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THE AFTERMATH OF Midsummers still lingered in the back of Nova Van Kirk's mind. Even when she slipped into more comfortable clothing and rested her head against her soft pillow, Nova tossed and turned all through the night, the girl thinking about the events that had unfolded through the night. She dwelled on each waking moment that occurred, the bittersweet memory leaving an indentation in the back of her mind, which caused for the blonde to smile to herself whilst she stared up at her bedroom ceiling because unlike half of the pain riddled memories that haunted the teenage girl, last nights events were filled with happiness and joy.
And the reason behind all that happiness was from the last person she thought it would ever come from — JJ Maybank.
Nova wasn't afraid to admit that Midsummers was an absolute hellscape until the Maybank boy showed up and whisked Nova off her feet, giving the girl a moment of peace during the hellish event she was forced to endure by her parents. It was almost like JJ allowed Nova to be herself in a sea of people who expected more from her — who expected the young sixteen year old girl to be somebody she wasn't just to feed into their own satisfaction. Nova hated every second of it.
But dancing in the arms of JJ Maybank made Nova feel safe in a room full of people that didn't understand her and never cared too. JJ always seemed to understand how she felt and connected with her in ways Nova didn't think were possible, and deep down, Nova always knew they had a connection, which was why she pushed the boy away all those months ago. But now, Nova didn't want to push him away. She wanted to hold JJ close and never let go again because it wasn't every day you find someone worth holding onto.
And even though the night didn't end in the way Nova wanted it to, knowing that the last thing she ever wanted was for Rafe to creep up on her when she least expected it and nearly forced her to relapse when he knew she was trying to get sober, Nova still went home with a smile on her face. Even after hours had passed since her departure from the party, Nova couldn't shake off the joy JJ gave her, the boy being the subject of her every thought.
The circumstances made it impossible to forget, especially after Nova's parents lectured her for a good hour the next morning. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Ethan and Allison Van Kirk were seriously displeased with their daughter's reckless behaviour as the party the night before. They had blatantly told her to keep quiet and she still deliberately disobeyed their instructions. They knew Nova had a good heart and was compassionate beyond comprehension, but they wished she would just listen to them for once in her life.
Now that didn't mean they agreed with how the security guard handled the situation. They felt sympathy for the Pogues themselves, but having their daughter raise her voice and defend a teenage delinquent who was trespassing on private property left many of the other guests scowling at the Van Kirk's, thus embarrassing their family name since Pogues weren't favoured amongst the Kooks. Ethan and Allison Van Kirk knew it would be a night many would complain about at the country club until they got bored and moved onto the next minor inconvenience.
