Chapter 6
Pippa, having awoken to the arguing from the Cody brothers in the kitchen, slides her legs off the edge of the bed, running a hand through her hair as she heads down the hallway, pausing in the entrance to J's room, a small smile covering her face as she sees him laying there awake, rubbing at his eyes. Before he could look up and see her, she pounces on to the bed, J letting out a soft groan as her body connects with his, Pippa laughing as she pulls the covers up and over herself, tucking her body in close to J's. J smiles as she wraps an arm around his waist, throwing her leg over his legs, his own arm wrapping around her body as she lets out a long yawn.
"You're up early." He comments, pressing his lips to the crown of her head in a lingering kiss. Pippa hums, tilitng her head up, lips pursed in a pout as she silently asks for a kiss, J ducking his head to connect their lips.
"So are you." She replies, pressing short, sweet kisses to his lips. "Why?"
"Deran came in to apologise." J replies, winding his fingers through Pippa's hair, gently running them through her curls.
"Really?" Pippa asks, looking up at J, eyes wide in shock as he nods. "Wow. Make a note of that. It'll never happen again."
"He asked if I wanted to take a swing at him."
"Did you?"
"No." J replies with a shake of his head.
"I would have." She jokes, letting out a light laugh as she lays her head back down on the pillow. "Where did you go last night?"
"Just out. Riding around." He says, wrapping his arm back around her waist to pull her close.
"Are you ok?" She asks gently, concern evident in her eyes as J sighs, dropping his eyes.
"I don't know if I can do this, Pippa." He mumbles, Pippa sucking in a sharp breath as she waits for him to continue.
"Do what?" She presses, breaking the silence.
"Stay here. Be part of this family."
"Josh..." Pippa sighs, tilting her head up to press her lips to his jaw as he sighs again.
"I just...I don't know..." He trails off, looking down at her as she gives him a sympathetic smile.
"Everything will be ok." She reassures him gently, cupping his cheek with her hand. "I promise you. It's scary at first, and the boys are all nuts, but you'll settle in, you'll get used to it. It's just a big change." Pippa falls into silence, meeting J's eye with a small smile, holding eye contact for a moment before continuing. "Having said that...I don't want to force you to stay, if you really want to go."
"I have no where else to go." He replies, running the backs of his fingers slowly up and down Pippa's bare arm as she hums in agreement.
"You've got me." She says softly, smiling up at J who responds with a smile of his own. "I'm here for you. I get it, remember?" J nods, dropping his head to her shoulder, letting it rest there as she runs a comforting hand through his hair, before gently tilting his head back up to hers for a lingering, deep kiss. "I'm not going anywhere."
"Me neither." He replies softly, eliciting a small smile from Pippa, leaning up to kiss him again. "I'm going to shower." J mumbles as they pull apart, rolling on to his back to slide out of bed.
"Mhmm." Pippa hums, cupping the back of his head with her hand, pulling his head back down to hers.
"I can't do that if you keep doing this." J laughs, winding his arm around Pippa's waist to pull her closer nonetheless.
"You don't want me to kiss you?" She jokes, pulling back to look J in the eye.
"I didn't say that." He replies, letting out a chuckle as Pippa laughs, pressing her lips back to his. "But I do need to go for a shower before we head to school."
"Go on then." She mumbles against his lips, making J laugh as she continues to press kisses against his lips.
"Guys. Get up." Deran suddenly shouts from the doorway, pounding his fist on the doorframe.
"Piss off, Deran." Pippa mutters, as she winds her arms around J's neck again, tilting her head up to kiss him.
"No. Seriously. Get up. Now." He shouts, slamming his hand against the doorframe again.
"Deran! Piss, off!" Pippa yells, lifting her head to glare at Deran who responds with a glare of his own.
"Cutback." He states, raising his hands and eyebrows as he watches the phrase sink in.
"What?" Pippa gulps, bolting upright as J looks between his uncle and girlfriend.
"Check your god damn phone, Pippa. Cutback. We need to go. Now!" Deran shouts as he heads down the hallway away from J's room.
"Shit." Pippa mutters, pushing J away as she rushes to find his phone. "Shit, Josh. We need to go. Get changed."
"What's going on?" J asks, sitting up right as Pippa throws a pair of jeans and a t shirt at him.
"Smurf's been arrested. We need to go. Get a bag of clothes, money, your phone, passport. Anything important." She explains, heading for the door.
"I don't have a passport." He calls after her, Pippa pausing briefly in the doorway to look back at him.
"Ok, well, don't worry. Baz will sort it. Just- get going. Come on."
Upon entering the safe house, Pippa stands back, watching the older boys argue as J looks around the room. She gives him a reassuring smile as he his eyes land on her, giving her a small smile in reply as she heads over to where he was stood, tucking herself under his arm.
"This happen a lot?" J asks, eyes glued to his uncles.
"No." She replies with a shake of her head, running a hand through her hair. Everyone in the room freezes as they hear a car pull up outside the building, J pushing Pippa behind him as the boys grab the guns, heading towards the door. Pippa holds her breath, one hand resting lightly on J's back until she hears Smurf call out through the door, stepping forward to rest her head on J's back, letting out a long breath. J reaches behind him, taking her hand in his as Craig lets Smurf in, pulling her back into his arms. Pippa glances between the boys as they begin to argue with Smurf, making eye contact with Craig who rolls his eyes at her, shaking his head briefly.
"I'm gonna give you an opportunity to come clean. Someone better tell the truth." Smurf states, turning slowly to make eye contact with each of her sons before landing on Pippa who was looking at the ground, determined not to get involved in the drama, as Smurf had instructed on her first day living with the family. "Pippa?" Smurf calls, raising her eyebrows as her head snaps up, eyes meeting Smurf's immediately, wide in shock.
"What-"
"Hey, don't bring her into this. She doesn't know anything! Pippa doesn't get involved, remember? That's your rule!" Craig shouts, stepping towards Pippa who was still staring at Smurf with wide eyes, the older woman shrugging in response.
"Anyone?" Smurf clarifies, glancing around again as J subtly tightens his hold on Pippa who curls into him. "There'll be no next job."
"We're going to stop working?" Craig asks, glancing between Smurf and Baz.
"Not me, you. No more money. You're on your own." Smurf states, turning to face Craig.
"What?" Deran stutters, rising from his chair.
"This conversation is over."
"That's bullshit! What are we supposed to do?" Deran exclaims incredulously, throwing his hands in the air.
"This conversation is over!" Smurf shouts, shocking them all into silence. Pippa holds Smurf's eye as the boys begin to gather up the bags, giving her a questioning look before following J out of the room.
"I need coffee." She grumbles, lacing her fingers through J's once he had dropped the box back into the car.
"You need to get to school." Pope corrects her, laying a hand on her back to push her towards the car door. "Come on. Get in."
"So, can we get coffee on the way?" Pippa calls, leaning forwards to stick her head through the gap between the front seats.
"Pippa." Baz grounds out, hands clenched around the steering wheel as he navigates the mid morning traffic.
"What? I need my caffeine fix." She retorts, sending J as smile as he laughs.
"You're a kid, you shouldn't be drinking coffee." Baz replies, eyes still trained on the road ahead.
"Yeah, well, Craig shouldn't snort coke but he does." Pippa jokes, rolling her eyes as it falls flat, earning no response from Baz.
"He's an adult. He can make his own choices."
"True. But he doesn't listen to you either, does he, big bro?" She teases, flicking at Baz's ear as Pope lets out a small scoff.
"She's not wrong."
"Pippa. Shut up." Baz commands, reaching back to push her towards her seat.
"Yes sir." She replies, teasing tone still lacing her voice as she gives him a mock salute in the rear view mirror. "If you buy me a coffee."
"Pip, drop it. I'll get you a coffee later." Pope suggests, glancing back at Pippa, warning her with his eyes not to continue pushing Baz.
"I'll fade away by then! Please, Pope! Make him stop for coffee!" She begs, leaning forwards again to pout at Pope who shakes his head at her.
"Pippa!" Baz shouts, pulling to an abrupt stop at the curb, turning to look back at Pippa who stares at him wide eyed. "Shut. Up."
"Jeez, ok. Relax!" Pippa mutters, raising her hands as she slumps back in her seat. "Don't get your knickers in a twist. I was only trying to lighten the mood a little. I'll get my own coffee. Didn't know it'd make you so mad." She crosses her arms over her chest, turning her head to look out of the window, J reaching over to rest his hand on her thigh comfortingly.
———————————————————————
"Hi!" Pippa smiles, nearly bumps into J, leaning against the wall outside her classroom.
"Hey," J replies with a smile of his own, pulling Pippa in for a kiss. "Here."
"A coffee! For me?" She exclaims with a laugh, gratefully taking the cup of coffee he held out to her. "How did you know?"
"Well, I couldn't very well let you just fade away could I?" He jokes, intertwining his fingers through Pippa's as they head away from the school building.
"You're too good to me!" Pippa teases in reply, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Are you ok?" She asks, as they approach the bleachers.
"Yeah. Are you?" J asks, leaning against the fence, Pippa nodding in reply as she copies him. "This morning was weird."
"Uh huh." She mumbles, pulling a box of cigarettes out of her bag. "Nicky was pissed she couldn't copy my homework." She jokes, brow furrowed as J ignores her, taking the cigarette she held out to him instead. "You looked a little freaked out earlier."
"Did it not freak you out?" He retorts, passing the cigarette back, scuffing his shoe against the gravel.
"A little. But it's happened before." Pippa reassures him, leaning over to press her lips to his, smiling against his lips as he places his hands gently on her hips. "You don't have to worry about it. Ok?" She whispers, cupping her hand around the back of his neck.
The pair pull apart reluctantly as Miss Anderson rounds the corner, calling out to them: "J. You missed my class."
"Sorry." J mumbles as Pippa raises her eyebrows at him, leaning back against the fence, bringing the cigarette to her lips.
"Should you be smoking that here?" Miss Anderson asks, letting out a scoff as Pippa shrugs. "Put it out, Pippa." Pippa rolls her eyes at J as she takes another long drag of the cigarette before throwing it to the ground, turning back to Miss Anderson, raising her hand to show it was empty. "Good. Now off you go." Pippa looks up at J, brow furrowed in confusion as he shrugs.
"Fine." She states, swinging her bag back up on to her shoulder, heading off behind the bleachers.
Where are you? J texts Pippa as he walks away from Miss Anderson, eyes glued to his phone until he sees the three dots showing she was replying.
Behind the bleachers. J heads off towards the bleachers, dropping down on to the ground beside Pippa as he reaches her, winding his fingers through hers.
"What did she want?" She asks, winking at J as she holds up her freshly lit cigarette.
"To check I was ok." He replies, smiling at Pippa's small act of rebellion. "With Smurf." Pippa hums in response, thinking back to their conversation that morning.
"She wants to fuck you." She states, blowing out a long trail of smoke, letting out a laugh as J lets out a shocked laugh, turning to look at her.
"What?"
"Miss Anderson."
"Pippa. That's not true." He replies, shaking his head at her adamant nodding.
"It is." Pippa states with a laugh, turning to face J, cupping the back of his head with her hand. "She likes you. She wants to get in your pants." She whispers, brushing her lips over his.
"Pippa. It's not like that." He emphasises as she raises her eyebrows at him, pulling back.
"Ok." Pippa scoffs with a laugh, shaking her head. "You know, Nicky likes you too."
"What?" J scoffs with another shocked laugh.
"It's obvious, Josh!"
"Pippa..." J starts, trailing off as she turns her head away from him, looking out into the distance. "Hey, come here." He says, wrapping an arm around her waist, tugging her towards him. "It's not like that. And even if it was. I'm not interested. In either of them." J drops his head, pressing his lips to Pippa's in a series of short, sweet kisses, which she reluctantly responds to. "Pippa? Trust me. Please?" Pippa sighs, biting her lip as she throws her cigarette to the ground, nodding slowly as J cups the back of her neck, pulling her back in for another, deeper kiss.
"I do." Pippa says softly as they pull apart, brushing her fingers softly over J's cheeks. "Trust you, I mean." J smiles, pulling Pippa back into his arms as she lets out a laugh. "Wow. Kissing behind the bleachers. How cliche." She laughs, winding her arms around his neck to pull his head to hers once again.
