SWEET NICOTINE | pope heyward

21, the church bells

What worse to do than confess unreciprocated feelings and ruin a friendship at a point in time when another friend was kidnapped and everyone was on edge? What a selfish way to break your own heart.

"you should go back with the others," She said but after a moment or two, Pope still hadn't moved.

"Pope?" She turned back to him, meeting his eyes and fighting the urge to fall apart. He looked lost in thought as he looked at her, his eyes staring into hers. She couldn't look away. She couldn't pull away.

Pope Heyward's lips were chapped, due to dehydration or sun exposure, AJ couldn't tell what, but his chapped lips brushed against hers as he leaned closer.

AJ sucked in a breath. A moment of shock washed over her before she had the chance to kiss him back. She wanted to. She screamed at herself to do something but she sat still and he pulled away.

Pope didn't meet her eyes this time and AJ felt shame and anger wash over. All at herself. Why didn't she just kiss him back? She forced herself to move, to make a move.

AJ reached forward, grabbing Pope's arm before he walked away. She wanted to pull him closer and kiss him. She tried, he turned and she leaned her head to meet his eyes. She stood on her toes and-

"Guys! I got something!" JJ's voice broke the pair apart and Pope stared at AJ for exactly two seconds before turning and walking into the stable.

AJ knew she needed to follow after him and see what was going on but she was standing in self-pity and cursing herself out. "Meet me at the pin at 6:15 P4L" JJ read off the phone as AJ entered behind Pope.

"We're supposed to believe that's Kiara?" Sarah let out as John B grabbed the phone from JJ.

"I mean, yeah?" AJ got out, the girl not being able to look over at Pope.

"I don't know. This all could be a trap. It's exactly how he set us up last time" Pope explained and the pogues spun out this web and Cleo shook her head.

"Sometimes you guys can be so stupid"

"I'm sorry?" Pope turned to Cleo.

"You get beat so bad you flinch even when someone's trying to help. P4L it's Kiara, man! No way she sent that as bait. They'd have to kill her. We gotta help her. Come on, man. You all just sitting there, just flinching. let's go" AJ was ready to follow immediately behind the girl but the pogues stalled.

"I don't know man, it could still be a trap"

"Like Cleo said, no one knows about P4L. She would never give that up" AJ added, looking between the others with a scoff. Kiara was leading them to her and now they took the second to think.

"We gotta check, right?" Sarah asked, less of a question and more of a statement.

"Let's go," John B said, he, Cleo and AJ were the first to run out of the stables.

Making it to the docks wasn't the easiest thing they had done but they stayed together and had made it in one piece. The six pogues ducked behind bins as they scanned the area.

Pope was next to AJ and she wanted to talk to him.

"You got boats?" John B asked JJ as he also looked around.

"Yeah, you got windows?"

"Singh's men could be posted up literally anywhere" Pope pointed out and his eyes eventually met AJ's. She chewed the inside of her bottom lip. She couldn't get anything out.

"Guys, is that her?" JJ's question stole Pope's eyes from the girl and over to where JJ was pointing. AJ let out a sigh and shut her eyes. She didn't understand why she was freezing up.