𝚕𝚊𝚢 𝚖𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 // 𝕁𝕁 𝕄𝕒𝕪𝕓𝕒𝕟𝕜

Chapter Seventeen // Run For It

17. Run For It

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"Hand in mine, into your ice blues
And then I'd say to you,
'We could take to the highway
With this trunk of ammunition, too'
I'd end my days with you,
in a hail of bullets"

~ Demolition Lovers by My Chemical Romance

•••

Trigger Warnings: None for this chapter

•••

"Where the hell have you been?!" Pope demanded, as JJ slammed open the front door of The Chateau.

He and Kiara had been standing in the living room when JJ walked in, water dripping from the ends of his hair. The two turned to him, a combination of fury and relief painting their faces.

"Running errands." JJ mumbled, avoiding eye contact as he pushed his way around them.

"Errands, huh?" Kiara challenged, her words growing heated as she called him out on his stupid lie. "Really? In the middle of the night? During a thunderstorm? On foot?"

"Not now, Kie!" The blonde boy whirled around to face her, stumbling back when her palm connected with his cheek.

Pope's hand flew to cover his mouth in surprise.

"All you had to do was fly under the radar for two days!" Kiara yelled, stepping up to glare into JJ's eyes. "Sneaking out after midnight to do God knows what, is not flying under the radar! We were scared to death!"

JJ's mouth twisted into a guilty frown, rubbing a hand over the stinging red mark on his cheek.

"I'm sorry. Okay?" He murmured, voice low and genuine as he stared down into Kie's eyes, before acknowledging Pope as well. "I just- There was something I thought I needed to do. I wasn't being reckless. I promise."

Another lie.

Kiara huffed at his response, tears shining in her eyes as she reached up and pulled JJ into a tight hug, not even caring that he was soaked through with rain.

"Don't scare me like that again." She sighed, "When Pope called and told me you were missing, I just knew you had run off on a suicide mission."

JJ hesitantly wrapped his arms around her, he would never tell her she was right. That was exactly where he'd run off to. And it was still unclear whether or not he'd be going down in a hail of bullets tonight.

Kiara finally pulled away and Pope stepped forward to place a hand on JJ's shoulder.

"We already lost one of our best friends this summer." He muttered, eyes trained on the ground. "We don't want to lose you too."

Swallowing his emotions down his constricted throat, JJ hooked an arm around Pope's shoulder, pulling him in for a quick hug and pressing his lips briefly against the boys cheek.

"Yeah. Yeah." The blonde boy scoffed half-heartedly, patting his friend's face in brotherly affection. "Love you too, Man."

Nervously, JJ pulled his phone out of his pocket to check the time.

He knew Val was more than capable of taking care of herself. She was probably one of the toughest people he had ever met. And he knew that she had been dealing with Barry on her own for years. She wasn't some damsel in distress, she didn't need his help.