BABYDOLL // JJ Outer Banks

thirty-six

the warm north carolina air carried with it the same salty aroma it always did, gently blowing against the exposed skin of anyone it encountered. along the shoreline, small children were giggling as the afternoon tide splashed against their shins, collecting the tiny shells that the waves had washed up. a young girl was sitting by herself in the hot sand, an old doll clutched tightly in her chubby fingers as she played.

"your doll is ugly," a small voice spoke, causing the girl to stop her playing. she turned to the source of the voice, a little boy, about her age, with tousled blonde hair and reckless ocean-blue eyes.

she huffed, crossing her arms indignantly. "you're ugly!"

the blonde's mouth fell agape at her words. "am not!"

"that's something an ugly person would say."

"no, it's not!" tears began to pool in the boy's eyes. "i'm telling!"

the girl's eyes widened in fear as she jumped up to clamp a hand over the boy's mouth. "no! you can't tell!"

in a silly ploy to get her to remove her hand, the boy then proceeded to bite her thumb, causing a shrill squeal to erupt from the girl's lips.

"you bit me!"

"so?"

"i'm telling!"

"oh, don't be a baby!"

"i am not a baby!"

"are too!"

"am not!"

"yes, you are," the blonde stated firmly. the small smirk gracing his lips soon fell when he noticed the girl's bottom lip had begun to quiver. "i'm sorry! please don't cry!" he pleaded, using his stubby arms to sweep her into a hug. once her sniffled subsided, he pulled away. her rich brown eyes glistened with sadness and a few strands of chestnut brown hair clung to her damp cheeks.

"promise you won't tell anyone you saw me cry," she whispered shyly, staring down at her bare toes.

"why?"

"because crying is for babies."

"okay, babydoll, i promise," he said as he crouched down to sit in the sand.

the brunette scrunched up her nose and she moved to sit beside him. "don't call me that."

"why?"

"because you said the doll is ugly," she pouted, "and it's not my name."

"what's your name?"

"hannah."

"hannah," he spoke slowly, testing the way it felt on his tongue. "i'm going to call you babydoll anyway," he grinned cheekily, the baby chub on his cheeks puffing out as he did so. "i'm jj."

the two played until the sun disappeared behind the horizon, allowing the elegant moon to take its place among the stars. as they made their way back to their mothers, jj turned to the girl.

"hey, babydoll?"

"yeah?"

"i lied," he said softly. "i think your doll is beautiful, just like you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

a young pope was sitting quietly in his room surrounded by piles of schoolwork and books from the local library. even in fifth grade, he knew the importance of studying hard and getting a good education. a sharp knock on the front door disrupted his focus, forcing him to abandon his work to go answer it. swinging open the door, pope was met with a blushing jj standing awkwardly on the tattered 'welcome' mat.