fuck you, peachy | skins

24. JJ

"Oh, hi J" Ayla gulps awkwardly stepping out of the Counsellors office. JJ had just knocked over a stand of assorted brochures and was too embarrassed to turn around and face her. It is silent for a moment.

"Oh..." he gulps, finally turning on his heel. "Sorry, I just don't usually see people I know in here"

"Why not?"

"Because normal people don't come here"

"Right", gulps Ayla, her face turning scarlet, worried that JJ was judging her. "I suppose so... I'm just here cause mum still makes me go to rehab"

"For an injury?"

"You could call it that. Year 9 didn't treat me nor Eff too well and now we have to live with it"

"Oh. Drugs." JJ gulps. "Does Effy still go to rehab too?"

"I'm not too sure." Ayla answers. Effy and her never really spoke about their past. "Why are you here?". 

"I need calming down apparently so they are prescribing me another medication" JJ holds a little box of meds up in the air and waves it around. 

"Oh, Emily is on the same ones." Ayla scoffs "Must work wonders if they can calm you down and make you come out as gay." she says as she walks towards the door. A few seconds later her eyes shoot back to JJ, having just realised what she let slip.

"Is Emily gay?" JJ asks, his eyes wide open just like hers.

- 

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me" JJ assures Ayla as they sit down on the grass. They had decided to hang out for a bit so they could stay away from their dreadful households for as long as possible.

"Thanks, J." replies Ayla, still feeling guilty as fuck for letting it slip that Emily was gay. "I have a big mouth." The two of them sit in silence for a fair few minutes, unsure of what to talk about as they had no similar interests.

"Mmmmm......" says JJ digging through his backpack. "Do you want to see my drugs?" he beams excitedly. Ayla looks at him confused. "Ohhh I mean my prescribed drugs. For my issues" explains JJ.

"You don't have 'issues' J..." begins Ayla before he cuts her off.

"Triculine, Rizzalin, Adderall, Focalin," he says chucking the boxes of medications into a pile "The veritable Stun, as of today." he waves his newly prescribed meds up in the air.

"That is a lot of drugs." Ayla raises her eyebrows and stretches her legs out on the grass as J continues blurting out more names of drugs he's on. Her legs are still covered in carpet burns from the hectic night which was Panda's birthday. 

"Ah, here's my vitamin C. I do about twenty of these a day, cos they're nice and fizzy." continues J, drawing her attention back to him "You're supposed to dissolve them, but they've got a better kick this way." 

Ayla chuckles at JJ describing his vitamin C as if it were a drug.

"Go on. Try on!" he says, opening up the tube of vitamin C and plopping one into her open palm.

"Sure. Thank you" she says putting in her mouth without hesitation. It's silent for a moment as JJ waits for her to review his infamous vitamin C. It begins fizzling in her mouth and she giggles and nods in approval, much to his pleasure.

"I'd give anything to be normal for a whole day. Or at least more normal like you." JJ chuckles, glancing at her before looking off into the distance, over the park and towards the city.

"If you were normal, what would you do?" Ayla asks, finding it difficult to talk with a sizzling supplement in her mouth. JJ pivots to face her, excited she asked.