭𝒊𝒗𝒆 - 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒃𝒊𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒁𝒐𝒏𝒆

𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 | 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 - On a mission to retrieve a drone to help the group look for the Merchant, more hijinks ensue. Kodi gives the boys an insight into why Kie might have shot down John B. And as usual, nothing goes the way they planned it.

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠(𝐬) - language, passing mention of sexuality, boys being idiots, canon-typical drama, if I missed anything lmk!

"THAT'S NOT GOLD," Pope stated with disappointment as Kie handed out a sturdy envelope with marker printed on the front.

"Holy shit," John B mumbled as he took in the sight of the envelope. Kodi helped Kie out of the hole and the two of them moved to join the boys with the envelope.

"This is from my dad." John B looked around in disbelief, clearly hesitant to open it just yet.

"Guys - code red. Code red - square groupers! Square groupers!" JJ alerted them as a vehicle approached. They all hurried around the side of the crypt and dropped to the floor.

"Lights!" Kie hissed and all the lanterns and torches went off. Kodi reached over to help JJ turn off his headlamp when she noticed he was struggling.

"It's those guys that robbed your house." There was no hiding the panic in Pope's voice as they huddled together and tried to keep as quiet as physically possible. JJ peered around the corner and everyone waited with bated breath.

"Is it them?"

"Homie's got a gun -" That was all the prompting they needed to turn their flashlights on again and take off in a run.

They scaled and cleared the gate with no issue at all. Except for Pope who got caught on the top. JJ drew the gun but John B immediately stopped him.

"No way -"

"You're gonna rip -" Pope's protests were cut off when his shorts came away and remained stuck to the gate. Unable to hang around, they curbed their laughter in favour of getting into the Twinkie first.

"Oh, my God..."

-/-/-

Back in the safety of the Chateau, they regrouped and composed themselves once Pope had put a fresh pair of shorts on. Kodi made her way into the lounge and saw JJ making a sandwich with mouldy bread.

"JJ, that bread had mould on it three days ago..." Pope remarked as he rejoined them. He just shook his head and carried on.

"I'll just pull off the bad parts. Plus, mould is good for you. It's just a natural organism..."

"I don't know how told you that but I don't think it's factually correct," Kodi interjected as she got comfortable on the sofa.

With the light of several lanterns and candles, they gathered around the table to watch John B open the envelope. JJ took a bite of the sandwich and immediately spat it into the wastebasket before rejoining them.

They all watched as John B unfolded a map and spread it out on the table. There was writing and small diagrams peppered across it.

"Holy shit..."

"Oh, X marks the spot -" Pope pointed to the hastily drawn X on the map.

"Wait - there's something else." He reached into the envelope again and this time pulled out a tape recorder. John B pressed the play button and it worked.

"Dear Bird -"

"Who's Bird?" JJ piped up, confused.

"That's what my dad called me..." John B trailed off.

"I hate to say I told you so... But I told you so. And you doubted your old man. I suspect, at this moment, you're filled with guilt and self-loathing over our last fight. But don't kill yourself yet, kid. I didn't expect to find the Merchant either -"

They all shared looks of disbelief, hoping what they'd heard was true.

"You were probably right to call me out. Wasn't exactly the father of the decade. What can I say, kid? I could smell the barn. And hopefully, we're listening to this in our brand new sugar shack in Costa Rica, living off passive investments and pulling on permits."

With each passing second, John B's eyes got glassier. Filled with unshed tears as he listened.

"If not, and you find this for less than optimal reasons, well, that's what the map is for. There she is, the wreck of the Merchant. If something happens to me, finish what I started. Go for the gold, kid. I love you, Bird. Even if I didn't always act like it... I'll see you on the other side..."

John B got up and walked away from the table. Whilst the rest of them marvelled at the fact that Big John had in fact found the wreck, Kodi wanted desperately just to hug him. Give him some kind of comfort after everything he'd been through so far.

Kie beat her to it and offered an embrace that he seemed to melt into.

-/-/-

Later that night, sat on the dock, they all felt the need to relax and destress. Kie strummed her Ukelele and JJ skimmed rocks across the water. Thunder rumbled in the distance and Kodi could smell the impending storm in the air.

"How much was it, again?" JJ spoke up, though his voice came out uncharacteristically quiet.

"Four hundred mil," Pope replied without missing a beat.

"Alright, let's talk about the split." The way JJ spoke almost made Kodi believe that they stood even the smallest chance of actually finding the gold. It was oddly refreshing.

"Before we say evenly, may I remind you I am the only one that can properly defend us from those groupers who were after us," JJ stated and held up the gun. Kodi shook her head slightly.

"You haven't trained -" Pope began to object.

"YouTube, bro!"

"That's really not the way forward," Kodi remarked quietly as she settled against the wooden railing behind her. Whilst Pope and JJ bickered, she noticed John B was disconnected from the conversation. She stretched her leg out to bump her foot against his as casually as possible. He lowered the bottle he'd been drinking from and they shared a look.

Are you okay? Kodi mouthed to him and he shrugged it off. That didn't make her feel any better, but she'd made an effort at least.

"What are you going to do with your eighty mils, Pope?" Kie queried, curious. Kodi watched as he thought about it for a long beat before turning to look at them.

"Pay for college in advance. And also, textbooks. Those are expensive," he replied with a slight nod.

"That's smart. That's a good plan," Kodi agreed and picked at her sleeve.

"What about you, Kie?" JJ prompted and the conversation took a slight turn.

"Yeah, what does a socialist do when she's rich?" Pope teased. Thankfully, Kie had the good sense to just laugh off their digs and remarks.

"I just wanna make a double album. About OBX, the Pogues. You know, the way Catch A Fire is about Kingston. Record it at Marley Studio. Peter Tosh on producing -"

"Peter Tosh is -"

"Dead, I know." Kodi chuckled at the interaction and all eyes turned to her.

"Kodi?"

"Travel and surf," she replied quietly, "I wanna see the world. Put some miles on my soul. Experience the different languages, cultures, and food. Surf at the Eddie Aikau in Hawaii. I wanna see life beyond the Outer Banks." They all seemed surprised by her answer before JJ spoke up.

"I know what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna get a big ass house on Figure Eight and go Full Kook."

"You're gonna go Full Kook?"

"Yep. Gonna get a marble statue of myself, and then I'm gonna get a koi pond. Put a bunch of those fish -"

"I'm never visiting," Kie joked and a chorus of wishful laughter passed through the group.

"What are you gonna do, JB?" Pope's question turned all their heads to the boy in question.

"To going Full Kook," he replied with a growing grin. Everyone raised their drinks and toasted.

"To going Full Kook!" They all agreed and sat back in their chosen seats. A hopeful air surrounded them. The determination to find gold was a mutual desire.

They were going to make it happen.

-/-/-

By the following morning, the five of them were making their way through the waterfront. People were still working on clearing the damage left behind by Agatha. JJ whistled and caught their attention.

"You guys see that?" Everyone sat up and leaned forward to see what he was talking about. A speedboat was going in the opposite direction to them. It looked beyond expensive.

"That's the Malibu twenty-four-MXZ. The world's finest wakesetter. Number one in quality, luxury and performance," JJ stated and they all watched in fascination as it glided by.

"Two hundred K. Easy," Kodi remarked and ran a hand through her hair, her head tipped back to soak in the sun.

"We picked the wrong parents," Pope lamented before Kie interrupted.

"I hate to break it to you guys, but that's Topper and his girlfriend." Their amazement quickly soured and all eyes watched as the boat passed by. Sarah was tucked into Topper's side and held her nose in the air at the sight of them.

"You don't have to act like you don't see us, bitch." Kodi stifled a laugh at Kie's comment and put a hand behind her head, the other splayed on her stomach.

"Relax, Kie. If she wanted to, she would."

-/-/-

Stretched out in the back of the Twinkie, Kodi had lost track of what they'd been planning to do until they rolled to a stop and John B cut the engine. JJ turned and tapped her ankle, stirring her into motion.

"Alright, keep a lookout. We're behind enemy lines," JJ warned before loading the gun. Kodi opened her mouth to protest but John B beat her to it.

"C'mon, man, just put it back."

"What?"

"JJ -"

"You can never be too careful," he replied and Kodi shook her head in defeat. Pope climbed out and leaned into the passenger seat window.

"I predict that bringing a weapon into a four-star hotel will likely cause more problems than they solve."

"For a change, I agree with Pope. This is a bad idea." Kodi and Kie were the last ones out of the back and slid the doors shut with ease.

"I swear to God, I'm gonna throw that thing in the ocean, JJ. Put it back," Kie chimed in and he shook his head. Thankfully, John B pulled it out of his hand and put it in the glove box. Like a sulking child, JJ relented and climbed out of the Twinkie to follow after them.

"So, where exactly are we going?" Kodi questioned as they made their way up to the hotel he bussed tables at.

"We're getting on the internet because only rich people have electricity right now," he rebuffed and clipped his employee card to his belt loop. They followed him into the hotel through the trade entrance at the back and made their way through the teeming kitchen.

Steam, loud utensils and shouting back and forth made it hard to think straight. But no one seemed to protest their passing presence.

"See, they got the backup generators going? Kooks don't miss a beat," JJ commented quietly over his shoulder as they passed through the main floor.

When they finally made it to the room full of computers and WiFi that was actually connected, they all seemed to become frantic. Uncertain as to what they should check first. Pope got into the nearest computer and John B retrieved the map from his backpack. He read the coordinates out and they all gathered around to watch.

"- Boom, continental shelf, right there," John B pointed out with a gesture to the screen and where the red pin had landed.

"Well, if it's off the deep end, it's not going to be much of a treasure hunt, is it?" Eyes fixed on the screen, they watched in anticipation as Pope zoomed in, closer and closer.

"Shit, it's on the high side. It's only nine-hundred feet," John B concluded with an impressed expression.

"Oh, yeah, that's not too deep." Kodi's sarcasm was met by a subtle nod from JJ and pointed looks from Pope and John B.

"Is that doable?" Kie whispered, brows knitted together in confusion.

"Totally doable," JJ assured her and Pope protested.

"Will we be taking your personal submarine?"

"How do you know this, Mister Dive Master?"

"The Salvage Yard," JJ replied, matter-of-fact, "They've got a drone that can drop a thousand. It has a three-sixty camera and everything. It's for, like, deep dives and stuff."

"It sounds exactly like what we need," Kodi stated in agreement.

"Can your dad get his grimy little hands on that?" John B questioned, clearly not convinced.

"Well... My dad's grimy little hands are what got his ass fired. I guess the salvage captain frowns upon showing up shitfaced, turns out."

"Great..."

"The drone is there. It's in the impound yard, outback."

"How much did you say was on the Royal Merchant, again?" Kie shuffled in her seat slightly and tucked a few curls behind her ear.

"Four hundred million," JJ and John B replied in unison. Before any of them could reach the door, Pope had gotten up and stood in front of the double doors, arms open wide. Kie had a go at trying to move him, but it was no use. Thankfully, Pope didn't resist for long and they all made a dash out of the hotel, and back to the Twinkie.

"Can't we do anything legal for money?" the brainiac complained as they took off.

-/-/-

"Pope, we're not stealing the drone. We're borrowing it," John B explained for what sounded like the millionth time.

"Humans are the only animal that can't tell fantasy from reality," Pope quoted, staring out of the window. Kodi sat on the carpeted floor and watched as JJ rolled a joint, seemingly disconnected from the whole conversation.

"Did you come up with that?" John B questioned over his shoulder as he drove.

"No, Albert Bernstein came up with it, but it applies to this whole treasure-hunting thing."

"So, which is it? Fantasy or reality?"

"Why are you so weird, Pope?" Kodi nudged JJ with her foot. Thankfully, the conversation kept moving.

"It's fantasy, but possibly a reality."

"Reality," John B agreed with Kie. Kodi's attention turned back to JJ sparking up, the joint hanging from the corner of his mouth. Before the flame could make contact, Pope plucked it from his mouth and cast it aside.

"Keep the signal clear." The pout on his face was too much to bear and Kodi laughed as she watched him flip the lighter closed and tuck it back into his pocket.

"Alright, roll out." Kie went ahead and put the diversion in motion to draw out the security guard. Kodi, Pope, John B and JJ waited off to the side, hiding behind a parked boat.

"How's it going with Kiara?" JJ teased John B as they watched the guard follow Kie to the people carrier.

"It's not awkward, weird or anything."

"Honestly, I didn't think you were actually gonna listen to me..." JJ replied, amused by John B's answer.

"I was a hundred per cent sure she was into you. Pope would agree." Eyes turned to Pope, who was crouched at the end of the line. He refused to look at any of them.

"Ehh..."

"So, like, Kie. She definitely gave you the Heisman?" Kodi queried, both curious and just desperate to move the conversation along a little faster.

"Oh, no question. Yep."

"Maybe she's just into someone else," Pope suggested and it was Kodi's turn to snort quietly into her sleeve at the prospect.

"Or, maybe she's just not into guys." The three of them turned to look at her with confusion.

"What? I would know, I've got a foot in the door," she defended in a half-whisper. Mercifully, Kie had gotten the guard far enough away from the gatehouse and that was their cue to move in. The four of them took off in a sprint to get into the yard.

JJ was in front, John B next and then Pope and Kodi were side-by-side. She couldn't remember the last time she had to run like that without being chased. They caught their breath as JJ spun in the combination on the lock with slightly fumbling hands.

"Do you have the right numbers?" Pope quizzed as they watched him tug frantically at the lock, It didn't open.

"All right, so I might have the wrong numbers." A collective sigh of disappointment passed over them. None of them was sure of what to do next when a guard dog came sliding around the boats, barking and growling at them.

"Shit!" They all scattered in different directions. John B and Kodi hid around the side of the storage unit, whilst Pope and JJ took off.

"All clear?" Kodi poked her head around the corner of the unit and nodded. She watched him reach for a pipe and swing at the lock. Two tries and it split. They ducked inside and began looking around.

John B made a run for the storage cage and Kodi caught up to help him lug the two boxes they needed out of there.

"Well, that was fucking terrifying..."

--//--//--

@moremaybank @kraekat29 @thatsthewaythechrissycrumbles @bjrmaybank

#jj maybank #jj maybank fanfic #jj maybank fanfiction #jj maybank x oc #jj maybank x f!oc #jj maybank x pogue!oc #pope heyward #john b routledge #sarah cameron #kiara carrera #outer banks #obx #outer banks fanfiction #obx fanfiction #libra writes #brutal the series

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obxologies · 11 months

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𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 | 𝘒𝘪𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘳𝘢 𝘹 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘹 𝘙𝘢𝘧𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘯 ( 𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵 )

based off this concept

TABLE OF CONTENTS

prologue

chapter one: ...

chapter two: ...

chapter three: ...

#outer banks #outer banks x reader #x reader #obx #imagines #rafe cameron #drew starkey #kiara carrera #madison bailey #rafe x reader x kiara #rafe cameron x reader #kiara carrera x reader #rafe cameron x reader x kiara carrera #outer banks series #outer banks oneshot #outer banks fic #obxologies

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obxsummer · 2 years

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Revelations // Ghost of You

summary: obx's annual bonfire is here and for the pogues, that means throwing punches and shotgunning some beers. except, this time there's vicious arrows, sarah's back on the cut, and you're dragged back into your own personal hell.

warnings: suicidal thoughts, angst, panic attacks, cursing, the usual

a/n: i love me some angst baby WHOOP WHOOP

navigation -- series masterlist

Hushed whispers were hard to avoid while you moved from table to table at the Wreck. Sure, you had grown used to avoiding the negative comments as best as possible, but Ward Cameron was dead and the island was reeling over it. You knew the whole story wasn’t out yet but it was soon to come, that wasn’t hard to miss. School was the same, rushed whispers and odd looks in the hall that had you hiding behind the boys more than ever.

You were doing your best to keep everything together but it was hard to get back on your feet after being torn down for so long. You could tell the Pogues were doing their best to get you and John B back into commission. Kie was pulling you out of bed most days, especially keeping you together at work. JJ held you at night, never questioning your tears. Pope was tiptoeing a little bit, but you appreciated his simple actions like packing lunch for you to take to work, or the sudden upkeep in your favorite snacks. You friends were pulling together when you needed them and for that, you’d be forever grateful.

Pope had been given permission to Denmark’s diary that was recovered which continued to give your group clues as to where to go next. The warm afternoon air danced across the porch as you lounged across the couch with your feet in Kie’s lap. The beer in your hand was empty and you didn’t question where they had suddenly appeared from.

“This diary proves that both the gold and the Cross of Santo Domingo were on the Royal Merchant,” Pope discovered as he handed the diary over to Kie.

“Why didn’t we find it in the well then?” JJ asked as he flipped his lighter between his fingers before rolling over to face you guys. “I mean, if Denmark was able to get this, like, bedazzled cross off of the merchant to shore, why didn’t he just hide it with the gold?”

“Because it was too big,” You offered as you reached up to grab the lighter from the boy’s fingers to hold in your own.

Pope nodded in agreement. “He had to hide it someplace else. Right before he was hung, Denmark Tanny said he buried the treasure at the foot of the angel.”

John B, Kie, and Pope delved into more questions that didn’t really have answers. You zoned out, watching the silver metal in your hand move with your wishes, a bright flame flickering now and then as a distraction. JJ must’ve gotten bored with it before he hopped up and interrupted the conversation. “You know what always helps me figure shit out? Smoking beers and drinking weed. The ideas just pour out of me. If we just sit here, and try to figure this out, we’re gonna get nowhere. But if we get creative and go to this bonfire tonight, maybe we’ll get somewhere.”

“Well, I just got disowned by my parents, and I’m an official member of the I-have-nothing-to-lose club.”

“Pope?” The two boys had a mini staring competition before JJ was rushing to explain his idea further. “Look, look. Think about how much you could think if you just gave your brain a rest.”

Pope hesitated for a moment as the trio listened in eager anticipation. “Okay, fine.” Excited bursts followed his statement before all eyes fell on you.

With a groan, you shifted to lay on your side so you could see them. “I don’t know guys.”

Kie tapped your legs anxiously. “Come on, Y/N! It’ll be fun! We can just have a few drinks, chill on the beach. It’ll be a nice, easy evening.”

“Yeah but the Kooks are gonna be there,” You whined as you pouted slightly. “That’s mood killer enough.”

“Come on babe,” JJ pleaded as he stood directly above you, finger poking your nose gently. “You know you want to.”

You kept eye contact with him for a second and truly pondered the option. You knew you wouldn’t be able to tell them no, but as hard as you tried to get yourself out of the rut you were in, it was proving difficult. You knew going into a crowd wouldn’t help that feeling go away, but you also didn’t want to disappoint them.

“Fine, I’ll go.”

Your stomach was in knots as you sat on your bed later that evening. Kie had laid out an outfit - some simple jean shorts and a cute top. You stole one of the boys’ flannels from the kitchen chair, knowing the air would get chilly. Plus, not that you would admit it, but it made you feel better about going anyway. Not that they needed to know that.

“There you are.” JJ’s smile was unmissable as you walked onto the screened in porch where he was smoking with Kie. He could tell you were nervous and wanted to do his best to help as much as he could.

“Hi.” You returned the gesture before sitting next to him and snatching a drink from the cooler in front of you. “Where’s JB and Pope?”

“Bullshitting on the Pogue,” Kie explained as she waved towards the water. “I’m really glad you’re coming with us tonight. I think it’ll be a good change for you.”

You nodded, still feeling uncertain but you could feel the weight on you lift slightly. This was supposed to be fun, and if John B could pull himself out of bed to do it, you had no reason not to. You knew it would take a little more than usual but you wanted to be back to normal and leave this funk behind you.

“Come on, let’s go get them.” Kie reached down to grab a few spare drinks before leading the way down the dock towards where the two boys were lounging on the boat. Neither of them glanced up at your footsteps which led you to believe they didn’t even know you were there.

JJ’s finger slipped into your belt loop to tug you closer in comfort before tossing a beer in the air without warning. “Hot potato, hot potato, hot potato two!”

Both John B and Pope sat up with the intrusive flying cans and attempted to catch their own. “Oh shit!”

“I need another one!”

“Hey!”

“I’ll take that.”

“Alright,” You laughed at their antics before gently throwing an unopened can to your brother. “What are you guys doing down here? Having a good cry?” You pulled yourself up to sit on the wooden railing, kicking your legs lightly as you gave them a teasing smile.

John B flipped you off and shotgunned his drink while Pope scoffed, “Cry?”

“Cry?” Your brother repeated the word again once he finished. “What are you talking about -- we don’t cry.” You rolled your eyes at his dismissive behavior but it was painfully obvious he had been crying not too long ago.

“You know it’s not your fault, right?” Kie told him.

John B looked away from her and out towards the water. “You think she’ll come around?”

“Yeah, dude,” Kie answered instantly. “She’s one of us.”

Your brother’s frown shifted into a smirk as he messed around with his hair. “Sarah’s a Pogue. She’ll come around. Yep. You know, she’ll come back to me. Right. You know, I was just thinking about it. I’m gonna do a backflip.”

You gave him a weird look as he pointed eagerly towards the water. “You’re lying.”

“I won’t do it?”

“You won’t.”

“You got any money?”

“Hold my beer that you already dropped.”

“I wanna see you do it!”

John B didn’t wait for another comment before flipping off the side of the boat into the water below. Various cheers rang out between you, JJ, Kie, and Pope as he rose back to the surface. You knew John B would bounce back relatively fast after the situation the other day. You were glad he could, but it wasn’t hard to miss the fact that he was putting on a brave face for everyone.

The bonfire was already massive when you guys finally got there. Kooks, Pogues, and a handful of tourons crowded the area and music was rattling your ears the second you hopped out of the van. Your eyes widened in surprise as you let JJ guide you along as he conversed with John B about Sarah.

“In the meantime, shotgun, right now. Just like the old days,” JJ interrupted whatever rant John B was on to lean down and grab three beers from the case on the ground. He handed one to you and dug for a couple more to shove into his pockets for later.

“Hey, derelicts!” The yell came before a somewhat empty cup was being tossed towards you. You winced as a few drops hit your skin and redirected your gaze to where a brunette girl was staring at the three of you intently. You recognized her as Rachel, a girl from your school that literally never spoke to any of you outside of now.

JJ took one look at your face and knew it was time to move before you let out your aggression on the girl in front of you. “There she is. That’s you. We’re out of here.” JJ pushed the can into John B’s chest before grabbing your hand and guiding you away from the two.

“Fucking hell,” You grumbled once you found a spot up on the concrete wall to sit. The bonfire burned below you where more people were crowded around. You didn’t hesitate to pop a hole in your can and shotgun it back in hopes that it would lessen some of your anxiety.

“Shit, babe. Already pissed?” JJ raised his hands in defense when you gave him a sharp glare. “Sorry, that’s on me.”

You shook your head and leaned against his shoulder, pulling your leg up to your chest. “No, I just… will never get used to people doing shit like that with you two. Couldn’t be me.”

“No,” JJ laughed but you could tell he wasn’t making fun of you. “It’s not you, but you don’t have to worry about that with me anymore.”

You couldn’t tell if you were overthinking but you looked over at him with curious eyes. JJ never scared you, and you were never afraid to show him exactly what you were thinking. “What’s that mean?”

JJ noticed his slip up and quickly downed his drink before facing you. “Look, um. I mean, shit. Come on, Y/N/N. We’ve been straight up flirting for like two weeks now, and let’s be honest. I…I, you’re everything for me, okay? And I’m sorry if that terrifies you but I have to tell you. I know you’re going through it right now and I’m willing to hold off, if-if you’re even interested but-”

“JJ.” You took his hesitation as enough of an answer and placed your hand on his cheek to get him to look at you. His eyes were wide in anticipation, causing a small smile to form on your face. “Shut the fuck up.” In two seconds, you had your lips on his. In four, his hand was on your waist after the shock wore off. After eight, people noticed and broke into noise which finally broke the two of you apart.

You knew your cheeks were warm with the attention focused on the two of you and dug your face into JJ’s shirt sleeve. He, however, thought it was the funniest thing ever and raised his arms in the air as an expression of a win.

“What the hell!” Kiara’s voice pulled you back into the limelight as you looked down at her. Her mouth was wide open in a jaw-shattering smile. “About time you two! Holy shit, Pope!” Her hand tugged his shirt sleeve aggressively even though he was already watching.

You tossed back with a middle finger before ignoring her as she continued to freak out. Your eyes scanned the crowd briefly to see if John B was in sight before you landed on him. He was next to Rachel, the same girl from earlier and to your shock, Sarah Cameron was standing in the conversation.

Deciding that could wait for later, you finally met JJ’s gaze again to see him staring at you adoringly. “What?” You laughed slightly at his awestruck expression. “Are you gonna say something?”

“Pleasebemygirlfriend.”

With a laugh, you grabbed his hand in yours and nodded. “That’s obvious, J. But I’m not saving you when John B decides to kick your ass.”

“I can take him!” He fired back instantly and puffed his chest out in effect. “I’ve got it. Don’t you worry.”

Shaking your head, you faced back towards the bonfire below you and returned your head to his shoulder. Sounds of arguing had you turning to see Topper now by Sarah’s side, the three of them shouting at each other. Phones began popping up to film and that was enough to send your heart racing.

You and JJ took off down the stairs in a split second, bumping into Kie and Pope along the way. You skidded to a stop in time to see Kelce shove himself in between Topper and John B, yelling insults as he did. “Whatcha gonna do, John B? Kill me like you killed Sheriff Peterkin? Huh? Do something!”

Your brother flipped around with such veracity that you could’ve missed it in a blink. His fist connected with Kelce’s cheek and knocked him back before Topper was suddenly back in the mix. You stared with wide eyes as JJ and Pope didn’t hesitate to throw themselves into the fury of hands.

“Move!” Your shout had people turning as you began to push your way towards the altercation with hopes that one of the boys would chill out if you intervened.

“Bitch!” The returned call had you looking to your left in fury to see Rachel push Sarah to the ground intentionally.

With a newfound rage, and a misplaced aggression ready to burst, you flew towards her. “Hey Rachel!” She barely looked towards you before your hands landed on her shoulders and shoved her back, watching as she collided with the concrete beneath her. “Don’t fucking touch her!” Glancing down at Sarah, you offered her your hand to help pull her up. “Are you okay?”

The question was left unanswered as Rachel got up with a new attitude. “What the hell? Whose side are you on?” Her leg kicked out against your hip causing you to tumble to the ground. You hissed as your hands scraped against the concrete.

With a groan, you were right back on your feet. You didn’t hesitate to push yourself into her personal space, eyes glaring intently. “First of all, she’s my friend, so watch who you put your hands on next time. Second of all-” There was a split second between your words before you threw a nasty punch to her cheek. The crowd around you gasped in shock as she stumbled back. “Stay the hell away from my brother.”

Turning sharply, you moved straight back to where the boys were still throwing hands. Your fingers latched onto the collar of Topper’s shirt before you yanked back aggressively. He choked momentarily, hands leaving John B’s throat as he was thrown off balance. He looked up, ready to get into another fight with whoever stopped him before he realized it was you. “Y/N, get out of here before you get hurt.”

“Topper, I spent months locked in the same house as Rafe,” You sneered as you stepped between him and John B. “Don’t fucking tell me what to do, and don’t talk to me about getting hurt.”

With a snide glare, Topper was brushing blood off his cheek and collecting Kelce from Pope and JJ to scramble away. Yelling continued from both sides of the island as they all argued with each other while you busied yourself with collecting John B from the floor. JJ, Kie, and Pope tumbled into the two of you before you all took off towards the van.

—

The adrenaline was still pumping when you all finally pulled up at the Chateau where the lights lit up the yard..

“Well, that was a little unexpected,” JJ commented when he came back from grabbing drinks. You were still in the passenger seat, feet up on the dash as you left the door to hang open with fresh air. John B was crumbled into the back corner of the van, a cold beer can pressed against his already bruising face. Kie was behind you on the bench with her back against the driver’s seat, eyes intently watching your brother.

“Was it though?” She asked rhetorically as she took a drink from JJ. She looked exhausted, probably still coming down from the rush.

Pope was in the driver’s seat with his head resting against the steering wheel. Reaching over, you gently grabbed his shoulder to shift him back before your fingers redirected his chin. His left eye was swollen from someone’s hand colliding with it. He gave you a half-assed smile as you handed over a cold beer can for him to put on it.

“Hey, maybe she’ll come around,” JJ tried to encourage John B as best as possible. His fingers reached into the doorway for you to catch on your own. You wanted to curl up with him on the couch and just go to bed after everything.

“It’s like everything that happened to us didn’t matter,” John B whispered quietly. You closed your eyes and let out a deep breath, trying to rid yourself of the still presenting shaking from the fight.

Fingers tapped on your thigh for you to open your eyes again. “Who got you all banged up, pretty girl?” JJ brushed a few loose pieces of gravel and dirt from your busted knee and the side of your leg. You hadn’t even noticed the injury in the chaos but the burn was starting to settle in.

“Oh my God, you guys missed it!” You could practically hear the smile in Kie’s face. “After JJ and Y/N got done making out-”

“Making out?!”

“She rocked the shit out of Rachel! Like ass on the grass and everything,” Kie finished as she looked over to you. You rolled your eyes at her explanation, ignoring your brother’s frantic questions in the background.

“That’s a bit dramatic…”

“No, no. It was awesome. She was all ‘don’t fucking touch her’ about Sarah and then BOOM ‘stay the hell away from my brother’! Pretty badass if you ask me,” Kie recountered, mocking your voice in quotations.

JJ’s gaze met yours as you gave him a half-smile, his hand grabbing yours as his thumb ghosted over your bruised knuckles. “Let’s get you cleaned up, yeah?” You let him pull you from the van and into the house. Your knees weren’t that bad, but they looked pretty gnarly since you hadn’t had a chance to clean the dried blood and dirt from them. A quick wipe down with a wet towel and they would be fine.

“I hope I didn’t overwhelm you at the party,” JJ spoke quietly as he tried to clean the scrapes as best as possible.

You were sitting on the counter, leaning against the cabinets with your hands out to support you. “Not at all, J. I think it’s been coming for a while now. We just needed a push.”

“Yeah,” He laughed slightly with his reply. “I meant it all though. I love you.” He stood back up to his full height, tossing the dirty paper towel in the garbage before stepping between your legs to push his arms under yours on the counter. “Meant every bit of it.”

You shifted, hands coming up to rest on his cheeks as his arms moved to wrap around your waist. “I love you too.” The affirmation was met with a strong kiss as he pulled you closer. JJ felt like home in every way possible. Ever since he pulled you out of the Camerons’ house that night, you associated that feeling with him. That rush of comfort, peace, warmth. It was all him.

“Oh, so this is what Kie meant in the van.” John B’s voice interrupted the moment as you both turned to look at him. “Gross, on my counter too.”

“It’s as much your counter as mine,” You contradicted as you took JJ’s hand to hop off the surface. “But yes, this is what Kie meant in the van. I hope that’s okay.”

John B gave you a wild look at your ask. “Why are you asking me? I don’t give a shit.” You gave him a deadpanned look. “Okay, I do give a shit. Just please don’t end up like me and Sarah, okay? It was hard enough to see you after everything with the Camerons and I can’t do it again.”

“Deal,” You agreed with a smile.

The three of you grabbed more drinks before heading outside to join Pope and Kie by the fire. Plopping in a chair between your brother and JJ, you grabbed a skewer to roast a marshmallow on before leaning for the gooey snack to be warmed up.

“I’ve had more black eyes in the last month than I’ve ever had,” Pope joked as he cracked open a new drink and took a seat in the bag chair next to JJ.

The blond boy next to you laughed. “That was building up for years. Rumble in the jungle.” He tried to pull his marshmallow off only to grimace when he burned his finger. Shaking your head at his carelessness, you sat back and pulled your legs up on your seat once you deemed your marshmallow cooked enough.

“Hey, did you really stick up for Sarah?” John B sat next to you, a flannel now over his t-shirt to keep the chill air off his skin.

You gave him a side glance and continued making your s’more. “Of course I did. I know you guys are going through it but she’s not a real Kook.”

“Right.” John B didn’t want to admit it, but when you blew up on him on the beach before the cops showed up, he feared your relationship with Sarah was shattered beyond repair. That would’ve been a nightmare for him. Sure it was hard to convince Kie in the beginning to give the Cameron girl a chance, but if you and Sarah hated each other, that was the worst case scenario to John B. “I just want one bite, that looks-”

Too focused on JJ’s battle with his marshmallow, you didn’t have time to defend yourself from your brother completely stealing your perfected s’more. “What are you doing? Bro, stop!” You smacked John B’s shoulder in retaliation as he licked the remainders off his fingers.

Turning to your boyfriend, JJ was quick to move his messy one out of reach. “You’re not having any of mine.” You gaped at him over the fact that he wouldn’t even spare you a bite when yours was just stolen in front of your eyes.

“Dude, come on!”

“Don’t dude me! This is my s’more!”

You made the move to attack the boy next to you until he caved but John B’s hand latched on your flannel and tugged you into your seat. “Hey, hey. Shh, somebody’s here.”

Silence fell across the five of you as you locked eyes with JJ. “If it’s Rafe…” You trailed off, expression dropping to one of full fear that had him climbing out of his seat. “Do you have your gun?”

“Oh, now you want the gun!”

“J!” You hissed as you grabbed his sleeve. “Seriously?”

“Shut up!” John B hushed you as he started to walk towards the source of the noise. “Hey, who’s out there?”

“You Kooks better not try anything!” Kie called out as she stepped over the log she had been sitting on to follow him. JJ grabbed the metal pole off the ground that they had sharpened to poke the fire, leaving you and Pope to bring up the end.

“How y’all doing?” A man stepped around the corner who you recognized as Limbrey’s guard dog from the other day. “Lovely evening we’re having. Look, I uh, I don’t hold a grudge with any of y’all, alright? But this can go hard or this can go easy. You know what I’m here for.” He made a show of patting himself down and spinning so you could see there were no obvious weapons. The five of you stood silently after he had finished his monologue, which was apparently annoying to him. “Let me give you a little demonstration. You see that swing right there?”

Eyes focusing, you realized he was talking about the swing directly in front of you and JJ. Your boyfriend didn’t flinch at the rhetorical question, instead keeping silent as the man continued. “I’ve got the best bow hunters in the Army Rangers with me. Hidden.”

JJ hummed in supposed belief and placed his hand on the right rope that held the swing up. The dude let out a whistle and there was instantly a sharp noise of an arrow that sliced through the left rope, inches from your arm before it lodged into the tree next to you. Choking on a gasp, you stepped away from the weapon that had become a little too close for comfort.

“Now, they’re out there. They’ll stick you just as soon as I say so,” The man continued before he turned to approach Pope. You saw JJ shift in front of you, the metal bar in the air to attack before another sharp whistle rang out and landed inches from his shoe. “Ah, ah, ah. We clear?” You frowned as the man reached out to lessen JJ’s defense stance.

The tension shifted as Pope reached into his pocket where the key had been hiding. He took a second to look at it before closing his fist around it tightly. “This key belongs to my family.”

The guy turned around to face where you, JJ, Kie, and John B stood behind him. He let out a sarcastic laugh. “I’m losing my patience with you, Pope.” He put his fingers in his mouth and prepared to let out another whistle until your friend shifted to hand the object over. The man grasped it quickly before pointing in Pope’s face.

“You did the right thing, kid. Knowing when you don’t have a choice is an underappreciated talent. You be safe.” He turned to leave, not forgetting to make a sarcastic comment at JJ that had you sending him a sharp glare as he disappeared out of view.

When the yard was clear, Pope let out a deep breath. “I am so sick of this shit.” He didn’t wait for anyone’s response before he left you all behind to go hide in the Chateau. You watched him go with a pang of sadness.

JJ threw the metal pole down in a fit of anger before stomping towards the fire that was still burning steadily. You crossed your arms over your chest in a self-hug as you watched the scene in front of you. This rollercoaster of up and down was never easy, but you just hoped at some point here soon, there would be a win for all of you.

After giving it a minute, you moved forward to crouch in front of JJ. “Hey.” You gently pulled his hands from where they were holding his head so he would look at you. “Wanna go to bed?” Giving a silent nod, he let you pull him up from his seat. You gave John B and Kie a tight lipped smile before walking towards the house.

Pope had already settled on the pull-out in the light of the TV. You two shuffled quietly across the wooden floor into your room before closing the door as quietly as possible. JJ pulled his shirt off and jumped on the bed as you ducked into the attached bathroom to brush your teeth and change into some comfier clothing. You couldn’t believe how much had happened in such a short time of the night, but you could tell you needed to sleep on it to process.

Having JJ in your bed wasn’t entirely new, and you tried not to think about it too much when you walked back in to see his bare back turned towards you. After flipping the light switch off, you crawled into the open spot to face him with your fingers gliding across his smooth skin. You pressed a small kiss between his shoulder blades before tucking your left arm around his waist and curling into his form.

You could just hope when you woke up in the morning, this would still be real.

It was still very much real the next morning when you woke up to the sunlight in your room and JJ’s arm holding you tightly to his chest. It didn’t take long before everyone in the house was up and moving to relax on the porch, various remainders of breakfast food lingering around that you would pick up later.

JJ had flopped on the couch first, leaving you to crawl on top of him to continue to steal his warmth despite the hoodie you were wearing. He didn’t seem to mind and let you lie on his chest while his hands clasped on the small of your back. Your eyes were heavy while he conversed with the boys, and once Kie placed a blanket over the two of you, you threatened to dive back into slumber at any second.

The sound of the screen door opening kept you from doing so as JJ called out a greeting. You shifted to see Sarah clambering her way across the wooden deck to stand in front of you. You had to admit, you were surprised to see her on your side of the island so quickly after the bonfire.

“Shouldn’t you be on Figure Eight with your little group of polo players? Or did you break up with Topper?” John B’s attitude was obvious and it made you roll your eyes.

“He’s just a friend.”

“Just a friend,” John B scoffed at the explanation and barely spared a look at her. “Seems like you got a lot of friends, Sarah Cameron.”

“Yeah, and it seems like you’ve got some of your own too!” She quipped right back. You were glad she was comfortable to still come around regardless of her relationship with your brother.

Knowing he was in a losing argument, John B sat up straight. “Alright, what are you doing here?”

“John Booker!” You groaned at his shitty attitude and flipped him the middle finger so he would shut up. He dismissed you with a returned flip off.

Sarah wasn’t too phased by the negativity and ignored him. “Actually, I’m here for Pope. I think I found the Island Room.”

There wasn’t much of an explanation needed before you were all climbing into the van with your destination set on her house. As the group delved into conversation at what they had found so far, you couldn’t bring yourself to add any input.

Going back to the Camerons’ house meant going back to Rafe and it meant putting yourself back into that headspace that you were still trying to escape. You didn’t know if you were able to do that anymore. The world had been chipping away at the foundation you had built your whole life and you wondered when it would crack under the weight of everything else.

When John B pulled up to the back patio doors, it took everything in you not to throw up your breakfast. You could practically hear the screams echoing from the windows the second you laid eyes on them. Tugging your jacket closer, you let JJ grab your hand to lead you along, opting to close your eyes in hopes that you could just follow his guidance and not have to relive the memories.

The creeks of the house around you were chilling and you could tell by the surrounding silence that nobody else was home. Letting out a breath, you froze the second the light wasn’t visible anymore and with your luck, JJ’s hand dropped from yours.

“Woo!” He whistled in astonishment. You stopped cold, someone running into your back as your eyes snapped open to see the old grandfather clock against the wall ahead of you and the all-too-well known door to the left of it. Your friends followed Sarah’s lead into the room across the hall, leaving you to yourself.

“This place still freaks me out,” John B’s comment wasn’t missed and based on the proximity of his voice, you could tell he was the one who had bumped into you. He came to stand in front of you, observing the wallpaper that haunted your nightmares to this day. “You okay?”

He grabbed your elbow, shattering the trance you had placed yourself in unintentionally. Blinking quickly, you tried to keep the tears from falling and recenter yourself, convince your mind that you were safe, but it was hard when everything was so dark and crowded by the memories. Rafe’s voice was echoing in your head, Ward’s angry shouting, and just pain.

“Y/N?” John B placed both hands on your shoulders as he recognized the panic in your face. It took a split second for it to click. If he felt weird being in this house, he couldn’t imagine how you felt. He blinked and suddenly, you were kids again and you were crawling in his bed because of the tropical storm raging outside. Your dad never understood how to support you as well as he did with John B, so the older brother mantle carried a lot of weight between the two of you.

John B always took care of you when you were kids and when your dad disappeared, the roles swapped and you took the lead. He got careless without the responsibility - careless and he took it out on you, which was the worst part. You didn’t blame him, rarely got mad, and all he did was leave you behind. He let you go through the worst part of your life by yourself and never once did you think he was coming to help you.

“Hey, hey, hey, shh.” John B cradled your head into his chest as the glass walls you attempted to put up shattered to pieces. The sob you let out was heartwrenching as the two of you slid to the ground. John B pulled you closer as you clenched his shirt in your hands. He could tell you were struggling to breathe through it all and it broke his heart to see you like this. “It’s okay, I’ve got you. I gotcha.”

You knew he was talking to you, you could feel him, but everything was numb. Your ears were ringing, chest heaving but you couldn’t get a single gasp of air in your system. Everything hurt and you knew if you opened your eyes, it would just hurt worse because it was real all over again.

“You’re okay, you’re okay. I’m sorry,” John B apologized as he held tighter. He knew he failed you and he hadn’t even bothered to apologize. He felt horrible - what kind of big brother leaves you to fend for yourself when you need him most.

JJ’s form came around the corner, his eyes dropping to the ground when he saw you and John B. The distraught look on his best friend’s face sent him into a fit of concern as he dropped to the ground in front of you. “Hey, Y/N, baby. What’s wrong?” You didn’t even know JJ was there and the fact that you weren’t responding to either of them was even scarier.

“She’s having a panic attack,” John B tried to explain around your cries. The way you were grasping his shirt threatened to rip holes through the fabric and he wished he could do something to help you. Tears of his own slipped down his cheeks. He just felt so horrible knowing you were in this much pain over a situation that he put you in. “I’m sorry, Y/N. I’m so sorry. I should’ve been there. I should’ve never let this happen.”

JJ didn’t say anything, instead placing a hand on the side of your neck to try and break you out of the dizzy spell. He had only seen you like this once before, when the whole island was searching for John B and you didn’t see an ending in sight. He tried to think back to that night, how they were able to calm you down.

“Shit, shit, um.” JJ was trying to keep himself from panicking as he met John B’s gaze. Both of them were no use if they freaked out at the same time. “You gotta get her to unclench her hands a-and then she’s gotta open her eyes and see where she’s at but-but I don’t know if that’s gonna help her, dude! Clearly it’s where we’re at that’s freaking her out!”

JJ’s voice wavered in and out of your head and you could hear bits and pieces if you tried. A few seconds later, you felt someone tugging your hands from John B’s shirt and fingers intertwined with yours to prevent you from closing your fists again. The white burning pain in your head slowly loosened up and you felt a coolness against your neck. Slowly, the words started making sense and you could hear the boys talking.

“There you go, we’re right here. It’s okay, it’s okay.”

A gulp of fresh air made its way into your lungs as you finally willed your eyes to open. JJ was kneeling in front of you, hands holding yours tightly. Once he saw you were coming to, he slowly let go to place a hand on your thigh. It took you a moment to recognize what had happened before you closed your eyes for a second to rub them aggressively.

John B was still behind you, one arm holding you tightly as the other pressed a damp washcloth against your neck. You could feel his hand shaking with the rush of panic you had just caused. Letting your head fall back, your body finally relaxed, overcome with exhaustion.

“Shit,” You mumbled as you let out a deep breath. “Sorry, that… I didn’t mean for that to happen.” A small drop of water hit your face and you blinked to see John B’s eyes filled with tears. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” You shifted to sit up so you could refocus your breathing and see him better. You knew you had freaked him out and you felt horrible to think that it was your fault.

“I should’ve been there,” He choked out as the tears became heavier, his hand holding your wrist tightly. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you. And I wasn’t, and that’s my fault. I’ll never make it up to you, I know that, but I want… I want to help, so you’ve gotta let me help. Please.”

Seeing John B so upset over you was a weird feeling. You both were extremely protective over your friends, and of course you looked out for each other. Either way, you weren’t used to people telling you to lean on them, you were always the one they leaned on. And you were fine with that, it was bearable, but in moments like this, you realized how heavy you were on yourself.

“I’m sorry,” You whispered as you leaned against the wall behind you and pulled your knees up to your chest. Tears were light on your cheeks as you glanced around, convincing yourself to keep breathing as you observed the hallway surroundings. “It’s just… being back here makes it all real all over again. I-I didn’t think it would hurt this bad but um...”

A small hiccup left your throat as you processed another memory. JJ’s hand slid across your shoulder blade to lightly massage your neck, his fingers brushing across your jawline in comfort. You had barely opened up about what specifically happened when you were with the Camerons, but clearly they could guess enough to piece it together.

“I just see myself, trapped in there again and again, and I didn’t think anyone was coming to help,” You admitted as you tucked your face into your knees. “I was terrified, and I thought you were dead, and I just wanted it all to end. It felt like everyone just forgot I existed. I didn’t even get a chance to say bye. I got out once, and then it was so much worse. And then JJ comes to get me and you’re home and I felt like shit. I come home and you’re all excited and having a good time and it’s like I didn’t even matter.”

It was hard to share how you really felt, especially with the two people who mattered most to you, but you had to be honest. It hurt to come home and see everyone celebrating without you, and it felt even worse that JJ was the only one who bothered to come help you escape. You never held it against them, just glad to be back with your family but you knew if it were any of them, you’d be there front and center trying to do anything you possibly could.

Both boys collided with you at once, wrapping you into suffocatingly tight hugs once you finished your explanation. You clung to them, the three of you crying together in a hallway that had held so much of your lives in the span of a year. You knew things would never be the same, but from here, you could all focus on helping each other heal and move on.

“Okay… did we miss something?” Pope’s voice interrupted your peaceful moment causing the three of you to look up into your friends’ curious eyes. They had all piled out of the room to see your cuddle puddle on the floor. “Do we need to have a group therapy session?”

A teary laugh left your throat as you released John B and JJ from your hold. They were quick to stand up and bring you with them as you all got to your feet. You shook your head and forced a smile while you grabbed JJ’s hand and leaned into John B’s side.

“Let’s get moving, we can’t let them get ahead.” Kie pulled the attention off you, something you were grateful for as you let them all pass before following along.

There was an unspoken conclusion to your conversation, something you knew would come up later to be adjusted when you didn’t have ears listening in. As you walked with your hand in JJ’s and John B’s arm around your shoulder, you knew everything would work itself out eventually. In a perfect world, you guys wouldn’t be going on crazy adventures that prolonged your closure, but it’s a Pogue life and it’s always unpredictable.

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