Pope Heyward trekked through the trees, his insides on fire as he kept reliving his kiss with Cleo over and over again. His heart was giddy and he felt completely enamored by her, a smile feeling like it was permanently glued to his lips. She had fallen back to walk with Kie and JJ was coming up by Pope now, the Heyward boy turning his head to smile at him.
"What's got you all smiley?" JJ asked, his eyes dropping from Popes face to the handle of the machete he was carrying. Pope knew JJ better than he knew a lot of people, and he could tell from just the singular moment of eye contact that he was upset about something. He felt a tug in his heart and he was obligated to ask, knowing JJ struggled with his emotions regularly, just like he did.
"I just...I had a moment with Cleo. It wasn't that big of a deal." JJ looked at him with wide eyes and nodded with pride, but Pope was already locked on figuring out what was wrong with his best friend. "What's got you all frowny?"
JJ looked back down at the machete and instantly shook his head, his claves burning as he looked down at the trail in front of them that they were following. JJ didn't know how to word what he was feeling, knowing that guilt was the overall overbearing emotion he was faced with at the moment. He couldn't get his kiss with Kiara out of his head, he couldn't shake the haunting image of June on Barracuda Mikes plane. All of this along with the fact that June was MIA, and she could potentially be in life threatening danger. JJ had this overwhelming worry that had burrows deep in his ribs, reminding him constantly that she could be dead, she could be in pain, she could be suffering terrible torture at the hands of someone unknown and there was nothing he could do about it. Because he had made a choice.
"I did something bad man. Something real bad and I don't know if I can fix it now." Pope was a smart boy, his face falling as he realized he was clearly talking about his relationship. The thing about June March was that Pope valued her greatly, he appreciated her friendship above most others. She was a solid person, she could be trusted and she was a listener. If he wanted to talk, she was there. It was something that the others in the group struggled with. Pope loved JJ and he loved June, but he had only about 25% of the story of what had happened to them here lately, and what he did know didn't make him too confident that there was much fixing to be done.
"Alright lay it out for me man, I need a timeline before you drop all this on me because I missed so much with you and June. Tell me what happened. Spare no details...we've got nothing but uh...time." Pope gestured towards the trail ahead of them and JJ followed his hand, realizing he was right. He tried to think of everything that had happened but then he didn't even know where to start, his head turning to Pope and a question quickly being asked.
"What was the last thing you heard?" Pope looked almost embarrassed to say it, his face dropping as he answered.
"You and Kie almost kissing on the boat." JJ scoffed, realizing there was a lot he would have to explain. He groaned and then geared up to start reliving it, his head shaking and then his hands lifting to help him tell the story.
"So basically once we got back we all split up you know and I went home and the house was reclaimed because no one paid. Me and Kie got into a big argument because of the almost kiss and then I went to Junes house because I needed to see her and when I got there her dad answered the door and started screaming at me. Things got crazy real fast and I ended up punching her dad in the face." JJ paused, knowing Pope would have something to say. Popes mouth dropped open and he gasped, his head shaking as he looked at his friend with wide eyes.
"You punched her dad?!"
"Yeah I know. So she's upset obviously and she tells me to leave and her brother hit me and I left and I had a whole like thing where I felt like I was possessed and I kicked a bunch of shit and then I got the stupid idea in my head that I needed to break up with her. So I called her up and we met and I broke up with her and she told me she knew about me and Kie which thanks by the way—" JJ flipped Pope off, the boy continuing on with his story. "—and then I told her I didn't love her anymore and she takes off. Next time I see her is when she gave us the cross location. And then I feel like a piece of shit and I'm really missing her so I go to her house and sneak in and I'm sitting in her bed waiting for her and then she climbs through the window and she's all dirty and beat to shit and she pretty much tells me to eat shit and die because I'm the worst boyfriend ever. And then we're at the Chateau and she goes fishing with me and we hug and everything and then we find out about the cross and it does a 180 and we're not cool again and then we go and try and find you and then she goes and gets drunk and calls and invites me over and I get drunk and things get hot and then I wake up the next morning and I felt like a booty call honestly so I left before she woke up. We find out Big John is kidnapped and me and Kie have another fight at her parents party and she tells me she loves me. June shows up and my brain was all scrambled and I said some really terrible things to her and she says that I'll never see her again. I go to apologize in the morning and she's gone with a flight to Italy and Rafe is there in her room and he says she wouldn't go anywhere without her grandpas shirt and the shirt is sitting in the dresser but when she came to Kies the night before she was telling me she was paranoid and someone was watching her and she was scared and I was a dick so I didn't listen. And then I go and rescue Kie and we...we kissed and then on the plane here I saw her, I saw June. And I just don't know what to do man. There's nothing I can do is there?"
Pope was looking at JJ like he was insane dropping this story, seeing all the issues they had had in under two weeks. He shook his head and let out a small wow, unable to comprehend all of it at once.
"So you're in deep shit. On a scale of 1-10 how bad was the stuff you said at Kies party?" Pope asked, realizing that would be the last thing that she heard from him.
"12. They're awful. Absolutely terrible." JJ cleared the air, Pope nodding and closing his eyes for just a second before reopening them.
"So you and Kie kissed? Even after everything?" Pope asked, JJs face falling when he had to nod. It wasn't his proudest moment, he was relaxing that now. And with almost every second he spent with Kie now he felt like a liar, and a cheater, and a traitor and a bad boyfriend. Even if they were broken up. Maybe he was feeling that way because he was. JJ looked at Pope again and saw the thinking look he had on his face, immediately knowing he was in for it with a lecture."So what do you want?"
JJ had had plenty of time to think about it, his head turning to make sure the girls were nowhere near them. He let out a sigh and then ran a hand through his hair, Pope waiting impatiently for his answer.
"I just want her back, man. I just want her to be happy again."
"Well can both of those things happen at the same time?" Popes words halted JJ and he looked at the Heyward boy with an immediate frown. Could she be happy with him? She hadn't been for awhile, she had pretended to be on the island, but according to everyone else he was blind and hadn't seen how miserable she really was. He swallowed hard when he thought about it, feeling a pit in his stomach as he realized the answer was not what he wanted to hear. So he pushed it down and tried to consider every possible way that it could work out that way.
"I really love her Pope."
"I know J. Everybody messes up. But she doesn't have to forgive you. Especially not after what happened with Kie." JJ knew he was right, and he didn't want him to be. He wanted them to be back to the then they used to be, happy and healthy and fun. They were currently dead and dull and draining and it killed him to live that way with her. "So technically she's missing and we have no idea where she's at..."
"Yep. But I will say I've got a feelings she's not too far."
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I need help with a decision for this book but I can't say it on the authors so if someone could plz text me and help me out that'd be great .
We're getting to the end how are we feeling?
