"Our Kiara is definitely a shoo-in for Ivy League."

"Oh, she'll of course focus on her studies first but we're sure she'll settle down with a fine young man someday soon."

"Anna, your daughter looks so lovely tonight, we must introduce her to my son."

"I heard she's been seen around with that riff-raff from the cut, Luke's son."

"It's just a phase, she knows better."

Kiara was couldn't breathe. She was suffocating on the expectations caving in around her, choking on the judgment she'd been subjected to ever since her parents had convinced the country club to accept her membership. It wasn't a secret that she hung out with the Pogues or that she considered herself to be a Pogue. Whenever she went to one of the stupid events, she was pushed into a corner, forced to hear what people who didn't matter to her but mattered more than anything to her parents thought about her.

"She's just so involved in social justice you see, wanting to help everyone."

"Can't she do that by working at a puppy shelter or something?"

Laughter echoed around her, mocking and cruel. She couldn't take it anymore, couldn't stick around to hear her parents make promises about her future that she didn't want part of. Before she could be noticed, or missed, she slipped out from the shadows she'd been sheltering in and left the country club. Once she was safe from view, she took off the heels she was wearing and put on the sandals she'd hidden in her insisted-upon purse. Then she ran. Away from the country club, away from expectations and false niceties. She wanted only one thing and she knew exactly where to get it.

She'd hoped that the tears would've stopped by the time she got to the Chateau. It was bad enough that Pope and John B probably hated her and wouldn't want her there, not since she'd gone full Kook. But she was still crying when they came into view. They were all laughing together, JJ leaning against a tree while Pope and John B lounged on the hammock. The realization that she didn't belong there was abrupt and painful and she almost turned around. She would have if JJ hadn't seen her first. Their eyes met, the mirth in his gaze immediately replaced with concern.

"Kie?"

Heaving a deep, shuddering breath, Kiara lost what was left of her composure. JJ caught her as she launched across the lawn and into his arms. She was sobbing into his chest, letting him hold her together as she felt her whole world fall apart around her. In his embrace, she felt safe. He wouldn't judge her, not like the people at the party. Not like John B and Pope. His arms were strong around her, warm and protective. Keeping her from completely losing herself. She hadn't meant to get lost in the first place, hadn't meant to succumb to the temptations of Kook life. But once she was gone, once her parents saw the daughter they wanted her to be, they'd put her in the same glass box as all other Kooks. All pretty and fragile. Vaguely, she was aware that JJ was trying to talk to her, trying to coax any kind of response from her that could resemble an explanation. "I can't take it," she whimpered, feeling safe enough to be weak, "I can't take another day of them talking about me like I can't hear them."

It was enough of an explanation for JJ. He knew that Kiara had been pretty much ordered by her parents to attend Midsommer. He'd asked if she wanted him to come and while she'd said yes, they both knew that he'd never have been let past the threshold. "I know, Princess," he murmured into her hair, stroking her back, "It's alright, I've got you." Over Kiara's head, he caught John B and Pope staring at them incredulously. He knew they thought she'd cut off all contact with them. He'd purposely not told them about his relationship with her because of the looks they were giving him. Like he had betrayed them or something. "C'mon, Kie," he whispered, leading her over to a nearby chair, "Talk to me." He sat her down and crouched in front of her as he swept the slowly subsiding tears off her cheeks.

"They kept talking about my perfect Kook future with my perfect Kook husband," she hiccuped, taking out all the pins keeping her hair in place and tossing them aside, "They had it all planned, college, marriage, all of it!" Strong, calloused hands wrapped around her upper arms, rubbing warmth into them. His touch, so familiar and loving, nearly sent her into hysterics again. How could they talk about him as though he was beneath them when he was the one saving her? "I can't do it, JJ," she whispered desperately, "I can't go back there."

"We'll figure it out…"

"They talked about you," she continued, gesturing sharply in the vague direction of the country club, "They said you were a phase, that you were some kind of charity case." Kiara did her best to fight the onslaught of fresh tears, swiping furiously at her cheeks. She could hear John B and Pope muttering to each other, no doubt disparaging remarks about how they agreed with the vapid socialites. "You're not," she assured him, "You're the most real thing I've got." She rested her forehead against JJ's, breathing in deeply as the scent of motor oil and the ocean invaded her senses, calming her unlike any other drug he could provide.

JJ swallowed thickly, stunned by her earnest admission. There was no limit to the things he'd do for Kiara. Which was why his next suggestion came out so easily. "Stay with me for a couple of days," he offered, meeting her wide eyes, "I've got you, Kie, whenever you need me." He could practically hear the protests whirring through John B and Pope's heads before they even opened their mouths. He'd let them though, if only to let them know what he thought about their giving up on Kiara. After all, when she went Kook, he certainly hadn't seen them fighting to keep her around.

"JJ, c'mon," Pope muttered, shuffling awkwardly, "She's a Kook."

John B nodded solemnly, seeming genuinely sorry. "He's right, man, she doesn't belong here."

Kiara's breath hitched slightly and JJ saw red. "What the fuck do you know," he questioned venomously, "It's not like you made any effort to stick around, right?" Both of his friends flinched, looking uncomfortable. He'd hit a nerve they clearly hadn't been expecting. He gestured to Kiara, who was trying to make herself as small as possible, so unlike the girl they'd known growing up. "Does it look like she wanted it to you," he hissed, "Does she look like she enjoys it?"

"It's not like you stuck with her either," John B argued, "You haven't been spending any more time with her than we have."

"Like hell I haven't," JJ bit back, "I've hung out at the Wreck every fucking day, man." He growled in frustration, taking his cap off to run his hand through his hair before putting it back on. He was sick and tired of their hypocrisy. "Don't fucking act like y'all wouldn't do it, too," he accused, "I know I would, in a goddamned heartbeat." Taking several deep breaths, JJ tried to quell the desire to punch them, a mantra of 'they're your friends' running through his mind as he clenched and unclenched his fists. A smaller hand enveloping his made him look down at Kiara. It was all he could do not to kiss her, for keeping him grounded even as she struggled with her own issues. Behind them, John B and Pope damn near rioted when JJ's lips met Kiara's. Home, he thought, it felt like coming home.

"What the hell, JJ," Pope shouted, "What happened to 'no Pogue-on-Pogue macking'?"

Kiara scoffed, fed up with them talking about her like she wasn't there. "Oh, shut the hell up," she said, surprising all of them, "How awfully fucking convenient that I'm a Pogue when you need me to be for argument's sake." That was when it hit her. They were jealous. "Oh my God," she breathed, "You think I'm with him because I was vulnerable or some shit, don't you?" They thought she'd have gotten together with whichever one of them had been there for her when she needed them and the idea had her wondering if they knew her at all.

When no reply was given, from either of them, JJ scoffed. "Un-fucking-believable," he muttered, pacing a few steps, "You wanna know how we got together?" It was a rhetorical question, the answer to which he fully intended to slap them in the face with. He usually tried not to use the 'abusive dad' stuff against them, but he felt a far greater need to remind them that they were friends. All of them. "My dad roughed me up," he admitted, losing all his bravado as images from that night flashed to the forefront of his mind, "It was bad and I needed somewhere to go." He looked hopelessly at John B, one hand moving to his ribs before he could stop himself. Thus far, JJ had managed to avoid telling his friend where he'd been hiding out that week. "Your old man had just gone missing," he admitted, looking down at his shoes, "I didn't wanna bother you, and Heyward's never been patient with me, so I went to Kiara's and stayed there for a few days."

"That was four months ago," Pope mumbled, "You and Kie can't have been…" He trailed off, seeing the way JJ turned his head away. It made sense. JJ was known for macking on beautiful Tourons at parties, something he hadn't been doing in a long time. If he'd finally landed Kiara, the girl they all vied for, there wasn't a chance in hell he'd mess that up. Not for anything. JJ was reckless, not stupid. "Holy shit," he breathed, "You guys have been… why the fuck didn't you tell us?"

Affronted, JJ raised his brows. "When was I supposed to do that," he wondered, crossing his arms, "Between you two either bitching about her or telling yourselves you'd forget about her, I couldn't get a fucking word in." Kiara's grip on his hand tightened marginally, a warning that he was close to going too far. JJ sighed deeply, squeezing back. "Look, Kie's one of us and you know it," he said quietly, imploring them to get past their petty grudges, "Whether you like it or not, she's with me, and she'll be around more."

"I'm sorry I left," Kiara whispered, clutching JJ to her like a lifeline, "Kook life… it poisons you, and I didn't mean to go all the way but I did and I don't think I'll ever stop regretting it."

Pope and John B shared a look. "We're sorry we didn't check on you," John B replied, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, "JJ's right, we'd do the same if we were given the choice." He tugged Kiara into a hug, dragging a grinning Pope and playfully annoyed JJ into the embrace as well. Once they pulled away, he nodded in the direction of the Chateau. "You can stay as long as you like," he promised, a soft smile appearing on his face as he saw grateful tears well in her eyes, "It's not like I can get rid of JJ anyway."

"You love me, Routledge."

And just like that, Kiara could breathe again. Wrapped in the arms of a boyfriend who loved her no matter if she was a Kook or a Pogue, surrounded by people who accepted the real her, she knew she had found her way back to who she wanted to be. JJ had helped with that, even if he didn't know it. Letting him in that night when he'd shown up at her door beaten and bloody had been a risk. But as she listened to the laughter around her, genuine and heartfelt, she knew that he was damn well worth it.