𝐅 𝐎 𝐔 𝐑 𝐓 𝐘 - 𝐒 𝐈 𝐗
the phantom

The painful twist in her guts was utterly impossible to ignore, the racing of Meredith's heart thundering in her ears as her eyes trained on the house. That house. That house, where all her boy's scathed trauma rooted. It stared back at her, almost in a taunting way, desperately trying to unsettle her. And, from what her stomach told her, it worked.

The car parked a far distance from the front door, which Meredith couldn't seem to pull herself to look away from.

It silently ached to know that this was the source of ever ounce of pain that filled JJ, the one boy who desevered everything but what he endured in his precious and innocent years of childhood, and further on.

"Home sweet home."

His words punched her in the gut, teeth chewing at the inside of her cheek. She leaned forward in between the two front seats, trying to get a better look at the boy's bowed head.

"Do you want me to come with you?" She began. "I can come with."

"No," he was quick to reply, the idea of her going anywhere near his father send a chill down his spine, and he could only push that feeling down by tearing his red cap from his head. "No, this'll only take a second."

The ebony-eyed girl nodded in understanding, remaining in her seat because that's what he wanted of her. However, the feeling still gnawed at her insides as he uncomfortably opened the door, prepared to walk into the lion's den.

Her hand that once comforted the nape of his neck fell when he exited the car. He only turned back around when he heard her gentle voice call out.

"JJ?" She muttered, looking at him through the opened window. "You be careful, okay?"

JJ mustered a smile with the last of his courage, nodding at her from the steps. His eyes remained on hers, fear swathing him like a thick blanket. It was evident that he didn't want to go in, and no matter how long he longed for her, he would never dare to allow her anywhere near his house.

"I will," he finally spoke, voice as brave as he could make it.

JJ then turned around, trying to hide the sniffle, but Meredith had heard it. The two girls watched him enter the house, each step just as slow as the one before.

Kiara let the engine sputter off, adjusting to the defeaning silence. It was only a matter of time before JJ returned, if he was smart enough to steer clear of his father.

"He'll be alright," Kiara suddenly spoke, voicing for her anxiety. "He always is."

"I know," Meredith nodded from the back seat, leg bouncing anxiously as she watched the door. Each second felt like she was drowning in her own personal hell, waiting for the moment when she was finally able to surface the water.

And, a sigh had broken from her lips that she hadn't known she was holding when JJ emerged from the house, swinging the door open aggressively.

They prepared for him to get back into the passenger seat, but instead, he silently slid into the back seat beside Meredith.

She frowned, immediately picking up on the dried tears that he had tried to hide behind a dipped head and silent demeanor. But, she didn't miss the soft sniffle that did, wiping underneath his nose.

Kiara, who had watched wearily from the front, dared herself to speak. "How'd it go?"

Emotionlessly, he held up his hand, and on his pointer finger dangled the silver chain, key on the end. Meredith mustered a smile for him, but she couldn't ignore the ache in the middle of her heart that came from his fallen expression.

Without hesitation, her hand reached up to curve around the back of his neck. He didn't resist when she pulled him closer, letting his head rest upon her shoulder.

Kiara took the silence as the hint to peel out of the overgrown path, turning the car around abruptly. Meredith felt JJ physically relax when his house was out of sight, unspoken words unsaid between the three.

His hands fell limp in her lap as she played with the small hairs at the nape of his neck, the dancing of her fingers lulling him into a peaceful daydream.

The silence seemed to swallow JJ whole because he spoke against her shoulder. "It'll be fine with the Phantom. She'll get out quick."

The blonde suddenly lurched forward at the sound of blaring sirens, peering through the two front seats to see three police cars advancing their way.

"Woah, woah, woah," he panicked, sinking further into Meredith's side, dipping his head to avoid being seen. After the cops came to the revelation that they were all in the same car as John B, neither one of them could risk being seen.

"Chill, chill," Meredith warned, craning her neck to better see out the window.

Kiara remained nonchalant, expression stoic until the patrol vehicles sped past. "They're still looking. It's a good sign."

Although the thought of the search was still in process crossed their minds, the three teenagers slowly grew antsy, preparing themselves for any possible roadblock.

Meredith watched the large garage slide open with the help of JJ's strength. Behind the door of the boat garage sat The Phantom, covered in draped fabrics to protect it from any damage.

"There she be," the excitement in his eyes astonished Meredith as he got closer to the boat.

From over her shoulder, Kiara's eyebrows furrowed deeply, unable to understand the beauty of it. However, she knew that JJ was a boat finatic, so she dropped the expression.

"Hey girl," JJ cooed, running his hand along the side after carefully tearing the fabric off. Meredith, who wasn't as soft as Kiara was, didn't fail to cringe.

"It's not a dog..." She muttered, watching his hand caress the boat like it was a prized possession.

JJ merely shrugged off her snarky comment, far too familiar with her attitude. "A 1983 Formula 402 SR1. The Phantom." he revealed, to which Meredith frowned at.

She narrowed her eyes. "That's a lot of numbers."

He clicked his tongue, turning to the two girls when they didn't share his amazement.

"Mm-hm," Kiara shrugged, nodding towards him.

"The first boat to make the run to Bermunda in under sixteen hours, girls," he sputtered more information, and Meredith was convinced that this was the most numerical information he had ever divulged in.

"Forty years old! Forty," he breathed out. "And still the fastest thing that Kildare's ever seen."

"It's kind of a junker..." The curly-haired girl shrugged, and by the look that ghosted JJ's face, he was offended.

"Really?" JJ lowered his voice, turning to the girl with a disgusted expression. "She's right there, Kie. She can hear you." He whispered through gritted teeth.

From beside the girl, Meredith snorted a laugh at the blonde's dramatics, watching as Kiara's face screwed up into one of confusion.

"Let's just put it this way," He cleared his throat. "You would not be smoking weed right now if she never existed, okay?"

"I just hope it runs," Kiara glared up at the boat.

"Oh, no, she'll run alright," JJ nodded in confirmation, the distant sound of a bike's engine overlapping his voice. "She's faster than any cutters the boy's in blue got."

"Pope, finally," Kiara sighed in relief, moving towards the sound of the rumbling engine.

Meredith watched her run off, but the sudden halt in her steps caused her to pinch her brows together in confusion. Though, the confusion quickly turned to fear when a voice caught her ears, and not just any voice.

From around the corner, Rafe Cameron appeared, eyes bloodshot and once greased back hair tussled.

"Hey, there." He announced his arrival, voice echoing off of the walls. "What's going on? JJ?"

Meredith's breath caught in her throat at the same time that JJ's head shot up at the unwelcomed visit, hands dropping from the car hitch. Kiara took cautious steps back, returning to her paranoid friends.

"How you guys doin'?" Rafe whistled at the Phantom, using his strength to climb up the railing and walk along the boat.

"Whoo-hoo!" Another voice sounded behind them, and at the same time, JJ and Meredith turned around. Low and behold, stood Barry, the exact person who robbed them on the side of the road. The same person who was seeking out revenge for the money JJ stole.

"Well, well..." The blonde watched the druggie take closer steps, and his hand was quickly finding the belt loop in Meredith's shorts, tugging softly to indicate movement from her. She did as he asked, feet moving behind him.

The sound of a gun cocking back knocked the air out of her, and her hand absent-mindedly held onto JJ's shirt, trying to bring him closer to her side.

The consequences of his actions- stealing Barry's money- finally seemed to catch up to him because he held his hands up in defense, finally taking in the extent of the danger.

"See, don't think I forgot about me and you on the side of the road," Barry held his gun up high, right at aim for JJ's chest. "I'm here because I want my motherfuckin' money!"

It happened before anyone could stop it. The gun was shoved forcefully into the side of the blonde's head, knocking his swiftly to the floor.

"JJ!" Meredith sprung into action, trying to reach him. "JJ!"

Arms snuck around her figure, tearing her away from the boy she so badly needed to help. She kicked, but Rafe only made it harder for her to squirm out of his grasp. The feeling of his arms around her made her skin crawl.

"That's what I'm here for!"

She could hear Barry's thunderous voice, and it quickly snapped her from her panic, using enough force to get herself out of the Rafe's strong hold.

"Don't touch me!" She snarled, using all of her might to shove him backward by the chest.

Kiara tried to get to the blonde on the ground, but Barry made it impossible with the gun in his possession, and his strong force.

"It's not you we want, Mer," Rafe spoke through gritted teeth, his hands closing around her arms to steady her, but Meredith continued to push him back. "Where's John B?"

"I'm not fucking telling you," She chuckled humorlessly, but that only seemed to boil Rafe's blood more- the sound of her mocking laugh.

"Where is he?" He repeated, breathing heavily through his nose. "Where's John B?"

"I don't know!" Her hand collided with the side of his face swiftly, the fear of standing up to him behind her force. For so long, she stayed quiet, and she cowered when he got too close. But now? Now, Meredith didn't give a fuck.

"Stay down, boy," Barry kicked JJ harshly, the pogue clutching his abdomen in unbearable pain. "Phew."

Meredith saw the firey aggressive past his eyes, overcoming with a darkness. She immediately regretted her action because the heavy breaths that fell from his flared nostrils made her want to curl up, skin ghosted with uncomfortable goosebumps.

Her lips were still formed in a disgusted scowl, but the feeling inside felt everything but brave.

"I really wish you didn't do that," he used his hands in wild gestures. It only took Meredith seconds with the blank reaction of her slap and the chuckle that left his lips to figure out that he was high.

"Because- you know, this isn't about you," Rafe stuttered. "Yeah, no, this is about John B and you- you just couldn't see that, could you?"

"This isn't about John B," She straightened her back, trying to hide the overwhelming fear that bubbled through the surface. "This is about you framing him for something he didn't do."

"Oh, really?" The tall boy tilted his head tauntingly, eyes narrowed into threatening slits. "Then who did it?"

"You," She spat, lips curling up into a disgusted glower. "You murdered Peterkin."

You could hear a pin drop as the dreadful words sunk deep into his partner in crime. Barry's gaze flickered up into one of shock, but it didn't take long for the silence to disappear and the anger to resurface within Rafe.

At first, Meredith thought he wouldn't do anything. The look in his eyes wasn't threatening. It wasn't even taunting. No, it was horrific. He stared coldly into hers, almost paralyzing her with the utmost fear he held behind his eyes.

He didn't say anything, not even when she began to think he was pondering everything he'd ever done. Then, she realized that he wasn't thinking of anything or drowning in guilt. He wasn't drowning in guilt because he didn't care. Rafe Cameron didn't care that he had taken a life or that his actions would never amount to his father's acceptance or love. And, he didn't care if he had to take another one.

His hands slapped against her skin forcefully before she could register that he was pressing against her wind pipe. She gasped for breath, begging air to be taken in, but nothing came. She couldn't breathe, and she could barely focus on Kiara's attempts to tear his hands off. She couldn't focus on him punching her friend to the ground or the blonde that was suffering behind her.

A thought crossed her mind, the possibility that she wouldn't make it out to see the day that Rafe and Ward Cameron served the time they deserved. She wouldn't make it out to see her friend earn his innocence. Rafe was going to kill her, and she would never get to tell JJ Maybank just how much she cared.

"Don't you ever say those fucking words again," he spat out, bringing her face just inches away. Meredith choked, blinking away the tears that came from the painful pressure of his finger pads. "Understand?"

She didn't answer. A dryness subsided on the lining of her throat. When no words came from her, Rafe's grip tightened, shaking her slightly in his hold.

"Do you understand me?" He gritted, teeth clenched tightly. "Do you got that? You got that?!"

She tried to swallow down the dryness, but his hand closed her windpipe, a shade of red smudging across her cheeks.

"Where's John B?!" He shouted, but she no longer registered the words, eyelids growing tired of being open. "Where's John B?! Where is he-"

His words were abruptly slashed by his grunt, and then he fell to the floor, hand dropping from Meredith's neck.

"Don't touch her!" Just at the sound of his voice, her lips managed to curl upwards, but the small moment of gratitude dissipated when she fell to her knees, clawing at the bruised skin.

She felt hands on her back, and she didn't have to look up to know that it was Kiara rubbing soothingly against her skin.

"Are you okay?" The overlapped voices and shouts of Pope went unnoticed to her ears, taking long breaths in between her raspy coughs.

Pope and Rafe fought against each other, but the Pogue ultimately got the upper hand with the help of a crowbar. She remembered catching a quick glimpse of Kiara's foot kicking the gun that had fallen from Barry's grasp when JJ tripped him, but she couldn't seem to catch her breath enough to help.

"Okay, Pope," Kiara shuddered, watching as Pope spared no mercy, throwing one punch after the other.

After knocking the drug dealer out cold, JJ ran to their aid, dropping in front of Meredith when he was sure the gun was out of reach of their enemy.

"Hey, hey," he whispered, hands finding the sides of her face to lift her head. Meredith coughed again, taking softer breaths. "Hey, it's me. Mer, it's okay."

"Pope," Kiara spoke out shakily, hands on both sides of her head as she watched her friend lash out on the Kook.

A choked whimper escaped Meredith's lips, trying to suppress the tears that Rafe's touch brought up. The blonde frowned at the noise, thumb pad grazing her skin.

"Mer, it's okay," he sighed, heart aching at the cracked cry that bubbled from her throat. He lifted his head at the commotion, realizing that if he didn't intervene, Pope wouldn't stop until Rafe was dead. "Stay here, alright?"

The cold returned when his hands left her face, JJ lunging into action to stop his friend.

"Hey, Pope!" JJ shouted over the tearing of skin and Pope's grunts.

"Pope, that's good!" Kiara cried. "Stop!"

"He's had enough, dude," JJ stepped forward when Pope threw another punch, the force so powerful that Rafe spun around and tumbled into construction tools.

However, Pope wasn't finished because he quickly reached for the closest thing he could find, which happened to be old tubing.

"He's good," The curly-haired girl's eyes widened largely when Pope wrapped the tubing around the Kook's neck, pulling tightly against his wind pipe how he had seen Rafe do to the girl just before.

"Snap out of it, man," JJ snapped his fingers aggressively, but it didn't seem to stop his friend. "Snap out of it, dude!"

The revenge-driven boy only continued, tugging on the tubing harshly to the point where Rafe's eyes were rolling back into his head, fresh blood spilling from his nose and split lip

"Pope!" Kiara shouted.

"Stop, dude!" JJ tried again, eyes widening when he realized he would have to physically prevent him from murdering Rafe.

"Pope, that's too much!" Kiara raised her voice, arms stuck to her sides.

"Dude, come on!" JJ ran forward, winding his arms around Pope's shoulders to try and tear him off. "Stop! Stop, dude!"

"Pope, get off!"

"Let go! Come on!" Panic laced JJ's voice when he pulled the boy back harder, muscles protruding from his exertion. Pope yelled through gritted teeth, chanelling the pent-up anger of being taken for granted by Kooks.

"Look at me!"

The girl's voice seemed to bring him down because his hands frantically opened, dropping the tubing and the Kook along with it. His eyes were fear-strucken for what he had done, and JJ had to physically pull him back to prevent him from falling on unsteady feet.

"Shit," the blonde boy panted, watching Rafe fall lifelessly to the concrete. "Oh, shit."

"It's okay," Kiara reassured, watching guilt flash past Pope's terrored eyes, but it quickly washed away whenever he caught a glimpse of Rafe suffering on the floor and Meredith struggling for breath.

"Okay, we gotta go," Kiara's panicked voice broke. "We gotta go. JJ- get Mer, we gotta go."

The blonde sent Pope one last uncertain look before leaving his side to help Meredith. His arm wound around her waist, pulling her off of the floor.

"Mer, look at me," he pleaded gently, watching her tired eyelids flutter. "Hey, Elise, come on. We gotta get out of here."

She nodded, slowly comprehending the words that he told her. She watched Pope hover over Rafe's limp body.

"Stay off the Cut," he spat out, eyes casting down at the boy. If looks could kill, Rafe would surely be laying in his coffin now. That was if his beating hadn't ended it all, of course.

"Pope!" Kiara called out when she realized he hadn't been following. The girl slid into the driver's seat frantically, turning the key in the ignition with shaky hands.

"Are you okay?" JJ muttered softly, sitting Meredith down in the back seat of the car. Her legs dangled outside of the car as he stood before her.

"Yeah," She whispered, face screwing up when the sharpness of swallowing returned. "It hurts to talk."

"I'm sorry," he whispered, gaze softening when her head lolled to the side tiredly.

"For what?" She furrowed her eyebrows at his apology. His hands were on her knees as he stood in front of her, thumb rubbing gently to sooth her.

"I should've been able to stop him, but I didn't," JJ's words forced her to frown, quickly shaking her head in refute.

"That's not your fault, JJ," Meredith tilted her head, trying to keep her voice low to avoid the raspiness.

"I promised myself he would never touch you again," he glanced away from her, biting anxiously at the inside of his cheek as Kiara worked to finish connecting the boat to the hitch of the car, with as little help from Pope as she would get. "And I broke it."

"Hey, it's okay," Meredith shook her head to stop him from speaking. "It's not your fault. I promise."

"But-"

He tried to speak, but her voice was overlapping his before he could continue. JJ was forced to close him mouth, allowing the girl before him to speak.

"Stop," She demanded. "It's okay. It's okay, I promise."

A shuddered breath escaped his lips, Meredith frowning at his slightly contorted features. With only one option in mind, she pulled him closer, attaching her lips with his. She had to crane her neck forward to reach his lips, but when she did, she could feel him physically relax.

"I can't stand it," he murmered, catching the girl off guard when she pulled away.

"What?" She paused. "Can't stand what?"

"Him touching you," JJ revealed, his hand holding the outside of her thigh. The admission sought out a softness inside of her because nobody had ever talked with such concern and gentleness for her like JJ had.

One corner of her lip tugged up at his revelation. "Me either." Her words forced an involuntarily chuckle from him. "But if you can't stand it, then sit."

Meredith slid further in the car when she watched her friends hurry to the car, making room for JJ beside her.

He snorted at her words before climbing into the backseat beside her, making sure their sides were touching so he could pull her impossibly closer in fear that she would slip away.

"Okay, go, go," Pope aimed forward, directing Kiara out of the garage.

With a little help from JJ, Kiara managed to drive the boat out of the large garage, barely missing the drug dealer who was struggling on the ground near the tires.

authors note!
1) ending are like the hardest to write. 2) i love kie w my whole entire heart and soul. 3) I've declared that meredith would love guts
merry christmas to those who celebrate, this is my gift to you !! <333