everything about you •• jj maybank

fifteen

I approached JJ's house and felt the corners of my mouth turn into a smile. I had woken up in a good mood today, excited to see my friends and get out on the water to continue our treasure hunt.

It definitely helped that when I got up this morning, nobody else was home, making it nearly impossible for my mom or Topper to dampen my mood.

I walked out to the back and saw them all on the dock, loading a cooler into the boat, seemingly all waiting for me.

"Hey guys!" I grin, raising my hand up to wave to the Pogue's.

I send a wide smile their way and notice that when Pope sees me, his eyes go wide and his face drops. I scrunch my nose up in confusion as I get closer to him, leaning my head to the side as I reach the dock.

"What's up, dude? You look like you've seen a ghost or something," I chuckle lightly, pushing his arm playfully as I reach his side.

Pope's eyes follow my arm back to my side and he doesn't say anything. He stares blankly at me and I watch him swallow before turning around and facing the opposite direction.

"You good, Pope?" I question him, looking over at John B who just shrugs his shoulders before stepping onto the boat.

"Erm, yes. All good, Josie. Just... nervous... I guess," he stammers, quickly walking away before I can get another word in.

I stare in confusion, watching as he runs around the boat and out of my eyesight. I shake my head and giggle to myself as I get onto the boat as well, not understanding Pope's awkward demeanor.

Once I get onto the boat, I go over to Kiara and rest my hand on her shoulder gently.

"Pope seem weird to you, today?" I question her quietly, peeking over to see Pope talking to JJ a few feet away. She glances at the two of them and shrugs slightly, grinning at me.

"Pope always seems weird to me, Josie," she chuckles softly.

I laugh with her and nod my head, running my right hand over my left arm nervously. She had a point. Pope could be an oddball at times. This was probably just one of his weird moments.

Once Pope left JJ's side, I decided to walk over to him. I hadn't seen JJ since he stormed out of The Wreck days ago. I'd be lying to myself if I said I hadn't been thinking about him since then.

When I reach him, he doesn't so much as give me the time of day as he stares out into the water. The boat was moving now, and I moved close to the wall, resting my hand on a ledge to stabilize myself.

"Hey, JJ," I speak softly, trying my best to ignore the awkward feeling settling in my stomach. I had no reason to be nervous around him.

JJ looks over his shoulder at me and nods before turning back around, not giving me any attention. I bite the inside of my cheeks and take a deep breath.

"Okay, I hate to be blunt but the last time I saw you, you stormed out of my job and now both you and Pope are being weird towards me. Call me crazy but I feel like something is up," I blurt out, moving to the other side of him. I try to keep my voice down, not wanting anyone else to hear our conversation.

His gaze doesn't move an inch as I stand there staring at him, waiting for a response.

I don't know why I was so surprised to be meant with silence.

"Did I do something-"

His head snaps towards me and my mouth clamps shut.

"Josie, I can't concentrate with you yapping beside me. Go talk Kiara's ear off or
something. I'm not interested," he barks.