One Stupid Thing

1:8:29

The sun shines through the window, serving as a replacement alarm clock. I groan in protest, but then everything sets in. Last night, I fell asleep with JJ in my arms, yet this morning he is nowhere to be found. I rub my eyes and sit up in bed.

Suddenly, the door creaks open and there's JJ, wearing a white tank top in addition to the shorts he was wearing. "Hey there," he smirks and leans in the doorway. "I mean, I knew I'd get you in my bed at some point, but I never expected it to be this easy," he flirts. There's the JJ Maybank I know and love.

"Oh, as if." I pick up a pillow and chuck it at him with a giggle. Of course, he dodges it. "Where are the others?"

"They're outside working on the pulley system," he tells me.

"Alright. I'll uh—" I yawn. "I'll be out in a sec." He shoots me a cheeky smirk, nods, and heads outside.

As soon as I hear the screen door slam, I hop out of bed, adjust my clothes, fix my hair and hurry towards the door. Once I reach it, I take a breath and coolly walk out. JJ stands observing the mess of a yard he created.

"Well, holy shit," JJ exclaims in surprise. "I did a lot of damage didn't I?"

I walk over and stand beside him. "Yeah, kinda. You're looking at all the money you stole from Barry."

"Damn it." He walks over to the hot tub and sits on the edge, dipping his feet into the water. I follow closely behind. "So, uh... what happened last night."

"Pope, Kie and I came back from buying supplies to find all of this." I lean over and rest my elbows on the wall of the tub. "You were black out drunk sitting right there and uh... you stood up and we um... we saw the...." I trail off at the insinuation of the bruises that his deadbeat father gave him. JJ looks down at his torso and clenches his jaw.

"And uh, after that?" he asks me.

"I took you inside, dried you off, and brought you to bed," I say simply. There is no need to complicate the story with all the details.

"So, um... we didn't do anything, right?" JJ looks over at me and I can sense his guilt.

"No. We just fell asleep."

He nods. "Oh, okay. Good."

I glance over to where Pope and Kiara are set up. The pulley is draped over a strong branch at the base of an ancient tree, just as it will be in the basement of the Crain house. Pope has a firm grip on the end of it while Kiara is sat inside the bucket on the other end.

"How's it feeling?" Pope asks.

"Feels good." Kie moves around slightly to test the weight.

"Alright, I'm taking you down." Pope slowly walks towards the tree, allowing the rope to slide across the branch and lower the bucket to the ground.

"Okay."

"John B pullin' a Houdini," JJ points out. He goes through all the little inflatable gadgets that he had purchased.

"Yeah, where is he? I got my scholarship interview tomorrow morning," Pope reminds us for what feels like the fiftieth time. "We gotta get this done!"

"He should be back from fishing soon. My dad usually isn't out that long," I tell them.

As if by some miracle, John B appears from the undergrowth and makes his way towards the house.

"Speak of the devil. Hey!" JJ calls to him. "Dude, I set up the entire winch to pull up the gold and everything."

"No, he did not. I did that," Pope says, taking back the credit.

"Hey," Kiara starts, noticing that John B isn't himself. He is steadfast towards the front door without so much as even looking at any of us.