BABYDOLL // JJ Outer Banks

twenty-four

jj looked down at his feet as his father glared daggers at him.

"you his guardian?"

"sorry to say, i'm his father," luke grumbled.

"well, hearing will be in two weeks. if you fail to show up, you will forfeit your bail. the restitution will be based on the average of three outside estimates of the cost of the damaged article."

"restitution?" luke questioned.

"pay for what he broke. it's part of the plea." jj looked up to see his father's gaze boring holes into him and promptly redirected his eyes to the floor. "sight right here, please."

luke quickly scrawled out his signature before turning to jj. "let's go. go, now!"

jj didn't hesitate to start walking as they made their way to his father's beat up van.

"i wonder what restitution's gonna be on a 2019 malibu."

jj stuffed his hands in his pockets. "i'll pay it off. all of it. i swear, dad."

"shit, 30k?" luke scoffed. "when you gonna clear that, big guy, when all you do is smoke weed and hang out on the south side?"

jj didn't answer.

"huh?" luke sneered. "get in the car."

jj slowly got in before facing his dad. "dad, i swear-" jj was cut off as luke sent his fist into the boy's face, causing blood to splatter against the window.

"thirty thousand dollars!" luke screamed as he continued to bash jj's head against the car door. "do you know what you did to me?"

jj lost all will to fight. instead, he sat there and let his father's bloody fists assault his body, waiting for the pain to finally go away.

...

after jj had been taken away in the cop car, hannah had left soon after. she knew from her occasional experiences with the police that they would only release him into the hands of his guardian, which, unfortunately, was luke.

she'd been sitting under jj's bedroom window for maybe four hours— she'd lost all concept of time once the first hour had passed— when she heard a car pull up in front of the house. hannah stood up, steadying herself against the wall when she felt her legs wobble from lack of use. not twenty second later, she heard a door slam shut and rock music begin blaring from the house.

"how you gonna get that money back? huh?" hannah grimaced at the sound of luke's yelling. she hesitantly pulled herself up to glimpse inside, watching as jj gripped his head and paced back and forth. "by sitting around doing nothing? i'm gonna tell you right now, you are a worthless piece of shit!" hannah felt her anger levels spike at luke's words. that fucking heartless, soul-sucking asshole.

"shut up!" jj screamed.

"your mama knew."

jj slammed his fist into the door. "shut up!"

"you tell me where you're gonna get 30 grand now! get your ass in here!"

unshed tears threatened to fall and jj's breathing picked up. suddenly, a light tapping on his window caused him to jump, spinning around to be met with hannah's face peaking shyly through the glass. jj let out a small sigh of relief as he opened it to let her in.

hannah went to speak, but was cut off by jj engulfing her in a hug and sobbing into her shoulder. the brunette felt her heart break as she listened to him break down. jj rarely let himself be so vulnerable in front of someone. he'd always kept up this facade that nothing ever bothered him, but it was only a matter of time before his walls fell.

"he's right," jj cried, "i'm nothing but a waste of space. i've got nothing to live for. you deserve better than-"

jj never got a chance to finish, because before either of the two knew what was happening, hannah's lips were on his. just when jj was about to respond to the kiss, hannah drew back, an evident blush coating her cheeks.

"i-i'm sorry, i shouldn't have-"

a bright grin lit up jj's face as he cupped her cheeks and brought her in for another kiss. she eagerly responded with the same fervor, their lips moving hungrily against each other's. jj tried to remember everything about this moment. her lips are so soft. his hands settled on her hips, the pads of his thumbs caressing the exposed skin on her sides. she tastes like strawberries and spearmint gum. jj smiled against her lips when he felt her breathing hitch at the contact. everywhere she touches feels like fire. jj began trailing his lips down the side of her neck, occasionally stopping to suck gently, as though he were testing the waters. she moaned when he nipped the area where her neck met her collarbone. her moan is my new favorite sound. jj slowly made is way back to her mouth, giving her one last kiss before pulling away. the two stood there, soft pants escaping their lips, as they stared at each other.

"fuck," jj sighed happily, "i've been wanting to do that forever."

hannah bit her lip, trying to suppress her grin. "yeah, me too."

"no, seriously. i've wanted to do that since we were like ten."

hannah looked at him in awe and tenderly placed her lips on his. she replayed his words in her head, causing her to smile into the kiss.

"jay?" hannah said, pulling back.

"yeah?"

"you're dad's wrong."

jj gave her a confused look, causing her to sigh.

"you're not worthless. you're strong and caring and kind and, honestly, the best thing that's ever happened to me. whenever i stop believing in myself, you're always the first one to help me find my footing in life again. you're the one who takes care of me when i'm hurt and cheers me up when i'm sad. without you, i'd have lost myself a long time ago. fuck, you mean everything to me. you're the not worthless, jay, you're the most important person in my life."

jj hadn't realized he was crying until hannah raised her hand to brush the tears off his face. "i love you," he whispered.

"what?"

"i said i love you. and you don't have to say it back, but i need you to know. i've loved you since we were five and you stole my jello cup for knocking over your block tower in kindergarten. from that point on, everything's been about you. when i see something funny, my immediate instinct is to tell you. when someone says something stupid, the first thing on my mind is 'what would hannah say?' you're the reason i get up in the morning and the reason i manage to smile despite the bullshit life throws at me. you make me want to be the best version of myself, and i'm happiest when i'm with you."

"you dummy," hannah whispered, tears pricking her eyes, "i love you, too."

jj let out a small laugh of disbelief as he wrapped his arms around the gorgeous girl in front of him. jj buried his face in her neck, happy tears rolling down his cheeks.

"you make me feel like i'm home."

fuck i hope you guys think this is as cute as i did.