chapter 24
india watches as they pull into the driveway of a trailer home, becoming nervous. she didn't like that jj was mad, but she wouldn't say anything to him with the fear that he would get angry at her.
india was like that. she would keep quiet about everything until she suddenly snap and have a mental breakdown. it had happened a few times while she was with rafe, and the habit had become hard to break.
"welcome to crackhead wasteland" sarah mutters as they see the trailer home in front of them.
pope turns to look at jj, his tone serious. "i don't know about this, man" he tells him as jj pulls to a stop. he's the one driving the van, with john b in the seat beside him and india on the back seat.
jj purses his lips, looking at the house from out the car window.
"dude, why are we even at barry's" pope asks, looking at jj.
jj shakes his head, ignoring pope and getting out of the van. he slams the door shut, making it clear that he was angry.
"this'll only take a second" he grumbles out as he walks away from the van.
india turns to look at her boyfriend "jj, wait-"
the boy doesn't hear her as he walks towards the house, a look of determination crossing his face.
"where are you going?" john b asks from the van at jj.
"yo soy justicia" is the only thing jj replies back at him as he opens the door to the trailer home and steps inside.
india purses her lips, running a hand through her hair in worry. she had never seen this side of him before. with her, he had always been kind and caring, but it was evident that when it didn't involve her, he was a different person. it didn't affect her though, she didn't have a problem with it because at the end of the day, he always treated her right.
while india knew that jj was getting revenge for her and because barry had threatened her, she couldn't help but feel scared for the boy.
india goes to get out of the van behind him when john b stops her.
"i'll go" he tells her before getting out of the car and going after jj.
india sighs, staring at the house as john b follows jj.
the group watches her, knowing how she's feeling at the moment.
kiara grabs her shoulder softly, giving her a reassuring smile as the team waits for jj and john b to get back to the van.
india shakes her head after a moment, stepping down from the van to get some air.
the team does the same, all of them waiting outside as jj finally comes out the door.
the boy holds a duffel bag, a smile on his face.
"all right, so we're looking at five grand each for reparations for putting us through that bullshit" he states as he digs his hand in and takes out a wad of cash. "sorry about that ya'll" he mutters.
india looks at her boyfriend, her eyebrows rising.
"jj, you're realizing this could go very wrong. he's a drug dealer. we're robbing drug dealers now?" she questions, walking closer to him.
"this barry guy's gonna find out, and he's gonna come after us" sarah pitches in, looking at the duffel bad in jj's hands.
jj turns to look at the girls, his lips pursing in frustration.
"yes, he will. this is not the time to start willin' out" pope agrees, turning to look at jj.
"the guy almost killed india!" jj yells out suddenly. "how'd you all guys like having a gun pulled on you?" he questions, arguing his point as he starts to get angry.
"relax" john b argues, walking up to him.
"he had it right there on her, bro" jj continues, making a finger gun and pushing it against john b's head.
john b slaps jj's hand from his head. "look, we've gotta go get the gold, okay? just give me that shit" he reaches out to grab the duffel bag from jj, but jj pushes him back against the van.
"jj!" india yells out.
"you feel like a tough guy? huh?" john b snaps at jj. jj lets go of him, still staring at john b straight in the eye. "what are you gonna do when he comes for us? when he comes for india once he figures out you two are together?" he questions jj.
"we punch him in the throat" he grits out, his jaw tight.
"yeah good fucking idea, jj"
jj shakes his head, grabbing the duffel bag from john b's hand.
"i'm not putting it back" he mumbles after a moment before stepping into the van by himself.
the group stands in silence, all of them staring at jj. no one climbs into the van to leave.
it takes a moment for jj to realize that, and he huffs, turning to india.
"india, come on" he motions.
india shakes her head. "i can't jj, what you're doing could get you killed" she tells him.
jj nods his head slightly. "yeah, and he almost killed you. i'm doing this for you." he tells her.
india lets out a shaky breath. "jj, i didn't ask you to do this for me." she whispers.
jj sighs, not speaking for a moment before turning to the rest of the team.
"are you guys not getting in?" he asks. the group doesn't respond, all of them staring at him.
jj climbs out of the van, his hands at his hips as he looks around the team.
"what?"
john b steps up first.
"we're sick of your shit" he finally declares.
jj scoffs, pointing to himself as he smiles sarcastically. "oh, my shit?"
"yeah, yeah. your shit" john b answers back seriously.
"yes" kiara pitches in, "your pulling guns on people shit" she tells the blond boy, a scowl on her face.
"you acting like a freaking maniac-" pope begins, only to be interrupted.
"okay, pope, i took the fall for you, man!" jj finally snaps, pointing to pope. "you know how much money i owe because of you?" he asks.
"i'm gonna pay you back, and i didn't ask you to do that!" pope yells back.
india watches, her gaze flipping from jj to pope as they start to argue. she wanted to be there for jj, she really did, but he was risking his safety, and even if he hated her for it, she was going to try and convince him to put the money back.
"i just did!" jj yells back at pope, taking a step closer. "pay it back. right here, right now, by myself" he states, nodding.
he turns to india, her innocent gaze almost convincing him to stop, but he restrains himself, going back to grab the duffel bag that sits on the floor of the van.
"you know what? that's what i'm gonna do. go off, my myself" he mutters.
"jj" india calls out, tears starting to well up in her eyes as she starts walking after him.
john b stops her, grabbing her by the shoulder softly.
"hey, wait. it's better if we just let him go" he tells her. india looks up at him, her eyes brimming with tears.
"it's just-" her voice breaks as she turns to look at jj, who is already disappearing in the distance. "i love him and i-" she clears her throat, tears falling down her cheeks.
"hey, it's okay. he'll come back" john b assures before enveloping the small girl in a hug.
india stands there, crying freely as john b hugs her.
the pair didn't have much in common. they were from different worlds and had different interests, but they collided when it came to one thing.
jj.
india pulls back, wiping her tears with the back of her hand.
"thanks, john b" she mutters before walking away and stepping into the van without another word.
the group stays quiet for a moment, turning to look from jj's small figure in the distance to the van where india found herself in.
___
the group sits on a table at the wreck, all of them somber and trying to process what just happened.
"look, he'll come around, allright? it's- he's doing a jj thing" john b assures, looking around at the team.
india sighs, running a hand through her hair.
"god, i should have gone after him" she regrets. she turns to look at john b. "do you think he'll go home?" she asks quietly after a second.
it worried her, knowing that jj was out there somewhere doing who knows what.
"there's about a zero percent chance that jj goes home" pope replies to india after a second.
"look, guys. we need to get the gold." kiara begins, turning to the team.
pope nods. "i can get everything done tonight and have it all ready for tommorrow" he pitches in.
john b nods for a moment before frowning. "i can't. i have to go fishing with sarah's dad" he tells the group after a moment.
"can't you move it?" kiara asks, looking at the boy.
sarah shakes her head. "my dad was very insistent" she responds.
pope sighs for a moment. "fine. we'll do it tomorrow at night. it's better like that anyway"
india nods, turning to look around the group.
"maybe jj will have returned by then"
__
as soon as the group had agreed on the plan india had driven home.
she blinked back the tears, watching as the road in front of her started to blurr.
she was crying silently as she pulled into her garage, turning off the carr and stepping out.
the girl didn't even make it to the door before she started sobbing.
she cried for jj, because the fact that he felt like he needed to protect india was overwhelming for her. she cried because he was one of the best and pure people she had ever met, and he had gone through hell.
she sat at her doorstep, sobbing her eyes out as she thought about jj and how he must be feeling.
it was clear that even though she wasn't jj, she felt his pain. she was like that. more often than not she would end up feeling more attached to someone than they felt attached to her.
in this case though, it was safe to say that jj felt the same way. india didn't know it, but jj loved her more than he loved himself and everytime that she got hurt he could feel it like it had been him. that's why when barry had pointed a gun to her head jj had gone ballistic.
she stays like that for a long time, letting out everything that she has pent up inside. her mother, her absent family, her past relationship for rafe, jj.
when she's finally done crying she stands up, taking in a deep breath before climbing into her car and pulling out of her garage.
she knew where jj would be, and she needed to see him.
___
when she pulls up at john b's it's starting to get dark. she gets off the car, heading to the front porch when a string of lights turn on in the back yard.
india frowns, taking the keys in her hand as she rounds the house.
her eyes goes wide as she sees what's in front of her.
jj sits on a hot tub, lights adorning the entire garden as they branch up into the trees and then back down. she looks at jj, watching as he pops a bottle of champagne and laughs.
"jj, what the hell?" she asks, walking closer to the hot tub.
jj laughs. "i've got a jet going stright up in my butt right now" he calls, looking at her through his sunglasses.
"you should get in here. come on india" he slurs, grabbing two glasses and pouring champagne sloppily on them.
india stands there, still in shock as she stares at jj.
"how much did this cost?" india finally asks, looking at him.
jj takes a glug of the champagne, puckering his lips for a moment.
"uh... well, with the generator, the petrol, and oh- hey, express delivery..." he chuckles "pretty much all of it, yeah" he slurs out.
india sighs sadly, looking at him.
"all of it?"
"yeah, all of it" he pauses, laughing and motioning aorund him "but, come on, india, look at this! finest in jet based massage therapy. that's what they told me" he exclaims.
india just stares at her boyfriend.
"what?" jj snaps after a moment "can't a man have a little luxury in life?" he asks. he sighs, taking off his sunglasses.
"i mean, all this skimping and scrapping and you only live once, right?" he slurs yet again, putting up his index finger.
he pauses for a moment before motioning to her.
"enough of this, get in the tub"
india shakes her head, her eyes wide.
jj gasps, a smile on his face as he reaches for a button. he presses it, turning on the lights of the tub and making it change colors.
"disco mode!" he yells out happily.
"jj, you could have paid for your restitution" india sighs out, looking at him. "or literally anything else" she adds, her tone soft.
jj pinches the bridge of his nose, starting to get tired of india.
"okay, well, you know what? i didn't do that!" he yells as he stands up, turning to her.
india's blood runs cold. jj's stomach and torso is lined with bruises, all of them looking recent. she gasps softly, a hand going to her mouth as she sees him.
"i got a hot tub!" he continues to exclaim. "for you and my friends. my family" he continues drunkenly.
india continues to look at his bruises, her eyes water slightly.
"jj" she whispers.
jj motions around the tub. "i mean, look at this! look at this!" he repeats.
he looks at his girlfriend, watching as tears streak silently down her face.
"no, you stop being emotional. it's fine, okay?" his voice breaks as he starts crying himself.
he goes silent, looking at the ground.
india lets out a sob, in an instant stepping into the hot tub and embracing him in a hug.
jj grabs her tightly, sobbing into her shoulder as she holds him tightly. not caring that her shorts are getting wet.
"i just couldn't do it" jj sobs out, shaking his head. "i can't take him anymore" he sobs out. "i was gonna kill him" he sobs even louder.
india nods, holding him as tight as she can while jj does the same.
"it's okay, j, you're okay now" she soothes as he continues to cry on her shoulder.
"i just wanna do the right thing" he finishes, still crying.
"i know" india whispers. she looks aorund, reaching for the turn off button. she presses it, turning off he disco lights on the hot tub as jj continues crying.
they stay like that, standing up for what seems to be a long time. india's legs start to ache but she doesn't say anything. she knows jj needs her more.
"i love you, india" jj whispers suddenly. india pulls back in surprise, looking at him.
"i maybe you don't love me back, but-"
"i love you too, jj" she whispers. she touches his face softly, wiping his cheeks from his tears as she smiles at him softly.
"i love you so much and you're worth so much more than your shit father, okay?" she tells him.
jj nods, looking at her before enveloping her in a hug again.
"god, i don't know what i did to deserve you" he whispers.
india smiles, wrapping her arms around him.
"i'm so lucky to have you, india" he mutters.
"and i'm lucky to have you, jj"
a/n i fucking hate jjs dad
also thanku sm for 20k views 🥺🥺