MI MILAGRO, JJ maybank

Chapter 12 - When the party is over

Finally, night had arrived, and Sarah and Maria couldn't be more excited. They both looked stunning, putting a lot of attention and effort into their outfits. After all, they wanted to dazzle.

They arrived in Rafe's car. Maria insisted that Sarah sit in the passenger seat; she wanted to stay as far away from that guy as possible. Little did she know just how much she wanted to distance herself from him.

Maria knew nothing about the confrontation that had occurred at the brunch, nor did the Pogues. JJ had become invisible; no one knew what he had been up to in the past few hours. What they did know was that he would be attending the Kegger.

As soon as they arrived, Maria rushed over to where her friends were. Upon seeing her, they all gawked at her. She truly looked stunning.

"Girl, you look gorgeous!" Kiara exclaimed, twirling her around to see the outfit.

"You look amazing, Maria," Pope smiled.

"Me? You guys look fantastic," Maria replied, glancing around at the atmosphere in surprise. "Wow! This is a great party! Like, Spanish level of great party, and that's saying a lot."

Everyone gave John B a pat on the back since he was the one who had organized everything. He called a fantastic DJ, found tasty drinks, and everything under an affordable budget.

"Thank you, thank you, everyone," he said, flexing his arms. He draped one over Maria's shoulder. "And you should go find JJ. He'll be blown away when he sees you."

Maria scoffed and rolled her eyes at her friend. The two of them scanned the party but couldn't find the blonde.

"Speaking of JJ, has anyone seen him?"

Everyone started searching among the guests—Kooks, Pogues, Tourons—everyone was there except their friend.

It was Pope who found him first.

He spat out the beer he had in his mouth out of surprise.

"I can't believe it," Pope said, his eyes fixed on a point.

Everyone turned to see where she was looking. On a log serving as a bench, JJ was sitting, and he wasn't alone. He was surrounded by two other girls whom Maria didn't know, but the rest of the group did. JJ had an arm draped around each girl's shoulder, whispering things in their ears, and they laughed like schoolgirls. Every now and then, he would make out with one, only to move on to the other. His neck was marked with lipstick stains that undoubtedly belonged to the girls accompanying him. If you looked closely, JJ was the most sober he had ever been in his life—it was unbelievable that he was still conscious.

"I'll kill him," Kiara said, never taking her eyes off her friend.

John B was visibly upset. Maria had become one of the most important people in his life during the days they had been friends, and he truly considered her like a sister. And like any brother, he would be furious with anyone who hurt his sister. He clenched his fists and cracked his knuckles and headed towards JJ.

"I'm gonna talk to him," he said, jaw clenched.

But Maria cut him off abruptly. JJ wasn't actually her boyfriend nor did he owe her anything, and yes, it had devastated her. She had never felt her heart ache as much as it did in that moment, as if it had been stomped on and shattered, but technically JJ hadn't done anything wrong. Besides, she didn't want such a beautiful friendship like JJ and John B's to end or be damaged.

"John B, it's not necessary, thank you," she said, smiling at her friend, even though her eyes were clearly filled with tears.

Maria rubbed her eyes, trying to stop the tears from flowing. She hated when people saw her crying; she disliked the sympathy and comments like 'Sorry, girl' or 'You don't deserve this.' She appreciated the gesture, but she despised that kind of attention.