Ophelia had calmed down only slightly as Jj held her. She had too many questions, she couldn't even pick one to ask. So, she just sits down. Jj had positioned her between his legs, allowing her to lean back into him, his arms around her. The feeling made her heart beat a bit faster in her chest, but it also seemed to calm her ever-present nerves at the same time. A complete contradiction.
Kiara excuses herself from the group, leaving to get everyone drinks. Ophelia chats with Jj and Pope until she sees someone from the corner of her eye that she didn't expect to see. Her dad. In fact, both of them are there, setting up chairs. At the same time that she spots them, her Dads spot her. Michael grabs onto Reid's arm dragging him over.
"Sweetheart, we didn't expect to see you here," Michael chirps, a smile on his face as he looks to her friends, "Jj, Pope. How are you guys doing?"
Both boys mutter kind responses, but all Ophelia sees is the way Reid is glaring at Jj. So, Ophelia quietly removes his arms from around her, sitting up a bit straighter so she isn't leaning on the blond behind her, "Yeah, it was Kiara's idea, she's just getting drinks."
Michael nods, "I see, well, we just wanted to say hi, enjoy the movie, kids."
Before the two men turn away, Reid eyes his daughter and she knows he isn't happy that she's with her friends, "You come home right after, okay Ophelia?"
"Okay," Ophelia nods, an annoyed expression crossing her face, "Have a nice date!" As soon as they turn away, Ophelia leans back into Jj, sighing as his arms wind around her again, "Sorry."
"It's all good," Jj automatically responds before clearing his throat, "Is this okay? Like, how we're sitting?"
Ophelia doesn't turn to look at the boy, afraid that if she looked at him, she'd be plagued by hot pink cheeks and a tough of embarrassment, "Yeah, um, I-I'm comfortable. Are you?"
"Yeah, yeah, just checking."
"Okay."
"Okay."
"Just saw Rafe," Kiara announces as she gets back to their spot, handing out the three cans of pepsi to her friends. The sentence makes Ophelia's nerves rise, "And he said, and I quote, 'Tell your boy that we know what he did.' What's that?"
"Where is he?" Jj asks, and Ophelia doesn't like the grim tone in his voice.
Kiara looks over her shoulder, behind the group, "Over there."
The two boys immediately whip around, and Ophelia does to her best to peek around Jj's body to see Rafe, a smug looking Topper, and Kelce, who raises his hand in a cocky little wave to the blonde girl. She immediately turns around, the memory of him destroying part of her studio a little too fresh in her mind.
"Great. The whole death squad," Pope utters, still looking until Jj grabs his head, making him turn back around.
"Don't stare bro," Jj demands as he looks down at Pope, who is as nervous as ever, "Just warning you, bro, if they corner me, if they corner her again, I'm coming out swinging, okay? Slicin' and dicin'. I'm on edge right now, alright?" Jj picks up his bag, "If that doesn't work, I got this right here."
Ophelia eyes the backpack, Jj's words ringing out in her head, if they corner her again. Then, she clues into the boy's backpack and what he means. She groans, turning to look up at the boy, "You didn't."
"I'm sorry, Jj," Kiara her tone filled with the same disapproval as Ophelia's, "Please tell me that you did not bring a gun here, Jj there are kids!"
"No!" Jj says, raising his voice slightly and looking between the two girls, "Kie, Lia. I didn't bring the gun, alright? Everything's fine, okay?"
"Oh wow! Thank you. That's really convincing. I love that, Jj," Kiara's utters, dousing her words with sarcasm, "Founding principle, you guys, no secrets amongst Pogues, what is Rafe talking about?"
Pope leans towards the brown eyed girl, "Kie," He says, his tone gravely low, "It might go down tonight."
"What did yall do?" Kiara asks
Jj mumbles, "Deny, deny, deny."
"No," Ophelia quietly snaps, looking between the two boys, "No. Fuck that. I was home-invaded because of this, alright? You have to tell me what you did."
"Ophelia, trust me," Pope pleads, making the girl's eyes narrow further, "It's better if we don't."
Shaking her head, frustrated, Ophelia rises to her feet, feeling cold as soon as she leaves Jj to sit beside Kiara instead, bringing her soda with her. Plopping down, the two girls share a grim look, deciding to leave the topic for now.
When the movie starts, it gets dark quickly, and Ophelia can barely pay attention to the film. Her mind keeps relaying the events from earlier in the day, not finding the gold and everybody's least favourite kook trio invading her house and wrecking her paintings.
Every now and then, Kiara looks over at Ophelia, checking on her as the movie plays, occasionally trying to lift the girl's mood. Ophelia appreciates it, but the longer she's there the more she wishes she were at home by herself.
But, her attention is caught when both Jj and Pope stand up, "Hey, where yall going?" Kiara asks, and Ophelia gives them both a raised brow.
Jj shrugs, "We gotta wring it out."
As they turn to walk away Kiara calls, "What? You gonna hold it for each other?"
"Probably," Ophelia mutters, "They wouldn't tell us even if they did."
Turning her focus back to the screen, Ophelia takes a sip of her soda, not really invested in the film playing out. As the scene changes, she sighs, looking into the direction Jj and Pope had wandered off to, wondering how long it takes to do their business as the minutes pass. But, she brushes it off. At least, until Kiara mentions it.
"They've been gone a long time," Kiara whispers, her eyes concerned as she looks over to Ophelia.
The blonde girl shrugs, "Maybe they got lost."
Kiara slowly nods, looking over her shoulder. Then, she frantically hits Ophelia's arm, getting her attention, along with a few curse words, "Ophelia, the kooks aren't there." At her words, Ophelia whips around, seeing three empty chairs instead of the kook boys she knows and despises.
"Oh shit," Ophelia mutters, slowly standing to her feet, Kiara following after she grabs Jj's backpack. Kiara heads in the same direction the boys went, but Ophelia grabs her arm, stopping her, "My Dads are over there, this way," Kiara nods, letting Ophelia lead her through the park and behind the screen.
Quietly, Ophelia and Kiara creep behind the small building. Ophelia's blood runs cold when she sees what's happening, her heart picking up speed and her palms getting sweaty. Topper is all over Pope, and that angers Ophelia, but what really pains her is the sight of Jj behind held by Kelce, Rafe feeding him punch after punch.
"Let go of him, Topper!" Kiara calls, running into the fight, "You fascist asshole!"
Ophelia hesitates for a second, she doesn't know what to do in a fight. But then, she sees Rafe hit Jj again, and something in her snaps, "Oh my-oh my god!" She yells, "Jj!" Ophelia runs over, grabbing onto Rafe's arm and trying to pull him back, "Rafe, stop!"
Easily being shaken off, Rafe shoves Ophelia to the ground, making her grunt in pain before he tries to rip Kiara off of Topper's back. Ophelia stands to her feet, approaching Kelce, who has a harsh grip on Jj, "Kelce, let him go!" Ophelia yells, trying to pry the boy's arms off of Jj. But, her efforts are futile because she feels hands tear her away and toss her to the ground yet again.
"Rafe, get the fuck away from her," Jj calls, his voice strangled and harsh, making Ophelia's heart break further in her chest.
Ophelia lifts herself up onto her elbows, her wide eyes watching Rafe as he kneels in front of her, raising his hand and bringing it down hard on Ophelia's cheek, a loud slap! Ringing through the air, it's so hard that Ophelia's glasses fly off her face. Rafe shoves her down again, "Stay down, Pogue!"
Ophelia groans at the sting in her cheek, but, she doesn't listen. She stands to her feet as Rafe reignites his attacks on Jj, making Ophelia's fist clench in anger. So, she heads right up to him, grabbing him roughly by the shoulder. When he turns, Ophelia doesn't hesitate, she kicks him as hard as she can between his legs. When he doubles over in pain, Ophelia feeds him the hardest slap she can muster, knocking him over.
Ophelia's mind reels, trying to think of a way to get Kelce off of Jj, when suddenly, the screen is going up in flames. Ophelia's eyes are wide as she watches it, Kiara stepping away from the sheet. In that moment, the blonde girl is convinced Kiara is a genius. Topper immediately releases Pope, throwing him to the ground.
Ophelia glares at Kelce, who isn't letting go, "Kelce, let him go!" Ophelia yells, "Right now!"
Surprisingly, the boy listens, and Ophelia scrambles to Jj as he holds his throat, coughing, "Jj!" Ophelia says, holding the boy's face in her hands as she looks him over, "Jj, holy fuck, are you okay?!"
Jj manages a nod, and Ophelia wraps her arms tightly around him, her fear starting to fade as she feels him return the embrace with the same amount of desperation, "We need to go, Lia," Jj mutters into her shoulder, and she nods, hesitantly releasing him. They make it a few steps, following after Pope and Kiara when Ophelia realizes something.
"Shit," She curses, "Our stuff. Go with them to the car, Jj, I'll go get it," Jj gives her a quick nod, and Ophelia turns, jogging out from behind the burning screen and hurrying over to their spot that they had abandoned.
But, unfortunately, she doesn't make it, and there's a hand on her arm, "Ophelia, where the hell did you go?!" Reid harshly asks, and Ophelia frowns at his tone.
"I-I went to the bathroom," Ophelia lies, "What happened, why is the-"
"We're going home," Her Dad says, starting to direct her towards where she assumed their car is parked, "Come on."
Ophelia shakes her head, her eyes wide, "Pa, no, no my friends, their stuff-"
"We're going home."
At the tone of his voice, Ophelia knows she has no choice, seeing her backpack in her father's hand. Ophelia looks over her shoulder, in the direction she came from. But, even if she could spot her friends, it's too blurry to tell. She left her glasses. Ophelia doesn't bother protesting, too exhausted by the day she's had to do anything about it.
As she gets in the backseat, Michael immediately starts to make sure she's okay, and she just simply assures him that she's fine, seeing her bike strapped to the back of the vehicle. Resting her head against the cool glass of the window, Ophelia lets out a low sigh. She can barely comprehend the way she had felt just moments ago. She saw Pope and Jj nearly helpless against the kooks, but the ladder of the pair seemed to draw most of her worry.
Jj, two on one, being absolutely clobbered. The thought of it brings hot tears to Ophelia's eyes. Fortunately for her, the car ride home is short, she lives just down the street from the park. So, when she heads inside her home, she just bids goodnight to her parents before she drags her feet upstairs to her room. She doesn't even turn on the lights, she lets the moonlight stream in from the glass doors of her balcony, softly lighting up the bedroom.
It only takes her a few moments to change into a pair of sleep shorts and a big t-shirt. She takes her hair down from its bun, trying to untangle it with her fingers as she perches herself on the end of her bed. Ophelia can feel the pressure of the day weighing on her, and more than anything she just wants to go to sleep and hit the reset button.
But, that would have to wait, because there's a soft knock at the balcony. Turning her head, Ophelia's breath hitches as her eyes land on Jj outside of her door, he had climbed up the lattice yet again.
She can't get to the balcony fast enough, she unlocks and opens the door, letting Jj step inside. Immediately, Ophelia's arms are around him and she squeezes her eyes closed as she clings to the boy, "Jj, oh my god," She whispers, relieved as his arms wind around her yet again.
One of his hands softly runs up and down Ophelia's back, soothing her as he holds the small blonde girl close, "Hey, hey, it's okay. I'm alright, Lia. Are you?"
"I've had a bad day," Ophelia mutters, and Jj just holds her tighter.
Jj lets out a low chuckle, "Yeah, you and I both."
Eventually Ophelia pulls back, her eyes scanning Jj's face and frowning when she sees a cut on his lip, and a bruise forming by his mouth, "Your face," She softly mumbles.
"This?" Jj nonchalantly says, "No, no. It's nothing. Here," Jj reaches into the pocket of his shorts, "You might need these."
Ophelia smiles softly as Jj places her glasses in her hand, "Thank you," She says, "But Jj, you need to clean that cut."
"I will-"
"Just let me do it," Ophelia blurts, "I have a first aid kit in the bathroom, and honestly-" Ophelia looks down at her fingers, fiddling with them, "I, uh, I don't really want to be alone. At least, not yet."
"Okay, yeah," Jj nods, "Lead the way."
Ophelia gives Jj a grateful look, setting her glasses onto her vanity as she passes. Ophelia guides Jj to her ensuite, and he immediately hops up onto the counter as she pulls the first-aid kit from under the sink. Jj lets out a small 'damn' at the size of it, "My dad's a surgeon," She says, pulling out some cotton rounds and rubbing alcohol, "I could probably perform open heart surgery with this thing if I really wanted to."
"It's impressive," Jj remarks, watching as Ophelia's careful hands douse a cotton round with the disinfectant. After, she reaches up, pressing the pad to Jj's split lip, he winces and pulls away.
"Sorry," Ophelia utters, using her free hand to hold the back of Jj's neck so he doesn't move away as she applies the rubbing alcohol again, "What did you do, Jj? Please tell me."
"I can't."
Ophelia frowns, "Please."
Jj sighs as Ophelia throws away the small cotton pad, and packing up the kit, putting it back where she found it. Jj slides down the counter, landing back on his feet, "You can't tell anyone."
"I won't."
"Promise me."
"I promise."
Jj takes a small breath, "Okay, do you remember yesterday when Pope and I went to deliver groceries?" Ophelia nods, encouraging the blond to continue, "Rafe and Topper jumped Pope. I wasn't there. So, we retaliated, we sunk Topper's boat. Pope did."
Ophelia's jaw drops slightly, "Seriously?"
"Yeah."
"Wow," Ophelia breathes, "Even after you were checking it out the other day?"
Jj hesitates, his blue eyes looking deep into Ophelia's green ones, "The boat wasn't the thing I was checking out, believe me."
Ophelia's eyes widen, and her heart skips a beat in her chest, "W-what? Jj, if you're talking about Sarah, she and Topper-"
"Lia, you are so smart, but wow, I didn't think I'd have to spell it out for you," Jj says, "I'm talking about you."
Ophelia is stunned by the sudden change in topic, and she opens her mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. Clearing her throat, she feels the familiar heat flooding to her cheeks, "Me?" She manages to squeak out.
"Yes, obviously you."
Out of disbelief, Ophelia turns away from Jj, slowly walking back into her bedroom, Jj following closely behind her, "But-but, I-I don't understand I-I mean you have a type now, you talk about it all the time!"
"I know," Jj says, and Ophelia turns to face him again, confused with her heart in her throat, "Overly-passionate," Jj states, taking a small step forward, and Ophelia takes a little one backwards, "Kind, a little nerdy, gets embarrassed over little things," Another step, another step back, "So devoted to a project that maybe she forgets to take care of herself, thinks she's really funny," Ophelia's breath hitches as her back hits the post of her bedframe, Jj looks down at her, coming to a stop directly in front of her, "Any of that sounding familiar?"
Ophelia nervously swallows again, her eyes looking up at Jj as she gives him a small nod, he means her, "A little," She whispers out.
Jj doesn't say anything else, he just gets closer. Ophelia feels him take her hands, moving them to rest on his shoulders before his go to her waist. Ophelia lets out a shaky breath that mixes with his. He's so close, all Ophelia would have to do is lean forward slightly, and they'd kiss. She and Jj. Jj, who is a known womanizer, a boy who can have any girl he wants and used to brag about his sexual conquests, but is standing in front of his friend. Then, there's Ophelia, who has kissed one boy. Ophelia, who's remained innocent.
The thoughts rapidly flowing through her head make Ophelia dizzy and just as Jj's lips are about to brush hers, she whispers, "So, I-I'll, uh, I'll see you t-tomorrow?" While moving her head back slightly. She had freaked herself out.
Slowly, Jj takes a step backwards, and Ophelia regrets her actions immediately. Jj clears his throat, "Uh, yeah. Tomorrow."
"Um, I-"
"I'll see you, Ophelia," Jj moves past the blonde, and immediately she feels stupid.
Resting her head back on her bedframe, Ophelia utters, "God, why did I do that?" A moment later, she hears the balcony door close. She's an idiot. Ophelia rubs a hand over her face. Of course she messed up, of course she freaked out. Jj said so many nice things to her. She's his type. And honestly, he's hers. She really likes Jj, Ophelia realizes. She'd be stupid not to, he's ridiculously attractive, makes her laugh like no one else, and he's one of her favourite people on the planet. He had almost kissed her twice, and she seriously fucked up. But, maybe it isn't too late.
Before Ophelia can chicken out, she peels herself from the bedframe, turning and facing the balcony. To her relief, Jj is there, his hands on the railing and his shoulders slumped. Ophelia doesn't hesitate, she strides towards the door, opening it and stepping out onto the cool, moonlit balcony.
The sound makes Jj's head whip up, and he slowly turns, his eyes landing on Ophelia, who just softly mutters, "Jj."
He closes the steps between them quickly, and as soon as he's close enough, his hands fly up to her face as he brings his lips down onto hers. Ophelia desperately grabs fistfulls of his shirt, balling the fabric in her hands as she hums in content against his mouth, kissing him with everything she has. All she wants to be is closer to him, the only thing she can feel is him. Ophelia's senses are overwhelmed with Jj, his scent, his touch, and his mouth on hers. As Ophelia's hands travel up to his shoulders, winding themselves into his hair, one of his travels down and across Ophelia's waist, pulling her body against his, the other creeping up her back.
They kiss and kiss and kiss, and Ophelia swears the earth has shifted. Nothing else exists besides herself, Jj, and the fireworks exploding in her stomach. She's not even sure gravity is real anymore, all she knows is Jj.
When they slowly pull apart, both of them are breathing heavy, Ophelia is so stunned that she can't even open her eyes. Jj presses his lips to hers again, breaking the girl's trance. Ophelia's lips tingle, and her eyes open, looking up at Jj, who shares the same expression of blissful disbelief as she does.
"So, tomorrow?" Jj whispers, letting out a soft chuckle.
Ophelia presses her lips together, as if she were trying to savour the kiss and lock it inside of her. Maybe she is. The blonde feels her cheeks heat up, and she can't help the smile that slowly creeps onto her face, "Tomorrow."
With this, Jj kisses her one last time before he backs up, and Ophelia watches him as he disappears down the lattice with a stupid grin on her face. Slowly heading back inside, Ophelia closes the balcony door behind her, leaning against it. Her fingertips reach up and gently press against her lips, still not believing what had just happened. She had never been kissed like that before.
She kissed Jj.
Letting out a breathy laugh, Ophelia slowly strides over to her bed, flopping down onto it with her arms spread out.
Was this one of the worst days of her life? Sure.
But, was it worth it because of the way it ended? Yes, absolutely.
---
A/N:
So, that happened.
Thoughts?
Thank you for reading! I appreciate you! The next chapter is pretty short, and will be up soon. Don't forget to vote+comment! (Also thank you for 1K reads and 100 votes, it means the world)