Together

111. My girl's my girl

'Cause all I do is, jump
Right into your arms
Every time I see you, I just wrap myself around you, yeah
Jump into something real
Even through I'm cautious, I just like the way it feels, when it's us
Baby, when it's us
You make me forget I'm not ready for love, I jump
Oh, I jump
-Julia Michaels and Trippie Redd

December in the Outer Banks wasn't as cold as it was in the rest of the country, that was for sure. It was still a fairly tropical climate. Still, that didn't mean that it didn't have cold snaps that made your toes curl and body hunch over under a warm blanket.

That's the position Kiara is in when she wakes up. The morning light is beaming through her window, letting her know it's time to rise and shine. She just tightens the covers though, not wanting to leave the safety of her bed. It's not just the cold that she's trying to stave off however.

A solid knock at her door and Anna is ready to burst in. Kiara can hear the frustrated sigh on the other side when she realizes it's locked. JJ didn't stay over last night, but that didn't mean that she liked open door policies. Anna disagreed.

"Kiara, open this door." The statement was more an order than a suggestion.

Kiara wasn't certain of it, but part of her wondered if her mother was growing suspicious of how often JJ would stay over. Ever since Luke's arrest she's been particularly mindful of her daughter's interactions with him and her friends.

She groans, wrapping the comforter around her body as she gets up to unlock the door, but not open it. Anna bursts through, confirming suspicions of her being on to them when her eyes search for another body in the room. Kiara sits back on her bed, falling into the pillows and trying to find that comforting warmth.

"Yeah?" she asks, peeking one eye open as Anna continues to snoop with a careful eye over the belongings that Kiara's thrown everywhere.

"You need to clean your room," Anna states, hands coming to her hips.

"Yup," she responds, wondering why that required a demanding entrance. "That all?"

Anna blinks, coming back to the real reason she's in the room. "School," she states. "It's not out for winter break yet."

"Can't I just stay home with you," Kiara whines, exaggeratedly. "Only one more day, and you know it's only gonna be stupid Christmas movies, no actual learning."

Anna's face softens slightly, chuckling at the attempt. "Nice try."

Kiara grumbles, pushing off the covers. When Anna doesn't leave she raises her eye brow, questioningly. "Anything else?"

Anna purses her lips like she is thinking about her words, trying to figure out how to prevent this somewhat pleasant interaction from going negative faster than a drop of a hat.

"What?"

"I need you available this week for a Christmas party," she says.

"What?" she echos, causing Anna to tilt her head with annoyance.

"One of the newer families in Figure Eight is having a Christmas party," Anna re-explains. "You are going with us," she says, indicating that this is a family affair. And not optional.

Kiara gets a disgusted look on her face. She hated being dragged to stuffy holiday parties. Just a bunch of stuck up rich people with nothing better to do than invite their other stuck up rich friends over to gossip about other stuck up rich people that didn't show up. And Kiara is almost always alone when she is forced to go. And ever since Sarah's freshman year birthday, Kooks really don't favor her too much when it comes to parties.