Heated Lies (Jiara)

"Revenge"

Now when they found him, alone at a golf course, the actions weren't thought through. He hit first, so around five or six Pogues were about to hit back. No one even noticed he'd made a hole in one before they jumped him.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Topper screamed. Pope and John B held him back while Kie came into view. Not a single one of them were happy.

"So, you hit our boy huh?" Pope started, spitting at him.

"Who?"

John B smacked him. "Don't play dumb."

"I'm not!" He practically growled out, trying to kick them to escape.

"JJ didn't do anything wrong! Starting shit wont help you, man." Kiara said, crossing her arms.

"Don't hit him again." Someone said, trading places with John B. He beckoned to his friend to replace Pope and they held Topper back. Kiara grabbed a golf club, throwing at his feet.

He'd deny it heavily, but Topper definitely flinched. "What the fu- I didn't even touch JJ!"

Pope rolled his eyes, grabbing more golf clubs and chucking them into the nearby lake. They sank, one by one, to the bottom. Topper wasn't even sure how much they cost.

"My parents are gonna kill me!" He thrashed in the Pogues' arms. "I didn't do anything to your pathetic bitch! If he wants to fight me, tell him to find me himself!"

A different Pogue kicked sand in his face, quieting the Kook for the moment. John B grinned at that. Once the bag was empty, JB grabbed the golf club Kiara had  thrown, and threw it into the water with the rest of them. Topper groaned, falling to his knees when they shoved him forward.

Kiara followed the rest of the crew out of the golf course, yelling behind her, "Stay off the cut, Top!"

***

Kiara was in the van on the way back when she decided to call Sarah. She didn't even get a word in.

"Wait, slow down, what the hell happened with J?"

"He is super pissed. I don't even know what I did! I tried to explain myself and he yelled at me about John B and you and Kooks and Pogues and I don't have a clue what he was trying to get across. He sounded really.... really hurt. So I-I basically apologized and then he apologized and hung up!"

Kiara was dumbfounded. That didn't sound like JJ at all. "We just got Topper back for hitting him. Is he home? We were gonna go see him."

"Should be." Sarah sighed. "Can you ask him what's up?"

Kiara told her she would, and hung up. JJ had been acting suspicious. His dad was a fucking nut case, and she wasn't sure if she was eager to see him again. She'd even told John B to be careful in case he was home, but he'd waved off her concern.

The knock sounded at the front, making Kie play with her fingers nervously. A loud "What now!" was heard and JJ opened the front door.

"Oh." He immediately said, staring at them. Pope looked past him at the messy house. John B suddenly looked uneasy. Kiara felt sick all over again.

"We got Topper back." The mathlete broke the silence. "An eye for an eye, right?"

John B nodded, forcing a smile. "Yeah, he was bitchy to you... did he do that too?" He gestured to his eye, making JJ extremely self conscious. Luckily, he'd covered his other cuts and bruises with the makeup already.

"Uh..." JJ didn't want to lie, but he knew he had to. He looked around, eyes landing on his surfboard out front. "I went surfing. Fell and got a black eye. No biggie."

Kiara spoke lowly. "Can we come in?"

JJ wouldn't even look at her. "Yeah, yeah, sure... uh, excuse the mess."

They entered, occupying the couch. John B grabbed a beer from the fridge, which definitely worried JJ. For all he knew, his father counted each bottle. He didn't dare say anything, but he didn't have to. Kiara just about exploded.

"So Topper said he didn't hit you, J." Heads turned.

"He probably lied." Pope said, reasoning with her. By the look on her face, he could tell she thought something else was going on. JJ got a similar vibe, so he immediately agreed.

"Yeah, he lied. Kooks lie all the time." His eyes continued to avoid her, mind suddenly thinking of Sarah and the way he spoke to her. He was beginning to regret it.

The lack of self control was really getting to him.

"Okay!" Pope was ready to kick the tension in the face. "Anyone wanna watch a movie, or go surfing?"

"M-Movie sounds fine." JJ quickly cast his vote, sitting next to Kie on the couch. She looked at him, smiling and hoping he'd copy it. She was right, and he looped an arm around her the same way he'd done before.

A comfortable silence fell over the core four, letting them believe things were going fine. No doubt JJ was acting weird, but he'd talk to them if it was serious right?

They didn't know how wrong they were.

***

Meanwhile, Topper and Kelce were enraged. It was clear that something was going on. In that instance, Topper was innocent. He didn't go anywhere near JJ or any of the Pogues because he found them disgusting and ridiculous.

"Don't worry, man. They'll get what's coming to them." Kelce had reassured him, handing him an ice pack. "We're gonna fuck 'em up."

***

When JJ went to bed that night, he thanked his lucky stars his father still wasn't home. He needed things to cool down. He'd at least found a plan to keep things together; to keep himself and his friends away from Luke.

Kiara was starting to get worse. She knew something was going on, but she'd never push in uncomfortable territory. That was one thing that made JJ glad. Still, things would boil over soon if he didn't fix it. He had to stay hidden.

So he fell off for a while, going to school and going straight home afterward. Laying low was his best option until the bruises and cuts healed. It wasn't what he wanted at that point in his life, but it was better than his father getting hauled off to jail, right?