Together

62. Leave it alone

Instrumental solo...
Could you bare, could you bare my love
Could you bare, could you bare my love
Could you bare, could you bare my love
Could you bare, could you bare
Could you bare my love
-Demons of Ruby Mae

JJ walks back home from Kie's. He wouldn't say he wasn't at least a little nervous about what Kie was going to do. He tried to get her to understand where he was coming from. Where he has always been coming from.

He could handle Shoupe knowing that he'd ran into Luke or even him talking to him, but there was no way he could let him—or anyone—know that Luke had gone at him again.

He wasn't trying to protect Luke, not at all. This was purely self-preservation. Luke was unhinged, that much was clear. He'd never gotten that aggressive in public. He always seemed to wait until they were out of view, in the privacy of their shack or vehicle before he lost his mind on him.

It's why he got the jump on him really. JJ wasn't expecting him to take a swing in front of a parking lot full of people. That level of crazy wasn't to be messed with and he didn't want it anywhere near him or Kie or anyone he cared about. Better to just let it go and move on rather than risk the rath of Luke Maybank and his temper.

He comes up to the house and notices Shoupe's work truck in the driveway. Fuck. He was hoping that he would have left by now. He didn't have time to look for that goddamn tube of magic and wouldn't be able to hide his wounds before Shoupe would spot him.

Shoupe is digging through the fridge when JJ walks through the door. He's half tempted to just bolt to his room but quickly puts that idea to the side. There was no way Shoupe wouldn't want to hear about the competition, nor would JJ not talk about it under normal circumstances.

Still, his face is busted and Shoupe had a strict no fighting rule for his household so being too casual wouldn't work either. He aims for slightly avoidant, like he knows he's gonna get a lecture but also doesn't want to look suspicious by hiding it too much. He didn't start the fight, remember? It was another surfer who was just mad he lost. Yeah, that should work.

Shoupe stands up when he hears the screen door shut. JJ is expecting him to be surprised, to drop what's in his hands and demand to know what happened to his face. In all honestly, it's not the worst he's been beat up, but Shoupe didn't know that, and it's been a good several months since his last fight so shock would be the normal reaction. Only Shoupe doesn't seem shocked.

"I'm making chicken parm," he comments, shutting the fridge door after pulling out a salad kit.

"That's lettuce."

Shoupe's face drops at the obvious observation. "It's in the oven," he retorts. "Need some more greens in the diet," he says, lifting up the bag.

JJ isn't sure how to act. He's prepared for how Shoupe should react, but he isn't prepared for the nonchalance that the guy is carrying. Seriously, it's like he doesn't even notice JJ's face.

Shoupe asks JJ to help set the table and pour a couple glasses of water while he pulls out the meal from the oven. They take seats and dish up, eating in silence for a few minutes.

JJ is about to jump out of his skin. There is no way Shoupe hasn't noticed, why isn't he bringing it up? It's weird. The guy was a Sheriff's deputy, how fucking blind is he? He could rival John B at this point. Not to mention he's quiet.

Shoupe wasn't always a chatty Kathy, but he definitely didn't stay silent during meals. He was always fishing for information about what's been going on with him and his plans, how surfing is going, his friends and relationship with Kie. It was like having a second therapist with how much he liked to check in sometimes.