"He was different than anyone else, more rough and less polite in the best aspects. Being with him was like my own personal punishment, and my best gift all at once."
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The breeze of Kildare was strong and I felt it pushing against me, as I made way for the Chateau.
The night before, John B had texted me and asked me to come over. What for? I'm not exactly sure, but It made my stomach flip in anticipation.
Finally, I came upon the grassy lawn of the house and looked towards the hammock, half expecting to see the boys sprawled out around a pile of beer cans.
But nothing.
"Yo!" I yelled out, hearing no response but the sounds of crickets beginning to emerge for the night and the waves of the stream hitting the edges of the soil.
"Okay, this isn't a joke," I said, annoyance clear in my voice and I crossed my arms. When nothing responded, I quieted down and warily made way for the porch.
Suddenly, someone jumped out at me and made a screaming sound. "Boo!"
"Oh my god, what the fuck JJ?" I panted for breath, looking at him incredulously before panning my view over to the other boys behind him.
"Where's Kie?"
"Parents wouldn't let her out." John B said flatly, as he laid back further into the lawn chair. He and I had been close, since early school days and truthfully, he was the first of the group that I actually hung out with.
Initially, we had fought over this orange crayon because we had both wanted to use it but then we sort of tolerated each other and then all of a sudden one day he was asking me to go surfing with the crew.
Changed my life.
Although, now we were all just a tad bit different and I had noticed the change in form that John B had, especially since what happened with his father.
He... spiraled, to say the least.
He fiddled with the tail of his bandana that was wrapped lazily around his neck and looked off at the stream across the yard. I followed his gaze momentarily, before coming back to him, "So, what's this big news JB?"
"Yesterday, after you had left surfing with Kie and before the bonfire, we found something..." the other boys joined in sitting around the many broken down chairs of the porch, inching forward in anticipation for revealing the news.
"Well?" I asked, tired of the dramatic buildup the boys were making.
John B said nothing, but simply pulled something out of his pocket.
A compass?
"Isn't that...?" I trailed off, and he just nodded, a strand of chestnut hair falling off in front of his face.
The feeling of the porch changed, stunting me and I had to take a moment to sit down. "Where'd you find that?"
JJ's excitement was a sharp contrast to the sheer panic in Pope's face, "We're in some deep shit, guys." Pope brought his hands to the side of his head, going on one of his infamous spirals.
