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"Who the hell is that?" Kiara squinted in the direction of the house, Luna and Pope following her eyes to try see what was going on. The lights hung messily from tree to tree, along with unusual neon signs and random inflatables dotting the floor, but no person could yet be seen.
That was, until the trio made their way further into the gathering of trees, where they were greeted by the familiar face of JJ Maybank.
Initially it was relief that flooded Luna's entire system. It felt like, for just a second, every single weight she had gathered upon her shoulders the past few hours was gone; she could have floated at just the sight of the boy. She was ecstatic to see him again. But then the concern took over, and as fast as they left the weights began to return. She felt as though she were a match that had just been set alight, only to be blown out straight away.
The blonde's familiar and comforting ocean eyes were masked by sunglasses, even in the darkness of the night time, and in one hand he clutched a bottle of wine. Luna noticed that it was still full, the sound of the popping of the cork as she turned the corner helped her realise he'd only just opened it, but her wandering eyes met the sight of the shattered glass fragments on the floor from a bottle already drank. It must have been JJ. Was he drunk?
What was perhaps even stranger, was the large hot tub the boy was sat in. It could have fit all six of them in if they wanted it to, and had bubbles shooting from all four corners, not to mention the multiple floating drink holders with cups. It was like he'd prepared it for them.
"What did you do JJ?" Pope asked, in a tone Luna hadn't been expected. He sounded horrified. Yet JJ just pulled down his glasses slightly and gave them a cocky smirk.
"I got a jet going straight in my butt right now." He chuckled at his own words, something that usually would have made Luna smile. However this wasn't usual, and instead she caught herself frowning. Both Pope and Kiara's faces were filled with dismay and frustration, but Luna could't bring herself to feel the same way they clearly did. JJ was clearly upset, she noticed the second he lowered his glasses, but it didn't take a genius to figure it out either. "Y'all should get in immediately, you hear me?"
The girl bit her lip in worry, but stayed silent as he poured the wine into a plastic cup. She watched his messy movements, observing the slight shaking of his hands and the way his face dropped a little when some of the drink spilt. It made her sad, though she couldn't explain exactly why. But was he nervous? Because the way he was subtly acting was as if the trio were strangers he was tying to impress.
"Salud!" Eventually, the boy held the cup in the air. A toast, of sorts. However he proceeded to instead bring the large bottle to his lips and take gulp after gulp of that instead. Luna began to step forward, but Pope held a hand out to stop her.
"How much did this cost?" He asked urgently. The girl hadn't even thought about that. Where all of this had come from hadn't yet crossed her mind, she was too focused on him. Her stomach sunk a little when she realized the only way he'd have been able to afford all this was by spending the drug dealer's money. The very same drug dealer who just a few hours ago had a gun pointed at them.
