𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚊 𝚋𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜 | 𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚜

stick n' poke

—

Excitement.

That's what Evelynn felt as she swung open the Antonio family's front door and ran towards the stairs.

She hardly noticed the married couple that was preparing breakfast, smiling softly at the sight of her.

"Good morning, Evelynn!"

"Morning!" She called back, not bothering to turn around as she dashed up the stairs and to the end of the hall.

She quietly, yet quickly, opened the door that her sleeping boyfriend was behind.

She took a second to admire him. Her brown eyes trailing over the the tattoo on his bare back before dropping the bag she held in her hand on his desk and walking to his bed.

Evelynn definitely could have let Luca sleep in, but she was far to energized to stop herself from jumping directly onto his back.

Luca groaned at the impact, putting an arm back to grasp her thigh, squeezing it in acknowledgement.

"Good morning, Lover." Evelynn smiles brightly.

Luca stretched his arms, rolling over so she was straddling his stomach instead, "Morning, Ev."

"How'd you sleep?"

"I was fine until you jumped on me." He joked, "Why are you here?"

Her smiled dropped, "Luca, do not—"

"I'm kidding!"

"That's not funny." She swatted his chest, gasping as he grasped her hand and pulled her so she was laying on his chest.

"Happy three years, Ev."

The girl smiled, "Happy three years, Luca."

He tightened his arms around her waist, hiding the smile on his face.

"I got you a present."

"Did you?" Luca hummed.

"I did." She pulled herself away from him to grab the gift bag she previously put on his desk.

"What is it?" The Antonio teen sat up. As he did this, his blanket fell to his lower stomach, giving Evelynn the opportunity to see the way his abs flexed with his movements.

She hummed to herself, raising a brow before she looked back to his face, "If I wanted you to see what it was then I wouldn't have put it in a bag."

Luca rolled his eyes playfully, reaching over to grab his own small bag from the side of his bed.

Without saying much, the couple swapped gifts.

Despite the pounding of his heart, Luca opened his bag with a straight face, not wanting to give Evelynn the allusion that he was jumping for joy.

That would just ruin his 'bad boy' image.

Evelynn, on the other hand, bounced with excitement as she pulled out a familiar looking skirt from the bag, smiling slight at the memory of them nearly dying while she refused to get on the ground. Under the skirt, was a framed picture of the two, one from their very first date, to their most recent.

Looking further, she reached down and pulled out a smaller box, gasping as she noticed a diamond necklace with her initial hanging from the chain.

"I thought we agreed on one gift?" She looked at him in confusion.

"Your birthday's in three days, Ev. Believe it or not, I don't think the pogues are going to be too happy that we're celebrating your birthday weeks after John B and Sarah died."

"Understandable." She nodded, "Thank you, Luca."

"Of course." He smiled a bit, pecking her lips as she sat up, "Now let's talk about this photo album."

•••

Kirsten stepped around the trash and muck that surround the Chateaû's yard.

She stepped on the porch, knocking softly on the door. She could hear a soft 'fuck' and a wince from inside before footsteps rushed to open the door.

"Hi."

"Hey." JJ breathed out, stepping back to let the girl in.

"I brought food." Kirsten placed the bag of shrimp and grits on a nearby table.

"Thank you." He kissed her cheek softly, sitting down next to her to continue his previous task.

"What are you doing?"

"Stick n' poke. Want one?"

She chuckled, looking down at the wonky P4L he tatted into the skin of his calf, "No, thanks. Hey, I talked to my parents about school."

"Yeah? What'd they say?" JJ listened carefully, despite not actually looking at her.

"Kie and I aren't going to Kook Academy this year." She watched him smile brightly,

"Really?"

"Really."

"This is a good thing!" JJ practically bounced in his seat, "We'll all be together, it's what John B would've wanted."

She stopped his gushing with a wince, "There is one thing, though."

His shoulders dropped, "What?"

"Ev's parents won't let her go to a 'Pogue School' and Luca refuses to leave her there alone."

The Maybank huffed, "That—" He cut himself off with a groan.

"Hey, that's okay. We're stronger in numbers. It's better if they stay together in one school then leave Ev by here self. None of us need to be alone right now." She reassured him.

"Okay, you're right."

"Of course I'm right." She smiled, the action making him struggle to hold back his own.

He pushed her face away gently, playfully rolling his eyes, "Whatever."