#kiara the brave

[katlimeart]

Made in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 + 2022

If you’ve seen this anywhere else, I posted it back on my deviantArt when it was made.

Mario girls cosplaying as various girls

1. Onnanoko (Wrecking Crew 98)

2. Wii Fit U Trainer

3. Kiara (Kiara the Brave/Super K: The Movie)

4. Melisande (The Flight of Dragons)

5. Snow White (A Snow White Christmas)

6. Faye Valentine (Cowboy Bebop)

7. Pauline in a Cherryton Uniform (Beastars)

8. Rosalina in a PK Academy Uniform (The Disastrous Life of Saiki K)

9. Miki as Cinderella (Pokonyan!)

10. Nina Zenik (Six of Crows) - requested by sandsofeternaltime

[spookyrps]

kie + the party fit in 3.07

[a-dauntless-daffodil]

me: are you ever going to stop thinking about Vitani from Lion King 2?

also me: Vitani got an adorable little smile from Kiara when she switched sides I'm so effing jealous of her for it

and look at the sCRUFFY BABAY

<3 !

[lavenderdreams22]

Something About You - Rafe Cameron x Reader

Summary: A game of truth or dare leads you to an awkward situation with Rafe. Fluff.

Request: Could I get a Rafe x reader where they kiss on a dare? Something fluffy?? I love your writing

This isn’t exactly what you asked for, but the concept is similar. I hope you like it ❤️

Warnings: nothing really. Maybe a bit of cussing?

*****

“Come on, Y/N.” Kie laughed, taking another swig of beer. “You have to tell us. You chose truth.”

“If I tell you, I’ll have to kill you. What’s my punishment?”

Sarah leaned over to her, giggling as she fell over and struggled to prop herself up on her arms. When she finally managed to, she whispered something into Kie’s ear.

Kiara’s eyes widened as her face broke out into a mischievous grin. “Okay! Your punishment is…” she hit her lap to mimic a drumroll. “Sneak into Rafe’s room and steal his favorite watch.”

“He’s probably worn the damn thing to bed.” You said, your eyes wide.

You’d had a crush on Rafe for years. Something about him drew you in, but you knew that if you let yourself get too close, he’d chew you up and spit you out.

“Do it.” Sarah said, resting her head on Kiara’s shoulder. “If he’s wearing it, you’ll just have to come up with a really convincing reason for him to let you have it.”

You shook your head before standing on shaky legs and stumbling to the door.

The two of them broke out into a fit of giggles that was only slightly muffled by the closing of the bedroom door.

You snuck to Rafe’s room on what you thought were silent feet, careful to stop every couple of steps to listen intently to the sounds of the house. The last thing you needed was for Ward to catch you sneaking into or out of his sons bedroom.

As you reached his door, you could feel the sweat lining your shaking hands.

God he would kill you if he caught you outside his room like this. He would kill you again if he caught you inside his room. He’d probably kill you a third time for taking his watch. But in truth or dare, a punishment was a punishment… and you weren’t a pussy.

Taking a deep breath to steel your nerves, you shoved the door open. To your excitement, it was silent and the lights were on, making it easier to find what you were looking for. To your disappointment, Rafe was still awake. He was sitting up in bed, scrolling through his phone.

As he spotted the movement at his door, his eyes shifted to you, and a furrow appeared between his brows.

“What d’ya want Y/L/N?” He said, his voice the type of gravelly that sent shivers down your spine.

“Oh, I… I didn’t think you’d be in here on a Friday night.” You took a step forward as his brow furrowed even deeper.

“You’re in my bedroom.”

“Yeah, I suppose I am.” You smiled, the alcohol making you brave.

“Okay… get out?” He said, but it came out more like a question.

“I would, but I’m kind of on a mission right now.” Your eyes scanned the room again, landing on his wrist.

There was the watch, sitting pretty and expensive.

You crossed the room to him before you could rethink your decision and grabbed his hand, fiddling with the clasp on the watch.

“What the hell are you doing?” He snapped but he didn’t pull out of your touch.

“I just need to borrow this for a bit.” Finally wiggling the clasp loose, you pulled the watch from his arm. He just stared at you, confusion evident on his face.

“You’re drunk.”

“Yep.” You said, popping the ‘p’.

“You gonna pawn it?” He sat up more, leaning closer to you. “If you need money, just ask.”

“No, Rafe.” You rolled your eyes. “I’m not gonna pawn it. You’ll have it back tomorrow… Probably.”

He scoffed. “What do you need it for?”

“You let me worry about that, handsome.” You hiccuped and patted his cheek with one of your hands.

“Handsome?” His frown spread into a grin. “Since when do you think I’m handsome?”

“I’ve always… always found you handsome.” You swayed a bit on your feet.

“Okay, you must be farther gone than I gave you credit for.” He gripped your shoulders. “Sit for a minute.”

You gave a half hearted protest, but let him sit you down.

“So…” he started, slowly removing his hands. “You think I’m handsome?”

You hummed, feeling the blush creep across your already red face.

“Well, I’ll be damned.” He sat back, crossing his arms over his chest.

“But I never told you. Mostly cause I didn’t think it’d matter since… you’re… you know… you.” You gestured at him.

“And why would me being me make your feelings not matter?” His frown was back, and you wanted to kiss it away.

“I’ve been friends with Sarah for years.” You flopped back on the mattress, the watch still clasped tightly in your fingers. “You’ve never really given me more than a couple words here and there.”

“You’re always surrounded by guys.” He shrugged.

“Just JJ and Pope, maybe John B.” You shrugged. “They’re hardly guys.”

Rafe snorted. You cursed yourself for giving him the ammo, but you were too drunk to attempt to backpedal.

“God, you know…” you propped yourself up and met his eyes. “You’re just like… you’ve always been so attractive. I really started to notice in, like, 5th grade.”

“You’ve felt like this since 5th grade?”

“Yeah, course I have.” You rolled your eyes before your face split into a beautiful smile.

You didn’t notice the way his breath caught in his throat.

“Well, I’ve always found you, um… beautiful.” He shrugged. “You just seemed off limits, what with the pogues and Sarah.”

“Since when have you cared if something was off limits?”

He grinned. “Fair point.”

“So.” You nodded, sitting up farther. “You find me beautiful, and I find you handsome.”

He nodded, suddenly wary of the faraway look on your face.

“And yet, we’ve never done anything about it.”

His mouth went dry. It wasn’t that he hadn’t wanted to. Hell, he had thought about you more than he thought appropriate. Late at night, right when he woke up, when he was working, golfing, drinking. There wasn’t really a waking moment where thoughts of you didn’t plague his mind.

“No, we haven’t.” He gulped, hoping you missed the way his voice shook. He wiped his sweaty hands on his pajama pants.

“I think it’s time we rectify that, don’t you?” You leaned closer to him.

Rafe knew he should pull away… knew he needed to tell you to go, but he found himself leaning closer, his lips only inches from yours.

“You gonna let me kiss you, Rafe?” You murmured, your voice felt like a soft caress down his spine.

He didn’t answer, just closed the distance and pressed his lips to yours. You were soft and you tasted like beer and vanilla, and he was sure that he could spend forever in this moment and never have any regrets. But, too quickly you were pulling away, your eyes still closed as your breathed. He watched the way your chest rose and fell before you shot him another of your dazzling smiles. .

“Better than I imagined.” You whispered, finally opening your eyes to meet his burning gaze.

You shook yourself to snap out of the moment and put more distance between you. Rafe resisted the urge to pull you closer, to capture your lips with his, to pull you on top of him and further that kiss into something more.

“I should get back.” You spoke again, your voice still full of heat.

Before he could pull you back, you had crossed the room and let yourself into the hallway. He groaned, letting his head fall into his hands. This would really not help his small obsession with you.

When looked back up, the glint of something shiny caught his eye.

His watch.

You must have dropped it during the kiss, or maybe during your escape.

Before he could talk himself out of it, he launched himself out of bed, scooping the watch up, and forced himself to walk, not run, to the door. When he opened it, you were nowhere to be found, but the laughter from Sarah’s room drew him in.

Knocking on the door, he waited for a moment before Sarah giggled. “Come in.”

He pushed the door open, and his gaze settled on you.

“You forgot something.” He said, crossing the room in two small strides.

“Oh yeah?” You grinned up at him.

“Yeah.”

Falling to his knees in front of you, he gently grabbed the back of your neck with one hand and crashed his lips to yours.

After a surprised squeak, you kissed him back.

Where the first kiss had been warm and slow, this one was hot and fast, almost as if you couldn’t get enough of each other.

“I think I’m gonna be sick.” Sarah stated, fake gagging.

You pulled away, giggling, your breath fanning over his face.

He let go of you and got back to his feet before dangling the watch in front of your face.

Sarah and Kie gasped.

You turned to Sarah as you said, “I win.”

He wasn’t sure what you were talking about or what game you were playing, but Rafe couldn’t help thinking, as he grinned down at you, that he was the one who had won.

[jj-maybanks-daughter]

shark

john bs little sister, y/n routledge got attacked by a shark while surfing with the pogues

warnings- blood, sharks, drowning 

a/n- please don’t read if your afraid of sharks. however, what you read  is not my responsibility  

y/n walked from her room to the living room where all the pogues are. “can someone go out to surf with me? i don’t like being alone and i really want to go out”

“sure.” john b said 

“i’ll go!” pope added, smiling

“im in” jj yelled 

kiara and sarah looked at eachother and shrugged.

they all got ready to surf. y/n had a pink bikini on and brought her white board

“ew look at the water it’s all grey” sarah said disgusted pointing to the water. 

“your fineeee” john b joked. “let’s go”

they swam out into the water. the waves were pretty calm. y/n had drifted off while she was laying on her board.

they layed there for a while, hopeful some nice waves will come in.

the salt air had y/ns y/h/c hair all wavy and perfect. everything was perfect. until something was under y/n. she didn’t notice, she was falling asleep laying on her stomach. both feet and right hand in the water.

out of nowhere, there was a splash. the shark had gotten y/ns left leg, tearing it to shreds as it had held her underwater. blood curdling screams were coming from her mouth underwater, begging that someone would hear her. 

“y/n?” sarah asked, noticing there was a splash and she wasn’t on her board.

the shark brought her above water and she screamed. he leg was being ripped off by a thousand stake knife’s, and she couldn’t get away. i was like she was in a car wash, but instead of soapy clean sponges, it was razor sharp knife’s. 

“oh shit” john b paddled over to her fast and got her in his arms. the water was red and thick. the pogues watched with shock in their eyes. “call 911!” john b screamed as he sucker punched the shark. it finally swam away, not after taking another bite.

kie and sarah rode a wave in to shore in a panic and grabbed their phones. 

“911, what’s your emergency” the operator  spoke through the phone

“hi um we have a 15 year old female that just got t attacked by a shark” sarah cried with a shaky voice into the phone

“is she conscious and where was the bite”

“i don’t know, she’s still out in the water but the shark is gone now. uh- i think it’s her leg”

“ok. i’m just going to send a medivac to your location. stay on the line.”

“ok” sarah was crying.

“y/n, talk to me, your ok” john b said as she layed on the board slipping in and out of consciousness. “come on, kid give me something here” he slapped her face gently a few times to keep her awake

jj and pope had rushed over to help, but there was nothing they could really do. once they had gotten to where they could stand jj tied the leash of his surfboard around her leg as tight as he could to stop the bleeding. it was gruesome and horrific but they were gonna do what they had to to save y/n

“jj?” she asked in a hushed, raspy voice as they swam her back to shore.

“i’m here, i’m here” jj said brushing her wet hair out of her face, trying to put on a brave face for her

“i can’t feel anything” she said closing her eyes slowly. he watched her eyelashes flutter in pain, shock and fear coating her glassy eye.

“i know, i know, keep your eyes open, your gonna be alright” 

the boys and y/n got to shore after fighting with the fast crashing waves and rip current 

“y/n, they have a medivac coming for you ok?” john b said as he tightened the makeshift tourniquet to where if it was her neck, she wouldn’t be able to breath

“that hurts, john b, stop your hurting me” she was crying and trying to catch her breath

“i know, i know, im sorry. we need to stop the bleeding and this is the only way i can do it. if i didn’t have to i wouldn’t”

her eyes were heavy and she was pale pink. her lips were chapped and had blood all over her. her pink bathing suit and white board were stained with a dark red

“jj?” she pleaded as she opened her eyes in pain

“yes?” he asked.

“i’m scared” 

“me too, we all are. your…” he paused, not knowing if the next statement was true “your gonna be ok” it was convincing him and the pogues as much as it was her.

“i’m cold” she said, lifting her head to see what john b was doing. she also was looking for a towel or be wrapped around in.

john b nudged her back down to the towel her head was resting on “don’t look, it’s ok” he didn’t want her to see her own leg that was bleeding profusely and had muscle and bone popping out at every spot.

“i’m cold…” she drifted off. she was trying to stay awake, but she was just too tired. 

“oh shit” pope tried to wake her up by squeezing her face, but it was no use. he checked to see if she was breathing. she wasn’t conscious a few times, but not like this. she was still. her eyes were shut. not shut in a fluttering way, but a frozen way. her flushed chapped lips parted and still. she didn’t flinch at any contact. she was out.

pope tapped her face a few times, looking for signs that she was just sleeping. she was frozen. she was still bleeding, which in this case, was a good sign. he put his ear to her chest to listen. she was breathing.

john b walked away, crying “come on y/n/n, your ok, they’re almost here” he said as he paced back and forth while pope was examining her conditions.

“she’s still breathing, just make sure it stays that way” pope directed jj to put his finger under her nose to monitor her breathing. he put his bloodied finger under her nose. and his ear on her chest.

sarah walked away to john b, holding him in a bear hug as they both cry, looking towards an almost lifeless y/n. their usual bubbly, energetic, and crazy y/n was just attacked by a shark which left her bleeding with a leg bearly on the bone.  they could everything that made up the leg. there was no way they could keep reattach it, even though the hoped.

“damn it! we should’ve just stayed at home” jj screamed, pulling at the roots of his hair. he walked away to wash his bestfriends sisters blood from his calloused hands 

kiara sat there in shock. mouth wide open, eyes in a bliss. she was somewhere else. trapped in the memory of what just happened to her friend. they knew they couldn’t do anything about it. they had give. every effort to stop the bleeding, that being all they could really do.

out of no where, a scream of pain came from y/n. “help me, somebody help me” she begged, looking into popes chocolate brown eyes with a plead. “i need help please” she sobbed. she caught a glimpse of her leg. the one she had used for surfing, running, swimming. everything she loved to do. it’s been with her forever. she was shocked and in an unbearable pain. 

“calm down, calm down, your ok, the medivac will be here any minute ok? you need to relax” he said, rubbing the top of her wet with seawater head in an effort to calm her down. 

“where’s john b? i need john b. i- i need him” she stuttered, looking around for him as she grabbed the top of her thigh, whining in pain. 

john b came running back, leaving sarah. “your ok, hunny im right here i walked away cause you were unconscious, ok, im right here” john b caressed her cheek with his thumb, wiping away her tears and blood

“i don’t think im gonna be ok…” she reached up to grab john bs face and smiled “can you make sure jj knows i love him… please” she sighed and looked back down. she loved jj. she had since forever. she didn’t want herself to die, and what she really thought about for the past seven years of her life to be unknown.

“you can tell him once your ok. your gonna be ok” john b said crying “your gonna be ok”

sarah and kiara were sobbing at the deck of the chateau, sitting in the chairs on the deck. sarah’s head was in her hands that were being held up by her elbows. kiara’s head was against the wood boarding of the chaout looking up to the sky in a plead.

the medivac swooped in to get y/n. she was conscious but had lost a lot of blood and her leg was bearly hanging on. the loaded her up and she said goodbye to the pogues with tears in her eyes. “it was nice being with you guys. i love you” 

once she was being lifted away, they all sat there in silence, all of them covered in her blood and were shocked and crying.

“come on, we have to meet her at the hospital” jj said getting off the beach to get the twinkie. he was covered in sand and blood, but john b didn’t mind 

“let’s go” john b squeezed sarah in a hug as they walked to the car, knowing there was a good chance she was dead by now.

jjs bloody hands drove them to the hospital which was 45 minutes away. 45 minutes of silence. 45 minutes of fear. 45 minutes of grieving someone who they didn’t know was even gone

he pulled into a parking spot and they all hopped out. 

they got to the front office. none of them wanted to ask where she was, not wanting to know if she was gone. they didn’t want to have to hear it here. no where really. but in a waiting room of a hospital is not ideal.

pope finally walked up to the desk and leaned on it. “umm… im here to see y/n routlegde…” he asked numbly as the rest stood behind him

the receptionist typed up her name as they watched her as they bit their nails. “it looks like they took her to the hospital in kitty hawk. they have better care for her situation there.”

“can we get the adress” jj asked sternly from behind pope 

“yup.” she passed them a pamphlet and smiled warmly. “good luck”

they walked back outside. their hands were dry of blood and had tear streaks down their eyes. 

after an hour of silence, sarah spoke up. “if they gave an adress she’s probably ok now, right?” she sniffled after her sentence, bringing the back of her hand to her nose

“i hope” john b said as he hopped into the back seat, rubbing sarah shoulders.

jj started driving and took a wrong turn. “FUCK” he scream slamming his hands down on the wheel. he started crying even though he tried not to. 

“jj…” kiara started

“don’t. quit being emotional and shit, she’s fine” he took a breath and sniffed his nose.

he pulled back out to go the right way. he was anxious to get there and was traumatized on what happened.

“where are you going?” kiara asked softly.

“chateau. she needs her stuff and we’re here now anyway”

sarah and kiara washed up and grabbed stuff that she might need at the hospital as the boys sat in the car.

“dude… what the fuck just happened… this morning was normal and now we’re here.” pope said and he threw his head into his hands and shook his head back and forth.

jj clenched his jaw and swallowed the lump in his throat. he honked on the horn for the girls to hurry. 

the trotted back to the twinkie with suitcases and pillows. they hopped in and put her stuff in the trunk. they didn’t even get the chance to buckle in before jj stepped on the gas.

the arrived at the hospital and walked in to the check in desk.

“we’re here to to see y/n routledge” kiara said as she leaned on the counter. 

the lady frowned at the screen.

“is she ok!?!” john b yelled as he cried.

“she’s in surgery. it’s gonna be a while before she’s out. you can get an account and we will send you a notification when you can see her.” the lady informed 

john b scanned the code and filled out the paper. “we can’t see her till tomorrow. this is bullshit” he said as he stormed out of the hospital.

“it’s ok, at least we know she’s alright” sarah drew circles on john bs back as they hugged.

“i just can’t believe it…” he said 

“i know, none of us can” she cried 

“well what do we do now” pope asked 

“my moms probably freaking out” kiara said while she leaned against the door of the twinkie. arms folded 

“same” pope said

“let’s just go back to the chateau and we’ll figure it out from there, yeah?” sarah said hopefully.

“i’m not driving” jj huffed as he plopped down in the back of the car

“i got it” john b said finally letting go of sarah 

they got back to see news people out on the beach in front of the chateau 

“no, they can’t be here” jj yelled. he walked outside with kiara and grabbed their boards and towels they had left on the beach earlier.

“do you know what happened?” the news lady asked. jj and kid ignored her and packed up to go inside.

“you know, this is really shitty of you guys. a 15 year old girl probably  died and your doing a news report for money. that’s embarrassing” he said sternly, not bothered enough to look up from what he was doing.

“it’s our job, kid” one of the camera men said, pointing the camera to him

“profiting off of death? that’s gross.” kiara said as jj grabbed y/n favorite board that was bitten and looked at the marks on it.

“you have quite the nerve to come on our property for this. get out” jj spoke, pointing away from the scene.

“this isn’t your property, it’s the beach.” the same guy spoke.

“your disgusting. all of you. disgusting. i hope your family’s happy with all the money your just brought in from a tragedy. i’m appalled. don’t think my lawyer won’t be hearing about this.”  kiara said as they walked away, flipping the people off.

“i hate people. she’s probably dead and they don’t even care. all they care about is themselves” jj cried to kiara as she hugged him

“she’s gonna be ok” kiara said as she cried also.

they got back inside and the pogues started clapping from the living room.

“what?” kiara asked 

“dude that’s all over the news what you just did. thanks for sticking up for my sister” john b hugged jj and kiara 

“the last thing she wants is for everyone to know. they didn’t even ask” jj cried again.

“it’s alright, buddy. they didn’t say her name or anything” john b patted jjs back.

“oh shit. my moms freaking out. i gotta go, see you guys tomorrow” kiara grabbed her stuff and left

“i gotta go call rose. she’s probably freaking out too” sarah said 

“can you stay tho?” john b pleaded

“yes i will. she’s going to be ok” sarah warmly smiled at him

“i should probably go, my moms scared im sure.” pope said sitting up from the couch. 

“pope?” john b asked

“yeah?” 

john b hugged him and cried “thank you… you saved her thank you” 

“hey,  what’s a pogue gotta do? we stick out for each other. you don’t need to thank me” he smiled

the boys were in a group hug

“see ya” jj waved to pope

sarah came back with her phone and flopped on the couch. 

they sat in silence until john b spoke up

“that was the worst day of my life. worse than when my dad went missing.” john bs head was full of flash backs, him fighting the shark, jj tying the leash, her saying she was gonna die, it was all flooding back to him in waves. he knew it was going t be engraved in his mind d for ever.

“you can say that again. i hope she’s ok” jj looked down at his still bloodied hands. “i’m gonna go shower. get this shitty day over with” 

john b was still in his trance. “tell jj i love him. tell jj i love him.” he got up and stormed to the kitchen, cracking open a beer. he chugged it down and caught his breath.

sarah sat and watched. she didn’t want to say anything. her boyfriend just had to watch his sister die on the beach and he couldn’t do anything.

she got up and sat with him. 

after jj got out of the shower, john b hopped in. he was silently crying, realizing there was no way in letting her know he loved her. he didn’t even say it when she saw him last.

he cleaned up and relaxed a little. they went to bed

meanwhile at the hospital 

“i don’t think we can save the leg. all the tissue and muscle is ripped to shreds. even if we could, all the nerve are destroyed.” one of the doctors spoke as he examined the leg.

“alright” they removed the destroyed leg up to her thigh. it was super risky, considering she had already lost a ton of blood and taking off the leg wouldn’t help. being under anesthesia that long isn’t good for her, and she would be droopy and drowsy for a while, just from the anesthesia. the blood loss is going to be a whole other challenge.

“poor girl” one of the female doctors sighed as they stitched up her thigh. “that’s crazy”

“yup. she’s going to need a lot of recovery time. i mean that’s nothing like we usually see. good work guys.” 

y/n was still on anesthesia. she kept having a dream of the shark getting john b and jj. she couldn’t not dream it. she had to wait until the surgery was over to not have to dream about it. it’s like she was drowning and as soon as she got close enough to the top of the water to breath, she was pulled down again. just like what happened earlier in the day.

they slowly let her off the meds to wake her up. she had no clue what was going on.

“who- who are you” she looked at the nurse with wide eyes and went to move to get up, realizing her leg wasn’t there. 

she screamed in terror, looking at her stitched up thigh that led to nothing. for some reason she could remember what happened. like some sort of sick dream.

“WHERES MY LEG” she yelled sitting up “WHERES JOHN B” she started crying and the nurse walked over to her

“your ok, hunny. you were attacked by a shark. do you remember any of it?” 

“oh…yea” she started sobbing again. “i- i need my brother please. i- i need to go home”

“im sorry, hunny, you can’t go home. not until we can get you blood and monitor you. i’m sorry. i’ll call your brother to come, ok?” 

y/n suddenly felt super tired. she layed her head back into the awful hospital pillows. how much she didn’t want to go to sleep was overweighed by how physically tired her body was. she crashed hard.

she felt people hooking her up to more machines and checking her heartbeat, but she didn’t care. she was too tired to care. everything was numb. she couldn’t feel the millions of shots being injected into her body to help with pain. 

when she woke up, there was john b, sitting in the hospital chair fiddling with his fingers, the pogues next to him. she fluttered her eyes back shut, not feeling enough energy to talk to them or talk about what happened. all she wanted was to sleep.

jj noticed her opening her eyes and rushed to her side, holding her hand. they hadn’t seen the nub that was left of her leg, and didn’t want to. it would just make the situation real.

“i’m here, y/n/n” jjs voice gave her the motivation to just open her eyes and smile at him. “you don’t have to say anything, just get some rest. we’re all here”

she smiled and shut her eyes again, feeling more at ease. they hoped she would be ready to talk in a few hours. 

she woke up a few hours later with excruciating pain shooting all the way down her left leg. even the part she didn’t have anymore.

she let out a yelp and squeezed her eyes shut in pain. “what’s wrong, y/n/n, talk to me” john b spoke 

(flashback in her head) “talk to me” 

“it hurts” she cried looking at him with glossed over eyes 

“i know, im sorry”

(flashback in her head) “i know, im sorry” 

“stop, stop get out” she cried to him, feeling sorry but she was traumatized. she didnt want to remember anything from the day before, and the only words john b had said to her were the ones when it happened.

“what?” he asked, looking at her with a raised eyebrow

“get out” she sobbed. she was in pain. something about the pogues, her older brothers friends, seeing you in the state she were in yesterday made her cringe and made her want to cry. all she could think was how embarrassing it must’ve been.

“are you sure?” john b asked

“no” she sniffled. she was undeceive. “just… just stop saying that shit, please” she begged

he didn’t know what she was talking about but he didn’t want to stress her out more.

“can you eat something, please?” pope asked, offering her a sandwich they got from the cafeteria.

she turned her head “i’m not hungry”

“you need to restore blood that you lost, you need to eat to have enough energy. please” pope begged, finding her eyes again. 

she held it up to her mouth to take a bite but couldn’t. she couldn’t eat. she didn’t know why, she just couldn’t.

“y/n, please eat. you need to” john b begged

“do you want something else?” sarah asked patting her right thigh.

y/n flinched at the touch. “n-no im not hungry” 

“we can do it the easy way or the hard way, y/n. you need to eat.” john b gets mad when he’s scared

“i- no” she started crying again. 

“it’s ok y/n” jj shot john b a glare as he hugged y/n. just by the hug in the hospital bed, he could tell that the leg was missing. it broke his heart, but he needed to stay strong”

“do you want to get better or not?” john b snapped at her 

she looked at him with wide eyes and her bottom lip quivered.

“john b!” sarah yelled at him, going to join the hug with y/n and jj”

“i- im sorry i- i don’t know what got into me but you need to eat. you can eat it yourself or get the tube. i don’t want to force you to do something but it’s the only way you’ll feel better. please y/n”

“fine… but i don’t want that” she pointed to the sand which in disgust.

“i’ll be back” john b grabbed the keys to the twinkie to go get her her favorite soup from panera. 

“how are you feeling, can i get you anything?” pope offered while he sat in the squishy blue chair in the hospital room.

“it hurts. my leg hurts even though it’s not there, it hurts” she explained looking down numbly

“i read about that once. it’s called phantom pain” pope informed

“shut up” jj said slowly as he turned his head to look over to pope. he still had his hand on hers, head still resting on her right thigh. 

“sorry” 

“it’s ok… where did john b go?” tears started to well in her eyes

“im not sure.” sarah said looking to the parking lot from the hospital window.

“where’s kie?” she sniffled 

“her mom went on a big rant, she wasn’t aloud to come” jj explained

“about what”

“n-nothing” he shook his head. he didn’t want to talk to you about how her mom was scared and didn’t want it to be kie.

around 15 minutes later, john b came back with a soup, just how she liked it. 

he face grew a smile and she sat up, letting go of jjs hand. “thank you john b!” she clapped her hands as her brother moved the bedside table to over her lap. 

she ate her soup in happiness until a doctor came in.

“hello, i’m doctor smith” the blonde lady explained. “i’m just here to check on your stitches and give you your pain meds, is that ok?” she asked y/n

for some reason, y/n had it all planned out in her head that the pogues would never see the stub that was left of her leg. she looked at the group in an indecisive way.

“uh- we can leave if you want?” pope said in a questioning voice

“it’s…it’s ok… you can stay” the doctor pulled down the rack abt the opposite side of the bed and gently pulled the sheets off her leg.

sarah gasped but quickly shoved her hand over her face. john b turned around to take a breath. pope watched with a puzzeled look on his face. jj looked numb and y/n was just sitting there, watching the reactions.

she looked to the side as tears welled back up in her eyes. her emotions were high. the moment was cut off by the doctor

“it looks like it’s healing well, it will take a few months for it to recover but it’s on the right track” she smiled to y/n and put the covers back over it.

the got the shot ready. she injected it into her arm without a warning, causing y/n to jump at the feeling.

“i’m sorry… it looks like it didn’t go in all the way, i have to redo it, im so sorry, i should’ve given a warning” 

y/n was just hit by a bunch of shark teeth, she wasn’t expecting herself to flinch over a measly shot. 

“its ok” the doctor counted off and put a new one in her arm. even though everyone was in the room, she felt like she was by herself. 

they stayed in the hospital for 3 more weeks, y/n was sick of it. the constant check ups, the shots, the not being able to turn on the tv without jj and kiara outbreak, the smell of cleaning supplies, the not being able to really do what she wanted, all of it. all she wanted was to go home.

“we can order you a prosthetic leg. your insurance will cover it, and it will help you get around” the doctor told her 

she shrugged her shoulders and said ok. they fitted her for it.

“it won’t be here for around another month” 

they got home, y/n waddling in on her one leg. she looked around before flopping on the couch. she looked out to the scene of the accident and her face frowned. she wasn’t expecting to feel this emotional about just the spot.

jj noticed and went to hold her. they snuggled up together on the couch, him giving her a kiss on the top of her head.

“what was that for” she smiled, looking up to him.

“i love you, y/n, i love you. i heard you that day, i know what you said to john b and i love you too” 

her smile grew and she layed her head back into his chest, trying to hide the pink flush in her cheeks. he lifted her head back up and kissed her. 

“what do you guys want for di-“ john b stopped himself when he saw you two kissing. he turned around slowly and walked back outside.

they smiled as their foreheads touched, giving them both butterflies.

“i’m sorry you had to see all of that on the beach i-“ 

“you don’t have to be sorry… it’s not your fault that damn fish with teeth got you.”

she smiled at his antics, placing her forehead on his chest.

“it was scary. i was scared. probably more than you” he admitted 

“i doubt it” she booped his nose and fell asleep on his chest.

the next few months consisted of pt and lots of encouragement. as soon as she could go back out into the waves, she was ready. all she needed to think when she was scared was the wise words of her boyfriend, jj maybank  “the chances of getting bit once is 1 in a million. twice is just impossible” 

she slowly climbed her way back to being herself. the relief of taking off your shoes after a long day was replaced by taking off her leg. they all still loved her, even if she was a peg leg.

jj started calling her a peg leg once she was ready for jokes. she thought it was hilarious and laughed everytime. 

she was going to be ok 😊

[australet789]

TLK: Mothers and Fathers

"You are pregnant?!" Kion exclaimed, scaring a few zebras that were eating nearby.

Kiara left a soft chuckle. "Wow, not even Kovu reacted THAT badly".

"When? How?" Kion still couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Kiara raised an eyebrow. "Do you REALLY want me to answer those questions?"

Since Kion didn't reply back, she continued. "Yes, Rafiki confirmed it to us after the coronation ceremony. We still don't want to tell the Pride yet because Kovu and I are still nervous about this. But I wanted you to know first, since you are my brother."

Said brother was still utterly silent. Kiara started to get worried.

"Kion? Lil' bro? Are you ok?"

Still no answer.

"Kion!" Kiara roared, and that seemed to get the red mane lion out of his stupor.

"W-wha-"

"What's gotten into you? Do you think I'm going to be a bad mother or something?"

"No, Kiara, wait-"

"That I'm not brave, or smart or strong enough to get through this? Because let me tell you, I'm not here for you to doubt my skills as a mother even though I'm super scared and I don't know how to not be like Dad or-"

"When did we get so old?"

That stopped Kiara's rambling.

"Excuse me?"

"When..." Kion licked his muzzle, "when did we stop being cubs. You... you are going to be a mother. You are Queen now, you have a duty and you are fullfiling it!"

"Kion..."

"Meanwhile, Rani and I are still playing around! The Night Pride is getting older and we...I am not doing anything as a King to help with the matter. I'm just patrolling and sleeping and fighting tresspasers because I don't know what else to do!"

"You want to have cubs for duty?"

"YES! NO!" Kion was shaking and he started to rub his scar. "That's what Kings should do, right? That's what I'm supposed to do, right? Continue The Circle of Life, give The Tree a heir... even...even if..."

Tears dropped out of the lion's eyes, the shakes getting harder. Kiara reached and hugged her brother and he nuzzled into her golden fur. 

For a moment, the savannah was filled with a lion's silent cry.

"I don't even know if Rani wants to have cubs with me..."

Kiara sighed and hugged Kion even harder. "Have you talked to her?"

"How do you even start a talk like that?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, you just... try. Or else you are just going to keep walking around the theme and it's not going to be good not for you nor Rani." Kion sucked in a breath. "But this is a conversation you need to have when you are ready and not because your older sister is doing it, ok? My decisions are not your decisions. You are your own lion, Kion. And the path you take is up to you, nor because of a stupid rule about 'filling your duty'. Do you understand?"

He nodded.

"I don't heaaaaaar youuuuuuuuu".

"Fine, fine!" Kion chuckled. "Yes, Queen Kiara!" 

 "Shut up, you rhinohead".

The silence this time was a welcomed one.

"Kiara?"

"Yes?"

"You do know you are very brave and smart, right? You are the best Queen The Pridelands could ever have."

The lioness smiled fondly.

"Thank you.".

"That's what siblings are for, sis."

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

Continuation of this

Also the title of this piece is based in this song, i suggest it to listen to it while reading this

[gh0stsp1d3r]

Hunger games au

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[j2h5b5]

Testing the Limits

Summary: JJ Maybank’s little sister is doing some experimenting.

***

Oh. Oh shit.

That was Milly Maybank’s first thought upon waking.

And it wasn’t just because her head felt like a balloon filled with blood, stretched fit to burst and throbbing along with the beat of her heart.

Or because her mouth seemed to be filled with cotton, and tasted like something had rotted inside there.

Or because her stomach was roiling like the HMS Pogue in a high wind and she was pretty sure she was about to vomit all over these clean white sheets.

These clean white sheets on her hospital bed.

Yep, that’s why she woke up mentally cussing.

Because she didn’t have much memory of last night, but what flashed through her mind wasn’t good at all, and whatever had happened to land her here had to have been literally catastrophic. They couldn’t fucking afford a hospital.

There was a needle in her arm with a clear tube leading up to a bag on a pole like you see on TV, and a beeping monitor that was presumably alerting everyone in the room to the fact that she was alive?

Everyone. That would be … Without moving her head (both because to do so would risk popping the balloon that was keeping her liquefied brain in place and also because she was afraid to draw attention), Milly took mental stock. Pope, Kiara, Sarah, John B. And, of course, JJ.

Her brother was perched in a very uncomfortable-looking plastic chair at her bedside, his blond head resting on his arms, which were resting on the edge of the mattress. His eyes were closed and she bit her lip as a flashback of the night before fluttered vaguely at the back of her mind.

What did you take? Milly, answer me, what did you take?

JJ, she’s not hearing you, she needs a hospital.

I know, FUCK, I KNOW, let’s go. Move, just fucking move, I’ve got her. Come here, baby sister. Come on, Jay’s got you.

The world tilting on its axis as strong arms lifted her like she weighed nothing at all.

A bumpy ride, tires spinning gravel and mud, panicked fussing and bickering that made no sense, then bright lights, violent and harsh.

Then nothing.

Then this.

That was it for the details of the AFTER. From the BEFORE, she remembered more than she wanted to. The fight with her brother, hurling sharp words at all his soft spots. Blind anger making her cruel. Running off into the night. Running toward the very thing JJ was trying to keep her from in the first place. Triumphant at winning the battle.

She’d stayed gone for two days. Ignoring texts and calls from all of them and successfully staying off the radar until she got too brave and went to grab a late lunch at The Wreck. Sitting at a deck table off in the far corner with her back to the late-afternoon stragglers. She had almost finished wolfing down her burger when an open palm smacked the back of her head hard and a much-loved voice with an icy sharp edge commanded: “Hey brat. Call your damn brother.”

Looking up at Kie, Milly saw the older girl’s annoyance and responded with an admittedly childish “No.”

“He’s worried about you.”

“He’s a dick.”

“Yeah? He’s JJ. That’s not the point. You owe him better than this.”

And Milly knew she was right, which was why she doubled down. “I don’t want to talk to him yet. I’ll call him when I’m ready, and when he’s done treating me like a stupid kid.”

“Stop acting like one.”

Milly pushed her chair back and stood up from the table, making to leave. Kiara set down the tray she was carrying and reached for Milly. “Wait, wait. Where are you staying? At least tell me that. Are you being careful?”

Dodging Kie’s grasping hand, Milly shot her a look of honest apology—really, this whole thing had gotten out of hand but she didn’t know how to fix it now. “I’m fine. Tell him I’m fine.”

And she left fast, because Kiara was a good runner and Milly wasn’t positive she wouldn’t be chased all the way back to where her new friends were waiting.

And now.

When she finally tore her eyes away from the head of floppy blond hair next to her, she realized the others—all of them—were watching her.

Time to face the music.

***

TBC?

[yourmomxx]

[prom date]

jj maybank x male!reader

words: 0,6k

Didn't they tell us, don′t rush into things?

Didn't you flash your green eyes at me?

Didn′t you calm my fears with a Cheshire cat smile?

—

Purple-blue and pink light swept across the hall. Huge snowflakes and strips of silver tinsel hung from the ceiling, giving no indication that the dance floor was a converted gym.

You had smiled as you had entered the room. JJ had only felt nervousness when he had squeezed your hand.

The initial confidence he had felt when you had picked him up from his home in your car had quickly evaporated.

You only had to glance at JJ as he approached you in the black suit he was wearing, to add to your enthusiasm for the evening. The two of you stood close together, amidst other dancing couples and you could smell JJ’s perfume.

JJ's hands were on your shoulders and yours were placed on JJ’s hips. JJ was nervous. Was that right? Was that how you dance with a boy? Was this comfortable for you, or should he take a step further away from you?

You only had eyes for JJ. As you swayed to the slow song, your gaze rested on the blonde hair, styled in soft waves today. They looked so soft and you had to resist running his fingers through them all evening. JJ’s eyes looked different in the dim light depending on the color of the headlight hitting them—pink, purple, dark blue. But you didn't need headlights to know that his eyes were that piercing light blue you loved so much, that only reflected in the waves beneath your surfboard. Maybe that's why you’d been so smitten with them from the start.

JJ’s eyes darted nervously over the people standing around you. Other couples swaying to the song, entwined tightly, but none of them were like... you two.

Today JJ had decided to wear a formal suit. You thought he was pretty anyway. You found that JJ had different auras depending on the choice of clothing that he wore. JJ with the tank tops and cargo shorts was a sort of reckless boy from the poor part of the island, who'd found his best friends in teacher's favorite Pope Heyward, climate activist Kiara Carrera and surfer John Booker Routledge. JJ with the black suit and a tie represented the crush of all girls, the heartthrob, the flirt. But as you looked at the blond boy in front of you, hands on his hips and pink-purple-blue light all around you both, all you could see was JJ, your JJ.

JJ felt the nervousness growing in him and instinctively turned his head forward again, where he was immediately caught by your gaze. His boyfriend’s warm eyes looked down at him, and while the lighting around them didn't give him a good view, JJ knew what color they were. Y/E/C like the lush spring days he knew from his childhood. Maybe that's why he always felt so safe in them. JJ noticed his heartbeat slow down and his doubts recede as he looked into your eyes, because wasn’t everything around him meaningless when Y/N Y/L/N was standing in front of him, his Y/N?

"They're staring," JJ whispered hoarsely. You almost didn't hear him. JJ felt you look around, becoming aware of the fixed eyes that were only on you two. But you just shrugged, a faint smile playing on your lips, and JJ wondered how one person could be so brave.

"Yes, because I’m dancing with you. They're jealous.” JJ’s eyes widened at your statement.

"Jealous?" he repeated, dumbfounded.

You nodded. And with a slight smile in your purple eyes, you leaned down to him and whispered, "I know that I would be."

JJ could feel your breath on his skin. Then you bridged the gap between him and you and placed your soft lips on JJ’s in a slow, promising kiss. And the pleasantly warm feeling that spread through the pit of his stomach when he was touched was always worth the staring looks.

—

We found Wonderland

You and I got lost in it

And we pretended it could last forever

- Wonderland by Taylor Swift

[a-dauntless-daffodil]

not me thinking about Mufasa's spirit playing with cub Kiara in the opening of lion king 2, her playful swatting at his breeze the first clue of her fire, her fun, who she is as Kiara before she was ever told she'd someday be queen

not me thinking about Mufasa watching helplessly as his son stifles Kiara, worriedly insists she walks in his paw prints- literally and figuratively- no exploring or adventure, no forgetting her future duties.

Mufasa, who pulled his young son in and dropped his own smaller duties as king to play pouncing with young Simba

now seeing Simba stop Kiara's playful pouncing with a restraining paw over and over again- The pain and fear that Mufasa's death scarred Simba with, now hurting Mufasa's granddaughter too.

(but not forever. not if Mufasa can help it)

Simba's shame and guilt at his dismissal of what it really means to be king, pressed onto his cub, his heir, his responsibility, weighing Kiara down even when she's still so young, isolating her not just from Simba but from herself- Kiara watching a baby bird try to fly and get chased back to the nest, her heartbroken face, her GLEE when the little bird is flying on it's own later...

and her helpless, bittersweet happiness as it flies away, doing what she can't do- not because anyone is physically stopping her but because she's been taught to stop herself.

Mufasa, watching Kiara get to be herself for the first time as she makes a new friend, as they save each other, as she is BRAVE in the face of danger, STRONG and SMART enough to make sure both she and Kovu escape it, and... proud of herself, finally. For doing something as herself.

Kiara so happy to finally play with a friend, before other old pains interrupt and separate them

and this is when Mufasa reaches out to Rafiki with a plan. A plan to heal the break in the pride lands, yes, but also- a plan to give his granddaughter some HAPPINESS. A way for her to have more in her life than just being queen

(or even... to not be queen)

Kiara gets a choice. Her grandfather makes sure she does, and that she knows it's hers to make

In helping nudge her and Kovu together, Mufasa leads them to the moment- after Simba refuses to listen to his daughter again, running from old shame and blindly chasing his father's legacy- as the stars watch over Kiara running from Pride Rock, finding Kovu, the two of them laughing as they chase each other through the ashes of past destruction-

(the simple joy of enjoying life together, Kiara's gift to Kovu, another cub who didn't really get to be one and has to learn who he even is now, all this time later- just she does)

there is no sign given to Kiara. No reminder to go home

no request from Mufasa that she heal the wounds Simba and Zira keep choosing to rip open

she could go. She could go, like Kovu says, leave and start a life with someone who she's happy with as herself, who loves her FOR herself, without needing her to be queen-

finally, for the first time in her life, she could be free. The joy that should have been hers as a cub, gifted now, under the silently watching stars

(she is Mufasa's grandchild without being anything else)

she chooses to see others in her own reflection. she chooses to go back- laughs softly at the idea of leaving-

(Simba passed Mufasa's words down to her, the part of Simba's father that Scar couldn't kill, that Simba wouldn't let die, the understanding that grandfather and granddaughter share without ever having met- that makes them the great king that he was, and the great queen she already is proving herself to be)

but that WAS her choice to make

to be queen. to go back. to again try making Simba listen

and....

to reach out a paw to Zira after Zira tried murdering her father again right in front her- after Kiara leaped in the way- a queen is brave and strong when she needs to be

but a king or queen must be more than that

Mufasa, looking up at his brother (who's resentment he knows well) begging for and trusting Scar would reach down and save him-

Mufasa's granddaughter, looking down at Zira (who's hate she has felt so personally) and reaching down desperately, begging Zira to let Kiara save her-

a circle completed. an old hurt, finally healing

(for those that choose it. Scar and Zira with claws out, losing themselves as they cut themselves off from those around them)

Mufasa couldn't be there when Kiara was a cub, to laugh as she pounced at butterflies and forget everything for a game of chase. He would have loved to see Kiara the silly, the playful, his granddaughter before anything else- like he did with his son

His not being there is what kept Simba from being able to be there for her either, what caused Simba to hurt his own cub without even knowing it, lectures in place of jokes and worry that cut between them like a gorge neither could cross alone

but Simba listens to Kiara in the end. when she reaches out to him, again, finally he reaches back

Simba ends up on Pride Rock with his daughter, with the lion she loves welcomed into their family, along with all those Simba once banished. two generations side by side

and Kiara is finally happy to be there

that is when Mufasa tells Simba he has done well. As a king? As a father

it wasn't just the pride lands that needed healing

Kiara is happy now

[surftrips]

TATTOOS TOGETHER

OBX WRITING WEEK DAY 5 — HOW YOU GET THE GIRL W/ KIARA CARRERA

word count: 900

summary: the pogues get matching tattoos, but y/n takes it a step further to show her love for a certain turtle-loving girl.

a/n: i feel absolutely awful for posting the last few stories for obx week late but i appreciate every single person who has participated in it by writing, reblogging, and reading along :') <3

“Let’s get matching tattoos!” JJ blurted out. 

“Are you crazy?” John B. asked his best friend.

You and the Pogues were all on the boardwalk, spending another hot summer day just wandering around.

“Come on! Something to remember this moment by.” JJ explained. 

“I don’t know…” you started.

“Wait, I actually think that’s kind of a cute idea. I mean, you only live once right?” Kiara interrupted. Not that you minded. You could never be annoyed at her. 

“Wait, are you serious?” Sarah said. 

“Yes, dude. Pogues for life, right?” 

“Yeah! Right…” you said, hoping no one noticed how quickly you changed your mind. 

But because you and the Pogues had all been friends for so long, they had found out about your “secret” crush a very long time ago. 

You had been falling for Kiara ever since you met her in elementary school. Her wavy brown hair and golden highlights, the way she cared about the environment, her sense of humor. Something about her pulled you in, you always felt the need to be in her presence. To be seen by her. You wondered how it felt to be loved by her. 

A few years ago, you were admiring Kiara as she did tarot card readings for your friends when JJ came up to you. He whispered in your ear, “Pretty, huh?” snapping you out of your thoughts. 

“Yeah— wait what?” 

“You like her, right?” 

“Uhh, no. Not like that,” you said, unconvincingly. 

“So you just look at everyone like that?”

You relented, “Ugh. Fine. Maybe I do have a tiny, tiny crush on her. But it doesn’t matter, she would never like me back.” 

Your “tiny, tiny crush” on Kiara never went away. Soon, the other Pogues began to find out (mostly because JJ couldn’t keep his mouth shut) and you were growing scared that Kiara would be next. But to your knowledge, no one had told her. Yet. 

However, this matching tattoo thing was your chance to make it known. For a while now, you have been complimenting Kiara’s tattoos. The 11:11 on her wrist, the star on her anklet, and your favorite, the sun on the inside of her arm. Once, you joked about getting the moon to match with her, but she insisted that you actually do it. 

After more convincing from JJ, Kiara, Cleo and you against Sarah, John B., and Pope, the seven of you walked into the one and only tattoo parlor on your side of the island. 

Kiara and JJ were the only ones out of the group that already had tattoos, so it was safe to say the rest of you were just a tad nervous. You were braving it for the sake of not embarrassing yourself in front of who you thought was the coolest girl in the world. 

You had all decided to get “P4L” in tiny font in various places. Kiara on her wrist, JJ on his arm, Pope somewhere “hidden” according to him, Cleo and Sarah on their back shoulders, and John B. on his thigh. You just happened to be getting yours in the same spot as Kiara. 

After everyone took turns in the chair and expressed varying levels of uncomfortability, it was finally your turn. You had made up your mind. 

“Guys, I’m actually going to get two,” you announced.

“Y/N, are you sure? It’s your first time!” Sarah asked, concerned.

“I’ve been wanting this second one for a while so might as well get it out of the way,” you shrugged. 

“What are you going to get?” Kiara asked.

“I think you know.” 

“Wait. Are you serious?” 

Pope jumped in, “What is she talking about?” 

As the Pogues waited impatiently for the artist to stencil in your design, Kiara realized what you were doing. 

“Y/N. No. Freaking. Way.” 

“Yes. Way. It’s not too late for you to take back what you said, though.”

“Are you kidding me? This is incredible!” she squealed. “I can’t believe we’re going to have matching tattoos!” 

“Woah, woah, you guys are going to be matching? You’re more in love than I thought,” JJ said. 

His comment was punctuated by a thick silence in the air. 

“What? Was I not supposed to say that?” 

It was true. You being in love with Kiara was like a blind item in the group. Everyone knew, no one was sure if Kiara really knew, so no one brought it up. You were content with being her best friend on most days, and you only didn’t make a move in fear of losing the most important friendship you had. But if there was even the slightest chance she might feel the same way…

“Y/N?” Kiara broke the silence, looking at you. 

“Yeah?” you said, sheepishly. 

“Is that true? You have feelings for me?” 

Fuck it. You were already halfway through getting a permanent matching tattoo with her, you had nothing to lose. 

“Yes, but I don’t just have feelings for you. Feelings are fleeting. I’m in love with you,” you paused. “And it’s okay if you don’t feel the same way. I’m still getting this tattoo, for our friendship. Because I want to have that forever with you.” 

“Shut up,” Kiara stopped you, placing her hand on your cheek and pulling you in for a kiss. 

“Finally!” Everyone cheered, including the tattoo artist, who just seemed happy to be there.

[bruciemilf]

consider: Jaime and Jason knew each other when Jason was still Robin cause Blue occasionally worked alongside Batman(like in brave and the bold)

I say this only as an excuse to have a Simba/Nala type reunion when Red Hood and Blue meet again :3

Okay but Kovu and Kiara dynamic,,,

[liyahsocorro]

nothing too loose,right? | [P.1]

warning: hinted daddy issues , idk , trauma? mabye but that’s more oncoming idrk this is my first time writing lol😭

“nothing too loose, right?” you reassured yourself.

“nothing too loose, babygirl” he promises you. As you close your eyes holding on the the locket around your neck. bringing some what comfort

————

“daddy! , look what i caught , look at what me and JJ found !”you screamed as you ran around looking for your dad. “hey baby what did you find?” finding himself interested in whatever you caught “look!” you say showing him the rusty key you and JJ had found on the shore. “Wow kiddo , ain’t that an artefact , atta girl! my little brave warrior” he says as he slowly ruffs his hand through your hair. you giggle at his action with a beaming smile. “I’m going back to J now, bye daddy” you go on your tip toes leaning on the arm rest of his wheel chair planting a small kiss on his lips before running off as you scream “Love you !” as he chuckles too himself before whispering too himself “i love you too , babygirl”.

what went wrong?.

it was all so perfect.

was it me?

did i drive him away?

“Holy shit.” you say feeling numb from being asleep for 6 years guess they really weren’t lying about the side effects.

slowling opening your cryo capsule feeling nauseous and dizzy you push yourself out letting yourself float in the air.

“Y/N!!” kiara squeals wrapping her arms around your neck sending you back a-bit in the air. “Kie” you slowly chuckle too yourself “missed you too girl” slowly looking back seeing she hasn’t aged a bit over the 6 years. As you two look for your lockers you hear the voice you missed the most

“Y/N?”

A/N: BROO THIS IS IT BUT ITS NOT THE BEST I TRIED I PROMISE ITLL GET BETTER AS IT GOES ON BUT YEAHH HERE IT IS !!!

[australet789]

TLK: Dollhouse

"You can't go play, AGAIN?"

"I'm sorry, Kion. I wish you could join me-"

"Yeah, you wish!" Zuri interrupted. "Kiara and Uncle Simba are meeting the Hippo herd!"

"I already know a hippo. I could come and-"

"But this hippo is different, right Kiara? It's special!" Tiifu asked the golden lioness with excitement in her eyes.

Kiara didn't know what to say. She wasn't sure why that meeting was so interesting. It wasn't as special as when she met Kovu either way...

"Oh, I get it now. Daddy is making friends for my sister, isn't it?"

... what?

A smirk grew on Kion's muzzle. "Of course. Daddy has seen how I do have friends from the other herds while Kiara hasn't. And since she is the Princess, she needs to be 'friends' with the kingdom or else she will be a bad Queen!"

Friends. She didnt have any friends... except for...

"SHUT UP, KION!"

"Yeah, Kiara doesn't need help making friends, look at us!"

"You are family, you don't count."

...and her dad had forbidden her to meet the only friend she actually made...

"Look at her: she isn't smart like Rafiki and everyone loves him! Nor brave nor strong like mom and dad! She needs help!"

...were she and Kovu actually friends?

"STOP BEING A MEANY!" Tiifu hissed.

"LEAVE US ALONE!" Zuri yelled, unsheating her claws.

Kion just turned his back against the other cubs. "Yeah, yeah, I'm going to leave  and play with my no-special FRIENDS! Good luck with the meeting, Princess Kiara!"

Kiara left a shaky breath. Her brother was right.

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

Ever wondered what that line of "Love Will Find a Way" in which Kiara says that she isnt brave, nor strong nor smart actually meant. Who told her that. I never thought it was Simba because it would have been super cruel.

But about someone as close like a sibling?

[apurekindness]

Rate Your Muse's Traits from 0-10! Tagged by @myriadxofxmuses (thank you!) Tagging: @iomamuise (for Mary), @louisevictcria , @beautiful-mischief (for Mal!) @blumengeist ,@honorhearted, @tophatz (for Mordred) and anyone else who wants to!

★  ⸻   COMPASSION: 9/10 Kiara is hugely compassionate - she'll always show care and concern for others, regardless of whether they are deserving of it.

★  ⸻   BITTERNESS: 5/10 She is not really a very bitter person, but she has suffered at the hands of others and sometimes her resentment springs forth.

★  ⸻   HAPPINESS: 7/10 She tries to make the best out of her situations, and she generally is a happy, light-hearted individual, but there is pain lingering under the surface.

★  ⸻   POLITENESS: 9/10 She thinks manners are very important - she's also unlikely to swear, or deliberately insult others.

★  ⸻   CHIVALRY: 5/10 Although she is more than happy to help others in times of need, she's usually too scared to be particularly chivalrous.

★  ⸻   PRIDE: 6/10 She takes pride in her achievements, but she doesn't have an overly high opinion of herself. She struggles with accepting her powers.

★  ⸻   HONESTY: 5/10 Having such a significant secret, she's not often truly honest with people - she doesn't directly lie (she's pretty useless at that!) but she has grown accustomed to hiding her true self.

★  ⸻   BRAVERY: 7/10 She doesn't consider herself to be brave, but she will happily risk her safety if she can help / heal another.

★  ⸻   RECKLESSNESS: 7/10 As above, she will put herself in danger if she believes she can help another and this often her behaviour does end up being reckless.

★  ⸻   AMBITION: 5/10 She has always desperately wanted to be a doctor, but once she's obtained this position she has no desire to climb higher up the managerial ranks.

★  ⸻   LOYALTY: 8/10 When she is loyal to someone, she will stick by their side regardless.

★  ⸻   LOVE: 9/10 Kiara loves deeply, fiercely and easily - be that platonic, familial or romantic love.

★  ⸻   SENSE OF FAMILY: 8/10 Family and her Druid heritage are very important to her, although most of her family are now deceased.

★  ⸻   ATTRACTIVENESS: 8/10

★  ⸻   AGILITY: 6/10 She has agile fingers for stitching wounds and tying bandages, but her gross motor skills are average.

★  ⸻   SEX DRIVE: 4/10 Unless she's in a relationship, where she will eagerly make love with her partner, sex is definitely not a priority for her and it's not something she thinks about often.

[collecting-stories]

Guts ch. 2 - Bad Idea Right?

setting: spring break (flashback)

summary: Sarah begged and Kiara relented, heading home for spring break and the opportunity to see JJ for the first time since leaving for college. Unsure if that door is even still open, Kiara’s not positive she wants it to be. To make matters worse, she can't get Rafe off her mind.

A/N: Parts of this I’m keeping canon or canon-backstory that applies to this fic are 1). All of season one 2). the beginning of season two up until John B and Sarah return to the island. Let’s assume: JB and Sarah were successful in stealing the gold from Ward, JB made a claim for it like he said he was going to do but instead of splitting the whole lot, most of it was donated back to the island while they kept a small portion for themselves (and JJ gave his portion to Pope so that he could go to college cause the scholarship still fell through). Oh and Rafe didn’t murder anyone…for the sake of him not being a psychopath in this fic.

<- All-American B*tch | Guts Masterlist | Vampire ->

banner by @saradika

It wasn't that they didn't talk at all, it was just that their conversations had dwindled into that awkward phase where they both felt obligated to talk but they didn't really know what to talk about. Kiara had a wealth of stories about school, her dorm mate, parties, clubs, but none of it involved anyone that she knew from home (excluding Rafe, and she definitely couldn't tell JJ about Rafe). All her stories were unrelatable, just reminders that she was hundreds of miles away from OBX. JJ felt like he was talking to a stranger sometimes, a stranger that didn't understand him anymore. 

"It's like there's a translation barrier," Kiara had admitted to Sarah when she called the week before spring break. 

"That's why you need to come back for break." 

Sarah had been on Kiara about spring break since Christmas passed without a reunion. At least, not a reunion that included Kiara. 

"As you said," she juggled the phone between her shoulder and her cheek as she shifted her books into her right arm to open her door. Tuesdays were her worst day, she had two classes in the morning, honor society during Q-time, and labs in the afternoon. She'd answered the phone because she always answered the phone when Sarah called, but she was annoyed too because she hadn't answered to be assaulted with 'come home for spring break' rhetoric. 

Kiara didn't have exact numbers but she was pretty sure (like 99.9% sure) that every college student on the east coast that didn't want to brave Florida came to the Outer Banks for spring break. At least that was always how it felt. The beaches, The Wreck, the promenade, every inch of Kitty Hawk was overflowing with college students and Kiara had always sworn that when she went to college she wasn't going to go home for spring break. She was prepared to say as much to Sarah.

Except when she went to turn the handle on the door she realized she had locked it, which means it had been unlocked. Her dorm mate had class right now and the boyfriend was no longer in the picture. 

"Hold on Sarah," 

"What's the matter?" Sarah only sounded mildly concerned, figuring it wasn't anything actually serious. She knew Kiara's schedule as well as she knew her own and knew she had reached her dorm by now. 

Kiara unlocked the door this time and pushed it open, stopping herself in the threshold when she recognized the intruder, sitting on her bed. 

"Sup Kie," Rafe was lounging on her bed on his back, arm behind his head, reading one of the books that had been on her nightstand. 

"Is someone there?" Sarah perked up at the muffled sound of a guy's voice in the background of the call. Kiara had just spent the fifteen minute walk from class to her dorm building talking about the last conversation she had with JJ and not knowing where they stood with each other. 

"I'll call you back Sarah," Kiara gave a pointed emphasis on Sarah's name, looking over at Rafe as she spoke. Before Sarah could say anything else in response, Kiara was hanging up the phone. "What are you doing here?"

"I felt like hanging out," he shrugged, "Ra...Ro...something, let me in."

"Rosetta," Kiara supplied, thinking she was going to have a serious conversation with her roommate about who to let into a dorm unchecked. Not that she was particularly upset about seeing Rafe, more so that Sarah had been on the phone and if she had recognized her older brother's voice, Kiara would have a very uncomfortable conversation ahead of her. "And she shouldn't have."

Rafe put the book down and sat up, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, "what's got you in shitty mood today?"

Kiara deflated, tossing her bag on her office chair and putting her books on her desk, "nothing's wrong. I just...your sister wants us to do spring break?"

"You and me?"

"No," Kiara sat down on the bed with him, "me and the pogues...since we didn't get together over Christmas."

"We got together over Christmas," Rafe replied, grin in place. 

Getting together was one way to put it. Rafe had been explicit in telling his father that he didn't want anything to do with a family Christmas and Ward was surprisingly alright with that, given that Rose didn't particularly want to see Rafe either. As a compromise, Ward had given Rafe all-access to their home in Aspen and Rafe, not wanting to be totally alone for Christmas, invited Kiara. Just the two of them, a chateau on the mountains, and almost an entire month away from their families. It'd been good, great even, to hide away from expectations and parents and everything but then she'd come back to reality, just like she knew she would, and she was trapped all over again. 

By Sarah, mostly, who wouldn't let Spring Break die though thankfully she'd given up asking Kiara where exactly she was at Christmas. "Not like that," Kiara laughed. "Anyway, I guess I might go back."

She'd been feeling her resolve dwindling lately whenever Sarah brought the topic up and she was afraid to admit but she really did miss everyone. Even JJ, hopeful that this inability to communicate was just a weird patch in their friendship (situationship) and it could be resolved over the course of seven days and sun and surfing. Like all their problems when they were kids, it could be superficial and fixable and nothing that happened between her and Rafe would leave a permanent stain on her relationship with JJ. 

"Guess you might?" Rafe laughed, "oof, tell me how you really feel." 

"Like you care."

"Hey," Rafe leaned back against the wall, "I am extremely caring." 

"Extremely caring? Since when and to who?" Kiara asked, "and don't tell me about the time you covered for Wheezie last summer when Ward found weed in her room because I've heard that story twice already, plus once from Sarah, and I'm still convinced that it actually was your weed." 

"I never said it wasn't originally mine, I said Wheezie was stashing it for her friends," Rafe replied. "And I wasn't going to mention Wheezie anyway."

"What frat bro did you tuck in after he puked his guts out?" 

Rafe pulled a disgusted face, "gross, none of them. They're all shit heads."

"You pledged to a fraternity of shitheads? Sounds about right."

"Damn Kie, Sarah must have really wedged a stick up your ass over this whole Spring Break thing," he laughed, not in the least offended by her attitude. If living in proximity to each other on Figure Eight, spending unending hours with her over the course of her and Sarah's first attempt at friendship and getting treated like a leper for the second hadn't prepared him for Kiara's snarky attitude, then the last few months certainly had. 

While it wasn't entirely intentional on Kiara's end, talking to Sarah (especially about OBX or the pogues) set her off. She loved Sarah (and the pogues and the Outer Banks) but she hated that constant guilt that ate at her whenever Sarah mentioned going home for the weekend or talking to John B. Pope went away to college, he was further north that Kiara and she had to wonder if he ever felt this gnawing guilt. She didn't talk to him or anyone about it, Sara would just say she was missing home and she should transfer to UNC Chapel Hill: problem solved. But that wasn't it, she wasn't missing home. 

"Sorry," she apologized, attitude deflating as she leaned back against the wall next to Rafe, "your sister just gets under my skin with all this 'we miss you' stuff constantly. I feel guilty enough as it is and then she piles it on talking about how they were all surfing over the weekend or they took the HMS out to fish or they went to the waterpark and like...Pope is away! Pope is in college too! No one ever bitches to him I bet, they don't call him up and try to make him feel shitty for wanting to put a little distance between himself and everything else." Kiara tossed the mushroom throw pillow she had crocheted across the dorm, hitting the wall opposite them and watching the mushroom land on her dorm mate's bed. 

"I think we need to talk about pre-hookup chats cause this foreplay is getting a little too serious for me." 

"Oh, shut up Rafe!" Kiara huffed. 

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," he promised, holding his hands up in mock surrender before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her against him. It was an awkward hug but she leaned in anyway, her back to his chest as she relaxed. "You know Sarah hates change...I just think it's taking her some adjusting to being at Chapel Hill. Wheez said she's home all the time."

"I know she doesn't like her roommate-"

"Or her psych professor-"

"Or her RA-"

Both of them laughed at the amount of instances that arose at the mention of Sarah's college experience. She'd bitched in earnest to everyone who was willing to answer the phone, Rafe included (on the rare occasion that she'd called him and he'd answered thinking it might've been an emergency). 

"Okay...so maybe I shouldn't have a total meltdown," Kiara tilted her head back to look up at Rafe, "part of me feels like, if I go home and I miss it then I have to come back and it's gonna feel different." 

"How so?"

"I thought you didn't wanna do this philosophical shit whenever you came over?" Kiara pointed out, recalling a few weeks ago when he had told her in no uncertain terms that they weren't 'friends with benefits' they were just the benefits part and he didn't want to hear her unload about class or Sarah or her parents. Her problems weren't his problems, as he so eloquently put it. 

She'd honestly been a little surprised to see him when she'd walked in. He'd seemed like he was cutting off whatever situationship was going on between them because of her own need to emotionally invest herself in something that he saw as purely physical. She'd told him that he'd be back, somewhere during the height of their yelling match (which her dorm mate kindly pointed out was the epitome of actual relationship problems and definitely not how friends with benefits hashed out miscommunications), but she was still surprised. She'd said it, but she hadn't actually thought he would be back. Rafe Cameron had as much ease with campus life as he'd had with social life back in high school. The kook academy had been his kingdom and Appalachia State was just as happy to have him. 

"Just tell me," Rafe replied, avoiding the question. 

"I like being away from home and not having everybody think of me in terms of John B or JJ. I feel like I'm not Sarah Cameron's friend or Mike Carerra's daughter or John B's best friend, I'm just myself. And I really fucking like that but I also kind of miss being all those other things and I miss OBX sometimes and I do wanna see everybody. I just feel like maybe the me that they want to see isn't the me that I am."

Rafe pressed a kiss to the top of her head, "I don't think you changed as much as you think you have, I think maybe you're just finally seeing yourself for something other than everyone's sidekick."

"That's some very philosophical shit," Kiara replied, turning her head so she could kiss Rafe back. The edge of his jaw first and then, when he tilted his head down to look at her, his lips. 

"Yeah, what can I say," he slid his arms out from around her and she shifted in the bed so she was sitting and facing him, "I was being a dick when I freaked out on you a couple weeks ago."

"Oh, I'll agree with that assessment-"

"Of course you will."

"Is there going to be an actual apology or just like...yeah I was a dick, man," Kiara said, dropping her voice an octave to do her best impression of Rafe that she could. 

"I'm sorry I was a dick to you and said the shit I said. That was out of line...I like when you dump all your shit on me like ten minutes before we fuck, really gets me in the mood actually-"

"Okay, you suck at apologies!" Kiara laughed.

"Yeah? I suck at other things too, want me to show you?" He teased, leaning in. 

-

Despite nice distractions and crushing midterms and Rafe's invitation to meet up with Topper in LA (which seemed like a terrible idea on all fronts but mostly because Topper would tell everyone he had ever met that Kiara Carerra, pogue, was spending her spring break with Rafe Cameron and Sarah would be at the very top of that list), Kiara ended up driving down to OBX for spring break. 

The drive wasn't terrible. If anything she spent the entirety of it listening to the other three freshman she'd promised to carpool down to North Carolina talk about high school boyfriends and up coming class projects and where they bought their swimsuits this season. It was a nice, droning, easy conversation that didn't require Kiara to ruminate on her own high school boyfriend or whatever was going on with Rafe. She felt like they were dating but then he'd 'get busy with school' or 'get distracted by frat stuff' and they wouldn't talk for a week. She didn't want to ask because he'd already, very clearly, multiple times, defined what he wanted them to be and she had agreed every time. Easy, no strings, just sex. But it never was what he said it was or what she said she wanted it to be and instead it was something else. Something that had taken on a life of its own and threatened to burst out of her every time she answered a phone call from Sarah. 

She felt like she was always just waiting, as if Sarah knew something and she was going to call her out on it. The first time they were friends, freshman year of kook academy, Sarah had sussed out the (probably very obvious) crush that Kiara had developed on Rafe. The way she tried to steal glances at Rafe whenever she was over for dinner, the significantly cuter outfits she wore around Tanney Hill (especially the amount of allowance she invested in sets from Victoria's Secret because she was somehow convinced that Rafe would stumble upon her in the kitchen at midnight and fall madly in love with her), Sarah saw it all and called her out on frequently. By the time they were friends again, Kiara's crush had dwindled to nothing more than an acknowledgment that he was even more attractive than he had been the spring before. She didn't like him though, there was too much bad blood there on the surface between him and the pogues, only amplified once Sarah and John B started dating. But Sarah knew all Kiara's secrets, even the ones she dared not to tell anyone else in her close circle and Kiara was sure there was no way to hide this secret. 

It helped that Rafe was in LA with Topper and not there in OBX because at least then she could pretend like he was still just some kook that didn't matter anymore. She could focus on JJ and whatever was still left there and being with her friends, at least for Spring Break. 

"You seem distracted," Sarah offered a tequila seltzer to Kiara as she joined her on the lifeguard station. 

Kiara wasn't even a full day back on the island and already she had found herself at a party. One that, like all the others she had ever been to, was supposed to be small but ended up on the beach with every pogue she'd ever met inviting themselves. John B had finally found a reason to detach himself from Sarah, night surfing with JJ, and Sarah had inevitably found her way over to Kiara. Partly because she wanted to spend some time with her best friend and partly because she was fishing, she knew there was something Kiara wasn't telling her. A rare phenomenon since they'd repaired their relationship the summer after sophomore year. 

"Not distracted," Kiara promised, practically chugging the seltzer, "just tired from the drive or whatever." 

"JJ was excited to see you."

Kiara groaned, leaning back against the railing, "why don't you just tell me what you want me to tell you?" 

Sarah raised her eyebrows and scoffed at her best friend's tone, "Okay, shit. I was just gonna say you don't seem like you wanna be here so...do you wanna be somewhere else? Did you meet someone, at school?" 

"No," Kiara replied quickly looking away from Sarah to avoid any further scrutiny, though she was sure that Sarah could tell she was lying. 

"Is there a reason you don't want me to know?" 

"No, I just...I don't know if it's really anything worth ruining things with JJ over. It's not serious and it doesn't mean anything, technically."

"Not technically?" Sarah asked, "so, does it not mean anything to you or to this other person?"

"Both of us."

"Okay...does this person have a name?" Sarah asked.

"Does it matter?" Kiara rebuffed, "I mean, you don't know them so..."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Well, you're obviously missing them if you're up here moping and not joining in on the party."

Kiara groaned loudly, standing up and taking her drink with her as she climbed down off the lifeguard post. She wasn't missing Rafe. That was an entirely crazy, ludicrous, absurd, idea. She would have to be absolutely out of her mind to miss Rafe. Her best friends' (plural) arch-nemesis. The guy who made the summer after her sophomore year (and a couple years after that) pure hell. Miss him, never. She didn't miss him. She didn't miss the stupid look on his face whenever they got into the real deep shit, somewhere between 3am and a shared joint. She didn't miss the way he'd bring her coffee when he knew she was struggling to stay awake between classes on Tuesdays. She didn't miss how easy it was to talk to him or how funny he could be when he wasn't trying to be a dick. She didn't miss anything about him. She didn't. 

She just, wanted to know if maybe he was missing something about her. 

"Hey lonely girl," JJ called as he approached Kiara, offering her the cup in his hand. She'd seen them set up the keg a while ago and she was surprised there was any beer left in it. 

"Hey," she couldn't help the smile that crossed her face. Despite the craziness of their relationship, JJ was always her closest friend and her most trusted confidant. If there was anyone that would safeguard a secret, she knew it was JJ. It felt good to be here with him, even if Sarah had accused her of not being happy to see him. She was always happy to see him, it was just that this time she was keeping the kind of secret that she couldn't ever tell him. The kind of secret that could very well ruin their friendship. 

"You okay? You seem a million miles away." 

"Must be the spring break high wearing off," Kiara joked, sidestepping anything too serious. A party on the beach with her best friends should have had her on cloud nine. She knew why she felt so off-kilter she just didn't want to admit it. Not to them, definitely not to herself. 

"I heard once you're a college freshman you're more introspective." 

Kiara laughed, "I'll have to get back to you on that one...I'm not sure that's taken effect yet."

JJ looked like there was something else he wanted to say, something that might've burst their little bubble and ruined the spring break high she was chasing but had yet to achieve. 

"I was thinking this morning that we have to go night surfing...any surfing at all really...before the week is up. I was like hanging out the window on the way down here, trying to take in the salt air." 

"Are you sure you weren't just car sick?" JJ teased, the light coming back to his eyes as he smiled at her. 

"I don't get carsick! That's Pope!"

"Oh yeah, what about that time in eighth grade?" 

"No, no, you can't bring that up as evidence!" Kiara laughed. 

The sound pulled John B and Pope away from their respective groups, drawing them into their own little circle of fond memories of P4L and nothing more complicated than where they'd catch a wave or drop a line. JJ was recreating the time Kiara puked her lunch all over the back of the Twinkie (still in Big John's possession back then) after John B and JJ convinced her to go a joyride with them. Eighth grade, no license of any kind, and the four of them rattling down the main road in the Cut, going almost 70 miles an hour. Peterkin, as Pope recalled, pulled them over and was nice enough not to give them all tickets or worse, book them.

"She made us do community service for a month!" JJ argued, still convinced the punishment hadn't meant the crime.

"Yeah and you were lucky she didn't fine us or not let us get our licenses on time or something," Pope replied.

"Charge us with car theft," Kiara suggested. 

"My dad would've let her," John B laughed.

"And we would probably still be paying for that shit, which is why community service was no big deal. Besides, you barely showed up. If it wasn't for Pope and me, you two would've been fined for skipping out," Kiara pointed out. 

She liked this. Liked talking about old things that had happened, funny moments they could all laugh and reminisce at. Because she knew them back then and they knew her. Maybe too well at times but it was familiar and easy and fun back then. There didn't feel like some great divide existed between them, a canon of months that had changed her and changed them too. She wanted to grab JJ's hand the same way she used to in high school and squeeze to reassure herself that this JJ standing in front of her was still the one that she fell in love with. But she knew it wouldn't matter if he was, because she wasn't the same girl anymore. 

Over the rim of his cup as he took a sip of beer, JJ's eyes met hers and she could already tell he was grinning the way he always did before he propositioned her. Kiara had told him once that he looked down right mischievous when he looked at her like that, like he was just asking for trouble. She could never deny him though. The look alone sent her pulse racing. Tonight was no different. Whether it was because she wanted to shake Sarah's suspicions off or because she wanted to convince herself that whatever was going on with Rafe really was 'just sex', she let herself give into JJ's smile and take his hand when it reached for hers. 

They weaved their way back through the partygoers and down the beach to where the Twinkie was parked. The door creaked when JJ slid it open but even the jarring sound wasn't enough to break the spell Kiara let herself fall under. This was what spring break was supposed to be like. This was the way she had always dreamed everything would work out. That she would get the guy she wanted and get to have everything else too and she'd be damned if she didn't let herself enjoy it. Indulge just for a moment in the fantasy. She ignored the voice in her head saying that this wasn't a good idea. That she was messing with JJ's feelings, whatever they might be, and she was messing with her own too. Because she wasn't all in. She was half way out the door on a good day, always weighing every option and decision against some bigger picture she created in her head, and this was not a good day. Tonight, right now, she was barely there at all. She couldn't get Rafe out of her head, couldn't stop thinking of the implication of inviting her on spring break with him. Had it been a joke because he knew she would decline or was he serious? Did he think it was more than sex or was she just in her head about everything because she felt so disconnected. 

"You okay?" JJ asked and there was real concern there. Actual emotion in his voice and his eyes. 

"Perfect."