𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐍 | jj maybank

XXIV. The Phantom Menace

"Hey, you be careful," the blond called, watching as the door swung open. "Meet us at the dock at three. Don't be late."

At the boy's lack of response, Kie huffed and dropped the bag of dinner rolls she was holding onto the counter.

The remaining two shared a look as their curly haired friend followed him out, demanding to know what his problem was.

The couple watched from the window as the sound of incoherent shouting and a revving bike engine filled the air. They scattered from the glass when they saw that Pope had driven off and Kie was making her way back into the restaurant. Acting as nonchalant as possible, the pair pretended that they were in the middle of their own conversation, not wanting Kie to scold them for eavesdropping.

Their words faded from their tongues as Kie entered the room and looked at them with an expectant expression on her face. She had seen them duck their heads out of view when she turned to face the window before coming in.

If JJ and Stella were one thing, it was definitely nosy.

A low whistle cut through the air and JJ nodded to the spot where Pope had been standing. "What was that about?"

"Did that have anything to do with what happened at Sarah's last night?" Stella questioned, finding no coincidence between Pope's attitude from the night before and this morning.

Kie furrowed her brows and returned to her spot at the counter. "How do you know about that?"

"It's Stella we're talking about," JJ replied, moving to lean against the counter with a shrug, "she knows everything."

Stella nodded and raised her brows as to say 'yeah, that's true', and turned to the other girl. "What happened?"

A heavy sigh escaped Kie's lips as she recalled the night before and the crestfallen expression after she rejected Pope's proclamation. "He loves me," she revealed, "and I kind of shot him down."

"Oh, shit," JJ gasped in disbelief. A teasing smile came over his face. "So you broke his heart."

Kie frowned at the statement. She refused to believe that she hurt him that badly. For all she knew, Pope was exaggerating a school boy crush on her that resulted from too much time spent together. She didn't rip his heart from his chest and stomp on it, she simply hurt his feelings. "I didn't break his heart," she stated, feeling guilty for the pain she had caused, even if it wasn't as bad as JJ was making it sound.

The blond shook his head, his grin only growing as he turned to his girlfriend. "You owe me five bucks," he stated, pointing at her smugly.

"No, I don't," Stella immediately replied. "There's still hope."

JJ was about to argue his position when Kie opened her mouth and cut him off. "Wait, you bet on us?" Her gaze darted between the couple and they couldn't tell if she was angry or in shock. "You knew that he liked me?"

Stella chuckled and grabbed a box from under the counter. "You didn't?"

"Yeah, it was kind of obvious," JJ supported.

His girlfriend gave him an odd look before passing the box off to Kie so she could fill it with food. "JJ, you literally had no clue until I told you."

"And after you did, it was obvious that he wanted to mack on her. I mean, his eyes would do this thing like he was just begging for her to—"

"Guys, seriously?" Kie groaned, not wanting to hear their bickering or any talk about Pope's infatuation with her.

JJ sighed, his expression turning serious as he prepared to bestow his ever growing wisdom. "Look, are you sure he wasn't just being weird Pope?"

She shook her head. "It wasn't really the kind of thing that needed interpretation." She finished backing the box and showed it to Stella. "Is that enough food for them?"