𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰, R. Cameron (ON HOLD)

004

Glossy lips pulled back into a smirk are the first thing JJ Maybank sees, lifting his head and running his hand through his hair. He's laid sprawled across John B's pull-out couch, and Pope is tiredly getting up from the other side. "Well, hello, Sleeping Beauty," Marcy grins.

He groans in response, rolling onto his side, back facing her. Marcy rolls her eyes, standing up straight and maneuvering around the edges of the pull-out bed to make a beeline for the kitchen. She sets the reusable bag once in the crook of her arm onto the counter, starting to pull things from the bag before somehow opening the fridge with the toe of her sneaker.

The large carton of milk made the shelf squeak under its weight, as she next pulled out the cheese and sandwich meat. "Did you get salami?" JJ asks over her shoulder, peeking at the contents. His hand brushes against the chub of her side, and her elbow sharply makes contact with his ribs.

"Yes, I did. And don't touch me," she handed the bread to him, mayonnaise slipping from her hand and narrowly missing his foot. The plastic container spun once before stilling. He bent down, grabbed it, and stood back up. The hand holding the bread came up to his forehead and he saluted her.

She rolled her eyes while Pope and John B filed into the kitchen. "I got the basics. Milk expires in five days," Marcy announced while writing the date it expires on the whiteboard stuck to the fridge door. Only two of the three hum in acknowledgement, making Marcy sharply turn towards JJ, who sticks up his thumb upon her gaze.

"So how did everything go with he-who-shall-not-be-named," John B asked while opening the cheese and grabbing a single slice with every intent to eat it just like that. The girl rolled her eyes, narrowly missing hitting JJ's face as she spun around on her heel to face the shaggy haired brunette.

"He's not Voldemort, JB. It's not like I'm gonna breakdown at the sound of his name. Everything is fine, he took me home and just made sure I didn't choke on my own vomit and die. Nothing happened," she felt it wouldn't have been right to share with them what he had told her while half-asleep. She hadn't even really processed it.

The three boys looked between one another, ignoring her scoff at their looks. "Nothing happened!" She firmly stated, swatting childishly at JJ when he went to poke at her. "I swear it! I'd tell you guys if anything did, Jesus! JJ! Stop fucking poking me with your boney fingers!"

He pouted as his hands dropped, looking down at them. "They're not that boney," he mumbled, though he was ignored as Marcy directed her attention to the two other boys. The had no choice but to stand under her calculating gaze, confused but also slightly scared as she scanned them from head to toe slowly.

"You both look like shit... and smell no better——go wash up, we're going to get Kie in a bit. I wanna go swimming," she announced and waited until they cleared out while grumbling under their breath before turning around and coming face-to-face with JJ. "You, too, J. You've gotta impress ya girl, right?" The faintest blush spread across his tanned cheeks as Marcy laughed.

It took all three of them an hour to shower and get around altogether, Marcy busying herself with cleaning around the home. "Ugh, seriously, guys?" She groaned, holding up a fuzzy green and white square. What was once a brown piece of wheat bread, was now home to mold and new life forms.

"Uh, that was not me," JJ was quick to defend himself, leaving her to glare at him because she had a feeling it had, in fact, been him. Pope curiously approached it as she continued to hold it up, but when he got closer she faked a toss and he flinched back with a noise of surprise.

That left her to laugh, putting the piece of old bread in the small bag she held as a garbage. "Man, you can talk about dead bodies and shit but get spooked when molded bread gets too close."

John B and JJ snickered behind Pope's back.

ALICE ——  hey... y'all still there? because, wow. i last updated october of 2021... has it REALLY been that long??? i'm so sorry, guys, truly. i've completely forgot all the ideas i had for this story, so i'm really going in blind now. updates will be slow, as so much as happened, but i figured i'd get into my account and see what i'd left behind. i COMPLETELY forgot about this book, that's actually insane. again, i'm sorry.

it's late, i'm tired. i have kids to get up in the morning, appointments that need attending, and a long bath paired with a shot of something heartburn inducing. mwah, see you again at some point this summer, i promise. goodnight.

rafe next chapter hmmm (& chapters will start getting longer)