Chapter 7

"You found me." Pippa calls as she heads up the beach to where J was sat. The teen had risen early, intent on finding Pippa, only to find that by the time he had made it out of bed, she had already left the house for the day.

"Didn't know you were hiding." J jokes in response, eyes glued to Pippa as she drops on to the sand beside him. "Beside, wasn't that hard to find you."

"The water's great today. You should have come with me." J rolls his eyes at her, plucking the cigarette she had just lit from her between fingers.

"Well, you didn't tell me you'd be coming here. I didn't know you'd left." He protests, a teasing tone to his voice. Pippa drops her head on to her shoulder, looking over at J who raises his eyebrows at her. "If you're not going to smoke that, can I have it back? You're wasting it." Pippa reaches up, fingers itching to take the cigarette back. J watches her closely, teasingly lifting the cigarette further out of her reach. "Joshua." She warns. "Give it." J smirks, raising his arm higher, Pippa sighing as she reaches her hand across his body, her fingers just falling short of taking the burning stick from him. "Don't play games." J raises his eyebrows again, playfully lowering his arm slightly.

"Be nice."

"You be nice!" She retorts, grin spreading across her face, reaching up again, groaning as he pulls his hand away at the last second. "Josh!" She laughs, leaning over once more, just enough to lose her balance, J reaching his hand out to clasp around her hip gently, her body hovering over his as her hand rests in the sand beside J's body. Pippa's eyes dart up to J's both of them breathing heavily as their eyes meet, Pippa dropping her head slowly inch by inch until finally their lips meet in a gentle, lingering kiss. Pippa takes the opportunity with J now being distracted, to reach her hand out, taking the cigarette from between his fingers, pulling back at the same time, lifting the cigarette to her lips, leaving J looking up at her, eyes wide in shock. Pippa smirks, finishing off the cigarette as she rises from the sand, throwing her dress over her swimming suit, shrugging her bag on to her shoulder as she steps away from J. "You comin'?" She calls over her shoulder, not turning around for long enough to see if J was following as she jogs towards her bike, J's own bike now resting against hers. Pippa pauses as she reaches her bike, pulling on her converse as she watches J out of the corner of her eye, ambling up the beach towards her.

"Pippa!" He shouts as she unlocks her bike, swinging a leg over, waiting until J was close enough to catch up with her, before she pushes down on the pedals, cycling off away from the beach. J pauses as he reaches the pavement, dropping his head back as he lets out a frustrated sigh, watching for a moment as Pippa cycles off down the road, before jumping on his own bike and following her.

Pippa reaches the turning for the house moments before J who cycles down the driveway behind her, both of them dropping their bikes in the empty space, Pippa glancing over her shoulder once as she skips off through the house, knowing J would be following her as she does so. J catches up with Pippa as they reach the hallway leading to their rooms, grasping her hips gently, pulling her to a stop, Pippa spinning her body to face him. She lets out a giggle as he pulls her closer, winding her arms around his neck, one hand resting on the back of his head to pull his head down to hers, connecting their lips. Pippa reaches her hand behind her, flailing for the doorknob, twisting it as J walks them backwards, pushing the door open as they go. J pushes the door shut again behind them as they enter the room, pressing lingering kisses to each other's lips. Pippa's fingers run through his hair as J bunches the fabric of her dress in his fists, gently tugging it up and over her head, their lips disconnecting briefly to allow the clothing to be discarded and thrown across the room. Pippa takes J's t-shirt in her hands, as he had done with her dress seconds before, pulling it over his head as they continue to walk backwards until the back of Pippa's knees hit the bed, J dropping on to the bed on top of her, reconnecting their lips again.

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Sighing contentedly, Pippa curls her body around J's, resting her head on his chest as he gently pulls her closer.

"Are you ok?" She asks, tracing light circles on his bare chest, smiling as he hums in response. "What are you thinking about?"

"You." He states softly, making Pippa's smile grow as she tilts her head to look up at him.

"Yeah?" She confirms as he hums again, running his fingers through her hair. "Care to share?" J hesitates before replying, letting his fingers drift from Pippa's hair to her shoulder.

"You call me Josh a lot." J comments lightly, letting his fingers brush lightly over Pippa's bare shoulder, pressing a kiss to the top of her head that was resting on his chest.

"Do you not like it? I can stop-" Pippa starts, pushing herself up to look at J who smiles, cutting her off with a kiss.

"No, no! I like it. It's just...no one else does..." He replies, cupping the back of her head as she drops it back to his chest, pressing a kiss there.

"It can be our thing." She says softly, smiling up at him as he nods at her.

"I'd like that." J comments, smiling down at Pippa as she curls herself closer to him again, reaching her hand up to brush her knuckles over his cheek.

"I'm happy you're here." Pippa whispers, pressing a kiss to J's jawline as his grip around her waist tightens. "The boys are great and all, but it's good to have you here. It's nice having you around. I'm glad you stayed."

"I'm happy you're here too." J repeats, rubbing gentle circles against her skin. "You're-" J pauses, pressing a kiss to the top of Pippa's head as she tucks her head into his neck. "You're the reason I stayed, Pip. If you weren't here, I wouldn't know what to do. I wouldn't be able to stay here."

"You're stronger than you give yourself credit for." Pippa replies, pressing another kiss to her jaw. "You've been through a lot J-"

"So have you." He states, squeezing her waist lightly as she hums in agreement. "Do you- If you wanted to talk about your mu-"

"I don't." Pippa cuts him off gently with a shake of her head. "Thank you though." J hums again in response, running his hand through Pippa's hair again as she lets out a long yawn.

"Get some sleep." He says softly, letting Pippa shift until her back was against his chest, their bodies curled around each other as they slowly drifted off to sleep.

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Pippa hums to herself, pulling her hair up into a ponytail as she enters the kitchen, grabbing a glass from the cabinet and filling it with water. She leans against the counter, looking out to the pool as she sips from her glass.

"So...you and J?" Craig calls as he rounds the divider to the kitchen.

"Huh?" Pippa coughs out around a mouthful of water, spinning to face him.

"I saw you sneaking out of his room earlier." Craig replies with a smirk.

"I wasn't sneaking." She retorts, rolling her eyes. "It's not a secret."

"So you've fucked him already? Jeez, Pippa." He teases, pulling a face as she turns away from him, shaking her head.

"Jesus, Craig!" She groans, dropping her head into her hand.

"Was it good?" Craig asks, reaching around her to take a mug from the cabinet above her head.

"Huh?"

"Sex with J. Worth it?" He re-emphasises, smirking at Pippa as she lets out a frustrated groan.

"Fuck off." She mutters, dumping the last of her glass of water down the sink, leaving the glass on the side.

"How long's that been going on?"

"Craig." Pippa snaps, pausing as she turns to leave. "Stop. Seriously. You don't want to know. You don't really care."

"When I suggested you get to know him, I didn't think you'd go this far." Craig states, leaning against the counter, raising his eyebrows at Pippa as she lets out a scoff.

"You seriously think that's what this is?" She laughs, shaking her head. "If you really think I'd do that, you're a lot more stupid than you look. Jesus Christ, Craig." Spinning away from the man she viewed as he big brother, Pippa lets out a frustrated yell, slamming her hand down on the side as she pauses, turning to face him once more. "You really are an idiot." She spits out, narrowing her eyes at Craig as he shrugs, watching as she turns on her heel, pausing momentarily as she finds J stood across the hallway in front of her.

"Everything ok?" He calls, brow furrowed as Pippa shakes her head in annoyance, stalking towards him.

"Just Craig being an asshole." She mutters, gently brushing past J who glances between the pair, turning to follow Pippa back through the house.