Author's Note: I was considering writing this story after finishing 'The Blunt End', and then someone requested JJ and Kiara's future and I was like… yeah, okay, I gotta elaborate on this idea.
Also, I feel the need to explain the title: The Blunt End was a name that was, of course, off of JJ getting hit in the head with the blunt end of a machete, but it was also a play on how bluntly Kiara told him how she felt. The Sharp End, on the other hand, is both the "other side" of The Blunt End, and it's a play on how "sharp" AKA perceptive or whatever Pope is in this fic.
Pope had thought that there could be nothing worse than getting rejected by Kiara. Then he had thought that there could be nothing worse than getting friendzoned by her after finally making it to hookup status. Then he had thought that there could be nothing worse than seeing her fall for someone else.
But Pope soon realized that that wasn't the case. Because being on friendly terms with Kiara was actually… fine. And having had the chance to explore a relationship with her only to see that it didn't work… it actually helped. It helped him to stop dwelling on the what-ifs and start figuring out a way past. There was a future beyond dating Kiara Carrera, and Pope was actually pretty hopeful about it.
(Having Cleo around helped. He hadn't yet sorted through everything he was feeling in the Cleo department, but she definitely helped.)
So when Pope began to catch wind of certain "vibes" coming from JJ and Kiara, he didn't panic. He didn't scream into his pillow at the idea of being passed over again like he might have a couple months ago. No, he just… watched.
The Pogues (plus Cleo, who was maybe a Pogue? Honorary Pogue? Intern Pogue?) had been spending quite a lot of time together of late. The six of them really had no other place to go, considering that their parents were either dead, psychopathic, or planning to (hopefully) metaphorically kill them for breaking the rules again. After finding a way off of Poguelandia, which was a whole adventure in itself, the teenagers spent their time camped out at the Chateau, only leaving to get supplies when they knew no one who would recognize them would be around. They slept under the same roof each night, ate nearly every meal together, and drove each other so crazy that a friendship bond even a tiny bit less strong would have been completely destroyed.
And amidst all that, Pope began to pick some things up. He noticed that Kiara sometimes seemed a little left out by Sarah and Cleo, who were immediately and inexplicably bonded by their time together in the Bahamas. He noticed that John B and Sarah were starting to act like a couple in their mid-fifties, not sneaking off to make out but sitting on Adirondack-style chairs with their hands linked together instead. He noticed that Cleo didn't tend to accept any cigarettes but could drink all of them, even JJ, under the table in a single evening.
And he noticed that JJ and Kiara spent ninety percent of their time together. Sitting together with their knees touching; bantering in the kitchen during the few times Kiara tried to put her job at the restaurant to use and cook; arguing over who should take the risk of going out to the store, or what their next move was, or whether it would be safe to contact anyone. Pope knew the two of them had always been close but now it was as if they were one person.
One personal with two very opinionated and contrarian personalities, that was.
John B knew JJ better than anyone, so Pope figured he was the best person to bring all of this up to. It was hard to get anyone alone with the tight living situation, but he managed to convince the others that an afternoon surfing with the guys couldn't be so above the radar as to be dangerous, and corner John B when JJ was out deep in the waves.
"Have you, uh…" Pope hesitated, not wanting to come off in the wrong way. "Have you noticed that Kiara and JJ have been acting…"
"Close?" John B offered, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah, I think we've all kind of noticed that."
"Yeah," Pope echoed, stretching out on his stomach on his surfboard.
"Saving someone's life will do that to people," John B shrugged. He sent a sympathetic smile in Pope's direction. "I'm really sorry, man. If it helps, I was kinda rooting for you two."
"I wasn't," Pope blurted. "I mean- no. I was. But now I'm… not really, anymore. I dunno. Kie was kind of right, though. It should have been amazing and perfect but it just felt kind of… flat."
"Hey man, when there's no spark there's no spark," John B sighed, shrugging again. "I'm just glad you two realized it before things got too deep to pull out."
"Yeah," Pope repeated. He still felt a little sting of hurt, of regret, of longing. But part of that, he knew, came from just how long he'd been pining over his best friend. It was like a… force of habit, almost, a compulsion. But it wasn't what he actually wanted anymore. "Anyway that's- that's not the point. I just wanted to see if you'd noticed it, too, or if it was just me reading into things too much."
"I've definitely noticed it," John B snorted, lifting his head and staring over at JJ, who was just hopping up on his board to catch a wave towards them. "And I'll be interested to notice what happens next."
Pope muttered something in agreement, but he knew what John B, perhaps, didn't: That nothing would happen next. Not unless he had something to do with it.
Getting JJ alone was actually easier than Pope had expected. He just flicked his best friend in the ear and said that they needed to chat, then led him out to a spot in the woods so frequented by mosquitos that no one would want to follow them and eavesdrop. Slapping at the bugs, the two boys sat on a log and stared into the woods.
"So, uh, what's up?" JJ asked, clearly a little uncomfortable. "If you're gonna confess your undying love to me, do it quickly man. Rip it off like a bandaid, y'know?"
Pope snorted. "You wish," he grumbled. "But, well… I do actually need to talk to you about a relationship thing."
Pope could see JJ swallow out of the corner of his eye. "Yeah?" he asked with forced casualness. "Man, if you're looking for relationship advice about Kie, I don't think I'm really the person to-"
"You should go for it."
JJ paused, blinked, and looked over at him. "What?"
"You should go for it," Pope repeated. It was easier to say it the second time, so he pushed on. "You should shoot your shot with Kiara. We're over. It's cool. And honestly… you guys work better together than we ever would. You're both hot-headed, rebellious, spontaneous… I mean, when we thought John B was dead you both reacted in basically the same exact way."
He was babbling, he knew, but JJ wasn't trying to interrupt him. He wasn't saying anything at all.
"When you love someone, you just- you just wanna see them happy," Pope plunged on. "So for me… that means I want to see both of you happy."
"She kissed me," JJ blurted. "On the beach. Kiara and I kissed but we- we stopped."
"Why?" Pope asked, eyebrows furrowing. Had he read this all wrong? "Was it not… good?"
JJ let out an incredulous laugh. "Good? Man, it was the most freaking amazing thing I've ever felt in my entire life."
Pope stilled, glancing away from him for a moment to collect his thoughts. That's what Kiara had been looking for with him. That's what neither of them had felt together.
When there's no spark, there's no spark.
"So why'd you stop?" Pope asked again.
JJ looked at him fondly. "You think I'm gonna start making out with your ex-girl, Pope? Really? Nah man. I might love Kiara but there's no way she's gettin' between you and me."
Pope grinned, touched by his loyalty. It further confirmed that the decision he had made to give JJ his blessing was the right one indeed. "Well, now you don't have to worry about any of that," he said decisively, standing up and reaching out a hand to help JJ up as well. "No more inhibitions. Just, JJ-" He put a hand on his best friend's shoulder. "If you hurt her, I will kill you."
"I would actually rather die than hurt her, so I'm cool with that," JJ assured him, smiling a little. He pulled Pope into a hug, clapping him on the back. "Thanks, man. You- you don't know how much I appreciate you doing this."
Pope actually thought that he might, but he just nodded and gripped JJ back. "When are you gonna tell her?"
When JJ pulled back, he was grinning. "No time like the present."
And with that, he gave Pope a firm final clap on the back and crashed off through the trees towards John B's place.
W / T \ Y
Kiara had learned over many years of being a Pogue (and a human being, for that matter), that the only way to keep her chill was to constantly expect the unexpected. That being said, when JJ came barreling onto the porch out of seemingly nowhere, grabbed her wrist, and dragged her out of her chair so that their lips collided, she was completely thrown for a loop.
At first, all Kiara could manage was to stay on her feet as her senses exploded with JJ. But then the events of their last kiss that night on the beach came flooding into her head and she shoved him off. "What the heck, JJ! What the frick are you doing?"
For a moment, JJ stared at her. Then he grabbed the baseball cap off of his head and chucked it at the wall. "I knew it!" he cried, eyebrows scrunching hard. "I knew it was just a one-time thing!"
"What?" Kiara croaked, head spinning. "JJ, we talked about this! You were the one who wanted to stay friends to keep from hurting Pope!"
JJ hesitated, eyes flitting toward her suspiciously. "That's… that's the only reason you pushed me off?"
Kiara eyed him, deadpan. "That seems like a smart conclusion considering the fact that I literally tried to jump your bones less than a week ago."
"Oh." JJ awkwardly crossed the porch and retrieved his hat. "So, um… if I told you that Pope had just sat me down in those woods right over there and told me, paraphrased, to make a move on you… how would you feel about that?"
"Is this hypothetical?" Kiara asked, still reeling. "Or did Pope actually just tell you that?"
"Paraphrased."
"Whatever!" Kiara cried.
JJ reached out, taking her hands in his and holding them almost like he wasn't exactly sure how. "Yeah," he murmured. "Yeah, that was a real conversation." Then he frowned. "Unless I dreamed all of it. Do you think I dreamed all of it?"
"No…?" Kiara squinted. She cleared her throat and gave his hands a light squeeze. "So, like… what's next…?"
"Is that even a question?" JJ asked incredulously, starting to shift towards her. " 'Cause like, I've got a whole lotta years spent not kissing you that I kinda need to make up for…"
Grinning, Kiara let go of one of his hands to reach up and cup his face, sliding her fingers into his hair and pulling him down for a kiss.
Author's Note: Wow okay gotta love how that was written in a completely different voice and style than the first story in the series.
I'm a little frustrated at myself, because if I'd thought it through I would have ended The Blunt End on a sadder note and then done this as a second chapter, but ah well. Now The Blunt End can be standalone and this is like… extra credit, if ya want some more XD
