——

Emelina took a deep breath, fluttering her eyes shut as her body relaxed in the hammock. JJ laid on the opposite side, mumbling about something with John B. He didn't even ask if he could join her and just placed himself right near her legs.

The cool air brushed against her skin. The only light source was the indistinct moon from above. The last thing Emelina saw were the stars before sleep took over her body.

Pope and John B sat on the chairs relatively close, sipping on sodas and chatting the night away. "Dude, they're totally gonna make up," JJ said and played with a small stick he found on the ground.

"You think?" John B asked and sighed in his seat. "Yeah. Right, Em?" JJ nudged the brunette, but she only stirred a little bit. "Are you asleep?"

"She's asleep, bro. Looks like you'll have to carry her in." Pope teased while taking a sip of his drink. "I-I'm not carrying her in," JJ told them.

"Actually, I think I'm gonna get some shut-eye." John B said and stood up from his chair. "Yeah, me too," Pope replied and mimicked his friend's actions.

"You can't leave me here with her!" JJ whisper-yelled, but it was no use as he watched his friends head on inside the Chateau. "Ugh," he groaned and helped himself out of the hammock.

He stood above her and looked at her vulnerable state. His finger glided over the faint bruise on her cheek, treating her as if she was fragile. He hated seeing that and couldn't help but feel guilty like he was the reason behind it. She didn't deserve it.

JJ lightly shoved her shoulder to the point where she slowly started to wake up. "What?" she asked once she was fully awake and staring at JJ from below.

"We're all heading to bed," he answered her. She sighed and turned her body to the side, "Okay. I'll sleep here." she said and closed her eyes, way too tired to move.

"I will flip this hammock over," JJ said and with a groan, she sat up and glared at him. "Are you always this annoying?"

Groggily, she jumped off the hammock and went straight to the house without waiting for JJ. Once inside, she made her way to the living room that awaited a sleeping Pope on the couch. His feet were sprawled across the furniture and his mouth was slightly open.

With a huff, she pulled the blanket from under his feet and a pillow she found on the floor, placing the items on the ground to make a temporary bed.

"Yo, what are you doing?" She heard JJ whisper behind her. She turned around, "Going to bed?"

"On the floor?" he asked, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah... where else am I supposed to sleep?" she questioned but made sure her voice was low and quiet for the sleepy boy nearby.

JJ pointed to a bedroom door. Emelina dropped her pillow and a small grin appeared on her lips, "JJ, are you asking me to sleep with you?" she asked with a teasing voice.

"Shut up. I'm only giving this offer out once," he said and went straight to the bedroom door. She followed him in and took a look around the darkroom. It beats better than sleeping on the hardwood floor.

The bed placed itself right next to the door. Emelina found out that JJ took over John B's room while John B slept in his father's room for the time being... until he gets back.

She slowly slipped her shoes off and groaned once she realized something. "Fuck." she whispered. However, it was loud enough for JJ's ears to pick up. "What?"

"I forgot my bag of clothes at The Wreck," she answered, crossing her arms.

"So?" JJ walked over to a set of drawers and pulled out a T-shirt of his and threw it at her. "Wear one of mine."

She caught it easily and blinked for a second. "Thanks," she said, pushing her hair behind her ear. She was surprised he wasn't making jokes and assumed he was tired.

JJ took his shirt off and climbed into the messy bed. Emelina stood there with the shirt in hand and looked at him trying to get comfortable under the sheets. His muscles flexed under the moonlight shining through the window, and she flipped her head around to avoid staring for too long.

"No peeking," she said and turned around to take off her shirt and replace it with the oversized T-shirt. She slipped off her jean-shorts and was thankful the shirt was able to cover her bottom. Quickly, she joined him in the bed and sheltered her legs with the sheet.

She laid down on the bed, her head hitting the soft pillow. She made sure there was an even amount of space between them. Closing her eyes, she tried to put herself back to sleep, but his quiet voice kept her up.

"It was my dad."

"What?" Emelina opened her eyes and turned to the side to view him.

JJ sat up and she could only see his exposed back. "My dad... he's the one who hit me the day I got arrested. Not Topper or Rafe."

"Jesus, JJ. He did a lot more than hit you." Emelina frowned and also sat up. She placed her soft hand on his bare shoulder and let it rest.

"Yeah, but it's nothin' that hasn't happened before." he shrugged.

Her heart felt tight when she heard that. She began to wonder how long he had been going through this, and that thought alone made her ache.

"It's not your fault," she told him after a few moments of silence. JJ looked in her eyes with a sad expression, "What?"

"None of it is your fault," she repeated, "At times... I think I deserve the mean words my mom says to me and that my actions led up to it." Emelina started and she let go of his shoulder and moved her body so that she is in front of him. Her finger lifted his chin and his eyes look right into hers. "But I've realized I don't deserve it and neither do you."

Emelina put her hands on her thighs and took a deep breath, "It took me a while to come to that realization. I thought she didn't give a shit about me anymore, and I believed it, so I got a job to prove I didn't need her. I don't think she noticed."

"Wow," JJ breathed out. Their eyes locked in a shared understanding, and neither dared to break it.

She felt good to let this out finally. There were many times when she wanted to tell Kiara about a bad night she endured, but she didn't want to burden her friend, so she kept it in.

"My dad blames me for my mom leaving." JJ took his turn to rant. "He-he calls me names and it's hard to block it out, you know?"

"Yeah," Emelina nodded, knowing that feeling all too well.

"Sometimes..." JJ paused and clenched his jaw, "Sometimes I feel like I'll turn out just like him."

"So don't," Emelina told him, and he furrowed his eyebrows. "I genuinely think you're better than that, and if you tell yourself not to go down his route, you won't."

Slowly, he nodded and laid his back flat on the mattress. She still sat in her spot, never keeping her eyes off of him.

"You know, you're not that bad to talk to," he said with a playful grin.

She rolled her eyes with a smile, "You underestimate me, Maybank."

§

Emelina woke up to the sunlight shining on her face. Her mind couldn't process where she was at first and she was confused, especially when she found a pair of arms wrapped around her body.

She turned her head to find a peaceful sleeping JJ spooning her on the bed. She wasn't sure how they ended up so close together since she knew for a fact she had fallen asleep on the edge of the mattress.

"Oh, my God." she mouthed to herself. Never in a million years would she think she would wake up cuddling next to JJ Maybank.

Nonetheless, she felt comfortable and didn't want to move. She closed her eyes and thought about their conversation last night.

She learned JJ has a hard time letting people in and what he told her must've been a huge step, but she was glad he was starting to trust her. It was refreshing because she felt more included in the group now that JJ was treating her like a friend.

Carefully, she pulled JJ's arms off of her and he stirred, causing her to freeze in her spot. He turned his body around and his bareback was revealed. Emelina couldn't help but stare now that the sun made the view much more appealing than last night.

Shaking her head, she got off the bed, put her shorts back on, and exited the bedroom. Pope was still passed out on the couch, and by the looks of it, it seemed like he didn't move an inch in his sleep.

It felt odd not having Kiara up early in the morning yelling at the boys to wake up. Emelina walked out on the porch and found John B outside on one of the chairs.

"Good morning," she greeted and sat in the chair next to him. He greeted her back, and they both sat in silence. She took a deep breath in, taking in the fresh air.

"You and JJ?"

"What?" Emelina whipped her head around at the question. He pointed to her shirt, "I saw you two this morning." he replied.

Emelina scoffed, "Trust me, nothing is going on between me and JJ. He offered the bed. That's all."

"I think you'd be surprised." John B said, and she ignored him, moving on to the next topic. "What about you and Sarah?" she asked him.

A goofy grin formed on his lips. "I really, really like her, and I want you guys to like her too. I just hope this shit of a plan I made worked," he answered, referring to trapping Kiara and Sarah on the same boat.

Emelina was skeptical when she heard the plan and she had no choice but to run with it. "I... I haven't always liked Sarah. Kiara is my best friend and whoever she doesn't like, I don't like." she told him and there's no expression on his face so she continued, "But, I am willing to make amends on my own if you really like her."

The last sentence put a smile on John B's face. "Thank you, Lina."

——

"Uh-oh! You forget your keys or something?" Pope called out as the group drove toward the boat occupied by Kiara and Sarah. "You guys need a tow?" John B teased out loud.

They got closer to the boat, and Kiara and Sarah were at the edge, swinging their feet as they waited. "You gotta admit it's kinda funny." John B said.

"John B.," Kiara said. "Uh, what's that?" he asked as he pulled up. "Mastermind, huh?" She raised her eyebrows.

"I'm always plannin'." John B replied, and Kiara scoffed, crossing her arms. "Some patriarchal bullshit."

"Yeah, that sucked." Sarah agreed. JJ put a smile on his face and looked at Kiara, "You still love us, though, right? Here." He threw her the rope, and she caught it with ease to hook it up to the boat.

"Hey, you still hate me?" John B asked Sarah with his bare feet propped up. "A little," she replied, "We're both gonna get you back when you least expect it."

"Watch your back, boys," Kiara said.

"So I'm not included in your hatred scheme?" Emelina spoke up, grinning at her best friend and fixing her sunglasses. "Nope. I'm still going to get you back." Kiara said, and Emelina frowned.

"Well, I, for one, welcome that challenge." Pope said, and JJ agreed, "Me too."

"Honestly, you guys should've done this with JJ and Emelina. They needed it more than us." Kiara pointed out, and Emelina rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Nah, I think we're good. Right?" JJ looked down at Emelina and started making kissing noises. She widened her eyes and mouthed, "Stop!" to him.

The others do not catch on and probably assume he was being his usual weird self. "So, did you guys, you know..." Pope trailed on, putting his hands together.

"Reconcile our differences?" Kie finished his question. With her arms crossed, Sarah shook her head, "Mm-mm."

"Not even close," Kiara said. "But," Sarah started, "we're... willing to work together."

"You know what? That's victory." John B held his hand out for the three of them to clap. JJ and Pope did a handshake, "Wiggedy-wiggedy-wiggedy!"

"You know why, guys? Hydroponic." JJ told them all, and Pope formed his lips into a straight line. "Don't say that."

"Alright, shut up." John B told the two and then looked at the rest of the group, "You guys ready to jack some loot?"