pristine
"Teeny! Get down here!" My dad drunkenly shouts from down stairs.
"Coming!" I roll out of my bed and run down stairs. If I take to long, he'll be pissed.
"Yeah?" I say as I reach the living room.
He's laying across the couch, beer in one hand, tv remote in the other.
A very iconic position for him.
"Grab me another beer." He points to the kitchen.
He really just called me down from upstairs to grab him a beer when his fucking wife is already in the kitchen.
"Yep." I say disappointedly, dragging my feet to the kitchen, only to see my mom microwaving something.
"Hey, Teeny." She nods her head to my direction.
"Hey." I kneel down and grab a beer out of the fridge drawer. I close the door and stand back up, being faced with all of the magnets on the refrigerator door.
Photos from years ago, all the way up to today were scattered all over it, sticking on by the alphabet magnets.
A photo of me and some friends at a sleepover, mom and dads wedding photo, a Christmas picture at grandmas, and my personal favorite, the iconic picture of Addy and I. The one with us standing on a pier in Bora Bora. The same one that was in the locket I gave her right before she left.
God, I miss her. Everyday I regret not going with her. I wonder where she is. She told me she was leaving to New Orleans, but that seems a bit to far. Personally, I think she went to North Carolina. She's always loved that place. She had all of theses pictures put up in her room of the beaches and stuff.
I stared at the picture for a while, reminiscing on the good times Addy and I had.
"Teeny!" I heard my dad shout from the living room.
"Y- yeah! Coming!" I snapped out of my little trance, and began to head towards the living room.
I handed dad the beer, and he snatched it back with aggression, causing me to slightly flinch.
"The hell took you so long?" He said as he opened the beer.
"Sorry." I say quietly and shrug my shoulders.
"Go on. Shoo." He lifted his hand and motioned me away from him.
I quickly left and went into the kitchen.
"Hey, mom?" I sheepishly ask.
"Yeah?" She says as she takes the TV dinner out of the microwave.
"Can I have that picture? You know, the one of me and Addy?" I point to the one on the fridge, hoping she'll allow me to have it.
She looks at the photo, and her expression falls.
Mom always tried to forget about Addy. So did dad. They didn't even like her when she was here, and now that she's gone? Well, let's just say that they wasted no time in turning her room into an office.
They only kept that photo because they wanted me to remember her. They always said that even though they hated her and I, there was no reason we should hate each other.
She sighs.
"Sure, go ahead." She waves her hand and shoos me up to my bedroom.
"Thanks!" I shout as I pull the picture off of the fridge. I quickly run to the stairs.
"Ay! Don't run in my house!" My dad shouts as he throws a beer cap at me.
"Jesus." I mutter as I duck down to prevent it from hitting me.
"Sorry!" I yell as I begin back up the stairs, a lot slower than before.
I enter my room and quietly close my door. I set down the picture in my nightstand and grab my phone.
*Flash back: Pristines POV- three years ago*
I slowly begin to open my eyes, only to see Addy kneeling down by my bed.
"Addy?" I groan, rubbing my eyes, making sure I saw her correctly.
"Hey." She whispers, a faint smile on her face.
"What are you doing up? It's so late." I look at the clock, only seeing that it's past two am.
"Okay, you can't freak out, alright? I'm leaving. And I'm not gonna be back for a while. I'm gonna go to Louisiana, you want to come?" She asks.
I sit up in my bed and look around the room. She has a duffel bag thrown over her shoulder, and was completely dressed.
She was really serious.
"Wh- you're going where?" I ask.
"Louisiana, I think. I haven't worked out the details yet, I just know I have to get out of here. You should too, but if you don't want to I totally get it."
I quickly think it over.
She has no plan. No way of telling where we'll end up. We're probably safer here. I can't go. Besides, who'll help mom make family dinners? Actually, who's gonna make the family dinners if we're both gone?
"No, no. I want to stay." I shake my head and look up at her.
"Alright. You sure?" She asks one final time.
"Yeah, but here." I dig around in my nightstand drawer, and pull out a necklace.
"Take it with you. So you'll never forget me." I smile as I put it in her hand.
A tear falls down her cheek as she pulls me in close for a hug.
"I'll miss you." She whispers into my ear.
"I'll miss you too." I say back to her, trying my best to ignore her faint soft sobs.
"I love you."
"I love you too."
She slowly pulls away from our hug, and begins to stand up.
"Wait!" I harshly whisper.
"What?" She whips back around.
"You need a secret name. You can't be going around with the name Ataraxia Morrison. You gotta have a spy name." I say with a smile.
A grin falls onto her face.
"Okay, and what should that be?" She says with a smile.
I think about it for a moment.
Ataraxia. Well, Xia sounds like Zia.
"First name Zia, and last name Wood." I smile.
"Why Wood?" She asks me.
I point to the Hogwarts poster on my wall.
"It'll be like you married Oliver Wood. Just like you've always wanted." I shrug my shoulders.
She smiles wide and laughs.
"I'll see you, Teeny." She steps backwards, towards the door.
"You'll find me one day." I tell her optimistically.
"I know." She smiles and steps out the door, turning her back and closing it.
End of flashback
And that was the last I saw of Addy. I remember waking up the next day thinking it was a dream, only to find out she really was gone. My parents never put out missing child posters, or even filled a missing persons report. They just unenrolled her from school, and basically wiped her off the face of the earth. They acted as if she never existed.
You should've seen my grandma, she was in absolute hysterics after she found out Addy left. She was completely grilling me for answers about where she went. All I said was that she might've gone to Louisiana. I didn't -and still don't- want Addy to be found because I couldn't keep my mouth shut.
I wonder if she actually goes by Zia Wood.
•••
zia
"We're not stealing the drone, Pope. We're just borrowing it." John B assured Pope as we get closer and closer to the Salvage yard.
"'Humans are the only animals that can't tell fantasy from reality.'" Pope says, eyes focused on the van floor.
"Did you come up with that?" John B asks.
"Albert Bernstein came up with that, but it applies to this whole treasure hunting thing." He states. "So which is it? Fantasy or reality?" Pope adds, looking around at all of us, waiting for our answer.
"Why you so weird Pope?" JJ says while bringing a lighter to the blunt that's hanging off his lip.
"It's fantasy, but possible reality." I shrug.
"Reality." John B says confidently, causing me to smile.
"Virtual reality." JJ says just as he's about to light his blunt.
Before he has a chance, Pope snatches the blunt out of his mouth and throws it on the floor.
"Keep the signal clear." Pope dead eyes him.
"You know what your problem is?" JJ began.
"You?" Pope says rhetorically, earning a laugh from me.
"No! It's that you need to relax man, you're always so tense!" JJ tells Pope.
"I'm not too tense!" The boys begin to bicker while Kie steps out of the car and walks over to the drivers window.
Her and John B exchange what seems to be pep talks, only for Kie to look back at the three of us with a worrisome face, and then walk off.
~
"How's it going with Kiara?" JJ asked while we all -minus Kie- hid behind a box, waiting for the gate to open.
"It's not awkward, or weird, or anything." John B says sarcastically.
"Oh shit. I completely forgot that you guys macked!" I say happily.
"Wait- she told you?" John B asks in a harsh whisper.
"Um... yeah." I say matter-of-factly.
"Honestly, I didn't think you would actually listen to me." JJ snorts and smiles.
"I mean, I was 100 percent sure she was into you. Pope and Z would agree." JJ nods in my and Popes directions.
"Oh yeah, definitely." I support JJs argument, while Pope did a 'so-so' movement with his hand.
"So, like, Kie, she, like, definitely gave you the Heisman?" JJ asks.
"Oh, no question. Yup." John B nodded.
"Maybe she's just into someone else." Pope shrugs, causing all of us to snap our heads towards him.
Before any of us had a chance to reply, the gate began to open.
~
"Do you have the right numbers?" I ask JJ as he struggles to put the code into the lock.
"Okay, so I might have the wrong numbers." JJ sets down the lock and turns around.
The group lets out loud groans.
"Damn it." John B mutters.
Suddenly, we hear barks. We all whip around and are faced with a big German Shepard.
"That's a cougar. Never mind." John B says quickly as he runs away.
"Pussy!" I yell back.
"Oh shit!" Pope says.
"Hi!" JJ says to the dog in a surprised tone.
"Stay! Good boy!" JJ yells as he looks around to find a way out of there.
"Back off! Back off! Ba-" Pope lifts a metal pipe and begins to swing it at the dog.
"Fuck! Pope? What the fuck are you doing?" I yell as I watch Pope swing the pipe back and forth.
"I don't know, helping?" Pope rambles as he stops and looks at me.
"You were gonna hurt him!" I point to the dog.
I let my friends get away with a lot of shit that I don't approve of, but harming animals will not be one of them. That along with homophobia and transphobia.
"I wouldn't actually!" He defends himself.
Before I have a chance to say anything, JJ grabs my arm and pulls me away.
"Come on." He mumbles to me.
"I got a toy boy!" JJ holds up his red hat in his hand and shakes it.
Quickly grabbing its attention, the dog begins to run towards us.
"Wait, no! I was just kidding! Shit! Okay, sit!" JJ starts to yell as he pulls me in any direction.
I let out a loud laugh as the dog chases us to a large boat.
"Get in, get in!" He says as he points to the ladder leading into the boat.
I quickly climb up into the boat and drop down, hiding my body from any view.
Soon enough, I see JJ climbing up the same ladder, his head turning back and forth between the boat and the barking dog.
He throws himself down onto the floor next to me and begins panting.
"Ar- are you kidding? We didn't even run that far." I say as I watch the blonde boys chest rise up and down with quickness.
He waves his hand at me, signaling for me to shush.
"And what was your plan with the whole 'I got a toy' thing? That was-" I begin.
"Did you have any better ideas? Hmm? Didn't think so." He says between breathes.
I let out a loud laugh as I lay on the ground next to him, both of us gazing up at the sky.
JJ turns his head and looks at me with hopeful eyes.
"What?" I say quietly, allowing my eyes to flicker down to his lips.
He looks down at my lips, and shakes his head slowly.
"Nothing." He says quietly with a very faint smirk.
Our eyes begin to bounce between each other's lips and eyes.
Before I even realize it, JJs head is slowly moving closer to mine.
I begin to move in slowly, my heart beating rapidly.
I don't know why, it's not like we haven't kissed before.
Just as our lips are about to meet, we hear yelling from out side of the boat.
"What's that, huh?! What's that, Tebow?!" A grown man yells to the dog, causing JJ and I to jump.
"Wh-" I begin to whisper, before bing cut off by JJs finger shushing me.
"What you got?! What you got?!" The grown man repeats.
A confused expression falls onto JJs face as we duck down lower to his our bodies from view.
"Whoever's up there better come on out!" The man yells.
"Bobby?" JJ whispers to himself.
And then, we hear a gun safety click.
"JJ-" I whisper. I can feel the tears pushing against my eyes.
"I mean it! Don't make me come up there and get your ass!" The man shouts again.
JJ quickly puts his hands up and begins to slowly stand up, and my heart begins beating faster than ever before.
God, where's my vape when I need it.
"Wait, Bobby! Don't shoot!" JJ yells as he rises from the floor.
"JJ, what are you doing?" I harshly whisper.
Ignoring me, JJ continues.
"It's me, JJ. Luke's kid?" He says shakily.
"And uh- uh. This- this is my girl, Z." JJ motions me to stand up.
He shoots me a glance, his eyes were filled with assurance. Assurance that I was safe.
I begin to stand up, raising my hands to the air.
"What are you two doing?" The now named Bobby puts his gun down.
"I swear, okay? I didn't want to. My dad made me." JJ manages to force a tear down his cheek.
Oh God, please tell me he's not lying to a security guard.
"Don't you lie." Bobby says sternly.
"He told me Captain Leo kept his cutting torch. You know, after he got fired." JJ looks down, tears beginning to fall from his eyes.
The sad thing was, I couldn't tell if the tears were real or fake. I know JJ didn't like talking about his dad all that much, and whenever it gets brought up he quickly shuts it down. But if it's a lie, it's not as depressing, right?
"He said if I didn't get it for him, he was gonna-" JJ stutters.
Oh, please don't say it.
I close my eyes, already knowing the next words.
"He was gonna hit me again." JJ sobs quietly.
"Son of a bitch!" Bobby mutters.
"I'm sorry." JJ apologizes.
"Come on down, you two." Bobby waves us down, and we begin to climb down the ladder, JJ going first.
"I almost killed you!"
"I know." JJ sniffles.
"I'll just come up with something. Tell him I couldn't find it." JJ grabs my waist and helps me down off the ladder.
Okay, he just wants to seem like a gentlemen in front of Bobby. There's no way in hell that he would do that just to be nice.
"Mhm. Alright. Go on, now." Bobby shoos us away and JJ puts his arm around my shoulders.
"Sorry." He apologizes one final time, before we turn around and begin to walk towards the exit.
I look up at JJ, whose tears are completely wiped away, and the once sad expression replaced by a grin.
I smile and we continue walking side by side, my head resting on his chest.
~
"Stealing drones makes you hungry." Kie says as we all walk into The Wreck.
"What I would do for some chicken strips and fries right now." I say as I hold my stomach.
"It would not be pretty." Pope jokes as Kie and I go to talk to Mr C.
"Hey, dad." Kie says, getting his attention while the boys go to the other side of the room, eyeing the other customers food.
"Hey, boss." I smile.
"Hey, girls." He says sadly.
"How's we do?" Kie asks.
"Didn't turn it over once." He says sadly, pulling Kie in for a hug.
"It's probably just bad luck. You know, because of the storm." I suggest, trying to keep Mr C optimistic.
The Carreras really worked too hard to have such a crappy week for The Wreck.
"I'll be sure to tell the banks that." Mr C says to me with a sarcastic tone. He flashes me a smile signifying he's joking.
"So, I guess now is not the best time to ask for free food for me and my friends?" Kie practically squeals.
An annoyed look falls onto Mr Cs face as he sighs, looking at the boys.
"Look at them. They're greedy pelicans. I told you to stop hanging around them." Mr C says sternly to his daughter.
I should probably leave.
"I'm gonna go make sure that JJ isn't lighting anything on fire." I pat Mr C on his shoulder and run off, not wanting to be around if they got into an argument.
"What'd he say?" Pope says eagerly as I walk up next to JJ, who places his arm around my waist and pulls me in close.
I shrug my shoulders.
"Didn't get a chance to hear. Kie and him seem to be in a little disagreement." I raise an eyebrow and look down.
"'Bout what?" JJ looks down at me.
"Best you didn't know." I nod with a smile.
"Sit down!" I hear Kie yell.
"Yes!" We all shout as we pull out a chair and plop down.
A few minutes go by, and Kie comes out of the kitchen with trays full of leftover food.
~
'In the afternoon
When the sun is strong
I try to close my eyes
I get lost in thought"
The music began to play as JJ and I threw fries at each other in attempt to land it in each others mouths. At least I was aiming for the mouth, JJ was attempting to get a fry to land in my cleavage.
He's gotten it twice now.
Kie stood up and began dancing to the music, pointing to John B with a smile.
"Me?" John B blushes as he points to himself.
Kie nods and motions him forward.
John B smiles and stands up, coming up behind Kie and swaying with her to the music.
JJ, Pope, and I watch the two dance with smiles on their faces.
Before I even realize it, JJ is right next to my chair, holding his hand out as if asking for a dance.
I laugh quietly.
"I don't dance." I smirk at him.
"You do today." JJ quickly grabbed my hand and pulled me forward, causing me to jolt up from my seat.
Before I could even try and gain traction or place my feet firmly, I found myself being dipped by the one and only JJ Maybank.
He placed one hand on my lower back, and the other on my upper back. The way he held me sent a wave of comfort throughout my body, a wave that told me 'it'll be okay, you'll be safe, I'm here.'
Of course, I highly doubt that that's what he meant.
I let out a laugh as my hair comes close to touching the ground, but doesn't get a chance because JJ pulls me up quickly, causing us to press up against each others chests.
I allow my eyes to flicker down his body, to his lips, and then back to his eyes. He does the same to me.
And in that very moment, the song playing began to describe what I was feeling.
'How can I still want more
How can I feel this way'
Wow. Do I really love JJ?
No. No. No.
Love is to much.
Like like? Maybe I like like JJ.
Nope.
If this is anything, it's love.
I think.
It doesn't matter.
I can't lie to someone I love. I can't lie to the people I love.
Not anymore.
~
IK THAT BASICALLY NOTHING HAPPENED IN THIS CHAPTER BUT HEY AT LEAST I INTRODUCED YALL TO PRISTINE 😁😁😁