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justabigassnerd · 22 days ago

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In Another Life pt. 7

Pairing - Jackson Genrette x reader (Kook!JJ AU)

Word Count - 1,984

Series Warnings - swearing, smoking, angst, fluff, violence, weapons, blood, injuries, death, canon divergence (it's an AU innit?), drugs, alcohol, verbal & physical abuse

Summary - In another life, JJ Maybank was known by the name Jackson Genrette. The son of Larissa Genrette and grandson of Wes Genrette, making him the sole heir of Goat Island. Instead of being associated with surfing and smoking. Jackson was associated with the country club and yachts. Yet despite his unending wealth and Kook status, Jackson found himself intrigued by the adventures of the Pogues and found himself dragged along on an adventure he never could’ve anticipated.

In Another Life masterlist

In Another Life playlist

A/N - it's another part of this series everyone! as per y'all, please send in requests, feedback, and enjoy!!!

After your encounter with Bobby, you head out of the salvage yard, finding all your friends at the Twinkie.

“We got it!” John B says excitedly, making you smile and give your friend a high-five at the news.

“How’d you even get out of that? We couldn’t find you.” Pope asks, watching you as you shrug confidently.

“A little emotional manipulation goes a long way, Pope.” You say, clapping your friend on the shoulder as you climb into the Twinkie, everyone mimicking you before John B drives off.

“I’m so hungry.” You hear John B mumble.

“Yeah, same.” You admit, feeling your stomach begin to grumble.

“Let’s swing by the Wreck, I’m sure my parents have some food we can have,” Kiara says, making you and the others cheer. John B takes the quickest route he possibly can to get to the Wreck so you can all eat. Since it was practically closing time for the restaurant, you were banking on leftover food, hoping it hadn’t already been thrown out.

When you arrive at the restaurant, you all enter the building and tuck yourselves away in a corner while Kiara talks to her dad. You didn’t know what they were saying, but when Mike looked over at you, you shot him a wave and a smile, hoping it would soften him enough to give you all some food. You soon see Mike nod and say something to Kiara as she hugs him, confirming to you that he’d said yes to letting you guys have some food as you bolt over to a table.

Kiara brings you and the others the food and some water as you all dig in, shoving food in your mouth to satisfy your intense hunger. You guys chatted and laughed as you ate and you watched as Kiara gestured for John B to get up and dance with her, watching with a small smile. Once you’ve all eaten and satisfied your hunger, you all head home for the night. Pope and Kiara return to their houses while you bunk at the Chateau for the night.

The next morning, the group all meets at the Chateau and heads down to the dock to test out the drone. You and Pope stay on the dock while John B and Kiara dive in the water with the drone to make sure it works.

“You know, we’re really lucky you’re a geek, Pope. We’d be up shit creek without you.” You say with a grin, clapping Pope on the back as you watch him navigate the drone, seeing John B and Kiara swimming around it before they both break the surface.

“Hey, once we get footage of the wreck, we’ll bring it to a lawyer in town and file a formal claim.” John B says, carefully treading water as you groan.

“But why do we have to do that?” You question.

“There’s maritime salvage law. We can’t just scoop a bunch of stuff off the ocean floor.” Pope says, moving to join you leaning against the bannister at the end of the dock.

“I know. It’s just, how are we going to afford a lawyer? They’re not cheap.” You argue softly, worrying about how you’d be able to afford a lawyer to fight your case.

“As soon as they see the footage, they’ll work for a comp.” John B says.

“And how do you know that?” Kiara asks, looking over at John B as she treads water.

“My dad said it, like, a million times.” John B says as if it were the only correct answer.

“This tether is really long. In the wrong weather, this thing could get pushed around.” Pope says, noting the length of the tether that came with the drone.

“We’ll go at dead calm.” John B says as thunder rumbles in the distance, getting everyone’s attention for a brief moment.

“So now, we just gotta wait around for the right weather. And today is not that day.” Pope mumbles as John B and Kiara climb out of the water while you watch the sky, knowing it won’t be long until a storm rolls in.

Deciding you have nothing else to do, you all decide to go your separate ways and reconvene when the weather is good enough to send the drone down. As you go to leave, Pope approaches you.

“Hey, do you think you can help me? My dad’s got a bunch of deliveries to do and I said I’d help out.” Pope asks, making you nod.

“Sure, I got nothing better to do.” You say with a shrug, heading with Pope to his house where you help Heyward load up his boat with the bags of deliveries before he gives you both a list of houses to take them to.

“And no dragging your feet you hear me? If I find out you’ve been finishing instead of delivering I’ll-”

“Don’t worry Heyward, I’ll keep him in line.” You joke, slinging an arm around Pope’s shoulders as Heyward chuckles slightly before looking at you pointedly.

“I was talking about you, y/n. But keep that boy of mine out of trouble, will you?” Heyward asks as you give him a salute.

“You got it, boss.” You say with a grin.

You and Pope travel down the channel in Heyward’s boat, dropping off deliveries for various customers. As you begin to travel past Kook houses, you can’t help but scowl at the lives they are currently living.

“It’s like the storm never even hit them.” Pope says, annoyance in his voice.

“They’ve got those fancy generators.” You grumble, sliding your sunglasses on your face.

Soon, you dock and Pope grabs some bags to deliver to customers.

“You take these. I’ve got these ones,” Pope says, handing you some bags as you nod with a smile.

“You got it, man.” You say, heading off in a separate direction to Pope to deliver the bags to the correct people. You take your time with the deliveries, doing your best to earn yourself some extra cash. By the end of your deliveries, you managed to earn yourself a bunch of cash in tips and you practically bounded back to the boat.

“Pope! I made a bunch of cash! I think I’m really cut out for this job, you know? You think your old man would hire me?” You say excitedly, your grin fading when Pope remains stone-faced, tears rolling down his cheeks.

“Yo, what happened, man?” You ask, gingerly reaching out to lift his cap slightly, your jaw dropping in shock when you see the bruise.

“Holy shit. Who did this to you?” You question as Pope drives the boat away from the dock.

“Rafe and Topper jumped me. They said no Pogues on their side of the island.” Pope mutters as you grit your teeth angrily.

“Those f- what are you going to do?” You say, studying Pope carefully as he looks at you, both of you seemingly sharing a similar thought as Pope drives the boat in the direction of the dock that housed Topper’s prized wakesetter.

“There it is,” Pope mutters as you stop the boat, seeing the wakesetter.

“They hit us. We hit them.” You state, tugging your bandanna off your wrist, tying it around your face, and putting your sunglasses on to conceal your identity as Pope tugs his shirt off and dives into the water, swimming across to the boat as you prep the ladder and keep a lookout. Pope pulls the plug out of the boat and returns to you with a triumphant smile.

“Look at you! I am so proud of you right now.” You praise, giving Pope a high-five.

“You can’t tell anyone about this,” Pope says, a sudden seriousness to his tone as you nod.

“Yeah, no I won’t.” You say with a nod.

“I’m being so serious. Not even John B or Kie. Okay?” Pope then says, making you nod again.

“I got it. No one will know what happened. Promise. Now gimme this.” You assure, taking the plug from Pope’s hand and hurling it far away in the water as Pope starts up the boat.

��I think I heard John B say he and Kie were going to the Break before we left, let’s grab our boards and head down there.” You say as Pope nods. You return the boat to his dad’s dock, both of you heading to grab your boards from your houses before making your way down to the beach, seeing John B and Kiara in the water.

“Hey guys!” Pope calls out to the others as you both run into the ocean, swimming out to where John B and Kiara are sitting on their boards.

“I thought you guys were going to miss out on some good waves.” Kiara jokes.

“I thought you knew me better than that, Kie.” You retort with a grin, immediately paddling out when you notice a good wave.

You loved surfing. Growing up in the Outer Banks, you were bound to fall in love with every aspect of the ocean. But surfing was special. You did it with your friends and it gave you a sense of freedom you often longed for. You had no worries when you were out on the waves. All you had to worry about was when the next wave came.

After riding the waves for a while, you and the others call it a night as the sun begins its descent across the horizon. You head back to the Chateau for the night, all of you hanging out in the garden and chatting until you decide to call it a night, ready to hopefully search for the Royal Merchant and its gold.

The next day, you and the Pogues head out to the coordinates where the Royal Merchant supposedly sank with Heyward’s boat and the drone. You sail out on the ocean, watching the waves lapping over each other until you hear John B calling for you to be careful with the navigation now as you’re nearing the right area.

“Alright, ladies and gentlemen. To going full Kook.” John B says as he readies the drone, carefully lowering it into the water. Pope moves over to the controls, navigating the drone carefully.

“Alright y/n, we’re right over it. Ten seconds northwest.” John B carefully instructs as you nod from behind the wheel.

“Got it.” You reply, being as careful as possible to keep the boat right where you needed it. You listen as Kiara calls out how many feet down the drone has gone while Pope and John B watch the drone’s monitor to keep an eye out for the wreckage.

“We’re at four hundred feet but the tide is turning,” Kiara calls out as thunder rumbles in the distance.

“Hey, y/n? Ten seconds easy. South-southeast.” John B calls over to you as you nod.

“On it.” You reply, focusing back on the controls and navigating the boat back where you needed to be.

“y/n, twenty seconds mid-speed, all right? South.” John B then instructs.

“Yup.” You confirm, doing your best to follow John B’s instructions as the storm grows nearer. The waves begin to get choppy, making the boat sway.

“We’re at nine hundred feet!” You hear Kiara announce, your focus solely on making sure the boat stays in place as the waves interfere with your plans for a smooth search mission.

Between John B’s various instructions yelled in your direction to keep the boat in place, you’re aware of Pope announcing that the drone had reached the seabed but couldn’t see anything. As you navigate, you can’t help but feel your heart sink. The Royal Merchant and its gold were supposed to be right below you.

“Oh, good god.” You hear Pope mutter, making you turn to face the three.

“What? Can you see something?” You ask.

“It’s the Royal Merchant.”

taglist (comment or ask to be added)

@imsiriuslyreal @marleymarleymarleymarley @sarahmaybank @bee-43 @aceofspades190

#justabigassnerd #justabigassnerd writes #in another life #in another life series #jj maybank #jj maybank x reader #jj maybank x y/n #jj maybank x you #jackson genrette #jackson genrette x reader #outer banks #outer banks fanfiction #obx #obx fic #outer banks fic #obx fanfiction

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justabigassnerd · 27 days ago

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IM GONNA SAY IT

ALL FANFIC WRITERS ARE VALID FOR SPENDING SO MUCH TIME, CREATIVITY, AND EFFORT INTO THEIR CRAFT!! THANK YOU FOR SUPPLYING US WITH ENTERTAINMENT AND MORE CONTENT OF THE CHARACTERS WE LOVE! I HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS AND THEYRE ALL LOVE FOR YOU!! GO SHOW YOUR FAVORITE WRITERS SOME LOVE!!

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justabigassnerd · 28 days ago

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‘lil life update literally no one asked about,

ya girl got her second tattoo last week and every time I look at it I fall in love all over again

I be thriving up in here

#justabigassnerd #justabigassnerd rambles

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justabigassnerd · 29 days ago

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'Till The End pt. 7

Pairing - JJ Maybank x reader

Word Count - 4,003

Series Warnings - swearing, smoking, angst, fluff, violence, weapons, blood, injuries, death, some canon divergence, drugs, alcohol, mentions of physical abuse

Summary - After coming back from your adventures discovering El Dorado with the Pogues, you thought your treasure-hunting days were behind you. However, soon enough, you and your friends are dragged into another race for a priceless treasure with twists and turns you never could’ve anticipated.

'Till The End masterlist

'Till The End playlist

A/N - another chapter ladsssss. the plot is kicking off now I'm excited for y'all to read this. as per y'all, please send in requests, feedback, and I hope you enjoy!!!

After you and the Pogues finish talking with Wes Genrette at the party, he invites you all to visit him at his house on Goat Island so you can talk more in private and as night falls, you and your friends get on your boat and make your way over to the infamous island.

“Does anyone else feel really weird about this?” You ask, leaning against JJ’s side as the boat motors along the channel as everyone murmurs in agreement.

“Do you know them? They’re Kooks so you gotta know them, right?” Pope asks, glancing over at Sarah who shakes her head.

“No, they kept to themselves. I mean, you’ve heard the rumours, haven’t you?” Sarah asks, glancing between you all as you nod.

“About the daughter drowning with her baby?” JJ comments, his arm hanging loosely around your shoulders.

“I heard that too, but I heard that she was possessed first or something,” Kiara adds, making you glance up at her.

“I kinda feel bad for the guy. Imagine losing your daughter and your grandchild in the same day and then people make up rumours about her being possessed or something.” You mumble, resting your head against JJ’s shoulder, your heart panging with sympathy for the Genrette family.

“Yeah, it must’ve been tough on him.” John B agrees quietly as you notice the island growing closer and closer. As you approach the island, you can’t help but get an uncomfortable feeling in your stomach. You had heard the whispers from the inhabitants of Kildare about the various rumours surrounding the Genrettes due to the loss the family had experienced and you were beginning to let doubt seep into your mind about the rumours and began to worry about what you were all about to come across.

“Why are we doing this again?” Cleo asks, glancing between each of you.

“We need the money.” Pope and Sarah say in tandem as the island grows closer.

Approaching the dock of Goat Island, you see a figure waiting, not someone you recognise and your eyebrows furrowed as you try to identify whether the figure would be a threat to you and your friends or not. As the HMS Pogue pulls up at the dock, Pope holds out the rope to the man greeting you at the dock. For a moment, the man remains quiet, regarding you and your friends in turn before speaking.

“Welcome to Blackstone.” The man says gruffly before moving to tie the rope to the dock while you and the others get off the boat. Once you’ve got onto the dock, you follow the man as he leads you towards the Genrette household.

“So, what were you digging?” JJ asks, noticing that the man has a shovel in hand.

“Ditches.” The man retorts, continuing to walk as you exchange a glance with Kiara.

“At least it’s not graves,” Kiara mutters.

“All the same to me.” The man replies, making Kiara’s eyes widen as she glances back over at you, both of you worried about the implication behind his words.

“That’s reassuring.” You whisper to Kiara, watching JJ closely follow behind the man, eager to get to the Genrette house and make some money.

“So, how long have you been working for Mr. Genrette?” John B then asks, noticing the tension and trying his best to ease it.

“For as long as I can remember.” The man replies, barely glancing John B’s way as he responds to the question, leading you all up a staircase that leads up to a large house. You would’ve said the house was majestic, but its beauty was overshadowed by the overgrowing plants and dingy atmosphere. You would’ve thought the house was abandoned had you not been invited by the homeowner.

“There.” The man says finally, pointing at the house and allowing you all to approach it.

“Thank you,” JJ says, leading you all towards the house and using the large doorknocker to rap on the door, calling to anyone who might be inside.

“Oh, just an FYI, they drug you before they chop you up. So, don’t eat or drink anything.” JJ then says, turning to look at you all.

“Not funny JJ.” You scold, fighting back a shiver as you glance around, wondering if the inhabitants of the Genrette family held any ill intentions.

“Guys, I think I’ve changed my mind about this one,” Sarah says nervously, shuffling in place.

“I really don’t wanna be here,” Kiara added, looking more nervous than you’d ever seen her. Just as everyone begins to protest, beginning to wonder if it is worth leaving, you hear footsteps approaching the door.

“Someone’s coming,” JJ says, silencing you all as you wait for the door to be unlocked and opened. When the door is opened, you’re greeted by a smartly dressed man who offers you all a smile.

“Hi. I’m sorry to keep you waiting. It’s quite a big house, and I’m afraid the servants have all gone. All except, good old Demp. Just can’t seem to get rid of him. You must be the Pogues. The Great Seekers.” The man says, greeting you all with a smile as you exchange glances with Pope and Cleo.

“Yeah, I don’t know about that.” John B starts, attempting to downplay what you’ve all done together.

“Oh, now, don’t be modest. I’ve read of your adventures. It’s quite thrilling. Oh, come in. Come in. I’m the son-in-law. Chandler Groff. Wes was really, really hoping you’d show. He’s been waiting.” The man you now knew to be Chandler Groff introduced himself, beckoning you all in as you stood nervously, watching your friends exchange looks before JJ took the first step, heading into the house, encouraging you to follow after him, not wanting to be alone if anything happened.

As all the Pogues enter, you are directed to a large living room and you glance around, taking in how dusty and gloomy the room is, with no sign of warmth anywhere despite the blazing fire. You couldn’t help but feel your eyes draw towards the large portrait hung above the fireplace, depicting a beautiful, blonde lady with piercing blue eyes.

“Come in, warm yourselves by the fire.” You’re greeted by Wes as he gestures for you all to enter further, all of you hesitantly entering one after the other.

“Ew.” You mutter to yourself as you watch Cleo pull at a cobweb hanging off one of the lamps before you all move to sit on the various dusty couches and chairs. All apart from JJ who remains standing, surveying the room silently.

“I apologise for dragging you all out here. I just don’t think I could speak about this in public. I know I mentioned Blackbeard. But I assure you, my interest is not for treasure. My ancestor, Francis Genrette, was the British officer who caught and killed the notorious pirate.” Wes explains, gesturing first to a painting of Blackbeard before glancing over at another painting of a soldier in uniform, leading you to conclude that it was Francis Genrette.

“Hold on. Your… direct ancestor?” Pope asks, all of you watching Wes carefully for his reaction.

“Yes, unfortunately. After he had beheaded Blackbeard, he killed the pirate’s wife, Elizabeth. And since then, for three hundred years, generations of Genrettes have been haunted by Elizabeth’s ghost and have died violent deaths, including my daughter. Larissa, Chandler’s wife. My daughter saw Elizabeth a week before she died.” Wes says, bringing your attention to the portrait above the fireplace, all of you regarding it quietly.

“Now, I’ve had a visitation. So I know I don’t have much time.” Wes then continues, all of you then exchanging worried looks amongst each other.

“So, we’re really sorry that happened to you, but what do you want from us?” John B gets the courage to speak, glancing over at Wes who nods.

“Of course, you’re right. Let’s get to business. Chandler, if you please.” Wes says while pacing, pointing over to Groff who takes over.

“We believe that we’ve found a way to break the curse on this family. Right before she was murdered, Elizabeth begged Francis to retrieve from her husband’s ship a keepsake that he’d given her. Her most prized possession. An amulet. He denied the request and then murdered her.” Groff says, crossing to the portrait of Elizabeth Teach and pointing at the amulet around her neck.

“Isn’t Francis just a ball of sunshine?” You mutter sarcastically to Kiara, folding your arms across your chest.

“If we find that amulet, and fulfill Elizabeth’s last request, I believe it will break the curse that has haunted my family for over three hundred years.” Wes continues, nodding as he speaks, full confidence in his words.

“I’m sorry. Where did you say the necklace thingy is?” Kiara asks, just as confused as the rest of you.

“Blackbeard’s last ship. The Aventure.” Groff says as Kiara nods curtly, unimpressed.

“Perfect.” She mutters, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

“According to all records, the amulet was still on it when it was scuttled right off Goat Island.” Groff continues, pointing off in the direction of the ocean surrounding the island.

“Yeah, but the Coast Guard excavated that site years ago,” Pope speaks up, all of you looking to Pope before returning your gaze to Groff.

“The excavation team didn’t know what we know. They didn’t know we had this.” Wes says, opening an old book and handing it to Pope.

“There’s a secret lockbox hidden behind the headboard in the Captain's chamber. Do you dive?” Wes explains further before glancing around at you and your friends as he asks his question.

“We dive. All of us do. It’s just, we only do it if the price is right.” JJ speaks up, nodding confidently as you shoot him a confused look. JJ had been the main person behind the diving expeditions the surf shop offered and other than the one time John B went diving the day your initial treasure-hunting journey began, none of you had even dared to dive.

“Excellent. We are prepared to offer you a premium for your services. Fifty thousand, plus expenses. Five thousand up front. We’d very much like your immediate answer.” Wes offers, making your eyes widen at the amount of money Wes was willing to pay you all just to find an amulet. Just as JJ went to respond to Wes’ offer, John B leapt up and clamped his hand across JJ’s mouth, preventing him from talking as you all begin to mumble amongst yourself about needing a couple of minutes to think it over before following JJ and John B into another room to talk.

“Okay, guys…” Sarah starts as John B closes the door to the small office you are now occupying.

“What was that?” Kiara then adds, making you nod in agreement to her words. You had no idea what you had just been a part of.

“Guys, this is so weird. Maybe we should just slip out the back or something?” You ask, gesturing towards the large windows you could all easily climb out of.

“y/n, are you serious? This is fifty thousand we’re talking about here.” JJ hisses quietly, running a frustrated hand through his hair.

“JJ I don’t know about you but I’m getting some major bad vibes from this so forgive my self-preservation for doing its job.” You retort, slightly frustrated that your boyfriend was being blinded by the promise of money over the reality of the task you’d been asked to complete.

“Are we seriously going to listen to a guy who probably needs to be in a white padded room? Visitations? Curses?” John B asks, glancing around desperately, hoping you all share his thoughts about the situation you’ve found yourselves in.

“He’s a madman,” Cleo states simply, folding her arms across her chest.

“Obviously he’s batshit, but he’s in there crying about his daughter. He needs help.” Sarah says, her empathy clear in her tone as she speaks.

“Sarah, he needs therapy not whatever that necklace thingy is,” Kiara says, raising an eyebrow as she looks across at Sarah, her stance on the situation clear.

“It’s obvious this guy is nutty. We don’t even know if anything he’s saying is true.” Pope adds on.

“We cannot ignore the fact that there is a ghost and a curse. Y’all aren’t getting a weird-ass vibe?” Kiara continues, making you nod.

“I’m with you, Kie. This whole thing has weird written all over it.” You agree, moving to stand nearer Kiara, comforted by the fact you share the same views on the situation.

“Okay, guys. Let’s just say we take this job. Is it even possible?” Cleo asks, glancing around at everyone.

“Yes,” JJ answers like he holds all the answers in the world.

“I knew what you’d say. What about everyone else?” Cleo says, cutting JJ off and addressing the rest of you.

“That shipwreck is probably eighty to one hundred feet down and the currents are probably ripping,” Pope says, thinking logically about whether the task was doable or not.

“Guys. Are we really going to worry about the details right now?” JJ asks, glancing from Pope to John B.

“Yes, JJ. I’d rather us not all die.” You insist, as all of you agree that knowing the details now is important.

“Are we really gonna turn down free money? No, that’s not like us.” JJ argues.

“It’s not free,” Kiara argues back, her words lost on JJ as he continues to speak.

“The worst that can happen is we walk out of here with five G’s in our pocket. End of discussion.” JJ declares, making a beeline for the door.

“Someone grab him.” You say quickly as JJ moves towards the door, knowing what he’s about to do but before anyone can stop him, JJ opens the door and steps into the living room.

“Sir, we’ve come to our conclusion and we’ll do it. We’ll take the job. Is that the initial five K? You can just give that to me.” JJ says, crossing to Groff and taking the envelope from his hand with a smile as Pope darts to his side.

“You know what? I’ll take this.” He cuts in, taking the envelope from JJ’s hand and nodding at Groff to assure him the money is in safe hands. You watch as Groff shakes JJ’s hand.

“Hey, JJ. I believe in you.” Groff says with a smile, making you raise an eyebrow at the moment, confused about what would’ve prompted such a thing.

With the money secured and the promise that you’ll try to recover the treasure, you’re guided back out to the HMS Pogue by Demp and you all climb onto the boat, eager to get back home.

“I am glad to be out of there.” You say to Kiara as you settle down next to her on the boat.

“You and me both. JJ seemed to be in his element though.” Kiara says, nodding over at JJ who had opted to sit alone at the helm, watching the waves.

“Yeah, I know. It was probably the promise of money that had him all excited.” You mumble quietly, trying to shake off the weird thoughts you were having about the way Groff was acting towards JJ.

“You’re right. We know how he gets when money is involved.” Kiara says, making you scoff lightly as you nod. You and Kiara continue to chat until you moor back at Poguelandia, all of you grabbing drinks before heading to the porch above the shop to go over your plan. Pope flicks between a map of the island and the Captain’s log Wes had let you borrow, informing everyone that Wes wasn’t lying about the secret compartment.

“So we know he’s not bullshitting and we know where we need to dive, it’s right in this area,” JJ says, pointing at the ocean surrounding Goat Island.

“Except we don’t know exactly where it is.” John B says, emphasising that no one knows where Blackbeard’s ship went down.

“I bet the Coast Guard know where it is. I’ve heard coasties are quite chill so I bet we could just ask them.” JJ says, leaning back on the couch.

“Wait, Pope. Your uncle is in the Coast Guard isn’t he?” John B then asks, his eyes lighting up at the idea.

“Uncle Roger? No, he won’t tell us anything like that. He’s the most by-the-book man I’ve ever met.” Pope says, getting up from the couch and pacing as you all begin to grumble.

“Look, JJ, don’t you have that friend in the Coast Guard?” Pope then says, redirecting the attention to JJ who continues to lounge on the couch.

“Boogs? He’s in the reserves. Besides, he’s a marina rat, living paycheck to paycheck which means we’d have to bribe him.” JJ explains.

“We can’t afford that,” Kiara says, all of you knowing that a marina rat like Boogie would try to rinse you all dry of cash if he could.

“Pope, you won’t even try?” You ask.

“What happened to Pogues for life, man?” John B adds, all of you beginning to gang up on Pope who watches you all incredulously before holding up a hand, silencing you all.

“Fine. I’ll try to talk to him but no promises.” Pope says, making you and the others exchange high-fives. With a plan set in motion, you all hop in the Twinkie while JJ takes his bike to head over to Pope’s parents to find his uncle. You all wait patiently for Pope to attempt to get the location from his uncle but when he approaches you all with a dejected expression, you know you are about to be forced into plan b to find Boogie. It is agreed that just JJ and John B will go to find Boogie so you, Kiara, Pope, Cleo, and Sarah are dropped back off at Poguelandia while the other two go to find Boogie.

With nothing else to do, you, Sarah, and Cleo decide to open the shop while Pope and Kiara did some more research into Blackbeard’s ship. You get a good flow of customers, selling various products and trying your best to pull your weight. Eventually, Sarah takes over running the register and while you’re sitting with Cleo, watching her scroll through pictures of Blackbeard on her laptop, a man approaches the register.

“Hello. Y’all remember me?” The man asks, making you roll your eyes. He was the man who tried to outbid you at the auction for the Maybank plot and you had truly hoped you wouldn’t have to see his face again after the auction.

“Unfortunately.” You mutter under your breath.

“How can we help you?” Sarah says, leaning against the counter with a forced smile.

“I’ve got something for you.” The man says as he slides a piece of paper over the counter towards Sarah.

“You shouldn’t have.” Sarah retorts through gritted teeth.

“I can take this place off your hands at any time. For a fair price of course.” The man tries, glancing at you all as you shake your head.

“Nice try. We’re not selling so if you’re not buying something from this shop, move along.” You say, crossing to stand by Sarah’s side, keen to defend the work you and the Pogues had put into this place.

“You know, y’all are gonna lose this place. It’s best you sell now. I’m sure I’ll see y’all around.” The man finally says before leaving, making you all offer him a sarcastic wave as he leaves before you all turn your attention to Sarah and the paper that is now in her hand.

“What is it?” Cleo asks, both you and her watching as Sarah’s eyes scan the paper in her hand, mumbling as she reads it quietly to herself before she hands it to Cleo.

“My dad used to do this all the time. It’s changing the zoning. It’s a way to force the owners out of their property.” Sarah explains as both you and Cleo read the paper.

“That can’t be legal.” You mutter, looking to Sarah and hoping she’ll crack a smile and tell you that she’s just joking. But instead, she remained in place, chewing anxiously at her nails.

“If you have the money to do it, you can do anything,” Sarah says, making you dip your head, scrambling to try and think of a solution.

“We’re going to need more than five thousand dollars.” Sarah then says.

“So we have to find the amulet.” You conclude, knowing the offer from Wes Genrette was your only shot at protecting Poguelandia.

When JJ and John B finally returned from talking to Boogie, both of them informed you that they had the location of Blackbeard’s ship but JJ had to trade his bike in for the knowledge and you couldn’t help but feel your heart sink at the news. You knew how special JJ’s bike was to him. It was his one way to feel free when he felt like the world was getting too much for him. You had fond memories of riding on the back of his bike, your arms wound securely around his middle while he drove the two of you around. As JJ dismisses himself to check on the Snapper, you follow after him.

“Hey, we’ll get you a new bike with the money Wes gives us.” You say softly, helping JJ load stuff onto the boat.

“Maybe. It’ll be hard to replace her.” JJ admits, his voice quiet so no one else caught on to his upset.

“Maybe Boogie would let you buy her back?” You offer, watching as JJ shrugs.

“I’ll worry about that after we get the money from Wes,” JJ says, checking the oxygen tanks as you watch him carefully, taking a deep breath before speaking up.

“I’ve been thinking about it. I don’t think it’s safe for you to dive down there alone.” You begin, wringing your hands nervously.

“I’ll be fine, y/n/n.” JJ insists.

“Well, I’m going with. That way I can make sure you’re fine.” You say, folding your arms across your chest as JJ stops what he’s doing and looks over at you.

“It’s eighty feet down in the dark. And moving through structures. Even for experts, it’s a hairball situation.” JJ says, studying your reactions carefully and looking for any hesitation so he can talk you out of it.

“You’re not an expert.” You say, pointing out the obvious.

“Neither are you.” JJ retorts.

“You’re not talking me out of this, J. We gotta save Poguelandia and I refuse to let my parents see this place fail.” You fire back strongly, watching as JJ falls silent for a moment before nodding.

“Okay, that’s that. You’re my new diving buddy.” JJ says finally, moving to hand you more gear as you continue to get the boat ready.

Before too long, John B and the others emerge, crossing to the boat as you all stand ready to hear the plan one final time before you attempt this.

“Okay, we’ve got the nav points and we’ve got the gear. This is a one-night-only thing I want us to be in and out, all right so we gotta stay under the radar. JJ, you’re going down.” John B begins, glancing over at JJ who nods.

“I’m going down too.” You say, cutting John B off and sticking your hand up so everyone is aware that you intend to dive as well.

“Okay, JJ and y/n go down. Me and Pope stay up. Sarah, Kie, and Cleo, you guys drive out to the lighthouse by the Coast Guard base and stand watch. If we do this right, we could be home by midnight.” John B says as everyone nods. Everyone bar Sarah, Kiara, and Cleo climbs on the boat, all of you waving goodbye to each other as JJ starts the engine, beginning your journey to the wreckage of The Adventure.

taglist (comment or ask to be added):

@agnxstic @crvcified-kinx

#justabigassnerd #justabigassnerd writes #'till the end #'till the end series #jj maybank #jj maybank x reader #jj maybank x y/n #jj maybank x you #outer banks #outer banks fanfiction #obx #obx fic #outer banks fic #obx fanfiction

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justabigassnerd · 1 month ago

Text

In Another Life pt. 6

Pairing - Jackson Genrette x reader (Kook!JJ AU)

Word Count - 3,310

Series Warnings - swearing, smoking, angst, fluff, violence, weapons, blood, injuries, death, canon divergence (it's an AU innit?), drugs, alcohol, verbal & physical abuse

In Another Life masterlist

In Another Life playlist

A/N - another week another part. not much to say about this other than that lol. as per y'all, please send in requests, feedback, and enjoy!!!

“What’s the ‘oh my god’ for? What did you find?” You question quickly, moving closer to the small hole and peeking through as if you could see what Kiara found.

Wordlessly, Kiara hands the envelope through the hole to John B, both you and Pope watching as it’s handed over before you move to help Kiara climb out of the mausoleum.

“That’s not gold.” Pope points out, with a slight disappointment in his voice.

“Holy shit. This is from my dad.” John B says, showing you how it had ‘for Bird’ written across the front of the envelope boldly for everyone to see. As you all process the discovery, you hear the rumble of an engine and you all turn to see a pair of headlights approaching you all.

“We gotta move. Those are the guys who robbed your house.” You say quickly to John B, all of you scrambling to hide behind the stone monument, desperately trying to turn your flashlights off.

“y/n, are you sure it’s them?” Kiara asks as you stick your head out from behind the mausoleum, squinting against the light to figure out if it’s really the same men or not.

“Whoever they are, they have guns and they don’t look friendly.” You say quickly, tucking yourself back against the monument.

“Screw it.” Kiara then whispers, turning her flashlight back on and making a break for the gate with you and the others following hot on her heels, all of you desperately trying to clamber over the large metal gate before diving into the Twinkie to drive away.

“Holy shit that was insane!” You exclaim as John B drives away from the cemetery, all of you recovering from the adrenaline rush you just experienced.

“How did those guys even find us?” Kiara questions, turning back to look at you as you shrug.

“These guys must be serious about this shit to be tracking us down.” You reply, leaning your head back against the wall, sighing heavily as your heartbeat begins to slow down. John B drives you all back to the Chateau, all of you heading into the house immediately to watch John B find out the contents of the envelope. You all watch as John B opens the envelope, extracting a piece of paper and unfolding it, revealing a map.

“Holy shit.” John B mutters, all of you studying the map intently.

“X marks the spot,” Pope says, pointing out the clearly marked cross on the map.

“There’s something else in here.” John B says, clearly feeling something else in the envelope while tracing his finger across the map. He pulls the envelope out from underneath the map and extracts a small machine.

“What is that?” You mumble aloud, eyebrows furrowing as you inspect the item.

“It’s a tape recorder, dumbass,” Kiara says, making you lightly flip her off in response as John B presses play on the recorder.

“Dear Bird.”

“Bird?” You question.

“It’s what my dad used to call me.” John B replies.

“I hate to say, ‘I told you so,’ but I told you so. And you doubted your old man. I suspect that as of this moment you’re filled with guilt and self-loathing over our last fight, but don’t kill yourself just yet, kid. I didn’t expect to find the Merchant either. You were probably right to call me out. I wasn’t exactly Father of the Decade. What could I say, kid? I could smell the barn. And hopefully, we’re listenin’ to this in our brand new sugar shack down in Costa Rica, livin’ off passive investments and pulling on permits. 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 somethin’ 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.”

You all listen to the tape in absolute silence, taking in every word Big John said. You were shocked at some of the things he said. Without warning, John B gets up from where he was sitting, stumbling over to the doorframe and clinging to it as sobs rack his body. You and Pope watched as Kiara went over to comfort John B, hugging him from behind as he sobbed.

“He found the Merchant.” You say in a quiet whisper, your eyes fixed on the map and the ‘x’ that marked where the wreck was located. You had heard bits and pieces about Big John’s search for the Royal Merchant and its gold, but you never believed he could’ve found it. Once John B’s sobs had slowed, you crossed to him tentatively, resting a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey man, let’s go sit out on the docks. Get some fresh air and have some beers. If you’re lucky I might even let you have a blunt.” You offer quietly, squeezing his shoulder as he nods, lifting a hand to wipe his tears. You and the others head out into the cool night air, making your way down to the dock. The four of you sit under the stars for a few minutes, listening to Kiara plucking at her ukulele while sipping beers.

“So how much gold sank in the Merchant?” You question, glancing over at Pope.

“About four hundred mill,” Pope responds as you let out a low whistle at the total.

“Wow. So, we’re splitting this evenly, right?” You say, glancing around at the others as you get nods of approval from them all.

“What are you going to do with your one hundred mill, Pope?” Kiara asks, all eyes falling onto Pope as he thinks quietly.

“Pay for college in advance. And, also textbooks, they’re expensive.” Pope says, satisfied with his own answer.

“What about you, Kie?” You then ask, glancing across at Kiara.

“Yeah, what does a socialist do when she’s rich?” Pope teases, making Kiara scoff lightly.

“I just wanna make a double album. About OBX, the Pogues. The way ‘Catch a Fire’ is about Kingston. Record it at Marley Studio, Peter Tosh producing.”

“Peter Tosh is-”

“Peter Tosh is dead. I know. The spirit of Peter Tosh will never die.” Kiara explains, a shy smile on her face as she confesses what she’d do with her share of the gold money.

“I think I know what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna get one of those big ass houses over on Figure Eight and go full Kook.” You say, lifting your beer to your lips and taking a sip.

“You’re gonna go full Kook?” Pope asks incredulously, looking at you as you shrug.

“Yeah, why not? I’m gonna have a shit ton of cash that I need to do something with.” You say, proud of your answer. While part of you wanted to use your share of the money on a nice house for yourself, part of you also wanted to buy a house on Figure Eight to earn respect from the rest of the island. To prove to yourself and others that you were more than just a Pogue.

“What about you, JB?” Pope then asks, all of you turning to look over at John B who remains silent for a moment and then smiling over at you.

“To going full Kook.” John B says, holding up his drink up in cheers.

“To going full Kook.” You all respond, cheersing your cans as you all grin. The four of you continue to chat for a while before you notice the time.

“I’m gonna head home. Don’t want my folks getting pissed that I’ve been gone too long.” You say, hopping off the wooden railing and bidding your friends goodbye with a salute as you make your way back across the dock and walk home.

Once again, you were unsurprised to find the house empty and void of life. You trudge upstairs to your room, changing into pyjamas and lying on your bed. You take some time rolling new blunts and lounging in your room. You never had much to do without your friends around. It was like your entire life was on standby when you didn’t have your friends with you. You lived your life for your friends and if it were up to you, you’d live in a big house with your friends for the rest of your life. Eventually, it grows late and you decide to go to bed, wanting the next day to begin so you can focus on finding the gold.

You wake up the next morning to the sound of someone knocking on your door. You sit up quickly, your heart pounding as you listen for who could be on the other side of the door.

“Yo, y/n. You in there?” You let out a small sigh of relief at the sound of John B’s voice, relaxing when you realised it wasn’t your parents on the other side of the door.

“What are you doing here?” You ask, watching as John B sticks his head in the door, grinning.

“We still don’t have any power, but we need to look at where the Merchant sunk.” John B says as you rub at your eyes.

“Okay? What do you need me for?” You question, stretching and standing up from your bed as John B leans against the doorframe.

“One, you’re my best friend and we’re in this together. Two, you work at the country club and they have computers.” John B explains, making you scoff lightly as you shake your head.

“You want to get into the country club… to use the computers?” You question skeptically.

“Yes. Figure Eight has power and they have all those fancy computers at the country club. You can get us in, right?” John B asks as you sigh softly, contemplating your next move.

“I guess I can…” you mumble, folding your arms across your chest.

“Yes! Thank you! You’re awesome!” John B says excitedly, pulling you into a hug as you reciprocate the embrace.

“Tell me something I don’t know.” You smirk, patting John B on the back before pulling away.

“Now get out, I need to get ready.” You say with a laugh, gently shoving John B out of the door.

“Okay, okay. I’ll be outside in the Twinkie with the others.” John B says with a nod, rushing off as you shut the door behind him so you could get changed.

Once you’re ready for the day, you grab your blunts and your cheap lighter, still clueless as to where your other lighter is before grabbing your work pass to make sure you can get into where you need to. As you go to leave, your hand resting on the door handle, you let out a sigh, glancing over your shoulder. You silently debate what you should do for a moment before crossing to your bed, crouching down and grabbing the gun from where you had squirrelled it away, shoving it into the waistband of your shorts before heading down to join the others.

“Did y’all miss me?” You say enthusiastically, climbing into the passenger seat of the Twinkie, and greeting your friends.

“Took your time, girl,” Kiara says with a laugh, exchanging a fistbump with you before settling in the back of the Twinkie. You and the other chat about the plan as John B drives to the country club, making sure everyone is on the same page. When you arrive at the country club, you instruct John B on where to park, knowing the best way to get in.

“We’ll go in through the kitchens, I know the best way to get to the computers.” You say, grabbing your pass and putting it around your neck just in case you get stopped.

“Good, we’ll follow your lead.” John B says with a nod.

“And, I’m prepared this time.” You gloat, pulling your gun out of your waistband and checking it over.

“Are you serious?” Pope exclaims, leaning over your shoulder, his eyes wide as he stares at the gun.

“y/n, you cannot bring that into the country club. I will actually throw it into the ocean if you do.” Kiara says, making you roll your eyes.

“So you get mad at me for not having the gun yesterday and you’re mad at me today for having the gun? Damn, tough crowd.” You mutter, tucking the gun under the seat with a grumble.

“Let’s just go.” John B urges, opening the door and climbing out of the Twinkie with you and the others following suit.

“This way. We’ll cut through the kitchens.” You say, directing your friends towards the back door to the kitchens, leading them through the bustling kitchens you were familiar with.

“Hey guys!” You greet the other employees enthusiastically, snatching some fries off a plate as someone tries to swat your hand away.

“Come on y/n.” You’re scolded lightly by one of the cooks who couldn’t help but laugh, familiar with your antics.

“This way.” You then say, returning your attention to your friends, exiting the kitchens and sneaking your way to where you knew the computers were, quickly ushering them in while people’s backs were turned.

“Hurry, hurry.” John B urges, pushing Pope towards the computer and digging in his pocket for the map before placing it on the table alongside the keyboard so Pope could enter the coordinates into the computer.

“Boom, continental shelf right there.” John B says, studying the pin on the map and its surrounding area closely.

“If it’s off the deep end it’s not going to be much of a treasure hunt, is it?” Pope says, zooming in on the map as you all lean in closer.

“Come on.” You whisper, willing the site to move faster as you hear people walking around outside the room.

“Shit, it’s on the high side. It’s only nine hundred feet.” John B says.

“That’s not too deep.” You say.

“Is that doable?” Kiara asks, looking at you.

“It’s totally doable.” You reply with a confident nod.

“Have you got a personal submarine or something we don’t know about?” Pope questions.

“Yeah, how do you know this will work?” John B asks.

“The salvage yard. They have a drone that can drop up to a thousand feet and it’s got a three-sixty camera. They use it for deep dives which is what we need.” You explain, looking at each of your friends.

“Can your dad even get hold of that?” John B questions, looking at you sceptically.

“Well, he got his ass fired. My dad’s not exactly a star employee in any job. But the drone’s there, and I know it’s in the impound yard out the back.” You say confidently.

“How much did you say was on the Royal Merchant again?” Kiara asks, looking over at John B.

“Four hundred million.” John B replies.

“Four hundred million dollars?” Kiara replies, echoing John B’s words as Pope shoots up from his seat to blockade the door with his body.

“Absolutely not,” Pope says defiantly.

“Pope. Move.” Kiara says, easily pushing him aside and opening the door as the rest of you follow behind her.

“Can’t we do anything legal for money?” You hear Pope ask as you all head out to the Twinkie, climbing into the vehicle and driving in the direction of the salvage yard as Pope continues to fret about the legality of it all.

“Look, Pope, we’re not stealing it. We’re just borrowing it.” John B says, trying to keep Pope calm enough to go through with the plan while you take one of the blunts you had made from your pockets, preparing to light it before Pope snatches it from your mouth.

“Keep the signal clear.” He says, flicking the blunt to the other side of the Twinkie as you roll your eyes.

“Pope, come on, it’s just one blunt I’m not that much of a lightweight.” You say, vaguely aware of the Twinkie slowing to a stop so Kiara could get out to act as the distraction.

“I don’t care. I’m not risking it when you’re the one telling us how to find this thing.” Pope retorts as the rest of you get out of the Twinkie, walking the rest of the short distance to the salvage yard to watch Kiara from a distance. Kiara knew just what to do to distract the guard and you couldn’t help but smile pridefully.

“So, how’s it going with Kie?” You question quietly, glancing over at John B.

“Yeah, she totally rejected me the other night.” John B replies.

“Damn, I could’ve sworn she was into you.” You reply with a shake of the head, wondering how you had misinterpreted everything.

“Maybe she’s into someone else?” Pope asks, all of you watching Kiara carefully. The moment the security guard turned around, you all bolted, using the parked cars for coverage as you ran for the gate that was slowly closing. You make it to the locked door that you knew had the drone inside and instantly grab the lock, trying your best to remember the combination.

“Have you got the right numbers?” John B questions as you rattle the lock, clearly not getting the combination right.

“I might not have the right numbers. Shit, I’m sorry.” You say apologetically, frantically racking your brain for any other combinations before you hear barking, turning around to see a guard dog barking at you.

“That’s a cougar.” John B says, both you and him bolting in separate directions while Pope remains rooted in place.

“Pope!” You call out to your friend, noticing that he hasn’t moved. Knowing you couldn’t just leave Pope alone, you notice an old handkerchief sitting on the nearby workbench and grab it quickly, waving it around.

“Look, I got a toy, this way boy!” You call over to the dog, immediately regretting your action when the dog decides to chase you. You bolt away with the dog hot on your heels as he barks. Spotting a boat, you hurriedly climb up the ladder and duck down, hiding and hoping the dog will grow bored and leave you alone.

“Whoever’s up there you better come out! I’m not messing around.” You hear the security guard warn, and you squeeze your eyes shut knowing there’s no way out of this situation you’ve found yourself in.

“Bobby, hey don’t shoot, it’s me, y/n. You know, Ben’s kid?” You say, sticking your hands up and showing yourself to the familiar guard who lowered his gun quickly, shushing his dog.

“y/n, what are you doing here? Your old man doesn’t work here anymore.” Bobby asks, tucking his gun away as you nod, preparing yourself to put your acting skills to good use.

“I know. I know. My dad told me he thought someone stole his blowtorch, he can’t find it at home. He told me I had to find it or… he’d hurt me again. I’m so sorry.” You explain, forcing tears to your eyes as you lie to Bobby, sniffling to make your lie more convincing.

“Okay, well I’ll keep an eye out for it, but you have to leave now. Come down.” Bobby gestures for you to come down and you obey, continuing to cry as you make your way down the ladder.

“I know. I’m sorry. I’ll tell him I couldn’t find it or something.” You mutter apologetically.

“Get home safe, kid,” Bobby says softly, sending you on your way. As you walk away, your back now facing Bobby, you wipe at your eyes as a grin covers your face.

“Sucker.” You mutter to yourself as you walk away, satisfied that you got away with it before going in search of your friends in the hopes someone got the drone.

taglist (comment or ask to be added)

@imsiriuslyreal @marleymarleymarleymarley @sarahmaybank @bee-43 @aceofspades190

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justabigassnerd · 1 month ago

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'Till The End pt. 6

Pairing - JJ Maybank x reader

Word Count - 2,501

Series Warnings - swearing, smoking, angst, fluff, violence, weapons, blood, injuries, death, some canon divergence, drugs, alcohol, mentions of physical abuse

'Till The End masterlist

'Till The End playlist

A/N - ooooooooh damn we getting into the plot now gang, I'm excited for y'all to see where this is going to go for the Pogues because I for one cannot forsee any issues for them. anyways as per, please send in requests, feedback, and enjoy!!!

Eighteen months later, the surf shop was still going. You had managed to get yourself a part-time job at Lucy’s cafe and quickly fell back into the familiar routine while also working at the surf shop on your days off. The shop was struggling more than anyone would like to admit but you were managing to keep afloat.

Until one day, Kiara was lounging on her laptop and discovered a news article.

“Guys, get in here!” Your head shot up from where you were lounging in the backyard with JJ, your head previously on his lap before you heard Kiara’s shout. The two of you scramble to your feet, rushing to the house along with the other Pogues as you all burst into the room Kiara was in.

“Kie, what is it?” You ask, eyes wide and panicked, worried something had happened.

“Look,” Kiara exclaims, flipping her laptop around for you all to see, watching your reactions as you all lean in closer, eyes squinting to study the article she was showing you. Slowly, you all realised what it was you were being shown.

“Holy shit,” JJ mutters, all of you exchanging excited looks. The news article displayed a large headline, crediting you as the people who proved the existence of El Dorado, along with a picture of the group. You all excitedly pointed yourselves out, all of your huddling close to the small screen to try and read the words written about you in the article.

The next thing you all knew, you were being invited to a party celebrating your part in the founding of El Dorado. You all stood before a crowd of Kooks and Pogues alike, all of them clapping and cheering as you surveyed the crowd. You were shocked to find your parents and your brother among the gathered crowd, however, you were unsurprised to see Leo refusing to celebrate your achievement. You quickly figured he had been dragged along and was not enjoying himself.

After the main celebration had been done, most people, including you and the Pogues, stayed around to have some drinks and chat among themselves and you found yourself sticking to JJ’s side. You knew your parents would probably attempt to talk to you at some point, but if you had to speak to them, you wanted JJ by your side for it all.

“y/n, oh there you are.” You hear your mom call out, making you instantly reach out for JJ’s hand.

“J…” You mumble quietly, only audible to him.

“I got you. I’m not going anywhere.” JJ mumbles reassuringly, squeezing your hand softly as your parents approach.

“It’s not easy to find anyone in a crowd this big, is it?” Your mom attempts to joke, only receiving a weak laugh from you.

“Hey, Mom. Hey, Dad.” You say, glancing between your parents and immediately noticing the lack of your brother.

“Mr and Mrs l/n,” JJ says with a curt nod, releasing your hand and winding his arm around your middle, tucking you against his side as he grins.

“JJ.” Your dad replies bluntly, his glare cold as he stares at your boyfriend.

“I wasn’t expecting you guys to come.” You admit, eyes flicking between the two as you lean closer to JJ.

“We had to come and celebrate our little girl's achievement. You discovered El Dorado, that’s incredible!” Your mom gushes, a faux smile on her face.

“You didn’t seem to care when I tried to tell you about it eighteen months ago.” You say, rolling your eyes as JJ squeezes you closer.

“Honestly, you should’ve seen y/n out there in South America, she was a badass.” JJ boasts, holding you close as you study your parent's expressions carefully.

“She wouldn’t have been out there at all if you hadn’t dragged her along on that stupid treasure hunt.” Your dad mutters, arms folding across his chest as your eyebrows furrow.

“Dad, we found El Dorado. Did you miss that part? That is the reason we’re all here.” You question, confused by your dad’s attitude.

“Yes, you found El Dorado. But this news will blow over and before you know it you’ll have nothing going for you.” Your father argues.

“We have the shop.” You bite back angrily.

“A shop that’ll no doubt crumble. You kids don’t know the first thing about running a business. You just need to accept that you’ve thrown your whole life away for a boy, y/n.” Your dad continues, angering you with each and every word that was spoken.

“I haven’t thrown anything away for a boy. I chose to live this way and I’m proud of where it’s gotten me.” You say, pulling away from JJ slightly, but staying near enough that he could still have his arm around your middle.

“What your father means to say is, you’re twenty now. It’s not too late for you to start college. You could get yourself a good life.” Your mom attempts to cut in, trying to ease the tension.

“No. I meant what I said. She’s throwing her life away for a boy. The Maybank boy of all people.” Your dad says, pointing at JJ accusingly as you move to stand in front of JJ, shielding him from your father’s pointed finger.

“You are not blaming JJ for this. I made this choice. I like my life. I’m proud of the life I made with the others. You are not taking this away from me.” You say strongly, glaring at your parents.

“Look at this. You let him manipulate you. You let him delude you into believing that a life with those Pogues is the best thing this island has to offer.” Your dad continues, glaring over your shoulder to where JJ is standing, his jaw set and his hands clenched into fists.

“No one’s manipulating me. I made my own choices, why can’t you understand that? I love JJ and that’s never going to change so leave him alone.” You say firmly.

“Sweetie, your father is just getting ahead of himself. It’s just a little bit silly to have your whole life revolve around a boy. You can have a life outside of him.” Your mom says, her sickly sweet tone making you grow angrier still.

“JJ is always going to be part of my life. I love him. I don’t want to imagine a life without him. You can think it’s silly, or that I’m throwing my life away for him but I don’t care. I don’t live under your roof any more so I don’t have to do what you say.” You say firmly, glaring between your parents as you sense JJ moving to stand alongside you.

“You may hate it but I love your daughter. I’d never make her do anything she didn’t want to. In fact, she’s the reason the shop hasn’t completely failed. She’s been nothing but loving and supportive. Hell, your daughter is the kindest person I’ve ever met on this island. I’m lucky to be the one she loves.” JJ says, his voice strong and full of adoration as he talks about you.

“Just you wait, JJ. It’s only a matter of time before you end up like your old man. Then y/n will be crawling back to us.” Your dad says with a scoff, making you step even closer to your dad, glaring up at him.

“Don’t you ever say that. JJ is nothing like him and you know it. You’re judging JJ on the actions of someone else and that’s not fair.” You say, your glare hardening by the second, both of you refusing to break the stare.

“I’ll say what I damn well please.” Your father spits.

“I would say I can’t believe you. But you’ve had this attitude for years now. If you can’t accept that JJ is a part of my life then I guess you don’t want to be a part of my life at all. I’m done. Don’t contact me. Don’t talk to me if you see me. I want nothing to do with you.” You say, shaking your head.

“Wait y/n, your father didn’t mean-”

“He meant it and you know it. You’re just as bad. He says the shit and then you defend him. JJ has tried so many times to earn your respect yet you look down on him and try to tell me he’s not worth it. JJ is worth more to me than the gold we found in El Dorado.” You say, your patience finally reaching its end as you turn your back on your parents, taking JJ’s hand and leading him away.

“Holy shit, y/n. You didn’t need to do that.” JJ says the moment the two of you had found a new unoccupied area to stand in.

“I did. It was bound to happen eventually and I won’t sit by and let them say shit about you. Especially when it’s not true.” You say, squeezing JJ’s hand ever so slightly as he studies your face carefully. You knew what he was doing. He was searching for any sign of regret. He was terrified that you were regretting your actions and he was searching for any indication of your regret so he could try and repair the situation.

“J, I don’t regret what I did at all. They’ve done nothing but put me down since I made friends with you and the others. If they’re going to keep acting like children about it then I don’t want to associate with them anymore. All that matters to me now is you and our friends. That’s all I need.” You whisper reassuringly to JJ, stepping closer and winding your arms around his middle to hug him close, feeling him move to hold you.

“I love you.” Is all JJ could bring himself to say, moving to press a tender kiss to your temple as you hold him tighter.

“I love you too.” You reply, shifting to pull away enough that you could look JJ in the eye, a gentle smile on your face.

“Let’s go find the others, shall we?” You then ask, nodding over at the crowd your friends were a part of. JJ nodded slightly and allowed you to lead him into the crowd, the two of you searching for the others.

It takes you very little time to locate your friends, both of you slapping a smile on as you approach, not wanting the others to catch on to what had happened.

“Hey guys.” You say with a smile, greeting all your friends as they turn to face you.

“We were wondering where you two snuck off to.” Sarah jokes, earning a variety of responses from the group from wolf whistles to mumbled comments.

“We were just mingling with the crowd. We weren’t doing anything.” You laugh, lightly bumping Sarah with your shoulder as the whole group laughs.

“Hey, look what I got. Wanna smoke?” JJ says, pulling a blunt out of his pocket, earning smiles from the others.

“I’m in.” John B says with a nod, patting JJ on the back while you all move to find somewhere private to smoke.

“You know, I might have one hit. One.” Pope says with a laugh as you clap him on the back.

“That’s the spirit. We need to celebrate in Pogue style.” You say with a smile, all of you finding an open space away from the bustle of the party to share the blunt. Unaware of the eyes watching you as you walked past.

While you share the blunt, talking and laughing with your friends with JJ’s arm wound around your waist, John B and Sarah excuse themselves to talk in private. You and the others make sure to send wolf whistles their way and laugh as John B flips you off while his free hand winds around Sarah’s shoulders as they make their way to an unoccupied table. You, JJ, Pope, Cleo, and Kiara remain smoking for a couple more minutes before you notice an elderly man approaching Sarah and John B, making you all move closer.

“Can we help you?” Pope asks as you all approach, wanting to make sure that John B and Sarah aren’t being bothered by anyone.

“I just wanted to tell you all that it’s remarkable, what you all did. Royal Merchant. El Dorado. Denmark Tanny. Impressive resume.” The man says, making you all exchange glances as he lists off the things you have all discovered.

“Are you going somewhere with this or…” you say, trailing off when Kiara subtly nudges you in the side to get you to be quiet, all of you watching as the man lifts up his briefcase and places it on the table in front of you all.

“I was wondering if you could take a look at an item of mine.” The man says.

“What type of item is that?” Cleo questions, all of you watching the man's movements carefully.

“It’s a manuscript. I would investigate it myself but I’m too long in the tooth. I need partners. And you all are first on my list.” The man explains, already beginning to dig through his briefcase as he talks, making you exchange a look with Sarah, pleased to see she looked just as confused as you did.

“May I?” Pope asks, holding his hand out towards the man who smiles and holds the manuscript towards Pope.

“I was hoping you would.” He says as Pope takes the book from his hand, flipping it open as you and the others move to look over his shoulder to see what was written down.

“Seventeen eighteen. Jeez, this is old.” Pope mutters, his eyes scanning the pages as JJ peeks over his shoulder, his eyes squinting before he moves to whisper in your ear.

“Why is it always freaking cursive?” JJ whispers, only audible to you as you hold back a stifled laugh at his comment. You knew JJ couldn’t read cursive and it seemed to be a constant theme in the items you’d find while treasure hunting.

“Exhibition notes. Dates.” Pope lists, flicking through the book.

“It’s a Captain's log. It shows the exact position of the ship.” John B concludes quickly, looking over at the man standing before you all as he nods.

“The exact location where the ship sailed, and where it stopped.” The man confirms as you all look back at the book once more.

“Who was the Captain?” JJ asks, all eyes suddenly landing back on the mysterious man.

“Edward Teach.” The man says, his gaze shifting to stare at the table as your eyebrows furrow, trying to recall where you’ve heard that name before.

“Blackbeard.” The man then says after a brief pause, looking up at you all and making you and your friends share glances, all of your lips quirking up in small smiles before all eyes fell on John B who shook his head with a laugh.

“Hot damn.”

taglist (comment or ask to be added):

@agnxstic @crvcified-kinx

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justabigassnerd · 2 months ago

Text

In Another Life pt. 5

Pairing - Jackson Genrette x reader (Kook!JJ AU)

Word Count - 5,376

Series Warnings - swearing, smoking, angst, fluff, violence, weapons, blood, injuries, death, canon divergence (it's an AU innit?), drugs, alcohol, verbal & physical abuse

In Another Life masterlist

In Another Life playlist

A/N - first and foremost, this part specifically has a trigger warning for an animal death so please bear that in mind when reading. secondly, here be another part of the series! as per y'all please send in requests, feedback, and enjoy!!!

You and the others quickly follow after John B when he makes a beeline for the Chateau, all of you noticing his change in demeanour. You trailed after him, trying to catch a glimpse of the compass in his hands.

“Yo, John B. Is that really your dad's?” You ask, jogging up alongside him.

“You think I’m lying?” John B responds, glancing over at you.

“No, man. It’s just… why would Scooter have your old man’s compass on his boat? That doesn’t make any sense.” You say, confused as you enter the Chateau.

“And that’s what we’re gonna find out.” John B says as you follow him into his dad’s study.

“How do you plan to find out how he had the compass?” Pope asks, folding his arms across his chest as you all watch John B place the compass down on the desk before rummaging through papers.

“I’ll figure something out. I can go to Ms. Lana or something.” John B says, barely giving you a glance as he talks.

“She just lost her husband John B. I don’t know if that’s a good idea right now.” Kiara says, watching as John B digs through the desk.

“You know what you should do? Return the stuff you stole from the Camerons.” Pope says, his voice rising slightly in his frustration.

“Pope, that is quite literally the least of our concerns right now.” You say, exasperation in your voice as you talk.

“The least of our concerns? Do I need to remind you that the Camerons are Kooks and it’s their word against ours when they figure out John B snatched the gear.” Pope says, pointing at John B who is still trying to find any clues that could point him in the right direction.

“You know what? You guys should just head home for the rest of the day. We’ll catch up tomorrow, okay?” John B says, glancing over at you with a small smile, one you could tell meant he needed to be alone. It had clearly shaken him to find the compass and he needed to have time to himself to process the discovery and figure out his next move.

“Okay. We’ll see you around.” Kiara says, moving to John B’s side, giving his shoulder a supportive squeeze before hugging him and leaving the room.

��Text us if you need us,” Pope says, offering John B a fist bump before following after Kiara, leaving you and John B alone in the study.

“So… I’ll swing by tomorrow?” You ask, studying John B’s reactions carefully.

“You don’t even need to ask. Just take care of yourself, okay? I’ll text you.” John B says, placing a supportive hand on your shoulder and squeezing lightly as you nod.

“You don’t need to worry about me. I’ll be fine.” You say with a smile as John B returns his hand to his side.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” John B says as you nod, turning around and making your way out of the Chateau, letting your feet take you wherever they want to go.

At first, you make your way down to the beach, contemplating whether you should join the group of surfers you often hung out with to either catch some waves or smoke a blunt and get so high you didn’t need to worry about anything else. Instead, you ended up opting to sit on the sand, watching the surfers as they rushed out into the water, excitedly cheering each other on as they surfed the waves. As you watch the surfers, you find yourself digging into your pocket, wanting to text Jackson and ask him if he had ever surfed before, curious as to whether he’d spent time on the waves like you had. But as you turned your phone on, you were reminded of the night before at the Boneyard and how Jackson had watched as you threatened Topper with a gun. The same gun that was now tucked away in your bedroom. With the reminder of that night circling in your mind, you put your phone back in your pocket before returning to watching the waves.

The beach had often been a safe space for you. You spent more time on the sand or in the ocean than you did in your own home. You had great memories from the beaches of the Outer Banks. You grew up surfing with John B and made other surf buddies you could spend time with when the other Pogues weren’t available. You spent hours at the beach, debating on moving when your stomach began to grumble. You didn’t have any money on you, so you knew your only option to get food was if you went back home, but you didn’t want to risk any run-ins with your parents after the way they’d awoken you in the morning.

As the sun began to make its descent across the horizon, painting the sky red and orange, you opted to forgo eating and just grab something at the Chateau the next day. You got to your feet and headed in the direction you often walked when you needed solace and you had nowhere else to go.

You find yourself naturally gravitating towards your favourite spot. Your hideaway tucked away within some trees near the beach. You often wondered how no one had found this space before you, but you weren’t ever going to complain about the lack of people. You had even brought a hammock and a spare blanket to the area for when you spent nights there because of how often you relied on the space. Once you reach the all-familiar space, you climb into the hammock, settling in it as you stare up at the sky, and how the light filters through the trees as the sun dips in the sky. As you lie in the hammock, you hear voices walk past and you sit up slightly, catching sight of a family walking down the beach, a young boy holding the hands of his parents as they walked along the sand.

“You don’t know how good you’ve got it, kid.” You mutter, trying not to let jealousy seep into your tone as you watch the family walk by.

When you were younger, you never understood why your parents acted towards you in the way that they did, and you had often watched families with jealousy, imagining what it would be like to have a family that cared about you. As you grew up, you found your friendship with John B and in doing so found yourself a family that cared about you. Big John didn’t waste a second when you came to the Chateau in the middle of the night, sobbing about a blown-up argument in your house and not knowing where else to go. He had ushered you inside and instructed John B to take care of you while he made up a bed for you so you could spend the night with the Routledge father and son.

By the time you reached the age of sixteen, you had given up on any hope of having a family life with your parents and so figured you’d spend any free time you could with your friends, forging a family of your own.

In the wake of your thoughts, you had failed to notice the darkness taking over the sky, dying it an inky black as the stars began to shimmer. When you noticed a lack of people and noise coming from the beach, it drew you away from your thoughts and made you realise that night had fallen. With nothing to do with your time, you resigned yourself to sleep, knowing that the sooner you fell asleep, the sooner you and John B could look for answers surrounding Big John’s compass. With one final glance up at the sky, you cocoon yourself in your blanket, allowing the gentle crash of the waves against the sand to guide you towards sleep.

The next morning, you were awoken by the squawks of seagulls flying overhead while the early morning sun forced your eyes open. Not wanting to move, you remain still, debating on whether it would be worth heading to the Chateau or waiting for a little while before going to bother John B. You knew he wanted to go and pay a visit to Scooter’s wife and ask her about what Scooter was doing with Big John’s compass. And you also knew that if he went, he needed someone to go with him.

After a minute or two of debating your next move, you push yourself up carefully and decide to make your way back to the Chateau. As you approach the familiar house, you notice that none of the lights were on and that there was no sign of life within the house, meaning that John B was still asleep. Deciding to have a little fun, you sneak around the outside of the house, making your way to John B’s bedroom window, finding him fast asleep on his bed.

“Wake up!” You yell, pounding your fist against the window, throwing your head back in laughter as John B shoots up, eyes wide as he looks over at you.

“You’re a dick.” John B says, his voice muffled by the window as he points at you.

“You should’ve seen your face.” You say through your laughs. John B rolls his eyes and climbs off his bed, disappearing out of his room as you stay in place, too busy laughing to even attempt to move.

“You think you’re so funny, punk?” John B asks, quickly grabbing you around the shoulders and ruffling your hair as you attempt to wiggle free from his payback.

“Let go, man.” You laugh, attempting to shove John B away from you.

“This is just payback for what you did. I damn near had a heart attack.” John B says, laughing as you thrash in his hold. Eventually, you free yourself from John B’s grip and you turn to face him, both of you out of breath from laughing so much.

“You going to see Ms. Lana? I don’t want you going alone if you are.” You say, catching your breath as you watch John B carefully.

“Yeah, I was going to head over at some point this morning.” John B says, nodding at your words.

“Okay, I’m coming with you.” You reply, not wanting John B to go alone just in case something happened. The experience from the marshes had shaken you, and the idea of going anywhere alone to investigate anything to do with Big John’s disappearance worried you.

“Give me a minute to get ready and then we’ll head over.” John B says, making you nod as he heads back into the Chateau to get himself ready. You head inside too, rifling around in the fridge to find something to eat while you wait for your friend. Once John B had finished getting ready, you both headed out to the Twinkie, getting in and making your way over to Ms. Lana’s house to question her about why her husband was in possession of Big John’s compass before he died. The journey didn’t take long, and when you made your way towards the house, you both heard shouting and crying coming from within the house, making you and John B press yourselves against the wall, listening to what was happening and trying to make sense of the chaos happening within. You and John B remain pressed against the wall as people leave the house, hopping in their boat and speeding away as your eyebrows furrow, quickly recognising them as the people who shot at you.

When the boat was gone, you and John B snuck into the house, hearing the sounds of someone crying and quickly trying to locate the source of the sobs.

“Ms. Lana!” John B exclaims quietly when you find the woman, beaten and bruised as she sobs in a doorway.

“Dude, she needs a doctor.” You say, slapping John B on the shoulder as he keeps his focus on Lana.

“Do you need me to call a doctor? Or the cops?” John B asks gently, both of you confused when she shakes her head.

“No. No police.” Lana insists, wincing at the motion.

“You two shouldn’t even be here.” She continues, looking from John B to you and then back again.

“You know, maybe she’s right we should get out of here, man.” You say, trying to get John B to come with you, groaning at his stubbornness as he remains in place, his eyes fixed on Lana.

“What happened here? What do you know about these guys?” He questions, watching for a reaction carefully.

“They were looking for something,” Lana says tearily before John B starts digging in his pocket.

“Does it have anything to do with this? This was my father’s and Scooter had it.” John B says, pulling the compass out of his pocket and showing it to Lana, whose eyes widen in realisation at the object in John B’s hand.

“Scooter never had that. You need to get out of here, you can’t let anyone know you have that.” At Lana’s panicked tone, you knew you had to leave.

“John B, come on. She’s right, we should go.” You say, grabbing your friend by the arm and hauling him away as Lana cries and pleads for you to leave.

When you arrived back at the Chateau, you invited Kiara and Pope over to discuss what you and John B had seen and heard. By the time the two had arrived, you’d lit a cigarette and started smoking in the hope it would ease your nerves as the reality of the situation started to settle in your brain.

“Okay, so what happened?” Pope asks, glancing between you and John B.

“These guys were like banging down the walls of Ms. Lana’s house. I’m talking yelling and slamming around. I swear they’re the guys that shot at us.” You say, taking a drag of your cigarette after you talk, leaning against the wall.

“Do you have a description of them? Something that we could put in a police report?” Kiara questions, both her and Pope watching you expectantly.

“They were big? I don’t know. Whoever they were, they were serious.” You say, ignoring the protests of Kiara and Pope at your lack of an answer.

“Okay, but why would they want the compass? It’s a piece of shit. You could barely pawn it for five bucks. No offence John B.” Pope says, looking over at him as you all expectantly wait for an answer.

“The office, my dad’s office.” John B says suddenly, leading you all to the office that had always remained locked for as long as you can remember. You all listen as John B explains the history of the compass in his family, your eyebrows furrowing as he explains that the owners of the compass before Big John had all died after coming into possession of the compass.

“I’m sensing a recurring theme here.” You mutter.

“It’s a death compass,” Pope states, looking over at John B.

“It’s not a death compass, just let me figure this out. Sometimes there’s a way to hide a message in this thing.” John B says, fiddling with the compass and then halting upon realising what he discovered.

“What is it?” Kiara asks, leaning over John B’s shoulder to see what he’s looking at.

“This is my dad’s handwriting.” John B says, showing you all the writing etched carefully into the compass.

“You sure that’s his handwriting?” Pope asks, leaning closer to inspect the writing on the compass.

“Yes, I’m positive it’s his handwriting.” John B insists as you walk over to him, leaning over his shoulder to try and read the word etched into the metal.

“What does it even say?” You question, squinting as you try to make sense of the messy letters.

“It says Redfield,” Kiara says, easily deciphering what the word was.

“Okay, so what does that mean?” You ask, looking to anyone for answers.

“It could be a clue to where my dad is hiding.” John B says, clinging to the compass like his life depended on it.

“A clue? I don’t know-” Pope cuts himself off as you glare at him, challenging him to crush John B’s hope.

“If it is a clue, it could be an anagram?” Pope amends his previous statement, making John B perk up.

“Yes. An anagram. You need paper, hold on.” John B says, grabbing paper and giving it to Pope as the rooster crows noisily outside.

“How can you even focus with that thing crowing at you?” Pope grumbles, eyebrows furrowing as he tries to focus on the paper.

“y/n loves the rooster.” John B says simply as you nod.

“I love the rooster.” You confirm, remembering the times you used to spend sitting outside on the porch as you smoked, watching the rooster as it strutted around. You and Kiara gather around Pope, debating what Redfield could be an anagram for while John B moves to a table. You talk amongst yourselves for a little while until John B speaks up.

“Guys, someone’s here.” He says, his eyes fixed on the window as you all follow his gaze, noticing the truck parked outside.

“Is that them?” Kiara asks worriedly, looking to you and John B for answers.

“Would it be bad if I said yes?” You ask, watching as Kiara begins to panic.

“Yes, y/n, it would be bad if you said yes.” Pope hisses as you run a hand through your hair, stressed.

“Shit, John B I said we should’ve just-” you’re cut off by John B grabbing you by the shoulders, a finger pressed to his lips as he silently urges you to shut up.

“y/n, where is the gun?” John B asks you quietly, his eyes locked on yours as you silently berate yourself for leaving the gun at home.

“Look, before you get mad. I-”

“You don’t have the gun, the one time we need the gun?” Kiara asks, her hands flying to her head as she panics.

“Look. I can get to the kitchen, I’ll grab us some knives or something.” You say, saying the first thing that comes to mind.

“That’s not going to do us any favours if they have guns,” Pope says, equally as stressed out.

“It’s the best we’ve got. Worst comes to worst. I’ll buy you guys time to get away.” You say, shrugging as if your solution was the be all and end all.

“You don’t need to buy us time. While Pope may be right, having some sort of weapon might be helpful, so go and try and grab some knives.” John B says, opening the office door and allowing you to sneak out. You immediately beeline for the kitchen, keeping low to the ground to avoid anyone spotting you from a window.

“John Routledge!” A voice calls out, making you instantly turn on your heels and dart back to the office, shutting the door behind you. You could hear the men entering the Chateau, smashing things and yelling as you all desperately looked at each other.

“Window.” You whisper, rushing to the window with Pope, both of you trying to pull it open with no luck.

“Shit, it’s painted shut.” You then say, trying not to let panic slip into your tone as you tug desperately at the window.

“I got something, hold on,” Kiara says, grabbing a screwdriver and working at the pain on the frame. All you could do was watch anxiously as Pope and John B leaned against the door, acting as the next line of defense if the lock was to fail. It took the men practically no time to start banging at the door, kicking at it and yelling through the door at you.

“Kie, hurry up.” You plead, watching anxiously as Kiara desperately tries to pry the paint away.

“Okay, quick,” Kiara says, ushering you over as you help her push the window open, all of you scrambling to get out.

“Hide in the chicken coop.” You hear John B say as you all climb outside, beelining for the chicken coop and all hiding in it, pressing your backs against the walls as you tensely wait for the men to leave. As you wait, anxiously holding your breath as you hear the men stepping outside, the rooster began to crow, clearly angry at you all invading his space.

“Can you shut that thing up.” Pope hisses, all of you desperately watching the rooster as it continues to cause a ruckus. You look over to John B, who was watching through the chicken wire. As the rooster continues to get louder, you quickly realise you have no other option and you move before you can even think twice about your decision. Your hands wrap around the rooster's neck, forcing it to the floor.

“I’m sorry, dude.” You whisper tearily to the rooster, continuing to squeeze your hands around its neck until you hear a crack and the rooster falls still. Releasing the still creature from your hands, you move to sit back against the wall, your hand pressing over your mouth to stifle your sobs at what you had to do. You all continue to wait, anxious as to whether you were too late or not.

“Come on, man. They’re not here.” You hear one of the men call out to the other, followed by the sound of their truck doors opening and closing before the engine fires up and they drive away. You wait for a minute to see if they’re going to come back. When the outside remains quiet, you all climb out from the chicken coop, your heart pounding.

“John B… I’m so sorry.” You say quietly, wiping the tears away from your cheeks, feeling awful for what you did.

“It’s okay. You did what you needed to do.” John B says, resting a hand on your shoulder and squeezing it reassuringly.

“Man, your dad’s gonna kill me when he finds out.” You force the joke out, laughing weakly as you continue to dry your eyes.

“He’ll understand.” John B promises, his smile soft as he watches you nod.

“What do we even do now?” Pope asks, everyone looking to John B for answers.

“I know where we could go.” John B says, suddenly turning and making his way to the Twinkie, all of you following hot on his heels.

“Where are we going?” Kiara questions, getting in the passenger seat while you and Pope get in the back.

“My dad’s favourite place.” John B answers as he gets behind the wheel and starts the engine. You all question John B on where he was thinking of as he drives. Eventually, you find out that he’s taking you to Redfield Lighthouse. When you reach the lighthouse, you all get out of the Twinkie, looking up at the tall building.

“Right, y/n/n, you’re going to stay out here and keep an eye out for bogeys, okay?” John B says, looking over at you as your eyebrows furrow in confusion.

“Hang on, why me?” You question.

“Because you’re unpredictable y/n, we never know what you’re going to do.” Pope tries explaining as you roll your eyes.

“Come on this isn’t fair!” You argue.

“No, this is the plan. Pope, you’re going to stay out on watch with y/n. Okay? if we get split up, we’ll regroup at y/n’s house.” John B says, knowing that at this time of day, your parents would be out of the house, meaning you had a safe place to regroup that the people hunting you down didn’t know about.

“Great, let’s go, John B,” Kiara says, gesturing for John B to follow her, which he does, leaving you and Pope outside.

“I’m going to work on my scholarship essay so-”

“Yeah, yeah. Got it.” You say flippantly, kicking at the grass as you dig your phone out of your pocket, hiding the notifications from Jackson, guilt bubbling in your stomach as you are once again reminded of the way you acted at the kegger.

“What’s got you pulling a face like that?” Pope asks, moving to look over your shoulder as you turn your phone off, instantly tucking it away again.

“Nothing, man.” You say, trying to deflect the question.

“Pretty weird reaction to just nothing,” Pope says, raising an eyebrow as you turn to face him.

“It literally is nothing Pope.” You insist, wanting him to drop the topic.

“Why don’t you talk me through your scholarship essay?” You then say, bringing up a new topic to entertain Pope instead, knowing he’d happily talk about his essay rather than deal with your problems. The air was still awkward between the two of you and while you knew John B had purposely left you with Pope in an attempt to repair your relationship, you weren’t ready for that just yet.

As you lightly kick a pinecone, watching your shoe scuff against the dirt while Pope explains what he had planned for his scholarship essay, you hear sirens and you both perk up, turning to look at the police cars that were quickly approaching.

“Oh shit.” You say, quickly darting to the Twinkie with Pope hot on your heels.

“Shouldn’t we wait for the others?” Pope asks as you scramble for the keys, putting them into the ignition and starting the engine.

“We don’t have time. Like we said, we’ll regroup at mine.” You say, hitting the gas and speeding away, knowing you have no other option but to leave John B and Kiara behind.

You drive to your house, parking the Twinkie outside and waiting for John B and Kiara to show up. The wait was anxiety inducing. You couldn’t help tensing up every time you heard someone walk past the vehicle, terrified that it was your parents coming home.

After about an hour of waiting, your phone buzzes with a text from John B, telling you to bring the Twinkie back to the Chateau and drop Pope off back at his place.

“New plan apparently. I’m gonna drop you off at your place and then I’m gonna return the Twinkie to John B.” You explain, tucking your phone in your pocket and starting the engine again.

“What’s going on?” Pope asks, looking at you, confused.

“I don’t know. John B didn’t say.” You reply, eyes fixed on the road as you journey back to Pope’s house. It took next to no time to get back to Pope’s house, parking outside and watching as he got out.

“I’ll see you around,” Pope says as he climbs out of the Twinkie, closing the door behind him as you watch him enter the house before you drive away.

You make your way back to the Chateau, seeing John B waiting on the porch as you park the vehicle, hopping out and crossing to your friend.

“John B I’m sorry, we had no choice but to-”

“No, it’s okay. Kie’s dad bailed us out.” John B says with a shrug as you pass the keys back to him.

“What happened?” You question.

“Don’t worry about it. Peterkin is just trying to scare me off from finding answers.” John B says, waving his hand dismissively.

“I’m going to keep looking for answers but for now don’t worry about anything. I’ll contact you guys if I find anything.” John B says, making you nod as you pat John B on the shoulder.

“I’ll see you around.” You say, turning and heading out to leave John B in peace.

The next evening, you received a text from John B, asking to meet up with you and the others and you comply, meeting up with Pope and waiting for John B to pick you up in the Twinkie.

“We gotta swing by the Wreck to pick up Kie.” John B says as you clamber into the van, settling down in the back as you nod.

The journey to the Wreck was short and once you parked, Pope leapt out and went into the restaurant to get Kiara and soon returned empty handed.

“She said she’s not coming,” Pope says as he approaches the Twinkie, making you furrow your eyebrows.

“I’ll talk to her. I’ll be right back.” John B says, getting out of the van and heading into the restaurant while Pope joins you in the back. The silence was awkward for a few minutes, neither of you knowing what to say before you finally spoke up.

“Is something going on with John B and Kie? Or am I just stupid?” You question, remembering the kiss on the cheek Kiara had given John B before his dive and now how quickly John B volunteered to get Kiara after Pope failed.

“I don’t know. But they know the rules. No Pogue on Pogue macking.” Pope says, leaning against the door of the Twinkie as you let out a light laugh.

“And we only have us to thank for that one.” You say, folding your arms and resting them on your knees as you talk. Just before Pope could respond, John B and Kiara climb into the Twinkie and you’re soon driving off again.

“So where are we going now? If this is like the lighthouse again, dude.” You start, quickly being cut off by John B.

“Look, I know I’ve been wrong about most things so far. But I’m right about one thing. My dad is trying to tell me something.” John B says, his eyes fixed on the road as he drives. Before too long passes, John B parks the Twinkie and gets out, all of you grabbing flashlights and following him.

“You brought us to a graveyard?” You whisper, immediately noticing the rows of headstones.

“John B, what are we doing here?” Kiara asks, all of you sticking close to John B to avoid being left behind.

“I’ve been thinking about Redfield. It’s been bugging me since we found it on the compass, but it wasn’t a place. It’s a person.” John B says, stopping suddenly in front of a mausoleum, shining his flashlight up at the name that was emboldened at the top of the stone monument.

“Shit.” You say simply, looking at the name in amazement.

“My great-great-grandmother Olivia Redfield. That was her maiden name.” John B explains, moving to the door and encouraging Pope to help him push the door open. You watch for a moment as the two boys struggle to open the door before you try to help them, all of you quickly jumping back when a snake slithers out of the gaps in the rocks.

“Holy shit,” Pope exclaims, all of you panicking as the snake makes its way to the ground before slithering away.

“Do you think there’s more in there?” You ask.

“Please don’t say that. It freaks me out.” Kiara says, looking over at you as you shrug.

“It’s a totally valid question Kie.” You say unapologetically.

“Look, man. We’re not going to get in there. That door isn’t budging. We should probably go.” Pope says, standing in front of John B, ready to cut his losses and leave.

“I can get through.” Kiara suddenly says, all of you turning to look at her.

“What? You think you’re gonna fit through there?” John B says.

“Look, this is about your dad. I might not believe in it, but you deserve the truth. So I’ll do it.” Kiara says, moving towards the stone structure, gesturing for you to move the plants out of the way, which you and Pope do while John B readies himself to give Kiara a boost.

“What am I looking for?” Kiara asks, looking at John B expectantly.

“You’ll know it when you see it.” John B replies. You watch as John B helps Kiara climb through the gap, passing her the flashlight once she’s inside. You all wait in suspense as Kiara looks around, searching for something to help John B.

“Have you found anything?” You ask, concerned by Kiara’s silence.

“Oh my god.”

taglist (comment or ask to be added)

@imsiriuslyreal @marleymarleymarleymarley @sarahmaybank @bee-43 @aceofspades190

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justabigassnerd · 2 months ago

Text

Not A Monster

Pairing - Axel Kovačević x Keene!reader

Word count - 9,164

Warnings - Kwon's death, canon Cobra Kai violence, abuse from Sensei Wolf, brief mentions of addiction, characters are potentially ooc, blood, weapons, swearing, guilt

Summary - at the Sekai Taikai, you catch the eye of the male Iron Dragons captain and he catches yours. after a certain tragedy, you find yourself comforting the boy whose world was slowly crumbling around him

A/N - hey y'all... this is very out of nowhere, huh? basically long story short, Axel hyperfixation goes brrrr and I cannot stop thinking of him. I've made several fan edits of him over on Instagram and I wanted to bring some of the love over onto my tumblr. I know this is out of the blue and unexpected, but y'know I enjoyed writing this so... that's all that matters and I do have a potential part 2 in mind following what happens in pt. 3 of season 6 as per y'all, please send in requests, feedback, and enjoy!!!

To say your life had been changed drastically within the span of a month was no lie. Your dojo, Miyagi-Do, had been given the huge honour of competing within the Sekai Taikai, and you’d been one of the six fighters picked to represent your dojo in the prestigious competition. Little did you know, your whole life was going to be flipped around in those fateful days you spent in Barcelona for the competition.

Firstly, you met a boy. A boy from another dojo.

Axel first caught your eye when you and the other Miyagi-Do’s were watching the captains all taking pictures in the aquarium. He had a steeled expression with his arms folded across his chest, forcing a smile on his face when the photographer called him out on his expression. You had tried to hunt him down after the photos were taken to talk to him but you quickly lost him in the crowd despite his height and stature.

The next time you saw Axel was in the first round of the competition. Miyagi-Do was one of the first four dojos picked to compete and despite your best efforts, you were eliminated first. But your journey in the Sekai Taikai wasn’t over despite the setback. You watched as the competition went down to just three members of Cobra Kai, and all six members of the Iron Dragons. You watched as four of the Iron Dragon members stepped off the mat, leaving their captains open, Axel being one of them. Your eyes widened in awe as you witnessed Axel take down both Kwon and Yoon with ease, neither one of them landing a hit on them as he flipped them onto their backs with practised ease.

“Close your mouth. You’re practically drooling,” Eli hissed under his breath as you closed your mouth, unaware it had dropped open. As the judge announced that the Iron Dragons were the winners of that round, you watched Axel and the female captain cross to their sensei, invoking more curiosity as to the mystery that was Axel.

After the day's events, you headed to your changing room to change and head back to the hotel, wanting to rest and focus on the next day of events. As you walked past a room, you noticed Axel and his sensei training. You observed them quietly, listening as Sensei Wolf berated Axel before slamming his padded hand into the side of Axel’s head, making you fight back a gasp as Axel shrunk down, recoiling from the hit. As Axel shrunk away from Sensei Wolf, he looked over and locked eyes with you, his eyes fearful and sad. You longed to step in and try and protect him from his brutal sensei, but as you moved to step forward, Axel’s head shook just the slightest amount, stopping you in your tracks and telling you that you needed to leave and against your better wishes, you complied.

That night, you were struggling to sleep after what you witnessed. You knew it would be best if you told one of your sensei’s about what you witnessed but you didn’t want to bring any risk to Axel because of it. You knew Daniel would go straight to those in charge of the Sekai Taikai to report Sensei Wolf, but your dad or Chozen would probably try to attack Wolf directly, possibly getting Miyagi-Do disqualified with their actions. Unable to sleep, you climb out of bed, trying to stay as quiet as possible so as not to disturb Sam, who was sleeping in the bed next to yours. You slipped some shoes and a hoodie on before grabbing your keycard and phone to go for a walk around the hotel to try and clear your mind. As you walk around, you stumble across a drink vending machine and decide you want some water, you pay the money required and wait patiently as the drink drops, making you attempt to shush the machine for the loud noise. As you retrieve your water and straighten up, you come face to face with Axel, who looks just as shocked as you did at the realisation of each other’s identities.

“Axel, right? You’re up late.” You attempt to quip, trying to keep the mood light.

“Yes. And I could say the same for you,” Axel returns, swapping positions with you so he can get a drink at the vending machine.

“I’m y/n. I only caught your name because well… you’re the Iron Dragons captain, they couldn’t rave about you more out there on the mat.” You introduce yourself, noticing how Axel was still in training gear. From the way he chugged his water mere seconds after it came out of the machine, you could only assume he had just been up training.

“It’s pretty late for training, isn’t it?” You ask quietly, bringing attention to Axel’s outfit choice as he shrugs.

“Always time for training,” he replies simply. There was an unspoken awkwardness between the two of you. He knew you saw him and his sensei and you knew that he knew about it.

“I saw you and your sensei earlier. Is everything okay?” You ask cautiously, watching as Axel’s demeanour becomes sheepish, his eyes flicking to the floor as he nods.

“He trains me to be the best. It’s because of him I never lose,” Axel replies, no doubt an answer that had been drilled into him to prevent Sensei Wolf from being outed.

“But there are other ways of teaching. Ways that don’t terrorise you,” you insist, your heart panging with sympathy for the boy standing before you.

“My sensei is the best,” Axel says, almost as if he were trying to convince himself instead of you.

“He might be a world champion, but that doesn’t give him the right to treat you like that. I mean, my dad’s got unconventional teaching methods but not to that extent,” you argue softly, feeling awful that Axel was subject to such treatment from someone who was supposed to treat him with respect.

“Look, we should really get some rest, it’s been a long day. But, if you ever need someone to talk to, you can find me around.” You offer softly before bidding a quiet goodbye to the taller boy and making your way back to your hotel room for the rest of the night.

The next few days of the competition, Axel took you up on the offer you had given him that night and pulled you aside into quiet locker rooms to talk and spend time with you to get his mind off the brutal training Sensei Wolf had put him through. You even spent some evenings together, sneaking out to the beaches of Barcelona without your teams knowing to spend more time together. Before you knew it, you were crushing hardcore on the Iron Dragons captain and you had no idea how to handle it. You couldn’t tell anyone from your dojo, especially your twin brother Robby or your father, Johnny. So you resorted to keeping it a secret, until one day while you and Axel hid in a locker room, Axel confessed his feelings for you. The confession completely took you aback, you never expected Axel to feel the same way and before you knew it, your lips met his in a moment of tender embrace, solidifying your relationship.

The two of you decided to keep your relationship a secret for the rest of the competition, knowing it could put Axel in danger from Sensei Wolf if the truth came out. You already knew he wasn’t even supposed to speak to anyone from another dojo, so you could only imagine how Wolf would react if he found out Axel was dating someone from an opposing team. And you knew if the truth came out, Robby, Johnny, and potentially Miguel would all be out for blood with how protective they all were. So you resorted to waiting until the Sekai Taikai was over completely before you and Axel came clean about your relationship.

And then, on the day of the semi-finals, the competition descended into chaos.

You were watching Robby’s fight against Axel, hating that the luck of the draw had pitted your boyfriend and your brother against each other now, meaning only one of them could make it through to the finals. Axel was up by five points as Robby did his best to counter and defend against Axel’s ruthless attacks. In the spur of the moment, Axel shoved Robby aside, right into Kwon’s hands as he watched from the sidelines. Taking the opportunity he had to send an elbow into Robby’s side.

“Hey!” Both you and Miguel cried out at the cheap shot, immediately attempting to rush to Robby’s aid, but you were stopped by Axel sticking out a hand to catch you.

“He is not worth it,” Axel says, his glare fixed on Kwon.

“He hurt my brother, Axel,” you argue quietly, observing how Miguel gets up in Kwon’s face, both he and Robby being shoved back by Kwon and Yoon as the judge and Gunther attempt to regain control over the chaos. Before you knew it, Gunther was on the floor, knocked out from a harsh punch from one of the senseis from Tiger Strike, evidently still furious about their disqualification. That single action kicked off a full-scale brawl between every dojo that was in attendance at the competition.

In the chaos, you got separated from Axel, and both of you had to fend off people from other dojos as they threw punches and kicks. You were able to hold your own, but you couldn’t help but gaze over at Robby, worry clutching at your stomach as you saw him struggling in a fight against Yoon and Kwon while Miguel was occupied with some Iron Dragons students. In the spur of the moment, you rush over, kicking Kwon away from Robby.

“y/n?” Robby asks, eyes wide at your sudden appearance.

“I got your back,” you replied, moving to stand back to back with Robby. The two of you are able to hold your own for a while, and then Robby notices Tory struggling in a fight with Zara.

“Go and help her, I can hold these assholes off,” you say confidently, landing a solid kick to Yoon’s chest, sending him stumbling back while Robby darts off to help Tory with Zara. After a bit more time fighting with the two Cobra Kai students, Kwon eventually gets the upper hand on you, punching you in the stomach before landing a kick to the side of your head, sending you to the ground, wheezing and trying to recover your breath while the world spins around you.

Unbeknownst to you, Axel had witnessed the entire moment. In a fit of rage, he threw the member of Dublin Thunder he was fighting aside and stormed over to Kwon, engaging him in a fight while you struggled to get to your feet.

“y/n, are you okay?” Sam asks, rushing over to you in the chaos while you sit up.

“I’m good, let me just get up,” you say, taking Sam’s outstretched hand and letting her help you to your feet, shaking your head to focus yourself, aware that you could be dragged into another fight at any moment.

“y/n!” You turn around at the sound of Axel’s voice, seeing him pushing people aside to get to you, now free from his battle with Kwon.

“Axel…” you mumble gratefully, approaching him, your steps clumsy as he catches you quickly, his eyes darting around for any further danger to you.

“Are you okay?” Axel asks, holding you at arm's length so he can look you in the eye.

“I’ll be okay when this damn fight is over,” you say, laughing humourlessly, fighting back a wince when Axel’s fingers delicately run over the spot Kwon’s foot had connected with the side of your head. Before you can say anything else, you catch sight of movement behind Axel.

“Axel, look out!” You say quickly, causing Axel to whirl around, keeping himself in between you and his opponent. While Axel fights Kwon, you’re once again dragged into a fight, this time against a member of the West End Warriors. Despite your throbbing head, you held your own and Miguel fought by your side, both of your moves synchronised and calculated as you fend off those trying to attack you.

As you grab the West End Warrior by the gi, ready to shove them away, a pained scream rings out across the room, stopping everyone in their tracks. All eyes fall to the centre of the mat as people begin to gather around.

“Axel…” you mutter, your heart dropping to your stomach as you push your way forward, terrified at what you might see. You push forward, a gasp hitching in your throat when you catch sight of Kwon’s still body, a knife sticking out of his chest and blood pooling around his body on the middle of the mat. You couldn’t help but avert your eyes, feeling sick at the sight before you and in shifting your gaze, you caught sight of Axel. He looked horrified, his eyes fixed on the sight of Kwon’s body with Daniel kneeling alongside him.

The next few minutes were a blur. You were aware of Gunther calling out for the live feed to be cut and gathering everyone’s attention while someone from the Sekai Taikai staff ran off to get an ambulance for Kwon. You heard Gunther telling everyone to grab their belongings and go back to their hotel rooms, stating that the competition was being cancelled and everyone was to be sent home.

At the news, there was an audible gasp and clamouring from the dojos but after Gunther reiterated his point, firmly instructing everyone to leave, people complied. You followed the Miyagi-Do’s back to the locker room, all of you changing back into your street clothes before grabbing your gear and making your way back to the hotel. You noticed that your whole journey through the building, you hadn’t caught sight of Axel the whole time, since you realised Kwon was dead.

“Looking for someone?” Sam asks, sidling up alongside you as you enter the hotel lobby, noticing how your eyes flicked around the room.

“What? No, I’m just… trying to process what happened.” You try to deflect, looking over at Sam as she smiles sympathetically.

“Nothing to do with Axel then?” She queries softly, not missing how you tensed up slightly at the mere mention of your boyfriend.

“What are you talking about?” You asked, trying to act casual as the two of you got into the elevator to head to your hotel room.

“I saw the way he helped you. He didn’t hesitate when he saw you on the floor. Is there something going on between the two of you?” Sam asks, her voice soft as she looks over at you while your grip tightens on the handle of your bag.

“I’ll explain when we’re in our room,” you say quietly as the elevator doors open, allowing you to get off and make your way to your hotel room with Sam in tow. Once the door was closed and you were confident your conversation wouldn’t be overheard, you turned to Sam.

“This stays between us, okay? Dad and Robby can’t know, at least until I’m ready.” You start, pacing anxiously as Sam perches on the end of her bed, her eyes following you as you move.

“I won’t tell a soul,” Sam promises, patting the space beside her to encourage you to sit down, which you do, anxiously fidgeting with your hands.

“Okay, the first day of the competition, when I was getting ready to leave and I saw Axel training with his sensei but… Wolf really doesn’t treat him well. I wanted to step in but I could’ve hurt Axel more by doing that. And later that night I bumped into Axel by the vending machine and we got to talking. I offered him a listening ear if he needed it and we met up in secret quite a few times and I kinda fell for him and clearly he felt the same way because… yeah. We were going to keep it a secret until the competition was over. I didn’t want him getting in trouble with his sensei.” You explain, your heart pounding so loud it was all you hear, terrified of what Sam might say.

“I can understand why you both kept it a secret. The last thing we needed was Johnny trying to pick a fight with Axel over it,” Sam says, making you laugh slightly at the mental image of your dad trying to fight Axel.

“I’m really worried about Axel, Sam. He disappeared after everything that happened with Kwon.” You manage to say as Sam reaches out to squeeze your hand softly, understanding your worry.

“I’m sure he’s okay. A lot happened today,” Sam says assuringly, doing her best to comfort you.

“I was so scared. I heard that cry and I was terrified it was Axel.” You whisper, tears welling in your eyes as you relive the moment you heard Kwon’s cry of pain. At the sight of your tears, Sam tugs you into a hug, holding you close.

“Just breathe, okay? I’m sure you’ll be able to see him before we leave,” Sam says, hugging you tightly as you wrap your arms around her middle, embracing the comfort your best friend gave you. Before you can say anything in response, you hear a clear knock on the door, making you move away from Sam’s embrace.

“Girls? Can I come in?” You hear Daniel ask, making Sam get up from where she was sitting, crossing to the door while you wipe your eyes furiously.

“Come in, Dad,” Sam says, welcoming her dad into the room as he enters, moving to sit down on the bed opposite you as Sam eases herself down alongside you.

“Are you both doing okay?” Daniel starts, glancing between you and Sam as you both nod slightly.

“As good as we can be, I guess.” You shrug, watching as Daniel nods, the movement so small it almost isn’t visible.

“As you know, the Sekai Taikai has been cancelled. We’ve been given an early flight home tomorrow so spend the rest of the day packing and preparing for the flight, okay? We need to be on the coach at five at the latest. Got that?” Daniel instructs as the two of you nod, taking in every instruction he gives you.

“We got it,” Sam says, a smile on her face as she and Daniel get to their feet, hugging briefly.

“I know today probably rattled you guys a little, so if you need someone to talk to, you can always talk to me, Johnny or Chozen. Or you can talk to each other. Just take it easy these next few days, okay?” Daniel says to you both, glancing between you and Sam before exiting your room. After a brief minute, Sam turns to look at you as you move to grab your suitcase.

“I’m going to check in with Miguel. I haven’t had a chance to speak to him since the fight. Do you want to come? Or I can send Robby over to hang out with you?” Sam says, offering different options to you as you shake your head, plastering a small smile on your face.

“No, don’t worry Robby. I’ll be okay. But if you somehow see Axel, could you tell him I’d like to speak with him? I just want to make sure he’s okay,” you say as Sam nods.

“Got it. If I see Axel I’ll send him your way,” Sam says with a joking salute, making you laugh and roll your eyes, briefly distracted from the worry clouding your mind. After Sam leaves the room, you focus on packing your bag, and playing music from your phone as you focus on the task at hand. When you’re halfway done with the packing, you hear the door open and Sam enters the room.

“How’s Miguel?” You ask, glancing over your shoulder as you fold a shirt before tucking it in your suitcase.

“He’s doing okay. I think he’s ready to go home. Same as everyone else.” Sam admits, grabbing her own suitcase to pack.

“Tell me about it. The sooner we’re home the better.” You agree with a nod. The two of you continue to pack while listening to the music coming through your phone. When you’re both packed, you put your suitcases back on the floor and notice the time, exiting your room and heading to the hotel restaurant to grab some dinner.

After you finished eating, you and Sam returned to your hotel room, wanting to get an early night to be ready for the early morning flight you had to catch. The two of you showered and changed into your pyjamas and got into bed, gossiping and scrolling through your phones to wind down after the events of the day and when you began to grow tired, you called it a night, flicking your lights off and settling down to sleep.

Sleep did not come easy for you. Every time you closed your eyes you saw the image of Kwon’s body sprawled out on the mat with the knife protruding from his chest as his lifeless eyes stared up at the ceiling. And when you tried to shake that image away, Kwon was replaced with Axel. After several failed attempts to fall asleep, you sit up in bed, picking up your phone to check the time and biting back an angry sigh when you see 1:42 displayed across your lock screen. Despite knowing it was the opposite of a good idea, you pushed back the covers and tiptoed out of the hotel room after grabbing a hoodie, and your keycard and slipping some shoes on. Your feet guide you to the hotel room you knew Axel occupied. With Terry Silver owning the Iron Dragons, he had splashed out and ensured that each member of the Iron Dragons had their own individual hotel rooms so you knew there was no risk of disturbing anyone else as you lifted your hand to tenderly knock on the door.

“Axel?” You whisper, trying to maintain an acceptable level of volume for a hotel at one o’clock in the morning. You try knocking a couple more times when you’re met with no response.

“What are you doing?” You jump and whirl around at the sound of a voice coming from behind you, shocked to see your brother standing behind you with a raised eyebrow.

“I could ask you the same question.” You fire back, watching Robby carefully.

“You know this is Axel’s room, right?” Robby asks, gesturing to the door behind you as you nod, trying to remain as calm as possible.

“I know. We’ve become friends and I couldn’t sleep after what happened. I wanted to make sure he was okay,” you say, hoping Robby won’t pick up on your nervousness.

“You made friends with the Iron Dragons captain? You never talked about it.” Robby queries, suspicion riddling his tone as he folds his arms across his chest.

“I don’t need to tell you everything, Robby,” you say quickly, wishing your brother wasn’t so pushy.

“You’re right. You don’t need to. But I can tell you that Axel left earlier. All the Iron Dragons did. They must’ve had a late flight,” Robby says, shrugging his shoulders slightly at the explanation, as your eyebrows furrowed.

“They left? And you’re positive you saw them leave?” You ask, watching as Robby nods.

“They had all their gear as they headed out. It’s the only explanation.” Robby elaborates as you curse under your breath, pulling your phone out of your pocket and scrambling to send a text to Axel.

“Okay seriously, is there something going on between you and Axel? You’re acting weird,” Robby asks, concerned as you hit send on the text before looking back up at Robby.

“If I tell you I need you to promise me that you won’t tell Dad or Miguel,” you say, watching as Robby furrows his eyebrows while unfolding his arms.

“I promise. This stays between us,” Robby says softly, holding his pinkie finger out, reminding you of all the times in your childhood when you and Robby had made pinkie promises. You reach out and interlock your pinkie with his, shaking your hands once before unhooking your fingers.

“Axel and I are dating. Obviously, it’s only been a few days but after what happened I’m worried about him and just wanted to make sure he’s okay.” You explain, not missing how Robby’s eyes widened briefly at the news.

“I can’t say I was expecting those to be the words out of your mouth. But if you like him and he likes you I don’t want to get in the way, even if he did kick the crap out of me during our match,” Robby says with a light laugh, getting you to finally loosen up.

“It was really hard watching you both. I wanted both of you to make it to the finals,” you say quietly, wishing Robby could’ve fought someone else in his semi-final match.

“That’s the luck of the draw. I gotta hand it to him, Axel is a machine,” Robby says with a smile, giving you evidence that he held no ill will towards Axel despite the split lip he was now sporting as a result of his fight with Axel.

“I told you why I was out here. Why are you?” You decide to change the subject, curious as to why your brother was also roaming the hotel halls.

“I was checking in on Tory. Just wanted to make sure she was okay,” Robby says with a light shrug.

“And is she okay?” You enquire, knowing that since Tory had been on Cobra Kai, she might’ve taken the loss of Kwon harder than anyone else.

“She says she’s okay. She said she wasn’t really close with Kwon but I still think that was enough to shake anyone,” Robby says, recalling his conversation with Tory.

“She’s tough. And she’s got you by her side. She’ll be okay,” you say assuringly, moving to hug Robby as he holds you back.

“Thank you y/n/n. Axel’s lucky to have you. I’m sure he’ll contact you whenever he’s able to,” Robby says as you nod against his shoulder.

“Thank you, Robby,” you whisper, holding tight to your brother.

“I’ve got your back. Always,” Robby says softly as he squeezes you a little tighter before releasing you.

“We should probably head to bed. We have to be up in a few hours anyway.” Robby then says, glancing at his phone as you nod.

“You’re right. Good night, Robby,” you say with a small smile before making your way back to your room, sneaking in and settling into bed, hoping to catch a couple of hours of sleep.

A few hours later, you were awoken by the sound of your alarm and you pushed the covers back, groaning at the blaring alarm as you flailed to turn it off.

“Rise and shine,” Sam says, sitting up and stretching as you toss a pillow at her.

“Rise and shine my ass it’s four in the morning,” you grumble, sitting up as Sam flicks the light on. You both get up, taking turns to use the bathroom before getting changed and doing one final check to ensure you have everything packed before making your way down to the hotel lobby with your bags and meeting up with the other Miyagi-Do’s and Tory who, since she was the only American student of Cobra Kai, was given the same flight home as you.

It didn’t take long for Daniel, Johnny, and Chozen to make their way to the lobby after you all arrived, and soon you were loaded on a coach to the airport to begin your journey home. As you waited in the airport for the flight, you found yourself constantly checking your phone, hoping that somehow Axel would respond to your text. The flight felt like it took forever, and no amount of in-flight entertainment was able to take your mind off your boyfriend who was now on the other side of the world on a whole other continent.

When you landed, you, Robby, Johnny, and Miguel were greeted by Carmen and Rosa, both of them welcoming you back with hugs as they fussed over the bruises and cuts you were now all sporting as a result of the brawl. And the six of you made your way home to recover from the events of the Sekai Taikai.

This has brought you to now, almost three weeks since the Sekai Taikai. You had been going strong with Axel since you both made it home after he eventually texted you back, messaging when you could and calling whenever your two time zones allowed. You had opened up to your dad, Miguel, Carmen, and Rosa about your relationship with Axel and while Johnny wanted to kick his ass at first, he soon settled down when you explained how happy Axel made you although you could tell he wasn’t a hundred percent on board.

One day, while you were sitting in your room texting Axel, both Robby and Miguel entered your room, grinning as they sat on the end of your bed.

“You guys know what knocking is, right? I could’ve been getting changed for all you know,” you say, raising an eyebrow as you glance at the two.

“You’ve been hiding away so much. Why don’t you come out with us?” Robby asks, laying back on your bed and staring up at the ceiling.

“Are you missing Axel?” Miguel asks teasingly, lightly poking your knee as he waggles his eyebrows, laughing as you roll your eyes. Miguel had been having way too much fun stepping into a brother role when you found out your dad was dating his mom. And now that they were expecting a baby girl, your bond had only grown stronger.

“Look, not all of us have the luxury of getting to see our partners whenever we want. Sam and Tory live in the Valley. Axel lives on a whole other continent,” you say, your attention drifting back to your phone as you hurriedly type out a response to the new text from Axel.

“Surely we could fly him over, right? The Sekai Taikai is cancelled so it’s not like we have training or any reason to say no,” Robby says, propping himself up on his elbows to look over at you.

“I’m sure Dad would have a million and one reasons to say no,” you say, imagining your dad’s reaction to such a suggestion.

“And my mom would have a million and one reasons to say yes. She’s got your back and so do we. And Yaya too,” Miguel says, both he and Robby smiling at you as your gaze flicks between them.

“You’d really help me out with this?” You ask, curious as to whether they had any ulterior motives behind their actions.

“Why wouldn’t we? You’re clearly missing him,” Miguel says as Robby nods.

“And, you helped us to make up after the whole ‘me joining Cobra Kai’ thing,” Robby adds with a slight laugh, all of you remembering how you’d been the one trying to build the bridge between Robby and Miguel after Robby left Cobra Kai.

“Mom and Sensei have just got home from their hospital appointment so I think now is a good time as any to speak to everyone about it,” Miguel says, getting to his feet with Robby following suit, both of them encouraging you to get to your feet and follow them to the living room where Carmen, Rosa, and Johnny were all sitting on the sofa watching tv.

“Hey, you three. Not up to trouble are you?” Carmen asks, a smile on her face as you all smile at her joke.

“Us? Never.” Robby jokes, slinging an arm around yours and Miguel’s shoulders.

“You look like you have a question to ask.” Carmen then says, noting your expressions and glancing between each of you as Robby drops his hands to his sides.

“I’ve been missing Axel a lot the last few weeks and I was thinking of paying for him to fly out here,” you say, fiddling with your hands as you speak, trying to channel your nervous energy into something.

“No.”

“That’s a lovely idea.”

Your dad and Carmen speak in tandem, giving each other shocked looks at the other’s answer to your sentence.

“Johnny, what’s so wrong about her inviting her boyfriend over to visit for a little while?” Carmen asks, watching as Johnny shakes his head.

“Firstly, he’s the one who kicked the crap out of Robby.”

“Dad, that was a fair fight. He’s really-”

“Secondly, his sensei is the steak stealer who kicked the crap out of me and LaRusso.”

“Come on, his sensei’s actions aren’t his.”

The room explodes into heated discussion as Carmen, Robby, and Miguel defend the idea of Axel visiting while Johnny fights his own corner.

“Look where would he even stay?” Johnny says, leaning back against the couch as he opens a beer.

“I’ll pay for him to have a hotel room nearby.” You shrug.

“No, y/n, he can stay here,” Carmen says, looking over at you with a soft smile.

“Okay, he can take my room and I’ll sleep on the couch.” You amend your statement, smiling gratefully at Carmen.

“Sweetie, you’ve got enough room for you and Axel to both share your room. You’re old enough to make these choices for yourself and I know we can trust you both to be responsible.” Carmen says, looking pointedly over at Johnny, almost daring him to challenge her.

“Besides, it would be very hypocritical of us not to let Axel stay when Tory and Sam have spent multiple nights here.” Carmen then adds, watching as Johnny clenches his jaw, sighing before taking a swig of his beer.

“Fine, but if there’s any funny business his ass is out on the street, got it?” Johnny warns, pointing a finger at you as you nod fervently at his words, showing him that you are taking him completely seriously.

“Thank you,” you say, rushing over to hug your dad and Carmen, grateful they were letting you invite your boyfriend over for a few days. After hugging Carmen and Johnny, you rushed back to your room with Miguel and Robby in tow, all three of you grabbing your laptops and sitting on your bed to look at flights as you texted Axel to let him know the news.

After some careful planning between you, Robby, Miguel, and Axel, you were able to book him a flight out to LA, and you couldn’t help the amount of excitement you were feeling at the confirmation that Axel was going to be spending a whole week with you in LA.

On the morning of the day Axel’s flight was due to land after twelve hours in the air, you were practically bouncing off the walls with excitement, counting down the minutes until Axel’s flight landed. But despite your excitement, you knew you needed to lay down some ground rules with your family to make sure Axel felt comfortable during his visit. Carmen had been taking your every word as gospel, making sure both she and Miguel translated the instructions to Rosa so she could better understand what you were saying. However, Johnny was not as engaged in the conversation, sipping from a beer and rolling his eyes.

“Okay, we get it. Don’t mention the asshole sensei.” Your dad says as you fold your arms across your chest. You hadn’t told your family about the abuse Axel had been dealing with at the hands of Wolf because you knew it wasn’t your secret to share. But you didn’t want anyone bringing up Wolf while Axel was visiting and potentially making him uncomfortable.

“Look, Axel is more than the guy on the mat you saw during the Sekai Taikai, just give him a fair shot.” You plead, watching your dad as he nods.

“My warning still stands. If he pisses anyone off he’s out of here.” Johnny warns, pointing at you while you roll your eyes with a light laugh.

“I promise he’ll be on his best behaviour.” You assure, finally getting a smile from your dad as he crosses to you to ruffle your hair, making you swat at his hand with faux irritation as your phone begins to buzz.

“And that’s my cue to head to the airport. Axel’s flight is landing soon so I need to head out. I’ll see you guys in a bit,” you say, grabbing your keys and heading out of the apartment, getting into your car and driving to the correct terminal, finding a place to park and heading to the arrivals area. You tried your best not to constantly check your phone to see if his plane had landed but the urge to check was too strong. And when you finally got the message from Axel saying his plane had landed you couldn’t help but grin at your phone, texting him back that you were waiting in arrivals once he came through. As people slowly started to trickle through the doors, eyes searching for their loved ones as they scanned the group of gathered people, you kept looking for Axel, waiting for the moment he walked into the room. The moment you saw him, you lit up, he was focused on his phone, his expression set as he wheeled his suitcase alongside him.

“Axel!” You call out, getting Axel’s attention as he looks up from his phone, breaking out into a smile as he shoves his phone into his pocket and strides across to you. The moment you came together, Axel immediately gathered you into his arms as your lips met his, neither one of you wanting the moment to end.

“Hi.” Axel breathes as the two of you pull apart, your lips only millimetres apart.

“Hi,” you respond, both of your smiles wide at getting to see each other again.

“I’ve missed you,” Axel mutters, pulling you in for another kiss.

“I missed you too,” you reply after pulling away, your hands playing with the hair on the nape of his neck.

“Come on. Let’s get you and your stuff back to my place,” you then say, moving to grab Axel’s suitcase as he scoops the two bouquets of flowers off the top of his suitcase, holding them in one hand.

“I got these for you. These ones are for your family.” Axel says, holding one of the bouquets out towards you with a shy smile.

“Axel, you’re so sweet,” you gush, taking the flowers from his outstretched hand and smelling them before reaching up to press a kiss to his cheek in thanks. You then lead Axel to your car, opening the trunk and as you move to lift his suitcase into the trunk, Axel stops you quickly.

“I got it.” He says with a smile, lifting the suitcase effortlessly with one hand and loading it into the trunk and closing the door.

“Alright, show-off,” you tease, handing Axel the bouquet to hold while you get behind the wheel. You drive back to your place, taking the slightly more scenic route to show Axel some sights of LA. Each time you managed to glance at Axel, it took your breath away. The sun caught his skin perfectly, his hair ruffling in the wind that blew through the open window, and the sunglasses he wore framed his face beautifully. Although they concealed his eyes, you could tell they were bright with happiness just from the smile on his face. You couldn’t help but smile at the way Axel’s finger tapped against his thigh as he quietly hummed to the music on the radio while glancing at the sights around him. It was a brief moment in time that made you realise how lucky you were. No one else got to see this side of Axel, and you hoped to show your friends and family that Axel was so much more than the Iron Dragons captain they saw on the mat at the Sekai Taikai.

When you parked the car, you were once again beaten to the trunk by Axel as he handed you your bouquet of flowers with a grin.

“You can carry these.” He says, using his free hand to tuck his sunglasses into his hoodie pocket. As Axel grabs his suitcase handle, slinging his backpack onto his back and picking up the bouquet of flowers he’d bought for your family, you lock your car and once he’s ready, lead him to your apartment, unlocking the door and walking in with a smile.

“Hey everyone, I’m back,” you say, grinning as Axel trails behind you. Everyone’s attention shifts to you as Robby and Miguel rush out from their rooms.

“You must be Axel; we’ve heard so much about you,” Carmen says, rising to her feet and walking over to where you and Axel are standing.

“You must be Carmen, y/n has told me a lot about you. Here, these are for you.” Axel says, holding the other bouquet of flowers out towards Carmen who takes them graciously.

“That’s so sweet, you didn’t need to do that.” Carmen gushes, admiring the flowers as Rosa crosses to you while you hand your bouquet of flowers to Carmen so she could put the beautiful arrangements into vases.

“Axel, this is Rosa. She’s Carmen’s mom.” You introduce Rosa to Axel, smiling as they interact.

“Es muy guapo,” Rosa mutters to you as you nod your head in agreement.

“I know,” you gush, glancing over at Axel and noticing a pink tinge painted across his cheeks.

“Gracias,” Axel replies with a shy smile, making both you and Rosa exchange a shocked look.

“You know Spanish?” Carmen asks.

“I travel a lot for tournaments. It is useful to know the language of the country I am visiting.” Axel says with a shrug, downplaying his statement.

“Axel, you know my brother, Robby. And Miguel,” you say, pointing out Robby and Miguel as they creep closer, smiling at Axel.

“Hey man,” Robby says, holding out his fist for a fist bump which Axel does.

“It’s nice to see you again, this time not as opponents,” Miguel says with a smile, giving Axel a fist bump, too.

“And that’s my dad, Johnny,” you then say, pointing out your dad, watching as he shoots Axel a half-hearted wave from his seat.

“Your father is your sensei?” Axel asks, remembering seeing Johnny at the Sekai Taikai.

“Yeah, he’s one of them,” you say with a light laugh.

“And because of her old man, she’ll know how to kick your ass if you break her heart,” Johnny calls over to you and Axel.

“I wouldn’t do that,” you say quickly, knowing that you could never hurt Axel, even if he broke your heart beyond repair.

“Fine. I’d kick your ass for her.” Johnny then says, pointing directly at Axel who nods.

“I don’t plan on breaking her heart,” Axel says, interlocking your fingers with his as you smile up at him.

“You two are so sweet. I’m so happy for you y/n.” Carmen gushes, crossing to give you a hug, which you accept, mindful of her baby belly.

“Thank you, Carmen,” you whisper gratefully, thankful for her presence in your life. In her relationship with your dad, Carmen quickly became another maternal figure in your life. She never tried to replace your mom, which you appreciated wholeheartedly, but she took you under her wing and cared for you and Robby the way she cared for Miguel.

“You guys have any plans for the rest of the day?” Miguel asks, glancing over at you as you nod.

“We were gonna go to Golf n’ Stuff, hang out there for a while,” you say, explaining the plans you had made with Axel prior to his arrival. You had wanted to go out for a nice dinner date at some point during Axel’s stay, but you figured you’d not do it straight away to allow for Axel to overcome any potential jetlag he might have.

“That sounds fun. Have a good time, guys.” Robby says with a smile.

“Thanks Robby.” You grin, exchanging your secret handshake with Robby before you take Axel’s suitcase and lead him to your room to get him settled in before you head back out again.

“Sorry, this isn’t much,” you say apologetically, tucking Axel’s suitcase aside as you turn to face him.

“It’s perfect,” Axel says, admiring the room. Growing up, he hadn’t had the freedom to decorate a room to his liking. He’d had nothing more than blank walls and a plain bed in his room. He didn’t care about the size of the room because he got to see your personality through the decorations, the small fairy lights that hung above your bed, the pictures of you and your loved ones framed and standing on various desks and shelves. Axel found himself drawn to a picture on your desk. It was one of you and Robby from when you were younger, both of you smiling as you embraced. Axel couldn’t help but feel the corner of his lips twitch up into a small smile as he admired the picture, even years down the line, your smile looked the same.

“I think that’s from our sixth birthday.” You muse softly, moving to stand alongside Axel, regarding the photo with a small smile. It was a time before your mom’s addictions got too bad. She had always tried her best with you and Robby but her addictions had often gotten the better of her, and it had always broken your heart to see her go through all that. You were so unbelievably proud of where she was today after going through rehab and making a better life for herself.

“You were cute,” Axel whispers gently, his gaze fixed on the picture as he speaks.

“Were?” You question teasingly, raising an eyebrow as Axel turns to look at you.

“You still are,” Axel says, his hands moving to rest on your hips as he dips to press a soft kiss to your lips.

“You’re the cute one.” You respond playfully, kissing Axel once again.

“Are you two done? I thought you were heading out?” You both leap apart at the sound of Robby’s voice, seeing him leaning against the doorframe with a raised eyebrow.

“Geez Robby. You couldn’t just walk past?” You ask, glaring at your brother as he chuckles.

“The door was wide open, y/n/n.” Robby retorts.

“I ignore it when you and Tory have a makeout session in the house,” you say with the roll of your eyes, folding your arms across your chest.

“Yeah… but you gave me the perfect opportunity to tease you,” Robby says, shrugging his shoulders unapologetically.

“I’ll get you back at some point,” you say, pointing at Robby as a laugh escapes your lips, accepting the challenge he’s set up.

“Bring it on,” Robby says cockily, eerily reminding you of Johnny.

“It’ll happen when you least expect it. Now, we’re going to head out. I’ll see you later,” you say, taking Axel’s hand and leading him out of the apartment. You both get into the car and you drive to Golf n’ Stuff, excited to show Axel the familiar hang out spot you and your friends often frequented. You paid for you and Axel to have a go around the mini-gold course, playfully competing against each other as you make your way around the course. It was nice to see Axel let loose and have fun. You knew he spent most of his free time training with Sensei Wolf back home. You loved watching Axel celebrate every time he completed one of the courses, he turned to you with the biggest smile as you crossed to him, giving him a kiss in celebration.

After you finished making your way around the courses, you got ice cream and ate it while watching the sun complete its descent and the stars begin to shine in the sky. After finishing your ice cream, you wind your arms around Axel’s middle, shuffling closer into his embrace as you both watch the stars quietly. You remain on the bench for a few minutes, enjoying each other’s company until you hear a small yawn slip past Axel’s lips.

“We should head home. You’re probably exhausted,” you say, detangling yourself from Axel’s arms and digging in your pockets for your car keys, making your way to the parking lot and locating your car.

The drive back to the apartment was quiet. You could tell Axel was ready to fall asleep, so you made your way back home as quickly as possible so Axel could get the rest he needed after a long day of travelling.

When you make it back home, you and Axel head straight to your room and take it in turns heading to the bathroom to get ready for bed. Once you were both ready, you clambered into the bed, and you instantly curled into Axel’s side as he wrapped his arms around you.

“Goodnight ljubav,” Axel whispers, his lips pressing against the top of your head to give you a delicate kiss.

“Goodnight, Axel,” you reply softly, shifting to rest your head on Axel’s chest, allowing your eyes to close as you fall asleep to the sound of Axel’s steady heartbeat.

In the middle of the night, you stir, furrowing your eyebrows as you open your eyes, finding Axel sat upright, his back facing you.

“Axel, are you okay?” You ask quietly, propping yourself up on your elbow as Axel glances over his shoulder to look at you.

“You should be sleeping,” Axel mutters, his gaze never once focusing on you before he turns away again.

“And so should you,” you retort softly, sitting up. When Axel doesn’t react, you move to rest a hand on his shoulder, suddenly gaining his attention as he once again looks over his shoulder at you.

“It’s just jetlag. I’ll get tired soon,” Axel says weakly, his shaky exhale telling you otherwise.

“You sound like something’s shaken you up. Are you sure you’re okay?” You query, moving to sit alongside Axel. The innocence in your voice and the concern written across your face made Axel want to tear down the walls he’d spent years of his life building to protect himself and others from his emotions.

“It’s not anything to do with the Sekai Taikai, is it?” Your question made Axel tense up, giving you the answer.

“I can’t stop thinking of that day,” Axel mutters through gritted teeth, his hands forming fists where they rested on his legs.

“Axel…” you try, your brain scrambling to think of something to say to comfort Axel.

“I didn’t know he had the knife,” Axel whispers, his quiet, weak voice shattering your heart in a way you didn’t think was possible.

“Come here,” you say, moving to sit up against your pillows, gesturing for Axel to lie down alongside you. You bring Axel into your arms as he lies down, settling his head on your stomach as you move to run your hand through his hair. Axel usually kept his hair perfectly styled, but after just a few hours of sleep, it was lying limply against his forehead before you gently brushed it away from his face.

“I didn’t mean for it to happen,” Axel mumbles, his voice muffled by your shirt as you continue to card your fingers through his hair.

“I know you didn’t. No one blames you for what happened. You didn’t know he had the knife so how could you be to blame?” You whisper, holding Axel as close as humanly possible, wishing you could take the pain away from him.

“I should’ve seen it. I could’ve disarmed him.”

“There was too much going on. I don’t think anyone could’ve seen it. Axel, you are not to blame for what happened to Kwon. It was a freak accident. If anyone’s to blame, it’s the idiot who brought the knife into the brawl. I don’t even know where it came from but some idiot must’ve brought it into the fight for Kwon to get it. But my point is that you can’t be blamed for this. And if anyone treats you differently because of it, they’ll be answering to me,” you say firmly, moving to press a soft kiss to the top of Axel’s head.

“Maybe I am just a monster.” Axel’s small whisper was supposed to be unheard by you, but the silence in your room made his words ring as clearly as a bell in your ears.

“You are not a monster. I don’t care what anyone else says. No one should be calling you a monster or making you feel less than what you are. You’re an amazing person, Axel. Not enough people get to see that, but you’re so important and you shouldn’t let anyone make you feel like you’re nothing, or a monster because that’s not true. You’re my everything,” you say, your words finally getting Axel to look up at you, his eyes glassy with unfallen tears that he refuses to let past their defences.

“Why don’t you try to get some more sleep? If you need me, don’t be afraid to wake me up, okay?” You whisper, continue to smooth Axel’s hair back from his face as he curls closer to you.

“I love you,” Axel says softly as your arms tighten around him ever so slightly.

“I love you too,” you respond, pressing the softest of kisses to the top of Axel’s head as his eyes slowly close.

You remain awake for some time, running your hand through Axel’s hair soothingly as you wait for him to fall asleep. Once his breathing evened out and he had completely relaxed in your embrace, you watched him quietly, admiring how the light coming in through your window framed his face. He looked completely at ease and content, curled up in your arms and that was all you wanted. You wanted Axel to be happy and feel safe. And you were going to protect him with everything you had. It didn’t matter if you were protecting him from people who looked at him the wrong way in the aftermath of the Sekai Taikai, or if you had to protect him from his dreaded Sensei Wolf. Axel was worth everything to you, and you’d move heaven and earth just to keep a smile on his face.

#justabigassnerd #justabigassnerd writes #cobra kai #cobra kai netflix #cobra kai never dies #cobra kai s6 #cobra kai season 6 #cobra kai fic #cobra kai x reader #cobra kai x you #cobra kai x fem!reader #iron dragons #axel kovacevic #axel kovacevic x reader #axel kovacevic x y/n #axel x reader #axel cobra kai

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justabigassnerd · 2 months ago

Text

y’all don’t understand how much they mean to me 😭

New and a bit alarming

Who'd have ever thought that this could be?

True that he's no Prince Charming

But there's something in him that I simply didn't see

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justabigassnerd · 2 months ago

Text

'Till The End pt. 5

Pairing - JJ Maybank x reader

Word Count - 4,357

Series Warnings - swearing, smoking, angst, fluff, violence, weapons, blood, injuries, death, some canon divergence, drugs, alcohol, mentions of physical abuse

'Till The End masterlist

'Till The End playlist

A/N - okay, one last filler part of this series and then we're properly getting into the plot of season 4! as per y'all, please send in requests, feedback, and enjoy!!!

The next morning, you wake up and frown to yourself when you stretch out and feel a cold patch where JJ had been when you fell asleep. You open your eyes and your eyebrows furrow at JJ’s absence, you have no recollection of him saying that he needed to get up early but you were silently relieved he let you sleep in. You reach out to check your phone, unsurprised to see no new notifications before you roll out of bed, shower and get dressed before heading into the kitchen where Sarah and Kiara are already making their breakfast.

“Good morning guys.” You say, stretching as you enter the room, your muscles groaning in appreciation as you relax.

“Morning, y/n/n.” Kiara greets you with a smile, glancing over her shoulder as Sarah smiles over at you.

“You hungry? We’re making bacon and eggs.” Sarah offers, turning to face you as you shake your head.

“I’m just going to have some toast.” You say, crossing to the cupboard and pulling out the bread, taking two slices and putting them in the toaster.

“So where are the others?” You ask as you move to grab a plate.

“Cleo and Pope went to Pope’s place to see if his dad would let them help out for some cash. John B and JJ have gone fishing, maybe gone to grab some gas too.” Kiara says, her focus briefly flicking to you before she focuses back on the pan in front of her.

“Makes sense.” You say with a nod.

“So, we said we’d edit the video this morning,” Sarah says, looking between you and Kiara, both of you exchanging a look.

“We did.” You agree as your toast pops out of the toaster, stealing your attention for a moment as you plate it up and begin to spread butter on the slices.

“Once we’ve eaten, I’ll grab my laptop and we’ll edit everything together,” Kiara says, beginning to plate up the food for herself and Sarah while you lean against the counter, eating your toast, agreeing with Kiara. As the three of you eat, JJ and John B return with large smiles as they greet you all.

“Morning, Baby,” JJ says, crossing to you and pressing a soft kiss to your lips, using the distraction to steal a slice of toast off your plate and take a bite.

“You asshole.” You say with a laugh, rolling your eyes at your boyfriend as he grins.

“You love me.” JJ fires back as you soften.

“That I do.” You concede, watching as JJ quirks an eyebrow in his smugness, looking over at John B who rolls his eyes before smacking him on the back of his head.

“The girls and I were going to edit the commercial together once we’ve finished eating.” You then say, finishing your slice of toast as you look between John B and JJ who both nod slightly before John B pats JJ on the back, the two of them exchanging a look before JJ looks back to you.

“Before you do that, could you come with me real quick?” JJ asks, holding a hand out to you which you take, nodding as he leads you to the door of the house.

“Do you trust me?” JJ then asks as you reach the door, turning to look at you, your hands still interlinked.

“Of course I do.” You reply as if it were the most obvious answer in the world. You and JJ had been through too much together for you to not trust him with your life.

“I need you to close your eyes,” JJ requests softly. You raise an eyebrow at his request but comply anyway. Squeezing JJ’s hand when your world goes dark lets him know that he has your full trust. JJ leads you carefully out of the house, gently coaching you when you are near steps, helping you up them without letting you trip.

“Okay, open your eyes,” JJ says after stopping you, letting you open your eyes in your own time. When you open your eyes, you see JJ standing by a wooden sign, one he had clearly made himself, and you can’t help but smile when you read the words on it.

“Captain JJ Maybank, surf and scuba tours.” You read, your eyes scanning the words on the sign before you look at JJ who scratches the back of his head, shrugging lightly.

“I was thinking we could use the Snapper for charters, take Tourons out and get some cash from them. You were onto something when you mentioned surfing lessons.” JJ says, watching as your smile grows.

“You really thought it was a good idea?” You ask, admiring the sign with a smile.

“I did. After I had time to think about it clearly, I realised that you made a good point. Tourons will love something like this.” JJ says in agreement, smiling as he talks.

“Tourons will take any excuse to feel like they’re part of the Outer Banks.” You say with a laugh, thinking of all the idiot tourists who will spend whatever money they have for an authentic Kildare experience.

“That’s what I’m bettin’ on,” JJ says with a quick wink, leaning gently against the sign.

“You’ll be raking them in soon, J.” You say, smiling at the light that’s now returning to JJ’s eyes.

“I’ve got a couple more surprises for you. Close your eyes again?” JJ asks, holding his hand out for you to take once more which you do, complying and closing your eyes and allowing him to lead you down from the shop. You follow JJ’s gentle directions as he guides you to the next location. Once he stops you again, he gently puts his hands on your shoulder, turning you to face a certain way before telling you that you can open your eyes. When you open your eyes, you come face to face with one of the trees in the backyard of Poguelandia, your eyes focusing on the heart that had been carved into the bark and the letters in it.

‘JJ + y/n’

“You’re a real softie, you know that?” You say, happy tears springing to your eyes as you turn to face JJ, wrapping your arms loosely around JJ’s neck, his hands coming to rest on your waist as you rest your forehead against his.

“Only for you,” JJ replies, his voice soft as his lips inch closer to yours before you initiate a kiss, the two of you moulding together like you were one person. Your hands naturally drifted up to JJ’s hair, your fingers tangling in the blond strands as JJ squeezed your hips, attempting to pull you closer.

“You ready for your last surprise?” JJ mutters against your lips, quirking an eyebrow as he looks down at you. You nod in response as JJ pulls away slightly, his smile ever gentle.

“Let me guess, close my eyes?” You ask with a light laugh, stepping back as JJ nods.

“Last time, promise,” JJ vows quietly as you close your eyes. Once your eyes were closed, JJ gently lifted your hand, instructing you to hold it up in place while he tied a piece of fabric around your wrist.

“Okay, open,” JJ says, watching as you open your eyes, studying your reaction as you look down to your left wrist, your eyes widening as you recognise the all-familiar bandana that now sits on your wrist.

“JJ… you love this bandana, this is your favourite one.” You say, disbelief in your voice as you admire the item.

“Yeah, I love it. But I love you more. It’s a way for you to keep me with you even if we’re apart.” JJ says with a light shrug as if it were an obvious answer that anyone could’ve come up with. In response, you press your lips to JJ’s once more, pouring every ounce of love into the gesture as he moves to hold you close.

“This was so sweet J. You didn’t have to do this.” You say as you pull away slightly, your eyes full of adoration as you look at him.

“I did. I wanted to show you how much I love you and how much I’m committed to you.” JJ says, his eyes never leaving yours as he talks.

“I never doubted your commitment to us. Not for one second.” You say, your fingers carding through his hair, gently playing with the strands that sat on the back of his neck.

“Nothing could ever stop me from loving you,” JJ says softly, allowing himself to be completely vulnerable with you. All you could think about at that moment was how proud you were of how far JJ had come. You remembered how JJ used to struggle with being open with his emotions, a product of his dad’s treatment of him, and over the duration of your relationship, JJ had learnt to be more open about his feelings to you. He still shut down some days, but he tried and that’s all that mattered to you.

“You’re amazing. You know that, don’t you?” You say, your voice ever so slightly teasing as JJ lets out a breathy laugh.

“I’ve been called that once or twice.” JJ boasts jokingly, leaning in for another kiss which you accept happily. As you kiss, you hear the familiar sound of a boat engine, making you both pull apart, confusion written across both of your faces.

“It’s probably just some guys who haven’t realised we’re not open yet. Come on, let’s talk to them.” You say, taking JJ’s hand and walking with him up to the shop where a boat was attempting to dock.

“Hey fellas, we’re not open yet so you have to come back late-” JJ starts, cutting himself off when the two men straighten up and turn around, revealing themselves to be Leo and Kelce, making your eyes widen.

“Leo, what the hell are you doing here?” You ask, now frozen in place at the sight of your older brother.

“I just wanted to check on my little sister’s oh-so-precious store,” Leo says, hopping onto the dock with Kelce and moving closer as JJ subtly moves in front of you, shielding you from your brother’s taunting grin.

“Well, you’ve seen it now. You can leave.” You say, face set firmly as you try to drive them off.

“Not very good customer service, huh?” Kelce says, looking over at Leo as they both make their way into the shop, ignoring your words.

“Hey, man, we’ve asked you to leave,” JJ says, frustration seeping into his tone as he takes a step closer, both of you keeping a close eye on the two.

“We’re not doing any harm. Damn JJ you’re accusing us of nothing.” Leo says, rifling through the cooler in the shop.

“I know you’re just here so you can go running to Mom and Dad and tell them about how you think this is a waste of time. You’re going to do whatever it takes to ruin my life.” You say, moving to step closer but only stopping when JJ sticks a hand out to stop you.

“I don’t need to do anything like that. You’re doing a pretty good job of that yourself. Mom and Dad have their ways of finding out about this kind of stuff I don’t need to be their little spy.” Leo says with a scoff, turning to face you with a smirk, moving closer.

“Don’t you dare get any closer to her.” JJ says firmly, his glare cold as he stares down your brother, neither of them refusing to back down.

“He’s not worth it J.” You say softly, taking JJ’s hand and squeezing it softly, breaking the staring contest as he turns to look at you, his whole demeanour shifting.

“Yeah, listen to your little girlfriend, Maybank. This’ll be one of the only times in her life she’s been right about anything anyway.” Leo taunts, his smirk aggravating as you grit your teeth, finally fed up with his taunting, forgetting what you had just said to JJ and sidestepping around JJ to attempt to throw a punch at Leo, one he easily avoided, grabbing your arm and twisting it behind your back and pinning you against the wall.

“Let go of her!” JJ yells, moving to attack Leo but Kelce is quick to step in, grabbing JJ in a headlock and forcing him away from you.

“Kelce you ass leave him alone!” You say, struggling against Leo’s hold as he forces you against the wall once more.

“What the hell is going on here?” John B’s voice cuts through the chaos, making Leo push you impossibly further against the wall before turning to face John B.

“They came at us, we were just defending ourselves,” Kelce says as JJ struggles in his hold.

“Let them go.” Sarah then says, appearing alongside John B as he sticks a hand out to keep Sarah from storming towards the two.

“You heard her. Let them go. You’ve come onto our property and attacked them. Now back off.” John B says, his eyes narrowing as he watches the two chuckle.

“They swung at us first. We’re just defending ourselves. Try calling the cops. They’ll believe us over you.” Kelce jeers, not relinquishing his hold on JJ.

“John B!” Your eyes flick over to behind John B, seeing Pope, Cleo, and Kiara rushing up to stand alongside John B and Sarah.

“Let them go,” Cleo warns, reaching for her trusty knife as your eyes flick between your friends, not wanting any of them to get hurt.

“No, Cleo please don’t. Don’t do anything guys.” You plead, your eyes filling with tears, struggling against Leo’s grip, fighting back a wince as he twists your arm further.

“That’s it y/n. Tell your little friends to back off.” Leo says, leaning close to your ear as you squirm to try and escape once more. You and JJ struggle in vain against Leo and Kelce while the Pogues watch, formulating a plan in their heads until Pope suddenly steps forward, swinging and punching Leo right in the jaw, forcing him to release you as you drop to the floor, your heart hammering in your chest as John B lurches towards Kelce who throws JJ aside, sending him crashing to the floor and gasping for air. Cleo, Sarah, and Kiara all charge at the Kooks, helping Pope and John B as you sit up, your adrenaline rushing through your veins. Everything around you was chaos and soon Leo and Kelce were leaping back on their boat and speeding off. When they’ve disappeared out of sight, JJ is quickly alongside you, helping you to your feet and carefully cupping your face in his hands, his rings cool against your burning skin.

“Shit, y/n. Does that hurt?” JJ asks quietly, his thumb hovering over your cheek as he stares at it.

“Does what hurt?” You ask, looking at JJ as his eyebrows furrow slightly. Before JJ could respond, all of the Pogues began to swarm the two of you, worriedly asking if you were okay. In that moment, everything felt overwhelming, you felt yourself begin to tremble and your eyes well up with tears, the words spoken by your friends now nothing more than background noise as your breath begins to pick up.

“I need some space.” You say suddenly, backing away from the group and retreating, making your way over to the dock and sitting down right on the end of it, your legs dangling above the water as you stare down at your shaking hands.

You had just attempted to hurt your brother. Sure, he was the one who had pinned you against the wall of the shop but you threw the first punch. You initiated the fight. You were the reason JJ got hurt. Even despite the way Leo had treated you in recent years, he was still your brother and you couldn’t stop caring for him. Growing up, Leo had been your hero. He was the one who protected you from your bullies in elementary school. The one who picked you up when you were down. But as you started to make friends with the Pogues, Leo became aware of the social difference between Kooks and Pogues and in learning this, his whole attitude towards you shifted and he started to become a stranger. You never wanted to hurt anyone. Let alone someone in your family, but Leo’s taunts had got the better of you and you tried to hurt him and that shook you to your core. You had only ever fought back if your life was in danger, you never went looking for fights. You never wanted to be that kind of person.

“Hey y/n/n. Are you okay?” JJ’s voice was gentle as he eased himself down alongside you, his gaze never leaving you as you continued to stare at your hands.

“I almost hurt Leo.” You manage to force out, refusing to lift your gaze to look at JJ, knowing he’d be ready to interject.

“It was scary, huh?” JJ’s gentle question took you by surprise, prompting you to look over at him, your eyes filling with tears as you nodded.

“I know I shouldn’t. But I still love Leo. He’s my brother. I didn’t want to hurt him.” You say quietly, your breaths continuing to come quickly, your brain slowly losing its ability to think clearly.

“Hey, come here. You’re okay. I’ve got you.” JJ says softly, pulling you carefully into his arms, cradling your head against his chest so you can hear his steady heartbeat. JJ holds you softly, whispering gentle words to you as he soothes you. After a few moments of clinging to JJ as if your life depended on it, you feel your panicked breaths begin to slow and you slowly release JJ, pulling away from the embrace as your cheek begins to sting.

“What the…?” You question quietly, lifting your hand to touch your cheek, only stopped by JJ gently grabbing your hand.

“Don’t touch it. You must’ve had some major adrenaline rush not to feel that until now. You’ve scraped your cheek pretty bad. I could kill Leo for that.” JJ mutters, explaining what he was looking at to you, his hand refusing to let go of yours as you listen to his words.

“Leo really does hate me.” You mumble, the reality of the situation sinking in.

“His loss. You’re amazing and if your family can’t see that then they’re the assholes. You’re the one sitting here feeling guilty about something you shouldn’t be. Family can be shit sometimes and it’s hard not to love them but you did nothing wrong. You were trying to defend yourself. Please don’t blame yourself.” JJ says, his gaze fixed on you as you squeeze his hand softly.

“How are you the same guy who forgot to turn off a phone’s tracker and led Singh right to you?” You say teasingly as JJ lets out a laugh.

“I have a Samsung, okay? And I wasn’t thinking straight knowing that guy had you captive.” JJ says, pulling you back into his embrace as you accept the hug, winding your arms around him as you bury your face in his shoulder, ignoring the stinging of your cheek.

“Thank you, JJ.” You whisper, making sure you thank JJ for helping you through what had just happened.

“You don’t need to thank me. I’d do anything for you.” JJ mumbles, pressing a soft kiss to your temple as he holds you a little tighter.

“Can we stay here for a minute? I don’t feel ready to face everyone yet.” You admit quietly, your voice slightly muffled by JJ’s shirt.

“If that’s what you want,” JJ says, pressing another kiss to your temple as you cling on to him. JJ didn’t force you to let go until you were ready. His hand gently drifted up and down your back, the repetitive motion helping to chase the rest of your anxieties and upset away for the time being. When you shuffle in JJ’s embrace, moving to press a kiss to JJ’s neck, you notice the faint bruising from where Kelce had his arm wrapped around JJ’s neck.

“Does that hurt, J?” You ask worriedly, moving your head slightly as you stare at the bruises, lifting a hand, your fingers ghosting across them, not daring to touch them. They reminded you of the bruises JJ would often show up with after a bad altercation with his dad.

“You don’t need to worry about me, y/n/n. I’m fine.” JJ says reassuringly, gently grabbing your hand and returning it to your side as you fight back a frown at his nonchalance. He used to do the same when his dad hurt him and it broke your heart when he tried to be strong.

“It’s part of my job as your girlfriend to worry about you.” You say softly, eyes briefly flicking up to look at JJ’s face, studying for any further damage as he smiles.

“I promise, I’m okay. Nothing I’m not used to, right?” JJ says in a weak attempt at a joke as you let your frown form.

“Not funny, J. I’m being serious.” You say, watching JJ as he sighs softly, hugging you closer and pressing a kiss to the top of your head.

“I promise you that I’m okay. If I get any pain you’ll be the first to know.” JJ assures, holding you close as you wind your arms around his middle once more.

“Is your arm okay? Leo was twisting it pretty bad.” JJ asks after some silence, his voice gentle as he speaks.

“A little sore but it’s definitely not broken or anything. I’ll live.” You mumble, pulling away slightly so you could look JJ in the eyes.

“Need me to kiss it better?” JJ says, a slight teasing to his voice as you let out a laugh.

“Maybe.” You reply, your voice matching his as JJ pulls away a little further, gently removing your arm from where it was wrapped around him and pressing a delicate kiss to your wrist, right where he could see the threatening bruise from where Leo had been gripping your wrist tightly.

“Any better?” He asks quietly, barely lifting his lips from your wrist as he looks up at you, eyes full of love.

“So much better.” You say with a smile as JJ gently lets go of your hand, allowing you to pull it back towards yourself.

“If you ever need more of my magical kisses, you only need to ask, Baby,” JJ says, a slight smirk on his face as you roll your eyes.

“Maybe I’ll take you up on that, Maybank.” You joke, leaning in to press a soft kiss to his lips once more, both of you grinning as you pull apart. As much as you wanted to stay out on the dock with JJ, you knew the rest of the Pogues were probably worrying about you.

“We should probably head back to the others.” You mumble begrudgingly, not wanting the moment with JJ to end.

“We don’t have to if you’re not ready,” JJ says, his eyes studying you carefully as you shake your head.

“I’m ready. I don’t want them worrying anymore.” You say as JJ gets to his feet, holding a hand out and helping you get up. Once you were both on your feet, you headed back over to where your friends were, all of them anxiously awaiting your return.

“y/n/n, are you okay?” Kiara is the first to notice your arrival, and all the others turn to look at you. You nod, squeezing JJ’s hand slightly for comfort.

“Yeah, sorry guys, I just got really overwhelmed by what happened.” You say apologetically, glancing at each of your friends as they shake their heads.

“Don’t apologise, we’re just glad you’re okay,” Pope says with a smile, and as you glance over at him, you notice the black eye he’s now sporting, making you gasp slightly and drop JJ’s hand to step closer to Pope, inspecting the injury.

“Pope, shit I’m so sorry. This was my fault.” You mumble, feeling your stomach churn with guilt.

“Are you the one who punched me? Because I’m pretty sure it was Leo, not you.” Pope says, pulling you into a gentle hug as you cling to him.

“It’s my fault there was a fight in the first place.” You say weakly, feeling Pope squeeze you slightly.

“We may not have been there but I bet they deserved it,” Cleo says, her smile friendly as Pope begins to release you from his embrace.

“You should’ve seen her. Swung right for Leo and everything.” JJ boasts, throwing his arm over your shoulder and bringing the smallest smile to your face as the other Pogues smile.

“They absolutely deserved it. I can tell.” Sarah says, glancing at John B who nods in approval.

“They won’t be coming back soon.” John B says, gesturing for everyone to follow him back over to the shop so you could get ready for the day.

As the day went on, you felt your anxieties and guilt about the earlier altercation begin to slowly slip to the back of your mind. You focused on the customers that came in, making sure they had the best experience they could have and whenever the shop was empty, JJ made sure he was nearby, either holding your hand or hugging you close as you waited for customers. JJ’s presence helped to ease your mind, meaning you were more than okay with him sticking to your side like glue.

By the end of the day, the morning had become a thing of the past and you spent the evening eating, drinking, and smoking with your friends, all of you celebrating your day and focusing on the future.

None of you could’ve anticipated the way life was going to change for you all in a year and a half.

taglist (comment or ask to be added):

@agnxstic @crvcified-kinx

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justabigassnerd · 2 months ago

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PLS NO ONE TALK TO ME RIGHT NOW, I AM IN MOURNING OVER S2 FINALE OF SCHOOL SPIRITS

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justabigassnerd · 2 months ago

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y'all, being a fic writer and an editor is really not for the weak (and I am in fact, the weak)

send help, I am literally stuck between a rock and a hard place, I cannot focus on one or the other, it's constant flip flopping

#justabigassnerd #justabigassnerd rambles #this is such a minor issue #i'm so dramatic #i do this to myself

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justabigassnerd · 2 months ago

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Fanfic/Author Ask Game

Write a scene from [insert fic] in another character’s POV

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Wild Card: Ask me something else!

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justabigassnerd · 2 months ago

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In Another Life pt. 4

Pairing - Jackson Genrette x reader (Kook!JJ AU)

Word Count - 3,637

Series Warnings - swearing, smoking, angst, fluff, violence, weapons, blood, injuries, death, canon divergence (it's an AU innit?), drugs, alcohol, verbal & physical abuse

In Another Life masterlist

In Another Life playlist

A/N - another week, another part of one of my two JJ series (did anyone cheer)? anyways I'll save you a ramble and keep this author's note short. as per y'all please send in requests, feedback, and enjoy!!!

The next morning, you were startled awake by the door slamming, making you sit bolt upright, your heart hammering in your chest at the loudness. You sat still, listening carefully for any footsteps coming towards your room. Your eyes flicked towards your door, your breaths barely audible as if they would protect you from being noticed when you heard the heavy footfalls stop outside of your room.

“Are you in there you little shit?” You hear your dad’s angry voice as his fist pounds against your door, making you scramble out of your bed, hurriedly changing your clothes and throwing shoes on before grabbing your phone and beelining for the window, scrambling out onto the cool morning air and bolting away from your house, running until you were sure you were far enough away to avoid detection. Once you were clear, you hunched over, bracing your hands on your thighs as your burning lungs cried out for air. You took a moment to catch your breath, swallowing thickly as you glanced over your shoulder in the direction you had just come from, tears once more springing to your eyes at the events before you shook your head, turning to walk to the Chateau. When you made it to the Chateau, you were greeted by John B who was pacing anxiously, running a hand through his hair and now sporting a black eye courtesy of Topper.

“What’s got you like this?” You ask, plastering on a smile as you approach the Chateau’s porch.

“Peterkin.” John B mutters, barely acknowledging you as he paces.

“What did she do? She’s not taking you to foster care is she?” You ask worriedly, looking around for any police cars waiting for John B.

“No. Not yet. But she warned me about the marshes, told me to stay away from it. If we do she said she’d help me with DCS.” John B says, briefly halting in his pacing as you fall silent, thinking for a moment, your eyebrows furrowing in thought.

“And you believe that? Come on, John B. A cop? We know she ain’t gonna help.” You scold, watching John B as he leans against the wall, defeated.

“All she’s asked is that I stay away from the marshes for a few days. I’m not exactly in the best situation after you pulled that gun out last night.” John B says with a shrug.

“Hey, I saved your ass man. Don’t turn this around on me. Look, does this not sound suspicious to you? We find a shipwreck and suddenly the police want us to stay away from the marshes? I think they’re hiding something.” You say, folding your arms across your chest and looking over at John B pointedly as he sighs, silently debating your words for a moment before looking over at you.

“What’s your plan, then?” He asks, taking you aback for a moment as you ponder, thinking of what you could do.

“Why don’t we just… get there before they do? Dive down and see what we can find.” You shrug, crossing to the bannister and leaning your arms against it.

“Dive? With what equipment?” John B asks, looking at you as you roll your eyes.

“Who do you work for?” You question.

“Who do I-? Ward?” John B says, confusion in his tone.

“Oh my- you’re stupider than I am. Ward Cameron has diving equipment on his boat. You can totally snatch it and return it before he even knows it’s gone. You and me, we got nothing to lose.” You say, turning to look at John B, raising an eyebrow as his eyes widen in realisation.

“You’re right. We have nothing to lose.” John B says as you grin, relieved to have convinced him to join in on your plan.

“Look. I’ll call the others, see if I can rally the troops and all that while you head over to Tannyhill and grab that gear.” You say, patting John B on the back as he nods, jogging over to the HMS Pogue and getting on the boat. As John B drives away, you text Kiara and Pope, telling them to come and meet you at the Chateau.

It didn’t take too long for your friends to show up, and you greeted them all with a small smile from where you were sat on the porch.

“Where’s John B?” Pope asks, glancing around in search of your friend.

“He’s gone to get some scuba gear. We’re going back to the marsh.” You say, folding your arms across your chest as you look from Pope to Kiara.

“Back to the marsh? For what?” Kiara questions.

“Peterkin apparently warned John B away from the marshes. I think she’s hiding something so I suggested we go and look.” You say, leaning back slightly as you talk.

“If the cops catch us-”

“You could lose your scholarship I know Pope. But I told you that I won’t let that happen. If I go down I’m making sure you guys are as far away from it as possible. Hell, neither of you two need to come if you don’t want to.” You say, suddenly getting up from your seat.

“I’m not leaving you two alone. You two would die without our supervision.” Pope says as you move to rest your hands on his shoulders.

“Trust me, Pope. If something happens, no one’s going down other than me. I’m destined for jail one day, ain’t that right?” You say softly, patting Pope’s shoulders before turning and walking away, not giving him the chance to respond. You make your way down to the dock, sitting down and allowing your legs to dangle above the water that gently laps against the bank.

“Hey, y/n/n. Are you okay?” You look up at the sound of Kiara’s voice, smiling softly as she sits down alongside you.

“What makes you think that I’m not?” You ask with a light laugh.

“I can tell you’re acting tough.” Kiara points out.

“Kie, I promise I’m fine.” You insist, wishing she’d stop pushing the topic.

“You know you can talk to us, right?” Kiara offers softly, her gentle gaze never leaving you as you refuse to take your eyes off the waves.

“I’m not really in the sharing mood right now, Kie.” You say, a slight edge to your voice as you turn to look at Kiara. You hated being snappy with your friends, but sometimes they tried too hard to check in with you and it ground your gears.

“Well, if you change your mind. You know where to find us.” Kiara says, getting up and crossing back over to the Chateau while you wait quietly. It didn’t take John B long to return after that, making you smile slightly as you rose to your feet.

“He returns.” You say, holding out your arms in an exaggerated welcome as John B laughs, throwing his head back.

“I got the stuff let’s go.” John B says once he’s finished laughing, mooring the boat near enough to the dock as you wave the others over.

“I told you it would be easy. I bet the Camerons have so much crap on that boat that they won’t even notice a suit missing.” You say with a laugh, hopping on the boat and clapping John B on the back.

“Well, Sarah Cameron did catch me, but to her knowledge, I’m just topping up the tanks.” John B says with a wink.

“I knew you could do it.” You say proudly as Pope and Kiara join you both at the boat, hopping on as John B starts up the engine again and drives back to the marshes where you had first discovered the wreckage.

The tension between you and Pope was clear as day and you knew it. John B kept shooting looks over at you before his eyes flicked over to Pope before focusing back on you with a confused expression. Usually, you loved to joke with Pope, seeing how much you could jokingly annoy him until he threatened to throw you overboard. Now, you were sat as far apart as possible and you didn’t even glance Pope’s way for a second.

“Yo, what’s going on?” John B then asks, his voice a whisper as he leans as close to you.

“What?” You respond, looking up at John B with a look of confusion.

“You aren’t acting like normal. Usually, you’re bugging Pope but you’ve been acting weird since the kegger. What’s wrong?” John B asks, his eyes displaying his concern as his eyes flick between you and watching where he’s steering the boat.

“I’m fine. Just had a shitty night but what’s new?” You say, folding your arms across your chest as your eyes flick to watch the water. As you silently watch the waves, John B starts to think about what happened the night before and his eyes widen slightly before he speaks up again.

“Was it what Pope said last night? You know he didn’t mean that. He was just stressed and-”

“He still said it. He’s my friend and nothing can change that. But what he said hurt.” You admit quietly, not letting your gaze drift over to where Pope was sitting, chatting with Kiara.

“Talk to him. I bet he feels bad for what he said. We were all pretty amped up after what happened with Topper.” John B says, his gaze gentle as he watches you.

“I can’t. Not yet.” You say, shaking your head as you dip your hand down, allowing your fingertips to skim loosely on the water, sending up a small spray.

“Suit yourself. But it’s better if you talk about it sooner rather than later.” John B says with a shrug, knowing he can’t force you to do anything if you don’t want to.

“This is the place.” Kiara points out as John B cuts the engine, allowing the boat to slowly approach the channel before Pope drops the anchor. You then watch as Kiara checks the tanks, your expression becoming more dejected each time she announces that they were empty. When she got to the third tank, you noticed how she perked up.

“Okay, this one is a quarter full. That means it’s only enough for one of us. Does anyone know how to dive?” Kiara asks, looking around at everyone. You all glance around at each other and mumble quietly.

“Great, someone’s going to die,” Kiara mutters to herself, bringing her hand up to massage her temple.

“Is it really that hard? You put that little mouth thingy in and breathe.” You say, gesturing towards the equipment.

“If you come up too fast you can get nitrogen in your blood and you could get the bends,” Pope mutters, and you couldn’t help the snigger that slipped past your lips at what Pope said.

“The bends? Man, whoever named that really thought he was being funny.” You say as Pope rolls his eyes.

“You know the bends kill you, right?” Pope says, quickly sobering you up as the smile is wiped from your face.

“I can dive.” You turn around at the sound of John B’s voice, an eyebrow raised in concern as you look at him.

“Since when?” You question.

“Since… right now.” John B says, shrugging as you clench your jaw, exhaling softly as Pope stands up.

“I’ve done some calculations. Since the boat is roughly thirty feet down, it should take about twenty-five minutes at most at that depth and when you come back up, you need to stop at ten feet for three minutes.” Pope explains as he crosses to John B.

“Ten feet for three minutes. Got you.” John B says, nodding along to what Pope had just said. Without warning, Kiara walks onto the prow, pulling her shirt and shorts off before diving into the water.

“What was that all about?” Pope questions and he and John B exchange a look.

“Close your mouths.” You say with a roll of the eyes, all too used to the way they would watch Kiara as it was no secret to you that they had both openly crushed on Kiara.

Before too long, Kiara reappears, swimming towards the boat as you extend a hand out towards help her back onto the boat, hauling her back onto the boat as Pope and John B continue to gawp.

“I’ve tied my t-shirt to the anchor chain. It’s ten feet down, that’s where you’ll do your safety stop.” Kiara says as she sits down, watching John B nod carefully. As John B pulls on the various parts of diving equipment, you move to talk to him.

“Hey, John B. You better be careful down there.” You then say, turning to look at John B who shoots you a thumbs up.

“I’ll be fine.” John B says, checking his oxygen tank as he speaks.

“Hey, take this with you. Chances are you could find a hole in the floor that this could fit. My old man used to use hatches like them all the time to move shit around.” You say, pulling the small key-like object and hanging it around John B’s neck.

“Got it.” John B replies, nodding as you fall silent, thinking quietly before speaking up.

“Maybe I should go down there instead.” You offer, moving to grab the gear before John B manoeuvres himself in front of the gear, shielding it from your hands.

“No way. You don’t know the first thing about diving and I can’t risk this equipment getting damaged.” John B says firmly, watching as you huff slightly.

“And you’re such a diving expert. Look Ward Cameron wouldn’t even notice if anything happened to his equipment.” You say with a roll of your eyes.

“He would. And it would be my ass paying the price when it happens.” John B says, continuing to put the equipment on himself while you pace anxiously, running a worried hand through your hair.

“Fine. But if you don’t come up when you’re supposed to I’m going down there to get your ass.” You instruct, pointing at John B.

“You won’t need to do that. I’ll be quick.” John B says assuringly as you nod, moving once Pope approaches John B to let him finish giving him instructions on the dive. After Pope finishes giving John B the instructions he needs, Kiara then approaches and after she speaks, you watch as she presses a quick kiss to John B’s cheek, making your eyebrows shoot up in shock before you wolf whistle, earning yourself a joking glare from both Kiara and John B as you shrug innocently. As Kiara steps away from John B, you all watch as he puts the mouthpiece in, shooting you all a small thumbs up before falling back into the water. The second John B is submerged and barely visible, you turn and face the others.

“Wanna smoke?” You ask, retrieving your blunt and lighter from your pockets.

“No thanks.” Pope immediately dismisses you as you move to sit next to Kiara.

“I know you’d never turn down a smoke.” You say teasingly flicking your lighter on and lighting the blunt, taking a drag before offering it to Kiara.

“You know me too well.” Kiara says as she takes the blunt from your hand, her gaze drifting to the cheap lighter in your hand, her eyebrows furrowing slightly.

“Where’s your lighter?” She questions, taking a drag from the blunt as you wave the lighter loosely in front of her.

“Right here?” You say, as Kiara rolls her eyes before taking another drag.

“You know what I mean. You never use that piece of crap.” Kiara points out, handing you back the blunt as you stare at it for a moment, watching the burning end.

“Must’ve dropped it yesterday at the kegger. It’s either on the beach or in the ocean.” You shrug, trying not to let your emotions show about the loss of the item.

“Why don’t we all go look for it after this?” Kiara offers as you shake your head.

“This is more important. We gotta figure out what those cops are trying to hide.” You say, taking a drag before Pope sits up.

“Speaking of cops. Look who’s coming.” At his words, you turn to see a sheriff’s boat approaching, making you swear under your breath as they approach before slapping on a confident smile and waving over at the boat as it approaches, grabbing the rope held out to you and tying it onto the HMS Pogue.

“What’s up, Shoupe?” You say with a grin as the older man watches you with an unimpressed expression.

“You know the marsh is closed, right?” He questions, making you exchange looks with Pope and Kiara, all of you frowning and shaking your heads, acting innocent.

“No. We had no idea.” Kiara says as Pope nods.

“Why’s it closed?” You question, leaning back against the side of the boat from where you were sitting, watching the smoke from your blunt rise in the air.

“We’re looking for something. A boat went down somewhere around here. You guys haven’t seen any shipwrecks or anything recently, have you?” Shoupe then asks, looking pointedly at you as you shake your head.

“Nope. Not seen a single thing.” You say, the lie slipping past your lips as if it were as easy as breathing.

“And your friend. The one you’re always hanging out with, he here too?” Shoupe presses.

“He’s working,” Kiara says quickly, drawing Shoupe’s attention to her.

“I’m gonna check your little boat out,” Shoupe says with a nod, stepping over to your boat as you roll your eyes, moving to hand Kiara a towel, all too aware that she’s in her bikini.

You watch anxiously as Shoupe surveys the boat, inspecting every inch as you try not to let your gaze slip to the ocean. You had no idea how much oxygen John B had left but you hoped Shoupe would move on before it was too late. As Shoupe stares out across the water, you begin to debate ‘falling’ into the channel just to draw his attention away from where the wreck was before Shoupe suddenly straightens up and hops back onto his sheriff boat.

“If you see anything on your way out, let us know.” He says, nodding over at you. You shoot him a mocking salute while untying his boat from the HMS Pogue.

“You got it, boss.” You say, watching as Shoupe starts up the engine and drives the boat off. As you and your friends let out a collective sigh of relief, you hear the water break and a gasp of air, making you turn around to see John B.

“Yo, are you okay?” You ask worriedly, carelessly stubbing out the blunt and discarding it in the boat, ignoring Kiara’s tut of disapproval as you stick a hand out for John B to take.

“I ran out of air.” John B groans as you help him into the boat before moving to pull the anchor up.

“Did you find anything?” You hear Pope ask as you glance over your shoulder.

“Of course I did.” John B says, holding up a black bag as you grin, hauling the anchor onto the boat before crossing to John B to clap him on the back. As you make your way through the marshes, you hear another boat engine.

“Is that Shoupe, again?” You ask, turning around to see who is following you but when you see unfamiliar faces you quickly turn around.

“That’s not Shoupe.” You mutter, your eyes flicking between each of your friends.

“And they’re definitely following us.” Kiara points out as John B ups the engine power, trying to speed away. Suddenly, a gunshot rings out and you all drop to the ground, your heart pounding in your chest.

“John B get down!” You yell at your friend as you cover your head while more shots ring out. You glance between your friends, wondering what was going to happen. You knew there was no chance the HMS Pogue would outrun the boat chasing you so all you could do was accept your fate. You watch as Kiara crawls over to one of the hatches, opens it and pulls out a net, tossing it into the water. You glance over the edge of the boat and watch as the other boat stalls, the net clearly successful in its job.

“Let’s get the hell out of here,” Kiara says, as you all begin to sit up, trying to process what had just happened. The whole journey back to the Chateau you were trying to slow your rapid heartbeat, hoping that what John B had recovered was worth the chase.

When you finally docked back at the Chateau, you all got on the dock, watching as John B fumbled with the bag.

“Will you just open it?” Pope exclaims, making everyone look at him with shocked expressions.

“That’s a rare outburst of emotion from you Pope.” John B says, before focusing back on the bag.

“I’m sorry, it’s just that we almost died getting this.” Pope apologises, all of you focusing as John B opens the bag, extracting a metal cylinder and opening it, pulling out a small item, all of you but John B sighing when you see what it is. A small compass sat in John B’s hands, nothing worth what you had just been through.

“Is that it?” Kiara asks, looking to you with a confused expression as you watch John B, who has the smallest of smiles on his face.

“Dude, this isn’t worth anything. What are you so happy about?” You question, eyebrows furrowing as John B turns to look at you, his eyes hopeful and bright.

“It’s my dad’s.”

taglist (comment or ask to be added)

@imsiriuslyreal @marleymarleymarleymarley @sarahmaybank @bee-43

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