𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐯𝐞 || jj 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤

015

"JOHN BOOKER ROUTLEDGE, PERSUENT to the North Carolina state section fourteen, you are charged with murder in the first degree with aggravated circumstances. If convicted, the maximum sentence would be the death penalty." I take in the judges horrible and heart-crushing words. John B can be executed and I have no idea how to help him.

My stomach twisting and turning in all directions, I shoot up from the pew. I let go of Kiara's hand, drilling daggers at the judge who has just ruined mine and the pogues lives with this newfound threat.

"Your honor he's seventeen!" JJ shouts, to which the judge tells him to be quiet. "No, he's seventeen! Are you kidding me!?" The blonde's sharp voice hits the air, making my shoulders tense even more.

Pope and Kiara hold JJ back, giving me the chance to slip past them and take a few strides towards the judges mount. "He's a kid," I yell, ignoring the dirty stares I'm receiving from the kooks to my right. "and you're a monster!"

Before I can scream another word, JJ appears in front of me. He places a gentle hand onto my chest, shoving me towards Pope, who clasps his hands onto my shoulders and guides me towards the exit of the courthouse. "It's not worth it, Marley. Just walk away." Pope murmurs in my ear, stopping my attempts at getting his hands off of me with patience.

"Hey, John B!" I hear JJ's voice boom from behind me, which makes me desperately look over my shoulder to see what's happening. "John B, we're gonna figure it out!"

"John B! John B!" The sight of Sarah rushing towards her husband makes my heart break. I finally manage to break free from Pope, keeping my feet planted on the floor beneath me as I watch the Cameron girl sob. "John B, no!" She continues, a cop shoving her back as another whisks John B away.

"Sarah!" I push past Pope, not liking the way a grown man just laid his hands onto my best friend. "Don't touch her!" The Heyward boy grips onto my arm before I can get far enough, yanking me back towards him with a panicked look. "Pope, he pushed her!" I turn back to said boy, using my free hand to shove his shoulder back.

Pope shakes his head, pulling me towards the exit once more. "Kiara's got it, alright? You have to calm down." The nerdish boy insists as JJ walks alongside me. "It's not the time to start acting out."

I give the Heyward boy a glare but stay quiet, knowing I'm not going to get my way this time. Flexing and un-flexing my fist, a scowl casts over my face at the sight of Ward smirking with his head held high, a crowd of kooks flanking him as he walks past me and down the courthouse steps.

"Justice is served." I hear a dumb kook tell Ward, acting as if he's been waiting his entire life for this very moment.

"Dickless freak." I murmur in response, staring down at my shoes as JJ grabs ahold of my free arm, helping Pope pull me down the stairs. "Pope, you heard her— JB's going to die." I turn to Pope, my expression cold and crumpled at the same time— my mind not being able to tell if I'm more mad than sad or more sad than mad.

"Is this a joke? Like, are we in hell?" Kie asks from behind me, not giving Pope any time to respond to my statement.

"I should've never come home." Sarah bites down onto her lip, attempting to blink her tears away.

"They're gonna kill him guys!" JJ tells us, his voice seeping with dread and fear. "I know it."

Ever since JB's arrest, I haven't talked much with JJ. I know that I shouldn't distance myself during a time like this, but I feel guilty— guilty that JJ's best friend is in jail because of me, and now even more guilty because of John B possibly dying if wrongfully convicted. The look on JJ's face kills me, too. He looks so devastated and depressed and it's all my fault. Facing him is, like, letting myself get shot repeatedly.