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"John B!" I call over the loud music, making my way through the crowd in an attempt to find my boyfriend. I pass JJ, who's aggressively making out with a girl and decide to ask Kie if she knows where JB is instead. Don't want to interrupt a man at work (cue eye roll).

I hurry over to Kie and Pope, who are talking to a couple other pogues. They all smile and greet me before asking what's up. "Hey, have either of you seen Bird?" I know it's his Dad's nickname for him, but it's also mine. Big John was like a father to me up until he disappeared. It's been so difficult for both John B and I to cope, wanting to help each other through the loss but knowing the other is hurting just as much.

Both shake their heads. "Haven't seen him in a good half hour." Pope admits. "But last I saw him was by the keg, so check there?" He suggests.

I nod and call bye and thanks for the two before heading in the direction of the keg. At this point, we're probably out of beer, so I doubt he'll be there, but we'll see.

As expected, John B isn't standing at the keg, so I head to higher ground to try to spot him.

It's then that I see that he's by the water, having a conversation with Sarah Cameron's boyfriend, Topper, though it doesn't look that friendly. JJ's broken himself away from his girl of the hour and is also arguing with the Kook, looking a lot more angry than JB. I'm about to make my way over when I suddenly see my boyfriend and Topper start throwing punches. I hurry over there, knowing I'm the only one who can calm John B down at a time like this.

I stop suddenly when I see Topper drowning my boyfriend. Holy fucking shit. "Topper! Topper, let go of him!" I yell, grabbing his shirt and trying to pull him off, but it doesn't work. "JJ, help me! Do something, please!" I yell desperately. I can't let him drown him. No. Not John B. Not the love of my life.

Topper shoves me off of him, and I fall back against the sand, landing on my wrist. I shake off the pain, knowing it's not important right now, and go back to trying to save John B. I see JJ holding a gun to the back of Topper's head and my eyes widen. Fuck. Topper let's go of John B and backs off, and so does JJ.

I hear gunshots go off and mentally cuss JJ out on my head for handling the situation like this, but am thankful he managed to get Topper to let go of him. I immediately rush to John B's side and manage to catch him as he's about to fall. "Fuck. Bird? Baby, wake up, please." I whisper, running my hands through his wet hair. I don't care that I'm sitting in the ocean, sand covering my clothes and my body soaked. All that matters is that he is okay.

He finally opens his eyes, coughing up some water. "Y/N? Are you okay?" He mumbles, sitting up.

I nod, brushing his hair back from his forehead, relieved tears falling down my face. "Yeah, yeah, I'm okay. Are you okay? You scared me there for a minute." I tell him.

He nods. "Yeah. Topper's an asshole."

I giggle softly. "Yeah, he is. He tried to kill you. Are you sure you're okay?" I ask again.

He nods again, reaching up to wipe my tears. "I'm fine, baby. A little tired, and a little drunk, but that fight and almost being killed pretty much sobered me up." He admits. "Now, no more crying. I am perfectly fine, I promise. Okay, Princess?" I nod, standing and grabbing his hand to pull him up with me.

"JJ, what the hell was that?" I demand, wheeling on my best friend. I get that he was trying to help, but firing off the gun he stole? Really?

"You told me to do something! I did something!" He yells, obviously on-edge and worked up. I can tell how worried he was, and that it is what drove him to use the gun. It was the first thing he could think of, and he was scared for his best friend.

John B shakes his head, leaning on me a bit. I can tell he's weak after being drowned, which isn't surprising after all he's been through. "Please don't argue, guys." He tells us.

Kie and Pope come back with a few towels, handing one to me and one to John B. "Are you okay?" Kie asks John B anxiously and he nods, pulling me into his body in an attempt to warm me up. He knows how easily I get cold. I lean back slightly against his chest, loving the way his body feels against mine but knowing not to press too much weight on him.

"I'm gonna beat the shit out of him. He tried to drown you!" JJ informs us, like we didn't all witness it.

"I know, and we're going to take care of it. For now, I'm fine." John B tells us meaningfully. "Can we just go home now? Y/N and I need to change and she's probably going to force me to ice this." He points to his eye and I automatically nod. I don't want his eye to be ridiculously bruised. Anything we can do to prevent it, I'll do.

"Fine." JJ says stubbornly and John B hands me the keys since I'm the only one who didn't drink tonight. I never drink, not because of my parents or anything, just because it doesn't interest me. My parents couldn't give less of a shit about what I do.

I drive straight to the chateau, and quickly usher John B inside and into a hot shower. I get an ice pack and some warm clothes ready for him while he's in the shower and tell him to ice it while I take my turn. He sits on the toilet in the bathroom while I shower so I can check on him and make sure he's icing his eye like he needs to be.

"Hey, baby?" He mumbles as I rinse the conditioner form my hair. I open the curtain slightly to look at him and he's leaning his head against the wall, eyes closed but ice pack pressed to his eye. "Yeah?" I respond since he can't see me.

"Thank you for tonight. You've always taken care of me, and tonight was no different. I'm so thankful for you, you know that?" He opens his eyes to look at me and smiles. "I love you endlessly, Princess." He tells me.

"I love you, too, Bird. Now, promise me not to get into a fight with someone again when it might end with you being drowned, because you scared the ever-loving shit out of me."

He chuckles lightly, standing to lean against the wall outside of the shower. "I promise not to scare you anymore. If I had known he was going to do that tonight, I wouldn't have even started an argument."

I nod, satisfied. "Thank you." I lean out of the shower to give him a quick kiss before going back to my shower. "And you know I'll always be here for you. Through thick and thin, baby." I tell him seriously. "And I'm thankful for you, too. Every single day, I wonder how lucky I was to fall in love with the sweetest boy in the OBX."

He laughs. "Sweet, my ass. But I'm lucky to have you. I can't imagine what my life would be like without you."

"Boring."

He chuckles in response. "It definitely would be. Hey, is your wrist okay? I saw you wincing earlier when you moved it."

I glance down at my wrist, which seems a bit swollen now that I'm looking at it. "It should be fine. Topper shoved me off of him when I was trying to get him to let go of you and I landed on it. No big deal."

"If you're hurt, it is. Let me see."

I extend my arm out of the shower and he takes his time examining it. "I'll have Pope look at it. If he thinks something is wrong, we'll take you to the hospital." He tells me.

I sigh, pulling my arm back inside and finishing my shower. When I get out, JB takes my towel from me and slowly and carefully dries me off and dresses me in his t-shirt that ends almost at my knees. He leads me out into the living room, my hand in his, and has Pope look at my wrist. I figure since Pope is such a genius and all he should be able to tell me if he thinks something is wrong with it.

"I think you're fine. Just be careful, okay?" I nod and John B leads me to his room, laying down and pulling me so I'm laying on his chest. I bury my face against his neck, the events of the night running through my mind. I can't believe I almost lost him. I can't even imagine life without John B. How would I have been able to live it?

"What's wrong, Princess? Why are you crying?" He whispers, wiping the tears from my face.

I shake my head, hating that I'm even thinking about it. "I'm scared." I tell him.

"Why? What are you scared of?"

"Of losing you. I almost lost you tonight, and I can't imagine life without you. I. . . I. . ." I break down in sobs again, and he hugs me to him tighter, kissing my hair and whispering that it's okay. "I love you so much. You can't leave me. You can't leave me." I say it over and over, until I can't say it anymore, until I lose my voice and my sobbing has stopped. John B holds me against his chest, rocking me back and forth in an attempt to calm me.

"I'm not going to leave you, ever, baby. If I do, someone's going to have to kill me five times over, because I won't leave you without a fight, I can promise you that." He says determinedly.

"I love you." I tell him, tired from the events of tonight and my breakdown.

"And I love you. With all of my heart." He whispers, kissing my forehead as I drift off to sleep.

. . . . .

Hey, everyone!! I'm so excited to get this next update to you. I know it's only been two days since I last updated, but I've written two more updates since, so I wanted to get this one to y'all. I love you, and make sure to comment, vote, and let me know what you thought ❤️