Everything - JJ Maybank (Scout’s Writing Challenge)
This is for @ptersparkers writing challenge!
TW: allusion to abuse
-
Everything about you annoyed the shit out of JJ Maybank.
From the mess of hair tossed up in bun on your head down to the beaten up black vans on your feet, he just couldn’t stand you. There was no specific reason he could blame on his distaste for you, Kiara had asked him plenty of times and he said nothing, but he wasn’t changing his mind.
You started working as a server at The Wreck and became fast friends with Kiara. She didn’t wait long to introduce you to the rest of her crew and, for the most part, you guys got along great. John B, Pope and Sarah were welcoming and kind, making it that much easier to integrate yourself into the group, despite the grumpy blonde that kept his distance.
It was hurtful at first but soon faded to indifference. If JJ wasn’t interested in getting to know you, that was his problem.
*
“Hey,” John B gently shook you awake, “I’m sorry it’s really late but JJ needs our help.”
You sat up on the couch and rubbed sleep from your eyes as Pope struggled to bring what looked like a corpse inside the chateau. The realization quickly hit you that it was JJ and he was in bad shape.
“Shit, what the fuck happened?!”
“Fuck,” Pope maneuvered JJ to lay on the couch you had just vacated, “he’s heavy.”
“Do you have ice in the freezer? Or frozen vegetables or anything? We have to help with the swelling,” you were rummaging through the kitchen looking for a first aid kit, “John B?! Do you?”
The connection with JJ wasn’t there but that didn’t mean you weren’t going to help him. You sent Pope and John B to bed with the promise that you would look after JJ through the night. Ziplock bags full of ice rested on his ribs, head, and thigh. There was no way for you to properly bandage his busted lip so you cleaned it and hoped for the best.
After making JJ as comfortable as possible, you lay on the floor with your back up against the couch listening to his steady breathing until you finally succumbed to your own slumber.
*
The floor was creaking somewhere close but you weren’t fully awake and still exhausted so you chose to ignore it.
“Fuck!”
“What the hell?!”
JJ was laying on the floor next to you, his lip was bleeding fresh blood and a slight pink tinted his cheeks.
“Sorry, wasn’t trying to wake you.”
“Did you just trip over me? I’m not that big JJ.”
“I wasn’t trying to wake you up. I didn’t ask you to help me last night and I don’t need your help this morning, or ever, really.”
He stood up and stretched, flinching slightly when he raised his arms above his head. You could see the full extent of the damage that had been done to him. The bruises on his face were bad, but the ones on his torso were so much worse.
“My god, JJ,” tears crept into your eyes, wanting to spill.
“No, no, don’t do that,” he threw his hands up in defense and stepped away from you, “we don’t like each other. Don’t start pitying me now.”
“I don’t pity you,” you stood up to meet his gaze, “I hate this. I hate this for you and I don’t even like you.”
Your words broke the tension as JJ chuckled and made his way into the kitchen.
“I’ve always known that, but you’ve never said it. Are you hungry?”
You perched on a stool in front of the counter as you watched JJ make breakfast. It was a shock that John B had eggs, bacon and bread for toast in the chateau but you were more surprised by the cooking skills displayed in front of you.
“I hope you like scrambled eggs because I don’t know how to keep the fucking yolks from breaking,” JJ cursed as he portioned out food on two plates.
“That’s fine with me, I didn’t know you could cook. I’m impressed.”
“It’s just eggs, idiot.”
JJ smirked as he put a plate in front of you and rounded the counter to sit beside you with his own plate.
The two of you ate in silence for a few minutes. Normally it would be awkward, but something had shifted and the feeling in the air was one of comfort.
“JJ, why don’t you like me?”
The words felt foreign coming out of your mouth in such a peaceful atmosphere. This wasn’t a conversation you thought you’d ever have, but here you were sitting next to the man that you couldn’t quite understand.
“Honestly,” he ran a hand through his hair, “I just didn’t like your energy.”
“What about now? How is my energy?”
JJ slid off the stool and made his way outside to the hammock gently swaying in the breeze. He jumped into it and tucked his hands behind his head, knowing very well that you had followed him outside.
“I’ll tolerate both you and your energy.”