Two Sided

Hello Seashore Bash

The minute JJ's eyes landed onto mine, he halted. It was as if he was surprised to see me, unsure that it was actually his friend standing at the top of the stairs in a dress. My eyes untangled from his gaze, dropping down to observe the disorganized state he was in: His wrinkled dress shirt stuck out from his pants, like he didn't bother to take time to tuck it in before hopping into his automobile, his hair wasn't neatly combed, and a large bruise plastered across the left part of his jaw. My irises soon rose higher, observing the cut on his bottom lip along with a butterfly bandage over his right eyebrow. From where I stood, JJ appeared to be a walking punch bag, taking most of the beatings from the night prior. His eyes swiftly followed mine, waiting for the moment that they locked back together; and once they did, a small smirk tugged at the end of his lips, as if he was enjoying how observant I was over him. I felt my cheeks grow hot, something I knew was creating a deep shade of red. But luckily Sarah's previous makeup binge covered most of the hues.

Rose crossed her arms over her chest, the wooden clipboard dangling between two of her fingers as she eyed the two of us acknowledging each other. Honestly, it seemed like she wasn't exactly enjoying this type of silent interaction we were having – or perhaps it was more so that his face looked like it needed to be soaked in ice for the next week. "What are you doing?" Her words were sharp, a bitterness twinging within her pitch.

JJ briskly looked away from my position, catching the eyes of both Rafe and Rose who were staring at him with an underlying aura of distaste. "Sorry I'm late, it won't happen again." JJ tried to minimize the tension, his eyes avoiding Rafe's to forcefully deter him from making a sarcastic comment.

"Your fault for choosing the wrong fight." Rafe scoffed, his ring swiping across his lip as if he was ready to utilize the protruding gold metal to bash his face in even more in.

JJ's shoulders tightened from that comment, a sense of irritation visible from his reaction. But JJ seemed to care more about his job than the insolent boy. He tucked in his white button-down and slid between Rafe and Rose towards the open kitchen, reaching for the food on top of the granite countertops to quickly organize it on the trays.

But Rose was still in astonishment from her stepson's comment; her mouth open and nose scrunched. "Excuse me?"

"Nothing." Rafe stated, his eyes landing back on the other workers as they dropped a large banner at the entrance of the backyard.

However, Rose wasn't exactly fond over JJ's appearance, even after he tucked in his shirt. This was her party; the chance to keep her reputation 'prestigious'. That meant, there was no way in hell she'd allow JJ to rummage about her home like that in front of the guests.

So, I spoke back up. "I can help set up the tables outside."

Rose whipped her head away from the direction of JJ and towards the undecorated tables sitting on top of the freshly cut lawn. The edge of her mouth twitched in horror at the bland sight, a sense of dread washing over her that at any minute guests could arrive and witness the atrocious decorating. It was as if JJ's appearance had almost fully slipped her mind, too preoccupied with the vision of disappointment due to lack of planning. "Isa, the supplies are in the basement. It should be in a big box inside one of the cabinets that says, 'outdoor table supplies.'"

I stifled a laugh, not surprised by the notion that Rose had a separate box just for outdoor tables. It made sense, Rose loved the parties. She fantasized over the compliments and the gleaming reviews in the neighborhood newspaper. It was like this was the only way she could show her control; let everyone know that occasionally she wore the pants.

But I didn't care for the dominance or the tributes. All that mattered to me now was finding an excuse for the beaten-up Pogue to come down there with me. And in all honestly, it was something that seemed almost impossible without outing my true intentions. Sarah wasn't exactly open about her friends, which was understandable considering Ward and Rafe despised them. But that made it quite difficult to try and convince Rose to let this bruised up boy wander alone with me from the construed lie that he and I had no prior interactions.