sunkissed ✯ jj maybank

vi. cursed

pope almost scoffs , not believing it. "c'mon , how do you know that ?"

"because , he does these weird r's with the - see it ?" john b brought the compass closer to pope , tapping on the r's.

jj jumps up to get a closer look , almost knocking me over. "god , jj. who knew you had such a hard-on over compasses ?" i push him away.

he grins. "what can i say ? that compass is lookin' at me a different type of wa-"

john b hits him on the back of the neck with a book. "focus."

he rubs the back of his neck. "ow - the fuck ? asshole." he shakes his head and turns his attention back to the compass. "redrout ? nah , i think that's an a .."

i roll my eyes. "it says redfield."

he brushes it off casually. "well , that was my next guess anyways , so."

i raise my eyebrows. "was it ?"

he sighs. "no." he pauses. "my next guess was antort."

i snort. "what the fuck is an antort ?"

"i don't know , it's just , like , what's a redfield , anyway ?" jj asks.

"only the most common name in the county." pope sighs.

john b's eyes light up. "maybe it's a clue." he looks at us expectantly. "right ? a clue to where he's hiding."

"a clue ?" pope looks skeptical. 

i elbow him. "could be an anagram of some sort ?"

john b points at me. "yes. perfect. anagram." he rummages around the endless piles on the table , until he grabs a sheet of paper. "paper."

i raise an eyebrow. "can we manage more than one word responses ?"

he laughs sheepishly. "sorry."

pope cranes over the paper , trying to find an anagram in redfield. he lets out an exasperated sigh when he hears the rooster crow loudly. "how the hell can a guy concentrate with that thing crowing ?"

"jj loves the rooster." john b states simply. "i love the rooster."

"we all love the rooster." i agree , solemnly.

pope and i lean over the paper , muttering about potential anagrams. out of the corner of my eye , i see a flash of black. i glance up and see a large black van pulling into john b's driveway.  i elbow jj in the ribs. "ow - what ?"

i gesture towards the window. "could it be .. ?"

he winces. "shit." he looks towards everyone else. "guys , we've got company."

i snort. "okay , teen nickelodeon."

john b pulls me and jj away from the window , pressing us against the wall. john b puts a finger to his lips , warning jj to be quiet. "jj." jj is distracted , gazing out the window. john b clicks his finger. "hey , look at me ! where is the gun ?"

jj pats his pockets , finding nothing. "gun ? i , um-"

i put my head into my hands. "now. now you don't have the gun ? at the one time we need it ?"

"it was in my backpack. and , then-" we all wait in anticipation. "backpack. on the porch." jj rushes to the door to leave the room. "it's on the porch !"

"john b routledge ! come on out now." the man shouts.

"shit !" jj whisper-shouts. he runs back in , closing - and locking - the door.

"where's the compass ?" the voice calls again.

"where's the gun ?" john b questions , as jj returned empty-handed.

jj sighs. "they're on the front porch." he turns to the window. "we've got to leave. the window !" the idea seemed like it came from albert einstein at the time , until we discovered the windows were painted shut. i rush over to the table , searching for anything that could chip the paint off. i return with a letter opener , thrusting it into jj's hands.

he slowly begins to chip away at the paint. very slowly. "we don't have all day , jj."

"you wanna do it , princess ?" i stay silent. "thought so." he smirks.

we stay in silence as jj chips away , until we are interrupted by the doorknob rattling. "you better not be in there." i flinch at the man's voice , shaking all over. i notice jj looking me over with a concerned look on his face. he lifts a calloused hand to my cheek , stroking my face gently.

"it'll be okay." jj whispers softly. "just breathe." i block out the other noises , and just focus on jj - and my rapidly beating heart.

jj finally manages to pry the window open , and he squeezes through. he holds out a hand to help me through the window , and then john b , kie and pope. we search for somewhere to hide , and my eyes land on the chicken coop. "come on." i murmur , in a hushed tone.

i peek through the gaps in the coop , and i watch the two men walk out , carrying heavy stacked crates. i can't believe this. john b's father - his work , all stolen. i watch the men turn towards the coop as the rooster begins to crow. "do something to shut it up , pope." he seethes.

"what do you want me to do ?" pope asks.

"pet it , or talk to it. something !" kie wails.

i take a deep breath. pope passes the rooster to jj. "you do something , then."

i watch jj push the rooster to the ground of the coop , confused about whatever he's doing. until i watch him grab it by the neck. i snap my eyes shut just as the bone snaps. we loved the rooster. past-tense.

@luellakk

liked by lowkie , nevrojas , popeheyward and 1397 others
luellakk no compass comes with this life , just eyes

maybankjj oh my god
luellakk you like ?
maybankjj i definitely like.

lowkie ugh marry me
luellakk 💍💍

nevrojas i miss your face
luellakk i miss yours

sarahcam you're so pretty
luellakk thank you gorgeous

『AUTHOR'S NOTE✎』
it has been too long , oh my gosh !! i have been so busy at school - and with my finnick fic currently in my drafts👀 i have missed writing sunkissed so much. i will try and get more chapters out this weekend as long as i have motivation. ily if you're reading this🤍