Waves

Temporary Custody

When the next morning rolls around Harli awakes in her bed with a gasp. Breathing deeply she looks around her room. It was a nightmare. Except... it wasn't just a nightmare. Harli falls back onto her bed and she stares at her ceiling wondering how this had become her life. No dad. No mom. No family other than the Pogues. She hears a noise in the kitchen so she gets out of bed, putting on a pair of sweatpants to go check it out. JJ stands in the kitchen making breakfast as Harli walks in and sits down on a stool at the kitchen island.

"Morning, Cupcake." JJ chirps. "How you feeling this morning?"

Harli contemplates her answer for a moment. How does she feel? Well, she's lost the last of her family. She has no guardian. DCS will be coming for her soon. Oh, and she risked losing a ten year friendship over a stupid kiss last night!

"I'm fine." Harli lies. JJ nods his head slowly, eyebrows raised and lips slightly pursed. "What?" Harli rolls her eyes at him.

"You don't have to do that, you know. Not with me."

"Do what?"

"Pretend everything's fine when it's not, play the tough act, like you have no emotions."

"That's not what I'm doing."

"Harli, how long have we been friends, huh? Ten years now? I know you better than anyone. So, really, how are you this morning?"

"Fine, okay, I'm a wreck! I've lost my entire family and I don't know what I'm going to do. As soon as DCS finds out about John B they'll come after me. Ward for sure isn't going to let me back into his house, not that I'd want to go there anyway. I am not going into foster care, JJ."

"We won't let that happen, okay." JJ protests. Harli nods at him, before a silence falls over the two. "Listen, Harli, about last night..."

"JJ, I'm sorry. I was really out of it last night from all of the hysteria of losing John B and Sarah. I wasn't thinking straight last night." Harli interrupts him before he can rip her heart into even more. She just doesn't feel up to rehashing what happened between the two of them last night. If she's being honest she can't believe she even thought about kissing the boy after just losing her brother. She was grieving and just trying to fill the space left in her heart with something else. 

"Right." JJ's voice sounding hurt. "Well, it's all good. You know I've got your back no matter what."

"Thanks." Harli gives him a small smile. "Whatcha cooking?"

"Eggs and bacon." Harli looks at it with questionable eyes. The eggs are looking a little green from being over cooked and the bacon is completely burnt.

"You sure?"

"Hey! I know how to cook. It's great like this." JJ insists as he takes a bite of the eggs and immediately spits them back out, disgust gracing his face. Harli lets out a chuckle. "Okay, so maybe those aren't the best."

"Maybe we should go to The Wreck for breakfast."

"Fine." JJ relents, looking defeated as he dumps the eggs and bacon into the trash. The ripped up T-shirt wrapped around the blonde's hand catches Harli's attention as he does so.

"JJ, what happened to your hand?"

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it." JJ answers as he tries to slip passed her, but she grabs his arm, pulling him back and pulling the ripped T-shirt off- JJ wincing as she does so.

"JJ, what the hell? This is not nothing. What happened?"

"I had a run in with John B's mirror. I'll get it fixed though."