𝐒𝐄𝐗 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐌𝐘 𝐄𝐗, ˢᵃʳᵃʰ ᶜᵃᵐᵉʳᵒⁿ

xv. no worries

HER HOME WAS torn apart, standing in the middle of the office she wanted to scream in anger. "Fucking assholes." She spat, her eyes beginning to water, unsure of all that had been stolen.

"Em?"

The girl wiped at her eyes, and took a deep breath. "Just- Just give me a minute."

JJ felt terrible for her and John B, he knew how badly they missed their father. "Hey." He moved toward Emma, wrapping his arms around her. "I'm sorry this happened." He spoke.

"Don't be." Her voice wary as she wiped away more tears. "It's not like this is your fault." She choked out, exhausted. "I'm just so fucking tired, J."

"I know." He held the girl closer. "I know." He hated when she felt so upset like this. Emma felt defeated, there had been too many bumps in the road in one year and she was finally slowing down. "C'mon, you need that nap." JJ removed himself from the girl, grabbing her face and gently lifting her chin so she was looking at him. "I'm so sorry this happened." He said again, then pulled her toward her bedroom. "Go to sleep."

Emma sighed, running a hand through her hair before crawling into bed. JJ was at her desk, lifting the arm of the record player and setting it gently so it would start playing. He heard the little crackle before the music started and nodded, Emma sighed again, in content this time. "Thanks, J." She muttered softly.

"Anytime." The boy turned off her light and sat on the end of the bed. He waited until Emma fell asleep before leaving her room, JJ walked into the living room where John B sat with his head in his hands. "Hey, man."

John B looked up, he looked just as exhausted as Emma. "Hey. Thanks for taking care of her, JJ. I really appreciate everything you do for her." He told the boy.

JJ nodded. "Of course. You're family."

Kie came in from the kitchen, looking around and the thrashed home with a frown. "Those guys need some serious help." She said, shaking her head. "Where's Em?"

"Asleep." JJ said as a knock sounded on the front door, he looked toward Emma's bedroom, hoping the noise hadn't woken her up.

John B's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Pope knows he can walk in, right?" He questioned, getting up to answer the door. Pope, however, wasn't standing in front of him, it was a girl he had never seen before. "Um. Can I help you?"

Pope came jogging up behind the girl, moving passed her and grabbing John B's shoulder. "This is Ivy. She's Emma's friend. Figured you both could use a little break." He told the boy, walking further into the house.

"Okay. Come in, then." John B moved aside to let Ivy in.

The dark haired girl nodded, taking in her surroundings, the place was a mess of broken glass, trash, and paperwork. She wondered if it was always like this. "So, uh, is Emma here... or?"

"Yeah, in her room." John B gestured to his sister's room.

JJ sighed, his eyes closing in frustration. "She's asleep." He told Ivy before her fingers could reach the doorknob. "I know you came to see her, but-"

"Oh, no no. That's totally fine." Ivy smiled, taking a step away from the bedroom. "I guess, I could come back another time..." She trailed off, digging into her pocket and fishing out a ten dollar bill, holding it out to Pope. "Gas money." Ivy simply explained, her sweet smile never dropping from her face.

Pope shook his head, offering a smile of his own. "I can't take that. The van's not even mine, it's John B's-"

Emma's door swung open, an angry look on her face. "You guys have to be fucking joking, I mean seri- Ivy? What are you doing here?"

"Came to see you." Ivy said with a shrug. "You sure do like to run off in the middle of conversations, ya know?"

Suddenly, Emma felt bad, her face reddening slightly. "I'm really sorry about that, I just have a lot going on right now, it's really complicated and-"

"Hey, it's cool. Just wanted to make sure you were all good." Ivy reassured, her smile kind and genuine, it made Emma smile as well.

"Thank you, Ivy. You're very sweet for that. Well since you're here, let's have a little fun."

"Get a room." Kie called with a laugh.

Emma winked toward the other girl. "Jealous, are ya?" She also laughed along with the rest of the group. The brunette walked into the kitchen, grabbing a bunch of shot glasses. "J, come grab the bottle from the freezer, please? My hands are full."

JJ stood from the couch, rolling his eyes. "Can I talk to you out back?" He asked, as he made his way over to the freezer, pulled out the bottle Emma asked for and set it on the counter.

"Uh, sure." She put the glasses down and followed JJ outside. "What's up?" Emma asked, folding her arms over her chest with a yawn.

"That, that's what's up. You need some sleep."

Emma shook her head. "J, I'm fine, I promise. I'll sleep when I'm dead." She joked, lightly hitting his arm though he didn't laugh. "Oh, come on. You're not seriously gonna be mad over something like this, are you?"

"No. I'm not mad, Em. Just worried." He spoke softly.

"You need a shot more than I do. Let's go." The girl grabbed his hand and pulled him to the door, a small smile finally appeared on his face. Emma walked over to the counter and poured two shots, handing one of the glasses over to JJ, they downed their shots then took everything to the living room. "Okay party people, let's do this." The girl took a seat between Kie and Ivy, she set the shot glasses on the coffee table next to the bottle.

As Emma poured the shots, John B was looking at Ivy. He didn't know how the two met, or when, he wanted to ask but held back for the moment. A shot was set in front of him, he forgot about it then. "Alright. Fuck it." The boy downed the shot as did the others.

The group of teens took a few more shots each. Emma was leaned back on the couch, giggling because of a stupid joke JJ made. "J, you should totally roll us up a joint or two." Kie said as she stood up, heading toward the kitchen for another beer. "Who wants one?" She asked, holding up her bottle.

"Me, please."

"I'll take one."

"Kie, come on. Is that even a question?"

JJ shook his head with a smile as he began to grind some weed for the joints. Emma grinned widely as Kie set the beer on the coffee table, she reached forward and grabbed a bottle. The girl picked up a lighter and popped the cap off before handing it to Ivy.

"Thank you. Did you teach yourself that?" Ivy questioned in interest, watching as Emma opened her own beer the same way, then Kie's as well.

Emma shook her head. "Nope. JJ did. Thanks for that, J."

"Anytime, Em." He spoke, focused on rolling for the moment.

Emma wasn't mad anymore, she wasn't tired, she didn't have to worry about her dad for the time being, she didn't have to worry about a girl who had broken her heart. She was going to have a good time with her friends, there was no way in hell that anyone or anything would be disturbing her paradise on earth for just a bit.

( author's note )
— um so like hi.
i'm back from the dead or whatever.