Where Were You in the Morning- John B series

(Gif is NOT mine! Credit to the gif owner!)

Summary: A series based on ‘Where Were You in the Morning’ by Shawn Mendes. 

Word count: 1,389

Warnings: underaged drinking (lmk if I missed anything else.

You sat on a tree stump at the beach, by yourself only having a red solo cup in your hand. Your new friend had invited you to come join her at this party, but you soon realized she either didn’t show up, or ditched you for someone else.  

You told yourself you would go interact with people after you had finished your first drink, but the closer you got to finishing it the more nervous you got. Hearing a harsh sloshing sound coming towards you, you looked up to see an attractive brunette boy, walking towards you with the keg in his hands. You furrowed your eyebrows together as he plopped it in the sand right in front of you.

“You did not just carry a whole keg to me.” You laughed as the boy sat next to you. “ I had to do something. You look absolutely miserable and I can tell you’re dreading the fact that you’d probably go socialize even though you don’t want to.” He grinned, pointing down to your empty cup. “Am I right?” You chuckled as you watched him pour you another drink.

 Your eyes flickered up to him and you took in his appearance. He had a blue bandana around his neck, fluffy and shiny brunette hair, a soft smile on his lips. He had a button down shirt with only the last few buttons done. He was fairly tan and ripped underneath his shirt. His hair was wavy, with small curls on the ends of the tips. His eyes were brown as the shadows, but like honey in the lights. 

“Y/F/N Y/L/N.” You introduced yourself, his large hand gripped your small one. “John B.”

“So why are you here all alone? You look like the type to have a lot of friends.” You smiled at his words, watching as John B ran his hands through his hair, a smile on his face. He noticed how gorgeous you were, which lured him towards you when he saw you alone. “I moved here about a week ago and I made friends with this one girl Camille and she told me I should come tonight but she kinda just… never showed up.” You purse your lips, taking another sip from your drink.

“I’m sorry you had to deal with that. Screw her, you got a better friend now!” John B grinned, throwing an arm around your shoulder. You nodded as you gently leaned into his touch. “And an attractive one.” You mumbled as his jaw jokingly dropped. “You think I’m attractive?” He gasped, covering his mouth with his hand. You pulled away from his grasp, your heart racing at the sound of his laugh.

The joking tone immediately turned tense as John B took in how beautiful you really were. “I uh- would you wanna get out of here?” He offered. You nodded your head, letting John B lead you by the hand to his  vehicle.

The ride back to his house was short, the two of you chatting about yourselves and things you liked. He pulled into his yard, putting the van to a stop. As he escorted you out of the vehicle, he grabbed your hand in his, leading you to the front door.

John B invited you into his house, which already gave you a warm welcome. “Welcome to Casa De John B. Also known as the chateau."  He laughed as he spread his arms out, presenting his residence. "It’s so… homey in here” you smiled. “It’s not much, but it’s home.” JB smiled, tapping on the doorway frame.

“Sorry for the mess, I made pancakes earlier and forgot to clean up.” He mumbled, mentally cursing at himself for not fixing up his house.

You rested against the counter, “I make the best pancakes ever.” You proudly spoke. He raised his eyebrows as a smirk danced across his lips.

“I guess you’ll have to make them for me in the morning.” You turned your head toward the floor, hoping he wouldn’t catch the pink color on your cheeks. “I promise that you will be able to taste the most amazing pancakes tomorrow morning.” You leaned forward and adjusted your shirt that was slowly riding up.

John B noticed you were uncomfortable and offered you a pair of clothes. “I would really appreciate that.” He walked into his room and returned a minute later with a t-shirt and shorts.

“The bathroom is down the hall to the right, when you’re done I’ll be in the backyard.” You nodded and walked to the bathroom. Tugging the shorts and tank top off your body, you slipped on his large shirt and shorts.

You folded up the clothes, leaving them on the seat by the kitchen island and walked towards the backyard. John B, too had changed into a more comfortable outfit. He was setting up wood in a fire pit.

He looked up when he heard you rustling in the grass, his smile instantly glowed in the night. “I was thinking we could look at the stars, if that’s alright. I don’t want to sound too cliche-”

You stopped him mid sentence, “I love star gazing.” Smiling, he nodded his head towards a large hammock that was tied between two trees. Getting the hint, you climbed in and watched him finish setting up the wood. He used a lighter to ignite the wood, your eyes were drawn to his hands that for some reason you found attractive.

He walked over to the hammock and laid himself next to you, his arm immediately wrapping around your shoulders. Your body instinctively leaned towards him. Your arm was draped across his stomach, head on his chest allowing you to hear his rather fast heartbeat. There was something blissful about the surroundings.

You could hear the firewood crackling, the crickets in the nearby bushes, the sounds of small waves echoed by the dock. You could hear his shallow breath as he exhaled through his nose. His heartbeat remained at a fast pace the entire time.

You two stayed like that for a bit, just relaxing in the night. You looked up at John B, noticing his face was beaming. He turned his head down towards you, his eyes staring into yours. “The stars are reflecting and shimmering in your eyes, and I can’t help but be attracted to that.”

His eyes flickered from yours, down to your lips. You two both began slowly inching forward, he propped himself up on his elbow. He leaned his head down and attached his lips to yours.

To begin with, it was a soft, subtle kiss, just to see how it was. Neither of you wanted to pull away, you didn’t want it to end. However, at some point you both slowly pulled away and admired the look in each other’s eyes. You guys knew you both wanted each other, and there was nothing holding you back.

He reconnected your lips with his, dancing with hers, as if you had practiced a specific routine hundreds of times.

His tongue licked across your bottom lip, begging for access to the rest of your mouth. You granted him permission as his tongue fought with yours. John B pulled away for a moment to adjust himself to get more comfortable.

But the hammock that held you had different plans. As he was about to kiss you again, the hammock flipped around, knocking you both to the ground. You hid your face in your hands, giggling like you were on top of the world, cause that’s how you felt.

John B was next to you, his face buried in the grass, he was laughing with you at the mishap. He flipped his head up, looking at you, crinkles by his eyes indicated he was smiling. 

Whenever he smiled you felt like the world was a better place. Like even though there’s so much bad around, there’s always going to be safety with him. In that one action, you felt like you have seen every inch of his kind, pure hearted soul. 

Running your hand through his hair, you two laid there for a bit, your lips still tingling from his touch. “Wanna go inside?” He asked, leaning his head into the palm of your hand. You smiled at him, nodding your head yes.

Part 2 here

Hazel Brown- John B Routledge

Summary: AU where your world is in black and white until you meet your soulmate, then everything turns into color.

Word count: 1,317

Warnings: none

Y/A: your age

Y/N: Your name

Soulmates. Everyone had one, couples pranced around you living in color while you were stuck in your own black and white world. You envied the people who would go out and watch the sunset or rise. You envied the people who went to art galleries and saw true color. You were hurt that you had spent Y/A years on this earth and have not found your soulmate yet.

John B Routledge was just like you; he was resentful of his peers who had found their love. He nearly lost his mind when JJ and Kiara saw colors once they had met. He just wanted to find the one to take to a flower garden, or take a trip outside of the Outer Banks. But he too was stuck in his own world of jet black colors and bland greys. 

______________________

Another day, another shift of working at the ice cream parlor at The Cut. Working in a shop full of colors you couldn’t see was a pain in the ass, but you forced yourself to memorize the location of each of the ice cream tubs.

“Can I help you?” You called out to the boy who was eyeing the tubs, squinting. The boy jumped at your voice, taking him out of his trance. “Yeah. Yeah sorry I’m just… frustrated.” He exhaled, raking his hand through his hair.

“You can’t see color either can you?” You asked, propping yourself against the cooler. He shook his head in response, “welcome to the club, the name’s Y/N.” You offered you a soft smile as you told him your name. “JJ Maybank.”

 "If it makes it easier for you I can let you try a sample of something. I also know where everything is by memory if you know the flavors you want.“ JJ was very thankful that you were so understanding, many places haven’t been so kind.

"I’m ordering for all my friends. But uh I need a small cookie dough, medium brownie cake batter, small mint chocolate chip, and a large sherbert please.” JJ looked up and counted on his fingers as he recalled the orders his friends wanted.

He paid as you scooped the ice cream into bowls, softly singing along to the music that played off the store’s speakers. After you finished the bowls you put them in a paper bag for him to carry. You two stood aside chatting about how you moved here a few months ago, his life, and just life in general. A trio of teens walked into the parlor, one of them jumping onto JJ’s back, nearly knocking him to the ground.

You covered your smile with your hand, chuckling at JJ’s groans. “What’s taking you so long, Maybank?” The girl asked.

“I got distracted talking to Y/N okay? You know I get distracted by pretty girls.” You jokingly rolled your eyes, only imagining how many times he has used that on a girl.

“Y/N this is Kiara, Pope, and John B.” He pointed out to his friends as he introduced them. As soon as you made eye contact with John B, both of you dropped to the ground, a sharp pain in your heads. It only lasted about 20 seconds, JJ ran to the other side of the counter to help you up, Pope and Kiara helping John B.

Your shut eyes slowly opened, looking at John B who was already looking at you. Your eyes met his brown ones; brown! You started to see color, you slowly took in every little thing near you. You dropped your ice cream scooper in shock as your eyes began watering, you stepped closer to John B as he  stared at you in awe, taking in everything about you. He could see in color; he took in the color of your hair, your eyes, your skin, even your clothes. 

You two were in complete shock, mouths gaped. His friends smiled to themselves as they grabbed their bag of ice cream before sneaking out of the store, leaving you two by yourselves.

“You… you’re… you… I can see colors.” He whispered. Your heart was racing a mile a minute as he walked towards you. You reached your hand out in hopes he’d take it to follow you into the back room.

You led him back there, both your heads turning in different directions taking in all the colors you could. He placed his hand delicately on your cheek as he stroked his thumb against it. “You’re real.” You muttered, smiling brightly. He pulled you close to him, wrapping his arms tightly around your body. You melted into his touch as he rested his cheek on the top of your head. 

“God I never thought this day would come.” He thought out loud. You two pulled away, his hand still holding your arm. “I get off at 5, would you want to go maybe look at the sunset? We could get food and go up to the roof.” His face blushed at your offer. He softly nodded his head as your heart was pounding. “Yeah I would love that." 

______________♡_____________

Your shift ended, making your nerves spike at an all time high. Hanging up your apron in the back room, you walked out to see John B sitting in a booth, anxiously tapping his leg. You approached him with your hand extended out towards him. "You ready?” You asked. He answered your question by intertwining his fingers with yours. He slid out of the booth, holding a picnic basket in his hand.

Your heart skipped a beat at just how sweet he was. He led you two out of the parlor and into his beautifully decorated van. “This, this is a piece of art.” You smiled, looking at the stickers everywhere.

“Finally! Someone appreciates my art. Also I’m sorry for the weed smell, JJ usually hot boxes the whole van in the back.” JB explained, one hand on the steering wheel, the other still holding your hand.

“It’s all good, I get it.” You smiled as he pulled up to the beach. Finding a spot, John B laid a large towel on the sand, sitting down with his legs crossed. You happily joined him, biting your bottom lip as he pulled out a small bouquet of roses. “You’re a true cliché, aren’t you John B?” You asked after inhaling the relaxing scent of the flowers.

“Only for my soulmate.” He winked.

You two spent the entire time talking. Every minute you two spent together was filled with conversations and laughter. It came to a pause when you finally looked at the setting sun. The sky was a beautiful mix of pinks and oranges, white fluffy clouds slowly disappearing. The way the color of the blue waves clashed against the bright ones of the sky.

“It’s beautiful.” You whispered, squeezing his hand in yours. John B looked down at your intertwined hands before looking at you again. “It certainly is.”

John B used his index finger to hold the bottom of your chin, making you look at him. His eyes looked in yours, practically asking for permission to kiss you. You gladly leaned forward and pressed your lips against his, feeling like you were on a high.

You’ve kissed other guys before, but knowing that you were kissing your soulmate truly felt like a blessing. You’ve never experienced this kind of passion in your life, igniting the flames in your stomach.

Before things got too intense in the make out session, he pulled away. Gently biting your bottom lip, a chill was sent down her spine. “You know what my favorite color is?” You asked, your thumb swiping across his bottom lip.

“What?”

“Hazel brown.” You said, noticing the details of his eyes. How when the sunlight hit it at the right angle, it looked like honey.

“Oh right, and I’m the cliché.”

fangs | john b routledge

more of this little sporadic series. i would do the second verse of the song but i specifically wrote this for the first verse lmao 

damn look at this debbie ryan lookin ass 

masterlist

warnings: cussing as per usual, uuuuh bad writing, underaged drug use 

♫ Fangs by Matt Champion ♫

She rolled up in the Beamer, couldn’t have looked cleaner
Skin like coffee, colour with lil’ creamer
Sin City since I been thinkin’ all of these thoughts in my head
She’d probably shoot me dead

“It’s like…spiritual, y’know?” you mumbled and John B wasn’t really sure what you were talking about but he nodded nonetheless. He couldn’t help it when it came to you. If someone ever asked him for a list of his favorite things to do he would add “Listening to (Y/N) talk” on the list. (To be honest one day maybe he would just put “(Y/N)” on that favorite things to do list but John B was on that respect women juice of course). 

“Sarah was talking to me about it once-You know Sarah Cameron?-” John B nodded and you continued, “She’s like really into stars, so she was telling me all these stories about the stars and I thought it was just beautiful y’know. That there’s mythology of people turning or being turned into the stars themselves.” 

“Yeah of course” John B mumbled in response. 

“But it’s cus…we’re like…also the stars y’know?” you grinned at John B and he had to remind himself to breathe again. 

“Because we’re made of stardust,” you mumbled dreamily and John B nodded in a daze. 

John B wondered for a moment how the two of you ended up here. He wasn’t exactly complaining but he couldn’t remember the last time he hung out with you by himself. 

Wait. Were the two of you even alone?

John B glanced over to the side and suddenly remembered the presence of the other Pogues. Now he could remember where he was and how he’d even gotten here. Earlier in the day the Pogues had found themselves stumbling into The Wreck to try and get some lunch before they headed out to the marsh on the HMS Pogue. While they sat goofing around by the outer patio of the restaurant, John B had caught you driving up to the restaurant in your dad’s old Beamer. It was a well maintained car and he couldn’t stop himself from gaping as you parked and stepped out of the car with your best friend. 

God-damn, she got the hoops on
Hair bunned up in two just like a nunchuck
Would I give a fuck? I needed to cheer myself up

You were dressed in sandals, a pair of loose, patterned, fabric pants, with a tube top and your hair was pulled up into space buns and you had on hoop earrings that he thought looked incredible on you. 

John B had jolted when he felt someone smack him upside the head. 

“Dude what?” he hissed at JJ and the blonde only laughed at him.

“You’re drooling John B,” Pope told him, pointing to the corner of his mouth and the Pogues laughed as John B reached up to wipe away nonexistent drool. 

“Hah hah real funny,” John B flicked a fry at Pope but he only swatted it away. Kie shot them a look as she leaned over to pick it up off the floor and then placed it onto an unused napkin. 

“Dude, I could hear the loves songs going off in your head John B,” JJ leaned back in his seat smugly. 

“Just a glimpse of (Y/N) and his half a brain cell disappears,” Kie stated and the group laughed at John B’s expense. John B rolled his eyes but he couldn’t stop the smile from pulling at his lips or the redness from spreading across his cheeks. 

“Speaking of,” JJ straightened up from his seat and smiled as he held an arm up to wave, “Hey (Y/N)! Nicky!” 

John B jabbed JJ in the arm as Kie and Pope turned over to look at the counter of the restaurant, where you and your best friend, Nicky, were ordering from Kie’s mom.

The two of you looked up at that and though Kie’s mom raised a brow, you only grinned as you waved to JJ, who was wincing in pain. Nicky shot their group a look but waved back reluctantly when Pope and Kie waved to the two of you. 

“Stop JJ,” John B hissed but JJ only scoffed. 

“Hey you guys,” you greeted as you lead Nicky over to them. 

“Oh shit, heeey,” John B drawled awkwardly and Pope recoiled in shock, trying to keep the laugh from bursting out. Kie gave him grimace and JJ looked up to the ceiling, his lips pursed in an attempt to keep his laughter in. 

“What the fuck…” Nicky whispered from beside you and you nudged her side as John B cleared his throat. 

“Ok..sorry about whatever that was,” Kie shot John B a look and he only smiled back at her sarcastically, “But hey,” she smiled. 

“Good day so far?” you asked and the Pogues all nodded in confirmation, “Yeah I saw ya’ll surfing this morning. Looked like fun.” 

“Were you on the beach?” Pope asked and Nicky nodded. 

“Yeah we went and had a sunrise picnic, we like painted and stuff.” 

“That sounds really chill,” John B stated and he grinned as you smiled at him. 

“Yeah, we might just do the sunset tonight too,” you said and JJ perked up. 

“Hey we were about to head out to the marsh, the sunset’ll probably be…fire from the Pogue,” JJ suggested and his friends all looked at him in surprise. 

“Oh? Um well,” you looked to Nicky and she gave shrugged at you. She’d never talked much with John B or his group of friends and had only ever interacted with them while you were around. You didn’t wanna put her in an uncomfortable or unfamiliar situation, “If it’s ok with you?” 

“It’s cool,” Nicky stated and you turned to her. 

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah I mean…it’s whatever,” Nicky turned to the Pogues, “Ya’ll are cool right?” she asked bluntly and the group was struck for a moment before they nodded.

“Yeah we don’t mind,” Kie stated. 

“We’re cool…super cool…” Pope trailed off and there was a moment of awkward silence before Nicky nodded to you and you smiled. 

“Ok, we’ll just wait for our food and then we can head out whenever you guys want?” you asked and John B and his friends all nodded in agreement, allowing you and Nicky to pull up chairs and sit around their table. 

But I fell in love right when she said
“I wanna count the freckles on your face”
“Rearrange ‘em, put 'em in the same place”

That’s how John B found himself on his porch with you, Nicky, and his friends. The second you all were on dry land, JJ had pulled out a pre-rolled joint that he had been waiting all day to smoke. 

John B was surprised when you’d taken it once he offered it to you after taking a hit. 

“I didn’t know you smoked,” John B mumbled, watching you take a hit, letting it sit for a moment before breathing out the smoke. You let out a small cough before handing it off to Nicky, who took it eagerly. 

“I’ve only smoked like two other times,” you answered softly.

“Glad to be here for your third,” John B smiled and he flushed as you chuckled and smiled back at him. 

Then as time passed alongside the joint, Pope (the only one sober for the night) was stuck listening to JJ as the blonde rambled about boats, Kie and Nicky were picking at the Ukelele, playing around with chords and oohing and giggling as they pieced together a song, and John B found himself listening to you gush about the stars. 

“I never noticed that you had freckles,” you mumbled, leaning into him and John B gulped as he watched you, “I kinda..wanna like…rearrange them,” you giggled as you looked up into his eyes and John B smiled. He could feel himself falling even harder for you. 

“Where would they go?” he questioned. 

“I….I dunno,” you mumbled and a slow smile spread onto your face before the two of you were chuckling in unison. 

“I get them from being out in the sun so much,” John B explained and you nodded, tucking a loose piece of hair behind your ear. 

“That makes sense.” 

The two of you settled into a comfortable silence for a moment, letting the others’ chatter drift into your ears. John B watched as you looked up past the roof of the porch and at the stars once more. 

I’m obsessed, I’m obsessed
I’m obsessed

“Um hey-” 

*ring*

You and John B jolted in surprise at the sudden sound of your phone ringing and you fumbled to pull your phone out of the small cross over bag you’d been carrying all day. Swiping your finger across the screen you cleared your throat before bringing the phone up to your ear. 

“Hello? Mom?” 

The other teens quieted down and straightened up as they recognized that you were on the phone with your mother, the sheriff. 

“Um yeah I’m fine,” you paused as your mother spoke, “Yep. I’m-I’m just at John B’s house-Yes, Routledge- Yes….Yeah…Yeah, I’m with Nicky…I don’t…Um is it ok if I sleep over at Nicky’s” you glanced at Nicky and the girl gave you a thumbs up and you shot one back,”Yeah?…Ok…Ok, I’ll see you tomorrow then….Bye, I love you too.” 

You sighed as you hung up the phone, dragging a hand down your phase. You shook your head to try and clear away the fogginess of your brain but it only made you feel dizzy. 

“Ooooh shit…” you mumbled in irritation as you opened your eyes and looked at the group that was watching you. A beat passed before all of you burst out into a bout of laughter. 

“I don’t know why but my heart like, dropped,” Kie gasped and Pope pointed to her as he nodded. 

“The second you said ‘mom’,“ JJ breathed and you chuckled, leaning into John B without even realizing it. He moved on instinct, wrapping an arm around you and placing a hand on your hip. 

“Yeah, in my head I was like, “Oh shit she knows we smoked”,” John B said and the group laughed once more as they agreed. 

“Sometimes I feel like she knows exactly what I’m doing like…all the time,” you told the group, “It’s literally terrifying.”

“Yeah your mom’s scary as shit,” JJ said before he backtracked, “No offense.”

“None taken,” you assured, shaking your head. You loved your mom but you could agree that she could be scary. 

“You guys need a ride home?” Pope questioned as the laughter died down and you turned to Nicky. She closed her eyes and nodded slowly, indicating that she was definitely not fit to drive. And the odd weight of your head was telling you that you weren’t fit to drive either. 

“If that’s ok?” you told Pope and he nodded, already standing from his seat. 

“Yeah of course.”

“What about your dad’s car?” Kie asked and you all turned to look at the Beamer parked beside the Twinkie. 

“I can drive it up to Nicky’s house tomorrow morning?” John B told you and you turned to look up at him. 

“Oh thank you, yeah that’d be great,” you smiled at him and he smiled back. His hand played with the end of your shirt and as though suddenly realizing where it was, he coughed awkwardly and pulled his arm away from you. Glancing at JJ he frowned at the blonde’s furrowed brows and missed the way you leaned away from him, glancing down at the floor in disappointment before you stood from where you were seated. 

John B stood after you and awkwardly placed his hands in his pockets as he watched you adjust the waist of your pants. 

“John B, can I get the keys to the Twinkie?” Pope asked and John B pulled the keys out of his pocket, tossing it to Pope just as you slung your bag across your body. Nicky walked up to you and looped her arm around yours. She mumbled something into your ear and John B caught the glance shot his way before he averted his eyes and stared up at the porch ceiling awkwardly. 

“Alright let’s go?” Pope asked and you and Nicky nodded. 

“Bye,” Nicky waved to the remaining trio and you smiled and waved to them before the two of you turned and followed after Pope. 

Kie, JJ, and John b stood and watched as you entered the van. Then as it peeled away from John B’s dirt drive away, the boy flinched in shock as Kie punched him in the arm. 

John B reached up to rub at the spot, shooting Kie a glare. 

“What the fuck?” he hissed and Kie only raised her brows at him. 

“What was that?” Kie questioned and John B only looked at her in confusion. 

“What?” 

“C’mon John B,” JJ spoke up. 

“Wh-what?” John B floundered as he looked between the two and they only shook their heads, clearly done with his shit. 

Put yo hands up if ya ever been in love
I know I hate it, I hate it as much as you, oh, oh
Baby put your hands up if ya ever, if ya ever
If ya ever been in love