𝐓 𝐖 𝐄 𝐍 𝐓 𝐘 - 𝐓 𝐖 𝐎
caledon green

Meredith was unable to fall asleep after everything. Sure, her parents were one thing. They would get over it. She wasn't doing drugs. But Rafe was a different story completely.

Not to mention, John B most likely wasn't doing too well at the moment. He had fallen from a tall and very rotting stature, landing on hard ground. She was surprised when Sarah had updated her, saying that John B had a fractured wrist and a concussion. He was extremely lucky.

Unable to put her mind to rest, Meredith got up from under her covers, throwing them to the side . Just as she was about to sit down at her vanity, a soft tapping sound came from the side of the house. Preferably, the side of the house her room was on.

Her head whipped to the side at the sound, heart racing. Cautiously, she approached her balcony doors, opening them slowly. Below, it stood JJ Maybank, blonde hair disheveled, and various pebbles held in his palm.

"JJ?" She spoke through the calm wind, eyes narrowed to see better in the moon eliminated dark. "We've gotta stop meeting like this."

Her joke forced a chuckle from him, the boy tossing the pebbles back onto the ground carelessly before dusting his hands off on his cargo shorts. "Well, if you had a life, we'd be someplace else."

Meredith scoffed loudly, narrowing her eyes at the blonde. He smirked, silently looking up at her. He hoped that she would let him up, but he wasn't sure. Maybe the joke had sealed his fate.

"What're you doing here?" She questioned, leaning against the balcony railing so she could see him better. "Come to make more absolutely hilarious jokes?"

He snorted a laugh. "No, I'll save that for a different time." There was a moment of silence where he couldn't build up the courage to speak, eyes trained on hers. "Uh, it's just kind of quiet at the Château, since, you know..."

"John B," She finished for him, nodding understandingly. "Come on." Without another word, she welcomed him up, stepping out of the way.

"Wait, what?" He paused, having been caught off guard by her unexpected niceness.

"Get up here," She said it as if it was obvious, shrugging her shoulders. JJ smiled softly, his dimples showing on his cheeks. Meredith had to look away to pull her eyes away from his lips, having realized that she was staring.

Instead, she decided to watch him struggle up the tree beside her window, the branches leading to the roof. With clear amusement, she crossed her arms, watching him grunt with a smile.

"I'm glad you found that funny," he let out a tired sigh, taking a minute to rest on the roof. Instead of waiting for him to come down, Meredith climbed up the extended branch towards her roof. One of JJ's hands wrapped around her arm to help her up while the other hovered over her lower back to steady her.

"Thanks," She mumbled, scooting up higher on the roof so her feet weren't hanging off.

"I've got a little something," he bounced his eyebrows excitedly before reaching into his pocket. After a minute of him searching, he pulled out a lighter and a freshly rolled up blunt.

Meredith giggled when she realized what he had retrieved, turning to face him slightly. "Wow, you are prepared for this."

"Well, I go everywhere with a blunt," he shrugged. "But I can't say that I didn't bring it just for you."

"I'm honored," She placed a hand on her heart, feigning sympathy.

"So? Do Kook Princesses smoke?" JJ questioned, a teasing smirk on his lips. Meredith's eyes flashed down to them momentarily before looking back up into his eyes, quickly turning away in hopes that he didn't see. But JJ most definitely did.

"This one does," She cleared her throat, pulling the joint out of his hand. He smirked when she slid the joint in between her lips swiftly, eyes never leaving his. He swallowed nervously before lighting the other end, the flame shining a golden hue on her eyes. He wasn't sure if she was looking at him to tease him, but it had worked because his heart began racing unintentionally, eyes glancing back and forth between her ebony eyes and pink lips.

When she had inhaled enough, she pulled it back out of her lips before exhaling smoke into the air, JJ taking notice of her hallowed cheeks.

He didn't realize he had been staring until she was holding the blunt out for him to take patiently. Instead of letting him grab the joint, she slid it into his mouth for him, watching as one corner of his lip curled up.

The blonde pogue smiled, inhaling the drug before exhaling, the smoke floating around the kook's face.

JJ sighed, letting the rest of the smoke leave his mouth. Meredith watched intently before he eventually turned away from her, eyes staring up at the soft glimmering stars.

"John B's gonna be okay," She muttered, using the joint as an excuse to look at his lips. "Sarah said he has a fractured wrist and a concussion."

"Damn," JJ whistled softly, turning to face her. Accidently, JJ's eyes met hers, his cerulean blue ones meeting her chocolate-colored ones. It was like the sea and sand met, blending into one another. "I was actually scared for him."

The kook's gaze softened, not having ever seen the soft side of JJ. If anything, he was just as harsh as she was. But, he has trusted her enough to share a part of him that nobody else has ever seen before. He didn't show emotions. He wasn't sure how. His father had spent the majority of JJ's life correcting his faults, making sure he was more manly than he was emotional. But, in some way, Meredith understood.

She was raised to perfect every emotion, and if she was upset, she would save it for the privacy of closed doors. She was supposed to be the perfect daughter with absolutely no flaws.

JJ Maybank and Meredith Waters were a lot more alike than they knew.

"He's like your brother," Meredith shrugged. "You're allowed to be worried."

The feeling of being accepted felt foreign to him. Yes, JJ had the pogues. They accepted him. But, maybe it was more of the idea that his feelings were validated, and Meredith wasn't trying to prove his emotions wrong or inhumane. She understood.

But, as quickly as his vulnerability came, it left. "Well, I'll have another reason to make fun of him."

Meredith chuckled softly before taking the joint from his awaiting hand, taking a deep inhale that JJ took notice of. She didn't stop until her cheeks were completely hallowed out, a distant look behind her eyes.

"Are you ever going to tell me what had you all worked up earlier?" JJ mentioned, referring to the time when he approached her at the Hawk's Nest. She was clearly upset, anybody could tell. But, he knew it wasn't right to pressure her in the moment, knowing it would only make things worse. Now, he hoped she would be willing to talk about it.

Meredith sighed, head turning away from him. "I don't know..." She mumbled, eyes falling to her hands. JJ took the blunt from her, observing the way her hands became fidgety. On one hand, she felt like she could trust him. With the little time she had known him, she had shown him the side of her that wasn't all bitchy remarks and bladed stares. He saw the nice side of her.

On the other hand, she didn't know what would happen if he knew what Rafe had done. She didn't know how he would react or what would happen if Rafe ever found out she had told someone. She would be in a lot more trouble than a reminder of who she belonged to.

But JJ's reassuring words began changing her mind. "I'm not gonna judge you, Meredith."

"I know," She nodded, finally having the courage to look up into his blue eyes. He had a patient look across his face, eyes softening upon seeing her downturnt eyebrows and distant gaze.

Feeling his eyes on her expectantly, she tore the joint from his fingers, "Give me that," She spoke quickly, wasting no time to inhale a mouthful of smoke. JJ furrowed his brows in concern, reaching forward to pull it out from in between her lips.

"Hey, wait," he held it away from her needy reach. "Hold on." Meredith sighed, realizing that he had caught her vulnerability and that she had let it show just slightly. "Why won't you tell me? I wanna help."

Her haze fell, unable to meet his eyes. She knew there was no way he could help. He couldn't help get rid of her constant fear for what Rafe could do. JJ Maybank didn't know what he was in for, and much to her surprise, that didn't scare him.

It didn't help that he actually wanted to listen. He wasn't using her for her looks or her body. And he definitely didn't see her as worthless. Whether her parents or Rafe reminded her over and over again, he didn't see the uselessness that they saw.

"You can't help," She retorted, biting her bottom lip to prevent it from trembling. "It doesn't work that way, JJ."

"It could," he whispered, matching her hushed tone. "If you talk to me."

She thought she was for sure hallucinating. She blamed it on the weed because the next thing she knew, she felt his hand skim hers. It was the softest touch. She almost mistaken it for the wind.

But, his ring-clad fingers flipped her hand so her palm was facing up before letting his fingers glide down her palm. He followed the direction of the lines on her palm before lacing their fingers, hands molding together as one.

Her heart was racing, and her breath was caught in her throat. She was for sure hallucinating. With their close proximity, Meredith could see the very faint hints of caledon green in his irises.

"You can talk to me," he finally whispered, voice cutting through the tension like a knife. "I'm not gonna judge you, Mer." He reminded.

She felt herself melt at the gentleness behind his words, unaware that they were now on a nickname basis. But, to be fair, the situation they were in was intimate. JJ was positive he had never been this intimate with someone who didn't seek out sex and a one night stand. It felt foreign, but he didn't pull away from her touch.

"It's not really a big deal," She swallowed thickly, trying to excuse Rafe's actions. It wasn't like she wanted to, but it was practically muscle memory.

"It was if you were crying," he cooed, eyes studying each feature on her face. From her hooded eyes to her pink lips.

"I just made him mad. It's my fault," Meredith shook her head repeatedly. "He just got so mad, and he started..." She paused, an uneasy feeling settling in her stomach at the reminder of how he treated her.

JJ noticed her tears before she did. His gaze softened significantly. Meredith sniffled, using the hand that wasn't held in his to wipe underneath her nose. "He just started- like, kissing me... and telling me that I belonged to him."

"Mer," JJ muttered, eyes darting back and forth between her two watery eyes, watching as her bottom lip began quivering. "Did he hurt you?"

"N-no," She shook her head, but he knew that wasn't the whole truth, especially when her tears began spilling. "Not really. He was just being rough. I made him mad -"

"Hey, stop," he cut her off, forcing her to meet his gaze. "Don't apologize. It's not your fault." He brought his hand to her cheek when she let out a broken sob, face contorted into one of pain. He thought he felt his heart physically break when she brought her hands up to cover her face, her sobs muffled under her shaky hands.

"Hey..." He whispered, trying to get her to look at him, but the heels of her palms dug into her eyes, mouth letting out pained cries. "Hey, don't cry, princess,"

JJ gently grabbed a hold of her wrists, peeling them away from her watery eyes. He gently hushed her, arms moving to hold her against him. He pulled her shaky body into his chest. It felt unusual; JJ wasn't accustomed to having a girl cry in his arms or how to comfort her.

His fingers combed through her dark locks, ending up on her lower back. The pogue's heart ached with each of her choked sobs, hoping that she couldn't feel his beating heart against her cheek.

Meredith knew she would regret this in the morning - being held by him. But, for now, he was the only one who could quiet her sobs as she fought to collect air in her lungs, each breath weighing on her chest.

Her trembling hand searched for his until she found it, lacing her manicured fingers with his calloused ones. Somehow, his hand brought her comfort, the girl bringing it to her chest, holding it gently inside of her hand.

He had comforted her in ways she had never been before, a reminder that she hadn't been properly cared for by people who should have.

So, she let him hold her. Pogue JJ Maybank held onto the island's most prized Kook princess, trying his hardest to calm her down because he was the only one she would allow - the only one she wanted.

authors note!
omfg, i love this chapter sm.