#bricksatans

[skiesofthesketchy]

Stood Up {1}

Pairing: JJ Maybank x reader

Summary: You have a date with your friend that you’ve liked forever, but he never shows up.

Note: Heyyyyy Please read the warnings before proceeding. This is one of the darker things I’ve ever written, and it might trigger some people so please be careful. I’m usually a fluff writer but I’ve been feeling... ya know, down lately so this is what I made. I’m working on the second part to Unsend still, but haven’t been in the mood lately so sorry it’s taking so long!

Let me know what you think! :)

Word Count: 6.5k

Stood Up: {Part 2} / { Part 3}

WARNINGS: Violence and abuse! sexual violence! trauma! swearing, angst

WARNINGS: Violence and abuse! sexual violence! trauma! swearing, angst

***

Y/N’s P.O.V.

10:00 PM

I pulled my sweater tighter against me when I felt a small burst of wind, the chill making goosebumps surface on my bare legs. I looked left and right down the black street, but nobody was around. It was quiet, almost silent besides dried leaves scraping against the pavement, and the only light was the orange glow from the street lamps and the red neon sign above my head casting onto the empty street. It was a nice night, even with the cool breeze, but I could feel my nerves kicking in.

I tried to remain optimistic though. Maybe he’s just running late... I pulled out my phone again to see if JJ had texted me back, but he hadn’t.

On my way! See in you 20 :)

I sighed, looking at the last text I sent him. I only sent it hoping to remind him that we had plans tonight in case he forgot. He always forgets. 

‘He’s just a forgetful person,’ I tell myself for what feels like the thousandth time. It’s usually that phrase that makes me feel better, or ‘He’s got a lot going on.’ I never make it a big deal when he misses our plans, even though it feels like a small piece of my heart breaks off and dies every time it happens. 

‘This time is different though,’ I told myself. It was just yesterday that I mentioned the movie theater was showing a bunch of Quentin Tarantino films this week. I tried to act like it wasn’t a big deal, just a fun thing me and my friends could all do together, but I was truly very excited about it and really hoped they’d be down. 

“Are they showing Kill Bill?” JJ asked with a smile. The other pogues didn’t seem interested but I was happy that JJ was. 

“Yeah. Tomorrow night actually,” I shrugged.

“We should go.”

I smiled softly at him. “Sure, if you want to.”

He chuckled, blue eyes lighting up as he poked my cheek. I knew he could see right past my nonchalant demeanor. “That’s your favorite movie ever. Of course I want to go see it with you! My treat.”

I ignored the fluttering in my belly, but couldn’t hide my smile. He remembers my favorite movie and wants to watch it with me. “You don’t have to pay for me,” I shook my head with a laugh. I didn’t expect him to, but the fact that he offered made my chest warm. JJ doesn’t have much money to begin with, and with what he does have, he usually spends on weed and beer, necessities in his daily life.

“No, no,” he tsked, bringing me into a hug. My giddy grin was thankfully hidden in his chest. Being this close to him always makes me feel lighter than air, warmer than the summer breeze. “You’re my girl. Let me take you out,” he finished, chuckling into my hair. 

I felt heat rise to my cheeks, like I always did when he called me his girl. I nodded in agreement once I pulled away from his embrace. “Ten o’clock tomorrow, okay?”

“I’ll be there,” he replied, saluting me with a wink before turning to join the conversation the rest of the pogues were engaged in, leaving me to internally gush about going on a date with the boy I’ve liked since forever. 

Maybe it wasn’t a date, or maybe it was. I didn’t really know, but I didn’t care as long as I got to spend time with JJ. It really did feel like this time was different. My thoughts swirled, wondering if he likes me back. Wanting to take me to a movie makes it sound like he likes me, right?

Date or not, I wanted to look nice, so I spent more time getting ready than I normally did. I experimented with some light makeup, trying to make it subtle but still pretty. I left my hair down after making it look somewhat decent, something I hardly ever do because my go-to is always putting it up. I even picked out a dress to wear but made sure to choose one that JJ had seen me in plenty of times. I didn’t want to look like I was trying too hard, but still hoped he would notice my appearance and think I looked pretty. 

10:10 PM

The movie started ten minutes ago, and still no word from JJ. I glanced down at my shoes and hugged myself tighter. ‘Maybe he did forget... again.’ I didn’t want to believe it, giving JJ the benefit of the doubt like I always did. But he still wasn’t here.

Yo are you coming? I sent another text.

I was really excited about tonight, not just because I’d be seeing one of my favorite movies in the theaters as if it was premiering for the first time. Now I just feel... heavy. Like I’m carrying the weight of the reality I should’ve realized a long time ago. If I was important to him, he would remember our plans.

My frown deepened. That’s what it comes down to, right? If he actually cared about me, he would be here, or at least tell me he’s not going to make it. Constantly forgetting our plans is a huge sign that he doesn’t like me the way I like him, that I don’t matter to him enough to follow through. It’s a sign I’ve been ignoring even though it’s been there the whole time, blaringly obvious and all too painful. 

No. JJ does care about me, even if it’s just as a friend. He’ll be here. He told me he would be.

10:20 PM

Spinning around and looking at the movie theater entrance, I thought about going inside and watching the movie anyway, but I suddenly wasn’t up for it anymore. This sick feeling in my gut was all I could think about. 

Of course JJ doesn’t like me. Why did I get my hopes up so high when all he’s ever done is not show up? It hurts. It feels like something crawled up inside of me and slashed its claws at my dumb, naive heart. Its terrifying and hoarse voice whispering in my ear, “What did you expect?”

Perhaps this is my fault; letting myself fall for someone that doesn’t feel the same. JJ Maybank: one of my closest friends, the biggest player on the whole damn island, and the most emotionally unavailable boy I’ve ever met. Of course I had to fall for him. I’m a fucking idiot. 

I slumped my shoulders, feeling defeated and tired. It’s like I was tossed to the side without a second thought, much like the trash lining the curb. My throat tightened with the emotions threatening to pour out in sobs, but I held them back. It’s not his fault. I’m the one with these stupid feelings, waiting around for him to feel them too, but he doesn’t. 

10:30 PM

I checked my phone one last time, still nothing. With a deep sigh, I started walking towards the direction of my house. I focused my attention on my sandals hitting the sidewalk, each step feeling like another crack in my heart. 

‘You’re fine,’ I told myself. ‘Don’t cry. You’re fine.’

But I wasn’t, and I felt the stubborn tears brim my eyes. I turned the corner and this street was much darker, the street lights dim and far apart. The sound of someone else’s footsteps pricked my ears, and I kept my head down to hide my frustration and the sadness running down my cheeks. I wanted the footsteps to belong to JJ, finally showing up but just a bit late. I knew better though, and didn’t bother looking up. 

“Well, look who it is. A little pougie.” I halted in my tracks, my eyes flicking up to find his cold ones, and I shot him a glare. As if I needed something to make my night even worse. Fucking Rafe.

“Not even gonna say hello?” he asked. I kept my posture stiff and my stare hard, trying to act tough even though I was most certainly in a vulnerable state.

“What are you doing here, Rafe?” Rafe was predictable in the way that he lived to torture me and my friends. That’s the only reason he’d ever be caught dead in The Cut.

He stopped right in front of me, his tall frame dark and intimidating. Even under the blanket of night I could see his eyes were bloodshot and a sickening smirk lined his lips. He ignored my question as his eyes dragged up and down my body, making my stomach twist and skin crawl. “Where’s the rest of your dirty crew?” he spat.

“You’re lucky they’re not here.” I kept my tone steady, but I could feel my hands start to shake and an uneasy feeling settled inside of me. I need to get out of here. 

With hands stuffed in his pockets, he leisurely walked around me, eyes still glued to my bare legs. “You look pretty,” he whispered. “Were you on a date?” 

“No.”

“Then why are you all dressed up, darlin’?” His gaze met mine again when I spun around to face him, and with the way his features slightly softened, he probably noticed that I had been crying. “Oh. You were stood up, huh?”

Is it that obvious? “No,” I snapped. 

He chuckled darkly, stepping even closer to me, and I took a step back. “His loss.” Then he just stood there staring at me while I was lost in a sea of confusion. Is he trying to be nice?

“Well. It’s been not so nice talking to you. I’m going home now.” I turned around to escape this unpleasant conversation, but I was spun back around with the man’s grip on my arm. 

“Don’t leave. I’m not done talking to you.” I felt fear creep under my skin as I looked up at his face again, hardly able to make out anything but his eyes. He wasn’t asking, he was demanding. 

“Leave me alone.” I tried to snatch my arm out of his grasp, but he pushed me into the brick wall of the building we were in front of. 

The sudden movement caused me to stumble and twist my ankle. “Ow! Rafe, what the fuck!” I felt the pain shoot up my leg, but couldn’t focus on it for long. Rafe’s menacing features had panic surging through my veins as he came closer.

I pressed my back into the hard wall trying to separate myself as much as I could from the man towering over me. “You’ve had a rough night. Let me make you feel better,” he said. He stepped into me, his chest pressing against mine as he looked down at me.

“Get the fuck off of me,” I choked out. 

His wicked laugh fanned over my face and I felt angry tears fall. “Come on, little poguie. At least I actually want you.” His words seemed to drive a knife into my chest. JJ doesn’t want me, but I don’t have time to think about that right now. I can hardly think of anything right now. 

My palms rose to his chest, but he caught my wrists in his hands, keeping me from shoving him off. He laughed again, and the realization that Rafe isn’t sober washed over me like a tidal wave. What have I gotten myself into? “Let me go!” I screamed.

He shut me up by forcing his mouth onto mine. I screamed against his lips but he pressed into me harder. I started thrashing my body under the weight of his, but his hold became tighter. He brutally clutched both of my wrists into one of his large hands while the other came up to slap over my mouth, cutting off my cries.

“Just let it happen, darlin. Enjoy it,” he whispered into my ear. Hot tears ran down my face as I felt his lips on my neck. He sucked harshly on my skin as I squirmed, trying desperately to escape, but I couldn’t. Even if I couldn’t, I would die trying.

His mouth attacked my throat while I struggled between him and the wall. With the adrenaline pumping through my body, I used all of my strength and pushed him as hard as I possibly could. With the few inches I created between us, I picked my leg up and stomped my heel into his foot. 

I prepared to bolt with the time I had bought myself, but a second later he was landing a ruthless slap to my face. I registered the burning pain as he pinned me to the wall with his body again. “Oh, now you’re really gonna get it, pogue.” His sudden anger shook me to my core, his sick laugh echoing in my ears like a fire alarm. 

His hand landed on my thigh and dragged along my skin, pushing my dress up higher and higher as I felt the screams get caught in my throat. I dug my nails into his arms but he wasn’t bothered. He kissed me again and I took his bottom lip between my teeth, biting down hard until I tasted blood.

He yanked his head back, face twisting in rage. Even with his violating hands still searing into my skin, I brought my knee up into his crotch, and he yelled in pain. I didn’t waste any time and took off running, but I was yanked back by my hair. 

“Fucking bitch!” My head throbbed as I crashed to the ground, feeling my elbows scrape the pavement. I was seeing stars as I felt Rafe’s weight drop on top of me, his form straddling me. I threw my fists wildly into his stomach and chest, desperately trying anything to escape him, but I knew my efforts were becoming futile. His ring-clad fist connected with my cheekbone and a sob crawled its way up my throat.

“Stop!” I screamed. His hand suddenly grabbed my throat, cutting off my cries once again. I clawed at his skin to get him to stop, but he only increased the pressure on my esophagus until I couldn’t breathe, and I squeezed my eyes shut. My world was spinning and my terror didn’t let me register the pain anymore, only the horrendous realization of what’s happening to me taking over my thoughts. 

After what felt like minutes but was only a few seconds, I felt his breath fan over my face from where he hovered over me. “You’re not fucking worth the trouble.” He released my neck and I felt him get off of me, but I dared not open my eyes. I was too scared of what might happen. It surely became known when I felt a sharp kick to my stomach. I whimpered, then he landed another kick to my side. “Nobody wants you now! Nobody will ever want you! You’re just a dirty little pogue,” he seethed. 

“Fucking bitch,” he spat again, and I heard his heavy footsteps as he stormed off, leaving me on the ground in pieces. 

11:00 PM

I finally sat up, finding the strength to put myself together again, but was pulled into a coughing fit, my throat burning. I wish I could say I was numb, but I was brutally aware of the torment my body has been through, of the emotional trauma I’d have to live with. 

I carefully stood to my feet but folded in half with arms wrapped around my stomach, clutching myself in pain. Everything hurts. I forced myself to straighten, holding back the tears. I felt broken in every way possible, but I willed myself to figure out how to get help.

I picked up my bag that had been tossed to the ground and rummaged through it for my cell phone. With a heavy heart, I called the one person that I needed more than anyone.

But of course, he didn’t answer. More tears were shed, even though it felt like I couldn’t possibly cry anymore. “Answer, goddammit,” I sobbed. I called again. “Please, JJ. Please. I need you.” Again, the call went to voicemail. 

I let out a wail of anguish. Even with nasty bruises already forming on my skin, the loud shatter of my heart is what hurt the most. He’s never here. Even when I need him. 

I didn’t even want to call anyone else. My ankle, my face, my stomach, my throat. Even though I was shaking in pain, I wanted to wallow in my heartbreak alone, so I slowly started walking again, and limped all the way home. 

***

JJ’s P.O.V.

“How was the movie last night?”

I stretched my arms over my head with a yawn, barely registering what John B. asked. “Huh?”

He chuckled and sat next to me on the pullout couch in the living room where I slept. “You got back pretty late last night. I’m guessing you and Y/N had a good time?” Now I’m thinking it’s not just my sleep induced brain that’s making me so confused.

“What do you mean? I wasn’t with Y/N,” I groaned while rubbing my eyes, the sunlight seeping through the windows too bright and annoying.

“What do you mean, dude?” His eyebrows furrowed and his eyes suddenly flashed with anger. “You were supposed to take her to a movie last night.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” I grumbled, getting even more annoyed. He doesn’t have a right to be pissed at me, not when I have no idea what he’s even pissed about. It’s too fucking early for this shit. 

John B. stood up with a sharp laugh. “I can’t believe you forgot again, man. Seriously?”

I sat up, my anger matching his now. “You wanna tell me what this is about?” He shook his head before looking at me again, baffled. 

“Y/N? Kill Bill? You guys had a date planned.” 

I glared at him before realization finally hit me. I slapped my hand to my forehead. “Fuck. Was that supposed to be last night?”

He shook his head again. “You’re unbelievable, really.” I sighed. It was an honest mistake. At least I know she’ll forgive me. She always forgives me. 

“I’ll fix it. I’m sure she won’t be mad.” John B. rolled his eyes. “And it wasn’t a date, by the way.”

“Yeah? Did you tell her that?”

“Stop talking in riddles, man. What the hell do you mean? Of course she knows.” He hit me on the back of the head, reminding me of my headache, the dreaded hangover starting to take effect. “Hey! What was that for?”

“She likes you, idiot! No idea why, considering you’re just a dick that doesn’t bother to show up to the plans you guys make.”

“Is this why you’re yelling at me? She doesn’t like me, dude. Not like that,” I rolled my eyes. I could punch him for getting on my case over nothing. Y/N doesn’t like me, and missing plans has never been a big deal. I just want to deal with my hangover in peace.

“You don’t deserve her. And she doesn’t deserve your shit,” he said, walking away into the kitchen. 

“You’re getting mad over nothing. Fuck off,” I grunted, head in my hands. I need coffee and advil. His yelling is making my headache worse.

He sauntered back into the living room, throwing a bottle of painkillers at me, too forcefully if you ask me. “Just tell me, if you weren’t with Y/N, what did you do last night?”

I smirked, remembering the events that took place. “A hot blonde that I met at the boneyard,” my smirk widened. I expected some sort of congratulations from my best friend like usual, but I was met with a scoff and a water bottle being thrown at me.

“You’re a prick. You know that?” 

“And you’re an asshole. What do you want from me?”

“Whatever, dude. Let’s just hope Y/N forgives you this time,” he snapped, walking away and finally leaving me in much needed silence.

“She will!” I yelled after him, hearing his bedroom door slam shut.

I sighed before gulping down the painkillers for my headache. I grabbed my discarded shorts from yesterday on the floor and grabbed my phone out of the pocket. I had forgotten that I put it on Do Not Disturb mode after the hot blonde and I left the party. Girls like it when you give them all of your attention, and aren’t distracted by calls and texts. 

I sighed again when I saw the text’s from Y/N.

9:36 PM: On my way! See you in 20 :)

10:10 PM: Yo are you coming? 

I sure feel like an asshole now. I hoped that she would’ve watched the movie without me anyway, but considering she called me twice at 11:00, she probably didn’t. I feel even worse now that I can see she waited over an hour for me. I typed out a text to her, but I wasn’t sure how to word this apology.

Hey, sorry I missed out last night. Got held up :)

I opted for keeping it nonchalant, not wanting to make this a big deal. I’ll make sure she knows how sorry I am the next time I see her. I’m not worried though. She’s the only one out of the pouges that doesn’t get mad at me when I do stupid shit, and she always forgives me. This time won’t be any different.

I laid back down with my arm covering my eyes, and I thought about what John B. said. Y/N doesn’t like me. She’d be stupid to like a fuck up like me. No, no, we’re just friends, and have been for years. I laughed at the thought. 

John B. was right about one thing, though. I definitely don’t deserve her. She’s way too good for me, especially when I’m not good to her.

***

Y/N’s P.O.V.

I stood in front of the mirror and peered at my naked body in the reflection, tears spilling down my cheeks for what felt like the millionth time. 

My eye was swollen and bruised, a cut on my cheek from Rafe’s ring. Large spots of sickly green and deep violet stained my torso. Dark rings around my wrists from his tight grip. A lighter purple ring wrapped around my neck from where Rafe’s hands had cut off my breathing. 

My hot tears dripped from my face and landed on my collarbone, bringing my attention to the hickeys littering the side of my neck too. I wanted to vomit. I could take the physical assault, but that’s not all this was. He violated me. Kissed me. Sucked on my neck while his hands traveled under my dress. 

Going to the police was a thought that bounced through my mind, but I couldn’t, not yet at least. I was much too unstable. I needed support if I was going to report it, but I still hadn’t told anyone what happened. I spent all of yesterday locked in my room, letting myself wallow in the pain.

JJ had texted me yesterday morning, apologizing for not showing up. A simple text wasn’t enough this time. He texted me again that afternoon.

I’m really sorry, Y/N. I’ll make it up to you. Please don’t be mad at me :(

I wasn’t mad. I was heartbroken, and didn’t bother responding to that text either. If he had shown up, I wouldn’t have been assaulted by Rafe. If he was there, we would have been happily watching my favorite movie, eating snacks and probably laughing at the gore displayed on the screen. If he was there, I wouldn’t have been crying in the dark streets alone, trying to wrap my head around the fact that I could have been raped. That I was almost raped.

The other pogues were trying to get a hold of me yesterday too, inviting me to their plans, but I never responded to anyone. I didn’t want to face them, or anyone for that matter. I didn’t even think I wanted to tell them what happened. It was all too much, and I didn’t want to relive it by telling anyone what Rafe had done to me. Not to mention it would add even more ammunition to the war between us and the kooks. 

I don’t feel any different today, still just wanting to curl up in bed and be alone for probably forever, but I don’t have that luxury today. My mom had left for work this morning before I even woke up, but she sent me a text asking me to run some errands. When I protested, she gave me the whole lecture on how I only ever spend time with the pogues and never help out. I didn’t have a choice. 

With one last glance in the mirror, I wiped the tears off my face and started getting dressed. I had to cover the bruises somehow, but makeup was not going to do the trick. Despite the hot temperature outside, I threw on a large sweatshirt over my sports bra. If I put the hood on, nobody would notice the disgusting marks lining my neck. I found a pair of my mom’s oversized sunglasses and they covered enough of my face to hide the cut on my cheek along with the black eye. I put on shorts and shoes and grabbed my bag before looking in the mirror one last time. Nobody would notice.

***

JJ’s P.O.V.

“Have you guys heard from Y/N?” Pope asked the group. “She hasn’t responded to any of my texts for like two days.” I frowned. At least I wasn’t the only one she was ignoring. I thought that she was probably still mad at me for bailing on our plans, but since she isn’t responding to Pope either, maybe she’s just busy with other things.

“No, I haven’t,” Kie answered. “Pretty weird, right?”

“Yeah, I wonder what’s up.” Pope’s face looked concerned suddenly, and I found my own expression matching his.

“Why don’t you ask JJ here,” John B. said, tone sharp with annoyance. Kie and Pope both whipped their heads towards me, eyebrows raised in question. I just scoffed, turning my attention back to waxing my board.

“What the hell did you do?” Pope asked. His accusing words pissed me off. Who said this was my fault?

“Nothing, okay? I just forgot we had plans, and--” I was cut off by John B.

“No surprise there,” he mumbled under his breath. 

Kiara sighed, her disappointed eyes casting down on me. “Seriously, JJ?”

“What? You guys can’t pin the blame on me! I got distracted, it wasn’t my fault.”

John B. scoffed and I wanted to punch him, much like yesterday morning. “Yeah, what was her name again? The distraction, I mean.” I rolled my eyes. 

“Come on, dude. Not cool,” Pope added with a shake of his head. With all three of them staring at me in dismay, it felt like my friends were attacking me. It’s also like they knew something I didn’t. Why is everything always my fault? 

“Stop turning it into a big deal. I just forgot, okay? I already apologized, so it’s fine.”

“So she forgave you?” JB asked, eyes narrowed like he already knew the answer.

“Well, no...” I let my head drop, looking down at the golden sand with all of our beach gear. “She never responded. But come on, this is Y/N we’re talking about! She never stays mad for long.” The words were meant to get my friends off my back, but I found myself taking comfort in them too. I had never really seen Y/N mad before, but if she actually was mad at me, I hoped she’d let me make it up to her and forgive me. I let myself believe that everything would be fine.

Nobody had anything else to say, only sighing and turning their gazes away from me. I felt the anger sitting in the pit of my stomach, but at least they dropped the subject. I’m more upset that this might actually be my fault. ‘Y/N isn’t the type to get mad easily,’ I reminded myself again. But she’s also not the type to ignore her friends. My mind drifted, wondering if she’s okay. 

“Eat up, boys,” Kie said, taking a stack of sandwiches out of the cooler she brought. We all sat down on our towels and started eating, but I couldn’t shake the thought of Y/N from my mind. Maybe I should text her again.

Hey. We’re all at the beach having lunch if you wanna join us. Even if you don’t, that’s ok. Just let me know you got this. We’re all worried about you. I’m worried about you...

I typed it out, but couldn’t bring myself to send it. If she really is ignoring us, I’m sure it’s for a good reason. Maybe it’s best to just give her space. She’ll reach out when she wants to. Whatever the reason, though, I really hope it’s not because of me. She’s the one person I can always count on to be on my side, and I don’t know what I’d do if I was the cause of her distancing from us.

“Oh, no way. It’s Y/N!” Pope interrupted my thoughts. My head turned to see where he was looking, and sure enough, it was my girl, passing through the boardwalk.

Pope was up on his feet and ran to her, calling over his shoulder that he’ll bring her over to us.

***

Y/N’s P.O.V.

“Y/N! Hey!” I stopped in my tracks when I heard my name being shouted, and I noticed Pope running up from behind me.

“Oh, hey Pope,” I said, trying to swallow down my nerves. I didn’t plan on running into my friends here. I didn’t need them finding out about what happened the other night, so I put on a half-hearted smile, trying to act normal, trying to act okay.

“Where the hell have you been?” he asked with a laugh, pulling me into a bear hug. I held back my wince from where he grabbed my sides, the bruises there shooting pain through my body. 

“Oh, ya know,” I gulped. “Just busy with my family.” I was glad that my sunglasses were dark enough so that he couldn’t see my eyes. If he could, he’d know I was lying within seconds. “Sorry I’ve been M.I.A.”

“It’s alright. Come on. We’re having lunch right now.” He grabbed my hand and started pulling me towards the beach, and the other pogues sitting together on the beach came into my focus. 

My eyes widened. “Uh, no, Pope. Sorry, but I have to go.” He stopped and gave me a weird look. “I... I’m running errands for my mom,” I shrugged, hoping he would let me go so that I don’t have to talk to the others, talk to JJ. 

“Just come say hi then. Everyone missed you!” He tugged my hand again, but I didn’t budge from where I planted my feet in the sand. 

“No, Pope. Really, I have to get going.” I didn’t have any other excuses up my sleeve, and I could feel my resolve coming undone. He gave me another weird look, probably wondering what the hell is going on with me. I wanted to tell him. I did, really. But I was not ready to talk about it. I didn’t need him or the others seeing what I looked like under this sweatshirt, or the black eye I was sporting under my glasses. I knew it would only cause more problems, more rage, and I couldn’t handle that right now. If anything, I just needed a hug.

“Is everything okay?” I looked down at my feet and sighed, trying to muster up the strength to lie to one of my best friends. When I looked back up to him, he had sent a look towards the pogues, and they all got up and started making their way over.

“Yes, Pope. I’m fine,” I breathed out a laugh, trying to cover up my panic. “I gotta go, now. Really.” I turned around to run away, but I was too late. The pogues had already crossed the beach and were surrounding me. 

“Y/N! Hey, we missed you!” Kie smiled, pulling me into a hug. Again, I had to hide my grimace from the pain that engulfed me so that my friends couldn’t see. I knew I couldn’t keep up this act for long, and I felt my heart sinking further into my chest.

“Yeah, I’m glad we ran into you,” John B. smiled with a nod in my direction. His expression was soft and kind, and it strangely made me feel like he understood that I wasn’t all the way okay.

“There’s my girl,” JJ’s voice rang through my ears. He looked relieved, and pulled me into his chest, squeezing me tight. This time, I wasn’t able to hold in the small noise that escaped past my lips. When he pulled away, he looked down at me with concern. “You okay?”

I pushed him away. “Yeah, I’m fine.” I couldn’t put on a half-assed smile this time. He’s the one causing my pain. The one that bailed on me. The one that wasn’t there when I needed him, leaving me alone and in broken pieces on that horrible night.

“Why are you wearing a sweatshirt?” Kie laughed. “It’s like one hundred degrees out here.” I just shrugged my shoulders, even though I was dying under the heavy material and the heat of the sun. I looked over my shoulder down the boardwalk, trying to avoid their worried glances, especially JJ’s. I could feel his eyes burning into me, and I couldn’t bear the weight of it for much longer.

“Yeah, what the hell? It’s burning hot out here,” Pope added, and pulled my hood off my head. 

“Pope, don’t,” I said. “I have to go.” I turned away after putting my hood back on and started walking, not even caring that they definitely know something’s wrong now. I just need to get away before I break down.

JJ was the one to catch up to me, leaving the pogues behind us and sharing worried looks. “Y/N, wait.” He grabbed my wrist, and I winced at the contact. “I just wanted to say that I’m so sorry for missing our plans. I got held up with a touron, and you know how it is. She was so hot, how could I not go home with her?” he laughed. Looking up at him, I felt my heart shatter all over again. Of course. He wasn’t with me because he was hooking up with some girl. This fucking hurts more than the punch Rafe landed to my face, and I felt anger swell inside of me.

“Come on, you’re not mad at me, are you?” He smiled, bringing his hands up to cradle my face. He was being his charming self like usual, which is precisely the reason I even fell for him in the first place. But his cute dimples and bright eyes aren’t going to fix anything this time. If anything, they’re just another stab to my chest.

He could sense I wasn’t giving into him. “I’ll make it up to you. Promise,” he pouted. My lips parted to speak, but no words tumbled out. He suddenly ripped my sunglasses from my face.

“JJ, don’t!” His face dropped at the sight of my bruised eye. The glasses fell to the sand when he stepped closer to me, eyes scanning my face. I pushed him back, but he swatted my hands away.

“Y/N?” His features quickly turned from worried to angry. “What the fuck happened?” I felt tears pricking my eyes, but I held them back as I tried to push him away again. He yanked my hood off my head and I knew he was piecing it all together now.

He reached for the bottom of my sweatshirt, and my hands grabbed at his to try and stop him. “Leave me alone,” I yelled, but he didn’t. Despite my attempts to stop him, he had grabbed the bottom of my sweatshirt and started pulling it up over my head. “JJ, stop!” I yelled again, but I couldn’t fight him back anymore because it hurt too much. He had taken it all the way off, leaving me just in my sports bra, my beaten body on full display.

A series of gasps surrounded me as the other pogues gathered around us again, shocked and bewildered expressions on their faces. I watched JJ scan my body. His eyes lingered on the bruises on my belly before flicking to my face again, and then my neck. With the way his eyebrows furrowed and he clenched his jaw, I could tell he was examining the hickeys on my skin. Tears ran freely down my cheeks, and the silence was deafening. 

“Oh, Y/N...” Kie whispered, eyes becoming glossy.

“What the fuck happened?!” JJ burst. His face was twisted in rage as his hands reached for me. I stepped away, but he grabbed my arms. “Who the fuck did this to you?!” I shook my head, trying to swallow the sob that was making its way up my throat. “Y/N, who the fuck was it?!”

“JJ! Lay off!” John B. spoke up. Kie had wrapped her arms around me, wanting to shield me from our angry friend. They could tell JJ wasn’t helping. 

John B. and Pope pulled at JJ’s arms to get him to step back, but he exploded even more. “YN! Tell me who did this to you!” Seeing his reddened face and furious eyes made my own burning anger swim to the surface.

“Stop yelling at her!” Pope told JJ, him and JB still holding the blonde away from me.

“No! I swear to god I’m going to kill ‘em. What the FUCK happened??”

“It wouldn’t have happened if you had bothered to SHOW UP!” I flared, my voice slicing through the chaos among the group. My heated gaze met JJ’s, and his entire face fell at my words, the rage washing away from his pools of blue and replaced with sadness.

Everything seemed to still at my outburst, even my tears. I watched as JJ crumbled beneath the weight of my words. As angry and heartbroken and hurt as I was, I wanted to see him this way. I wanted him to feel guilty. 

“I should’ve known you wouldn’t show up. I should've known you wouldn’t answer when I called you for help. Because you never do.” With every word I spat, I could see the effect they had on him. I kept my ruthless stare fixed on him. “Congrats on fucking some touron, though.” 

Everyone stayed silent as I picked up my sweatshirt and sunglasses from the sand. I glanced at JJ one last time before putting my glasses back on and turning around, leaving everyone behind me without another word. 

***

Read: Stood Up - Part 2

Masterlist

***

[matthewtkachuk]

about love - jj maybank

the one where JJ doesn’t know a lot about love, but he knows you

warnings: just some sweet fluff, slight reference to domestic violence 

pairings: jj maybank x reader

words: 650

a/n: i was watching tatb 2 last night and the credits song inspired me, here’s some fluff - ps, i’m still working my way through my celebration asks don’t worry i haven’t forgotten them!!

JJ never really had a good example of love to learn from. His parents had split when he was really young, his mother choosing to cut off all communication with not only her estranged ex-husband but also her only son. Their relationship had been volatile and violent, often ending in words and fists thrown in anger. He could sometimes remember the fair haired woman comforting him after a bad fall or singing him to sleep, but the hurt and anger that lingered from her abandonment often drowned any good feelings out. His father, of course, barely deserved the title. Sure, he hadn’t left JJ alone, but sometimes JJ thought that might have been better, as fists are never the appropriate medium for showing love.

He knows he loves the pogues. John B is the brother he never had, Kie has a special place in his heart as the only girl who he’s ever let stick around for an extended period of time and Pope is his best friend and most ardent supporter. But that kind of platonic, familial love he has for his friends has just always existed to JJ.

You, you were different. A friend Kie had made at the Kook Academy, the only friend really. In typical pogue fashion, he hadn’t liked you at first, but you had quickly shown yourself to be sweet, highly empathetic and utterly uncaring about the typical interests of your rich counterparts. When JJ thinks of you, he doesn’t think of the love he has for the pogues.

JJ doesn’t know a lot about love, but he knows you.

He knows that he thinks about you all the time, your laughter, the way your eyes light up when you smile. He would do almost anything if it meant you turned your attention and lit up grin on him. Sometimes he feels you in the blood that rushes to his ears and pounds in his heart when he looks at you and you catch him staring, simply looking at him through your eyelashes and smiling back at him adoringly.

You had kissed him first, hands finding purchase in his shirt as you pulled his lips to yours. He had stood there shocked long enough for you to think it was a bad idea, beginning to pull away and learn to deal with rejection when he snapped out of it and pulled you close, deepening the kiss. You had been the one to ask him out officially and you had been the one to define the relationship.

The relationship hadn’t been easy, his traumatic past had made him insecure and left him with self-loathing that sometimes manifested as words spoken to you that he would regret the second they left his lips. You couldn’t relate to his struggles, but you always tried to listen and you always reassured him that he was more than the legacy set out for him by his father.

You had told him you loved him first, swept up in the emotion of 2 am, laying beside each other absolutely spent. He hadn’t freaked out as you worried he would, but he couldn’t say the words back yet.

JJ knows being the one you loved feels so good, and he knows that being away from you is sometimes so physically painful, his chest aches.

You’re lying in John B’s hammock together, your head resting against his chest listening to the steady beat of his heart while his arms are wrapped around you. Your eyelids are heavy with exhaustion and you feel yourself slipping into a light sleep when JJ’s low voice causes you to tilt your head to look at him.

“I don’t really know a lot about love,” he admits quietly, eyes avoiding yours, “but I know you, and I love you.” Smiling widely, you shift your body upwards and connect your lips sweetly.

“I love you too, J. So much,” you whisper against his lips before kissing him again.

Everything tag list (yall are rockstars!!): @velyssaraptor​ @danicarosaline​ @copper-boom​ @x-lulu​ @prejudic3​

[maybankiara]

THESE WICKED GAMES WE PLAY

pairing: Rafe Cameron x Implied Fem!Reader

summary: Barry decides he needs to get money back from Rafe, one way or another. When you become a part of the bargain, Rafe decides that’s enough.

w/c: 3.2k

t/w: kidnapping, canon-typical violence, toxic relationship

a/n: this is basically something straight out of an action movie (...or obx). not proofread so will probably contain typos, but i’ll get around to doing that. it’s midnight. sorry about the formatting, i did this on my phone.

masterlist | tag list

written for @whormotional

Your boyfriend deals coke, alright. It's something that passes by unacknowledged for the sake of whatever relationship you're trying to keep in place, with your college and his college and whatnot.

When it comes to dating Rafe Cameron, "easy" is the last word you'd use to describe it.

(You often wonder - why stay? What is it that's keeping you around? Then you see him lying in bed next to you, eyes closed and messy hair covering them, and you see the boy you fell in love with. You hope he's still somewhere in there, waiting his turn on the surface.)

(It's hope.)

That exact hope is what you're clinging to as you walk through the cut, looking for your boyfriend. It's summer and the North Carolina heat is dry, palpable, as your shoes are already warm against the pavement.

A kook is not welcome to the Cut.

You keep one of your hands in your pocket, the other one to your ear, dial tone turning to voicemail for what feels like the hundredth time.

'Fuck.'

Another five minute break. You slip your phone back into your pocket, turning on some music to tune out the voices of people around you. They all seem to be taunting you, even if you don't stick out like a sore thumb without your fancy car - even if you know nobody is taking notice of you.

Rafe doesn't do this often. If he plans to go MIA for the day, he'll shoot you a text in the morning and let you know. He'll call you in the middle of the day to see if you're doing okay.

He'll care.

Well, not today.

It's nearly eight in the evening and you haven't heard from him since late last night. As far as you know, neither have Topper nor Kelce. The Camerons don't know shit about Rafe anyway, so that's a dead end in the start.

It doesn't warrant you searching for him through the middle of fucking nowhere. The centre of the Cut, the part of it that's looking semi-decent, is long behind you. Your feet are uncomfortable on a gravel road, grass too dry to grow anywhere

The next few moments happen in slow motion and fast forward at once. You feel a hand on your bicep, and you see that you're standing genuinely in the middle of nowhere, and the air feels cold in your throat. The song in your ears has ended and all you hear is the hum that's an aftermath of loud music, and someone's footsteps on the gravel.

The hand gripping you spins you in place, and you feel warm metal against your back.

You don't fight back. You freeze.

The person in front of you is your height, and he's got a bandanna covering the lower half of his face. You see that his hair is black and tied up in a ponytail, and you look into his eyes, but all you remember about them is how fearful they make you feel.

Another metal is pressed against you, this time cold, and on the bare flesh of your neck.

'Get in the van.'

A door slides open and you're dragged into the van, frozen still. The man jumps in behind you and someone holds your hands behind your back. The engine hums and the door slides shut, and the moment the metal blocks daylight, your brain catches up.

'LET ME OUT! YOU FUCKIN' PSYCHOS! WHAT THE FUCK!'

You scream your lungs out and push forward, rashly enough that the person holding you back doesn't have time to harden their grip, and you slip free. In front of you is the man with the bandanna, and all you see is your right hand pushing into his chest as your left reaches for the door. He falls -- you open the door -- the van swerves, and you fall back into the arms of the person holding you earlier.

'LET ME GO!' you scream again, reaching forward like a tied bull, but the grip is tight this time around.

'Shut the fuck up, bitch,' says the one with the bandanna, rising from the floor.

The road is bumpy and you keep fighting to maintain your balance. He wipes the corner of his mouth where a trickle of blood dripped from, and you wonder for a moment if you hit his face, or he got it in the fall.

'Let. Me. Go.'

'Aren't you going to bargain, you fuckin' kook bitch?' The bandanna is off, you notice only now, and you have a vague feeling as if you've seen his face before; your body goes stiff. 'Yeah, I know who you are. Country Club's pussy.'

Your brain works as if on speed -- Country Club. Rafe. You've heard only one person call him that.

The lump in your throat is heavy to swallow, but you do it anyway, straightening your back as much as the van in motion allows you.

The urge to spit in his face is almost too much to take.

'Rafe will kill you, Barry.'

The grin with the golden teeth he flashes you makes your stomach churn. Chills run down your spine, but you keep your teeth clenched, and eyes full of spite.

All it does is make him laugh. 'He doesn't have it in him.'

There's something cold on your throat; cold and sharp. Barry slides the blade across, pressing just tight enough to make you feel the hints of pain, but not enough to hurt you.

You keep your chin high, even if the tremble has already betrayed you.

'Your boyfriend owes me money,' he says. His accent is dirty--pogue--and sleazy in a way that makes you want to throw up. 'A lot of it.'

'You know he's going to pay you back. He always pays you back.'

The pressure on your throat increases in a moment. Your whole body clenches and you bite down on the inside of your lip, feeling the blade cut into the skin.

'Oh, he gon' pay back, alright. Where is he?'

You stare at him for a moment, waging your options. 'I don't know. I haven't heard from him the whole day.'

Barry's eyes squint as he leans into your face, close enough for you to smell tobbaco and weed coming out of his mouth. The pressure on your neck dissipates, enough to let you breathe.

'Fucker better not be dead in a ditch.'

'He'll pay you back,' you promise.

He glances you up and down, and you feel as if someone is throwing filth all over you. He licks his lips as they stretch into a grin, and he nods to himself. 'Yeah. One way or another.'

If there is a God, you pray to him.

--

Rafe is losing his mind. He knows he's fucked up.

There was a call-in last night, a delivery to some of his college friends on the mainland. They were throwing a massive house party, and a lot of people needed a supplier, and it was easy to just call him.

He caught the last ferry over, drove three hours, all without telling you because he knew you'd worry -- and there should've been no reason for you to worry.

He wasn't going to stay, or drink, or do coke.

But he did. He did all three of the things he told himself he wouldn't.

By the time he woke up, it was nearly three in the afternoon, his phone had been smashed the night before, and there was no way to get a hold of you. He sat into his car and shot straight for Kildare, looking for you at home and every place he could find, until it was Topper who told him you'd went looking for him.

In the Cut.

A certain kind of darkness he'd never felt before washed over him. You weren't answering your phone when Topper called, and it didn't take long for Rafe to get back into his car and ignore all the speed limits on his way to the cut. He didn't care about being seen -- all he wanted was to be wrong. To roll up into Barry's backyard and for Barry to have no idea where you could be.

That's what he wanted. And when he got there, and no one was there, he waited. He'd wait until fucking Barry came back and he can make sure he didn't do anything with you.

Rafe fucked up, but he knew that if Barry had done anything to you, he'll fuck up to the point of bloody hands and time behind bars.

And he wouldn't hesitate.

So when Barry doesn't answer his phone and Rafe sees his van roll up, but it's someone else in the driver's seat, and the van is rocking unnaturally, the darkness falls over his eyes again.

He doesn't see red. He doesn't see black.

He sees Barry's face when he walks out of the van with you behind him, a drip of dark red on your neck, and he lunges.

--

You don't comprehend Rafe until he's at Barry's throat. It's a flash of blonde and a polo shirt and mutli-coloured shorts, and then Barry's down and you recognize the grunts and the hair and the clothes, and then you're screaming his name.

Someone comes behind you and places a hand over your mouth, grabbing your tied hands with another. Someone else jumps out of the van and onto Rafe, knocking him into the floor.

Your screams are muffled, but you bite the hand on your mouth and they're loud again, until you're hit in the face. The pain is numbing -- dull and painful sound of flesh against flesh echoing in your skull. You've got a hand covering your screams again, and you stumble backwards.

Next to you, on the ground, Rafe is pushing himself up with a streak of red coming out of the left side of his hair. He looks at you and you see the rage and the fear all in one -- "Y/N.'

You try to say something, but it hurts when you move your mouth, so all that comes out is a whimper.

He reaches for you but a guy smacks him on the side of his face. Rafe stumbles towards you, hands outstretched, but the loss of balance is enough for the guy to pin him against the wall, gun to his temple.

You scream.

The guy hits you again, and you smell copper.

Barry gets himself off the ground and presses the heel of his palm to his temple, and a mixture of blood and dirt remains on it. He spits blood and wipes his mouth, wiping the rest of his face with the bandanna. His left eye is swollen and there are a few cuts from Rafe's rings scattered here and there, bruises already starting to form.

You glance at Rafe, and you see him struggling to get to you. Even with a gun to his head -- he doesn't stop trying.

Another whimper leaves your mouth and the guy holding you pulls your head back, to the point where it's painful, and Rafe screams 'HEY! LET GO OF HER YOU FUCKIN'---'

Barry slaps him across the face. You hear skin snap and Rafe grunts in pain.

'Shut your damn mouth, Country Club.' He comes closer and takes over the gun, letting the other guy hold Rafe in place. 'Your girl over there seems to be ready for some f--'

'I've got your money.'

'Now we're talkin'.'

A satisfied grin stretches across Barry's features, whereas Rafe's neck tenses, veins looking as if they're about to burst. He glances at you for a second, as if he's trying to tell you something, but you don't get it -- you're barely standing on your feet.

The gun travels from Rafe's forehead to underneath his chin, pushing his head backwards.

No. You surge forward, the moment's weakness allowing to to take two steps closer until Barry waves his free hand and there's something cold and circular pressed into the back of your head, and you whimper again.

Rafe twitches, but is pushed back.

'Nu-uh, that ain't how we doin' this. Gimme money, and y'all loverbirds walk outta here alive.'

The threat makes your bones shudder; 'Please.'

You don't know if you're begging Rafe or Barry or God, but one of them has got to answer.

Rafe catches your eye and nods at you, tears streaming down his face. He's no less afraid than you are -- somehow, that hurts even more. 'I won't let anything happen to you.'

'Yadda, yadda, yadda. Pay up, Country Club.'

'It's in the glove compartment,' Rafe says.

'Everything?'

'Half.' Rafe tenses again, and you see a flash of bravery across his features. 'I'll give you the rest when you let her go.'

Your boyfriend laughs, a maniacal laugh you've never heard before -- desperate and high-pitched; the laughter of someone who laughs in the face of danger.

The gun on your head moves from back to the side; you can almost hear it sliding.

It's even colder on the bare skin of your temple.

'If you hurt her, you'll never get the other half of the money,' says Rafe, poison dripping from his voice.

Barry contemplates this for a second. 'You're not the one in position of demands.'

'I swear.'

For a moment, Barry's moment tenses on the trigger finger, safety off. Your chest tightens and you're convinced he's going to shoot, and you can't even move -- but he doesn't.

The breath that passes your lips is shaky.

'I know where y'all live,' concludes Barry. 'You either gimme the money now, or I come take it.' He glances at you, checking you up and down, and Rafe squirms in the guy's arms at the sight, a hand covering whatever he's saying. 'I won't let her off easy come next time.'

You watch as the guy lets go of Rafe, now only Barry's gun pressed to his chin keeping him in place. He walks over to the truck, opens the passenger door and the glove compartment, and takes out a wad of cash.

Some part of your heart sinks, and seeing the way Rafe is looking at you, he knows it, too.

The cash is placed on Barry's empty hand. 'Damn, kid. Y'all delievered.'

'Let her go.'

'You're not in the position to make demands.'

'You promised---'

'And I shit on my promises, wipe my ass with 'em, make sure it's sparkly clean,' snaps Barry. The gun is cocked, a crook in Barry's elbow as he's inches of Barry's face. 'You better give me the other half or it ain't gon' be promises I wipe my ass with.'

Rafe gives in. He tells them about the secret compartment he had installed in the back of the truck, the one not even you knew about. There's a wad of cash in there equal in size to the one Barry gave to someone for counting. You're shaking, trembling, feeling your knees are about to give in; all you can feel is that, and the gun pressed to the side of your head.

It ends up being almost a third more than Rafe owed him, but Barry takes it all anyway.

They let you go first. You've still got a gun to your head as you roll down the passenger window and get into the truck. Barry promises Rafe to blow your brains out in case of any funny business, and leads Rafe to the driver's side.

He places a hand over yours, but you pull it back.

You see his heart shatter.

When the guns are away, Rafe drives the two of you out of the Cut, just driving around the island. You don't want to go home -- he doesn't want to go home. For a while, you don't talk, save for the one time he asks you if you're okay. You shake your head and he says he's sorry, but sorry won't change anything.

Sorry won't take away the feeling of a knife to your throat, or a hand hitting your cheek, or the gun ready to bang.

He pulls up at a gas station, refills the thank, goes into the store. He comes out with a bag full of snacks and two bottles of water, looking as if nothing happened.

'How can you be so calm?'

Rafe starts the car and comes onto the road, taking a long time to answer. 'Because you're okay.'

You feel like you've been slapped in the face. 'Is this a normal thing for you? Being beaten to a pulp, a gun to your head?'

'No,' he says. While you can tell it's the truth, it still doesn't make it okay, how easy he's done this. 'I fucked up, Y/N.'

'You fucked up, alright. Where did you get that money from? Did you go rob a bank today, that's why you were gone and I was the one who got my ass handed to me?'

'Please don't do this.'

'Do what?' You watch him avoid eye contact; you watch the arch of his brows, the slope of his nose, the curve of his Cupid's bow, and wonder if you'll ever be able to see him the same way. 'Rafe, you're a fuckin' drug dealer. I don't want to have anything to do with that.'

'You don't have to,' he offers, speeding up a little. 'We could just keep separate---'

'WELL HOW'S THAT WORKING OUT SO FAR!'

Rafe swerves and the truck hits the side of the road, jumping you to a startle. You clutch onto the handrail above your head -- Rafe turns the wheel to the other side -- a car coming in your direction honks and moves out of your way -- Rafe gets the car in control.

Your heart is beating fast, and you're done.

'Take me home.'

'Y/N---'

'No,' you say, your hand a barrier between the two of you. 'Just... don't. I've tried to ignore that part of you, but I'm over that.'

'You're breaking up with me,' he realises.

(It shouldn't hurt; but hope died when you saw the boy you loved on top of another man, beating the shit out of him.)

'Yes.'

He doesn't argue -- knowing him, he'll call you later, when he's given you space and you've had the chance to calm down.

You know each other too well.

(Hope died when he was the reason why there were moments when you thought you wouldn't see your family again.)

He drops you off at your home, doesn't even turn the engine off. His hand catches yours before you leave and he says he's sorry once more, with tears staining his cheek, but you shake your head and rip your hand out of his.

This has been a long time coming; you can no longer live in a lie.

(The Rafe you fell in love with is gone.)

★

tagging. @jjtheangel @teenwaywardasgardian @thelocalpogue @jjmaybanky @sacredto @chasefreakinstokes @drewstarkey @thatsme-johnbookerroutledge @margaritatimebaybee @outrbank @yourlocalauthor @justawilddreamerchild @snkkat @mynamewontwork13 @sunwardsss @storiesbymads @koufaxx @drewstarkeyobx @ilovejjmaybank @jjmaybanksbaby @mahleeyuh @starkeymarkey @nicolewithasoul @kiarawilliams127 @butgilinsky @bricksatanakinswindow @starlightstarkey @copper-boom @starrystarkey93 @hotel-colson @stargazingstarkey @outerbanksbro @anonymous0writer @annedub @outerbongs @jjandreidsgirl @jjmaybanqs​ @kaitieskidmore1​ @maybanksbaby​ @yelyahryan

[outerbankslut]

🌹fluff 4 (from list 1) with the loml pope plsssss (impressed i didnt ask for an angst)

New Guy... Pope Heyward

Summary • Prompts—“OH you’re jealous.”

Warnings • Jealously idk 🤷‍♀️

Word Count • 0.6k (Blurb)

Masterlist

(GIF isn’t mine, let me know if it’s yours)

   YOU SAT ON top of the counter surrounding Pope swinging your legs out of boredom while the boy arranged the random items around the cash register. The bell at the door rings out and you turned to see a boy walk in and then Heyward walked out from the back and shook hands with the stranger. You hopped off the surface before the man caught you and leaned your head against your palm with your elbow on the counter.

“Who’s that guy?”

Pope shrugged nonchalantly but then couldn’t help but frown as he saw the guy look your way for a second and give a small wink as Heyward led him to the back. “He’s the new guy. Dad needed more help.”

“Oh cool…” You dragged out, having completely missed the way the guy looked at you. “I should be getting to work before your dad kicks my ass.”

“Okay.” He nodded dismissively. You furrowed your brow at the sudden change in mood towards you and walked off to go start unpacking stock.

Twenty minutes later as you attempted to carry two boxes stacked on top of each other until one was lifted off. “Oh, thanks Po—.” You said nodding and feeling your cheeks heat up as you just assumed it was Pope but there stood the new guy.

“It’s Toby.” He told you.

“Okay, well thankyou Toby.” You laughed awkwardly as you walked to the back room to set the boxes down.

Pope could hear your laughter and rolled his eyes as he scanned items, a green-eyed haze overcoming him as his stomach tightened and he sighed. When there were no customers left, he went looking for you, the Heyward boy hadn’t seen you the whole shift and he felt an even bigger urge than normal to be close to you. He walked up beside you wrapping a small arm around you as you turned and smiled at him.

“Sorry I haven’t talked to you all shift, Y/N. We’ve been packed all day.” You raised an eyebrow at the sly tone to his voice but didn’t say anything while Toby stood in front of the two of you looking awkward now as Pope made it clear that you two were dating.

“It’s alright Toby kept me company.”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” The Heyward boy replied bitterly.

“Uh, I gotta, go to the back.” Toby pointed behind him and walked away from the two of you as you turned to Pope with a frown.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.” He shrugged.

“No you were giving me the cold shoulder this whole shift.” You crossed your arms looking at your boyfriend expectantly.

“Well sorry seemed a little busy with macho man over there.” He pointed to where the guy disappeared to as you resisted the urge to roll your eyes.

“He was just helping me out Pope I don’t see the—” A realisation dawned on you as you grinned at Pope who looked at the wooden counter, he was leaning on next to the cash register. “OH you’re jealous!”

His head sprung up and his eyes widened as he stuttered, “What n—no I was not I…” He stopped as he realised denying it was no use to him. He was jealous, the whole time. He could feel his cheeks heat up slightly. “In my defence he was clearly flirting with you.”

“Mmmm, yeah sure. Don’t worry, its cute.” You booped his nose teasingly as you went to walk away but his toned arms wrapped around you from behind and pulled you back to him, your faces only centimetres apart slowly leaning in closer as you felt his warm breath on your face.

“Well now that we’re alone, I can show what I can do, that the Toby dude can’t.”

Note • I’m quite impressed that you didn’t choose angst meg (a proud mother 🥺). If this is trash blame 3am me I take zero responsibility for it at all 👁👄👁 And it’s not as fluffy as I wanted so that’s annoying. Also if you haven’t already your should check out my Pope series cause I posted the prologue for it and I’m almost done writing the first chapter :)

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[thegreatestofheck]

The Girl with No Heartbeat Pt.7 ⊰JJ Maybank⊱

(gif not mine! all credit to to kitaplarinicindeyasayankiz!)

find the first 6 parts here on my masterlist! 

word count - 6.0k  warnings - some swearing, mentions of a fight and the aftermath, mentions of death and typical siren stuff (eating people and what not)  synopsis - The hunt for the truth behind Big John’s disappearance is on. An impromptu dinner goes exactly how Mera thought it would.  a/n - What is this??? Real plot?? In my mermaid!au?? Impossible. Well, here we are, bridging into canon material. It’s gonna be super different than actual canon, but it will have a good portion of the same stuff that happens. Also, my difference of opinions on Big John really comes out from fic to fic. Sometimes I hate him, sometimes I love him. It’s very interesting. 

~~~

“What’s in that room?” Mera asked as she passed through the hallway, following closely behind John B. He had wanted to show her something, but when they passed by the locked door that she had seen so many times before, she let her curiosity get the best of her. 

John B froze. The light and airy demeanor he usually carried around hardened and she watched him go stiff. Mera thought about taking her question back, but before she could, John B turned, looking at the door. There was a distance in his eyes, a deep pain. 

“This is my dad’s office,” he said and set a hand against the chipped wood. Mera remembered that he said something about losing his dad when they first met. Her heart sunk. Reaching out, she put a hand on his arm, making him flick his eyes toward hers. “They said he was lost at sea. Do you think….”

His painful pause and the shaking of his eyes as he looked at her told Mera exactly what the rest of his question was. 

“Show me a picture of him,” Mera said. If John B wanted to know if she had eaten his father, she would do anything to settle his mind. It would also make her feel better to know she hadn’t killed her new friend’s dad. John B walked back down the hallway a little more toward some pictures that were hung on the wall. He looked at one, a smile starting to pull on his lips. 

“Here,” he said, tapping on the glass. “That’s my dad.” 

Mera peered around John B’s shoulder and into the picture. Staring back at her was a kindly looking man with a soft smile on his lips. His hair was long and a scruffy, peppered beard grew from his face. A pair of round glasses sat on the bridge of his nose. Looking at him made Mera smile. 

“Hello,” she whispered the the man behind the glass. “My name is Mera. I’m your niece.” 

John B looked down at her, an eyebrow raised. Mera wasn’t sure why staring at this man’s face made her feel so welcome and yet so sad at the same time. His was a face she felt like she should know, but she didn’t. 

She didn’t recognize him. That was good. There wasn’t a single soul she had dragged the depths that she didn’t remember. Looking over at John B, who was staring down at her expectantly, she shook her head. 

“It wasn’t us,” Mera said and looked back at the picture. “If your father is dead, it wasn’t one of us who killed him.” 

John B let out an exasperated growl, turning away from her and running his hands through his hair. 

“Isn’t that a good thing?” She asked. “He still might be alive.”

“I don’t really care if he’s alive or if he’s dead, Mera,” he said. When he turned back to look at her, tears in his beautiful eyes. “I’m just sick of not knowing. I wake up every morning half expecting him to be passed out on the couch or working in the backyard and every morning it hits me again that he’s not here and I don’t know why.” 

Mera let out a slow sigh through her nose and nodded her head. 

“Then let’s find out,” she said firmly. 

“What?”

“You and me. And the others if they want to help. We’re all smart enough together to figure this out.” Mera crossed her arms, determination set. 

“What can we do that the cops haven’t already done?” 

Mera scoffed. 

“What are enforcers good for? All they’ve ever done in my line of business is terrorize people,” Mera said. John B almost cracked a smile as he shoved his hands into his pockets. 

“To be fair, your line of business was theft, murder, and general swashbuckling.” 

Mera nodded her head and pursed her lips. 

“Fair.” Mera took a step closer to John B, putting a hand on his arm once again. “Cos, you want answers and I want to help you get them, anyway that I can.” 

“What could we do? Where would we even start?” 

“Well,” Mera turned to look at the closed office door. “What was your dad working on before he went missing?” 

John B sighed, pressing his fingers to the bridge of his nose. 

“He was looking for the Royal Merchant,” he said. Mera remembered him mentioning that too. She nodded. “I can help with that. I knew the survivor, Denmark Tanny. We worked together,” Mera said. John B’s eyes widened. 

“There was a survivor?” He gawked. Mera looked at him and nodded. 

“One. A slave. He lived and supposedly took the gold and-” 

John B was pulling the keys from his pocket before she could say anything else, walking toward the lock. 

Once the lock was free, John B paused with his hand on the doorknob and let out a calming breath. 

“We could call the others and wait for them,” Mera told him. “You don’t have to do this alone.”

John B looked back at her with a soft smile. 

“I’m not alone,” he said. “I have you.” 

An unfamiliar feeling bloomed throughout Mera as John B turned back toward the door and pushed it open. A smile pulled gently at her lips and there was a sting of tears in her eyes. She’d only known John B and the others for a few days. How was it that they trusted her so much? And how was it possible that she had grown to trust them? 

Mera followed after John B as he stepped into the dark and cluttered room. For a few moments, there was absolute silence as the two looked around. It was only broken by John B’s sharp intake of breath. He reached out and took Mera’s hand in his. She looked down, shocked at the sudden movement. When he squeezed her hand, she realized he was just looking for an inkling of comfort in a place that was so full of monsters and memories. 

“This looks like my father’s quarters,” Mera said to break the second silence. “His thoughts were always all over the place. No one could really ever understand his methods, except my mother.” 

John B let out a little laugh. 

“Yeah.” He walked forward, letting his hand slide out of Mera’s as he stepped up to the desk. He ran his hand over a stack of dusty papers. “He never made sense to anyone else but me.” 

“So, let’s figure out what he was working on just before he went out on that boat, who was he working with, everything.” 

“My dad didn’t work with anyone,” John B said, sliding into a chair and scooping a pile of papers into his hands. 

“Maybe something changed,” Mera replied settling herself in a chair across from him. “You never know. We need to go through every possible option.” 

“Then we’re going to need more hands.” 

“I’ll call the others.” 

An hour later, JJ, Pope, and Kie were all standing in the office, looking around in awe. 

“I’ve slept over a million times,” Pope said as he spun in slow circles, taking in everything. “And I’ve never once seen that door opened.” 

“Me neither,” said JJ, who was poking at a board of old pictures. 

“What can we do?” Kie asked, putting her hands on the back of Mera’s chair and leaning over her shoulder to read the papers she was holding. 

“We’re just trying to find out what he was doing before he left,” John B said. “Just read anything you can get your hands on. Whatever seems important put in this pile over here.” 

Kie nodded her head. 

“Will do, Boss.” She picked up a stack of papers, hopped up onto a counter and started reading. Pope followed suit, but JJ kept wandering. 

“Aren’t you going to help?” Mera asked, peering up at him. JJ shrugged, picking some paint off of the wall. 

“My attention span doesn’t like sitting and reading for extended periods of time,” he said with a playful smile. Mera raised an eyebrow. 

“Well, here. Look through these pictures then. See if anything stands out to you,” she said, shuffling through some of her papers and handing them to him. He smiled at her. 

“Yes, ma’am,” he said in a southern drawl. 

“Thank you, darling,” she mocked before returning to her papers. Once again, she missed the red tint of JJ’s ears as she looked away. What she didn’t miss was the way John B cocked a brow at her when she glanced up at him. 

“What?” she said. John B shook his head and let out a little laugh. 

“Nothing, cos.” 

They spent the next few hours doing nothing more than this. Except JJ, who had to go outside and kick a tree for a few minutes to take out his pent up energy. Eventually, John B set down his papers and let out a heavy breath. 

“Anyone else starving?” he asked. 

“God, I thought you’d never ask,” Pope groaned, putting his papers down. 

“I call shotgun!” JJ pulled himself all the way into the house (having been sitting in an open windowsill, one leg outside and one in) and ran for the front door. Kie rolled her eyes as Pope raced after him. 

“The Wreck?” Kie asked, sliding off of the counter where she’d been perched. 

“Sure,” John B said. Kie nodded her head as she lifted her arms, stretching out her back. Mera pushed herself out of the seat and dropped a hand on John B’s shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. 

“Thank you,” he said to her, staring down at a picture of him and his dad. Mera just gave him a smile before falling in step with Kie. 

~~~

It wouldn’t be a day on Kildare Island if everything went perfectly to plan. 

As soon as the bus pulled up to the Wreck, JJ let out an over-exaggerated groan from the front seat. He stopped flicking his lighter lid. 

“Looks like we’ve got company,” he said. Mera turned and peered out the front window. Her stomach dropped when she saw Rafe standing out by his motorcycle with Topper, Sarah, and another boy that Mera hadn’t yet met. 

“We’ll just ignore them and they’ll ignore us,” Pope said confidently. 

“Because that always works so well,” grumbled John B as he put the bus in park. 

“As long as JJ doesn’t say anything stupid and Mera doesn’t punch anybody, we’ll be fine,” Pope said, his tone no less confident than before. Mera and JJ locked gazes and both rolled their eyes. 

Kie was the first to open the side door, uncharacteristically silent. Of course she was. Sarah was there. Mera fully intended on getting to the bottom of their fued, hoping that she could somehow help to mend it, but now was definitely not the time, especially not when Rafe was standing right there. 

Their secret friendship had to stay secret, for her sake and for his. All Mera could do was pray that he wouldn’t call attention to her as she clambered after Kie, who spared no time in strolling up to the Wreck as if the other group of teens weren’t there. 

“Oh, hey, John B,” Topper said, smiling as the boys got out of the car. 

“Ignore him,” Pope whispered. Mera slowed to a stop, turning just enough to indicate she was waiting for her friends. Her gaze passed over Rafe’s briefly and she stiffened. They both looked away. 

“Hi, Mera,” Sarah said with a smile. “How are you?” 

“I’m going well,” Mera replied with a smile. Topper snaked an arm around Sarah’s waist. Mera heard Kie suck in an irritated breath from behind. “Just hungry.” 

“Aren’t we all,” Rafe said, putting his hands up in the air. “What if we all ate together? My treat.” 

There was a series of eyerolls from everyone present. The only one who seemed to like the idea was Rafe, who was smiling. He met Mera’s gaze again and she pressed her lips together, doing her best to communicate how badly she did not want to be doing this. 

“Come on.” Rafe elbowed Topper, who knocked into Sarah, who sent her brother a death glare as she wrapped her arms around her stomach. “It’ll be fun.” 

Everyone was frozen solid, rooted where they stood. Mera glanced over at JJ, whose jaw was clenched tight, his gaze fixed on Rafe in a glare. 

“I don’t care what we do,” Pope said tentatively, speaking as if he was walking on glass. “I just wanna eat.” 

“So it’s settled.” Rafe walked forward and clapped JJ on the shoulder with one of his large hands. Mera flinched. Rafe turned toward her, walking up the ramp right past her. “This will be fun, yeah?” 

Mera gave him her best glare as he walked by. Topper, Sarah, and the other boy followed after him quickly, but it took the others a little bit longer.

“So much for ignoring them,” John B grumbled to Pope who sighed and dipped his head. 

“Why can’t we just have one normal meal?” He whined as the two of them walked toward the glass door. 

“Are we really doing this?” Kie asked, arms crossed as she watched Sarah and Topper slid into the booth that her father had led them to. 

“Do we have a choice?” Mera replied, her eyes fixed on Rafe who wore the biggest innocent smile she had ever seen. Her hands clenched into fists and she heavily considered punching him in the face again. 

“I vote we make a break for it,” said JJ, standing on the other side of Mera. 

“You’re really gonna run away from free food?” Mera asked him. He sighed and his stomach rumbled in response to her question. “Right. In we go.” 

“Hey, Dad,” Kie said as she pushed the door open. 

“You want to explain to me what exactly is happening here?” Mike Carrera said, leaning over the counter. 

“If I could, I would tell you,” Kie said and rolled her eyes, making her dad chuckle. 

“Mera,” Mike said, turning to look at her. “How are you doing?” 

“Better, thank you,” Mera told him. She had come up with an easy lie that she ate too many Swedish Fish and they gave her strange dreams and that nightmares weren’t usual occurrences for her. Still, he seemed to worry. 

“You ever need anything, you let me know,” he told her before nodding over at JJ. “JJ.”

“Hey,” was the boy’s response. 

Mera followed Kie and JJ to the table. Kie sat as far away from Sarah as she possible could, sitting in between John B and the edge of the table across from Pope. JJ sat between Sarah and John B, leaving only one spot for Mera. Right across from him, in between Rafe and the other boy. She gave JJ a quick glare, but he didn’t see it. 

Mera slid into her seat as quietly as she could, not wanting to draw attention to herself. 

“I’m Kelce,” the boy said, extending a hand for her. Mera shook it amicably and gave him a strained smile. She turned her back almost completely on Rafe to give Kelce her full attention (and to pretend that Rafe was not there). 

“Mera.” 

“Rafe says you’re new around here.” 

“Yeah, I just moved from California.” 

“Really? Why would you trade California for this?” Kelcce laughed. 

“Oh, you know, family or something like that,” Mera glanced over to John B with a smile, who pretended to be way too interested in the menu. 

“You have family in the OBX?” Kelce asked as he took a drink of water.

“John over there is my cousin,” Mera said, pointing at him. Kelce choked on the water he was drinking, forced to cover his mouth with his hand. 

“No fucking way.” 

Mera laughed as she watched John B roll his eyes and mutter something under his breath. 

“Yes fucking way.” 

“Well, damn.” Kelce and Mera both laughed for a moment. “I’m glad to finally meet you. Rafe talks about you all the time.”��

Mera felt ice run through her veins and she felt her cheeks heat up. Rafe spluttered through his own drink from the other side of her. Across the table, JJ tightened his grip around his knife. 

“All good things, I’m sure.” Mera tried to keep the sneer out of her voice, but she wasn’t sure she succeeded. 

Mike came over to take orders just after that. JJ asked for the most expensive thing on the menu, sending Rafe a cocky smirk which made Mera huff angrily. Rafe seemed completely unphased and ordered the exact same thing. 

Rafe ignored Mera most of the night, so she was caught in pleasant small talk with Kelce, which wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be. Considering who his friends were, he wasn’t the worst person to have a conversation with. She felt JJ tap her shin from underneath the table, making her look at him. She had to stifle a bout of laughter when she saw two straws sticking out of his nose. 

“Watch this,” he said, leaning the straws into his almost completely full water cup. 

“JJ, no,” Kie pleaded, dropping her chin into her propped up hands. Mera just watched on with an amused smile on her face. He sent her a wink just before blowing as much air out of his nose and through the straws as possible. Mera nearly shrieked with laughter as the water started to bubble as if it was boiling, spilling over the rim and onto the table. 

“Classy,” Rafe said, his voice tight. 

A waiter brought out their food. It was a mad scramble to get all the right things, but when everyone finally had their meal, the tension started to build up once again. 

“So, Mera,” Sarah said, twisting her fork around the shrimp pasta. “There’s a party at my house this weekend and I was wondering if you maybe wanted to go.” 

“Oh, um-” 

Kie slammed her water cup down on the wood table. 

“You’re just going to invite her and not everyone else here?” Kie asked, gripping the glass in her hand so tight that Mera was afraid she was going to shatter it. Pope and John B ate slowly, their eyes flicking between Sarah and Kie. Kelce seemed completely unbothered, minding his own business as he ate. JJ and Rafe were caught in an eating-slash-glaring contest. 

“It’s Top’s birthday,” Sarah said, placing a hand over Topper’s that made Kie glare even harder. “I didn’t think you would come if I asked.” 

“You could have asked anyway.”

“Kiara, do you want to come to Topper’s birthday this weekend?” Sarah asked, her voice tight and rising steadily. 

“No, I fucking wouldn’t,” Kie hissed, shoving her chair backward and storming off. Mera cringed, standing to follow her. For the first time since sitting down, Rafe acknowledged her presence by grabbing onto her elbow.

“Don’t touch her,” JJ said. 

“I can speak for myself, JJ,” Mera snapped. She snatched her arm from Rafe’s grip. “Don’t touch me.” 

“My sister asked you a question, Mera,” he said, looking up at her. Mera sighed. 

“Sarah, thank you for the offer. I’ll have to think about it,” Mera said, trying to give Sarah an honest smile. Sarah just nodded, pulling her hand from Topper’s and leaning back in her chair, looking defeated. “Happy early birthday, Topper.” 

“Thank you, Mera.” The smile the boy gave her felt fake, but she wasn’t sure why. 

Pope stood up from his chair, obviously still thinking about Kie, and went to find her. 

“This fish is really good,” John B said, looking at his plate as he tried to fill the awkward silence that followed Pope’s departure. 

“Yeah,” Kelce agreed. Mera had barely even touched her food, but her stomach was rolling with discomfort. 

“You wanna take this outside?” Rafe growled, suddenly standing up. 

“Let’s fucking go, dude,” JJ snapped in return. 

“What-” 

Mera didn’t even have time to ask a question before both boys booked it for the front door. 

John B and Topper glanced at each other for a moment before following after their friends. 

“Topper!” Sarah cried. Soon, she too was gone. Mera let out a sigh, slouching in her chair while Kelce continued to eat his food in peace. 

“They’re fighting, aren’t they?” Mera huffed, looking at her food. Kelce nodded slowly. 

“They’re definitely fighting.” 

“How’s the fish?” She asked, picking up her spoon again to start eating. Somewhere outside, there was a scream and a loud crashing sound. 

“It’s amazing. Mr. Carrera always makes the best food.” 

“Could I try a bit?” 

“Sure, as long as I can try some of that soup.” 

Kelce and Mera swapped dishes as the sounds of shouting grew louder. 

“Man, that is some good soup,” Kelce said. 

“Right?” They swapped plates again. “And that fish is cooked to perfection.” 

“It always is.” 

“Do you think Sarah would mind if I…?” Mera nodded toward Sarah’s nearly full plate. Kelce shook his head. 

“She’s not likely to come back for it.” 

“Great. You want some?”

“Hell yeah.” 

The two picked food off of the left over plates, chatting back and forth and moaning over how good all the food was until the front door burst open once again. 

“Mera,” a sweaty and bloody faced John B said. “We’re leaving.” 

Mera stood up quickly, grabbing one last roll of bread. 

“It was wonderful to meet you, Kelce,” she said as she shimmied around him. 

“And you too,” he replied. “We should do this again sometime.” 

Mera looked outside and grimaced. 

“Maybe not.” 

“Nah, probably not.” 

“See you around?” 

“Yup.” 

With that, Mera rushed outside to join her friends in the bus. 

“Fat load of help you were,” JJ huffed at Mera as she held an ice pack to his eye. She narrowed her eyes at him. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t want to the food to go to waste,” she said. 

“You sat there and ate with Kelce while we got beat up?”

“Yes, because I try not to act like a child,” she snapped at him. JJ grumbled and crossed his arms over his chest. Kie drove and Pope was in the passenger seat, leaving Mera in the back with the bloodied up boys. It wasn’t anything too serious, just a few bruises and a busted lip or two, but they still looked miserable. 

“Well, that was delightful,” Pope mused in a mocking tone. “And I didn’t even get to finish my dinner.” 

“Trust me, it was really good,” Mera told him. He turned around and stuck his tongue out at her, making her laugh quietly. “On the bright side, Rafe still had to pay for everything.” 

That didn’t really make anyone else feel any better. 

“What’s going on with you and Rafe anyway?” JJ asked. Mera scowled down at him, her heart starting to pound. 

“Nothing. I work at his house, that’s all,” she told him as she moved over to John B to help him clean the blood off of his nose. 

“I work at his house and there’s nothing weird between us,” John B said. 

“Hate to break it to you, buddy,” Pope said, “but you’re not a smoking hot girl.” 

Mera’s face flushed as Kie scolded Pope, who didn’t really seem to understand what exactly he had said wrong until it was too late. 

When Mera looked back at JJ, he was still watching her carefully. He wasn’t glaring like he was before, but he definitely wasn’t happy. He was getting suspicious. She did her best to smile at him before finally settling down. They were mostly silent all the way back to the Chateau. The only sound to be heard was the rumbling of Pope’s stomach. 

~~~

Pope and John B raided the fridge when they got back, nearly fighting over the only non-expired can of yogurt. Kie went straight home. JJ flopped on the couch, pulling a magazine out from under his pillow. He refused to look up at Mera as she leaned against the wall, laughing quietly as Pope and John B bickered. 

She had a feeling that JJ was mad at her. Part of her wanted him to just come out and say it so that she could just explain everything without feeling like an idiot. Another part of her wanted to ignore him right back. She went with the latter choice. The rest of the night, Mera and JJ didn’t speak to each other, talking instead through Pope and John B, who were far too hungry to notice. 

By the time everyone was ready for bed, Mera could barely keep her eyes open. 

“Night,” she called sleepily to the boys, who had all elected to sleep on the pullout together, leaving her the spare room. 

“Night,” Pope and John B chorused, already half asleep. 

“Night, princess.” 

Mera was almost too sleepy to hear JJ. Almost. 

~~~

Going to work the next day was probably one of the most nerve wracking things she had done in a long while. Even if Rafe blamed her for how last night ended, Mera didn’t care. He had started it. She was more than prepared to take him on in a duel if that was what he wanted. She was mostly afraid that word would get back to Ward and he would fire her or that Sarah wouldn’t want to be her friend anymore. Neither of which sounded fun to her. 

Luckily, Sarah greeted her with the same smile she did every morning and Ward was nowhere to be found. 

“Did you think about coming to Topper’s birthday tomorrow night?” Sarah asked, helping Mera move a large fridge out of the way so she could dust off a wooden nightstand. 

“Not yet,” Mera said. “Last night was a little bit crazy.” 

Sarah rolled her eyes. 

“If my brother wasn’t such a dick all the time, I think I could actually make friends with you guys. I just wish his reputation hadn’t tarnished mine.” There was a real sadness in her voice as she spoke. 

“I don’t think it’s your brother,” Mera told her truthfully. Sarah froze. 

“What?” 

“It’s Kiara. Whatever happened between you two, that has to be fixed before there’s any hope at all of you being friends with the others.” 

Sarah seemed to deflate.

“Kiara will never forgive me,” she said. 

“I don’t believe that.” 

When Sarah looked up at Mera, there were large tears in her eyes. 

“I fucked up, Mera,” she whispered, her words shaking and full of grief. “Real bad. And it’s been so long and I let the bad blood between us go on for too long and I don’t think I can ever make things right with her again.” 

Mera sighed and put a hand on Sarah’s shuddering shoulder. 

“Do you want to make things right?” Sarah nodded vehemently. “Then don’t give up. Kie will come around eventually.” 

Sarah nodded again, slower this time, and swallowed. 

“Do you want me to find you some stain or something for that?” Sarah asked, pointing at the nightstand. “It’ll make it look better.” 

“I would really appreciate that, Sarah,” Mera said with a smile. 

“Be right back.” 

Rafe didn’t come to see Mera at all that day, or the next day for that matter. Mera was disappointed only because she wanted to fight at him so badly. JJ was warming up to her again, but still really only spoke to her on the rare occasion. Mera was also ready to fight him too. Hell, she was prepared to fight them both if it came down to it. All she would need was a sword….

“So, Mera,” John B said from across the table, pulling her from her thoughts. “You decided if you’re going over to Sarah’s tonight?” 

“Um, yeah, actually,” Mera said, shaking her head. “I was going to head over in a bit. Sarah is going to lend me something to wear.” 

John B nodded his head slowly, but JJ just crunched on his burnt toast. 

“You’ll be careful, right?” John B said. Mera watched him carefully for a few seconds. 

“You’re not seriously going to father me right now.” “What?” 

“My own father has said those exact same words to me before a party,” Mera said, now trying to hide a smile. John B scowled, flustered. 

“I’m not...I just wanna make sure...I mean, you’re kinda my responsibility and I want you to be safe,” John B said, crossing his arms. Mera couldn’t help but laugh as she stood and stood next to him.

“Sure, Dad.” Her comment made John B roll his eyes. 

“Be sure to bring protection,” JJ said almost bitterly. The light atmosphere dampened as Mera and John B both turned to look at him. 

“I don’t have a sword,” Mera told him. JJ’s eyelids fluttered shut and she could tell that he was trying not to laugh at her, which made her mood turn sour. 

“That’s not the kind of protection he means,” John B said with a slight upturn of a smile. She scowled down at him, not really wanting to ask for an explanation but hoping he would give one anyway. “He’s talking about condoms, dear cousin.” 

“I’m unfamiliar with the term.” 

“You’re telling me you went out tapping without condoms?” JJ asked, leaning forward on the table, crossing his hands in front of him. “Yeesh.” 

“Will one of you please act like a grownup and explain to me what you’re talking about?” Her tone was harsher than she had meant it, but it seemed to snap John B into order. 

“They’re for sex, Mera. You...wrap your willy with it to protect from diseases and to keep the girl from getting pregnant,” John B said, refusing to look at her. 

“Oh. Hmm. That sounds rather useful. I’ll be sure to bring one of those then,” she said. “Thank you, JJ.” 

He blanched at her statement. 

“No, you weren’t-” He froze and scowled. “Fine. Whatever. Do what you want.” 

With that, he pushed him out of his seat and walked out the front door. 

“I’m extremely confused,” Mera said. “Do you mind explaining to me what just happened?” 

“I may be thinking that JJ doesn’t want you sleeping with anyone at that party,” John B explained, his eyes fixed on the door, a small smirk on his face. He looked up at Mera, who continued to scowl. 

“I don’t see the problem,” she said. John B heaved out a sigh and pushed himself out of his chair. He dropped a hand on her shoulder and pressed his lips into a fine line. 

“I don’t either. I mean, JJ goes after any one who has a heartbeat. I can’t imagine why he’d be upset with you for doing the same thing.” 

With that, John B walked toward the back of the house, leaving Mera alone in the silence, painfully aware of the dead heart that refused to beat in her chest. 

~~~

Mera stood scowling in front of the mirror. Sarah stood off to the side, trying to hide an excited grin behind her hands. 

“Do you like it?” 

Mera hummed quietly to herself. She didn’t quite know yet if she liked the outfit. Sarah had put her in a loose white top with long, flowing sleeves, almost similar to the kinds of blouses that Mera was used to wearing. But the sleeves came off the shoulders and the collar dipped a little lower than Mera may have been comfortable with. Sarah paired the shirt with a brown skirt that twirled beautifully, but was rather short. It was the color and the fabric type that Mera might have worn as pants, but never this cut. There were sandals on her feet, but she was sure she was going to take them off. Her hair was braided and Sarah had even put makeup on her. It was completely different from what she remembered makeup being like. 

Somehow, the person staring at her looked like her, but didn’t look like her at the same time. 

“Wait, I have an idea,” Sarah said, running toward one of her dressers. “It’ll just tie the entire thing together.” 

She returned with a thick, dark brown belt. It was less of a belt and more of a corset. Mera’s eyes widened at the sight of it. She had always wanted a corset, but her mother had never let her get one. 

“Turn around.” 

Mera did as she was told and Sarah wrapped the thing around her, clipping it behind her back. Mera expected there to be some tightness or discomfort, but she felt perfectly fine. Turning back toward the mirror, Mera nodded her head. It did really pull the entire outfit together. The large buckle in the front reminded her of a belt that she used to wear almost daily. The smile on Mera’s face became real as she smoothed out the skirt. 

“I love it,” she said, looking at Sarah. “Thank you.” 

“No problem,” Sarah said with a wave of her hand. “Anything for you. Come on now, the boys will be waiting for us.” 

Sarah hooked her arm through Mera’s and started to pull her toward the door. 

“The...the boys? Why?” 

“They’re our protection for the night.” Mera scowled. That was the second time she had heard that word and this time, she didn’t think it meant a sword or a condom. 

“I’m confused.” 

“Listen, two beautiful girls like us can’t go to a party alone, not even in our own house. You need someone to always hold your drink while you’re in the bathroom. You need someone watching your back while you’re dancing or playing games. Topper is looking out for me, obviously, and Kelce said he’d look out for you. Naturally, that means they are our dates.” 

“Wait, what? Drinks? Dates? Kelce?”

“I asked Rafe to watch out for you, but he said he wasn’t coming, so I had to ask Kelce. Haven’t you gone to a party before? Always make sure someone is watching your drink so you don’t get drugged. It’s rule number one.” 

“God,” Mera breathed as Sarah pulled her down the stairs. 

“Yeah, crazy world, right? Girls can’t go to a simple birthday party without being afraid of getting attacked.” It was a serious subject to Mera, something she had seen happen so many times that she was almost shocked to hear how casually Sarah was talking about it. But then she realized that Sarah spoke so plainly because it was so rampant. Sarah had desensitized herself to the reality of the world so she could still enjoy a night with her friends without the crippling fear of being assaulted. 

“I’ll protect you,” Mera said seriously, pulling Sarah to a stop. “No one will hurt you.” 

Sarah gave her a soft smile and squeezed her hand. 

“Thank you. I will always have your back, too.” 

Even though Sarah looked calm, Mera could feel her heart pounding through her hands. 

“Come on, the boys are waiting,” Mera said, a smile spreading across her face. 

“Damn right they are.” Walking up the stairs was Topper and Kelce, both dressed spiffily. 

“Baby!” Sarah cried, running forward to embrace her boyfriend. “Happy birthday!” 

“Thanks, babe,” he said, putting his arms around Sarah’s shoulders and giving her a kiss. 

“Happy birthday,” Mera told him as Kelce walked forward to stand beside her. Topper barely heard her, too occupied with Sarah’s lips. “They’re not going to talk to us for the rest of the night, are they?”

Kelce sighed and shook his head. 

“It’s unlikely.” 

“Great.” 

“You wanna head down? Everything’s in full swing.” 

Mera sucked in a deep breath, calming her nerves the best she could before nodding. 

“Why the hell not?” 

Kelce walked beside Mera as they made their way down the steps. Mera’s eyes scanned the crowd of people waiting at the bottom and she felt her breath hitch. 

“You good?” Kelce asked. Mera nodded, but her teeth were sinking into her lower lip until she tasted blood. 

“I just haven’t been around this many people in a long time,” she told him honestly. “It’s a bit overwhelming.” 

“I take it you weren’t a party girl in California.” 

“No, I definitely was. I’ve just been...away…from the lifestyle for a while.” 

“Well,” Kelce said with a heavy sigh. “Why don’t we just walk through these people to that bar over there and drink until we’re drunk. How about that?” 

Mera felt herself smile and she nodded. 

“I would love that.” 

~~~

tagging - @lolitstiana​ @drew-starkeys​ @youfookendonut​ @x-lulu​ @diverrdown​ @parkerpetertingle​ @simonsbluee​ @abbiesthings​ @apoguecalledjj​ @outerbankslut​ @sexualparkour​ @localfangirlx​ @kaitieskidmore1​ @ma10427 @bricksatanakinswindow​ @acvross-the-universe​ @jjjmaybank​​ @mayraki​

if you want to be added to the taglist, just let me know! ❤

[lokiqueenofasgrd]

Bum Knees and IVs (JJ x Reader)

A/N: I wrote this sitting on a hospital bed waiting to get a tilt table test. Bear with me here my equilibrium is still off 12 hrs later. This is crap. Utter trash in all forms. But it ez what it ez.

“JJ, I’m scared.” You looked at your boyfriend who was clearly trying not to break infront of you seeing you in so much pain. This was the first bone you’d ever broken. You weren’t really sure what to expect. “I know baby, but you gotta be strong for me okay.” JJ said comforting you, he whipped the hair out of your eyes with one hand, the other holding on to you hand. You nodded a tear falling from your face. JJ knew you had panic attacks, he also knew that hospitals made them worse. There were too many factors. He whiped the tear away with his thumb.

A nurse opened the curtain to your semi private room. “Y/n? What are you in for today?” She asked. “I fell and busted my knee. It’s the size of a soft ball.” You stated nonchalantly. “Do you mind if I take a look at it?” The nurse asked. You shook your head rolling up your pant leg. You winced as she rolled your knee around. “Definitely broken.” She stated when she was finished. “We need to get you an IV drip and in for a CT-Scan just to see what’s going on in there.” She smiled at you.

You looked at JJ with fear in your eyes. “Needles...” you gulped. JJ squeezed your hand harder as if to say he was going to be there the whole time. You saw the nurse come in with the needle and immediately told her you’d rather her put it in your hand than your arm. She politely agreed. You squeezed your eyes shut and heard JJ in what felt like the distance, “you’re doing great baby.” You could here the smile and encouragement in his voice. “You’ve actually done better than most of the tough guys that come in here.” The nurse giggled.

30 minutes had passed since then and the nurse came back. “We’re ready to take you to your CT-scan, miss Y/N.” She smiled. You looked at JJ with fear in your eyes. “I’ll be here when you get back, love.” He kissed your hand and helped you into the wheelchair and nodded for the nurse to take you.

The only thing you could think about when you were in there was how badly you wanted to cuddle JJ. After about 45 minutes of sitting agonizingly still your nurse took you back to JJ. He had fallen asleep in the chair next to the bed. He looked so cute like that. “JJ!” You half whispered a giggle escaping your lips. “Hey love.” He mumbled, smirking through his sleep ridden face. There was a red mark on his cheek where he had layed on his arm.

“What’s the verdict, doc?” JJ asked the nurse. “She doesn’t need surgery but she’ll have to wear a brace for a while and keep the weight off of it for a few weeks.” She stated turning in your direction. At least you didn’t have to have surgery, was all that went through your head.

Another 20 minutes passed and the nurse came back with the brace and some crutches for you to use. She brought out the discharge papers after helping you get situated to go home. “You’re free to go miss Y/N.” The nurse smiled at you. You swung your legs over the bed and attempted to get up but before you could even touch the ground you felt JJs arms under your knees and around your back. “U-uh. Nope.” He said scooping you up. “You can’t put weight on that, I’m carrying you out.” You turned your head and giggled in his shoulder. “Okay JJ. I got it.” You laughed. “But ya know this is kinda your fault.” You said wiggling your eyebrows at him. “Maybe if you hadn’t have been such a cute distraction I wouldn’t have tripped over that rock.” You continued. JJ playfully scoffed. “Well, if it’s my fault then I guess that means I get to take care of you 24/7 now.” He said Mockingly wiggling his eyebrows back at you. “That means unlimited cuddles. I’m good with that.” You laughed. “You did such a good job today, I’m so proud of you Y/N. I love you.” JJ said placing a kiss to your forehead. “I love you too JJ.” You hummed kissing his cheek, not being able to tell if his checks were still red from sleep or blushed. “Let’s go home.” JJ said carrying you bridal style through the remainder of the hospital hallways and out of the building.

You could get used to this.

Tag list: @diverdcwn @anxietyandtacos @void-maybank @tomfreakinghollandneedsaoscar @bricksatanakinswindow @starkeysgirl @softstarkey

[makebank]

can u make bricks stay please wtf

omg i know im gonna cry 😭 she was my 2nd “obx” blog i followed and first i read fics from shes truly amazing

buuut no one can make her do something if she doesn’t want to. she may be busy or just done with this part of her life sadly

[skiesofthesketchy]

Body Language - Part 2

***

Pairing: JJ Maybank x female reader

Note: Hi!! Y’all I can’t even believe how many people liked this story, like for real thank you all so much for the love and support! I hope you enjoy the second part just as much :) Again, writing smut is pretty new for me, so I hope this leaves you all hot and bothered (because GOD was I uncomfortable writing this) and I’d love to hear any feedback y’all have. Thanks SO MUCH love you. Thanks to @bricksatanakinswindow​ for helping me when I was STUCK.

Sorry if I tagged you if you didn’t wanna be... haha my taglist is a disaster rn. Really hoping I tagged everyone that wanted to be ! 

Warnings: fluffff, flirting, swearing, dirty dancing, SMUT, alcohol, 18+++

Word count: 5.3k... this long as hell, i did this for you lovelies

 Part 1 (highly recommend you read part 1 first)

--------------------------------------------------

It was finally dark, and the only light came from several small bonfires littered across the boneyard. You swayed happily as you watched people equally as drunk as you dance on the designated dance floor. The music surged through your body as you closed your eyes to feel every sensation. The breeze blowing your hair away from your face, the bass from the music vibrating in your abdomen, the laughter and chatter of the party mixing in with the waves crashing on the shore. 

“Whatcha thinkin ‘bout, pretty girl?” Your moment of bliss ended when your eyes snapped open, finding JJ next to you. His smile was sweet, but his eyes displayed amusement. 

“Nothing in particular,” you replied. You took a sip of your beer and returned your gaze back to the dance floor. “You having a good night?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “Are you?”

“Yeah.”

Then there was silence, JJ standing next to you with hands stuffed in his pockets, and you sighed.

It’s been two weeks since you had slept together. You wish you could say it wasn’t awkward, but it sort of was. Since then, you two haven’t had a single moment alone. Besides work and family stuff, you were usually with the other pogues, and you couldn’t really talk about what happened with them around. 

Even if you guys didn’t talk about what happened that day, you just wanted to hang out with him. At least then, you’d be reassured that your friendship was still the same, that the night you got carried away with each other didn’t change a thing. You were scared though, that maybe things had changed.

For one, you couldn’t stop thinking about him. You had seen JJ in a totally different light. That night, he wasn’t just your reckless, womanizing best friend. He was the man kissing up and down your body, making every inch of you feel safe and loved. He was the man bringing you to your high over and over again as he thrusted his hips into yours. The man that caressed your skin and left sweet kisses on your neck and shoulder as you finally drifted to sleep in his arms. He was everything, but you pushed your feelings away, deciding it was just amazing sex and that was the only reason you missed him so much. 

One thing was clear to you, though. Sex with JJ was a one time thing. It always was when it came to him. It was only ever going to be a casual night of fun, and you were okay with that. At least you hoped you would be. Either way, you just wanted to know you still had your best friend. 

The two of you basked in the painful silence, each of you not knowing what to say to the other. You didn’t let it show on your face, but it felt like your heart was breaking. This wasn’t what you wanted. If you knew things were going to be weird, you wouldn’t have kissed him in the first place. 

“Do you wanna dance?” he asked you. You looked up at him for the first time in what felt like an eternity. He hated the awkwardness just as much, and decided it was bullshit. You guys were best friends, so he was going to break the ice, even if it meant talking it out and finding out that you regretted that night he thought about so often. 

You smiled, taking his hand that he offered to you. He spun you around, making you giggle as you fell into his chest after the spontaneous twirl. “There’s that laugh,” he smiled. You beamed as he led you to the dance floor, thinking maybe things aren’t so bad between you two after all. 

The speakers played some obscure slow song, which encouraged JJ to wrap his arms around your waist and start to sway. You laughed while placing your arms around his neck. “I heard you’ve been dodging dudes all night,” he said as you two found a steady rhythm together. 

“I don’t really feel like socializing with tourons tonight,” you shrugged. The corners of his mouth turned up. “What about you? Why aren’t you trying to get with any of the tourons swooning over you?” You quirked your brow, humor laced in your tone. 

“No need. I’m already the luckiest guy here.”

“Why’s that?” you asked. 

“Cause I’m dancing with you, stupid.” He laughed as realization lit up your face, and you felt heat rush to your cheeks, the butterflies waking up in your stomach. He looked down at you with a dopey smile on his face, loving the sight of you.

While you hadn’t been able to get JJ off your mind, he was struggling just the same. He had already decided that asking you what girls like in bed was most likely the best decision he’s ever made in his whole damn life. The feelings that he’d always had for you only grew tenfold. Before, he kept them so hidden, simmering in the depths of his heart without giving them any of his focus or energy, knowing that you’d never be interested in being more than friends. After that night though, he wondered if he might actually have a chance. 

The way you initiated everything with confidence had him completely wrapped around your finger. The way you tugged on his hair while moaning out his name had him lying awake at night with an image of you swimming in his mind. The way you kissed him so passionately had him wondering if he’d ever feel such desire for another girl again. He thought, just maybe, you felt the same things he did. 

“You look gorgeous,” he said, pulling you closer so your head was resting in the crook of his neck. 

“Why thank you, good sir. You look handsome as well.” JJ chuckled softly into your hair, enjoying the scent of your shampoo. You two swayed like that for a moment, just holding each other and relaxing into one another’s touch. You both were relieved that the tension seemed to be gone. Everything was perfect, and you didn’t know why you were so worried in the first place.

There was a thought floating around in the back of your mind though. The tiniest whisper of the turmoil you’ve been going through for the past two weeks. Could you possibly like JJ as more than just a friend?

You pulled away from his embrace when the song changed. The people around you jumped and swayed drunkenly to the more upbeat music as you grabbed JJ’s hands to dance with him. He watched you with a grin on his face as you danced wildly, making his arms flail around with your hands clasped in his. “Come on, J. Get into it,” you laughed.

You grabbed his hips to help him start moving, and he chuckled at your attempts to get him to actually dance. “How ‘bout you just dance around me and make me look good, babe.” You glared teasingly at his smug expression, but decided you could do him one better. 

“Fine.” You suddenly spun around and placed his hands on your hips. He took this opportunity to pull you against him, your back flush against his chest. You caught him completely by surprise as you ground your hips back into his, oh so subtly, smirking once you heard the tiniest grunt escape his lips. 

You swayed your hips side to side, JJ following your every move with his body attached to yours. Your hands fell over his as you guided them to drag down to your thighs, then back up again to your hips. JJ’s insides seemed to ignite from the way you moved against him. Your confidence bubbling to the surface gave him flashbacks from the night you kissed him, the night you two became closer than you ever were. 

You continued to grind against your friend, your hands reaching up behind you to grasp at his long blonde locks. You don’t know where this confidence came from, but you guessed it was the alcohol. JJ definitely didn’t seem to mind your flirty dancing though, and that helped ease your mind. Your eyes widened when you felt his growing erection press into your ass.

Your first instinct was to stop your movements, but you couldn’t deny the excitement that swelled inside of you. He was enjoying this as much as you were, so you let your doubts slip to the back of your mind and ground into him once again.

JJ grunted again, which gave you immense satisfaction until he held you still by his aggressive hold on your hips. “What do you think you’re doing, Y/N?” he whispered, lips brushing the shell of your ear. You would have been disheartened by his question if his voice wasn’t so raspy. 

“What do you mean?” you asked, feigning innocence. You slowly dipped down into a squat before coming back up, your ass making contact with his groin once more, and JJ fought to hold in a moan. 

He abruptly turned you around so you were face to face, bodies just as close as before. “You know exactly what I mean.” This time, he was the one to grind his hips forward, and you gasped at the feeling of his hard-on pressing into your front. His eyes were glazed over in desire, and just the sight made your heart rate pick up. “You’re driving me crazy.”

You smiled at his confession, and you felt a familiar tingle start in your abdomen. You laced your arms around his neck and pushed your chest into his. He stayed perfectly still as he watched your face inch closer to his, eyes fluttering shut on instinct. He prepared for your lips to meet his, but you kissed his jaw instead.

You pressed soft kisses down his jawline and on his throat, the boy not being able to do anything besides experience every single sensation you thrust upon him. Your hands traveled down his chest as you pulled away from him, not being able to hide your satisfaction. He was so turned on, and you loved that you were able to make him this way. 

“Hey, where are you going?” he growled, grabbing you again by your waist and pulling you against him. 

You laughed. “I thought I was driving you crazy?” Your eyebrow lifted teasingly, and he groaned. 

“Which is exactly why I’m gonna drag you out of this fucking party and have my way with you.” One of his hands came up to your neck, thumb caressing your jaw, his tenderness leaving you breathless. 

Despite your resolve unraveling by the second, you wanted to keep up your teasing. “Me? Don’t you have some hot touron to get back to?”

He pulled you closer and rested his forehead on yours, obviously not amused by your comment. “Y/N...” he rasped, eyes boring into yours.

You smirked, batting your eyelashes. “Yes, Maybank?”

He couldn’t hold back anymore. He closed the small distance between you and crashed his lips onto yours. Your arms naturally circled around his neck once again as you matched his eagerness and gave in to him. 

Kissing him, all of your doubts and confusion about your relationship with JJ seemed to vanish as you allowed your body to melt into him. It was obvious now that he wanted you just as much as you wanted him. The crowded party full of drunk people dancing became an afterthought as you let yourself be completely engulfed in the alluring man that is your best friend. The kiss was fueled by passion and the heat of the moment was quickly becoming too much to bear.

You pulled away abruptly, and he let out a sound of annoyance. “Let’s get out of here,” you said, eyes gleaming. 

He smiled before pecking your lips again. “Yes ma’am.” You kept your body close to cover him as he reached into his pants to tuck his erection into the waistband of his shorts so that others wouldn’t be able to see the noticeable tent. He grabbed your hand and quickly started leading you away from the dance floor and across the beach.

Unbeknownst to you, the other pogues had watched the entire scene unfold.

“What the fuck is happening right now?” John B. asked, jaw resuming its previous position on the floor.

Kiara and Pope didn’t have an answer as they watched you two practically run off hand in hand. “I think they’re gonna go fuck,” Pope said, voice distant as if he couldn’t believe the words himself.

“When the hell did this happen?” Kie asked, looking to the two boys. But they only shrugged. All of them were completely in the dark about your previous hook up, and seeing you and JJ so intimate had them all more than shocked. 

“Good for them, I guess?” Pope offered. John B. laughed, taking another swig of his beer. Kiara laughed too with a shake of her head.

“Can’t wait to confront them about this tomorrow.” The boys nodded in agreement, the group suddenly finding it hilarious that two of their best friends were hooking up. 

You and JJ had made it into the van and he drove back to the Chateau like a mad man. You told him the pogues would be pissed that you guys left them without a ride, but he didn’t care in the slightest. All he could think about was you lying underneath him, begging for him to make you cum. 

It wasn’t long before you were stumbling into the small house, JJ’s lips trying to capture yours while guiding you to the bedroom he slept in. You giggled when he tripped over the coffee table and fell into you. It was so chaotic, but you didn’t mind. It felt as if you were giddy teenagers in love, too excited to get to the bedroom to care about anything else. 

“Fucking finally,” he huffed when you two were in his room, and he slammed the door shut. You sat on the bed, looking at him with the biggest smile on your face. The thing you wanted more than anything for the last two weeks was standing right in front of you, gawking at you like you were the most beautiful girl in the world.

He crawled over you, and you promptly laid on your back, staring up at your long-time best friend. “So did those little tricks I taught you help you in the bedroom?” you asked playfully, even though you didn’t really want to think about JJ sleeping with other girls. 

He scoffed, putting more of his weight on you as his face inched closer. “I haven’t been with anyone since.” This caused confusion to cross your features. JJ was the biggest manslut you knew. It was uncommon for him to go more than a week without hooking up with someone. 

“Really?” The question fell from your lips involuntarily. 

JJ laughed while brushing your hair away from your face. “How could I when the only girl I think about is you?” His eyes pierced into yours, and you could tell he was being sincere. What shocked you more than his words was the way he looked at you. If you weren’t mistaken, it kinda looked like he was in love.

You were glowing. You didn’t know how badly you wanted to hear the words until he spoke them. With arms wrapping behind his neck, you pulled him down to catch his lips with yours. The kiss was soft and warm, making your stomach erupt in butterflies. It suddenly felt like there was no rush now that you two were alone in each other’s arms, which was sweet and had you grinning like a child at the carnival. But the truth is that you couldn’t wait to get the boy undressed.

With considerable strength, you pushed JJ off of you and he fell to your side. He looked at you confused, but chuckled when you situated yourself on top of him, straddling his hips. You swiftly peeled off your shirt before leaning over him and kissing him again. “Someone’s eager,” he smirked against your lips. 

“Shut up,” you grumbled. You sat up and pulled him up with you by tugging on the collar of his shirt. You didn’t waste any time pulling the material up over his head, and he laughed again. “Damn, baby. If I knew you wanted me this bad, I would’ve gotten you alone sooner.” He was teasing you, and you weren’t amused.

“I said shut up, Maybank.” He was going to laugh again, loving how impatient you were, but you surely shut him up by crashing your lips to his once again. Warm hands caressed your sides with thumbs skimming your ribcage as the kiss quickly turned into a hungry battle between tongues. You ground into his lap to find his erection growing again, and the excitement only fueled your movements. 

You got off of him and started unbuttoning his shorts. He lifted his hips to help you slide the shorts and boxers down his legs, and they fell to the floor along with his shoes. Entranced by the sight of his cock, you were about to get on your knees, but he grabbed your hands to stop you. “Hey, hey, easy baby. Let’s get you out of these clothes first.” You didn’t miss the smug expression on his face. 

 You were standing in front of him from where he sat on the edge of the bed, and he reached behind you to unclasp your bra. He pulled you closer by your waist so that he could attach his mouth to one of your nipples. You raked your fingers through his hair as he started leaving trails of open mouth kisses on your chest, hands unbuttoning your shorts and tugging them down your legs along with your panties. 

You felt your arousal grow with each hot kiss he pressed onto your skin. He moved slowly, as if he was savoring the taste of every inch of your body, all for him. The attention he was giving your breasts with each swipe of his tongue and twist of his rough fingertips made you dizzy. Somewhere in the back of your mind, you realized that this was far more intimate than just sex.  

You softly tugged his hair to pull his face away from your skin, and he looked up at you with a grin. With hands on his flushed cheeks, you kissed him fiercely and he could feel the burning hunger from within you. As much as you enjoyed soft and loving JJ, you needed him right now.

Your lips moved to his jaw and you kissed down his throat while your hands traveled down his sculpted torso. Your kisses trailed down his abs to underneath his belly button as you slowly got onto your knees, and JJ was holding his breath in anticipation, fingers weaving through your hair to collect it in a loose ponytail. 

When you two hooked up, the way he pleasured you with his mouth had you thinking about it constantly ever since. You hadn’t returned the favor though, so you were excited to finally have your hands on him. You didn’t think you’d ever get the chance again, so who could blame you for being a little eager? You wanted to see the man unravel in front of you as you took control with your lips wrapped around him.

You took his stiff length in your hand and pumped a few times as you glanced up at JJ through your lashes. His cheeks were already turning red from arousal. The sight of you on your knees was enough for him to throw you on the bed and finally bury himself into you, but he held back. He’d be an idiot to stop you now.

He gasped when you took him in your mouth, his tip hitting your soft palate. With a swipe of your tongue underneath the head, he involuntarily bucked his hips up into your face. You had just begun, and he was already finding it hard to control himself. 

You held his hips down firmly as you started to slowly bob your head. You would switch between taking as much of him as you could without gagging and only focusing on his swollen head. His grip on your hair tightened when you harshly grazed the tip of his cock with your tongue, his head falling back with the most beautiful moan you’d ever heard. “You are so sexy,” he choked out.

You smiled as more moans fell from his lips, and you could tell he was close. “Fuck, baby. Just like that,” he panted. You loved that you could make him feel this good even more than you enjoyed blowing him. You released your hold on his hips so that your right hand could wrap around him and pump while you sucked harder, head bobbing faster. 

“Fuck, Y/N. Fuck.” ‘He’s so close. Only a little longer,’ you thought, heart racing as exhaustion started to creep up on you, but you didn’t care. You wanted him to explode with your lips still around him, knowing you had done a job well done.

Without warning, he pulled you away from him by his grip on your hair. He hadn’t cum, and you were confused. You didn’t have time to ask him why as he was already picking you up and throwing you onto the bed, your hair fanning around your head on the pillow as you bounced onto it.

“As much as I love that pretty little mouth of yours, it’s my turn,” he rasped, holding himself over you with arms on either side of your head. 

He looked so damn good, messy blonde locks falling over his dark blue eyes, lips pouted and cheeks tinged pink. He kissed you hard as he thrusted his hips into you, his stiff member brushing against your clit. You hadn’t realized how aroused you already were just from sucking him off, and you gasped at the contact. 

His lips left yours and hungrily attached to the pocket between your neck and collarbone as his fingers traveled down your body to prod at your clit. He was sucking on your skin harshly and it was clear he wanted to leave a mark. He wanted everyone to know that you were his, even though you two hadn’t talked about your relationship yet. He didn’t know how you felt, but he was certain that he couldn’t get enough of you. 

“JJ,” you panted. You tried to push the man away, but he wouldn’t let up. Two long fingers had dipped easily into your wet entrance, teasing you by not going in too far. His thumb rubbed slow circles onto your clit, and as good as it felt, it wasn’t enough for you. 

You wound your hand into his hair and tugged, making his gaze meet yours. God, how he loved you pulling his hair. “Stop teasing,” you said. He smirked before pecking your lips, his hand resuming the painfully slow action. He basked in the sight of you squeezing your eyes shut, trying to hold in your moans. “Seriously, J,” you grumbled. “If you’re not going to do something, then get the hell off of me and I’ll take control.” 

You thought he might’ve complied, but of course he didn’t. Your impatience was much too amusing for him, and his dopey grin made you want to punch him. “Not a chance, princess.” You huffed, getting annoyed as you felt the knot in your stomach start to tighten, much too slow for your liking. “I like you like this, begging for me to make you feel good.”

“JJ...” you warned.

“I think you could do a bit more begging, don’t you think, Y/N?” You hated his cocky smirk. You had no idea he was such a fucking tease.

“J, please,” you sighed, almost a whisper. If he didn’t do something soon, you swore you’d shove him off of you and take care of it yourself.

Suddenly, his two fingers rammed into your core, connecting harshly with your g-spot. “Fuck!” you screamed. He smiled, bringing his face down to leave more kisses on your neck as his hand picked up speed and rammed into you over and over. Moans were escaping your mouth and getting louder, your control lessening with each thrust of his hand. 

It was only moments later than you were shaking from your climax, JJ grinning over you as you cried his name. You were kind of surprised that you hadn’t lasted long, but peering up at the man hovering over you, you figured out why. Just looking at him turned you on. The feelings you had been ignoring resurfaced and you knew that you’d never be able to look at your best friend in the same way again.

It wasn’t just how skillful he was in bed, it was everything else on top of it. You had been friends for years and had always clicked so well, so you’re not sure why possibly loving JJ never crossed your mind until now. “What are you thinkin ‘bout, pretty girl?” he broke you out of your thoughts. You laughed at his repeated words from earlier in the night.

“You,” you beamed. You reached your hand up to brush his hair away from his face, his blue eyes gleaming bright. 

“Oh yeah? What about me?” You shook your head, trying to find the words, but you were at a loss with how good he looked, his perfect lips so close to yours. “About how amazing I am at sex?” He was only joking, and tickled your sides, eliciting uncontrollable laughter from you.

“About how good I make you feel? Huh? How I can make you cum in a matter of minutes?” he continued to guess as he relentlessly tickled you. You were laughing and trying your hardest to push him away from you and stop his attack, but your efforts were useless. “Tell me, baby,” he chuckled, knowing you couldn’t get a word out.

“JJ, jesus christ, stop!” He laughed again, then stopped touching you all together, slumping into the spot next to you on the bed.

“I hate you,” you gasped, trying your hardest to catch your breath while turning on your side to look at him.

“No way. You love me,” he smiled, placing a soft kiss onto the tip of your nose.

“I think I do.” You didn’t know why you said it, it just felt right. You’d never been scared to tell him anything before, so why should this be any different. His eyes never left yours, but confusion and doubt swam in them and he didn’t say anything. “I think I love you.”

Then he was grinning. He pulled you into his chest and kissed you more passionately than previously tonight. You laughed into the kiss, taking it as a good sign. “I think I love you too,” he said after pulling away. Now you were the one smiling. 

Who knew you’d be confessing your love to your best friend, cuddling naked in his bed? You certainly couldn’t have pictured this moment a few weeks ago. You kissed him again and let yourself enjoy his warmth. You both felt like you were on top of the world, in the comfort of each other’s embrace. It was all so new but felt so familiar at the same time.

You crawled on top of him and was reminded of his erection, something you still hadn’t taken care of yet. With one more peck to his lips, you reached over him to the bedside table where you knew he kept the condoms. 

He watched you intensely, hands running up and down your thighs as you opened up the wrapper with your teeth. You took the liberty of sliding the rubber over his cock, and you both were more than ready for what was coming next.

You slid his length into your entrance and lowered yourself until all of him was in you, unable to hold in your gasp. He rubbed comforting circles into your hips as you adjusted to his size. Once you did, you were bouncing fast, not willing to waste any more time. He loved the sight of you, your tits bouncing and your lips parted, sounds of pleasure spilling out of them. 

Both of his hands grabbed at your boobs roughly, making you whimper in pleasure as you tried to speed up your movements. The grunts that escaped from his mouth were cheering you on, and you ignored your sore muscles as you chased your high, but you were more concerned that he reached his.

“This okay, J?” you asked breathlessly. 

“Baby,” he moaned. “You’re fucking incredible.” He pulled you down by the back of your neck to crash your lips together. You both hummed and moaned into each other’s mouths as you continued to ride him, both of you getting closer and closer. 

He could tell you were slowing down and getting tired, so he swiftly flipped you over so that he was on top. He was between your legs and firmly held your thighs apart as he picked up where you left off. He kissed you one last time before sitting up on his knees and ramming into you roughly. 

Your second orgasm of the night was quickly approaching, the knot in your stomach winding tightly. Your hands grasped at the sheets as he pounded into you, over and over. His name was lost in your series of moans, his getting louder by the second. You both were only moments from release.

He switched his position from kneeling in front of you to placing his forearms on either side of your head, the new angle making you cry out. “Look at me, Y/N,” he rasped, begging you to open your eyes. His were glazed over in lust just like yours, and you held his gaze as he thrusted into you, his movements becoming desperate. 

“I love you, baby,” he said, and you repeated his words back to him, both of you lost in the pleasure, thoughts getting fuzzy. “Are you close?” All you could do was nod as you bit your bottom lip to hold in your noises. “Cum for me, Y/N.” And you did.

It was only three more thrusts until he was cumming with you, hips bucking sporadically to ride out both your highs. No words were exchanged as he laid on top of you, exhaustion and complete euphoria clouding the room. His head rested in the crook of your neck as you both fought to catch your breaths, and you could still feel him twitch inside of you.

“You’re fucking amazing,” he whispered, kissing your neck. “I love you. I mean it.”

You grinned. As confused as you were only hours ago, you knew now that you loved him too. You caressed his soft cheek with your thumb, gazing at the man that just offered himself completely to you. 

“I love you too,” you smiled softly, kissing him again. It was warm and sweet, your bodies molded together. It was like nothing mattered except for this moment right here. 

“What the fuck are we gonna tell the pogues?” he asked. You just laughed with a shrug. 

“We’ll think about that later.” You rolled over so that you were on top of him now, admiring his happy face underneath you before you kissed him again.

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Tags:  @sunwardsss​ @xx-randomshit-xx17​ @kikinuke2​ @prince-pope​ @pm-my-hubbies​ @chickenfirstboyslater​ @sexualparkour​ @danicarosaline​ @pink-meringues​ @obxmxybxnk​ @rudyypankow​ @rudyismymanperiod​ @popcsheyward​ @lunaposey

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Masterlist 

[maybankiara]

SAVIOUR

gif creds to @rafecameron​!!

rafe cameron x reader

summary: rafe isn't rafe anymore, and she can't take it.

a/n: inspired by landfill by daughter. mentions of addiction and a toxic relationship. 

masterlist | tag list

she was the first casualty of rafe's addiction. the girl had fallen in love with a boy with brushed-back, golden blonde hair, a pointy nose and lips that stretched out into a smile more often than not. he was bright and he was cheerful, giving her the most innocent of touches just to reassure her thay he was there, not leaving, not going anywhere.

they were high school sweethearts, best friends turned lovers. they were the couple people looked at and hoped to be someday; the couple continuously dubbed prom king and queen, year after year. they were supposed to have the world at their fingertips.

except, the truth wasn't for the world to see.

they both grew up in families where lies are more welcome than truths, and they slipped off their lips with ease. when he started doing coke and overindulge in alcohol, things began to slip.

bit by bit, he loved her less.

bit by bit, she pitied him more.

disagreements became arguments and arguments became fights; a love gone sour. they kept it within the confines of four walls and four eyes, unaware to anyone but themselves.

eventually, he slipped, and she wasn't there to catch him.

it was end of summer before college, both of them going to different ones. 'i can't do this,' was what she said to him, honesty towards him coming with the ease of a lie.

he tried to hold her hand, but she wouldn't let him. 'do you not love me anymore?'

it wasn't about love and it wasn't about caring; you can love someone and hate them, love them and pity them, love them and want to never be near them again.

she took her hand away. 'this isn't right.'

he got angry, like he always did. yelling and shouting and trying to hold her when she pushed him, away from her.

'you're broken, rafe.'

he told her it didn't matter; she didn't matter, not anymore. he went on and on and on and when he stopped, she stood her ground, and told him just how fucked up he'd been.

all the lies they'd told others about themselves shattered in that moment.

'this is torturous,' she stated.

he retaliated with, 'i thought when you love someone, you help them.'

'you can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped.'

'then save,' he argued. 'save them. save me.'

but all she did was shake her head, pain etched onto the lines around her eyes. 'i'm not your saviour.'

the royal couple went up in flames, and all everyone saw were the ashes.

★

tagging. @jjtheangel @teenwaywardasgardian @thelocalpogue @jjmaybanky @sacredto @chasefreakinstokes @drewstarkey @thatsme-johnbookerroutledge @margaritatimebaybee @outrbank @yourlocalauthor @justawilddreamerchild @snkkat @mynamewontwork13 @sunwardsss @storiesbymads @koufaxx @drewstarkeyobx @ilovejjmaybank @jjmaybanksbaby @mahleeyuh @starkeymarkey @nicolewithasoul @kiarawilliams127 @butgilinsky @bricksatanakinswindow @starlightstarkey @copper-boom @starrystarkey93 @hotel-colson @stargazingstarkey @outerbanksbro @anonymous0writer @annedub @outerbongs @jjandreidsgirl @jjmaybanqs​ @kaitieskidmore1​ @maybanksbaby​ @yelyahryan​