complicated • jj maybank

➳ 1

It was midday on a Tuesday and instead of being at school, me, Sarah and her boyfriend Topper were sat at the country club. Sarah had called me up this morning and kindly demanded I pick her up and skip school with her to go shopping for an outfit for some party she was dragging me to next week. So before I knew it, I was dressed and out the door.

We walked around the mall for hours, spending an amount of money that I'd usually feel guilty about spending on basic necessities, let alone flashy shoes and designer brands. As much as I swore to the Pogues that the Kook life wasn't something I'd enjoy, I would be lying if I said it didn't feel great. Swiping my card without the constant fear of it being declined due to insufficient funds.

Once Sarah had her dress, and the other unnecessary things we'd splurged on, Topper called her and suggested we meet him at the country club. So we filled the trunk of my car with our purchases and made our way to the club, making a beeline for the bar as soon as we got there. Sarah orders cocktails for the both of us and tells me to go find Topper, ushering me off into the sea of boys sporting polo shirts and golfing shorts. I find Topper sat at a table outside, already drinking from a fancy glass containing some sort of cocktail. I sit down opposite him, kicking my feet up onto the chair next to me.

"Hey Top," I smile at him, lifting my hand to shield my eyes from the sun. "Sarah's at the bar ordering for us, she told me to come and find you."

"Bella, hey. How was your day at the mall?" He asks, sliding his glass over the table to offer me it. I accept the concoction, hesitantly taking a sip of the mystery substance and almost instantly spitting it back into the glass. I force myself to finish it, not wanting to spit it out and risk being judged by all of the snobby housewives who currently occupy the table around us. Not that the opinions of the women that sit around all day at the club spending their husbands' money whilst he works at his boring office job and bangs the secretary, who's half his age, on his lunch break. But what do I know, I'm just the messenger.

"It was pretty good actually," I say, as Sarah sits down beside her boyfriend I reach for the drink she had ordered for me and drink just enough to get rid of the taste of whatever Topper was drinking. "What the fuck even is that by the way?"

Topper just laughs at my question, shrugging his shoulders and turning to start a conversation with my best friend. I look around me, taking in the masses of golf courses and the crowds of rich boys with their clubs in hand, my eyes scan over the crowds, barely recognising a few of them from school. My eyes keep wandering my surroundings until I feel my legs fall from the chair beside me, looking up to see Rafe sitting in the chair that was previously occupied by my dirty converse.

"Excuse me, Cameron. But I believe that seat was taken." Placing the sunglasses, that were resting on the top of my head, over my eyes and crossing my arms in front of me. The older Cameron sibling smirks, reaching down and lifting my legs back onto his lap. I roll my eyes and let out a dramatic sigh.

"My bad, I didn't realise you needed to take up half of the table. Is that better for you, your highness?" I ignore him, turning to my friends and joining in on their conversation, but not long after i feel something tugging at the laces of my converse. I look down at them, seeing Rafe tangling the little ropes around his fingers. "You have the money, you should really get some new shoes Bels. These look like you found them on the streets of the Cut."

His statement is completely ignored as my eyes trail to a head of blonde hair not too far behind Rafe. I stand up abruptly and leave the glass on the table. Excusing myself and taking off after the boy. It doesn't take me long to catch up to him, making my way down to the dock, where Heyward's boat is.

"J, Pope? Wait up." I say, coming to a stop as they both turn around. Popes face instantly lights up with a smile as he approaches me with open arms and continuously tells me how much he missed me. I gratefully accept his embrace, squeezing him tightly before pulling away and turning to the blonde. "Hey." Is all I say, staring at his cold eyes and unbothered face. He doesn't respond and instead, gets into the boat and ushers Pope to do the same.

"JJ, seriously?" Letting out a loud sigh, I stand on the dock like and idiot, ready to beg my old friends for forgiveness. "You can't avoid me forever."

"Avoid you? How can I avoid you if you haven't even come to see your friends Arabella?" He raises his voice slightly, catching me off guard. Truthfully, I have been distant with them lately. But when your life completely changes and suddenly you're filthy rich and everyone expects you to mingle with the other rich kids, you kinda lose touch with your old life.

"It's not as if any of you tried to visit me either J! This isn't easy for me." He laughs, but not the type of laugh that comes after a funny joke in one of your favourite movies. Instead his laugh was cold, it made me feel like a stupid little girl who knew nothing about the big world around her.

"Do you know how ridiculous you sound right now Bells? It's not easy for you? You're absolutely loaded, I mean, like loaded to the point where you'll never have to work a day in your life. The rest of us, the Pogues, your supposed friends, you know the ones you completely abandoned and left behind?" He yells, getting off the boat to stand in front of me. "We all lost our best friend to a preppy school and a country club? And don't star with the 'you didn't try to visit me either', we don't belong here Arabella. Open your eyes and maybe you'll see that."

Without even letting me say another word, JJ gets back on the boat, charging past Pope and starting to drive away from Figure 8 and back to the Cut, my old home. I breathe heavily, controlling my emotions as JJ's words settle on my shoulders, weighing me down. I turn away from the water and walk back to the country club, stopping at the table which my friends were waiting at in my pursuit.

I grab my keys off the table and look down at Sarah. "Hey? Is it okay if you get a ride home with Topper? I need to go." She agrees, telling me she loves me and after reassuring her that I'll call her later, I'm out the door and in my car soon after. And even after my conversation with JJ, I find myself taking the familiar roads towards the other side of the island.

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this is terrifying, i have no idea what i'm doing and i'm totally just going with it