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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐗𝐗𝐕: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐈𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐅𝐋𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆

જ⁀➴ JJ Maybank x Male OC (Charlie Genrette)

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“I hate that I’m going away when you’re like this.” Rafe’s arms tightened around me. It was like he tried to memorize my entire being when he pressed his nose onto my scalp.

“Damn, we’ve been friends when we were babies with all those Mommy and Me classes but you never hugged me once.” Topper laughed with fake bitterness. He, Kelce, and the Camerons, all surrounded us while Ward loaded the last of their luggage.

We never had big goodbyes like this. But for once, we didn’t know when Rafe was coming back. It was only a few days ago when Ward told us he was going with Rafe to a new form of recuperation where instead of sending him to a facility, they’d have in-house professionals in some quiet suburban town.

“It’s okay, I have Topper and Kelce with me. I’ll get better.” I assured him before we pulled apart. Rafe stared down at me with a sadness still fresh in his eyes. But hidden in his blues was a glimmer of hope. “You only have to worry about yourself. And when it gets too much, remember that you could talk to me anytime.”

“Us too, Rafe. We’re your friends too, in case you forgot.” Kelce followed with a chuckle, but I knew they were both being sincere.

“Don’t you dare fight again. Especially over my sister’s stupidity.” Rafe pointed at me and Topper as Sarah said “Hey!”. Just a few minutes ago, Topper and I apologized to each other. He just needed time to cool off, but he revealed that he and Sarah broke up. He hasn’t forgiven her yet, but he told me I got a free pass because I was just caught in between.

After Rafe said goodbye to the rest of his family, we all waved him and Mr. Cameron off into the road. It was fitting that they drove off into the afternoon sun. I had a good feeling that this would do Rafe some good. He probably did too by the way he smiled at me before he disappeared.

“Missed you, boy. Kelce is too boring to hang out with. Let’s go play pool while we drink in Rafe’s honor.” Topper bumped me on the shoulder.

“I’ll have to ask my granddad and Rose—” I stopped when I caught JJ at my peripheral. He stood across the street with a boyish grin, looking unsure if he should approach me or not. It’s been a week since he walked away from me, and it felt like a part of me came back to life. “I’ll meet you guys at your house.”

Topper and Kelce followed my gaze before making their own disgusted faces. “We’re losing too many kooks to pogues.” Kelce shook his head. “Mhm, I should totally set you up with my cousin in New York since you’re into blondies anyway.” Topper laughed.

“Go!” I shooed them away. Topper and Kelce just laughed at my direction, continuing their conspiring all the way to their Jeep.

“Charlie-boy,” JJ called as he crossed the street. “We ain’t over yet, ya know. Ya shouldn’t go on blind dates. That’s still called cheating.” His cocky tone has returned.

“Well you walked away from me after I told you I loved you.” I smiled despite the bitter memory. JJ’s signature smirked returned to his face, and my stomach toppled over itself again. As if he wasn’t the reason I had to cry myself to sleep last week. “I wasn’t sure what to think.”

JJ cleared his throat before speaking. His voice was stripped off his usual lack of reserve, replaced by a quiet sincerity that ignited fires in my heart. “I’m sorry, Charlie. I was an ass. I’m just not used to people like you loving someone like me.” He dropped his head. “I didn’t know what to do.”

“That’s okay,” I breathed. “I wasn’t sure what to do with you most of the time too. I’ve never fallen in love before. I never thought I’d be like this. I thought it’d be easy to stop loving someone in order to save them. Turns out, it’ll be the hardest thing I have to do.”

“Do you still love me?” JJ lifted my face with a finger. Something I always loved that he did.

“Even if I shouldn’t.” I whispered.

I caught a glint of JJ’s smirk before he pressed his lips onto mine. I didn’t waste any time bringing my hand to his name to press him further. He caught my legs in his arms when I stumbled from my tip-toeing. He tasted exactly like I remembered and missed. He was summer love rolled into one person, everything good about cotton candy on the boardwalk, and everything dangerous about high tides and gasoline.

“I love you too, Charlie.” JJ pressed his forehead onto mine, smiling against my mouth. “And I’m not letting any curse tear us from each other. Even if I don’t really believe it.”

I started to protest when JJ silenced me with another kiss. “All curses are meant to be broken, Charlie. You’ll stop seeing those red strings someday. You’ll be able to love me and I’ll get to live in it. I’ll help you do whatever you need to do.”

“Well that’s the thing, JJ. I don’t know what to do. My ancestors tried to break it before and they couldn’t do anything.” I told him.

“We got the internet, ya know. All the information we need at the palm of our hand.” JJ said. “We’ll find a way.”

I wanted to tell him what my granddad always told me: There was nothing I could do. But there was so much hope that glittered in JJ’s face. It was hard to let him down. And it seemed like he was up for the adventure too. “Sure, although there isn’t much on it in the web. We should start at the library where we donated our family archives.”

“Lead the way, Charlie-cookie.” JJ pecked my lips again before letting me down on the ground.

I held his hand and basked in the warmth of being with JJ again. I didn’t have a lot of hope before, but now that he was here some part of me believed that we would be able to end this curse. JJ’s smile was so contagious I found myself smiling whenever he looked at me too.

“By the wayy,” JJ drawled. “I got a red string?”

“Yup. It’s why I kept pushing you away before.” I said.

“Who is it tied to?”

I pondered telling him the truth or making something up before I finally decided I shouldn’t lie to him anymore. “Your ex, Kiara Carerra.”

JJ pursed his lips strange curiosity rather than amusement. “Huh, that can’t be right. Never felt for her what I felt for ya. And we were together for what, two years?”

An unusual thought came to me. The red strings led someone to forever, but it never truly said anything about how they’d feel about that person. The story has been passed down through many generations that great love and soulmate and forever companion has been used interchangeably despite being completely different things.

But now that I think about it, what do the red strings actually mean?

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐗𝐗𝐈𝐕: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐈 𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐌𝐘 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐆𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐈𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐘𝐎𝐔

જ⁀➴ JJ Maybank x Male OC (Charlie Genrette)

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We were halfway across the parking lot when I got tired of the silence. JJ walked close beside me, but he was never this quiet. "Do you have something in your mind?" I asked with slight caution.

"Hm?" JJ tilted his head up towards the nightsky. "Nothing. Just thinking about stuff."

I stopped in the middle of all the dead cars. JJ stood in front of me, the mellow streetlamps turning his hair gold. "You know, since we're boyfriends now, you have to be honest to me about how you feel." I said through the awe of his stature. I've never seen anyone be partly taken by the shadows and still look so handsome.

JJ considered me for the longest five seconds of my life before exhaling heavily. "I just thought ya know pretty much everything about my life, Charlie." His eyes drifted far away from me. "But I don't know much about ya."

I laughed softly. "Well, what do you want to know?"

JJ's gaze returned to me. The same tragedies from the first time I saw him swam around his eyes. "For starters, what were you doing here today? I know it was an emergency or somethin' about Rafe, but it would be nice to know why you would suddenly run from our date."

I opened my mouth before I could even form my answer. All I knew was I had to be careful. "It's not my story to tell, JJ."

"It never is." JJ stepped towards me, and for the first time, I took a step away from him. "But why do I feel that it could be? That you're just keeping me at arms length. Like you're so damn afraid to let me in."

He took my hands in his, and the world narrowed down to us in that moment. If it wasn't for his red string constantly reminding me that he may not be mine tomorrow, then we would've been perfect together. "Don't ya trust me?" JJ's eyes melted into mine.

"W—where is this coming from?" The question escaped me in a tremble.

"I dunno." The fire in JJ's voice settled, yet he still held onto me for dear life. "It's just that I stood there, and I thought I wouldn't be able to bring ya to that kind of hospital when you get sick. I won't be able to give ya the life you grew up with. I stood there thinking maybe I was never meant for you."

JJ's realization was a hundred knives shoved down my throat. And yet that pain was the truth. The red ribbon tied to the hands that always brought me comfort confirmed it for me.

"This is the part where ya tell me, 'No JJ, you're gonna marry into my family anyway so what's mine is yours.'" JJ chuckled softly after making an impression of my soft, squeaky voice.

I wanted to look into his eyes and tell him exactly that. But when I looked back into his almost accidents— the ambulance, the explosion— I don't think I could live in a world where he isn't here. It didn't matter if he was with me, knowing he was alive and living the life he always wanted was all that mattered.

"There's a reason I couldn't tell you everything, JJ." I pryed my hands away from him. I looked down to the ground because I couldn't bear being the reason for his sorrow too. "I was right to help you and stay with you, but I should've walked away after. I shouldn't have let it come to this point."

"What can't you say, Charlie!?" JJ's thunderous voice striked my beating heart. "If you think there's anything, I mean anything that would make me walk away, there isn't. You just have to stop pushing me away."

I shook my head and crouched down the curb. I hated that JJ's warmth immediately came to life in front of me. I could hear his heavy breaths matching my own rhythm. "I will believe you, no matter what." He continued with a lower voice.

JJ held my shoulders, and I felt kingdoms collapse inside my own head. Logic and sense lost the battle against my heart. And when I opened my mouth, my heart ripped from my chest and coated my words in my blood.

"I never told you about the night my parents died. Rafe had a sleepover at his mansion, and I came down with a fever. His parents couldn't exactly leave a house full of children, so mine had to come pick me up." The night flashed in my mind as the story finally laid out in the road for JJ to read. "A storm came out of nowhere that night. And while the power went out in that house, my parents crashed when my mom lost control. And since then, I've always blamed myself. I always blamed Elizabeth Teach because where did that fucking storm come from!? Why did they have to come for me!?"

I looked up to find JJ crossed between disbelief and confusion. "The family curse is real. The story you wrote about is real. Being here with me will kill you, JJ."

The wait was more brutal than seeing all sorts of reactions flash across his face. He wanted to laugh. He wanted to get angry. He got that look where he wanted to kiss me before scowling again. Finally, with his eyes flickering towards the trees behind me, JJ spoke. "Ya know, if you really don't want to talk to me, you could've just told me. If you really didn't want me and I stopped being your charity case, you could've told me."

"Do you think I'm making this up!?" The gasps I made softened JJ's pissed look. Tears blurred my vision, and I had no intention of taking them back like I usually did. "Don't you think it kills me every time I push you away? God, I've always wanted to tell you the truth so you'd understand why I kept swimming for the surface whenever I drowned in you. For once, I wanted to be selfish and fall in love with the greatest, most charming boy I've ever met in my life and not think about the fact that kissing him will kill him. Pushing you away hurts. Wanting you hurts. Loving you hurts."

"You told me you would believe me, JJ." I stood up, the ground not changing much. I still looked up at JJ like he was a god just out of reach. He looked me with the same casual wonder he always had, behind a sheen of his own tears. "This is my story. No matter how ridiculous it is. My parents died because they loved me. Curse or not, loving me would be fatal. Now you know why I have to—"

"You love me." JJ finally spoke with his roughed voice. I didn't quite understand at first, but I realized that this was the first time I told him I loved him. I couldn't read his reaction, but his gaze electrified me anyhow.

"Yeah, JJ. I love you." I whispered, like it was something I still tried to deny despite realizing the day I needed to get him away from his world. Through all the things I told him, that's what resonated with him.

The silence burned my ears more than the sirens that came and went through the emergency dock of the hospital. I tried looking for anything in JJ's face, but all there was to keep me company was his hanging mouth and avoidant eyes. He finally took a deep breath and tucked his hands inside his pockets. "I— I have to go, Charlie. I'll talk to you again, kay?"

JJ didn't wait for me to respond. He walked away from me. The sight of his back disappearing and reappering under the streetlamps forever ingrained into my memory. He never stuttered, but he did when I told him I loved him. I thought we were under the same moon, but it turned out we were in different galaxies.

It turned out it wasn't the curse that was going to tear us apart. I was capable of that on my own. No muderous Elizabeth Teach needed.

I should've been grateful he'll live on. I was.

But I was still crushed under the ruins of the walls built to protect me. He was right. We were never meant for each other.

Author: WOW this took a while to write because I needed to get one of the most important chapters in this fic right, I hope I was able to do that

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐗𝐗𝐈𝐈𝐈: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐈 𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐀𝐈𝐃 𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐁𝐘𝐄

જ⁀➴ Rafe Cameron x Male OC (Charlie Genrette) for this chapter

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𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆: Discussions on self-harm and attempted suicide

The first time this happened was two weeks after Mrs. Cameron's funeral. Rafe was twelve, and I was ten. We were two years apart, and yet there were multitudes between how we experienced death. At least I had the rain to blame when my parents passed. Rafe had nothing.

I still remember what my granddad told me before I visited Rafe. He said Rafe may not talk, but I should still speak to him. That his arms will be wrapped in bloody bandages, but I shouldn't point that out.

He said that Rafe was sick with something that wasn't easily cured by medicine. And sitting with him and letting him know that he wasn't alone would help him in a way.

I kept that in mind as I walked into his fifteenth hospital room.

Rafe was completely pale despite being swallowed by the feiry dusk filtering through the window. He wore an oxygen mask around his nose and mouth, his eyes all droopy and bloodshot. The loose hospital gown made his body disappear.

"Rafe," I whispered. "I'm here."

He kept watching the sunset as I sat on the stool by his bed. The monitors attatched to him beeped in a steady rhythm. I took a deep breath before speaking, failing to hide the tremble in my voice. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have said what I told you—"

"Not everything is about you, Charlie." Rafe turned sharply. His voice was cracked and jagged from the smoke that went into his lungs. "You're not the only reason."

"But I am a reason. I pushed you to the edge." I looked away, attempting to restrain the tears that threatened to fall. God, I should stop making this about me. "I was never one of your reasons, Rafe. I was one of the people you could rely on. You should've come and talked to me."

"I saw the way you looked at me after I kissed you, Charlie." Rafe mumbled through his tired words. "You never wanted to see me again. You were so fucking distraught. I shouldn't have ever made you feel like that—"

"And I told you it was okay. It's okay to shock or freak me out. I'm sorry if I looked at you and you felt otherwise, but you're allowed to destroy me, Rafe." I stood and made sure that Rafe was looking at me. "But please, don't ever leave me. We're best friends, Rafe. There's nothing I couldn't forgive when it comes to you. But how could I tell you that it's okay when you keep choosing to end it before I could get to you?"

Rafe pulled his mask off. The glacier blue of his eyes penetrated through the sheen of tears over my eyes. "I don't want to end it, Charlie. I just want the pain to stop."

My heart shattered into a million sharp pieces. It was easy to forget who Rafe was with his harsh words and bruised fists and drug habits. Underneath, he was just a boy who knew nothing but pain. And it wasn't easy coming out of something you were born in.

"It will someday, Rafe. Because if there's anybody in this world who deserves happiness, it's you." I perched on his bed, wiping away my tears. "You just have to give yourself the chance to be happy."

"What? You don't think I tried?" Rafe's voice shook. He looked away and wiped his own tears with the back of his hand. "Why do you think I finally went after you, Charlie?"

"I don't think that's what you really want, Rafe. And it's definitely not what you need." I wanted to reach for his wrist like I usually do, but remembered that there must've been a reason why he thought we could be more than friends. So I held him by the shoulder. "You can't rely on other people for own happiness. It must come from you. Or else it wouldn't be real."

"You're too good at this." Rafe grumbled. "You're too good at making me feel better."

"That's my job." I laughed softly.

"Why are you friends with me, Charlie?" Rafe met my look. There was a slight luster that returned in his eyes. "We don't have a lot in common. You're too good and I'm a fuck up."

I didn't have to give it a thought. "We're more similar than you think, Rafe. We're both fuck ups in our own ways. More like fucked over by the world." He snickered at my words, and although it faded quickly, it was a start. "You don't get to choose your home, I think. It chooses you. And it's a lot more special that way."

"I'm gonna get better." Rafe said, more to himself. "Dad's probably gonna send me away again. I'll just use my time there better instead of trying to fuck the nurses."

I sighed, knowing he'll be gone for two months again. It mostly works around the first few months he's back, but whenever it gets hard again, Rafe takes it tenfold. It's a good place and all, but it didn't do its intended long-term effect.

"This is not your fault, Charlie." Rafe muttered as he reached for my hair. I didn't pull away when he tucked my overgrown brown hair behind my ear.

"This isn't your fault either, Rafe." I said.

We spoke some more about a car he decided he was going to buy before the nurse came in and told me that visiting hours were over. I told him goodbye even if I didn't want to. It didn't matter that he didn’t talk about what actually happened in the garage where he was found. He was here and he was already trying to heal.

I stepped out the door, and Mr. Cameron pushed off the wall. He looked distraught in his tight pink dress shirt. He probably ran here from his office. "Is he okay?"

I nodded, and he breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you for being here, Charlie. He'll get better. You have nothing to worry about, I promise."

Before opening my mouth, I carefully chose my words. "Can I be honest with you, Mr. Cameron?"

Ward's eyes lit up with wary curiosity. "Of course, Charlie."

"I really don't mean to overstep, but I don't think sending Rafe away is the... way to deal with this. I'm sure the facility is good and all, but his problems aren't there." I swallowed hard when I saw anger and uncertainty flash in his eyes. "I'm not saying your past actions weren't effective. We were all doing what's best for him. But I think you should ask him to tell you what he really needs. And you should listen, instead of standing here out in the hallway, thinking of where he'll go before even knowing what he has to say."

I was fully prepared for Ward to tell me to get out from his view, but instead, he sighed deeply and rubbed his gray stubble. "Um, thank you, Charlie. I'll think about it." He looked at me. "You know him better than I do."

I nodded before telling him goodbye as well. I headed down the lobby, where I asked JJ to pick me up because Uber was impossible after sunset.

Sifting through the white coat doctors and patients, I found JJ looking up at the modern chandelier hanging from the second floor. He was like an angel from the walls of Versailles. Bathed in white in his casual hoodie and boardshorts.

But when he looked at me, the sadness in his eyes had returned.

Somehow, I knew that the next events would lead me to lose him tonight.

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐗𝐗𝐈𝐈: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄

જ⁀➴ JJ Maybank x Male OC (Charlie Genrette)

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“Next time I see him, I’m gonna smash his head through his windshield.” JJ gritted his teeth with more force than necessary. One text about being bored at the hotel led us to the coastal boardwalk. He half chuckled when two kids ran past him while blowing bubbles, and I couldn’t think of anything more heartwarming.

“Rafe said he was sorry. He just has trouble regulating his emotions sometimes, you know.” I pulled my boater hat tighter around my head. It was one of those sunny days that made my flyer miles to the northern hemisphere sexier. “We should probably try to get through one date without punching someone or being threatened.”

“Right, first time we did this my father was a dick.” JJ brought his muscular arm around my neck and pulled me against his body. He rubbed his knuckles into my head, making me yelp. “Second time, your friends were dicks. What can I say? Ya make me crazy.”

“JJ! We’re in public!” I hissed, trying not to focus on the swell of his biceps right under my nose.

“So what? Everyone should know ya mine.” JJ nuzzled his face into the crook of my neck. “Don’t want more of your friends kissing you while I’m watching NASCAR just six floors above.”

“Hey, I pushed him away.” I sighed. I saw a carnival food booth next to a book stand. “Should we go eat? I’m hungry.”

“Absolutely.” JJ led the way, pulling me by the wrist. He occasionally turned around with his signature grin, sending the butterflies in my stomach haywire. “Three hotdogs, sir.” He said to the attendant. “And a side of Nachos, please.”

“There’s only two of us, JJ.” I said, already reaching for my pocket.

“Told ya I’m gonna make sure your tummy eats well.” JJ rubbed my stomach like I was pregnant. “Plus, I could totally finish two hotdogs on my own.”

I chuckled before handing JJ the cash. “I’m gonna check out the book stand.”

“Actually, Imma go with ya. I wanna know what has my boyfriend so nerdy.” JJ and I walked towards the small table underneath an umbrella. It was just a few spines raised to face us. The owner told us not to be shy and just take a look.

“Know ya love romance books,” JJ picked up a novel with a crushed lavender lilies against white birch. “I’ve been seein’ this around school too.”

“Read that and the second book. I really liked it.” I was about to reach for a title I didn’t have yet when a deafening explosion caused JJ to topple over me. My vision blurred in smoky gray and all I could think about was his weight above me. I didn’t even realize that something exploded before the ringing in my head stopped.

JJ immediately held my face. His face was filled with worry, searching for anything wrong. “Are you okay? Talk to me, Charlie.”

I nodded quickly. “I’m okay.” I scanned him as well. There was no bleed. His tank top was unscathed, and all there was in his face were the wounds that slowly healed. “I’m okay, JJ.” I said again. What the hell happened?

JJ and I stood up. Thankfully, nobody around us seemed to be harmed. Black smoke was coming from the booth that was supposed to be cooking our hot dogs. The place where JJ was supposed to be standing a while ago.

A grunt distracted me, and I found the book stand owner palming the planked flooring. I immediately helped him up while JJ went to the stand and called through the smoke. “Hey! Ya’ll alright in there?”

“We’re good! We got away from the fire quickly! Good thing there ain’t anyone standing at the customer’s booth.” I heard the attendant say while I picked up the books from the ground. I tried to convince myself that my thought train was wrong, but it was picking up evidence in full steam. JJ was supposed to be burnt if he didn’t come with me to look over novels.

JJ was almost hit by an ambulance the day after we kissed.

The curse is here. And it’s getting more violent.

“Looks like we gotta look for another place, Charlie bear.” JJ chuckled, emerging from the thinning smoke. He helped me arrange the rest of the books. I should stay away from him. Walk away because Elizabeth Teach is not yet done screwing my bloodline over. If I don’t stop this then I’ll be the reason that JJ’s dead.

“Hey,” JJ held my hand. “Ya good? You look pale. Should we get a cab to the hospital?”

“No,” I yanked my hand away from his. It felt like severing a connection that gave me life. “JJ, I think we should—”

My phone rang out the opening to AC/DC’s Back in Black. “Hold on,” I said to JJ. He had his eyebrow raised patiently.

I picked up the phone. It was Sarah. “Hello, Sarah?”

“Charlie? Hey. Do you think you could come to the hospital?” Sarah spoke with an all too familiar tremble.

“Hospital? Why?” I asked. My heart rattled in my throat. “Is it my granddad?”

I didn’t dread her next words any less. “No, your granndad’s fine at home. It’s Rafe. Again.”

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐗𝐗𝐈: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐅 𝐃𝐄𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐊𝐈𝐒𝐒 𝐌𝐄𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐌𝐄 𝐀 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄

જ⁀➴ JJ Maybank x Male OC (Charlie Genrette)

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𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓: Slight Rafe x Charlie, Unsolicited Kissing

“This is your weekly budget. I don’t know how you spend money, so I just based it off my own weekly budget. Adjusted for hotel prices.” I handed JJ the stuffed envelope fresh from the lobby’s ATM. Getting JJ to agree that the first step was getting out of his house was the hardest part. The actual first step was a breeze.

JJ opened the envelope, already sprawled across the double bed. He didn’t even need a second to adjust to the carpeted floors or the 32-inch plasma TV against the wall. “Your weekly budget is my allowance for two years? I could buy a brand-new motorcycle with this.” His tone was full of offense, yet he just gave me a mocking look.

“I— I didn’t mean anything by that.” I dropped my head down, clutching the soft cotton beddings. I only sat at the edge of the bed because I didn’t want JJ to think that I meant something else by getting him a hotel room. “It wasn’t meant—”

“Christ, don’t sweat it boy.” With one swift tug, JJ pressed me against his warm chest again. My legs were awkwardly swung across the duffel bag JJ packed in haste. He didn’t have many clothes. “You’re too nervous for someone I already kissed three times.”

My heart skittered in my chest. Three kisses that haunted me at night, lingering my mind like a bad idea. I held his hand, following his red string that flowed out into the window covered by blackout curtains. Kiara would be so lucky to be loved by someone like JJ.

And I was the one standing in the way.

“I’ll pay you back someday. Although I’m pretty sure ya won’t even notice the money gone if you’re willing to give this to me for a week.” JJ massaged my hair before planting kisses into my scalp. I was often conscious about my curls being unraveled, but with JJ, I knew it was no use.

“No, that’s not your focus. Your focus is getting a job and finding somewhere you could settle. Although you shouldn’t rush because you have a month here.” I pushed myself up to face JJ. He didn’t even flinch when I pressed my palms against his stomach muscles. Was he that strong, or was I that lightweight? “Although you have to tell me if nobody is really willing to hire you. As your boyfriend—"

JJ’s face instantly lit up with the widest grin he ever showed me, his white teeth bared. I burnt up, covering my mouth and mentally beating myself up because I couldn’t fathom where that came from. “Friend! I meant friend!” I clarified.

“Too late, boyfriend.” JJ pulled my chin and took my lips in his. It wasn’t his usual intensity I tasted, it was relief— one that made me feel that he’s no longer carrying his sadness alone. “Boyfriend, boyfriend, boyfriend.” He continued to tease through our kiss. “Charleston Genrette is my lil’ boyfriend.”

“JJ, I have to go. Rafe’s picking me up at the convenience store down the street.” I smiled when he finally pulled away.

JJ rolled his eyes, settling his hands on my hips. “Really gotta teach ya how to drive someday. Hate thinking about you in a car with some other guy.”

I just laughed at JJ before telling him goodbye. I rode the empty elevator down the lobby, every side giving me a glimpse of my reflection. I was surprised to see myself grinning and blushing not because I was flustered, but because I was happy. It’s an addictive feeling. No wonder people go crazy without happiness.

I thought it was a good idea to have Rafe pick me up at 7-Eleven just a few blocks away from this Four Seasons-esque beach side place. I didn’t have to answer any questions about what I’m doing at a hotel.

But when the elevator doors opened, there he was sitting in the lobby. Before I could even close the doors again, Rafe already saw me and stood up. “Get out of there.” He growled, his gaze darkened.

I took a tentative step out of the elevator, but Rafe made the whole decision for me by pulling me out completely. His grip was steel tight around my wrist. Bone crushing against bone. “Rafe! It hurts!”

Rafe’s face softened for a moment. He must’ve seen how scared I just gotten. I never got scared of Rafe until now. I’ve seen him fight with Ward, scream at teachers, but this new kind of quiet anger he cornered me against the pillar was something new. “What are you doing here?” I held my wrist, soothing against the points that throbbed.

“I should be asking you that, Charlie. What room is he in? How the fuck can he afford this?” Rafe stepped closer, caging me in his full presence. He reeked of whiskey and smoke, and I craned my head up to see that his pupils were fully blown. “You’re sixteen, Charlie. He has no business taking you to hotels like this—”

“It’s not what you think!” I stomped slightly on the white tiles. “JJ isn’t like that. We’re friends. He needed a place to stay because things at home got really bad and this is the only course of action that he felt comfortable with.”

“I don’t care.” Rafe shook his head. Sharp strands of his marsh brown hair fell over his eyes. “He’s using you to get stuff. Can’t you see that he took you to the most expensive hotel in OBX? Next thing he’s gonna ask from you is a car. Hell, pay for his drugs too.”

“Why do you always assume the worst of him?” I narrowed my eyes at Rafe. I carefully watched his next actions: The way his jaw tightened, his heavy breaths, his jiggling knee. “You’re high and drunk. We shouldn’t have this conversation right—”

I only realized that Rafe was kissing me after the shock had left my system. He brought his hands to my back and pressed his rough lips onto mine, completely engulfing me in his presence. I tried not to pay attention to the alcohol that stained my mouth. I tried to push him away by pounding on his chest. “Rafe—”

Rafe stumbled backwards. I brought my fingertips to my lips that pounded against the impact. “Charlie, I’m so sorry.” He reached a shaking hand, and I immediately shifted away from him. “Fuck. I screwed up. I’m so sorry.”

“No, no. It’s okay, Rafe.” I shook my head. “But don’t touch me first. Please.”

The silence grew between us. I couldn’t bear to look at him. He just stood there with his hands tucked into his shorts, the crowds going on with their lives around us. There was a difference between knowing how Rafe felt about me and knowing that he did something about it. I dealt with the first knowledge with avoidance. I don’t know if I could do the same with this.

“You have to understand why I did that, Charlie.” Rafe finally spoke again. His voice hoarse from regret. “You’re slipping away from me, and I had to make sure that you still end up as mine. You’re supposed to be mine, Charlie. JJ’s just some kind of distraction. You said it yourself; he’s meant to be with another person. So, you’re mine.”

“Rafe,” I took a sharp breath. What I was about to say hurt me almost as much as Rafe was hurting right now. “I just don’t see you that way. You know that I love you, but only as a friend.”

Rafe groaned like the pain of my words was physical. I took his hand, trying to get him to calm down. Going on was gonna make it worse now, but not telling the truth would make it worse in the future. “You should take more pride in that. Because boyfriends or husbands could come and go. But it takes a lot more to destroy a friendship.”

“Why not me?” Rafe refused to look at me. His words were filled with so much bitterness. “I’m richer. Taller. Fuck it, I’m hotter. I could give you everything you want in life, Charlie. I could be nicer if you ask me to be. Why not me?”

I took a second to think about what I should tell Rafe, but nothing except what JJ said to me surfaced. “I don’t know, Rafe. It’s just that way. You know when you know. And sadly, I didn’t feel that with you.” My hands barely held his larger face. “But don’t get me wrong. You are an awesome, handsome, captivating and smart man. And whoever is attached to that string of yours will be one of the luckiest people. It would be more unfair to you if we’re together because I could never want you the way you want me.”

I gave him a soft smile. I wish I could tell him how I realized that I loved JJ when I realized that I could’ve lost him before I even met him. That it was the most amazing, liberating feeling and that someday he’d feel it too. But I kept quiet. I just watched Rafe work through the storms in his eyes.

After a moment, Rafe finally looked at me. There was pure sadness in them, and the guilt of being the cause made me sick to my stomach. “I love you too, Charlie. I fucking loved you first. That day you told me about the curse was the day I fell in love with you. You were the only honest person in my life.” He held me by my nape. “Thank you for that half decent kiss. I’ll think about it until I fucking die.”

I tried calling out to Rafe. But he didn’t turn. I stopped chasing him when he got to his SUV and screeched out of the parking lot. In times like these, he would tell me he needed me to keep him from reaching his breaking point.

Now that I was the reason he was on the edge, what should I do?

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐗𝐗: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐋𝐄𝐅𝐓 𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄

જ⁀➴ JJ Maybank x Male OC (Charlie Genrette)

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𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆: Injury and Abuse detail, Domestic Violence

The glass crunched under my shoes as I slowly walked through the front door. It was like a tornado devastated this house. Newspapers and books left face open across the floor. Amber shards broke the afternoon sunlight, glistening amidst broken pieces of furniture. The old couch had a massive slash through it, sending fluff through the darkness.

I found JJ slumped against the kitchen island. Blood dried below his nose. Patches of purple and black bloomed across his bare torso. His lips and cheeks had numerous cuts, yet he still downed a beer bottle as he eyed me with contempt I deserved. He was a soldier that barely survived war on a battlefield that never should’ve been.

“The hell are ya doin’ here?” JJ grumbled. The smooth velvet in his voice was gone. All that was left was a bitter nectar that I could taste through the metal of guilt in my throat. “I told you to never come back. I was gonna come to you when I was… better.”

I clutched the handle of the first aid kid I bought, thinking about how I should approach him. Yet fire ignited in his ocean irises before I could do that. “GET OUT OF HERE CHARLIE!” JJ pointed out the door; his voice cracked from sheer exhaustion.

“NO!” I shouted back. Both JJ and I seemed to be surprised that I could raise my voice like that. He dropped his hand and looked away from me.

I knelt beside him, reaching for the sterile wipes first. “We should go to the hospital later. Get a doctor’s evaluation about your injuries. I’ll help you get a lawyer—”

“The hell am I going to a hospital!” JJ roared, flinching away from me before I even wiped the blood off his face. “I’m not sending Dad to prison. I’m fine.”

I’ve thought about it. I was certain at least someone would’ve offered to report Luke for him before. “Okay, that’s your choice.” I pressed the cloth under his nose. JJ hissed and clutched my wrist, making me wince slightly too. “We’re going to focus on what we’re doing next.”

“You’re not doing anything, Charlie.” JJ groaned. “This was just a one-time thing, ya know. Dad’s an idiot. Just caught em off guard when he found me in bed with ya. Should’ve came out to him first, eh?” He laughed softly.

“When was the first time he hit you, JJ?” I asked.

JJ’s expression dropped into the same darkness he greeted me with before trying to smile again. “Ya know what, Imma let that slide because you’re so cute—”

“When was the first time he hit you, JJ?” I asked again.

“Fuck you, Charlie.” JJ spat out.

I shook my head, throwing the bloody wipes away. I took out the alcohol and poured it all over a cotton ball. I needed to get him to admit that this was happening before he could even agree to walk away. “This might hurt; you could hold me again. I’m here. Just don’t crush my bones.”

JJ’s stomach rose and dropped as he took a deep breath. He clutched my tiny wrist while I sanitized all his open wounds, wiping away all the evidence of bloodshed until all that’s left to treat were the cracks. “I was three,” He began. “It was a week after my mom abandoned us. He couldn’t get a babysitter, so he left me to fend on my own. I had my trucks and blocks to keep me company, but I was so fucking hungry because last thing I ate was breakfast. So, when he finally walked through the door I clung to his legs and—”

His voice broke, and I felt a part of me die inside too. “All I wanted was food. He made me beg. He treated me like I was a greedy thief when all I wanted was to eat.”

It took all my strength to stop trembling and hold back my tears. This shouldn’t be about me. This was about him. So, I focused on the medicine and his words. Not on how I felt.

“Everybody said they’d call the cops.” JJ eased the tension in his body, practically falling limp against old wooden surface of the island. “Nobody ever did.”

“I know,” I whispered softly. I pressed the band aids against his skin gently. “Nothing could change the years you suffered in his hands. But I could help you walk away, JJ. I could help you leave.”

“How?” JJ finally turned to me, his eyes hidden behind layers of tears. “I don’t have any fucking money, Charlie. People here won’t even hire me because I beat the shit out of one ass customer when I was 15. I’m no good for a degree. This house and Dad are all I have. It’s not always this bad.”

“But it never has to be bad.” I held his larger jawline in my palms. I finally understood the sadness in his gaze that I couldn’t seem to place. No wonder I felt like I was drowning in the ocean of his eyes when that ocean was created by years of hidden tears. “If money’s the issue, I could help you with that. I just want to get you out of here.”

JJ grunted, rubbing his thumbs against my pulse point. “It’s not your responsibility to save me—"

“But I could. This is me trying to do one good thing after the million wrongs done to you, JJ.” I looked into his eyes with a newfound understanding. Somehow, it felt easier to breathe around him now that the truth was laid between us. I wiped away the streaks of tears from his cheeks.

JJ stared down at me. I couldn’t read what he was thinking. I was almost ready for him to push me away, but instead he grabbed my jaw and kissed me. The usual hunger and intensity were absent, replaced by a gentle embrace around my mouth. He didn’t probe with his tongue; he just pressed and remained there. As if he was checking if what was happening was real.

“What do you need me to do?” JJ asked while he breathed heavily against my lips.

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐗𝐈𝐗: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐁𝐄𝐃

જ⁀➴ JJ Maybank x Male OC (Charlie Genrette)

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𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆: Luke Maybank, Domestic Violence, Homophobia.

The sound of wood splintering into two broke my sleep.

JJ was no longer wrapped around me. I shifted to my side, gazing through bleary eyes and a thunderous headache, and found him blocking the doorway. His back muscles rippled under the glowing sunlight. He was nothing less than angelic and I haven’t even seen his morning face yet.

“Looks like your toy’s awake.” My blood froze through my own confusion. He was blocking Luke from entering.

“Leave him out of this, dad.” JJ gritted through the edges of his morning voice. I hoped Luke didn’t hear the slight tremble in his voice. “You have a problem with me, not Charlie.”

“I have a problem with anyone thinking it’s okay to do what you just did under the roof I’m paying for!” Luke roared. I clutched the sheets, unsure if I should come to JJ’s defense like the last time or stay here. I shifted to my side and found Luke holding two pieces of broken wood, each sharp enough to pierce through skin many times over. Yet none as sharp as the glare he gave me through the crack that JJ didn’t fully cover.

As if a boy’s greatest sin is to fall in love with another man.

I shrank back to the headboard, holding JJ’s blanket like it could shield me from the monster just outside the door. JJ turned his head to me, never fully facing me but enough to let the sunlight highlight his face. “It’s okay, Charlie.” He spoke with slight laughter that I wasn’t sure how he could manage. “Just crawl out the window and walk away. I’ll be fine.”

“No—"

“Get out!” JJ yelled with a particular hollowness. He never yelled at me before. “Get out of here and never look back. No matter what you hear don’t you dare come back here.”

“You’re such a disappointment, JJ. Wasn’t it enough that you’re a screw up? You had to be a boy fucker too?”

Some part of me wanted to stay and take whatever blow Luke was going to deliver. But my trembling, shaking, useless body won and lifted the window. I landed on the unkept flower bed, the dried leaves marking the times JJ snuck out of the same space.

I followed what JJ told me. I kept on walking the uneven gravel pathway with my bare feet. I never looked back.

Not when I heard glass break.

Not when I heard a body slam against a wall.

Not when I heard the boy I loved groan from the unimaginable pain from the man who was supposed to love him.

I fell to the ground. Small stone digging into the flesh of my legs. Yet I couldn’t care less about it when the world kept spinning around. Never-ending tears fell from my eyes. My shaking hands kept reaching out to wipe them away but more kept on falling. I couldn’t breathe. My stomach was killing me, clawing at all my senses. I lurched to the ground and opened my mouth when my throat was constricted, but nothing came out.

This was nothing compared to what JJ is going through inside.

Was this the curse? Was fate, Elizabeth Teach, or the fucking grim reaper trying to kill JJ through his father? That’s a low blow from the universe. A damn low blow.

But I looked back to his house. The unkept white paneling. The overgrown grass. The chaos inside. This wasn’t something that’s happening because I loved JJ. This was something that’s been happening before I ever came into his life. This happened because the world is fucked-up way before that. A world that gave children to people that didn’t deserve to be parents. Luke wasn’t a father; he was many things, but not that.

I wondered how many times JJ had to curl up against his bed the same way I did. How many times pure terror seized his body. How many times did he have to fight back only to be doubled down again. How many times did he wish someone would save him but nothing and nobody ever came.

I wanted to go there. Grab a knife from the kitchen and put an end to it all.

And yet the world held me here. Bound me to the ground because I wasn’t strong enough to end this. The same way the whole of Outer Banks knew about what happened in this house and never did anything that lasted to get JJ out of here.

This wasn’t JJ’s fault. It never was. No matter what he did that started all this, it will never be his fault.

This was Luke’s fault.

This was the town’s fault.

Even without the curse, this was still my fault.

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐗𝐕𝐈𝐈𝐈: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐖𝐄 𝐇𝐈𝐃𝐄 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓

જ⁀➴ JJ Maybank x Male OC

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The second my back hit JJ’s bedroom door, his lips crashed into mine. His mouth breathed the heat of a thousand flames into mine before closing in with the ice in his teeth. He lifted me like I weighed nothing, his toned stomach pressed against my crotch. JJ completely consumed me, and all I did to fight back was tug his hair slightly.

We fell onto his creaky bed. JJ’s lips never left mine while my fingers fumbled with the buttons of his dress shirt. He finally pulled away, breathless and bathed in the blue moonlight as he threw his leather jacket to the corner. Instead of unbuttoning his shirt like expected, JJ pulled it off and sent the buttons to scatter across the room. “Can’t wait, pretty boy.” He muttered before kissing me again.

My clothes came off next. His large hands were eager to slip the button holding my pants to my legs and was even more excited to touch my bare thighs with his searing palm. My long coat and corset disappeared into the darkness, leaving me with my linen dress shirt and tie. I was so drugged up from JJ’s lips and hands that I didn’t even realize what was about to happen until his teeth dug into my lower lip. I’ve been wanting this for so long now, but my guts kept kicking my head. This was happening. I’m not ready.

“JJ—” I breathed. My pulse pounded against my neck. “Please—”

JJ instantly froze, still pinning me onto the mattress. He cursed against my swollen lips before pulling away, his hands now holding my face. “Too much all at once, eh?”

“I’m sorry.” I mumbled. And suddenly, the night crashed back into me like a flood. The look of betrayal in my friend’s face, the curse that I should be keeping JJ away from, the fact that I almost had sex with him. Too many things all at once in my head. It tore away the floodgate keeping my tears from falling. “I don’t think I’m ready. I don’t wanna do it—”

“Hey, hey. Don’t cry cause ion know what I’m gonna do.” But JJ knew. He collected me into his arms, resting my head on his bare chest. My nose fitted perfectly between his firm chest, the same way my legs tucked into his lap. “Ya don’t have to explain yourself. Chickened out the first time a girl offered to suck my junk too.” He chuckled.

“Really?” I laughed softly through my sobs. I never would’ve thought someone with so much confidence would have a moment of weakness.

“Mhm,” JJ’s voice vibrated through my own body. “Don’t wanna do a blow by blow, no pun intended, but I get it.” His hand went down to my thigh again, but when I trembled, he immediately pulled away. “Plus, I’m not only into you because of this. There’ll be plenty of time for me to bend you into my will. So don’t be scared anymore.”

“I’m not scared,” I sighed through the hiccups. “Just a bit shaken cause you know, I thought you’re that kind of guy.”

“Ouch!” JJ yelped dramatically, making me laugh even more. He held his chest for a moment like he was shot before ruffling my curls. “I may be a dick, but not that much.”

“I just know most guys wouldn’t be so cool about someone going into bed with them and then suddenly backing out.” I said.

“That’s why I’m claiming ya cute lil’ ass before most guys could get to you.” JJ continued to thread his fingers through my hair. “Ya just gotta stop resisting the Maybank charm.”

I would’ve normally had a sharp retort. I should’ve pushed away and walked out of JJ’s room. But I snuggled further into his sharp beer scent that was enough to bind my head into a blur. “If I did date you, what would we do?”

“Heh,” JJ didn’t even take a moment to consider. Like he’s given this thought a million times. “I would take ya to parties and dates every day and every night. Ya gotta get some sun cause you live in the OBX and you’re this pale? Also, Imma make sure your skinny arms gets fed—"

“I eat! I finish a box of pop tarts in three days!” I rose up and glared playfully at JJ. The rich laugh he gave me was priceless.

JJ pulled me down again, holding my chin in his rough palms while my legs went over one muscular leg. His gaze became more serious, darkening under the blue hues of the night. “I’m gonna treat ya like royalty, Charlie. Make every moment that you fell for me worth it. I’ll make sure you know just how much I… like to be with you.”

I held my breath, wondering if he was supposed to drop the other L word. That pause said more than his words. I clutched onto his pants, unsure what to tell him.

JJ must’ve seen how nervous I got again. The mischief went back to his face, smirk widening like the Cheshire cat. “And I would totally fuck your ass more than once a day.”

“E—everyday?” My eyes widened. The tremor in my voice returning. “That would probably hurt, right?”

“Gotta be honest, the first time, it would.” JJ grinned, soothing me by shuffling my hair again. “Why? Ya excited?”

“No.” I looked down, flushed with the way JJ brings life through my veins.

JJ chuckled deeply before petting my cheeks twice. He got up and began rummaging through his clothes. He threw me an oversized faded blue hoodie and some basketball shorts. “That’s too small for me so hope they fit ya.”

He was probably kidding. I slipped into his hoodie. The sleeves completely swallowed my arms; there was enough for about another arm. The shorts went down to half my lower leg. “Heh, that’s cute.” JJ smiled at himself as he pulled down his pants. He stood before me only in his black boxers that hugged his tree trunk thighs well, but it shaped his other tree even better. “What? I sleep like this in my own bedroom. Got a problem?’

“Not really.” I shook my head as I scooted away to give him space. But JJ just pulled me flush against him again, his arm looped around my waist.

The stillness of the night settled in. Not even the marsh at the back of the Maybank property made a slight noise. It was only me and JJ’s breathing against my neck. “Are you an angel, Charlie?”

“Huh?” I asked as JJ snuggled into the crook even further.

“Cause I think the world sent ya the moment it got fucking destroyed.” He muttered, voice reverberating against my back.

I took his hand in mine, except it was my hand that disappeared into his. “If anything, you were the one who came into my life and saved me.”

JJ smiled against my skin. And suddenly, everything bad that happened tonight ceased to exist.

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐗𝐕𝐈𝐈: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐃, 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐄

જ⁀➴ JJ Maybank x Male OC (Charlie Genrette)

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There were so many connections I could’ve focused on at Sarah’s birthday parties. And yet through the marble pillars wrapped in strawberry satin and other guests forming webs of glowing red trails, I watched the string around Kiara Carerra’s finger. She was simply radiating beside Cleo, wearing a mermaid sequin dress that caught under the warm fairy lights.

It made me sick, but I couldn’t stop tracing where her string led to. JJ downed his second beer bottle, his own red ribbon whipping in the air. Throughout the night, JJ kept giving me smirks like we had some secret. I kept looking away, immediately hit by regret. Wishing I held his stare so I wouldn’t focus on the fact that he isn’t meant to be mine.

“Good evening, everyone.” Sarah stood on stage, absolutely stunning in a velvet red gown that hugged her figure, flowing down onto a trail behind her. “You all probably know that in actual debutante balls, the highlight is when the debutants will dance with their escorts. Since technically this is one, I’m gonna have to ask my friends to come to the middle and dance with me because no way am I doing this alone.”

“I’m your brother’s friend!” Kelce yelled through the guests’ laughter.

“Anybody under the age of twenty, you’re not escaping this.” Sarah glared at our table before she made her way down. Topper immediately rushed to hold her hand. In the middle of the dance floor, a closed box stood. About thirty ribbons sprouted from the openings and spilled onto the floor like tentacles. I thought it was just decoration at first.

Rafe grabbed me by the arm and dragged me before I could protest. “If I’m gonna have to be forced to dance, it might as well be with you.”

“What’s the ribbons for?” Topper asked just as we all gathered around the box. JJ stood at the opposite end with his friends, already eyeing me like I was his prey.

“That’s the twist. We don’t get to choose our partners. Everyone would take one ribbon like this.” Sarah bent down to pick one strand up. We all followed her. I chose the most inconspicuous looking one even if they were all equally shiny under the chandelier.

“Now, we’re all gonna pull on my count—” Everybody turned to when Rafe tugged on his. It barely shook the box, but it made everyone hold their breath.

“Sorry,” Rafe muttered. “Thought she said pull.”

“As I was saying before my brother got too excited,” Sarah cleared her throat as she looked at Rafe with wide eyes. “On my count, we will pull. And the person on the other end of the ribbon will be your dance partner. Because it’s said that we all have invisible red strings bound to lead us to the person we’ll spend forever with. And I hope that maybe this dance could be the start of that.”

“Don’t you find this a little bizarre?” Rafe leaned into my ear. “Considering you could see the actual thing? How many of us are even destined to talk after tonight.”

“I’m used to it.” I shrugged. He was right, though. Apart from John B, Sarah, JJ, Kiara, Pope and Cleo, everyone else were meant for someone outside this room.

Rafe’s voice dropped lower. “Do you think there’s a chance our ribbons are tied together and you just can’t see it?”

I turned to him, unsure what he meant. But when I found him bent down to my level, cold eyes burning through mine like he wanted to scour some kind of answer, I wasn’t sure what to tell him. I wasn’t ready for him to be upfront about his feelings for me, especially in a crowd like these. Seeing the red ribbons grow like spider webs was already overwhelming enough.

“This one, I mean.” Rafe lifted his physical red ribbon for the party game. “Considering we’re standing together.”

“Oh,” I breathed. He must’ve seen me grow pale as a ghost. “I don’t know. I’m not sure how I’d be able to dance with you though. We barely did it at your graduation ball. You’re like two feet taller than me.”

“Everyone is two feet taller than you.” Rafe straightened himself.

I chuckled at his insult, but when I caught JJ frowning at the side of my vision, I immediately closed my mouth. I looked at him fully, and he only had his eyebrow cocked up at me. As if I was doing something questionable.

“Okay,” Sarah began. “Let’s pull in three, two, one—.”

The box unraveled to the ground as the ribbons stretched upwards. My ribbon was pulled from the other side before I could decipher who’s at the other end. Another pull shook me towards the center. I held my end with two hands because the other person was strong. I saw Sarah laugh when she got paired with John B so it’s not them. On my other side, Kiara groaned when she realized that Rafe was her partner.

“Can ya lookin’ at other people?” JJ tilted his head while looking at me with a tangled expression. He shook his ribbon carelessly, and sure enough, I felt the wave shock through the ribbon I held.

My mouth hung open for a second. This cannot be happening. “Did you switch with someone?”

“You could’ve seen it if you weren’t looking at Rafe with those sad puppy eyes,” JJ swept the ribbon clean from my hands. Before I could react, he lassoed the string around my waist and pulled me flush against his larger body. “Does he make you laugh like I do?”

“I— I wouldn’t be friends with him if he doesn’t make me laugh.” I nervously mumbled. I looked around the venue, feeling everyone’s eyes on us. I was the only boy paired with a guy. I don’t mind being upfront with who I am at school, but in front of Kildare’s finest, I had to be wary.

“Charlie,” JJ pushed my face up as the live orchestra began a symphony with intense violins and mellow harps. “Stop looking at everyone else and look at me.”

“People are watching—”

“And you’re not theirs to dance with tonight. You’re mine.” JJ let the ribbon pool around us. He reached for the small of my back, practically making us one with the way he pushed me against his strong lemon and sunburnt scents.

He raised one hand, and I had no choice but to reach for his shoulder and hold his other hand. “There you go,” JJ cooed as he began the pace. He took large steps and I struggled to follow them with my clumsy feet. “It’s not so bad, isn’t it?”

“I never said it was bad. I just— I didn’t expect to dance with you.” I looked up at JJ. The sunset hued lighting softened his eyes, and yet his blues still blazed through me.

“Don’t ya ever feel like the universe keeps pushing us together, Charlie?” JJ asked with a reckless smile that made my legs grow even weaker. “The red string shit must be real cause I feel that we’re connected or something."

The music swelled, and my entire universe seemed to exist just for this one single moment. My feet no longer fought with JJ’s pace while we orbited the dance floor. “What makes you think that?” I asked.

JJ looked up the ceiling in consideration before looking down at me again. “Ya just know when you know, Charlie. I’ve been through it all. There’s the lowest form, a good fuck for the night. There’s a slightly better date that ultimately doesn’t work out. Then there’s the girlfriend I thought was the one.” He stopped moving and held my face in his. JJ’s eyes have burned through me before, but his look tonight made me feel like I was fully consumed by the embers of his feelings. “And then there’s you.”

“JJ,” I whispered his name like some unspoken reverence. In a perfect life, this would’ve been the night I kissed him back. The night I told him I wanted him too. That I was willing to burn in hell as long as we burned together.

But this wasn’t a perfect life. And definitely not a perfect night.

“What the fuck is happening here?” Topper’s anger smashed through the slice of perfection I had with JJ. We initially thought he was referring to us, but we found him standing before John B and Sarah. JJ let me go and rushed to his best friend’s side while I went to Topper. Before we knew it, all our friends were facing each other.

“Hey, what’s the matter?” I asked Topper. The music was gone and the guests were clearly holding their breaths.

“I can’t fucking describe it,” Topper inhaled sharply while Rafe put a hand on his shoulder. “I just know that there’s something going on between Sarah and that pogue!” He pointed towards John B.

“Please don’t make a scene, Topper. It’s just a dance.” Sarah pleaded with watery eyes. I wasn’t sure what led to this, or if John B and Sarah ever continued whatever they had when I saw them at the boardwalk. But I wasn’t completely surprised that Topper wasn’t fully in the dark. He was a lot smarter than people thought.

“Don’t think I haven’t noticed, Sarah.” Rafe interjected. “You’ve been sneaking out a lot. Dodging Topper’s calls.”

We all watched Sarah. She was in the wrong for straight up cheating on Topper, but I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her too. It was her birthday, she didn’t deserve to be confronted like this in front of the whole town. I should be siding with my friend, but in a way, I know how emotions could be a mess. “I didn’t mean for everyone to find out like this.” Sarah broke down in tears.

“I fucking knew it!” Topper lunged at John B before Kelce and I could pull him back. But Topper wasn’t the one who swung, it was JJ who hit Topper.

“Asshole!” Rafe immediately punched JJ back, and I had the feeling it wasn’t at all about what had just happened. Somehow hell broke loose in this room, with my friends finding their own opponents on the other side. Through the gasps of the guests and Ward trying to diffuse the situation, I focused on trying to get JJ off Rafe who already landed a few blows on him.

“JJ! Get off him! Please!” I grabbed JJ by his collar, but he didn’t even flinch.

“Your friend did it first!” JJ yelled. “Whose side are you on?”

“Ours, obviously. He’s a kook. You’re nothing but someone to pass time with.” Rafe snarled.

“Really? Then why did he keep it to himself when we saw John B kiss Sarah for the first time?” JJ retorted just as Topper and John B stopped screaming at each other when Ward put himself between them. I didn’t even have to look behind to feel everyone’s eyes on me. The boy unharmed yet could’ve poured water over the flame before it became wildfire.

“You fucking knew? What kind of friend are you, Charlie?” Topper spat out.

Pure guilt and remorse twisted in my gut. There was nothing worse than the betrayal I could clearly see on my friend’s faces. Rafe couldn’t even look at me. “I… I’m sorry, Topper.”

“It isn’t his fault.” JJ finally got off Rafe. His voice was a lot calmer, yet still rough around the edges. “He just got caught in between.”

“Get your face out of here before I fucking strangle you next.” Topper looked at me with pure darkness and rage. I looked away and wiped my tears, shaking from the unaltered rage I saw in Topper’s eyes. I knew he would be angry. I knew it would lead to something like this, but never this.

“Try laying a hand on him and I’ll break your neck!” JJ started again, but I quickly caught his wrist.

“Please don’t,” I pleaded through my sobs. “Don’t make this worse.”

JJ watched me and his expression instantly softened at the sight of me. I couldn’t stop trembling, but I knew I was in the wrong. This was my payment for ignoring something I should’ve said ages ago. Just because the man I was falling for told me not to, even if back then I didn’t want to admit I was falling for him.

JJ exhaled before turning our hands, so his grip was around my wrist. He tried to pull me out the doorway, yet I remained frozen in place.

“Come with me,” JJ grumbled with his roughened voice. “I’ll get ya out of here.”

Against all my reasons and good senses, I followed him out.

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐗𝐕𝐈: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐃 𝐈𝐓'𝐒 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇

જ⁀➴ JJ Maybank x Male OC (Charlie Genrette)

જ⁀➴ masterlist ➴ previous ➴ next

I looked into the mirror and barely recognized the person staring back. Obsidian lace threaded through the burgundy coat that bled into my paleness like spilled wine. A fitted waistcoat hugged by small frame beneath, held together by cold silver buttons down the center. The crisp white collar scraped my jaw with every turn.

Everything about it felt wrong, and yet I have never looked more right in my entire life. The red brought warmth to my complexion. The dark threads turned my nervous sadness into elegance. It traced every line of my body with utter precision that refused to let me hide.

"You've been standing there for fifteen minutes." Rafe leaned against the bedroom door. He looked dashingly effortless in his blood velvet suit. Thin gold chains hung from his neck and wrists, bringing out the coldness of his mellow eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you? You look fine."

"You look perfect, Rafe. Perfect is far from fine." I sighed as I made his way to him.

Rafe sighed, tucking his hands into his midnight slacks. He scanned me from top to bottom. And yet, his look didn't feel like the usual scrutiny he gave the world. There was a slight warmth that almost felt like admiration. "You look far more perfect than me, Charlie." He finally mumbled.

I opened my mouth to disagree, but JJ's unmistakable drawl echoed from downstairs. "Charlie? Charliee, are you here? Should I have brought two pencils and a paper?"

"What's he doing here?" Rafe's face immediately turned sour. As if JJ Maybank was the cause of all his life problems.

"I don't know." I shrugged at Rafe before going out into the quartz painted hallway. "I'm coming down!" I called out while Rafe's footsteps were heavy behind me.

I descended the spiral staircase that led to the marbled chessboard foyer. The chandelier refracted light into a honey-toned rainbow against real white light, and underneath is where JJ stood. The world stopped along with my foosteps. The only thing keeping me here was my grip on the oak banister, but the view brought my entire being to heaven.

JJ was completely different, dressed in a maroon leather jacket with a wine red dress shirt underneath. The buttons on top were undone, exposing his sharktooth pendant between his prominent collarbones. His sun tanned skin glittered under all the lights, and his usually disheveled beach blond hair was pushed back for volume. Stiff strands fell over eyes carved from the darkest depths of the Atlantic, devastating every inch of my body. His flying red ribbon that promised to take him away from me was almost nothing compared to his entirety.

He truly looked like the prince. Of the ocean. Of recklessness. Of everything that made life worth living. And I was simply a boy in jeopardy in desperate need of saving.

"Well fuck me," JJ snapped me back into reality. He looked up at me with the most admiration I have ever seen in someone. So much that his entire face brightened. "Where have ya been hiding this snack, Charlie-boy?"

"Oh—Uh—" I scratched the spot where the collar rubbed against my skin. "What are you doing here?"

"Told ya over breakfast a week ago?" JJ scrunched his eyebrows. "You're my date to this thing, pretty boy. I'm here to pick yo' ass up."

"You guys are dating?" Rafe suddenly spoke from behind. For a split second, his eyes widened in shock. But he was quick to return his resting face.

"No, we're just taking each other to Sarah's birthday. That's all." I immediately clarified as I watched Rafe ball his fist.

"Well, come on down, Charlie. I wanna see ya up close." JJ motioned for me to get off the carpeted stairs. "Ya wanna ride with us, Rafe? Just in case you need to watch Charlie over here."

Rafe glared at JJ and I before running down the stairs, mumbling "I can drive myself" before slamming the front door.

"You already proved your point, JJ. You dont have to rub it into his face that you know." I said, finally landing on the cold marble floor. My polished leather loafers blended into the sparkling black tiles.

"Eh, I decide what I wanna do with what we know. You get to decide on your own end." JJ mocked, pointing to the front door where Rafe just ran out. I've thought about the possibility of Rafe seeing me as more than a friend, and I wasn't sure what I should do. I didn't want to scare him and confront him, but I felt that I was dragging his hope along if I didn't shut it down.

JJ stood in front of me. I lifted my neck to see that the mischief in his eyes was gone, replaced by a sincerity darkened by the overhead illumination. "You look so fucking good tonight." He took my hand and pressed a kiss on the back. "Keep this up, and I'm gonna keep tearing down the walls you keep on putting between us."

"I—" JJ hushed me with a finger to my lips.

"Ya keep telling me that you have reasons ya don't want me. And although I'm happy ya stopped bullshitting me with fake reasons, doesn't mean I'm stopping." He bent down to whisper into my air, his breath searing my earlobe. "I'm just gonna give more reasons to bring your world into a stop. Until you yourself are gonna lean in and kiss me like there's no tomorrow."

JJ pulled away with a smile that claimed victory well before the fight had even begun. He pulled me closer before fake wincing. "Ooh, ya bring your hairspray?"

"Why?" I tilted my head, confused as to why I would need it. Was my hair going flat already?

"We gonna ride on my motorcycle. Ya need to wear a helmet." JJ grinned. "Your curls gonna get ruined before I even pull on them myself as I kiss your neck in the afterparty."

Because nothing ever works on JJ, I just slap his firm chest slightly. I could never seem to get past his comments without smiling. Or my insides being set in a holy fire.

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐗𝐕: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐕𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒

જ⁀➴ JJ Maybank x Male OC (Charlie Genrette)

જ⁀➴ masterlist ➴ previous ➴ next

“How’d you guys meet? I thought you were the only gay person in Kildare.” Wheezie dug into her third pancake, warm morning sun hitting her glasses. I took it upon myself to cook waffles and pancakes for everyone because JJ was joining us at the breakfast table in the greenhouse. And not because I needed to get away from JJ’s morning wood pressed against my spine. And by wood, I mean a literal log.

“We’re just friends, Wheezie.” My breath stuttered when JJ bumped by thigh with his knee under the table. I glared at him, only for my heart to betray the rest of my body when I saw his treacherous grin. “All sorts of genders are allowed to be friends.”

“Friends, right. Not like I saw you sneaking him into your bedroom last night. I’m not the kid you used to babysit with Topper. I’m literally thirteen.” Wheezie rolled her eyes before digging into her food like it personally offended her.

“See, even the kid knows. You’re the only one pushin’ me away, Charlie-bear.” JJ slung his arm around me and pulled me close to his chest. I tried to escape but he just tightened his hold.

“By the way, my brother would totally kill you if he saw you here hugging Charlie like that. Or that you in the room next door last night.” Wheezie pointed at us with her golden fork. The crimson band attached to her hand whisked with her movements, promising her some happy ending in the future.

“What’d ya mean?” JJ ruffled my hair before letting go. His smirk told me that he didn’t care that I spent an hour in the bathroom curling my brown strands.

“Just that I hear stuff.” Wheezie shrugged. “I’m like a Dolores Madrigal. I know everything going on in this house, like how Sarah is planning this insanely elaborate 19th birthday—”

“Wheezie!” Sarah walked into the greenhouse holding small silver envelopes that glistened under the lights. Tall potted plants brushed against her bare legs. The look of mortification melted away when she saw the breakfast spread. “Ooh, pancakes! Thank you, Charlie!”

“Ya’ know it could’ve been me who cooked these, right?” JJ leaned forward.

Sarah sat down and rolled her eyes. I knew that the senior class probably knew each other, but I didn’t know she and JJ were close enough to be at some banter level. “I saw you burn instant noodles at the chateau. Instant noodles, JJ.” She sighed before giving him a stack of envelopes like it was against her will. “I trust this will go to your friends?”

“What’s that?” I asked just as Sarah handed me a singular envelope. I opened the wax stamp carefully.

“Formal invitations for my birthday.” Sarah began. “Since I was too angsty as an 18-year-old and I got too drunk on the way to my debutante ball, I’m throwing myself one. Because dad needs to introduce me to society or something. But also, because I want a redo. I expect everyone one to attend—”

“You have to be fucking kidding me.” I couldn’t stop the words from stumbling out my mouth when I read Theme: Red Strings of Fate. All in cursive letters. But when I realized that everyone at the table was looking at me like I had just murdered someone, I quickly smiled. “I live in this house. Of course I’ll be there.”

“Ya’ better be, cause you’re my date.” JJ’s gaze softened just as Sarah let out the breath she held.

“I’m curious though,” I looked at Sarah. The crimson ribbon tied to her finger stretched like a slow soundwave, definitely connected to John B. “Where’d you pick up the theme? It’s so… inventive.”

“Oh, remember when Sarah sprained her ankle and had to stay for a week? Rose got everyone hooked on this Korean show about red strings and fate and whatever to keep her occupied. Everyone except Rafe because he doesn’t care.” Wheezie explained.

“What’s this about red strings shit?” Rafe cut through our conversation. He leaned against the doorway, dressed down in just his pleated boxers and a black robe. His sculpted body on full display. “What’s he doin’ here?” He jerked his head towards JJ’s direction.

“Um, he just needed a place to stay last night. Your dad said it’s okay.” I watched Rafe’s expression darken.

“So, he slept in your bed?”

“Yeah, got a problem with that?” JJ propped his knee up on his iron chair. I tried to look at him to tell him to stop, but he kept his daring eyes fixed at Rafe.

Rafe stared blankly at us for a moment before walking over the table. I thought he was gonna do something to JJ, but instead he just huffed heavily and swiped a waffle with his bare hands. “You don’t know what you’re doing. Both of you.” His gaze landed on me as he ripped off a piece of his waffle with his teeth. “This is good, Charlie. Thanks.”

We all watched Rafe walk into the indoor breakfast bar before we all breathed. I wasn’t sure if he was threatening me or warning me. Because he knows that I shouldn’t be this close to JJ when it could straight up kill him.

“I swear sometimes it’s like all of our parent’s dark juju went to him and all the sunshine and rainbows were left for me and Wheezie.” Sarah shrugged before making a plate for herself.

“Looks like I won our lil’ bet, Charlie.” JJ’s voice dropped into a whisper.

I slapped him on the chest, but it just ended up being a tap against his muscles. JJ laughed. The sun turned his bright face even more glorious. Before I knew it, I was laughing too.

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐗𝐈𝐕: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐈𝐃𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐁𝐋𝐔𝐄𝐒 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊

જ⁀➴ JJ Maybank x Male OC (Charlie Genrette)

જ⁀➴ masterlist ➴ previous ➴ next

When JJ told me we’d have to walk back to the Cameron estate, I thought he had a few screws too loose. But he occupied me well with random stories about his friends, as well as the occasional brush of his silver rings against my arm. Before I knew it, we were in front of the tall iron gates of the mansion. Only the porch light remained turned on.

“This is me,” I looked up at JJ. The ivory moonlight warped his face in perfect shadows. “I really had fun tonight. Except when you told me about that time you got diarrhea from bad tacos. I can’t believe you still went back there.”

JJ cackled loud enough to wake up the neighbors. “Cause I never had ‘em before. I love tryin’ new things out, Charlie-bear.” He pulled me into his arms. His burly physique easily dwarfed my skinny, bony frame. “Fuckin’ loved every second with ya’. Can’t wait for your best friend to throw another temper tantrum so I don’t need to stop annoyin’ your cute lil’ ass.”

I didn’t like the association, but Rafe’s possible outburst reminded me of Luke. That sickening man. “Um, are you going home tonight?” I asked while still squished into JJ’s abs. His worn green shirt barely hid the hard muscle underneath.

JJ took a second before responding. As if he considered if he should lie or tell me the truth. “Nah, gonna crash at the Routledge’s. John B and his dad went to Charleston for some museum shit, but I just gotta dig around for the key. Or sleep on the hammock outside.” JJ nuzzled his face into the crook of my neck, at least as low as he can get while bending. He didn’t do anything untoward, but his hot breath fanning against my skin was enough to shatter my sensitive stomach. “Ya’ could come with me, talk some more. Or not do any talkin’ at all.”

“Actually, you could come up to my room.” I gripped the sleeve of his shirt for support. His biceps strained against the cloth.

JJ immediately straightened. He licked his lips while looking at me like I was his prey. I immediately rambled again before he could even say anything about not talking. “I would just feel really bad if you have to sleep outdoors tonight. And Mr and Mrs. Cameron are really cool with overnight guests as long as we don’t do anything to wake everyone up. I have a couch in my room so you could take that. We don’t have to share a bed.”

“But I want to share a bed, Charlie.” JJ said, his rapacious smile undying.

I tugged him with his finger through the empty foyer. It’s strange how places with so much life in the morning could be so dead in the dark. Like the spiral staircase was just sitting in its silent truth, waiting for something to disrupt its contemplation.

I immediately closed the bedroom door behind me before Rafe could come out from his side and see us. But when I turned around, JJ was leaning over me. One arm braced to my side.

“Hey, Charlie.” JJ grinned.

“H—Hi.” My breath stuttered under the speculation of his ocean blue eyes. His sharp gasoline and smoke scent killing all my inhibitions.

“We’re in a bedroom. Alone.” His ragged fingertip traced my cheekbone. “Rafe’s probably asleep by now.”

“Yeah but we’re here as friends.” I tried to talk blankly. But JJ’s shrug told me that he could see me blushing in the darkness of my bedroom.

“Suit yourself.” JJ pulled away, and I felt like a life source was torn away from my veins when his heat came with him. He walked around the full wall shelves filled with all my books. “Damn, ya’ some kind of librarian? How did ya’ even read all of these? You’ve only been around 16 years.”

“I haven’t read everything.” I sat on the edge of my queen-sized bed, pulling my legs to the side. “I’m more of a collector than a reader. I’ll probably come around reading some of them, but I doubt I’ll finish them in this lifetime. I like watching Netflix more.”

“These are all romance books.” My heart took an unusual rhythm upon JJ’s observation. Nobody noticed that before. Not Rafe when he helped me arrange them onto the shelves, not even Granddad. But this boy and his knowing grin did. “At least I think so. I ain’t know the first thing about literature and shit.”

JJ leapt onto the space beside me, the mattress quaking in his weight. His limbs sprawled across the bed. It was an expanse of comfort when I’m on my own, but with JJ the bed didn’t seem enough. “Ya’ cravin’ some love, pretty boy?”

“Maybe,” I pulled myself close to give JJ his space. He held his head up by one arm, stiffened hair curtaining his eyes. “It just kept the hope alive for me.”

“Hope for what?” JJ moved closer, burning me with his body heat once more.

“Romance. Love. That enchanted happy ending.” I shrugged, avoiding JJ’s look. I tried to come up with a reason that didn’t involve the curse but still undid the parts that I’ve been aching to talk about. “It’s just that all my friends have been dating for so long now. Rafe had his first girlfriend when he was 10. It didn’t last to lunch, but I kinda wish I also had that kind of freedom because since then Rafe has been loving and breaking hearts. I wanna fall in love. But then again, nobody ever really showed interest until you.”

“I think plenty of people are interested in you, Charlie.” JJ nudged me with his knee. “Can I tell ya’ somethin’?’

I nodded, keeping my eyes fixed on that one lint on the comforter.

“Ya’ know what happened the night we met. I thought Kiara walkin’ away was the worst thing to happen to me. She really got me. Went with my shit. I screwed it all up.” Gloom fell over his rich voice. “But when I turned and saw ya’ by the fire? I told myself Shit, I’ve been dating the wrong person for a year now.”

Since that night, it felt like my body was on fire whenever my paths crossed with JJ. But his realization pretty much lit my whole world on fire. It was like the night he kissed me again. “Do you wanna know something?” My eyes darted to his glowing red ribbon slowly waving from his finger, making it’s way out the door. “I think you’re bound to go back to Kiara somehow.”

JJ crunched his eyebrows. “What?”

“I just think so. My friends told me that you guys looked together or something.” I lied. I couldn’t tell if JJ bought it or not. His lips curved down into a straight line, like I just told him he must take history again.

“I don’t want her back anymore, Charlie.” JJ said, the bravado in his voice completely gone.  “She’s not the one I imagine kissing every night.”

“JJ, we can’t.” I sighed. My hands were trembling, so I tucked them into the holes of my cashmere sweater. I needed to hide, but JJ’s presence held back my better senses. “I just don’t think we’re good for each other.”

“I could be the worst thing to happen to you, Charlie Genrette.” JJ grabbed my chin and made me face him. I swore I could see the tidal waves in his eyes. It was so easy to drown in the man that did nothing but consume all the barriers I spent years putting up. “Or I could be the best thing, too.”

I held his hand, feeling the roughness of his knuckles. The hands of someone broken one too many times. “I don’t wanna talk about this. I just wanna sleep.”

JJ considered me for a second before nodding. “Then let’s sleep.”

I laid down on my side, letting JJ pull the blankets above us before wrapping his arms around my waist. He rested his chin on top of my fluffy curls, humming some Radiohead song about not knowing what the hell he’s doing here.

I didn’t know what I was doing either. All I knew was that I loved being tucked into JJ like this, fitting like I was always meant to be here in his arms. I loved his breath blowing against my scalp. His large hand spanned the entirety of my stomach. Holding me like I was always his to have.

I let myself think about falling in love with JJ Maybank. There was nothing that could hurt us in this bedroom.

It was the best version of my life.

⫘⫘ˎˊ˗ ben brown x lucas bowden x nerdy!male reader

⫘⫘ˎˊ˗ smut

⫘⫘ˎˊ˗ ben and lucas propose to resolve your long-standing love triangle with a competition in bed.

⫘⫘ˎˊ˗ content warning: explicit smut (MDNI), sharing, rough and unprotected sex, come inside, multiple orgasms (reader), dubcon at start, anal sex, dirty talk, muscle worship, squeezing, slight choking, slight size gap

Author's Note: This is definitely inspired by those Barbie, Ken, and their shared boyfriend posts I've been seeing 🫣

“Y—You want us to do what?” You pushed up your fogged up glasses, knees pulled close to your chest. Ben and Lucas cornered you against the headboard of your bed. The two boys who captured your poor heart after meeting at some board game event. Little did you know it would start a six month tug of war.

“If you’re comfortable,” Ben traced absent-minded circles on your thigh. His hand was large enough to span its entirety. “We’d take turns on you.”

“Then you’d decide who you want between us.” Lucas leaned forward, his half-lidded stare baring into the depths of your existence. It felt like he was reading your confusion; Some days you craved Ben’s casual demeanor bleeding into his intensity, while some days you wanted Lucas’ lazy words yet rough actions. He lifted your face with the chin. “So, what do you say?”

Before you could even overthink it, Lucas pummeled his mouth into yours. Like a speeding car crashing into a wall at full speed, shards of his bittersweetness pierced your tongue. He explored your mouth as if it was his to take. You were stripped down to nothing, completely at the mercy of his body glistening in the lamplight. At the back of your mind, you felt Ben get off the bed. “Fuck, you’re delicious. Made to be ruined by me.” His teeth dug into your lower lip, letting the metallic tang drip down your chin.

After slicking himself with lube from the nightstand, Lucas aligned himself to your hole. “Breathe baby, I’m a bit bigger than that fella over there.” He chuckled, but when you turned your head to look at Ben, he immediately gripped your jaw. He breached you in one slicked thrust that arched your back from the bed. He wasn’t kidding, you could feel the fullness of every inch of Lucas’ cock. “Or don’t. I like you tight anyway.”

Every thrust came with a certain roughness that knocked your glasses side ward. Lucas held your waist like you were going to fly once he lets go. His pounds knocked the air from your lungs in repeated punctuation, intensified by his uneven thrusts. Sometimes he came in hard and other times he took his sweet time dragging against your walls.

“You look so good like this,” Lucas breathed above you. He brought your hand to his sweaty chest, his heart thumping against your palm. “That’s how good you make me feel. We ruin each other.”

Your first orgasm hit like a wrecking ball, spurting warmth all over your stomach. Your legs wrapped around Lucas’ waist as he continued to thrust until he reached his own high inside you. He coated your walls with his seed. You kept on moaning until Lucas halted his thrusts suddenly. The weight in your stomach settled, like he emptied his balls inside.

Lucas pecked your lips before pulling out, letting warmth trickle down your thighs. “Good luck, pretty boy.” He lightly tapped your cheek before Ben came to view. He was fully nude, his muscles far more defined with his equally large cock erect and veiny. He crawled on top of you, rough hands separating your closed thighs. “You sure you’re still up for this?”

You nodded profusely, eager to take him in. Ben kept his electric blue eyes on yours as he pushed in. He stole the breaths you just retrieved after Lucas. Your fingers dug into the defined muscles of his back until you felt him fully inside you. His cock head pressed against your prostate, sending sparks of pleasure with minimal effort. “You alright?” He ran his hand through your hair.

“M—move!” You gasped in a plea. Over-sensitivity burned your senses into a crisp, yet you craved more of the fire.

The first snap of Ben’s hips sent your glasses flying. Through the slight blur in your vision, you watched Ben slightly smirk. Every thrust was enough to shake your entire body, so Ben pinned you on the mattress. “Fuck, you take me so well boy.” He squeezed the flesh of your ass, making you yelp through the evenly rough pace. Every repeated movement worked to another burst of pleasure.

Your trembling hands traveled from the gap between his pectorals down to the ridges of his abs and the v-line where his cock pounded into your ass. Your nerves died and came to back life along with his pace, consistently pounding your prostate and shooting sweet pleasure through your veins. “Keep on worshiping me like that, pretty boy.” He rasped into yours. “I’m all yours if you choose me.”

Your second orgasm came just as intense as the first, seizing your body into an otherworldly trance. Nightmares and daydreams bleeding into each other. Ben filled your ass up to the brim, mixing in with the remains of Lucas’ own spent. He revived the warmth in your exhausted body. Sooner, he pulled out and collapsed next to you.

Lucas crashed into the empty space beside you, still bare from the rough coupling. They trapped you in the furnaces of their body heat. “So, who do you want to be with?”

The admission lingered in your tongue, although you weren’t sure if they would be accepting when their dark gazes raked your body. Watching every tremble of your body. Every slight quiver. Every blush.

“Speak up, love.” Ben thumbed your lower lip. “Whatever your decision is, we’d accept it. No hard feelings. We already had you in all the ways we wanted.”

“I—” You took a deep breath. “I really like the both of you. I don’t know what to do because I can’t choose. I don’t wanna hurt either of you, but I know that I may be leading one of you on. I feel like I’m a bad person.”

Silence fell inside the room. Nothing but the quiet hum of the fan hanging above the three of you.

“Well,” Lucas began. “You’re allowed to have the both of us, you know. We’re in the 21st century.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Ben spoke a few seconds later, his voice rough from exertion.

“How would that work exactly?” You read about that kind of relationship before, but you weren’t sure what it exactly meant.

They both rose up and looked down on you. Lucas had a wide smirk while Ben had a small smile he was trying to hide. “We’ll teach you, pretty boy.” Lucas purred as he scooped the cum on your stomach and licked it off his fingers.

Thank you so much !! This means a lot to me as someone who struggles with motivation a lot lol

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐗𝐈𝐈𝐈: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐒 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐘𝐄𝐓 𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐅𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓

જ⁀➴ JJ Maybank x Male OC (Charlie Genrette)

જ⁀➴ masterlist ➴ previous ➴ next

𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆: Luke Maybank, Usage of a slur (by Luke), Implications of homophobia and domestic violence

Rafe remained standing on the balcony as he watched me leave in JJ’s truck. He was like a ghost with tight jaws and clenched fists against the obsidian banister. The chances of JJ being right about him were low, but not zero.

God, I hated how JJ’s words embedded in my head. And now they’re taking roots in my brain.

“He looked like he wanted to burn this truck down,” JJ chuckled as he drove past the tall limestone marble mansions hidden behind iron gates and hedges, occasionally broken by sidewalk palm trees as the street unfolded like a film roll. “Ya’ really don’t see how he gives every guy in your life the death stare? He made ya’ move in next to his bedroom. He’s probably watching ya’ shower and change in your underwear.”

“Rafe’s not like that.” I shook my head. “And it wasn’t him who offered; it was Mr. Cameron. He’s been trying to get my granddad to sell some of our islands because he wants to develop them into resorts. He’s been so desperate that he threw his wedding anniversary party and Rafe’s 18th birthday just to get me and Granddad to talk in his office.”

“I know,” JJ’s tone shifted into gruffness. I watch his fingers flex across the steering wheel he maneuvers with one hand, his free arm propped up on the center storage. “That fucker’s been tryin’ to buy up The Cut too. Heard he’s tryna’ get zoning laws messed up so he’d have this way.”

“Ward’s a nice guy, but I wish he’d stop being greedy.” I sighed.

“But ion wanna talk about greedy fucks, Charlie.” JJ’s crooked grin returned, his eyes fixed on mine. “Whatdya’ wanna do?”

“You’re the one who invited me in this ridiculous plan.” I chuckled at JJ. “And you don’t have a plan?”

“Not a plan guy. Usually I just take ‘em straight to bed.” His smile spread wider. “But ya’ ain’t my usual.”

I ignored the tornadoes JJ’s last words spun around my stomach. “Considering that you’re gonna be wrong about Rafe having feelings for me, you get to decide the last thing you’ll do with me before you leave me alone for good.”

“Hm,” JJ pursed his dry lips in thought, before a devious smirk brings life to his suntanned skin.

જ⁀➴♡

Sunset purple and orange bled from the sky onto the empty parking lot, devouring the gravel around us in angelic hues. JJ opened his trunk for us to sit on, setting our food between us. I just got tater tots with loads of cheese, while JJ got a cheeseburger and two cans of beer.

“So, what did Rafe say when ya’ walked out the door?” JJ took a large bite from his burger, the sauce dripping onto the napkins I thankfully set. “Damn, always delicious.”

“That I was out of my mind hanging out with you when you gave me the middle finger after we kissed.” I stabbed my fork into my meal. “But he’s always like that when we talk about other people. He always has something to say. He just hates humans.”

“About that,” JJ pulled up his knee before pushing his hair back. His eyes drift away into the diner where our food came from. “I shouldn’t have told ya to fuck off after I kissed you.”

I wasn’t expecting JJ to apologize. It seemed to be a tough thing to do for him, with the way he avoided looking at me. I never let myself admit it that night, but it did sting that the first guy I kiss would walk away so easily. “It’s okay, I wasn’t clear either with you either. What I meant was you’re fresh out of a relationship and it would feel weird if we just got together immediately.”

“Was I your first kiss?” JJ asked suddenly. His smile remained but there was a new seriousness in his eyes, plunging deep into my soul.

“Yes.” I whispered my admission.

I half expected him to laugh or even tease me about it, but JJ just nodded to himself. He went silent again. All I wanted to know when I watched him get distracted by the burning horizon was what he thought. Did he think I was pathetic for not having kissed anyone before? “So, we cool, right pretty boy?” He bumped me on the shoulder a bit too harshly. “Damn, sorry.”

“We’re cool.” I nodded. Just as JJ and I took another bite, a man with white hair made his way to us. His white shirt and flannel jacket was greasy and sweaty, giving way to a slight beer belly. He was about three feet away from us, yet he still smelled strong like a distillery. I immediately looked away from him when he saw me. His red string strained into the sky. Something about his presence made me want to cough up all the food I ate.

“I need the truck, JJ.” I instantly recognized the voice. The same man that yelled outside of JJ’s bedroom. The man he seemed to be afraid of. “Get his tranny looking ass and your own off my truck.”

“Hey, don’t call him that!” JJ jumped from where we sat in front of his dad, sizing him up. Fear seized my veins. I wanted to tell JJ to walk away but the way they looked at each other made me realize I wasn’t the powerless one here. They looked at each other with so much disgust and fury that I wasn’t sure if they were even blood related. “Ya’ don’t go around callin’ that boy slurs because he’s the reason I graduated. And I borrowed the car. I told ya’ this mornin’, it’s mine for the night.”

“I’M PAYING FOR THIS PIECE OF SHIT!” His dad lifted his hand high up in the air so easily it was sickening, and a scream finally tore from my throat. “HEY!”

They both looked at me. JJ’s eyes trembled slightly, pleading with me not to get involved. His dad looked at me like he was ready to murder me as well. “I won’t do that if I were you.”

His dad laughed deeply. His voice was coarse, unlike JJ’s rich intonation. “You really want to take on me when you look like you could get knocked down in one punch?”

JJ muttered for his father to stop as I opened my mouth again. It was too late to back down. “Go ahead, and my grandfather will make sure you’re serving a prison and rehab sentence longer than Lindsay Lohan.” I jumped from the truck and stepped towards him, attempting to hide the terror that he caused with the narrowing of his eyes. “People already know you’re the town drunk; you’re getting sloppy if you let everyone in this town know your domestic behavior too.”

The car keys jingled as JJ shoved it into his father’s chest. “There, take the car. Just leave us the fuck alone.”

His dad stared at us for a second that went too long before growling. He pushed all our food off the truck before slamming the doors closed. As he pulled away violently, I watched the beer spill onto the ground. It darkened like blood. And I prayed that JJ’s life didn’t get to the point of that much bleeding.

“Sorry about your tots,” JJ chuckled breathlessly. He’s so quick to return his bravado it was terrifying. He leaned back down to pick up the other can that didn’t get shattered from the impact. “My dad’s just drunk. He ain’t usually like that.”

“You don’t have to do that with me, JJ.” I spoke. My heart felt heavy seeing him pick up the pieces of someone else’s mess.

“Do what?” He rolls all the damaged food into one plastic bag.

“Lie.” I regretted my words as soon as it left my lips. JJ stood up slowly, his eyes held perfectly still like an anchor on the ocean floor. The way someone does when they’re trying not to break.

“I’m not lying.” JJ said almost too quickly. His smug smirk came a second too late.

I took the plastic from him and gave him a reassuring smile. “How do we get out of here now?”

JJ understood. He always did. He didn’t need to talk about it if he didn’t want to. “I have no fuckin’ idea.”