─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
CHAPTER THREE:
she's a kook! you're a pogue!
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The rest of the day at the Cameron's had been boring. Kennedy stuffed her face until her stomach was bloated. One thing Kennedy loved about summer, was that she got to throw her otherwise strict diet out the window for a month or two. Not that she ate like a pig, because she still made sure she ate as healthily as she could, but she ate way more than she usually would. She would still have to fit into her cheerleading uniform by the time the new term would start up, but she typically worked out often enough, allowing herself to snack more if she wanted to.

After the barbecue, she found herself back at home, sitting in her room and painting her toenails. She had been painting them a shade of blue when she got a text through her phone. It was the girls from the cheerleading team, and somehow, they had found out she was back on the island and therefore wanting to throw her a welcome back party—as if she had been gone for months. She had only been away for two weeks.

    Chelsea, the team captain insisted on throwing a party at the beach for her, where everyone and anyone was welcome—the more, the merrier, as she put it. Kennedy wasn't so thrilled at the idea since she had been planning a night of Netflix and popcorn. But it felt criminal to not go to a party being thrown in her honour—even if it was totally ridiculous.

No one had missed her that much. Kennedy wasn't exactly a team player, as contradicting as that was. She didn't have a large friend group she hung around with. It was her and Sarah—it was always Kennedy and Sarah. But that didn't mean people hated her. For some reason, people adored her. Kennedy thought they were just entertained by her wild-child personality and liked having her around so they weren't bored. When you add that with being stupid-rich, she became a fan favourite in the OBX.

    Kennedy had texted Sarah, letting her know about the party that was to start at 7:30. So naturally, they agreed to show up at 9pm. That gave Kennedy plenty of time to have her second shower of the day before getting dressed. She didn't bother telling her parents since they weren't home anyway. Her father was at the office, going over new properties whilst her mother was at the country club with her fellow housewives. And besides, Kennedy's parents didn't realise she was gone that often, being too caught up in their own shit.

Kennedy had told her brother, and Rafe about the party, shooting them separate texts. Usually, she wouldn't invite Topper to parties because he liked to steal her thunder, but she figured it was the least she could do. His vacation had been cut short too and they both needed a little pick-me-up. And perhaps some alcohol. And there was the fact that Sarah would probably invite him anyway—and if she didn't, then Rafe would. And then he would complain to Kennedy for not being the one to invite him. Okay, so, maybe she wasn't inviting him out of the goodness of her heart.

Dressed in a black mini-skirt and a leopard print corset top, Kennedy slipped on some sandals, put her hair in two Dutch braids and left the house. Topper had already left to meet up with Rafe for some pre-drinks and since Kennedy didn't have her own car, Sarah was coming to pick her up.

Kennedy's usual mode of transportation was her baby-pink bicycle with a little straw basket on the handles. Kennedy had been gifted the bike whilst her brother got a BMW on their Sweet Sixteenth. It had caused World War Thornton, but Kennedy's parents didn't trust her driving even though she had passed her test. So what if she hit a few kerbs and scraped the occasional bumper of another car? Wasn't that what insurance was for?

Sarah picked Kennedy up, dressed in a pretty white frilly dress, her hair let down at her shoulders. The girls had talked about this and that as Sarah drove to the beach, playing the summer playlist they had created together on Spotify. It was full of Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Pheobe Bridgers and songs from the early 2000's.

When they arrived at the beach, they found it jam-packed with teenagers. They were spread throughout the sand with a big bonfire in the middle. Keg stands had been set up all around, with crates of beer stuck in the sand. Speakers were blasting some Megan Thee Stallion song as they approached, their feet sinking in the sand. Kennedy was already warming up to the whole party idea now that she was actually there.

"Kennedy!" Chelsea screeched from across the beach when she noticed her approaching with Sarah on her arm. She jogged at her, scooping her into a big hug as though they were the best of friends. "Welcome home, bitch! We missed you!" She exclaimed. Her grip was far too tight on Kennedy for her liking and her voice way too squeaky.

Chelsea pulled back as some of the other girls from the squad approached—Lexi, Trinity and Isabelle. Kennedy wasn't nearly close enough to the girls for them to be so excited about her return, but Kennedy knew what it was all about. Everyone wanted to be her friend, not exactly because they really liked her, but because of who she was. The name Thornton drove people to her like magnets, all wanting to be friends with one of the richest girls on the island. Popular by association. It was some serious patriarchal bullshit, even by Kennedy's standards.

Chelsea tucked dark blown-out hair behind her ear, "And Sarah too. Hi Sarah." She drawled out, speaking to her like she was a toddler.

Sarah politely greeted the girls, putting a smile on her face. The girls had always been a bit iffy with Sarah, not for any particular reason except for she had declined their offer to join the cheer squad. Kennedy would have too, had it not been for her mother who thought the extracurricular activity would be good for her. She'd been offered the role of captain after being there for two weeks but had turned it down—something she hadn't told her mother since she was sure she'd burst a blood vessel.

Kennedy looked around the beach, "This is some get-together you've pulled off." She said, taking in all the faces around her. She couldn't name half of them, mostly because she didn't even know half of them. It was clear that Chelsea's invite had gone out to anyone, that much was obvious when Kennedy could spot some Pogues amongst Kooks. Something Kennedy was sure would blow up later once alcohol was in everyone's systems. Pogues and Kooks could not co-exist for long.

Chelsea laughed, "I invited just about everyone. Only the best for our favourite girl, ain't that right, ladies?" Kennedy's fellow cheerleaders hummed out responses, but their smiles didn't quite meet their eyes. Fucking fake bitches.

Kennedy slowly nodded, "Right. Thanks," She turned her attention to Sarah. "Wanna grab a drink?" She suggested, nodding her head towards the keg stand she could see from the corner of her eye.

Sarah widened her eyes and frantically nodded her head, "Please." She pleaded, gripping tighter to Kennedy's arm.

              Kennedy bid the cheer girls goodbye and watched how their faces dropped before they went to whispering between one another. Kennedy rolled her eyes into the back of her head, "God, they're an insufferable bunch of fake-ass bitches." She said to Sarah who nodded in agreement.

             "It's like they want to be friends with you but can't stand you at the same time," She said exactly what Kennedy had always thought. "I don't know how you spend so much time with them." She said, glancing at Kennedy who laughed at her words.

               "I don't." She told her, making Sarah giggle. It was true. Kennedy rarely hung out with the girls outside of cheer activities, mostly because they could be too much to be around. Kennedy had accidentally dropped Lexi once during practice because she was driving her to insanity. Kennedy had assured her coach it was an accident, which it wasn't. Lexi needed a good smack to the head. And that was why she could never be cheer captain.

               The blondes reached the keg stand.  Kennedy grabbed the hose along with two red solo cups. She began filling them to the brim just as Topper approached them and wrapped his arms around Sarah's waist, "You look beautiful," He complimented, placing a kiss on her cheek from behind her, making her smile. He took a glance at Kennedy." You look alright, I suppose." He nonchalantly told her, making Kennedy narrow her eyes at him.

                "Suck a dick, Top," She chirped, handing Sarah her cup. "I'm gonna mingle and leave you lovebirds to it." She said, waving her hand dismissively as she took herself and her drink away from the pair who had already begun to make-out. And by mingle, Kennedy meant seek out Rafe who she knew was at the party. It was just finding him that would be proven difficult. Rafe was a popular guy and everyone wanted to talk his ear off. Especially the girls who didn't seem to care that he was taken.

                Kennedy passed by the bonfire, feeling the heat hitting the side of her body, "Ah, if it isn't the guest of honour herself." A voice called out, catching her attention.

               She glanced to her right, seeing trouble heading straight towards her around the bonfire. JJ Maybank was holding a bottle of beer between his fingers, a washed out grey wife-beater flapping in the wind. His blond hair was disheveled as usual, a grin of amusement on his lips. JJ was from the Cut—he was a Pogue, the total opposite of Kennedy which meant they didn't cross paths often. But when they did, it often consisted of them getting into vocal spitting matches.

              Kennedy turned to fully face him, tilting her head, blonde hair falling in her face, her hands finding their way to rest on her hips, "Oh, look who it is, the guy no one invited," That earned an amused smirk as he approached her, hands stuffed into the pocket of his khaki shorts. "What're you doing here, Maybank? Come to caught a fight? Steal wallets from the pockets of unsuspecting victims?" She asked him, her tone rising in pitch as she mocked his habit for getting into fist-fights with the Kooks and of course, the theft habit of Pogues.

               "I heard free booze and suddenly I was here. Crazy, right?" JJ said, throwing his hands up and widening his eyes, earning a scoff as she looked away from him, folding her arms at her chest. "Why you all by your lonesome anyway? Aren't you just thrilled to have a party thrown in your name?" He asked her, stopping in front of her.

               Kennedy looked up at him, "I was thrilled and then I saw you and was like, bye-bye good mood!" She exclaimed with fake happiness, mocking a wave with her hand, as if she was bidding someone goodbye in the distance.

                JJ put his hand over his heart, "How your words wound me, Princess. Pierced straight through the heart they have," He gasped theatrically, earning an eye roll. JJ grinned at her. "But really, it's your party and you're all by yourself. What's that all about? Something better happening elsewhere?" He inquired, clearly amused by how the Kook Princess herself was alone at her own party, especially considering she was usually under the arm of her boyfriend.

                "Technically, I'm not even supposed to be here," She corrected him, gesturing around the beach with her finger. "Where I'm supposed to be is my families vacation home, smoking a J on the roof with a view of the ocean whilst listening to Taylor Swift." She grumbled, a sneer finding it's way onto her face. Fuck my father and his stupid job, she thought.

               JJ's mouth popped open, "Ah, right. The infamous Thornton vacation home—wait, don't you have two of those?" Kennedy tilted her head, smiling sweetly at him, ready to gloat.

                "Three, actually." She told him, more than happy to flaunt it. JJ liked to tease her about being rich, but she knew it was only because he was envious of it. She wasn't about to start feeling bad about all that she had because it could hurt someone else's feelings, especially not when he was the one to bring it up first at her expense.

              JJ whistled, "Shit, ain't you spoiled for choice," He said with a laugh. He folded his arms at his chest. "Let me guess, the other two are somewhere like Rome or Italy. Somewhere totally pretentious. Fuck, you rich girls really are spoiled." He shook his head in disbelief, a smile on his lips.

               Kennedy pursed her lips, "France and Rhode Island, actually. Other ones in Sunset Beach." She corrected, her hand finding her hip.

             JJ scoffed in disbelief, shaking his head, "Man, must be great being the Kook Princess, huh?" He asked her, his eyes shimmering in amusement, the corner of his lip twitching upwards.

              "The best." Kennedy gushed. She took a look around, searching for the other three members of JJ's crew of delinquents. She spotted John B and Pope by one of the keg stands, occasionally glancing in their direction as they spoke, looking like deers caught in headlights. But she couldn't spot their only female member. "Speaking of Princesses—where's the Environmental Princess? She's usually joint at the hip with y'all." She inquired, her eyes scanning the crowd for Kiara Carerra.

               There was some unspoken history between them. They had been friends once. But now, Kennedy was sure Kiara would spit in her food if she ever stopped by her family's restaurant. And she wouldn't feel bad about it either.

                  JJ perked up, "Oh, she said something about rather gauging her eyeballs out with her own hands than attending a party thrown for you." He told her all too happily.

                Kennedy put her hand over her heart, "My biggest fan." She croaked in a mocking emotional tone, earning a chuckle on JJ's behalf.

               "What's up with that shit anyway? You and Kie. What's the beef all about?" He questioned her curiously. It was something JJ often wondered about, including the rest of his friends. They knew the two girls had once been friends, but then suddenly, they weren't and all that was left was nasty glares being sent in each others direction.

              Kennedy straightened her back out, stepping closer to him as if she was going to spill State secrets which only sucked him in, "Okay, so, listen to this. Basically what happened was, Kiara and I—oh, wait," She paused, blinking back, "I just remembered, it's none of your business." She said, widening her eyes, mouth stretching into a shit-eating grin.

             JJ pushed his tongue to the roof of his mouth, "Touché, Princess. Touché." He said as he nodded his head, making a throaty chuckle leave Kennedy's lips. Kennedy wasn't a giggler—she could giggle, but when she genuinely laughed, it came straight from the belly. Topper often called it a witches cackle.

                 Kennedy opened her mouth, ready to say something witty when an arm slumped over her shoulder. She looked upwards as Rafe tucked her into his side, "There you are." He said, shooting JJ a closed smile that had 'back off' written all over it. But JJ didn't move an inch.

                 "Hey, baby," Kennedy sang, shifting her weight as she smiled up at him. She glanced at JJ. "JJ and I were just talking about vacation homes." She told Rafe, giving a flick of her brows.

               Rafe laughed, "Vacation homes, right," He said with amusement, using a tone that belittled JJ by reminding him that he was one of the people that did not have a vacation home. He turned his gaze down to Kennedy. "You wanna get out of here?" He asked her in a low voice whilst JJ mocked a gag and then covered it up with a cough when both JJ and Kennedy shot him a look.

                 "Sure," Kennedy agreed, shrugging. She turned her attention to JJ, looking him up and down. He was pretty attractive for a Pogue. She inhaled. "It's been real, Maybank." She said, offering him a two fingered salute as she began stepping away from him.

                  "Cya, Princess!" Kennedy turned that salute into the middle finger as Rafe pulled her away. She heard JJ laugh from behind her.

                 Within seconds, JJ's friends were at his side. John B grabbed onto his arm, swivelling him around to face him, "Dude, you're macking on Kennedy Thornton? Have you lost your mind? What the hell are you thinking?" He demanded, his puppy-dog eyes wide with disbelief.

                 JJ pretended to think it over, "Uh, I think she's hot."

                "Everyone thinks she's hot!" Pope exclaimed, throwing his hands up. "Which is exactly why she's off limits. I mean, are you trying to get into some alpha fight with Rafe Cameron? Cause that dudes mark is all over her, man!" He yelled in a hushed tone as he adjusted his backwards cap like he had to do something with his hands other than ring JJ's neck.

              JJ laughed, "She's not that off limits." He refused. Denial, he thought to himself. And then convinced himself that it was simply aiming high. So what if she had a boyfriend? Those Kook's didn't typically give a shit about monogamy.

            "Uh, yeah, she is," John B argued. He grabbed onto JJ's shoulders. "Dude, I know you have a thing for the blonde rich girls—but Kennedy is the blonde rich girl, alright? She is way out of your fucking league, bro—and she has a boyfriend." He tired reminding his friend of where he sat in the patriarchy—which was way below Kennedy. If she was the top of the earth, JJ Maybank was the equator.

               "Listen to JB, man. Not only is she out of your league, but she is an actual maniac!" Pope exclaimed, trying to get it through his thick skull that there wasn't a world where he and Kennedy Thornton were going to happen. "She would chew you up and spit you back out." Pope added when JJ didn't say anything else.

                JJ shrugged with a smile, "I'd die a happy man."

               John B reeled back, "Earth to JJ, she's a Kook! You're a Pogue! And she's dating fucking Rafe Cameron! Dude, it's not gonna happen!" He tried getting through to him, waving his hands in front of his face, as if he had suddenly gone blind as well as dumb.

                JJ's gaze traveled to where he could see Kennedy slipping in the backseats of Rafe's truck. As if she had felt his gaze on her, she turned, her eyes locking on his from across the beach. He noticed her look him up and down, licking her lips before she was closing the door behind her.

                 JJ smiled to himself, "We'll see."

( authors note )

i love very single interaction ken & jj have <3

— taylor xx