"𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙗𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙?"
𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨...
♪ 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙚 (𝙩𝙖𝙮𝙡𝙤𝙧'𝙨 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣) - 𝙩𝙖𝙮𝙡𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙬𝙞𝙛𝙩 ♪
"POPE, WE'RE NOT STEALING THE DRONE." John B sighed from his spot in the driver's seat of the Twinkie. "We're borrowing it."
It was bullshit and they all knew it. It wasn't like they were planning on giving it back; that wasn't even a card in the deck for Pogues. No, they were fully committing theft, and there was no way to sweet talk around it - despite John B's futile attempts.
After sneaking out of the Island Club, the five teenagers all boarded the Twinkie, making their way towards the junkyard that resided on the Cut. Pope had continued to be adamant in his disagreement with their plan, while the others simply brushed him off. Blue had to admit that their scheme was not perfect, and there was a small margin for error, but she also knew there was nothing better they could do. This was their one shot at finding the Royal Merchant, so she decided to just see it through.
"Humans are the only animal that can't tell fantasy from reality." Pope said, looking out the window as he spoke.
Blue scrunched her brows at the words, wondering if they came straight from Pope's mind or one of his textbooks. "Wait, did you come up with that?" She asked.
He shook his head. "No, Albert Bernstein came up with that, but it applies to this whole treasure-hunting thing."
A frown appeared on the girl's face as she registered his response. She had thought that they were all on board - that they all believed it could be real. Wasn't that why they were planning what to do with their shares and sneaking into country clubs to map out coordinates? Didn't they think there was a chance?
Sure, Blue knew it was a long shot. Even if her father had found the wreck of the Merchant, the gold was not a guarantee. People had been looking for those riches for centuries, and there was a chance it had already been found, or maybe it never even existed in the first place. And she was sure that if her father had not been involved, she would have laughed off the possibility of a treasure hunt.
But Big John told her to pick up where he left off. What kind of daughter would she be if she didn't try?
"Oh." John B awkwardly said in response to Pope's dejected words.
"So, which is it?" The Heyward boy asked the group. "Fantasy or reality?"
"Why are you so weird, Pope?" JJ spoke up for the first time in a while.
Blue looked over to the blond boy, who sat on the floor of the van while preparing an overstuffed blunt. He was so focused on the task at hand, eyes trained on each movement of his fingers as if he was disarming a bomb. She couldn't help but stare as he licked the rolling paper a few times and had to force herself to look away before a rose blush could coat her cheeks.
"It's fantasy," Kiara said, shaking her head as she voiced her thoughts out loud. "But possible reality."
Well, that's better than nothing, Blue thought.
A short beat of silence followed the words before John B punctured the quiet with his answer. "Reality." He said, his tone dripping with certainty. Him and Kie shared a series of smiles back and forth from their spots in the front of the van.
"Virtual reality." JJ muttered as he placed the blunt in between his lips, flicking his zippo lighter and holding it up to the end of the rolled substance.
Blue scoffed, offended by his remark. What happened to 'I'm here for everything'? Did he not mean it?
No, she thought, he meant it. She knew he did because JJ would never lie to her, especially not about something like that. And she guessed she couldn't blame him for being skeptical - she supposed she was, too - so maybe her indignation was misplaced. She tried to remind herself that his little comment was not that deep and that she just needed to step outside of herself for a moment.
But she was still annoyed, so she couldn't help herself from snatching both the lighter and the blunt from his lips before settling them in front of her own. His blue eyes widened in shock and betrayal. "Reality." Blue said with confidence as she lit the blunt and inhaled, blowing out a puff of smoke in the blond boy's face.
"That's harsh, Bluey." He pouted, placing a ring-clad hand on his chest. "I'm wounded."
Before the girl could respond, a hand came into view, snatching the blunt from her glossy lips. Pope tossed the drug across the van as he spoke. "Keep the signal clear." He pointed to the two Pogues sitting on the floor.
Blue angrily closed the zippo lighter and tossed it back to JJ. "Pope, you're really lucky I'm not kicking you in the balls right now."
JJ, who was staring at the soiled blunt that now sadly sat on the van's dirty floor, decided to join Blue in verbally attacking Pope. "You know what your problem is?"
"You?" Pope responded.
"No!" JJ began, "It's that you need to relax, man. You're always so tense!"
"I'm not too tense!"
Blue looked at Pope incredulously. "Your nose should've grown at least three inches after saying that."
The Twinkie came to a stop moments later. Everyone sat up straight once the van was parked, looking out the dusty windows to see the small and overflowing junkyard that was protected by a series of chain-link fences. Blue gave a look to Kiara, silently asking for reassurance, and the curly haired girl simply nodded in response. As the girls began to climb out of the vehicle, JJ poked his head out of the doorframe and spoke up.
"Blue, why don't you hang back here for this one?" He asked, a slight wince in his tone that he tried to cover up by clearing his throat.
The girl furrowed her brows at the question. "Why? We all agreed I would go with Kie." She said.
Their plan was simple: the girls were going to sweet-talk the security guard while the boys snuck in and stole the drone. While 'flirting' with a grown man was probably not a safe bet to take, none of them could figure out another way to get the gate open without causing a scene. And, well, it was practically a given that Blue would be part of the distraction considering her talent of wooing people with her kindness on a daily basis.
"I just, uh, think it'd be better if you sat this one out." JJ stammered as he replied, struggling to explain himself. "I'm sure Kie can handle it on her own."
Pope scoffed from his spot in the van, his voice carrying out through the open door. "Kiara's too mean, she needs Blue's angelic-ness in order to be believable."
Blue gestured to the boy as an unspoken 'I told you so'. "See?" She said to the blond. Although he had always been protective, he had never wanted her to miss out on one of their adventures before. She wondered why it was different this time.
JJ rolled his eyes, opening and closing his mouth before finally settling on what he wanted to say. "I don't like this idea."
Blue scoffed and stepped over to him, reaching into the van to ruffle his fluffy hair. "Quit whining. I'll be fine, don't worry about it." She retracted her hand, walking back over to Kiara, who had been waiting for her just a couple feet away. Blue looked back at JJ with a sweet smile and a twinkle in her eyes. "I'm an angel, remember?" She teased.
The boy's features softened as he looked at her. His frown turned slightly upwards as he replied. "Yeah, I know." He sighed, "Be careful." She just nodded back to him as she continued to step away.
Before the girls could venture too far, John B's voice rang out, making them come to a stop and turn back towards the Twinkie. "Hey," He spoke, poking his head out of the van's window, his eyes set on Kiara as the words tumbled out of his mouth. "Don't worry. You got this."
Blue had to refrain from rolling her eyes at him. The girls were never the ones to fuck up on their missions - they were the ones that had to bail the boys out after they did something stupid. John B's words of encouragement - while not unappreciated - were wholly unnecessary.
"It's not me I'm worried about." Kie responded with a humorous and confident smile that looked like it was containing teasing laughter.
John B nodded. "Got it."
With that, the girls finally walked away. They passed by Kiara's car and the HMS Pogue attached to it, having planted it there after giving it a flat tire. Blue took a quick breath before smiling her infamous 'Island Sweetheart' smile and tossing her long hair behind her back. She could only hope that the guy wouldn't see through their facade and play the script correctly.
As soon as her and Kiara began approaching the security gate, they saw the target in question sitting in the open booth. It was a bald man that looked to be in his thirties or forties, which made Blue's stomach flip uneasily. Her job was to distract him - she just hoped it wouldn't take an ugly turn. You never know with guys, unfortunately.
But even though she was slightly worried, she knew that she was protected. JJ was barely ten feet away. All three of the guys were currently hiding behind one of the old boats that littered the entrance of the junkyard. The thought made her nerves ease and help her fulfill her role.
"Excuse me?" Blue called out to the man while waving, noticing Kie doing the same thing as the guy turned his head, locking eyes with them. He quickly got out of his seat before walking outside.
Kiara and Blue stood outside the chain-link fence while he stood inside. As he approached them, he finally spoke up. "Can I help you?" He asked. The man seemed a little confused, almost like he was waiting for a trap, but not so uneasy that he wouldn't take the bait.
Kie put on one of the fakest high-pitched voices that Blue had ever heard as she addressed the man. "Hi! Um, actually, we have a flat tire." She pointed to her stationed car and the small boat just behind them.
"We were wondering if you could maybe help us out?" Blue picked up where Kiara left off, slightly batting her eyelashes and shrugging her shoulders, feigning ignorance even though her father had taught her how to change a tire when she was barely eleven years old.
The guy hesitated for a moment before smiling and nodding his head. "Yeah." He spoke. Hook, line, and sinker, baby.
"Yeah?" Kiara responded, dragging the word out in a slightly flirty manner that had Blue holding back a laugh.
"Yeah." He repeated as he began walking over to his booth.
Once the man was out of earshot, Blue looked at Kiara with an accomplished smile. "It's too easy."
After the security guard pushed a button, the fence began to move, opening up and letting the guy step over to the other side. He carried an air pump with him as the girls walked him over to the HMS Pogue. "It's just this back one right here." Kiara said to him as she pointed the boat's flat tire, casually leaning on the vehicle and placing her hand on her hip as she turned to face the man once more.
"It must have been a slow leak or something." Blue played dumb, knowing damn well she had stabbed the rubber with a pin just an hour earlier.
"Probably just sitting in the yard too long?" The guard asked with a slightly teasing expression etched on his face.
Blue eyes nearly rolled, but she caught the action before it could occur. They took that boat out every day, and it was clear he was just assuming they never use it because they were girls - which was ridiculous because Blue had been steering that thing since she was a child. But the whole point of the plan was for her and Kiara to seem dumb and in distress, so she played along instead of letting her annoyance show.
"Yeah." Kiara answered, still using her honeyed voice and polite smile without faltering.
The man pointed to the flat tire, "I got this." He said.
"Thank you." The two girls spoke at the same time, their tones nearly sounding like a siren song, luring the man to do whatever they wanted.
As the security guard knelt down and started to set up the air pump, she looked up to see the boys quickly running from the closing security gate and making their way through the junkyard. She silently hoped her lovable idiots would be able to pull off their part of the plan before the tire was fixed.
Kiara and Blue both began to look around with nervous and awkward expressions, wanting nothing more than for their part to be done already. While the man was working on the boat's tire, he looked up at the girls, eyes raking over them, causing a chill to go down Blue's spine.
"Got it?" Kie asked him, a bit of her usual attitude occurring in her tone despite smiling at him as she spoke. The slight bite in her voice made Blue purse her lips in order to contain a laugh.
Kiara was almost as protective over Blue as JJ was. It had been like that since they were kids - getting picked on by boys in the schoolyard and then getting hit on by losers when they started growing up. Kie would always put Blue before herself; spouting the mean words that Blue could never speak and even throwing punches that Blue could never bring herself to do. And that was just the Carrera girl down to her core - always sticking up for the little guy.
But Kiara also was a little bit responsible for Blue growing a backbone and sticking up for herself whenever need be. Just a few years ago, Kie had told the younger girl that even though the Pogues would gladly fight her battles any day of the week, that it was important for a girl to hold her own ground and to have some independence. Blue had never forgotten that. She had never had a mother to guide her, didn't really have a woman to look up to - except for Kie. That was her best friend, her soul sister. So, to have her protection and her wisdom was a gift that Blue held onto dearly.
The guard looked back down towards the tire. "Yeah." He answered in a soft manner.
Then a dog started barking. And it wasn't just one bark, it was a continuous string of loud yaps, ones that were clearly calling out to someone. Blue could feel her heartbeat begin to gain pace and she looked over to Kiara with wide eyes, the two of them sharing alarmed looks as the animal noises yang out through the whole junkyard.
Those fucking idiots got caught by the security dog - go figure!
The man stopped working on the tire and sat up straight. His brows furrowed as he took a quick glance to the security setup behind him. "Do you hear that?" He asked.
Blue was quick to reply. "Hear what?" She said, smiling her infamous grin in order to ease his rising nerves.
He stood up, causing both of the girls to stop leaning on the boat as if they were going to physically stop him from leaving. "Tebo's got something." The guard spoke as he looked out to the yard once more.
"It's probably just a raccoon, maybe. You know?" Kie talked in a quick fashion, trying to appear calm but there was a clear sense of anxiety in the girl's bronze features.
"Nothing to worry about." Blue chimed in with another innocent shrug of her shoulders accompanying her words.
The guy seemed to be incredibly gullible as he simply smiled and leaned back down to the boat's tire. "Yeah." He responded.
While the man's eyes were averted, Kie quickly mouthed to Blue 'stay here', and stepped away before Blue could question her. Her eyes followed the girl as she walked to the other side of the boat and took her hair pin out before bending down out of Blue's line of sight.
The Routledge girl realized what her friend was doing and panic began to set into her system. She tried to get Kiara's attention by clearing her throat and even lightly hitting the side of the HMS Pogue, but she had no luck.
The guard looked up at Blue from his work on the tire. "Where'd your friend go?"
Blue's head snapped back to him, hurriedly trying to hide the worry on her face by covering it up with yet another grin. Her cheek muscles would be sore by the end of this. "Oh, she just went to check the other tires. You know, making sure they weren't flat or anything." She answered, nonchalantly twirling her hair around her finger as she spoke, trying to appear calm and collected.
"Maybe she needs some help." The man said. He stood up again and began making his way towards the other side of the boat where Kiara was deflating another tire, trying to buy them some time.
"Wait, wait!" Blue called out to him, trying to figure out how to get him to stay. Dumb damsel in distress seemed to be working so far. "Um, my shoe's untied! Can you help me?" She called out, holding up her foot and tugging on the laces, mentally cursing herself for the ridiculous tactic.
For once, the guy didn't fall for her game, and kept going until he reached Kiara on the side of the HMS Pogue. "What are you doing?" He said, voice rising in volume as he took in the scene in front of him, puzzle pieces beginning to come together in his mind. Blue cringed as she realized their plan was shot to hell now.
"This one looks a little low too." She could hear Kiara speak, but the girl was clearly not confident in her words at that point, knowing they were screwed.
The man didn't waste another second. As soon as Kie was done speaking, he jumped into action, running back to the security gate even as the girls were calling for him to stay. Blue ran over to the passenger door of Kiara's Jeep, quickly climbing in while the Carerra girl jumped into the driver's seat.
"You just had to deflate another tire?!" Blue exclaimed in her haze of nerves and adrenaline.
"You asked him to tie your shoe!" Kiara quipped back as she started the engine and began pulling out of the lot.
"I couldn't think of anything else!"
Those boys better be okay, she thought as the car began to speed away from the junkyard, leaving the rest of the Pogues to fend for themselves.
𑁍 𑁍 𑁍
The sky had darkened by the time all five teenagers were reunited. Day had turned into night, and while the group would usually be at some kegger around this hour, exhaustion and starvation had taken over their systems - which led them to Kiara's family restaurant on Figure Eight instead.
"Stealing drones makes you hungry." Kiara joked from her spot in the Twinkie's passenger seat, speaking as John B parked the vehicle in the nearly empty lot outside of The Wreck.
When Blue had learned that the boys had been successful in snatching the drone from the junkyard, she had been overly ecstatic. It seemed like the Pogues kept getting dealt shitty hands, but they had finally come out on top in this instance, somehow able to pull through on their plan despite nearly everything going wrong. They needed a win and they finally got one - now it was time to celebrate.
JJ slid the van's side door open and slowly dragged himself out of the vehicle. "What I would do to a beer and shrimp and grits right now." He mumbled as he stepped onto the pavement.
"It would not be pretty." Pope chimed in, following the blond's lead as he crawled out of the van.
Blue was the last one out, suppressing a yawn and holding a hand over her grumbling stomach as she joined her friends in their walk towards the restaurant. "Wanna go halfsies on that, J?" She asked, her voice clinging onto a sleepy note as she spoke.
"Of course, Bluey." The blond responded as he lazily swung his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to walk with him.
When the Pogues walked into The Wreck, Kiara separated from them once she saw her father working behind the counter while the rest of them awkwardly stood in the back corner. The situation with the Carerras was not a simple one. Mike and Anna didn't like their daughter's association with the young derelicts or their lifestyle. They constantly tried to pull her over to the Kook side, even going as far as sending her to the private academy last year, but all of their attempts failed extravagantly. Kiara was stubborn - and there was no way in hell she'd ever leave her friends...not again.
Blue didn't know how to feel about Kie's parents. While they definitely didn't like the boys, they seemed to like Blue well enough. Although she was a Pogue down to her core and got in nearly as much trouble as the others, she was considerate and kind and practically impossible to hate. She had sacrificed her own time to help out at The Wreck whenever needed, so she had earned some points with Mike and Anna with each shift she picked up and each hour she stayed back to clean around the restaurant. Despite the Carerras clearly disliking the Pogues, they were not immune to Blue's charms, much like every other adult on Kildare.
While Blue appreciated that they didn't seem to hate her, she simply didn't like how she treated her friends or even how they treated their own daughter on certain occasions. But now was not the time to act angry with Mike - not when there was a possibility that he would give them free food.
"You think he'll give in?" Blue asked the boys as she watched Kiara speak to her father on the other side of the restaurant. She tore her eyes away to look around, seeing the three boys all drooling over the food on other customers' tables.
"He better. My stomach is literally eating itself right now." Pope responded, his eyes trained on a steaming plate of seafood and pasta just a mere three feet away.
Blue rolled her eyes, but then stopped when she heard her stomach grumble out loud. "Yeah, mine too." She said as her mouth watered at the thought of eating food that wasn't expired or cheap snacks from the gas station.
All of a sudden, the boys and Blue noticed Mike and Kiara looking back at them, one with a slightly disgusted expression and the other with a pleading look. The four of them all waved awkwardly, JJ doing some weird peace sign that made Blue lightly elbow him in the stomach to get him to stop. He grunted and tugged on her hair in retaliation, and John B had to pull them apart before they caused a scene.
Blue watched as Kiara hugged her dad, a big smile on the girl's face as she did so, and she felt a slight pain in her chest. She was happy for her friend - she really was - but there was a jealousy there that she knew could never be cured. Not if her own father was really gone, anyway. She would still have to get used to that part; the envy that grew despite how much she didn't want it to. She swallowed it down as soon as Kiara turned away from her dad and began walking over to them.
"Sit down." She ordered, and the group happily complied, grins decorating their sun-kissed faces as they claimed one of the bigger tables in the dining room.
It wasn't long before they were being spoiled with fries and grits and shrimp, all while Kiara filled their glasses with water to keep them hydrated in the summer heat. While the boys were spread out with Pope sitting at the bar, John B on the front end of the table while JJ sat in the middle of it, Blue was sat right next to the blond as they shared a plate of shrimp and grits - just like they agreed upon earlier.
As the pair were shoveling food in their mouths as if they were starving children (which, unfortunately, was not too far off base), JJ suddenly bumped the girl's side in order to get her attention. She looked over to see his blue eyes already trained on her face.
"Was that junkyard guy creepy?" He asked before taking another spoonful of grits and devouring it whole.
Blue quietly giggled at his boyish tendencies. "Mm. A little. Nothing crazy, though." She shrugged it off.
JJ's jaw slightly clenched. "That's why I wanted you to stay back."
"So, it's fine if a guy is creepy to Kiara but not me?" She asked, a humorous tone accompanying her response since she knew that was not what he was implying.
He shook his head, "No, but she's quicker to kick a guy's manhood if need be. You're too nice for your own good." He teased, raising a hand and ruffling it through her dark hair, mimicking what she had done to him the last time they spoke of this topic.
"I've kicked guys in the balls before." Blue pointed out.
"Way later than you should've, though."
She laughed at that. It was true that while the boys were protective over Kiara, they were way more protective over Blue, simply because she was slightly younger and more sensitive than the others. She was also more reluctant to speak up for herself or cause a fight, mainly due to the fact that she always initially gave people the benefit of the doubt. It took a lot for Blue to be angry at someone, and if she ever got to that point...well, let's just say that that person fucked up big time.
Blue decided to switch the topic over to him instead. "How did you weasel your way out of there? Didn't you get caught?" She asked, recalling how Pope had mentioned they had gotten separated in the midst of the chaos and how JJ was the last one to leave.
"Yeah, but I know the guy." JJ started, eyes trained on his meal as he spoke. "Just made up some lie about Luke sending me to get something, sold him the 'my daddy hits me' sob story, and he let me go."
Blue could feel her heart slightly drop at his answer. "It's not just a sob story, Jayj." She murmured, wishing he could see how serious his situation was with his dad and how deeply it affected him. And not even just him...her, as well. But the boy only shook his head, showing he wasn't going to acknowledge her remark further than that. Blue sighed before letting words fly from her lips faster than she could catch them. "Why didn't you tell me he got fired?"
JJ hesitated before speaking up. "Same story, different day. It's nothing new, so...why bring it up?"
"Because I care?" Blue said.
The blond boy's features softened before finally turning to her, a slightly guilty glimmer in his eyes present as he softly spoke his response. "I know you do." The corner of his mouth slightly twitched. "I'm sorry."
She just gently patted his shoulder before giving him a reassuring smile. "All good, don't worry about it." She laid it to rest, knowing there was nothing else that had to be said.
The topic of conversation seemed to die down after that. While it had been quiet in the restaurant when the Pogues had arrived, a song suddenly began to sound out from the speakers, carrying a lively beat throughout the building. Kiara stopped what she was doing and put down her pitcher of water before pointing at John B, motioning for him to join her. The Routledge boy pointed at himself before shaking his head, declining the invitation to dance. Kie wasn't going to take no for an answer, though. She continued to sway her hips to the beat and she ushered him over once again. And that time, John B gave in.
The rest of the Pogues' eyes switched from the dancing pair to their food that sat in front of them. John B and Kiara both had big smiles on their faces as they moved, dancing together in harmony as if they had done it thousands of times.
Confused, Blue looked back to JJ before whispering in a low volume. "I thought she rejected him?" She asked, referring to John B kissing Kie just days prior and her giving him the Heisman in response.
"She did." The blond confirmed.
Blue raised her hands in question. "Doesn't seem like it to me." She said just as Kie spun so her back was facing John B, her looking over her shoulder so the two held eye contact as they swayed back and forth. "Whatever happened to 'No Pogue On Pogue Macking'?" The Routledge girl asked with a sarcastic giggle following her words.
JJ glanced back at the dancing pair before shrugging his shoulders, then turned to look at the girl beside him. "Maybe it doesn't matter that much anymore."
His reply made Blue still. They held eye contact for a moment or two, letting the words and the weight of them settle into their bones. It was like there was a new energy between them, one that blossomed as soon as JJ's risky statement hit the air. It was one full of questions resting on tips of tongues and unexplored possibilities.
Blue was shocked, to say the least. While she didn't want to read too much into his words, she also couldn't deny the reaction they had caused, or the adoring look in his eyes at that very moment. She had always walked such a thin line with him. On one side of the tightrope was her burying her feelings and never letting them come to light, convinced he would never feel the same. And on the other side was every flirty remark and precious moment that made her think her love could be requited. Blue had never really fallen on either side, always balancing, tipping one way or the other before setting herself straight. But now...she could feel herself slipping.
"Wanna dance with me?" Blue asked, cheeks warm and lips curling into a sweet smile as she spoke.
JJ mirrored her expression before responding. "Yeah, I do."
As the two began to sit up from their chairs, JJ suddenly grabbed the girl, hoisting her into the air unexpectedly and carrying her away from the table. Her gasp was mixed in with laughter as she hung from his broad shoulders. "Why do you always do this?" She giggled.
"It's fun!" JJ defended before setting her down, his hands steady in their grasp even as she found her balance on the wooden floor.
Mike suddenly rounded the corner, pointing at the blond before speaking with venom in his tone. "No roughhousing in my restaurant, Maybank!" He yelled, authority dripping from his command.
JJ choked back a laugh before clearing his throat and nodding at the man in charge. "Yes sir." He said before goofily saluting to him, causing Mike to roll his eyes and retreat back into the kitchen.
Blue covered her smile with one hand while the other made its home on the back of JJ's neck. "You're gonna get us kicked out of here." She mumbled into her palm, knowing Mike Carerra would find immense joy in evicting his daughter's friends from his establishment.
The blond boy clearly didn't seem to care very much. "At least we would get to dance first, though." He said smoothly, curling his arm around her waist while his other hand took her free one, holding it to the side as they began to move to the song's rhythm.
Blue couldn't wipe the grin off her face. She hadn't felt this happy in a long time. After a series of insanely traumatic events, she finally was having a good day, and to end it on a note like this was more than she could have ever wanted. It was almost like she had forgotten what it was like to run around with her friends, having fun and causing chaos, all for it to end with them hanging out together and simply enjoying each other's presence. The night was a nice reminder of that.
JJ spun her around a couple times, making her giggle contagiously since he laughed along with her. They playfully swayed in sync, eyes locked onto each other the whole time, hands never leaving one another. The charm on her bracelet gently touched the tan skin of JJ's wrist, seemingly catching the boy's attention.
"You wear that thing every day." He pointed out, motioning to the handmade piece of jewelry he had given to her for her birthday just a couple of weeks earlier.
Blue nodded, "Yeah, why wouldn't I?" She asked as if the action of removing it was impossible; not something she could ever think of. She smiled softly as she looked at the metal charm adorned with JJ's handwritten signature.
The Maybank boy shrugged sheepishly, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink that was nearly invisible under the restaurant's warm lighting. "Figured girls switched out their jewelry often, y'know?" He said, his tone fighting to remain casual as he spoke.
"I'd never take this off." Blue stated before resting her head on his chest, hiding her growing blush and heart eyes from the boy's gaze. Her words had been vulnerable enough - he didn't need to see her gooey expression, too.
She felt JJ's fingers curl tighter into her waist before his head dipped down to rest itself on top of hers. "Good." He mumbled, his lips brushing against her hair as the timid word softly hit the air.
Blue didn't know what any of it meant - the dancing and the touching and the implication that their sacred rule no longer mattered. She didn't know if that was all signs pointing to everything she had ever wanted, or if it was just JJ being JJ, all flirty and light and gentle like he always was. But she didn't care to decipher it right then.
She just wanted to bask in the warmth of his embrace and let herself believe that there wasn't much keeping them apart anymore.
𝗼𝗺𝗴 𝗵𝗶
𝗶'𝗺 𝘀𝗼 𝘀𝗼𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘀𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴!!! 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗸𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝘁𝗽 😭
𝗼𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗶 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝘆'𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗶𝗸𝘁𝗼𝗸 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹 𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝗯𝗰 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗴 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆 :(
𝘀𝗼𝗼𝗼𝗼𝗼...𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝗹 𝗳𝗹𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘆 👀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗷𝗷&𝗯𝗹𝘂𝗲? 𝗱𝗼 𝘂 𝗴𝘂𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆'𝗹𝗹 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗼𝗻?
𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗶 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗲 & 𝗯𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝘀𝗺, 𝗶 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗴𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 🥰
𝗼𝗸𝗮𝘆 𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀
𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲!
𝗯𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝘂𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗲:
(𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗱𝗼, 𝗼𝗸𝗮𝘆?!)
𝗼𝗸𝗮𝘆 𝗯𝘆𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂