outerbanks imagines.

try it again- pope

y/n was currently lying on her stomach in the comfort of her own room,
the pencil moving swiftly as she wrote the answers to today's algebra homework.
though she knew the numbers were thought out at random and no where near right,
all that mattered was the assignment got done.
she mumbled the equations that ran through her head,
but none of them got her to the correct answer,
no matter how hard she might try.
"dammit!"
she yelled out,
slamming the notebook and pencil down in frustration.
the girl sat up and ran a hand through her hair to calm down her rising discouragement.
y/n searched for her phone and found that notifications from pope were ringing importance.

"hey. the pogues and i are going surfing. you down?
"y/n?
"hellooo !!"

she laughed softly at this.
she then looked at the many assignments she had sprawled across the bedsheets,
which earned her a heavy sigh.
she wanted nothing more than to go out and enjoy some sun with her best friends,
but it'd have to wait.

"can't rn.
i'm trying to finish this work.
y'all have fun tho! <3"

she replied.
as soon as the message delivered,
she put her phone back down and continued the hellish work.
i wish math were easy for me.
i wish pope were here to help me.
the thought of pope made her reach for her phone again,
waiting by for his reply.

"you need help?
i know numbers don't come easy for you."

it almost was like he read her mind.

"yesss please!
i'm struggling."

she leaned against her headboard and laughed,
thanking god for blessing her with such a smart best friend.
as she waited for his reply,
she couldn't help but let her mind travel to what life would be like if they were more than friends.

"omw.
i'll be there soon."

y/n stood on her feet for the first time since she returned from school and began shaking the blood back into her numb legs.
when they regained their feeling,
she walked around to pick up stray clothing on the floor and tuck it away,
making the house look presentable for her company.
she then traveled to the kitchen,
where she would grab pope and her some water bottles and snacks for the long tutoring session ahead of them.
when she heard the knock on the door,
revealing pope with a bookbag attached to him,
y/n couldn't stop herself from smiling widely.
"hey!"
"hey,"
pope returned as he stepped in y/n's house,
soon following her to her room.
"so, what are we working on today?"
he asked as he sat down on her bed,
shuffling through the papers.
"well i've been trying this problem here but-"
"it's x over three,"
he said,
picking his head up from the paper to grin at her.
she sighed and asked,
"how did you get that?"
"it's simple. you're overthinking it. look."
he grabbed the pencil nearby and began laying out the equation,
guiding y/n through and answering whatever questions she had.
when they got to the answer of the question,
she sat back in amazement.
"wow...you're a genius, i swear."
pope shook his head at the comment then laughed along with y/n before continuing their work.
after long hours of numbers and equations,
they were finally finished and y/n was confident in her answers.
she laid back in the bed and breathed out in relief,
feeling her mattress sink beneath pope's added weight as he now laid beside her.
"you're so smart, y/n. stop doubting yourself."
"ugh, math is just stupid. doesn't make sense to me,"
she admitted before turning over on her side and looking at him.
"it is stupid, isn't it?"
he agreed with a chuckle,
though his eyes never left the pattern against her ceiling.
y/n's eyes ran over pope's smooth, flawless skin and began to quietly admire him.
he looked perfectly content in this lighting.
her heart was racing as she contemplated making her next move.
she placed herself closer to him and finally attached their lips.
at first,
pope began to kiss her back and fuel the thundering in her heart.
but he quickly ripped himself away and said,
"y/n."
y/n was met with his wide-eyed look and felt her stomach twist into tiny knots.
"oh my god, pope. i'm so sorry. i don't know why i thought that was o-"
"no, no it's fine i just...i didn't expect that,"
he explained,
laughing softly to ease the tension.
y/n watched in horror as pope rubbed his neck with his hand;
his telltale sign of uncertainty.
"i just made this awkward, didnt i?"
"what? no, no. not at all."
but y/n could feel the shift in the air.
things had never been so awkward like they were in this moment.
the two sat there in the quiet,
trying to figure out what to do to,
before he quickly got up and began rubbing his perspiring palms on his shorts.
"i'm gonna go. i'll talk to you later, yeah?"
"yeah."
pope gave her a quick wave goodbye then hurried out of the door.
when she heard his car leave her driveway,
she fell against her bed and pulled her hands over her face.
"what the hell! you idiot!"
y/n chastised herself as she groveled in embarrassment.
she could throw up.
nothing would ever be the same after today.
she had risked her best friendship in a moment of irrationality.
"you dumb ass."
***
y/n avoided the crowd for the next few days.
she didn't want to deal with the awkwardness that was sure to follow,
so she ran as far away from her problems as possible.
but she could only avoid her friends for so long.
"hey, y/n l/n! open up!"
the familiar voice yelled from outside,
a banging from the front door now echoing throughout the house.
she looked out the window and saw jj, john b, and kie all huddled around her home,
but pope was no where to be found.
she hurried to open the front door and looked at the tan, tall, sweaty kids who were all wearing their own smiles.
"hey, guys."
"well, look who it is! thought you might've died,"
jj joked.
"come out! we haven't seen you in days!"
kie exclaimed as she pulled on y/n's hand,
dragging her outside.
"i-i don't have my stuff!"
"we have everything you'll ever need, y/n!"
john b cheered.
y/n hesitantly followed them to the car and fell sight on pope who was lounging in the front seat.
her heart stuttered,
making nerves pile in her throat and threaten to cut off her breathing.
she climbed into the back and found that she was now smushed between john b and jj.
"heard you've been mackin',"
jj whispered in a tune,
lighting the blunt between his lips while snickering.
y/n felt her whole body drench itself in heat from pure embarrassment.
"dude, shut up!"
john b muttered as he smacked the back of jj's head.
the air got caught in her throat at the realization:
of course he told them.
why wouldn't he?
the car was finally parked and they all made way to the beach.
john b and kie began a race to see who could touch water first,
pope and jj ventured off to converse amongst themselves,
and y/n walked the opposite direction of her friends.
when she finally put some distance between her and pope,
she then stood with her feet buried in the sand.
now she was free to think without having someone analyze her involuntary facial expressions.
she was so overcome with hurt and anger that pope embarrassed her,
that it took everything in her not to strut over there and give him the cursing out of his life.
not that it mattered anyways.
he wouldn't even look at her,
much less talk to her,
even though he found the event interesting enough to speak to their friends about.
y/n was growing suffocated,
even in the mass of this seemingly deserted beach.
she began to peel her thin clothes off from her body to reveal her undergarments.
she needed a swim.
while she made herself comfortable in the waves and tried to forget about everything,
pope stood back and never took his eyes off of her.
his heart raced in her company,
the words never coming out when he wished so desperately that they would.
"dude, you need to hop on that,"
jj said with a nudge to pope.
"i don't think you've stopped looking at her yet."
"how could i?"
pope asked in an exhale of breath.
"i completely ruined my chance with her, jj."
"you froze up when she kissed you, so what? all you gotta do now is tell her what you told me the other day."
pope looked at the sand around him and nodded.
"yeah. yeah, you're right."
when y/n returned to shore,
the droplets of sea water clinging to her skin and making her glisten,
pope felt his heart skip several beats.
he couldn't stop himself anymore.
he'd avoided her long enough now,
and it was time to face the truth:
pope heyward was madly in love with y/n l/n.
when y/n heard his footsteps inching towards her,
she froze and braced herself for further humiliation.
"i didn't kiss you back because i was scared. not because i didn't want to."
y/n slowly turned herself around to face him.
she noticed the softening of his gaze and it made her heart swell.
"scared of what?"
"i've waited for that moment since we met. and-and i guess it just happened unexpectedly and i didn't know what to do. i was worried i'd do something to make you think that...i'm not someone you want."
y/n was touched at first;
he had pulled on her heartstrings.
just until she remembered the gossip that had been unfolded for their friends.
her anger swirled back inside of her.
"right. but you made sure to tell them, didn't you? i'm sure you all thought it was the funniest thing ever!"
her hurt was becoming visible and pope would stop at nothing to ease it.
"n-no, i didn't tell them because i wanted to embarrass you. i told them because i felt so awful,
y/n. i've been so in love with you since the very first time i saw you and i ruined the one chance i had. it tore me apart, the way i reacted. the only reason i told them was to get advice, that's all."
he explained,
his hands frantically moving through the air.
"but i'm sorry, y/n. i really am. i'm sorry for leaving you behind to think you did something wrong, i'm sorry i never called, and i'm sorry that i gave off the impression i'd mock you. i would never, in my life, speak a malicious word about you. i'm too blinded by my affections to ever."
y/n let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding in.
silence enveloped them as she processed his words and allowed for her emotions to settle.
finally,
her lips slowly turned upwards into that beautiful smile pope sought to see.
"can i have a do over? please?"
pope stepped forward to meet with y/n.
she nodded and took a step forward.
"sure, pope. we can try again."
their lips finally met in the middle for a kiss they both had been anticipating for years,
the tension especially high these past few weeks.
pope put every single emotion he felt for y/n in this kiss to make up for the lack he'd shown the other day.
he had to prove it to her now that he was worth it and he'd never fail to make her happy.
"hell yeah! that's my boy!"
jj yelled from behind them,
pumping his fists in the hair.
y/n and pope broke apart to exhale laughter and shake their nerves off.
"better?"
pope asked as he laid his forehead to hers,
his smile soft but glowing.
"mhm, way better."