Early Bird | ✓

36 | vulture

           His computer chimed behind him, signaling that a notification had arrived, but JJ was already gone.

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           Isaiah's house pulsed with life like a living, breathing monster, the walls heaving and swaying as it inhaled and exhaled. Now that he was here, standing outside, everything around him dark and gloomy except for the lively home in front of him, nerves pricked his skin. He was never a huge fan of parties; usually, he went with Lauren and lost her in thirty seconds flat. That was what he got for being best friends with a popular cheerleader who had so many friends that she sometimes forgot their names. Then, he'd find a girl and hang out with her for the whole night, eventually conjuring enough courage to ask her for her number—and she'd decline politely or give him the wrong one. Or he'd spend time with his basketball buddies, but they were usually too busy trying to get laid to pay any attention to him.

           He stood there, mustering up bravery for what seemed like forever, and then took one step forward. Then another. And another. His feet carried him to the front door against his will. He opened the door and almost got ran over by a couple of his drunk classmates. He pressed himself against the wall, his eyes wide. Why did he come here again? Parties weren't his scene—maybe his brothers' scenes but definitely not his.

           "JJ, you made it!" a voice slurred. JJ searched for the owner and found Lauren tumbling to him as she tripped over her own feet. Luckily, JJ caught and steadied her. "I'm so glad you're here." Her voice muddled all the words together as though they were seamlessly one and JJ shook his head. His best friend was completely wasted, her head tilted up at him, her eyes half closed, her legs nonfunctioning.

           "What the hell man, get off of her!" another voice shouted above the pounding music. JJ hadn't noticed it before but now a dull ache spread across his head. It was a bad idea to come here. A shitty, stupid idea. "Get off my girlfriend."

           "Sorry, Mikey," Lauren responded before JJ could say a word. "I was just sayin' hi to JJ over here."

           Mikey, big and burly and five hundred pounds heavier than JJ, grabbed Lauren from JJ's arms, an angry vein popping out from his meaty forehead. "What did I tell you about touching my girlfriend."

           JJ never liked Mikey; he never understood why Lauren would date such a douchebag. "Chill, Mikey. She's drunk and can barely walk. I was just helping her out." Nobody seemed to understand the fact that Lauren and JJ were simply best friends—Mikey least of all. Everyone assumed that, deep down, JJ and Lauren were lovers and would eventually start dating. Little did they know, JJ's heart was stolen by someone else. But they wouldn't understand.

           JJ stepped back and watched Mikey grab Lauren roughly by the arm, his glare never wavering from JJ's face. JJ simply met his stare with equal force, daring Mikey to do something. He wasn't sure what exactly he was daring him to do; all JJ knew was that, by not backing down, he was challenging Mikey.

           "Stay away from my girlfriend, you hear? If I ever see you touching her again, I will kill you," Mikey snarled aggressively. JJ couldn't help but notice that Mikey's eyebrows had been knitted together so that it looked like he had a unibrow, or a ferret, on his forehead. A chuckle escaped his lips before he could suppress it.

           "Mikey, you're hurting me," Lauren said, her eyes still half closed and her whole body leaning on Mikey for support.

           Mikey, however, wasn't listening. "What's so funny, boy?"

           "Nothing." JJ looked around the room—no one was paying attention to them, everyone seemed to be drunk, or kissing, or dancing, or all three at once, and everything at that moment appeared hilarious to JJ. Then, he started laughing and he couldn't stop.

           Lizzy was somewhere, out there, maybe even in this neighborhood and here all these kids were—kissing, drunk, dancing—without a care in the world. This was what normal teenagers did. They shouldn't worry about being kidnapped or killed or hurt; they should be concerned about their next final, if the girl in their physics class has a crush on them, how they can bump up their English grade from a D to a B.

           But now, Lizzy was gone, and JJ found himself at a stupid, stupid, stupid party with stupid people who were blind to the danger that lurked around them.

           "You gonna answer me or what?" Mikey shouted.

           JJ shook his head. "I'm heading out."

           As JJ reached for the door, a hand reached out and latched onto him. Scared of his mind, JJ whirled around, only to see tipsy Lauren smiling at him lazily. "Stay. Please. What did I tell you? This missing girl Lizzy is going to make you go insane."

           Mikey stood beside Lauren and heard every word, much to JJ's dismay. He reached for the door handle, but Mikey rested his mammoth-sized hand on the door, preventing JJ's escape. "Elizabeth Conner from the news? You interested in a dead girl, boy?"

           JJ grit his teeth and tried to stay calm. "She's not dead."

           "She may as well be. All them taken girls wind up dead."

           "She's. Not. Dead."

           "What? You in love with her or somethin'?" Mikey said, a smug tone in his voice as though he'd arose victorious against JJ.

           JJ narrowed his eyes and slowly turned his head toward Mikey. Anger boiled underneath his skin despite his attempt to control it. Deep down, he knew he was about to do something stupid and join the already incredibly stupid people around him.

           "Shut the fuck up, Mikey." JJ spoke dangerously, threateningly. He wished Mikey would just shut his loud mouth so that he wouldn't have to do anything radical—or stupid.

           And then those classic words that seemed to detonate from every teenager's mouth: "Make me."

           And as JJ flung himself at Mikey with all his might, all he could think about was Lizzy and how she would feel knowing that he had initiated the fight, instead of being brave like her and stopping it.

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A/N:
Hello everyone!  I hope you enjoyed this chapter!  If you did, please vote and comment your thoughts!  This party chapter is supposed to be similar to Lizzy's party scene and show the parallels between JJ and Lizzy and how they--and their lives--are different.  I start school in one week so that's exciting!  It's my big senior year!  I'm so nervous about college yet I can't wait to decorate my dorm room so I have pretty mixed feelings atm :)  ALSO, To All the Boys I've Loved Before is an AMAZING MOVIE, I LOVED IT SO MUCH, and YOU NEED TO WATCH IT, so that we can have a SEQUEL.  I related to Lara Jean, I fell in love with Peter, Josh was absolutely adorable, the sister chemistry was beautiful.  10/10 recommend, go check it out on Netflix!

- Payton