chapter one
kooks vs. pogues

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ELEANOR BROOKS sat calmly on a rock that faced the gorgeous crystalline ocean as the water washed over her feet. The crashing waves sounding through her ears, the salty smell filling her senses. She was at peace. The ocean was her safe place.

She always felt herself when with the waves. Her real self. Eleanor couldn't tell anyone that, though. Kooks cared more about the newest clothing brand rather than the significance of the ocean, anyway.

"Eleanor, come look at this!" Avery's cheerful voice breaks through her peaceful mindset. Eleanor fixated her attention onto what the blonde was pointing towards.

Sarah Cameron — or the kook princess as everyone refers to her as, was climbing onto a fallen buoy that had a broken chain embedded into it. Eleanor shook her head with a sigh as she sat up from the wet rock and made her way toward her friends.

Eleanor wasn't enjoying herself too much. Mostly, because they were at the boneyard and partying at a bonfire that the Pogues were hosting.

Specifically, the four Pogues that she's been trying to steer away from for about a year now.

"Sarah, you're just begging for a death wish at this point." Eleanor bluntly stated as she lifted her hand to shield her eyes from the blazing sun.

Sarah giggled as she shuffled away from Topper, her polo-shirt wearing, asshole of a boyfriend, as he tried to pull her down. "Isn't it beautiful?" She was referring to the sunset.

Avery came up next to Eleanor and wrapped an arm around the girls shoulder. "Lighten up, Ellie. We're having fun, don't be such a downer."

Eleanor scowled. "No. I didn't want to come to this shitty party in the first place. You guys just had to drag me here against my will." She complained.

Avery rolled her eyes at the girl's negative attitude. "Just — come and get a drink with me, yeah?"

Eleanor looked into her best friends crystal blue eyes, eyes that reminded her of ones she used to gaze into once before - the feeling just not being the same, and sighed in annoyance.

"Fine." She begrudgingly agreed.

The blonde squealed happily as she smoothly reached for Eleanor's hand and rushed the duo over to the keg. Eleanor narrowed her eyes to get a clearer view at the two people that were pouring the drinks, and once she did, she dug her feet into the sand, stopping the two of them from walking anywhere closer to their destination.

"Nope, never mind. I'll be with Sarah." She hurriedly spoke as she went to turn away. Avery, unfortunately, pulled her back.

"No, no. I said that we're getting a drink. You're not gonna die from one little walk across the beach, Eleanor."

Eleanor shook her head continuously. "Oh but I will. I really will." She dramatically pleaded. Avery gave her a deadpanned stare before dragging her along, once more.

Eleanor's heartbeat began to fasten as they neared the keg. She couldn't face them, not now...not again. They've only had a few run-ins here and there, and they've never ended well.

She never blamed them for the way they'd react to seeing her. She deserved that and more. Although, that didn't mean she liked the way it made her feel.

It made her feel guilty...which she was, but she hated that feeling.

They finally came to a stop in front of the keg. The thought of keeping her head down in shame crossed Eleanor's mind, but instead, she held her head high, feigning confidence.

She seems to forget who she is sometimes.

Her eyes first connected with John B's and then with JJ's. Those blue eyes. That's the color that used to leave her mesmerized.

Eleanor first took note of the way JJ's eyes shifted between the two girls' before staying only on Eleanor's, his jaw hardening profusely.

She gave him a bitchy look which caused him to scoff, followed by a laugh of expectance as his tongue slid across his top teeth.

John B didn't care to spare not even a glance at the girl that he used to consider his sister. He only sloppily sprayed beer into two red solo cups and handed them to her, slight aggression in his actions.

Avery raised a brow at their interactions. She never knew the history of Eleanor and the Pogues, she just assumed it was the typical Kooks vs. Pogues rivalry, but she always had a feeling it ran deeper than that.

"Thank you, boys." Avery nodded at them before shifting her body towards Eleanor. "Am I supposed to thank them?" She tried to whisper, yet failed miserably.

Eleanor rolled her eyes as she mentally face-palmed. Avery concerned Eleanor at times... more like all of the time.

"You can go now." JJ passively dismissed the two girls. Eleanor slowly shifted her gaze to the boy, her eyes hardening.

"I'm sorry, I don't recall asking for your permission, Pogue." It was harsh. But that was the point, so Eleanor genuinely didn't care.

JJ chuckled, no humor evident in his tone. "Funny you say that actually because last time I checked —" he gets cut off by a shout of Eleanor's name.

Theo. Also known as, Eleanor's boyfriend. He had the worst timing ever.

Theo went in between his sister and his girlfriend as his arm slid around Eleanor's waist. JJ rose a brow as his stare was solely on the Kooks arm.

Eleanor didn't necessarily want JJ to know about her and Theo's relationship. Not because Theo was a bad person, but because she knew that JJ would use it against her.

"Great." Eleanor muttered lowly as she looked away, pursing her lips.

"Hey, ya mind pouring me a drink? I'm hella thirsty, man." Theo kindly asked John B whom had been the closest to the keg as he chuckled.

John B went to pour the drink before JJ snatched the tap out of his hand and did it himself. He made sure to keep his eyes on Eleanor's as he did so.

She scowled deeply. His pettiness always annoyed her, even when she was close with him.

"Here you go." JJ flashed Theo a sarcastic smile as he shoved the drink into the boys hand.

Confusion flashed over his features as Theo turned his gaze from the blonde boy to his girlfriend. "Thanks...man." JJ didn't care to pay anymore mind to him.

Eleanor then huffed as she grabbed Theo's hand, interlocked their fingers, and squeezed to purposely to get a rise out of JJ. He hid it very well, but she could see the way his eyes lit up with anger as he witnessed the action.

It's not like he was jealous, per se. He just hated the thought of Eleanor finding love in a Kook. She always talked about how she'd rather die than go anywhere near a Kook, let alone be with one. Yet, here they were.

"Thanks." She blankly said, no generosity prominent in her tone as she pulled Theo along and walked off.

Avery stood there a moment longer, JJ and John B throwing a weird look at her. "Oh, right." She nervously chuckled before following behind.

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Eleanor and Theo snuck away from the rest of the party to gain some peace and quiet as they made out behind a bind of tree's.

Eleanor slid her hands up his T-shirt, his abs tensing at her touch, making her smirk into the kiss. Theo pulled the girl in as he deepened their touch.

His hand went to unbutton her cover up before the sound of gunshots interrupted their moment. Eleanor jumped at the loud bangs.

"Holy shit." Eleanor gasped as she fixed herself up, getting ready to examine where the sounds came from before Theo stopped her.

"Stay here." He hurriedly spoke as he held her face in his hands. "I'll go get Avery, but I need to know that you're safe." Theo then took off without another word.

Eleanor cursed under her breath as she waited for him to disappear into the party before she took off herself. She was curious and there were too many people she cared about at the bonfire.

Eleanor felt her heart drop as her running came to a stop due to the scene in front of her. JJ held a gun pointed in the air as he was being yelled at by Pope and Kiara.

"What the fuck?" She loudly cursed as she rushed over to Sarah's side, the blonde girl was trying to get Topper up from the sand, the Kook boy in utter shock.

"What the hell happened?" Eleanor gasped. Sarah looked toward her friend with distant tears in her eyes.

"That psycho Pogue held Topper at gun point." She spat, anger in her tone. Eleanor moved her hair away from her face as she made eye contact with JJ, the blonde boy fuming.

She pulled Topper up to help Sarah a bit before they ran out of the beach without another word. Eleanor breathed in and out slowly to calm her breathing. She was shocked at what she was told.

She never would've thought JJ would ever point a gun at someone. Sure, he was reckless. But he was no killer. She didn't know what happened, but she really hoped JJ had a good enough reason.

Eleanor then realized John B's limp body almost floating into the ocean and hurriedly rushed over to him. There's the good enough reason.

"John B! John B, hey!" She managed to pull him closer to shore and was now slapping his face in an attempt to wake him.

Her eyes started to tear up. "John B..." She slightly sobbed as she laid her head on his chest, in search of a pulse. She found one and sniffled with a soft chuckle.

"Thank, God. You're not dying on me yet, asshole." She said as she wiped her eyes.

"Ellie!" Avery yelled to her best friend as her and Theo stood side by side. Theo looked upset, most likely due to her not listening to him.

"He needs my help!" She shouted back. She wasn't leaving until he at least started to stir awake.

Theo was hesitant to leave her, but his main priority was his sisters safety. He made eye contact with Eleanor and mouthed an ' I love you ' to her, she simply just nodded and he turned to run away with his sister.

Kiara and Pope showed up to Eleanor's side, after reprimanding JJ, and helped her lift him before rushing to the Twinkie that they drove closer to the boneyard. They lifted him up and placed him into the vehicle.

JJ was already sat in the van as they pushed John B onto the back cushions. Kiara gave Eleanor a once over as she held the van door open.

"Thanks, I guess. You can go now." Kiara muttered passively as she went to hop in the van before Pope's voice stopped her.

"Do you have a ride?" He questioned Eleanor. The brunette gave him a shake of her head in return. Avery was her ride.

"We can drop you off." He then added. Pope was obviously hurt by the girl when she just up and left them, but he still had common human decency.

Eleanor shook her head as she noticed Kiara's outrageous stare. "I don't want to cause any problems." She softly said.

Pope shook his head. "Just get in the Twinkie, Elle." He sighed as he went to the drivers side, signaling for Kiara to get into the van before she caused any trouble.

Eleanor gulped as she hopped into the passenger seat. JJ huffed loudly, not attempting to hide his distaste in his drunken state.

Eleanor simply stared ahead, fiddling with a certain bracelet that sat on her wrist. The same bracelet that used to sit on JJ's.

JJ couldn't help but shift his eyes to the mirror that sat above Eleanor and Pope's head and study the girl.

Eleanor shifted her eyes to the same area, making eye contact with him through the mirror. She had anxiety filled tears in her eyes that didn't dare to fall and JJ caught notice of that.

He wished he could comfort her, hold her, just like old times.

But he couldn't. She ruined that for herself. So instead, he rolled his eyes and looked out the rear window.

Eleanor sighed shakily and turned her body to the side as she closed her eyes shut. If only he knew just how much she wanted her old life back.

How much she wanted him back...

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anddd that's chapter one , people ! how do we feel ? do we prefer the old version or this one ? i really hope this one , because I genuinely love it 😭

anyway , jj and ellie definitely have a lot of differences to sort through for obvious reasons , so this tension between them will go on for quite a while .

i've changed a lot about the plot and how her relationships with some of the characters are , if you can't already tell ( hopefully you can ) and i made Eleanor a bit different with her attitude and how she deals with her feelings .

i guess that's all I wanted to say , just let me know how you guys feel about this new and improved chapter and remember to not be ghost readers !

until next time , see ya losers ;)