One of us is lonely

Chapter 5

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It hadn't been the first time for Red and Finn not to be on speaking terms. They were brother and sister, they did all kinds of things to annoy each other and usually, either one of them would apologize within a day. But this time was different. This time Red knew she should be the one to apologize. She was well aware that according to the rules, what she'd done was wrong. But those were Southside rules, not the ones that she and Finn had made four years ago. Take from those who can afford to lose it. That's what Finn had told her the day Red discovered what her older brother had been up to. That's how he justified stealing from the rich kids. And she had agreed to it, looking up to her big brother and believing that everything he did was for a good reason. Eventually, she teamed up with him. They were like freaking Bonnie and Clyde, unstoppable. Until a rich guy swept their mother of her feet, that was.

It was six in the morning. The sun had not yet risen and it appeared to be as if the whole town was still fast asleep. Everyone but Red. She couldn't sleep a wink, her fight with Finn too fresh in her mind. It appeared as if everyone was pissed off at her these days. First PJ and now her brother. But it was that first one that had made her get out of bed at the crack of dawn. She'd thrown on an oversized sweater and a pair of ripped jeans and on her tiptoes - careful not to wake anyone - she'd snuck out of the house. She'd taken Finn's bike and driven off to the beach. She knew the odds of PJ being there were high. He liked to wake up early in the morning to catch the first waves when no one was around. He was a bit of a loner, enjoying the company of a very specific and small group of people. Red had once belonged to that group but now, things were different.

As the sun slowly appeared from the horizon, coloring the sky into a mix of orange and purple, Red could see PJ paddling in the water, his stomach flat on his board. She watched him as he braved the waves. It almost seemed as if his surfboard was part of his body. He did it with so much ease and elegance, it was almost impossible not to stare at him in awe. Red had taken place in the sand, watching him like she used to do. She thought back to the days when she'd wake up in his arms after they'd fallen asleep on the Patio. They were so much younger then, naive even. She never really understood what she and PJ were. There were days when they acted like lovers and then the next day they'd just be buddies, hanging out like nothing had happened and it was fine. There was no rule to their relationship and Red missed that. She missed being so carefree. PJ shook the water out of his blonde hair as he emerged from the ocean, surfboard underneath his arm. He didn't see Red straight away but when he did, his expression changed. It wasn't the cheeky crooked smile she'd hoped.

"What are you doing here?" He questioned as he tossed his board to the ground and pulled a sweater over his head. Red didn't really know what to say. The words were lodged in her throat so instead of speaking she dug her hand in her pocket and dug out Ares' money. PJ looked down at her outstretched hand. "What's that?"

"It's for you and your dad," Red replied. "It's five hundred bucks. That should be enough to get you going for at least two weeks." PJ huffed and shook his head.

"I don't want your money." He bit.

"It's not mine." She tried, hoping that he would understand but PJ being PJ, he didn't.

"I don't need Oliver Adkins' money either. I'm not gonna be one of the South's charity cases, thank you very much." He picked his board off the ground and turned around, walking away from her. Red ran after him, grabbing his upper arm.

"Just take it PJ." She pushed the money into his hand. "I stole it, alright." She admitted. She had hoped PJ would be proud but his expression told her he didn't really care. Instead, he pulled his bottom lip between his teeth and let out a soft huff.

"So, you bark at me when I try to do it but when you do it it's fine? That's real mighty of you Red." He dropped the cash in the sand and walked away from her backwards. "What part of I don't need anything from you don't you understand?"

"You don't have to be such an ass, you know?" Red yelled after him as she picked the bills from the sand.

"I'm being an ass? You chose those fucking Southsiders over me, Red!" He shouted. By now his board had dropped back into the sand and he was in her face. And Red rapidly shook her head.

"For fuck sake PJ, you are my best friend." She shouted. She was getting tired of his shit. He had every right to be mad at her, but she was trying to make it up to him and he still treated her as if she was a traitor. "It doesn't matter on what side of the city I sleep. You and I, we're fucking family alright? But I gotta watch out for my other family too." Her heart was beating so hard in her chest she was afraid PJ would hear it. A wave of emotions ran over her and she wasn't quite sure whether it was anger towards him for not giving her the benefit of the doubt or fear of losing him. But whatever those feelings were, they were washed away when PJ's hand shot out to cup her face and his lips crashed onto hers. Once again she felt the sweet taste of his lips. She didn't know how long exactly it had been since she felt him pressed up against her like this, but she welcomed the feeling with open arms. He was everything she wanted right now and yet every fiber in her body was screaming for her to push him away. All, except for one. And it was the strongest. Instead of listening to the reasonable pleas of her mind, she gave in to the eagerness of her heart, pulling him closer to her chest. She longed for him as if he was the air in her lungs. They stumbled backwards; their lips still locked in an overwhelming desire that would – most likely- soon turn into regret. But at that very moment, all Red wanted was him. His thumb brushed along her jawline as he slowly released her lips from his. He breathed heavily, running his tongue across his bottom lip.

"Come back, Red." He begged.

"I want to," she breathed out. "But I can't." She took a step back from him, her eyes fixated on the ground.

"Why not?" Red sighed, running a hand through her auburn locks. It wasn't the first time they'd had this conversation.

"You know why, PJ." She breathed out. "I can't leave without my mom or Finn... Besides, where am I gonna live? With you?"

"You know my dad loves you, you're always welcome." He brushed her arm, wanting to keep her close to him. He was terrified that she would slip through his fingers again.

"It just wouldn't work, PJ."

"Then what is this? What are we doing?" He slowly dropped his hand because he knew what she was about to say. It didn't matter what he did or how many times he kissed her. She was never going to choose him over her family.

"This is us, alright. It doesn't have to be different just because I live on the Southside. I need you in my life PJ and I know you need me too. So, if you are my friend, we'll find a way to figure this out." He slowly nodded his head.

"I'll always be your friend." He said, but he swallowed away the words that he wanted to say. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest. She accepted his embrace and as she was pressed up against him, trying to fight the tears, she felt the fast pace of his racing heart.

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TWO CHAPTERS IN ONE DAY, I'm on a freaking roll, you guys. I know this is a bit shorter but I absolutely loved everything about this chapter. I needed you guys to see the complicated relationship between Red and PJ and in my opinion, they are just freaking adorable. Who agrees?

Don't forget to leave me a vote loves.