Sea You Soon // An Outer Banks Fanfiction

10- I Couldn't Help

When I crested the hill, I heard shouting coming from my front yard. At first, I figured it was probably just JJ in the hot tub with Pope and Kie, but after listening for a moment longer, I realized that the yelling wasn't friendly in any way. Concerned, I started jogging toward the house. As I got closer, I recognized the two figures rolling around on the grass. It was JJ and Topper. JJ was on top at this point, and he was repeatedly punching Topper in the face. Blood was spurting everywhere.

I broke out into a full sprint. "What the hell is going on?" I shouted. I ran behind JJ and attempted to pull him off of Topper. "What the fuck is wrong with you guys?" I was starting to get panicky because Topper was becoming unresponsive. 

JJ kept hitting Topper as he growled, "Paisley, this doesn't concern you. Go inside. Right now."

"JJ, get off of him. You're literally going to kill him," I was completely freaking out at this point. 

Topper received a surge of strength out of nowhere, and he shoved JJ off of him, knocking him on his back. JJ let out a groan. Topper turned to me and said, "This little shit still hasn't paid back the restitution money for my boat."

"And that warrants you coming here to beat him? He can't pay back the money until he has the 25,000 in full, and he still has three months to take care of it. We're working on getting the money."

Topper took a couple of steps toward me, looking me dead in the eyes. "None of this concerns you, you little bitch. Why don't you mind your own fucking business and get inside?"

JJ jumped up from the ground and pushed Topper's chest, almost making him lose his balance. "Don't you dare talk to her like that. Who the hell do you think you are? Get your ass out of here. We're done."

"Oh, you want me to leave, you filthy Pogue? How are you going to make me? Are you going to pull a gun on me again, like you did last summer?"

"Topper," JJ snarled, "Don't make me tell you again. Get the hell away from Paisley and me." JJ took a few steps toward him, making it clear that he wasn't afraid to start hitting him again.

Topper just held up his hands in surrender and headed toward his car. He looked awful. He was bleeding from both his mouth and his nose, and his eyes were both almost swollen shut. 

JJ looked bad as well, but it was clear who had won the fight. In the light coming from the porch, I could see that JJ's knuckles were covered in Topper's blood. He had a cut over his left eyebrow, and his nose was bleeding. The cut on his lip from when his dad had beaten him had reopened, and blood was running down his chin. 

I was at a loss for words. JJ started to tear up as what had just happened started to sink in. He and I both realized that if I hadn't shown up when I did, he very well could've killed Topper. I walked up to him and pulled him into a hug. JJ buried his head into my shoulder and let out a couple of sobs. I was surprised that he let his emotions take control of him like that. He normally acted like he was too tough to show any of his real feelings. I rubbed his back and whispered to him that everything was going to be okay. 

About ten minutes passed with JJ still wrapped in my arms. "Hey," I whispered, "Why don't we head inside and get you cleaned up?" I thought he would complain and get mad at me for "babying" him, but surprisingly he just followed me inside. I told him to sit down at the kitchen counter after he washed the blood off his hands, and I went to gather my supplies. 

I pulled another stool close to him and sat down. I took his face in my hands and started to closely examine the damage that Topper had done. I knew that he was probably going to be sore for the next few days. I wet a paper towel and started gently rubbing the blood away.

"Am I hurting you?" I asked.

"No, you're fine," JJ replied softly, placing the palm of his hand on my leg. 

Once I had cleaned off all of the blood from his face, I held JJ's chin in my hand and lightly traced my thumb over his bottom lip, seeing if the wound had stopped bleeding. Thankfully, it had. JJ removed my hand from his face, moving it to my lap and continuing to hold it. He looked straight into my eyes, and it seemed like he was about to say something to me. Instead, his lips crashed onto mine.

I was paralyzed for a moment, trying to process this sudden change in behavior. Without realizing what I was doing, I started kissing him back. A billion thoughts flooded my head.

After a minute or so, JJ pulled away and started talking a hundred miles an hour. "Oh shit, I really just did that, didn't I?" He started scratching the back of his neck. "I'm such a fucking idiot. I know that you and Braeden are together, and John B would literally kill me if he found out about this, and the rules. Holy shit, what about the rules? No Pogue-on-Pogue macking. And I probably just ruined our friendship, and you're never-"

I cut him off by kissing him back. I didn't really know what I was feeling right now, but all that mattered to me in this moment was JJ and me, sitting here on these stools in the middle of the kitchen in the house that we were staying in together, alone. JJ pulled back, looking shocked and confused.

I smiled and shook my head. "Braeden and I aren't together, just so you know." With that, I stood up and headed for my room. 

"You're just going to walk out on me? After all that?" I turned around to look at him. "Plus, what if I start randomly bleeding again in the middle of the night and I need you to help me clean up?"

"Just say it. You want me to stay in here with you tonight, don't you?"

"Wow, was it that obvious?" JJ asked, smirking.

I just walked over to him and pressed my lips to his again. I could get used to this.