after the kegger, pope agreed to bring john b home on his way back to his own house while the twins went back to their house with jj. by the time the girls get to their front door, it's three a.m. so they have to sneak back in. thankfully, kelsie's balcony isn't too much of a climb with the help of jj's shoulders. kelsie climbs over the railing and creeps into her room and back downstairs to open the door for kie and jj.
"i'm exhausted so i'm going to bed. night." whispers kie trailing up the stairs. "goodnight." replies the pair laying on the living room couch together, "are you tired?" questions kelsie as she plays with the boy's blonde hair, "not really. i'm more hungry than anything."
"me too. how about we do what we used to whenever you'd sneak in." asks kelsie putting her chin on the boy's head, "you mean pop some popcorn and stargaze?" asks jj turning to face the girl behind him. "of course." smiles kelsie brightly. the boy returns the smile and gets up from the couch grabbing kelsie's hand in the process and pulling her into the kitchen.
jj turns on the stove while kelsie searches the cabinets for popcorn. the popcorn is in the very back of one of the middle shelves and kelsie struggles to reach it, "need some help?" laughs jj at the sight of her struggle. "no i can do it." spits kelsie attempting to climb on the counter.
"i'm sure you can." speaks the blonde grabbing the popcorn container from the cabinet and placing it on the burner. kelsie turns and sits on the counter in defeat, "i could have gotten it." whispers the girl crossing her arms. jj wraps his arms around the girl in a tight hug, "you know you can pretend to be mad at me but you can never stay mad at me."
"shush." whispers the girl wrapping her arms around the boy's torso. the popping sound of popcorn begins to flood the kitchen. "come here." speaks jj turning around and bending over slightly for kelsie to get on his back. kels follows the boys gesture and gets on his back wrapping her arms around the boy's neck. jj grabs the towel off the oven handle and begins to shake the popcorn.
the container starts to enlarge and the popping sound grows louder before stopping, "go to the cabinet next to the fridge and on the top shelf theres a big bowl." speaks kelsie pointing. jj nods and grabs the bowl and puts the popcorn inside. kelsie starts to get off his back but jj stops her. "i can carry you up the stairs."
"i don't think that's safe maybank." debates kelsie a little nervous. "you're always safe with me." replies the blonde as he turns off the downstairs lights before quietly walking up the stairs. they reach kelsie's room and jj puts the girl down on her bed handing her the popcorn bowl. "i wanna change really quick it's cold outside." speaks kels.
"alright come outside when you're done." replies jj closing the door to kelsie's balcony behind him. kelsie smiles to herself. jj doesn't need to be asked to go into another room or turn around when she changes. he always just does that without ask and kelsie loves that about him. most people wouldn't think about jj ever being a gentleman but he is one especially around kelsie. ever since they met, he opens doors for her, helps her out of boats, and helps her get things she can't reach. that's one of the many things kelsie adores about the boy and it has never changed.
kelsie returns from her daydream and begins to change into a sweatshirt and shorts. then she walks into her bathroom and wipes off the remaining makeup from her face. the girl walks back into her room, grabs the popcorn from her bed and opens the door to outside. jj turns his head and smiles at the girl opening his arms for her. kelsie puts down the popcorn and lays down on the lawn chair with the boy, snuggling into his chest and admiring the sky.
"i missed this." speaks jj quietly into the oblivion of the sky, "do you ever miss your life before school?" asks jj softly before putting a piece of popcorn in his mouth. kelsie shifts slightly at the question, "every second of everyday. but school kinda helped me realize that there's so much more of the world. and now i almost feel trapped." replies kelsie quietly.
"trapped? what do you mean?" asks the boy. "i feel like my life is suffocating me. i mean i love the outer banks and being with you and the pogues but it's just not meant for me. like the whole pogues versus kooks thing." speaks the girl, her voice breaking and tears threatening to slip.
"then why don't we leave?" asks jj combing his fingers through the brunette's hair. kelsie sits up slightly to look at jj and sniffles, "what do you mean leave?" questions the girl barely audible.
"yucatan. you and me. beautiful oceans. constant surfing waves. living off lobster, crab, and your garden. we'll travel the world until we settle down. then we get a big house on the beach. we'll get a dog and a cat. we'll have two kids. a boy and a girl. we can teach them to surf, they grow up happy, and they get married then we have grandkids and we grow old together still watching the stars every night."
kelsie begins to sob into the boys chest and he strokes her hair comfortingly, "why are you crying kels?" asks the boy confused. "because that's exactly the life i want." speaks the girl through her tears, "then that's the life we'll have angel." speaks the boy kissing her head.
"jj?"
"yeah kels?"
"do you really want that with me?" asks the girl staring up at the north star, "as long as the north star stays still. i mean, you're my bestfriend kelsie and i wouldn't wanna live the rest of my life with anyone else. and i know you don't want anything serious anytime soon but you're worth waiting for." kelsie smiles brightly at the boy and he returns the same bright smile. she snuggles into jj and in response he wraps his arms around the girl tightly while she shuts her eyes and drifts off to sleep.
jj notices the sleeping girl when her breath begins to steady. he picks her up bridal style and brings her inside tucking her into bed. he proceeds to pick up the mess of various pieces of popcorn on the balcony and grabs the nearly empty bowl and walks downstairs. as he puts the dish in the carrera's sink he hears footsteps and his stomach temporarily drops.
kiara emerges from the dark stairway, "leaving so soon?" smiles the girl. "nope. just cleanin up. thought you went to bed?" asks the boy cleaning the bowl, "i did but i woke up thirsty so i wanted some water and here you are. . . is kels asleep?" questions the sister. "yeah she fell asleep when we were outside so i brought her in and i wanted to clean up before i went to bed." speaks jj putting the clean bowl in the strainer.
"wow such a gentleman." laughs kie, "no but seriously. . . you're really good to her. i can tell you actually like her and jj maybank doesn't typically like anyone ever." jj stops in front of the stairs, "kelsie is just anyone. she's kelsie. night kie." speaks the blonde before walking upstairs to kelsie's room.
the boy slips off his shirt and gets into bed beside the sleeping girl wrapping his arm around her. "night beautiful." is all the boy says before closing his eyes and falling asleep.
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