AFTER THE FIGHT, THEY ALL CRASHED AT KAROLINA'S HOUSE, where she and Kiara helped to fix them up. Amy wasn't due to come home until about noon, so Karolina didn't worry and even offered to join the crew at the Heyward's department store.
"Don't let it get in your head, bro," JJ told Pope, packing some groceries into a bag for an older man, "Three of them, two of us. That's some typical Kook stuff right there."
Kiara agreed adamantly, and Karolina nodded. "What was your thought process, using your head though?" the blonde boy continued, referencing the head butt Pope gave to Topper that initiated the fight.
Pope was smiling half-heartedly, shoving a six-pack of cokes into a grocery bag. "I don't know, man. I just kinda acted off instinct," he replied simply.
"Sounds pretty awesome to me," Karolina grinned; she winced, the skin under her eye swollen and slightly bruised, thanks to Rafe. Nothing a little concealer couldn't hide.
"Hey Pope."
Mr. Heyward came around the corner, a grave look on his face. "Someone here to see you."
Karolina turned to see sandy haired Officer Shoupe coming towards them. Her mouth went dry. "I have an arrest warrant for felony destruction of property."
Karolina's blood turned to ice. She couldn't move, couldn't breathe, watching as Shoupe handed the warrant to Pope's father. The boy looked to JJ, his eyes wide and pleading. Kiara started to protest, but the deputy ordered her to be quiet, moving behind Pope to handcuff his wrists together.
Why? Why, why did she let Pope sink that stupid boat? A felony was without a doubt enough to keep him from getting his treasured merit scholarship, enough to ruin his whole life. They were angry, and rightfully so, after what Rafe had just done, but a while later and they would've gotten over it.
"Shoupe, what'd he do?" Heyward demanded. Shoupe gestured to the warrant: "The warrant says it all."
"You're just arresting my boy?" His eyes were unbelieving. "You can't just-" Kie protested.
Shoupe ignored them, listing Pope's rights as he began to usher him out. The boy was wide-eyed, lips parted in shock, expression blank. Karolina glanced at JJ, and they shared a equally troubled looks. "How much did they pay you, man?" JJ asked, finally jumping into action. Afraid he'd get physical with the officer and cause them even more problems, Karolina made sure to grab his arm as his anger level grew. He fought against her as they followed Shoupe out to his patrol car, arguing with Pope's dad about whether they needed to intervene. Just as Shoupe opened the back door to shove Pope inside, JJ's blue eyes met Karolina's, and she was shocked at the serenity in them. She knew this look very well; she knew he always got uncharacteristically calm when he was about to do something stupid.
"It wasn't him!"
Immediately, Shoupe stopped, turning to face them. Karolina stood off of JJ's shoulder, her heart leaping from her chest when Shoupe's cold glare slid over to the blonde boy next to her. "It was me," he pleaded, taking a few steps forwards. Karolina still couldn't breathe; JJ was taking the blame.
"He tried to talk me out of it," JJ explained, pointing at the boy in handcuffs, "But I was mad because he'd just been beaten up. I was so sick of those guys from Figure Eight that I lost it." He stopped in front of Pope, pursing his lips, like he always did when he told a lie. "I can't let you take the blame for somethin' I did. You've got too much to lose."
Karolina couldn't help the scowl that tugged onto her face, heart beating wildly. JJ had gotten in trouble with the police before, but this was a felony. A felony he didn't even commit; Pope might've had a chance in getting a lesser sentence, considering his record was perfectly clean, but it would likely cost him his future. JJ wouldn't stand a chance in court, especially not against the expensive lawyers Topper's family would surely have. JJ was stupid, and crazy, and brave and noble, and it made Karolina want to punch herself in the face. Why did they let him sink the boat?
Pope scowled, glaring at him. "JJ, what are you doing-"
"I'm telling the truth," he answered decidedly, setting his jaw firmly as he turned to Shoupe again. "For once in my life, I'm gonna tell the truth. I took his old man's boat, too."
"JJ, come on-"
"Just shut up, Pope!" exclaimed the boy, a knowing look hidden behind his blue eyes. "Just shut up."
Karolina was still frozen; she didn't know what to do. What could she do? She couldn't throw Pope under the bus, but she also couldn't let JJ go to jail. And there was no way she could convince Shoupe that neither of them had done anything- there was probably some video evidence or something that allowed Shoupe to get an arrest warrant.
"He's a good kid," she watched JJ say, "You know where I'm from." Karolina's heart sunk into her stomach at the saddened expression on JJ's face when Shoupe agreed to his statement. "This was all me."
Shoupe scoffed, narrowing his eyes at Pope. "That's the whole truth?"
"Whole truth, swear to God-"
"I know what you think!" roared the deputy, cutting JJ off, "I'm asking Pope."
From the troubled look in Pope's eyes, Karolina knew he was having the same predicament she was. JJ nodded at him encouragingly.
"Yeah. That about covers it," he said, pained.
Karolina watched in disbelief as Shoupe tacked the handcuffs onto JJ's wrists instead and shoved his blonde head into the car. None of them moved until the police car was out of sight, and it was only when Pope angrily threw his hat to the ground that Karolina could move again.
Kiara looked around wildly, scowling at her. "I-I can't believe it- is that what Rafe was talking about last night?" she asked Karolina, but the blonde wasn't listening. She only had one thought- I have to get to JJ.
"Pope?" Heyward called to his son, who stormed around with his hands on his head, cursing loudly and drawing even more attention to them.
Snapping from her stupor, Karolina blinked slowly in realization. "I... I have to go," she said urgently, eyes flicking around the boatyard as she thought, "I-I have to go to him, Kie. I have to-" Her mind whirled a million miles a minute, and she struggled to grasp hold of even one idea to help JJ.
"Kie, Kie," she prompted, eyes pleading, "Can I borrow your car?"
The curly haired girl gave her an apologetic look, shaking her head, "My dad took my keys, I-"
"What about Pope? Does he have a-a bike or something?" Karolina fished, raising her eyebrows expectantly.
"He was on the math team, Lina-"
Karolina exhaled heavily, letting the nervous hand that ran through her hair frustratedly fall to her side. Shaking her head, she muttered, "screw it" before taking off in a slight jog down the street. JJ would do it for them, if they were in his position. And besides- the police station was only like a mile away, right?
Wrong. It took Karolina almost an hour to get there by foot, and when she did, sweat dripped down the side of her face and drenched her scalp. Of course it had to be the hottest day of the year when Karolina needed to walk five miles. Trying to smooth down her wind-tousled hair, Karolina wondered if she was being stupid, charging down to the police station like she could convince the sheriff to let him go. She truthfully, didn't know why she had gone through the trouble, but she did know that if she didn't go to him, he would have no one on his side.
It didn't matter anyway. When Karolina walked in, she asked the desk clerk about JJ, and she told him he was already gone. His father had picked him up about half an hour before she arrived. Defeated, Karolina opted to rest on the curb, her head in her hands.
Karolina knew about JJ's father. She knew about the cocaine he bought with his weekly check, instead of taking care of his son. She knew about how JJ would never let them come over when he was home, because he knew he'd be passed out drunk on the couch or worse, drunk and awake. She knew how bad things were, and how bad they would be now that JJ owed around 30k to pay for Topper's boat.
JJ hadn't wanted her to know about his father's abusive tendencies. He didn't want anyone to know, because he didn't want their pity or their sympathy. Maybe it was a form of toxic masculinity on his part, but he could hardly help it, not how he had grown up. Karolina had discovered it on accident, one time when they were fourteen- only two years ago, though it seemed like a lifetime.
Closing the thick Lifetime Wellness textbook, Karolina stretched out across her bed as a yawn left her mouth. It was early on into her freshman year, and she hadn't quite figured out that the gym teacher's class didn't require much studying, if any. But that was how Amy had left her a few hours ago- in her room with the TV off and orders to study hard. Karolina did study for a while, but it was getting late, and she wanted to unwind a little before bed. Being home alone used to scare her, but after the many years since her father died, Karolina had grown quite used to it. It didn't scare her. Not as much anyway.
Deciding she wanted a glass of water, the girl stood from the bed and made her way to the kitchen, standing on her tip toes to reach a glass from the top cabinet. Rain thundered down overhead, and she sighed, knowing the yard would be ridiculously muddy when she went to the school the next day. Karolina scowled out the foggy window, sipping from the glass until suddenly-
"Karolina?"
The blonde girl jumped, glass slipping from her hand and crashing into jagged pieces on the kitchen tile. She whipped around to see a boy standing in the open doorway, sopping wet from the storm. "JJ?" asked Karolina, heart still thudding rapidly. "How'd you get in here?"
"You left the bathroom window unlocked," he explained. Something was off about the way he stood, a soft grimace on his face, arm bent at an awkward angle over his chest. "What happened to your arm?" Karolina questioned, peering at his slumped shoulder curiously. JJ shook his dripping wet hair, causing water droplets to splatter on the floor. "I... I slipped in the mud," he lied, "I think it's dislocated. I thought maybe your sister could help me. She's a nurse, right?"
Bending down to pick up the glass shards, Karolina replied, "Yeah, but she's not here. You need to go to the hospital, can your dad drive you-"
"No!" he answered, too quickly. The blonde stood, eyeing him. "I-I mean no. My dad's working the graveyard shift, a-and I don't want to go to the hospital."
"Okay..." muttered the young girl, dumping what was left of the glass into the trash. She remembered watching Amy fix up a football player's dislocated knee in the ER once, when she couldn't find a babysitter for Karolina. A shoulder couldn't be that different, right? "I can try and help, if you want," she offered to her friend.
JJ obliged and she sat him on the table, where his shoulder was around eye level. He was dripping water everywhere, so Karolina left the room to grab a towel for him to dry off. When she returned, her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates; JJ had shed his jacket while she was gone, leaving him in a thin muscle tee, revealing multiple dark bruises scattered around his back and sides, which faced her then. His shoulder, she noticed, was sagging awkwardly. Definitely dislocated, but not all of this was from a fall in the mud. Besides, there was not a drop of mud on his clothes, besides his used-to-be-white tennis shoes.
When he saw her stare, JJ awkwardly tugged on the opposite sleeve of his jacket, hoping to conceal some of the bruises. "Um, is this gonna hurt?" he asked, though, from the look in his eyes, he knew the answer. "Yeah, probably," Karolina responded, casting her eyes to the floor, then back to his face, "Sorry."
"Just..." JJ sighed. "Just get it over with."
Swallowing thickly, Karolina handed him the towel, told him, "Lay down." He did so, back flat against the table. Karolina took his arm with a tender fingers, pulling it away from his body in a ninety degree angle. "Ready?" JJ nodded, squeezing his eyes shut and bracing himself. With one swift movement, she tugged on his arm just enough for the bone to slide back into place, producing a loud "clunk." JJ cried out, legs curling off of the table, until she let go, the pain subsiding dramatically now that it had been relocated. "Are you okay?" Karolina asked urgently, peering down at him. JJ's blue eyes opened a few seconds later and he nodded, sitting up on his good arm. "You still need to go to the hospital, okay? Just, wait until my sister gets home, and she'll take you after the storm," the girl ordered, starting to craft a makeshift sling around the bad one. JJ nodded, watching her every move carefully. They were silent as she worked, aside from JJ's occasional wince. When Karolina backed away, his arm was effectively stabilized. Thank God for Grey's Anatomy.
"It was my dad," JJ said after another few moments of silence. He could see the question begging in her eyes. She glanced at him, trying to conceal the shock written across her face, but he read her like an open book. The boy stared numbly at his feet as his toes tapped against the floor. "He caught me smoking some of his stash, a-and..." JJ's voice trailed off, the tears streaming down his face no longer hidden by the water that was dripping from his hair. He closed his eyes, cries starting to wrack his chest for the first time that night, causing pain to shoot across his body.
Karolina didn't hesitate, immediately pressing her head to his chest, arms wrapping around his body firmly, yet gingerly enough to avoid hurting his arm further. His head dropped onto her shoulder, not a moment later, tears wetting the collar of her t-shirt as he cried. "I'm so scared, Lina," he cried quietly into her ear, his damp hair tickling her neck, "I'm so scared..." Squeezing her eyes shut, Karolina willed her own urge to bawl to bury itself in her throat. He was hurting, one of her best friends was hurting, and there was practically nothing her stupid freshman self could do, other than be strong for him. Karolina knew just as much as any one else that JJ hated people feeling sorry for him. And from that day on, Karolina swore to herself that she'd do anything it took to help him and their friends.
The Pogues were her family. And she would do anything for her family, no matter the cost.
"I figured you'd still be here."
Karolina glanced up from the pavement to see Kiara's car parked a few feet away, the window rolled down and her best friend's head hanging from it. "I thought you said your dad took your keys," stated the blonde as she stood to join Kie at the window.
"He said I could have it back if I promised to go to this stupid Kook party tonight," Kiara groaned, pointing a finger at the sunburned blonde. "And guess what? Now you get to go with me."
Scoffing, Karolina glanced up the street. "I don't think I'm in the right headspace to party right now, Kie," she answered. Kiara tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. "It won't be any fun, trust me. But it will be a good way for you to get your mind off of JJ," Kie hummed, with a knowing smile. The blonde sighed, glancing her way. "What makes you think JJ's on my mind?"
Kie smile melted, and she deadpanned, "You just ran five miles for him, and you haven't exercised in like, three years."
Giving her an admitting smile, Karolina obliged. "Yeah, okay, that's fair." The blonde bit her lip, JJ's well-being still itching in her mind. Kiara seemed to know exactly what she was thinking, for she gently touched her arm. "I'm sure he's fine, Lina. Come on, you can send him a sexy pic after I stick you in one of my extra bourgeoisie dresses," she laughed, beckoning her friend to hop in the car. Karolina rolled her eyes at the notion, but jogged around to the other side and jumped in. "For the record, no sexy pics are to be sent, as mentioned under section three of the Pogue founding principles," she emphasized, pointing a finger at Kiara, "And as mentioned by me, just now, because JJ and I aren't like that."
Kie hummed with a gentle smile. "Mmm... sure."
Karolina glared. "We're just friends, really. No Pogue-on-Pogue." Kiara shrugged harmlessly, though her eyes were teasing and her smile too large.
"Five miles, just sayin."
A/n:
In no way do I want to romanticize abuse. Let me make that very clear. However, in saying that, I don't want to ignore it altogether, because as you all know, it is a very big part of JJ's character, and I don't think it right to avoid it. It's also very important in Karolina's character development, as helping JJ becomes one of the biggest things that shapes the caring and gentle side of her personality, which she inherits from her sister, obviously. Its also big in developing the bond between Karolina and JJ, as she's one of the few people he trusts enough to see this part of him (as he will with Kie and Pope later on in the show, as you guys are aware). Again, I strongly emphasize- IN NO WAY DO I WANT TO ROMANTICIZE ABUSE. I hope this doesn't offend anybody, but if it does, please let me know and I will adjust accordingly.
in other news tho, do you guys think this is moving too fast? we're about halfway through the season now, and I don't want to drag it out to a slowburn, since there's only 10 episodes, but I also don't wanna jump into it super duper fast???? idk do y'all think its going to fast? really all that's happened is they've realized they have feelings for the other (kinda sorta on Karolina's part) but neither one of them has acted on it yet.
also, should I do more flashbacks?
Thank you, and HAPPY READING! <3