𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐄 𝐀 𝐏𝐎𝐆𝐔𝐄 // 𝘫𝘰𝘩𝘯 𝘣

𝚝𝚠𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚢-𝚏𝚒𝚟𝚎

Affinity awoke to the gentle touch of John B's lips on the side of her forehead. Her eyes opened slightly but enough to see the shadowed figure of John B standing over her. She smiled up at him sleepily.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," he whispered.

"Worth waking up for," she spoke softly.

John B crouched down next to her and brushed her messy hair away from her face. "I'll be back later today to help you guys with Pope's contraption."

Affinity had forgotten that John B had to go off with Ward this morning. She took in a breath to settle her worrying and said, "Okay, just please be careful."

"I will," he smiled down at her. He nodded over to the open bedroom doorway. "Why don't you go sleep in your bed? You can't be comfortable on that couch."

"John B, I told you I was completely fine," she chuckled softly.

"Don't make me drag you."

Affinity rolled her eyes as she grabbed her blanket and pushed herself up from the cushions. She trudged along tiredly until she reached the bed and plopped down onto the heavenly mattress. John B grabbed her blankets and pulled them over the top of her. Affinity reached out to grab John B's hand before he could exit the room. The boy halted and moved towards her as she tugged him close. Affinity propped herself up so she could give him a quick kiss before snuggling back into bed.

"Don't be too long," she spoke sweetly.

John B kissed the back of her palm. "I won't."

With that, John B made his exit from the house as quietly as possible. Affinity burrowed herself into the pillows and sheets that smelled like John B. And with something as comforting as just the simple thought of him, Affinity found no problem falling back asleep.

<<<>>>

Affinity woke up for the second time a few hours later. By the way the sun was shining so brightly through her window, Affinity could tell that the morning had now moved into the afternoon hours. The faint sound of gulls squawking in the harbor and the breeze rustling through the palms filled Affinity's ears as she started to wake up more. She pushed herself up and propped her back against the headboard, then reaching for her notebook on the table beside her. She knew all too well which page to turn to. Once she found the page, she grabbed the pen and clicked it to begin writing. Affinity sketched another box and wrote: Pogues don't lie to Pogues, remembering what John B had said when telling her the first time she was officially called a Pogue. Her eyes shifted to words of the rule she and John B had technically broken, but she didn't give it a second thought about it before she scribbled it out.

Affinity smiled to herself as she set the notebook down and pushed herself the rest of the way out of bed. Before she exited the room, she grabbed John B's pink zip up hoodie that hung on the chair and pulled it over her shoulders. When she walked out of the bedroom into the kitchen, she found her father staring at her, his face contorted with confusion.