The Strays ⎈John B Routledge⎈

Summer's Over

"Y-yeah." He responded, stuttering just a little as he stared at her. The longer he did, especially with that big grin on her face, the more his heart warmed, the better he felt. He knew she was still sad but was so appreciative that she was smiling for the both of them.

Taking the knife from her, he carefully adjusted so that he could carve into the branch. He made sure to move his hand at an angle that CJ could also carve in, before growing slightly confused.

"Wait, should I put J.B or J.R?" He wondered, glancing up to see what she thought.

"I dunno. Whichever feels right, I guess." She told him, shrugging lightly as she sent him a look full of love and affection.

Nodding, John B adjusted his grip again and started carving the J into the tree. He'd forgotten curves don't really work with trees and after trying to do the loop the first time, changed to making straight lines. He carved it deep and thick so that the letter would always be there.

When he got to the second letter, there was no hesitation as he started on the R. He may have gone by John B but he was a Routledge and he was damn proud. When he finished, he flipped the knife in his hand and held it out to his beautiful girlfriend.

CJ didn't say a word when she grabbed it, just smiled at the carving he'd made. Her C was a bit of a pain in the ass, but she got it, and eventually, the J was engrained into the bark as well. Pulling back to look at it, it warmed her heart. When she looked up at John B, it was obvious he felt the same. Leaning back, she kept carving, having a difficult time but continued anyway. When she moved away once again, there was a heart connecting the R and C. It was much easier than a big heart and didn't seem so cringy.

"What do you think?" She asked, looking up at him. The boy had his gaze on that little heart and he almost cried right then and there. But he didn't. He looked up at her and smiled with all the appreciation and care that he could.

"I love it."

That made CJ grin again, loving to see the smile on his face. She hated that he was in so much pain, that they were all suffering from the loss of a man that died too soon. All she wanted to do was smoosh him with love and affection until the pain of his father's passing was nothing more than a dull memory.

John B grabbed her hands in his own once her knife was safely put away. He just sat there and he looked at her, memorizing every detail of her face, her neck, her torso. The flowy crop top she wore made her bellybutton visible and he wasn't really sure why it made him chuckle, but at least he was laughing. After a while of just examining her, he tugged on her hands lightly.

"Come on. Let's go inside."

Getting up, he walked carefully along the branch before dropping to the porch. CJ did the same, being helped onto the deck with John B's outstretched hand. He led the two of them inside when he pulled her down on that trusty piece of styrofoam that was still spewing tiny pieces all over the place.

He wanted her to play for him, something she'd been doing a lot lately, but not yet. He just wanted to enjoy her laying on top of him, her fingers trailing his side while his played with her hair. It was peaceful, despite everything. He felt bad that the start of their relationship was ruined by the news, but he couldn't think like that because it wasn't any of their faults. He couldn't do anything about it but lay here with her and try to find any happiness that they could.

CJ hummed as he massaged her scalp, leaning her head into him. The boy was warm and so incredibly cozy as she nuzzled into him. She loved just laying here in his arms, able to hear the birds chirping from an open window. She wondered momentarily about what they were supposed to do about DCS being after John B but pushed those thoughts away. She didn't need to worry about it right at the moment.