"I still can't believe you're giving that dick another chance." Adam March said between breaths, his feet hitting the treadmill at a steady jog. June was standing beside the treadmill, dressed in workout clothes but just leaning against the arm rests, zoned out and staring at a weight on the wall.

"It's not that I'm giving him another chance. I'm feeling things out." June said, picking at her nails as she continued to stare. Her second first date with JJ was tonight and at this point she wasn't even sure if she wanted to go. But she had accepted when he asked, and she couldn't back out so close to the date. She had plenty of worries and reservations about this 'date' the girl worried that in trying to get to know him better than she ever has, that she'll figure out something about herself. Maybe the mutual attraction and love they shared wasn't even real, and it was just a fabrication of the versions of each other that they thought were the real them but definitely weren't actually them at all. Ultimately their relationship had fallen apart because they things went extremely fast, there was little to no trust, and they turned toxic. She would have never put herself in this situation if it wasn't for Leon Hardy, a frown embedded in her lips as she realized she was only going in this date because she had the power to bring the group back together. And she had to...lives depended on it.

"Whatever. You can do what you want I don't care." Adam said it but June knew that wasn't true considering all the shit he went through trying to get her back. Her mind centered around Rafe at just about the same time his did, the boy clicking the buttons to slow the treadmill down and shrugging. "At least it's not Rafe."

June continued to state off into space as the treadmill stopped, the girl lifting the towel in her hand to her brother. He grabbed it, wiping his face and stepping off of the treadmill. Her not answering made him kind of suspicious, the March boy stepping in front of her eyeline and pulling her from her daze. He was looked at her with narrowed eyes, like he was trying to see the thoughts in her head and she scrunched her lips up in disgust and jumped at him.

"What?"

"Nothing. Just trying to see if you're hiding something from me." He said matter of factly, June shrugging her shoulders and letting out a sigh.

"Am I?" Adam walked past her and towards the workout bench, sitting on the edge of it and taking a sip of water. June had her arms crossed over her chest and a curious look on her face, Adam answering as soon as he swallowed.

"Absolutely. Now come spot me." He laid down and adjusted his hands on the bar of the weights, June rolling her eyes and making her way to the top of the bench. He pushed the weight off of the hooks, June leaning against the  bench press. He pushed up on the barbell and she looked down at him with that same dazed look, Adams teeth gritting as he saw the look she had on her face. "What the hell is going on in your head?"

"What do you mean?" June looked down at him with a quirked eyebrow as she now hovered her hands over the bar, Adam groaning as he pushed up again. He moved the bar back into the hooks and then sat up, looking back at his sister with an unimpressed look.

"You've been zoned out the entire workout. What's going on? Are you not sure about the date? Do I need to—"

"No you don't need to do anything. And no...I'm not sure about the date. I'm far from sure because I don't want to go but I have no choice because I said yes and I have to make things right between us. I just cant help but get this feeling that I'm gonna regret this. " June wanted nothing  more than to cancel,  she didn't want to go out with JJ in the slightest, and the whole situation was already taking a serious toll on her mind.

"If you don't want to get your heart broken again then...don't go." Adam said, June staring at him with a deadpan look. She groaned and shook her head, walking over to the treadmill and speaking.

"You don't get it."

"I don't get it?" Adam stood from the bench and walked over, pressing the emergency stop on the treadmill right as it started to keep her attention. "I get it plenty. You got your heart broke and you want to go back out with your toxic ex because you're still 'in love'. Trust me...you are a creature of habit. You've done that shit with every dude you've ever talked to. Including most of my fucking friends."

"Way to make me sound like a good person." June pressed the start button again and started walking, Adam looking at her with an irritated look. "Besides it's not my fault that all your friends want me. That's life."

"Whatever. You keep doing the same thing you end up with the same results every time.  It doesn't change."

"This thing with JJ is different. He's-"

"You're right...he is different. He's an asshole who holds your past against you, uses your status as an insult,  punches your dad , disrespects you and then runs out on you. With your friend. Who tried to leverage you to a man who was trying to kill you." June didn't seem very thrilled with his observations, her eyes glued to the wall as she jogged on the treadmill. She was aware of all of this, and he wasn't helping the case by reminding her all the reasons she wanted to tell JJ to fuck off. Adam wasn't getting the reaction he wanted so he pulled the emergency stop again, June halting and almost falling from the sudden stop. She looked at him with a glare and  he gave her a smile back, speaking again. "We're having a conversation it would be nice if you paid attention."

"I'm paying attention. You're telling me how terrible my taste in men is. And all the reasons why I shouldn't go on this date."

"Rafe definitely wouldn't cheat on you, for some unknown reason he's been so far up  your ass for years now it's ridiculous.  Before he went psycho he wouldn't ever think to do shit to you. When you guys broke up you should've seen his ass, he was moping for weeks. The first time he saw you and Zach out together he threw up. Literally threw up. Which made me wanna vomit by the way." June assumed he was exaggerating but he was dead serious, his lip curling up as he remembered the night that Zach and June had made their relationship known to the public. Her heart fluttered and she wanted to punch herself for it, the girl dreading the day she had to answer Rafes texts and see him again. She had been avoiding him for days now. "I'm just saying...you need a guy who's throwing up over seeing you happy with someone else. Not someone who's gonna see someone else and go after them. But not Rafe. Literally anybody but him."

"Right. Not...Rafe." June said, giving her brother a half smile. She looked down at her hands and felt the immediate guilt of hiding her relationship with Rafe from her brother, knowing how much it would hurt him. The hurt stemmed from the fact that she knew he missed him but couldn't forgive him, she knew he hated him for what he had done to her, and she knew he was still mad about what he had done to Zach. She sucked in a breath and looked up at him, Adam seeing that she had something to say. "Listen I'm gonna tell you something and you can't be ma-"

The sound of the doorbell cut them off, June and Adams heads turning as the chiming echoed through the house.

"Should we get it?" June asked, Adam immediately answering.

"Yeah you can answer it, I'm gonna do another 30 on the treadmill." He pulled her by the arm off of the treadmill, shooing her with his hand and making the girl roll her eyes. She opened the door to the house and left the garage, closing the door behind her and heading towards the front. The doorbell rang again and she picked up the pace, her hand gripping the door handle and pulling open.

JJ Maybank stood on the other side of the door, his face lighting up with nerves and a bit of surprise at the fact she had answered the door. He spared a smile and unfortunately looked her over, immediately regretting it as he did. Not only did he look way too obvious, but she was wearing a sports bra and some workout shorts, her hair pulled back into that perfect ponytail he liked. She looked kind of sweaty, his voice catching in his throat as his eyes got back to her face, June looking at him with a surprised and questioning look.

"What are you doing here? I thought I was meeting you." June said, more confused than anything. Her time was harsh but he didn't seem to catch on, his mouth closing as he comprehended what she said. JJ tried to gather his words, his face falling as he realized he was coming up short.

"I wanted to—I thought maybe we could—the shows not too far from here I thought we could walk maybe...just get some extra time together y'know?" He let out a breath as he realized he had in fact spit the words out, his lips tightening into a small smile as she mulled over the option. She thought back to what Adam had said to her before but then pushed it away when she saw that look in his eyes, one she hadn't seen in a long time. It was the same look he held when he saw her at the party all the way back before they were even together. It was refreshing to see something so different from his eyes, a look she didn't see often. And god she really hoped giving him this chance would pay off. Her heart shuddered and she let out a sigh, already exhausted from spending this much time talking to him.

"Yeah. Yeah that's cool. Here uh... gimme like 20 minutes I'm gonna shower really quickly and change and then I'll be ready." He quickly nodded and before he could even say anything else she had run off up the stairs, JJ watching as the front door closed in front of him. He looked at it for a moment, going through his plan of how exactly he could not fuck it up. He needed this date to be good, or this hangout, or whatever it was. Whatever it was he needed it to go well. Not being near her was driving him crazy. He had suffered for four months without a word from her, then he had managed to screw it up the first time he did speak to her and now she was going out with him. He couldn't fuck it up.

He turned around and sat on the top step of the porch, his eyes glued to the sidewalk as he continued to think. In the amount of time he had been seeing her again he had been trying so ridiculously hard to be anything but that awful version of himself. Personally he thought he had changed a lot since they had broken up, and he could literally see the ways she had changed. She had cut her hair, she was stronger, she didn't seem as broken and afraid. Of course there was arguably nothing to be afraid of anymore, they had moved on and things had been normal for months now, but that didn't mean anything. His perception of her was extremely far from the truth, but he had begun to be a bit delusional when it came to June.

The front door opened but JJ didn't turn his head, his thoughts too loud as he continued to stare. It wasn't until someone sat down right beside him that he noticed it, his head turning to see who it was. Adam March sat on the steps beside him, sweaty and shirtless and surprisingly buff. JJ couldn't help but slide over a few inches, not wanting to appear too intimidated but also knowing that he was largely uncomfortable with how close Adam was to him.

"Hey JJ. How's it going?"

"It's going fine. Other than this—this conversation I feel like you're about to hit me with." Adam shook his head, pursing his lips and shrugging.

"Not really a conversation man. I'm just gonna straight up threaten you." JJs mouth closed and he furrowed his eyebrows, waiting for the threat. "I want you to know that she's doing great. Mentally she's come a long way in just four months and I think personally that all started when she dumped your ass. And she's convinced herself that you're worth her time again and I swear to God JJ...I swear you better be. Because I don't wanna see her back in that spot again. And if you really care about her you won't either. So...here's your options. Option one: you take my little sister whose life you ruined out on the best date of her life and she comes back happy and healthy and all giggly and shit. Option two: you leave now because you know that you'll never be good enough for her even if you tried, and every second that she's wasting on you is because she's the best of people and believes in second, third, and twentieth chances even when people like you don't deserve it. Option three: she comes back upset and sad and she starts backtracking and doubting herself and then I kill you. That's your options. I'll let you pick, man."

The look that Adam March had on his face was so serious that JJ didn't doubt for a second that he wouldn't kill him. JJ wasn't one to look afraid or anything, his face stoic and just slightly shocked as he listened to him talk. When he was finished JJ looked like he was honestly considering the options, Adam standing and patting him on the shoulder.

"Hey, it's always nice to see you dude." Adam said before walking back into the house and leaving JJ just a little too stunned to speak. It was only about a minute later that the door opened again, JJs head turning and the boy immediately springing up from his spot when he realized it was June. Her hair was over her shoulders and she was wearing a sweater and jeans, the cool outside air making an appearance today. She gave him a wary smile and he gave her his own, the girl walking toward him and running a hand over her wet hair.

"So where are we going?"