Chapter 3
Pippa stirs from where she had curled herself up on the sofa in the living room, sleep having evaded her once she had heard J and Pope leave the house. She shuffles down the hallway from the living room, hearing the low voices of Pope and Smurf, deciding to find out where he and J had been all night; as she rounds the corner, she finds Pope stood close to Smurf, her wrists held together by his hand, J watching in from the corner.
"Pope." The young girl hisses, bringing Smurf and J's attention on to her. "Stop it." She glances between Pope and J, frowning at the state of J's face. "What the hell happened?"
"Go back to bed, Pippa." Pope growls, his attention still on Smurf. Pippa ignores him, taking a small step forwards as Pope moves closer to Smurf.
"Leave her alone." J suddenly exclaims, Pippa taking a deep breath as Pope falters, before lunging forwards to grab J.
"Pope! Stop it!" Pippa shouts again, moving towards the pair only to be gently pushed back by Smurf. "Smurf!" She cries indignantly as the older woman remains in her place, watching her son and grandson fight. "Stop him!" The pair watch as Pope finally releases J, both of them remaining silent until Pope picks up his beer, leaving the room. "J-" Pippa says softly, stepping forwards; the young boy shakes his head, brushing past Smurf and Pippa, the younger girl taking one last glance at Smurf before rushing off after J.
"J!" She calls quietly as she catches up with him, rushing to step in front of him. "Will you let me clean that up? Please?" She asks, gently bringing her fingers up to his face.
"I'm ok." J insists, eyes darting away from Pippa's, refusing to meet her eye.
"Please, J?" She says, curling her fingers around his uncut cheek.
"I need to get out of here." He replies, pulling away from her gentle touch. Pippa sighs as he turns away.
"Let me come with you." Pippa suggests, grabbing hold of his arm to stop him from leaving. "J, please. Let me help you." J shakes her off gently, heading out of the glass door behind them. Pippa sighs to herself, rushing into her room to grab the first aid kit she kept there, shoving it into her backpack before rushing out of the house and to her bike, barely catching up to J as he cycles into the road ahead of her.
Pippa remains behind J all the way through the darkened streets, giving him enough room for him not to be suspicious, but close enough that she could follow him. She frowns as they pull into a street housing a small run down apartment complex, she hops off her bike as she watches J dump his own at the bottom of a staircase, jogging quickly up the stairs. Pippa does the same, taking the time to prop their bikes up against the wall before following J once again, pausing as she reaches the ajar door of the apartment she guessed J had disappeared into. She calls out his name softly as she pulls open the screen door, cautious not to scare the other teenager, who had clocked Pippa soon after leaving the house. He had decided to let her follow him, hoping that once she was certain he was safe, that she would leave him alone again.
"Can I sit with you?" Pippa asks, pausing, brow furrowed as she takes in the sight of the broken boy in front of her. She doesn't wait for his reply, instead, sliding down the wall to settle on to the ground beside him. Pippa leans her head against the wall, eyes glued to J as he pulls his knees up to his chest, looking down at the floor. She winds her arm gently through his, dropping her head to his shoulder. She lifts one hand, resting it on his left cheek, her thumb rubbing gently at the skin beneath the bruise. "What happened?"
"It was nothing."
"That's not what I asked." She states, bringing her own knees up to her chest, dropping her head to rest there. "Please, J. Let me clean that cut." At J's lack of reply, she takes his silence as an affirmative, untangling their arms to reach into her backpack at her side, pulling out the first aid kit. Pippa gently gets to work on cleaning up the cut on J's lip, wiping the blood away softly as they sit in silence, J staring into the distance. "I'm going to go down the street, get us a drink from the corner store. Stay here, ok? I'll come back." Pippa says, rising from the floor, pausing in front of J. "J? Please. Just stay here." J gives her a small nod, dropping his head into his hands as Pippa slowly walks backwards, turning at the door where she jogs down the hallway and out into the street. She runs as quickly as she can, grabbing the first cold drinks she finds before rushing back up the street to the apartment, praying the whole time that J is still there when she returns. A long sigh of relief leaves her body as she pushes the door to the apartment open, finding J exactly where she had left him.
"What have you got there?" She asks gently as she slowly makes her way back over to him. J glances up briefly, as if shocked she had returned, looking back down at the photo in his hand. Pippa drops to her knees as she watches J's body begin to shake, sobs racking his body. "No, no, hey, you're ok," she says softly, crawling over to him, wrapping her arms around his shaking body. "You're ok. I've got you." She whispers as his arms snake around her body, hands clutching at the fabric of her hoody as his body collapses against hers. "I've got you, J. You're safe." The pair sit like this for a while, Pippa running her hands up and down his back, pressing light kisses to his hair as he sobs into her chest. His body eventually stills, arms still tightly wrapped around each other, Pippa's hands still rubbing patterns on his back as she whispering comforting words to him. When J finally pulls away, he looks up at Pippa, their eyes meeting as ever so slowly, J tilts his head until their lips meet in a light, gentle kiss. Pippa inhales sharply, pulling back, blinking at J who looks at her, eyes wide. "J...you're upset."
"I want this, Pippa." He whispers, his hands coming up to cup her cheeks; Pippa tilts her head to nuzzle her cheek into his hand, his thumb rubbing gently across her cheekbone. "But if you don't want-" Pippa cuts him off with a shake of her head, bringing her head forwards, their lips meeting in a series of short, sweet kisses. J runs one hand down Pippa's body, wrapping his arm around her waist to tug her gently into his lap, her hands cupping his neck as the kiss deepens. They both reluctantly pull away, foreheads resting against the other's as they breathe deeply, both trying to catch their breath. Pippa lets her body relax against J's, arms looped around his neck as he absentmindedly runs his hand up and down her back, pressing feather light kisses to her neck and shoulder. "I know it seems scary, but you're safe, J." Pippa whispers, reluctantly breaking the silence as she runs a hand through his hair.
"Why did you follow me?" J asks as he pulls away, swiping at his eyes.
"Because I know what it's like to lose a parent. I know how intense your Grandmother and uncles are. Because I care J. I don't want to see you hurt." She replies, dropping her head to press her lips to his in a light kiss.
"You barely know me."
"You barely know me," she counters, pointing at him with a teasing smile. "And yet you just kissed me." J groans as Pippa lets out a laugh, dropping his head backwards to hit the wall. "Hey! I'm not complaining!" Pippa reaches down, rifling through her bag until she finds the box of cigarettes she'd been looking for, lifting them to show J as she asks, "Do you mind?"
"Nah, go for it." J replies, gratefully accepting the now lit cigarette from her, taking a long drag from it before passing it back. The pair sit like for a few minutes, wordlessly passing the cigarette back and forth.
"Do you want me to leave?" Pippa asks softly, sliding off of J's lap. She was suddenly all too aware that she was the one that had followed him that evening, and that maybe that hadn't been the best idea. He had insisted that he be left alone, and yet she had ignored him, practically chasing him through the streets. Her heart rate slows slightly at the sight of J shaking his head, tucking his hand into hers gently. "J..." he shakes his head again, cutting her off with a kiss as he rises from the floor, gently tugging on her hand to pull her up with him. Pippa lets him lead her down the short hallway and into the room she assumed used to be his. Pippa stands back, watching as he toes off his shoes, laying down on the single bed, patting the space beside him, indicating for her to lay down next to him. She hesitates for a moment, biting her lip as she considers his silent request, deciding to ignore the voice in her head telling her that he was grieving, and that this probably wouldn't end up going anywhere, choosing to lay down beside him instead.
"How was the funeral?" Pippa asks after laying in silence for a few minutes.
"It was fine." He replies, brushing her hair behind her ear gently. "You weren't there." Pippa raises her eyebrows, as J cups her cheek with his hand, running his thumb over her cheekbone again.
"You wanted me there?" She teases with a small smile looking up at J who doesn't meet her eye.
"I just figured you would be." He replies nonchalantly.
"I didn't really know your mum. Figured it wasn't my place. Besides, I had a history test I couldn't miss." She turns her head to press her lips to his wrist, laying a light kiss there. "Are you ok? I know it's not the same, but I do know what it's like to not have your mum around, so, ya know, if you need to talk..."
"Yeah." J says, cupping her cheeks with both hands, gently pulling her head up to his for a kiss. "Thanks." Pippa winds her arms loosely around J's neck, pulling him in for another kiss, which he deepens as he pulls her body flush to his.
