P4L, carpe diem (JJ Maybank)

024

"Not till you two figure it out!" John B shouted. "I will kill every single one of you!" Kie threatened then looked back at me. "Starting with you!"

I kicked down the boxes which I climbed on the get up there. I kicked them, all 3, off the boat, and they floated in the ocean. "Oops!" I shrugged, smiling and folding my arms. "My b. But, so you don't murder me, I'm sleeping up here tonight." Kie growled and turned back around.

"You can't just leave!" Sarah shouted at them. "You're stuck here, girls," I added.

"There's food in the cabin and JJ rolled a blunt," Pope shouted back, holding his thumb's up.

"Hydroponic!" my boyfriend shouted back, using his finger for a 👌 sign.

The girls began undressing to dive into the water and I rolled my eyes. "This is ridiculous," Sarah said.

"Well, I would rather drown than stay here with you, so..." They both began taking off their clothes so they could dive into the water, to catch up with the boys, who already began driving away. "Fine, be my guest. Maybe you'll finally shut the hell up," Sarah answered.

"You don't even know where you're going!"

"I don't care!"

I rolled my eyes, looking on the boys on the other boat. They began driving away.

"Wait!" Sarah shouted, jumping into the water, but Kie already knew it was too late. "John B, you asshole!"

"They aren't coming back for you!" I said to her, crossing my arms.

"Love you guys! Bye!" I heard JJ shout, and waved at us. He whooped right after, as they got farther and farther away.

I looked down at Sarah, who was swimming back. Almost immediately, she squealed in pain and began to sink in the water. "What?" I asked, concerned.

"I got stung by a jellyfish! Shit!" Sarah screamed, climbing back onto the boat. I softly sighed, knowing she was being a bit dramatic. Yeah, I knew getting stung hurt like hell, but not, IMMA PISS MYSELF! SHIT-SHIT-SHIT hell.

She got on deck, and I saw the redness of the sting. It was red, and I could see where the jellyfish tentacles were placed in her skin.

Sarah sat down, complaining and saying one of the three of us were going have to piss on her. I immediately declined, then held up a certain something. I whistled, getting their attention. "I got something girls!"

I held up the joint, and a lighter.

"JJ, bless."

-|-

That night, Sarah smoked enough to get high and I slept on top of the boat, so I wouldn't get slaughtered in my sleep. It was pitch dark out, except for the lantern.

"Hey, guess what?" Sarah asked Kie, while I laid on the top of the boat. "Would you rather... have—  I was just imagining you like this right now. It was pretty funny. Would you ima— would you rather... have nipples for eyes or eyes for nipples? Imagine if you get really old and your nipples. Your boobs get saggy and your nipples, if they were your eyes, you could see if your shoes were untied."

I looked down at her, unfazed. She giggled a bit, then pressed her lips into a thin line and shook her head, realizing it wasn't that funny.

"Is this your first time smoking or something?" Kie asked her. "No," Sarah said in a smallish voice. They paused.

"Hey Kiara-" Sarah began. "Oh my God!" Kiara scoffed. "Enough with the 'Hey, Kiara!' bullshit! Why'd you do it?" She asked.

I had been told that story tens of thousands of times.

"Why did I do what?"

"We were best friends. We— we stole beers from your dad's fridge... you, me and Dylan watched movies together, we cried about boys. And the next thing I know, I'm watching your birthday party from Instagram," Kie explained and I took a deep breath. Dylan hadn't gone to the party, but she was invited. She stayed home with the Pogues.

"It was one party-"

"You invited everybody but me. And then you told everybody I was the reason that the party got busted," Kie said.

"Okay, well, who would've called the cops?"

"You never asked. You just let the rumor go that I was a rat. You were my best friend and then you ghosted me, and I don't even know why! You backstabbed Dylan too-"

"Don't bring me into this," I warned, holding my finger out.

Kie sighed. "Really, what did I do?"

"You liked me," Sarah said. "You both did."

"What?" Kie and I asked at the same moment. Sarah took a breath, then spoke. "When... people get...close to me, I feel trapped. And.. I bail. And then I blame them for it," Sarah exclaimed, a tone of regret in her voice. "I'm really sorry," she said to Kie, then looked to me.

"To you as well." She said and I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders. A weight I didn't even feel anymore because it had been so long. She had apologized before... but the fact that right there, right then, it seemed so flipping sincere, it mattered so much more than the first. "And I miss you guys."

Kie looked at me, then Sarah. "Do you think there's a chance that we all could be okay again?"

Kie paused, biting her lip. "Honestly, I don't know."

Sarah took a deep breath, opened her mouth to speak, but stopped her self, accepting the fact.

That night we went to bed, and I was still laying on the top of the boat, the 'roof', still. Kie was obviously still awake, cause she spoke. "Hey, Sarah?"

"Hey, Kiara?"

"Promise you won't bail on John B."

I spoke up, tiredly. "He's not just... some other guy. And I can tell you he really, really likes you. I know that. I can tell by the way he looks at you. It's stronger than any other look he's had for a girl. And I haven't seen that look for a long, long time," I explained.

"I won't," Sarah said.

"Promise me," Kie told her.
...
"I promise."

Kie let out a deep sigh. She turned onto her side and laughed. "Also, I'm sorry I called the cops."

Sarah smirked. "I knew it."

We all began laughing. "I knew it, you bitch!"

"You should've invited her!" I giggled.

"So she called the cops?!"

"Yes!" Kie chuckled. "I mean, you should've invited me instead of Dylan..."

"Oh, shut up, you ass!" I shouted at her, throwing one of my three pillows at her face. Kie held her hands up in surrender. "I'm just saying! How come you didn't think she called the cops?! She's called the cops on a prank call before!" Kie explained, unable to stop laughing.

"True," I muttered.

Sarah sighed. "Good point. I might've thought she was too dumb to," she teased. I rolled my eyes but still laughed. "You're both asses!" I giggled, throwing another pillow, but at Sarah this time.

We all broke down laughing and that night, I finally had the courage to trust them not to murder me, so I slept on the floor with them.

I ended up getting murdered by them. Getting smothered by a pillow, in that case.