I sit against the dock, tapping my feet on the wood as I wait for the two boys to return. JJ went to tell Kie that we're going to South America, and John B to tell Sarah. I've been sat here for around an hour tops. It's getting so boring, the moon light taps against the water lightly with the darkness fully grown now. At least the music is vibey.
I get two missed texts from Bea, I ignore them. It's probably her ranting about how I never listen to her and acknowledge her feelings. I would open the messages, but am I really in the mood for her angry rants?
Suddenly the sounds of heavy footsteps come along the dock, I look up to see an enraged John B and a listening JJ.
I sit up, my eyebrows cocked. "What's up, Bree?"
"What's up?" He laughs sarcastically, shaking his head as he reaches the boat. "What's up is she cheated on me."
I am quite a bad actor when it comes to secrets. I knew this already, normally I can lie to perfection.. but when it comes to secrets between friends.. err..
"What? .. Oh." I shrug. "Damn."
"Damn?!" John B yells, grabbing the rope and untying it angrily.
"Damn?" JJ repeats, with a little laughter in his voice.
"Sorry, I don't know what to say!" I jump on the banister to help. "So what, we're abandoning her? What about Kie?" I look over at JJ.
He shakes his head. "Parents.."
"And..?" I say, scoffing.
"They're gonna murder her, man." He shrugs, pushing John B out of the way. "You just gotta relax. You're messing up the rope." he says to him.
John B rolls his eyes, placing his head in his hands as his elbows rest on a banister.
"Let's just go, we don't need them." JJ says to him, turning to me in invitation to get in the boat.
"Yo." I say to John B, before I get in. "We need to go."
But when JJ and I look at him, he seems hyper-fixated on something. Or.. someone.
I widen my eyes when I see him slowly walking away from us, still staring at Sarah. She's hugging Topper.
"No, John B." I say, slowly following, JJ trailing behind. "Don't even think about it, dude." He says.
"Get in the boat, now." I order, worried for whats about to happen. I turn to JJ for help.
"John B seriously get in the fucking boat, man." He grabs his shoulder but John B pushes him off. "Okay." He says, in a worried defeat.
I hold my forehead, whats about to go down? I haven't seen John B this evil since Rafe shot Peterkin.
He bashed into some random guy, the drink knocking out of his hand and smashing. "Hey!"
I can only watch Toppers fear as John B approaches him.
JJ stays back, knowing we can't stop him.
"Hey, John B. No." Sarah suddenly spots him, getting in the way.
He gently grabs her and pulls her out of the way, focused on Topper with evil eyes. She looks at me. "Stop him."
I try to speak, but what can I say? This is not going to go down well. He pushes Topper into a table, causing ruckus. "Feel good about yourself?" He yells out, making me cross my arms and stay back.
"Not right here, I'm not ruining the party!" Topper snaps, taking the shoves.
"That's what you're worried about?" John B asks, laughing at the stupidity,
Kie passes me, "What did you let him in here for?" She mumbles to me, making my face screw up with awe. I'm really getting blamed for this right now.
Sarah grabs him, turns him around and says, "For once in your life, would you please just turn around and walk away?"
I see the love in John B's eyes, though she hurt him the most tonight, he is still going to love her no matter what. "Look at me," She says. "Please don't."
I turn around to JJ, who's come closer to be on stand by for John B. I shake my head. "Devilish."
"Just let him, if he does, we get him outta here." JJ says to me, rubbing his face.
"If he does, he's an idiot." I snarl, referring to John b possible taking out anger on Toppers face. "What will Kie and Sarah think if I take his side if he does something stupid?"
"You're gonna choose them over John B?" He mutters, now looking at me.
I don't look at him, clenched jaw. "Yeah, if he's gonna do something he'll regret—"
And just like that, I hear a thud. Topper is on the floor, John B shaking his wrist.
Gasps can be heard from the crowd, I start to walk towards the scene. "John B."
I catch Tanner, he's running over, now seeing Topper on the floor. Bea is following behind him, worried and confused.
John B grabs Toppers body, that's limp and weak. And somehow has the anger to continue punching him. One after another, each just as forceful.
"Shit, John B! Get off!" I grab the back of his shirt, but Tanner is already attempting to get him off as the people panic.
I shove Tanner. "Don't touch him."
"He's beating up my best friend!" He yells in my face, shoving me back. I stare at him, empty souled.
JJ runs up behind me, standing in front and shoving Tanner away.
Suddenly Mike Carrera, Kie's dad pushes John B towards us. "Get him the hell out of here!" He yells in our faces. JJ catches John B as I stare. "All three of you, go!"
"Don't touch him!" JJ yells back in his face, pushing John B along with a run.
"Don't you dare come back!" Mike yelps, as I look over at Kiara and Sarah.
They both stare at me, with shock.
I cant help but follow JJ and John B, I try not to look behind me, I know they're somehow pissed off at me.
"Darl!" Bea yells after me, making me look behind me as I walk.
"Don't attempt it." I hear Tanner murmur. "She chose this life."
"You happy, Sarah!" John B shouts as JJ drags him.
I shake my head, running over and smashing my hand into the back of his head. "What is wrong with you?!"
JJ pushes him up the dock, letting him walk himself.
"She's a cheater, that's who she is. I should've known." He shakes his head as we approach the boat.
"You have any idea what you just did?" JJ scoffs, finishing untying the boat.
I push him again, so disappointed. "You knocked him unconscious! You are brain dead, John B. That's what you are."
"Stop trying to be my mother, Darla! Shut the fuck up. Just because you lost yours doesn't mean you gotta act like her. She's gone, you can be normal." He says, making my heart sink.
"What did you just say?" JJ kicks him down into the boat, dropping the rope angrily. "That's Darla, John B!"
"Leave him." I lifelessly say, holding JJ's chest. "Just get this thing running." I don't look at John B once.
"Darl.." JJ mumbles.
"Just.." I sigh. "Just get him home, he needs rest."
I feel the lump in my throat as the water ripples with the faulty engine spluttering before starting up. A tear uncontrollably runs down my cheek.
***
Waking up to the sound of loud ass ringing bells in your ear isn't ideal, but yet John B decided to do it anyway.
I grab the nearest pillow to me, stuffing it on the side of my head with desperation to cancel out the noise.
I sit up as the bell continues to ring, I slept on the couch bed last night. I remember John B storming off into his room, and JJ stealing like one beer before knocking out on the outside couch. That felt like how it was every single day after Big John disappeared for the first time, I got serious nostalgia.
I see John B approaching the patio, so I flatten back down. The window is cracked slightly open so I hear JJ scolding him for waking him up.
"I cant get over last night." John B groans, pacing the floor of the patio. "It's something about the look in the dudes face, you know?"
JJ nods while sitting up and yawning.
"Like the whole.. 'No hard feelings bro..' You know what I'm saying?" He groans, kicking the couch JJ's on.
"No hard feelings, yeah. It's pretty hard not to have hard feelings bout that." JJ says with a light shrug, still exhausted.
"Just.. that look, that 'Kook Look.'.. ya know?" John B continues, making my head itch. Why is he still going on about it? Be the bigger person and move on.
"Yeah, it was clear pro-voo-cation." JJ says, the pronunciation wrong, of course.
"Provocation." John B corrects him.
"Yeah, whatever. And you had to do what you had to do.. but.." JJ lowers his tone. "It's messed up taking it out on Darl."
I nod to myself, my arms crossed as if he can see me.
"I was in a bad place!" John B yells in his defence, making JJ shush him instantly.
"Yeah, I know. But Darla chose to be on your side instead of Sarah's or whatever. She was helping you, and has been helping you since forever." JJ stands up, patting him on the shoulder.
"Yeah. I know, I feel bad. But what does she expect when I was so angry at Sarah? She needed to stop bashing me like I was her child." John B slumps into a chair behind him as he speaks.
"You just gotta apologise." JJ says. "That's all."
"How?" John B asks.
I raise my eyebrow, John B doesn't know how to apologise to me? After all the times he's done something to me in my childhood.. such as broke my bike on accident, threw me too far into the marsh, pushed me off the pogue, and spilled 3 beers on me head when he was drunk. He still hasn't mustered up an apology mechanism? Smooth.
"Really?" JJ scoffs. "Alright, well.. Darla doesn't take things to much to heart that often. But you know not to go to her mom."
John B nods, listening.
"Just, formerly apologise with a hug and she'll most likely move on." JJ concludes, leaning back.
"You think she'll want to hug me after I bashed her mom and her?"
"No." I mutter to myself.
"Works for me." JJ says, proudly smirking. "Maybe she just likes me more."
"Obviously, JJ." John B groans, rubbing his forehead.
"I'm joking, man. She loves us equally." JJ kicks John B's leg, making him laugh out loud.
I raise an eyebrow as John B cackles. "Oh, JJ. You are so brain damaged."
"Huh."
"Darla fan girls over you, you realise?" He stops laughing, holding his stomach.
My eyes widen. Yeah, I do. But don't out me, John B! I grab a pillow and smother myself with it as the conversation flows.
"Fan girl is a stretch." JJ shakes his head.
"So be it, cause she does. Never have I heard of a girl more in love with a guy so annoying and weird as her to you, J."
"Annoying and weird? Man you're describing yourself." JJ snaps.
"Yeah, okay. But JJ, you have been waiting years and years to swoop on that. But you never do. Just.. do her justice!" John B says, leaning forward now.
"I mean, I have. Multiple times tried." JJ says.
"Such as the bonfire kiss?" John B asks him.
"Mhm. And.." He pauses.
John B seems more intrigued while I want to bury myself six feet underground in a matter of seconds.
"The other night she came round mine looking for Pope and like.. I don't know." He mumbles, I catch myself smiling a little. Recalling the memory.
John B rubs his face, chuckling. "You don't know?"
"Man, you know what I'm saying." He rolls his eyes as John B continues celebrating.
"Finally. I've been waiting for this one, bro. So, what happened?" John B claps his hands together.
I have to hold my mouth to stop me from gagging, because I can't deal with this conversation. The fact that at some point I'll have to wake up, and I'll have to like.. pretend like I didn't witness this excruciating experience.
"I don't know, but it wasn't awkward. Like.. it felt right, until you interrupted. And blew my chance." JJ says, in annoyance.
John B stops laughing. "Oh, mhm. Sorry that my dad like got kidnapped."
"Whatever, I'm just saying. We fought before it, then she walked away. I just had this urge to go after her. Something told me not to let her go, so, I didn't."
I lay on this bed, seeing it from his perspective.
"John B, she once asked me what my future looked like in my head." He continues, John B eagerly listens.
"I know now, I.."
"OH MY-" I am quick to cover my mouth as there's silence. My eyes widen as I see one of them real poisonous hornet things buzzing around me.
"You're awake?" John B yells anxiously.
I panic, sitting up. "Hornet."
JJ blinks.
I jump off the bed, sprinting outside and shutting the door quicker than ever. I look at the two boys, they both just stare at me. "What?" I try to play it off.
"Nothing.."
"What's up?"
I back away from the door, pointing at the ripped net. "Get new insect nets, John B. Now."
"After I find my dad." John B notes. "Shit, my dads missing!" He quickly stands up and paces again.
"We need to get a plan to get to South America like.. yesterday." He walks through the door I just ran out of whilst fearing for my life.
"There's a hornet, John—"
"Yeah, yeah. I could smash that shit with my two bare palms."
I roll my eyes as JJ passes me, walking in. "Any food I can eat?"
I follow them in, JJ goes straight for the fridge.
"I was thinking passports, yeah? We don't have those. Therefore we can't fly commercial. We need other ideas." John B plots as I jump up on the counter, stretching out my legs.
"Okay, don't you got that money you took from Portis?" JJ asks with his head still smothered in the fridge.
"Gave that to my dad." John B answers.
"What about a boat?" I chirp, tracing my finger on the counter in an infinite loop.
"Yeah, that's not bad. If we got a boat maybe we could get down there cause the HMS.. yeah you know about the HMS." JJ says.
"I don't know anyone with a boat." John B shakes his head, scavenging for food.
"We don't have money, and no boat. And you expect us to make it to South America like it's easy?" JJ asks, turning to him. I see some sort of salami roll thingy in his hand that he's bitten into.
"Yeah, you won't make it anyway. I saw that thing in the fridge before John B Sarah and I ran off to the Bahamas, JJ." I point at it and he looks down.
"Tastes fine." He shrugs.
"Right, we have no way of getting anywhere, do we?" John B ignores JJ's stupidity.
"Actually, I'm on to something. Wait!" JJ thinks.
I groan. "Here we go."
"Hey, Darl. Don't be so negative, I'm cooking up something real beneficial here." He turns to me, taking offence.
I laugh, tilting my head and waiting for him to say whatever disaster he's storming.
"Uh oh." John B quietly says, ducking down suddenly.
"You too, John B. Don't say 'uh oh' you haven't even heard the plan!" JJ scoffs, turning to him.
I look outside, and my eyes widen. I see A cop SUV pulling in, and I don't think I've ever jumped down quicker.
"What are y'all doing?" JJ slams the fridge.
John B drags him down. "Shoupe is out front, right now." He whispers, panicking.
JJ looks at me. "For real?" He lowly says.
I nod, and we shut our mouths so quickly as the cop suv door closes. "All right, John B." We hear Shoupe yell out.
"Shit!" JJ says, the boys crawl towards the door.
"What are you doing!?" I whisper yell, crying out for them to turn around.
They hear Shoupe yelling and quickly resort to under neath a table at a window.
I realise that I literally have nowhere to hide, the boys are practically begging me to just like delete myself so I cannot be seen, what the fuck do I do?
I look at the cabinet under the counter, and I open it. I see that it's perfectly just a square. So I squeeze myself inside and shut it quickly.
Shoupe begins banging on the door, and I hear the boys whispering something outside.
I close my eyes shut, holding my face and praying for a miracle.
"I know you're in there, John B. It will be a whole lot easier if you'd just come on out." Shoupe yells.
After a minute, we hear him leaving, And then Yelling out "Alright! Have it your way. You know where you can find me." Before his engine starts, and he drives away.
I bust the cabinet door open, gasping out for air. "Is he gone?"
"We need to peel." John B jumps up from out of the table, so does JJ.
I jump up with them, walking away from the cabinet.
"Alright. I have a good plan, you need to trust me on this one. It's a little sketchy, might not be your type. But it'll work." JJ grabs the keys to the twinkie off the table and pushes us towards the door.
I turn around, stopping him with my hands on his shoulder. "Woah. Woah. No, what's going to happen here."
"It's good, all good. I got this Darlin'. Trust me." He smiles, winking before looking at John B who seems very frightened yet intrigued.
"What plan, JJ." John B stops him.
"If I tell you right now when the plan is half-baked, you'll get negative again." He stops him, heading towards the door.
"Look, I'd settle for a quarter baked plan." John B shrugs, genuine.
"Nye-nye-nye! Shut up and let's go." JJ makes this weird noise while waving his hand in John B's face.
"Don't you dare make that noise at me." John B yells.
"Was that JJ or the hornet?" I ask, afraid and swatting the air.
***