1:
The Pogues were only fourteen when JJ showed up to the Chateau with a blunt. Pope immediately said he was not interested, while the other two gazed at the rolled paper held firmly in the blonde boys' hand.
"Where did you get that?" Kiara exclaimed. Pride flared up in the blonde boys' eyes, while already lighting the blunt and taking the first hit.
"My…cousin..." He managed to get out in between coughs. Passing to Kiara who inhaled like a pro. JJ could not hide the impressed smile on his face while watching her. They passed the blunt between the three of them until there was nothing left but a brunt end, John B was the first to bail.
"I need to lay down guys, stay if you want" He nodded while trying to walk in a remotely straight line into the Chateau, leaving the other two alone in the hammock. JJ started mindlessly playing with the girl's curly hair as she giggled and leaned against his shoulder. He could not help but breathe in the smell of her vanilla scented shampoo. Ignoring the butterflies deep in his stomach caused by her closeness. After a couple hours they headed inside. Grabbing a couple sodas, she sat on the counter across from him, going on about sea turtles and what not. JJ was trying to listen but kept getting distracted by the way her eyes lit up when she smiled, or how she rolled her eyes at his jokes. Something overtook him in that moment, he would blame the weed, but deep down he knew it was just the affect she had on him.
He closed the distance between them, lightly resting his hands on her thighs. Immediately she tensed, and he could not help the ache in his heart. His mind was all over the place, but the only thing that he knew was certain was that he wanted to feel her lips against his. Slowly leaning in, only to be interrupted before contact, stilling, feeling her breath on his cheek.
"JJ…" She spoke softly. And he lost control of himself, needing Kiara to know how he felt about her. Slowly he leaned in just an inch further, so close, she pushed back against him.
"JJ no pogue on pogue macking" Her voice still soft, almost sad sounding. He felt as if his heart had broken in that moment, rejected like always. It was only a millisecond, but Kiara saw the raw emotion and embarrassment in those baby blue eyes. Within the next second it was gone, replaced by the collect nonchalant boy she knew for so long.
"Wow, sorry Kie, that blunt is hitting me harder than I thought. I think I need to take a shower." And with that he scurried off to the bathroom and let himself fall against the door. Alone, he let tears fall, lost in thought. Of course, she would not want to kiss him, he was garbage, and she was treasure, and he was foolish for even having hope. JJ avoided the mirror, knowing that would only fuel more anger, he stepped into the shower and let ice cold water fall on him. Unaware of the fact that in the living room Kiara sat in shock, thinking of the blonde boy in a way she never had before.
After about 20 minutes, JJ remerged from the bathroom and headed to the living room, only to find Kie still there, sitting on the pullout. He knew that he could get things back to normal, just a couple jokes away. Taking a deep breathe to compose himself before she noticed him.
"Damn Kie, you look like you've seen a ghost, get some rest girl." With his lighthearted nature back, he tossed her one of his sweatshirts she had worn so many times before. She slid it on and watched him cautiously. Unable to deal with the silence, JJ addressed the issue.
"Look Kie, we have been smoking and I am just not in my right mind right now, let's just forget about it." The infectious grin was back on his lips with a slight shrug of the shoulders, he kept his eyes away from hers, knowing she would see through the façade. And with those final words of the night, JJ headed into John B's room to sleep on the floor, accompanied with a sadness he could not shake.
The next morning everything went back to normal. Neither of them mentioned the major fail of an attempt to kiss her again. Still, when she was not looking, he could not help but let his eyes linger on her.