Adore You ☼ JJ Maybank

26

[ JOHN B, CHILL ]

jj and kei were still asleep the next morning as pope and maya were outside working on the rig.

"maya?" pope said as they were taking a break.

"hmm?" she said.

"how long have you and jj.. you know?"

maya laughed lightly, "there's some.. gray area." pope looked at her, lifting one of his eyebrows. "we.. i don't know. we.. right after my mom killed herself i was sad and drunk, and jj was there and we slept together."

"when you were fourteen?" pope choked on his lemonade.

"shut up." maya said. "my mom and dad had both died, okay?"

"mhmm." pope said.

"then there was the awkward few weeks, and then everything just went back to normal. us being best friends and nothing more normal, until earlier in sophomore year at a party he kissed me." maya said, "then there were some moments, and friends changed to more than friends but not dating because we thought we could never actually be together because of the rule."

"pogues can't make on other pogues." pope said, "the dumbest thing i think i've ever heard."

maya laughed, "agreed." she sighed, "and then.. uh, it was the day we stole the rov from the scrapyard, i let him get a little too drunk at my house and he said how he didn't give a shit about the stupid rule and just wanted to be with me, and right before he blacked out he whispered that he loved me in my ear."

"that's... cheesy."

"i know." maya said, "i finally said it back to him, well, mouthed it back to him when he got arrested taking the fall for you."

"well, if it makes you feel any better, i think you two are good together... rule or not." pope said. "her on the other hand..."

maya looked back to see kei walking out of john b's house.

"here we go..."

☀︎

"how's it feeling?" pope asked.

"feels good." kei said from inside the bucket they were testing for getting the gold.

"okay, we're taking you down."

"john b, pulling a houdini." jj says, sitting his beer down by the hot tub.

"yeah, where is he?" pope asked. "i got my scholarship interview tomorrow morning. we got to get this done."

"speak of the devil. hey!" jj said, seeing john b. "dude, i set up the entire winch to pull up the gold and everything."

"no, he did not. me and maya did that." pope corrected quickly.

"hey, john b." kei said.

"okay, that's it?" jj asked when they were ignored by him.

"uh, what's that all about?" maya asked.

"i was gonna ask the same question." jj said.

they went inside to see john b rummaging through the messy living room.

"you alright, man? what's—what's up?" pope said.

"what are you looking for?" maya asked, only to be moved out of the way by john b so he could get to the couch.

"yo, what's going on, man?" jj said before john b took the gun out of the couch, "john b, what do you need the gun for?" jj walked over to john b, "bro, talk to us."

john b grabbed jj by the shoulders and pushed him down on the couch.

"john b, chill!" kei said, "what are you doing?"

"you okay?" maya whispered, leaning one of her knees on the bed to see jj.

"what are you jj now?" pope said, only to be pushed into the kitchen table.

"shit—are you okay?" kei asked pope. "john b, what the hell are you doing?"

jj got up and followed maya and pope after kei and john b.

"john b! what the hell?" kei shouted as they went through the back steps.

"ward knows about the gold." john b shouted as he started the bike. "he killed my dad."

"john b!" kei shouted as the boy drove away on jj's bike.

"shit."