Alone Together • JJ Maybank

Nineteen.

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A distant rumble of thunder woke me the next morning. Stretching my body as I climbed out of bed, I peered out of my window to see a huddle of grey clouds in the distance, slowly creeping their way over the clear blue sky. A splash of water caught my attention, so I opened the window a little wider to see the four Pogues at the end of John B's dock.

Throwing a hoodie on over my PJs, I grabbed a mug of coffee before walking barefoot to join them. As I walked closer I could see JJ and Pope staring at a screen as John B and Kiara splashed around in the water. I pushed down the lump in my throat at the sight of JJ, still taken aback by his mood last night.

"What's this right here?" I heard him ask.

"Don't touch that." Pope dryly responded, slapping his hand away.

"And sleeping beauty finally wakes." Kiara called out with a smile when she spotted me.

I playfully flicked my messy unbrushed hair over my shoulder. "I don't get to look this good on zero sleep." Kiara laughed, taking in my sleepy appearance before diving under the water again.

I studied the screen as I leaned on Pope's back, watching John B and Kiara making faces at the camera. "Woah, that thing is the real deal huh." I felt JJ look up at me from his crouched position but was too anxious to look at him.

"God bless geeks, Pope. Truly man." He eventually said as he looked back at the screen. "What would we do without you to control the drones?"

"Technically it's not a drone. It's an ROV."

"Shut up, shut up. It's too early for that." JJ teased the boy as he stood up straight. This time I couldn't help but look at him, admiring his toned arms in the navy top he was wearing, a smile sneaking to my lips when his eyes flicked up briefly to me again. He matched my small smile for a second before turning to lean on the wooden railing.

Maybe I was too sensitive yesterday and he was just in a bad mood. I decided to push away my worry about it, brushing it under the carpet as I stepped forward to match JJ's position, our arms bumping slightly as I stood beside him.

"Hey look, once we get footage of the wreck, we'll bring it to a lawyer in town and file a formal claim." John B explained as he and Kie paddled around in the water.

"It's such bullshit. Why do we have to do that?" JJ groaned.

"Well, there is maritime salvage law." Pope stood, joining by my side. "You can't just go to the ocean floor and scoop a bunch of stuff up."

I frowned at the boy's words. "That's dumb. What about finders' keepers?" I said to no one in particular, shielding the morning sun from my eyes as I gazed out at the water.

"I know, I know. It's just lawyers aren't cheap, bro."

"Well, as soon as they see the footage, they'll work for a comp."

"How do you know all of that?" Kiara asked, pushing her wet hair out of her face as she started to swim back to the dock.

"My dad said it, like, a million times." I nodded encouragingly at John B's words.

"This tether is like really long." Pope carried on, reaching down to pull the yellow chord hanging in the water. "In the wrong weather it could really get pushed around."

"Then we'll go at dead calm."

"So now, we just gotta wait around for the right weather."

I glanced back up at the storm cloud I spotted earlier, seeing it closer than before and hearing another rumble of thunder. "Yeah, that ain't gonna be today."