Outer Banks | Oneshots & Imagines

♡"Can't you just sleep on the couch?"♡

"Can't you just sleep on the couch?"
↳ fluff
≫JJ Imagine

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It's been almost two years since I've realized that I had feelings for JJ. I've never said anything about it, and I don't intend to in the near future because of how much I value our friendship. I can't risk losing him on a bet with my feelings, he means too much to me for me to just let that happen.

I've tried confessing before, and it took me a long time to build up the courage, but all that came crashing down the second I heard him talking to the other Pogues about the no "Pogue on Pogue mackin'" rule. How was I supposed to confess my feelings to him after hearing him blatantly say there could never be anything between us.

But now things keep escalating and I can't control the feelings I have towards JJ. It's like they grow stronger each passing day.

So I decided today was finally the day I'd say something about my feelings, there's nothing at stake here except a friendship I love and don't want to lose. All the nervousness that has been building up for the past two years was very prominent today and I wanted to back out of it, but I could never forgive myself if I just kept quiet.

And it's not like the other Pogues don't know about it. I told Kiara all about it and she encouraged me to tell JJ. And I think Pope realizes that something's been going on because he's a very observant guy. I'm not too sure about John B, though.

Whenever I see JJ, I zone out and it feels like I'm on a whole other world. He makes me feel things I haven't felt with anyone else before and I trust him. We've also been through a lot together, especially with dealing with his dad. When I see him, I forget about all my other problems and I want to be happy with him.

I haven't really been able to determine anything on whether JJ reciprocates my feelings, but even though I'm scared, I want to find out once and for all. I love him, and it's only going to hurt me if I don't say anything to him.

The fear of rejection and getting hurt still linger, I tried very hard to bury these doubts deep.

Just as I am about to text JJ, there's a knock on my door. Currently, my parents are out of town visiting some family off-island.

That's weird, I wasn't really expecting anyone.

I hop down the stairs and open the door. Although we lived in the cut, our neighborhood was considered a lot safer compared to other Pogue neighborhoods.

A very tired JJ appears in my view as the door opens. I look at him both confused and concerned.

"Hey, are you alright?" I ask trying to get a closer look at him.

He looks at me frowning and shrugs. "Can I come in?"

I move aside and allow him to walk inside. Once he's in, I shut the door closed and turn on a lamp.

His eyes are puffy and he looks down. "Do you want to talk over some chocolate milk?"

He simply nods and we walk into the kitchen. Occurrences like this weren't rare, in fact, JJ comes over so often that my parents aren't even surprised when he's in our house. They're so used to him coming over and are fine with it.

I hand JJ a glass of chocolate milk and look up at him. I hesitantly put my hand over his.

"J, what happened?" I ask carefully observing him.

He stares at me and I can see the tears building up in his eyes, threatening to spill again. "It's my dad."

I frown, his dad was usually always the reason why he became this way. "Did he hurt you again?" He stays silent. "Do you need me to clean you up?"

He shakes his head. "He punched me a few times, but this time he yelled at me more than usual. He was angry, blaming me for all our problems and saying that if it weren't for me my mom would still be with him." His voice cracks as he ends his sentence.

I squeeze his hand and pull him into a hug. "JJ, it's not your fault," I quietly say. "I'm so sorry you have to deal with this, you don't deserve it."

He huffs and lightly shrugs me off. He frowns once more looking down at his glass of chocolate milk. "I don't need you to pity me (N/N)."

I turn his head to face me. "Are you kidding me?" I give him a small smile. "I would never pity you JJ. You're the strongest person I know."

He lightly smiles. "You're a great friend, I don't deserve you."

My smile falters, but I force a chuckle. "You're completely right, you don't deserve me, but I'm still gonna be here for you. Anytime you need me to be, I mean it J." He smiles at me warmly. We sit in silence for a few moments. "So, is safe to assume you'll be spending the night?"

"Yeah," he nods. "And besides, your bed is more comfortable."

I snort. "Can't you just sleep on the couch?"

He pouts. "Nope. Come on, finish your chocolate milk faster." He gulps the last drops of his chocolate milk and sighs.

|••••••••••|

"Is there something I did wrong (Y/N)?" JJ asks in the darkness as the two of us lay in my bed.

I turn to my side facing him. "What do you mean?"

Why does he think he's done something wrong?

I shift myself closer to him. "Is this because of what your dad said?" I inquire.

He pauses, hesitating a bit. "No," he affirms. "It's just that lately you've been feeling distant."

He wasn't wrong, recently I've tried very hard to not get caught with him where it would just be the two of us. I'm too scared that something might slip out and our friendship will be ruined. But that only caused my feelings to grow stronger.

I shake my head. "It's not you JJ."

"Then what's going on?"

I hug my pillow and sigh. "I'm a mess."

He puts his arm around my figure which is hugging my pillow and lying down in a fetal position. "You know you can tell me anything, right?"

I sadly chuckle. "Some things I can't bring myself to tell you." A brief silence blankets over us. "JJ, I love you, and no matter how hard I try to forget about you or distance myself, I can't stop myself. I love you so much and I'm so sorry if I just ruined our friendship."

He smiles and hugs me and kisses my forehead. "You could never ruin anything between us. I love you too, so much."

I look up at him with teary eyes. "You do? I thought for sure you were going to reject me."

He chuckles. "Why would you think that?"

"Because of our no 'Pogue on Pogue mackin" rule."

He hovers over me and plants a sweet kiss on my lips. "That rule is stupid and we all know it. I can't believe that rule almost made you not say anything."

I nuzzle my head in his chest. "I know, I love you J."

He pulls me closer. "I love you (N/N). I bet you're pretty damn happy I didn't sleep on the couch."

I grin. "You're totally right."