stevie | outer banks | JJxOC

26- only love could make someone do that

"Help!" a heart-shattering scream spread through the forest, "Somebody help!"

"Did you hear that?" Kie asked her friends in the van, looking around and noticing someone missing, "Where's Stevie?"

"Shit." JJ started to worry as did the other Pogues who jumped out of the Twinkie ready to find the source of the screams. They started to walk towards the bottom and the tower and when they saw two bodies and Sarah crying over John B they sprinted. Sarah had one hand holding her friend, who was only a metre or so away from her brother, and her body over John B, crying with fear.

JJ's heart felt like it reduced and a skull-splitting panic took over him. He felt bad for having to pick but seeing as Sarah had John B in his arms, JJ thought it would be ok to focus on Stevie. "Pope get help!" He yelled in distress as he needled down next to her. It was dark but he noticed the rips in her dress and the bits of twigs and branches in her skin. He had never seen an accident quite as horrific as this. Carefully, he lent down trying to lift the girl's head up, making him gasp when he felt the warm liquid coming from her head. "Hurry!" He yelled again.

John B showed signs of life, although clearly in pain, he groaned and wriggled unlike Stevie, who was frozen and limp. JJ's eyes started to water as he saw her breath get slower and slower. "No no no," He panicked next to her bleeding body, "Evie, please don't do this to me." He begged. Tears fell down his cheek running on his neck and down to his shirt as he watched the girl he had loved for eight years slowly lose life.

"Hi," he whispered with a small glint of hope as she noticed her eyes reluctantly open."Hold on please, Evie." He begged again but her eyes shut again, letting one tear fall down her cheek. And everything went still. Her chest stopped moving and it felt like JJ's did too. He felt the end. The shock stopped him from noticing everything around him. All he could do was hold Stevie, who he believed was now dead, in his arms until the ambulance arrived.

JJ stayed with her the whole night. He stayed in the ambulance. Waited till she came out of surgery. Tried to sleep in the awful chair in her hospital room.

"You stayed." Steve's voice felt like gravel in her throat. As she slowly woke up, her heart felt fuzzy when she saw JJ half asleep in the awkward hospital chair. He stayed for her.

"Yeah." He laughed, feeling relieved that she was ok, "I couldn't leave, I was worried."

"Ow." Stevie winced as she woke up even more letting the pain finally reach her. Her head and leg felt on fire and she tried to sit up more.

"Yeah, you impaled your leg." JJ started listing the girl's injuries starting with the branch in her leg from the tree, "And you cracked her head or something. Also, your whole body is bruised and cut. Sorry I can't really remember the details, I was stressing out-"

"It's okay JJ." Stevie cut his rambling off. "Thank you."

"You know you need to be more careful," JJ said sincerely, genuinely worried about the girl.

"Your really gonna lecture me on safety," Stevie laughed and pointed out the irony, "Plus you don't care if I injure myself."

"I care if you die," JJ said with all seriousness. He was genuinely scared for her. "You were so close, Evie. I thought you were gone," JJ remembered her lifeless body.

"The dying bit sounds quite peaceful." Stevie matched JJ's tone and stopped joking. "I was in so much pain that death felt peaceful."

"You can't die, John B would be crushed." JJ suddenly, despite acting like an idiot for 16 years, started spewing wisdom. "He needs you. You're all he has left. So both of you need to stop it."

"I know." Stevie absorbed what JJ had to say before going on to lighten the mood, "But neither of us are gonna die anytime soon," she laughed, "is he ok?"

"Yeah, he's down the hall with Sarah," JJ informed her and then it all clicked. If she was in the hospital both she and John B could be taken by DCS now.

"Shit, we're in a hospital." Stevie's brain finally woke up, "JJ we need to go." She tried to move off her hospital bed, hissing in excruciating pain coming from her leg.

"Hey, woah, woah," JJ stood out of his chair and darted to the side of her bed trying to stop her from moving too much, "Calm down."

"DCS." Stevie looked at the boy with panicked eyes.

"DCS won't get you, it's been sorted." JJ calmed her down. "Wards adopting John B and-"

"Really?" Stevie interrupted him, "Ward already has three teenagers, you sure he really wants two more?"

"He's not adopting you." JJ winced, breaking the news that Stevie and John B were no longer together. "Heyward did."  to be honest, she would rather be adopted by Heyward anyway.

"So much for sticking together," Stevie sighed before glancing at JJ again. She felt bad when she saw his tired eyes and dark circles. He did that for her. "You look tired."

"Charming." JJ scoffed at the girl with no filter.

"Come on," She opened the duvet, "Get in"

"What?" JJ took a step back from the bed.

"Just get in the bed." Stevie rolled her eyes at the boy.

"No, I'm fine," JJ tried to be chivalrous.

"JJ I'll move over," Stevie carefully, used her arms to lift her body so she could move her legs over with minimal pain. Once she had made the space for another person she patted the bed to show JJ he could climb in and he caved, reluctantly slipping into the bed. Although, he initially said no, it was clear he needed some proper sleep. Before it got awkward Stevie placed her head on JJ's chest and invited him to wrap his arms around her and again they felt light in each other's arms.

"Why did you go up there with Sarah?" JJ asked with his eyes closed, drifting into a nap.

"I'm friends with her, I have been for years," Stevie spilt her big secret and explained how they met on the beach years ago and spent the summer together. That they kept in contact over text and even though they come from opposing worlds, Stevie would considered her a best friend.

Once her story had finished the two fell into a happy sleep in each other's arms with Stevie's head laying on JJ's chest which was noticed by the nurse that came to check on her. Her smile grew looking at the young love.

Later in the day, John B had got discharged and the other Pogues visited Stevie in her room which made the pain dissipate for a few hours. But Stevie couldn't leave at the same time as John B as her leg was in worse shape than his arm. Once her friends had gone home, leaving her alone in the hospital for the night, the nurse came back with some food and a happy attitude.

"Your boyfriend is lovely," She smiled as she checked the monitors around Stevie. She couldn't quite believe what she heard.

"Sorry, who?" She blurted out.

"The blonde one that stayed with you." The nurse muttered as if it was obvious.

"Oh, he's not my boyfriend." Stevie chuckled awkwardly.

"I think you better tell him that." The nurse stopped what she was doing and spoke to Stevie directly. "He stayed by you all night. Only love could make someone do that. He's a keeper."

It stuck in Stevie's mind and she didn't feel weird about it or awkward and she didn't care that it was technically against the Pogue rules. She should help but smile at the idea he liked her. She could stop thinking about all the stuff he did for her like keep her safe or give her books or shells. Moments that showed he cared erased any memory of when they hated each other. And the nurse was right, only love could make someone do that.

a/n sorry its a shorter one but I think this chapter's really sweet and we are getting closer to Stevie realising what is blatantly in front of her :)