CASTAWAY ⚓ R.C, J.M

F O U R T E E N

"That's a big word," JJ joked.

Harley shoved him slightly and glared feigning irritation. "I'm not an idiot, plus Pope has been tutoring me."

JJ swung his arm carelessly over Harley's shoulders and pulled her in close. Harley didn't mind as they kept walking, her eyes diverted to his hand on her shoulder. He had silver rings adorning his fingers. Harley pursed her lips as she wondered whether it was weird to think JJ had attractive hands or not. Surely not. He had a handsome face and she had noticed he had a nice body whenever he decided to go around shirtless, which was very often so it had to be appreciated when he did.

"I know you're not an idiot, but I am-"

"You can say that again."

JJ squinted down at Harley, a smile obscured by a smirk, and let his fingertips brush over the pulse of her neck. In response, her breath hitched slightly and her eyes flashed wide for a split second. He enjoyed teasing and messing with Harley as their friendship grew and they always joked and played around. It wasn't in his nature to shy away from anything, so he flirted openly with Harley and made it known that he thought that she was pretty. It was clear that Harley never took him seriously though.

"But I am, so how about you invite me to these tutoring sessions. Better yet, maybe you can tutor me one-on-one."

"Pope is a good teacher. You guys are close, so I'm sure if you ask nicely he'll set aside some time for you." Harley patted his chest before slipping out from under JJ's arm and skipping ahead to face the boy. "Speed it up shorty, I want to see your bike."

"Oh my God! Did you just catcall me?" JJ faked an appalled girl voice.

"Yes. Move your fat ass."

"We're pretty much there." JJ quickened his pace slightly and lead Harley down the path to his house. Similarly to the Routledge shack, his home stood near the water, a garden size of land between them.

Harley spotted the red and blue dirt bike almost immediately and ran over to it. Her fingertips brushed over the leather of the seat, and the cool metal and hard plastic parts of the bike. She hadn't been sure what to expect, but JJ definitely owned a cool bike.

"This is so cool. How long have you had it?"

JJ shrugged. "A few months. I got my dad to let me take it from the scrap yard where he works and I've been fixing it up."

"You're dad seems cool," Harley commented too busy admiring the motorcycle to see the grimace play along JJ's face. The distaste was clear yet unnoticed by the brunette.

"He's not," JJ responded simply.

Harley passed it off as teens just finding their parents annoying and embarrassing. A pang struck in her chest knowing that she didn't have parents to be embarrassed about. Or parents that wanted her around enough so that she had the chance to maybe find them annoying. Honestly, she knew she'd love them and be happy they were there, because she was just that kind of person.

"Hey, what's wrong?" JJ could see the shift in her demeanour. All of her emotions were obvious to everybody considering she wore her heart on her sleeve.

"Oh nothing. Just thinking about how sad it would be if you didn't let me help fix up your bike."

JJ laughed loudly making the girl pout in annoyance.

"Please," she begged.

"Do you know anything about fixing bikes?"

Harley hesitated trying to scour her mind. "Maybe?"

"That's not reassuring at all." JJ watched her face fall and felt himself melting under her puppy dog eyes. "Buuut, how about you be my assistant."

Harley's smile returned as she fixed her slouched posture and gazed at JJ expectantly. "What will I do?"