SAFETY || JJ MAYBANK

tanner matthews

"Well, that was fun." JJ says cheerily as we start to steer away from the motel.

"Could have warned us sooner," I snap, admittedly, sounding like a bitch.

"We would have, except Pope was on the math team, Kie says, staring at the boy disappointed.

"I fucking remember that, I had to ask you all these questions and I didn't understand any of it oh my god," I say, remembering when we were younger, my bad mood dissolving in seconds.

"You were on the math team?"John B says looking at Pope interested.

"The cops took everything like it was a crime scene" Kie says, changing the conversation.

"Yeah except the shit they pocketed," I mutter, making JJ snort.

"Did you guys find anything?" Pope asks looking at me and JJ, who are sat next to each other facing the other three.

I glance at JJ with a small smile and he just winks and reaches for his back pocket. I reach for mine as he starts talking.

"Did we find anything? No, I don't think so. Oh, yeah, we did." He says with a smile as he pulls the gun out his back pocket and I pull out the stack of notes.

I look at my friends excited, seeing John B with a small smile, Kie with a shocked look and Pope looks like he's died and been brought back to life.

"What the hell?" Pope says annoyed as he looks between the both of us.

"Dude, what?" Kie says as she looks at John B annoyed.

"Come on." JJ says, his smile fading in time with mine.

"Why take that from a crime scene?" Pope says as he rushes forward anxiously.

"Better than cops having it," JJ says innocently.

"You serious?" Kie says her gaze still on John B.

"I'm gonna lose my merit scholarship" Pope says, visibly stressing.

"No you're not Pope," I say clearly, I would do anything to make sure he doesn't loose that. Pope looks at me with a weak smile.

"Hey, hey, hey. Sh, sh, sh. sh, sh." JJ says as he jumps forwards, holding the gun up to the boys lips. Pope rolls his eyes and pushes the gun away.

"At least you have us, right?" JJ says with a smile, god they two are like a couple I swear. JJPope. Jope. Two lovers.

"I'm living the nightmare." Pope shakes his head.

Maybe it's just one lover.

-

As we walk back towards the pier, on our way back to the chateau, we are stopped by police tape and a huge crowd of people. "The fuck?" I mutter as we walk past shouting people.

JJ moves closer slightly to me, making his hand brush mines every few seconds.

Police cars and an ambulance are parked about us.

John B nods over to a girl who is in our grade at school. "Who's that?" He asks her, nodding to the body getting lifted into the ambulance.

"It's Scooter Grubbs. He was out during the storm. Check out this pic I got." She says as she unlocks her phone and turns it so we can see.

The picture is kinda gross. I look at John B in disgust and he just shrugs with a similar look on his face. "Dead body." She says happily.

"Why would you take a picture of it though?" I mutter, with only Kie being able to hear me, she just agrees with me.