TIDES OF FATE - JJ Maybank

XXII. We'll be okay

:･ﾟ✧:･.☽˚｡･ﾟ✧:･.:

3rd Person pov

The group separated with John B and Sarah dropping everyone off at their respective destinations.

Lillian opted for going home instead of tagging along with Kiara and Pope, just in case JJ decided to climb through her window in search of comfort. 

He might have said really hurtful words but at the end of the day she still loved him. Even if he didn't love her back the same way she loved him. Even if he just wanted to stay friends. She loved him so much, so she waited by her bedroom window until night fell, but JJ never came. So when Pope and Kie came to pick her up in Heyward's truck, she sighed in defeat and climbed into the back seat.

She listened to her friends as they worked out the details of their plan, careful not to say too much so Pope could get some one-on-one time with the girl he was so enamoured by.

After what felt like hours of being the third wheel, Lillian was over the moon when they finally pulled into the Chateau's dirt driveway.

"We gotta be done before my scholarship interview in the morning," Pope said, shoving his keys into his pocket. The whole operation was cutting in very close to his interview time and he couldn't help but feel nervous about it.

The two girls followed his actions and walked over to the bed of the truck. "Okay, well, we gotta focus," Kie said with a nod.

Lillian could sense his anxiousness and sent him a reassuring smile. "It's gonna be fine," she said, patting his shoulder.

He nodded before lowering the tailgate. "We got John B and JJ inside the well, and me and Lily up top," he started, turning to Kie. "You and Sarah will be outside transporting."

"Yeah, we got this."

"Cool." The four letter word came out more awkwardly than expected and he grabbed the miniature crane from the bed of the truck in hopes of diverting the girls attention. Kie didn't notice this, but Lillian did. "Uh, I got a winch."

Deciding to give the pair some space, Lily moved past them and grabbed the rope from the truck. She mumbled something about finding a big enough workspace and walked away from them. As she headed further into the backyard of the Chateau, a nauseating feeling erupted in her stomach. Something wasn't right and her gut instinct was screaming at her to figure out what it was.

A whirling noise sounded through the air.

Lily turned back to her friends with a look of confusion as the entire property lit up with colourful lights. "What the...?"

"Who the hell is that?" Pope and Kie voiced, causing Lily to shrug.

The power was predicted to be out in the Cut for at least another month and the Chateau didn't have generators. There was no way for there to be any light other than a fire, unless the house had generators-which it didn't.

"Shit," Lily swore in realization. She dropped the rope she was holding and followed the sound of bubbling water.

When she fully entered the backyard, she saw JJ sitting in a very expensive looking hot tub holding a bottle of champagne. He was surrounded by coloured string lights and pool floaties, wearing his aviators on his face with a wide grin.

When JJ saw his friends approach the hot tub, he popped the champagne and smiled at them.

"JJ," Kiara gasped. "What the hell is this?"

Pope and Kie came up beside her. Their eyes were wide and their hearts dropped to their stomachs. Dread set in before they could even process their shock.