★★★
★★★
After my heart dropped nearly through my asshole, I turned quickly in shock. To my surprise, JJ stood there with a surfboard with him as well. I looked down at it, then back up to his face that was looking back at me without emotion on it. "Wha- how are you here?" I asked, confused not just how he was here, but why?
"You were the only one awake and I saw you take your board," He said, his mouth going from a flat line to a boisterous smile in less than a second. I was confused, to say the least, but I was far too excited to surf to let anyone sway my decision to dive in.
I shrugged and gestured to his board, "How long you been surfing?"
"Since I was a kid, it's my favorite thing to do, to be honest," He answered, and I smiled at his response. He had acted so cold and uninviting since I met him today, I honestly thought he didn't like me. "I'm not insane for thinking you hated me, right?" I blurted, I was not known for my subtlety.
After an uncomfortable silence for a minute that was all too long, JJ sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "I don't hate you, I just-" He said, trailing off a little.
I looked at him, confusion lacing my features, and shook my head while furrowing my brow. "What?" I pushed to get an answer out of him.
"I'm gonna be honest, I don't trust you," He said. This surprised me, but I liked his honesty. "I didn't expect you to trust me, nobody asked you to trust me. I literally met you today, I would never expect trust to be what you were feeling towards me," I commented. I tended to have a short temper sometimes, but I kept my head.
I felt anger bubbling up, but I pushed it right back down. I couldn't lose it over something so minor and especially not with someone who already doesn't seem to have the best view of me. "So why follow me?" I asked, asking the only question genuinely confusing me.
"I don't know," He said simply, not answering any questions I had. I mentally rolled my eyes but didn't do it in person, I just felt like he was a hot-headed person that would be easily offended by something like that. I decided not to piss him off and just roll with it, I was just ready to surf.
"Fine, let's go," I said, and he nodded. He put his board down for a second so he could pull his shirt over his head. I looked away instantly, I wouldn't want him gawking at me when I was undressing, so I gave him the same courtesy. He was good looking, I couldn't lie to myself, but that was hardly the point right now.
He tossed his shirt next to the pile of my clothes and I continued to look away, observing the waves as they crashed on the shore one by one. "Ready?" I asked, and he nodded. I couldn't help but smile as we ran down to the water together, jumping into the waves with our boards in our arms.
We paddled out and waited for a good wave, any wave, and while we waited I felt cool water graze my face. I turned in JJ's direction and saw him laughing as I realized he had splashed me. "Oh, that's how you wanna play?" I asked, splashing him back, a little more forcefully than his splash. We were both laughing for a bit, splashing each other back and forth, but it didn't last long.
Our laughter ceased when a large wave crept up on us, crashing over our heads and soaking us. "What?!" JJ exclaimed, only making me laugh harder. We decided to get our heads back in the game and prepare for an actual surf session so we didn't waste the little time we had out on the water. We got a couple of waves, but soon both started getting really tired.
We both got out of the water and I put my board down flat on the sand, laying flat on my back on top of it. JJ took notice of this and did the same, laying down next to me. I looked up at the night sky and took a deep breath, exhaling deeply while looking at the stars. We were silent for a bit, but not uncomfortably silent like earlier. I felt at ease for the first time in weeks, and it was thanks to someone who I thought despised me just hours ago.
"Okay, enough of this bullshit, what's your story?" JJ asked abruptly, the night doing well to mask the confusion on my face. I turned my head towards and waited for him to say anything else. "You're obviously not just magically hanging out with us for the hell of it. I know John B., he's my best friend and a good guy. So why's he helping you?" He continued.
I had no idea what to say. Out of everyone, I didn't expect him to come asking questions first. I hated dishonesty, so I decided to practice what I preached right then and there, even if it meant judgment. "I'm living at the Chateau," I said plainly, looking back up at the sky so I didn't have to face him. "Is it because of what happened to your face?" He asked, and I sat up quickly, my guard flying up. "You don't know anything about me, don't fucking assume shit like that," I snapped defensively, although he was pretty spot-on with his guess.
I sighed, running my hands through my hair. "My dad kicks me around. He's a pretty shit dad, but I'm not saying that for pity. I can tell when things aren't right at home," He said. Not often did anything leave me speechless, but I felt for JJ. "Hammer? Meet nail," I groaned, confirming his suspicions.
"I lived with my aunt on the cut, but I had enough of her shit. I went back for my stuff this morning and she caught me leaving. It's all good though, she gave me a little goodbye gift," I said, gesturing to my face. I tried to force a laugh, but it didn't come out humorously. "It's really fine," I muttered quietly, my voice faltering slightly.
"My shiner just faded, but if I knew you any earlier, we could have matched," JJ said, trying to bring some light to the heavy topic we were discussing. "You're staying at the Chateau tonight like everyone else?" I asked, changing the subject quickly. I saw him nod, "I was hanging out in your new room, wasn't I?"
I laughed through my nose briefly, rubbing the back of my neck in an awkward manner. "Yeah, but where are you gonna crash?" I asked, and he shrugged, "I'll find something, there's a pullout couch I crash on usually."
"I feel weird coming in here and getting my own room and shit, it's like a hotel," I joked. JJ chuckled, "I'll make your bed if you want." I laughed at his humor and shoved him lightly. "Shut up," I said with a chuckle. We got up and grabbed our boards, walking up to where our clothes were. He picked them all up, including my shoes, and we walked off the sand.
I followed him to John B.'s van, and we mounted our boards on the top of it. He got in the front seat and I climbed into the passenger's seat. On the drive back, we played some music on the radio, and "Gimme Some Lovin'" by Spencer Davis started to play.
"Oh my god! I love this song," I said, reaching over to turn in up. It was late, but the music filled the car and made it feel like a typical hot summer afternoon. "No shit, I love this song too," He said, tapping his hand to the beat on the steering wheel.
"And I'm so glad you made!" I sang loudly, and he continued for me, "So glad you made it! You gotta..."
"Gimme some lovin'!" I sang."
"Gimme, gimme some lovin'!" JJ sang the background part in a high-pitched voice that made me laugh again. I had a really nice time with JJ, surprisingly, and he didn't make my surf experience totally suck that night, so I was grateful.
We got back to The Chateau at around one in the morning, and immediately went inside. I left my board on the van and went straight into the house, ready to sleep. Before I could make it to my room, though, I heard JJ from behind me. "See you in the morning," He said, and I was taken aback by kindness all night. He opened up to me about his dad, which allowed me to open up to him about Helen.
"Thank you for tonight," I said, referring to how we talked about our families earlier. "Yeah, uh... It's no problem," He stammered, chuckling lightly. He seemed awkward with that last response, but I brushed it off and decided to go to bed. I gave him a tiny wave and went inside my room, shutting the door behind me and getting into a large t-shirt and baggy shorts for bed.
I fell asleep at ease that night, and I quite honestly looked forward to more sound nights without the shitty company of my aunt. I thought about how she was feeling not having me there for good this time, but I chose not to let it get to my head, she was certainly not thinking about me.
The next morning, I woke up happy. I felt like I had a genuinely good sleep the night before and had a good time surfing last night. Thankfully, John B.'s house was a lot closer than Helen's boat to my favorite surf spot. When I woke up, Kiara was hoisting beers into a small blue cooler and Pope was already on The Pogue, which I had found out was also the name of their boat.
We all went out on the boat and went to hang out for the day. We did this for weeks after, just palling around doing nothing in particular. My time at the Chateau was so nice, and everyone had become so open to me. We ran into trouble with some Kooks sometimes, mostly Topper and Rafe. Topper was Sarah Cameron's boyfriend, and Sarah Cameron was the "Kook Princess".
We ran into her at a few parties, her and her Kook friends. They weren't very pleasant people, they all acted entitled and stuck-up. I hadn't met a Kook I liked so far, to be honest. I made very little effort to know them though, I spent all my time with Pope, JJ, John B., and Kie. We went to beach parties held by yours truly, we hung out on the boat, and we got really tan.
I went into my room at the end of another hot day and sat on my bed. I played with the locket my mother gave me when I was young, one that I always wore around my neck. I fiddled with it some more until I finally felt like opening it. I hardly ever opened it, there was a small picture of my parents inside, but I wanted to see it now.
When I opened it and found it empty, I panicked. I jumped up from the bed, thinking maybe I dropped it, but I found it nowhere. I looked for 20 minutes but couldn't locate the picture, but then I remembered something. I had put it under a loose floorboard in Helen's boat when she threatened to throw the locket in the water.
I thought it was the safest place for it so that if she ever forcefully took the locket, at least the picture would be safe. I regretted it now because there was only one thing I could do. I had to go back and get it.
★★★
Aw, I love JJ sm. Anyways, Stevie knows the Kooks and has now been friends with the Pogues for a month or so, they're all very close. That was my attempt at seamlessly integrating her into the friend group lmao. :)