CHAPTER NINETEEN.
stay numb and carry on

THE DARK NIGHT sky was an expanse of a single dark abyss mixed with specks of navy blue painted across the midnight sky, a blanket of darkness consuming the once warm and inviting day and turning it into an endless pit of everlasting oblivion. It seemed that the only sprinkle of light in the midst of the dark summer night just so happened to be the beaming stars scattered across the skies, twinkling softly amongst the darkness, the stars dancing around the pale moonlight that shined brightly behind a set of dusty, grey clouds, illuminating the most dark and shadowy parts of Outer Banks. It was almost like it was basking in the ever changing afterglow of emotions and past mistakes.

     At least. . . that was how Nova Van Kirk chose to describe it. In her brain the girl saw the stars as a collection of each memory created throughout her lifetime, each twinkling star holding a memory of hers from the past — good, bad, and let's not forget about the ugly. She believed each memory created over time turned itself into a sparkling star, and if it was bright then it was a memory worth remembering. But if the star was dimly lit then Nova knew that star harnessed a distant memory that the girl would rather forget and store away in the blanket of darkness for the rest of her life.

     She was named after a star after all.

     Sure, science proved that stars were nothing more than just planets moving through the solar system. Some even theorised that there were still so many planets that were yet to be discovered, which explained the dozen of stars littered across the night sky. But Nova didn't like to see something so beautiful and breathtaking be nothing more than just meaningless science, which was why she created her own theory to show stars had some sort of meaning to life itself. It may have been a strange interpretation, but when Nova saw the bright, twinkling stars above her head, it gave her some hope that things would turn out good for her someday.

     Those were the thoughts that circled through Nova's mind as she sat in the backseat of the car with Juno whilst Pope and Kiara were seated at the front, her crystal blue eyes filled with wanderlust cascading over the night sky as the group drove down the dusty road that led them to the chateau. They were going somewhere quiet and secluded to test out the equipment Pope had gotten so they could go into the well and retrieve the gold the next day, and John B's place seemed to be the best place for that. Truthfully, the drive to the chateau was taking a lot longer than Nova originally remembered, but she guessed it was because Pope was driving, and she was aware he liked to drive a little more safely than John B and JJ.

     A gentle sigh left Nova's lips when the name, JJ, crossed her mind. She still hasn't heard from him since he kissed her back at her place after the explosive argument between the entire group when he lured them into dangerous territory and stole thousands of dollars from Barry. It left Nova even more concerned than before, wondering where he was and if he was safe from the impending threats on his life, those threats being Barry and JJ's father. It was a trembling fear that couldn't be tamed.

     Nova could only hope JJ showed up soon. She needed to be assured he wasn't dead in a ditch somewhere.

     "So, he just showed up out of nowhere?" Pope questioned, his familiar voice snapping Nova out of her dazed state and back to reality, the girl turning her attention away from the night sky and diverting it towards her friend. "What even happened?" He continued to speak, suspicion laced in his curious voice.

     Nova contemplated telling her friends at first about what took place when JJ Maybank showed up at her house in his drunken state. She thought about telling them the context of their conversation and even how JJ kissed her completely out of the blue. But then she quickly remembered how it was probably something Nova believed was best kept buried until she talked to JJ about the kiss first, wanting to be sure about the reasoning behind it first: was it just a drunken mistake like many times before? Or was there a deeper reason Nova just wasn't seeing?

Clearing her throat, Nova parted her lips to speak. "He was drunk and clearly upset about something. Nothing he really said made sense to be honest." She explained vaguely, sinking down into her seat whilst Pope continued to drive.

"Do you think he was upset about what happened at Barry's place earlier?" Juno asked curiously, glancing at the girl sitting beside her.

Nova shook her head, shrugging her shoulders in the process. "I have no idea what made him so...upset. Whatever it was it had to have been bad. I mean, does JJ ever get upset about most things? You guys know him better than I do." She explained, her eyes scanning over her friends in hopes of getting answers.

Kiara sighed, looking over her shoulder to stare at Nova. "Whenever he's upset or angry it normally has something to do with his dad." She informed. Nova knew that made sense, especially since JJ asked her if she saw his dad in him too, making her worry if he had gone back home like they all originally feared.

The shift in emotion was something Juno quickly picked up on, causing for the girl to gently nudge the blonde sitting beside her. "Hey, I'm sure he's okay." She reassured her, earning a small smile from Nova in response.

She hoped her friend was right.

     Suddenly, the vehicle came to a quick and sudden halt, causing for Nova to look back out the window to see they had finally arrived at the chateau, the roaring engine being switched off by Pope, before the small group were flooded with deafening silence. This caused for Nova to sigh quietly to herself, relieved they were finally at their destination. She knew the sooner they tested out the equipment to ensure it was safe for them to use, the sooner they could go back to the Crain house, retrieve the gold from the well, and become filthy rich.

     Pope nodded to him and spared Kiara a quick glance, before he turned around to face Nova and Juno who remained in the backseat of the car. "So we gotta be done before my scholarship interview in the morning." He informed the girls in a serious and firm tone, his dark eyes flickering between all three of them.

     However, Nova was quick to frown in response to Pope's words. "Scholarship?" She questioned, not knowing Pope was setting himself up for something so important.

     "Pope has this interview for a scholarship. He's been stressing about it all summer." Juno explained vaguely, earning a swift nod from Nova in the process. "We keep telling him he needs to chill out—"

     "I will chill out once I know I got the scholarship or not." Pope interjected, earning a teasing smile from Juno in response. "Which I can't do if I miss it."

     Kiara rolled her eyes in response to Pope's words, her lips parting so she could speak. "Okay, well, we gotta focus." She replied.

     Nova nodded her head in agreement with her friends and opened the car door, before she hopped out the vehicle with a warm breath slipping past her lips. Once she was out in the open, Nova slammed the door shut and turned around to face Pope with a smile tugging at her pink lips. "Don't worry, Einstein. We'll make sure you make it to your interview." She reassured Pope, placing her hand on his shoulder and squeezing it with a comforting touch.

     "I know." Pope replied with a nod, sending a grateful smile Nova's way, before the group walk around to the back of the car to see the equipment loaded in the back. "It's gonna be fine. We got John B and JJ inside the well, and me up top. You three and Sarah will be outside transporting." He explained the plan to the girls.

     From what Pope was telling her, Nova knew the plan was good and the best one they had with the equipment and manpower that they had. "The plan sounds good to me." The girl mused.

     "Cool..." Pope trailed off, before turning around to open up the back of the vehicle and showing the girls what he had. "Uh, I got a winch. That tin can hold over like two hundred, three hundred pounds."

     "Thanks." Kiara spoke up, her kind voice ringing softly through the humid air.

     This caused for Nova, Juno and Pope to glance back at the girl with puzzled looks in their eyes, wondering what the girl was talking about. "Uh, what for?" Pope questioned, furrowing his brows together in confusion.

     Kiara shrugged her shoulders, a heartwarming smile forming across her lips. "Stranding us. You know, making us make up." Kiara elaborated.

     The second those words left Kiara's lips, Nova couldn't help but nod her head and smile back at the girl when she realised what she was talking about. She was talking about the eventful night when they left Kiara and Sarah stranded in the middle of the marsh to allow the girls to face the past and make up for the terrible mistakes they made in the past, which helped them become friends again. It was a stupid plan, but at least it worked.

     "What makes you think that was me?" Pope asked them both.

     However, before anyone could give him an answer, the dark night was suddenly illuminated by bright lights that invited a feeling of warmth into the cold and unwelcoming darkness. The bright lights were then swiftly followed by the loud humming of a generator ripping through the air, the rumbling sound being enough to send shockwaves through Nova's system as it continuously echoed through her ears.

     The illuminating lights and the low humming of what, Nova could only guess, was a generator was enough to make the group quickly snap their heads around to stare out into the distance where the sound was coming from. Nova couldn't help but knit her brows together in pure confusion, an uneasy feeling erupting in the pit of her stomach whilst she lifted her gaze to analyse her surroundings, wondering what the hell was going on?

     "What the fuck?" Juno muttered quietly under her breath.

     "Who the hell is that?" Kiara questioned, and within seconds, the girl took off into the distance as she followed the continuous hum of a generator and the bright lights surrounding them.

     Nova sighed in frustration, before her, Juno and Pope followed Kiara closer towards the front of the chateau, hoping to figure out who was responsible for all of this. But when the sound of a cork popping echoed through the air, Nova turned her head and stopped in her tracks, now standing beside Kiara with a shocked expression evident in her features when she stared back at the one person who she's being worrying about all day. . .

     JJ Maybank.

     But the blond's sudden presence wasn't the only thing that seemed to shock Nova in this very moment. In matter of fact, Nova was just as surprised when she saw JJ was sitting in the comfort of a large hot tub filled with bubbling water up to his chest. A champagne bottle was clasped tightly in his hand, whilst JJ's glasses balanced on the bridge of his nose as he tilted them down on his face, as well as champagne glasses balancing in floats shaped as various different coloured flamingos.

     JJ appeared to be living the life of a king, the most expensive luxury money could buy. And as a Kook, Nova knew all of this glorious luxury didn't come cheap.

     "What did you do, JJ?" Pope was the first to speak up, staring back at JJ with a similar look of confusion and shock burning in his dark eyes.

     JJ laughed to himself, tilting his head up to look back at his friends with an amused look plastered across his face. "I got a jet going straight into my butt right now." He continued to chuckle, his words coming out almost slurred.

     Nova knew he was definitely drunk — more drunk than when she saw him before.

     "Y'all should get in immediately, you hear me?" JJ told them, before picking up a handful of champagne glasses and pouring some alcohol from the bottle and into them. "Salud!" He cheered, before lifting the rim of the bottle to his lips and taking a few swigs of the liquor.

     Nova could only stare back at JJ with the same shocked expression as before, her mouth fallen open slightly as her eyes wandered around her surroundings to see how different the outside of John B's home now looked. It definitely looked a lot different than before. Nova then turned back to face JJ, her eyes flickering between him and the hot tub filled with ripples of water.

     "How much did this cost?" Pope interrogated, already displeased with JJ's decision to buy a hot tub.

     JJ looked around at his new purchases, his parting to speak. "Uh, well, with the generator, the petrol, and oh, hey, express delivery..." JJ began to list the many items, and Nova couldn't help but already dread the answer they were gonna get, the girl listening as JJ chuckled loudly. "...pretty much all of it, yeah." He answered, nodding his head in the process.

     Nova felt her eyes widen in surprise, her gaze focused on JJ with a look of disbelief glazed over her eyes. There were a dozen of other things she knew JJ could have done with the money he stole from Barry — more important things, and she was shocked to find out he spent all the money on something they don't even need. Nova would even say she was infuriated by his reckless and impulsive decision to purchase something worthless to them.

     "All of it? You spent all the money in one day?" Pope inquired, hoping he misheard JJ and that he was wrong.

     "The whole 25k?" Juno pressed further.

     JJ nodded his head with another chuckle escaping past his lips. "Yeah, burned a hole right through my pocket. But, I mean, come on, guys, like, look at this!" The boy exclaimed with excitement laced in his uplifting tone, but all Nova could do was look at JJ with a mix of disbelief and annoyance swirling in her bright blue eyes as JJ continued to speak. "Finest in jet-based massage therapy, that's what they told me..."

     She wanted to place her hands on JJ's shoulders and scream at him to drill into his mind that he made a stupid impulsive purchase when there were a thousand over things he could have done with the money instead. She wondered what went through JJ's mind when he decided buying a hot tub was a good idea.

     "Nova, what? Can't a man have a little luxury in life?" JJ paused, taking off his glasses to reveal the emotion flooding his dimly lit gaze, tears glazed over his eyes. "Come on, all this scrimpin' and scrapin'...I mean, like, guys. You only live once, right?"

     Nova began to analyse JJ a little closely shortly after he tore the glasses off of his face, taking notice in the sadness swirling in his eyes and and how he would bite down the inside of his cheek in an attempt to prevent himself from breaking down completely and crying. Nova knew this was just some of the little things JJ did to stop the tears that threatened to fall, especially since she had been there for him through moments like this one. This gave Nova the impression that something was wrong. . . really wrong, and it left the girl worrying for JJ Maybank.

     But when Nova made an attempt to question him about it, her lips parting for her to speak, JJ was quick to interject. "Enough of this emotional shit. Get in the Cat's Ass. Come on." He ushered them, gesturing them to come over and join him in the hot tub.

     "In the what?" Kiara questioned, frowning at the blond.

     JJ laughed and stretched out his arms over the edge of the hot tub behind him. "In the Cat's Ass. That's what I named her." He informed them, his eyes flickering over various aspects of the hot tub and admiring it with a smile tugging at his lips. A look of realisation then wiped across JJ's face. "Oh, hey, yo, I almost forgot." He piped up and leaned forward, and the second Nova heard the click of a switch, beaming lights began to flash from within the hot tub.

     "Yeah, that's right, I know." JJ cheered with satisfaction evident in his sun kissed features as he leaned back against the hot tub. But the same couldn't be said for the rest of them whilst they glanced back with a mix of anger and disbelief being narrowed towards the blond. "Disco mode. That's right, baby!'

     "Are you kidding me?" Pope yelled, his patience wearing thin as he took a step closer towards the hot tub. "You could have paid for restitution!"

     Kiara turned around to face JJ, a glint of fury glazed over her dark eyes. "Or literally given it to any charity!" She added, anger laced in her voice.

     Nova raked her hand through her hair, staring back at JJ with an impatient look of her own burning in her bright blue eyes, wondering why JJ would be so stupid. "JJ, this was a waste of money!" She fired at him, gesturing towards the hot tub.

     "You could have even used the money to buy supplies so we could get the rest of the gold out of the well." Juno pointed out, a scoff leaving her lips. "But, no, you decided to get a hot tub instead."

     JJ turned away from his friends and their angered expressions for a moment as he grew infuriated because of them. "Okay, well, you know what? I didn't do that!" He argued, before he stood up inside the hot tub, and Nova was left shocked by what she saw.

     When Nova stared back at JJ, the girl noticed large purple and black bruises printed across the skin of his abdomen, the fresh and harsh bruises sending shockwaves through her body as her blood ran cold and her bones froze to ice. The sight of the bruises were enough to make Nova lift her arm and cup her hand over her mouth in shock as a gasp escaped past her trembling lips, her heart aching in despair and internal misery.

Earlier today she was worried about JJ going home to his monstrous father, and she hated that her biggest fear had come true.

     "I got a hot tub for my friends. I got a hot tub for my friends." JJ began to ramble as he stared between his friends, before a quick thought crossed his mind, causing for JJ to shake his head in the process. "You know what? No, you know what? Screw friends. I got a hot tub for my family." He corrected, his voice beginning to shake.

     Nova didn't tear her eyes away from the dark bruises that had formed across JJ's skin, her bottom lip beginning to quiver as she lowered her hand, her arm falling back down to her side. Nova then felt tears prickling at her eyes, making them burn as she did her best not to fall apart in front of JJ, knowing this was one of those moments where she had to be there for him in the same way he's always been there for her. However, the second Nova felt a few warm and salty tears trickle down her cheeks, she knew it was too late for that.

     "I got this for you. Guys, look what I did for you! Alright? Look at this!" JJ cried, and Nova could see he was slowly falling apart.

     Kiara was the first to speak up, tears brimming in her eyes, "JJ—"

     "No, stop being emotional. It's fine, okay?" He interjected, cutting Kiara off to assure her, Nova, Juno and Pope that he was fine. But they could all see he was far from okay. "I mean, it's sweet, right? Everything—"

     JJ didn't get a chance to finish his sentence when Nova quickly built up the courage to climb into the hot tub with JJ, the warm water enveloping her body whilst she wrapped her arms around him, pulling the blond into her embrace and holding him tightly against her body, tears beginning to burn her eyes as she rested her chin on JJ's shoulder. And despite how strong he tried to make himself, the second JJ felt Nova wrap her warm embrace around his body, he trembled beneath her touch, finally giving in as he buried his face into the crook of Nova's neck and sobbed loudly.

     "I just couldn't do it." JJ sobbed, clinging onto Nova like his life depended on it, his broken and shaky voice ringing through Nova's ears as he continued to cry. "I can't take him anymore! I was gonna kill him."

     I was gonna kill him.

Those words played on a constant loop deep in Nova's mind. Truth is, those kind of words should have made Nova cower away in fear. But she didn't fear JJ. Instead the girl felt her blood boil. She wondered how ugly and dark someone's heart had to be in order to hurt their own child — their flesh and blood. And if the purple bruises painted across JJ's body proved anything, it proved once again that Luke Maybank was a cold, heartless, and cruel man who deserved to rot in hell where he truly belonged.

     Nova pulled away from JJ, her arms remaining wrapped around him as her tear glazed eyes locked with his own. JJ cried once again. "I'm sorry, Nova. I'm so sorry." He apologised, tears running down his cheeks.

     "It's okay, it's okay." She cooed, leaning forward and pressing a gentle kiss to the side of JJ's head, before she pulled the boy back into her embrace and held him closely to her whilst he continued to cry.

     Not long after, Juno, Kiara and Pope joined them by climbing into the hot tub and wrapping their arms around both Nova and JJ, the water shifting as they shifted slightly within the gentle ripples. It was a moment of warmth that flooded Nova's bones as she continued to embrace JJ, the girl wanting him to know he was worthy of kindness, respect and even love. Nova needed him to know that neither her, Juno, Kiara or Pope saw him as a monster like his pathetic excuse of a father. She needed him to know he wasn't alone in this.

     "I just wanna do the right thing." JJ cried into Nova shoulder, her heart beginning to break at the sound of his trembling voice.

     Nova knew she wasn't enough to fix his broken heart. But if there was one thing the girl knew she could do, it was embrace him and show that she still cared about him. Nova Van Kirk would always care about JJ Maybank.

━━━━━━━━

Shortly after the altercation outside in the hot tub, JJ had gone inside the chateau to cool off and be alone for a moment whilst Nova, Juno, Kiara and Pope stood around outside, wondering what they could do to make this situation better. Well, the answer to that was nothing. Nothing could patch up JJ's wounds and make him feel better when he's stuck in an incredibly difficult situation, almost like he was trapped on a never ending cycle of pain and abuse that wouldn't stop until someone stepped up and did something about it.

     Nova was slowly pacing back and forth, her arms wrapped around her body whilst she thought carefully to herself. She was still reeling from the events that took place only minutes before, images of JJ's bruised body and his teary eyes flashing through her mind, causing for a dull ache to erupt in Nova's chest. She wished there was something she could do to save JJ from his father, and if she could do something — anything, then Nova would do it in a heartbeat. The worse part was that Nova felt helpless, wanting nothing more than to find the solution to a terrible situation.

"Hey..." A familiar voice rings out through the air, snapping Nova back to reality and putting an end to her constant pacing of back and forth. Nova then turned around to see Juno and Kiara approaching her with a kind look glazed over their eyes. "You okay?" She asked.

Nova looked past Juno and Kiara and over at the front door of the chateau, her heart weighing heavy in her chest whilst she did her best to hold back the tears that threatened to fall. "This is all my fault, you guys." Nova told them, locking eyes with the girl. "I knew I should have gone after JJ when he left us outside Barry's house. If I did...then maybe none of this would have happened—"

"Nova, don't you dare blame yourself for this." Kiara interjected, cutting Nova off with a serious look burning in her dark eyes. "None of this is on you. You had no idea JJ would go home. You couldn't predict that this would happen. The only person to blame is his dad for what he did to JJ."

     Juno nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah, and if you blame yourself because you didn't go after JJ earlier today, then we're all to blame because none of us did anything. This was just a horrible outcome to a horrible situation. It was none of our faults." She explained.

Nova nodded her head in response and sniffled quietly, trying her best to stop herself from crying over the entire situation. Juno quickly noticed this and hugged the girl, wrapping her arms around Nova and holding her close, giving Nova the reassurance that maybe this wasn't her fault at all. Sure, she could have done something differently to prevent JJ from going home to his father in the first place. But, like Kiara said, she couldn't have predicted this would happen.

Nova was the first to pull away from Juno's embrace, a shaky breath escaping past her lips whilst she wiped away her tears. Nova then stared between Juno, Kiara and Pope, her eyes flickering between the three for a brief moment, before she nodded to herself and glanced back over towards the chateau. "I'm gonna make sure he's okay." Nova told them.

Juno and Kiara nodded their heads and offered the girl a small smile in return, before they allowed Nova to walk past them both. Nova then made her way up the steps and once she was standing in front of the door, Nova pushed it open and entered the chateau to see JJ sitting on the makeshift bed in the sitting room all by himself, his head in his hands. The sight of the broken boy was enough to make Nova's stomach churn, wishing there something she could do to make him forget about this awful day.

"Hey." Nova spoke up, her voice gentle and delicate as it ripped through the air.

JJ lifted his head and turned his attention to the girl, Nova's presence being enough to make a small smile ghost across JJ's lips. "Hey." He greeted the girl, his voice barely above a whisper.

Nova pursed her lips together into a thin line and walked over towards JJ, before she took a seat next to him on the makeshift bed, a quiet sigh leaving her lips as she turned her head to the side to glance at the blond, her eyes softening at the sight of him. "I know this is probably a stupid question to ask, but are you okay?" She asked him.

     JJ laughed quietly to himself, avoiding Nova's gaze as he lifted his gaze and stared out at the plain wall displayed in front of him. "Just peachy." He mused, sarcasm laced in his voice.

Nova sighed. "JJ—"

"It's nothing that hasn't happened before, Nova." JJ deadpanned, lowering his gaze to stare down at his trembling hands whilst he twiddled his thumbs around the other. A sigh then left JJ's lips, diverting his gaze to finally lock eyes with Nova again.

     "It doesn't mean it should happen in the first place, JJ." Nova argued back.

     "Maybe it should." JJ muttered under his breath, but loud enough for Nova to hear, the girl frowning in response to his words. "I know you told me I'm nothing like him, but what if you're wrong?"

"What's that suppose to mean?" Nova interrogated further, her brows knitting together in confusion.

"I tried to kill him, Nova. I came this close to caving his head in." JJ informed, raising his hand and pinching his fingers together to show Nova how close he was to ending his own father's life. His words caused for a lump to form in the back of Nova's throat whilst she stared deeply into JJ's ocean blue eyes, listening as he continued to speak. "It wasn't even the first time. I did it a few days ago before Midsummers. I took the gun and pointed it at his skull whilst he was passed out. I swear, I could have pulled the trigger..."

     "But you didn't, JJ. You tried to do it twice and you couldn't go through with it." Nova cut in, shaking her head.

     JJ could only scoff in response. "But I wanted to do it." He admonished.

     Nova sighed in frustration, staring back at JJ with a serious look burning bright in her blue eyes. "Look at me." She instructed, causing for JJ to glance back at her, not looking convinced at all with what she was telling him.

     "You are nothing like your dad, okay?" Nova told him in a reassuring tone, repeating the same words she had told him once before. "You're a good guy, and I don't care if I have to keep telling you that for the rest of your life, I will because you're my friend and that's what friends do for each other."

     A small smile breaks out across his lips. "You really mean that?" He asked her.

     "I know that." Nova responded, nodding her head in the process, before a quick thought crossed her mind as her lips parted to speak once again. "And I want you to know that you're not alone. You'll always have me in the same way I have you...which is why I don't think you should go back home. You can stay here at the chateau and I can always stay here with you if you want." She suggested, hoping JJ would accept her generous offer.

     JJ shook his head in response to Nova's proposition. "Nova, I can't...I can't leave my dad." He retorted, a sad look glazed over his eyes.

     Nova furrowed her brows together in confusion, a puzzled look beginning to burn in her bright eyes. "What do you mean? JJ, did you forget about what he's done?" She questioned.

     "He's still my dad, Nova." JJ replied, shrugging his shoulders.

     The girl couldn't help but shake her head in response to JJ's words, a look of disbelief evident in her eyes. "JJ, he might be your dad, but he doesn't care about you. I'm sorry, JJ, but it's true. No parent should ever leave a mark on their kid. I mean, look at what he did to you." Nova explained, gesturing towards the fresh bruises painted across JJ's abdomen, a pained look burning deeply within her eyes. "A parent's love is meant to be unconditional. You don't deserve this — any of this, okay? You don't deserved to be abused, and if you don't do something about this, then one day he's gonna hit you and he won't stop—"

"Nova, can we just stop talking about it, please." JJ spoke up, staring back at Nova with a pleading look evident in his eyes. "I'm just...I'm just really tired." He sighed.

Nova was quick to notice the tired look aligning itself with JJ's features, the girl quickly realising he must be exhausted after the long and treacherous day he's been forced to endure since the very moment they were almost robbed and held at gunpoint. Furthermore, Nova could tell JJ no longer wanted to dwell on their most recent topic of conversation, knowing his father was always a tough topic to talk about. She didn't want to pressure him into talking about it, so the girl agreed to leave it be.

So Nova simply nodded her head in response to JJ's words, a sigh leaving her lips. "Okay, well, I'm gonna head outside and make sure Juno, Kie and Pope are okay. Just call me if you need anything." She replied, before making an attempt to stand up. But Nova felt a hand grasp her own with a gentle touch, causing for the girl to turn back around and glance over at JJ to see the pleading look in his eyes.

"Nova, can you stay with me?" JJ paused, a sharp and harrowing breath leaving his lips. "I don't wanna be alone."

     Nova nodded, a heartwarming smile ghosting across her lips. "Yeah, of course."

     JJ was the first to lay down on the makeshift bed, resting his head down on the pillow with a sigh leaving his lips whilst he looked up at the ceiling above his head. Nova soon laid down next to JJ and laid down on her side, using her arm as a pillow whilst she got comfortable. Nova then focused her eyes on the blond boy laying next to her with a gentle look glazed over her eyes, casting her gaze on him for a moment and watching as JJ parted his lips to speak.

     "I'm sorry."

     The second those words left JJ's lips, Nova couldn't help but furrow her brows. "For what?" She inquired, wondering what was playing on his mind.

     "For today..." JJ trailed off, pausing for a moment, whilst he turned his head to the side and locked eyes with the girl. "I know you've worked so hard trying to get better and I promised myself I wouldn't drag you into any messes like Rafe, but I did exactly that anyways and hurt you doing it. So, I'm sorry."

     Nova felt her heart skip a beat when she heard those words roll off of JJ's tongue, a smile ghosting across her lips, relieved to know JJ wasn't like any other guy. He wasn't like Rafe. Earlier today she had her doubts, especially after JJ dragged her to the home of her ex drug dealer, but something that set JJ apart from Rafe was that Rafe never felt any remorse for whenever he hurt Nova and his apologies were only filled with fake promises. However, with JJ, it was genuine and he meant every word. It was an assurance that maybe things were going to turn around.

     But then Nova thought about the pouch of coke in the back pocket of her shorts, a heavy feeling of guilt weighing hard on her chest. He was so proud of her for recovering so well and had coaxed her through each hardship and pain riddled temptation. And now she was lying to his face. She couldn't even bring herself to tell him the truth — that he wasn't the only one who stole from Barry earlier today, but not just because of her guilt, but because a part of her didn't want to throw what she had away. So, with a gentle sigh leaving her lips, Nova decided to call it a night.

     "Goodnight, JJ." Nova replied.

     JJ tears his gaze away from Nova and turned his attention back to the ceiling above them, whilst Nova looked out of the window next to the makeshift bed, her eyes focused on the night sky, her eyes flickering to each twinkling star that danced in the sky. Then her crystal blue gaze focused primarily on a single star that seemed to shine more brightly than all the others, her eyes softening at the sight with one single thought gnawing on her mind, and that was the everlasting beauty one star seemed to radiate.

     So with one last sigh escaping past her lips, Nova continued to stare at the twinkling stars in the sky for a moment, before she felt her body become heavy against the makeshift bed she was lying on. Nova then felt herself become drowsy, her eyes slowly fluttering shut as she girl was welcomed by a blanket of comforting darkness.

━━━━━━━━

authors note.
A double update for you guys since I'm feeling heavily inspired to write this especially with all the obx content we've been getting for season 2 recently. Now if they would just drop a damn trailer then maybe I update more alaksksksk

Anyways after this chapter everything is going down hill for Nova. You guys are going to hate me for the next couple of chapters. Maybe I should go into protection? They might be a good idea. But you'll love me afterwards I promise.

Until then I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter mwah <3