the middle ≫ jj maybank

vi. the visitor

"You drank it all? On the walk from your house to here?"

"Yup," JJ replied, letting out a low belch. "Dumped the cans along the way," he said, pulling out the plastic rings that had held the cans together. "If you don't mind, Slater, I would really like to not talk about it."

"Got it," she replied.

Slater parked her car in their driveway and sent Maeve up ahead to keep an eye out for their parents. They were probably in bed already, but just in case, it would be good to have a lookout. If her father knew that she was about to smuggle a drunk pogue boy into their home, he would lose it.

Maeve sent Slater a text that the coast was clear, so Slater got JJ out of his seatbelt and out of the car.

"This is where you live?" JJ said, studying the small home they lived in. It was nestled between two much larger, newer mansions that made it look very out of place.

"You were here the other day," Slater said, rolling her eyes.

"Oh yeah," JJ mused, looking around. "It's nice," JJ noted, a small smile filling his face. She got the feeling that he was actually being genuine.

"Okay, you have to be quiet," Slater said as she led JJ through the front door. "If my dad sees you, he will not threaten to kill both of us."

"I can handle ol' Shoupe," JJ chuckled.

"JJ, please. Quiet."

JJ made a motion like he was locking his lips, and Slater took his hand to lead him inside. She didn't want him wandering around, running into things. She brought him upstairs, tiptoeing past her parents bedroom so that they wouldn't notice two sets of footsteps heading for her room.

When they got to her bedroom, she locked the door behind them, just to prevent any early morning wake up calls from either of her parents. As she turned around from the door, she noticed JJ studying her walls.

"You have a lot of stuff," he whispered.

He was right — her walls were littered with photographs, posters and other mementos that made her happy.

"I like to be reminded of the things I love when I look around my room," Slater said, smiling faintly at a picture of her family.

"That must be nice," JJ said, settling into her bed. "To have things you love."

Slater knew JJ was drunk, so she didn't push him on what he meant by that -- especially after a fight with his dad.

"JJ, you can't sleep in my bed," she said as he kicked off his boots and slid under her covers. "I can give you my sleeping bag. Plus, your clothes are filthy!"

"This is a nice bed," JJ said, ignoring her.

"JJ, out."

"JJ, in," he said with a laugh.

Slater rolled her eyes. "Fine, you can sleep in my bed. Can you at least change your clothes first? I have a thing about people being on my bed in their street clothes."

"I don't have any other clothes," JJ said.

"Get out of the bed, and I can get you some."

She dug through her closet, finding an oversized t-shirt that she usually used for sleeping. She tossed it at JJ, and he inspected it with a smirk.

"Disney World?"

"What's wrong with Disney World?" she asked.

"Nothing, I've just never been."