vibrant

twelve; deliveries

"You know," Jj mutters as he lazily slings his arm around her, Kiara and Pope having a separate conversation, "You're probably gonna need someone to walk you home."

Ophelia doesn't look up from her page, a small smile on her face, "Are you volunteering, or should I ask Pope?"

Jj takes his arm off of Ophelia's shoulders, leaning on the counter beside her instead, his usual smirk on his face as he tosses an apple between his hands, "Obviously I'm doin' it, m'lady."

Ophelia grins, the nickname taking on a new meaning, "Very noble of you, m'lord."

Then, before Jj can say anything else to the blonde girl, Pope mentions the fight from the night before to Kiara. Jj gives Ophelia a wink before he stands up straight, "Don't let it get in your head, bro, there's three of them and two of us. That's some typical kook shit. What was your thought process? Using your head?"

"You used your head?" Ophelia echoes, a chuckle punctuating her sentence.

"I may or may not have headbutted Topper," Pope says, fiddling with the register, "I just off of instinct alright? I was a cornered animal."

Kiara leans over to Ophelia, her voice dropped low in a whisper, "Yeah, if that animal is a cornered puppy," Making Ophelia snicker.

However, the sound stops when Heyward wanders into his shop, a grim look on his face, "Hey, Pope," He says, eyes trained on his son, "Someone here to see you."

Then, deputy Shoupe walks in, and Ophelia stiffens, sitting up a little straighter in her seat and slowly closing her sketchbook. She looks over to Jj, whose gaze is already fixed on her; worry in his eyes and his jaw clenched.

"Evening Officer," Pope nervously says.

Shoupe barely hesitates, handing a sheet of paper to Heyward, "I have an arrest warrant for felony destruction of property," When Pope shifts, Shoupe's eyes harden, "Keep your hands on the counter where I can see 'em."

As Shoupe gets closer, Ophelia gets up from her chair, "No, no, there must be-there must be some kind of, uh- mistake or-or something!" She sputters out, her heart starting to race and her palms getting sweaty. But, she knows she's lying. It's about the boat. Jj had told her about it the night before.

"Shoupe, what'd he do?" Heyward asks, as a response Shoupe tells him to read the warrant in his hands, getting out his cuffs and putting them around Pope's wrist.

Kiara, in disbelief, says, "I-I'm sorry, you're arresting him?"

"You're just arresting my boy?" Heyward asks.

Ophelia sees Pope wince at the tightness of the cuffs, "Hey!" Ophelia protests, "Be careful with him!" But, Shoupe starts to read Pope his rights, and Ophelia's heart starts to beat faster.

"How much did they pay you man?" Jj harshly asks as Shoupe starts to escort Pope outside. Ophelia rushes around the counter, Kiara and Jj both following her. She feels her eyes starting to sting, and she prays she doesn't start to cry with her contacts in.

Ophelia's voice mixes with everyone else's as they walk out to the parking lot. She's shouting questions, trying to get some kind of answer from Shoupe, who says nothing. Jj tries to shove the officer, but Ophelia grabs onto his arm, not letting him. He takes her hand, tangling their fingers together and holding it tightly, Ophelia's other hand running up and down the boy's forearm and trying to calm him down despite her own panic. Everyone is yelling, and Ophelia can barely decipher who's saying what.

She steps away from Jj slowly as they approach the police car. Her mind racing a mile a minute as they get closer and closer.

Then, Jj yells, "It wasn't him!" Ophelia's heart stops in her chest, and her blood runs cold as the noise around them stops, "It was me."