⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯

⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯

○ 〇 ○

○ 𝟎𝟎𝟏 ○

○ the trials and tribulations of juno sinclair ○

○ 〇 ○

Juno Sinclair always loved the sound of raindrops drumming against the glass balcony door, each tap resonating like a gentle drumbeat in the quiet room. She sat cross-legged on the soft, cream-coloured carpet, her silhouette outlined by the faint glow of the building storm. 

Her eyes were fixed on the stormy world beyond the glass, streaks of lightning splintering the inky sky. The deep, rolling thunder followed each strike, complementing the light show. For Juno, it felt as though the storm had transformed the night into a beautiful, chaotic performance just for her.

Hurricane Agatha was giving the Outer Banks everything she had, battering the coastline with howling winds and relentless rain. Violent waves crashed against the shore and the air was thick. It was incredible, yet destructive.

But Juno had learned long ago that it's not the storm itself that posed the greatest danger - it was the fallout.

○❂○

Juno woke up the next morning with a sharp kink in her neck, the kind that came from sleeping in the wrong place. She groaned softly, shifting against the soft, blue blanket she'd pulled from her bed the previous night. She had it wrapped snugly around her, protecting her from the cool ocean air seeping in through the glass balcony door. 

The girl stretched slowly, attempting to ease the ache.

A knock at her door broke the stillness. She called out, her voice still heavy from sleep, "Come in."

Her mother walked in with a warm smile on her face. "Morning, Junebug," she said with a chuckle as she took in the sight of her daughter sprawled on the carpet. "What are you doing down there?"

"I fell asleep watching the storm," Juno admitted, almost embarrassed as she rubbed at one side of her neck. "Did you see it? I think it was one of the biggest we've had in a while."

Kathryn nodded with a sigh, her smile fading in thought. "It definitely wasn't good. We got lucky with the house but the yard didn't fare so well. Your father and I will need your help to clean up."

"Yeah, of course," Juno nodded and rose stiffly, causing her blanket to pool at her feet. "Just let me get dressed, and I'll be right down."

As her bedroom door clicked shut behind her mother, Juno unlocked her balcony door and opened it wide. She was welcomed with a biting, rain-soaked wave of fresh air as she stepped out onto the small stone balcony. The sight confirmed her mother's words.

The back garden was a disaster. Trees lay roots up leaving deep gouges in the earth, mimicked by the torn-up flowerbeds and grass alike. The gazebo, her mother's favourite reading spot, didn't survive the storm either. The structure was in disarray, broken beams poking out like fractured bones. Pools of rainwater caught the morning sun, leaving that little bit of the storm behind. 

Juno sighed heavily as her hands gripped the cool, metal railing. Again, the aftermath was awful.

Her mind wandered as her gaze drifted past their yard to her neighbours. The Sinclairs had been fortunate, all things considered. The house itself was still in one piece, the walls unbroken, the windows intact - no easy feat after a storm like Hurricane Agatha.

Juno stepped back inside, wiping her damp feet on the small mat by the door. She walked across her room to her closet, humming quietly to herself to fill the silence. 

She rummaged through her drawers, pulling out a blue bikini, a pair of worn denim shorts and a white crop top. Juno figured it would do the trick for the day, given that when she was finished helping her parents, she planned on heading over to see a friend. 

Closing the closet door, Juno turned her attention to getting ready for the day. She slipped out of her pyjamas and pulled on the bright bikini, tying the straps at the back of her neck securely. Juno then tugged her frayed shorts on, followed by the crop top. 

Taking a seat at the vanity across her room, she gathered her curls into a ponytail. She tried to make it as neat as possible even though, its only purpose was to keep them out of her face out of her face. The shadow of bags lay heavy beneath her eyes, the only remaining evidence of her last-minute sleeping arrangements. She applied a light layer of makeup in hopes that it would disguise the fact that she had slept the night curled up on her bedroom floor.

Juno went and stood in front of her mirror, taking herself in. The girl staring back was a Sinclair - a name that carried weight and sat heavily on the young girl's shoulders. As a Kook, she had everything a teenager could possibly want: a gorgeous bedroom in a large house, unlimited clothes, and anything else she asked for.  Juno Sinclair was privileged and she knew it.

There were lot of perks to being a Kook - the parties that went late into the summer nights, the comfort of knowing that she didn't have to worry about her future, the way people automatically respected her just because of her name.

But sometimes, when she was left alone in the silence with only her thoughts, Juno would allow her mind to wander. Did she actually fit in here, or did people just accept her because of her name? Was she just playing the part that had been thrust upon her at birth? Maybe the Pogues didn't have everything she did, but that went both ways.

Juno envied their freedom - how they didn't seem to have the weight of all of their parents' expectations on their shoulders. They didn't have a lot, but they meant that they didn't have anything to lose. After all, she didn't hate the idea of the Pogues - she just hated specific Pogues.

Sometimes, Juno imagined what her life would be like if she didn't feel that pressure. The expectation was that there was no other option but to exceed and succeed. 

Juno shook her head, trying to discard the stray thoughts. She couldn't afford to be thinking that way. If she let it pollute her thoughts it would eventually spill out and her parents would be less than happy to hear that that was where her mind was. Not when they had her future planned out for her, written in gold and set in stone.

Depending on who you asked, Juno Sinclair wasn't an only child. Kathryn and Hugo Sinclair had built the family business, Sinclair Sovereign Properties, from the ground up. Sometimes, just sometimes, Juno thought her parents preferred this one to their flesh and blood.

After all, buildings could only do so much to disappoint someone. Juno had tried to express this to Sebastian once, but he had told her she was overexaggerating. He was probably right.

Juno jogged downstairs and went out into the disaster zone that was their yard. Her parents were already cleaning up with the help of their gardener, trying to salvage what they could and putting the rest into a large pile. It was bound to be a long morning.

○❂○

It was well past midday by the time Juno had finished helping her parents clean up most of the wreckage from Hurricane Agatha. It wasn't perfect, but they'd managed to clear most of the debris. She tidied herself up a bit before grabbing her bike and heading out for the day.

The air was humid as the girl pedalled through Figure Eight, taking in each mansion as she went. The Cameron estate stood out, the largest one overlooking the water.

Sarah Cameron was probably the only person on the island who understood how Juno felt. The two girls' lives ran parallel in many ways. Sarah's family owned The Cameron Development Group which worked in a similar vein to that of the Sinclair.

Their families had started buying up land around the same time. At first, they had been in competition, racing to outbid and outmaneuver each other to own the most land. After several years, they realised that they could both stand to make a lot more money if they worked together.

Despite her family, Sarah was one of the least Kook-like people that Juno had ever met. She was a breath of fresh air, which probably explained how the two had been drawn together and formed a friendship. Sarah had a way of grounding Juno, assuring her that her feelings of suffocation within the golden cage of Figure Eight weren't crazy.

"Apparently the power for the island isn't going to be back for, like, two weeks," Sarah murmured, half-focused on her nails. She was perched cross-legged on the floor of her room, carefully dragging a brush of blush pink polish over her fingernails. Her head tilted slightly as she worked, brows knit in concentration.

Juno lay sprawled on the bed, her head dangling upside-down off the edge as she watched her friend work. "The generators will be running by tomorrow," she pointed out, absentmindedly picking at her own nails.

"Topper said the same,"  Sarah shrugged as the girl held her hand at a distance to assess her work. There was a smudge or two on her skin, but overall, she seemed satisfied.
Switching gears almost immediately, she added with a grin, "Speaking of, did you hear there's going to be a kegger tonight, though? Since the power's out?"

Juno snorted, "People will literally use any reason to drink."

Sarah let out a dramatic gasp, picking up a throw pillow and tossing it at her friend with her unpolished hand. "C'mon, June, it's summer. I want to have some fun!"

Juno fumbled as she tried to dodge the pillow, sliding off of the end of the bed with a soft thud. She landed on the carpet in a heap, rubbing her hip as she laughed. "I didn't say no," the girl pointed out, grinning.

"Good," Sarah declared with a triumphant smirk, holding out the nail polish to her friend. "Because that would've been an unacceptable answer anyway."

Juno rolled her eyes with a light chuckle as she accepted the bottle. Sarah held out her unpolished right hand, fingers splayed. "You know I'm completely hopeless with my left hand," she smiled, shuffling forward to be closer to Juno.

"Is this another one of Topper's over-the-top parties?" Juno asked, her eyes fixed on the small canvas of Sarah's nails as she attempted to coat them evenly.

"Surprisingly enough, no," she responded, doing her best to hold still. "It's a Pogue event, apparently. Kiara's friends are throwing it."

Juno's hand froze for the briefest of moments before she quickly recovered herself. "And you seriously still want to go? You know how much Topper and Seb hate those guys."

"And how much you hate them?" Sarah shot back, a smirk on her face. She wasn't a fool - she knew Juno like the back of her hand.

"I don't hate them," Juno said, rolling her eyes as she tried to remain focused on her task. But she could feel Sarah's sharp gaze fixed on her, patiently waiting for her to tell the truth. "I don't hate all of them," Juno corrected in a mumble.

"Don't worry, I'll keep you safe from them. I'm sure Seb will, too," Sarah teased with a chuckle. But to her credit, she didn't push further—at least not yet. Instead, she leaned back against her bed, letting Juno continue painting, her expression lingering with the kind of knowing amusement only a best friend could have.

Sarah had realised years ago that Juno had a complicated relationship with certain Pogues. It wasn't something that Juno spoke about and if Sarah ever did try to get answers, she would be shut down with vague responses and shrugs before the topic of conversation was changed.

Whatever it was, she figured it was personal in a different way to the usual things. Otherwise, Juno would have told her, and she definitely wouldn't be letting it take up her time in mind. So, she let it go for now, focusing instead on her nails. She'd get the truth one day.

"So, what are you thinking of wearing?" Sarah asked, gently steering the conversation back towards safer territory when she noticed that her last comment hadn't helped.
She adjusted her posture, crossing her legs beneath her as she gestured with her freshly painted hand."I think I'm going to wear that blue dress I have with the flowers. It'll match my nails. And please don't say you're just going to go in what you're wearing."

Juno smiled softly, appreciating her friend for not pressing her on the previous topic. "Probably just a cleaner version of what I'm wearing, then," she replied teasingly, a smirk playing at her lips.

"Cute," Sarah approved, referring to both her nails and Juno's decision. She then nudged her small bag filled with nail polish towards Juno. "Now, pick a colour. I've seen you picking at yours. Let me help you fix them up."

Juno smiled softly, running her fingers over the edge of the bag as she scanned the neatly lined-up bottles inside. "You don't have to."

"I want to," Sarah insisted, giving the bag another nudge. "What's the point of being best friends if I can't do your nails and make sure you feel good about yourself?"

Juno couldn't help the small laugh that escaped her, starting to actually look at the bottles. "You are pretty good at that."

Sarah shrugged as if it were no big deal, grinning. "I mean, that's kind of the job, isn't it?"

——————————

(A/N)

Just a cute little start to the story to give you a little more about Juno. 

I think I'm going to make these chapters a little shorter than Problems/Criminals in hopes of maybe getting them out more often. Would you guys be cool with chapters this length?

I'm also adjusting my writing style a little so let me know what you think.

If you have any ideas or things you might want to see, let me know and who knows? I might be able to incorporate them.

xx