Thalassophile // JJ Maybank

Chapter 24

"Pope, we're not stealing the drone. We're borrowing it." John B reassures the boy. He sat in the front seat, driving the van down to the salvage yard.

"Humans are the only animal that can't tell fantasy from reality." Pope says.

"What?" I ask confused.

"Did you come up with that?" John B questions.

"Albert Bernstein came up with that, but it applies to this whole treasure-hunting thing." Pope says.

"That's the silliest thing I've ever heard." I state.

"So which is it?" Pope asks the other boy. "Fantasy, or reality?"

"Why are you so weird, Pope?" JJ asks.

"It's fantasy, but possible reality." Kiara answers Pope's question.

"Reality." John B corrects. Kiara looks over to the brunet with a small smile on her lips.

"Are we sure?" I question. "This all seems crazy."

"Virtual reality." JJ speaks up, playing with a lighter.

Pope plucks the blunt JJ had rolled out of his hands. JJ gives the boy an irritated look. "Keep the signal clear."

John B pulls up near the salvage yard. Kiara climbs out of the passenger seat, getting out of the car. Pope and JJ continue to argue in the back. I watch the two with an unamused look on my face.

"You know what your problem is?" JJ asks the boy.

"You?" Pope retorts.

"Okay, that's not necessary." I try to cut them off.

"No. It's that you need to relax, man. You're always so tense."

"I'm not too tense." Pope defends.

"You two need to cut it out. How are we supposed to go through with the plan if both of you got your panties in a bunch?"

"Panties? Really, Frank?" JJ questions.

"Did I stutter?"

"Okay, come on." John B says, opening his door. I open the door in the back and climb out of the van, following after John B. The other boys climb out, walking behind us as we sneak into the salvage yard.

We all hide behind a work table. Tools sit on top, helping hide our faces.

"How's it going with Kiara?" JJ asks John B.

"Wait a sec. What?" I ask shocked.

"They smooched." JJ informs me. "He got the good ol' rejection."

"What the hell?" I small laugh escapes my lips.

"Don't laugh." John B tells me with a slight smile. He turns back to the blond. "It's uh... not awkward, weird, or anything."

JJ snorts, trying not to laugh. "Well that's good. I honestly did not think you were actually gonna listen to me."

"What?"

"Wait this was your idea?" I ask, looking over at JJ.

JJ nods, stifling a laugh. "I was 100 percent sure she was into you. Pope would agree."

"Ehh.." Pope hesitates.

"So she like, definitely gave you the Heisman?"

"Oh, no question. Yup."

"Well that's embarrassing." I announce. John B nudges me with his shoulder, playfully, knocking me off balance.

"Gotcha."

"Maybe she's just into somebody else." Pope says.

I side glance him, a look of confusion crossing my face. I look back over at Kie and the man. As soon as he turns his back to us JJ is ushering us forward.

"Go, go, go, go."

I follow JJ as he runs. We run along a chain-link fence, behind a line of parked cars. My feet pound on the solid ground as we run into the impound yard. I pant as I run, struggling to keep up with the much faster boys.

"Come on, Frank." Pope encourages.

We finally reach a large shed, coming to a stop. JJ rushes over to the door, grabbing the combination lock. He starts spinning the dials, trying to enter the combination. He yanks on the lock.

"You got the right numbers?" Pope asks.

"All right, so I might have the wrong numbers." JJ says turning around.

A loud barking interrupts our conversation. A dog sprints at us from around a boat. JJ grabs my arm, pulling me behind him. "Hi! No, stay there! Good boy." The dog continues to bark.

"Shit, what do we do?" I ask the blond.

"Uh, this way." JJ grabs my arm again, pulling me with him as he runs around the corner of the boat. "Pope, run!"

Pope grabs a pipe, waving it at the dog. "Back off! Back off!"

I grab a red rag off the side of the boat. "Here, boy! Here! I got a toy!" The dog whirls around, looking at me. "Oh, shit." The dog starts running at us.

"Let's go, Franklin!" JJ yells running. I follow after him, sprinting as fast as I could. I pull the boy around the side of a building, the dog disappearing from behind us.

I could hear the foot steps of another being making his way toward us. My breath hitches in my throat as I think of what to do. My heart pounds in my chest as the anticipation of the man finding us builds.

An idea sparks, I reach out to JJ and pull him around the corner of the building. I push him against the wall. I step forward getting close to him. My face just merely inches from his own. I could feel his hot breath fan across my face.

"Do you trust me?" I ask seriously.

"What?" He asks confused.

"JJ, answer the question."

"Yeah, what are you-"

I cut him off by pressing my lips against his. A light gasp escapes his lips. I grab his hips pulling them against my own. JJ's hands flatten against my back, pulling me close. His lips were soft as they moved in sync with my own.

"Excuse me?" The man had finally seen us. I turn to him pretending to be shocked but real shock fills my body when I see a gun pointed directly at me.

"Um- I—" The words get caught up in my throat.

"Wait, Bobby." JJ steps up. "Don't shoot. It's me, JJ. Luke's kid."

"What are you doing?" The man demands.

"I swear, okay? I didn't want to, okay? My dad made me."

"Don't you lie to me." Bobby says.

"He told me that Captain Leo kept his cutting torch. You know, after he got fired. We came looking for it." JJ tells the man. He turns to me. "This is my girl, Franklin. We uh.. we got distracted. Sorry about that."

"Get to the point."

"My dad said if I didn't get the cutting torch for him, he was gonna..." I noticed JJ pretending to get emotional. I placed a hand on his back, pretending to console him. "He was gonna hit me again."

The man scoffs. "Son of a bitch."

"I'm sorry." JJ shakes his head as if he were disappointed in himself. A shaky sob releases from his throat.

"It's alright, come on. I almost killed you."

JJ sniffles. "I know. I'll just come up with something. Tell him I couldn't find it."

"It's okay, baby. Come on. Sorry for bothering you, sir." I say. I grab JJ's hand as we walk away, selling the play even more.

I look up at JJ. A small smile spreads across his face as he glances at me. "You're a genius."