JJ's jaw clenched as he watched Iris glance at Tannyhill, only to see her meet eyes with Rafe.
"Fuck."
If Rafe was going anywhere near Tanny Valley, JJ was going to intervene. And if Iris was going anywhere near Tannyhill, he was going to intervene.
He waited and waited and waited.
But he saw nothing.
But she never came to find him, so why couldn't he come and find her, right? That would be his excuse.
He knocked on the door at Tanny Valley, gulping slightly as the door swung open and he saw Iris' dad standing there.
"Uh, hi sir, uh, Mr. Campbell-"
"Mr. Maybank, correct?"
He nodded, "Yes, uh, yes sir."
"You helped my daughter stay alive for all those weeks?"
"Well, we all helped each other.." he muttered.
"It doesn't matter, you still helped and for that, well, I thank you." Rich replied, offering his hand as JJ readily shook it, "I'll let Iris know you're here. Come in."
So Rafe wasn't here. That was good. JJ could breathe again.
"Alright, uh, uh, thank you."
Moments later Iris appeared infront of him, looking better than ever. She was probably incredibly happy to be home, whereas he wasn't.
"Hey." A small smile appeared on her face, but there was evident disappointment, it was now clear that she was expecting Rafe, "Sorry I didn't come find you. I've been uh, spending time with my parents."
"You were expecting Rafe, weren't you?"
She furrowed her brow, knowing she'd been caught, but how did he know Rafe was back?
"I, uh, well-"
"Kiara told me everything."
"Everything? I, uh, sorry, what?" She asked, slightly confused.
JJ sighed, "She overheard you and Sarah talking on the boat, Iris."
"Ohhhh." She paused briefly, thinking, "Oh!"
"Yeah, oh." JJ said as he looked away briefly, his hands moving up to his temples as he moved closer to her, "What the hell, Iris?"
"I need to apologize, JJ-"
"Why didn't you say that Rafe was there with you?"
"Because I knew everyone would react this way!"
"React this way?" He scoffed, "Or do you mean us just finding out about you and Rafe, hm?"
"JJ..."
"You don't have much to say now do you, Iris?" JJ muttered, locking eyes with her, "Just answer me this."
"Okay-"
"Did you really think those two days with him were the best of your life?"
"JJ-"
That said enough in itself.
"Answer the damn question, Iris!"
She looked down at the floor, "Yes."
He nodded, carefully planning what he was going to say, "And you two...you two had sex, didn't you?"
Sighing, Iris shrugged slightly, "Yeah..."
JJ scoffed, his jaw clenching as he looked away from her so she couldn't see the tears in his eyes, "Jesus, Iris, so what is this? Huh? You do all this shit with Rafe, tell him god knows what, and then come back to us as if nothing happened?"
"That's not true!" She fought back, knowing it was.
"It's not? Huh? That's what happened!" JJ yelled back at her as she shook her head.
"I didn't know he would be there."
"I know that." JJ spat, "But you knew that all of us were probably scared shitless and worried about you but you were living in La La land with Rafe for those two days!" JJ watched as her expression changed slightly, "You didn't think of that, did you? Of us? All of us?"
She widened her eyes, scoffing at him, "Of course I did J-"
"That's a fucking lie!"
"I knew that you guys might be in danger, but I had no way of escaping or even trying to help you until Singh wasn't there." She paused slightly, "And the only reason we got to come back here, to OBX, was because Rafe let me take his boat. He told me to take everyone back."
"I don't believe that for a second."
"Then how do you think I got his boat, JJ?"
He shrugged, "I, I don't know."
"That's how." Iris mumbled.
"So, what, you're just, you're just back with Rafe without saying anything to us? To me?"
"I'm not back with Rafe."
"But you want to be."
"I never said that."
She didn't have to.
"I can tell by the look on your face, Iris." JJ sighed, "I really thought you and I were something on the island, you know that? That's why I didn't wanna come back here to OBX! I thought maybe all this shit with Rafe would finally be over, but boy, was I wrong." JJ began to walk towards the door, tears in his eyes before he turned back to her, "You told me that you loved me. Was that even the truth?"
Was he serious?
She did love him.
Just not in the same way as she loved Rafe.
Iris furrowed her brow, "Of course it was."
"But you're not in love with me."
"JJ-"
"That's a no." He chuckled, "So, what? You just used me until you got back with Rafe?"
"It wasn't like that! I care about you a lot and I do love you, JJ-"
"But you don't love me the way that I love you! You don't love me the way that you love Rafe! Do you know how that makes me feel?" JJ said, wiping a few tears off of his cheeks.
"I'm sorry for everything, I just-"
"You should be sorry, Iris, you're the one that fucked everything up." JJ spat, "You should have stayed with Rafe on the boat. I wish you never came to the island, none of this would've happened!"
JJ knew his words hurt her as he saw the expression drastically change on her face, "Go home, JJ. Walk this off and we can talk tomorrow."
He laughed slightly, "As if you think I have a home to go to. The fucking Kook Queen strikes again. Glad to see you're back to your bitchy self. What are you gonna do next? Go see Barry-"
Taking one step forward, Iris slapped JJ, which was not warranted, but in her defence, it was. He looked back at her shocked by her actions.
"Get out." She spat, "And tell Kiara that she's a fucking snake. I hope her parents send her to a fucking boarding school."
"You don't mean that. Kiara is your friend-"
"Was my friend. All of you were my friends or even more. And now, you're not. Like you said, the Kook Queen is back." Iris spoke, "Get out."
Although JJ was initially pissed when he came over, he couldn't help but be sad at Iris words. He regretted a lot of things he said. He knew that if Rafe came into the picture again this would happen and yet, here he was.
He should've started walking home right away instead of standing there outside her house, but he had to collect himself, little did he know, Rafe was making his way over finally, and well, the two happened to meet.
When Rafe saw JJ, he chuckled slightly, while JJ, groaned, not wanting to see him at this time. JJ wiped his eyes again, sniffling slightly before Rafe began to talk.
"Maybank, Maybank, Maybank, to what do I owe the pleasure of meeting you outside of Iris'?"
"Fuck off, Rafe." He growled.
Rafe chuckled, "Woah, big boy words, huh? Watch that mouth of yours, Maybank-"
"You better watch your fucking mouth, Rafe." JJ spat, getting closer to him as Rafe glared down at him.
"Are you butthurt over Iris? Because she chose me over you once again?" Rafe pushed him back slightly, "It was always going to be me, JJ. She only fucked you out of pity."
She what?
No.
She couldn't.
Wait-
He blinked away tears and furrowed his brow, "What? What are you talking about?"
"Iris. She told me that she only fucked you because she thought she was going to die on the island. Therefore, she pity fucked you."
"No, you're wrong, she told me she loved me-"
"Oh, I'm wrong? Yeah, I'm wrong." He snickered, "How many days did it take her to fuck you on the island? Because she barely lasted a few hours with me."
JJ's chest rose heavily and he tried to calm himself down. Rafe was not worth it. He wasn't.
Do not punch him.
Don't.
"What? Did I say something wrong?"
"Screw you, Rafe." JJ spat.
"Trust me, I'm sure I'll be getting screwed soon." Rafe smirked at him before pushing him aside, "At least she won't be pity fucking me though."
"Fuck you." JJ muttered, trying to catch his breath.
JJ watched as Rafe went inside Tanny Valley. After a few minutes of standing there, staring at the house, tears in his eyes, he finally began to walk away.
This is why we don't include fucking Kooks.
Minus Kie and Sarah, of course.
Iris was never a Pogue. She was fake. She was Kook through and through, and that was clear now.
But that wasn't what hurt him the most. What hurt the most was that Iris likely did pity fuck him. A lot of the time she seemed sad when they were on the island and none of it ever made sense until now. I mean, if he thought he was going to die, would he do the same? Maybe. But probably not.
Arriving back at his "so-called home", he cracked open another beer, chugging it back before collapsing on the couch, trying to forget about the last six weeks, and even the months prior.
Rafe entered Tanny Valley, which was eerily quiet, minus a sobbing Iris who was in the entrance way. His eyes widened as he immediately pulled her into his arms, suspecting that this might have to do with the blonde-haired Pogue who was standing outside.
"Hey, hey, what's going on?" He asked her, no response, "Is this about Maybank-"
"Why would you ask that?" She mumbled into his chest.
"Because he was outside when I came in." Iris felt Rafe's body tense up at the subject and he pulled away from him slightly, looking up at him.
"What did you do?"
"What did I do? Why do you think I did something?"
"Because it's you!"
He scoffed, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
She didn't answer and instead she looked away, more tears brimming her pretty eyes.
"What does that mean, Iris?"
"I don't know, I don't know what I meant." She whispered.
"I think I know." He muttered as she met his eye, "I think you assume that I'm always doing the wrong thing, the bad thing, and that's why your immediate reaction was to ask me what I did. Well, you wanna know what I did? I set that fucking Pogue straight, Iris. I told him everything you told me-"
"Everything I told you? What the hell did I tell you?"
"That you thought you were going to die, that you pity fucked-"
"You told JJ I pity fucked him?" She asked, angrily, "What the fuck is wrong with you?"
"He deserved the truth."
"You shouldn't have said anything." Iris sobbed, glancing away, "And if Kie hadn't said anything either, we wouldn't be in this mess!"
"The hell are you talking about? When did I talk to Kiara?"
"Kie told JJ about us."
"How many people did you tell?"
"Why is that your first reaction?" She shot back, "I confided in Sarah on our way home, but she had already figured it out since she saw the registration for the boat. I guess Kie overheard."
Rafe raised his eyebrows, "Wow. She didn't even give you a chance to tell Maybank."
"I wanted to."
"Why?"
"So that I could be honest with him, so that, so that I could see you with no weight on my shoulders." She muttered, coming to a realization, "Wait, why are you even back here in OBX?"
"Finishing up business for my dad." He whispered, "Did he, did Maybank, he didn't hurt you just now, did he?"
"He hurt my feelings, but it was warranted." She replied, "I also slapped him and I feel really bad."
Rafe chuckled softly.
"Rafe, that's not funny."
"To you ocean eyes, no it's not. However, to me, that's hilarious."
"I shouldn't have done it."
"Yeah, well there's a lot of things you shouldn't have done and a lot of things that I shouldn't have done but we can't change the past now." Rafe said as he caressed her cheek, "Are you okay though?"
"I lost all of my friends, so, I could be better."
"You've still got me. And let's be real, Sarah isn't going to let you go easily."
"That's true."
"Plus, Tatum is in town."
"What?"
"Uh, yeah, I need to tell you something." He said, grimacing slightly.
"Oh my god." She pulled away from him, "Did you fuck-"
His eyes widened and he shook his head, "No, not I did not!"
"Rafe-"
"We grieved over you when I thought you were dead, alright? She told me she was coming to OBX this weekend, which happened to coincide with me coming back and she dropped in. I told her you were alive." He paused, grimacing again, "She also brought a friend with her who's staying her for good. I think she was trying to set us up, but maybe instead, you two can be friends."
"Of course she tried to set you up. Classic." Iris scoffed slightly, "Do you think she'll come see me?"
"I told her to, so I hope so."
"I kinda hope so too." Iris sighed as Rafe pulled her back into his body again.
"C'mere." Rafe kissed the top of her head, "Let's go upstairs, yeah?"
"Mhm. I'm so excited to sleep in my bed."
"So am I." Rafe winked as she smiled slightly at him, pulling his hand as they climbed the staircase to the top floor.
As comfy as Iris was, she couldn't stop thinking about her conversation with JJ. Everything went wrong and it was genuinely her fault. It was. She should've been honest, which she wanted to, she was going to, and frankly, couldn't Kie have waited so she could explain herself.
No.
Why?
Iris thought some more and it made sense now. Because Kie also loved JJ, she didn't realize it earlier, but the hostility she had for herself and JJ on the island was insane, and that was the only thing that made sense. Kie likely was in love with JJ, hence her protectiveness over him.
Also, she was deeply hurt over JJ's words. Specifically that of the mentioning of Barry and her drug addiction. How could he? How could he? She knew he was upset, but that was no reason to bring that up.
One thing though, he was right, the Kook Queen was back.
And everyone would be sure of that. Everyone would know.
~~~~