𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 ━ 𝐣𝐣 𝐨𝐛𝐱

part thirty eight

riley woke up to sirens, a sound that she was becoming accustomed to within the past few days. she felt a pair of arms wrapped tightly around her which made a smile spread across her lips. goosebumps formed on the girl's skin as she thought about last nights events, and the fact that jj actually confessed his feelings for her.

jj stirred from next to riley and opened his eyes to see her's staring right back. "morning," he said, his voice raspy because of the early hour.

"good morning," riley replied back, sneaking a small kiss on his cheek before she wiggled her body out of his grip and sat up to stretch.

her limbs were aching after sleeping on the floor with nothing but a thin blanket and a pillow that her and jj had shared.

riley stood on the cold floor, bare footed, and she shivered slightly. jj got up behind her and the pair went over to pope who was standing in the doorway, watching the outside world.

"he's pinched for sure," jj said as they approached the boy.

"no," pope shook his head, "they wouldn't still be patrolling if they caught him."

"i hope," riley said quietly as jj wrapped his arm around her torso, pulling her close to him and resting his head on top of her's.

"you know," kie's voice suddenly came behind the three, startling riley especially, "we were in that car. they're probably looking for us too."

riley could tell pope was holding a grudge when he just shrugged at kie's words and began to speak in a cold tone. "if we're gonna be outlaws we might as well help john b."

"so... find them before they do?" jj asked as pope started to walk quickly towards the front door of the restaurant.

"i'm gonna get gas for the boat," pope muttered.

"hey be careful, okay?" kie said softly to the boy who just ignored her in return, walking off wordlessly. kiara ran her tongue along her teeth, annoyed at his cold attitude.

"meet me at the dock at three. don't be late," pope said before he dashed out of the restaurant in an obvious hurry to escape from the girl's presence.

"hey! what is your problem?!" kiara called after him, following behind as he bursted through the door.

"no problem officer, just doing my job."

jj tried to suppress the chuckle that was brimming within him; he let out a small laugh and riley gave him a look that sobered him up almost immediately.

"look i'm- i'm sorry i hurt your feelings!" kiara cried but pope revved the engine of jj's bike, cutting her off. he left her in the dust and just as kie looked back at riley and jj in defeat a helicopter flew over their heads. the pit in riley's stomach worsened immensely as the three of them piled inside to prepare for what was in store.

thunder brewed in the distance, as if riley wasn't already worried enough. jj and kiara took notice to her anxiousness that they both knew wasn't just from the sirens that passed the wreck every once in a while.

"can you guys stop," riley snapped after her sister and the boy had given each other another worried glance as riley chewed on her nails.

"stop what?"

"stop looking at each other like that," riley said, "i'm fine." jj walked over to the girl wordlessly and wrapped his arms around her frame, kissing her on the top of her head.

"yeah, i'm never going to get used to that," kiara said, shaking her head but with a small smile. riley let out a small laugh as they followed kiara out to the car. she opened the trunk, placing the box of food inside before they went to jj's house to get the key's to the phantom. "alright are you guys ready to-"

"where have you been?" a voice yelled and everyone snapped their heads up to see mrs. carrera approaching the three quickly. "we were up half the night, scared to death, lookin' for you!"

"we're fine... we slept here," kie said hesitantly as she looked between her mother and her twin.

"what the hell are you up to?" her mother pressed. "and riley for goodness sakes! where have you been! your interview?! the scholarship! and you're just hanging out with the pogues now?!"

riley bit the inside of her cheek to suppress a scream that she knew was boiling in her throat. jj pulled her behind him, seeing that she was visibly upset by her mother's anger. "i'm sorry miss anna, we gotta go."

"no, absolutely not," the woman shook her head as riley climbed into the driver's seat and turned on the ignition. "riley, don't you dare move that car! do you know what's going on?! this is not safe! stop!"

"i'm sorry, i'm sorry," riley whimpered as she floored the gas and sped away from their mother, who remained flailing her arms in the air and shouting.

the vehicle zipped down the street in silence. riley sniffled, trying to blink away the tears forming in her eyes as she kept her focus on the road ahead of her. jj put a hand on her knee and gave it a light squeeze to reassure that he was there for her.

"home sweet home," jj muttered as they pulled into the driveway of his house.

riley gave him a worried look as he took of his hat and ran hand through his hair. "i can go-"

"no," jj said sternly, no way in hell was he about to let his girl go anywhere near his dad. "this will only take a second."

riley forced a small smile onto her lips but really she felt the farthest thing from calmness. when jj got out of the car kiara put her hand onto riley's shoulder and she looked back at the sudden touch.

"he'll be okay," kiara assured. "he's had to deal with this for a long time." there was nothing but sadness in the girl's tone of voice as she spoke; but she remained calm for riley's sake.

jj came back only minutes later, sliding into the passenger seat of the car wordlessly. his eyes were stained red and obvious tears were brimming in them. he held up the key in his hand, pulling his lips into a tight sarcastic smile.

riley reaches across the seat to grab his hand and intertwined her fingers with his. no words were spoken, but the simple reassurance of each other's presence was more than enough for the pair.