𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞 - JJ Maybank

Chapter 116: Back From The Edge

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

Grace glanced over at JJ while pressing a hand over her mouth to suppress her giggles.

JJ grinned back while holding a finger to his lips and shushing her.

It was the sixth grade. JJ had invited Grace over to his cousin's house for a game of hide and go seek.

While they walked the short distance from her house to Ricky's, they chattered away as they usually did.

The metal of Grace's braces was on full display through the smile that seemed to be glued to her face whenever she was around JJ.

When Grace asked JJ why he hadn't dragged John B along with them, he had gone on a long-winded rant about how the boy wouldn't stop prattling on about some girl he had heart eyes for.

He had complained for most of their walk. Grace humoured him with nods of agreement or occasionally piping in with a quick comment.

To be truthful, she hadn't noticed John B's supposed obsession all that much. Sure, he had spoken about the girl a couple of times, but not enough for her to be bothered by it. She chalked it up to JJ spending more time with him. It was a year they'd gotten unlucky; JJ and John B wound up in the same class, but Grace was in another. Maybe John B really was staring lovesickly towards the girl that sat across the room from him. She had no way of knowing.

JJ was lying. Well, not entirely. John B had certainly developed a crush on a girl in their class that year. It was clear with how red his freckled cheeks would get each time she'd speak to him or how he'd stumble over his words while trying to respond. JJ had only bent the truth a little bit.

It just wasn't nearly as bad as he had made it out to be. In fact, it was entirely tolerable. He had just copied all of the complaints John B would sling at him whenever he rambled about Grace too long and reworded them to tell her. His ranting probably went on too long, but he wanted to be careful to really sell it. He couldn't have Grace finding out how in love with her he already was.

It wasn't that he didn't want John B there that day; it was just that he had woken up with the insatiable urge to spend as much time as possible with Grace. John B had been constantly teasing him about how bored he looked in their class all year. He wasn't able to stare at his longtime crush when the teacher droned on and on (John B called it a crush, JJ called it one true love). Even if his friend would pick fun at him for ages if he admitted it out loud, the blonde had been missing Grace.

"BOO!"

Grace let out a startled shout as Ricky's face popped out right in front of them.

If you asked him, he'd deny it, but JJ most definitely jumped at the scare.

"Who'd you see first?" JJ asked as he crawled out from under the dusty bed. They always abided by the rule that whoever got caught first would be the next seeker. Despite this, Grace and JJ hid together every time without fail.

"Brace-Face-Grace's mouth gear was so shiny, it would be impossible to miss her," Ricky answered, grinning smugly at the younger girl.

He was seventeen and probably too old to be messing around with them, but that didn't stop Ricky.

"That's totally not true." Grace crossed her arms over her chest, the bows tied to the bottom of her braids swinging slightly. She'd just begun to phase out the ribbons she'd been wearing since she was a little kid, but they would remain a staple for a few more months.

Ricky flicked her on the forehead, a smug look still plastered to his face. "Best believe it, Gracie. Now suck it up, you're the seeker."

With a huff, Grace practically stomped over to the corner that seekers were supposed to count down in. "Just so you know, Ricky, I'm coming for you."