rachel hilson as...
Bali Pandaros

Bali Pandaros came from a very wealthy family. Her great great grandparents, then her great grandparents, then her grandparents, then her parents all became the owner of a four star hotel in the OBX. It was passed down to every couple in the Pandaros family, great great Nolan Pandaros made sure of that before he died. Dante and Cassandra inherited the hotel when his parents passed, becoming the owners instead of his brother, Daniel Pandaros, who didn't have a partner of his own to share the fortune of the hotel with.

It drove a wedge into most of the family, the amount of fighting that went on over a stupid building on a piece of land. Bali use to not understand it, but as she got older and realized that money truly had been more important then what people claimed, she understood. That being said, she still didn't like the fact that her only family left hated each other. Her cousin, Kelce, son of Daniel, was the only family she ever spoke to, and that was only at school or parties Topper Thornton would host.

Bali grew up in the hotel, living in the large house just down the road. Her father and mother took good care of it, made sure it was a comfortable stay for the tourist that would show up during the summer to obsess over the sunsets and boat races. She lived happily, with friends and all the things she wanted in the world. That's what she thought anyway, Bali thought she had everything she wanted in the world.

Maybe everything, but not everyone.

While Cassandra and Dante weren't fond of Pogues and their dirty life style, they still needed workers. When a certain blond bus boy falls into their hands, with a resume they hadn't realized was all a lie in the first place, he was hired with a close eye on him at all times. Bali rarely blinked much of a eye at the hotel workers, she'd known all of them since she was nothing but a few days old and shown off by her proud mother. But when the summer of twenty-nineteen came around, one year ago, at age fifteen, something changed.

Dante liked to have his wife and daughter present in business meetings for the hotel. They were both so beautiful and easily liked, most of the time he had an easier time getting his way in a meeting if they were there. One certain evening, on a Sunday just as the sunset was forming out in the coast, a meeting was hosted in the lobby of the hotel. It was recently cleaned and Dante wanted to impress the business men and women with their chiefs famous appetizers.

Bali's parents usually let her have a bit of alcohol because she could hold it so well, as long as she was with them and didn't drink too much. So when the drinks began being passed around the business meeting, Bali struck up a small whisper to her mother in hopes of getting some herself. She was shot down and scolded, no matter what she said or tried to defend herself, she was told no. The newer bus boy, dressed in a fancy bow tie for the night, caught wind of the conversation when he laid the vodka tonic down for Cassandra with a impressive napkin swan.

When he returned for refills, he laid a pink drink down infront of Bali with a small umbrella sticking out the top. A pink lemonade, for you, Miss Pandaros. He said that to her and added a wink at the end. When Bali took a sip, the taste of vodka hit her immediately. It was so easily hidden as the smell of lemons concealed it enough for no one to know but the two of them. Maybe that's where the secrets started, when he snuck her a little alcohol even when it could have costed him his job. Bali looked over her shoulder to give him a smile before he disappeared into the kitchen once again.

She began peaking her eyes into the kitchen and computer room more often now when JJ would show up for work at four to six, Tuesday's, Thursday's , and Fridays. It took her two weeks to wave, getting a casual one back. She'd never befriended a pogue before, not more then just a small conversation on the beach that was. She saw it as they came from different worlds and wouldn't have much in common, but whatever the blondie had going on, she liked.

After another week of a small wave each time he'd come in, she'd found the courage to say hi. It came out louder then she intended and more forced, taking herself by surprise. JJ thankfully didn't think too much of it, saying hi back just as loud and forceful as she did to avoid embarrassing her. It was easy after that, he always had conversations to fill her with so she hadn't had to make up her own questions and stories. JJ was so easy to talk to for her, he acted like they'd known each other since they were babies and knew exactly how she would react to certain things.

She suddenly knew all about his horrible dad and his lack of a mother, and he suddenly knew all about the family drama she held and how she wished things were different. JJ knew her favorite color, her ex boyfriends, her first dogs name, what made her blush, and what made her change conversations. Bali knew his friends names, his favorite time to go fishing, how he liked the smell of paint and vanilla, all the tourist he'd hooked up with, what made him giggle, and what he avoided talking about. They knew so much about each other for just spending two hours together on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.

When the last month of summer came around, and JJ and Bali had became such good work friends, she invited him to her treehouse. It was bought for her when she was seven, built to perfection in the large oak tree in the back yard. She'd usually go out there to feel the world stop sometimes, to write her novels and photograph the sunsets. She'd never brought anyone up there before, not even her best friend or her ex boyfriend she dated for a little over a year. JJ was the first one, and he'd probably be the only one.

They sat in the small beanbags, under the fairy lights while the sound of the ocean hitting the shore came through the cracks and window. Bali let JJ read the prologue to the book she began writing, though he insisted she read it to him instead. He loved the seriousness in her tone when she read to him, how in touch with her own book she was. Bali was in love with creating stories, and he was in love with how much passion she had for it.

When the prologue was over, he leaned over and kissed her before pulling back and telling her exactly what he liked about the beginning of her book and what was weird about it. He acted like he hadn't just leaned over and pressed a kiss to her lips. Bali wondered if it actually happened or if she just imagined it within the huge imagination she had. Before he left, he kissed her again and then jumped from the latter and headed back to his side of the island.

The next four weeks we're filled with stolen kisses that they never said anything about after. It wasn't until the Friday before school started, when she cupped his face in a kiss, that they ended up telling each other they enjoyed each other company and that they wanted to see each other more. Bali and JJ both knew how Pogue and Kooks worked, even worse, they knew what was on the line for Bali.

Her great great grandparents met in high school, her great grandparents the same, then her grandparents, then her parents. All high school sweethearts, all rich Kooks that would go on to own a hotel. JJ knew that Bali would never live on her family legacy dating a pogue, ruining her reputation, and destroying exactly what her parents wanted for her. Bali knew it too, but she never told JJ she didn't want to own a hotel or get married right out of high school. She wanted to publish her book and get the beach cabin, that had been for sale for over four years, that was just on the beach.

But that would never happen, because she didn't want to mess up what her family wanted for her and the family tradition.

They cut it off after that and said they'd still talk when he came into work. That didn't work out long though, they were connected at the mouth not even three days later. Bali and JJ snuck around constantly after that, nearly a year. They avoiding talking about the future and what they would never have, instead trying to live in the moment with each other. No one knew about them, not even Sarah Cameron, Bali's best friends, or the Pogues. Just the two of them, just Bali and JJ.

But how long could they keep the secret act up when he involves her in a search for gold after showing up at the hotel in need of the computer room?

not a x-reader :)
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kylie speaks

this is the longest
prologue ive ever
written but i couldn't
stop lmao. ive had this
plot in mind since s1 came
out over a year ago but i
just never got around to
writing it' but here it is
and i'm so exciting. more
in detail flashbacks will
come within the chapters
btw!!! x