Heated Lies (Jiara)

Nora the Mediator

They go down the list, each roaming the supermarket isles for supplies. Kiara grabs a few feminine products for Nora, Sarah, and herself.

Then Nora brings some candy and snacks. They buy big packages because neither one of them knew how long they would be there. It would be easy to make sandwiches as they wait to find out.

"Ready!"

***

Pope was the first to realize they'd tracked sand back through the house. Since the girls weren't home yet, he had the chance to panic.

"Guys..."

JJ looked behind him just in time to see countless tan pebbles all over the floor. His eyes widened. "Oh, shit."

"What?" John B grimaced at the sight second later. "Yeah... that's gonna be a problem."

The Heyward grabbed a broom, and began sweeping the entry way. The Routledge backtracked the way he came in to hose down in the front yard. The Maybank followed in hopes of reducing the mess.

John B was the last in the actual shower when they arrived with the groceries. Kiara began putting things away while Pope tried to help. It was a group effort. Even JJ clomped down the stairs to accidentally bump into the Carrera.

She decided she'd helped enough after that. Strangely enough, he'd begun to watch her. Seeing how much she missed him was beginning to trigger something. It made it extremely hard to be angry, but it wasn't like before.

He knew it was bad, but he was starting to want her back. It had barely been two days since their fight, but he missed her hugs. His nights wouldn't be so lonely if she was there. Except he couldn't tell if he forgave her or if he was just missing her.

Avoiding conversation grew the tension between the both of them. Not to mention John B and Pope with those stupid knowing stares all over again.

He couldn't deny that Kiara just wanted to help. She may have hurt him in the process, but she had a good heart. The bump in the road of their romance was just that; a bump. He wasn't completely sure if he should keep driving.

"Snap out of it!!" Nora snapped her fingers. He blinked.

"Huh?"

"I'm making sandwiches. What do you want on yours?"

He had to rack his mind to think about something that wasn't her. Even in anger, she was the only thing on his mind. Not to mention the worrying that had commenced the second he wondered what would happen back in obx.

"Turkey and cheese." He quickly said, moving away from the four eyed girl to sit on the couch. Kiara had been on the opposite side flipping channels on the big screen.

Pope and John B sat in the middle, looking at both of them. Soon, it was just them sitting as far away from each other as they could.

Neither if them wanted to be next to each other, but they also weren't moving to the bench in the same vicinity. Their approximate closeness was good enough... for now.

They were concentrating too hard on the other to realize when everyone else left. They'd finished their sandwiches a while ago. JJ didn't move a muscle. He wasn't sure if he was hoping she would.

Unfortunately, she stood before he did. She didn't even say goodbye, throwing away her paper plate, and making her way upstairs to the bathroom. Nora was watching from the rails at the top of the stairs.

JJ didn't like that he watched Kiara go up, to the last second. Nora was right. He needed to snap out of it. And there she was, staring at him in a long, dress-like nightgown.

"Dude, make up your mind."

"Jesus Christ!!" He flinched backward. "Nora, you can't just sneak up on people like that!"

She made a face. "I don't sneak up on you guys. You're all tall freaking beanstalks so you never see me coming."

"Whatever." He turned back to the tv. "Make up my mind about what?"

"Oh, don't play dumb. You got eyes for her or not?" She curled up on the sofa, glancing at the television with him.

"Not."

"Yeah, right. The goo goo eyes made that real clear."

He was glaring at her now. "When did this become your business?"

He sounded mad, so she held her hands up in surrender. "Guess it's not." Then she was standing, moving toward the stairs again.

It was a short lived escape plan. JJ sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Okay, fine, wait!"

She grinned. "So that's a yes to my previous question?"

His cheeks were pink, and he definitely avoided her gaze. She walked back toward the couch to giggle.

"You're falling."

"I am not!" His cheeks burned with embarrassment. "She just... She helped me out when I was going through shit. I'm like... attached or some shit."

Her face got serious. "JJ... I don't mean to impose, so stop me if I go too far, but she helped you with your dad right?"

He froze, staring at the floor. There was a short window of silence. Then he nodded stiffly.

"She was the only one, really. I didn't trust anyone else enough to tell them. She made the decision for me, and it really hurt." He admitted with a soft tone. "I probably would've told them eventually... But still. And I hate that I still want her back."

Nora thought for a minute. "Hear me out. Put yourself in her shoes. Imagine someone like John B hurt her. What would you do?"

He immediately sat up. "I'd beat the shit out of him-"

"Wait, though." And he settled back down, giving her his full
attention. "What if she wanted you to keep it a secret. Be honest, would you?"

JJ didn't have to think about it, but he pretended to anyway. "It's different, he can't hurt her and get away with it! I can overpower him if I needed to."

"But your dad can get away with hurting you?"

He went to say something, but came up empty. He ended up chewing on the inside of his cheek as she brought the conversation to an end.

"She may not be able to overpower your dad, but the Sheriff sure could."

Nora leaves him like that, giving a dorky salute before running back up the stairs and into bed. It is then that he realizes it's well past twelve am. He decides to sleep on it, and make a decision in the morning.