JJ MAYBANK'S POV.
꧁✽☙꧂
Today was absolutely wild, my nerves are through the roof. My hands have been shaking ever sense we left Ms. Lana's.
I ball my hands up at my sides for a moment before relaxing them.
And the only thing that I was worried about at Ms. Lana's was Aria. It's all that I ever am worried about.
Her.
"And we were right outside like this." Aria exaggerates, walking up to the brick wall of John b's porch, trying to explain to our friends what happened whilst we were at Ms. Lana's.
My lips curl up into a smile at my best friends antics.
Only Mae mae could make a story from what had just happened and make it as amusing as she is.
My eyes turn for a moment to watch as Pope and my other friends eyes follow her.
She leans her head over her body slightly, her dark curly hair falling onto the sides of her face. "And all we hear is just, bam! Bam! Bam!" She said, punching the air every time 'Bam.' left her pretty mouth.
My eyes follow her briefly from the corner of my eye, whilst I nodded along, "Knocking paint off the wall, G! From the inside." I carried on for her, as I walked up, standing beside her against the red brick wall.
Mae mae nods, sharing glancing with our other friends who had a look of frightened and confused clear on there faces.
Today was fucking crazy, honestly. If I didn't know Mae mae was alright I would've lost my fucking mind.
I take a long breath, "All right? And I'm just looking at Mae mae, like— Wait, first off, look at this shit." I breezed past Aria, bending over slightly in front of Kiara and Pope who were sitting across from each other.
I start running my fingers through my hair, knocking the white paint off and into the floor in front of them, whilst they made a disgusted face at me.
Pope pushes my shoulder lightly, "The hell." He says, scrunching his face up in disgust.
And I just know Aria is holding in her laugh right now, and it makes me want to fucking smile so widely that I make her laugh.
"That's dandruff, disgusting." Kiara commented, her eyes following the white paint that falls from my hair as she tried to move back on the chair.
Does she have to do that?
I lean back up slightly, looking back at Aria as she shook her head lightly, "It's not, Kie." She told Kiara, irritation laced her tone.
I bite my cheek harshly to suppress my smile.
It truly wasn't, and I knew she had paint in her hair too.
My eyes fall back to my friends briefly.
Kiara turns her eyes to Aria for a moment, giving her a light shrug.
"Okay, thank you." Pope's voice was laced with sarcasm, as he smiled sarcastically at me.
I lean back up fully, motioning my hands down at the floor where the paint fell from my hair, "Look at all that. All right?" I pause, taking deep breaths. "That's paint." I tell them, nodding toward Mae mae slightly.
I turn my head slightly letting my eyes fall back to Mae mae as she leans her head off the wall. I walk back over to her moving my body back beside her.
She's so gorgeous it fucking hurts.
I knew my hair was a mess on my head from how Aria brushes her shoulder with mine, lifting her hand up and threading it through my hair softly, making my heart thump harshly against my chest.
She's always so gentle with me, fuck.
I blow out a harsh breath, moving my eyes back onto Pope and Kiara. "At that point, I was just, like... I'm waiting for death." I finished, breathing heavy.
They shook there heads.
Aria's hands fall from my messy hair, dropping by her sides. "J, don't say shit like that." She tells me her voice low, as she tilted her head back onto the red bricks, looking over at are other friends.
My mouth immediately snaps shut, fuck.
I'll do anything— everything she fucking wants.
My eyes fall to her curls for a moment, they are so fucking gorgeous.
I made my blue eyes evert my eyes from her, back to our friends.
"Okay, so you saw the guys that shot at us, right?" Pope confirmed, his head hanging in between his hands in thought.
Classic Pope.
"Yeah." I huffed out.
Mae mae shrugged her shoulder against my chest lightly, "Uh, kind of?" She mumbled, her tone laced with nervousness.
"Did you get a good description of them?" Pope asked, taking his head from between his hands and looking up at me.
He clasps his hands together.
"Yeah, like what did they look like?" Kiara added, gazing between me and my Mae mae.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
"Anything we can bring to a police department?" Pope questioned hopefulness laced his tone.
I don't remember much, not of what they look like. I scrunch my face up, nervous.
They wouldn't come back, right?
I start to pace from the brick wall Aria's leaned against and the screen door, as I raked my hand through my messy hair. "Burly," I replied finally.
I almost laughed at the look Pope was giving me, but don't.
Fuck.
"Burly?" Pope repeated to me.
"Yeah," I began to elaborate but Kiara cut me off.
"That's not very helpful." She scoffs.
Aria groans behind me before I make my way back to her, leaning beside her against the brick wall. "Well maybe if you would let him spe—"
"Okay, well, no, like the type of guy at my dad's garage. I mean, you guys know he made cargo hides for drug smugglers," I tried to explain, cutting Aria off before she could say anything that makes me loose my shit with Kiara. "I can tell you with confidence, these boys, these killers..." I spat, leaning more against the wall.
Aria hummed besides me, agreeing with me.
I slip my hand into my pocket fishing for my juul and pulling it out of my pocket, I place it between my lips taking a long drag from it as I hold it loosely in my hands. "They're square groupers." I confirm, nodding my head slightly.
I exhale the smoke.
My eyes fall down to Aria's hand for a moment as she twists her ring on her thumb, "Square groupers, mates." She repeats, agreeing as she nodded her head.
Aria has always had an habit of twisting her ring when she's anxious, or worried as if.
And I'm worried too, these guys, they weren't someone to mess with.
And if they fucking lay a finger tip on my Mae mae, they won't have hands anymore.
I shake my head, knocking myself out of thought as I move my eyes from Aria's hand and to Pope.
"Like Pablo Escobar square groupers?" Pope asked, arching an eyebrow.
Aria immediately nodded making me smile, as she leaned her head on my shoulder, a shiver running down my spine. "Yeah, P." She told him.
Fuck, why is she so adorable.
"Yeah, man," I replied to Pope, agreeing with him and Aria.
Kiara scoffs but I don't move my eyes to her, "You guys, not everything is a kingpin move." She tells us, making Aria, Pope, and I roll our eyes.
I bring my juul back to my lips, inhaling a wad of smoke before exhaling it, as I lean my head on Aria's gently.
She raises her hand to mine, snatching my juul from my hand. I smile so wildly.
She takes a deep inhale then exhales it, the white smoke clouding around us for a moment, as she holds my juul in her hand as her stunning eyes go back to Pope and to John b, who was sitting on the red chair.
"What do these square groupers look like specifically?" Pope inquired, almost humorously.
I lean my head off Mae mae's gently before pushing myself off the wall, waving my hands in the air as I spoke, frustration and anger flowing through my body. "You weren't there, bro!" I yelled, my voice strained.
My eyes fall to Pope.
"Apparently you weren't either 'cause you're not giving me a description!" Pope cried, growing equally frustrated with me as I was with him.
Aria groans behind us, and I could hear her hitting my juul again.
"Dude! I wasn't taking little mental polaroids the entire time! I was under duress, okay?" I blurted, my voice cracking as I did. I could feel my face getting red as my expression reflected how shaken up I really was about the situation.
I clasp my hands together, squeezing them tight as I glance back at Mae mae, the only one who can calm me down, fuck.
She turns her head, connecting her eyes with mine as she gives me a soft smile, so fucking soft it makes everything in my head go blank.
I regain my composure, taking a deep breath before glancing back at Pope. "I can tell you by the way that Ms. Lana was screaming.. that these guys are serious, serious hombres, man." I tell them, squeezing my eyes shut for a moment before reopening them.
Mae mae hums behind me, "It's a heavy vibe right now, okay? I'm not liking this very much." She says, her voice low but loud enough for us all to hear.
I tighten my jaw, raising one of my hands to run my fingers through my mess of blond hair on my head as I turn, facing Mae mae as I make my way back to her, leaning beside her on the red brick wall once again.
Nothing is happening to her, never.
"Why would they want the compass?" Kie spoke up, her tone clear with confusion.
"It's a piece of shit," Pope mumbled. "You couldn't pawn that off for five bucks if you wanted too." He continued.
I move my eyes to him for a moment, shaking my head.
My eyes fall back to Mae mae as her eyes fall to Pope, "But if that's the case, then why did Ms. Lana get so bloody shaken up when Jb pulled out the compass?" she said, countering Pope's statement.
My eyebrows pull together at her words, why did she? And why the hell hasn't John b said a word this whole time.
I groan.
"The office." John b finally speaks up, but I know exactly what he's talking about, and I know Mae mae knows to as she stiffens besides me.
Mae mae's eyebrows lower, "Big Johns office.." She murmurs loud enough for me to hear, realization all over her gorgeous face.
"What?" Pope asks, and I just know he's messing around with his hat on his head.
"My dad's office. He always kept the room locked because he worried about his competitors stealing his Royal Merchant research," John B elaborated as he stood off his chair, walking past us and into his house, all four of us immediately trailing after him.
Mae mae slips her hand into mine, interlocking our fingers as she nods, her lips pursed as she blows out a deep sigh.
My heart warms, her hand sending shivers all over my body. I move my gaze from her face, glancing at John b's back as we follow him past his kitchen and into the hall, where his dad's office is.
"We use to laugh at him like he was actually gonna find it. But now that he's gone, I've just kept the room locked, like he left it." He rambled on, pushing his hand inside of his blue cargo pockets and slipping out his keys.
'We use to laugh at him like he as actually gonna find it.' And I know he's referring to Mae mae, him, and I, cause I remember us vaguely laughing at him because of that exact reason.
"For when he gets back," Kie replied optimistically, turning her head to look at us, her eyes glaring holes into us.
Mae mae nudges my side and I immediately nod, as Pope nods in agreement to, as John B fishes for the key on his key set and finally unlocks the door.
I rub my thumb softly on the back of Mae mae's hand.
We all piled into the room, as I take in the unknown territory as we continue to walk on the way in. Books and papers were stacked high, barely standing up themselves. In the background the birds from outside were shrieking, but for now, I ignored it.
"I've spent the night here like six hundred times, and I've never seen this door open." Pope said in awe as he entered behind Aria and I, my eyes find his face for a moment and his eyes are unable to stop from wandering all over the place.
"Mm, quite frankly I stay here more then my house and I've never been inside here either..." Mae mae agreed with Pope, tightening her hand with mine.
I roll my tongue over my teeth and tighten my other hand in fist to stop myself from moving even closer to her.
I suck in a breath as my eyes follow John b as he carry's his feet beside a long table, picking off a brown board with papers stuck all over it
Aria tugs me more beside her as we all crowd around a shitty brown color table, Pope on the other side of me as Kiara stood on the other side of Mae mae.
John b makes his way back to us quickly, standing in front of us, as he sets the cork board down on the table with a small thud, "Here, look. This is the original owner, right here." He tells us, my eyes follow his index finger as it glides over the board onto one of the pictures.
My eyebrows raise as I purse my lips, tilting my head to the side to get a better look at the board.
"Okay, Robert Q. Routledge. 1880 to 1920." Aira hums besides me, following my head movements as she gets a better look at the picture, "There's the lucky compass, right here." She continued, using her other hand to point her index finger to indicate the exact same compass which instead of being pried in John b's hands; which it was currently. Instead the accessory was clipped onto the jacket of John b's ancestor. The bronzed colour faded into a silver from the lacking presence of any other coloured ink than black and white.
My hooded eyes fall onto John b as he lets out a slight displeased sound. Then my eyes travel around to see the rest of my friends raise there heads to, but my best friends eyes stay on the picture.
"Actually, um.. he was shot after he bought it." John b coughs out, everting his eyes from us and back onto the paper.
My head immediately turns to the side and my eyes fall onto Aria who already was looking up at me. My eyebrows furrowed as her lips parted in shock.
I almost chuckle at the look because, fuck if she didn't look even more gorgeous. A goofy smile pulled at her lips, her perfect teeth showing as she tilted her head to the side.
Almost immediately a wide smile pulls at my lips.
Aria quickly whipped her head back hearing John b begin to speak again, my eyes linger on the side of her face for a moment before turning to look at him, "And then the compass was shipped back to Henry." My brown-haired friend moved his finger to press against the next name and picture that sat below the man that I had just discovered had been killed.
I pull my bottom lip into my mouth. And that man most likely died for owning the item.
"Henry was killed in a crop-dusting accident when he had the compass." After the words leave John b's mouth I groan lowly, tightening my hand with Mae mae's.
This is not right. The compass, something isn't adding up.
"After he died, the compass was given to Stephen." John b carried on. As I nodded my head, silently understanding what kind of pattern was going on.
"Stephen had the compass with him when he died in Vietnam." I look away from the brown board for a moment, sighing under my breath from his words.
"Yeah, let me guess... he died in action, yeah?" Aria spoke up, making my head turn back and my eyes fall onto her.
Right?
I turn my eyes to John b, silently waiting for him to say she's right.
I felt a shiver run down my spine at his words "Uh, sort of..." John b spoke, muffled under a deep exhale.
"Sort of? What do you mean sort of?" I spoke up, impatiently waiting for an answer that wouldn't mean we had a fucking death compass.
This is fucking crazy.
Aria hummed beside me, and I knew she was as impatient as I was right now. "Actually he was killed by a banana truck. In—in country." I run my fingers through my hair with my free hand at his words.
"Oh, for bloody's sake." Aria scoffed, shaking her head. I turn my eyes to her before we all share glances, worry laced Pope and Kiara's.
And John b, though judging by his face still thought everything was okay.
"And, uh, after that, Stephen passed the compass down to him, my dad." John b says, swallowing harshly.
And I knew how hard it was taking about him, his dad.
"Hm. Sounds like there's a reoccurring theme here." Mae mae spoke up, earning a noise of agreement from both Pope and I.
"Yeah, um, you have a death compass." I told him confidently knowing I was completely right. This compass is not something we should have, it should be thrown into fucking fire.
"I do not." John b mumbled, shaking his head.
"Yeah, you do in fact have a death compass." Pope chimed in, I turn my head to look at him as he nodded at John b repeatedly.
"Seriously, lad. Get rid of it." Mae mae tells him, her tone oddly calm. As she slipped her hand from mine, twisting her ring.
My hand stays dangling by my side once she lets go, a frown almost making my lips.
"I do not have a death compass." John b groaned, edging away from the table we had all hovered around for the past few minutes. Kiara following closely behind, making my eyebrows raise just a bit.
I seriously think something's happening between them. "It's cursed and it's made it's way back to you." I say, seriousness laced my voice.
John B rolled his eyes as he slipped his hand in his pocket, fishing out the bronzed compass and slipping his hand back out of his pocket as he sits down on an black chair.
Aria grabs my attention as she turns her head to look at Pope. "P, grab it and we can throw it into the marsh." Mae mae whispers to Pope as she carry's her feet to stand beside him.
My eyes follow them as a frown continues to almost pull at my lips, "Good idea." He whispers, dipping his head down to Aria's short frame to hear her better.
Aria tilts her head back, a gentle smile on her lips as she pushes Pope to John b by his shoulder gently.
"Hurry, that little death compass is literally going to come for us." She mumble, almost making me laugh at her tone of voice which was laced with seriousness.
John b scoffs, "You know I can hear you both right?" He says, making my eyes fall onto him.
I cross my arms over my chest, nibbling on my bottom lip.
Pope shifts back beside Aria who has a shit eating grin on her lips. He leans his side against hers, "I don't know what you're talking about.. now can we get rid of it?" Pope tells him, a hopeful smile on his lips.
Aria laughs under her breath, making a smile pull at my lips. "No, and its not a death compass." John b confirms, shaking his head. "My dad use to talk about this compartment in here." The laughter died down from Aria as her eyes fell onto John b.
"Soldiers use to hide secret notes." He continued.
My eyes fall onto Aria as she quickly moves back around the table and shoves her side into mine, making a warm sensation twist in my stomach.
A smile brightens my lips, as a goofy smile curves on her lips.
Fuck. I swear I don't think I'd be here if not with Mae mae.
This woman, my Mae mae that makes my life that gives me no pleasure, no hopefulness, no enjoyment, better. She gives me all that, that I didn't have, ever sense we met, when we were one. She gives me hopefulness, enjoyment, pleasure, she makes this life better, and just by being beside me, just by looking at her, and I would never leave her, not her. Never her.
I wrap my arm loosely around her torso as I carry my feet to the other side of John b, dragging Mae mae along with me.
Kiara stood on the other side of John b, as Pope was standing in front of Jb.
My eyes fell on John b as his fingers twist off the cap on the compass, after a few shakes of his wrist a piece falls out by Pope's shoes.
"Huh, what's that?" Kiara inquired, her hand motioning to the engraved name in the part John b still held.
All five all peered over, trying to catch a glimpse of whatever Kiara was looking at.
"This is my dad's handwriting." John B said in confidence to us.
My eyebrows scrunch together.
"How can you know that?" Pope says, scrunching up his face in confusion. Could it be Big Johns?
He lifted the cap to show Pope, trying to prove him wrong, "Because he does these weird R's with these... see it?" he shot back shortly, wiggling the compass in his hand.
I turn my eyes to Pope briefly and it was obvious he didn't believe him, it was clear from the way he rolled his eyes back.
But Pope didn't say more, and I'm guessing it was to not start an argument with him.
I let my hand fall off Mae mae's waist to get a better look, "Can I see it?" I asked, not waiting for an answer before stepping in front of Mae mae and bending down slightly, peering over John b's shoulder, earning a soft huff from Mae mae.
"J.. I can't see, you oaf." She mumbled, and her voice was so soft, making my heart clench as I peer my head down more.
I feel Mae mae's hands on my shoulders as she repeatedly tried to jump up and look over my shoulder.
I let out a small laugh, "Come here, baby." I whisper, shaking my head with a huge smile, and my teeth had to be showing.
'Baby' always just slips out with Mae mae, and I fucking love calling her it. It makes my heart warm, happy.
I lean back up, shifting to the side of her and gently reaching over and wrapping my arms loose around her torso. I pull her in front of me, letting her peer over John b's shoulder as I press my stomach to her shoulders, leaning down to rest my chin on the top of her head, my chin rubbing her dark hair slightly.
Fuck. Fuck.
Why is she so goddamn adorable.
It makes everything warm inside me, everything.
My stomach tingles as I rub circles on her stomach over her shirt with my thumb.
Mae mae has always been shorter than me, she's 5'7, I'm 6'1. She wasn't necessarily short, she reached my shoulders just barley.
I peer my hooded eyes at the compass. "Red—Rout." I try to read whatever the 'secret' message was, my eyebrows scrunching together, confusion written on my face.
Aria hums under me, the vibration shivering my body. "No, that's an A, J. It says Redfield." She tells me, her voice sweet and soft, making any embarrassment I had from her correcting me leave my body immediately.
I nod, my chin pressing more into her dark curls, "Hm, thank you Mae mae.." I mumble, my voice soft.
John b coughs, gaining our attention. "Okay, well, what's Redfield?" Kiara questioned, shrugging.
"Besides the most common name in the county?" Pope snarky comment forced a small heckle of laughter from Mae mae, making laughter fall from my lips too.
"Maybe— maybe it's a clue?" John B started, as he leaned back in the chair, his eyes looking around us as he flipped the compass around in his hand. "Maybe it's a clue to where he's hiding." He continued, his eyes glancing at Aria for a good moment.
"Okay.." I mumbled, before tightening my lips together. My eyes travel around between Pope and John b.
I don't know what to believe, I don't know if I should think Big John is dead, or if he's not.
"A clue? Come on, that's—" Pope was cut off by a deathly glare from kiara, shaking her head and I knew it was a silent warning for him not to finish that sentence.
Aria grumbles from under me, and I tighten my arms around her waist a little.
"But if it's a clue, maybe it's an anagram?" Those last few words from Pope seemed to set off a serotonin trigger inside of John B's head.
Kiara has been on us all day, and to be honest it's getting fucking annoying. If we don't say the right thing she glares at us. If we don't do the right thing, she glares at us.
Can we do anything right?
I let my body hunch more over as I move my chin from the top of Mae mae's head, letting it drop to the crook of her shoulder as my eyes follow John b.
"Yes. Perfect. Anagram. You need paper." He swung around in the chair, hurriedly grabbing a plain piece from the desk and pushing his arm out, passing the paper to Pope.
I push Mae mae's back with my front, guiding her to the makeshift stand we were earlier hovering around. Pope stands on one side of Mae mae as Kiara stands beside him.
Mae mae reaches over slightly as much as she could with me holding her in place, she grabs a pen laying loose on the table and pushes the end, making a click noise as she grabs the paper from Pope.
She leans her stomach against the table as she writes something down on the paper, but to be completely honest I wasn't even paying attention, I was just tilting my head to the side, looking at the side of her face as it was clear she was trying to concentrate.
Damn, she's so fucking gorgeous.
I hear Pope shuffle closer to look at the paper on the table she was writing on, "How do you concentrate with that thing constantly crowing at you?" Pope complains to Mae mae, earning a small soft gasp from her.
Crowing was coming right into my ears but I try to block it out as I smile softly, my blue eyes still on Mae mae.
John b scoffs from behind us, "Mae and JJ love the rooster." John B defended us, whilst Mae mae nodded, her eyes staying on the paper as scribbling noises came from her writing on the paper made it's way to my ears. "They treat it like their baby." He continued.
"I love the rooster." Kiara joined in, earning an almost scoff from me. She barely even fed it.
I couldn't deny it though, it was mine and Mae mae's baby, we fed it and pet it anytime we were over here, we basically treated it as if it was a baby.
Mae mae hummed in approval to Kiara's words, though I knew she was lying, and her words proved so, making a massive smile pull on my plump lips.
"Because it is our baby, don't be so cruel Pope. You only say that because he doesn't quite like you." Mae mae told him, defensive laced her tone.
Pope huffed lightly, "Okay, that might be true." He let out a small chuckle.
It's tried to snap at him at least twice.
Aria laughs under her breath, shuffling the paper and pen to Pope and before he can speak up, John b interrupts him. "Guys. Guys! Somebody's here." He shouts, worry laced his tone.
༻☙༺
I absolutely adore this.
I wanted you to have JJ's POV on this part, I hope you like this.
Rafe is coming after the next one, and.... just be ready.
Any thoughts?
Comment and vote if you want.
💋