zia
After about a few more seconds, the group began to grow worried.
"That's it. I'm going in." I said, sliding off my denim shorts, growing more and more impatient.
"He's fine." JJ assured, not looking away from the water.
"If he's so fine then why has he been down there so long?" I asked with an attitude.
"Probably because he's still looking at the damn boat. What? Can you not last forty seconds without John B right by your side?" JJ smirked, finally looking up from the water, locking his blue eyes onto my brown ones.
Even with his beauty there to distract me, I still felt myself growing angry.
I scoffed and rolled my eyes, that's when I heard John B emerge to the surface. I released a breath I didn't even realize I was holding, running back over to the front of the boat.
"Oh thank God." I mumbled.
"Oh my God. That took forever!" Kei shouted at John as he swam back towards the boat.
"Any dead bodies?" Pope asked intuitively.
"Looting potential?" JJ said as John B pushed his body up and onto the boat.
"Something I can whack JJ over the head with?" I asked, sticking my arm out to help John B up.
JJ gave me a quick glare and focused back onto John B.
"No, no, and no." John said, answering all of our questions.
"But... I did find this motel key." John said, holding up a key with some sort of green attachment.
"You were down there for God knows how long and all you found was a key?" I asked flatly.
"Great. We salvaged a motel key." JJ said, throwing up his hands and turning his hat around.
John B walked to the other side of the boat and threw on his shirt.
Although it was a boring find, it could lead to something incredible. I'm usually not a spontaneous person, but this sounded fun. What if we go see what was inside of the motel room and it changed our lives forever?
Fuck it.
"I say we go look." I blurted without thinking.
I immediately regretted it.
Holy shit. Bad idea. Take it back.
But it was too late.
John B already had a huge smile on his face and JJ was already grinning.
"Zia, are you insane? What has gotten into you? You don't take risks, remember?" Pope deadpanned.
I scoff.
"Very funny." I said sarcastically. "But seriously, maybe it's something good?" I said, trying to persuade the rest of the group to join in on something I didn't even know if I wanted to participate in.
"About time Z had a good idea." JJ said, lifting the anchor out of the water.
And with that snarky comment, I shoved him off the boat.
"Shit!" He yelled as he fell in.
The rest of the Pogues' laughed as I grinned.
JJ resurfaced and spit some water out, his hair sticking to his face, shooting knives at me with his piercing blue eyes.
"Payback, buddy." I said to him, cocking my head to the side.
He squinted at me, and then raised his eyebrows.
"At least help me out." He said with a fake pouting face.
"Fine. But only because you are so hopelessly helpless." I grinned as I kneeled down and stuck my arm out, ready for his hand to grab mine.
But instead, he wrapped both of his hands around my arm, and smiled.
Then I realized.
"JJ, no. JJ-" I was cut off when I was tugged into the water, head first.
I quickly swam back up and splashed JJ.
"You started it!" JJ yelled as he started to splash back.
"Me?" I yelled back, laughing.
"Yeah!"
We both continued splashing each other until I finally decided to jump onto him, dunking him under.
As soon as I dunked him, I tried to swim away.
He emerged a lot quicker than I thought he would.
"Oh no, you don't!" JJ grabbed my wrist and pulled me back towards him, my chest crashing into his.
I let out a quick Yelp at his playful touch, but my playfulness went away when I realized what I was up against.
Literally and figuratively.
My eyes snapped up to his. My mouth went ajar by the insanely close distance we were to each other.
He looked me up and down as his playful smile went away and a look of calmness rested on his face. His wet, blond hair sticking to the sides of his face, his blue eyes focusing on mine. And although the water we were in was freezing, the warmth of his body radiated onto my skin. His hand wrapped around my waist, pressing me against his warm chest.
My heart began to race.
God, was he hot.
I slowly blinked, snapping out of whatever trance he and his hot-ness had put me in.
I quickly pulled away, letting out a slight chuckle and pushing a strand of hair back behind my ear.
He continued looking at me, his mouth turning into a side grin.
It stayed quiet for a moment.
"Ok, let's go see wherever that key leads us too." I said, trying to distract everyone from whatever just happened.
I began swimming back to the boat, and climbed on, JJ following. John B and Pope had their eyes wide and a slight smirk on their faces in which they were trying to hide - and horribly failed, I might add. Kie had her eyebrows raised and turned her lips into a grin.
"What?" I asked annoyed.
"Nothing, let's just get to the motel." John B said, still failing at hiding his smile.
I walked over and sat next to Kie while JJ leaned against the little glass pane that blocked the control center.
It stayed quiet for a few minutes, the awkward tension picking at me with every passing second. It really bugged me.
"So... that happened." Kie whispered in my direction, breaking the silence. Keeping our eyes on whatever was in front of us, I replied.
"It was nothing. Whatever happened, was nothing." I assured her.
Even though I would never break the rule, it just was engraved in my mind. I could only think of that stupid rule.
No Pogue-on-Pogue macking.
"It better have been nothing. You know the rule, no Po-" Kie began.
"No Pogue-on-Pogue macking, yeah, I got it!" I whispered harshly. I kind of snapped, and immediately felt bad.
I looked at Kie, who was looking back at me in shock.
"Sorry, I- I didn't mean to snap. It's just that I've heard that rule so many times today and for no reason at all." My eyes began darting back and forth, not wanting to make eye-contact.
I hated eye-contact, but I had no idea why. The only time I liked eye contact was...
With JJ, five minutes ago.
"Don't worry about it." Her face relaxed and went back to her normal, peaceful face.
I looked over JJ, who looked hot as ever.
I smiled and ran my hand up my chest, going to grab my heart locket.
Only to realize that it was gone.
My heart began to race. Hands began to sweat.
I jumped up.
"Pope, stop!" I shouted, looking around on the floor for my necklace.
The boat came to a slow stop and everyone turned to look at me.
"Why, what happened? What the hell are you looking for?" JJ turned around, watching me begin to lose my shit.
"My locket! The necklace! I- I think it fell off when I fell in!" I looked away from the floor and at JJ, my eyes beginning to gloss over.
"It's probably long gone by now if it fell in the water." Pope said, turning around in his chair.
I exhaled quickly, finding it hard to breath.
That locket was the last thing I had of my sister, that and the photo of us inside of it.
"Or it's floating at the top." John B nudged Pope in the arm, trying to make me think that there was still a possibility that there was a chance in finding it.
"Shit. Shit. Shit!" I startled looking around the boat, my hands shaking.
"We can go back and look." Kie said soothingly, standing up from the floor and rubbing my back.
That necklace was important to me. It was the last I had of my sister, and to lose it made me feel like I was losing her.
But, I guess it would have gotten lost eventually.
"No, it's fine. Pope's right. It's long gone."
I turned to go sit back down, blinking quickly in hopes it would send the tears back to wherever they came from.
"Are you sure, Zia?" John B asked with a caring look in his eyes.
"Yeah, the motel key is more important anyways." I faked a small grin and looked down at my lap.
"Alright." Pope said, slowly turning back around in his chair and starting the boat.
Although I was looking at my lap, I could still feel all of the petty and sad looks that everyone was giving me.
I had had that necklace since I ran away from South Carolina, Pristine was the one who gave it to me. Like a parting gift or something. I hadn't taken it off for three years, and never planned on doing so.
Kie walked to the front of the boat with John B, and JJ walked over and sat next to me.
"Sorry about the necklace, I didn't know it would fall off." He apologized, his voice sounding actually genuine.
"Don't beat yourself up, it was nothing too important." I assured him, keeping my eyes on my lap and biting my lip.
"Really, cause uh, the tears going down your face say other wise?" He pushed a strand of hair behind my ear, revealing my side profile.
I lifted my head up and looked at him. His eyes looking into mine, making me want to tell him everything.
But I was in too deep. I have been keeping all of these secrets for three years. There's no way I can just unravel all of them just because of JJs' stupidly beautiful eyes.
"It's a long story." I said.
"We've got time." He grinned.
I laughed.
"Maybe some other time, JJ." I said, laying my head on his shoulder.
"Keeping me guessing, are you Z?"
"Maybe."
If only you knew, JJ. If only.
~~~