Chapter Text
"Sunsets are proof that endings can often be beautiful too."
Beau Taplin
+1.
If the summer before senior year proved anything, it was two facts.
One, John B was much, much more observant than he let on to the point that Kiara found it a little frustrating that, being his best friend, she had looked past it so many times before.
And two, hiding a relationship from your best friends when you spend nearly everyday with them sits right next to impossible.
Especially when considering said relationship is with one of said best friends.
“It would ruin us,” Kiara reasons one night, mindlessly playing with JJ’s hair as he laid beside her on her bed. The house was utterly silent besides the occasional car passing by outside, along with the sound of crickets and the two of them mumbling all the way up till three in the morning.
The sky was black with hardly any decent visibility for stars, a bleak end to a day imprinted with overcast. Her bedroom was dim, with nothing but the soft glow of a lamp by her head, giving an intimate close to her day.
JJ’s voice had long since grown thick with exhaustion but there was still a playful glint in his expression as he observed her carefully, closing his eyes as she ran her hand through his hair, making it look as though he was fighting sleep, which was slowly becoming a losing battle.
“The not telling is ruining us,” he mumbles after a few seconds of peaceful silence.
She turns her head from where she was staring at the ceiling and voicing through her worries, giving him a disapproving look. Even if he was joking which, judging from the familiar tone in his voice he was, she didn’t even like entertaining the idea of jokes and their relationship just yet.
The night Kiara decided that the comfort she felt with JJ was something she wished resided more permanently in her life was one that was followed with a trail of challenges for both of them. Some were petty and expected, others were a little harder to get the better of. But it’s not beyond her that most of the problems were bred from their mutual decision to keep quiet about the whole getting together aspect of it. They were kissing instead of just hugging, sleeping together instead of just occasionally napping. Sneaking off after bonfires and sneaking out during parties -- which initially threw Kiara for a hell of a loop, seeing JJ Maybank exit a party that held plenty of alcohol and girls.
All of it was under the radar at first, which was perfect, really.
There was the thrill of seeing how far they could go while maintaining their secret, a thrill only the two of them would thrive on out of pure teenage-typical invincibility, feeling too high off of eachothers new presences to feel bogged down by the reality of a relationship. It was blissful and ignorant, to think it would last. It wasn’t short-lived, per se, but the excitement gradually turned into stress.
Kiara’s parents had made a plethora of remarks over the course of JJ being in her life as just a friend, so telling them about the nature of her current relationship with him was a conversation she mentally dreaded on the daily. And John B and Pope were too close to them to be unaffected by the notion that they had become far more intimate than they let on, she had to constantly remind herself whenever she got close to figuring fuck it and just telling them.
For every ‘Finally’, ‘Took ya long enough’, and ‘About time’ that was thrown their way while walking together outside of the Kildare Academy or the high school, there were twice the amount of snide comments revolving around Kiara’s true intentions with JJ, rumors that genuinely tested her patience and self worth and for the life of her, she couldn’t ignore the fact that JJ’s reputation didn’t exactly help.
The only person they were sure knew was Luke, of all people. After finding them in JJ’s room one night he was supposed to be out of town, he had disapproved in the form of kicking Kiara out, followed by a stubbornly quiet JJ the next few days after. The reasoning behind Luke kicking her out was unclear when she thought about it, but really, despite JJ’s nature with girls, she had to assume he had never taken any of them home with him and because she was different, it made things complicated.
So JJ wasn’t inherently wrong -- the not telling was causing unwarranted tension, even when they were alone.
She didn’t realize she had lost herself in thought, staring at the side of his face until he turned his head, blinking tiredly at her.
“Whatcha thinking?”
“It’s not funny, JJ,” she blurts out from a loss of words. “It’s not ruining us,” she half lies, exaggerating the ‘ruining’, wondering why they decided to be so dramatic sometimes. He starts a comeback but she interrupts before he can finish.
“Plus, I don’t mean us us, I mean us as in all of us. Pope and JB.”
He looks at her a second longer before sighing and rolling back onto his back, clearly tired of talking on the specific subject. Kiara swallows hard, not really blaming him in the slightest. She was starting to feel like she was dating three people instead of one.
“I don’t like it either but we’ve all been friends for so long, adding this will change things. It’ll make things weird and what if it-- ” she stops herself before revealing the slip up. If she could even call it that.
Kiara learned early on that JJ had the tendency to dissemble, constantly maintaining a front that gives him some semblance of privacy and self-effacement. The reckless attitude and apparent careless actions mostly encourages people to look the other way as supposed to prying into something they might regret looking into or criticize -- because everyone seemed to give their unsolicited two cents when it came to a Maybank.
For Kiara, though, it only drew her in.
Being his best friend showed her only a fraction of what truly kept him up at night. Being something closer, both physically and emotionally, intellectually even, Kiara has to remind herself that he’s taught himself to live with the weight of self depreciation and the length of his insecurities because otherwise, she was stuck wondering how he didn’t just snap.
He’d never admit it, but reassurances in every form of the word and plain trust were indispensable when navigating his relationship territory and every time, Kiara proved to be more than willing and happy to provide.
Only this time, letting her own doubt show, whether it’s rightfully justified or not, can’t be good for him.
“What if it doesn’t work out?” JJ quietly finishes her thought.
She stubbornly shakes her head. “JJ, I didn’ mean-- “
“JB and Pope already know. You know they do.”
“What?” She plays dumb, momentarily unwilling to accept the truth, simultaneously aware of the change in topic.
“If not John B then definitely Pope. He’s always giving me this look now, you know that look he gets when he wants to say something but won’t. Guy has a terrible poker face. And John B,” JJ brings his hand up, digging the heel of his palm into his eye, “I’d like to think that if he suspected anything he would just grow a pair and ask me but maybe you’re right and they’re gonna be weird about it.” He pauses thoughtfully, blinking up at the ceiling in fatigue, sounding dejected.
Then, a slow smile crosses his face as he forces a false seriousness in his voice.
“We’ve been careful but they’ve definitely caught on.”
It all sounded a little ridiculous, enough so that Kiara can’t help but giggle at their predicament.
Maybe they weren’t being as inconspicuous as they thought, she thinks suddenly. The arms around the shoulders and the playful shoves have always been a part of their behavior when put in a room together, so what was the big deal? So what if they fell asleep in the hammock -- limbs inevitably tangling in the process -- more frequently nowadays? Or were constantly sharing food? And time off on the weekends? And maybe a bed?
Scratch that, they were always sharing a bed now.
They only barely held back from kissing and even then, when they were sure no one was looking, not much was off limits.
In fact, now that she’s really thinking about it, over the last couple of weeks specifically Kiara did sense a change in dynamic that made her second guess where their so-called secret stood with the Pogues.
“You think?” she asks weakly, brushing the hair off his forehead as he nods.
“Do you-- do you feel like they’re hovering whenever we’re all together now?”
“Oh, one hundred percent. We have helicopter friends,” JJ says dismissively, turning over on his side again and finding her hand with his, “And it’s killing me.”
She snorts, feeling a warmth rise to her cheeks at the way he tiredly draws out his voice, complaining like a little kid.
“Killing you, huh?”
“Mhmm. I wanna be able to kiss you whenever I want.”
“Then what are you doing all the way over there?”
He gives her an ‘oh really?’ raise of his eyebrows before letting go of her hand to push himself up, leaning over her body in a gesture that’s mixed with exhaustion and need all at once. His hand stumbles a bit just as he meets her lips, causing the pillow under her head to knock over a few books from her bedside table, thudding hastily to the floor.
“Oops.”
“Smooth,” she chuckles as she pulls away for half a second, letting her hands settle on his back, unable to hold back a tease. “I thought you were supposed to be a pro at this.”
He lets out a breathy laugh, dropping his head almost shyly into her shoulder. If she wasn’t so absorbed in the way it felt against her neck and in love with the way it sent butterflies fluttering in her stomach she wouldn’t have noticed the way his cheeks uncharacteristically flushed pink, leaving her head dizzy with adoration.
It was a little endearing, making him sheepish in something he would otherwise be doing like second nature.
Okay, a lot endearing.
A cool breeze slithers in through the cracked window, settling nicely on her now warm skin. She relishes in it, closing her eyes when she feels a soft kiss against her neck.
“You’re my favorite person, Kie,” JJ says quietly, “I don’t really care who knows, it doesn’t matter to me.”
Kiara nods without thinking, smiling, feeling lighter and fuller at the same time, filled to the brim with a hesitant sense of contentment. She wasn’t prepared for this moment one bit, couldn’t have predicted the words ever being addressed to her even if a script of her life was handed to her, but she welcomes it wholeheartedly after just a taste, basking in the feel of it.
What an effect he had on her, to be able to send her reeling with just a few words.
It seemed silly, now, to get so caught up in who knows and who doesn’t when he had the aptitude to make her feel so important.
“C’mere,” she pulls him closer, wanting to relieve his vexatious worries and soothe all of his undeserving doubts, hoping to give him at least a fraction of what he makes her feel without even trying.
--
“You know, I’m startin’ to think I could just take a week or two off and have you run things around here,” Mike says after the last customer mosies out of the restaurants door, glancing over at Kiara from where he was counting cash at the register. He mumbles amounts under his breath as she gives him a serious look.
“Please don’t,” she pleads half-sincerely, turning a chair over in her arms to slide it on a table. She hears him give a low laugh.
“What? You don’t think you can do it? K, you’ve been putin’ in almost as many hours as me, sometimes more,” he slides the drawer in, causing a loud ding from the register, “You’re more than capable, I know you are.”
Kiara can’t help but feel pride at her dad’s words. She was always seeking out to live up to his approval, whether she was conscious of it or not.
“Thanks, Dad, but really,” she chuckles at the thought of running the restaurant all day by herself, not having her dad to deal with the ‘difficult’ customers. “I can only handle so much stuck up rich folk a day.” She tries not to swear in front of her dad, choosing her words wisely.
Stuck up rich assholes, more like.
“Nah, you’re mature when you wanna be,” Mike dismisses confidently, gathering all the cash and heading to the back room. He keeps talking as he disappears.
“You’re balancing school with a job, doing volunteer work when you can, you’re even managing a relationship with your boyfriend-- “
Kiara just barely grabs the chair before it clatters to the floor, securing its position on the table before glancing towards the back room with a disbelieving stare.
“Huh?” she calls out bluntly, seemingly incapable of being nonchalant to save her life. All she gets in response is a loud laugh, which only makes her more confused, more as though she’s been caught in the act.
The act that her and said boyfriend were not hiding as well as they thought, evidently.
Her dad comes out with a wide smile on his face, one that puts a stunned and amused expression on her own face as she studies him, until it drops.
“You and JJ.”
Kiara forces a sound of denial, shaking her head, unable to meet his eyes. “Dad, him and I, we-- we’re not-- “ she rubs her forehead, wondering for half a second if there was a sign written in big bold letters.
Might as well be.
“It’s okay, I know.”
She swallows and waits, knowing that if her dad had a hunch about something he was rarely ever wrong, so there was a slim chance he genuinely didn’t know this time around. Getting a lecture in the middle of the restaurant was not something she had in mind today but life was funny like that.
Mike walks around the counter and pulls out a barstool, taking a seat to face her, letting out a prolonged sigh.
“Kiara, you’re close to those boys but not that close. Your ma and I have eyes, you know.”
Kiara subtly rolls her eyes, readying herself with explanations, finding a surprising lack of regret at him knowing. She was prepared to defend JJ in a heartbeat, not lost on the fact that she’s been defending him for years now.
“Yeah, well,” she admits, annoyed and defeated, “So does everyone else. That’s kinda why we haven’t… Told anyone yet.”
Mike contemplates this, looking surprised for maybe only two and a half seconds that he wasn’t the only one Kiara was keeping in the dark. Then something clicks and he clears his throat.
“If you’re waiting on everyone else to like it, Kiara, you’re gonna be waiting forever. Everybody has their judgments, hell, that’s probably why you didn’t tell your mom and I, you already know how we feel about that boy.”
Kiara crosses her arms and leans against the counter, waiting for him to continue. He seems to be carefully selecting his words.
“Is he a parents favorite choice for their daughter?” he finally asks rhetorically, causing her to chuckle unexpectedly. She bites her lip, amused at his obvious hesitance in approaching the conversation.
“No,” he shakes his head helplessly, amused himself, “Boys outta control. He’s loud and messy and keeps you out too late sometimes and just gets under my skin and probably knows it, too, the bastard…” Kiara desperately urges herself to not laugh at the truth of it all, finding a hint of fondness in his voice.
“But I can see he cares for you.” He nods at her leery gaze, elaborating. “You both have a lot of growing to do and it’s not like it’s going to be perfect or even ideal at times, but you’ve done a lot of growing together, which makes me trust him.”
Hearing her dad admit such a thing leaves Kiara speechless, searching for the right response even though she’s not convinced there really isn’t one.
Was he feeling okay? Was she hearing him right?
“You’re almost an adult, really, and I know this sorta thing happens sometimes. Me and your mom weren’t exactly supported either. I’m not gonna like it at times but I know you’re careful, Kiara. Just know that whatever you do decide,” he gets up from the stool and starts heading for the kitchen, “It’s in the best interest of the both of you, otherwise, it won’t work out. Believe me.”
Kiara watches him walk to the back, letting the words sink in before following him to grab her bag in the back room. She debates thanking him for taking it easy on her, for understanding the situation and letting him know how much his opinion meant to her but settles on a side hug on her way out.
“Sorry I lied to you.”
He squeezes her and kisses her head, grunting in disagreement.
“I wouldn’t call it quite that, K, you barely pulled it off.”
She snorts at the brutal honesty. “How long have you known?”
“Long enough.”
She deserves that.
Right before she reaches the door she hears him ask curiously, in a voice that tells her he might rather not know the truth even though he’s asking.
“JJ isn’t into drugs, is he?”
She purses her lips and schools her expression as best she can to resemble every aspect of neutral.
“Mmm no.”
She turns and steps out of the door before she can read his expression, although she guesses it isn’t exactly convinced in the slightest. Kiara’s eyes are trained to the ground when she hears a familiar voice call out.
“Hey, gorgeous! A little birdie told me you were getting out early.”
A grin crosses her face before she even sees him sitting on the tailgate of the truck he and John B saved up for over the last year. Its faded baby blue paint and scattered rust spots is becoming a welcoming sight to her and her smile only grows when she sees JJ beaming back at her, squinting under his slightly tattered cap.
She makes her way over to him, placing her arms on either side of his body as soon as he hops down from sitting so high up, almost cornering him against the truck. He doesn’t seem to mind at all.
“Was that little birdie the same one who texted you this morning, telling you the exact time I planned on getting out?”
He huffs a guilty laugh, bowing his head down to hers and setting his hands on her hips. “Sounds familiar, yeah.”
“Yeah?” she scrunches her nose teasingly, trying to make a point, “The same one you didn’t care to text back?”
He licks his lips trying to hide a smirk and glances away from her for a second, looking off in the distance. “I didn’t charge my phone last night.”
“Mmm,” she hums understandingly, eyes finding his again.
“Mhmm. By the time it turned on it would’ve been weird to answer so late. You know how it is.”
“I do,” she admits, giving him a break because she knew this was all new for the both of them and what often felt like unrequited effort in the relationship was really just JJ navigating fresh waters. He’s never been the type to stick by his phone or to give a punctual reply. Instead it was always him leaving his phone in a pair of shorts sitting on his bedroom floor or forgetting it on the boat, sometimes giving a response a day or two later. When he woke up, unlike most people his age, checking his phone was usually the last thing on his mind and Kiara honestly found it humorous a lot of the time.
She wasn’t going to fault him for it because she saw him trying and what more could she ask for? ‘I didn’t charge my phone last night” translated to him not losing it, which was progress realistically. Maybe he meant to so he could send her one of the good morning texts she looks forward to more than she probably should, but didn’t quite follow through.
And that was okay.
Changing him was something she didn’t see necessary, let alone something she would ever be interested in. She was by no means perfect either, she knew. She forgot to ask what he was thinking or feeling, usually expecting him to always be the first to vocalize it when really, if something was truly bothering JJ, he did just the opposite.
They were finding a balance together through trial and a lot of error, but it wasn’t unexpected, she’s realized. They’ll fall into a rhythm eventually, she thinks truthfully, snatching his cap from his head and finally kissing him.
He kisses back with a small sound of amusement, hands traveling from her hips to her back before pulling back for just a second.
“Let’s get outta here.”
“Okay,” she answers instantly.
“No,” he mumbles, kissing for a few more heartbeats before pulling back again. “I mean like outta here, outta here. Like away-- “
“Yeah,” she breathes happily, nodding ardently.
He peers at her for a moment, expression oddly unsure before her insistence gets the best of him.
“Okay,” he swallows and fully steps away, smiling and walking over to the driver's side, peering over to her through the windows as she pulls his cap over her braided hair, a look of pure glee on her face.
--
Kiara had no idea where JJ was driving within the first twenty minutes after they left The Wreck but something about it all was perfect enough to where she just didn’t care.
The windows were down, warm air blowing around the cab as the radio had both of them singing at the top of their lungs for a few good minutes. JJ had one hand on the wheel as he acted out a guitar solo with the other, causing tears to leak from her eyes from how hard she was laughing. Her cheeks ached by the time she set her feet up on the dash, grey Vans becoming warm in the dying sunlight.
She readjusted his hat so it blocked the glaring sun from her view, as well as wiped down the lens of her sunglasses before sliding them on her face and bobbing her head to the music. Out of the corner of her eye she saw JJ take a double take before making a comment on the supposed rule of ‘designated driver should have at least one line of defence against the sun’ just before making grabby hands at his hat. Instead, she hands him her sunglasses, which he puts on upside down just to spite her, and continues driving with the music guiding half his actions.
After a while, Kiara uses a roundabout way of asking where they were going, to which he responded with an innocent shrug, turning the radio down a few notches.
“Oh, you were supposed to tell me when to stop.”
She raises her eyebrows at him, growing increasingly unsure at what he was playing at. JJ was sneaky but lucky for him, Kiara thrived on the fun it brought with it.
“You didn’t know that?” he asks when she doesn’t answer right away.
“Didn’t occur to me, oddly enough.”
“Ah. Well, now you do,” he gestures out of the windshield, “Roads yours. Where to, Kie?”
They weren’t on the highway, which Kiara is partly glad about, only because God knows how long they would’ve gone before she was made aware of her responsibility in deciding when and where to stop. They were on a relatively secluded road, somewhere she didn’t quite recognize, which meant all of the beaches would probably be new to her. She could see water and the thought was exciting, as she’s always looking for new beaches, becoming bored of the ones she knows so well.
A few minutes pass before she sees a wooden sign with an unfamiliar name on it, designating the entrance to the beach.
“Here,” she points up ahead, right before she sign, indicating where to turn. JJ removes the sunglasses from his face to make out the sign before turning.
As soon as they're parked, Kiara starts removing her shoes and socks, hoping to dip her feet in the water before the sun sets. JJ is already out of the truck running towards the sand.
She hurries and meets him at an old waist high fence, holding a sign reading ‘Do Not Enter’ nailed to it.
She slows just as he jumps over it effortlessly.
“What, did you purposely go looking for the no entry sign?”
“I found it.”
“I can see that,” she giggles at his passive tone, starting to climb over it herself. “And you just thought, hey, this must be the way.”
“Well, yeah, what were you doing?” He reaches out when she nearly slips, grabbing her and helping her over, twirling for good measure, making both of them weak with chuckling.
“I was following you, dumbass!” she half yells, unable to gain composure as her feet hit the sand.
“Why would you do that?” he matches her tone, almost as if he knows how hard she’s falling for him everyday.
Isn’t that a question.
The giddiness doesn’t really wear off until after the sun meets the horizon, long after both of them are left breathless from laughing, stomachs sore in the best way. She throws herself at him after the third time he kicks the now semi cold water at her, feeling wet spots on his shirt from where she may or may not’ve made him a victim of splashes as well.
They’re throwing affectionate teases at each other as she clutches at his shoulders, mimicking his backward steps with her forward ones as she tips her head back, just barely losing his cap in the process. He leans forward to kiss her right before they both trip over a washed up log, kicking sand in unpleasant places.
“Smooth,” he mocks her earlier jab before continuing his move, only this time placing a feather light kiss on her nose.
She returns the favor, momentarily thinking they were dead if someone caught them just now. She might’ve said something about trespassing if she wasn’t so drunk on the moment, so caught up in the way JJ’s sunburn tinted his cheeks just right, or the way his wind tousled hair brushed his forehead, making him look so young and carefree.
JJ gave sporadic trips and unpredictability a very nice ring to them.
She tears her eyes away for a second, grabbing his cap from the sand and shaking it before plopping it on his head crookedly.
“Hi,” he says cheerfully, with a look that gives away the fact he must be drunk on it as well.
She smiles. “Hi.”
“How was your day?”
“Can’t complain,” she settles herself in a more comfortable position beside him, rubbing sand between her fingers as she peers out at the sky.
“Yeah? Does a half day at work mean half the assholes?”
“If I’m lucky.”
“Were you lucky today?” he asks calmly, rolling his head back to look up at the sky where a few stars can be seen hidden in the blanket of navy.
She leans back, laying down in the sand as she peers up at him. “I am now.”
She makes out a smirk from where she was before she closes her eyes, setting her hands on her stomach and listening to the serene waves. She feels JJ lie beside her after a beat.
“We should go to your parents' vacation home.”
Kiara barely flinches at the suggestion despite its spontaneity.
“It’s gotta be what-- three hours from here? It’d be dark before we even get there,” she gently entertains the idea while also dismissing it.
“So?”
“So,” she drawls out hesitantly, “You and I both have work tomorrow, JJ. Plus, I don’t even know if they still own it, I haven’t been there in years.”
There’s a beat of silence again before she feels JJ sit up, clearing his throat.
“We could do it, Kie.”
“What’s that?”
“Run away.”
This time she opens her eyes, meeting the back of his head as he peers out at the water, arms holding him up in a slight slouch. She was with him, is with him, thighs touching and body warmth bouncing off each other but just then, as she regards him, he looks so alone.
“What d’you mean?” she asks, tone light in an attempt to lift the sudden downturn in mood. He just shrugs, still not meeting her gaze, as if he knows she’s not on board to whatever he’s proposing.
“I mean leave. Leave the OBX, find somewhere new.”
She swallows thickly at the realization that new simply meant better in JJ’s eyes. Most memories she has of JJ have been good ones, most with the Pogues were irreplaceable, all residing in the Outer Banks. She sees it as home, somewhere she’s lived precious years of her life but for JJ, she knew that just wasn’t exactly the case.
“JJ,” she slowly sits up, trying to work through her next thoughts strategically. “You know how I feel about it, I do plan on leaving, going somewhere with more opportunity. Bigger and better opportunity. It’s just now…” she falters when he pulls his hat off, bending it at weird angles in his hands.
“I know.” He forces a strained chuckle, shaking his head. “I know, it’s just I’m-- I’m ready, ya know? It’s... hell here, sometimes, and I just wanna forget it and not turn back. I wanna not feel so fucking stuck all the time. I don’t want to always feel like there’s nothing for me, ‘cause right now, Kie, besides you and John B and Pope-- “
“I know, JJ,” she offers gently, squeezing his knee. Hell was likely not far from the truth and none of what he was telling her was overstated. She hated how he had to live in a way that nearly physically disgusted him, one that he can barely talk about without feeling like a burden by doing so. She knew all these things but that mere fact never made it any easier in times where she was forced to confront them, miserably unable to actually do anything about them, it seemed.
“I know but you and I are going to leave, one day. I want to, with you. After we’re done with school, when we’re both ready and the times right, you and I are going to travel. We’re never gonna have to-- “ she lets out a weak chuckle, “-- gonna have to deal with any stupid fuckin’ kooks, wherever we go.”
JJ cracks, exhaling a small laugh. “I feel like there are kooks everywhere, no matter where we go.”
“I think you’re right,” she admits lightly. She places a hand on his shoulder, rubbing her thumb in circles before setting her head right next to it. “You know what?”
“Hmm?”
“Hell froze over today.”
She hears a quick exhale beside her head, a quiet snicker before he gives her the satisfaction.
“Why’s that?”
“My dad admitted to not hating you.”
“In so many words?”
“Not quite,” She pulls away, starting to play with his bracelets. “There was some other stuff about how he trusts you and that you dating me is not going to lead to the end of life as we know it. Those were the good parts.”
She can tell he’s genuinely shocked by the news but he masks it with just a simple little “Hm.” She peers out at the water again, soaking in the view before they decide to head back to the truck.
By the time they’re walking back, hands intertwined and swinging with each step, her suspicions are confirmed when he elaborates.
“You know, I think your dad's always liked me.”
She almost chokes at the speed a laugh escapes her throat. “Yeah, no. He really didn’t.”
JJ indulges in the conversation as he digs in his pocket for his keys. “I think he did. Like, it definitely took him a while to realize I was better than John B, but he got there eventually.”
She bites her tongue, shaking her head honestly. “Dude, you’re lying to yourself.”
“I knew he’d warm up to me, he just needed time.”
She situates herself in the passenger seat, propping her head against her hand as she just watches him, trying not to completely fall head over heels.
--
The next morning held a chill in the air, one filled with the smell of burnt toast and Poptarts, which was a dead giveaway to her sleep-ridden brain that she was, in fact, in the Chateau.
She throws on a sweater from the floor, one she doesn’t give much thought to aside from the fact it may or may not be JJ's because it may or may not smell exactly like him. It’s early and blindingly so, sunlight bleeding through the blinds in the guest room, spilling all over the not-so-neatly-made bed.
JJ never made his bed. Kiara never cared to either.
When she steps into the hallway, the smell only intensifies, causing her to fan a hand out in front of her as she enters the kitchen. John B is somewhat carefully spreading some jam on a piece of overly crispy bread before dropping it on a plate and sliding it in front of JJ, who barely gives it any attention besides a dead sort of glance, one that tells her he did just wake up no less than five minutes ago.
“Morning,” Pope says, smiling over his cup of steaming whatever it was he drank this early before his eyes land on her sweater. He wastes no time in pointing at it, as if it’s the evidence he’s been looking for all along.
“Is that JJ's…”
She nods just as John B drops the tub of butter on the counter, subtlety clearly not a concern, and points his knife at JJ, who suddenly looks perfectly awake.
“Yes! It is! Because you two are dating! Aha!” John B lets out a satisfied holler, directing his knife in Popes direction. “I told you, Pope! I called it!”
“No, you did not! I told you!”
“Bro, lower your weapon,” JJ reaches out, placing a hand on John B’s wrist to aim the knife back at the tub of butter. “Took you guys long enough, Jesus.”
“No, we were onto you all along, the entire time-- “ John B insists.
“I doubt it,” JJ deadpans, giving Kiara a wink. Pope sets down his mug and gestures to the two of them, raising his eyebrows.
“JB’s right, look, you two are not subtle at all. Literally every time you walk in a room it’s like, boom, in your face-- “
“Dead giveaway, dude,” John B adds, stepping aside when Kiara reaches an arm around him for the box of Poptarts, ignoring the ‘e’ written in Sharpie, making it ‘Popetarts’ instead. She’s happy to find there’s one left that John B didn’t successfully burn, picking it from the box and moving to sit beside JJ as their two friends seemingly reevaluate themselves.
“What happened to no Pogue-on-Pogue macking?” John B asks, picking up Popes mug and peering into it before he snatches it away.
JJ gives a loud ‘pfft!’ while Kiara grimaces, ripping the shiny wrapper just as JJ leans over and breaks a piece off of the pastry, giving her a knowing smirk.
“No one follows that rule, JB.”