JJ Maybank x Routledge! Reader
Summary: You are absolutley terrified of hurricanes, and you're home alone for one for the first time. John B calls in a favor from his best friend to help put your mind at ease.
It was the harsh winds whipping against your bedroom window that woke you up that day. You knew it was coming, you’d been tracking the storm for days. You checked your phone to see a text from your boss. Closing the marina, no work today. That’s never a good sign. You had always been terrified of hurricanes, ever since you were little. It was a fairly normal part of life in the Outer Banks, but you never felt used to it. The pouring rain, the storm surge, the floods. All things you hated about living right on the coast. The fear of losing everything- even in minor storms, scared the shit out of you. You were an anxious child in general, but hurricanes made everything worse.
Now that you weren’t a little girl anymore, you tried to conceal these fears. It was ever so slightly embarrassing. Surely your friends would make fun of you relentlessly if they knew you were scared of a little wind and water. But your brother was well aware of this part of you, which is why it was no surprise that he called you. You rolled over in your bed and accepted the call.
“What’s up JB?” He had been in Charleston with Sarah for the weekend. He should be on his way home by now.
“Hey, sis, I hate to do this, but I won’t be able to make it back today.” You could hear Sarah shuffling around in the background, probably still at the hotel at this hour. You felt a pang of anxiety strike through your chest. Having a hurricane was one thing, but being home alone for one? That was something you’d never done before. Something you never intended on doing either. John B must have sensed your silence. “I know you hate storms, but the weather is just getting too bad for us to drive home. It’s already pouring over here, and our windshield is still cracked, so that’s not really an option.” You felt stupid for how scared you felt. You tried to push it down, but to no avail. You took a deep breath, and another, trying to suppress the panic attack you knew was coming.
“Okay,” is all you could manage to say. It’s not like you could demand he risk his safety to come coddle you during the storm. But John B, ever the planner, was prepared.
“JJ’s out filling sandbags, he’ll be over soon.” Fantastic. You were fond of JJ, really, in fact that was precisely why you didn’t want him to come over. Why you didn’t want him to see you as the mess you’d surely become when the storm really picks up. As your brother’s childhood best friend, JJ was a part of the family. Which is why you had spent most of your life hiding your big fat crush that you had on him. The sound of Sarah’s voice calling John B’s name dragged you out of your thoughts. “I gotta go. I’ll call you later. Love you,”
“Love you too,” you said back. But he had already hung up. With a huff, you stood up and got straight to hurricane prep. Luckily, your anxiety translated to fantastic responsibility. You had already boarded the windows, gotten groceries, charged all electronics and power banks, and replaced batteries in your flashlights which you had out and ready. Next you made your way outside to prep the boat.
The temperature was quickly dropping outside. Suddenly, your sweatpants and T-shirt wasn’t enough, and you wished you had stopped to put on shoes. You wished you had put your hair up too, as it blew all around you and obstructed your vision constantly. But there were things to do, so you pressed on. You made sure the boat was tied securely to the dock, and covered it with a tarp secured by bungee cords. You doubted that would do much to keep the water out, but it kept you busy. That’s what mattered.
The rain had just started to fall as you finished up outside. You started to walk back up the dock when you saw JJ pushing a wheelbarrow full of sandbags.
“Where’d you get that thing?” You shouted over the wind. He just flashed you his signature smile as you walked up to him.
“Found it outside someone’s house.” He laughed, you smacked his arm.
“JJ that belonged to someone,” You half-scolded him.
“Relax, they’ll think the wind blew it away,” he parked the wheel barrow outside your front door and started placing the sandbags.
The next few hours were pretty normal. You made lunch while JJ plopped on the couch and watched whatever was on TV. Every once and a while you made him switch to the news channel to get the weather updates. Every hour the eye of the storm inched closer, the winds grew louder, and the rain pelted against the chateau harder. You tried to contain your growing anxiety, not wanting JJ to see. But he always saw. He was sprawled across the couch, half asleep. You were sitting on the floor, back to the couch, with your eyes glued to the screen. Your legs bounced against the floor as you continued to take deep breaths. The weather woman reported the same information as a few minutes ago, but you couldn’t bring yourself to look away. Then you felt a hand on your shoulder.
“You don’t have to be scared,” he said, his voice low and sleepy. You just shook your head.
“I’m not scared.” You continued staring forward at the TV, but JJ’s hand didn’t move.
“Sweetheart, you’re vibrating the whole room.” His hand moved down to your leg, stilling your shaking.
“I don’t like hurricanes.” You simply stated. JJ chuckled.
“I know. John B filled me in.”
“Oh god, how much did he tell you?” You could tell by his smirk that John B had told him quite a bit.
“Well, I know that the last one made you puke” He laughed again, and your face fell forward into your hand. You pretended that the way he looked at you didn’t make your heart flutter. He probably looked at everyone like that. The two of you sat in silence for a while, the only sounds were the rain, the wind, and the TV. JJ’s arm on your legs was the only thing grounding you as your mind started to spiral. You were determined not to let him see it. And then, silence.
The TV shut off, the lights went out, and the hum of all your appliances had ceased. No power. Amazing. JJ’s head popped up, mostly checking for your reaction. But you didn’t have one, at least not visibly. Then, JJ picked up the flashlight that you had handed him hours earlier. He turned it on and held it to his chin, making funny faces at you. You laughed for a moment, but the rattling of the house quickly stole your attention. Your anxiety was only rising, but you didn’t want JJ to see.
“I’m just gonna try to go to bed,” you announce, standing up. JJ turns onto his side, watching you. It wasn’t actually that late, but the sky was so dark you could’ve been fooled.
“Okay,” he pulls the blanket on the couch over himself. “I’ll be here if you need me.” He promptly closes his eyes, and dozes off in record time. You speed through brushing your teeth and taking your anxiety medicine. You doubled your dose actually. Not doctor recommended, but probably necessary. You climbed right into bed in the same clothes you woke up in and pulled the blankets up just a little higher than usual. And then, you laid there.
In the dark, there was nothing to do but listen to the noises outside. How the trees swayed, the rain hit your boarded-up window, the wind carried debris around the air and crashed it into your house. According to what the weather woman said, the worst was coming any minute now. So, you waited. Your breathing picked up, starting to match the gusts outside. A tear slipped down your face, which you quickly swiped away. It was just a storm. You were safe. Everything was fine. But no matter how much you told yourself that, the heaviness in your chest refused to go away.
Then, there was a crash right against your wall. Maybe a tree fell, maybe JJ’s new wheelbarrow went flying. Whatever it was, it sent you running out of your room on pure instinct. You didn’t even realize that you had gotten out of bed until you saw JJ shooting up on the couch.
“What’s wrong?” He asked, searching you for any obvious signs of danger. Instead, he found you, staring at the ground with tears running down your face. He threw his blanket to the side and crossed the room, rubbing his hands down your arms. “Hey, it’s okay. This is the worst of it. It’ll pass through soon.” His voice was low and gentle, enough to make you dizzy under normal circumstances. You just nodded your head slowly.
Another loud noise had you jumping and had JJ pulling you into his chest. You wrap your arms around his waist and hide your face in his chest. You focused on your breathing, trying to stop the shaking that was starting to take over. JJ slowly walked the two of you backward, eventually laying back down on the couch. You stood above him for a moment, hesitating. JJ held his arms out.
“Come’re,” He grabbed your hand and pulled you forward. You gave in and laid down on top of him, curling into his side. JJ pulled the blanket back over the two of you and rested an arm on your back. The two of you had shared beds and couches a million times over the course of your friendship. But this felt different. You pretended not to notice how his skin heated up against yours. He pretended not to notice how you clutched his shirt.
The storm didn’t quiet down outside. The noises didn’t fade and the lights didn’t turn back on. But the storm in your mind faded. You focused on the beating of JJ’s heart under your ear. He rubbed your back as your breathing slowed. Eventually, the both of you drifted off. Before either of you would wake up, the storm would subside. Your anxiety would be back to normal levels and JJ would be a normal distance away from you. But for now, you two were comfortable.
