Choose - JJ Maybank

Chapter 6

We were now in John B's van. Kie was sitting in the passenger seat while Pope, JJ and I were in the back.

"I mean, it's obvious, right? A family heirloom. What a better place to hide a message? He had to know it was gonna get back to me, right?" John B asked.

"yeah its possible." Kie said agreeing.

"It could also be possible that you're concocting wild theories to help, you know deal with your sad feels." Pope said as Kie and I gave him a dirty look.

"bro, you know how I process my sad feels. Dank bugs and the stickiest of ickies, that's how I do it." JJ said.

"I'm not concocting, okay?" JB declared. "My dad's trying to give me a message."

"If it helps you believe, John B. " Kie said.

"Look, I..I don't need a therapy session, okay? Look, I'm not trippin' out."

"it's okay to trip bro, but..." JJ started saying but John B cut him off.

"Look, my..my dad is missing, okay? Missing. You don't know what it's like to have the person closest to you vanish and then have no idea what happened.Just wake up every morning wondering. " JB said.

"It's been almost a year." Kie stated.

"Hey, he could have been kidnapped. That's definitely a possibility." JJ said.

"Yeah, could be in a Soviet sub getting interrogated by the KGB somewhere." Pope said.

"absolutely, uh...or Atlantis." JJ said making me slap him and Pope in the arms.

"JB....I believe you." I said placing my hand on his shoulder in a reassuring way as Pope, Kie and JJ gave me looks like I was crazy. "Sorry guys but I've never heard John B so sure about something, and you have to admit, its a little weird that the message was not there before and now it is, and it made its way back to JB." I said as he looked at me smiling as a way of saying thank you.

"What do you think the message is?" Kie asked.

"redfield." JB muttered as we pulled into the driveway of the Redfield lighthouse. "Redfield lighthouse. That's my dad's favorite place. He parked and we all got out. "Right. You're gonna post up and look out for bogeys, okay?" He told JJ.

"Wait...why me?" JJ asked.

"Because you're not coming." Pope said.

"Why?" JJ asked confused but we all understood why he was not going.

"There are independent and dependent variables. You're an independent variable. We don't know what you'll do." Pope explained to JJ making me laugh.

"Shut up Pope! Just shut up!" JJ yelled at Pope.

"Listen to me for a second. Pope, Katie, you stay on look out with JJ. Okay? If we get split up we meet back at JJ's house." John B said.

"Great." Kie said agreeing.

"I'm gonna work on my merit scholarship essay, and I'm trying to keep felonies to a minimum." Pope said freaking out.

"All right, would you just shut up already?" JJ said to Pope.

"why do you have to be rude all the time JJ." I said pushing him. "come on Pope, tell me what your essay is going to be on." I said pulling Pope away from JJ who looked at me.

It has been a few minutes and I was sitting in the back of the van watching Pope try and toss this rock into JJ's pocket. As he finally landed it we heard sirens.

"Guys!" I screamed as they came running and got in the van.

JJ drove us away as quickly as he could leaving behind John B and Kie. I hope they would be okay. We headed to JJ's house and waited there for a while but they didn't come so Pope went to his dad's shop and JJ and I decided to drop off the van at JB's and then JJ would walk me home. On our walk home JJ and I talked the entire way, laughing like we used too. It felt like things never were never ended horribly. As we were walking I felt his hand brush mine a few times before I felt him grab it. I felt a million butterflies in my stomach erupt when he did. I felt myself blushing so I looked away.