The next morning, John B woke up feeling well-rested and oddly optimistic. He gazed at the girl still peacefully sleeping in his arms as was becoming more and more of a normal occurrence for them and decided not to disturb her just yet. She looked so innocent and at peace, a small smile playing on her lips. Perhaps she was dreaming of sunny beaches and surfing too, their favorite pastime.
He would never admit it because competition was their thing, but JJ was the best surfer he knew. When JJ surfed, it was as if nothing else in the world existed around her. She was in her element, commanding the waves effortlessly, shredding them with precision and testing new tricks fearlessly. Her face lit up with the most genuine smile, her blue eyes sparkling with pure happiness. John B's heart swelled with adoration and awe whenever he was fortunate enough to witness her let her guard down and simply enjoy the moment, forgetting life's harsh realities. While surfing was just his favorite hobby, for JJ, it meant something deeper. It was unfortunate they had been dealt the cards they were.
With the right opportunities, John B believed JJ could have secured a sponsor and made a name for herself in the surfing world. But luck hadn't been on their side.
He was pulled out of his thoughts of JJ surfing when she sighed softly in her sleep, mumbling something incoherent into his chest. She held onto him tightly, almost like she was holding a teddy bear.
He felt his cheeks grow warm as one of her legs brushed against his hard member as she further entangled herself around his body.
He tried to carefully extract himself so he could take a cold shower before she woke up as was a normal morning routine, but as he tried to unhitch her thigh from across his hip, she mumbled again and he froze. He swears he heard his name and he felt his body hum with a feeling he's not used to being directed at JJ as the thought that she might be dreaming of him swept through him.
It's just JJ, he lectures himself, and she could've been dreaming about anything for Christ sake. Still, he can't control his arms from wrapping around her more firmly or his lips from placing a kiss into her hair.
It doesn't mean anything, he convinced himself. He tries again to extract himself from her and is more successful this time. He goes straight to the bathroom to take a cold shower.
JJ woke up a few minutes later, stretching her arms out. She'd slept well and remembered having a pleasant dream, though the details slipped away as she tried to recall it. Hearing the shower running behind the closed bathroom door, she made her way to the kitchen to see what she could find for breakfast.
The pantry was mostly empty; they'd need to go shopping soon. She found two granola bars, unwrapping one for herself and setting the other aside for John B.
She decided to do some dishes while she waited for the shower. She was about three-quarters of the way through, humming the chorus of Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry," when she felt eyes on her.
Turning slightly, she saw John B leaning against the entryway in just his swim trunks, his hair still wet with droplets falling from a few strands and running down his chest. She caught her breath, trying to steady herself and avoid letting her eyes drift lower to where the droplets disappeared into his shorts. It wasn't that she'd never seen him shirtless or in his trunks before, but there was an intensity in his eyes as he looked at her now. His tanned, lean but muscular figure stood casually with arms crossed, like he had nothing else to do but watch her. How long had he been standing there?
She realized neither of them had spoken yet, and the air felt charged for some reason.
She heard her own voice break the silence. "Good morning."
"Hey," he greeted back, his voice a little husky and his eyes burning in a way that made her insides heat up.
"Shower free?" she asked, even though it was obvious. He nodded, and she moved to walk past him, her arm brushing against his when he didn't step aside. She felt a shiver run through her and quickly picked up her pace to the bedroom to grab her towel and swimsuit before heading into the bathroom and shutting the door behind her.
What was that?! She mentally berated herself. Why was she being so weird? She tried to shake it off as she stripped and stepped into the shower, not even bothering to heat up the water.
Long-buried feelings clawed their way to the surface, and she tried hard to rebury them. But his eyes still burned in her mind's eye, making her body respond in ways she couldn't control. She moaned softly as her fingers twitched, yearning for release from the building tension. The cold water helped cool her down, and she mentally put herself in check before her imagination could wander into forbidden territory.
She finished up quickly and got ready for the day, letting her mind forget about the morning's events. Once she was ready, she rejoined John B, who had thrown on a tank top at some point, and they left in the Twinkie to pick up the kegs from her cousin. They chatted about this and that like normal. Her backpack rested by her leg, where she secretly stashed her gun, knowing the other Pogues wouldn't approve. But Its presence made her feel safer, so she just couldn't bring herself to leave it behind now that she had it.
That afternoon, they found themselves with Kie and Pope, setting up the boneyard for the kegger.
They cracked open one of the kegs early, blasting the radio and letting loose in anticipation of the night ahead. The party's energy picked up quickly as people started arriving, filling the space with laughter and chatter.
Soon, the Pogues found themselves dancing together. JJ could feel the warmth of John B's hands on her hips as they moved in sync to the music. The Boneyard was alive with Pogues, Kooks, and tourists all mingling together. When the beer line grew overwhelming, they joined Kie to help hand out drinks, embracing the chaos of the night.
JJ was already feeling pretty buzzed only two hours in, enjoying the party with some of the other girls around her. She downed her current drink in one swig and tossed the cup aside. Her mood shifted when she noticed John B talking to a blonde girl a few yards away. Biting down her jealousy, she grabbed another beer, determined to get wasted and let loose.
At some point, JJ noticed Sarah Cameron and Topper arrive. She snorted unladylike into her drink, knowing Kie wouldn't appreciate their presence. JJ didn't really care. In fact, she almost itched for a fight tonight, and Topper's presence pretty much guaranteed that.
A couple of hours later, after the sun had set and an unknown number of beers had been consumed, JJ found herself drunk and happy.
She spied John B and whistled for his attention. "Yo JB!"
Little did she know, he had been keeping an eye on her all night, worried as she kept downing beers and descended into a drunken state. He was by her side in no time. "What're you doing? What's up?"
"I got this for you," she said sweetly, slurring her words as she handed him the cup of beer in her hands. "Want it?"
"For me? Yeah, I'll take a sip," he replied, his voice a little slurred from the drinks. Maybe he was a bit drunk too; he couldn't deny the flirtatious tone in his voice, his mind buzzing and his skin tingling with her closeness. She smiled at him warmly.
Just then, Sarah Cameron and Topper walked by them, and JJ couldn't resist calling out, "Hey! Hey Sarah!"
Once she had Sarah's attention, JJ continued, "Sarah, can I interest you in a tasty Milwaukee beverage?" Surprisingly, she meant it as a friendly gesture. In JJ's opinion, Sarah always seemed kind of lost, and she didn't appear to agree with her friends when they made nasty remarks about them.
"No thanks," Sarah replied in a snooty tone, with Topper standing next to her like a lost puppy.
"Is it not fancy enough for you?" JJ asked, offended.
"No, we were just leaving," Sarah said dismissively.
'Good riddance,' JJ thought to herself. 'Last time I try to be nice to a fucking kook. They're all the same after all. Should've known the princess was no different. Kie was right.'
"Hey, you know what? I'll take it. Thank you, I appreciate it," Topper said, sounding condescending.
"That's nice, but I didn't ask you," JJ replied coldly. John B looked ready to intervene, and JJ knew she should stop, but she was drunk and tired of kooks coming to their party and treating them poorly. "If you said 'pretty please,' maybe. But you didn't."
"Oh, pretty please," Topper added sarcastically.
"Yeah…" JJ ignored him, addressing Sarah, "So Sarah, you can have it." She was playing now, trying to irritate Topper. She didn't expect him to knock her drink into her face.
"She doesn't want it, you—" Topper started with a sneer.
"Okay," Sarah interrupted, ever the peacemaker. But JJ, drunk and angry, started to throw herself at Topper. John B was quick to react, catching her and locking her arms around his chest.
"No, no, no," John B whispered in her ear, trying to calm her down, but she wasn't quite ready to calm down.
"You're so funny, man!" JJ called out to Topper.
"Hey!" John B said more sternly into her ear, not letting go as he gently held her face to look at him. His eyes showed concern, and she felt herself soften, her body starting to relax in his arms. Her gaze flickered down to his lips involuntarily.
But then they hear Topper throw out a "Get your dirty Pogue whore in check," and she feels John B go rigid.
Before she could react, John B had already turned around and landed a fist into Topper's face.
JJ was frozen. This was her fault. Soon, Pope, Kie, and a crowd had gathered around them.
"John B, we're supposed to be incognito, remember?" Pope tried to reason with him, but John B was already facing off with Topper. Then, Topper threw a heavy punch, and John B hit the sand close to the water.
JJ could vaguely hear Sarah yelling, but it was hard to make out past the ringing in her ears. In her drunken state, she wasn't actually emotionally prepared for the violent turn of events. She felt a panic attack looming as flashes of Luke Maybank haunted her thoughts. She dug her nails into her skin, trying to snap herself out of the fear overtaking her body.
"Hey John B, don't make me drown you like your old man, alright?" JJ heard Topper say, and her blood boiled. She was furious at him for stooping so low, and at herself for causing the situation and feeling so useless in that moment.
Topper kicked John B before he could get up, and JJ desperately wanted to help, but her breaths were coming in shallow. Nobody noticed her distress as they were all engrossed in the fight.
John B finally managed to get up and tackled Topper, both soaked from the seawater. The fight continued fiercely. JJ, starting to break out of her panic, saw John B land a good hit on Topper. She cheered him on, hoping he would end the fight quickly. However, she could see that Topper's comment about John B's dad had gotten to him, and Topper's superior health and size slowly wore John B down. The benefits of never missing a meal in his life.
To JJ's horror, Topper held John B's head under the water. It didn't seem like he was going to let up, and Kie was screaming in panic. In a split-second decision, JJ ran toward her backpack.
She pulled out the gun from her backpack and pushed her way through the crowd, standing behind Topper. With trembling hands, she pressed the gun against the back of his head and clicked off the safety.
Topper froze.
"Yeah, you know what this is," JJ said, her eyes wild, holding her breath as she waited for Topper to release John B. "Your move, broski."
All the noise of the crowd faded away for JJ, drowned out by the pounding of her own blood in her ears. Topper released John B and raised his hands placatingly. JJ could hear John B spluttering and coughing up water, but her eyes remained fixed on Topper's form, her finger steady on the trigger.
She thought she heard Sarah say something, but JJ had a knot in her throat, rendering her unable to speak.
"Alright, come on, man," Topper stood up slowly, backing away towards Sarah. JJ let him go but kept the gun steady, her voice cutting through the chaos. "Okay, everyone listen up! Get the hell off our side of the island!"
She pointed the gun upwards and fired two shots into the air. The beach erupted in screams as people scrambled to flee, startled by the sight of a wild-eyed girl with a gun.
"Are you crazy?!" Pope yelled at her, and Kie shoved her, but JJ felt like she was floating outside her body, unable to shake the image of John B's head being held underwater. She didn't hear anything else they screamed at her, the gun still gripped tightly in her hand as she stared blankly ahead.
At some point, they must have given up yelling at her and gone to help their friend, who had passed out with a splash. JJ still couldn't move. Her eyes widened further, her heart stopping as she watched John B lay there unmoving.
It had been a few seconds, or maybe minutes—JJ wasn't sure. Time seemed to stretch endlessly while she stood there, her breath caught in her throat, her vision starting to darken around the edges. Her eyes glazed over as fear gripped her.
JJ didn't remember when John B had came to and stood up, making his way over to her. His eyes became panicked when she didn't respond to his voice calling her name, which she couldn't hear.
JJ didn't remember when he grabbed her hand and placed it over his heart on his chest, trying to remind her to breathe.
JJ didn't remember when, after she still hadn't breathed, he placed one hand on her neck and the other on her cheek. His thumb brushed over her bottom lip, pleading for her to breathe for him.
A breath of air finally made its way into her lungs, soothing the burning sensation that had overtaken her chest.
JJ remembers the flood of relief in his eyes as he coaches her to match her breaths to his.
JJ remembers one of his hands sliding slowly down her neck, over her shoulder, and down her arm to gently extract the gun from her tight grip. He handed it to Kie, who stood nearby, wide-eyed and smacking herself for not realizing sooner how shaken JJ was.
JJ remembers how he grabbed her now-empty hand and wrapped it around his neck. Then, he bent down to pick her up bridal style.
JJ remembers grasping onto him as if he were air itself, hiding her face in his neck to conceal the tears leaking from her eyes before Pope or Kie could see. She breathed in his scent, letting it lull her to sleep within moments as exhaustion settled in.
After John B felt her breaths even out as carried her to the Twinkie, he let out a sigh of relief. He had never seen JJ that far gone, and he hoped he never would again. For a moment, he had feared he wouldn't get her back, and the lost look in her eyes had broken his heart.
"Is she gonna be okay?" Kie asked as John B maneuvered himself and JJ into the back of the Twinkie, holding her tightly in his lap. She clung to him, one hand bunched into the front of his shirt, her knuckles slightly pale. Her breaths tickled his neck, but he welcomed it as a reassuring sign that she was breathing again. That had really freaked him out.
He nodded at Kie. He would take care of her. Always.
Pope drove the Twinkie back to the chateau, and they said their goodbyes before John B carried JJ to his room and laid her gently in bed.
When he tried to move away to turn off the light, her grasp tightened on his shirt, and her eyes opened in a panic. "John B?"
"I'm here, shh," John B assured her in a low, soothing tone. Deciding the lights weren't important, he crawled in beside her and wrapped her back into his arms. Next to the fear, a warm feeling bloomed in his chest at the unconditional and seemingly endless trust this girl was openly displaying she had in him. He felt her snuggle even deeper into his chest, as if afraid he would disappear. He held her tighter.
He began to suspect he wasn't alone in the newly discovered feelings that had been steadily growing stronger. As he fell asleep, he wondered what this could mean for them.
