Concocting

JJ was with Pope, working on a motor for Pope's dad. Another side hustle. The one useful thing her dad taught her was mechanics and she found that she liked fixing things. It kept her hands busy and her mind active. Pope wasn't really a lot of help, but she liked his company while she worked, so she didn't mind him loitering as she worked. He'd ramble random facts and work on his homework as she worked.

Today though, she hardly listened to him. Her mind was distant as she thought about the night before. She'd been so worried for John B when Pope drove away, but as soon as he texted that he was fine, she felt her hurt and insecurities bubble back up to the surface. She couldn't face him, so when Pope started up the Twinkie to head back to the chateau, she just jumped out. He assumed she stayed home as Pope didn't know anything about Luke Maybank's abuse, but she wasn't that stupid. She had no desire to risk being her father's punching bag tonight.

After the Twinkie drove away, she found herself grabbing her board and making her way to the beach. She surfed for hours, her mind clear of everything except her board and the waves. She felt at peace in the water.

But it started getting too dark and she had to paddle back to shore. She laid down on the sand to catch her breath and she closed her eyes for just a second.

Except her body and mind were so exhausted sleep took over instead. Next she opened her eyes, the light of the morning was making its appearance.

She sat up quickly as she realized she'd fallen asleep on the beach. She had planned on walking back to the chateau to check on John B. She was hurt, but of course she still cared and she knew John B would be worried about her. She grabbed her phone from her backpack to text him, but she saw that it was dead. Shit.

She had work though so she didn't have time to go over to the chateau. Instead she snuck into her house and quickly changed, got on her bike, and made her way to Pope's.

Which is where she was now and had been for the last few hours, with Pope rambling behind her. It was a little chilly, so Pope had lit a small fire to warm them up.

She decided to take a break to smoke and had just lit up a cigarette when John B pulled up in the Twinkie. Relief filled her when he made eye contact with her through the window. He seemed okay, though he looked like he'd just ran a marathon and rolled around in the dirt. She imagined she didn't look much better with the sand still in her hair. John B waved for them to get in.

She decided she was done for the day and looked over at Pope. "Let's ride."

"This better be good," Pope said as they made their way to climb into the Twinkie, JJ in the front.

No words were said as they made the drive to The Wreck to pick up Kie. There was tension between John B and JJ, and neither one knew how to break it. Pope was uncomfortable so as soon as they arrived at The Wreck, he volunteered to get Kie and hopped out.

Silence.

Finally, John B gave in first. "I'm sorry," he mumbled.

JJ was surprised as she turned her head to look at him. She nodded, silently accepting his apology. She could never stay upset with him if she was being honest. Her anger had already dwindled, she was just being stubborn.

"Why did you really make me stay behind?" She wasn't buying the bullshit about her being unpredictable. She had at first, but that never stopped him from bringing her along before. No, after thinking long and hard on it, there had to be something else.

John B hesitated, but then in a quiet voice, "I couldn't.." he swallowed, "We didn't know what we were walking into and I couldn't put you in danger again."

Silence again as JJ processed what John B had just admitted. She felt both angry and warm at his concern. She settled on, "It's my choice, John B. We're a team. We do things together, okay? Don't pull that shit ever again."

She watched his face soften and a smile tugged at his mouth. "I swear it. "

There moment was interrupted by Pope exiting the Wreck and leaning against the railing facing them. "She said she's not coming,"

What the hell?, JJ thought.

"Why not?" JJ called up to him, the looked back at John B in confusion. "What's you do to her John B?"

"Shit," John B groaned, confusing JJ even more. "Hang on. I'll deal with it."

He hurriedly left the Twinkie and walked into the Wreck, while Pope climbed into the back. What is going on? JJ wondered.

John B spotted Kie and started walking towards her. "Hey uh, what-what are you doing?"

He hoped this wasn't about his rejection, he thought guiltily, but he had a feeling it had more to do with her not believing his theories and not wanting to feed into it for his sake. He would just have to convince her.

"What does it look like?" She asked, as she fingered spackle into a wall.

"Look spackling can wait. We're- we're about to make history." He tried to convince her. He really needs the support of all his best friends, and that means getting Kie on board. He always thought of her as the little sister he never had.

"Are you concocting again?" Kie asked as she climbed down her step stool, and walked around the corner to walk past him.

He turned and followed behind her, "Yes, yes, I'm concocting. I'm concocting more than I've ever concocted in my life. Look, I know you're just being a good friend and I know your not trying to enable me in my delusion, but-"

"Dude." Kie muttered exasperated.

"and I know your dad doesn't want you to see me, but listen to me, please." He finally caught up enough to grab her shoulders and turn her to face him. "Look, you are one of my best friends and I need you right now," he pleaded, "And I'm sorry about the thing yesterday. I was super weird and I feel awkward about it and, listen, I need you and I'm begging. I am begging you. I am begging you. And I just want to talk for-"

"Oh my god! Shut up!" Kie interrupted his rambling. Jesus he was annoying, she thought.

"What?" John B muttered, waiting for her to say something else.

"I get it!" Kie said, and kissed John B on the cheek affectionately. "Friends?"

"Friends, yeah," John B confirmed, feeling victorious.

Kie walked past him and he followed, making their way to the Twinkie. John B had all his friends with him and for a moment he felt like all was right with the world. He looked over at JJ next to him in the passenger side and grinned.

She gave him a questioning look. "What?"

"Nothing," he shrugged.

She just rolled her eyes affectionately and muttered, "you're weird."

John B saw a smile twitch at her lips though, making him chuckle to himself. He turned his eyes back to the road. He still hadn't told them where they're going.

JJ decided she wanted to smoke a joint while they drove so she told Kie to switch places with her. Once she was settled in the back, she pulled out her blunt and took a big hit from it. She could immediately feel it's effects. Probably because she hadn't eaten anything that she could remember since the two granola bars for breakfast the day before.

She was used to going hungry though. The weed on an empty stomach made her feel a bit shaky though.

"You mind if I just relax on this one? It's been a long couple days and a lot of weird stuff's gone down. I'm just gonna lay low," she could feel Pope's judgy stare as she took another hit. She held the blunt towards him. "Oh did you want a hit of this?"

"I keep the signal clear," Pope replied.

"Dude, okay. Do you understand that your problem is that you don't get creative. If you don't get creative, then-"

John B interrupted her teasing of Pope. "Look, I know I was wrong about the lighthouse, alright, and wrong about everything else going on. But I was- I was right about one thing. Okay? My dad is trying to tell me something."

They all fell silent at that, each trying to determine what could be going through John B's mind right now. What had he figured out?