Heated Lies (Jiara)

Companion

No one followed him. It's not that they didn't try, it was that Shoupe stopped them. The more they pushed, the more he'd shove back with twice the effort.

He'd still gotten in trouble with the law, wether he liked it or not, so Shoupe sent out a search. As for the rest of the boys, they had an incentive. He hoped their crack under the promise of a lesser sentence. Though none of them spoke.

"I don't know, his dad's a freak so he's probably a freak too." Kelce had said.

"Bitch is insane. Not like I give a shit." Topper grumbled.

"Don't know or care." Rafe mumbled, looking extremely out of it.

"I want my fucking lawyer." Barry demanded.

JJ ran on, past the Wreck, past the lighthouse, past the beach. He passed his own house, taking a detour to Kiara's. Except when he got there, he just stared at her window.

There were no lights on, and he knew everyone was probably asleep. That didn't help his self esteem in the slightest, so he sulked back in the opposite direction, deciding he'd dodged a bullet.

"I should be happy." He'd whispered to himself. "I made it out and I didn't get caught."

He replayed the thought as if it should be a given. Nothing was wrong. He'd done what he was supposed to. But it didn't feel that way. He still felt like he lost.

He'd come too close to Game Over.

***

The next day, JJ woke up on a park bench. It was a phone call that had startled him awake.

"Hello?" He'd groggily answered.

"Hey, J, are you okay? You sound like you just woke up."

"Yeah, I did."

"It's 2pm..."

That's when he recognized the voice.

"Shit, Kie, is that you?" He finally looked around. "I'm sorry. Some shit went down after you dropped me off yesterday."

"That's okay. Do you want to talk about it? I can come pick you up."

In that moment, he couldn't have been more grateful for Kiara Carrera. His eyes stung for a few seconds before he nodded to himself.

"Uh... I just wanna hang out."

"Okay. Where are you?"

He could hear the jingle of keys. "I don't actually know..." He admitted lowly. His eyes only wanted to focus on a tree with some really bright leaves. "A park, I think?"

She didn't say anything, but there was a massive concern eating at her when he said that.

"That's okay... Can you look for a street sign?"

"Yes. I'll text you." He breathed, relieved she didn't sound mad about it.

"Alright. Be there soon."

He hung up, taking a deep breath. His tears were drying, feeling cool against his cheeks. It was a sane, not really awake type of feeling.

It was like when you take a nap after school and wake up in the middle of the night. He's slightly sweaty, wondering what day it is. He wasn't upset about it. He actually felt quite numb.

He walked for a while, finally texting Kiara the name of a street sign he'd seen near a broken sidewalk. She texted back a thumbs up.

***

She took him back to her house. He seemed uneasy, short breaths escaping his lips unevenly. As they entered her bedroom, she sat down on her bed, but he only leaned against the wall.

"Can I use your shower?" He asked after a moment.

She nodded without hesitation. "I'll grab you a towel. I have a pair of sweatpants I've been meaning to give back to you that you can change into... and maybe an oversized t shirt that'll fit you right. Sound good?"

He smiled. "Thanks, Kie."

"No problem."

It may seem stupid, due to the concern at hand, but Kiara was looking at dresses online when he was in the shower. She hadn't asked if he'd like to go with her because he'd said no once already.

Though, could he change his mind? They hadn't put a label on anything yet. It did seem like he wanted to be with her, right?

But he wouldn't even talk to her about what was going on at home. And then she told Shoupe which could've been an invasion of privacy no matter how you perceive it.

It was making her head hurt, so she signed out of her computer, grabbing JJ some clothes and lightly knocking on the door.

"J?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm gonna put your clothes on the counter, is that okay?"

"Sure."

The steam surrounded her as soon as she entered, making her lips turn just the slightest. She set his clothes down, folded neatly and smoothly.

Kiara stayed for a moment, listening as he hummed something in a low and peaceful tune. She wasn't sure what the song was, but it was sweet, and she wanted to stay till the end.

He continued for a moment, letting her enjoy the experience before the water turned off. After that, she bolted out of there, running down the hall and back to her room.

If JJ knew she was listening, he didn't say so. Something about seeing his discolored chest in her bathroom mirror was unnerving. He tugged the shirt on first.

When he came back into her room, he was wearing a black t shirt and grey sweatpants. She made it subtle, but she was definitely watching his every move.

"Last question, I swear." He said, looking anywhere but her face. "Is it cool if I spend the night, tonight?"

She smiled. "Of course. Any time."

He grinned, laying against her bed frame and pulling a pillow close to his chest. It was a cozy moment for both of them. She laid beside him, grabbing the pillow to discard it, and sliding into his arms. He let her relax into the warmth.

"I think I'm gonna be lazy for the rest of the day." He deadpanned, pulling the blankets over her and himself.

"Fair mood."

***

John B and Pope were having some quality time of their own.

"Where the fuck has JJ been?" JB said, throwing a video game controller to Pope.

"No clue. He kept saying he was too busy to surf. Kie had him over a couple times."

"Do you think he's alright?"

Pope paused the game. "What do you mean?"

"He's been strange. Keeps getting into fights with Topper and-"

Before he could finish the sentence, someone started banging on his door.

"Police!"

John B looked way up at the ceiling, feeling a little fed up with DCFS. Pope went to answer.

"Is JJ Maybank here?" She was a short woman, going by the name of Plum on her name tag. "We have an arrest out for assault of three minors."

"No clue." Pope said firmly.

"I'd advise you not to lie." Plum instructed.

"I'd advise you to get the hell off JB's property without a warrant."

"You don't need one if you have probable ca-"

"But you don't, cause he's not here." Pope was unamused. "And he won't be here. So take yourself elsewhere. Wish we could help."

She was clearly unhappy, but she got back into her car to investigate in another area. Pope glanced back at John B who had a look of shock on his face.

"So now we know where JJ's been."

"Yeah, and we need to help his dumbass."

Anyone following the plot? Is it interesting? Should I spice it up some more?