Word Count: 3.0 K
Pope's POV

She's sitting in the corner, slumped in her desk and eyes frantically scanning the room. I don't know why, but today is worse for her than it usually is. And it makes me want to ask her what's wrong, go sit with her and talk to her.

I glance back at my friends and chew on my lip anxiously. I can't imagine how they would react to me going to go sit with a Kook.

I decide that, fuck it, she looks like she needs a friend, someone to sit with, and I'll be that person for her. No one has ever made an effort to sit with her or talk to her, so I'll do it.

I start packing up my things and gather them into my arms, ignoring the weird looks my friends give me, and walk straight over to her. "Hey." I greet, setting down my bag and sitting, getting all of my things for class out. She glances up at me, wide-eyed and confused.

"What are you doing?" She asks quietly.

"Sitting with you. What does it look like?" I ask teasingly. "I'm Pope, by the way." I introduce myself.

"I know who you are. But why are you sitting with me?" Her voice is so quiet that if I wasn't sitting so close to her, I wouldn't be able to hear her. "None of the Pogues ever talk to me, so why would you?" She glances around the room nervously, chewing aggressively on her bottom lip.

"Because I've wanted to talk to you for a while now, and I decided I was going to do it today." I lower my voice as the class starts, taking notes as I talk to her. "You seem like a nice girl, and I want to get to know you. Is that so bad?" I ask, glancing over at her.

She lays her arms down on her desk, resting her chin on them. "I appreciate the gesture, but it's not necessary. I'm fine on my own."

I shake my head. "Well, Y/N, you're going to have to deal with me." I tell her with a smile, leaning back in my seat and focusing on taking notes.

"You're impossible." I hear her mutter and smile to myself. I may not know her well, but I was honest when I said I want to get to know her.

. . . . .

After class, I silently follow Y/N to her next class, which she also happens to have with me. Fortunately for her, the class is trigonometry and today is a day to work on our worksheets in class, and I don't plan on working today. I plan to learn about the girl I've been wondering about for years now.

I quickly take the seat beside her, and she shoots me a glare. "Can you leave me alone?" I would think she's upset, but her eyes show this vulnerability, this anxiety.

"No can do. I told you, I want to get to know you, and what other time will be more perfect than right now?"

"Pope, please. Talking to other people in general makes me uncomfortable, and talking about myself is unbearable. Please just leave." Her eyes are wide, and she looks like she's about to freak out. "Please." Her eyes are glistening, and her breathing is shallow, and it dawns on me. No wonder.

"Y/N, I—"

She doesn't give me a chance to finish what I was saying, because she grabs her bag and sprints out of the room, almost running into JJ on the way, who looks from her to me confusedly. He quickly walks over as the bell rings and sits in Y/N's now-unoccupied seat.

"What the hell was that?"

"I think she's having an anxiety attack." I admit with a frown. Why didn't she just say that?

She did, dumbass.

JJ's brows furrow in confusion. "I didn't know she had anxiety attacks. Wait—doesn't your dad do the deliveries or whatever for her parents? How did you not know this?"

"Because I've never taken the time before today to get to know her. I've always wanted to, I just never got the courage. And the one day I did was the day she was already struggling." Fuck.

He sighs. "She'll be fine, man. You'll get another chance."

I sure hope so.

. . . . .

Y/N's POV

I run out of the room, trying to calm myself. I just need to get to the bathroom and lock myself in a stall and give myself the time to calm down.

He was just making an effort, trying to be nice. Why did you have to go all freak on him?, I ask myself mentally. No wonder no one at this school doesn't talk to me. I was too weird for the Kook Academy, and now the public school hates me too. Fucking anxiety completely ruined my life.

I lock myself into a stall, taking deep breaths to calm myself. I drop my bag and quickly tie my hair up into a messy ponytail, knowing it will help me breathe better. I would take off my hoodie, but that isn't an option. I hesitantly pull up the bottom and the shirt underneath it. The bruises still look pretty fresh. I wish they would go away quicker. I can't cover the ones on my arms nearly as easily, so I have to wear a hoodie so no one sees them.

Someone walks into the bathroom and I immediately drop the clothes, as if the person can see me through the stall door. Whoever it is stops in front of the stall I'm in. "Y/N? Is that you?"

I almost gasp, I'm so shocked. One of the only Kooks here other than me, Kiara Carrera has never talked to me.

"Um, yeah, it's me." I mumble, slowly opening the stall after grabbing my bag. I come face-to-face with the gorgeous girl. Flawless skin, curly hair that's to die for. I'm sure she never has to worry about acne or her parents hitting her or anxiety attacks.

"Are you okay? I saw you hurrying down the hall and you looked upset. I wanted to check on you." She explains, eyes softening.

I nod. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for checking on me." I shoot her a forced smile and hurry past her and towards the door.

"Hey, Y/N? Can I talk to you for a second?"

I stop and look over my shoulder at her. She slowly approaches, stopping beside me. "I know what you're thinking. I saw Pope talking to you earlier, and I saw your panic. I want you to know that he truly does care, he doesn't pity you, he seriously wants to be friends. He's a great guy and he genuinely wants to get to know you." She tells me meaningfully.

I don't know what to say. How could she possibly know that that's why I freaked out? I mean, that isn't all of it, but it's most of the reason. Of course I worry about him only talking to me because he pities me, but also, I'm afraid that if I do let him in, if we do become friends, then he'll realize how much baggage I come with and drop me. The anxiety attacks. The constant self-doubt. The abuse.

Kiara touches my arm gently. I almost flinch before remembering how weird that would be and stop myself. "Just give him a chance. He cares, and I can see you two getting along really well."

I nod. "I'll try. Thanks, Kiara." I tell her honestly, giving her an honest smile before leaving.

. . . . .

Two Months Later

"Y/N, don't argue with me about this. You don't have a choice." My mom tells me sternly.

It's been a couple months since school has let out and, despite my promise to Kiara, I haven't talked to Pope since that day. Every time I've wanted to make an effort, my anxiety gets in the way and convinces me it isn't a good idea. So I haven't. I've avoided him, his looks in the hallway or classes, anytime he tries to talk to me.

"You know your father hasn't been touching your arms for the past few weeks so the bruises wouldn't be noticeable in the dress. Put the damn thing on, cake some markup in that horrid face of yours, and let's go." She growls before storming off.

I sigh and head up to my room. Tonight is midsummers. I really don't want to go, but my parents aren't giving me a choice. They bought the dress months ago and I've already RSVP'd, so I can't go back now. Plus, my mom is right. Dad has been avoiding touching my arms the past few weeks so the bruises wouldn't show in the dress. Being nice like that is a rare thing for my father. But it's only to keep up their image of a perfect family.

I slip into the dress, smoothing it down and smiling as I stand in front of the mirror. The dress is absolutely gorgeous, and the green brings out the green of my eyes.

Dress:

I hurriedly do my makeup, making sure to cover up the dark spots under my eyes from lack of sleep, and curl my hair, braiding the top part. In the end, I look as good as I can possibly make myself look. It isn't the best, but I think I look pretty enough.

. . . . .

Two Hours Later

I stand off to the side, sipping my drink. My mom slipped me some champagne—not very mature of her, but I'm not complaining—and it's helping settle the nervous butterflies in my stomach. I take another sip, scanning the party. So many gorgeous girls, and then there's me. Sure, I've gotten compliments tonight. Been told how pretty I look. But I know it's just a lie. People want to suck up to my parents.

As I'm scanning the party again, I see a familiar face by the food. Pope Heyward and his father are serving oysters. I had no idea Pope was going to be here, and now I want to disappear even more.

As if he can feel my eyes on him, he scans the crowd until his eyes lock with mine. He looks surprised, and scans my body up and down with a smile. "You look gorgeous," he mouths, and I can't help but blush. No one has ever called me gorgeous before. I give him one last smile before pushing away from the wall I was leaning against and place the empty champagne flute on a tray, grabbing another one. I need to be a lot less sober if this is what tonight is going to be like.

. . . . .

I'm standing by myself, again, near the edge of the party when I hear a voice that definitely should not be here. JJ Maybank is dressed like a waiter and has a tray, walking around the party. He sticks out with the bruises on his face, bruises that I recognize all too well. I keep my eyes locked on him as he scans the crowd, looking for someone. Pope quickly intercepts him and I see him hug JJ like a maniac. Wonder what that's about.

"Can we talk?" Someone whispers in my ear a few minutes later and I jump, completely thrown off guard. I whip around to see Pope standing in front of me, holding his hands up in surrender. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I just. . ." He clears this throat. "I just wanted to tell you you look beautiful tonight. I also noticed you've been avoiding everyone tonight and thought maybe you wanted someone to talk to." He admits sheepishly.

"I don't want to be here, but my parents forced me to come. Why would I want to be here, where I'm surrounded by rich, entitled people who can do whatever they want and get away with it?" I mumble.

"Like Topper? Rafe?"

I nod. "How do you know?"

He shrugs, looking almost uncomfortable. "I was, uh, doing deliveries for my dad last week, with JJ. Rafe cornered me and ended up hitting me with his golf club." I turn to look at him and see the hurt, the anger in his features.

"God, Pope. That's horrible."

He nods. "Yeah. They're entitled assholes. I'm sure you know, since you're a Kook. But I can tell you're not really. Not where it counts. You're more like us Pogues. You care about people, not the money."

I nod. "Of course. Money is nothing in the long run."

He smiles. "Exactly. I don't think I've ever heard those words come out of anyone's mouth before, except maybe Kie." Both of us are silent for a moment, watching the party. "Why didn't you tell me you have anxiety?"

I look to him so fast that I almost give myself whiplash. "What are you talking about?"

"I know the signs of anxiety. It just never registered to me that you had it until that day. I'm sorry I caused you to have an anxiety attack, I didn't mean to. I just wanted to get to know you."

Our conversation is cut off by JJ's loud return to the party, where's he's being escorted out by one of the security guards. I hear Pope mumble "fuck" under this breath.

"Look, man. I can walk myself. I've got legs, can't you see that, brother?" JJ is saying. "Okay, I really appreciate what you did back there. Will you let me just walk out by myself?" He stops by an old man and starts talking to him. "Mr. Dunleavy, I see you got your drink. Good, that's really nice of you. I'm actually going to down that." Pope and I watch in horror as he downs the man's drink in one gulp.

He stops as he's being escorted out and begins talking to the security guy. "I really appreciate the discretion, Daryl, you know?" He says with a laugh. "It's okay, everybody! Do not panic!" He announces to the crowd, who's watching him. "Leave it to the men and women in uniform! Let's hear it for them!" He claps. "Rose! You look like Lady Liberty." Pope and I can't help but laugh at that. "It's good to see you again. Hey, buddy, can I have one of those?"

Kiara, pissed, yells at security to let go of him. "Let go of him! You can't just boot him!"

"Excuse me, ma'am? Really?"

Kiara continues, not letting up even as her parents are telling her to stop. "I invited him here. I'm a member of this club."

JJ catches everyone and shoves the security guard holding him. Pope and I look to each other, wide-eyed. "Sorry about that. Hey, mandatory power hour at Rixon's, Kie. Pope, you as well, right? Y/N!" He adds in with a smile and my eyes go wide as I look to my parents, who are furious. "Rixon's Cove. Let's roll." He announces, as he walks out of the party. "Alright, Kie, come on. Workers of the world unite. Throw off your chains!" Pope and I are just laughing despite the consequences. Damn, JJ is funny.

Kiara takes off despite her parents telling her not to as JJ stops in front of John B, who appeared out of nowhere. "Captain." John B says as they salute each other. These guys are a mess.

"Mission accomplished, sir." JJ tells him.

Pope grabs my hand, turning to me. "Wanna get out of here? Be a Pogue for a night?" The offer is too enticing, and I nod. Pope and I run off, ignoring his dad and my parents yelling at us to get back here. And all five of us are off, leaving the entitled Kooks behind us.

. . . . .

After Pope explains their gold quest to me, despite John B not wanting me to know, they start talking about plans. And then the arguing begins. Kiara and John B get into it about Sarah Cameron being a part of the whole thing, Kiara upset and John B telling us that we need her help.

Now, Pope, JJ, Kiara and I are sitting in the van as John B talks to Sarah Cameron. I'm sitting close to Pope, since I don't know Kiara or JJ well and he seems to be the one I'm closest to.

"Are you cold?" He asks, looking down at me. I shrug and he puts his arm around me, pulling me into his body. After mentally calming myself down, I lean into him, snuggling closer.

"Is that better?" I nod and lean my forehead against his shoulder. I'm exhausted after all that has happened tonight.

"Hey, Y/N?"

I look up to see JJ watching me with apprehension. "Um, yeah?" I ask quietly.

"What are those bruises on your leg from?" I look down to see a few of the many bruises on my legs exposed because my dress rode up a little after I sat down. I quickly adjust the dress, hoping they don't question me further.

"Nothing. Just clumsy, that's all." I mumble, not making eye contact with any of them.

Pope shakes his head. "Wait. The last day of school, when you were in class. You leaned forward to rest your head on your desk and the back of your shirt came up. There were bruises there, too. What the hell, Y/N?" His eyes are wide.

"It's nothing, Pope, really."

He shakes his head. "This is why you have anxiety, isn't it? Is it your parents?" He asks quietly.

"I—I—"

Pope pulls me into a hug quickly. "I swear, Y/N, if it's your parents, I will protect you. Just give me a chance, and I'll make sure you're okay."

I sigh against his skin. "Okay."

. . . . .

Well, this turned out a lot longer than I expected. I hope you enjoyed, and make sure to comment and vote! Love you all and have a wonderful day ❤️