outerbanks imagines.

bailed out-jj

the last thing y/n l/n expected to be doing today was bailing her boyfriend out of jail.
jail is too hefty a word though.
if anything,
jj is sitting in a holding cell with taut muscles and a hungry stomach,
but nothing scary.
still,
y/n's heart pounds in her chest and doesn't show signs of stopping until her sights are set on an alive, freed jj.
the plan is simple.
y/n will walk into the bank,
pretend to be her mother with her straightened posture and cutting eyes.
the way they've been compared as sisters,
y/n knows this will prove as no difficulty.
in her wallet is a spare ID she'd stolen from her mother in her quest to buy her and her friends alcohol.
though now the ID is being used for greater circumstances and no longer childish revelries.
it isn't any small feat,
attempting to withdrawal a large sum of money for jj's bail.
but would the theft be worth it?
all to ensure his safety?
absolutely.
especially since his arrest had been an act of honor.
pope had been the one the cops set out for,
trying to arrest him for sinking topper's boat,
but jj took the blame all to ensure pope's future was safe.
what a stupid, yet so loyal, man.
this is why y/n shows no signs of regret when she tells the bank teller how much money she'd like to retrieve.
the teller eyes her with suspicion and asks,
"can i see some ID?"
y/n shows the woman without much protest then says,
"satisfied? i'm in a hurry, but please, take your time."
it's the kind of thing her cutthroat mother would say.
and though it makes her recoil to hear those sharp words be freed from her tongue,
they were necessary to keep this facade up.
the moment the cash is in her hands,
y/n darts out of the bank and finds the police station,
where peterkin seems to be awaiting her arrival.
"here for your boy?"
the woman asks with a close lipped smile.
y/n nods then says,
"yes ma'am."
"well, we'll be glad to release him as soon as his guardian is here."
her heart drops.
"what do you mean?"
"i can't release him to you, you're not eighteen. i need his father up here."
peterkin senses y/n's disgust at the mention of jj's father,
if he even could be called that.
he's not deserving of that title,
the bastard.
"i know, trust me. he's no peach,"
peterkin says with her hands up in mock surrender.
"but it's my job. i'm sorry."
"it's fine...i'll be back soon."
y/n walks back outside to see kie and pope lingering by her car in anticipation of the news.
"hey! what's going to happen now? is he out?"
pope asks.
y/n can see the guilt clouding his eyes,
so she relieves him of his burdens by laying a hand to his shoulder and saying,
"yeah. just got to tie up a few loose ends, but he's out."
the boy engulfs y/n into a hug and whispers,
"thank you. thank you."
y/n returns his hug with a heavy heart,
considering jj is now one step further from being released,
but pope needs to know this none.
let the boy go home and rest.
y/n will figure it out.
when her and kie are alone,
it's then she bares the whole truth.
"i have to go get luke. jj can't be released to me."
"oh, god. you're sure? there's nothing else we can do?"
y/n shakes her head.
"we're all underage."
kie curses under her breath,
looks around us like there might be an answer waiting in the clouds,
but comes up empty.
the only option possible is gathering luke.
"do you want me to come with?"
"it's fine. the asshole can ride in the trunk for all i care. as long as he actually gets up."
y/n and kie depart with a hug as she sets out on her seemingly impossible mission of dragging luke,
jj's only kin,
out of the house and away from his substances.
the moment she knocks on the door,
all the worry ebbs away and is replaced with frustration.
luke hasn't even answered the door and she's already bursting at the seams.
"y/n, pleasure,"
the man says with bloodshot eyes.
y/n cuts to the chase;
there's no time for formalities.
"i need you to come to the station. jj's being held there."
"how much is it-"
she holds her hand up to stop him.
"nobody's asking you for a dime. just sign some papers and everyone can be on their merry way."
luke chuckles but ultimately climbs into the car with y/n.
the ride is mostly silent,
besides the sounds of gravel crunching beneath y/n's tires.
"aren't you driving a little fast?"
luke asks.
y/n ignores him with an eye roll.
doesn't he understand the severity of the situation?
of course she's speeding.
the man she loves is trapped with no way out but herself.
the moment they're inside the station,
she hands over her money and watches luke carefully as he signs the release forms.
minutes pass and soon,
jj comes out,
visibly exhausted.
"y/n,"
he says in a breath of relief.
she encloses him into her arms to say,
"you're so stupid. i love you."
jj laughs at her proclamation of love then returns it with a kiss to her temple.
"i'm sorry. i love you."
"pope told me what happened. you're a good friend."
jj half smiles.
"a lot of good that does me,"
he mumbles now,
looking past y/n and towards his father.
the girl untangles herself from his limbs and allows him to greet the stubborn man.
"who's paying for this restitution?"
luke asks.
no hug for his noble son,
no asking if he's okay,
only demanding an answer.
typical luke maybank.
y/n has to fight the urge to curse him to high heavens.
it would do jj no good for her to lash out,
which is the only reason she keeps quiet.
"i am,"
jj promises.
"yeah? how're you gonna get that money, slick? all you do is hang around the south side and smoke your lungs charred."
luke steps up to jj to intimidate him into cowardice,
until y/n pushes the man away.
"maybe don't be an asshole in the police station, asshole."
luke bristles but heeds y/n's warning and backs down.
"i'll figure it out."
with jj's last words,
the three of them leave the dim police station and pile into the car.
the moment y/n stops her car in the maybank driveway,
luke wastes no time in hurrying off.
he makes sure to slam the car door behind him,
showcasing his resentment towards the two.
when he's out of earshot and can no longer be seen,
jj faces y/n and repents in one single breath,
"thank you. i'll say it forever: thank you. i'll find a way to pay you back. i promise."
"don't worry about it. i told my parents what i was doing."
y/n knows that's a boldfaced lie,
but she won't let jj be burdened with anymore guilt.
she's definitely going to have to face the wrath of her parents the moment they realize,
but it will be worth it knowing jj is safe and back home with her,
where they belong.
"i can't imagine what would've happened to me if he got to me before you did,"
jj whispers as a wistful look glazes his eyes.
"we won't ever have to know. we figured it out, like we always do,"
she reassures as she reaches for his hand.
"we? that was all you, y/n."
she disregards the comment to instead ask jj,
"can you stay with me? i don't feel comfortable leaving you here with him so soon."
"it's fine. i'll be fine."
"jj, please."
jj kisses her knuckles then looks to her with pleading eyes.
"i promise. i'll call you tonight."
she knows she's lost the battle there.
so all she can do is sit by the phone and wait.
***
y/n has been waiting bedside for the call for hours.
but her patience comes to an end when the front door slams shut and out comes the length of her name,
"y/n m/n l/n!"
she knows she's been caught.
y/n figures she can earn a couple hours by burrowing herself under the covers so that her mother might calm down,
but the act proves futile when the door bursts open and her mother demands,
"get your ass up! i know you're not asleep."
y/n mentally curses herself then lifts the blanket up to face her mother.
"yes?"
"you stole money out of our account?!"
she gets out of the bed and stands before her mother to plead for a chance at understanding,
"i promise i'll pay it back! just please don't get mad."
"what could you have possibly needed all of that for?"
how to answer this?
how to answer this?
the question pounds at her head.
her mother knows about jj and her's relationship.
it's no secret,
she just prefers not to hear about it.
the less her mother knows,
"the happier everyone is."
says her mother.
"i just needed it."
y/n decides to say.
short and sweet,
but not at all the explanation her mother needs to keep from blowing up.
"y/n, what did you need it for?"
her mothers asks again,
though this time through gritted teeth.
"okay, look...my friend got locked up for something he didn't do so i just helped. but i promise i'll pay it back."
y/n's mother lets out a heavy breath then takes a seat on the edge of her daughters bed.
"jj?"
how did she know?
was it that obvious?
"you wouldn't go through all of this if it was just some friend,"
her mother explains,
reading the confusion across y/n's expression.
"yeah, it was jj."
"okay...what did he do?"
so y/n explains the situation to her:
rafe and topper jumping pope,
pope exacting his revenge by sinking their boat,
the police coming to arrest pope,
but in a moment of wonder,
jj takes the blame.
her mother massages her temples as a working headache makes it way to her skull.
y/n made sure she exaggerated some of the details,
all in hopes of striking even more empathy for her boyfriend.
"he's an idiot, but...he's brave."
"that's jj, one brave idiot."
her mother shakes her head then with a laugh,
admits,
"you know...jj doesn't seem so bad."
it's the first y/n has ever heard her mother speak highly of her lover.
how her heart swells.
"because he isn't. he's so good to me, mom."
y/n's mother smooths a hand down her face in a maternal show of affection.
"i'm glad. you're so mature and beautiful, my y/n. you deserve a good love."
then she kisses y/n's cheek.
"but it seems it's too late for that. the boys got you stealing money from us."
they giggle together and y/n hugs her mother tight,
grateful to feel so understood.
her mother will always be her best friend.
"don't think you're getting away with this, though. you're grounded for weeks, thief,"
y/n's mother says as she closes the door behind her.
she lays back against her bed and feels the burdens of her day lift free from her chest.
jj has yet to call or even text her since she's dropped him off,
so she decides to send a simple text saying,

"pls let me know ur okay.
i'm worried."

immediately,
a reply comes through,

"i'll be okay when you open this window."

y/n rushes to push back her curtains,
where she finds jj kneeling before her with a simple smile.
she allows him entryway so that they might find better comfort in the blankets of her bed,
their secret being concealed by the night.
"what you did for me, y/n, i...i—"
"we don't have to talk about it."
jj molds a hand against the nape of her neck and brings her closer in to his chest.
she follows with ease.
"we should though, right? i mean...it wasn't just some small fee."
y/n picks her head up to face jj,
where she lets her hands fall down the length of his marbled, soft cheeks.
"who knows? it doesn't have to be figured out now, jj. we have all of tomorrow."
"yeah, you're right. especially you. since you're grounded now."
the pair share a quiet laugh that has to be muted by the palms of their hands.
"how'd you know?"
"never in a million years would your parents allow you to take that much money out, especially for me. got to be quicker next time you decide to lie,"
jj teases with a kiss planted to her nose.
it's then she relays the praising words of her mother spoken in jj's absence.
his spirits seem to lift at the thought of his girlfriends mother finally warming up to him.
god knows all he wants is to be enough for y/n.
when they're settled and back to comforting one another,
jj brushes his lips to y/n's temple and whispers,
"i'd do anything for you, y/n. anything. i love you so much, i don't know anything else. i don't want to know anything else. just you...just you."
when they meet in the middle for a kiss of loving appreciation,
y/n knows what she did for him will never be something she regrets.
it was an act of love that was well worth whatever consequence could have been thrown her way.
jj would have done the very same for her had it been necessary.
there isn't a thing jj wouldn't do for his lover,
and he can sleep peacefully knowing the sentiment is returned from the girl herself.
"i love you,"
jj repeats in a ghost of a whisper against her lips.
y/n kisses him once more for good measure and returns his vow with truth,
"i love you too, jj."
he never has to doubt that notion.
love is all he will ever feel in y/n's presence,
even left in her wake.
it covers him entirely and warms him from the inside out.
it brings a glow to his skin,
a cheer to his smile,
a glimmer in his eyes.
today, though it was hard, brought the couple closer together than any other situation might have been able to.
so as jj drifts to sleep,
he silently pledges to repay the l/n family in any way possible.
but for now,
he'll gather the angelic girl in his arms and listen to the symphony of their steady breathing that acts as a lullaby for the boys busy brain.
a peaceful end to a chaotic day.
it is a wonder to see just what love can fix.