chapter thirty-four
setbacks and solutions
•+•+•+•+
when hannah woke up the next morning, she had absolutely no recollection of what had happened the previous night after they left the cameron's.
this was until she noticed that she was in her car, half naked, an aching pain between her legs, and a fast asleep jj laying on her chest.
"oh my god." hannah whispers once the memories started to flood in of what went down in the backseat of her car last night.
she covered her mouth in shock not wanting to believe that she got that shitfaced during a time like this.
but did she regret it? hell no.
if anything, the girl wished that she could relive every little detail about it because from what she did remember it was perfect.
after getting over the initial shock and confusion, hannah's attention shifts to the sleeping boy who laid between her legs using her boobs as a pillow.
she smiles admiring how adorable he looked right now.
messy blonde hair casting a curtain like cover over his eyes, mouth slightly open as his soft snores filled the air.
his arms were wrapped around her waist firmly holding her like she was going to be taken away from him at any second.
she brushed the hair from in front of his eyes to kiss his forehead causing him to shift a little before going back to sleep.
hannah looks at the watch on his wrist for the time seeing that it was barely eight o'clock in the morning but it felt later because of the light peaking through the windows of her car.
"j?" the young girl spoke lightly shaking him awake while placing soft kisses on his forehead and nose. "j, wake up."
the blonde boy stirs around letting out a loud yawn and opening his eyes slowly.
he looks at his surroundings having the same confused expression on his face that hannah did a few minutes ago.
"holy shit. did we sleep in here last night?" jj asks rubbing his eyes sleepily while sitting up.
hannah covers her lower half with a blanket since all she had on was t-shirt that was either john b or jj's based off the size and underwear.
"we spent the night in here. there was hardly any sleeping though." she murmurs the last part toying with the bracelets on her wrist.
the confused look on his face told her his memory of last night was hazy as well.
but then a lightbulb in his head went off as soon as he notices she was half naked.
the blondes mouth curved into a smile, "so, that happened."
"yeah, it did." she gave a lopsided grin scratching the back of her neck anxiously.
"you good with that?" he wonders studying her facial features, admiring how pretty he thought she looked at the moment.
hannah smiles placing her hand on the side of his neck, eliminating the small space between them by planting a sweet kiss on his lips.
"i'm gonna take that as a yes." jj smirks against her lips, holding her by the waist.
the girl giggles resting her forehead against his, "that was a yes, loser. i don't really remember anything though."
"oh, you don't?" the maybank boy asks as she shook her head in response. "i can always refresh your memory you know."
she raised a brow at him challengingly, "yeah?"
"uh huh."
"i think my memory could use a little refreshing now that you mention it." hannah props herself up with her elbows, looking at him through her lashes.
"yeah?" jj answers to which she replies with, "uh huh."
"lay back then." he tells her.
she does as she's told laying down so that her back rested against the leather seats of the car as he climbs between his girls legs to hover over her.
"you're beautiful the blonde murmurs moving the hair off her shoulders, placing sweet kisses on her neck and jawline.
her eyes flutter shut when he began sucking a particular spot on her neck letting a low moan leave her lips while she wrapped her legs around his torso.
"god," hannah breathlessly whispers running her fingers through his hair, biting her lip.
jj's right hand found it's way under the shirt she was wearing while the other traced the lace fabric of her underwear, beginning to rub soft circles on her clit.
she moans at the action feeling the coolness of his rings against her clit, "shit, jj!"
"that's it, baby. say my name."
•+•+•+•+
an hour and a half later, the couple walked—well, jj walked, hannah more so limps—into the wreck hand-in-hand after a very intense, very rough round two in the backseat of hannah's car.
and three.
"you okay, babe? you're kinda wobbly." jj says with a cocky smirk on his face.
she gave him a dirty look hitting his bicep with her free hand, "shut up, dickhead. i'm sore."
"i didn't do my job right if you aren't, did i?" he replies confidently, lifting her chin with his finger to give her a kiss. "give me a sec."
"where you goin'?" hannah asks not letting go of his hand when he began walking away.
"gotta wring it out, b."
the girl scrunched her nose in disgust, "got it. thank you for that, j."
"no problem, baby. i'll be back, okay?"
she nods pecking his lips once more and they both went there separate ways.
now that things with jj were okay, the next person hannah needed to fix things with was pope.
so once she was able to break away from her boyfriend, she searched the building for her friend who was nowhere to be found.
the last place she checked was the back porch and sure enough there he was sitting on the steps clearly lost in thought since he didn't hear the screen door opening and closing.
"hey there." hannah greets anxiously playing with the ends of her hair.
his eyes light up upon seeing her, "hi, b."
"is everything okay? why are you sitting out here by yourself?" she asks sitting next to him on the steps as well.
"well i'm not by myself anymore am i?" the heyward boy replies with a small smile that made her smile too.
"i was actually waiting for you. i woke up in the middle of the night and you were gone so i was a little worried. are you okay?" pope says with genuine concern in his voice.
shit.
"uh...y-yeah, i'm good. i just..." she trailed off trying to think of a good lie, "...after everything that happened yesterday i just needed some air i guess so i slept in my car. i don't even remember falling asleep to be honest."
"you sure it wasn't because of what happened last night? between you and me?"
the expression on his face made hannah frown seeing how guilty he felt at the possibility of him being the reason she felt uncomfortable enough to sleep in her car.
"no, of course not pope. it had nothing to do with you. really." she reassures him. "but i do wanna talk about it if that's okay."
"yeah, me too."
"you first." hannah grins devoting her full attention to the boy in front of her.
pope took a deep breath beginning to speak, "look, i um, i-i just wanted to say that i know that things are a little up in the air right now. and i know that what i said to you last night probably really freaked you out and i hate that i made things weird between us and—"
"pope, pope! hey! slow down alright? you're saying things faster than my brain can process them."she interrupts his rambling with a short laugh. "slower this time. okay?"
the heyward boy nods with a small laugh straightening his posture while folding his hands together.
"i just.. of course i know things could never be like that between us. you love jj, he's in love you. i get it. it's always been that way and i can't change that. and i didn't tell you...what i told you to home wreck or sabotage things between you and him. its because i had been holding it in for so long that once i had a little of..whatever jj had me on yesterday it kinda came up like word vomit. believe me i didn't want it to come out the way it did. or how it did."
hannah grins at the joke, "i think understand. you think it was just the drugs?"
"i mean, i was definitely wasted and everything but you know what they say, a drunk mind speaks a sober heart. i definitely do have feelings for you, hannah. i kinda always have. and i know me and you can't ever happen because of jj. but i don't want this to ruin our friendship. i care about you too much to let that happen. i guess i'm just hoping that this doesn't change how you feel about me."
"of course it doesn't change that pope. how could i be mad or feel weird towards you and not feel like same when john b told me he had feelings for me too you know? you can't help who you fall for. i mean, sure i was a little taken back by the abruptness of it all but..you're my best friend p. always have been. always will be. nothing you do or say could change the way i feel about you."
"plus, i honestly don't blame you for feeling that way for me. i'm pretty amazing." hannah continues flipping her hair over her shoulders jokingly which made him laugh.
"you totally are. jj is a really lucky guy." pope kept intense eye contact with her the whole time he spoke.
she couldn't deny the nervous feeling his eye contact gave her so before hannah could let him see the effect it had on her, she started fiddling with the rings on her fingers.
they sat in silence for a few minutes since the pogues hadn't had a moment to catch their breaths in the last seventy-two hours.
it was nice for the two of them to just enjoy each other's company.
"so..are we okay now? like forreal this time?" he drew his bottom lip between his teeth looking at the girl like a lost puppy.
hannah nods, "yeah, we're good."
they did the pogue handshake to seal the deal and shared a laugh now that things seemed somewhat back to normal between them.
"hey, han?"
"hm?"
"can you maybe...not tell jj about this whole thing?"
her eyes widen when he says this, "you want me to lie to him?" the girl whispers as if someone can hear them. "you've gotta be kidding me."
"listen, i-i know i have no right to put you in the position to lie but—"
"bro, i'm literally the worst liar in history okay?especially to jj. he's gonna see right through me before i even start talking!" she replies exhaling sharply.
"i understand that but the last thing all of us need right now is more drama, alright?" before she could object again he continues. "you don't have to keep this from him forever, b. i'm just asking you to not say anything for right now—"
"dude, i'm already keeping enough from him as is. i cant handle another secret." hannah interrupts rubbing her face stressfully and groaning.
he raised an eyebrow, "what do you mean by that? what else are you not telling him?"
the young girl realizes what she let slip quickly brushing it off with a dismissive wave of her hand.
"n-nothing. i-i meant.." hannah hesitates to say anything else since she had already spilled too much. "ugh just—i won't say anything. for now."
a second later, the screen door opens and jj comes into view.
"dude, you're alive!" the maybank boy snorts referring to pope who rolls his eyes, "sadly."
"you are never giving him that much weed ever again, j." voiced the female pogue shaking her head at the two of them. "and you are never smoking that much weed ever again." she directs towards her boyfriend.
"oh, come on we weren't that bad, b."
"not that bad?" she raised an eyebrow at his words, "you two smoked at least five j's a piece yesterday. i think i lost count at some point because i'm pretty sure it was more."
the boys exchanged looks with each other while nodding their heads, "yeah, you're right." they both agree in unison.
"when am i not?" she scoffs just as sirens were heard in the distance causing all there heads to snap in the direction of the sound.
"shit, we should probably go inside." pope tells his friends who nod in agreement.
jj sighs while shaking his head and extending his hand out to his girlfriend helping her up as they reentered the restaurant.
"he's pinched for sure, man." the blonde boy mumbles leaning against the window.
"maybe not. i mean, i don't think they'd still be patrolling if they caught him." hannah says hugging him by the torso so her head rested against his chest.
pope tried his hardest not to visibly show how jealous he secretly felt towards the two of them right now by avoiding eye contact with hannah.
"let's hope." is all he replies with looking out the window as well and huffing.
"you know, we were in that car." kie adds making her friends aware that she was now awake, "they're probably looking for us, too."
pope's gaze shifts from the couple in front of him to the brunette who had just finished speaking. "well, if we're gonna be outlaws, we might as well help john b."
"so, we find them before they do?" hannah questions but he doesn't respond since he's fishing through his best friends backpack and retrieving his motorcycle keys.
"pope?" the pair say in unison when he says nothing watching him start to walk towards the back door.
"i'm gonna get gas for the boat."
"hey, you be careful." kiara tells him as he stopped walking to listen to what she had to say. "okay?"
pope shot her a look turning his attention back to hannah and jj, "meet me at the dock at three. don't be late."
and with that, he stormed out of the restaurant.
the three pogues shared a look of confusion with each other just as kie jumps up from her cot to follow him outside.
"uh, what the hell was that?" jj asks with the girl standing next to him.
she shrugs her shoulders shortly, "no idea. maybe he's still pissed about the whole argument with his interview thing."
they followed the two of them outside as kie stomps after the heyward boy who didn't bother giving her a second glance as she spoke.
"okay, what is your problem?"
"no problem, officer. i'm just doing my job." pope sarcastically replies, climbing on the motorcycle.
"look, i'm sorry that i hurt your feelings." carrera apologizes stepping in front of him making him rev the motorbike loudly so he can block out anything she's trying to say.
"what was that?"
"look, i didn't mean to."
"sorry, i can't hear you." pope didn't take his hand of the accelerator the entire time she talked. "what was that?"
"pope, i'm being serious—" kie was once again cut off by the loudness of the engine throwing her head back in annoyance.
of course, jj thought this was the funniest thing in the world since the entire time they argued he was laughing his ass off.
"j, it's not funny." hannah told her boyfriend while trying to keep a straight face herself though it was hard since most of the time whenever jj laughed, she laughed too.
"are you kidding me? this is hilarious, dude." he snorts watching the two of them continue arguing.
the curly haired girl sighs becoming frustrated that he wasn't hearing her out, "i'm trying to talk to you—"
this time, pope interrupts her by speeding off down the dirt road without another word to any of them.
the blonde boy continued to giggle, finding the whole ordeal quite comical, making his girlfriend flick his forehead once her best friend began walking back towards them.
"ow!" he winced pouting his lip. "mean ass."
before she could respond, a helicopter flew right over their heads causing the three of them to look up at the aircraft curiously wondering what it could be for.
"who the hell is that?" jj inquires squinting his eyes from the blinding sun that was beaming down on the teens.
"i have no idea. but something tells me they're not here for anything good." hannah replies sending him a worried look.
•+•+•+•+
"you sure he wasn't just being weird pope?" jj asks kiara as the three of them gathered supplies for john b and sarah.
"it wasn't really the kind of thing that needed interpretation." the brunette answers giving her best friend who was packing all the food away into a cooler a loaf of bread. "is that gonna be enough food for them?"
hannah doesn't respond obviously lost in thought based off the dazed look on her face.
the entire time her boyfriend and best friend were talking, all she could think about was how guilty she felt about the situation with pope.
sure they had talked and resolved the issue but her heart felt heavy and her guilty conscious was telling her how shitty a girlfriend she was for lying to him about it.
"han? hannah!" maybank waved his hand in front of her eyes which finally caught her attention as she snapped out of her daze, "what?"
"i asked if you think this'll be enough food for john b and sarah? you know you're our expert for this kinda thing." kie repeats raising and eyebrow at her best friends peculiar behavior right now.
"oh, um, y-yeah. yeah i think this'll be enough."hannah regained full composure of herself taking the loaf of bread and storing it along with the other food items they gathered.
"i mean, it'll probably last for a couple of weeks and that's all they really need, so..." she trails off taking a seat at the counter and resting her chin in the palm of her hand.
kiara and jj share a look of concern both noticing the way she was acting.
"okay, what's up? what's going on, huh?" her boyfriend questions from behind the counter making her eyebrows furrow together in confusion.
"what do you mean?"
"hannah, you haven't said three words to either of us the entire time we've been talking. and you only space out like that when something's wrong so spill." kie demands folding her arms over her chest.
goddamnit! i knew they'd see right through me, she thought to herself.
"i'm fine, guys, really. i'm just...tired." she lies sending them both a reassuring grin.
"how are you tired? we got to sleep for like eight hours last night." her best friend questions with with a raised eyebrow.
her gaze met jj's who just chuckled to himself while taking a sip of the water bottle in his hand and sending her a sly wink that only she noticed.
hannah's cheeks turned a pale shade of pink which she tried hiding but failed miserably since kiara caught on to the looks the two of them were giving each other.
"okay, i'm lost. did you two fuck last night or something?" the brunette girl asks looking between the two of them for an answer.
"i don't think you want us to answer that, kie." jj answers with another wink to his girlfriend who threw an apple at him in response.
kiara's eyes widened in shock when the realization hit her, "oh, my god! ew! y'all did, didn't you?"
"anyways," hannah emphasized attempting to change the subject. "we should get going if we want to meet pope on time, yeah?"
the girl stood up from the counter taking the cooler under her left arm and walking towards the back door.
kie held a box with food as well following behind her best friend, "please tell me y'all didn't fuck on one of the tables or something. because i actually might throw up if you say yes."
"no, kie, of course not. we have more class and respect for your parents than that." the blonde boy replies throwing his backpack over his shoulders and grabbing the rest of the supplies they gathered trailing closely behind the two girls.
hannah shook her head at them with a laugh, "you two are ridiculous."
"so if you guys didn't do it in there then where did you—"
"i don't think you want an answer to that either honestly." jj laughs holding the door for the two of them as they walked outside.
"i literally hate you so much." she giggles nudging him with her elbow. "shut up."
carrera gags, "you horny bastards better not have fucked in the bathroom or the kitchen or i'll kill you with my bare hands."
hannah giggles, "i think switching cars for today would probably be a good idea since your moms truck was on the poster." she suggests taking her car keys out of her back pocket and unlocking the doors.
they both agreed to this and began loading her trunk with all the boxes and storage containers they packed.
the curly haired girl sighs before speaking, "look, i think i actually hurt his feelings." she admits with sad eyes.
"look, don't beat yourself up too much. he's completely changed his feels." the maybank boy tells her leaning against the car. "the past twenty four hours have been like jekyll and hyde."
"yeah and it may have something to do with how much pot he's smoked within those twenty four hours don't you think?" hannah placed the last box in the trunk before continuing. "i think you guys are also forgetting the fact that he literally just threw his entire future away for nothing so if it were me, i'd probably be acting the same way."
"i hate to admit it, but i miss the old pope. at least i knew what to expect from him." kiara mumbles using the back of her hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead.
"nice job, j. you've tainted my sweet little angel forreal this time." hannah jokes with a smile.
his mouth falls open at her words, "wha—me? what the hell did i do?"
"if you hadn't peer pressured him into smoking maybe he wouldn't be acting so weird! now who's pee are we gonna use, huh?"
there arguing came to a halt when kiara's mother, anna, turned the corner immediately catching the teens attention.
"where you been?" she asks with frustration present in her voice that was mostly aimed towards her daughter.
"oh, shit. here we go." maybank mutters shutting the trunk closed and sighing.
"uh—i-i'm fine. i slept here." kiara assures still taken aback at the sight of her mother.
"well, we were up half night, scared to death, lookin' for you." anna scoffs. "were you even gonna tell us?"
"well, im telling you right now." her daughter answers nervously fidgeting with the bracelets on her wrists.
the woman finally noticed the two teens who stood awkwardly watching the entire thing.
"all right, what the hell are three up to?" she questions now directing her speech to her daughters best friend. "hannah, you know your parents are looking for you too right? i just got off the phone with your mom. she's worried sick right now."
hannah instantly felt a wave of guilt wash over her at the mentioning of her parents who were probably just as concerned about her safety as kiara's folks were.
"i-i'm so sorry, miss anna, but we really have to go." she replies getting in the drivers seat of her car.
"no, i'm sorry. absolutely not. have you heard what's going on?" anna yells at her child who just pushed past her in response.
"mom, i'll explain later."
"have you seen the storm coming in? this is not safe for you to do!"
kie got inside the car, "im sorry, mom. i have to go."
"these cops are armed, kiara. you're gonna get yourself shot. i am not letting you do this!"
hannah wanted to tell her best friend that she should probably listen to what her mother was saying, but deep down she knew she had no place to say anything since she was in the same boat with here parents.
so instead, her and jj kept there eyes glued to there laps as the mother and daughter continued their shouting contest.
she could tell the whole thing was probably really difficult for him since he didn't really know what it was like to have a family or even a parental figure that truly cared about his safety other than his girlfriend's parents.
"mom, john b needs me!" kiara shouts shutting the door and locking it, "look, i understand. i'll be careful."
"kiara, you need to stay here." miss anna says with tears in her eyes as she begs her daughter to listen to her. "kiara! open this door! right now, kiara! this is not safe! stop!"
"sorry. i'm sorry." the curly haired girl apologized, her eyes flooded with tears. "i'm so sorry."
"okay, come on han, let's go." jj says to the girl sitting next to him sensing the tension build as the arguing went on.
hannah starts the car driving off while her best friend's mother ran after them screaming at them to come back but it was no use since the three teens were long gone.
•+•+•+•+
twenty minutes later, hannah's car pulls in front of the nearest atm she could find.
"what are we doing at a bank, han?" jj asks his girlfriend as she took the keys out of the ignition.
"john b and sarah won't be able to do much without any cash, right?" she replies grabbing her wallet from the backseat. "you guys coming?"
"hell yeah." he says unbuckling his seatbelt and hopping out of the car.
"you guys go. i'll stay here. keep watch in case in case the cops come." kiara replies, still upset about the argument with her mother.
hannah noticed the sad look on her face giving her hand a supportive squeeze, "we'll be back, okay?"
the two teens began walking towards the atm, looking over their shoulders every six seconds for any signs of law enforcement.
"you sure your folks are okay with this?" jj asks her. "i mean, won't they notice the moneys gone?"
hannah scoffs, "of course they're not okay with it. and yeah, they'll probably notice but it's just money. i'll pay them back. besides i owe it to john b anyways for everything he's done for me. this is the least i can do."
"that's my girl." he smiles kissing her temple and putting the red baseball cap he was wearing on her head making her grin.
"keep watch for cops, okay?" she tells him once they reached the machine and he nods his head, "yeah, sure thing."
hannah placed her parents credit card in the slot entering the pin, watching the circle on the loading screen spin around for a few seconds.
'this account is currently under investigation and cannot be accessed at this time' the screen read in big letters making hannah raise an eyebrow.
"what the hell?" she mumbles staring at the screen as confusion clouded her features.
"what? what's wrong?" her boyfriend asks, his eyes following hers to the message on the screen. "what the hell? what does that even mean?"
"i..i don't know. may-maybe i entered the pin wrong or something."
she retypes the number again and a few seconds later, the same error code popped up.
hannah's heart rate began to increase, "no. no. this has to be a mistake."
"hey, hey. it's alright. maybe it's something with your parents card. try yours." jj suggests hearing the anxiousness in her voice.
the girl took his suggestion repeating the same process with her debit card instead having no luck as well.
"no, no, no, no, no!" she whispers feeling an anxiety attack coming on. "this cannot be happening right now. are you fucking kidding me!?"
hannah punched the machine as hard as she could out of frustration making her boyfriend immediately step in.
"hannah, stop! you're gonna hurt yourself." he yells grabbing both her wrists to stop her from doing any further damage.
"god, this is why i fucking hate technology. i-i mean who even invented the atm cause i wanna write them a strongly worded letter and stick it right up there a—"
"okay, i do think you're extremely attractive when you're mad, but also i think i should probably interrupt your threat by trying to calm you down." jj interrupts her rant with a small smile.
hannah gave a half smile at his attempt at making her laugh, "thanks."
"look, everything's gonna be fine, all right? john b and sarah will be okay." the blonde reassures, cupping her face in his hands and kissing her forehead.
"j, they can't get anywhere with no money." she sighs. "i didn't want to have to do this, but i guess now i don't have a choice."
jj's brows drew together, "what do you mean?"
"i've gotta go home."
•+•+•+•+
y'all want a sequel?