THE TENSION BETWEEN JJ and Jo was thick enough to cut with a knife, and everyone could feel it. However, no one spoke on the newest couple drama as they all sauntered back to the chateau.
"Well, that was unexpected," the blonde stated once they returned home. Jo grabbed a cold beer from the cooler and tossed it to John B so he could ice his face.
"Was it?" Kie queried. She pursed her lips as she thought it over.
"Yeah," JJ agreed. "That's been brewin' for years. Rumble in the jungle." He chuckled as he pushed a marshmallow onto his stick and held it over the fire.
Jo scoffed and rolled her eyes. Even being in JJ's presence was irking her, and it was making her upset how unfazed he seemed by their argument.
"Hey. You okay?" John B nudged his sister's shoulder and she glanced at him. "I guess," she shrugged. "Those guys are douchebags," Kie muttered. "All of 'em."
"Yeah," Jo mused. She played with the stick in her hands, twirling it around. She could feel JJ staring at her and it made her skin crawl.
"What was that all about?" John B asked. "Why were you so pressed that girl was talking to me?"
Jo huffed as she stabbed the stick into the dirt at her feet. "That was Amelia," she stated.
"Amelia?" John B repeated. "Your Kook ex-best friend from middle school?"
"Yup," Jo replied, popping the P. "Guess she's an even bigger bitch than I thought she was."
"She was trying to get under your skin," Kie said, rolling her eyes. "Typical Kook."
Jo sighed as silence enveloped the group. Pope looked around, noticing how JJ and Jo were sitting on opposite sides of the fire. "Okay, are we really not going to address the elephant in the room?"
"We're not in a room," Jo mumbled, keeping her gaze on the ground.
"Whatever," Pope deadpanned. "You know what I mean. Seriously, work your shit out. It's making me uncomfortable."
Jo raised her eyebrows and bit her lip. Her heart pounded at the idea of talking to JJ right now, but she knew it was probably best if they cleared the air between them.
"I just think it's funny," JJ chuckled bitterly.
"Uh, when I said work your shit out, I didn't mean right here," Pope said. He shifted awkwardly as JJ continued.
"You're so pissed off that I slept with someone but you can go off and flirt with whoever you want," he scoffed. "What, were you trying to make me jealous?"
"Hold on, you slept with someone else?" Kie cried. "Dude, what the fuck!"
"Hey, at least I thought my girlfriend was dead!" JJ's voice rose. "We have one little fight and then what, you're just out? Talking to other guys?"
"What are you talking about?" Jo asked, completely lost on the topic of conversation.
"You know what!" JJ shouted. "I saw you and that guy getting all flirty."
"Who, Tommy?" Jo asked incredulously. She felt her skin crawl at the thought of ever being anything but bitter towards the boy.
"Oh, Tommy," JJ spat. "He has a name."
Jo shook her head, pushing her hair out of her eyes. "I'm not doing this right now."
"JJ, I think you need to calm down," John B said slowly. He held his hand out as Jo stood up and began to leave. Everyone could feel the tension rising.
"No, when else are we gonna do it, huh?" JJ shouted after her. "Tell me why!"
Jo felt her anger growing as JJ's voice rose. Her hands curled into fists and she spun around with a fire JJ had never seen before flaring in her eyes. "I wasn't flirting, JJ! You know who that was? He was the one that fucked me. And you know how the rest of that story goes. So go ahead, tell me more. Tell me how I'm being a bitch and trying to make you jealous, have at it!"
Angry tears built up in her eyes as she stormed forward and shoved JJ back. His eyes were wide and filled with horror as she pushed past him and stalked down towards the dock. Everyone else remained silent and still. No one dared to speak as JJ cursed and punched the tree angrily. He tugged at his hair, mentally kicking himself for being such an asshole. He wanted nothing more than to go after her, but he knew that was the last thing she wanted right now.
"Nice," Pope drawled. "That was handled amazingly."
"Pope?" JJ seethed. "Shut the fuck up."
"I don't know why you're upset," Kie huffed. "You started this whole mess."
JJ opened his mouth to retort a comment to Kie, but John B quickly hushed them. "Guys," he said quietly. "I think someone's here."
° ° ° ° °
Jo sat on the dock with her legs crossed beneath her. Tears cascaded down her cheeks, but she made no effort to wipe them away. She was beyond upset about everything that happened tonight, but JJ's actions hurt the worst. It hurt that he thought she would go and flirt with other guys, especially Tommy. Even the thought of it made her sick to her stomach.
The sound of footsteps creaking the old wood of the dock alerted her of someone else's presence. She huffed in annoyance but refused to turn around. "Leave me alone," she muttered.
When the footsteps continued, she finally turned. Her eyes widened when she saw Amelia sauntering towards her and she quickly jumped to her feet.
"Was my right hook too subtle for you?" Jo spat. "I don't want to talk to you."
"Yeah, nice hit, by the way," Amelia hummed. "I heard you paid my brother a visit."
Jo rolled her eyes. "Don't flatter yourselves. It was for John B."
The fellow brunette girl shrugged indifferently. "I don't care," she sighed. "What I do care about, is that you and your friends shanked my dad. Giving him a fake key was pretty smart, but also pretty dumb."
"Well, the key doesn't belong to him," Jo snapped. "It belongs to Pope and his family."
"Doesn't matter," Amelia replied smoothly. "You know we always get what we want."
Tommy's voice echoed in her head, uttering those same words. Jo took a shuttering breath and glared at the girl who was once her best friend. "So, what? You came all the way here to just rub it in?"
"Basically," Amelia hummed. "Only seems fair after you punched me."
"I'm about to punch you again," Jo growled.
"Careful," Amelia tisked. "You didn't think I came here without backup, did you?"
Renfield emerged from the trees nearby and grabbed Jo's arms, holding them behind her back as she struggled. She felt her heart rate spike as he pressed his head close to her ear. "Easy, now," he chuckled breathily. "Don't wanna do somethin' you'll regret."
"Hey!" Pope bellowed. "Let her go!" He ran down the dock with the rest of the friends in tow. Renfield sighed and pushed her forward. Jo stumbled as she watched Amelia and her father push past the group, Renfield with his hands up to show he wasn't going to try anything else.
"Thanks again, Pope," he called smugly.
"Bitch!" Jo yelled after Amelia as she walked away. She turned towards her friends with a confused look. "What the fuck just happened?"
"He took the key," Pope explained angrily. "Showed up with a whole damn archery squad."
"Hey, are you okay?" JJ asked worriedly. He knew Jo didn't want to talk to him but he still couldn't help but express his concern. "They didn't hurt you, did they?"
"I'm fine," Jo replied coldly.
"Who was the girl?" John B queried, his eyebrows pulling together in confusion. He remembered her flirting with him at the bonfire but was confused how she played into everything that just happened.
"Amelia," Jo huffed. "Renfield's daughter."
"You're kidding, right?" Pope deadpanned. "You were best friends with a Limbrey?"
"I didn't know they were lying thieves at the time!" Jo shouted in frustration. She groaned and ran a hand over her face. "Whatever. I'm going to bed. Goodnight, losers."
Jo rubbed her arms as she trudged back up to the chateau. She sighed heavily as her drunkenness wore off and her adrenaline from the bonfire was replaced with loneliness and anxiety. Just when she felt like she was getting back to her old self, something had to happen to ruin it.
"Hey." Jo turned around to see John B leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched her. "You okay?"
The girl sighed and plopped down on her bed. "I wish everyone would stop asking me that."
John B chuckled and pushed off the frame, slowly walking into the room. He shoved his hands into his pockets as he looked around before taking a silent next to her. "Why didn't you tell me about what happened?" He asked quietly.
Jo knew that question would come eventually. Looking back, she did feel bad about not telling her brother, but she had been terrified and humiliated so she kept it to herself. She knew nothing would have been done about the situation and John B and JJ would've just made matters worse by going after him.
"I didn't tell anyone," she admitted. "Not until before we left on the Phantom."
"But why?" John B pressed. "I could've helped you."
Jo sighed and shook her head. She gave him a sad smile as he stared at her. "No, you couldn't have. Look, I know that you'll always be there for me. I just didn't want to talk about it, so I tried to bury it. When they moved away, I thought that was it. That I could finally get on with my life and never have to see him again."
She chuckled bitterly at the way the universe continually seemed to torture her. She wondered if she would ever be really, truly happy.
"I'm sorry," John B sighed. "And I'm sorry about JJ, too. That wasn't cool."
Jo pressed her lips into a thin line. "Yeah, that definitely won't be listed in my top ten moments," she joked halfheartedly. "What about you and Sarah? What's going on with that?"
John B frowned and ran a hand through his hair. "She thought I was overreacting about her and Topper. And then Ward died, and I wasn't there for her. God, I feel like such an ass."
Jo shrugged her shoulders. "I mean, you had every right to be relieved," she reasoned. "Ward was awful to us."
John B groaned as he fell back on the bed. "How did we get here, Jo?" He sighed. "I thought things were going so well."
Jo chuckled as she fell back beside him and they stared at the ceiling. "I know, right," she murmured. "We'll be okay." She didn't know if she was reassuring John B or herself, but she didn't really care at the moment. "We're gonna be just fine."
° ° ° ° °
A/N - I'm sorry for the shorter chapters but it just felt like this was a good place to end before I start writing the next episode. Also felt like Jo and John B haven't really interacted in awhile so we have a nice little brother sister moment :')