CHAPTER SEVEN
Reunion
‿︵‿︵‿︵
(ONE MONTH AGO)
Words weren't enough.
John B felt a surge of adrenaline shoot through his body, from his toes to his head, as soon as his wide honey eyes landed on a face he hadn't seen in six months. His lips parted but no words came out, his brain was unable to even think about a coherent sentence. Before he could even think, his feet unglued and he ran down the porch steps, tripping over his own foot and regaining balance.
His body collided with Avery's, if it wasn't for his arm wrapped around her waist, she would have been knocked over by the blow. The blonde froze for a moment, craning her neck as she was squashed in his hold, resting her chin on his shoulder. Her small arms snaked around his shoulders, pulling him closer to her.
"I knew it," John B mumbled. He pulled away, keeping her in his grip, just enough to see her face. He beamed, a grin spreading across his lips as he took her in, "I knew you were out there"
"Hello to you to," She chuckled as he pulled her close again. He refused to let go, afraid that she would leave again, although he was slowly suffocating her. Avery patted his back, "Okay, I missed you too, buddy, but I can't breathe"
The sound of movement caught Avery's attention as she was reluctantly released from John B's embrace. Her hazel eyes peered over the brunet's shoulder, meeting a pair of blue eyes. She hadn't realised how much she really had missed them until they were looking back at her again.
"Hi" Avery whispered, not overly sure if he actually heard her. Suddenly, her smile had faltered, leaving her skin to tingle and overly aware of her pounding heartbeat.
This was a moment that she anticipated from the moment she left town. She had imagined it going so many ways, convincing herself that she would be able to handle it. Yet, there he was, standing in front of her and it was nothing like she had imagined.
The blond stared at her, almost forgetting to blink, it was as if he was afraid to. He didn't want to look away for a split second to find that she was never actually there. His fingers unconsciously twitched by his sides, feeling to strong urge to reach out, to have her under his touch for the first time in months. Something he didn't think, only hoped, for again.
"Avery," His voice quivered ever so slightly. He took a step closer and felt his breath hitch at the realisation that she was in his reach. Subconsciously, his hand rose from his side and slowly rested against her cheek. Feeling his eyes burning, JJ whispered, "it's really you?"
She nodded, leaning into his soft and warm touch, letting her eyes flutter as she melted into the overly familiar feeling, "it's really me, J"
Her eyes shot open as her body was yanked forwards, immediately relaxing at the feeling of JJ's embrace. His arms were tightly wrapped around her shoulders and he dropped his head on his bicep. She instinctively wrapped hers around his torso, pushing up onto her tiptoes to rest her head in the cook of his neck. The smell of smoke and saltwater filled her senses, his natural scent was easily one of her favourites.
The two stayed desperately holding each other for a long few minutes. Not wanting to break the moment but knowing that she had to return back to her office soon, Sheriff Peterkin cleared her throat. Avery bashfully pulled away from JJ, wiggling her way out of the hug and spinning around to face the woman.
Taking Peterkin by surprise, Avery launched herself and engulfed her. The woman smiled over the blonde's shoulder and reciprocated the gesture, using one hand to wrap around her torso and awkwardly patted her back.
"Thank you, Sheriff, I can't thank you enough for everything" Avery smiled gratefully, her vision blurring as the tears continued to build up in her eyes.
Peterkin stepped back and moved her hand, running it through the girl's messy locks, brushing away a stray piece from her face. She softly smiled, "I like dark chocolate and daisies. I'm kidding, sort of. But you don't have to thank me, kid, it's my job. Just stay away of trouble for a while and do the right thing"
"Always," The Creed girl nodded curtly, sniffling as she tried her best to hold back the tears. "Don't miss me too much"
"Oh, I won't. You'll be back in my office in no time," She chuckled, pointing a look over at the reckless blond boy. JJ cracked a lopsided smile that didn't match his glossy eyes but the gesture was enough to make the woman smile a little more. "You kids stay safe and look after each other, alright?"
"Of course, sheriff!" John B spoke up with a cheesy smile, swinging his arm around Avery's shoulder. The gesture startled her and she let out a little squeal, giggling as he ruffled her hair, rolling her eyes.
As soon as they saw the sheriff off, the two turned to stare at Avery. She innocently looked back at them, her eyes flicking between them as she frowned. John B reach over and grabbed JJ's shoulder, dragging him with him as he ignited a group hug.
"I missed you guys, so freaking much" Avery whimpered, laughing as she finally let the tears fall. She felt John B squeeze her shoulder, smiling wider when she felt JJ place a kiss on her temple.
She had her boys back.
"What the hell?" A voice exclaimed, causing the group hug break apart and look over in the direction the voice came from.
Standing on the driveway was Kiara and Pope, wearing very different expressions. While Pope gaped at the sight of his old friend who was very much alive, Kiara glared. Avery suddenly shrunk behind JJ's side, recognising the look she was receiving from the curly haired girl. JJ peered down, pursing his lips to keep in the laughter that bubbled in his throat.
"I'm so confused right now," Pope muttered, slowly stepping towards the trio. He pointed at the blonde, "Avery?"
"Hey, Pope. How you doing?" She awkwardly smiled, peeking around her best friend to give him a wave.
"Kie, it's Avery, look! She's back!" John B beamed, attempting to reach out and grasp the girl. She cowered and slapped his hands away from him, refusing to leave her hiding spot behind JJ, who had wrapped an arm around her waist from his spot in front.
"No, she doesn't get to do that," Kiara snapped. The boys stared at her bewildered at her outburst, not understanding why she was reacting this way about her friend. She waved her hand around, "she doesn't get to leave and come back like this"
"But this is Avery" Pope nonchalantly said, pointing out the most obvious point. He glanced over at the blonde and offered a smile, one that she quickly reciprocated.
"That's not Avery. That's someone that left us. She put us all through hell, and now she gets to come back like none of that happened?" Kiara's words were spiteful and totally unexpected, and left the Pogue's stunned. Neither of them knew what to say or do, they just blankly stared back at their friend.
"Come on, Kie–"
"Come on, JJ. You were the one that had it the worse out of us, yet you are going to stand there and defend her? Remember how much she hurt you. The drinking and partying. The breakdowns and arguments. Did you just forget all of that? She left you JJ when she promised you that she wouldn't–"
"That's enough, Kiara!" JJ snapped and stepped forward. Anger was bubbling inside him, he didn't want to argue with her because he understood where she was coming from but she also needed to see his side. "Don't you see that all that doesn't matter to me? All that matters, that has always mattered, to me is that Avery is here and goddamn it, nothing you say is going to change anything"
"Look, I get it. This isn't ideal but I'll explain everything, I promise. I knew that this wasn't going to be easy" Avery spoke up. Her friends envied her composure, she played the part of the peacemaker in every situation and always stuck them back together when things got rocky.
"Oh, so you did think this through? Great. Just like you did when you abandoned us, with no explanation, no warning?" Kiara raised her eyebrows, venom still seeped through her words and stung.
"Kie–"
"Kiara" Kiara corrected her, making Avery clench her jaw and push away the pang that shot through her heart.
"Kiara, you have every right to be mad at me right now. You all do, a hundred percent. I shouldn't have left the way I did, with or without reason, it was wrong of me, I know–"
"No, I don't think you do, Avery. John B lost his dad, you didn't even act like you considered that, you were meant to be there for him. Pope failed nearly every test last semester and he never fails! I found out my best friend was dead, and I felt like it was my fault for so long. And J, he was a mess without you. I had to drag him in from outside one night because he was drinking instead of talking" Kiara didn't want to sound so harsh but she was hurting. Her emotions were controlling and she wasn't overly sure she wanted to stop them because Avery needed to know the damage she caused.
"What about me?" Avery almost screamed.
Pope stared at her with wide eyes, like a deer caught in headlights, he had never heard her raise her voice. John B watched the two girls carefully, feeling awfully torn and was hoping that they would calm down before things got out of hand. JJ was quick to reach up and loosely thread his fingers through Avery's, giving her comfort.
"Have you even thought about what I went through? Why I left in the first place?" Avery bit back, her eyes narrowing at Kiara who stayed quiet. Even she was startled by Avery losing her composure. "Exactly. Maybe wait until I tell you before getting your claws out, Kiara. Then you can decide what to do with your attitude"
"That was awesome" Pope mumbled with a small smile tugging at his lips.
AUTHORS NOTE!
i'll be honest be with you, i was t h i s close from giving you all an sad, angst reunion. but in the end i couldn't resist a wholesome reunion, with a dash of drama of course. which brings me to this – would like to mention that i'm not trying to make kiara the bad guy. she has good reason to react the way she did and it will be explained later on :)