𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 ━ 𝐣𝐣 𝐨𝐛𝐱

part twenty seven

riley was sat in the passenger seat as jj drove her car into barry's yard. the blonde had his hand gently rested on her knee when he knew that none of the others were paying attention.

his touch only lingered for a couple of minutes but riley was able to finally get her breathing under control and feel at least an ounce of calmness.

"welcome to crackhead wasteland," kiara muttered as they finally arrived to the destination jj had in mind.

"i don't know about this man," pope added, his voice quiet and expression worrisome. "dude, why are we at barry's?"

"this'll only take a second," jj said, putting the car in park and hopping out. he slammed the door behind him, making riley jump and turn to the teens who were sat in the back of her car.

john b opened up the door and watched as jj proceeded to walk towards the house. "where are you going?"

"yo soy justicia," jj replied before vanishing into the home.

"you know somebody should probably..." kiara trailed off as she looked to john b. the brunette boy huffed before climbing out of the vehicle to follow his best friend.

riley turned her body to fully face kiara and sarah when it was just the three of them left. "so who's going to explain why we almost just got murdered back there? what did that psycho grab from the backpack?"

"well we-" sarah began before kiara hushed her. "what are we not going to tell her?"

"what is so important that you can't tell me?" riley huffed in annoyance. "can i remind you that i picked you up from that shit hole pawn shop as a favor, only in turn to get a gun pressed to my forehead. so can you just god damn tell me already!"

"i... fine," kiara muttered. "we-"

"alright!" a cheerful voice boomed from outside of the car and all three girls turned their heads to see jj walking out of the house. the blonde had his head held high and a bright smile on his face while the brunette trudged along behind him, sulking. "we're looking at a couple grand each for reparations for putting us through that bullshit. sorry 'bout that y'all."

"so that's what we're doing now? we're robbing from drug dealers?" kie climbed out of the car so jj could hear her. riley and sarah followed the girl out in suit.

"this barry guy's gonna find out," sarah pressed. "he's gonna come after us."

"yes, he will," pope agreed with the girl. "this is not the time to start willing' out."

riley watched jj's jaw clench and his eyes darken, clearly stricken with anger over his unsupportive friends. "how'd you like having a gun pulled on you? huh? i mean for christ's sake he had it pressed against riley's forehead! what if he had pulled that trigger?"

"well he didn't," riley finally spoke up. she immediately looked down to her feet when the blonde had caught her eyes.

"she's right, he didn't," john b shook his head in annoyance at the boy's antics. "relax. look we gotta go get that gold, okay? just give me that shit." john b attempted to grab the bag that was tightly clenched in jj's hand.

gold? riley thought to herself, however she couldn't let her thoughts wander for long because the next thing she knew jj had slammed john b against her car door. the girl slightly gasped as things began to turn physical between the two friends.

"do you feel like a tough guy? huh?" john b yelled into jj's face. "what are you gonna do when he comes for us?"

"we punch him in the throat."

"yeah, good fuckin idea, jj," john b scoffed as jj finally let go of him. the blonde just shook his head, grabbing the bag from john b's hand.

"i'm not putting it back," he grunted and hopped into the passenger seat of the van, waiting for everyone to join him. "you guys getting in or what?"

riley and sarah gave each other looks of uncertainty. the blonde girl took a step closer to riley, wrapping her hand around the girl's after seeing how anxious she looked.

everyone stood motionless, watching as jj fiddled with the bag of money. he finally looked up at everyone, his features showing nothing but annoyance towards his friends. "what?" he snapped.

"we're sick of your shit," john b stated.

"my shit?" the blonde repeated.

"yes. your shit."

"your pulling guns on people shit," kiara added.

"you acting like a maniac.." pope began.

"i took the fall for you man!" jj yelled. his eyes no longer showed annoyance but hurt. riley could tell that from just looking at him. "you know how much i owe because of you!"

"i'm gonna pay you back, and i didn't even ask you to do that!"

"i just did!" jj shouted, his voice getting louder every time he spoke. his eyes were rimmed yelled as he clenched his jaw. "pay it back. right here, right now, by myself." uncomfortable silence filled the air and riley just focused on the way jj's chest was rising and falling so she didn't say or do anything stupid.

"i'm going off my myself," the blonde finally muttered. he shrugged the backpack over his shoulder and began to walk away from the group.

"so uh-" sarah stuttered out, unsure of what their next move should be.

"let's just go home," john b mumbled, shaking his head and walking towards the car. the three others followed behind him and at that point riley felt that it was her only option to drive them home. she climbed into the drivers seat and took a shaky breath; but, before she turned the ignition she looked back to the group.

"shouldn't someone like... go after him?" she said.

"he'll be fine," john b gritted, tersely.

"he didn't look fine-"

"then maybe you should go after him? huh?" the boy snapped. "you know, since you're the one fucking him."

riley nearly choked on air at his comment, her eyes widening as she stared him down.

"you.. you what-" kiara sputtered. "fucking? fucking as in present tense? fucking as in-"

riley didn't wait for her twin to finish ranting before she whipped her head back around and turned the keys. she floored the gas and the vehicle whipped out of the yard and onto the road within seconds.

riley could feel sarah's stare on her but she kept her eyes on the road. she drowned out kiara's yelling in the back until john b finally snapped and told her to settle down. the rest of the car ride was silent as riley drove to the wreck.