jj-
"are you serious?" kiara exclaims happily, hugging me. "come on, let's go!" i say, rushing out of the room.
"oh, shit. we forgot the baby," kie face-palms, running back to the nursery and picking jackson up. she and jackson come jogging down the hallway. kiara grabs a blue backpack that she left by the door. it must be his baby stuff.
i throw kiara's birks on the ground, and i throw on some tennis shoes.
we skip down the door steps, and i put jackson in the car. strapping him in, kiara hops into the driver's seat, throwing the into the backseat, and i jump into the backseat.
kiara pulls out of the driveway, shaking. she's smiling big, and giggling like crazy. "kie, do i need to drive?" i offer, as she quickly drives across town to the chateau. "no. make sure jackson's okay." she instructs. golden by harry styles plays on the radio in her jeep cherokee. i check on jackson, and he sticks his tongue out at me. i kiss his little nose, and he grabs my hair. "ow, buddy. that hurts," i suck in my breath, with jackson's death grip on my hair. "damn." i pry his hands off of my hair.
by this time, kiara has pulled into the chateau, and pope is here, because his dad's truck is here. kiara jumps out of the car, and i quickly grab jackson (gently.)
we run to the sound of pope's voice. "where are you?" kiara shouts. "over here!" i here john b yell back. kiara and i look at each other, and jog to them.
the outdoor lights are on now, since the sun is setting. there stands, pope, john b, and sarah cameron. kiara and i jog to hug the two. "whoa, whoa. who's the kid?" sarah hugs kiara, pointing and glaring at me holding jackson. jackson coos, and i lift him up to my shoulder. john b squeezes me tight. "you don't know how much i've missed your dumb ass." john b jokes, pulling away. "and who's baby is that? jj..." john b gives me a 'really?' look. "his name is jackson river maybank-carrera. and we found him and are going to raise him. as friends." kiara formally announces, as sarah cameron gives me a hug. "that's so cute!" sarah giggles, ticking jackson. "yeah, i guess," john b gives kiara a hug. "what do you mean 'as friends?' one of you is in a relationship, kiara." pope spits. kiara's face hardens. i step away from the 'couple.' in fact, all of us do. they begin to argue.
"so did you find everything?" i ask, and sarah cameron continues to tickle him. "yeah. we're secure and no charges have been filed against us for some reason." john b gives some of the best news of the week. besides finding jackson.
kiara and pope are getting worse. "well, maybe we shouldn't be dating if you obviously enjoy cheating on people! should have known when you fucking kissed me!" pope barks, and everything gets quiet. sarah cameron gasps and covers her mouth. "oh damn, it's about to go down," john b mumbles sassily.
kiara is quiet, and she has her hands bawled and her eyes are on the verge of crying. oh shit, she's going to punch pope! "wait, kie!" i try to intervene, but it's too late. kiara has already socked pope in the jaw with a crunch. pope clutches his face. "fuck you, pope heyward!" she yells, and john b rushes over to stop pope from hitting her back. "calm down, bro," he holds pope tight. pope thrashes in his arms, trying to claw out. sarah and i come to kiara. "oh my god!" sarah exclaims, holding kiara back.
kiara-
i'm fuming by the time jj and sarah cameron are by my side. how dare pope accuse me of being a hoe. "jj and i have been friends forever! you, of all fucking people should know that! and you're my first boyfriend, you asshat!" i bite, and jackson screams.
i calm down and softly take him from jj. i bounce him, and he slowly stops crying. "i've got to go. he's hungry and needs a diaper change. " i turn on my heel, and stomp away. i can head jj following me. his footsteps are deep and loud. we make it to the car, and i turn it on. we pull out of the bed parking lot, leaving sarah, john b, and pope standing there.
"can you stop by my house?" jj asks out of the blue. "but- what about, your, er..." i think about jj's turbulent home life. his mom died when he was seven, and his dad has been an abusive alcoholic ever since. jj hates his dad, but always manages to go back to him. it breaks my heart every time i see the purple bruises on him.
"i just need some clothes for tomorrow, that's all. it'll be quick." he convinces me to stop by his childhood hell. my heart drums in my chest as jj steps out of the car. "be careful, jj." i grab jj's arm. i pull him back into the car roughly and kiss him hard. he kisses me back with the same intensity, his hand sliding to my waist. jj pulls away, and gives me another soft kiss. "i promise i will." he squeezes my hand, and opens the door.