Waves

t w e n t y - s e v e n

~PRESENT~

Amelia stood by the fire at The Boneyard, Sarah standing next to her, the warmth from the fire feeling good against her skin. She sipped from her red solo cup, her eyes drifting around the crowd of people.

Her eyes froze on Rafe, as she saw him appear with Topper on one side of him and Kelce on the other. Her heartbeat quickened as his eyes instantly met hers. He didn't smile, didn't wave, didn't even blink. He just looked away and walked in the other direction, his friends following him closely behind.

"What the hell was that?" Sarah asked, watching the exchange between Amelia and Rafe closely. Sarah's eyes squinted at Amelia. "Is there something going on between you and JJ?"

Amelia almost spit out the drink that was in her mouth, swallowing it quickly and then looking straight at Sarah. "What? Of course not. Why would you even ask me that?" She rubbed her lips together, looking in the opposite direction of Sarah, hoping that she couldn't tell by the look on her face that she was lying. "That ship has sailed."

"Really? Because it seems to me like that ship is still waiting at the dock."

Amelia chewed on her lower lip, refusing to make eye contact with Sarah. She felt her stomach churn as Kiara wrapped her arms around JJ's waist in the distance, looking up at him with lovestruck eyes. "I need another drink."

Amelia quickly broke away from Sarah, carrying her red solo cup over to the keg and flipped the handle, filling the cup up to the brim. She glanced back over in the direction of all of her Pogue friends, hesitating going back over. Instead, she turned on her heels and walked in the other direction, feeling the need to get away from them right now. The sight of Kiara and JJ together made her feel sick. Her stomach still felt uneasy, and she knew that if she went back over there, she would probably throw up.

She walked down to the shore of the ocean, sitting down in the sand before removing her shoes and dipping her feet into the water. She sipped from her cup, looking out over the water, admiring the moon shining brightly overhead.

"Hey, beautiful. You okay?" JJ's voice sounded from behind her, and he sat down in the sand next to her.

She sighed. "I just needed a minute."

JJ slithered his arm around her waist, pulling her body closer to him. He leaned down and planted a kiss to the side of her head. "You saw me and Kiara, didn't you?"

Amelia stayed silent.

"I told you, I can end things with her right now. You're the one that said no."

"I know, JJ, I know. My head is just so confused right now."

JJ lifted his hand to her chin, turning her head to face him as their eyes met. "Mel. I love you, okay? I love you."

She smiled softly at him and nodded, as JJ leaned down and attached their lips. She loved JJ, and more and more, she felt like she needed to give him the okay to end things with Kiara.

"JJ?"

JJ and Amelia quickly broke away from each other, hearing the voice sound from behind them. Amelia felt her stomach drop as she looked back, meeting eyes with Kiara.

JJ quickly jumped up, nervousness all over his face as he ran his hand back through his hair. Amelia stood beside him, not sure what to say or do in this moment.

"What... what are you doing?" She asked, not breaking eye contact with JJ. "You told me that I had nothing to worry about."

"Kiara, it's not what it looks like. It's-"