𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘺 ~ 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 , 𝐣𝐣 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve: 

That Moment
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

If Fallon thought about it, actually thought about it, she was pretty sure she could pinpoint the exact moment she realized that she fell in love with JJ.

It was July 18th, her fifteenth birthday. Her phone rang at precisely at midnight, JJ had a timer counting down, but he wouldn't let her know that. He didn't want her to know how much he cared about being the first one to tell her happy birthday.

That wasn't when she realized, though. She realized hours later when he showed up to her house first thing in the morning, claiming he had a surprise for her.

She remembered as he ordered her to close her eyes. "Close your eyes, Fal! Do it. Do it! Close them! Please." He had said.

She sat with her eyes closed for at least five minutes until he said open. In fact, she stood with her eyes shut for so long that she began to think he was messing around her room.

When she opened her eyes, JJ stood with a shark tooth necklace dangling from his fingers, a nervous smile on his face as his eyes searched her face, trying to assess whether or not she liked it.

"I-I, uh, you told me a few weeks ago how much you liked mine.. So.. So, I made you one, to match mine. Do you like it?"

Fallon nodded eagerly, which caused his shoulders to slump in relief as he sighed happily. The butterflies erupting in her stomach when he asked her if he could put it on. The goosebumps covering her skin when his fingers brushed the back of her neck. It wasn't new to Fallon, the butterflies, the nerves, any of it. But with JJ, she liked it. She liked it a lot more than she did with Jaedyn. Hell, she'd even go as far as saying she loved it.

When she saw the giddy smile adorning his face after carefully clasping the necklace to hang around her neck, when he asked her so carefully and nervously if she liked it again, that's when she knew. That moment is when she knew that she was in love with him. 

~~

Fallon's eyes fluttered shut as she breathed in the salty sea air. Listening to the calming strumming coming from Kie's guitar was luring her into a daydream as she leaned her head on Pope's shoulder. A yawn left her lips as JJ sighed, tossing a rock into the water. "How much was it again?"

"Four-hundred mil." Pope answered, a low whistle leaving his lips as Fallon opened her eyes.

"We should start a lucrative con-man business where I sneak you into the Met Gala's I'm invited to and you steal the diamonds." Fallon joked, pushing herself off of Pope and walking over to JJ. She jumped onto the railing, swinging her feet back and forth as she pulled on the shark tooth necklace hanging from her neck, the one from JJ. "Sure, this plan is a few years along, but, hey, my cut of that four-hundred milly mil could get me someplace."

"All right, yeah, let's talk the split." JJ said, cracking a smile as he glanced over at Fallon. "Now, before you say evenly, may I remind you that I am the only one that can properly defend us from those groupers who were after us. Protection? Not cheap."

Fallon recoiled in on herself at the sight of the gun. This action didn't go unnoticed by JJ who immediately noticed the fearful expression flash across her face. "Uh. Right.. Right."

"You haven't trained." Pope pointed out. "You've done zero training."

"Youtube, bro!" JJ shrugged, pointing at him with his free hand. "That's at least a five percent bump."