Taste ≫ outer banks

13

hazel wished she had gotten more sleep, but her little sister came bouncing in her room at seven o'clock in the morning, begging john b to play with her. the boy didn't hesitate to get up and leave the room with the eight year old girl. hazel ran her fingers through her hair as she sat up and looked around her room. she was thankful that it was mostly clean because john b had stayed over the night before (or technically, that morning).

she decided to take a quick shower, washing her hair and body before she got dressed into a pretty sundress, one that she hadn't worn in a while. of course, as always, she had her bathing suit underneath because you never knew when you'd be in or on water in the outer banks.

she made her way down to the kitchen where her mother was making food. "morning," she yawned and her mother greeted her with a smile.

"you know," she began. "i don't mind you having john b over, but it would be nice to know that he was sleeping in your bed." she gave her a pointed, but joking look and hazel found herself blushing as she snatched a piece of bacon from the plate on the stove.

"what happened last night?" she asked, causing her mom to frown and get all serious.

"your father and i got in a fight." she stated the obvious. "i don't think things are looking good between us, if i'm being honest with you."

"i've never seen you guys fight." hazel stated. "i don't get it."

"you're never around, hazel." her mom sighed. "how did you even know we fought?"

"millie called me and left a voicemail." hazel explained. "i was worried, so i asked john b to come over with me and see what was up, then i asked him if he would stay instead of driving back home at three forty-five in the morning." her mom nodded in understanding and hazel pursed her lips. "mom, are you guys going to get divorced?"

"i don't know, sweetheart." her mom answered truthfully with a sigh. "i don't know."

"all i'm gonna say is: don't separate millie and i, please." she practically begged and her mom nodded, leaning over to press a kiss to her daughter's forehead.

"i would never do that, hazel." her mmom assured her. "never in a million years."

"speaking of the small small spawn of satan, i should go check on john b." hazel laughed before stealing another piece of bacon. she made her way towards millie's room and peeked in, spotting the boy sitting on millie's bed, surrounded by stuffed animals. a small giggle escaped hazel's lips as she entered the room and john b only rolled his eyes at her.

"we're her crowd and she's performing for us." john b explained and the girl nodded, sitting next to the boy as millie danced and sung along to one of her favorite songs playing from her little stereo.

"shush up! i'm performing here!" millie scolded before jumping right back into singing, quite terribly if hazel was being honest. she handed john b the piece of bacon and he thanked her, munching into it.

"turkey bacon?" he questioned and the girl nodded with a smile. "wow, it's amazing. i haven't had it in so long."

"it's my favorite." hazel stated. "it's definitely the best bacon around."

"i agree." john b smiled before pressing a kiss to hazel's lips quickly. millie was too into her performance to notice and hazel was thankful for that.

"let's get out of here." hazel giggled, grabbing john b's hand. "i'm stealing him away, millie. your performance was so good, it made us hungry." she smiled before dragging the boy out of the room, hearing the small protests coming from millie's mouth.

they made their way to the kitchen and got more bacon, plus each of them plopped a couple chocolate chip pancakes on their plates. "thank you, mrs. wikander." john b smiled and the woman only returned it before slaving over the stove again. the two sixteen year olds found seats at the dining room table and started to eat. millie soon joined with her own plate of food, taking the seat next to john b, of course.

the three of them ate quietly and when they finished they shoved their plates and forks in the dishwasher before john b decided it was time for him to go. he said his goodbyes to milie before hazel followed him out to his van.

"thank you for coming with me and staying last night." hazel smiled at the boy.

"it was really no problem." john b shrugged his shoulders. "i'd do anything for you and more." he brushed her hair away from her eyes as the wind whipped it around and he leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to her lips before he climbed in his car and drove off, waving to the girl in the process.

"bye, john b!" hazel shouted as he drove down the road. she made her way back inside and noticed millie with wide eyes.

"mom!" millie screamed, nearly breaking hazel's ear drums. "hazel has a boyfriend!"

"he's not my boyfriend!" hazel groaned, rubbing her temples as she made her way into the kitchen where millie stood, screaming at their mother.

"he kissed you!" millie continued to shout. "that means you're dating!"

"not always." hazel's mother muttered. she smiled at the sixteen year old, "but if you are dating him, i'm happy for you. he seems like a really great guy."

"he is." hazel smiled. "he really is."

she made her way to her room and laid on her bed, staring at the ceiling with a wide smile on her face. she was the happiest she had been in a long time and there was nothing in the world that could change that.

as she laid there, she thought about what was going to happen with her parents. what if they got divorced? would they both stay in figure eight or would one of them move away, causing the girls to decide who they wanted to live with. millie, technically, wasn't old enough to make that hard decision on her own, but hazel, however, was. would she want to stay with her mom or with her dad? she loved them both equally, so it was a hard decision she would have to consider. that was, if they actually were getting divorced.

she was quite upset over the fact that she hadn't been around for many of their fights and it made her wonder what she could have done to make things different. what if she could've stopped the fighting and avoided scaring millie or breaking things? she didn't know.

"hey, hazel?" millie asked as the little girl entered hazel's room. "can we go to the beach today?"

"sure." hazel smiled. "go get ready." millie squealed and made her way to her room to get ready, leaving the girl alone in her thoughts again.

hellooooo i posted
a jj maybank book!!!
you guys can continue
to give me ideas if you
have any because i plan
on writing a boyxboy john b
and jj book as well!