broken rules

𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐨𝐨𝐤

As much as I'd like to say that me and Liam didn't hangout again, I couldn't. Weirdly enough, it felt like I had traded Miles for him. Of course, Miles did join us the weekend following our trip to get burgers but during the week, it was just us two. The new friendship dynamic was an adjustment for us. Especially after I made sure to tell him that it was just a friendship and nothing more. I was waiting for JJ, no matter how long that was going to take.

"Foster!" I heard behind me as I walked down the hallway. School was still a bit weird for me. It had been a little more than a month and a few days since I'd last seen my friends and they had been declared missing. Which meant that the stares and whispers had gotten worse for me. Everyone wondered why I hadn't gone missing with them. A few people had approached me to ask if I knew where they were and I never lied to them. I just told them I wasn't sure. It was a true statement, but I'm sure they still thought I was lying. "Foster!"

Once Liam joined my side, I threw him a glare. "Please stop yelling for me down the hallway. Everyone already stares at me for no reason, don't need to give them one."

"Sorry." We kept on toward the parking lot. School was over and I wanted to go actually get home before I had to go to work. I had managed to get Heyward to put me on a schedule for a little while, just to help pay for some of the stuff while my dad was out of work because of chemo.

Liam normally hung out with me on Thursdays. Sometimes he helped me with stuff, but Heyward made sure to tell him that he wasn't going to get paid. Other times we sat and attempted to do homework together. When that became too overwhelming, we listened to radio and talked. Our conversations were never spectacular, but they passed the time.

"What's up?" I stood with my car door open.

"I was going to get food before I come by Heyward's. You want anything?" He held a sweet smile on his face as he waited for me to answer.

I shrugged, "Just like seasoned fries or something. If you stop by The Wreck, please get me a chicken sandwich with crab dip on top." The meal sounded so good right now. My mouth watered thinking about it.

He chuckled at me, making me raise my brow. "Oh, you were serious?"

"Yes." I checked the time and knew I would be able to go home before having to go in.

"The crab dips like an extra $5-"

"Says the Kook." I playfully rolled my eyes as I got in my car and turned it on, rolling down the window. He frowned as I looked at him, "Aw. Does the truth hurt?"

He rolled his eyes and backed away toward his truck. "I'll be at Heyward's in a half hour." I sent a salute in his direction before backing out of the parking spot and heading toward the little dockside shop.

I made it into the store only 2 minutes later than I was scheduled to clock in and I was surprised. "Wow, you were almost on time." Heyward said to me, cracking what looked like a genuine smile.

Even though he and Mrs. Heyward always talked to me and cracked jokes, I knew they were hurting a lot. There had been no news about Pope since they were all declared missing, and I felt like a jerk for not telling them the little bit of information I knew.

"Is your boyfriend coming by tonight?" Heyward asked me as he wiped down the side counter. I raised my brow, not sure who he was referring to. As far as I knew, JJ was still nowhere to be found. "That McDermott boy."

I faked a gag, "Ew. Oh my gosh. He's not my boyfriend." Heyward laughed at me as I caught a glimpse of Liam's truck pulling in the parking lot and I knew my defense was going to fall through the second he walk into the building. Besides, Heyward and I have had a conversation or two about JJ. I wouldn't pick anyone else over JJ, even if I was being offered a million dollars. Even though JJ would tell me to because a million dollars is a lot of money. But JJ was worth more than that to me.

"Oh look, he's here." Heyward stepped back with his hands in the air as Liam walked through the door, "Liam." Heyward was being an ass. A sarcastic ass, at that.

"Mr. Heyward!" Liam had not caught onto the sarcasm as Heyward stopped his jazz hands and walked away from us. "I thought he liked me?"

I laughed as I reached out for the bag of food, "Gimme please."

We ate, did some homework, and then just talked until it was time to start closing. Liam waited in th parking lot while I cleaned alone. Heyward met me and locked up before I went to my car.

"And now?"

"For my final act, I will turn into a pumpkin if I don't go home." I bowed as I stopped in front of him.

"You mean John B's?"

"John B's is home too." He nodded and took a step closer to me, picking up my hand as he did so. Was he going to kiss me?

"I've really enjoyed spending the last week together. I'm glad we can be friends again." He leaned down to me, but I backed away and dropped his hand. "I'm- I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I just thought we had talked about this already." He waved me off trying to erase what had almost just happened.

"I know. JJ." I nodded. If he knew, then why was he even going to attempt to kiss me? Nothing was going to change the way I felt about him. "I should've held onto you when I had the chance to."

I nodded while shrugging, "Probably." I playfully nudged him as I passed him to get to my car. "I'll see you tomorrow."