Pogue on Pogue- JJ Maybank

Chapter 40

TW: Thoughts of self harm, and smut at the end
I follow Kie all the way down to the dock before she sits down, and I sit with her, with our legs hanging off of the edge. We sit in silence, her head on my shoulder and my arm around her shoulder. After a minute I hear someone walking towards us and I turn my head to see Pope.
Pope sits on the other side of Kie and Kiara sits up straight, no longer resting her head on my shoulder.
" Corpses cry too, you know." Pope says, randomly.
" Well, they secrete fluid from their eyes." Pope corrects himself. I slightly smile at him, because I know he's just trying to make her feel better.
" Maybe don't compare my feelings to secretions." Kie says, not pleased by his fact.
" Technically, it's discharge." Pope says, correcting himself and Kiara. Kie just slightly glares at him.
" I'll stop talking now." Pope says, putting his head down.
Pope awkwardly puts his arm around her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.
" What're you doing?" She says quietly, moving until her back is pressed against the railing.
" Just... I don't know." He says.
" Just be your usual weird self, okay?" Kie says, sniffling and trying to hold back her tears.
" I hate John B right now." Kie says, looking down. I nod even though she can't see. Pope doesn't say anything.
" Look, it's just because I know how this ends." Kiara explains. Pope repositions himself so that he can look right at her.
" I've seen this movie, I starred in it." Kie says.
" Freshman year, it was my first year at the Kook Academy. You know how intimidating that is?" She asks, looking up at Pope and I.
" And one of these things is obviously not like the other. I mean, I didn't have anything in common with anyone, and just as I'm about to slit my wrists, the queen asks me if I wanna go save baby sea turtles." Kie says. I cringe as she mentions slitting her wrist, not wanting her to feel the pain that drives me to cut myself, but knowing she already has. Pope looks at me slightly but then refocuses on Kie.
" Our first day together, we walked to the beach. We waited for the hatch, and we kept the seagulls off, so that the turtles could get to the water." Kie explains, tears still running down her face.
" That actually sounds kinda nice." Pope says.
" Yeah." I add softly.
" It was the best day of my life." Kie says, pausing for a moment before continuing.
" And then she turned on me like she does with everyone." Kiara explains, clearly still hurt by Sarah's actions.
" Look, I'm not doing this with her." Kiara says.
" He's gonna have to choose." Kie says, still sticking with her ultimatum.
" You know he can't do that." Pope says.
" Why not?" Kie asks, anger creeping back into her voice.
" Because he's an idiot." Pope says, looking at the Chateau, with a slight smile. Kiara doesn't smile, she just looks back down. Pope notices that his attempt to make her smile failed, and his own falls from his face.
Pope then stands up in front of Kie.
" If it were me... I know who I'd choose." Pope says sincerely, making Kiara look up into his eyes, and suddenly making me feel like a 3rd wheel. Kiara doesn't say anything and after a moment, Pope walks back to the Chateau.
" Look, thank you for being here, but I need to be alone for a bit, okay?" Kiara tells me. I nod in understanding.
" I get it." I say, standing up.
" I'll see you later?" I ask, slightly smiling at her.
" Yeah." Kie says, sadly smiling at me.
I walk after Pope and we go inside.
" What'd she say?" John B asks us, while tossing Pope a water bottle.
" That you're an idiot." Pope and I say at the same time.
" It's a no-brainer. You're picking Kie." JJ says, going into the fridge.
" Yeah." I say, agreeing with JJ.
" Look, I can't make a decision." John B says.
" There's really no choice. You're picking Kie." I say, but I get ignored. I'm getting really fucking tired of being ignored.
" So what? We're just dead in the water because you're pussy-whipped?" JJ asks sarcastically.
" We can't do this without Kie, and you know it." JJ says.
" And I can't do it without Sarah." John B says.
" Okay? They both have to be on it." John B says.
" Good luck with that, She hates you almost as much as she hates Sarah. There is no way in hell that you are gonna talk her into that." I explain.
" You know what? I know this was my fault, all right?" John B says.
" But it's our problem." John B adds.
I disagree with that but I stay quiet, knowing I'd get ignored anyway.
" I've got a plan, and you three shitheads are gonna help me out." John B says.
" Um, two shitheads, I'm not gonna help you force Kiara and Sarah together." I say, grabbing a beer from the fridge.
" Fine, you two shitheads." John B says, pointing to Pope and JJ, before walking away to JB's dad's office to plan whatever they're gonna do.
I sit on the couch and just start reading. After five minutes I look out the window and see Kiara get into her car, and drive away.
My mind starts to wander, and I try to refocus on the book I'm rereading which is ' The Outsiders ' but it keeps drifting off the what happened with my Dad the other night. I start to feel the pain again, and it's like I'm back in the moment.