Together

5. No More Bar Fights

Your mother wouldn't approve
Of how my mother raised me
But I do
I think I do
-Mitski

The first few days that JJ is at Shoupe's are smooth. Shoupe had brought the sickly teen up the few steps to the front door to the single family home and beckoned him to follow him inside. The house was just off figure eight, not enough to be considered the cut but nowhere near the mansions on the north side of the island. Still, it was taken care of, clean, and somewhat cozy. He was a bachelor so there wasn't any real fluffy pillows or decor, but from what he saw of the inside of Luke's shack, Shoupe didn't think JJ would be bothered by the lack of decorations.

It had three bedrooms, one which Shoupe cleared of old exercise equipment and dusty books so JJ could have a space of his own. A bed was already set up and Shoupe had even changed the sheets while JJ stood in the door way, clearly not knowing what to do with himself.

He could see the Maybank kid look at his surroundings, almost suspicious of them. Like at any second he was gonna be kicked out. Shoupe awkwardly told him the room was his and he could do what he liked with it. All he got back was a raised eyebrow.

JJ spent the first couple days passed out in his room, sleeping off his pneumonia. Shoupe called the school to excuse him. That was a shock to the system. Obviously the staff there were used to him just not showing up so being called out was a surprise as it is, but when Shoupe let them know that he was now the kid's official foster parent, well. That spun all heads.

Victor Shoupe taking in JJ Maybank! Shoupe had to admit it was strange. He half couldn't believe he was doing it. It wasn't planned. He wasn't even sure what it was that did him in for it.

Could have been when he saw the Carrera girl come up to the shack with the DayQuil. He recognized then that JJ didn't have anyone but his friends. And he was the man charged with evicting him from one of the only places he had to go. He felt like an asshole.

Maybe it was when he was pulled aside by the nurse and doctors after the chest x-ray, with them pointing out different healing stages of the fractures on JJ's ribs and how under weight the boy was. He wasn't surprised by that, but it was a gut check to see physical evidence.

Or perhaps it was really when he heard JJ say he'd run if they sent him the the mainland and that he could look after himself. JJ was a tough kid, but Shoupe knew he was scared in that moment. He also knew that the caseworker was right. JJ wasn't supposed to be responsible for himself. He was still a kid, just doing the best he could.

So when Shoupe asked them about being able to take the Maybank kid in, he felt like he was doing the right thing. He wasn't able to keep Luke from him before, but he could do something now.

The Carrera girl had stopped by on day two to check in on JJ. Shoupe told her he was out like a light and that he'd tell him she stopped by. The girl eyed him warily.

He huffed internally to himself, he thought he had an ally in her with how they double teamed him to get him to the hospital and her seeming support of JJ coming to stay with him when he offered it. Kiara appeared to be able to coax the boy into the right direction, and he thought it would be good to have her on his side in this so he  relented and allowed her to see for herself.

He watched her pad across the wood floor and stop when she reached his bed. She knelt and ran her hand through the blonde hair covering JJ's eyes as he hugged the pillow half under him. He didn't wake but Shoupe could tell the girl was satisfied all the same.

Day three he caught JJ sneaking through the fridge. The boy whipped around when he heard Shoupe clear his throat, eyes wide like he'd been caught committing a felony.