Vapor

Chapter Eleven

Hey guys! A bit of a short and light chapter here before things go down! Sorry for my lack of content, lots coming this weekend! Keep your eyes peeled!

Word Count - 1.8K

Warnings: Slight Violence and Language

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I snuck him into the house after that, carefully curling up in his arms. I didn't care if my parents saw him here, what mattered was being with him. I closed my eyes as he rubbed little circles in the small of my back. He kissed the top of his head as he held me tightly. He has no idea how long I've been waiting to do this.

"Hey, look at me for a second," he said. I flickered my eyes open and tilted my head up to stare at him. He pressed his lips against mine quickly and stared down at me. He was such a sap. Still, I smiled happily and leaned up to place a quick kiss of my own. I let out a yawn and cuddled into him. He pulled me further into his arms and pulled the covers over us more. I listened to him whisper a bit before drifting off.

I knew I hadn't been asleep for long when my eyes opened again. I heard arguing outside my door, but ignored it. I cuddled further into JJ's arms. They tightened around me in response as I closed my eyes and listened. It was my parents. They were arguing about tonight and about what to do. Obviously, I was mentally unstable at the moment, but who wouldn't be after what I went through.

"And do get me started on that boy in there!" my dad shouted. I felt JJ tense up beside me and I knew he was awake. I heard my mom tell him that we knew JJ and after everything she was glad it was him.

"C'mon, Matthew. We know JJ. We've known him since he was a kid. He's basically family!" my mom said. "You know that she's always been in love with him. I knew it, Syd knew it, and I know that you did too. It was a matter of time. Plus when was the last time she slept so peacefully?"

I felt JJ place a kiss on my forehead as I continued to fake being asleep. He mumbled how lucky he was, making my stomach backflip with happiness. I felt him shift like he was about to get up and whimpered in protest, blowing my cover.

"Don't go..." I mumbled. He looked at me and I could tell he was conflicted. He didn't want to upset my parents, but how could he leave when I asked him not too? I clung to him and kissed his cheek. "I don't want you to go." "Adelaide..." he muttered. Finally he gave up and relaxed again. I muttered that it would be fine. I told him they wouldn't care. We could hear my dad saying that him and JJ would be having a discussion in the morning. I could hear JJ sigh. "You're going to be the death of me."

I woke up the next morning, sleeping through the night for the first time in weeks. I snuggled into JJ's sleeping body and his arms tightened around me.

"Good morning, princess," he muttered in a deep and raspy voice. I forgot what his morning voice was like, but I loved it. He opened his ocean blue eyes and stared at me. I wished I could stop this moment and replay it forever. I had dreamed of this day. I had pictured it over and over, but now that it was in front of me, it was better than I ever imagined.

"Morning, J," I said, smiling uncontrollably. "Want breakfast?"

He stared at me. He knew what this meant. He knew he would have to speak to my father. I got up and grabbed some clothes to change into. I tossed him one of his old tank tops, hoping it would still fit. He looked at it and tossed it back. He had muscled up in the past two years. Instead, he slipped back into the shirt that he was wearing yesterday and his cargo shorts.

"Want to talk about White Chapel before we go down?" he asked me. He stared at me intently, trying to figure out my reaction.

"Can it wait?" I asked, staring down at the floor. He must have nodded, but I didn't see it. He walked over to me and lifted my chin. His lips met mine as if to say it was okay to feel the way I did. Just then, there was a knock on the door. I opened it up to see my less than pleased father. "Morning, dad!"

"JJ, a word?" he said. I gave JJ a sorry look and told him he would be fine as he passed me. He gave me a look of help, but followed my dad anyway. I heard my mom come up the stairs and stand next to me.

"So..." she said, trying to get me to talk. I smiled at him.

"You know that she's always been in love with him," I said, mocking her. She smiled at me. "Thanks mom."

"I had a feeling you might be awake," she said. "We love JJ, you know that. I also know that you understand why your dad is worried."

I nodded. I knew that he had a reputation. He wasn't a bad guy though. He just didn't know what to do all the time. I would guide him and we would look out for each other, just like when we were little.

I walked downstairs and saw the boys talking outside. My dad was smiling and JJ was laughing. It made me so happy that my parents already loved him. I poured two bowls of cereal as I heard the door open. My dad walked over and kissed my forehead. He told me to be safe. I chuckled and handed a bowl to JJ. I told him that I would.

"How'd it go?" I asked. He looked at me and smiled.

"I don't understand why your parents are being so nice to me," he said, rubbing his neck. I stared at his bruises for the first time since Midsummers. JJ was touchy when talking about his bruising. I knew it had to be from his dad, but I knew bringing it up would shut him down a little bit. Maybe he wasn't ready to be vulnerable in front of me. "Penny for your thoughts?"

I watched as he dug in his pockets, trying to dig out a penny. He looked at me and told me that he didn't have one but I should still tell him. I smiled and told him I was just thinking about White Chapel. I lied to him because I was scared of him pulling back. We were finally so close and I didn't want to mess it up at all.

"Want to talk about it?" he asked. I nodded and finished my last bite of cereal. He finished his bowl and I put both of them in the sink. I held onto his hand and walked out onto the dock. I sat down across from him so he could look at me while I spoke. I knew if I sat next to him he would try to comfort me and I would break down. I didn't want that right now.

I told him about what happened. I told him about the dreams and the bodies. I told him about the conflict with Rafe and the other kooks. He was shocked when he heard Topper kissed me and I guess I hadn't told him about it. I explained that and then grabbed him so he didn't go beat him up. He was so protective, yet so impulsive, which could be a serious issue when it came to other boys. None of them would ever match up to him in my mind, but it was the principle.

"Yeah, about Sarah Cameron..." JJ said. I knew this was not going to be in my favor. "John B and her are totally mackin'. I wonder how last night went?"

I let out the biggest sigh. Out of everyone, he had to pick the one who hated me? I stretched out and listened to my name being called from the house. I told JJ I would be right back and ran into where my mom was. She told me I had a visitor and saw Top sitting in the living room. He looked stressed and I sat down. He kept mumbling that he did something bad. I stared at the boy who was a mess and asked what he had done.

"I-I didn't even push him that hard, but the railing was rotted out and-" he paused. "And Sarah was there and they were kissing. I-I didn't mean for him to fall." John B.

"He just fell and I ran and I-I" I yelled at him. I asked if John was okay and he stared at me, realizing that I knew. I knew that it was John without him telling me. He grabbed me by the arms and shook me a bit as he yelled. "Y-You knew she was cheating? You fucking knew?"

I was scared as anger overtook him. I knew Top wasn't a bad guy, but I didn't know who he was anymore. I turned my head away, closed my eyes, and cowarded a little bit. Then he let go. I opened my eyes to see JJ there. He had grabbed Top by the shirt and told him to back off. I grabbed JJ's free hand and he let go of the boy.

"I suggest you never lay a hand on her again," JJ said. Top knew that it was better to walk away while he had the chance. He knew that once JJ found out about John B, JJ wouldn't be able to stop. I grabbed JJ's hand and told him that we needed to go find Kiara. He asked me what was wrong. I told him I didn't quite know yet, but I knew it was bad.