rules [ JJ MAYBANK ]

XV

ACAB & THE KOOK SPORT
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"LOOK, I'M CALLING IT OFF ALRIGHT?" JB announced with a tone of finality— the sentence alone a surprise to the Pogues, considering how stubborn the boy had previously been about investigating. "Peterkin said that if I stay out of the marsh, she'll help with DCS."

"And you believed her?" JJ tilted his head in Cori's direction when the girl glanced at him in silent agreement. It was a usually unspoken rule that none of the Pogues fucked with the police, the rare occasion that this regulation was broken when Cori were to yell at the law enforcement for being corrupt. It had always been a recognized that cops would never be on their side. They were born classists— never siding with Pogues over Kooks.

"Yes, I believe her, JJ."

"An actual cop, John B." The blonde boy continued to toss stones at the ground, gradually increasing in velocity as his irritation grew, and as his tone filled with absolute disbelief. "You believed a cop."

"Yeah," Cori yawned. "What happened to ACAB and all?"

JB shook his head and pointed a steady finger at the girl, watching as she rubbed her tired eyes in exhaustion. "You were the one who said all that, not me."

"Actually," The sunburnt teenager pointed back at him in a gesture full of spite and mockery. "I said Fuck 12, and I never heard any disagreement then."

He huffed in annoyance, averting his eyes from the girl as she began to pick at her cuticles. She leaned her body on JJ's, resting her head on his shoulder briefly. Her baby hairs had fallen over her eyebrows due to the light breeze, and JJ glanced down at her as he pushed them out of her face with his finger. Catching the interaction as he looked over at Cori to scold her for irritating JB, Pope kept his mouth shut in the chances that he were the only other Pogue noticing the changed dynamic between the groups only blondes.

"Look, all I gotta do is stay out of the marsh for a couple of days and she'll help me out." JB looked at JJ. "It doesn't help that your ass was the one shooting a gun."

He threw a branch.

"You know what I should've done?" JJ snapped. "Should've let Topper drown your ass."

"First of all, Cori was the one to prevent Topper from drowning my ass." JB retorted. "Two, Topper was gonna drown me?"

"Yeah dude, he was." Cori scoffed at the sarcasm in JB's tone, without hesitation getting involved in the argument.

"It sure looked it." JJ agreed.

"Funny."

"I mean, have you even looked in a mirror?"