outer banks imagines

a little comfort ☼ jj

summary: your dad takes pity on your friend jj's living situation and lets him move in

word count: 4195

Life could really fucking suck sometimes. Bad things happened to good people and good things happened to bad people sometimes. Sometimes the world just didn't make sense. One of those things that just wasn't justified was JJ's father harming JJ. Knowing JJ, if you brought up this subject, JJ would lose it and shut down. That would only make things worse, so you had to be very careful how you dealt with those situations. Like any friend, you would be concerned, but your concern ran deeper than that. It came from how much you had fallen for him. That boy had protected you on multiple occasions and all you wanted to do was help protect him for once. When it came to the Pogues, JJ was ready to defend, protect or help any of you at anytime. Maybe you were the only one who saw the marks on him or maybe they knew but didn't want to actually think JJ was enduring that kind of abuse. Time and time again, you tried to warm JJ to maybe opening up about it, but you just couldn't get him to say anything besides mild jokes. Today was the day JJ took the fall for Pope. His bail cost his dad like thirty thousand dollars, so you knew how that was going to go. You begged your dad to front the money, promising he wouldn't be in trouble and you would help JJ pay him back, but your dad felt too skeptical on it. While you had the money as the Kooks, you had no desire to befriend them, which your dad respected, especially after you had told him what really happens with the Kooks. 

The whole day went by, and you didn't hear anything from him. If you went to his house, he would probably lose it, but sitting around made you more nervous. During the day, you went to John B's and stopped by The Wreck to talk to Kie and Pope, asking if they had heard anything from him. They hadn't. All of them were confused on why you looked on the verge of crying when you said no, but you rushed away before they could ask questions. Coming home with no word on JJ felt like the most heartbreaking defeat. Earlier, you dad told you him and your mom had some plans that night, so you'd be alone. After the crappy day, not being able to talk to your Dad about your worry made everything even worse. 

To try and pass time, you laid around, watching TV. Once you had finally given up on finding JJ, you settled into your bed and mindlessly watched a show. During the middle of the most intense scene, a soft knock was heard. No one usually came by to your house often, so this was completely odd. As you walked over into the living room, you could hear the knock louder now. Uneasily, you opened the door up slightly and were met with JJ standing at your door. Tears were welling up in his eyes.

"JJ?" you asked, opening up the door fully.

"I'm sorry.. I didn't know where else to go and you told me I could always come here and I just," he let out, in a rush.

"What happened?" you asked, opening the door up more, to let him in. Nervously, he looked in.

"Are your parents home?" he asked, nervously.

"No, come in," you said, softly, trying to pull him in gently.

"Will that piss them off? I don't want to be rude," JJ replied, biting on his lip, holding back the fear on his face.

"They'll understand. Please just come in JJ," you said, looking up at him with pity written all over your face. He nodded and slowly walked in. Once he stepped into the light, you saw it. The cut's all over his face. "JJ," you breathed, trying not to overstep. "What happened?" you asked, softly, slowly letting your hand go up to hover over the cut.

"y/n, I-" JJ started, but just stepped closer to you. "It happened," he croaked out, letting a few tears roll down his cheeks. You knew what he meant. Gently, you wrapped your arms around his back and pulled him towards your body. His normally wide, muscular body turned into a hunched mess.