All That Glitters

Going on a Decade

Tw: violence

"Okay so maybe JJ's idea about making it into something easier to sell wasn't such a bad idea."

"God, thank you! Gosh, Pope, you really know how to make a man blush." JJ smiled at him through dark circles eyes. Slowly over-animating his movements to seem less tired than he actually was.

"I still don't like that we have to melt it down again. The intention we want is gonna have to be reapplied and that could take a while considering it took like a million times to get it right the first time. If we make rings or something with it, we gotta be smart. Since our intention is to sell it, we don't wanna accidentally mess it up." Pope propped his feet up on the coffee table at the Chateau. Leaning back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling as he spoke.

Sarah was quiet. Sitting next to John B, twirling his thumb between her fingers with her brows furrowed with thought.

Kie had placed herself behind JJ as he'd found his spot on the floor with his back to the loveseat. She played with his hair, braiding and unbraiding it. Twisting the golden strands around to try and soothe him enough to take a nap.

"So, that's it?" Sarah spoke slowly and softly. A twinge of frustration spread in her voice.

"What?"

"You're gonna try again after that fucking psycho almost killed us?"

"Sarah, it's not like we weren't prepared for the worst. Everyone in the OBX has been wondering about or searching for the gold. There's bound to be enemies we don't know about." John B swirled circles into her hands as he spoke.

"Plus, I have a gun."

"JJ, you're banned from using the gun." Kie spat. Ceasing her hair play. JJ slumped his head forward and stood up to sit on the loveseat with Kie. She maneuvered around to make it so there wasn't any more space.

"That's not fair."

"We should've revoked your privileges as soon as the whole Topper incident happened." Pope said.

"Guys, come on. I literally already told you I didn't exactly have a choice."

"What the fuck does that mean? You didn't have a choice . It's not like—"

"Sarah—" John B warned.

"No, no. He knew what he was doing."

"Yeah, I did. You wanna know why, Sarah?" JJ turned to her. Staring her in the eyes. She wasn't looking at him. "I was a fucking second away from tearing Toppers throat out. He was drowning John B and I wasn't about to let him. But I actually thought about it and chose instead to pull the gun on him. It might not have looked that way but—"

Sarah stood up abruptly, cutting off his train of thought. "So it was because of your fucking curse?" She murmured as she ran off the porch into the backyard. "I can't... I can't do this right now."

"You saw what happened with Barry." JJ followed her outside.

"You said you've gotten better at controlling it. What happened? I don't understand."

JJ puffed his cheeks out. Crossing his arms and darting his eyes to the ground. "I don't control it, Sarah. I can slow it down but I can't stop it. Not until I've gotten away from whatever was triggering it."

Sarah kicked at a loose branch on the ground and let out a dry laugh. "Which is why you left after the whole stay off our side of the island shtick, right?"

"More or less."

"God, I just... how did you deal with this? I'm not even the one that has to go through it and I'm... having a hard time figuring out how to adjust." Sarah glanced up at him. "It must suck."