Together

132. Lovable idiot

Caught a vibe
Baby, are you coming for the ride?
I just wanna look into your eyes
I just wanna stay for the night, night, night
When we take a drive
Maybe we can hit the 405
Hypnotized by the lights
Man, this must be the life
-ANXIETY, WILLOW, and Tyler Cole

Once inside the school, Kie feels the eyes stay on her as she's walking arm in arm with Sarah. JJ has dropped his from around her shoulders, choosing to hold her hand instead. She starts to notice he's throwing looks at people as they pass by, like a body guard unamused with how close someone is getting to the one he's protecting.

There is something definitely wrong with him.

Sarah talks a mile a minute, attempting to distract her from the crazy amount of people that are openly staring at her. This is even more uncomfortable than when Luke gave her a busted lip, and she instinctively find herself reaching for her neck. As if the bruises were reappearing on their own for everyone to see.

John B and Pope are already at her locker when they walk up, and give her brief hugs. She hasn't been able to spend much time with them, with the way her parents have been on her ass about her comings and goings, so seeing them in a setting she wouldn't have to check in a million times was nice.

"You ready for this?" John B asks.

She doesn't think much of the comment, her head half in her locker. She barely catches the end of JJ smacking hm in the arm, a warning look on his face.

"What?" she questions, looking between the two.

"Nothing," JJ dismisses.

"You all caught up on your work?" Pope jumps in. She doesn't miss JJ's relief at the quick change in subject.

"Yeah," she affirms. "Not much else to do when you're basically on house arrest," she jests.

The groups laughs and the bell rings, pulling them each their separate ways. Kie finds her natural place with Sarah, but then notices that JJ is right beside her as well. "You're supposed to be going the other way there, dude," she teases.

"No, I know, just thought I'd walk with you."

Kie looks at Sarah and expects her to tease him for being clingy, but she finds that her best friend's gaze is on the ground, not making eye contact with either of them at the moment. "I'll be alright, Jayj," she says, realizing she's going to have to speak for herself.

"No, it's okay," he insists, despite a cross expression working its way through her features.

Sarah looks up, meeting JJ's eyes before Kie's, and she feels like there was a one second conversation that went on before the blond Cameron finally speaks up. "We're fine, JJ," Sarah says with forced annoyance. "Sure you can part with your girlfriend for an hour."

JJ gives Sarah one more look and then nods. "Alright," he says, kissing Kie's cheek and reluctantly walking away.

She shakes her head as they continue on, wondering why JJ is being so over protective right now. He'd been fine when they hung out at her house and the couple times they were at the chateau. What the hell was his deal now that she was at school?

Once in class they are separated into groups and made to fill out an assignment from a reading passage. Kiara can feel everyone's eyes on her as they move their desks together. Sarah is in the group next to her, within sight but not hearing distance.

"Hey, Kiara," greets Sophie, a girl that's always been more than genuinely friendly to her. "Welcome back," she says with a shy smile.