Falling Slowly - JJ Maybank Love Story

CHAPTER 27 - SEASON 2

"Okay, you're telling me Denmark Tanny decided to hide the cross here?" JJ asked as soon as we opened the door of the chapel.

"Everybody, just spread out" Kie indicated.

"Okay, well, if I was a cross and wanted to be hidden in an old church, where would I hide?" John B asked as the rest of us searched for a place where the cross might be.

"Are you sure that Denmark hid the cross here, Pope?" JJ asked when we weren't fiding anything. "Like, are we in thr right church?"

"It's gotta be here somewhere, guys" Pope insisted.

"What if we have to push a secret button or, like, play like a... a certain chord" JJ said getting near the old, dirty piano. "And then all of a sudden, the ground beneath us reveals the catacombs or something on which we stand?"

"How about we try to find obvious clues?" John B turned his idea down.

"It's not an escape room" Kie said shaking her head.

"It's gotta be in here!" Pope said desperately.

"Sorry. I'm sorry" JJ said softly.

"I can't see where they would hide a giant cross in here" John B said walking around.

"No, no. There's no way he would set us up on a freaking goose chase that would lead us to a church that has nothing in it!" Pope started yelling, arguing with John B.

"Yes, I get it" John B said to him. "I don't know what to tell you, man"

"The clues led us here. The cross is in the church" Pope said sitting down in a bench frustrated. Kie sat down besides him.

"Pope, it'll be all right" John B comforted him. "We've had setbacks in the past, and we figured it out. We're gonna find it"

"He's right" Kie said to Pope calmly. He grabbed the telescope again and started looking through it at the roof of the chapel.

"We've just gotta think about this logically, all right?" John B said rapidly. "Where else would you hide a seven-foot cross made of gold?" We all stared at Pope, that was staring at the roof.

"What?" I asked him, also looking up. He stood up and started walking slowly towards the center of the church, without taking his eyes off the roof.

"Oh my god" Kie said once she realized what Pope was looking at. "Look at that" The wooden beams in the roof of the chapel had a cross shape.

Pope quickly runned to one of the walls of the church that had a shallow holde and started climbing towards the beam, trying to reach the cross.

"Pope" Sarah said worried, trying to stop him.

"Hey, no!" JJ yelled at him, agreeing with Sarah.

"Now Pope's climbing the wall" John B said to himself. We all started talking on top of eachother, trying to get Pope to stop climbing to the roof.

"Pope, this church is old. Like, really old, this isn't safe" Kie said to him, but Pope wasn't listening.

"Yo! This church gots to be at least 200 years old" JJ said to him.

"He's right Pope! It's too dangerous" I yelled at him, but he continued climbing. He finally got to the beams in the roof, and it wasn't looking good. The wood kept making somecrumbling sound, making me even more worried.

"Hey, let me just be real. You're not the most coordinated person on planet earth" JJ insisted as he started to stand in the thin beam. We all continued to yell at him to stop as he knocked on the wood.

"All righ, this one's solid wood" Pope finally spoke. "I'm gonna try the other beam" He started walking down the thin wood, making me more nervous by the second.

"Pope, that's rotten as shit" I said, taking my hands into my forhead, stressed. He knocked the next beam to check if the cross was inside, but still no reasult.

"Pope, I hate to break it to you, but that's wood" JJ said as we all stared at him.

"No, no" Pope grunted. "It has to be here. I know it" He said continuing walking.

"Bro, just look out for that giant nest right above your head" JJ warned him. Pope looked uo and saw the wasps buzzing right on top of him.

"Just... move slow, all right? Nice and easy" John B said to him. Pope took another step, and a pice of wood flew near us.

"Look!" He suddenly said. "It's hollow. Go get me a crowbar!" Sarah run outside as we all stayed tensed on out places.

"Look, Pope, I don't want this entire church to collapse on top of us. Tha's all I'm saying" JJ said to him.

"Hey, Pope" Sarah came running back inside the church with a metal bar in her hand.

"Throw it" Pope said to her. We all took a few steps back before Sarah threw the crowbar into Pope's direction. He grabbed it easily and got ready to knock the beam.

"Hey, Pope. There's the wasp nest, right there. Just mive slow" John B warned him before he started breaking the wood surface covering the cross.

Pices of rotten wood started falling into our feet as Pope desperately hitted the beam.

"Do you guys see that?" John B said as we all stared at the shiny, gold cross below the hollow wood.

"Holy shit" I said without taking my eyes off the cross.

"It's here. Oh my god" Sarah whispered amazed.

"You did it buddy" JJ said with his voice shaking as Pope continued to break the wood. We all started laughing and chattering in exitement.

"We did it!" JJ said happily looking at me. Pope started yelling from exitement as JJ wrapped his arms around me. He lifted me from the ground and we both started laughing.

"We fucking did it!" I yelled from JJ's arms. Our forheads where pressed together, and the tip of our noses were brushing against eachother.

We were really close, about to kiss. I stared into his eyes in happiness, but as soon as we both realized our position, he rapidly put me down again. I took a few steps away from him, placing myself next to Sarah as he moved awkwardly towards John B. 

The wasps started getting closer and closer to Pope. "Okay, they're stringing now. Ow!" He suddenly dropped the cowbar. I quickly moved Sarah put of the way as the metal dropped right in front of us.

"Take it easy!" JJ yelled at him.

We all started yelling as Pope slipped, holding onto the beam with both of his hands.

"Oh my god!"

"Pope! Hang on!" Kie yelled at him.

"Cushions!" I yelled desperately, looking at the church benches.

"Hope!" JJ called me, throwing the cushions to me. I placed them under Pope as the others called at him, panicking.

"I can't hold!" Pope yelled in fear, with one hand slipping away from the beam. We all continued to yell at him to hold on as we placed all of the cushions below him. "I'm slipping guys!" Pope said scaed as the one hand that was holding him started slipping away.

We all screamed in sync as Pope fell down the beam directly into the floor. We all runned towards him once he hitted his back in the cushions.

"Pope, are you okay?" Kie asked him worried.

"Are you good?"

"Are you okay?"

"Anything broken?" JJ asked him as he started to open his eyes.

Suddenly, Pope's eyes wilden as he stared at the cross on top of him. We all looked up and saw the giant, gold cross falling directly on top if us.