Together

118. Whatever she wants

And you know I stay trippin', am I crazy? Oh no
I'm sticking with my baby for sure
Together or solo
It doesn't matter where we are, oh no, no
So if you hear about my lady, just know
That she ain't the one to play with, oh no
And I'll be standing so close
So you know that, ayy
-Ed Sheeran, Chance the Rapper, and PnB Rock

JJ, Kie, and John B roll up to the chateau. Well, as far as one could roll up that is.

"Whipped!" JJ calls as they walk fifty miles back from where they had to park because Sarah Cameron Does. Not. Go. Small.

"Yeah, I know," John B sighs.

JJ throws his arm around Kie and she wraps her own around his center. She was worried that he was going to continue with his irritated mood once they left the Wreck. She honestly wouldn't even blame him.

She gets what it's like to see someone you love hurt by someone else. This was nothing compared to how Luke treated him, but it felt like ash in her mouth to even start talking the way JJ used to.

She tried her best to avoid statements like, "it's not gonna happen again", "it's not that serious", and "I can handle myself" when they talked in his bedroom at the chateau the night after the Kook Christmas party. Knew he would just throw his own history back at her. Remind her he's not stupid and talk like she would talk to him if it were Luke.

Kie couldn't say he would be wrong either. Travis was threatening in that moment in the stair way. He clearly wanted something from her and she hastily agreed to it, not wanting to make a scene for her parents. It was stupid. JJ was right, it shouldn't have mattered what they wanted.

But she was sick of disappointing them. Practically her whole high school career was one big error after another. They paid good money to send her to the Kiok Academy, and she botched that in less than six months. Then all the treasure hunting bullshit they did and that didn't even begin to cover all the times she embarrassed them at the Island Club by rolling her eyes and scoffing at something someone said.

She fought them almost every step of the way, and then Anna gave her a chance to prove that she wasn't a fuck up. That even though she didn't share the dreams they had, she still cared about them. Still wanted to be a part of their family team and be helpful.

And she was successful. She held it together at Travis' house and she would do it again when working with him. She wasn't going to let some Kook take away an opportunity to be good with her parents.

Kie loved growing up in the Wreck. It kept her humble and grounded to reality. It was a blessing that Mike and Anna made her work even when they made enough not to need her that way. It helped her never forget how hard other people have things and to be grateful for what she did have.

The Wreck was a huge part of her relationship with her parents as well. Her dad would teach her how to cook and her mom how to serve. She bonded with them over fries and shakes after closing, and spent days creating new menu items. The Carreras were connected through the restaurant, and she could not let someone as worthless as Travis get in between them like that.

JJ probably didn't understand that, and she honestly hadn't tried very hard to explain herself on the dock, but it didn't matter. She knew he wasn't going to force her into anything. His suggestion that she tell her dad was unexpected. Thought he'd rather her let him pound Travis into the sand more than anything.

He was protective. It took a lot of time for her to convince him to let her handle Travis herself, but clearly seeing him in the Wreck was an opportunity that he didn't want to pass up. She's just thankful nothing serious went down.