"SHE LIVES IN DAYDREAMS WITH ME AND I DON'T KNOW WHY,
I DON'T KNOW WHO SHE IS."
- harry styles, she

Much to JJ's dismay, Avery didn't go with them to the chateau that morning. the sheriff had shown up at her house to talk to John B, he and JJ deciding they needed to go meet up with Kiara and Pope.

"Ave, come on, stop being lame and come over to the Chateau! We're gonna go diving into the boat wreck today, it'll be fun!" JJ attempted to convince the girl over the phone.

"If I was even home, that would be great, but I'm at the store." Avery replied shortly, grabbing a can of alfredo sauce from one of the shelves. "I'm making chicken alfredo for dinner tonight, you guys can come over for that."

"Avery, Kiara wants you to go." JJ told the Decker unconvincingly.

"Does she really now?" Avery asked, rounding the corner of the pasta aisle, looking around the shelves. "What type of pasta do you want?"

"The long loopy ones that look like the fancy thing you use to open wine bottles- don't change the subject!" JJ exclaimed suddenly as avery grabbed two boxes of Centallini noddles and put them in her basket. "Avery, just go out to the marsh with us!"

"Even if I could, I really don't want to. My back still hurts." She complained, pausing to ponder wether or not she should double the amount of pasta she was making tonight, taking into consideration the fact that JJ and John B ate enough for three every time they came over for dinner.

"You're gonna keep using your back as an excuse?" JJ asked in amazement, Avery nodding as though he could see her before grabbing the stuff to double the alfredo recipe.

"That and the fact that if I don't cook tonight you guys are gonna starve." The brunette girl said like it was common knowledge. "If you don't want to eat my cooking then just say so- do you want garlic bread?"

"Of course we want garlic bread- stop thinking about dinner for five minutes and meet us at the Chateau!"

"I'm not meeting you at the Chateau. You, however, are welcome to meet me at my house after the hour of seven pm, bye!" Avery acclaimed, hanging up the phone despite JJ's very loud protests from the other end of the line, making the Decker girl smile. footsteps next to her would've typically distracted her from her thoughts, but that that moment she was trying to recall if she had placed the package of chicken breasts from her deep freeze in the sink before she left the house.

"Look what the cat dragged in." A gravelly voice said from Avery's right, the girl exhaling heavily, but still not turning to face the boy next to her.

"Hi, Rafe." she breathed, unable to hide the disappointment in her tone at the fact she hadn't managed to avoid the oldest Cameron sibling.

"Come on, Decker. don't sound so bitter." Rafe teased as Avery stretched onto the tips of her toes to attempt and grab the last jar of alfredo sauce, but it was far enough back on the shelf she couldn't grab it. "Lemme help you with that-" Rafe offered, grabbing the glass jar and setting it into Avery's cart.

"Thanks." She breathed. "Good to see you, Rafe." She said sarcastically, but the Cameron rounded her cart quickly.

"We can't stop and chat?" He asked, seemingly appalled at Avery's urge to leave so quickly. "I mean, from what I heard, you had a pretty exciting night last night."

"Your boyfriend told you about that, did he?" Avery asked, distaste practically dripping from her tongue at the fact she was currently talking to Rafe Cameron in the middle of a grocery store.

"You're funny, did you know what?" Rafe asked, the same smug grin he always wore plastered across his face as he looked at the brunette behind the shopping cart.

"Not as funny as that whack ass haircut." Avery replied dryly. "Now do I need to yell to one of the employees that I'm being harassed, or are you gonna let me go about my day?"

"Y'know, Decker, you've got a lot of nerve talking down on me after your boyfriend pulled a gun on Topper." Rafe spat.

"For one, JJ's not my boyfriend, just because you were a whore at sixteen doesn't mean we all are." Avery corrected. "Second, you have a lot of nerve talking to me at all when your boyfriend tried to drown John B in front of a crowd of people."

"You are so damn delusional it's almost laughable, you're just mad Topper called you out on the fact you played him." Rafe argued.

"I never played topper, I avoid topper like the plague as any rational person would."

"That's not what he said." Rafe replied, Avery scoffing at the fact he sounded more like a child than an almost twenty-year-old man.

"I don't have time for this." Avery stated bluntly, shoving her cart forward into Rafe, who scrambled out of the way. Avery took the opportunity to keep walking forward past Rafe, who she could practically feel glaring at her.

"Yeah, have a real good day, Avery!" He exclaimed loudly.

"Kiss my double-zero ass!" Avery retorted, rolling her eyes as she continued through the grocery store, mentally making a note to not, under any circumstances, tell JJ she had run into Rafe that day.

The Decker house had a light smokey haze hanging in the air. The windows had all been opened to help with the immense amount of heat being produced by the stove and oven as Avery cooked, the girl currently hunched over two loaves of what was soon to be garlic bread, a boiling pan of pasta, a skillet containing chopped up chicken breast, and a large pot with simmering alfredo sauce in it.

A brunette bun was bobbing on the top of Avery's head to keep the hair off her neck, a reggae playlist blaring loudly through the soundbar of her tv keeping her company as she grabbed the pan of bread, practically throwing it into the oven as she set a timer, turning her attention back to the chicken in the pan.

She glanced over the clock reading six fifteen, knowing she would just have to put a lid on everything as she had told JJ no earlier than seven. Putting the chicken into the large pot of alfredo sauce, a Bob Marley song making the floor under her bare feet vibrate, Avery stirred the mixture a couple times before dropping the pan into the sink, ignoring the loud sizzling sound it made when it came in contact with the water.

The sound of the downstairs door opening went unnoticed by the Decker, who was draining the water from her pasta. The thudding of three sets of footsteps up the stairs went unnoticed as well, Avery pouring the noodles into the alfredo sauce and turning the heat off, stirring the pot and placing a lid on it.

"Avery!" John B yelled her name for the third time since he, JJ, and Pope had entered the house.

"I told you-" Avery started, turning towards the boys with an annoyed look on her face, but it faded when she saw the blood running down John B's arm. "What the hell?"

"It's not as bad as it looks." The Routledge boy assured, but as Avery looked at the t-shirt soaked in blood that he had pressed to his arm, she eyed him skeptically.

"Sure it's not." She replied sarcastically. "What the hell happened?"

"These guys were shooting at us in the marsh and-" JJ started, Avery pausing her grab for the first aid kit under the sink.

"That's a gunshot?" She confirmed with raised eyebrows.

"No, it's not." JJ said firmly. "Kie tossed the fishing net off the boat so it could get tangled in their prop, and there was a fishing hook stuck in it."

"Thank God." Avery whispered.

"It hardly nicked me, I swear." John B told the Decker nonchalantly.

"Pope, watch the pasta." Avery mumbled, unclasping the first aid kit. "Take that shirt off and let me see it."

"Take me to dinner first." John B said sarcastically, but immediately pulled the wadded up tshirt off his arm at the glare Avery sent him.

"Oh, that's not bad." Avery exclaimed as she looked at what appeared to be a minor nick, she had seen worse injuries from the boys falling out of trees. however, it was still a considerable sized area of bare skin that had been exposed. "You lost your epidermis, you'll be fine. I just need to clean it, maybe wrap it."

John B pushed himself up onto the counter, turning to Avery could get to his arm easier.

"This is gonna hurt like a bitch, so you might hold JJ's hand or something." Avery said nonchalantly as she grabbed one of the rubbing alcohol wipes, noticing how it was one of the last ones and she would need to be purchasing more next time she went to the store.

"But JJ has cooties." John B whined.

"I don't wanna hold his hand, that's gonna hurt." JJ protested.

"You're not trusted to watch the pasta, so either hold John B's hand or you can clean, and I know how you feel about open wounds." Avery told the Maybank, the boy shuddering slightly at the thought of a couple months ago when he ran all the way down the dock because John B had cut the palm of his hand open filleting a fish.

"Okay, okay, fine!" JJ exclaimed. Avery shrugged, starting to wipe the alcohol across John B's arm, but the boy immediately yelled in pain.

"Stop being a bitch, I know for a fact it doesn't hurt that bad." Avery deadpanned, John B gritting his teeth as he squeezed the edge of the countertop. JJ had yanked his hand away as soon as the brunette started yelling, Avery wiping the open skin and the area around it carefully.

"Done." she said simply. "Where's Kie at?"

"She was cleaning the blood off the floor of the boat." Pope explained, moving out of the way of the stove so Avery could stir the pasta around before putting the lid back on.

"That smells amazing." JJ mumbled as steam poured out of the pot.

"You have to wait if you want garlic bread." Avery told the boy firmly, knocking the spoon on the rim of the pot and setting it on the towel folded up on the counter. JJ groaned at the comment, tossing his head back in dramatics as he leaned back on the counter.

"Why isn't it ready now?" He whined.

"Because you're here half an hour early!" Avery exclaimed, looking between John B and Pope. "Will you two make yourselves useful and go set the table?

The two boys nodded, mumbling compliances under their breath as Avery glanced down the stairs where little drops of blood had littered the steps.

"Have you been taking those iron supplements I got you?" She asked John B, who shook his head as he set two plates down at the circular dining table. "I can tell, no wonder you bled like a bitch."

"Excuse you." John B scoffed. "I bleed the normal amount."

Avery looked between the brunette boy and the stairs in disbelief, pointing at the trail of red.

"It's literally dripping down the steps- go clean that up!" She shouted. "I'll help Pope set the table- JJ, you put that spoon down right now or I'm gonna hit you in the head with it."

JJ dramatically dropped the spoon back on the counter, the metal handle clanking on the countertop as he did so. Avery looked at the table, grabbing one more plate and setting it in front of the one remaining seat.

"I'll go get Kie." Pope offered, running down the stairs past John B, choosing to refrain from commenting on the fact the boy was using one of Avery's white towels to clean the blood off the floor.

"I shouldn't have to gentle parent you guys, you're sixteen." Avery scolded, glancing between JJ and John B as she counted cutlery from the drawer before just grabbing the plastic insert and setting it in the middle of the table.

"How much longer until the garlic bread is done?" JJ whined.

"You have eyes, look at the timer." Avery deadpanned, nodding towards the oven. "You almost done cleaning that blood up, Johnny?"

"Yes, mom!" He called back, trudging back up the stairs with Kiara and Pope behind him. "Can we eat now, I haven't eaten since last night."

"You would die without me." Avery mumbled, grabbing the pot of chicken alfredo and setting it in the middle of the round table. "Go on, dig in."

Watching as JJ and John B practically tripped all over themselves to get to the table and yank open the lid of the pot, Avery couldn't help but feel guilty. She had everything. A giant house, a new car, parents who despite not acting like it a thousand percent of the time wanted the best for her, and she seemed to wish it all away every day when JJ and John B would kill for what she had.

But on the other hand, if they couldn't get it themselves, maybe it was a good thing that Avery could help them get it. If anyone deserved nice things, it was JJ Maybank and John B Routledge.

Not everyone got what they deserved, Avery was a blatant display of that. She didn't deserve a five-bed-six-bath waterfront mansion, but she had it. She didn't deserve a brand new car, and she definitely didn't deserve to be welcomed into the Pogues the way she was, but she had it all.

And she would use it to help the pogues as long as she could.

Avery woke up to a heavy weight on her chest. Strong arms were wrapped around the girls back as someone laid their entire upper body on top of her torso. She slowly peeled her eyes open, smiling at the mess of blonde hair that greeted her. JJ hummed in contentment as he readjusted his head so he was using her as more of a pillow than a bed, a small smile on his tanned lips.

"JJ?" She whispered, gently rubbing the Maybank's back in an attempt to wake him up.

"Feels nice." He slurred out, only pulling himself impossibly closer to Avery.

"J, you're crushing me." Avery explained, attempting to sit up, but JJ's deadweight made that impossible.

"That's unfortunate." He mumbled, Avery letting out a little laugh at his state.

"John B's gonna walk in here and see you." She warned, JJ shrugging.

"He's just gonna be jealous I'm not with him." The Maybank said bluntly.

"Okay- get out of my bed!" Avery exclaimed, JJ finally opening his eyes for the first time that morning and blinking a couple times, the sunlight shining through the blinds bright as they hit his irises.

"If you hate me, then just say so." JJ said sarcastically, but rolled over so Avery could stand up. "Well let's not get in a rush to leave!"

"What're your plans for today?" Avery asked, completely ignoring JJ's complaints as she sat down at the chair at her desk, glancing at the blonde who was now sitting up in her bed and leaning against the headboard.

"Dunno, I'll probably just hang out with John B." JJ stated bluntly, resting his hands behind his head as he leaned against the wall. "What about you?"

"i don't know, i was gonna tan and then go see if dad sent me any money." Avery said, rubbing a sunscreen stick under her eyes before putting the cap back on it. "If I send you with money can you go get me some tanning lotion this afternoon?"

"Yeah, totally." JJ mumbled, Avery glancing up at him in the mirror as he stared out the window at the marshland.

"This is the quietest I think you've ever been." The Decker told the boy truthfully as she grabbed a spray can of sunscreen and sprayed a bit in the palm of her hand, rubbing it onto the areas of her face she hadn't hit with the sunscreen stick.

"Just thinking." JJ replied simply.

"First time for everything." Avery replied, turning towards him and smiling, but JJ's eyes were still fixed on the window, the brunette girl's face falling as her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "You okay?"

"Why are you a Pogue?" JJ asked suddenly.

"Because I don't have the right bent-out-of-shape morals to be a Kook." Avery replied shortly. "Why, what's up?"

"You could have anything. You have everything, you could be friends with anyone you want, you could go out to fancy restaurants, and you definitely have the wallet to not stay here all summer." JJ explained. "Why don't you?"

"Because you guys don't." Avery answered. "JJ, I don't care about money. I never have. Maybe it's because I know I never had to live without it, but I've never liked fancy gifts and elaborate vacations- I'm perfectly content with cheap rings and wildflowers wrapped in an old newspaper and boat rides to some little sandbar off the island. I don't need to be showered in fancy shit, so I don't see it as a priority."

"Do you wish your parents weren't rich?" JJ asked, Avery thinking for a moment.

"I wish my parents wouldn't push their morals on me." She answered hesitantly. "I'm aware that I have a lot better life than a lot of people, and I know that a lot of people want what I have, and I know that because of my financial status I've been given a lot of chances and opportunities that other kids my age don't get to experience, and it's not something that I take for granted, but it was always pushed on me to to be a carbon copy of every other rich girl back home, and that wasn't what I wanted."

"Do you... I don't know, do you ever wish your parents hadn't gotten divorced?" JJ asked, Avery immediately shaking her head.

"If my parents hadn't gotten divorced, I never would have gotten out of Texas. I never would've met you guys, and I would be stuck at home with the cookie cutter girls from the prep school."

"So you broke the mould?" JJ confirmed, Avery nodding hesitantly.

"I guess you could say so." She replied. "JJ- what's bringing all this up?"

"I heard the conversation you had with your mom yesterday." JJ said immediately, regretting the words as soon as they left his mouth.

"You did?" Avery asked, the Maybank nodding and chewing his bottom lip.

"I know she wants you back in Texas, I know what she thinks about us, I know she's gonna find a way to get you back there wether or not anyone wants you to go."

"No, she isn't." Avery replied, walking back over to her bed and grabbing JJ's hand, running her thumb over his knuckles, the boy's eyes focusing on the manicured nail practically floating across his skin. "JJ, I'm not going back to Texas."

"She wants you to, Ave." JJ replied as though that settled it, that since Talia wanted avery back in Texarkana for the summer she would be flown home the next day.

"Yeah, well, people in hell want ice water." Avery deadpanned, JJ laughing at the comment. "She's going to have to drag me there by my hair with me fighting her the whole time."

"Promise you're not leaving?" JJ asked, Avery smiling a little at how much the blonde enjoyed her company.

"I'm not going anywhere."

kens speaks 🪐

okay this one was different bc it's all my own content but i still like it tbh

jj and avery are so sun to me by zach bryan (specifically the part where he's like "i've seen hard times, bad luck, all that in between, sweetest of the sunflowers how you're the sun to me") and i'm here for it

gotta keep the jjavery content coming for mara bc i need my jjeden in summertime sadness fr