One Stupid Thing

3:7:94

JJ's POV
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I stare down at the necklace in my hand. Shit. What the fuck just happened? I close my fist around it and squeeze it tightly.

Suddenly, from behind me, an angry looking John B appears at my side. He looks completely enraged. "Bro, what happened?"

"What happened?" he reiterates as we walk down the wooden dock side by side. "She cheated. That's what happened." I throw my head back and suppress a few unkind words. "After everything I've been through, she's off hooking up with Topper? I mean, what the hell?"

I scoff. "Yeah, well it looks like we've both been blindsided by the Cameron sisters." John B gives me a weird look, but I don't feel like explaining. "But, bro, I've been looking all over for you. And the clock's ticking. Let's just go. We don't need them." I hop down into the HMS Pogue and start prepping it to go.

"What about Kie? Did you talk to her?" John B asks me.

"Yeah, I did. She's still pissed about the money clip bullshit so, we're on our own. Let's just go get Pope and Cleo and get out of here. The sooner the better."

John B doesn't respond. He just stands there with his eyes locked on the party.

"Yo, let's get out of here," I repeat. "John B, what are you doing?" I look over to see what he is looking at when I spot Sarah and Topper at the edge of the crowd engaged in a hug. "Don't even think about it, dude. John B, get in the boat." There is nothing I can say or do to stop him as he starts making his way back towards the yard. "Fuck," I mutter under my breath. "This is just what we needed."

Shaking my head, I step back up onto the dock and watch from a distance as he walks up and shoves the annoying Kook boy. They argue and then Sarah intervenes. When John B turns back around to face Topper and punches him so forcefully that it knocks him to the ground, I know that we are fucked. The boy lays there helplessly and doesn't make a move to fight back as my buddy grabs him by the shirt collar and lays it into him. Normally, I'd let John B do his thing and break a nose or two, but after breaking up with Stella I'm just really not in the mood for this shit.

I hurry across the yard as quickly as I can, but before I can get there, fucking Ryan Caldwell comes in trying to save the day.

"Yo, hey, hey, hey!" He begs with his hands in the air. "Look, bro, you don't want to do this."

"Get the fuck out of my way, Caldwell!" John B shouts back. He aims a blow at him, but of course Ryan dodges it. Before he has a chance to strike back in defense, I am by John B's side. I throw my fist into Ryan's face and he stumbles backwards, falling back into the crowd. Damn, did that feel good. I turn back to John B and watch as Mike Carrera grabs my boy by the shirt and pries him off of Topper.

"Get out of here!" Mike yells.

John B manages to escape his grasp and turns on the man. "Is that what you want, Mike?"

I hurry over to my boy and rush to his defense, putting myself between the two. "Get off of him!"

"See that's what I'm talking about! Both of you get out of here!" Mike commands. I push John B backwards, and he fights me a little at first, but then accepts it.

"You happy, Sarah?" he yells back. Then, he turns and walks down the dock. I follow behind him to make sure that he doesn't decide to get any smart ideas.

I glance back at the yard behind us. Sarah is staring back with tears in her eyes, Kie looks like she is in complete shock, and Topper is laying on the grass not moving a muscle. The large group of people that had gathered around the altercation had begun to panic. I guess that's karma for cheating, Sarah. And karma's a bitch.