TW: MANIPULATION!
Maisie came home after a long night at the keg party. By the time she got there, her hair was falling out of her ponytail, her clothes were wrinkled, and her lipstick was smudged. She had her reasons; one of them being that she made out with Zachary.
In a random beach house.
Before finding out he was just a horny boy, constantly seeking female attention. It was a shame, their make out session could've turned into something more if he wasn't like that.
Whenever Maisie's dad wasn't home, she couldn't figure out whether to feel annoyed, or relieved. If he wasn't sat down in their house, drinking his life away or passing out on the couch, he would probably be at the bar, still drinking.
She noticed, scanning the room, that there was a small, plastic bag laying on the coffee table. Maisie was hesitant at first, but eventually decided to pick it up into her hands. Coke. Her dad had apparently taken a new leaf, and it was not drinking, like she thought.
"Fucking bastard." the girl mumbled under her breath, frustration clear in her eyes, as she chucked the bag back on the table.
She then took herself upstairs, and slammed the door as hard as she could. Fortunately, she was alone, so the only people who could complain about that, was her neighbours. But they didn't care about shit anyway.
Maisie couldn't sleep the entire night. She never could in that house. There was always this ball of anxiety travelling through her body, hoping and praying that her dad would not come home. The very few times he had come home drunk, late at night, he'd yell and yell at her until he grew tired.
Anthony wouldn't do that because he missed her mother, his wife, and the fact that Maisie was practically identical to her. It was because they were both stubborn, and weren't ever afraid to speak their mind.
As soon as the sun rose, Maisie jumped out of her bed, still wearing the same clothes from last night. They were comfortable would be her excuse if you asked.
Ring! Her phone sounded from the bedside table, making her groan and drop her head back. As if the poor girl's headache couldn't get any worse.
She could barely keep her eyes open, yawning as she gripped the phone beside her ear. "Hm?" she mumbled to the unknown number.
"Maisie?"
Her eyes widened — she recognised that voice. It was naturally low, but also calming to listen to. Zachary. The boy who she had regretfully ditched, after making out with him for half an hour.
Maisie furrowed her eyebrows, "It's me...how did you get my number, Zach?" she questioned, genuinely curious. In her defence, most of last night was non-existent in her head, because of the drinks and weed she had.
She heard him chuckle, "You gave it."
"Oh?" Maisie tilted her head in thought.
"I just wanted to ask, how are you feeling? You kind of ranted to me yesterday." he spoke, before clearing a lump that was forming in his throat.
He actually wanted to know how she was feeling? After she left him with no explanation?
"I'm okay, thanks." the girl told him, nodding her head as if he was there to see.
It then became silent.
She hated silence, with all her heart. You could literally hear a pin drop, the only sound she could detect through the phone was his heavy breath. They weren't as awkward as this the other night, which only made her more confused.
But then, laughter. Laughter began to echo beside her ear, sending shivers down her spine. His laugh was different to what she had heard before, it was smug, and you could hear the grin on his face.
"What?" she pondered, and when he didn't respond, she repeated herself, "What?!" her voice raised in annoyance.
"Check what I just sent you."
Part of her felt nauseous hearing his voice after so long, but the rest of her was just terrified to see what he was referring to. She swiped up from the call, and her eyes were suddenly met with a video he had just sent. Deep down Maisie knew she shouldn't look at it, but she still did.
Her shaky thumb pressed down on the play button, and all she could see at first was a section of the beach house he and Maisie had went inside. Then, it escalated. She began to hear the sounds of her very own giggles, and the sounds of lips joining together in passionate kisses.
She just knew.
Her heart sunk to her stomach.
As much as she cringed watching the video, she wanted to finish it. She needed to see more.
It was now her, on his lap, whilst he kissed her neck. Her moans, her urge for him ringing through the phone like a reminder. Maisie drew her lip between her teeth, scrunching her nose as she listened to her drunk self.
"Please, I'll do anything."
"Fuck, you taste so good."
"I need you."
She couldn't even believe those words left her mouth. Her eyes were widened, and the thought of telling him that again made her stomach churn. In the video, he seemed as though he wasn't saying much, just grinning. But in reality, from what Maisie could remember, he was praising her. Acting all needy for her.
Yet, there was no proof of that.
He had done this on purpose. Making her seem like a girl who was desperate for male attention. He literally muted the parts where he spoke.
Thank god, she never went as far as having sex with him. It would've been even worse.
"Watch it?" his voice made her jump, it was so unexpected, and her focus was completely on the video. Who could blame her?
She exhaled shakily, "You — You're a creep." Maisie stammered, fiddling with her rings. She had started doing it to help with her anxiety, but it wasn't working, at all.
"Me, a creep?" he scoffed, "You might wanna look at your recently tagged post and check the comments." were his last words, before Maisie couldn't take it anymore. She hung up.
The Kay girl stayed standing, just staring at her door in silence. She couldn't figure out what to do with herself, she was so flabbergasted. No matter how many distractions she tried herself, they wouldn't work like they usually did.
That was why, she just left. She left her house, looking like a total mess. All so she could rush to the chateau, and allow them to distract her. She felt like she was over-reacting, it was just a video. It'd probably get forgotten about in a week.
Maisie trudged into the house, able to just walk in without a key because John B always left the door unlocked. She didn't expect anyone to be there, after all most of them were probably working. She, herself, should've been doing that, but the thought of listening to loud kids pained her.
But someone was there.
From the kitchen, Maisie could hear a certain person scrambling through the drawers.
"Hey?" she croaked out, dropping her bag on the couch.
"Mais?" the voice called back, and she immediately knew who it was. It was JJ Maybank. She went to respond, but he had leaned himself against the door frame of the kitchen. A bow of cereal clutched in his hand full of rings.
"'Sup?" he asked, raising one eyebrow as he dragged a spoon to his mouth.
Maisie could barely focus. He was shirtless, only wearing his boxers, and the biceps on his arms were so clear as he held the bowl. On the other hand, she had dry tears down her cheek, her shirt was barely on, and her hair just hung over her shoulders, no longer in a ponytail.
"I—I—" she tried her best to refrain from staring down at his body, but it only made him more concerned, setting his bowl down on the kitchen counter.
"Seriously, are you good?" the blond questioned, his voice softening into a more serious, but kind tone as he stared down his best friend.
"Just w-watch this..." she stammered, stepping closer to him to he had a good view of her screen, turning her phone to face him. It was of course, Zachary's recent instagram post. The video.
Unfortunately, for JJ to see why she was on the verge of sobbing her heart out, he needed to watch it. By the shaking of her hands, it was obvious she couldn't handle listening to the audio very well.
The moaning, the desperation, the—
"Oh god." JJ held his hand over his mouth, wincing at every change of movement, "And he filmed this — himself?" he questioned her.
Maisie took in a deep breath, tears clouding her vision again as she nodded. She couldn't even believe herself, how could she be so stupid?
JJ's eyes travelled away from the phone, and back to her face, sympathy written all over his own. He looked as though he was about to say something to her, but no. Instead, he pulled her into his strong arms, startling the girl a little bit.
However, his familiar scent drifted into her nose, and she couldn't help but melt into his touch.
"He's a prick. He'll get his karma." JJ told her, his hand rubbing against the small of her back. He knew how to give good hugs, that's for sure.
Maisie chuckled lightly, "I hope so." she said into his chest, wiping her nose so she wouldn't dampen his shirt with the left overs of her sadness. "But I also hope people don't see me differently."
"If they do, they're also pricks."
She nodded, her eyes fluttering shut.
Meanwhile, JJ was clenching his jaw, his free hand balling into a fist as he thought of that boy. He had hurt his best friend, badly. And JJ wasn't just gonna sit back and allow it to happen.
He pulled back from her, keeping a soft hold on her forearms, "Do you wanna surf?" he queried.
Oh, the blond was so thoughtful, Maisie would've cried even more if she didn't hold back.
"Of course!" her lips quirked up, forming a smile, as she met his beautiful eyes. They were like a map — easy to get lost in.
He looked back, behind his long, beautiful eyelashes. They weren't fuck me eyes, they were mesmerised eyes. The girl in front of him had tears streaming down her face, as well as some mascara, yet he was still in absolute awe.
Unfortunately, she turned away to grab her bag from the couch, snapping him out of his trance. His trance that felt like a dream. His dream.
"Alright!" Maisie exclaimed, practically skipping towards the door, "Ready?"
He scowled, shaking his head, "Unless you want me to leave in my boxers, I am not ready at all." JJ made clear, tucking the spoon, filled with lucky charms, into his mouth.
"Whatever." Maisie rolled her eyes, dragging out the last letter.