Heart of Gold » JJ Maybank

02 | aggie, you bitch

"Look, it was really nice of you to help me out during the hurricane," Emerson began. "But nothing is gonna happen between us, got it?"

John B's eyes widened and his lips parted in surprise. He quickly raised his hands in surrender and shook his head. "What? No! Why would I..." he trailed off and stumbled over his words, completely unsure of what to say.

"You seem nice, but I've heard how you and JJ are," the brunette girl elaborated. "I'm not interested in any of your games."

"We don't play games," John B scoffed, pulling a face. Emerson stopped walking and raised an eyebrow at him, causing his facade to crumble. "Alright, fine. We kinda play games. But I swear, I wasn't trying to do that with you. Sue me, but you seem cool."

It was hard for Emerson to hide her smile. No teenager her age had ever told her she was cool before, so it felt kind of nice. This was one of the first times she was actually able to connect with another high schooler, and it made her happy.

"I guess you're not so bad yourself," Emerson chuckled.

They fell into another silent spell as they walked, but neither teen felt awkward or uncomfortable. For the first time in Emerson's life, she wasn't having an internal freak out in the presence of another kid her age. The girl smiled to herself at the thought and looked around, her mouth quickly falling open as the damage got worse the closer they trekked to the beach.

"So, JJ, huh?" John B finally hummed.

Emerson furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. John B was smirking at her, which immediately sent her stomach into a knot. "What?"

"You said you've heard about me and JJ," John B elaborated.

"Because I have," Emerson stated. She wasn't sure why he was bringing it up; in her mind she had been pretty clear in communicating her thoughts.

"JJ isn't here," John B said in a singsong voice.

It finally clicked what he was insinuating, and Emerson scoffed and made a face. "Oh, come on," she groaned. "You just ruined this whole thing."

"What thing?" John B laughed.

"This thing!" Emerson cried. "I thought we were friends. Or at least acquaintances. But then you had to bring JJ into it?"

"You brought JJ into it," John B fired back, pointing at her with a smirk on his face.

"I didn't bring him into anything," Emerson huffed. "You're twisting the intention behind my words."

"Fine," John B sighed exaggeratedly. "But if the shoe fits."

Emerson rolled her eyes and stopped dead in her tracks. John B nearly ran into her as she turned around and grabbed his collar. "I will smack that smirk off your face," she threatened.

John B's eyes widened, but his smirk remained. This only bothered the girl more as he raised his hands in surrender and pulled away from her.

She sighed as he continued walking, forcing her to follow after him. She had seen JJ around before, but she didn't recall ever talking to him. She wasn't sure he even knew who she was. He was much too busy chasing after other, prettier girls. She quickly shook her head at that thought, disliking how her heart twisted. She didn't know why and she didn't care to find out, so instead she focused on the road in front of her.

It wasn't long before they arrived outside of John B's house. Emerson hadn't realized how close in proximity they lived to each other. She was about a ten minute walk from his house, but she recognized it in passing whenever she rode her bike into town. She cursed to herself, realizing she left it there during the storm. She'd have to go and get it soon, with the hopes it was even still there and hadn't been blown away.