Prompt: Mob!Tom accidentally shoots Chief of Police!wife!reader during a shoot out.
Oh, he really did it this time, and he just knew he would never hear the end of it.
He hadn’t expected you to be there, how could he? You guys had barely seen each other this past month and hadn't had time to cross reference your information, or warn each other about what was coming. Tom hadn't even thought to wonder what role you would play in all of it and now he would surely pay the price. You always did say that common sense wasn't his strong suit.
In retrospect, Tom should have known you would be the one leading the charge against him. Tom had set up a bunch of phony hits around the city to distract from the main event: a shipment of opium that would be making its way into the harbor tonight. The shipment would be the main money maker for him and the mob for the next year and with Sam’s new recipe, the shipment was bound to yield an even higher profit than ever before. The police department had caught wind of the shipment somehow and as much as you tried to keep in under wraps, word got out, forcing him to do what he could to mislead the police. He should have known that as Chief, you would be leading the team that would arrest him. But he hadn't thought of that. He hadn't counted on you being there at all or on one of his new recruits getting trigger happy and starting full on gun fight at the first sign of a badge. And he definitely didn't count on accidentally shooting you in the leg when he mistook you for your no good deputy.
The second Tom heard your pained scream he ran to you, cradling your head and apologizing profusely as he carried you to his car. He wasn't sure if anyone saw him, he hoped they hadn't, but if they did he knew Harry would come up with a clever story to sell to the police about how he took you for leverage or something to stave them off. But right now it seemed like keeping your secret was the least of his problems because the second he closed the door to the backseat of the car, all hell broke loose.
"You fucking shot me?!" You screamed, eyes wide in disbelief as both of your hands pressed down on the wound in your thigh.
"I'm sorry! I didn't know it was you!"
"Tom! We're married for Christ's sake, how could you not know it was me!?"
"Baby, I said I was sorry!"
"Well sorry isn't going to stop me from bleeding out now is it?" Tom didn't reply, instead, choosing to help you put pressure on the wound.
Tom wished he could have said the rest of the ride was quiet but because you had to take the backroads in order to avoid the other patrol units, the many bumps they drove over caused you to groan in pain. Your grumbling also didn't stop and it was definitely something Tom wasn't particularly fond of, especially when the grumbling was about him.
"Dumb motherfucker shot me." You groused just as Harry pulled through the gates surrounding your shared house.
"I'm never going to hear the end of this, am I?" Tom asked guiltily.
"Oh no, my love. You best believe I'm only getting started."
Summary: Peter finds an old photo of Bucky in a tux next to a girl in white. Bucky can’t remember the last time he smiled so much.
Spring cleaning. That’s what Tony called it when he called an emergency meeting that morning. The Avengers were to spend the entirety of the weekend cleaning and decluttering the compound until everything was spotless and organized.
“Tony, why don’t you just hire a cleaning crew or something?” Sam asked, obviously not on board with the idea of giving up his weekend.
“Yeah Mr. Stark, aren’t you a millionaire? Wouldn’t a cleaning crew be, like, pocket change for you?” Peter asked, unintentionally sassing the man he idolized. Bucky snorted, then chuckled at Peters obvious confusion.
“Billionaire, actually. Listen guys, we make messes all the time and we never clean up after ourselves because we have that kind of mindset. I’m tired of the compound constantly being a mess and it would be much easier if we all just did our part. Many hands make light work.” Tony answered, rolling his eyes at the various groans that sounded through the room.
“Oh, don’t be such babies. It’s one weekend of cleaning. And, the faster you get to it, the faster it’ll be done, so, you’ll be divided into teams. Bruce and I will take the labs and the vents. Thor, Steve, you guys get the kitchen and the living room. Natasha and Clint, the dining room and the bathrooms. Wanda, Vision, and Scott, you guys get the garage. Peter, Sam, and Bucky can take the storage room in the basement.”
“What?!” Sam and Bucky yelled in unison.
“Why does everyone get be assigned places with their friends but I get stuck baby-sitting the spider-kid and Cyborg?” Sam asked. Peter threw him an indignant look that Sam either didn’t notice or chose to ignore.
“Well, you and Peter get the basement because you both obviously don’t understand the value of cleaning up after yourselves.” Tony emphasized.
“What about me?” Bucky chimed in. “You’ve seen my room, it’s spotless, and I always clean up after myself.”
“You laughed.” Before Bucky could even think of a reply, Tony disbanded the meeting, sending every Avenger on their way, all of whom grumbled as they made their way to their various assignments. Bucky, Sam, and Peter trudged to the elevator, Sam mumbling something about the stupidity of having a basement in such a tall building and Peter awkwardly trying to simultaneously seem cool and defend Tony.
The elevator ride down was anything but comfortable. Peter was still trying to make conversation while Sam tried his best not to snap at the kid, sharing looks here and there with Bucky in a weird moment of solidarity. When the arrived at the basement, everyone claimed their own section of the room. After Peter realized he would get nothing from Sam or Bucky, the three of them worked in silence.
It had been a good couple of hours of cleaning before someone decided to break the little routine they had going. Peter quietly padded over to Bucky and tapped him in the shoulder, timidly calling his name. Bucky, after having reviewed yet another box of boring case files, had welcomed Peter as a distraction this time.
Request: “hey!! can i make a request where the reader is dating rafe and it’s midsummers while they are there, the song it’s been a long, long time by harry james comes on and rafe tells the reader to slow dance with him!! :)” by @vintageobx
Warnings: None
Notes: So Tumblr deleted my post which is wack
You knew what you were signing up for when you started dating Rafe. You understood who he was and, more importantly, the person he was trying to hide, even before you two had gotten together. You were very much aware of the reputation he tried to keep and as much as you told yourself you were okay with it, something about it didn’t always sit right with you.
On the surface, Rafe was a gruff, independent, and manipulative man. He never let anyone see him simp over you, never let anyone know he cared so much. Rafe even made a point to make it seem like you were just someone he kept around for his own fun, something that you had obviously found issue with. He would blackmail people and hustle them if he had the chance, even if he didn’t necessarily need anything from them. To most, Rafe was a trust fund baby who never learned his lesson and knew that he was untouchable. And yes, Rafe was aware of his status in the Outer Banks and as much as he enjoyed being able to do whatever he wanted and never get in trouble, you knew that the life Rafe led was more for the benefit of the public. He played the role that people expected him to play, but you knew better than to believe that that was the real Rafe. The real Rafe was scared and insecure, always feeling like he had to impress his own father to be loved by him. The real Rafe cared about a lot of things, about his friends and about his family and about you, but you wouldn’t know it by the way he was acting now.
“Why the fuck are you protecting that freak?!” Rafe yelled. You and him had been locked in a seemingly never ending fight for the past week or so, ever since you found out about him beating up Pope with a golf club.
“Because Rafe! You and Topper beat up an innocent boy! And for what? Even if he did sink Topper’s boat I wouldn’t blame him! Especially not after the kind of shit you pulled.”
“What do you mean ‘if’? You know damn well that he did it!” You knew that Rafe was trying to help his friend and in any other circumstance you would have found that admirable, but considering he was the one who turned the whole Pogue v. Kook war violent, you didn’t really have much room in your heart to care.
“Maybe he did but don’t you think you guys deserved it? He was defenseless, Rafe. And more than that he was just doing his job. If I were him I wouldn’t have just sunk Topper’s boat I would have wrecked your motorbike too!”
“Oh, what, so you’re a sympathizer now?”
“Sympathizer? This isn’t a fucking war, Rafe, when are you going to realize that this whole us against them thing isn’t helping anyone.”
“Come on, Rafe,” Topper said, gently grasping Rafe’s arm to grab his attention only to have Rafe shake him off. Topper had never seen you two fight before, at least not to this extent and Kelce himself was speechless at the spectacle before him. Sure, there were instances where you and Rafe would have your little spats but that usually resulted in the both of you trying to make the other jealous, but as far as Topper and Kelce had seen you guys had never outright fought like this. They were even more shocked at the fact that you were even yelling back at Rafe. They had known you to be a rather calm person, always electing to go the route that didn’t cause a scene.
“Oh, here we go again with all this peace bullshit again. If we don’t show them where they belong they’ll keep thinking they can do this type of shit whenever they want!”
“Rafe, you had absolutely no reason or right to hurt him! Pope is a good guy, he was just doing his job. You don’t even know anything about him!”
“Oh and you do? What are you sleeping with him too?”
“Rafe,” Again, Topper tried and failed at restraining Rafe.
“Excuse me?” You asked, shocked that he would even suggest such a thing. You knew it came from a place of insecurity but you also knew that you could understand his actions without accepting his behavior. More than that, his accusation hurt you, it made you feel like he didn’t trust you. You had been more than a good girlfriend to him and for him to accuse you of cheating on him was outlandish and uncalled for.
“Yeah, don’t think I don’t see you hanging out with Kiara and all her Pogue friends and don’t think that I don’t see the way you practically hang off of JJ whenever she brings them to The Wreck.”
“Rafe, I’m barely even friends with them. I go to The Wreck, just like everyone else. The fact that I’ve decided to be civil with them doesn’t mean that I’m fucking one of them.” At this point you were almost in tears, saddened and frustrated by the fact that you had to defend yourself from the one person you trusted the most. You quickly left his house, running back to yours as fast as you could.
All it took was one look from Topper and a low whistle from Kelce for him to understand that he fucked up. Rafe felt guilty, guiltier than he ever had before He knew you would never even think about cheating on him, yet in his anger he still accused you of doing so anyway. You had always been by his side through this and thin; after every fight he had with his father, you were always there, ready to welcome him into your arms and comfort him until he could forget. You didn’t deserve any of things he’d said to you and you certainly didn’t deserve to be treated the way he just treated you. You were too good for him, way too good for him, and he knew that he definitely blew it. He was about to go after you before a hand on his arm stopped him. He looked down to find Sarah shaking her head at him, gently telling him that she would talk to you. He should have been mad at Sarah for eavesdropping but he also knew that Sarah was your best friend and if anyone could get you to forgive him, it was definitely her.
You were sitting in front of your mirror, trying to convince yourself to start getting ready for Midsummers but you kept getting distracted by your own thoughts. You were beyond furious at Rafe. First, how could he not see how wrong it was of him to beat up Pope? Second, how could he have accused you of cheating? Especially after you had stayed with him despite everything he had put you through already. The thoughts in your head ran a mile a minute as you sat in your room, picking at the carpet under your hands before they were brought to a halt by a soft knock at your door.
“Come in!” You yelled at the person on the other side. When Sarah poked her head in you almost let out a sigh of relief, happy that the person at your door was your best friend and not her brother.
“Hey,” She said softly. She sat down next to you and gently pulled you into a hug where you began to cry. “Listen, I know he’s my brother and all, but you’re too good for him.”
“That’s what everyone says, but I don’t want to leave him. I’ve seen the person he can be and I just want that for him.”
“I know. I’m not going to tell you that you should leave him, but I do want you to know that you deserve better than what he’s giving you.” You both stayed on the floor of your room for what felt like hours before Sarah finally urged you to begin getting ready. You argued that you didn’t want to go anymore but she convinced you to, telling you that you needed to get your mind off of him and a party was the best way to do so. You didn’t really agree seeing as Rafe would also be there and that he was supposed to be your date, but Sarah had promised that she would enter with you instead of Topper so that you wouldn’t have to deal with Rafe. You and Sarah did your makeup together, both of you going for a natural look to pair with the simple dresses you chose. Before either of you knew it, it was time to leave.
You, as well as the rest of the Kooks, began to gather in the Cameron’s living room to get ready for your entrances. Sarah had told Topper that she would be entering with you in order to save you any stress and even though you had a feeling there was more to it than that, you let well enough alone, deciding that if she was kind enough to comfort you then the least you could do was not bother her about whatever she was definitely hiding from you. Soon enough, Sarah’s step mom came into the room, telling you to take your places before filing you through the doors. You spent most of the night by Sarah’s side, her and the rest of your friends keeping Rafe away from you. You had to admit that you actually had a lot of fun, you and your friends all getting a bit drunk which allowed you to let loose for the night. Before you knew it, most of your friends had left to hook up with random people they had found at the party, you and Sarah being the only two left, but that soon changed after she had danced with none other than JJ who definitely wasn’t supposed to be at Midsummers. She sat you down at a table, promising to tell you everything that was going on at your confused look before taking off.
You drummed your fingers on the table, watching the parents slow dance as the night wound down. Soon, a familiar tune began to play. As the first notes of “It’s Been a Long, Long Time” by Harry James began to play, you gently swayed in your seat, beginning to feel sad all over again. This was your song, ever since Rafe had danced with you one night to it as it played on the radio it had been your song. You looked around, not being able to find him anywhere, becoming even more heartbroken at the thought that he might have been off with someone else. You looked down at your lap, concentrating all your energy on keeping yourself together until the night was over, but soon a hand appeared in your line of sight. Your eyes trailed from the hand and up the arm to find Rafe standing in front of you, silently asking you to dance. You accepted, grabbing his hand and letting him lead you to the dance floor. Rafe held you close as you swayed back and forth while gently pressing kisses to your head every now and then.
“I’m sorry,” Rafe said. You didn’t answer. “I shouldn’t have said those things I said.”
“You hurt me.”
“I know and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have treated you so horribly, especially not in front of Topper and Kelce. You deserve better.” It was times like these that made you feel hopeful for your future with Rafe. You knew how hard it was for him to admit he was wrong, but apologizing is almost something he never did, and him saying sorry twice was unheard of.
“That’s what everyone else says. Rafe we’ve been together for years now and through it all I have defended you every time someone told me that you were no good. I refused to do so every time someone told me to leave you because I deserved better.”
“Is there any chance you can forgive me?” You weren’t sure if you would be able to forgive Rafe. The hurt and anger you felt was about more than just your fight today. Rafe valued his reputation over you and you were beginning to lose hope that he would ever become the man you knew he could be. But after the exhausting day you’d had, all you wanted was to just enjoy this moment.
“I don’t know, but we’ll talk about it tomorrow, just dance with me.” Yo gently placed your head on his chest, feeling his grip on you tighten as you continued swaying.
Summary: Peter finds an old photo of Bucky in a tux next to a girl in white. Bucky can’t remember the last time he smiled so much.
Spring cleaning. That’s what Tony called it when he called an emergency meeting that morning. The Avengers were to spend the entirety of the weekend cleaning and decluttering the compound until everything was spotless and organized.
“Tony, why don’t you just hire a cleaning crew or something?” Sam asked, obviously not on board with the idea of giving up his weekend.
“Yeah Mr. Stark, aren't you a millionaire? Wouldn’t a cleaning crew be, like, pocket change for you?” Peter asked, unintentionally sassing the man he idolized. Bucky snorted, then chuckled at Peters obvious confusion.
“Billionaire, actually. Listen guys, we make messes all the time and we never clean up after ourselves because we have that kind of mindset. I’m tired of the compound constantly being a mess and it would be much easier if we all just did our part. Many hands make light work.” Tony answered, rolling his eyes at the various groans that sounded through the room.
“Oh, don’t be such babies. It’s one weekend of cleaning. And, the faster you get to it, the faster it’ll be done, so, you’ll be divided into teams. Bruce and I will take the labs and the vents. Thor, Steve, you guys get the kitchen and the living room. Natasha and Clint, the dining room and the bathrooms. Wanda, Vision, and Scott, you guys get the garage. Peter, Sam, and Bucky can take the storage room in the basement.”
“What?!” Sam and Bucky yelled in unison.
“Why does everyone get be assigned places with their friends but I get stuck baby-sitting the spider-kid and Cyborg?” Sam asked. Peter threw him an indignant look that Sam either didn’t notice or chose to ignore.
“Well, you and Peter get the basement because you both obviously don’t understand the value of cleaning up after yourselves.” Tony emphasized.
“What about me?” Bucky chimed in. “You’ve seen my room, it’s spotless, and I always clean up after myself.”
“You laughed.” Before Bucky could even think of a reply, Tony disbanded the meeting, sending every Avenger on their way, all of whom grumbled as they made their way to their various assignments. Bucky, Sam, and Peter trudged to the elevator, Sam mumbling something about the stupidity of having a basement in such a tall building and Peter awkwardly trying to simultaneously seem cool and defend Tony.
The elevator ride down was anything but comfortable. Peter was still trying to make conversation while Sam tried his best not to snap at the kid, sharing looks here and there with Bucky in a weird moment of solidarity. When the arrived at the basement, everyone claimed their own section of the room. After Peter realized he would get nothing from Sam or Bucky, the three of them worked in silence.
It had been a good couple of hours of cleaning before someone decided to break the little routine they had going. Peter quietly padded over to Bucky and tapped him in the shoulder, timidly calling his name. Bucky, after having reviewed yet another box of boring case files, had welcomed Peter as a distraction this time.
“What’s up, kid?” He asked.
“I found this in one of the boxes.” He said, handing Bucky an old, crumpled, black and white photo. The picture was of him in his old tux with his jacket draped over his shoulder, his arm around the girl next to him who was wearing a simple white summer dress. Bucky was looking at the girl with a wide grin, seemingly pleased to see the girl with her eyes screwed shut and mouth open to let out a laugh. Bucky remembered that day more clearly than he thought he would have after all these years. It was a hot summer day in the countryside the day Steve had taken that picture.
“Who’s that?” Peter asked, breaking Bucky out of his reverie. Bucky gently took the picture from Peter, his thumb running over her face softly.
“Her name was Y/N.” Bucky replied, tears beginning to gather at the corners of his eyes.
“She’s beautiful.”
“She is.”
“Tell me about her.” Bucky looked at Peter, deciding it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to share his love for the girl in the photo.
“She was amazing. She had the kindest eyes and never thought twice about helping others. She always put other people before herself, her fatal flaw. God, and she made the best beignets.”
“Beignets?” Peter asked, laughing at the absurdity of the Winter Soldier enjoying such a delicate pastry.
“Yes!” Bucky answered, beginning to laugh along with him.
“How did you guys meet?” Sam piped up, having stopped what he was doing to listen.
“It’s kind of a funny story.”
Bucky heard the commotion before he could even begin to wonder where Steve was. He was leaning against the building while the dance raged inside, talking up some freshman he had never met before when he heard William Kelly and his friends laughing, presumably at whoever was currently wheezing louder than the generator in the school’s basement.
“I’ll be right back” He said, pardoning himself from the girl with a wink as he turned to save his best friend. Before he could even reach the group of boys he heard a high pitched voice.
“Leave him alone, Willie.”
“Or what, Princess?” The next thing Bucky heard was a loud smack and a loud grunt.
“You bitch!” Willie yelled, holding his nose.
“Well, you asked.” Bucky looked away from Willie and at you. You were standing in front of Steve who was struggling to breathe while nursing his own bloody nose with your hands on your hips and chin raised high. Willie had begun to walk towards you, yelling something about teaching you a lesson.
“Lay a hand on her and I promise I will break it.” Bucky called. Willie turned, sizing Bucky up. Steve was Willie’s favorite person to pick on so it was no wonder that this wasn’t the first time they had come face to face with one another and they both knew that he was no match for Bucky. With one final huff and a glare sent in your direction, Willie called for his friends and left.
“You okay, Doll?” He asked you. It was too dark to see your face. Under the moon he could just barely see your outline as you turned to him.
“I had it handled. And don’t call me ‘Doll’” You said, glaring. You turned to Steve, gently helping him stand and making sure he was okay.
“It was three against one. How, exactly, did you have it handled?” You huffed, not having a reply. You had no doubt you would have been able to at least fend them off for the night, you just didn’t exactly have a plan on how to. After making sure Steve could stand on his own, you turned to glare at Bucky again.
“Keep an eye on him, will you?” You asked. The edge in your voice slightly softening. Bucky was about to reply when the back door to the gym opened, illuminating your face. He stopped short, admiring your beauty in what little light the door allowed before it closed.
You waited for his answer, but after not receiving one you rolled your eyes, turning back to Steve.
“Call me next time you decide to pick a fight with someone, alright?” Steve only saluted at you in response.
“Who is that?” Bucky asked after he had regained his bearings. You were long gone at that point, having turned the corner only moments ago.
“Y/N Y/L/N. We have math together.”
“You guys friends?”
“Kind of.”
“She’s pretty.”
“You think all the girls are pretty.”
“Bucky you dog! You were a player huh?” Sam said, amusement lacing his words.
“Yeah, I guess,” Bucky laughed. “But not after I met her.”
“It doesn’t sound like she liked you very much.” Peter said, beginning to poke fun at the super soldier.
“No, she did not. It took me years to get her to go out with me.”
“So how’d you finally get her to say yes?”
Lower Manhattan was definitely not where you were supposed to be in the middle of a Friday afternoon. It was also definitely not where Steve was supposed to be.
“Hey Stevie, what’re you doing here? Shouldn't you be in school?” You asked, a smirk playing on your features.
“I could ask you the same thing.” He replied.
“Seriously, what are you doing? Bucky’s gonna lose his marbles when he find out you ditched.” As if on cue, you saw a very angry Bucky striding towards the two of you.
“Steve!” He yelled as he got closer. “Steve, what do you think you’re doing?”
As he arrived, he barely spared you a glance. You were used to people giving you that kind of treatment as you weren’t exactly what most would call a proper lady, but you weren’t used to Bucky treating you that way. A small pang of disappointment sounded in your chest at the lack of attention he gave you. Bucky had spent the better part of the last two years trying to convince you to go out with him and each and every time you turned him down on account of not wanting to be another notch in his bed post. You knew the kind of man Bucky was; he was a ladies man. Every girl wanted him and every girl despised you for being the only one he was after.
“I’m having a chat with my friend.” Steve replied, gesturing to you.
“Steve, we gotta go back.”
“Oh lighten up, Buck. School’s almost over anyway.” You said, despite the fact that there was still a good two hours before the day was over. You could see Bucky’s patience slowly wearing thin as he took a deep breathe to compose himself.
“How about this,” You offered. “You let Steve and I have the rest of the afternoon off and you can chaperone us to make sure we don’t get into any trouble.”
You were fully expecting him to reject the offer, to put his foot down and demand you follow the rules like he almost always did, but then again, Bucky was full of surprises.
“Fine.” Was Bucky’s only reply. You clapped before quickly grabbing both boys by the hand, pulling them along with you in your hunt for a soft pretzel.
It had only just begun to grow dark as you made your way back to Brooklyn. Bucky had given you his jacket not too long ago upon seeing you shiver during your walk through Washington Square Park. In the time you had all spent together, you had learned a few things about Bucky. Like how he was more than just a ladies man. How he was kind and gentle and so caring about those around him. You had seen it in the way he treated Steve. You came to realize that Bucky’s need to protect Steve wasn’t fueled by some egotistical desire to prove he was tough but was actually fueled by his love for his friend. You learned how much of a gentleman he really was when he offered to walk you home after you had both dropped Steve off at his place.
“You know, Barnes,” You began, walking up the small walkway that led to your front door a little slower than usual. “You’re not too bad.”
“Oh? I think someone’s getting a little soft on me.”
“Maybe I am.” You blushed. You had arrived at your front door, sliding off his jacket to return it. You stared into his eyes and with the same intensity, he stared back. You were leaning in to kiss him, sure that this would be it, but Bucky had gently taken his jacket from you and bid you goodnight. As he reached your front gate, you called out to him.
“Buck, you’re even more oblivious than Steve is.” He turned to you, sending a questioning glance your way as you slowly sauntered up to him.
“You’d think after all that flirting you do, you’d be able to tell when a girl wanted to kiss you.”
“I just want to be a gentleman for ya, Doll.”
“Who said I wanted a gentleman?” You asked. You quickly pulled Bucky into you by the collar, his arms wrapping around you tightly to pull you even closer. The butterflies in your stomach seemed to be doing summersaults as his tongue made it’s way into your mouth where it began to gently explore. Hands roamed your body as you both got lost in each other. Pulling away had to be one of the hardest things you had done up to date, but you knew that you had to sooner or later and, while you would have preferred later, your lungs began to scream for air.
“Would you like to get dinner with me tomorrow?” Bucky asked after he had caught his breath.
“I’d love to.”
Bucky smiled at the memory, the knots in his stomach beginning to twist again as if he was kissing you for the first time all over. That knot quickly moved from his stomach to his throat while an invisible hand seemed to squeeze at his heart the longer he thought about you.
“She sounds like a real catch.” Sam said.
“She was. Best damn thing that ever happened to me.” Bucky replied.
“Wait, so you guys were, like, high school sweethearts then?” Peter asked.
“Yeah, I guess we were.”
“So then when was this photo taken? Did you guys go to a party or something?” Bucky laughed.
“Or something.”
This was anything but proper. Nothing about this entire situation was proper. But Bucky was heading off to war in less than a week and he’d be damned if he didn’t tie you down now while he still had the chance to.
When Bucky had proposed, it had been less than romantic. He had signed up for the war, without telling you, which had caused a huge argument between you two.
“You what?!” You yelled, unable to believe what you’d just heard.
“I enlisted.” Bucky replied.
“Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you talk to me about it first?”
“It felt like the right thing to do.”
“Oh, the right thing to do? The right thing to do would have been to talk to me instead of just signing your life away on a whim!”
“Doll, please I-”
“Don’t you ‘Doll” me!” Tears had begun to sting your eyes as you began to think of all the possible outcomes of this war. But one thought was louder than the others.
“What if you don’t come back?” You asked, breaking into a fit of sobs as you lowered yourself onto the couch. Bucky quickly made his way to you and pulled you into him, pressing kisses into your hair.
“I’ll come back, Doll. Nothing’s gonna happen to me, I promise.”
“But what if something does happen to you? You can’t promise me that you’ll be safe. This is war, Bucky, how do I know you’ll come back to me?”
“Marry me.” It wasn’t a question. Bucky knew that you were the love of his life and the only way he could think of making sure you knew that he meant what he said was to officially make you his, forever and always. Without much thought you had jumped into Bucky’s truck and headed to the countryside in order to get married by your uncle, stopping by Steve’s house to get him to be the witness and making sure that both your parents and Bucky’s knew what you were planning on doing. Luckily, both your parents understood why you were getting married in such a rush and had gathered various things to make the wedding little more traditional. Your mother had ran to grab your white sundress and to call your uncle while Bucky’s father scrambled to find his suit and his mother rushed to cut a small bouquet for you from their garden.
In just a couple of hours you had made it to your uncle’s estate, said uncle already waiting outside for you two. You greeted him and introduced him to Bucky and Steve as your parents began to arrive. You and Bucky quickly grabbed the clothes from your respective parents before fleeing to opposite sides of the house to get ready, you towing along both your mother and Bucky’s while Bucky took Steve. Your fathers and your uncle had begun the process of setting up a place for the impromptu wedding under a large maple tree not too far from the house.
Bucky had waited at the front of the makeshift alter as you exited the house. You didn’t look much different than usual on account of the wedding being so last minute, but that didn’t stop the smile from nearly splitting his face in half when he realized that you were going to be his wife. Steve had softly begun humming “Here Comes the Bride” to himself as your father began walking you down the small trail that serves as the isle.
Bucky hadn’t done a lot of impulsive things in his life, but here he was, ready to promise himself and his life to someone else with little thought as to what the consequences may be. Despite that, however, he had never been so sure of anything in his life. When you stepped in front of him, all smiles and laughter, he knew that you were the woman he was supposed to spend the rest of his life with.
“Do you, James Buchanan Barnes, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife? To love and cherish until death do you part?”
“I do.”
“And do you, Y/N Y/M/N Y/L/N, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband? To love and to cherish until death do you part?”
“I do.”
“Then you may now kiss the bride.” Bucky gently cupped your cheek before pulling you into him and pressing his lips to yours. When you pulled apart neither of you could stop smiling, your cheeks beginning to ache towards the end of the ceremony. After celebrating for the better part of the day, both your parents and Steve had decided to head back before it got too dark, first congratulating you both again and hugging you goodbye. You and Bucky had decided to take a stroll through your uncles land but were abruptly stopped by Steve calling your names.
“I need to take a picture of the happy couple!” He said, holding up his camera as if to prove a point.
“Steve, do you ever put that thing down?” You laughed.
“Not since I got it.” He winked. “Smile!”
Steve lifted the camera while you and Bucky pulled each other close, Bucky whispering a small quip in your ear unexpectedly, causing you to burst out laughing just as Steve took the photo.
“No! I wasn’t ready! Take it again.” You demanded.
“Sorry Y/N, that was the last shot I could take on the film.” Steve shrugged.
“It’s okay, Doll. I bet you look beautiful. You always do.” You lightly slapped Bucky’s chest, earning a chuckle before he pulled you close by the waist and began walking down the small dirt path that lead to the heart of your uncle’s land. You called a quick goodbye to Steve over your shoulder before turning to bask in the presence of your now husband.
The rest of the night was mostly spent talking and laughing as you and Bucky tried to drink as much of each other in as possible. Before you knew it, you found yourselves lying on the ground, Bucky laying on top of his jacket and you on top of him as he pointed out each constellation to you like he had so many nights before. You turned to face him, resting your chin on his chest.
“I wish you weren’t leaving.” You said simply, tears beginning to well up in your eyes again.
“It’ll be alright. I’ll be back before you can even miss me.”
“But I’m already missing you, Buck.”
“Well, every time you do, you can just look at this ring and know that I’ll always love you.”
“Always?”
“Always.”
The room was silent as Bucky stared at the photo, the bittersweet taste of the memory stinging the back of his throat and making it difficult to breathe.
“I miss her everyday, you know.” Bucky said. Sam layed a gentle hand on his shoulder, a look of understanding crossing his features.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Barnes.” Peter said.
“It’s alright, kid. Better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all, right?”
“I hope someday I find a love like that.” Peter said which caused Bucky to chuckle softly.
“I hope you do too, Peter. It was incredible.”
Bucky slid the photo into his back pocket as he returned to the task at hand, all the while a sad smile tugging at his lips as he remembered all the memories he had made with you, and the one promise he couldn’t keep.
Request: “Hi! Can you do a request where the piggies are at a beach party and the kooks show up and one of them tries to drug you but JJ notices you acting weird around the kooks and takes you back to the chateau and takes care of you? I know it’s weird but I love angst mixed with fluff and ur a really good writer I feel like you can do it! ❤️❤️”
Warnings: Unconsensual drug use
Notes: None
The party is in full swing. With multiple kegs stationed around the beach for everyone and the various drugs that you were sure the kooks brought being graciously distributed, you had no doubt that tonight would be a banger. Oddly enough this party wasn’t planned by you or any of your friends. A kook, one of Rafe’s friends or cousins or something, had decided to throw this party to “promote business”, which you could only guess meant that the illegal substances being passed around were courtesy of him. Since your arrival, numerous people had come up to you offering to share whatever it was they were smoking or taking, but neither you nor the rest of the pogues were very keen on harder drugs. The most that the Pogues had ever really done was weed, and even then you had only smoked once, disliking the tickle in the back of your throat when you smoked. JJ had often suggested edibles but you had heard they were sometimes unpredictable and decided early on to stay away from them. Your friends were very much respectful of your decision and even went so far as to step in when they saw someone peer pressuring you. The amount of times JJ had physically stepped between you and whoever it was trying to coerce you to just try whatever they had was astounding, especially since JJ was basically an advocate for bad behavior. It was just such an instance that landed you where you were now.
JJ was in front of you, shoving the boy that had been a little too pushy when convincing you to try the cocaine he’d bought from Rafe. The boy was harmless, you could tell just by looking at him, but JJ was about ready to rock his shit, so you quickly got in the middle of the two, gently coaxing JJ to back down with the promise of a dance instead. Time seemed to fly by as you and JJ drank one cup of beer after another, both of you beginning to feel the affects early on in the night. After being crashed into by a young girl you didn’t recognize, your beer spilling on your white tank top as the teen profusely apologized, you quickly left to get another beer after telling your accidental assailant not to worry and to keep partying. JJ quickly began to dance with her, both keeping distance as they danced.
With how crowded the area on the beach that had been designated as the dance floor had been, you were surprised to see so many people hanging out near the kegs. The group was so packed you could barely even see the keg, let alone get to it. You tried as politely and unobtrusively as possible to weave your way towards the keg when a heavy hand fell on your shoulder.
“Need some help?” Turning around it was yet another face you didn’t recognize, although you would have to admit he did look a little familiar, at least in the sense that he dressed and held himself in the same manner that many other kooks did. He flashed you a smile, holding out his hand for your cup.
“Oh uh... Yeah thanks.” You replied, handing him your cup. The boy grabbed your cup and made his way through the crowd with ease, filling your cup before making his way back to you. You briefly lost sight of him when someone bumped into you, saying a quick sorry before moving on.
“I haven’t seen you around here before.” He said, still holding your cup.
“Ah, well, I don’t make it up to Figure 8 very often.” You replied awkwardly, waiting for him to hand you your drink.
“Makes sense, I’d definitely remember someone as hot as you.” He said, eying your chest. You felt uncomfortable, quickly realizing that the beer you had spilled on yourself earlier had made your shirt see through and the boy was now blatantly ogling your boobs. The once seemingly unsuspecting boy had now seemed like a sleaze as he made no effort to hide the once over he gave you, even moving to the side n an attempt to get a look at your ass.
“Okay, well I’ll just take my drink and get going.” You said, desperate to get out of the situation. He handed you your drink with a smirk, the complete opposite reaction that you normally would have expected when blowing a guy off.
“See you around.” Was all he said as you turned back to the dance floor to find JJ. When you finally spotted his mop of blonde hair nestled in a dark bandana, you practically ran to him, still feeling the boy’s eyes on you. When you reached him you found all of your friends together, all dancing and drinking and all in all just having a good time. You instantly felt safer and began to dance with them, drinking and laughing along to whatever they were saying, though if you were being honest you couldn’t really tell anymore. As time went on and your cup slowly emptied, you felt like your body was becoming heavy. You found it hard to focus, trying to spot your friends but finding that all the faces surrounding you were unfamiliar. You then felt a hand gently cup your waist, instantly thinking it was JJ, you leaned into the person, only to find the the cologne was much to expensive to be the one JJ usually wore. You looked up and saw the blurred face of the boy who had helped you before, an unsettling smile slinking onto his face at the state you were in. The boy slowly began to lead you away from the crowd. Somewhere in the back of your mind you knew this was a bad idea, but you were much to out of it to put any of your thought together as the boy led you to a more secluded part of the beach.
JJ had noticed you were gone before anyone else had, he figured you must have paired off with someone but when he took a headcount of the Pogues, he realized everyone was still here. He knew you would never let yourself be alone in a sea of strangers in such an inebriated state but as he looked around her couldn’t find you anywhere. His eyes almost skipped over the retreating figure in the distance, but when he took a closer look he realized it was you after you looked back towards him, a confused expression gracing your features. JJ wasn’t sure if the guy you were with was your friend, most people on the island were friendly with you and often hung out with you at these parties, but as you stumbled in the direction the unknown boy was leading you, he felt like something was off. At first he brushed it off, turning back to his friends and trying to dance along to the music, but as time went he felt more and more uneasy, finally deciding to follow you just in case something was wrong. When JJ looked jack to where you had been, you were gone. Panic slowly rose in him as he ran to try and find you. It didn’t take long as JJ had found that you were one of the most easiest people to spot, his eyes always finding you wherever he went if you so happened to be there too. a group of boys were surrounding you, all of them talking to each other and attempting to keep you upright. JJ knew that you would never agree to that many people touching you, especially if you didn’t know them.
“Hey!” He called, quickly walking towards the group of boys.
“Hey! What’s up man?” One boy asked, stepping in front of you.
“What’s going on?” JJ asked, deciding not to answer the boy’s greeting.
“Oh nothing.”
“Nothing? Really?” JJ peered behind the boy to get a look at you. He knew something was wrong and his one goal was to get you out of this as safely as possible. No violence, a mantra that you seemed to repeat to him every time he was about to get into a fight, just like you would be saying now if you could.
“She doesn’t look alright.” JJ said flatly.
“She’s fine.”
“You alright, sweetheart?” JJ asked you. You couldn't answer, barely able to. register much of what was happening around you.
“I said, she’s fine.” The boy insisted.
“Look man, she’s obviously not alright, and you fuckers obviously aren’t from around here. Let her go and I’ll see to it that none of you get arrested for assaulting an unconscious girl.”
“And what makes you so sure we will get arrested?”
“What makes you so sure you won’t?” JJ knew the kind of guys these were. They weren’t from around here and he was sure they weren’t privy to the way the Outer Banks worked. JJ knew that if they did decide to keep going, nothing would happen to them, in which case he wouldn’t heed your no violence policy, but he also knew that if he played the role just right, maybe the boys would think he was the sone of an important official or something. And he was right.
The boy in front of JJ hesitated before calling for his friends, all of them quickly leaving, but not before shoving you towards JJ. You stumbled into him, holding on to his shirt for dear life as you swayed on your feet.
“JJ?” You asked.
“I’m right here, sweetheart.”
“I don’t feel very good. I’m tired.”
“It’s okay, you’re okay. Let’s just get you back to the Chateau and you can have a nice long sleep, okay?” You nodded your head in agreement. JJ began walking towards the Chateau before picking you up bridal style after realizing you could barely walk. The he arrived, he laid you down on the bed that John B had lend him. JJ debated on whether or not he should switch your shirt out for one of his, ultimately deciding to do so, thinking about how gross you’d feel if you woke up with spilled bear still on you. He threw your shirt into a hamper and left to get you a glass of water for the morning. When JJ was done, he stood next to you, gazing down at your peaceful face and reflecting on how odd this whole situation was. You were the one that always made sure everyone else was safe at these parties and here you were, drugged, JJ was sure. He was just relieved that he got to you in time.
JJ turned to leave, when your voice gently disturbed the silence.
“Where are you going?” You asked.
“I’m going to sleep on the couch, I'll be right here.” You shook your head, unceremoniously slapping your arm down next to you.
“Jus’ sleep ‘ere” You slurred. JJ hesitated before slipping under the covers where you immediately curled into his side and fell asleep. JJ softly threaded his fingers through your hair, thinking about how tonight could have gone very differently. He almost cried at the thought of you getting hurt, even moe so at the thought that if he hadn’t been there to stop it from happening, no one else would have. That night JJ promised himself that no matter what, he’d always look out for you the same way you looked out for him.
Summary: Arvin had no reason to be here. After the things he’d done, he had no reason to be blessed with an angel like you. But after spending so long on the run, after spending so long looking over his shoulder, he couldn’t help but fall in love with the one person who made him feel safe. All is well and good in Arvin’s life until one determined and obsessed sheriff decides it’s time to pay Arvin a visit.
Notes: Ya’ll, this one’s a doosey but I hope you enjoy it anyways. For the purposes of this pic, Bodecker is still alive.
When Arvin woke up that morning he could feel that something was different. Arvin’s life had been flipped upside down by his own actions that had ultimately been what forced him to live his life on the run. He had spent the better part of a year running, zigzagging across the country in the hopes of shaking the authorities off; first traveling down to Georgia, then up to Iowa, then back down towards Texas and so on before finally finding permanent resident. Arvin knew what the rest of his life would look like from here on out. He understood that he would spend the rest of his time on God’s green Earth looking over his shoulder and never finding the quiet life he longed for. Arvin knew that he was cursed, from the moment his mother had died he had been plagued with loss and he was sure he was one of the unlucky souls who had come to be the Devil’s plaything. Arvin had expected that his life would forever be riddled with rot and chaos, damned to suffer through conflict after conflict after conflict. But when Arvin opened his eyes today to the sun streaming in through window and the sound of bacon sizzling coming from the kitchen, he finally understood what it felt like to be at peace.
Arvin swung his legs over the side of the bed, hauling himself up and making his way down the hall. His steps were heavy with sleep, shuffling against the floor loud enough to alert the person in the kitchen to his presence. As Arvin drew closer, he began to hear the hum of a song that was unfamiliar to him, just barely covered by the sound of someone flipping an egg, prompting him to hurry his steps to arrive at the delicious smell and the lovely voice that had almost lulled him back to sleep where he stood. Rounding the corner, Arvin couldn’t help but grin at the sight before him. There you stood in front of the stove, still dressed in your nightgown, cooking a breakfast big enough for two.
Two. Such a simple word with such little meaning. An insignificant word that made Arvin’s heart swell with delight. It wasn’t just him anymore, alone and scared, no, now it was him and you. To Arvin, it was hope. Arvin watched as you plated the food you had prepared before turning around and flashing him an earth shattering smile. You would never know how much it meant to him, your smile, and that you were here, right now. You would never know the kind of stability you brought to him. And he planned to keep it that way, to keep you in the dark about all the things he’d done. To keep letting you believe he was just the stranger from out of town who stole your heart.
When you met Arvin, he was just a newcomer, a lost soul who had found your quaint little town practically in the middle of nowhere. He had stirred up quit a buzz when he walked into your parents’ little diner, asking if there was any place he could stay the night, but seeing as your town was so small, small enough that it could safely be left off of most maps and small enough that tourism wasn’t a main source of income, the answer was unequivocally no. Your father, who had been Arvin had the luck of plopping himself next to, informed him that the closest motel was almost a three hours drive away. Arvin remembered staring out the window, watching the last rays of light vanish, his hope along with it. It would be impossible for him to get someone to see him this late at night, let alone actually stop for him. Arvin felt like he could cry in that moment, but your mother, ever the good Christian woman, had offered to let him stay at your house until tomorrow morning. Arvin was grateful that your mother had been so kind, and in retrospect you were too, but you remembered how much you resented Arvin when your mother told you he would be staying with you. At first, you were all for it, one night with an attractive stranger from out of town in your house wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, but the next day both Arvin and your father came home in the afternoon after they had supposedly left to take Arvin to the next town over earlier that morning.
“Turns out this boy knows his way around a car,” your father had said, beaming. He had later told your mother privately that he had offered Arvin a place to stay with your family and a smaller than average wage in exchange for his help around the shop. Your father owned the only car shop in town and was in desperate need of a new assistant, and seeing as you didn’t want anything to do with being a mechanic, your father saw Arvin as a golden opportunity, someone to possibly pass the torch to. Your mother was more than happy to let him stay, finding his handiness around the house useful, but you were less ready to welcome him into your life. Arvin had garnered a lot of attention, especially from the female population, and most of the girls at your school would pretend to be your friend in the hopes that you would invite them over, just so they could get a glimpse at him. It only got worse when your parents had commissioned Arvin to pick you up and drop you off to school. The girls would stare, trying to get a closer look at Arvin, a few of them even having the courage to go up and talk to him. It made you sick, that attention he got and how much he seemed to enjoy it. You had convinced yourself that it was skepticism about his character, but now that you look back on it, it was nothing more than petty jealousy that bubbled in your stomach. It was stupid, really, to be jealous that a boy was giving other girl’s his attention, especially since you hadn’t seemed very keen on the idea of him even being in your town, but what you didn’t know was that it wasn’t the attention that Arvin enjoyed, it was the fact that in the people around him, in the kindness that people showed him, Arvin could see a future here; a future with you.
From the moment Arvin laid his eyes on you, he was smitten, he would even go as far as to say it was love at first sight. Arvin wouldn’t confess this to you until almost a year after you’d met when he tried to ask you to prom (with your parents’ permission, of course). It was honestly a train wreck and did not go at all how he had planned. Arvin had invited you out to the town’s gazebo, he had strung up lights as best he could and set up a nice little dinner for the two of you. He saw a figure slowly approach, thinking it was you, only to be disappointed when Susan Hall, who Arvin remembered you hated with a passion, stepped into the light and flung herself at him, telling him how sweet it was of him to do this and attempting to kiss him. You had seen the whole thing and, devastated, you ran away, Arvin chasing after you. He had caught up to you in the woods behind your parents’ property and explained what had happened, confessing that he loved you and only you. You believed him, and rightfully so, as you later found out that Susan had crashed your plans on purpose to try and steal Arvin from you.
Looking back on it now, with you leaning against his in the small house that you had bought the second you graduated high school with the little money both of you had saved up and some help from your parents, Arvin was glad he had ended up in your dreary town, no matter how complicated your relationship had been when it first started. He watched as you admired the ring on your finger, smiling at it as if you had been missing it all your life, the now empty dishes sitting in your sink waiting to be washed. It was times like this Arvin remembered why he had to keep his past life from you a secret. He loved you and often found himself wanting to tell you all about his past life. Every time you asked why he looked like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders Arvin wanted nothing more than to tell you everything, but Arvin loved you too much to let you go and he couldn’t bare to think of what would happen if you knew what he did.
“Darlin’, I gotta get ready for work.” He said, lips pressed against the crown of your head.
“Why don’t you call in sick today,” you suggested.
“I would but your dad would kill me.”
“You know he loves you Arvin.”
“Yeah, that’s why I don’t wanna disappoint ‘im.” With one final kiss to your head, Arvin stood up and made his way to your shared bedroom. You began to clean the dishes, not having to go into the diner until later that day. As you began cleaning the last pan in the sink, a sturdy knock came from your door.
“I’ll get it!” You yelled, hearing Arvin begin to hurry to the front door. You had opened the door just as Arvin arrived at the end of the hallway. In front of you stood a tall man with a sheriff’s badge pinned to his shirt.
“Mornin’ ma’am, my name’s Lee Bodecker,” The man said. “I’m looking for a man named Arvin Russell and I heard I might find him here.”
“Arvin?” You repeated, confusion written all over your face. You turned to look at your husband, eyebrows furrowed in a silent question. From where the sheriff stood, he couldn’t see Arvin, his figure being blocked by the door, but if he leaned ever so slightly to the left he might be able to peer into the house and see there was someone else there. You knew something was wrong, you had never seen Arvin look as scared as he did now, so without a second thought, you had gently closed the door so that your body filled the gap it created, leaning against the door frame in an attempt to feign nonchalance.
“I’m sorry, Mister, but there ain’t no Arvin Russell here. Whoever told you there was must have been misinformed.”
“You sure about that?”
“Sure as the hair on my head.”
“Oh, alright. Then may I ask who it was you called to just before you opened the door?”
“My husband.” You said after a long pause, caught off guard by the man’s question.
“Mind if I speak with him?”
“Well I don’t but I’m not sure how you’d feel about seein’ him naked. He’s takin’ a shower right now.” You began gently tapping your foot, your nerves beginning to get the better of you. You had never been all that good at lying, something about it made you feel wrong, dirty. But you needed to protect your husband, after all, it’s what he would do for you.
“Then would you mind if I waited.”
“Actually I would. I have to leave for work soon and, with all do respect, I don’t much like leaving a stranger unattended in my house.”
With a small nod and a tip of the hat, the man bid you goodbye, getting into his car and driving off. You closed the door and turned to Arvin. It was silent for a long time, you waited for Arvin to explain himself but Arvin didn’t know what to say. His worst nightmare was coming true and he was terrified that your love for him wouldn’t be strong enough to survive this.
“Arvin,” You said, as calmly as you could, not wanting to spook him or yourself anymore, though it proved a lot harder that you thought. “Why was that man at our door?”
Arvin opened his mouth as if to say something but for the life of him he couldn’t find the words. He was frustrated with himself, and from the looks of it you were getting pretty frustrated at him to.
“Arvin,” you said more firmly. “I just lied to a goddamn sheriff for you. Please, tell me what’s going on.”
Arvin took a deep breathe before explaining everything to you. He told you about Lenora, and how hung herself. About the preacher and Bodecker and about Bodecker’s sister and her crazy husband. He explained everything he had done with complete and utter honesty. And he cried, longing to reach out for you but knowing his hands were too tainted to be worthy of ever holding something as beautifully pure as you. You didn’t know what to say. On the one hand, you understood his reasoning. To you, it seemed like the people Arvin had killed had it coming. But on the other hand, your husband had killed people. It didn’t matter what the reason was, taking a person’s life was a sin, something unforgivable in the holy book. Despite your better judgement, your decision ultimately came down to this: Arvin was your husband, and you loved him.
You slowly approached Arvin’s shaking figure, gently wrapping your arms around his shoulders and threading your hands through his hair. Arvin broke down into sobs, holding you impossibly close to him as if he needed you more than the air he breathed.
“Arvin,” You said once he had stopped crying, your own tears beginning to fall as you realized that there was only one option left for you both. “Arvin, we need to go.”
“What?”
“We need to go.” He gently pulled away from you, looking into your eyes, checking to make sure he heard you correctly.
“B-but this is our home.”
“I know Arvin, but that sheriff didn’t believe a word I said and he’s gonna be asking around town for you. It won’t be long until word of what you’ve done begins to spread. We need to leave before it’s too late.”
You gently ushered Arvin towards the bedroom and told him to begin packing a bag, unaware of the figure lurking at your backdoor. Bodecker had listened in on your conversation, hearing every word you and Arvin had spoken to each other, preparing for the right moment to make himself known. It was now or never, he thought, hearing you tell Arvin to pack a bag. As quietly as possible, Bodecker broke the lock on your back door, slowly making his way towards your bedroom. The door was wide open, he could see you and Arvin darting around the room trying to find your essentials. It was almost perfect, how unaware you both were. How wrapped up you were in yourselves that you didn’t even notice a 6 foot tall man practically right in front of you. With a sadistic smile, Bodecker raised his shotgun.
You froze when you heard someone pump a shotgun behind you, whipping around to find Bodecker standing just a few feet from you, gun aimed at Arvin. Your heart was beating so hard you thought it might burst, the thought of losing Arvin only increasing the adrenaline that was currently coursing through you.
“You thought you could get away, didn’t you?” Bodecker asked.
“Please, your sister and her husband, t-they were gonna kill me I didn’t hav-”
“I don’t care! You killed my sister. My sister! You killed the only person I loved Arvin. And now, I’m gonna return the favor.” In one swift motion, Bodecker turned to point the gun at you, raising his gun higher to aim at you properly. You closed your eyes before hearing the bang of a gun. You waited, standing stock still as the terror of the situation slowly got to you, but you didn’t feel pain, instead you felt a set of hands holding your face, a voice softly telling you to open your eyes. You did as you were told, seeing Arvin in front of you, eyes frantic. You looked at the ground next to him, an unfamiliar gun next to Arvin’s foot. You came to the realization that Arvin must have used it to shoot Bodecker, your suspicion being proven correct when your eyes landed on Bodecker’s now lifeless body laying in a pool of his own blood.
“A-Arvin-” Arvin softly hushed you.
“It’s okay, you’re okay now.” Arvin pulled you closer to him, cradling your head and shielding you from the body. Soon you could hear sirens in the distance, the panic slowly rising inside of you again. You could feel Arvin begin to panic too, his breathing starting to pick up.
“H-his badge.” You said, pulling away from Arvin, scared that he would be taken away from you. “We-we need to get rid of h-his badge. A-and any identification he has. It has to look like an- like an accident”
“R-right. Right, okay, uh...” Arvin began searching Bodecker’s body, quickly finding both his badge and ID and hiding them in a small hollow under one of the floor boards where you kept your savings. You and Arvin quickly came up with a cover, agreeing to keep it simple. The police arrived not long after, conducting an interview and putting you both through due process. You told them what you and Arvin had agreed to say, that the man broke into your house and tried to rob you, but thanks to Arvin’s quick thinking, Arvin was able to get to his gun and shoot the intruder. The policemen interviewing you were skeptical, wondering why neither of you called the police after killing the man. You blamed it on shock, saying that Arvin’s first instinct was to comfort you, the intruder did have a gun pointed at you, after all. The policemen eventually dropped the subject, seeing you begin to tear up as the adrenaline and shock of the day began to ware off. Your parents came to get you and Arvin, offering you both your old room at their house until they were able to get someone to fix your back door, an offer that the both of you readily accepted. That night you and Arvin held each other just a little bit tighter, neither one of you finding sleep to come easy.
“We can’t tell anyone what happened today.” Arvin said, rubbing your back in an attempt to soothe you.
“I know.” You replied, tightly clutching onto his shirt. “I love you, Arvin.”
“I love you, too, Darlin’”
You didn’t know what would come out of tonight. You didn't know if you were making a mistake by trusting Arvin after everything he had done. You weren’t sure if you were messed up for loving a murderer or if you were right in believing that Arvin was doing good, even if it meant doing some more than questionable things. But you knew one thing, you knew you loved Arvin and that he loved you, and that you both would always protect each other, no matter the cost.
Request: “hey!! can i make a request where the reader is dating rafe and it’s midsummers while they are there, the song it’s been a long, long time by harry james comes on and rafe tells the reader to slow dance with him!! :)” by @vintageobx
Warnings: None
Notes: So Tumblr deleted my post which is wack
You knew what you were signing up for when you started dating Rafe. You understood who he was and, more importantly, the person he was trying to hide, even before you two had gotten together. You were very much aware of the reputation he tried to keep and as much as you told yourself you were okay with it, something about it didn’t always sit right with you.
On the surface, Rafe was a gruff, independent, and manipulative man. He never let anyone see him simp over you, never let anyone know he cared so much. Rafe even made a point to make it seem like you were just someone he kept around for his own fun, something that you had obviously found issue with. He would blackmail people and hustle them if he had the chance, even if he didn’t necessarily need anything from them. To most, Rafe was a trust fund baby who never learned his lesson and knew that he was untouchable. And yes, Rafe was aware of his status in the Outer Banks and as much as he enjoyed being able to do whatever he wanted and never get in trouble, you knew that the life Rafe led was more for the benefit of the public. He played the role that people expected him to play, but you knew better than to believe that that was the real Rafe. The real Rafe was scared and insecure, always feeling like he had to impress his own father to be loved by him. The real Rafe cared about a lot of things, about his friends and about his family and about you, but you wouldn’t know it by the way he was acting now.
“Why the fuck are you protecting that freak?!” Rafe yelled. You and him had been locked in a seemingly never ending fight for the past week or so, ever since you found out about him beating up Pope with a golf club.
“Because Rafe! You and Topper beat up an innocent boy! And for what? Even if he did sink Topper’s boat I wouldn’t blame him! Especially not after the kind of shit you pulled.”
“What do you mean ‘if’? You know damn well that he did it!” You knew that Rafe was trying to help his friend and in any other circumstance you would have found that admirable, but considering he was the one who turned the whole Pogue v. Kook war violent, you didn’t really have much room in your heart to care.
“Maybe he did but don’t you think you guys deserved it? He was defenseless, Rafe. And more than that he was just doing his job. If I were him I wouldn’t have just sunk Topper’s boat I would have wrecked your motorbike too!”
“Oh, what, so you’re a sympathizer now?”
“Sympathizer? This isn’t a fucking war, Rafe, when are you going to realize that this whole us against them thing isn’t helping anyone.”
“Come on, Rafe,” Topper said, gently grasping Rafe’s arm to grab his attention only to have Rafe shake him off. Topper had never seen you two fight before, at least not to this extent and Kelce himself was speechless at the spectacle before him. Sure, there were instances where you and Rafe would have your little spats but that usually resulted in the both of you trying to make the other jealous, but as far as Topper and Kelce had seen you guys had never outright fought like this. They were even more shocked at the fact that you were even yelling back at Rafe. They had known you to be a rather calm person, always electing to go the route that didn’t cause a scene.
“Oh, here we go again with all this peace bullshit again. If we don’t show them where they belong they’ll keep thinking they can do this type of shit whenever they want!”
“Rafe, you had absolutely no reason or right to hurt him! Pope is a good guy, he was just doing his job. You don’t even know anything about him!”
“Oh and you do? What are you sleeping with him too?”
“Rafe,” Again, Topper tried and failed at restraining Rafe.
“Excuse me?” You asked, shocked that he would even suggest such a thing. You knew it came from a place of insecurity but you also knew that you could understand his actions without accepting his behavior. More than that, his accusation hurt you, it made you feel like he didn’t trust you. You had been more than a good girlfriend to him and for him to accuse you of cheating on him was outlandish and uncalled for.
“Yeah, don’t think I don’t see you hanging out with Kiara and all her Pogue friends and don’t think that I don’t see the way you practically hang off of JJ whenever she brings them to The Wreck.”
“Rafe, I’m barely even friends with them. I go to The Wreck, just like everyone else. The fact that I’ve decided to be civil with them doesn’t mean that I’m fucking one of them.” At this point you were almost in tears, saddened and frustrated by the fact that you had to defend yourself from the one person you trusted the most. You quickly left his house, running back to yours as fast as you could.
All it took was one look from Topper and a low whistle from Kelce for him to understand that he fucked up. Rafe felt guilty, guiltier than he ever had before He knew you would never even think about cheating on him, yet in his anger he still accused you of doing so anyway. You had always been by his side through this and thin; after every fight he had with his father, you were always there, ready to welcome him into your arms and comfort him until he could forget. You didn’t deserve any of things he’d said to you and you certainly didn’t deserve to be treated the way he just treated you. You were too good for him, way too good for him, and he knew that he definitely blew it. He was about to go after you before a hand on his arm stopped him. He looked down to find Sarah shaking her head at him, gently telling him that she would talk to you. He should have been mad at Sarah for eavesdropping but he also knew that Sarah was your best friend and if anyone could get you to forgive him, it was definitely her.
You were sitting in front of your mirror, trying to convince yourself to start getting ready for Midsummers but you kept getting distracted by your own thoughts. You were beyond furious at Rafe. First, how could he not see how wrong it was of him to beat up Pope? Second, how could he have accused you of cheating? Especially after you had stayed with him despite everything he had put you through already. The thoughts in your head ran a mile a minute as you sat in your room, picking at the carpet under your hands before they were brought to a halt by a soft knock at your door.
“Come in!” You yelled at the person on the other side. When Sarah poked her head in you almost let out a sigh of relief, happy that the person at your door was your best friend and not her brother.
“Hey,” She said softly. She sat down next to you and gently pulled you into a hug where you began to cry. “Listen, I know he’s my brother and all, but you’re too good for him.”
“That’s what everyone says, but I don’t want to leave him. I’ve seen the person he can be and I just want that for him.”
“I know. I’m not going to tell you that you should leave him, but I do want you to know that you deserve better than what he’s giving you.” You both stayed on the floor of your room for what felt like hours before Sarah finally urged you to begin getting ready. You argued that you didn’t want to go anymore but she convinced you to, telling you that you needed to get your mind off of him and a party was the best way to do so. You didn’t really agree seeing as Rafe would also be there and that he was supposed to be your date, but Sarah had promised that she would enter with you instead of Topper so that you wouldn’t have to deal with Rafe. You and Sarah did your makeup together, both of you going for a natural look to pair with the simple dresses you chose. Before either of you knew it, it was time to leave.
You, as well as the rest of the Kooks, began to gather in the Cameron’s living room to get ready for your entrances. Sarah had told Topper that she would be entering with you in order to save you any stress and even though you had a feeling there was more to it than that, you let well enough alone, deciding that if she was kind enough to comfort you then the least you could do was not bother her about whatever she was definitely hiding from you. Soon enough, Sarah’s step mom came into the room, telling you to take your places before filing you through the doors. You spent most of the night by Sarah’s side, her and the rest of your friends keeping Rafe away from you. You had to admit that you actually had a lot of fun, you and your friends all getting a bit drunk which allowed you to let loose for the night. Before you knew it, most of your friends had left to hook up with random people they had found at the party, you and Sarah being the only two left, but that soon changed after she had danced with none other than JJ who definitely wasn’t supposed to be at Midsummers. She sat you down at a table, promising to tell you everything that was going on at your confused look before taking off.
You drummed your fingers on the table, watching the parents slow dance as the night wound down. Soon, a familiar tune began to play. As the first notes of “It’s Been a Long, Long Time” by Harry James began to play, you gently swayed in your seat, beginning to feel sad all over again. This was your song, ever since Rafe had danced with you one night to it as it played on the radio it had been your song. You looked around, not being able to find him anywhere, becoming even more heartbroken at the thought that he might have been off with someone else. You looked down at your lap, concentrating all your energy on keeping yourself together until the night was over, but soon a hand appeared in your line of sight. Your eyes trailed from the hand and up the arm to find Rafe standing in front of you, silently asking you to dance. You accepted, grabbing his hand and letting him lead you to the dance floor. Rafe held you close as you swayed back and forth while gently pressing kisses to your head every now and then.
“I’m sorry,” Rafe said. You didn’t answer. “I shouldn’t have said those things I said.”
“You hurt me.”
“I know and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have treated you so horribly, especially not in front of Topper and Kelce. You deserve better.” It was times like these that made you feel hopeful for your future with Rafe. You knew how hard it was for him to admit he was wrong, but apologizing is almost something he never did, and him saying sorry twice was unheard of.
“That’s what everyone else says. Rafe we’ve been together for years now and through it all I have defended you every time someone told me that you were no good. I refused to do so every time someone told me to leave you because I deserved better.”
“Is there any chance you can forgive me?” You weren’t sure if you would be able to forgive Rafe. The hurt and anger you felt was about more than just your fight today. Rafe valued his reputation over you and you were beginning to lose hope that he would ever become the man you knew he could be. But after the exhausting day you’d had, all you wanted was to just enjoy this moment.
“I don’t know, but we’ll talk about it tomorrow, just dance with me.” Yo gently placed your head on his chest, feeling his grip on you tighten as you continued swaying.
Request: “can I get a jj x reader where y/n is being abused at home and jj finds out when he’s not suppose to. Y/n likes to hide it so when jj asks she denies. She comes up with lies and when jj tries to get the group involved they believe y/n’s lies. Jj tries to convince them but y:n breaks down and is denfensive at jj. But finally admit. Anyway I love ur work sm💜💜”
Warnings: Mentions of abuse. It’s kind of detailed in the beginning and even though it’s mostly just yelling and verbal fighting it can be triggering so please proceed with caution.
Waking up sore was definitely not how you planned your day to go. Every day since last Friday, it seemed, the aches in your body were getting worse and worse. The pain itself you could handle pretty easily, some pain killers in the morning and maybe a couple more throughout the day and you’d be set, what you really couldn’t stand was how you had come to be so sore.
It was an accident, honest to God. You went out with your friends and it had gotten late so you opted to have dinner with your friends. It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, your father never cooked and your mother split when you were just a baby, so most nights you were left to fend for yourself. You had texted your father, letting him know that you would be out late but you had neglected to tell him you would be eating dinner with your friends on account of the fact that it just didn’t make sense to tell him, especially since he paid such little attention to you in the first place. So when you got home, stuffed with the free food that Kiara had convinced her parents to give you and the rest of the Pogues, to see your father sitting at the dinner table with what looked like a full meal for himself and half a sandwich for you, you knew that little good would come out of whatever you had just walked into.
“I got you a sandwich.” Was all he said. You resisted the urge to roll your eyes. He hadn’t gotten you a sandwich, you knew him better than that. No, what happened was that he had only eaten half of his sandwich for lunch and had given you the other half after he realized he hadn’t thought to buy you something from whatever restaurant he decided stop by on his way home.
“Thanks. I’ll take it for lunch tomorrow.” You responded. You began making your way up to your room when his voice stopped you.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
“No, I had dinner with my friends.” You braced yourself for the inevitable. You knew it was coming, the screaming, the insults. You had dealt with that on nearly a daily basis. On cue, your father slammed his fist into the table and began berating you about what an ungrateful child you were. About how he took care of you, clothed you, housed you, fed you. ‘Bullshit’ you wanted to say. None of what he said was true. You bought your own clothes with the money you made from the various odd jobs around town. You were the one who learned to cook so that you could scrape together just enough to get you through the day. And if it weren’t for your people skills and the money you were able to pull together, there wouldn’t even be a roof over your heads.
‘Whatever’ you thought. It didn’t matter, he would be done yelling soon and you could leave. But it didn't stop, not like it usually did. Today was just a bad day for him you guessed because it seemed like every move you made, every twitch and every glance, was somehow you showing him disrespect that he “didn’t deserve,” although you would have argued that he deserved much more than what you were giving him.
The panic really began to settle in when he began to move closer to you. Your father was prone to temper tantrums and you knew on days like this what would come next. You backed away the closer he came but soon found yourself trapped against the wall with nowhere to go. He reached you soon after, his hand enclosing around your throat and putting an uncomfortable amount of pressure on it before releasing you in order to hit you. First it was a slap to the face, then a punch to the gut that had you on the floor, then he began kicking you over and over and over again until you could see black spots in your vision and taste blood in your mouth.
‘Just a few more’ you kept telling yourself. How you wished you hadn’t. If you had stood up to him this time, if you had fought back, maybe you wouldn’t be laying in bed too sore to even sit up. If you had done something, anything, maybe the first thought in your head this morning wouldn’t have been about how to cover the bruises that were left on your skin.
As slowly as possible you sat up, gently moving your feet to the ground in order to stand and staying still for just a moment while your head stopped spinning. You definitely had a concussion, you concluded, but the only way to heal it would be with time. You slowly shuffled to your closet, grabbing a white long sleeved shirt and some capri shorts. Most of the bruises were along your torso, your limbs not bruising as easily with the exception of your bicep up near your shoulder. After you changed you quickly made your way to the mirror to make sure everything was hidden, opening the blinds when you found the light in your room to be too dim, although opening the blinds didn’t do much since your window was facing another building. You used what little light you could get to do your makeup, using a color corrector under your foundation to hide the bruises that were forming along your jaw and neck.
“It’ll have to do.” You said to yourself after assessing your work, then making your way to the bathroom in order to grab some pain killers from the cabinet. You quickly located a bottle of pain killers you had gotten from CVS and popped the cap off only to find it empty.
“Fuck.” You groaned, a vague memory of you waking up in the middle of the night and downing the last two in the bottle hitting you. Sighing, you headed back to your room, grabbing your jacket before creeping downstairs and out your front door, relieved to see that your father’s truck was gone. Down the street you could see JJ already waiting for you. You did your best to adjust your pace so that the slight limp you had developed wouldn’t be so noticeable while also keeping up speed so as not to arouse any kind of suspicion.
“Hey babe, what’s with the shorts?” JJ asked. You didn’t usually where capri shorts, in fact, JJ was pretty sure that you hated them.
“Laundry day.” You answered, grabbing his hand and pulling him in the direction of the Chateau. You were thankful that JJ didn’t question it, instead changing the subject to whatever scheme the boys had cooked up the night before. You tried to listen to what he was saying but in all honestly, you just couldn’t stop thinking about how much pain you were in. For the entirety of your walk you told yourself that you could make it to the end of the day and after JJ dropped you off at your house like he always did, you could go to the store and get some kind of over the counter pain killer. But the pain was beginning to be too much. There was a Walgreens just ahead of you and you couldn’t resist the urge to go in and get anything to ease your pain.
“Hey JJ?” You asked, gently grabbing his attention.
“What’s up?” He answered.
“Can we go in for a second? I have some stuff I need to get.”
“Anything for you, my love.” JJ said, bowing towards you in an attempt to make you laugh, smiling when he pulled a light chuckle out of you. His happiness quickly turned into concern when he saw you wince and hold your stomach.
“You okay?” He asked.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m good. Just um... period cramps.” You answered before ducking into the building. JJ almost believed you, key word almost. He knew your cramps got so bad sometimes that you couldn’t even get out of bed, but it was for that exact reason that he knew you were lying. JJ had your cycle memorized just so he could always be prepared for when your period started; the week before he would always stock up on snacks and make sure that the heating pad he kept at his place was always fully charged. JJ’s first thought was that he had forgotten, panic slowly rising in his throat, but he also had a gut feeling that that wasn’t the case. JJ checked his phone to settle his confusion and sure enough, your period wasn’t due to start for at least another couple of weeks. JJ followed you in, upset that you would rather lie to him than tell him something was wrong.
“What exactly is it you’re looking for?” JJ asked.
“Pain killers,” you answered.
“Why?”
“Like I said, cramps.” You had just turned down the first aid isle when you realized JJ was staring at you.
“Something wrong?” You asked.
“You’re not on your period.” You froze, mentally facepalming at how dumb of an excuse you had come up with. Of course JJ would have caught your lie, he had been so amazing whenever your period came around, always being prepared and willing to give you whatever you needed. You were hoping that JJ would have blamed his own carelessness on the matter, but what you didn’t know was that when it came to you, JJ always made a point to be deliberate with his actions.
You didn’t answer, not knowing what to say. Should you keep with the lie? Maybe say your period came early? Or should you come clean? But coming clean would mean telling JJ what really happened and you knew he would blame himself for it, even if he had nothing to do with it. Luckily, or maybe not so, you didn’t get the chance to respond.
“You’re in pain,” JJ took a step towards you. You almost took a step back but resisted the urge to last minute, memories of last Friday suddenly bombarding you. JJ slowly grabbed your hands.
“Where does it hurt?” He asked. You were surprised, having expected him to demand to know why you were hurt.
“My legs.” JJ raised an eyebrow at you, knowing that you were still hiding something.
“A-and my shoulders.” You didn’t dare look at him, afraid that you would break down if you did, instead deciding to fiddle with a piece of paper you had left in the pocket of your shorts.
“There’s more, isn’t there” It was more of a statement than a question but the way JJ said it, in an impossibly soft voice that he just knew you couldn’t say no to, made the thought of telling him all the places you were bruised seem less daunting.
“My torso kind of hurts too, and my jaw. Um, also my neck.” You whispered.
“Why?” Such a simple question, you thought, a simple inquiry that would be sure to break you both. You didn’t answer, eyes trained on the floor while you thought about how stupid it was for you to have believed that being honest with JJ about your pain was a good idea. You had kept it a secret for so long and in one moment of weakness you had jeopardized it. If you hadn’t been so weak, you thought, then maybe you could have avoided all this and just gone to the Chateau instead of being here practically breaking right in front of JJ.
JJ watched you chew your lip, seeing the conflict in your eyes and chastising himself for putting you in such a state of distress, but the pain he felt in that moment couldn’t compare to the pain he felt in the next. JJ saw the purplish bruises on your jaw and neck that were partially being hidden by your hair, the makeup you had used to cover it evidently being inadequate. It was enough to go unnoticed if people weren’t paying any particular attention but it wasn’t blended well in some places, making it easy to see the slight difference in pigment between the bruised and unbruised skin. By now JJ was shaking, gently holding your face so that you would look at him.
“Who did this to you?” His thumbs gently caressing your jaw. “Was it your dad?”
“No,” You slightly jerked away from his touch. “He would never do that JJ. I’m not being abused or anything I’m just clumsy that’s all. You know me, I never pay attention to where I’m going!” You laughed, hoping that it would be enough to make JJ believe you. He didn’t, not even for a second.
“Y/N if he’s hurting you, you have to tell me.”
“I don’t have to do anything,” you said, beginning to get defensive. “My dad isn’t hurting me JJ so stop with all the questions. And stop thinking that just because you’re my boyfriend means that I owe it to you to tell you.”
You were being harsh, you knew that, but you needed JJ to leave the subject alone and the only way you knew how was to get him to be angry at you. You hated it when JJ was mad at you but desperate times call for desperate measures.
JJ did let the subject slide on account of the fact that he knew if he kept talking he would definitely say something he would regret. He wasn’t going to let it go completely, though. If you weren’t going to tell him the truth then surely if he got the Pogues to intervene too, if he could somehow convince you that they were all on your side, then maybe you’d feel safer talking about it. What he didn’t understand is why you would be willing to protect someone who was causing you so much pain. He knew about your strained relationship with your father, that in and of itself already drained you so much, but your father physically hurting you was a whole other problem. Still, given how much you hated your father he didn’t know why you were protecting him, but that wasn’t what you were doing. In all honestly, you were ashamed that this was happening in the first place. You felt like you were a pretty independent and strong willed person and knowing that one man could render you so powerless made you feel weak. On top of that you felt like you were drained enough as it is, adding the fuss that you would have to deal with when your friends found out was just something that you didn’t think you had the energy to handle.
You quickly found some pain killers and paid, making your way towards the Chateau faster than you ever had. The walk with JJ had turned awkward and you felt like if you were with him alone for a second longer you would explode, so when you had crossed paths with Kiara and Pope you were glad to have someone else to break the tension. From then on it was smooth sailing for you, despite the fact that you spent almost the whole time avoiding JJ. You figured you were being subtle enough but the way JJ was practically glaring at you tipped the boys off.
“Hey, is something going on with you and Y/N?” Pope asked.
“Yeah it seems like she’s been avoiding you. Did you guys get into a fight or something?” John B added.
“I think Y/N is being abused.” JJ answered, not even bothering to sugar coat it.
“What?” Both Pope and John B spoke at the same time, eyes wide.
“She has bruises on her neck and jaw and earlier, before we came he, we stopped by Walgreens so she could get some pain meds. She lied and said she was on her period but it isn’t due for another couple of weeks.”
“Well, that could be anything JJ...” John B said, but it seemed like he was trying to convince himself as much as JJ.
“It’s not. I think I would know. We have to do something.”
“No, what we need is proof,” Pope spoke up. “Even if abuse seems like the likely reason for her bruises there's still a chance that it is something else. One of us could ask her.”
“Sure Pope, instead of helping my girlfriend, who just so happens to be one of your best friends, we should definitely just outright ask her if she’s being abused. She’ll be really eager to answer that honestly.”
“I meant that one of us should ask how she got the bruise. And unless you have a better idea I don’t see what else we could do.” JJ fell silent at that. He knew Pope was right, so the boys joined you, Sarah, and Kiara. The boys exchanged looks, trying to decide who would ask. JJ was already out of the question but they didn’t know if the question would sound more innocent coming from John B or Pope.
“Hey Y/N, what happened to your jaw?” Pope finally asked.
“Yeah, I thought your neck looked a little off too. You okay?
“Oh, yeah! You guys remember a couple days ago when I fell off the boat? Turns out I hit my chin pretty hard and it caused this ugly ass bruise to pop up. I tried to cover it but you know how crappy the lighting in my room is.” You laughed. Now that you had calmed down, lying came easy, and having had a couple of hours to prepare your answer made it all the more easier. Your friends seemed pretty convinced by your answer and you were satisfied that you had avoided the subject.
“What about your legs then?” JJ asked, pushing you. “And your torso, hm? What about those?”
“Uh, well we did do a lot of swimming-”
“No more than we usually do. Plus you’re on the swim team, you don’t get sore from swimming.”
“What are you implying JJ?”
“I’m implying that you’re not telling us the truth.” By now both you and JJ were on your feet and breathing heavily. You were angry and panicked that JJ was pushing you so far. JJ was desperate to help you and even if he was going about it the wrong way he didn’t know what else to do.
“Okay guys just calm down,” Sarah said, gently grabbing your arm and pulling you to sit, John B soon doing the same with JJ.
“Y/N is JJ right?” Kiara asked. You picked up the pillow that had fallen to the floor when you stood up, picking at a loose thread at one of the corners and refusing to answer. It had been a tough day already and right now you felt like you would break at any moment, but you were exhausted. Exhausted from fighting with JJ and from having to lie to your friends and completely defeated by the fact that this had become your life.
“Y-Yes,” You admitted, finally letting the tears fall. “He just- he just get’s so mad sometimes and he can’t control it and I get it because there’s no one else to take it b-but I don’t know what to do because I can’t leave, I have no where else to go.”
You were sobbing at this point, holding onto the pillow in your lap like a life line. JJ was the first to react, practically jumping over the coffee table to hold you. The rest of the Pogues soon followed, hugging you while their hearts broke more and more with each sob you emitted.
“You’re wrong,” John B spoke after a few moments. “You'll always have a place here.”
“I can’t just leave.” You responded, taking deep breathes to calm down.
“I know it’s hard,” JJ stated. “But we’ll be here for you okay? We’ll call Child Protective Services and sort this all out so you never have to see him again.”
“B-but what if they take me away? I don’t even know of any other family I have.”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” Kiara said, gently squeezing your hand. “We won’t let anything happen to you.”
“Yeah. And anyway we could always bribe the officer.” Sarah agreed, trying to lighten the mood which caused you all to laugh.
“It’s settled then! You’ll stay here with me and JJ and tomorrow morning we’ll all go to your house together to grab your stuff, okay?” John be asked. You thought it over. This, this was your light at the end of the tunnel. An end to the constant fear you felt. You’d thought of a moment like this a million times over but each time you always figured that you’d have to refuse it. But now that you were here, faced with the decision, you knew you’d be an idiot to say no. A smile slowly spread across your face.
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