Heavenly ✶ JJ Maybank

𝟬𝟭𝟵 stay numb and carry on

     A gentle sigh left Nova's lips when the name, JJ, crossed her mind. She still hasn't heard from him since he kissed her back at her place after the explosive argument between the entire group when he lured them into dangerous territory and stole thousands of dollars from Barry. It left Nova even more concerned than before, wondering where he was and if he was safe from the impending threats on his life, those threats being Barry and JJ's father. It was a trembling fear that couldn't be tamed.

     Nova could only hope JJ showed up soon. She needed to be assured he wasn't dead in a ditch somewhere.

     "So, he just showed up out of nowhere?" Pope questioned, his familiar voice snapping Nova out of her dazed state and back to reality, the girl turning her attention away from the night sky and diverting it towards her friend. "What even happened?" He continued to speak, suspicion laced in his curious voice.

     Nova contemplated telling her friends at first about what took place when JJ Maybank showed up at her house in his drunken state. She thought about telling them the context of their conversation and even how JJ kissed her completely out of the blue. But then she quickly remembered how it was probably something Nova believed was best kept buried until she talked to JJ about the kiss first, wanting to be sure about the reasoning behind it first: was it just a drunken mistake like many times before? Or was there a deeper reason Nova just wasn't seeing?

Clearing her throat, Nova parted her lips to speak. "He was drunk and clearly upset about something. Nothing he really said made sense to be honest." She explained vaguely, sinking down into her seat whilst Pope continued to drive.

"Do you think he was upset about what happened at Barry's place earlier?" Juno asked curiously, glancing at the girl sitting beside her.

Nova shook her head, shrugging her shoulders in the process. "I have no idea what made him so...upset. Whatever it was it had to have been bad. I mean, does JJ ever get upset about most things? You guys know him better than I do." She explained, her eyes scanning over her friends in hopes of getting answers.

Kiara sighed, looking over her shoulder to stare at Nova. "Whenever he's upset or angry it normally has something to do with his dad." She informed. Nova knew that made sense, especially since JJ asked her if she saw his dad in him too, making her worry if he had gone back home like they all originally feared.

The shift in emotion was something Juno quickly picked up on, causing for the girl to gently nudge the blonde sitting beside her. "Hey, I'm sure he's okay." She reassured her, earning a small smile from Nova in response.

She hoped her friend was right.

     Suddenly, the vehicle came to a quick and sudden halt, causing for Nova to look back out the window to see they had finally arrived at the chateau, the roaring engine being switched off by Pope, before the small group were flooded with deafening silence. This caused for Nova to sigh quietly to herself, relieved they were finally at their destination. She knew the sooner they tested out the equipment to ensure it was safe for them to use, the sooner they could go back to the Crain house, retrieve the gold from the well, and become filthy rich.

     Pope nodded to him and spared Kiara a quick glance, before he turned around to face Nova and Juno who remained in the backseat of the car. "So we gotta be done before my scholarship interview in the morning." He informed the girls in a serious and firm tone, his dark eyes flickering between all three of them.

     However, Nova was quick to frown in response to Pope's words. "Scholarship?" She questioned, not knowing Pope was setting himself up for something so important.

     "Pope has this interview for a scholarship. He's been stressing about it all summer." Juno explained vaguely, earning a swift nod from Nova in the process. "We keep telling him he needs to chill out—"