𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐂𝐀𝐓 / / 𝐉𝐉 𝐌𝐀𝐘𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐊

CHAPTER 14

Morning came all too quickly, especially for a girl who had only managed two hours sleep. Kie had woken the two teens up at the break of dawn, and both grumbled with annoyance, though allowed themselves to be coaxed out of bed with coffee and food. She had managed to put out a full spread for them all, as well as make packed lunches to take out on Mr Hayward's boat with them, the Pogue being too small and handle open water that dense. Stella dreaded to think what time Kie had woken up, but thanked her for the effort anyway, and dived right in to the avocado on toast.

After breakfast she changed into her bikini and threw a T-shirt over the top before ensuring her essentials where in her tote bag, collecting a few beers from the fridge. She met the rest of them outside on the dock and with excitement the Pogue's headed out in search of the merchant as the sun began to rise.

There was nobody out on the water at this time of day, apart from a few committed fishermen who paid them no mind as they sailed out into the open waters. JJ drove the boat, whilst the rest of the lounged around and gave Stella dirty looks when she cracked open a beer.

"It's not even noon." Kie told her

"It's 5 o'clock somewhere." She answered back.

Laying out on the deck with a beer in hand, soaking up the early morning rays, Stel began to let her tiredness overcome her. She laid on her front, resting her head on the rolled up towel and soon drifted off to the soft sounds of the waves against the movements of the boat. A nap would no doubt help her feel refreshed later on, she assumed she'd need it if she was going ahead with meeting up with Bohdi.

She was still so unsure about what to do with the telling JJ situation, especially after what Richy and Danny had said about him losing his top. Sure, she had seen JJ lose his tempter countless of times and more often then not it always landed him in shit. He was like a bull to a red rag, and sometimes there was no calming him down. A Maybank trait, she guessed, considering Luke was reknowned for his temper. She had seen it in action, when they where younger and he hit JJ whilst she was waiting for him to get changed. Stella wasn't allowed round again after that day, not when Luke had discovered she had slashed the tires on his old Chevy. Pushing JJ's anger aside, she was worried about hurting him more than anything. She knew that they had this strange relationship, one that was unlike any other. It wasn't like the one she had with John B and Pope, or like similar to the bond she shared with Barry. She knew that she loved JJ more than that, and deep down inside she knew that he felt the same way, but neither of them would ever admit that. Both far to stubborn to do so, the fear of the unknown overtaking the want, yet they still had this unwritten claim for one another, no matter how much they tried to deny it, and that's why Stella felt so guilty.

"Hey, Swayer!"

At the call of her name she jumped, looking up to see Pope smiling down. "Shit, you almost scared me there."

"Sorry, but you've slept through the entire journey." He told her. "We're lowering the drone down now, c'mon."

Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she stood up to stretched and scanned the area. They where surrounded by nothing but blue sea, and it looked glorious. Kie was sat on the edge of the boat lowering it machine further into the water. JJ was in the cabin whilst JB and Pope surrounded the screen. She chose to walk up to her favourite blonde and wrap her arms around his torso, resting her cheek against his shirt and shutting her eyes.

JJ automatically returned the hug, squeezing his own arms around her shoulders and resting his chin on the top of her head. "You okay?"