legacy // obx

0.6

KIARA WASN'T SURE HOW LATE IT WAS when she finally fell asleep. The hours had started to fade into one another as she took a deep look into John B's room: the final part of him left behind. She was pissed at JJ for being so reckless all the time, and for not letting her in to understand why. She could hear him rummaging around in the main room and Kiara couldn't help but wonder why JJ couldn't just relax. After a few hours, the house went quiet and she laid in John B's old bed as her eyes slowly shut and her consciousness rested. 

Only a couple of hours had passed before Kiara was lulled awake. It was still dark outside and Kie rolled over to check the alarm clock on John B's nightstand. 

3:06 am. 

Kiara groaned, flopping over onto her back, eyes focused on the ceiling. The familiar sound of rain drumming against the roof of The Chateau nearly pulling her back to sleep, as small flashes of lightening temporarily illuminated the world outside. Kiara felt herself ease again, the warmth of John B's bed offering her comfort, but a part of her was restless. 

She had decided to get up to and head to the kitchen for a glass of water when she heard the whimpering coming from the main room. Kiara stopped when she heard it, pausing to listen to make sure her ears weren't playing tricks on her. 

"No. Stop. Please!" a gentle, yet distressed voice whimpered from just the other side of the wall.

"JJ?" Kie whispered to herself, before moving past the door into the main room. She half expected someone else to be in The Chateau giving JJ a black eye; She thought maybe Shoupe was back, and he was kicking JJ out for good. But when she turned the corner, all Kiara saw was her friend, asleep on his usual couch, surrounded by an empty room. At first glance, it looked peaceful, but Kiara quickly realized that something was very wrong. 

"No! Please!" JJ yelled, flinching in his sleep. His face was scrunched and tense, and his whole body looked like it was writhing in pain.  

"JJ," Kiara spoke before running over and kneeling next to the couch. "JJ!" She raised her voice in attempts to wake him. 

"Stop!" His voice broke and Kiara reached out to shake him. She could feel a small layer of moisture on his skin, making it warm to the touch. His body was trembling, covered in a thin layer of sweat. "JJ!"

He tossed in his sleep again and Kiara's heart began to throb. "JJ, wake up!" She shook him again but he subconsciously flinched at the touch. 

"J, wake the fuck up! Please," Kiara yelled as her friend finally snapped out of his night terror and back to reality. He woke with a gasp, eyes filled with fear as he looked around the room before his vision landed on her. His whole body still shook and his breathing was staggered and heavy. 

"Hey hey hey. Shhhh, it was just a dream," Kiara started, pulling JJ into her chest as he began to sob quietly. "It's okay. I'm here. It was only a dream." 

JJ's arms wrapped around Kiara's waist just like they had the last time he cried into her shoulder, but this time he was much less angry and much more scared. "You're safe. I'm here. You're safe," Kiara whispered in his ear as she softly stroked the back of his head to comfort him. It was like she knew exactly what to say. 

JJ's breathing steadied and his body began to recover as Kie pulled out of the hug. She looked at him, one hand going to brush his matted hair out of his face as the other went to wipe his damp cheeks free of tears. "JJ..." Kiara began, really taking in the broken boy in front of her for the first time since the death of John B.

 It was then that she finally put all the puzzle pieces together: all the anger in his demeanor, all the alcohol he was drinking, the dark circles underneath his eyes. Kiara was right when she sensed something was off with him; he hadn't been sleeping. His whole life was plagued with nightmares, as his subconscious reminded him of all the demons he's dealing with. Kiara's body language softened as she realized how damaged JJ really was. She couldn't believe she hadn't seen it before; he had lost everyone and everything in a matter of days. JJ had nothing and no one left to live for. 

"I'm sorry," he finally managed to whisper, looking Kiara in the eyes as her heart sank. 

"JJ, you have nothing to be sorry for."

"I shouldn't have yelled at you last night. I should have just told you," he sniffled, his hands going up to run through his hair. 

"It's okay, JJ. I'm not upset at you," Kiara stood up from the kneeling position she had been in and went to sit next to him on the couch. 

"Okay," he accepted, and his head dropped slightly. 

"I'm going to make you talk about this with me tomorrow, okay?" Kiara was worried about him, and she knew that if she didn't force JJ to be vulnerable, he would shut down again. 

"Okay." 

JJ went to rest his head momentarily on Kiara's shoulder, letting his eyes close out of pure exhaustion. Her hand instinctually went up to the back of his head, running her fingers lightly through the hair at the base of his neck. They stayed like that for a few peaceful moments before Kiara broke the silence.

"JJ, it's late." He moved his head from her shoulder as she stood to head back to John B's room. His hand reached for her's as she began to walk away. 

"Wait," he stopped her. "Stay."

Kiara turned around to look JJ in the eyes, seeing only hurt swimming through them. It killed her to see her best friend in so much pain. "J...," she sighed, hesitant. 

"Please?" He pleaded. Her eyes traveled down to the muscle tank he was wearing. It was damp from the sweat and positioned just right so that part of one of the bruises on his abdomen was exposed. Kiara tried not to visualize the fight with his father that had given him all the physical and emotional wounds. 

He was so hurt already; one night wouldn't do any harm. 

"Okay, but I'm not sharing this tiny ass couch with you," she smiled, half-joking, as she used the hand that was still wrapped around her wrist to pull him up from his seated position. "Come on." 

With that, JJ and Kiara walked together back into John B's old room, climbing onto the bed together. JJ plopped down on the slide closest to the door and Kiara laid next to him, careful not to get too close. She waited until she heard his breathing even out before rotating to look at him closer. His eyes rested shut and his chest rose and fell evenly, and for the first time all day, Kiara didn't feel so worried about him. She almost liked having him so close; it was offering her peace of mind to watch him rest, unbothered. It was such a contrast to the angry, brooding, stone-cold JJ that she had been dealing with all day. 

Kiara liked the thought that it was her presence that made JJ finally relax. She scooted slightly closer to him, placing a small kiss on his cheek as he slept, finding comfort in his presence too. 

She let the rhythm of his breathing lull her back to sleep. 

-

OK SO

this was short ish and DEFINITELY NOT what I had planned for this chapter (it was supposed to only take up the first bit of the chapter) but oops i got carried away in my own personal jiara fantasy and accidentally wrote 1.3 k words about them again

can u blame me tho like theyre so cute. whos ready for this slow burnnnnn baby 

AND IM VERY SORRY that this is late :( i owed it to you yesterday by the latest but life is busy rn. I promise another update by the end of the weekend. I PROMISE. WE GOT PLACES TO GO THINGS TO WRITE CHARACTERS TO SHIP AND A WARD TO TAKE DOWN 

ok thats enough i love you all so mucho 

xx mia