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epilogue-and-prologue · 2 years

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Falling - III - How You've Realized You've Fallen and It's Too Late To Go Back

A story I had in my WIP for the last few months and in my head since seeing the Old Guard.

Booker x Female Reader!with a sister

Warnings: Throughout the story mention of depressive behaviour, endangerment of others and one self, SMUT! 18+ DO NOT READ THIS. This is the FINAL PART. I'll consider writing more for this if I ever get inspiration to strike, but for the time being it's the last one.

He sought your care

You took it upon yourself to go take a coffee in that little shop every other week. Not even once after that first time you touched each other again.

It was a taboo you both silently agreed on. Him because he thought he would break you, you because you thought that you were afraid of what this man could do to you.

It only made things worse.

Way, way, worse.

The tension between the two was so palpable that your sister started poking sticks in it just for fun. He would sometimes pick you up from your apartment, and she’d be opening the door with innuendos barely covered through a thin veil of sarcasm.

It was hell. She was making it very uncomfortable and you could not find it in yourself to keep apologizing to Booker every time she did that. After a while, he only rolled his eyes at her antics.

He enjoyed spending time with you, exchanging about books and literature. He was surprised to learn that a doctor could be so well-read.

“My Mom was sick for a long time when I was in college. The first year I had literature as a major. The second year I switched and restarted in medicine instead. She died a little before my graduation.”

He never mentioned it again, silently voicing the shared grief he felt by deeply looking into your eyes. You thought it would burn you whole if he ever touched you again.

One afternoon, you decided to stay in your apartment. Just because it was pouring outside and you did not feel like going out. Booker seemed to agree with you so you prepared coffee and tea and put them on the coffee table, turning halfway so you could see him sitting next to you on the couch.

He was caressing the edges of the cup without drinking from it.

“Something the matter?”

Your voice startled him.

“No. Nothing.”

You take a sip of your tea before putting your cup back down on the table.

“Are you sure? You seem… - I’m sure.”

His tone was dry and left a bruise right through you. He leaned back an arm outstretched on the back of the couch. He ran a hand over his mouth, seemingly thinking about what he had just done.

“Sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you. It wasn’t fair of me…”

You reached out for his hand but he pulled it out of your reach.

“I… I can’t do this anymore. - What do you mean? - We can’t keep seeing each other.”

Your blood heats up in your veins. You put your glasses away, as it kept falling off your nose.

“Why? Did I do something? - No. Absolutely not. It’s just… The way this is going… It can’t go that way. - Why?!”

You sat up, head held high.

“Why? Booker, I can take it. I can take almost anything, but if you keep things from me I’m not answering for any of my future reactions. - I… Don’t make this more complicated than it should be! We have to stop before… - Before what?! - Before I hurt you. - How do you mean? - I mean before you get hurt. It’s simple. I don’t want you to get hurt. - But you’re hurting me right now.”

He rose, his eyes meeting yours. Two pools of pain and incomprehension for him to blame himself for. He was up to leave in a split second.

“I’m… This will hurt way less than what you could be risking just by being with me. - And who are you to decide that for me? - I… I’m only trying to protect you!

You’re not protecting me! You’re protecting yourself! You’re protecting your secrets and your past and I’ve never ever pressured you to tell me anything about these and I won’t start now. But don’t pretend you’re protecting me when you’re not…”

You’re both standing up now, almost ready to go at each other’s throats.

“You don’t understand, do you? - If you don’t explain shit to me, then no I can’t understand! - I can’t have you hurt. You could die! -…What?”

You swallowed hard as he ran a hand through his hair.

“My line of work… I met a lot of dangerous people who would not have hesitated to hurt me. They still do. They could come after you and try to hurt you. That’s why we need to stop seeing each other.”

Mild lie to cover up his past. Again. How could he tell you who he was without scaring you for good?

You took it in for a moment. It felt like he was trying to rip you apart. You believed him when he said he had people threatening him, you believed he might be a danger to you, and you believed something bad could happen. You also trusted him not to hurt you on purpose, to be there when you needed him too, and more importantly, that you wanted to be there when he needed you.

“…But I don’t want to. I don’t want you to just exit my life like that, that’s… - We don’t have any other choice. - You don’t. I do. I still have agency. I can choose whether or not I want to be with you… And this might seem crazy but I really do.”

Your face looked heartbroken and hurt and in pain and tears. You went to him and wrapped your arms around him. Old books, warmth, drumming heartbeat. You always wondered what he would feel like up close.

“I won’t let you go. - Please… - I won’t. I can’t. I just can’t…”

You stepped back, grabbing his face in your hands, his mouth agape, his eyes watering, visibly out of breath. He took ahold of your wrists ready to pull you off.

“I…”

You knew it wouldn’t be enough for him to stay, but you said it anyway.

“Booker… Sebastien, je ne peux pas parce que… parce que je t’aime. »

[I can’t because… because I love you.]

He frowned, feeling uneasy as he heard his name. His hands stilled on yours, searching your eyes for a reason not to believe you. You moved a little closer afraid he would step back, your breath mingling with his before his body crashed into yours.

You seek out each other*

His cheeks are prickly under your palms, but his hair is soft as you slip your fingers into his locks. His arms are holding you tightly against him, his tongue caressing your lower lip, your hands caressing every inch of him you can get access to. He doesn’t stop you, only trying to bring your body impossibly closer to his pushing your lower back to meet you stomach to stomach the fabric of your shirt bunching up, revealing a little of your skin to him, as you push his shir off of his shoulder then his t-shirt, separating only for a second his eyes never leaving yours hunger painted there in all the best ways, he helps you out of your shirt leaving you bare for him to see, your covered ass against him as he slips his hands over your stomach and hovers over your breasts one finger at a time, tease your sensitive skin, his beard bruises deliciously the dips of your shoulder as he leaves kisses along the line of your shoulder blades and your clavicles dipping his head to your collarbones, never stopping caressing you as you were touching him everywhere you could, his neck, his cheeks, his hair, the nape of his neck, the early birth of his back, his chest, his shoulders, his arms, he would not stop himself from touching you devouring you with his eyes as much as his hands.

“Bedroom.”

Your heavily breathed plea, makes him pick you up and grunt in your ear as he nips the earlobe, you reach the bed, closing the door unceremoniously, he sits you there at the edge of the bed, still a bit dazzled by what just happened. You bit your lip in anticipation as he kneels before you kissing your mouth thoroughly, nipping on your lower lip, before dipping his head into your neck, your breasts and down as you lower yourself down on the bed, back arched as he removes your pants. You’re turned on but not enough to his taste as he settles without a word between your legs your panties on one of your ankles. He’s bathed in the setting sun and you can see his eyes grow in anticipation at the vision of your pussy. He presses his tongue against your clitoris and you whimper. He chuckles before doing it again. And again. And again, circling your clit and sucking on it and licking every part of your pussy clean in the most filthy way possible.

You want to see him, and you can but through your eyes, your glasses off, you can only see the shadow of him, a light shining on him and making his irises look as dark with desire as they’ve ever been. You don’t tell him to stop, you can only mewl and moan and open your mouth without any sound at all in the hopes he will make you come.

He doesn’t.

“What?!”

He doesn’t say a word as you up, your pussy dripping on the sheets, ready to explode as he pulls down his pants and gets rid of them now hovering over you. He’s frowning still, your cum on his lips and beard as he kisses you senseless. You don’t mind.

“What you said earlier…

It was all true…”

He doesn’t add a word. His hand comes to caress your cheek, kiss your nose, and your temple, and stroke your collarbone. He was never good with words ironically. Only with actions. Only in battle. Whoever said that love was like a battlefield might have been right. His love was like his fighting: violent, unmerciful but efficient.

He pushes his dick into you without another warning.

You bite your lip so hard, that you thought you had broken the skin there. He soothes you, his finger against the sensitive skin, he goes and holds your hands above your head. He starts moving and you swear even at this slow pace you close your eyes and you can see stars.

“Regarde Moi…” [Look at me…]

You open your eyes, openly watching him as reaches down to tease your clit. For a split second, you wonder how he does it without straining a muscle. The pleasure elicited by his action makes you forget all about it though. His rhythm goes a bit quicker, your legs high on his waist, yourself rendered incapable of touching him, arching your back eager to be close to him. He lets go of your hands and you start touching everywhere you can grabbing his ass to bring him closer to you, your breasts against his chest, your hand now in his hair as his head dips in your shoulder, his ragged breath tattooed on your heated skin, his rhythm picks up in speed as he lets go of your clit and intertwines your hands together, you can feel your pussy seizing on his dick on the verge of climax, you can feel his arms tremble no longer able to hold him up. He pushes a kiss on your throat, on your jaw on your lips, his tongue on yours. He pulls back looking at you with all the desire in the world. HIs voice is weak and strained.

“I… I love you too.”

He doesn’t add another word as your chest explodes in warmth and lust and heat. He pushes into you again and again and again before you feel your orgasm creep up on you, a silent scream escaping your lips as your pleasure floods in your body and on the sheets, he keeps pushing before grabbing onto you like a lifeline, bruises on your waist to be found in the morning, grunting in your ear.

Collapsing on top of you, still inside you, he moves to push himself off but you stop him. He settles there, his head on your chest as you run your hand through his hair, both cooling off.

You cover both of yourselves up with a blanket.

He’s fast asleep, his breath and beard tickling your skin.

#smut #the old guard fanfiction #booker x reader #booker x female reader #sebastien le livre x reader #sebastien le livre x female reader #the old guard #tw: depression #series: falling

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deltaharrington · 1 year

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STUCK [SEASON 3 SPOILERS]

PAIRING: Rafe Cameron x Female!Pogue!Reader

WARNINGS: smut, heavy swearing, kidnapping, obx3 SPOILERS

SUMMARY: You were separated from your ex, Rafe, after falling off the Costal Adventure. The Pogues took you in as one of their own. You and Rafe meet again when you’re kidnapped by Singh.

Muffled screams were heard from the hallways as you were dragged to an unfamiliar room.

How did you get here? That was a long story?

A month prior, Rafe Cameron, your boyfriend at the time, had somehow convinced you to run away with him and his family.

You had no idea what he was capable of back then.

When you found out that he helped steal a cross that wasn’t his, and that he tried to kill his own sister, things felt different.

You couldn’t deny that you were in love with him though. It was hard for you to grasp the fact that he wasn’t a good person.

So, you did the thing anyone would have done. You helped Sarah escape.

When both John B and Sarah insisted you came with them, you wasted no time jumping off of the boat.

Rafe nearly shot at the small boat you escaped in. He was expecting you to be on it. Y/n. His Y/n was a Pogue.

Here you were now, kidnapped by Carlos Singh. He had you for a couple of days, claiming he was waiting on something before he could tell you what he wanted.

A large door opened and you were practically thrown into the room, your body slamming against another.

“What the-?” The voice above you spoke. It sounded familiar, and that scared you.

“Y/n? Oh my god!” The voice said, worried. You looked up and we’re met with none other than Rafe Cameron.

He wasted no time, ripping the cloth gag from your lips. At that you scrambled to get away from him, tripping and falling to the floor.

“Rafe? I knew you were apart of this!” You said and the Kook boy tried to reach for you. You tried to wiggle away, but your hands were still tied.

Rafe helped you up, cupping your face in his hands. He was happy to see you. He assumed you got kidnapped by the Pogues, he never knew you went willingly.

“I’ve been trying to find you, sweetheart” He said and your chest rose and fell with anger. He didn’t notice, he was too caught up with the fact that you had survived.

“You won’t have to go with those Pogues again, you’re safe now” Rafe rambled and you shook your head, about to argue.

“I knew this reunion would cause sparks” Singh’s voice from the opening room.

“What do you want from me?” You said and he waved you into the other room. You yanked yourself from Rafe’s grip and you walked into the room, sitting down on a couch.

Rafe followed and sat next to you.

Singh went on a rant about El Dorado and all you could think about was how close Rafe was to you. You hadn’t seen him in a month, and you were sure you had gotten over him.

Now that he was in front of you, butterflies fluttered in your stomach. Well, maybe that was because he was fiddling with the ties that bound your hands together.

“What do you want from me?” You asked Singh and he smiled.

“Your friends, they have a diary” He went on and it clicked for you. They had told you about a diary. Denmark Tanny’s diary.

“I don’t…I don’t know anything about a diary” You said and those words landed you right back in a locked room.

“Y/n, baby, you have to talk to me” Rafe pled, kneeling down in front of your sitting figure. You had finally wiggled your way out of the zip ties that had bound your wrists, and now you were placed on the bed.

“Rafe, I really don’t know what there is to talk about” You said and he looked confused, hurt even.

“You, me, you getting napped by the Pogues? That’s what we can talk about” He said and stood up, pacing.

This was it, you had to tell him.

“I didn’t get kidnapped, Rafe” You said and he stopped, looking towards you “I left with them myself” You added and his eyes widened.

“Why- Why would you do that?” He said and you sighed.

“You killed Peterkin, tried to kill your sister, and you lied to me!” You said “I couldn’t be around you, I was scared, Rafe!” You said and he looked shattered.

“You know I’d never hurt you, Y/n” Rafe said and you shook your head.

“I don’t know that, I didn’t” You said and he moved closer, grabbing your hands to hold in his.

“You never ended things properly, so we’re still together” Rafe said, his eyes tearing up “Y-You’re still mine, baby please” He begged and you shook your head, your eyes becoming teary as well.

“Rafe, we can’t” You said and he reached up towards four face, cupping it “Please don’t do this, not now.” You added and he shook his head, leaning in towards you.

When he kissed you, you felt like your world fell into place. You hated that feeling, but you craved it more than anything.

You couldn’t help but melt into his touch, letting him lean in further to pin you to the bed. He hadn’t seen you in a month, and he longed to feel you in his arms again.

Upon realizing what you were doing, you pulled away, shaking your head “Rafe” You whispered, his thumb trailing across your bottom lip.

“Please, I know you want this just as much as me” Rafe said “I love you, so much” He said and you felt your heart nearly explode.

“I love you too” You whispered and he smiled, letting his thumb caress your cheek.

“There’s my girl” Rafe whispered, pressing his lips against yours again. This time you gave in, missing his touch.

Rafe moved between your legs, pulling you flesh against his hard-on.

“Feel that?” He asked and you nodded “All because of you baby” He whispered and looked down at you. “Haven’t had any in a month” He said “I’ve been waiting on you, only to hear that you left me?” He said and you shook your head.

“That’s right, I’ll have to show you just how pent up I’ve been” He said and you looked up at him, trying to pull him closer.

“Please, Rafe” You begged “I need you, now.” You said and that was all he needed.

Within mere seconds, your clothes were on the floor, Rafe prodding your entrance with the tip of his cock.

“Please, Rafe” You begged and that was enough for him, the blonde sliding all the way inside of you, his hips touching yours.

Your back arched at the familiar fullness you felt, a moan left your lips as he attacked your neck, littering it with hickeys.

You both had forgotten the situation you were in, only worried about each other.

Soft moans and the sound of hips meeting filled the room, Rafe moving fast to make you have the best orgasm of your life.

“Rafe! M’already close!” You gasped out and he nodded, a smirk on his face.

“Me too baby, I fuckin’ missed you” He said finally giving you permission to cum.

At his command, you turned into putty, your legs shaking, as you clenched around him, milking his cock.

He rested his head in the crook of your neck after he came, your labored breaths filling the room. It didn’t take too long for you to come down and calm down, slipping under the covers to hide your exposed body.

“We need to get out of here” Rafe spoke softly “You’re mine”

END.

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sturniololoverr · 1 year

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In honor of OBX3 coming out!

#drew starkey #austin north #chase stokes #rudy pankow #jj maybank #rafe cameron x reader #rafe cameron #jj maybank x reader #jj maybank imagine #topper thornton #topper thorton x reader #john b obx #john booker routledge #pope heyward #jonathan davis #nick cirillo #barry outer banks #outer banks

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vampmorgue · 1 year

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𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐚𝐧

𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤!𝐑𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐧 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 & 𝐉𝐉 𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

📖 𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘: 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐑𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐧, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬.

⚠️ 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐒: 18+, she/her pronouns, pogue! reader, routeledge! reader, jj is readers ex boyfriend, some backstory, some fluff but lots of angst, dark themes, toxic relationship, trauma bond, love bombing, language, dark!rafe and him being toxic, mentions of drug use, addiction, abusive behavior, choking, smoking, weapon: gun use, violence, blood, fighting, and jj being protective of reader.

📑 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓: 5.1k

🦇 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄: if you or someone you know are in a similar situation, please don’t hesitate and ask for help. my dm’s are open if anyone needs to talk. ♡︎

©𝐕𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐆𝐔𝐄 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐄𝐃: 𝐃𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐞, 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐲, 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐩𝐩/𝐰𝐞𝐛𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞.

You definitely had a type. JJ was your ex-boyfriend, and he was impulsive and would get into trouble but stayed caring, protective, and loving at the end of the day. He made you the happiest when he could. You two dated for a year after knowing each other for years growing up but broke it off due to the right person, wrong timing type of thing. You wanted JJ to focus on himself as he was losing himself for a while, and you were growing distant from each other but remained friends.

As your older brother, John B. got more involved with Sarah Cameron and brought her into the group, you soon heard about her older brother, Rafe, and the stories about him, and trouble always seemed to attract you.

From the day you saw Rafe Cameron, you were intrigued by his presence, but not as much as he was with yours.

You were a Pogue, something Rafe hated, but whenever Sarah brought you over, he didn't mind it as much, almost like it never mattered in the first place. You would notice the way Rafe would be eyeing you up and down, but not notice that he would be finding excuses to talk to Sarah just to see you in the same room, and then later at night, his mind would be going crazy over you.

When you first revealed your interest in Rafe to Kie, she scolded you like you had done something bad and told Sarah; Sarah didn’t mind it but did warn you that her older brother was not the best guy to be going after. When JJ found out about it, he was shocked and unhappy that you found interest in a Kook and was more unhappy you chose Rafe Cameron out of all people. JJ made it clear to you that he moved on from the break up to not come across as jealous or anything else and said you could do better than Rafe Cameron, along with everyone else agreeing.

"Look, I just think you should keep your options open, that's all." JJ comments, hoping your brother could at least convince you as well.

With your dad being gone, John B had stepped in to protect you as your older brother, and he hated the idea of you liking Rafe.

“Don’t you dare go to that Kook party where he is!” John B chases you out the front porch as you giggle, “Sarah! Back me up on this!”

“I’ve tried, John B!” Sarah scared to intervene, "The least we could do is watch over her at the party plus, we can have a little fun?"

"Fine," John B sighs at the idea, running his hands across his face.

You weren’t someone who liked listening to others about what they had to say, especially in your life. So as a result of that, during the party at Tannyhill, after a couple of shots, you went after Rafe, which caught him by surprise, but he liked it anyway.

“Y'know, I had my eye on you for a while,” Rafe smirks, drinking from his solo cup.

John B. saw the whole thing, which angered him, but at that point gave up. “I feel like I’m raising a rebellious teenager,"

“I think you’d be considered one as well, from the things you get involved in.” Sarah jokes.

From that day forward, Rafe had you wrapped around his finger. The more you started getting involved with him, the more your friends weren't liking it and made it known.

“Oh, god, you want to be like your brother and date a Kook now?” Pope asks, with JJ and Kie waiting for your response. "I mean, seriously, what is it with you Routledges' and Kooks these days.”

“You guys like Sarah now,” you mention, “so maybe you’ll like Rafe too.”

“Ha!” JJ scoffs, shaking his head.

“I doubt that Y/N but you do you.” Kie shrugs.

“Yeah, I will,

And you kept your word, but little did they know, Rafe had also persuaded you so you could be together.

"Listen, you and I were meant to cross paths," Rafe tells you in an optimistic tone, "so let them talk,"

Three months into your relationship with Rafe, he was the sweetest boyfriend, at first. From the dates to spoiling you, him making you feel like his whole world, and making it clear to everyone that you were his. The Pogues accepted your happiness but didn’t accept Rafe; they couldn't do it when they saw how he would treat other people. He was the complete opposite of his sister, Sarah.

Now six months into the relationship, you were aware of his addiction and had mentioned your concern about it to him before, but you didn’t want to be that kind of controlling girlfriend or anything. You also didn’t want to let your friends and brother know about it because you knew they would try to get you out of the relationship with him but you didn’t want that because you cared about Rafe. You let Rafe live his life and for a while, he got better after realizing how much he was scaring you, and the sight of coke making you uncomfortable. He would smoke weed instead, which you were completely fine with since you did the same.

But then Rafe would relapse as coke was more of his thing.

Your boyfriend soon revealed another side of himself on nights when you were with him, a darkening aura surrounding him as his eyes grew more hostile. You knew he was high by the size of his pupils, and how he was getting stressed out about the things going on in his life, especially with the pressure his father was putting on him. There would be times when he took out his anger on you by shouting at you or just snapping out of nowhere by throwing things around or punching walls. Every second of those bad nights was like torture so being with him started to drain you physically and mentally as time went on, you were now in his control of what you could wear, say, or do in front of him. Every morning, you’d wake up to an anxious feeling in your stomach because of Rafe, which could’ve been your sign to leave him, but you couldn’t bring yourself to do so. It was moments like this, that made you rethink your life decisions if you had never broken up with JJ, would you be in this position? Were you longing for JJ or the right treatment that you weren't getting from Rafe? Unfortunately, you grew too attached to Rafe just like he was to you. You felt dependent on him, and you grew a fear of not being able to do anything without him or his approval but maybe one day the bond would break, right?

Every time you and Rafe argued, no one was around because Rafe wanted your relationship to look perfect to others, though it was the complete opposite, he always told you to put on a happy face.

You barely saw your friends anymore because of him not trusting them but Rafe barely trusted anyone, especially Pogues.

The Pogues were missing your company, so whenever your brother mentioned them coming over, you’d ask him if he could drive you over to Rafe’s or you would text Rafe to come get you because that’s how much afraid you were of your boyfriend; you were scared of him finding out somehow that you were in the presence of your ex JJ, though you weren’t doing anything wrong or planned on it. Whenever they’d ask about you, John B’s answer was always "Rafe", so they stopped asking but JJ thought that it was weird how the only time you were home was when everyone, except your brother, was gone, and if they slept over then you’d spend the night with Rafe— which he never said no to.

Even though your friends didn’t know the full story yet, they knew something was wrong when you were Rafe’s date to midsummers— you were the youngest in the group, so they all felt protective towards you, especially JJ. Though you looked beautiful, you didn’t look happy to be there, especially next to Rafe. They had tried to talk to you, but Rafe had his arm wrapped around your waist the whole night basically and kept giving death glares to your Pogue friends. When you made eye contact with JJ, he could tell in your eyes you had this sense of hope; he didn't know what it was but he tried to approach you because he knew in his gut something wasn’t right and said if Rafe started something then he'd finish it, but Kie convinced him to not cause a scene, and JJ was mad at John B for not looking out enough for you, his little sister.

“JJ! I’m not gonna go to fucking jail if something happened because if I did, then who's going to be looking after her, huh?!” John B argues.

“I would!” JJ responds.

“Man, why’d you guys even break up in the first place?!” your brother emphasizes, “I preferred her with you! Shit, I wouldn’t even have to be in this position!”

JJ stayed silent wondering the same thing as he hated remembering the fact that he lost you. As much as JJ didn't want to admit to himself, he still had feelings for you, and seeing you with Rafe was only making it worse.

John B just didn’t want trouble, especially at a Kooks' party knowing their power but he also didn't want you to be mad at him or give the silent treatment if a fight broke out; he also didn't want to risk losing you completely away from home more than you already were. Sarah tried to see if something was up, and you were always reassuring her that everything was fine, but it was all a lie, “See, Sarah, she’s fine.” Rafe would go on to say but that was before he took you into a room just to yell at you for causing attention like it was your fault, though it wasn't.

The day after midsummers, John B had finally confronted you about being so distant ever since you got with Rafe.

"You just don't hang out with us anymore or never make the time for it!" your brother emphasizes.

"I'm sorry! I just..." you hesitate, "really love him and love being around him. He makes me happy...ever since Dad's been gone-"

"Don't you dare bring Dad into this!" John B. hollers.

"Well, who else is going to love me now?!" you cry out, storming out of the house to see Rafe.

John B's eyes filled with loss as he was watching you slowly lose yourself.

Now tonight, Rafe had called you sounding like he wasn't in a good mood, he wanted to take you out after yelling at you the day before, so you accepted it, hoping he was changing for the better. He told you he needed to make a quick stop on the way, and that stop was to meet with Barry. You were annoyed with him and felt betrayed in a way when he fully knew you never wanted to be around his drug deals let alone being around Barry since he made you uncomfortable. Rafe didn’t listen and expected you to brush it off, but you didn’t.

“Rafe, you know I’m not comfortable with you being fucking coked out around me, or you buying from Barry in front of me," you tell him.

“Can you stop fucking nagging for once?” Rafe sighs, driving away from Barry’s.

“You know what? Just me drop off here,” you point to the side of the road, “I’m growing so tired of you.”

“Oh, you’re growing tired of me?” he scoffs, slamming hard on the breaks, “How do you think I feel with you haunting my every move?!”

“Me? You’re fucking unbelievable! You’re the one who controls every fucking thing I do! I barely see my friends because of you!” you snap, getting out of the car but Rafe quickly comes out to your side and forcefully puts his hand around your throat.

“That’s the last time you’ll ever raise your voice at me again.” he sternly states, “Now get in the fucking car.”

Rafe lets go as you gasp for air and start coughing. You get in the car knowing you couldn’t be walking alone in the dark not even knowing your way around, especially around Barry’s area. You were frozen and silent almost the entire car ride, trying to process what happened. You thought maybe if you jumped out of the car, you could run away and scream, you needed to get away, so you took your chances.

“No!” Rafe grabs your wrist while nearly swerving into an oncoming car, “Are you fucking insane?!”

He puts on the child lock before driving back to Tannyhill as if nothing happened. You felt helpless as you slowly walked behind him with his tall figure that now seemed like a monster in front of you as he led the way to his room.

“Y/N…you know that I love you, right?" Rafe asks calmly, closing the door but you stay silent.

“Come on, baby,” he says, pulling you into a hug, “I’m just trying to protect you.”

“Protect me? … Protect me from what?!” you spat, pushing him off of you, “You’re not doing that, all you’re doing is hurting me!”

“After everything I’ve done and given you so you wouldn’t live that Pogue lifestyle anymore, you dare to act like this? Tsk, tsk.” he shakes his head as it gets silent again.

“You really wanna know why I don’t let you see your Pogue friends?” Rafe chuckles in an unsettling tone, breaking the silence, “Because I know you used to date that blond Pogue…so how can I trust you around him, hm?”

You don’t say anything, instead, you stare down at the floor not wanting to look him in the eyes.

“That’s what I thought,” he nods seeming proud.

“It’s not something new,” you look up at him, “You fully knew that before you and I even got together, and you’re acting like I’m not a Pogue myself…but if you ever lay on hand on me again–”

Rafe gets in your face, “Or what?”

You push him out of your way to the bathroom. You’re on the verge of tears when you look in the mirror and see the bruises on your neck, he caused from choking you. You didn’t know what to do, whether to scream your lungs out due to your frustration or see if Sarah was home but you didn’t want to cause a scene; fear is what you felt.

Now you were at your breaking point and needed to leave, needed to leave him. You saw Rafe doing lines and he looks up at you, “If you don’t wanna see this then go hang out with Sarah or something, I don’t fucking know.”

“You’re right, I don’t wanna see this or you, I’m done.” you reply, leaving his room, “I’m done with you.”

“The fuck is what supposed to mean?” Rafe follows you downstairs.

“It means this fucking relationship is over, we’re over!” you shout in frustration.

As you made it outside, you heard Rafe scream and break something that he threw. At this point, you didn’t care you were walking outside alone, you knew your way around from Rafe’s home, and you just needed to get home away from him, hoping he wouldn’t follow.

You were glad to make it home and see the sight of your brother and Sarah asleep in the living room with a movie playing on the TV. You made your way to your room and cried yourself to sleep.

It was like a parallel between you and Sarah. You were a Pogue dating a Kook and Sarah was a Kook dating a Pogue, except now she was a Pogue. One relationship was toxic and the other healthy. Sarah is happier with John B than she was with Topper just like you were happier with JJ than you were with Rafe.

How could Rafe do that to you? Especially to someone he said he always loved but that wasn’t love. You knew that you had no love for him left in you, instead, it was hate.

꥟

The next day, you woke up to your neck feeling sore and you remembered why as you felt sick to your stomach.

Now how were you going to hide the bruises? Makeup could help but not in the hot weather. You decided to take a shower and think in there.

A hoodie. Yes, it was hot out, but you weren’t about to throw on a turtleneck so you thought pairing the hoodie with some shorts would make it look less odd, and it would be cooler by the time the sun sets. You had to tighten the strings of the hood so it would cover your neck better, and that was the best you could do.

“What time did you get home?” John B asks, making you jump, “I didn’t hear you come in.”

You shrug, “Not too late, you were asleep when I came back.”

“I see…” he replies, “Listen, I’m sorry about last night–”

you interrupt him, “No, I’m sorry, I should’ve never stormed off like that or brought up Dad that way.”

“No, it’s okay,” he shakes his head, “I know you miss him too but we’ll be okay just like we always have.”

Some time passed, the sun was setting, and you saw Sarah out on the front porch.

“Hey, are you okay? I heard you and Rafe broke up,” Sarah asks with concern in her voice.

“Oh, you did?” John B joins in, “Finally!”

Sarah glares at him, telepathically telling him to shut up.

“Yeah, we did…” you confirm, “How’d you find that out that?”

“Well, I came home last night and saw a shattered flower vase on the floor and a hole in the wall, so I was like, what made Rafe mad this time?” she slightly chuckles.

“I guess he didn’t take it well, huh?” you assume with a small laugh.

“As far as I could tell," Sarah sighs, "I wouldn’t recommend going anywhere he might be.”

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Miss. I’m too good for you Pogues.” Pope appears.

“You know that’s not true, Pope.” you chuckle.

“I know, I’m just teasing,” he replies.

“Y/N!" Kie comes running to you, “Where have you been, you bitch!”

“Well, damn, it’s nice to see you too.” you joke as she squeezes you in her arms.

“I’m never letting you date another Kook again.” she declares and you agree to it.

You feel overwhelmed with emotions with all that’s going on, but it feels good to see everyone and then remember one was missing.

“Hey, where’s JJ?” you ask everyone.

John B points over to the water where you see JJ sitting by smoking a joint, so you decide to go talk to him.

“Hey, Jay,”

“Oh, hey,” he looks up at you and smiles, “you want a hit of this?

“Sure,” you reply, taking the joint.

“So,” JJ begins, “How come you were barely around?”

“If I’m being honest…” you hesitate, “Rafe is a…control freak in the worst way possible.”

JJ chuckles, “He looks like it,”

“I know, I should’ve noticed earlier.” you mention, "I'm sorry though, I never meant to hurt you and everyone else."

“No, you’re all good, you made it out though.” he gives you a comforting smile.

“Yeah, I’m glad that nightmare is over.” you sigh in relief.

“Why are you wearing a hoodie?” he asks out of curiosity, “I’m only asking because that’s rare for you on a day like this.”

“Why are you?” you ask back, pointing out the one he’s wearing.

He laughs, “Alright, you got me there.”

“It’s a nice hoodie though.” you compliment him, hoping he'd let you borrow it one day and he would.

“Thanks, you should wear it sometime.” he teases, “Too soon?

“You’re funny, JJ...but I wouldn't be opposed to it." you turn the other way, hiding the redness on your face.

"I'll keep that in mind then," JJ smirks, taking another hit of his joint.

You and JJ just always had that spark that would always come back, and you both loved that.

JJ knits his eyebrows, “What’s that on your neck?”

Your heart drops to your stomach when you remember. He saw the bruises since you turned your head, and you didn’t want to lie and say it was hickeys but you also knew you couldn’t use the good old burned yourself with a curling iron excuse.

“Oh,” you nervously laugh, “that’s from wrestling with my brother the other day.”

“Really?” he doesn’t buy it, “John B barely even hugs you.”

He must’ve paid good attention or had a good memory of your life because he was right.

“Damn, you didn’t have to call me out like that,” you respond, joking since it’s a way of coping.

“Well, I’m just saying and I don’t think he would hurt you like that.” he adds, “C’mon you can tell me.”

“Rafe…”

“What do you mean?”

“…we were arguing, and he didn’t like that I raised my voice at him but I was only defending myself until I couldn’t,” you answer.

JJ felt his blood pressure rise so high, but he stayed calm to comfort you as he pulled you into his arms and tossed the joint away. You remembered the times he held you in his arms when you were sad about something so that’s exactly what he was doing.

"Does John B know?' he asks.

"No,"

“Listen, it’s not your fault, none of it is.” he reassures, “Rafe has his issues to work with but that doesn’t mean he had the right to treat you like that. You don’t deserve that; you deserve way better than that and more.”

“Thank you, JJ,” you say, still in his arms. “I appreciate that, I needed it.”

“Of course,” he affirms, “I’m also sorry. I wish I tried harder to get you out of that, I knew something was up— we all did but everyone was just stuck on what to do without any proof, you know?”

“No, I don’t want you or anyone else blaming yourself.” you reassure, “I still have you all at the end of the day, and that’s the most important to me.”

“Yeah, me too.” he mentions, "We're going to have to tell your brother as well."

"Hm, I don't like the sound of that." you say, "But I know I have to."

"I know," JJ adds, "but I'll be by your side if that makes you more comfortable?"

"I'd like that!" you exclaim, and he smiles.

You two hear the sounds of a dirt bike.

“Did one of them take your bike out for a joyride or something?” you joke.

“I didn’t bring it today…Kie drove Pope and I out here.” JJ says with a confused expression.

Your heart drops once again, remembering who else you knew who owned a dirt bike.

“Fuck, this cannot be happening,” you mutter to yourself as you both got up.

“It’s okay, just stay behind me,” JJ tells you.

You both watch Rafe make his way to your brother and the others.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Sarah calls out to him.

“Taking back what’s mine,” Rafe responds before looking around, “tell me where she is, and nothing happens.”

“Dude, get the fuck out of here.” John B warns him as he gets closer, “I don’t need any more of your bullshit right now.”

“Seriously, you’re crazy,” Sarah tells Rafe, “Just go back home.”

“Or what?” Rafe lets out a small laugh.

You were holding onto JJ’s arm, and you could tell JJ was getting angry just by Rafe's presence but unluckily, Rafe spotted you and JJ.

“Well, would you look at that!” Rafe calls out, “You see, Y/N? I knew you’d go back to that Pogue! You’re just a fucking slut!”

“Alright, fuck it,” JJ pulls out his gun from the pocket of his hoodie and points it at Rafe.

“JJ!” everyone but Rafe shouts.

Rafe had pulled his gun out as well and John B yelled at you to get down, so you did.

“You really wanna do this, man?” Rafe questions JJ.

JJ shrugs, “If it keeps you dead then yeah.”

“Not unless you’re the dead one first,” Rafe states, slowly moving his finger to the trigger.

You began shaking while John B motioned for you and JJ to stay quiet as he slowly made his way to Rafe and pushed him down to the ground. Shots were fired at the sky before Sarah grabbed Rafe’s gun and threw it into the water.

JJ made sure you weren’t shot or anything before he went to help your brother as Rafe was strangling him, and JJ pulled Rafe off of John B and took matters into his own hands. JJ threw punches at Rafe, but he fought back then JJ pressed his fingers into Rafe's eyes before he started to punch him again to the point of blood running down Rafe's face then JJ began strangling him back to feel what you felt the night he choked you.

John B and Pope pulled JJ off of Rafe this time while Sarah and Kie told you to go hide inside the house.

Your brother told JJ to take you somewhere far from there while they would handle Rafe, and JJ didn't hesitate and kicked Rafe in the stomach before doing so. Kie would’ve let him take the car, but it was her dad’s truck, and she wasn’t going to risk getting in trouble so he thought of taking Rafe’s bike as it added a little more taste of revenge.

After a couple of minutes, the commotion started calming down. You hated every second of it, you hated people yelling at each other, and you hated any type of fighting. You were feeling numb, all of it was happening too fast.

JJ came in, "We gotta go right now."

“Run!" you heard Kie shout as you both saw Rafe making his way towards you and JJ, who quickly grabbed your hand as you both ran towards the dirt bike.

You don't remember the last time you rode with JJ but this time, the wind hitting your face felt so freeing. An aura of colors felt like they were going inside your body as JJ sped up to where he was taking you. You took notice of the state his knuckles were in, all bloody.

Within fifteen minutes, you both arrived near a small hidden shed near the woods. It intimated you to go in the woods with how dark it was, but JJ reassured you it was fine.

“How’d you find this place?” you ask him.

“Well,” he begins, “when I wanted to get away from my dad, I would hide here if I had nowhere else to go."

You nodded at his response, not knowing what to say as if you two didn’t go through chaos moments ago.

“This is also where John B and I first smoked weed together.” JJ laughs at the memory.

"I'm assuming this is where he would sneak off to then," you mention.

"For sure," JJ replies.

"I'm honestly worried right now for my brother and the others," you admit, "anything could have happened over there."

"The worst that could've happened is someone getting shot, but they got rid of it."

"That someone could've been you!" you cry out, "Rafe was pointing it at you."

JJ looks away for a second, rethinking the whole occurrence.

"I was just trying to protect you..." he responds, "I couldn't risk losing you again if he had taken you or not,"

From that moment, you realized that the right one was always JJ. You both just needed the time to figure out the things in yourselves and what your heart truly desired and JJ had already done that; his heart desired you.

"And you did it, Jay," you reassure, feeling like your heart was screaming at you to spill out your true feelings, "just like you always have, it's you who I can always count on, and you've proven that."

JJ stares into your eyes, "What are you trying to say?"

"It's you who makes me feel safe and cared about, no matter what situation we're both in, you don't give up, and you're always there...it's you who I want."

JJ grabs your face, kissing you like he had been waiting to do that. You both missed this. His affection towards you always made you feel special, and you're the only person he's still ever wanted.

He pulls away, "You didn't have to tell me twice...I've missed you."

"I've missed you too," you smile, holding his hands that were still grabbing your face.

"So!" John B calls out with Sarah next to him who gives you a teasing smile, startling you, "It's a good thing I checked here first and yes, everything's taken care of."

"That's great man," JJ comments, acting like John B didn't catch you two in the middle of something.

John B pulls you into a hug when he sees your bruises and apologizes for what you went through. "From now on, promise me I'll be one of your first options to come if there's trouble."

"I promise,"

"I also just wanted to let you know, don't worry about him," Sarah refers to Rafe, "I got it taken care of and he's got other things to worry about so you're going to be okay."

Sarah had taken advantage of being her father's favorite so she just called him and took her side when she told him about Rafe's actions.

"Thank you, Sarah." you smile.

"So, you guys want to get out of here and do some illegal shit or?" John B asks, lightening the mood, "Pope and Kie are waiting in the Twinkie."

"Let's go!" JJ exclaims, "Lead the way, John B."

While everyone else gets in the Twinkie, you and JJ still go on the dirt bike with him now being the proud owner of two dirt bikes.

"Hey, listen," JJ looks back at you, "I know you just went through a lot, so I just wanted to let you know that there's no rush in anything between us, I'll always be by your side every step of the way and I'll be here when you're ready."

You smile and kiss him on the cheek, "Thank you, JJ, I'm glad to have you in my life."

JJ smiles and speeds off as you're hugging his waist, holding on tight but JJ was loving every second of it, happy to have you back in his life as well.

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drudyslut · 6 months

Text

— warnings: smut! 18+ mean!john b, bimbo!reader, degrading, oral (m receiving), slight choking, fingering, hair pulling.

likes, reblogs and comments are appreciated <3

❥ john b snaps at bimbo!gf!reader

“he’s my best friend, y/n! and you don’t expect me to get upset that you were flirting with him?”

you sink down into the couch further, fighting the tears that pricked at your eyes. you’d never seen john b. so upset before. you didn’t mean to make him so mad. you only flirted with jj because you’d saw him talking to sarah cameron. his ex girlfriend. it set you off, so naturally, you wanted to hit him where it hurt. flirting with jj.

“i-i didn’t mean to make you so mad, baby.. it-it was innocent. i-i was just upset that you were talking to sarah, i’m- i’m sorry” you choked out, finally letting your hot tears fall down your face.

“maybe don’t be such a slut! have you ever thought of that? hmm? sarah means nothing to me!”

you stand from your spot on the couch, taking a step toward john b and smacking his chest. “and jj means nothing to me!”

you turn quickly on your heels and storm off to the bedroom, slamming the door behind you and throwing yourself onto the bed, burying your face in the pillows as you screamed out in frustration.

the sound of the bedroom door pushing open makes you lift your head, turning slowly to see john b standing in the doorway, slight regret filling his eyes.

“i’m sorry baby. i didn’t mean to upset you. i just- i’m so used to everyone choosing jj, that seeing you flirt with him set me off”

you sit yourself up in the bed, crossing your legs as you look into his beautiful brown eyes.

“i wouldn’t ever choose jj. i want you. only you.”

john b sighs, running a hand through his messy brown hair. he takes two long strides towards you, pushing your back into the mattress as he crawls on top of you, his arms caging you into the bed.

he leans down, his lips softly ghosting over the shell of your ear, the feel of his breath on your skin as he whispers sending a shiver through your body. “i know that. let me make it up to you”

you suck in a shaky breath, wrapping your arms around his neck, smashing your lips with his in seconds.

he kisses you back, his lips consuming yours like he was a man that was touch starved. he slips his tongue into your mouth, dominating yours instantly, pulling a string of whines and moans from you.

“you’re so pretty when you’re like this. all whiny and hot, and i haven’t even touched you yet” he rasps, placing one hand around your throat and squeezing at it softly.

you bring your bottom lip between your teeth, eyes stuck on his darkened over, lust filled ones. you loved and hated when john b was mad, you loved it because he always made up for it in the dirtiest ways possible, but you hated it because, honestly, john b was sort of scary when he was angry.

“gonna make you remember who you belong to, you want that? want me to show you that you’re mine?”

you nod your head slowly, the grip he had on your throat tightening as you moved your head.

“words. you know i don’t like silent responses baby girl”

“y-yes. want you”

he releases the grip he has on your throat, pulling his shirt over his head and tossing it onto the floor, leaving his tanned, muscular body on display for you.

you sit yourself up, reaching for the zipper on his shorts and pulling it down with haste. you help him slide his shorts down his legs, leaving him in nothing but his tight boxers, his already hardened cock pressing tightly against the fabric.

you reach your hand out, palming him through his boxers, making him growl from the contact.

“my girls a needy little thing isn’t she? good thing i’m in a giving mood tonight” john b says, his tone slightly mocking at your need for him.

“s-so needy. please, let me suck your cock” you beg, fingers playing with the waistband of his boxers, lightly tugging at them.

“don’t worry baby, you will”

john b pushes his boxers down his legs, lifting himself off the bed to remove them completely and tossing them onto the bedroom floor. you swipe your tongue across your bottom lip, mouth salivating at the sight of his thick, veiny cock in front of you.

you eagerly reach your hands out, gripping at him lightly, stroking your hand softly up and down his length, pulling a low groan from his lips.

his fingers grip the back of your head, pulling at your hair as he pushes your face down. “suck. now” he demands.

you smirk up at him, licking a hot stripe up the bottom of his shaft and placing a sweet kiss to his swollen head. he bucks his hips forward, fingers tightly gripping at your hair.

you push the head of his cock into your mouth, swirling your tongue around it, the taste of the precum that’s leaked from the tip making you hum in appreciation.

“s-stop—fuck— stop fuckin’ teasing. you know i don’t like games, baby”

you place both hands on his thighs, steadying yourself before pushing him fully into your mouth, gagging slightly when the head hits the back of your throat. you begin slowly bobbing your head up and down his length, drool running down the sides of your mouth as you work his length.

john b groans, using the grip he has on your head to push himself farther into your mouth, thrusting his hips forward to fuck himself into your throat.

“s-so fuckin’ good. such a sweet dumb cock whore, takin’ me so good”

john b’s words have you squeezing your thighs together, your arousal beginning to pool between your legs. you lower one of your hands, fingers finding your clit and rubbing slow circles around it, trying to relieve some of the pressure you felt.

john b pushes you of him, your back hitting the mattress with a soft thud.

you gasp when you feel john b’s large hands on your inner thighs, prying them open quickly and running his thick fingers through your slick folds.

“john b. please” you breathe out, bucking your hips forward.

your mind was hazy, craving the feel of him stretching you, pushing you to see stars.

he continues the teasing motions with his fingers, coating his fingers with your arousal.

you open your mouth to speak but the words die on your tongue when he shoves two fingers inside you, curling them slightly and hitting your g-spot repeatedly.

“shiiit, john b, need more” you whine, fingers fisting into the bed sheets, toes curling from the pleasure building inside you.

he harshly thrusts his fingers in and out of your soaked cunt, his free hand gripping at your throat lightly. “so fuckin’ needy, so whiny. just let me take care of you, okay?”

you squeeze your eyes shut, nodding your head. john b picks up the pace of his fingers, pushing them in and out of you harshly, the band in your belly tightening as your first release of the night threatened to wash over you.

“s’close john b, p-please”

“cum for me. let it all out baby girl”

a few more harsh thrusts from his fingers and your release was washing over you in toe curling euphoria.

“fu-fuck”

john b helps you ride out your high, pushing his fingers in and out of you slowly as you came down. you go limp below him as he slowly pulls his fingers from you, making you wince at the empty feeling.

“you did so good baby. so so good for me”

you lift up on your elbows, chest heaving up and down as you try and steady your breathing back to a normal rhythm.

“i love you, jb. only you”

he leans down and presses a soft kiss to your lips, giving you a small smile as he pulls you down to lay beside him, wrapping his arms tightly around your waist.

“i know. and i love you. just, no more flirting with jj, got it?”

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infictionalwonderland · 1 year

Text

pairing: john b x fem!reader

warnings: drugs & alcohol, it’s so fluffy i wanna die, crude language 😯😯😯, PDA, swearing, talks of marriage and money!

Your best friend was high out of his mind.

Gone. Zooted. Wiped-out. Whatever. He was all of that and more. And the culprit here was a certain JJ Maybank—the blonde had shown up at your front door, your red-eyed giggly best friend in tow and simply left him with you, laughing manically as he scampered away and John B eagerly latched onto you.

Bastard.

He’d destroyed your night of serenity—or the night you were planning on having, a piping mug of tea ready alongside your chosen book of the night—already in your cozy silk pj set, candles alight in your room and bringing you into a sense of comfort and relaxation.

Well—if would have if your best friend wasn’t trying to set fire to his hair on them, to see what burnt hair smelt like.

“Smells nice.” John B smiled dopily up at you as you urgently tugged him away from your burning candles—as you turned your head to look down at him, you only caught a brief look at the vibrant twinkle of mischief in his honeyed eyes before he was leaning forward into the crook of your neck and inhaling dramatically, “not as nice as you though. Never as nice as you.”

“Oh dear.” You blinked.

Yep, he was absolutely sloshed.

“Whaaaat?” John whined out at your startled tone—he pulled away from smelling you with a soft pout that looked unfairly adorable: he didn’t move far, keeping the distance between you two to a minimum as he gazed at your face longingly, almost.

“What, what?”

He seemed to not hear you or he just outright ignored you completely—now frowning down at the button up Hawaiian shirt that he currently adorned, “it’s itchy.”

You blankly gazed at him as he pouted harder and drew his hands to the material of his shirt, continuously pulling it away from his skin only for it to fall back the next second and making him pull it away again.

“For the love of all things holy.” You sighed, gazing up into the sky as though looking for a higher power for guidance—you grasped both of this large, warm hands within your own soft ones and he seemed to gasp a little at the contact which you ignored.

You pushed him softly onto the bed and then squatted down before him slightly, gentle fingers undoing the buttons of his shirt and unintentionally brushing over the muscled, bare skin of his chest.

When you help him ease it off his broad shoulders, you looked up, only to find your best friend staring down at you like you were some angel—eyes hazy and lips twitching into the softest smile you’d ever seen.

“You’re really pretty.” He mumbled gently, the sugary words and his timid tone flowing like a soothing, cool breeze across your ears—his eyes drilling into your own. “I—I always thought so but I never said it, because I just thought you wouldn’t think I was pretty! Like—like, beauty and the beast—you’re the beautiful-est beauty and I’m the beast-y beast.”

An abashed flush touched at your skin, heart stuttering, but before you could speak, he was at it again.

“I personally think you’re um—like, the prettiest person that I’ve ever seen. You’re—you’re like this beautiful princess and ball of sunshine all in one and like the sun—being around you just lights me up, I think that makes sense? You’re like the perfect person in my book! But… don’t tell JJ I said this, he won’t let me live it down. Actually—no, tell him I’m a proud fan of yours.”

Your best friend continued rambling on, not seeming to acknowledge the weight of his words.

“Do you think I’m pretty?”

He stared down at you suddenly, hazel eyes round and slightly red rimmed with a flustered shade of crimson dusting over his tanned skin, corners of his lips tipping into a shy smirk.

“I think you’re very pretty.” You confirmed softly, a hand gliding up his knee gently as you still remained crouched before him, you have a soft squeeze to his lower thigh before standing and his eyes stayed on you the whole time—looking at you like you made every worry in the world go away.

“Really?” He gasped in disbelief, eyes wide in awe.

“Yeah.” You giggled—eyes crinkling affectionately in the corners as you stared at him with a sweet smile.

“Good, good, my future wife has to think I’m pretty. First rule to marriage.” John B nodded enthusiastically—your face slacking shock, lips slightly pouted in wonder. He didn’t seem to notice as he continued to grin and suddenly he reached forwards, arms lovingly entangling around your waist before laying down on his back and tugging you atop him.

You let out a soft, startled squeal and his glazed eyes glittered at the sound—hands respectfully rested on your hips as you put your arms either side his head and used them to balance and not be fully on him.

“No, stop—“ He whined in disappointment, reaching to either side of him and softly removing your hands from the bed, intertwining both your hands with his own and making it so all your body weight was on him. “Better.” John B grinned dopily, looking exceedingly lovesick.

“You’re so intoxicated.”

“You’re so pretty. And perfect, and kind and beautiful and sexy and funny and cool and cute—and you’re gonna be my future wife.”

“I—“

“What flowers do you want.. at the wedding?” John hummed, thumb rubbing against the back of your head in contentment. “Oh! I’ll buy you your dress too—when I get the money—because, only the best for my pretty little wife. Only the best.” He rambled.

“Tulips could be cute.” You finally admitted, soft toned as you traced gentle patterns against his bare, muscled chest that you lay slumped across.

“I’ll get you all the tulips in the world.” He vowed immediately—“I’ll get you all the tulips for everywhere! From—from Mars too, they might be a little burnt but it’s okay, we won’t judge them on their appearance.”

“From Mars? Are you gonna be an astronaut?” You gasped dramatically. “First Pogue on the moon.”

“Do you want me to be?” John B innocently inquired, twirling strands of your hair around his fingers.

“I want you to be what you want to be.”

“I… I’m too pissed to understand whatever you just said but your voice is always really—really nice to hear, so thank you.”

“.. thank you for my voice?”

“Yep.” He giggled childishly, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of your head. “It’s a very, very nice voice.”

“Thank you.” You hummed back in amusement, leaning your head against his tone chest and looking up at him—hands still entangled with his one and he stared back, eyes glowing with affection in the dim lighting on your room and smiling at you with an expression you’d never seen on his face.

“Night, night future wife.” John B softly mumbled, squeezing your face together briefly on an impulse before thumping his head against your soft mattress and closing his eyes.

“Night, night honey.”

“I’ll get you those tulips.” He promised, voice slurring with sleep and intoxication. “I’ll—I’ll get you a dress, too, and a pretty ring. Whatever you want.”

As he dozed off, you could only stare at his sleeping face, still wrapped against his chest—your heart fluttered involuntarily within your chest but what the fuck. You were fucked (hopefully).

#john b routledge #john b x reader #john b #john booker routledge #john b obx #outerbanks imagine #obx fanfiction #obx imagine #jj maybank imagines #jj maybank x reader #jj maybank imagine #jj maybank fluff #john b fluff #outerbanks smut #obx smut #obx fluff

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nickeverdeen · 6 months

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The Old Guard masterlist

Match-ups:

Nothing yet

Preferences (you can choose whoever you want):

Are they top, switch or bottom?

Andy

Imagine:

Nothing yet

Hcs:

Nothing yet

Smut:

Nothing yet

Alphabet:

Nothing yet

Nicky (only male for a romantic - he’s gay, but for platonic any gender is fine)

Imagine:

Nothing yet

Hcs:

Nothing yet

Smut:

Nothing yet

Alphabet:

Nothing yet

Nile Freeman

Imagine:

Nothing yet

Hcs:

Nothing yet

Smut:

Nothing yet

Alphabet:

Nothing yet

Joe (only male for a romantic - he’s gay, but for platonic any gender is fine)

Imagine:

Nothing yet

Hcs:

Nothing yet

Smut:

Nothing yet

Alphabet:

Nothing yet

Booker

Imagine:

Nothing yet

Hcs:

Nothing yet

Smut:

Nothing yet

Alphabet:

Nothing yet

Merrick

Imagine:

Nothing yet

Hcs:

Nothing yet

Smut:

Nothing yet

Alphabet:

Nothing yet

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romancingromanoff · 10 months

Text

Secrets & Sketches

Andromache the Scythian x f!reader

I decided to create a series of loosely related one shots for Andromache (my beloved). Here’s part 1 and part 2

Summary: You were always staring at her, not knowing she was staring back.

TW: None?

Word count: +5,100

Author's Note: Hi y'all. Here's some slightly domestic fluff before the action happens and the stakes skyrocket through the roof.

Despite never having lived with four strangers before, it turned out that your new situation offered you far more privacy than you had ever experienced while living with your mother.

The woman had a compulsive need to control every aspect of your life, from what you wore to what you ate. You were barely even safe in the bathroom. The years had taught you to lie with your words and carefully crafted smiles. Knowing what she wanted to hear from you and how you could appease her temper was like mastering a second language. Your skills in the craft became more and more refined throughout the years and your confidence ultimately grew. But you underestimated your mother and made the greatest mistake of them all.

“I know you’re lying to me! What are you trying to hide from me, you ungrateful whore?”

A picture frame nearly collided with your head, chipping the door frame instead of scratching your face. The glass shattered on the floor and your body jumped twice, once at the sound and another time when your eyes settled on the damage and found that your favorite childhood photo with your grandmother was destroyed.

“Whatever you did, I will find out! You cannot lie to me, I am your mother!”

It was one afternoon you had wanted all to yourself to go see the movie Roman Holiday after school. The charismatic Audrey Hepburn, riding on a Vespa with the largest smile you had ever seen, caused strange feelings to stir in your stomach when you had first watched the trailer. She was a princess masquerading as a commoner in order to freely experience the wonders of the Eternal City. Oh, how you envied her character. Your mother, however, could only focus on how short her hair was. The shortest your hair had ever been was when you were a fresh newborn. Once it grew past your upper back, you were never allowed to cut it, despite all the other girls you knew being able to short styles.

“How disappointing.” She scoffed when a clip of her getting her haircut played. “Such a beautiful young woman and she wants to make herself look like a man? I really don’t understand your generation, you’re all confused.”

When you arrived home late that evening, she refused to believe the lie you had produced about giving some tutoring lessons after school. It was only two days later that she found the proof she wanted. While snooping through your journal she came across the movie ticket you had pasted next to your latest entry. She burned the entire thing as only one portion of your punishment.

How your mother could predict your actions, anticipate your every move, and see through every single one of your lies you did not know. It was like she knew you and how your mind functioned but could never truly understand how suffocated you felt by the twisted ways she expressed her “love” for you. She was your mother, the closest kin you had left after your grandmother’s passing and the woman that had known you for your entire existence. The fact that she birthed you was one she’d never let you forget, yet you knew she would spend your entire life trying to mold you into something you weren’t if she could. If she could never accept you then how could anybody else?

Then you met Andy, who always seemed to be in tune with whatever you were thinking. Hell, she could practically guess your thoughts word for word without even really trying, yet not once did it ever feel like she was violating your mind as your mother had. You were almost completely certain that she was fully aware of the times when you were drawing her. It was impossible not to see the art in her movements. She’d be doing something mundane yet slightly active such as washing the dishes and you’d pull your sketchbook out. The moment you put pencil to paper she would slow down ever-so-slightly. A plate that needed maybe two wipes suddenly took four or more to clean. She must have known what she was doing to you, softly smirking as she folded laundry

But did she know what it was doing to you? How intensely you felt about her and as more than just an art subject, more than someone you merely admired. Pages full of sketches, varying in detail and design, became dedicated to capturing the alluring domestic side of the ancient warrior. Every angle, every shadow was carefully reconstructed (to the best of your ability anyway) as if to preserve each moment and time so that your eyes may never forget what she looked like chopping onions on a rainy Tuesday evening. A brief moment that might be incredibly insignificant for a being that has walked the earth for thousands of years, but one that was still so precious to you. The time you spent together, even the moments everyone else might consider to be dull, were filled with color all because of her.

Why she allowed you to draw her so frequently was something you couldn’t quite figure out. This rather untraditional dance the two of you engaged in was never spoken about in words. There was no doubt that Andy would have said something much earlier had she been uncomfortable being drawn by you. A part of you enjoyed entertaining the idea that, perhaps in some small way, Andy might actually return your feelings. But at the same time, you didn’t want to be wrong and come off as an artistic creep trying to invade her privacy.

The good thing was you never had to worry about any of the others looking through your sketchbook. The one time Joe had asked if he could take a peek it hadn’t even crossed your mind that you could have said ‘no’ to him. But the smallest bit of hesitance that he had seen in your eyes as you prepared to hand over your most personal and sacred treasure immediately stopped him.

“Y/N, you don’t actually have to show me anything if you don’t want to. I was merely curious but no part of me would be offended if you want to keep your art to yourself. I will always respect your privacy first.”

His words were almost foreign to you, like ones you had only ever read on pages and later discovered were pronounced completely differently when you finally heard them spoken out loud. Still, you knew Joe meant everything he said. Though all of your new companions were certainly capable of it, none of them had ever once tried to deceive you or keep you hidden from the truth. Previously living with a pathological liar had taught you all the signs you needed to know and not once had you found a single one since joining the old guard.

It was a bit startling how safe you already felt with these few strangers you had only met a few short weeks ago. You could talk to all of them about (almost) anything, although you did worry that your endless amount of questions might annoy any one of the unnaturally older beings. Sometimes you nearly cringed at the thought of how ignorant and stupid you must have appeared in their eyes. It mostly motivated you to contribute where you could. Cooking and cleaning were not tasks you necessarily enjoyed, but it felt nice to make some type of contribution to the team. Still, you longed to prove yourself as something more, to help save lives and make Andy, Booker, Joe, and Nico proud. And maybe, just maybe, if you became worthy enough of someone like your rescuer, she might look at you differently.

┊ ┊┊

It was nearing morning hours and your endless thoughts hadn’t allowed you to sleep yet. There was a buzzing in your body, making it impossible to fully relax, even though you knew you had a busy day of training ahead of you and you needed the rest. You tried to conjure up the comforting sound of Andy’s steady heartbeat as you imagined her lying next to you, only to grow even more anxious when you began feeling guilty for indulging in such thoughts.

Did she even like women the way you did? You certainly had your suspicions and noticed the way her heart seemed to break anytime there was a mention of Quynh. The necklace that never left her neck also appeared to hold a great amount of pain and significance to her. But even if you were right, Andy had never brought up any details regarding her love life and you were determined to respect that undiscussed boundary. The tossing and turning was just an unfortunate side effect that eventually had you cave in and get up to grab a drink from the kitchen.

“Can’t sleep?” The voice of the very person you had been thinking of came from behind you as soon as you had turned on a small lamp. You let out a nervous laugh and kept a steady hand on your chest when you caught her smiling directly at you. It made you take some extra time while getting your glass of water so that your heartbeat had a chance to settle.

Andy sat at the bar sipping on a mug of coffee. Even with the light being so dim, you didn’t need it to tell her beverage was completely black.

“I still don’t know how you’re able to drink that. Every time I try it it’s like trying to swallow hot liquid dirt.”

“Really?” The Scythian chuckled and you prayed the darkness would hide your melted expression. “That’s surprising considering how you drown yours in milk and sugar.”

“Hey, we can’t all be as tough as you.”

“No one said you had to be. No one said you weren’t already.” You supposed you were tough in the context of being able to override death itself, but besides that, it wasn’t a character trait you ever considered yourself to have. Even the immortality thing was basically a fluke.

The dark haired woman gestured for you to sit down and you awkwardly lowered yourself into the chair across from her. Your glass of water looked silly standing next to her more refined drink. “Yeah, that’s me. I got tough hands covered in paper cuts and callouses from drawing.”

“Art is tough for a lot of people. It’s tough for me. I could never quite get the emotional vulnerability part down and I feel like all the best art pulls from that. I would say you could probably teach me a thing or two about drawing but you have something more inborn than that. It can’t be taught.”

“But you’ve never seen my work?” Had she? You didn’t think she’d go through your things without your permission but there was definiteness in her tone that told you her words were true.

“No,” she shrugged. Nothing in her seemed to waver. “I don’t need to. There’s this look you get in your eyes when you’re completely focused on drawing that seems to transport you to this different world. I always wonder where you go but don’t want to tear you away when you’re clearly inspired.”

You had been staring at her for so long believing that she was merely tolerating your strange behavior. You assumed she simply felt unbothered. The idea that she might have been secretly staring back never once crossed your mind.

“You… You watch me?” A beat passed and your brain short circuited, unsure of what kind of answer you even hoped to hear. If she did then was it with the same unspoken desire you held in your heart that you could be worthy of her one day? No, it had to be something far from that. Your awkward, uncoordinated behavior could only be considered entertaining at best if Andy didn’t find you pitiable. You imagined it was like watching your neighbor’s beagle after they arrived home from a medical procedure at the vet. The poor thing was so loopy yet unaware that he couldn’t walk in a straight line. Every few steps he took he’d also crumble to the floor before eagerly trying to get back up and making another attempt with the same results. That’s what she must see whenever she saw you trip over your own feet. Or how silly you looked the other day when Booker tried to show you how to hold a pistol and you shook so hard that it fumbled out of your hands.

Even with all the time in the world, it was a struggle to see yourself ever truly earning your place among the rest of the guard one day. You not only lacked combat experience but had been thoroughly sheltered from the world by your mother. She hadn’t allowed you to participate in any sports, not even the more feminine ones like dance or golf. The result was barely being able to do a push-up and having the wind knocked out of your lungs after only a brief jog.

The others had started you off with some basic self defense techniques, which caused you to wake up with sore muscles you hadn’t even known existed. Everyone was extremely patient with you, stressing the importance of slowly building up your strength and reminding you that there was no rush to suddenly reach their skill level when they’d been fighting for longer than some of the strongest empires had lasted. But then you’d watch them training together or listen to one of them recount several of the missions they completed while you were stuck waiting in the safe house. They were out there saving lives, as well as literally sacrificing their own, while you could only hope to one day do the same.

In the back of your head you could hear your mother berating you for having such ridiculous dreams. If she could see you struggling to learn a pull up she would certainly laugh at your miserable attempts. But Andy didn’t look at you like you were “perfectly pathetic” as your mother often described. No, she seemed to stare at you softly, which made you feel like you were the only person she was thinking about.

“I find you interesting. More specifically, it’s been a pleasure to watch you grow into yourself these past few weeks. You look much more relaxed.”

You were fairly relaxed, aside from the fact that your heart was currently threatening to jump out of your chest. Or if physicists could somehow harness its energy then it could power the entire world. She had just admitted to finding you interesting and you were supposed to answer back in words. You took a painfully slow drink.

“Well, it has been nice being able to make my own decisions and not have someone constantly looking over my shoulder.” You think back to an instance where you were recently baking a lemon glaze cake for the team and some icing stuck to your fingers. Immediately, you went to wash your hands as your mother would have insisted upon when it occurred to you that she no longer had control over you. Licking your fingers after that had never felt so satisfying. “Even the little choices I’m able to make now are kind of exciting. Is that strange to say?”

“Not at all.” Andy shook her head. “It’s a beautiful thing, seeing how far you’ve come in such a short amount of time. Not to mention how glad I am that you feel safe enough around us to be yourself.”

A pang of guilt ran through you. What must she think of you if you were keeping cryptic drawings of her a secret? “I really do, which is why I don’t want you to believe I’m trying to hide things from you! Not forever, at least. I trust you, and perhaps it’s more than I’ve ever trusted anyone else. But with my drawings… I suppose it’s rather complicated and I’ve never willingly shown them to anyone before. They’re nothing inappropriate, though! I would never do anything like that.”

Before you could completely melt into a puddle of despair, Andy reached for your forearm, anchoring the two of you together while helping to calm you down. Her hand was warmed from holding her hot mug.

“Hey, it’s alright, I trust you too. You don’t need to explain yourself to me. I’m flattered about the drawings and it’s nothing to be embarrassed about. I can wait until you’re ready to show them to me when you feel comfortable doing so.”

It was completely vexatious how patient Andy could be with you, or how she always seemed to know the right thing to say to make you feel better. She possessed the ability to soothe the fears you understood intimately along with the others which you had tried to suppress and nearly forgotten about. You simply weren’t used to being treated in such a way.

“How are you so patient with me all the time?” Your question came off more irritated than you intended, making you cringe inwardly. You weren’t even sure what you were really asking about.

In the few moments it took Andy to start processing the question, your thoughts finally began to come together and spill out all at once.

“I’m deeply appreciative of how understanding you’ve been, don’t get me wrong, but when I imagine myself in your position, it must be frustrating. You do so much for me, all four of you do, but you especially. I’m always needing your help with countless things even though I have nothing of use to offer in return. You’re all incredibly worldly people, capable of doing more than I ever have even before your first deaths. I’ve been kept sheltered my entire life and probably wouldn’t last a day on my own. Having me join the team probably feels a lot more like babysitting than anything else, yet you never complain about it.”

Even though you knew it wasn’t in her nature, sometimes you wished she would allow herself to be angry with you. Or if she even expressed the slightest bit of irritation then that might make you feel better somehow. You waited for Andy to tell you that you sounded ridiculous, or to make another comment about your tendency to overthink things. Nothing like that ever came.

In one swift, breathtaking movement, her hand carefully tilted your chin up towards her face so that you were caught in her stare. The skin of her thumb was rough and her green-blue eyes bore into your own, tender yet determined as they searched for something deep in your soul. Though her touch was completely innocent, it was also intensely intimate from your perspective at least. You wanted to bear your entire being to her, consciously preparing your mind and body to take in whatever words she was about to say.

“Y/N, listen to me. There is nothing you owe me. Relationships aren’t transactional and I enjoy being able to help you. You also didn’t choose this life and I can’t hold what you don’t know against you. I won’t lie and say patience comes to me easily. Truthfully, when you get to my age everything is frustrating. I’ve seen… far too much in my life aside from any type of explanation for it all and it has made me bitter. But you don’t deserve any of that and I don’t want to be that type of person anymore. I don’t ever want to turn my back on people I care about again.”

Her eyes glossed over with the hue of a haunting memory, something from her past clearly bothering her. She let go of you in the crest of the emotion and you nearly whimpered when you lost her touch, but found the rare opportunity to offer Andy the comfort she needed.

“I may not know much in the grand scheme of things, but I know you’re not bitter. Truly bitter people try to tear down everyone around them because there’s nothing misery loves more than company. You’re nothing like my mother, she wanted to control me and keep me trapped in a life where I could never have my own happiness. You set me free. Anyway, it would be hard to live as long as you have, see the things that you’ve seen, and not become discouraged with all of the wickedness that has happened throughout history. What matters is that you’ve continued to fight for others that wouldn’t normally stand a chance on their own. If you were actually as bitter as you think, you could turn your back on everyone without a single care in the world. I see how much you care for others, Andy. Bitter people only care about themselves and I don’t see how you can believe you’re one of them.”

The fact that you were so young was partially why Andy felt the need to hold herself back and take things slow with you. Although your life would never be normal, she wanted to give you the chance to choose your own path and chase whatever dreams you fancied. Right now, it was crucial to prepare you for the world and to teach you how to keep your shared secret safe. But she knew you’d want to adventure out on your own at some point, and that you’d probably want to experiment with other partners closer to your age. Andy was aware of the baggage she carried, as well as the fact that the nature of your relationship meant she held a type of influence over you. She would never allow herself to take advantage of you like that.

But one thing she couldn’t let you do was downplay yourself, not when your words touched her in ways she hadn’t felt in thousands of years.

“Do you really believe you’re of no use at all and have nothing to offer? Y/N, I’ve traveled to every corner of the world and met the wisest individuals that still led directionless and unfulfilled lives. They thought of themselves too highly, pushed others away, and in the end their knowledge meant nothing when they were unable to make meaningful connections. You have all the time you need to perfect your knowledge and learn every skill that exists or will develop in the future.”

Your head tilted in perplexity.

“What? You think we had phones or electricity back when I was growing up? I didn’t learn how to drive a car until late last century. It was really like the blind leading the blind in those early days.”

Imagining a Victorian era Andy accidentally crashing a motorized carriage or angrily shaking her fist at experimental drivers from atop of her horse was certainly entertaining. You wondered if the two of you would ever share a similar experience together.

Temporarily distracted by your smile, Andy nearly forgot the importance of the message she was trying to convey to you.

“Y/N, you’re right that you’ve never really been given the chance to grow before all of this. None of that was your fault. The wonderful thing now is that you’re on your way to becoming smarter, like anybody else can when given the right tools. What you already have, your emotional strength and intelligence, is far more rare and valuable in my eyes. You teach me to look at things from a different perspective even when I’ve felt stuck in my ways for hundreds of years. Don’t overlook how much of an impact you can make or how much we all appreciate you.”

“Andy… I… Thank you.” You try not to cry, though you know she wouldn’t judge you if you did. Viewing your emotions as a strength is something that you never considered before. They were always a weakness back when you experienced nothing but misery, and now everything couldn’t be more different. Your new life was full of evenings spent getting tipsy and laughing at the stories your friends told you of places and times that sounded unreal. It was wanting the taste of more, the promise of the adventures that lay before you and the people you would get to share them with. It was a life you could hardly believe was real and you got to spend every single day with a woman that made your heart race with a single smile. Even if she never felt the same way about you, there was no chance that you’d trade your time with Andy for anything or anyone else. “Thank you for everything. I’m glad I get to experience all of this with you.”

She almost let her resolve crumble upon hearing your words. The grip around her drink tightened, heating up her flesh to a tender sting but she persevered through it. She knew that if she touched you again then it would all be over. There would be no way she could let go.

“As exciting as everything can be, I can’t help but feel nervous for what’s to come. I worry that no matter how hard I train I won’t be prepared. No matter how much I learn, there is bound to be something I overlook.”

How right you were.

“One thing I can tell you is that there are some things you’re never ready for, even if you spend centuries preparing. People, history, and almost everything I’ve encountered follow some type of pattern maybe 99% of the time. But all it takes is that 1% chance of randomness to make life unpredictable. Even the most meticulous of plans can end up going sideways. At the end of the day, I always ask myself why I’m here or why certain things happen and I’ve never been very close to an answer. There are questions I’ve carried with me for even longer than I can remember.”

It would have been quite terrifying to hear those words from anyone else besides Andy. If she still struggled to figure things out then you were practically cursed to be clueless for the rest of your existence. Although strangely enough, it was actually comforting to hear that she shared a similar sense of existential questioning. Both of you were human even if your lifespans or biology no longer were.

“Okay, but you must have a guess for when we’ll see flying cars at least. Or do you believe people will really be able to walk on Mars one day?”

A smooth attempt to cover up her broadening smile by lifting her coffee up to her mouth might have gone unnoticed if you hadn’t been so enamored by each one of Andy’s actions. She had a harder time hiding her eyes, which playfully rolled at your question.

“Sure, I suppose it’s possible. Hey, maybe you’ll be the first one and you can tell us all about it.”

“While the prospect of accomplishing something you’ve never done is intriguing, I wouldn’t want to do it without you.”

The words left your mouth, leaving only your pair of eyes holding hers throughout a deep silence. It wasn’t often that Andy looked like she was at a loss for words but this was definitely one of those times.

Quickly, you tried to cover up your confession with a stupid excuse. “I mean if there really are man-eating martians up there they’ll want to eat you first. You have way more muscle.”

“Right,” Andy laughed in agreement. “I guess that’s all I’m good for besides being a model for your artwork. Are you fast enough to draw me up there in time before I get turned into alien food?”

“Maybe.” You blushed and tried to go for Andy’s move to cover your face with your cup, only to realize that it was practically useless when it was made of glass.

“I, uh, really wanted to get some sleep tonight before waking up for early training but I guess I’m not doing a very good job at that.”

“Sleep in, you deserve the break. You’ve been pushing yourself really hard and should get to sleep in for once. There’s no need to overexert yourself.”

“Wait, aren’t you leaving for your mission around sunrise?” Andy was planning to look for some intel in the city and you knew she might be gone for up to a few days. “Wake me up before you go so I can say goodbye.”

For a moment, all the Scythian can do is try to memorize the look on your face, wishing that she could permanently sketch the vision on paper like you could. You gazed up at her with such innocence and devotion in your eyes, as if she was simply running to get milk from the grocery store the next morning. The team had actually glossed over the more important details about Andy’s assignment and what it would entail. It wasn’t that you were unaware of Andy’s brutal past and countless killings, but you still had yet to witness such violence. She couldn’t help but worry that witnessing that side of her would not only change how you saw her, but also influence your own self perception when the time came to take another life yourself. It was painful to imagine the countless amount of years you might spend plagued by inner turmoil, hating the person you would become even if it was inevitable. She’d die in a million more excruciating ways if it would shield you from such a curse.

“Andy, are you alright?” Your voice of concern brought her back to the present. There was a slight look of worry between your furrowed eyebrows that she wished to smooth out herself, but she practiced self restraint.

“Sorry, I guess I’m a little tired too. If you want me to wake you before I leave then I will.”

With a satisfied smile on your face, you nodded and rose from your seat. The urge to ask Andy if she might join you tugged at your heart. You always slept more soundly when it was in her arms. Your nightmares were much more infrequent by now and it had been some time since you had been able to fall asleep while breathing in her scent, snuggling deep into her chest. The temptation to voice your request was almost impossible to resist, save for the fear of jeopardizing your friendship and making her uncomfortable by revealing your feelings.

Eventually, you found yourself back in bed alone and replaying your conversation. One specific realization you couldn’t get over was that Andy had undoubtedly expressed some type of interest in the art you made of her. Sure, it’s possible that it might have been in a completely platonic sense, but you held onto the fantasy of it meaning something more and decided you’d keep it to yourself, for now.

#Andromache the Scythian x reader #andromache x reader #Andromache the scythian #the old guard #joe x nicky #booker #yusuf x nicolo #nicolo di genova #yusuf al kaysani #sebastien le livre #andy the scythian x reader #andromache the scythian x reader #immortal lesbians #Charlize Theron character

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strstab · 1 year

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𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 - 𝐣.𝐦

summary ; it’s your birthday so jj + the pogues have a surprise for you. you even get an extra present from your boyfriend 🍰

pairing ; jj maybank x birthday!reader

notes ; surprise, kissing, sexual leads, slight drinking, gift giving jj, fluff, light smut? not really… idk

a/n ; finally 19!! had a shitty day so had to make it up to myself by writing this. good day to my pisces 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩

even on your special day, you couldn’t run from your hours at work. you clocked in around 5 hours ago at 8:00 and all you wanted to do was go home and enjoy your birthday with your family.

you were running around cleaning tables as there were only 20 minutes left to your shift. you pulled out your phone as it buzzed and swiped to unlock it.

j 💘: omw in 10 bby

you smiled and hearted the message before sliding your phone into your back pocket. jj always picked you up from work but you were even more excited to see what he got you as a present. last year he came into your house at 7 am with the biggest teddy bear you had ever seen.

fun fact; that same teddy bear you begged him for at the fair a couples months prior. how’d he get it? no idea. but all that mattered was that he remembered and cared enough to get it for you.

“okay, she’s out in 20 and i have to be there in 10. kie, you got the cake?” jj scrambled around the room making sure everything was perfect for you.

pink and white balloons covered the ceilings of the chateau, a big heart shaped cake was placed on the kitchen counter by kie, pope and sarah were finishing the food while cleo and jb finished setting the presents on the coffee table.

“yeah. cakes decorated,“ kie said with a salute.

“same with the food,” pope pushed the home made pizza towards the table.

jj nodded and smiled widely. you were so going to love this. did you have any idea that it was happening? nope!

originally you guys planned for a pogue day at the beach. casual surfing and drinking alcohol infected slushees like you usually did. why ‘surf’ the marsh when there were perfect blue waves to surf with your family?

jj saluted back and picked his keys out of his pocket. he glanced at the small box of jewelry that cleo held.

he walked out the door and made way to his motorcycle, starting the ignition and driving off to your job.

you stretched and waved goodbye to your co-workers, finally you got to enjoy your day. you clocked out and walked out of the main entrance, glancing around for a certain blond on a motorcycle that’s almost killed him about 4 times and counting.

right when you were about to turn around you heard a loud roar.

“there you are pretty girl!” you spun around and saw a motorcycle approach you slowly. on the bike was your beautiful boyfriend waving at you with a smile on his face.

he parked his bike and kicked the stand, he wrapped his arms around you and picked you up looking into your eyes with pure joy.

“happy birthday, princess,” he kissed your lips softly. you mumbled a ‘thanks’ and cupped his cheeks while he rubbed his thumb on the side of your thigh that he held you from.

he placed you down when he finished with your kisses and stared at you with heart eyes. you wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling him in for a hug. you really needed one.

he quickly kissed your cheek and pulled away, “you ready to go? the beach is waiting for its favorite surfer,”

you tied your hair back and sat on the back of his motorcycle as he started it up. “i thought you were it’s favorite surfer?”

“i am. but i had to let my baby have the spotlight for the day,”

you rolled your eyes and wrapped your arms around his waist. “how nice of you,”

as you pulled up to the beach, you realized it was quite empty and your friends were no where to be found. you hopped off the red painted bike and started looking for familiar faces, yet there seemed to be none.

you turned back to your boyfriend and his lips were pressed in a thin line. “j, where is everyone..?”

he shrugged and pulled out his phone, fighting back a sly grin.

you felt your heart drop and frowned slightly. did they forget? no, they couldn’t have.. you’ve been talking about your birthday since last month!

you gave yourself hope by looking around again and seeing a curly haired girl with a surf board in her hands with a blonde next to her but it seemed to be some random kooks.

you trudged back to jj and peeked over at his phone. he was texting but you couldn’t make out what he was typing. he glanced at you and slid his phone into his pocket. “damn. ‘m sorry baby, do you just wanna head back to the cheteau?”

you nodded and walked slowly to the motorcycle. jj felt bad for giving you false hope but he truly believed he’d be able to make it up to you with what was set up back at your second home.

as you pulled up to the wooden house, you spotted the twinkie and a confused look crossed your face. john b must’ve walked to where he was if the iconic van was still here.

jj took your hand and dragged you to the front door. he tripped on the steps of the porch and yelled a loud curse word. “shit, are you okay, j?!”

you bent down and took his hand to pull him up. he rubbed his elbow and nodded. you kissed your finger and placed it on his elbow, a thing you guys did between each other.

he opened the door for you and you walked in. right before your eyes were your friends with party blowers and confetti poppers.

“SURPRISE!!” they yelled in union. you gasped, truly in surprise. tears of joy sprang to the corners of your eyes as you placed your hand on your mouth. jj wrapped his arm around your shoulder and grinned proudly.

pope walked up to you with a bouquet in his hands. you grabbed them and brought them to your nose, inhaling the beautiful scent of the fresh flowers. you noticed note that was on top of one of the roses and plucked it out.

‘happy birthday to my study buddy and forever + 1 ’

- pope

you smiled and hugged him tightly. after receiving your gifts from everyone else, (minus jj) you munched on the food that was prepared before hand and drank pink martinis from the pretty wine glasses that sarah brought over.

you laid on jj’s lap as you finished your last slice of pizza. he laced his fingers in your hair, combing through it gently. the tender laughs that surrounded you felt so… home like. the snort that sarah let out every now and then or the loud sound of clapping cleo made when she found someone absolutely hilarious. all of it seemed like it was just part of you.

“love,” jj whispered from above you.

you turned your head to face him and saw him looking down at you. you hummed and waited for him to continue.

“you remember that ring i got you in 4th grade, the one from those little machines that you had to put a quarter in to get a prize out of?” he asked, stroking his thumb on your cheek and glancing at something behind you.

you nodded. the ring he got you was a royal blue heart shaped ring. you wore it everyday until it accidentally fell down a drain while you guys walked home from school.

john b threw jj a box and he placed it in your hands. you felt eyes on you, phones out recording and kie’s disposable camera flashing.

you opened the tiny box and inside glistened a gorgeous ring. rose gold plated and sparkling stones reflected in your eyes. you awed and picked up the ring. on the inside you saw ‘j + y/i (your initial)’ engraved into the ring band.

god, the hours jj picked up so he’d be able to afford it was actually absurd. the weeks you spent bothering him to spend time with you.. it was always ‘jj’ this and ‘jj’ that when he was coming home at 1 am from work or leaving at 7, but soon it’d be ‘jj i love you’.

your eyes began to water as you slipped the gold onto your ring finger. you sat up and hugged the soul out of your boyfriend. “thank you,”

“anything for you baby,” he smiled and hugged you back, placing a kiss on your neck. “it’s a promise ring, so now you have to promise you won’t drop it down the storm drain,”

you giggled and slapped his shoulder. “i promise,”

the pogues screamed and clapped behind you. yelling lines like ‘that’s my boy!’ and ‘when’s the honeymoon?!’

he brought you close and placed his lips on yours. moving them slowly against yours. you shuffled on his lap and whined a little, rubbing your sweaty hands on his chest. he gripped your waist and let out a quiet chuckle against your lips. “don’t worry baby, you’ll get that part of your present later.”

your face heated up and you covered your face in embarrassment, remembering your friends were literally right there.

“awh. don’t go shy on me all of a sudden, princess,” he stroked your hair and laughed.

cleo chucked a pillow at you guys and gagged. “get a room.” kie laughed from besides her as john b stopped covering his eyes.

jj picked you up bridal style and waved off the pogues. “privacy my girl wants, privacy my girl gets.“

he brought you to his room and placed you on his bed. he crawled on top of you and left wet kisses down your neck. you giggled at the ticklish feeling, tugging on his hair. his hands played with the hem of your shirt. his eyes met yours for consent and you gave him a quick nod.

he lifted your shirt and pulled it over your head, he stared at the majestic body that laid in front of him. aphrodite really blessed you well. his finger trailed down your stomach, sending you into a cold shudder.

“mm, you’re so pretty, baby,” he whispered as his thumb circled your clothed inner thigh.

you squirmed trying to get him to touch you in the right place. “jj, touch me..” you whined

he smirked and slipped off your pants, shortly followed along by your panties. he groaned quietly at the sight of your wet pussy in front of him. his thumb circled that spot as you whimpered uncontrollably. he removed his thumb from your drenched folds and placed a loving kiss on your lower abdomen.

you clenched your thighs together and covered your face with your hands. he was quick to take notice and pulled your wrists away, the rose gold ring still on your fingers, shining proudly. “keep your eyes on me, pretty girl, gotta watch how my mouths gonna make you cum,”

he held your wrists together with one hand and spread your thighs apart with the other. he sucked on the skin of your thigh, leaving a reddish mark that was soon to be dark.

you moaned and gripped onto the sheets as jj dipped his head in between your legs and started making a wet mess of you.

this was going to be a long night.

check out my other works !!

bonita 💋

ocean eyes 🌅

water drops 🧴

IM SO SORRY I FEEL LIKE THIS WAS SO BAD 😭😭

i’m honestly just sleep derived rn but wanted to get this out before i went to sleep. ummm ik the smutty part was terrible.. i’m more of an imaginer so.. yeah.

i’ll try better in the future ofc, but hopefully this is ok for right now.

but yeah!! pisces season baby 🌬

#jj maybank fluff #fluff #jj maybank #jj mayback x reader #obx jj #kissing #obx imagine #promisering #bday girl #outer banks moodboard #outer banks #john booker routledge #rudy pankow #rafe cameron #jj maybank x reader #strstab

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epilogue-and-prologue · 2 years

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Falling - I - How You Get To Know Each Other

A story I had in my WIP for the last few months and in my head since seeing the Old Guard.

Booker x Female Reader!with a sister

Warnings: Throughout the story mention of depressive behaviour, endangerment of others and one self, two sisters relationship, smut at some point but it will be signalled, loneliness and angst at first and during, speaking in French because I CAN.

You’re drenched and Ophelia too.

She was laughing as much as she could seeing you desperately trying to cover yourself with your jacket over your head outside the school. You were laughing too. You’re still both laughing when you enter the building. It’s the most startling sound he’s heard for weeks.

He’s checking his mail. Nothing in the small box. He smiled curtly and left.

He hasn’t been talking to a lot of neighbours.

Except you. Except for your sister, Ophelia.

He knows your name too but never says it aloud. He always stays very polite and gentle. A perfect Englishman with somewhat nothing of the classic tailored Englishman.

You went back home and thought nothing of it.

You knocked on his door.

It took a few seconds before you heard keys shuffling and the door slowly opened.

He’s a little dishevelled and visibly sweating.

“Hi! Oh… I’m sorry did we catch you at a bad time? -No not at all.”

He frowned.

“Do you need anything?”

You took a deep breath, biting your lip. His eyes followed yours as you lowered them down for a moment before turning to Ophelia.

“Uhm…Yeah. We were about to make crepes but we don’t have any flour. Do you happen to have any? We would repay you for it. -I don’t know… Just let me check.”

He disappeared from the entrance for a second, leaving the door ajar. You couldn’t see inside the darkness swallowing everything whole. You did not have time to think about it before he came back with a half bag of flour.

“I’m sorry I don’t have more. And don’t worry, you can keep it. -Oh. Well, thank you. We’ll be bringing back crepes as soon as we’re finished. -You don’t have to. -She really wants to though.”

Ophelia looks at you, her 15 years making her too tall for your taste. She could crush you in a hug and take from the cupboard you couldn’t reach and make you want to crawl into a mouse’s hole and never leave it, in no time.

You coughed, a little embarrassed.

“Anyways, hum, thanks for the flour.

-Anytime.”

You stood there awkwardly for a second before your sister took the flour from his hands and waved him goodbye. He closed the door right behind you a tug at the corner of his lips making him think that he might have smiled a little. He hadn’t smiled in so long.

He could hear you banter with your sister a little before closing your front door.

You did deliver him those crepes a little later in the night. You could see his television lighting up the living room in blue hues. In the dark, he seemed so much more tired than earlier. You could see the span of his face marked by memories you knew nothing about, the way his body blocked the entrance to his place, the way he quietly thanked you and wished you a goodnight, waiting for you to leave before closing his door. As he did before. You left and he then closed the door. Maybe not to be rude and close the door in your face? You were pretty sure he would have done that in an instant had it been not considered rude to do so.

You had seen him hold the door for the young mother living downstairs with her stroller. He didn’t even look her in the eyes, just responding to her thanks with a tight smile and not even wishing her a good night. He was a loner. Nobody in the building knew his name. The name on the mailbox was Booker. No first name.

Just your clean plate on your doorstep the next morning with neat words on a piece of paper.

Thank you

Ophelia passed him by on the stairs.

“I think I heard him talk on the phone with someone named Nile.

-Oh. Ok. Did you do your homework? “

She heaves a sigh.

“You’re really going to dodge the ball on this one?”

You looked her straight in the eyes.

“This man is trouble. I can feel it.

-He’s also very fuckable. -‘Lia! -What?”

Her face was somewhat innocent but you knew better. She finished cleaning the dishes before ditching to her room. You smiled fondly at her attempt though. She was a little bit too worried about you sometimes.

You passed him by on the stairs.

You had just arrived back from work. You greeted him and he barely responded to you, his eyes a bit out of there, a small smile playing on his lips.

“I’m fine, don’t worry about me. How’s Andy?”

The person on the phone gave him a short answer. He hummed softly. You could see his whole demeanour change, his hand running through his hair, his figure standing a little taller. You reached your floor as he climbed back the stairs.

You looked at him, your eyes taking in the whole new energy coming off of him. Something lighter? Probably. Just less rough than the last time you had seen him.

He caught you though. Surprised, a bit startled maybe, his mouth slightly agape by it. He licked his lips and you felt the place increasingly getting hotter with embarrassment by the second.

You fumbled with your keys and got into your apartment.

You didn’t mention it to Ophelia.

Your mind made it out to be nothing.

It wasn’t.

He knocks on your door.

It is a surprise. Something you haven’t expected. It is a Sunday. You heard the bells going on somewhere near and had wondered who would be foolish enough to get married. Or to even celebrate anything. Ophelia spent the night at her friends’ house, the flat is empty. Luckily.

He seems a bit out of sorts, both his hands pressing against the doorframe. Cheeks flushed by what you smell as alcohol on his breath. You grimace. He flinches.

“I’m sorry… I… shouldn’t be here.”

His eyes dart to yours before his arms fall back to his side. He is hovering on your doorstep, like a ghost whose purpose is lost to them. He can’t quite decide to leave or to ask for what he needs.

You lick your lips silently, your hand still on the doorknob. You are about to close the door when you notice blood on his hands. His knuckles were cradled into his palms, his fingers red.

“Did you hurt yourself?”

Your anguished question hits him like a ton of bricks. He steps back. Looks at his hands. Hides them in his pockets. His head was low. Searches for his keys. Opens the door to his flat. And leaves you there, a ball of anxiety in the pit of your stomach.

You can’t sleep properly for the next week.

#the old guard fanfiction #booker x reader #booker x female reader #sebastien le livre x reader #sebastien le livre x female reader #the old guard #tw: depression #series: falling

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deltaharrington · 11 months

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NEVER AGAIN

PAIRING: JJ Maybank x Fem!Routledge!Reader

SUMMARY: JJ nearly gets himself killed, and you aren’t the normal sunshine everyone knows you as.

WARNINGS: A little angsty, short, fluffy ending.

HOW DID YOU GET HERE? You weren’t even sure. The last thing you thought you’d be doing was hopping off of JJ’s bike and into Topper Thorntons truck.

“What is he doing?” Sarah asked and you shrugged, anger beginning to bubble inside of you.

He had been so different. So different since you got back home to the OBX. He was more distant than before.

You and JJ had always been close. He was drawn to you because of your nice nature. He didn’t think you had a mean bone in your body. None of the Pogues did.

John B, your brother, had lived with you your whole life and he knew you wouldn’t hurt a fly. Even in the stressful situations the Pogues put themselves through, you remained positive.

That was about to change.

You looked up and watched as a crash occurred on the overhead pass above you. Right where JJ had just been.

His bike flew off the side of the overpass and you scrambled to get out of the car, it not even being stopped yet.

“Oh my god!” You exclaimed and backed away as you watched the cops from above.

You fell to your knees and began to cry, Sarah moving up behind you to comfort you.

“I wish— I could say I did that on purpose” You heard from behind you. Your neck nearly broke with how fast you turned around.

It was JJ. He was alive.

“But…” He began “That was the gnarliest power slide I’ve ever done” He said and laughed a bit.

That’s when your anger boiled over.

“What the fuck, JJ?” You exclaimed, catching everyone off guard. They had never seen you angry before.

“You fucking asshole! You could have gotten hurt! Not to mention the fact that you’ve been practically ignoring me since we got back!” You said and rushed towards him, shoving him aggressively.

JJ stumbled a bit, his eyes wide in shock. He never knew you were feeling this way. He thought pushing you away would save himself from hurt.

“Sweetheart-“ He began, but you shook your head, tears falling from your eyes.

“Don’t you ‘sweetheart’ me, JJ” You said and moved as far away from him as possible. “I can’t believe you right now”

“M’not riding in the same car as him, Topper” You said and the kook nodded.

“I-uh, can he sit in the bed?” He asked and you nodded.

JJ didn’t say anything, he just rode in the back.

After the disappointment of not finding the cross. The Pogues and Topper all went their separate ways. However, JJ followed you.

“Y/n, you’re gonna walk home alone?” He asked and you didn’t answer, assuming he’d follow.

“Hey- you got to talk, now let me” He said and you continued to walk.

“Dammit, Y/n! Stop!” He screamed and you froze, not expecting him to yell at you.

He caught up to you and stood directly in front so you couldn’t continue walking.

“I pushed myself away because I was scared” He admitted “Your brother- he noticed the way we had gotten close and he told me to stay away, so I listened” He explained.

“It was the worst mistake I’ve ever made” He added “I thought that pushing you away would save me the huff of losing you and my best friend”

“I love you, Y/n, and I’m sorry I scared you back there.” He finished and met your teary eyes.

“JJ…” You trailed off and rushed to him, pulling him into a hug. “I love you too- I didn’t mean to get that angry”

“Sweetheart, you had every right to be mad, I fucked up.” He said and pulled back.

“Can I kiss you?” He whispered and you nodded, ghosting your lips over his before connecting them.

Your lips moved in sync before you needed air, pulling away. “Please don’t scare me like that again” You said and he nodded his head.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

A/N: YAY! This was short, but sweet!!

#outer banks #x y/n #obx netflix #outer banks x you #jj maybank #jj maybank x reader #jj maybank x y/n #rafe cameron #john b x reader #john booker routledge

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oddlykilledghosts · 2 years

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I Want You To Like Me - Rafe Cameron x reader (Part Two)

Summary: You're a pogue by choice, kook from birth. The friendship that you have with the other pogues is undeniable, no one questions their loyalty for you or your loyalty to them. So when a certain King of the Kooks takes interest in you, it's only right to turn him down. Right?

Such a long part and so little Rafe…in the next parts I swear I will write more for just him, but it’s been so fun to be a part of the pogue friend group for now (but seriously next part will focus heavily on solely Rafe don’t worry) Very ‘domestic’ (loose way to use the word) view of the pogues this chapter, you get to see the ins and outs of their friendship a little more with reader

Word Count: 6.5k

Pairings: Rafe Cameron x reader, John B x Sarah Cameron, platonic!Pogues x reader

The Chateau was quiet when you walked in. You hadn’t expected the other Pogues to be there, but a part of you hoped Kiara had left the party at Tannyhill and would be waiting for you on the couch on the screened-in porch with that look on her face that said she knew what you had been up to. You kind of wanted her to scold you for taking that ride home. For kissing the eldest Cameron. You wanted Kiara to kick your logic back into its rightful place where it had abandoned it’s station back at the party (and in Rafe’s car) and agree with her that even the thought of fraternizing with him was wrong. Even if it meant she would be angry with you.

The thought of your best friend lingered in your mind as you stood aimlessly in the front door of the Chateau. Frozen, you could picture her different reactions. Mostly the angry ones. And then the nicer ones. Your eyes flickered to the chairs in front of you as dreamy images of Kiara floated into your view. Her face changed as you imagined the various scenarios, none of them ending up well whether nice or angry. Desperately you wanted to confide in the girl, to have someone to talk this through with. But you knew that the anger that came with it would not help you work through what were beginning to be some very confusing feelings. For some reason you bargained with yourself, saying that the anger would be better. That it would give you a better sense of reality than this idea of Rafe could.

But then you looked around the screened-in porch and sighed, picking up a bandana that had been left on the chair nearest to the door. Of course you wouldn’t tell her. And you hated yourself for it. You wanted to hate yourself for liking Rafe as well. For liking the conversation you had with him in his car and for kissing him because you wanted to. But somehow you only hated how you didn’t hate yourself. You twirled the bandana between your fingers, thinking about how Rafe probably didn’t mean any of what he said. You figured he was bored and made it all up (although you doubted he would lie about Wheezie). You also doubted he was going to brag about a measly drunken kiss to any of his friends. It would be more likely he would never want to talk about fraternizing with a pogue ever again. If he did talk, he would say offhandedly that it was a mistake and that you were wrong about the whole situation. There was no worry this was going to escape Rafe’s lips and spread to the likes of the other Kooks of the Outer Banks. So really, the harm in telling Kie would have no benefit. It’s not like you were actually “in love” with Rafe Cameron now. It was a kiss. A crush from over a year ago. And it didn’t mean anything. Yes, you nodded to yourself as you held the bandana, wringing it in your hands. You were right, Rafe is an asshole, and pretending he’s not just for a night isn’t going to change his behavior. He’s going to keep being Rafe Cameron and wishing that he’d miraculously evolve into a better person won’t change that. There aren’t enough shooting stars in the world.

“Okay,” You breathed in, talking to yourself even though no one was around to hear (especially because no one was around to hear). “No Kie. Got it.” You looked down at the bandana in your hands and started smoothing it out against your thigh, and then folded and tied it into a headband. You figured it was JB’s and knew he wouldn’t mind if you borrowed it. Maybe you just needed to borrow John B’s assuredness for a day or so. Just as you did with JJ’s hat. JJ was right, maybe the feelings can transfer. You reached up to your head ready to retrieve your friend’s accessory and patted the top of your head. Shit.

JJ’s hat was gone. Of course it was gone. By JJ’s logic, the hat held all the power. And all of his dumbassery. And you had been wearing it at the party. Then in the car. Where you kissed Rafe. Maybe the wrong trait was transferred? Is that possible? This is JJ logic that is being discussed here.

You needed to get that hat back.

Slipping the bandana over your head - because if there was anything to do when you need guidance was to follow JJ logic (please do not ever do this) - you pushed yourself into the kitchen hoping the bandana was leeching John B of all of his good qualities and in turn giving them to you. Sorry JB.

__________________

The search for your phone was the first thing on your agenda. You liked to think that your friend, JJ, would remember to tell the other pogues that you had left the party. However, in his state, you doubted that he would be able to relay the message to your other friends. This would cause a problem if you weren’t able to reassure the worried pogues (once you found your phone) that you had not in fact been murdered on your way home and that you were as fine as you had ever been (leaving out the parts that weren’t convenient to your case). The hope was to find the phone before they even realized you were gone. The second, more inconvenient hope, was that you would be able to contact Rafe before anyone else found a certain Pogue’s infamous red and gray hat on the floor of his passenger seat.

You tried your hand between cushions and between spaces on the bookshelves. Then you even dared to look through some places in the messy kitchen, which no one had thought to clean up since the last misadventure in cooking. While you looked, you tried to clean up as best you could - being a good house guest and all - but it was mostly a lost cause (and technically some kind of torture).

You usually tended to leave your phone in odd and awkward places, especially when hanging out with the Pogues…but this was crossing a line. You truly wanted to believe that it was somewhere obvious and you were just being stupid. For all you knew, it had fallen into the marsh from earlier in the day.

Walking across the kitchen, you were finally ready to call it quits and sink yourself back onto the pull out couch in the next room when you heard it. You were hoping it had been your phone. But then more noise. Shuffling feet. What seemed like some very loud attempts at whispers. Sinking into the wall, blending in with the old wood as best you could, as if you were an intruder in the house, your hand instinctively went out to the table where misplaced cutlery were scattered and dirty (from what you assumed had been an attempt to make mac and cheese that had gone wrong). Pulling your hand back to your chest after successfully snatching one of the items, you felt a little calmer with a makeshift weapon. To fend off an intruder or drunk teenagers? Maybe both? You were easily on edge anyways.

So maybe you were drunker than you thought. You kept checking back in your head, how many drinks did you have? You couldn’t have thought it was that many, could you? Partier or not, drinking with JJ always loosened you up a bit. There was that game you two always played. What was it? Something about keeping track of drinks while betting to do more…you shook your head in defiance, he had made that up ages ago, it wasn’t an actual game set with actual rules. No way to be sure. But this did mean, if you were drunk, that you could blame the Rafe of it all on the alcohol.

“What are you doing?”

“AHHHHHHHhhhhh!” A scream jolted through your veins and through your mouth as you were disrupted from your scheme of blaming your “affliction” on your inability to hold your alcohol. Your weapon, now jutted out from your body towards the direction of the voice, suddenly looked weak as you realized it was a spatula. You looked up at where the sound came from and your eyes fell upon a familiar face. “Oh.” You said, suddenly disappointed you weren’t going to save The Chateau from uncertain death. “Hi, John B.”

Another face rounded the corner and entered the room, wiping at her hands with one of those souvenir towels JJ had stolen from the country club (don’t tell anyone). “Who was screaming?” Her face first found John B and then just as easily landed on you, with your spatula and her boyfriend’s bandana in your hair. You just hoped you didn’t look as suspicious as you felt you looked.

The girl, who you hadn’t seen at Tannyhill, had her signature gold necklaces on and they gleamed softly even in the overhead lights of the kitchen. Her presence shook you a bit, as unexpected as it was to see an old friend you barely talk to arrive in the house of your new friend. It also surprised you to find she was wearing a shirt the two of you had picked out a couple years before. Yellow always looked so good on her, and you could tell she had barely been drinking as her skin faintly glowed with that morning’s tan.

It was a clear contrast to John B, who was in his signature pogue attire. His gray bandana hung loosely around his next and a button up hung on his shoulders with most of the top buttons undone. He looked so familiar and so comforting and so different than how the girl now felt to you. Which was foreign.

“And Sarah. Hey.” You looked between them wondering whether to be angry or glad they skipped the rest of the party and ended up at The Chateau with you. It crept into your mind that Kie would want you to be mad. Inviting Sarah into the pogues’ space, whether it be John B’s house or not, was almost sacrilege. It was making it real. But then, like a pang in your lower rib cage, Rafe entered your mind. That kiss. You weren’t allowed to be angry. You were doing the same, if not worse, to the pogues by getting in that car with Rafe. This was the time to be understanding. Maybe Kie wouldn’t understand at first, but you had to. You put down your spatula and leaned against the table where it had first been. “I was looking for my phone.” When the couple looked confused, you continued, “To answer your question, JB.”

John B held back a little laugh, slowly realizing that you weren’t going to pummel him for having Sarah Cameron with him, “With a spatula?”

“I thought you were an intruder!”

“Yeah you were really gonna get me.” He let out a light laugh. He had been drinking too, but not enough to get shit-faced. He was in his happy little buzzed bubble and it definitely had something to do with the other girl in the room.

You could tell Sarah eased at her boyfriend’s laughter and the tension in the air shifted into something more comfortable as she spoke, “Why are none of the lights on? We thought no one was home.”

“I was conserving electricity! The kitchen light is on. Don’t act like your electricity bill it’s a worry of yours, Routledge.” You paused and then added, “I’m drunk, don’t expect me to have clear logic.”

John B stepped forward and made a show of feeling your forehead with the back of his hand, as if this would show definite proof, and said after he made a big shrug, “Results inconclusive. Drunk? Maybe. Stupid? Definitely.” You eyed him suspiciously, you knew John B well enough to know when his words were laced with something more. He was smart enough to keep whatever it was to himself with Sarah in the room, pogue business and all. That was a line you wouldn’t be able to let him cross. At least seeing as you didn’t cross it first.

Absentmindedly, you pulled at your crop top as an anxious tick and then you poked an eye at Sarah quickly and changed the subject back to your phone, “Can you guys help me look while you’re here? I need to find it.”

John B muttered under his breath a short laugh that sounded like, “I’m sure you do.” While Sarah spoke up again, pulling out your phone from her back pocket, “We already did. Although, it is dead. I would think to be suspicious of you and John B, seeing we found this in his backpack but-”

You cut the girl off, practically leaping into her arms, but you stopped yourself a few feet short and accepted the phone back like a normal person. You don’t usually leap into the arms of ex-friends unprompted. “Thanks, Sarah. Seriously.”

Sarah smiled but said, “Don’t thank me, JB totally saved the day. He grabbed your phone by mistake. It was in something called a ‘Twinkie’?”

You silently cursed JJ for doubting you. Of course you had dropped it in the Twinkie; who goes anywhere without their phone these days?

“Well…” Sarah and John B started at the same time. And then it hit you. They left the party to come here thinking no one was home. Crap. You couldn’t just leave. Sure, you had your phone now but you also had at least some lecturing to do on Kie’s behalf. But your house on Figure Eight was far away on the other side of the island. You wouldn’t make it without being maimed.

“Seems like I totally foiled your devious plans. That’s too bad.” You looked around awkwardly, trying to signal to John B that either he find somewhere else to snuggle up with Sarah or she hit the road. “Wait, how did you get here?” If they took the Twinkie, they’d have to circle back for the other pogues anyway. Win-win.

“I drove.” Sarah answered. You internally groaned.

Sarah looked between you and the pogue leader. When she locked eyes with the boy there seemed to pass over them quickly, a silent understanding only a pogue would be able to pick up from watching the back of John B’s head. “But I have to get back anyway, Ward is going to be home tomorrow and I don’t want Wheezie to be the only one left cleaning up at Tannyhill.” You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding and wished you could give Sarah a hug. She was being too kind to you, but you’re sure John B had already prepped her on all of his friends (and to be kind to all of them - overtly so). She was being a good girlfriend, and a part of you wished you had been a better friend.

She hesitated before kissing John B lightly on the cheek and then she was gone. Her presence in The Chateau, only lingering by the smell of citrus and floral perfume.

Which left you alone with John B. Who didn’t look happy now that your buffer and his girlfriend had left the premises. And yet, you had only found out they were dating hours ago. Very normal, Y/N. Act cool.

________________________

John B spoke first after running his fingers through his hair. Not once. Twice. His voice was stern as he spoke, but it came out more as a whisper than actual words. “Your phone isn’t dead, by the way.” His words sounded heavy, more tired than mad.

You looked at the glass brick in your hands, turning it over and holding the power button until the light on the screen flashed white and stayed that way. Heart beating in your chest, you chose to stay silent.

“When I found it,” John B started again, “We were already on the way home and it was going off like crazy.” You looked at him quizzically as he put his weight against the wall opposite you, leaning against the frame casually with his arms now crossed. “A lot were from JJ, just trying to make sure you had found your phone and that you had gotten home safe.” He paused and looked past you onto the ground where there was an old beer stain on the floor boards. “But another-”

“Was from Rafe.” You finished for him.

“Yeah.” He said, his lips in a straight line of disapproval. “I turned it off and told Sarah it had died before-”

“She could see.” You let out a little hum of defiance and turned your gaze as well to the beer stain near your feet. It looked like when Plankton from Spongebob got squished, eye and everything, and you wished you could smile at it. But here you were, caught and guilty before your only friend who would probably understand. And yet, the air felt stiff. As if the words that were being said hung in the air and made no room for anything else. You spoke again, feeling even worse at your choice of selfish words, “What did it say?”

John B let out his own huff and took in a deep breath, “What did you want it to say, Y/N?”

When you had looked up both your eyes met. His were lost and confused and yours were so similar. And yet the intention behind the feelings were so much different. You threw your hands up in defeat, “I don’t know John B. I don’t. I think I left JJ’s hat in his car so maybe-”

“You did what?” His eyes bulged, obviously surprised at your confession, then he shook his head slowly, “Let me backup. You were in his car?”

“You were in Sarah’s car.”

“That’s different.”

“Is it?”

“Sarah doesn’t torment pogues.”

You skipped over his statement and asked, “How did you think I got here?”

“By being responsible?” This time he was the one that held up his hands in defeat. “But clearly I was wrong.” He retorted, letting out a small and angry scoff. You didn’t drink and drive. You didn’t walk. You had been responsible. Heat boiled in your cheeks, and your arms shook a bit as you stood there so mad, no, angry, that he could break the rules and you couldn’t. That he could be angry with you, when you had shown understanding just minutes before. When you had agreed they would go to Tannyhill for him.

“I’m not allowed to kiss kooks but you are?!” Your hand went up to your mouth as John B’s eyes glared at you, burning tiny little holes into your own retinas. His scowl spoke more than enough words as you let out a soft, and sad, sentence, “What did the message say, John B?’

Your phone was heavy in your hand, but you wanted to hear the words come from the mouth of the pogue in front of you. You wanted to hear him say whatever made him despise your actions so much.

Then it rang. High School Lover by Cayucas started bleating from your phone, playing mindlessly as the silence rang out between you and your friend, signaling that someone was calling you.

Despite John B’s heavy protesting look, you picked it up and answered, “Hello?” You sighed and then smiled at the receiver. JJ. He had somewhat recovered from his moldy bread fiasco and was checking up on you. “Yes, J, I’m fine. I’m with JB. I got home safe. No stay as long as you want. Seriously. We’re good. How’s Kie? Okay, good. Bye.” At least, that’s all that John B could hear of the conversation. You hung up the phone and looked at him pointedly, “What? Thought it was going to be Rafe?”

He held back a relieved smile with leftover crumbs of anger and said, “Yeah. A little.” Then as if he was lifting a weight from the room, John B stood up straight and walked over to the fridge, grabbing a case of beers and motioning you to the living room.

The call from JJ had changed the atmosphere. It had changed John B’s mind. Maybe it reminded him of something. Of what, you didn’t know, and clearly weren’t willing to ask and disrupt the soft and fragile balance of things. But something in him switched, and decided to possibly side with you. Did he sense the same shift in you when he arrived with Sarah? When you didn’t mention to JJ that Sarah had been here, as you would’ve if she was any other girl?

JJ had sent an unknowing olive branch between you and John B, and the world screamed at you to take it.

You stood still for a moment, watching him walk away with the peace offering. For a second you wanted to just drift off to sleep and to steep in your feelings as long as possible before having to actually deal with them. But then you thought better of yourself, you knew something deep down was dragging towards making a bad decision. A decision that would lead you towards the ‘King of the Kooks’, Rafe Cameron. And it was better to have an ally if life was going to go down that road. And some part of you already knew (deep deep deeeeep down) what you were going to choose. So you followed him into the living room, ready to sit down and have a ‘peace offering’ beer.

When you plopped yourself next to John B on the worn out couch, you smiled (a bit as your own peace offering) and chided him about the beers, “I don’t think drinking more will help us solve this.” The couch already smelled heavily of weed and had a few beer stains of its own. And yet it felt so much like home you wanted to wrap yourself in it. You were a pogue through and through. You could live on this couch, and you had in the past. It was something you had to get to know to love.

“I didn’t think you wanted to solve this.” He laughed a bit with a hint of sharpness to it, although the tension in his shoulders from earlier dissipating as he took a sip from the bottle.With ease, he relaxed into the couch and knit his eyebrows with his next comment, “What do you even see in him?”

Sighing, you fiddled with John B’s bandana which had remained on your head, “Ugh. Maybe nothing? Who knows. I don’t want to be one of those people that is all gushy over how ‘he’s really nice to me’ even if he’s a dick to everyone else.”

The boy reached over to the top of your head, pushed your fidgeting hands away and put the bandana back in its place. Instead of looking gentle, as the small gesture would have implied, he looked cocky with a small grin eating away at the corners of his mouth. “But that’s true, so…”

You punched John B hard on the arm, hoping it would knock some sensitivity into him for this conversation. “Yeah, okay? He’s attractive, that helps. But he’s also so, I don’t know…protective-”

“You mean possessive-” John B stopped you as you held up your fist again in a silent warning. “Hey, that first one hurt.”

“There’s a lot of things. He’s not easy. But maybe I don’t want ‘easy’. It’s not like we’re getting married. It was one kiss-” You didn’t want to confide too much in the boy. Especially not that you had thought about kissing Rafe many times before. You’d thought about how he needs someone to listen to him. Someone to care. You knew what that felt like.

The brunette across from you was now practically choking on his beverage while laughing, a pathetic excuse for karma. When he regained his wits, he said, “One? Here you had me thinking you guys had been hooking up for awhile-”

You felt your eyebrows furrow. Now that John B didn’t seem so openly vexed it was easier to be clear about your feelings. “What made you think that?”

“His message?” John B looked your clear confusion in the face and then grabbed your phone from your lap as if in a big show of victory. Unfortunately, he knew your password (all the pogues did at one point or another) and let himself into your phone. Then, as he turned the screen to show you there it was. Plain and simple.

Rafe:

Can we meet tomorrow? Need to see you

Then below it:

I liked talking to you tonight

You snatched the phone from the boy’s hand and closed it in an act of simple humiliation. The first message clearly did sound like a hook up text, and yet you protested aloud, “That could mean anything.” The second message however, seemed foreign coming from its messenger. Too vulnerable. It seemed like something he thought you wanted to hear rather than something he would actually say. But the last few hours had warped your view of him somehow, and it felt more genuine than you would’ve liked to believe. You could feel yourself putting hope into this (whatever it was), and even you (pogue opinions aside) could tell that that wouldn’t be good. Guilt surged over you, for the fact that John B had read it when it was just meant for you. There was one thing you knew for a fact and that was that Rafe wouldn’t have said that if he knew he had an audience.

“Not when I know for a fact you don’t text Rafe Cameron. Ever.”

“You didn’t even know it was reciprocated.”

John B smiled smugly, “I do now.”

You hit him again (just for good measure) and grabbed yourself a beer.

______________________

Waking up the next morning was not what you had expected. You didn’t remember much after finally coming to a standstill with John B the night before but you did know you had one hell of a hangover. Your head pounded as if hammers lived excitedly in your brain. The first thing you noticed was that your futile attempts of covering the room with sweet perfumes had already been overtaken by the smell of weed. When you finally got up the energy to look around the room you found Pope was in bed with you, still clothed and probably as hungover as you were, snoring noisily. It looked like he had crashed here without thinking and still had an empty solo cup duct-taped to his left hand. Smiling, you watched as he slept for a moment watching his chest go up and down with his breath. He looked so peaceful sleeping there, totally passed out from drinking. This guy was going to change the academic world. You knew it.

Then you groaned loudly as you tried to sit up, the bed creaky wildly underneath you (which led you wondering how JJ had gotten away with so many discreet hook-ups in this room), and still made an effort to not wake your sleeping friend.

When you got to the doorway, and it too creaked deeply as you opened it, you stole one last glance at the peaceful Pope. “Sleep tight.” You whispered, and closed the door. “Don’t let the admissions office bite.” Ha ha. Scholarship joke.

“What are you doing?” A voice sounded behind you.

Kie.

Turning around swiftly, you flew into the arms of your best friend and hugged her tightly both as a term of endearment and second to keep you from plummeting immediately to the floor after such a quick movement. Muffled into your hair, you heard her mumble, “Someone’s friendly today?” close to your ear.

While still keeping your hands on your friend’s shoulders, you pulled yourself away from the girl and steadied yourself from becoming woozy. The bathroom was too far to make it in time. “Just missed you. A lot happened.” Kie was wearing another one of her signature chokers and looked ready for the day. Her hair was put up into a messy bun and you could tell she had already been up for hours, which made you envious but mostly just because you felt so awful and already wanted to go back to sleep.

Her eyebrows raised, “Did it? I heard you left early. Get lucky? Score some free weed from a kook?”

Almost like a match being lit, you felt your eyes widen at your mistake. “No. I meant not a lot happened. It was very boring. All too much of the same. Little of this. Little of that.”

Kiara chuckled good-naturedly and pushed what was in her hands to your eyeline, ignoring your blubbering words. “Drink, Y/N/N.” She held up a very green mason jar you figured she had whipped up that morning. You liked green smoothies. You liked kale juice. All very good for you, and while it depended on the other ingredients, it usually tasted alright. This was not alright. And it was not a green smoothie or kale juice. When Kie opened the lid, the smell attacked your nostrils as if it were on a mission. Is this what Kie makes the boys drink after a party? Apparently you had never been drunk enough to need to go through with her little concoction. You were always very happy to let them drink their magic juice after downing too many plastic cups the night before and get on with the day’s activities.

You could tell Kie had noticed your disgusted look because she added, “Seriously, drink up. It’s not as bad as it smells.”

She lied.

However, Kie was kind enough to help you change out of last night’s clothes and get ready for the day before JJ got back from early morning surfing. The sad thing was, she was actually able to make you look cute and presentable. You kept on the choker you had borrowed from her the day before and played with it on your neck as you struggled to keep down breakfast. “I think I’m dying.” You managed to croak out in between bites of cereal. You felt guilty just sitting there, letting her help you. Hopefully to Kie, it was just another day of picking up after the pogues, and she wouldn’t notice your additional Rafe induced moping.

At this moment, John B walked in freshly showered but still somehow smelling of beer, and said, “You look like it.” He still worked for the Cameron’s in the mornings and was already dressed and ready to make his way over there, Kiara hadn’t said anything about this arrangement, though she was probably thinking of something snarky.

You stuck your tongue at him and feigned shock, “And you don’t, surprisingly.” You were about to mention how maybe Sarah Cameron had this effect on him, but kept your mouth shut as Kie closed the fridge.

“Neither of you do, my magic is working.” Kie retorted.

“And yet, the feeling has yet to go away.” Another groan from you.

This time, Kie and John B answered at the same time, “It will.”

John B made his way over to you while Kie was busy making another magic drink for Pope, when he finally awakened. “So, Y/N, are you going to pick up that important package today?” He coughed at the end as if to hide the words that had escaped his lips. Convincing John B, very convincing.

At first, you were foggy, with sleep and the hangover you thought John B was being stupid. If you sent a package anywhere, it would be to your house in Figure Eight. The pogues would just rip it apart here, and to go pick it up someplace would just be a lot of work in the long run. “What are you talking about?” You spat back at the boy, still carelessly eating your cereal.

“The hat.” John B spoke through his clenched jaw and teeth.

“Oh.” You said plainly, thinking back and shifting through your hazy memories of the night before.

“So are you?”

The magic juice suddenly did seem to be working as you shrugged and said, “I didn’t really think about it.” And yet your heart raced under your ribs as you silently panicked. See Rafe? Today? After a hangover like that? You scooped another dollop of cereal into your mouth before you could say more.

“It’s important to-” He stole a glance at Kie who was still busy, “get it back before he notices. And he’ll notice when he’s done surfing.”

He was right. That was JJ’s lucky hat. It went everywhere. It had been on his head for years. It couldn’t just be claimed to be lost. It was important. JJ wouldn’t just let it be tossed aside. He would be crushed. That hat held JJ logic, JJ confidence, and JJ magic. You had to get it back.

Unfortunately, Rafe probably already torched it as a way to rid his car of anything ‘pogue’ that lingered.

“Clear my dishes, Routledge, I’ve got a call to make.” Just to be sure, you took one last bite of cereal before rushing off to the backyard where you could at least have the wind from the harbor offer you some privacy.

“This isn’t a movie, Y/N/N, stop with trying to be cool.”

“Shut up.”

You heard Kiara ask where you were going as you exited, but John B backed you up with some bullshit story. It wasn’t good to lie, but it felt good to be a team. Anyway, it wasn’t unusual for the pogues to be bouncing around The Chateau like ping pong balls.

_____________________

John B’s backyard always felt more like home to you than your own home on Figure Eight. The wind always blew just right through your air, bringing with it the smell of the ocean. And now, as you stood outside fumbling with your phone the air sobered you while still throwing your hair a bit wildly around your head. Your favorite spot, in what was probably the whole world, was that old striped hammock. You watched it sway in the wind, left to right, as you dialed up Rafe’s contact.

Ring. Ring.

Your phone pressed against your ear, you waited for Rafe to pick up the phone. Doubt stirred within you about whether he would actually answer your call (depended on whether last night was a fluke), but you had loose threads of hope. After getting outside, you had checked your phone and been reminded immediately of the texts Rafe had sent you the next before. He wanted to see you today, right? That meant answering his phone would likely be in the cards.

He picked up on the fifth ring, right before it went to voicemail.

“Yeah?” The voice on the other end sounded preoccupied, and the thought of hanging up and fleeing back to Kiara and John B in The Chateau flit through your mind. Voices could be heard, muffled, in the background and the familiar gust of wind you were experiencing was also hitting his phone.

“Hey, it’s Y/N.”

Cautiously you waited for Rafe’s response on his side. You could hear he was saying something to someone on his side while covering the receiver of his phone, but it sounded a lot like, “Give me a minute, okay?” Then after a couple quick seconds he put the phone back up to his ear and did the best at showing emotion as the boy could with a plain, “Hey.”

Holding back an instinct to apologize, you simply asked instead, “Are you busy?” Feelings of vulnerability felt much more real and much more easily felt as the sun beat down on you in the open air.

“No,” He answered quickly. And then, “I’m at the range with Top and Kelce.” A pause. “You never texted me back.” You could tell he felt it too. The vulnerability in the daylight. Although probably less so than you. But it was there in the way he talked. Gentle, and foreign to him. Last night had changed something between the two of you. Less angry and more…wanting.

“I wanted to talk about that actually.” This time you paused. An uncertainty surrounded the both of you, connected through a phone on different sides of the island. “Plus, I left something important in your car and I definitely need it back.”

Rafe scoffed, “You mean Maybank’s hat? That’s important?”

Suddenly, a wave of protective instinct flooded over you and you held your ground, “So you know what I’m talking about. Good. Glad we’re on the same page.”

“And what about the date?” Rafe’s voice was quieter when he said this, hoarse and a little bit of harshness hid his sensitivity.

“What date?”

“The one I texted you about.”

A laugh naturally came out of your mouth as he said this, “Is that what that was?”

A stern, “Yes.” He was now holding his ground.

“I didn’t realize you were so bad at this, Cameron.”

“And I didn’t realize you were so annoying, Y/L/N.”

“No no keep going, this is really giving you points.” You meant to sound at least half as menacing as he did, but it came out with a laugh. A giggle. Anyone else listening could’ve sworn you were twirling your hair on the other end of the phone.

You heard him shake his head through the phone and held back another smile. “I can’t just ask you out in those plain words, don’t forget who our friends are, Y/N.” Your smile loosened. He was right. John B had already seen the texts. Now imagine Topper. Or Kelce. Or Kie. JB had just assumed the two of you were hooking up, which was one thing altogether. But dating. It’s too intimate, no matter how far it’s gone.

“Are you ashamed of me?” You made sure to let out a laugh with the question to keep it light-hearted, but you genuinely wanted to know his answer. Although, you doubted he would tell you the truth. This could all be a well thought out ruse for all you knew. You pictured the kooks laughing at you. The fact that you thought Rafe was genuinely interested.

“A little.” Rafe held back a smile at this. “You?”

“Oh, ashamed of you? Definitely.”

“Ha. Ha.”

“Rafe-”

“Yeah.” Not a question.

“This isn’t a good idea.” There was a part of you that needed to say this. That needed to scream from the rooftops. That needed to get the sense knocked into your head because here you were having a playful conversation with Rafe Cameron.

He let a laugh out of his nose, careful not to alert his friends. “Yeah, okay. Meet me at Tannyhill at noon.” Then, before you could say anything. “Don’t worry, Sarah won’t be home so she won’t be able to tell anyone.”

Then he hung up.

Shit.

Major shit.

Were you going to go? Of course you were.

☆taglist: @totallynotkaibiased @asimpwriter @kriss-harrington @parkershoco @the-marvellous-vivi @sarahlizzie @craftyalmondghostflap @siriuslysmoking

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taytrashmouth · 1 year

Text

Falling for you

Jj Maybank x female reader.

TW: implied sex, swearing, fluff, mentions of underage drinking/smoking and domestic violence

:readmore:

You grew up living next door to the maybanks, mostly alone, you’re parents worked and weren’t the most reliable.

You first met Jj when you were 10 years old, you heard banging and yelling from next door, so you ran onto the porch to see Mr Maybank beating the shit out of jj.

You were ashamed of yourself but you froze, not knowing what to do. Until you saw Mr Maybank drive away, leaving jj at home.

You walked across the connected yard and up onto their porch.

You knocked on the door, hearing crying from inside. “Go away!” He yelled.

You knocked again.

“What?” He almost screamed as he opened the door, taken aback when he saw you. He always watched you when you stood on your porch painting for hours on end, but he never had the courage to talk to you.

You stared at each other for a moment.

“Do you wanna come over?” You blurted out, unaware of what else to say.

He just nodded and followed you back to your house, less than 30 steps away.

You lead him to your extremely neat bedroom full of beautiful paintings and books, white and green were the most prominent colors as he looked around.

“You painted these?” He asked, although he knew the answer.

“Yeah, it’s my favorite thing to do….other than read.”

He nodded. There was a silence, neither of you knew what to say.

“I heard what happened.” You spoke.

He just looked down.

“My dad does it too you know?”

“What?” He was shocked that someone could bring themselves to hurt such a sweet individual. He has seen you reading in the garden, or sitting by the water on the pier or helping injured animals.

You simply hugged him. He stood for a moment, before tears fell from his eyes and he hugged back.

After that day, you’d occasionally listen to him talk about John B, another pouge or a fish he caught that day. But you were never really that close, but he always remembered the day you hugged him, the day you made him feel like he deserved more than what he was given.

As Jj grew older you admired him a little more, tall, handsome, muscles.

And as you grew jj admired you, he never seemed to commit to a girl but hell- if he had the chance you’d be his forever.

Your long hair, sweet smile, pretty little eyes and the perfect body. You seemed like an Angel where as he seemed to carry trouble around with him.

It was one year at the bonfire, both of you were now 17 when jj saw you through the flames, beer in hand. Everyone was either drinking or smoking, dancing or talking, you sat alone, reading your book, in your own little world.

“Jj!” Pope yelled.

“Yeah.” He snapped back into reality.

“Dude!Are you staring at y/n l/n?” John B scoffed.

Jj was quiet.

“Oh my god dude, there’s no way!” Pope smiled.

“What what?”

“She’s just-“ John B shrugged.

“She’s gorgeous dude, but she’s so…I don’t know nice, you can’t have like a one night stand with her, it’s like throwing away a puppy.” Pope explained

“Imma do it”

Jj thought for a moment before walking over to you, ignoring his friends. He sat down next to you, and your head didn’t move from the pages.

“Hey.” He spoke.

“Oh.” You smiled. “Hi.”

He looked at you for a second before speaking. “Do you maybe wanna hang out with me and my friends for a while?” He asked.

It took you a second to realize he wanted to spend time with you.

You nodded and he helped you up, leading you to John B, pope and Kiara and Sarah who had now joined them.

“This is y/n everybody, and that’s John B, Sarah, pope and kie.” Jj introduced as you waved innocently.

“Hey, hi.” Everyone waved.

“You guys wanna hit the water?” Jj asked and soon enough everyone was on John Bs boat, just riding slowly along the water.

“I really like your top.” You told Sarah and her smile grew wide, immediately telling you about this store she loved.

You smiled and nodded.

“Y/n you want a beer?” Jj asked.

“I’m okay thanks…I don’t drink.” You spoke softly.

They all frowned.

“Just makes me anxious, besides when all of you are falling overboard I’ll be the designated captain.” You smiled and they all chuckled.

The night went on, smiling and talking, enjoying the air. You and jj were lying at the back of the boat playing 20 questions which ended up just being questions.

“Favorite musician ?” Jj asked staring at the sky.

“Mmm, Taylor swift.” You answered and he pushed himself up onto his elbow to look at you.

“Dude!” He exclaimed.

“What!?”

“Really? She’s so- I don’t know.” He sighs.

“Amazing, talented, gorgeous, phenomenal?” You asked. “Come on who’s yours?”

“Metallica.” He lay back down.

“Dude !” You copied.

“What?” He laughed and you just shook your head.

“Nothing they’re a great band.” You laughed again. He smiled at the sound, it gave him butterflies.

The game went on for ages until John B dropped you both off at the pier by your houses.

“Okay okay, but seriously what’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?” Jj asked.

“Ummm, I haven’t really-“

“Oh come on! Everyone says your so reserved and quiet I think there’s a catch.” Jj added as you both sat on the pier looking at the water.

“You know the cliff, above the water near the center of obx?” I asked and he nodded, “I once did a backflip off of there.”

“Bullshit!” He smiled.

“It is not!” You pushed his shoulder playfully.

“I bet you can’t even do a backflip.”

“Can too!”

“Prove it.” He smirked, cocking his head at the water.

“Fine….on one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“I get to paint you….while we listen to Taylor swift.” You smiled.

“Deal.”

You stood up and removed your baggy t-shirt to reveal your stripy bikini top, slipping off your white jean shorts, leaving them on the pier.

You caught jj’s eyes lingering a little too long and prayed he couldn’t see you blush.

“You ready?” You asked him.

“Yeah.” He smiled at you.

You stood at the edge of the pier and pushed off, doing a backflip into the water.

“Shit that’s cold!” You yelled as you surfaced.

“You alright?” Jj asked with genuine concern.

You nodded as he helped you back onto the pier.

“That was great!” He smirked.

“Okay wait here!” You yelled, quickly sprinting to your house to get your speaker and paint.

Pretty soon you were sitting on your porch in your shorts and bikini top, painting jj onto a small canvas.

“You paint people often?” He asked as Taylor swift blared into the night, she wasn’t that bad he thought.

“No! Ive got no one to paint, I mostly paint landscapes, the beach, the outer banks.” You explained.

He watched the way you focused. And smiled to himself.

“What?” You asked.

“Nothing.” He shook his head still smiling.

“What?”

“It’s just- you’re really pretty.” He spoke softer then before.

You blushed like crazy as a feeling you’d never experienced flew around inside. A buzz of bliss and admiration.

“Almost done?” Jj asked, clearing his throat.

“No, but I’ve got the basics down, just need to shade and stuff-“ you paused when you head all too well start to play.

You smiled.

“What?” He asked.

“I love this song.”

He almost laughed at your excitement.

You stood up and helped him off the floor as well.

“Dance with me?” You smiled all giddy like a child playing with their favorite toy.

“I don’t dance.” He shook his head.

“Please!” You started swinging his hands.

He sighed heavily as he spun you around, and you giggled happily.

The hold you had over him was unreal, especially considering you barely knew each other.

You mouthed the lyrics dramatically as he laughed. His smile made you happy.

He grabbed your hips and you swayed as the song slowed, and jumped around when it picked up, spinning and singing for 10 whole minutes. Jj hadn’t had this much fun in years.

He saw the sky start to turn orange, signaling the sunrise. “Come on.” He pulled you by the hand towards his house.

“Where are we going?” You asked grabbing your shirt and your book.

“You’ll see!” See smiled and dragged you towards his bike.

He climbed on but you stopped.

“You scared?” He asked.

“A little.”

“Don’t be. I’ve got you.” He spoke in such an assuring manner that you climbed on to the back of the bike, arms loosely around his waist.

As the bike moved forwards your grip tightened dramatically. He smiled, the feeling of you so close made him weak.

Your eyes were shut tightly as you felt the bike climb up hill until the road felt flat again.

“You seeing this?” He shouted over the wind.

You shook your head against his back.

“Oh come on n/n!” He smiled.

The nickname made you flustered as you opened your eyes and saw the sun peaking over the ocean, the sky red and orange.

“It beautiful.” You whispered.

“Perfect for you then.” Jj spoke.

There was that feeling again, and it only heightened as he sped up, climbing higher and higher, up on the island.

You giggled. “WHOOOOHOOOOO.” You screamed and laughed again. Jj laughed too and copied you.

When you reached the highest point in the outer backs jj pulled you to the edge of the cliff where you both sat. Just in time to watch the sunrise.

“This is amazing.” You smiled.

“Isn’t it?”

You both watched the sun on the water for a while in a comfortable silence, legs swinging off the ledge. Feeling more alive than ever.

You turned to jj at the same time he turned to you, realizing how close you were.

He examined your face and you examined his.

He glanced at your lips. “Jj.” You whispered.

“Mm.” He hummed still staring at your lips.

“I’ve never kissed anyone before.” You spoke so softly, almost embarrassed you looked down.

“Then you’re all mine.” He lifted your chin and your lips collided.

Passion exploding inside of you.

His lips were softer than you expected and he pulled you closer as your hands played with his hair.

you pulled away smiling shyly at him. “You’re beautiful n/n.”

Normally he would be taking you back to his place by now, but you were different than the other girls he’d gone out with. You were sweet, and smart, kind and worth spending time with.

“Thank you…for everything.” You smiled. He frowned. “This is the most fun I’ve had in…forever.”

“Me too.”

~~~~

It only took 2 weeks for you to officially start dating.

Jj quickly became your best friend and you became his.

You would lie under the willow tree behind your houses, his head on your stomach as you read to him. He didn’t admit it but that was his favorite thing to do, hearing you read.

He taught you how to surf, he was cocky at first until you got the hang of it and we’re almost as good as him…almost.

One day you got knocked of your board and something stung you, Jj quickly stopped cheering you on along with pope and Sarah when he noticed your face.

He helped you onto the beach most of your leg was red and purple, and some blood poured from it.

“Shit baby are you okay?” Jj asked, looking more scared than you.

“Yeah just hit some coral or something when I fell.” You spoke, face twisted in pain.

“C-can you walk?” He asked and you simply shook your head.

“Pope call the ambulance.” He spoke firmly.

“Pope!” Jj yelled so frantically both Sarah and pope sprinted to go find help.

Jj was so protective over you it was a little concerning at times.

“Jayj- I’m okay.” You half smiled at him and he shook his head frantically, picking you up bridal style to take you closer to the road where the ambulance would be.

You were fine a week later, and it was no big deal but Sarah swears she’s never seen anyone look as terrified as Jj was that day.

But you had seen him more scared, more protective…only once.

When he saw you sitting by the pier and he walked over to surprise you, only to realise that you were crying as he got closer.

“Hey it’s okay! What’s wrong baby!” He sat down and tried to hug you when he realised your lip was bleeding and you’d eye was black.

He pulled you into him as you sobbed. “Who did this to you?” He asked. Angrier than ever. Who the fuck would lay a finger on his girl. His sweet y/n.

“Was it your dad!?” He asked.

You just nodded. You had held him as he cried many times after an encounter with his father, cleaned him up and told him you loved him many times. But he had never seen you like this.

“I’ll kill him.” He stood up.

“Jayj- he left, gone to Vegas or some shit!” You called.

All these bad experiences only made you love him more.

But so did the good times. Like when he took you dancing by the beach. Or when you’d paint and he’d just talk to you like nothing else mattered, or when you’d get a new outfit or a bikini and he’d tell you that you were gorgeous and kiss you like it was the first time.

Or when he took you fishing, he would fish and you would read.

Or when he finally admitted that he’d become a swiftie and that it was strictly between the two of you.

Jj swore you were an Angel that was sent to even out his evil. When he got angry you’d calm him down, you’d make sure he never smoke or drink too much, you kept him healthy.

~~~~

About 6 months into your relationship jj decided to tease you a little. While you were cooking he hugged you from behind and you smiled.

“I love you.” He whispered. “I love you too.” You answered.

“Stand over there.” He pointed to a spot in the lounge.” Before you could ask why he gave you a look that said trust me.

So you did.

“What now?” You asked as he stood in front of you.

“This.” He whispered as he smiled, slamming you into the wall, pinning you there while his other hand grabbed your thigh and wrapped it around his hip. He smiled into the kiss and you smiled wider and slid out from his grasp giggling like a little kid.

He remembered that from one of your books.

“You like that?” He asked as you were still flustered.

You nodded excitedly.

“Let’s do that again.” You pointed to your bedroom. “In there.” You smirked.

His eyes widened. “You sure you’re ready n/n?” He asked, you’d been putting it off for months, scared because it was new.

But you knew jj was who you wanted to be with forever. “Because you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.” He spoke.

It only made you more sure you were ready.

“I’m sure let’s goooo.” You smiled walking towards your room.

“Not gonna say no to that.”

You were safe with him and he was safe with you.

Sure he was loud and you were quiet, he was messy and you were neat. And sure you seemed like polar opposites but he was yours.

It was the silly things he did that allowed you to loosen up a little, be more like yourself and be less reserved. The way you joked with each other or the way you jumped up and down when you were excited, the way he licked your cheek and you lick him back with a frown. The way he’d grab your ass in public just to make you jump. Or how you’d drag him around the bookstore for hours.

It just worked.

#jj x reader #outer banks #jj mayback x reader #jj mayback imagine #jj maybank #pouges #soft reader #sarah cameron #john booker routledge #pope heyward #kiara outer banks

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