ᴍʏ ᴘᴀʀᴀᴍᴏᴜʀ | ꜱ.ᴄᴀᴍᴇʀᴏɴ

seventeen.

"He's clearly not here." Marley shrugged casually as they walked around the Chateau, their footsteps quiet against the grass.

But something felt off—it was too quiet for Marley's liking.

The same unease must have been gnawing at JJ too; he barely seemed to hear Marley, his attention drawn to the edge of Jayb's land, his gaze sharp and searching, as if he sensed something just out of sight.

Marley glanced over at her brother, seeing if he would react to her next words, "Maybe he finally found some pussy."

"Shut up." JJ spoke through gritted teeth, his voice tense but low as he tried to keep calm, his eyes narrowing at something in the distance.

Marley shot him a distasteful look, "Excuse me?"

In one swift motion, JJ reached out and pulled Marley behind a shed near the Chateau's dock. She stiffened, her expression sharpening as he pressed a finger to his lips, his eyes intense.

Wordlessly, he pointed to something just beyond the shed, his gaze fixed, hinting at something—or someone was nearby.

"there's a car." He stated simply causing Marley to nodded slowly, peaking her head slightly to see.

The moment her eyes caught sight of a black car parked deliberately behind a tree, Marley jerked back behind their small cover, her heart pounding slightly. How the fuck hadn't she noticed it before? she didn't know.

Marley was the type to notice everything—always observant, always aware of the small details others missed.

But with all the shit that had been happening lately, her mind had been quietly spiraling, slipping past the sharp focus she usually prided herself on.

What Marley didn't miss, however, was the soft crunch of grass beneath someone's foot nearby. Her heart raced, her mind frantically trying to place who it could be. She slowly peeked her head around the corner, and felt a wave of relief rush over her as her eyes landed on a familiar salmon-colored cap.

"Jayb's right there." Marley whispered to JJ as she quietly moved back behind the shed, her body pressing against the cover as she tried to stay out of sight.

Marley watched as JJ crouched low and crept around the other side of the shed, sneaking up behind John B. She cringed as JJ sprang up and clamped a hand over their friend's mouth.

John B immediately went into defense mode, thrashing in surprise—understandable, given he had no idea who was ambushing him.

The two wrestled in a tense, silent scuffle, with JJ finally managing to bring him to the ground.

"What the fuck are you doing, bro?" John B yelled at the blonde boy, but his words were quickly muffled as JJ moved a hand over his mouth again, silencing him.

"Shut up." JJ, visibly tense, kept his hand firmly over John B's mouth and pressed him up against the shed, his eyes darting as if to warn him to stay silent.

John B glanced over at Marley, wide-eyed with shock, silently questioning what the fuck was happening.

As if on cue, JJ grabbed John B by the shirt, pulling him closer before silently pointing toward the black car they had been hiding from moments before, "see that? they're watching us, okay?"

"Who?" John B shook his head.

"We don't know." Marley answered as she moved over to them.