𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞- 𝐣𝐣 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤

24.

🦋☀ 🌊 - 24

The five of them sat around the table in the Wreck. It had been over an hour since JJ had gone off on his own, storming away in a fit of anger. No one knew where he had gone or what he was doing, but it seemed best to let him cool off alone.

Olivia rested her head in her hands, staring blankly at the table. She couldn't understand how JJ had gotten so mad at her just for talking to Rafe. Sure, Rafe was an ass, but he was just another person in Figure 8.

"Hey, don't let his words get to you," Kiara said softly, noticing her friend's silence. "He wasn't himself."

"I know, I know," Olivia sighed. "It's just... upsetting."

Kiara leaned closer, wrapping her arm around Olivia's shoulders. "I get it. It'll all work out. It's JJ. He always forgives you. Don't worry."

Pope, leaning back against the window and gazing at the water outside, added, "He'll come around, alright? He's doing a JJ thing."

Olivia looked at him blankly. "Do you think he'll go home?" She knew he had nowhere else to really go, yet the thought of him disappearing made her uneasy.

Pope took a sharp breath and rose to his feet, pacing slightly before addressing the group again. "It's too dangerous to pawn this thing off. Our best bet is to go back down and get the rest. I can figure it all out tonight, and we can be out there as early as tomorrow morning."

"Okay, let's do it," Sarah said, nodding.

"What about that thing with your dad?" John B's eyes flicked away from the floor to meet his girlfriend's across the table.

"What thing?" Pope asked, frowning.

"I have to go fishing with Ward," John B said, leaning forward.

"You can't get 400 mil because you're going to get fish?" Kiara scoffed, raising her eyebrows.

"I have to go," John B insisted.

"Blow it off!" Kiara snapped.

"I have to go. He saved me. If it wasn't for Ward, I'd be in foster care. So I have to go. Plus... it's better to do at night," John B added, rolling his eyes as he confessed. He knew everyone hated the Camerons, but it was just a fishing trip.

"Fine, go fishing," Kiara said sharply. "Plus, JJ will probably be washed up by then."

Olivia headed home on her own while the others tended to their own errands. She anxiously waited, half-expecting JJ to appear at her bedroom window, but he didn't show for a while.

Instead of letting her mind spiral further, she decided to take a shower and change into fresh clothes, keeping herself busy in case her friends went out later. Kiara's words echoed in her mind: JJ would come back.

Minutes ticked by, her thoughts a tangled mess. She couldn't decide whether she should go looking for him when a sudden thump at her window startled her.

She moved quickly, opening the window to see JJ standing at the bottom. Relief flooded her chest, and she waved him up. The blonde began climbing the tree, entering her room with ease.

"JJ, what the fuck. Are you okay?" she asked immediately, scanning him for injuries or clues about where he had been.

"I got the money. I can pay off the 25k," JJ said, ignoring her question and holding up a small blue container.

Olivia didn't comment or react to whether it was a good idea. She noticed his bleeding lip and silently guided him to the bathroom, pulling out her medical kit.