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"ANY responses yet?"
Lauren shook her head as she sat in JJ's chair by his desk, her chin cradled by her hand. "Nothing. They haven't even read it yet."
JJ walked over to Lauren, two plates in his hands with his mom's delicious chicken dinner steaming on top. He had told his mother that he felt better but he needed to eat supper upstairs so he and Lauren could work on a project that was due tomorrow. So far, neither his mother nor his father noticed the new addition of landscape in their backyard and JJ was grateful for small miracles. Now he just needed a larger one, one that could bring Lizzy back like a magician's disappearing act. If he just closed his eyes and thought hard enough, she'd materialize, standing in front of him with her glimmering eyes and smooth caramel skin that he desperately wanted to touch. But there was something he was missing—maybe a magic word or two—because when he opened his eyes it was just Lauren in front of him, staring at his laptop screen at the motionless Facebook messages.
JJ sighed and tossed Lauren a plate. "Dinner," he told her. Lauren caught it and began to devour the meal.
In between bites, she reassured JJ: "We'll find her. Don't worry." She must've noticed his forlorn, hopeless expression and lack of an appetite as he picked at his food.
Minutes seemed to tick by like lifetimes and JJ grew restless. "Tell me what we wrote to them again, Lauren," he commanded her for the millionth time. Normally, Lauren would be tired of repeating herself over and over again, but she knew that JJ was going through a rough time. Having someone you love disappear without a trace? Lauren couldn't imagine what that felt like. When the disappearances began about a year ago, she and JJ watched the TV reports on them and laughed them off as though they existed in another world, another dimension. Nothing like that could ever happen to them—of this, they were convinced. Until now.
"'Hi, my name is JJ and I've heard that your best friend, Lizzy Conner, disappeared in Illinois the other day. I am truly, truly sorry that she's missing. I want to help in any way that I can. You're probably wondering who I am exactly and why I care about Lizzy's disappearance. All will be revealed soon; just please reply ASAP. Thanks.'"
"Does that sound okay? Not too creepy? Do you think they're too scared to message me back?" JJ rambled, biting on his lip anxiously.
Lauren sauntered over to his bed where JJ was sitting before leaping onto him for one of her ginormous bear hugs. Her knee punctured his stomach and her foot accidently kicked his leg; nevertheless, he let her embrace him and he hugged her back as tight as he could. Tears threatened to escape the corners of his eyes and he tried to push them back. He failed miserably, and they trickled down his face like streams.
Lauren pressed her face onto his chest, whispering sweet nothings until she lulled JJ to sleep.
"JJ! JJ, wake up!" Lauren shook JJ awake with her navy nail-polished fingers. JJ blinked as his brain slowly emerged from the wondrous cave of dreams that had enveloped him and allowed him to escape from the nightmare he was currently living with Lizzy missing. He rubbed his eyes and dragged himself to his desk where Lauren was hopping ecstatically.
"Look, Jordan, look!" she exclaimed. When she used his real name, JJ suddenly became wide awake as though he was just dunked in cold water. Lauren never ever used his real name unless the situation was very frightening—or exciting.
JJ followed to where Lauren's finger was pointing, and his jaw dropped. They had a response—from Teagan. And Mateo. And Reece.
"They all replied at, like, the same time," Lauren informed him.
"What did they say?"
"I didn't look. I figured you should read them first."
JJ slid into his desk chair and clicked on Teagan's reply. She wrote, WHO THE HELL ARE YOU. Sorry. I'm sorry. I'm just really freaking out because my best friend is missing and nobody knows where the hell she is. Sorry, let me get my shit together. I'm Teagan. Now please tell me how you know Lizzy and why you care. She never mentioned you before.
Next, Mateo's reply: Do you know where she is?? You need to go to the police if you know something. I hope she isn't hurt or lying in a ditch somewhere. If you hurt her, I swear to God I will find you and kill you. Lizzy didn't deserve this.
Finally, Reece: Any information about where she is will be beneficial. How did she know you? You can tell me anything, anything at all. I miss her so much already. Who in their right mind would hurt her? She's so beautiful and sweet and. Sorry, I'm rambling. Reply as soon as you get this. We need to find her.
"Do I have to respond to all of them, or can I just combine them all into a group chat?" JJ asked Lauren. She shrugged, suddenly emotionless about the whole ordeal, the screen of her phone casting a neon glow on her face.
"Sorry, JJ, but I gotta go. Isaiah and his teammates are throwing a party at his house and all the cheerleaders are invited—and basically anyone who is anyone." She paused and slung her backpack over her shoulder. "You can come with if you want."
JJ swung around, his eyes as wide as Lake Michigan. "The girl I love with all my heart is fucking missing and could be in trouble at this very moment and you suggest that I go to a fucking party. Are you delusional?"
Lauren shrugged again. "I just think that Lizzy might be hard to find. And I don't want you to get so stressed that you get sick or something worse. I'll be at Isaiah's if you change your mind. Love you, JJ." She blew him a kiss and left his bedroom, her waterfall curls bouncing like springs.
"Love you too, Lauren," JJ said automatically before returning to the task at hand.
He finally decided on creating a group chat because he only wanted to explain his story once. He began to type: I accidently texted Lizzy a few months ago because some girl at a party gave me a random number. She and I quickly became friends until we texted each other almost every day. Then, we Facetimed, and we just felt really close and comfortable. We always wanted to see each other and meet. My phone got taken away when I was grounded because of my grades and fights with my brother, but then my mom lost it. We still haven't found it. Then I heard about Lizzy's disappearance. She came to Illinois—that's where I live. I think that someone stole my phone and started texting her, gaining her trust, pretending to be me. But who? I need your guys' help. I want to find her as badly as you do.
JJ clicked send, sat back, and waited. And waited. And waited. Thirty minutes slipped into an hour, then two, then three. JJ couldn't stand all this waiting; he just wanted to find her and hold her close in his arms. Now, JJ understood Lauren's last words to him before she left—he'd go completely insane if he focused his entire time on searching Lizzy. No matter how hard he craved to, he couldn't find her overnight. Maybe not tomorrow either. Whether he liked it or not, finding Lizzy was going to take time.
And JJ needed a distraction.
He stood up, grabbed his letterman jacket, and walked out the door.
His computer chimed behind him, signaling that a notification had arrived, but JJ was already gone.
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Isaiah's house pulsed with life like a living, breathing monster, the walls heaving and swaying as it inhaled and exhaled. Now that he was here, standing outside, everything around him dark and gloomy except for the lively home in front of him, nerves pricked his skin. He was never a huge fan of parties; usually, he went with Lauren and lost her in thirty seconds flat. That was what he got for being best friends with a popular cheerleader who had so many friends that she sometimes forgot their names. Then, he'd find a girl and hang out with her for the whole night, eventually conjuring enough courage to ask her for her number—and she'd decline politely or give him the wrong one. Or he'd spend time with his basketball buddies, but they were usually too busy trying to get laid to pay any attention to him.
He stood there, mustering up bravery for what seemed like forever, and then took one step forward. Then another. And another. His feet carried him to the front door against his will. He opened the door and almost got ran over by a couple of his drunk classmates. He pressed himself against the wall, his eyes wide. Why did he come here again? Parties weren't his scene—maybe his brothers' scenes but definitely not his.
"JJ, you made it!" a voice slurred. JJ searched for the owner and found Lauren tumbling to him as she tripped over her own feet. Luckily, JJ caught and steadied her. "I'm so glad you're here." Her voice muddled all the words together as though they were seamlessly one and JJ shook his head. His best friend was completely wasted, her head tilted up at him, her eyes half closed, her legs nonfunctioning.
"What the hell man, get off of her!" another voice shouted above the pounding music. JJ hadn't noticed it before but now a dull ache spread across his head. It was a bad idea to come here. A shitty, stupid idea. "Get off my girlfriend."
"Sorry, Mikey," Lauren responded before JJ could say a word. "I was just sayin' hi to JJ over here."
Mikey, big and burly and five hundred pounds heavier than JJ, grabbed Lauren from JJ's arms, an angry vein popping out from his meaty forehead. "What did I tell you about touching my girlfriend."
JJ never liked Mikey; he never understood why Lauren would date such a douchebag. "Chill, Mikey. She's drunk and can barely walk. I was just helping her out." Nobody seemed to understand the fact that Lauren and JJ were simply best friends—Mikey least of all. Everyone assumed that, deep down, JJ and Lauren were lovers and would eventually start dating. Little did they know, JJ's heart was stolen by someone else. But they wouldn't understand.
JJ stepped back and watched Mikey grab Lauren roughly by the arm, his glare never wavering from JJ's face. JJ simply met his stare with equal force, daring Mikey to do something. He wasn't sure what exactly he was daring him to do; all JJ knew was that, by not backing down, he was challenging Mikey.
"Stay away from my girlfriend, you hear? If I ever see you touching her again, I will kill you," Mikey snarled aggressively. JJ couldn't help but notice that Mikey's eyebrows had been knitted together so that it looked like he had a unibrow, or a ferret, on his forehead. A chuckle escaped his lips before he could suppress it.
"Mikey, you're hurting me," Lauren said, her eyes still half closed and her whole body leaning on Mikey for support.
Mikey, however, wasn't listening. "What's so funny, boy?"
"Nothing." JJ looked around the room—no one was paying attention to them, everyone seemed to be drunk, or kissing, or dancing, or all three at once, and everything at that moment appeared hilarious to JJ. Then, he started laughing and he couldn't stop.
Lizzy was somewhere, out there, maybe even in this neighborhood and here all these kids were—kissing, drunk, dancing—without a care in the world. This was what normal teenagers did. They shouldn't worry about being kidnapped or killed or hurt; they should be concerned about their next final, if the girl in their physics class has a crush on them, how they can bump up their English grade from a D to a B.
But now, Lizzy was gone, and JJ found himself at a stupid, stupid, stupid party with stupid people who were blind to the danger that lurked around them.
"You gonna answer me or what?" Mikey shouted.
JJ shook his head. "I'm heading out."
As JJ reached for the door, a hand reached out and latched onto him. Scared of his mind, JJ whirled around, only to see tipsy Lauren smiling at him lazily. "Stay. Please. What did I tell you? This missing girl Lizzy is going to make you go insane."
Mikey stood beside Lauren and heard every word, much to JJ's dismay. He reached for the door handle, but Mikey rested his mammoth-sized hand on the door, preventing JJ's escape. "Elizabeth Conner from the news? You interested in a dead girl, boy?"
JJ grit his teeth and tried to stay calm. "She's not dead."
"She may as well be. All them taken girls wind up dead."
"She's. Not. Dead."
"What? You in love with her or somethin'?" Mikey said, a smug tone in his voice as though he'd arose victorious against JJ.
JJ narrowed his eyes and slowly turned his head toward Mikey. Anger boiled underneath his skin despite his attempt to control it. Deep down, he knew he was about to do something stupid and join the already incredibly stupid people around him.
"Shut the fuck up, Mikey." JJ spoke dangerously, threateningly. He wished Mikey would just shut his loud mouth so that he wouldn't have to do anything radical—or stupid.
And then those classic words that seemed to detonate from every teenager's mouth: "Make me."
And as JJ flung himself at Mikey with all his might, all he could think about was Lizzy and how she would feel knowing that he had initiated the fight, instead of being brave like her and stopping it.
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A/N:
Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! If you did, please vote and comment your thoughts! This party chapter is supposed to be similar to Lizzy's party scene and show the parallels between JJ and Lizzy and how they--and their lives--are different. I start school in one week so that's exciting! It's my big senior year! I'm so nervous about college yet I can't wait to decorate my dorm room so I have pretty mixed feelings atm :) ALSO, To All the Boys I've Loved Before is an AMAZING MOVIE, I LOVED IT SO MUCH, and YOU NEED TO WATCH IT, so that we can have a SEQUEL. I related to Lara Jean, I fell in love with Peter, Josh was absolutely adorable, the sister chemistry was beautiful. 10/10 recommend, go check it out on Netflix!
- Payton