June was laid across Popes bed on her stomach, her nose buried in a textbook as she read something about thermodynamics. It had been a week since she had found out about the test, and the first day of school was tomorrow. She really wanted to pass that test. Pope had disappeared for what felt like forever now, the boy saying he had to go grab something. When she heard the doorknob turn she managed to look up for only a second, her attention hardly on who had entered. However a tuft of blonde hair pulled her attention back for a second glance and she felt her heart jump to her throat when none other than JJ Maybank walked inside. He was wearing a pair of shorts and a cut out t-shirt, an exceedingly cool and confident look on his face as he strolled into the room. Behind him was Pope, the boy scratching at the back of his neck as June put the textbook down.

"What are you doing here?" June asked, feeling dread at the fact that he was there. It was partly because of the fact that she had been in her head a lot for the past week and partly because she knew he would be the ultimate distraction from what she was trying to accomplish.

"Free country?" He suggested, his eyebrows furrowing as he spread his arms. He plopped down into a chair by Popes bed and she rolled her eyes, picking the book back up and shooting a glare towards Pope.

"No he's actually here to—"

"Pope! Get your ass down here boy!" The shout sounded from downstairs, everyones head turning to the sound of Heywards voice. Pope let out a sigh and then gave June an apologetic look, the boy escaping down the stairs and closing the door behind him. June held an unamused look and then began reading again, silently hoping that JJ, a notoriously loud individual, could keep his thoughts to himself. However after only about two minutes of silence she heard the chair move and then not even a second later there was a hand grasping the top of her book, the text being ripped from her hands and instantly enraging her.

"Hey I'm trying to—I'm trying to study." She said, rolling over and then sitting on the edge of the bed. JJ flipped through the pages of the textbook, his eyes narrowed before he slammed the book shut and shook his head at her.

"I don't know if you know this Carly...but it's summer. No study-o en el verano." Junes lips turned down into a frown as she stood, shaking her head and ripping the book from his hands.

"Wow your Spanish is impeccable." She said, moving to her bag and trying to shove the book inside. JJ laughed as he swooped behind her, grabbing the book before she could get it into the bag. June groaned in frustration as he held it behind his back, shaking his head at her and smiling terribly. He clicked his tongue as she let out a deep sigh, her frown deeply embedded in her face.

"Man that sucks...hope you weren't trying to read that." He said with a faux sense of apology,  June clearly unimpressed by his attempts at pissing her off. He was succeeding, better than he thought he would. There were no butterflies at the moment, instead a small pit of light anger at his interference with something so important.

"JJ...I've got a test I'm studying for and it's really important, okay? I have to pass this test so I don't have—" She attempted to reach for the book but he put it further from her, his arm outstretching behind him as she sighed and he nodded, pretending to listen intently to what she was saying. "—so I don't have to go to summer school all summer."

"Well why didn't you just say that?" He pulled the book back in front of him and she reached for it but then he shook his head, moving the book again and holding a finger up from his other hand. "I have a good idea."

"Ugh...what is it?"

"I could quiz you." June let out a brief sigh as her arms crossed over her chest, his eyes flickering across her face as she looked to the door and hoped Pope would barge back in. JJ thought he was being exceptionally cool and flirty but June wasn't too sure, the girl shaking her head slightly as she answered him.

"You could quiz me? What do you know about thermodynamics J?" June asked, her lips tightened into a straight line as she waited for his smart ass answer. The both of them instantly knew he had no clue what thermodynamics were, but this didn't stop JJ from playing along. He also didn't mind the little nickname she called him.

"Nothing. But...I do know how to read—" June was quick with it this time, a shocked look covering her face as her mouth dropped open.

"You do?" JJs face scrunched into one of offense and a callous look filled his eyes as he realized she had gotten him pretty good with that one. His eyelids were heavy as he looked at her with disapproval.

"You're hilarious. Yes...at least at a 5th grade level."  His words made her crack a smile and led him to putting one on himself, watching as her eyes sparkled as she smiled. He wondered if that sparkle was always there, or if he just had the pleasure of seeing it all on his own.

"Alright...fine." She chuckled as he wore her down with his humor, the girl unable to fight the smile at the joke he had made. His face was beaming now as he watched her smiling at him, her smile changing his entire day, the trajectory of his life.

"Look at that little smile. I love it." He said, reaching up and poking her cheek. June swatted his hand away and then turned around, heading back towards Popes bed and taking a seat on the edge of it. JJ just watched her get comfortable, the sight of her patting the spot beside her reminding me of things they had done in beds together. He shook the dirty images from his mind begrudgingly and  then sat, June leaning against the headboard and JJ laid across the bottom of the bed, his elbow propping him up as he faced her. She pulled a pillow onto her lap and JJ watched every one of her movements, his eyes dropping back to the page in her science textbook. The words meant near nothing to him, and it took everything in him not to glance up at her every other second. Finally the tense silence led him to flicker his gaze to her for only a second, their eyes meeting and the boy instantly clearing his throat. He blinked and then tried to focus on what he was reading, his face going serious as he let out a short sigh. The fan in Popes room did a through swirl and he caught a whiff of some perfume she was wearing, the scent wafting into his nose as she pulled her hair over her shoulder. His eyes flickered up again and he saw the side of her neck, wishing he could be buried in the scent. Wishing he could be touching—

"What is a particle that has a positive charge?" He cut himself off with a question pulled directly from the book, the boy avoiding having to look at her, knowing she was terribly distracting.

"A proton."

"Good job. Okay what about..." JJ searched over the page, his lips pulling to the side as he searched. June watched him with a determined and focused expression, trying to really apply herself for these questions. She knew she would struggle the most in the chemistry part of the test. "Anything that has mass and takes up space?"

"Matter." JJ nodded, impressed by her knowledge of things he probably couldn't answer if he didn't already read the answer. He let out a quick sigh and closed the book, a cheeky smile on his lips as she scowled at him.

"Perfect! You'll pass." He said, bored of the studying already. June was quick to shake her head, grabbing the book and reopening it and then handing it back to him.

"Come on JJ I need the practice. This is serious. I seriously need to pass this test." He gave her a deadpan look but she just looked back at him with those deep brown eyes, the boy knowing only looking into them any longer would lead him to asking another question. Both of them had completely forgotten about Pope, about the fact they were in his room. The focus was on this impromptu quiz.

"What is a chemical bond that involves the sharing of electrons to form electron pairs between atoms?" There was a silence following his question and after a moment too long in silence he looked up, realizing she was trying really hard to think of the answer. She didn't seem to have any idea.  "Covalent bonds."

"Covalent bonds! Of course! God I'm so stupid...this is freaking pointless there's no way I'm going to pass anyways." JJ was alarmed by her sudden mood change, his head tilting as he witnessed the stress she was under. He shook his head and then sat up, June watching him as he did.

"Hey come on...you're gonna pass."

"How am I ever gonna remember covalent bonds." JJ snapped his fingers at her, seeming like a lightbulb went off in his head.

"Covalent...co like co-pilot. Valent like  the people who park your car for you, right? And then bond well—James Bond. Bond..."  He finished his explanation with a terrible British accent, June unable to hide a smile as her face softened. She wasn't sure if she should pin your the accent or the fact that he clearly didn't know what a valet was, but instead she just let out a soft laugh, her lips turning up as he watched her.

"I think I'll remember it now."

"See, I'm helpful." JJ said in a confident tone, and June rolled her eyes, leaning forwards and looking down at him.

"I'll only remember because of that stupid accent you just did." He gasped, his hand going to his chest as he feigned hurt and shock. She proceeded to roll her eyes again, JJ slamming the book shut and shooting up from his spot. June watched and waited for what he was going to do, the boy seeming to be wondering himself. Finally, he lifted his arm, tapping his elbow twice and emitting a scream from the girl as he threw his body onto her.

They struggled and rolled around the bed for a few moments, JJ trying to get June on his shoulder and the girl fighting back with all her might. Their laughed intermingled and kept going until finally JJ overpowered her, his hands pushing her wrists into the bed. They were both breathing heavily as he stared triumphantly down at her, June gasping for air as she smiled back up at him. She shook her head as they both continued to catch their breath, the boys stomach knotting when he realized the position they were in. His face fell and it was automatic that he got lost in her dark eyes, feeling like nothing bad had ever even happened around them. He had been apart from her now for longer than they had actually been together, and he couldn't help but still love her the same, if not more. Even after everything. Their breaths quieted and June looked back up at him, feeling something deep in her chest. She stifled it but she could see the burning passion in his eyes, and she could almost anticipate what happened next.

"Let me go." She said, trying to push her wrist up. However her words knocked him back into reality and instead of letting her go he leaned down and kissed her, their lips connecting and a fire burning through his body. He felt like electricity had burned every nerve in his body and shocked him back to life. However the kiss was short lived when she pushed him back, the girl backing out from under him when his grip had loosened on her wrists. When he looked up at her she looked angry, beyond mad, and he realized maybe he had read that situation all wrong.
"What the fuck was that?"

"Well I—I thought that—" June ripped her book off of the bed and shoved it into her bag, the girl throwing the bag over her shoulder and shaking her head. He continued to struggle to explain, his face deathly pale as he realized he had done something wrong. "W—wait...where are you going?"

"I'm leaving." He couldn't wrap his head around how upset she was over just a kiss, his stomach in knots and a terrible guilt rolling over him. She reached for Popes door and pulled it open, shaking her head and stopping before she exited.

"Why are you mad? I'm—I'm sorry."

"You can't just do stuff like that. You can't just kiss me. What is it about dudes and thinking they can just kiss you whenever they want?!" JJ took that as a blow, because once upon a time he could kiss her whenever he wanted. And it was in that moment that he realized the two of them were not in the same place. He was in a constant perpetual state of waiting, waiting till she's ready, waiting until she can look at him again and not see how much she hates him, waiting until she can see past the guise of mending a friendship that they never even had. And she was not there, she was not waiting. She wasn't even close. She wasn't even around. He didn't know where she was.

The door slammed and he jumped back to reality again, his face pulled down into a scowl as he realized he had blown it. Perhaps he needed to work on his approach.

June hurried out to her car, reaching the door just as a figure appeared walking towards the house. She was burning with anger, made by the fact that he thought kissing her would be okay. It was the same probably with all three of the boys. John B thought he could talk to her about it, Pope thought he could trick her into it, and JJ thought he could still do whatever he wanted. They needed boundaries. They needed to know it wasn't up to them. It was up to her.

"Where you going?" Pope said as he approached her, a deep sigh leaving her lips as she tried to keep her frustration in check.

"I'm leaving."

"Why?" Pope asked, wondering why she would be leaving while they were still actively studying. He hadn't been gone that long, 20 minutes at most.

"Because I'm done for the night and I want to go home." She opened the car door but he closed it, June letting out a groan as she looked at him. He leaned forwards and tilted his head, seeing the irritation on her face and the frown on her lips.

"Did JJ do something? If he did something I'll ta—"

"No...it's fine. Everything's fine. I'm just done for the night." She reached forwards and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before getting into her car and leaving before he could even argue. Pope watched as her car drove off, his head turning towards the house where he knew JJ was waiting. Pope sighed as he made his way into the house and up the stairs, the boy opening the door and seeing JJ with his face in his hands on the edge of the bed. His fears were confirmed true and he knew something had happened when he left them, and now he knew there would be damage after whatever it was.

"Great...what'd you do now?"