Ignored & Neglected - Outer Banks

Chapter 2: Tell me we're reckless, tell me we're alive.

A/N: I hope you enjoy this one, we're starting to take off now.
This is your chapterly reminder that fic writers run on comments and votes, and it's a sure fire way to get another chapter.
So pretty please, if you like it, let me know.
Lots of love to every single one of you, I adore you all.
L xx

That evening, there's a scuffle as the boys file out of dinner. JJ's walking with John B and Pope, their heads down, JJ smirking about something- looking like the cat that got the cream. Kiara's watching them leave- feeling that particular pang of jealousy- of how often she's not a part of their friendship group, for no reason other than the separation of genders. Just as they're about to pass her table, where she's squished at the edge of the wooden bench, John B murmurs something to JJ so quickly Kiara wouldn't have caught the moment if she hadn't already been watching the boys.

As it happens, she does catch it, which is why what happens next surprises her so much.

In the time it takes JJ to take his next step, John B has turned on a penny and clocked Pope with his fist. Before anyone knows what's happened, Pope and John B are rolling on the floor of the dining hall, John B holding Pope in a headlock while Pope struggles against him.

Kiara jumps to her feet immediately, horrified. "John B! John B what the hell get off him!" She yells, running forward.

She's not the only one who has stood up, nearly the whole dining hall are on their feet, trying to see the fight, to understand what's happened.

Kiara's just ducking past the rest of the A unit boys when her elbow gets hooked, and she's hauled back from the fight. She turns, ready to give whoever's got her by the crook of her elbow an earful, when she realises it's JJ. The hand on her arm stills her, but she still manages to spit out a "What the fuck JJ, he's gonna hurt him!"

JJ smiles, a small, amused thing that pops the dimple in his cheek. Kiara looks at him, fuming. She hates when she feels patronised, and she hates it even more when it's JJ. Smug bastard, she thinks. Instead JJ just says quite simply, "I think he'll be fine."

He takes a quick look around, and Kiara uses the opportunity to take stock of whatever the fuck is going on. Teachers have converged on the two fighting boys, and the whole dining hall's attention is focused solely on John B and Pope, who have now been pulled apart and are being held back by two of the burlier male teachers at the school.

John B's face is filled with anger, and he's straining at the hold on his arms. Pope, seemingly just as angry, yells at him, goading him from across the dining hall. "Come on man! Let's do this! Come on!" He yells. Kiara can't shake the shock at watching the two of them direct such anger towards each other. Not when they've been friends since fifth grade.

She turns back to JJ, pure confusion written directly across her face. JJ dips in slightly, and Kiara feels a brush against her hip, and whispered words. "Just check your pocket. They're fine." He says, and then he slips back into the group of A Unit boys.

Kiara stands, dumb with confusion, as John B and Pope are forced out of the dining hall, Dicko's face like stone as he watches them go. The second the boys are outside, Kiara sees them go slack, as though it was all pretence. Which- it was. Fuck those boys, she thinks. What the fuck were they thinking? Do they honestly think this shit is funny? If they get suspended- she'll kill them.

She's eager to reach into her pocket, to find whatever JJ's left there, but she's not stupid. Their interaction – no matter how innocent, would be grounds for suspension as well. Every single one of the Pogues had potential to be facing suspension right now, and Kiara, unlike John B and Pope, was not going to let herself be caught. Still, knowing something's there in her pocket makes her smile, knowing her friends think of her, work tirelessly to include her even when there's so many rules keeping her apart – it makes her smile.