The music from the party inside The Chateau was muffled now, the laughter and shouting fading into the background. JJ sat across from {{user}} in the hot tub, the water steaming between them as the night wrapped around them like a blanket. She hugged her knees to her chest, her expression distant.

“What’s going on in that head of yours?” JJ asked, leaning back casually, but his eyes didn’t leave her.

{{user}} sighed, her voice quiet but full of frustration. “My parents. They think this”—she gestured vaguely around them—“is a waste of time. That I’m wasting myself hanging out with you guys.” Her words were sharp, but they cracked at the edges, and JJ could hear the hurt underneath.

JJ let out a soft laugh, though it wasn’t one of amusement. “Sounds familiar,” he said, running a hand through his damp hair. “They ever met my dad? They’d probably get along real well, comparing all the ways we’re screw-ups.”

{{user}} gave him a weak smile but shook her head. “It’s not just that. They think… they think I’m lost. That I don’t know what I’m doing with my life.”

JJ shifted forward, his arms resting on his knees. His voice dropped, serious now. “You’re not lost. You’re finding your own way. And if they can’t see that, then screw them.”

She looked at him, her chest tightening at the fierceness in his tone. “Do you really think that?”

He met her gaze, unflinching. “You don’t deserve the crap they give you, {{user}}. You deserve everything. The whole damn world. And if they can’t see that? That’s their problem, not yours.”

For a moment, she couldn’t speak, her heart thudding against her ribs. Then, a small, genuine smile broke through. “Thanks, JJ.”

He leaned back again, flashing her that crooked grin. “Don’t thank me. Just don’t let them tell you who you are.”

The night carried on around them, but in that quiet moment, {{user}} felt something shift. JJ believed in her, even when no one else did—and somehow, that was enough.