Heart of Gold » JJ Maybank

02 | aggie, you bitch

"Well, this is my stop," John B stated. His voice brought Emerson out of her own head and she looked up to see the little house John B called home. She was honestly surprised she'd never seen the Pogues hanging around outside of it as she was sure this was where they spent most of their time, but then again she never paid much attention to other people. "Are you sure I can't walk you home?"

"I'm good," Emerson said with a smile. "I've made this walk millions of times. I'll make it."

"It almost seems like you don't want me to know where you live," John B teased. He squinted his eyes in the sun and Emerson chuckled at him.

"Maybe I don't," she hummed. This caused John B to pout, but the girl didn't have much more of a social battery to continue with the playful banter. As fun as it was, she was itching to get home and make sure everything there was okay. "Thanks again for uh, everything," she said with another smile.

"Yeah, no biggie," John B nodded. "I hope I'll see you around."

"I'm sure you will," Emerson stated. "I always am."

John B idly thought to himself how he'd never really noticed her before, even though he was sure she was right and was always frolicking around the island. He really hoped that they'd become better friends in the coming days, and Emerson did too. She just hadn't quite realized it yet.

Emerson gave the boy a small wave and continued on her way, but she didn't miss the blond that was exiting the house with a beer in hand. She'd be able to point JJ Maybank out in a crowd without hesitation, and she knew that it was him. He practically lived at John B's house. They'd been best friends since the third grade and were basically attached at the hip. She rarely saw one boy without the other.

As she continued walking, she could feel JJ's eyes on her. It made her skin crawl slightly, and she cringed when she heard him call to John B, "yo, who's that rando chick you were just with?"

She sighed heavily and raked her fingers through her hair, brushing it out of her eyes and squinting in the hot sun that beat down relentlessly over the island. You'd never know there was a hurricane based on the weather if it wasn't for all the damage.

"Relax, bro. She's cool," Emerson heard John B say. This made her smile. At least John B would probably be nice to her from now on. It made her happy to think of getting to run into him in town and make small talk now that they actually introduced themselves to each other.

Emerson was sure JJ had a smart remark to bite back — he always did, and he'd been picking on her since she was little — but she didn't hear it because by that point she was too far away. She let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding now that she was away from JJ's prying eyes, and soon after she approached the small white house she called her home.

The George residence was one of the nicer houses in the cut. Her parents prided themselves on good appearance, and their house was no exception. They'd worked hard to fix it up when they bought it, and Emerson was always expected to make sure the lawn was mowed and flowers watered whenever she wasn't studying. She hoped there wasn't too much damage from the storm, otherwise she'd never hear the end of it.

Emerson had always said that her house was the typical American Dream style; white picket fence, perfectly green and mowed lawn, flowers lining the sidewalk and adorning the windows. It was equally as nice inside with shiny hardwood floors and and a plethora of decor. However, the memories inside the house weren't as pretty. It wasn't necessarily that Emerson had a bad childhood; it just wasn't exactly great. Her parents had only grown more strict and expectant over the years and it felt as though the only way she was worthy of their love was if her grades were perfect.