𝐑𝐮𝐧 ✯JJ Maybank

𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐓𝐰𝐨 || 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐞

✯♛✯

𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 day after the fight and JJ kept his promise to Francine, him and Pope were at her window at 9 o'clock sharp. She was already awake, having to catch Christopher before his morning run to tell him that she'll be going to the Cut with JJ, Pope and Kiara. She would've said John B too, but he seemed to have disappeared, Kiara told her the day before that no one has seen him since they went in boat for a ride that morning. She asked her stepfather to cover for her, which he did, and she walked back to her room, searching around for the missing picture from her good luck box as she waited for JJ to show up.

When she heard the knock on her patio door, Francine perked up from looking under her bed. She furrowed her brows as she saw JJ and Pope standing on the other side of the glass. The blonde was grinning and the other boy had a confused expression on his face. Francine assumed it was because JJ somehow knew where her room was, or the fact that he was smiling while being on Figure Eight and within ten feet of her.

Francine unlocked the door, she couldn't even understand how the boys were even able to get onto her balcony. They surely had to bring a ladder or something like that to get up there. The girl shot the two boys a grin, letting go of the doorknob to put her hair up into a bun. She would tell them to come in but they had to be at the shop by a certain time. "How the hell did you guys get up here?"

"You'll see," JJ laughed as he slung an arm over Pope's shoulders, his smile never faltering despite the cut on his lip. He seemed to look a little better this morning than he did the night before. He had a few bruises, most of the marks on his face last night seemed to fade away, not being bruises like Francine thought they were. Francine was happy about that. "Hurry up, we gotta go, Heyward might shoot us if we're late."

The dark-haired girl nodded and ran to her closet to take out a pair of sneakers. Even though JJ's tone was clearly joking, she saw Pope's expression and she noticed the fact that he was always glancing at his watch every two seconds. After she got her shoes on, the three walked onto the balcony, the door shutting behind them.

"You're coming with us?" Pope asked Francine, his face holding even more confusion than it had before. She nodded in response. Her first idea was to just take the front door and then meet them in the backyard, but she assumed that she'd have to be sneaking out of her house very often if everything works out well, she might as well get a head start now.

Francine looked at the two boys standing in front of her as she put her hands on her hips, "So, how do I do this?"

"Watch and learn," JJ stated, shooting the girl a wink before jumping over the rail by the side of the house. She rolled her eyes at his confidence, he really hasn't changed much in three years.

As Francine watched him climb down, she noticed that they were using the wood beams that decorated the sides of the house. It was a smart idea, she definitely wouldn't have thought of that. The only problem with that idea is that about four feet from the ground, they stopped completely. It wasn't very high when you jump down but Francine was confused about how she was supposed to get up. That was a problem for another day.

Right before JJ reached the ground, Pope began his descent down the side of the house, it didn't seem to take that long, but just watching them gave Francine an uneasy feeling. It looked like if one finger slipped, they would fall. Once JJ's feet touched the ground, he looked up at Francine and gestured for her to follow.

The girl's mind ran with negative thoughts about doing this as she put one leg over the railings, although her head was telling her to stop and think this through, she grabbed one of the wooden beams tightly and put her feet on a ledge. With that, she began to climb down, and with every step, she found it was getting easier and easier to do so. Before she knew it, she was on the ground, letting out a long breath of relief. Maybe it was the adrenaline or the fear, but she didn't even remember jumping from the wall to the grass at all.