SEVENTEEN
❝ You think I gave your brother a black eye because I don't care about you? ❞
*ೃ༄
THE POGUES finally arrived back to the Chateau after a drive that consisted of John B bouncing up and down in his seat with excitement while Ava just stared at the envelope beside her on the seat. It only addressed her brother, which saddened her slightly to say the least. She expected her father to at least put the effort into putting her name on the envelope too.
Now, Ava's sat on the kitchen counter beside JJ, who's making a sandwich. He raises his head to look up at her face, immediately noticing how her eyes are burning into the skin of her lap while her index finger taps on her thigh anxiously.
He nudges her gently, quickly snapping her away from wherever she had gone, "You good? You want a PB and J?"
She swallows thickly, slightly surprised he had put the effort in to speak to her first. As she goes to nod her head in acceptance, her eyes land on the bread he's swiping his knife across.
"JJ," She states, "That's mouldy as shit. That bread has been left out for almost a week."
He shrugs, focussing more in making sure the amount of each ingredient is even and he completely ignores the green littering the loaf.
Pope walks past, stopping by the kitchen when he notices what JJ is preparing, "That bread had mould on it three days ago."
JJ waves him off, finishing off the sandwich, "I'll just pull off the bad parts. Plus, mould is good for you. It's just a natural organism."
"Who told you that?" Ava chuckles, dropping from the counter and making her way over to the small table in the living room, where the rest of the group are crowded.
"I don't know. I swear someone did. . . I think," He follows after her, taking a bite into the disgusting bread.
Ava slips down into a seat before turning around to him, snorting when she watches him gag before coughing up the chewed food into his hand. He rushes back to the kitchen to get rid of the remains, while she rolls her eyes.
"We warned you," Pope and Ava call in unison, and JJ can only muster a groan of disgust in response before standing behind John B, his face still pulled up in a slight grimace.
John lays out the contents of the envelope quickly, his hands shaking and eyes flowing over everything rapidly. In front of them is a map with a few scribbles over it, causing the group to lean in and inspect it.
"Oh. X marks the spot," Pope points across the table and to the tiny x dotted in the middle of the map.
"Wait," John B calls, sensing his friend's slight disappointment and boredom, "There's something else in here," He digs out a tape recorder before throwing the empty envelope carelessly behind him.
"What's that?" JJ questions.
"It's a tape recorder," Ava tells him before leaning towards her brother in curiosity, "And would you please play it, John? Before I use the will to live."
"Okay, okay," He presses the button on the side, making the device beep before the audio eventually starts.
"Hey Bird."
Big John's voice rumbles through the small machine, causing Ava's finger to once against begin tapping on her bare thigh.
"Who's Bird?" JJ's brows raise.
"That's what dad called me," John B quickly replies before returning his attention back to the recorder.
"I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so. And you doubted your old man."
Ava sits back in her seat, pulling one of her knees up to her chest. She has no clue what he's talking about, but she's sure John B is ecstatic with nostalgia. She hates to admit it, but she always used to be jealous of their father and son bond.
"I suspect at the movement, you're filled with guilt and self-loathing over our last fight, but don't kill yourself just yet, kid. I didn't expect to find the merchant either."
Ava clicks her tongue, lowering her voice as she whispers, "So, he did find it."
John's head snaps to her, "Shut up, Ava."
She nods slowly, her tongue rolling over the top row of her teeth so she doesn't retort and fire him up further.
"You're probably right to call me out. Wasn't exactly father of the decade."
"Can say that again," Ava mutters, earning herself another glare for her twin.
"What could I say, kid? I could smell the barn. And hopefully, we're listening to this in our brand new sugar-shack down in Costa Rica, living off passive investments and pulling on permits."
When she was very young, she had over heard her brother and father speak of this so-called destined future, but each time her brother would scowl and say she wasn't invited.
"If not, and you find this for less than optimal reasons, we'll, that's what the map is for. There she is, the wreck of the merchant. If something happens to me, finish what I started l. Go for the gold, kid," He draws in a long breath, "I love you, Bird, even if I didn't always act like it. I'll see you on the other side."
The tape clicks to a stop and Ava bites down on her tongue, attempting not to show how much attention she paid to the fact her dad didn't even mention her once. John B pushes away from the table in distress, tears already cascading down his cheeks while his sister just stays still, her eyes clinging to the tape recorder as she waits for it to play a second message from her dad to her. But it never plays. He forgot about her.
"Oh my god! He found it! Big John— He— He found the merchant!" JJ exclaims in joy, hands flying into the air.
"Can. . . can you please?" Kiara hisses quietly, while her arms wrap around John B, who's shaking in her grasp.
Suddenly, Ava rises from her chair, scraping it across the wooden floorboards, causing JJ and Pope to look over at her in alarm. She quickly wipes her hands under her eyes, stopping the threatening tears before she steps towards the back porch door, pulling it open.
"Ava?" JJ calls, stepping after her quickly but she's already left in a hurry, the door swinging shut behind her while she rushes down to the edge of the garden, where a sliver sand has been revealed by the low tide.
She hurries along the small beach, keeping her stinging eyes on the starry night sky above her in an attempt to stop her tears from falling. But when she feels the first one slip down her cheek, she drops to the sand with a sniff and pulls her knees tight up to her chest. The waves in front of her draw back and forth but she can hardly see through her watery eyes.
That tape recording was the last piece of evidence she needed to know she was nothing to her father. He'd never liked her, let alone loved her. He couldn't even be bothered to say her name at least once in his last message.
Ava's body shakes with gentle sobs, and she hardly notices as someone runs along the beach towards her before dropping down beside her.
"There you are," JJ says, head tilting when he notices the tears sliding down her cheeks and landing on the skin of her knees, "You okay?"
Ava looks over at him, forcing her lips up into a small smile before she glances back to the dark water, "I'm fine, JJ."
"Yeah, right," He scoffs, his expression softening slightly as he watches another sob shake her body, "Come on, Ava. Please just tell me what's wrong."
"Why would you wanna know?" She mumbles, fingers once again beginning to tap on her legs, "You've been distant with me. I thought you wouldn't care."
His brows crease in concern, before his head shakes, "I— I've been distant 'cause I'm an idiot who can't talk about his own feelings, okay? Of course I fucking care about you, why wouldn't I? You think I gave your brother a black eye because I don't care about you?" He sighs when the only response he receives is another sniff, "Look, Ava, I know you're upset 'bout hearing Big John after nine—"
"That's not why I'm upset," She cuts him off, not wanting him to get the entirely wrong idea.
"Okay," He nods slowly, his brain racking to try work out the other reason for her current state that is causing him so much heartache, "So, will you please tell me the real reason for why you're in pieces?"
She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth while she decides what to do. She wants to tell him, but the last thing she needs is for him to see her in a different light. She shouldn't be sobbing over her father who's been dead and gone for nine months.
"Ava," His voice softens again, and his hand raises to her arm, his thumb stroking the freckled skin beneath it, "Come on, please."
She rolls her shoulders back, causing his hand to fall from her arm, and she doesn't fail to notice how his shoulders sag slightly, "He fucking forgot about me," She finally states, chuckling at herself as she hears it aloud.
"Who?" JJ shuffles slightly closer to her.
"My dad," She answers, looking at him now that the tears have finally stopped, "He forgot about me. He forgot about his own daughter. He always adored John, but whenever I was near him, he acted like he hated it, like he hated me," She swallows, the sympathy in the blonde boy's eyes making her want to cry again, "Whereas, whenever him and JB were together, he was constantly laughing and it sounded like they were having the best time of their life. All I was allowed to do was listen."
JJ reaches forward, his arm going around her neck and he pulls her into his side. Instinctively, her head falls to his shoulder and she sobs again quietly at the contact between them. JJ's hand runs up and down her arm, which is dotted with goose-bumps and slowly the tapping of her finger comes to a stop.
"Hey, you don't have to worry 'bout him anymore. Forgot Big John, cause you got us Pogues now, yeah? You've got me," JJ soothes, breaking the comfortable silence lingering between them as she relaxes further into his side, "I mean, fuck our dads. Fuck 'em all."
She chuckles, "Yeah, fuck them."
JJ's body vibrates with a laugh and his eyes drop down to her profile, causing him to pull his lip between his teeth. He wants nothing more than to reach down to her and pull her up into a kiss. He watches as she licks her dry lips and his desire to show her what he's feeling grows.
She can feel his eyes burning into her face, and slowly she pushes herself away from him, "We should probably head back to the others."
His hand goes to scratch at the back of his neck while he nods firmly in agreement, "Yeah, right, okay."
"Thank you, JJ," She hums quietly, standing up from the sand and dusting off her clothes the best she can, "Seriously."
"I was taking you seriously," He says, as they begin to walk back towards the Chateau, "I always do."
Her hands fiddle in front of her as they walk, and she sighs, "So, should we seriously talk about the kiss at the Kegger a few days ago? Or is that too serious?"
His hand runs through his hair anxiously, "I don't know what there is to say. I mean, I was drunk off my ass, and you were chatting to that Kook. Like I said, I care about you and you shouldn't be talking to Kooks, y'know?"
She rolls her eyes, "All you have to say is that you were jealous, JJ. You don't have to use the Kooks v Pogue narrative for everything."
He huffs, throwing his head back in frustration, "Okay, yeah. I was jealous. Why the fuck wouldn't I be? I've been trying to get with you since I started growing pubes and after a few minutes your sat on a log chatting with this dude so that you can go to his house and have sex. So, like, yeah, I was jealous."
Her brows furrow and she choses to ignore the pubes comment, "That's the thing, JJ. Charlie wasn't sex-driven, unlike you. You say you've been trying to get with me, but you only mean to sleep with me. You just want to fuck your best friend's sister."
"You know, I'm not like that," He says quietly.
"Do I?"
"Well, I'm telling you right now that I'm not." He mutters, "You really think if I wanted to just have sex with you that I would've chased after you along the beach, or made out with you at the Keg? Jesus christ, I'm not that desperate."
She comes to a stop, beginning to sense another message behind his words, "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"
As he halts in front of her, his hands dig into his pockets as he takes a deep breath, "Depends on what you think I'm saying."
She looks up at him, her lips agape, "JJ—"
"GUYS!" Kiara's loud shout carries from the dock to the tense pair on the beach. Their eyes flow over to her and she waves them over quickly, "COME ON! I got you both beers."
Ava swallows, looking back up to JJ, who's eyes are burning into his own shoes, "We can finish this tomorrow, yeah?"
He shrugs, "Sure."
She nods firmly before turning on her heel and breaking off into a jog to join her friends on back on the docking. She takes the opened beer bottle from Kiara with a small thanks before slipping onto the bench beside Pope, while JJ awkwardly climbs up to the corner a few metres above her.
"How much was it again?" JJ clears his throat.
"Five hundred mill," Pope tells him.
"Alright, let's talk the split. Now, before we say evenly, may I remind you that I am the only one that can properly defend us from those groupers who're after us," JJ offers with a shrug.
Kiara rolls her eyes at him before turning her attention to Pope, "What are you donna do with your one hundred mill, Pope?"
"Pay for college in advance," He nods slowly, "And also textbooks. Those are expensive."
Patting his shoulder with a small smile, Ava nods over at Kiara, "What about you, Kie? Got any big plans?"
"Yeah, what does a socialist do when she's already rich?" Pope asks, tiling his head.
She chuckles slightly, "Just wanna make a double album. About OBX, the Pogues. You know the way Catch A Fire is about Kingston. Record it at Marley Studio, Peter Tosh producing," She smiles happily at the mere thought.
Pope begins, "Peter—"
"Peter Tosh is death, I know," Kiara cuts him off with a laugh, "The spirit of Peter Tosh will never die."
"Actually," JJ speaks up, head raising from its previous thinking position, "I know what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna get a big ass house on Figure Eight and go full Kook."
"You're gonna go full Kook?" Pope scoffs, hardly believing the wild idea.
"Yup," He nods giddily, "Gonna get a marble statue of myself and then I'm gonna get a koi pond, put a bunch of those fish."
"I doubt I will be visiting," Ava clicks her tongue, turning her body around to look at her brother, "What about you, John?"
The group of teens fall silent while he contemplates an answer. Slowly, his head turns to his friend and a bright smile spreads across his cheeks, "To going full kook!"
Kie, JJ and John stand on the beams of the wood they were previously perched on, while Pope and Ava raise their arms, and clash their bottles of beers together in the air while a loud cheer echoes through them.
"To going full kook!" They all repeat in unison, each of them breaking off into joyous laughter.
. . .
i'm not sure when i'm supposed to get them
together lmao
in the original they got together in like the second chapter lmao
word count,
2765
not proof read
i don't know why i even write this anymore tbh