'You might want to go inside,' JJ murmured to the girl on his lap. He knew full well the extent to which she got pissed at Kiara for shit-talking her twin, and now that they would be there together, the tension would be higher than ever. 'Please, Mae. I'll come get you once everything's sorted between them.'

She hesitated a second before caving. 'Fine.'

JJ kissed her softly. 'Thank you. Go have a nap or something. Or clean, if you're that bored.'

'I highly doubt I'm going to resort to that,' Maelynn giggled. 'But thanks for the ideas. I'll probably nap or go on my phone.'

'Alright. See you later, love.'

Butterflies attacked her stomach at the pet name he used. Love. She screamed internally and settled for grinning outwardly. 'Later.'

She headed into the house with smiles at everyone else and a wink at Sarah. She winked back and stood near John B. That must have even pissed Kiara off. Maelynn smiled at the thought. 

As JJ had suggested, she quickly became bored of hanging around and instead decided to tidy his room instead. It was no simple feat - it looked like he hadn't ever cleaned it. There was layers of dust on just about every surface, not to mention the dirt and sand all over the floor. It took almost ten minutes to clean that alone. Then she moved onto the pile of clothes they had folded earlier that day, tucking them into his drawers neatly. She refolded what was already in them, as laundry didn't seem to be his strong suit. There wasn't much in there anyway. She made a mental note to take him to get more sometime once they were less busy. 

Once finished in JJ's room, she laid down on his bed and opened her phone. There were about thirty texts from Rafe and Kelce, telling her what Topper told them and swearing at her. She left them both on read. That would be sure to make them worse. 

But there was one from Sarah that sent her out the door:

sarah beara
blood is thicker than water.

It was a code they had created when they were younger, that meant an argument had occurred and one needed to talk to the other. Maelynn made the obvious assumption that Kiara and Sarah's fighting had hit a breaking point. She hadn't expected it to get so heated that they would both leave, but when she got onto the porch, that was what she was greeted with. The three boys all looked at her guiltily. 

'What happened?' she demanded. Pope opened his mouth, then closed it, nodding to JJ. 

'You can do it. She's your girlfriend.'

JJ rolled his eyes but turned to her. 'Kiara offered John B here an ultimatum: her or your sister. So, John B being the idiot he is and not understanding ultimatums-'

'I understand them!' interjected John B. 

'-He said both. So the girls both left. We're now deciding how to make them work together.'

Maelynn snorted derisively. 'Good luck with that. From what I know, they're both stubborn as rocks.'

'That's why you're going to help us,' John B put in. 'You know what'll get your sister somewhere, and we have an idea for Kie, so lets put our heads together and make a plan here.'

'Fine.'

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'I can't believe he wants to apologize so quickly,' Sarah said as she and Maelynn walked down the dock. 'I mean, it was only a few hours ago.'

'That's what it's like to have a needy girlfriend.' Maelynn teased. Sarah smacked her arm and laughed. 

John B waved at them from the end of the dock, where the boat was waiting. If all went as planned, Kiara would be locked in and JJ would make his escape in a few seconds. Maelynn hoped for everyone's sakes that this was planned as well as the boys thought. 

'Here, let me help you up,' John B said as they got to the boat. Sarah put her hand in his and let him lead her onto the deck. 'JJ!'

The boy in question came running out of the boat and leaped off. Maelynn caught him and held on, watching her sisters' face go from confusion to grim realization. There were a few curse words thrown in her direction and the boat moved away from the dock and Kiara started to yell. They were both screaming at the others within seconds of their departure. 

'There's a blunt in there!' JJ yelled after them, squeezing Maelynn's waist. She laughed at the mental image of her sister and Kiara Carrera smoking weed together. 

'We'll come get you in the morning!' Maelynn called. Her sister flipped her off. She blew a kiss back and pressed her lips against the side of JJ's neck. 'This is going to be so good.'

He kissed her back. 'You bet your pretty ass it will.'

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Later, after everyone had gone home or to bed, JJ and Maelynn tumbled into his bed and retried their activity from the night before. It was better, somehow. 

'JJ?'

He hummed. His fingers traced up and down her bare spine. 

'I think I'm in love with you.'

At that he sat up, staring down at her. Maelynn Cameron, kook princess, good person that she was, thought she was in love with him? 'You...really?'

She looked away shyly. 'Yeah.'

He smiled and kissed her hard, his lips still in a smile. He gripped her sides tightly and laughed into her mouth. 'I love you too, Maelynn.'

'Really? You're not just saying it because I said it?'

'Really.'

She smiled and kissed him again, pulling him down on top of herself. They kissed and kissed, giggles escaping in between. This continued until Maelynn pulled away, a worried expression crossing her face. 'I have to show you something.'

JJ brushed a stray hair back from her face. 'What?'

With a slight groan, she rose from the bed and reached for her phone. She handed it to JJ once it was unlocked. 'Look at the shit Topper sent me.'

She sat silently as he scrolled through the chat from that morning. His anger was boiling below the surface. How dare someone like Topper Thornton say such horrible things about someone so good.

'I'm actually going to kill him this time. I swear to God.'

Maelynn reached over and took her phone back, pointing at the last thing in the chat. 'But he can't bother me any more!'

'Oh, yeah? And all the ignored texts from your brother and Kelce, calling you the same names Topper did? Those don't bother you even a little?'

'I ignored them for a reason, JJ.'

'Maelynn, this isn't okay.'

'You think I don't know that?' She threw her hands up in the air. 'These boys have known me since I was tiny, and they haven't hesitated to call me terrible names because of who I love. It sucks ass, but I'm going to have to live with it.'

'No, you won't,' JJ replied evenly. 'If I knock some sense into those dickheads, you won't have to deal with any of this shit. You shouldn't have to now. Maelynn, you need to know that you're none of those things they're saying. You're kind, and perfect, and smart, and utterly fucking beautiful and nothing can change any of that.'

'Please don't.'

'Give me one good reason not to.'

'They're not worth it.'

'But you are.'

She adopted a pleading look. 'JJ, please. I'm begging you with everything I have to leave this be. I don't want more problems that what I've already got.'

He sighed and pulled her to his chest again, rubbing her back soothingly. 'Fine. But if they say anything like that in person and near me, they won't live to see another day.'

'Fine.'

He kissed the top of her hair and sighed. 'I love you, Mae. Sweet dreams.'

'You too, J.'

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1338 words.
written august 18/21.