Jiara: My Mistakes Were Made For You

Part 14: Saving You

JJ waited a long time for Kie, but she didn't come over. When he finally decided to go to sleep, he had somehow managed to convince himself that Kie was too drunk, that she had passed out. But falling asleep wasn't easy, getting used to sleeping with someone in two days might seem silly, but the bed felt empty without Kie. He couldn't help but stared at the empty space that should've been filled by Kie for quite a long time, then he fell asleep.

When he woke up in the morning, he was a little hesitant to leave his room. Of course, the reason Kie didn't show up the night before, as he had convinced himself, might have been something trivial, but something inside him told him there was a bigger problem. Maybe Kie had begun to think about what JJ was afraid of, and had come to a decision without even bothering to talk to him.

JJ climbed onto the deck, hoping to find everyone there. But only Pope and John B were there, sitting at the bottom of the sails, talking. JJ sidled up beside them and leaned against a mast, listening to them.

"J!" said Pope. "We think we'll be at Barbados tonight."

"Sweet!" JJ said. "Going a little faster than we thought."

"For once, my friends, everything is in our favor." said John B, smiling. "Should we wake the girls?"

"I say we prepare a crappy breakfast before they wake up, and make them feel guilty enough to make us dinner." JJ suggested. Pope nodded to JJ as he stood up, laughing.

They prepared breakfast, woke the girls, and when everyone was awake, they announced the news that they would be in Barbados that night. It was as scary as it was exciting. They had to get the gold, they had no other choice. They had been traveling for days on a yacht assigned to them for this mission, and they could not return empty handed.

"I miss being on land." said Sarah. "You guys might be sea people, but I miss having a hard earth under my feet."

"Oh I definitely miss being able to take a walk without seeing any of your faces." said Kie, laughing.

"I miss my mom's chicken casserole." said Pope.

"Wait a second..." JJ said. "Don't you ladies owe us a dinner?"

"How come?" Cleo asked raising an eyebrow.

"Well we did fix you breakfast..." said John B.

"Oh, you call half jam-packed bread and hot beer breakfast?" asked Sarah laughing.

"I can make chicken casserole." said Kie. When Pope turned to her in surprise, Kie raised both hands and smiled. "I'm full of surprises."

They spent the rest of the day on deck, eagerly waiting to see land. As they approached the shallower waters, the ships around them increased so one had to stay in the rudder all the time. While the others took turns controlling the rudder, Kie began dinner preparations with the help of Cleo and John B.

As Pope and JJ stood over Rudder, Sarah slowly approached them and leaned against the platform as she spoke.

"So Pope," she said, "What do you think about Cleo?"

"She's cool." said Pope, thinking the question is a little awkward. "What do you think about her?"

"Oh I think she's amazing. I'm kinda sensing a little vibe between you two." said Sarah, prodding Pope gently with her elbow. Pope laughed.

"I... I don't really feel like getting into anything right now." he said.

"Why?" asked Sarah. Then she turned to JJ, who was listening without looking up, and waited for him to look up at her. Sarah turned slowly back to Pope as JJ looked at her. "Are you not over Kie?"