Carefree || JJ Maybank

Chapter One Hundred Three

She waited for JJ to start driving to speak up about the question that had been tearing her apart since the party. "JJ." She barely says loud enough for him to hear. His head turned to her for a second before it turned back to the road again.

"What's up, princess?" He asks.

She takes a long breath and hesitates. "I know that me saying this makes me sound kind of crazy. But, I saw you talking to Kie at the party. I'm only asking what she said because you both kind of looked, I don't know, upset."

JJ looked like his heart skipped a few beats. The way his jaw almost automatically clenched told her it wasn't any good. "She... Ev, you have to promise that you'll trust me when I tell you. And that you'll just drop it."

She looked out the window in frustration before turning to look at him again, but the softness and worrisome look on his face calmed her for the time being. "I promise." She whispers letting her hand rest on top of his.

He took a deep breath, "She told me she loved me." Her face immediately fell and she squeezed his hand, the jealousy flowing through her veins. "Ev, she told me she loved me but I handled it, and it's over now."

"Why is she doing this?" She murmurs, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "Why all the sudden is she trying to take you from me?"

"I don't know." He truthfully tells her. "I told her that she needed to back off. There was no chance of her getting anywhere near me."

"I'm gonna kill her, JJ." She says.

JJ's head snapped in her direction. The sun that was setting was shining into her eyes, making her squint. "You don't uhm... mean that literally. Do you?"

She couldn't help but chuckle, "No, not literally." She wipes a tear off her cheek. "Am I allowed to say anything to her?"

"Absolutely not." JJ shakes his head, smiling along side his girlfriend. "I shut her down. I told her that I was yours." He continues cheekily with a wink. "Look, Ev, she'll never get the chance with me. If you ever... and I pray you don't... if you ever leave me, I'll never be able to love someone again."

She felt her cheeks heat up, they turned a light pink involuntarily. "JJ, we're teenagers."

"So?" He questions, his face showing that he wasn't joking even in the slightest way.

She smiles to herself crossing her tanned legs and twisting a strand of hair between her fingers. "So you think we're gonna get married?"

When she looked at him, he was already smiling, the nearly set sun finally out of their eyes. "Hell yeah." She could tell how happy he was by the way he sat up  straight and interlocked his hand with hers. "We'll get married on the beach, early in the summer so that it's not too hot."

"The bridal party can wear blue, but like a grayish blue." She adds, receiving a nod in return. "The thing is, the wedding would only have, like, ten guests, I don't even know."

He couldn't help but laugh at the lack of guests they'd invite. "That's alright, the Pogues are gonna be our entire bridal party anyways, the Twinkie is gonna have to be our only guest."

"Hey, the H.M.S is coming too. She can be the flower girl, I think the Twinkie would want to be the girl ring bearer." She jokes, patting the dashboard. "And we wouldn't have a reception. We'd just hit the break at sunset. Surf until we're ready to go home."

"Sounds perfect." He smiles.

Her smile fades though, a dark though crossing her mind. "What if we don't make it back." She says, finally the sky was becoming dark. "What if we go to South America to get my dad, but... what if he's not there. What if they killed him."

JJ is quick to shake his head. "No, he's not dead, we're gonna get..."

"How do you know that, JJ?" She asks, a slight anger in her voice. "For 15 plus years of my life, my dad hardly gave a shit about me. Then he up and disappeared." She starts to speak, forgetting the relationship that JJ had with his father. "Is it bad if I say that I'm really only going to get him for John B. Because if I don't go, I'll never forgive myself if I lose my brother. Because even if John B comes back, if my dad is healthy with him, he'll never forgive me for not going with him."

"John B cares about you nearly as much as I do." He says as they neared the chateau. "I know it may feel like he's choosing your dad over you, but I don't think he is." He laughs for a second. "I kind of think he's and idiot."

Everleigh smiles quickly. "He is an idiot. But he's my idiot."

"That's so cliche..." JJ starts, making Everleigh cringe with him. "So, so, cliche."

"Shut up." She jokes. "If we get back from South America..."

JJ interrupts her. "When."

She looks at him and nods, he was fully confident, which meant she needed to be aswell. "Right... When we get back from South America, we're gonna get our shit together. And then in a couple years, we'll get married. And we'll get a Golden Doodle. Then, we'll shape and make surfboards for John B and Sarah's store. Hey, maybe they'll let us model them."

"With us two extremely good looking people?" JJ smiles. "How could they possibly say no?"

She laughs as they finally pull into the chateau, the fireplace burning in the yard telling them that the Pogues were here just like they thought they would.

They both relax into their seats, knowing that it might be the last time things were normal. John B being in jail was an easy fix. But the carefree, chill, laid back, and fun nights were coming to and end, at least for the time being.

"You know, we're probably the most awesomest group of teenagers in the world." JJ proudly smiles.

She nods and sits up, making him sit up straight and look at her. "That's because we're the Pogues."

She holds out her hand and he look at her with a smile in his blue eyes. They do the Pogue handshake and top it off, connecting their lips.

"I love you, Mr. Maybank."

"I love you too, Mrs. Maybank."