Chasing The Stars || JJPOPE

TEN

JJ HAD DRAGGED himself along to the Cameron residence, far less excited than usual. His interaction with Pope about an hour earlier was still heavy on his mind.

He passed by a hard-working Mr. Sanchez, who raised his hand to wave to the Maybank boy, only for JJ to not even acknowledge him. The older man frowned.

JJ approached the pool area, Rose laying out on a lawn chair, a large sun hat and sunglasses on, along with a teal bikini. She occasionally took sips of her wine, barely acknowledging her children out on the lawn.

Sarah sat with her younger sister, Wheezie, braiding her long, dark hair. Wheezie was only thirteen, but her and Sarah were quite close. The younger girl looked up to Sarah a lot, she longed to be just like her.

"JJ!" Wheezie exclaimed happily, JJ smiling softly at her. Sarah turned, smiling immediately at the sight of the boy.

"Hey." She greeted, turning back to Wheezie's hair. He plopped down on the grass beneath his feet, sitting in front of the pair of sisters. He lay on his back, eyes to the sky. JJ felt so distant from himself that day, distant from his life. He couldn't stop thinking about Pope -- more specifically, what Pope had said.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Wheezie questions, staring down at the blonde boy. He stared at the blue sky as Wheezie's question went afloat in his mind. He sighed, turning only his head to face the brunette.

"Nothing." He told her, "Just tired."

The young girl nodded, offering him a small smile, to which he returned. It was no question that Wheezie had a small crush on JJ, but he was completely oblivious to it. JJ was horrible at taking hints that girls practically threw at his face. He hadn't had a girlfriend since seventh grade, he hadn't found it exciting anymore. Sure, he'd hook up at a party every once in a while, but he hadn't found himself interested in any girl lately. Especially not Wheezie, she was practically a baby in his eyes. But she'd still steal a bunch of Rose's makeup when she knew the Maybank boy may be stopping by, or maybe one of Sarah's crop-tops.

Not that JJ ever noticed it.

"How'd the test go?" Asked Sarah, chesnut eyes set on Wheezie's hair. The younger girl winced as Sarah accidentally tugged a strand of hair, the blonde muttering a "stay still" to her sister.

"I passed." JJ answered casually, eyes fluttering shut as he took in the sun onto his skin. He was already working on his tan for the upcoming summer.

Sarah sat up straight as she heard this, a smile tugging at her plump lips, "What?"

"A solid B plus." He smiled, turning to face her. She laughed, pushing past her younger sister to reach JJ. Wheezie's eyebrows furrowed, scowling. Sarah wrapped her arms around JJ as he laid there, his eyes widening with surprise, "Well, hello."

She giggled, then murmuring into his shoulder, "I knew you could do it."

Wheezie rolled her eyes.

______

"Dude... have you been avoiding me?" Asked John B as he walked up the Heyward family's driveway. Pope glanced up at his friend while loading groceries into the bed of his father's truck. He and his father were preparing for yet another grocery delivery for Figure Eight.

"No, why do you think that?" Pope questioned with a slight chuckle. He struggled to pick up one of the bags, John B hurrying to help, Pope muttering a "thanks".

"I don't know," John B began with a shrug, returning to Pope's question, "you've barely spoken to me and Kie since Wednesday. It's Friday."