——

"E, are you listening?"

Emelina drew her head from her thoughts and turned to the side to look at Kiara. "Hmm?" she asked, looking back at the car window beside her. She found herself in Heyward's truck after John B and Sarah took off.

"As I was saying," Pope cleared his throat as he pulled up to the Chateau, "we gotta be done before my scholarship interview in the morning."

"Yeah, yeah. We just have to focus." Emelina nodded. Kiara gave her a look and nudged her, "Yeah, you gotta focus. Is everything okay up in that head of yours?"

Emelina wanted to say no. There was still no sign of JJ. He was all she had been thinking about since he ran off at the drug dealer's house. "I'm fine, Kie."

"He'll come around, alright?" Kiara assured. Emelina hated how well she knew her. Her words did help a little, though, but she said nothing in return. Kiara asked Pope to continue explaining the plan. 

"Okay, so we got John B and JJ inside the well and me and Emelina up top. You and Sarah will be outside transporting." Pope explained and turned off the engine of the truck.

"Yeah, we got this," Kiara breathed out, waiting for Emelina to exit the vehicle, and she did. Beeping sounds became apparent, but Emelina concluded it was probably The Cut related and paid no attention to it.

She followed the two behind the truck, where Pope opened the cargo bed. "Uh, I got a winch. That tin can hold over like... 200, 300 pounds."

"Listen, I just wanted to say thank you, guys." Kiara smiled warmly. Emelina crossed her arms and squinted her eyes. "Thanks for what?"

"Stranding us. You know, making us make up," she replied, referring to her and Sarah. "What makes you think—"

Pope's voice was cut off due to whirring sounds coming from nowhere. Suddenly, lights plastered on the nearby trees flickered on, and a loud engine roared in the night. "What the hell?"

"Who is that?" Emelina was the first to follow after the noise. Various multicolored lights were wrapped and hanging on the branches of trees. She gulped when she spotted JJ sitting in a new jacuzzi that was previously never there. He popped open the champagne bottle.

A massive sigh of relief escaped her lips when she caught sight of him, but she had a feeling in her gut that something was wrong. His messy blonde hair hung loosely above his blue eyes, which were covered with sunglasses.

Floating, blown-up flamingoes swam around him as he lowered his glasses down. JJ had no shirt on, and the only thing visible on his chest was a long necklace.

"What did you do, JJ?" Emelina moved her eyes back to his and waited for him to say something.

"I got a jet going straight in my butt right now," he spoke and laughed, but his voice slurred slightly. She found another empty champagne bottle on the floor next to the hot tub.

"Y'all should get in immediately, you hear me?" JJ grabbed three tall plastic glasses and poured the champagne into them. "Salud!"

"How much did this cost?" Pope asked the million-dollar question. JJ took a chug out of the champagne bottle and then pretended to think, "Uh... Well, with the generator, the petrol, and oh, hey, express delivery..." he chuckled, "pretty much all of it, yeah."

Emelina widened her eyes, "All of it?"

"Yeah, babe. All of it." he chuckled once more.

"You spent all the money in one day?!" Pope interjected. JJ nodded, "Yeah, burned a hole right through my pocket. But, I mean, like, come on, guys, like, look at this! Finest in jet-based massage therapy, that's what they told me."

"Kie, what?" he asked since she hadn't uttered a word since they arrived.

"Can't a man have a little luxury in life? Come on," JJ took off his glasses that revealed his bloodshot eyes, "all this scrimpin' and scrapin'... I mean, like... guys, we—You only live once, right? Enough of this emotional shit. Get in the Cat's Ass. Come on."

The tears falling down his face had Emelina's heart start to clench. His voice cracking only made her feel worse, and she had the urge to make him feel better.

"In the what?" Kiara finally spoke. "In the Cat's Ass," JJ answered smugly. "That's what I named her."

"Oh, hey, yo, I almost forgot." JJ reached over to hit a switch, and the disco above started spinning, and water spurted out from the sides of the hot tub. "Yeah, that's right, I know. Disco mode. That's right, baby!"

"Are you kidding me? You could have paid for restitution!" Pope scolded.

Kiara raised her voice, "Or literally given it to any charity!"

Emelina remained silent and watched as JJ started to rub his eyes in disappointment. "Or better yet, you could have helped us buy supplies to get the rest of the gold out of the well!" Pope told him.

"Okay, well, you know what? I didn't do that!" JJ stood up and three large deep bruises were implanted on his skin. Emelina felt herself grow numb as her eyes scanned his body. Tears prickled at the corner of her eyes and she brought her hand to her mouth, "JJ..."

"I got a hot tub! For my friends. I got a hot tub for my friends. You know what? No, you know what? Screw friends. I got a hot tub for my family!"

"JJ, what the hell...?" Kiara gulped.

JJ ignored her, "I got this for you. All of you," he glanced at Emelina, "Isn't this what you wanted, Em? Here's me proving it to you."

"Not like this," she said in a soft voice. He heard her and chose to ignore her response. "Guys, look what I did for you! Alright? Look at this!" JJ opened his arms to showcase everything he had purchased. "Look at this!"

"JJ," Kiara repeated. Emelina was crying now, watching his breakdown in front of her. Fresh tears streamed down his face as he shook his head, "No, you stop being emotional. It's fine, okay?"

"I mean, it's sweet, right? Everything—Just get in." His voice started to shake as he spoke. Kiara climbed into the hot tub and pulled him into an embrace, holding him tight as he poured out his emotions.

"I just couldn't do it." Another sob broke from his lips, and he pulled her in closer, "I can't take him anymore! I was gonna kill him."

Emelina stepped into the hot tub and joined them in their hug. She was mindful of his bruises when she wrapped an arm around his waist. He shuddered at her touch but slowly released one arm off of Kie and replaced it around Emelina's body to draw her closer. "You're okay," she whispered in his ear.

Pope entered and engulfed the trio with his arms as much as he could. "I just wanna do the right thing." JJ sobbed.

"I know. I know." Kie said, her voice high.

The four of them stood there for quite a bit. Pope was the first to let go and slowly stepped back onto the ground.

Kiara was next, glancing at Emelina to give her a quick nod. "We'll get some towels," she said and detached herself from JJ, who said nothing except bring his empty arm around the only person left.

"Stay with him?" Kiara mouthed to her, to which she nodded.

She watched her two friends make their way into the Chateau and then turned her attention back to the blonde boy. He was holding her tighter now, stuffing his face in the crook of her neck.

She could feel his heartbeat because of their chest contact, and the feeling of it slowing down had her exhaling a small breath of relief.

Emelina didn't know what to say. She had moments with her mother, but nothing was close to JJ's relationship with his father. She hoped the silence and the comfort of her touch were enough.

The hug lasted another minute until she pulled away slightly to let her teary eyes meet his. His arm dropped to his side while the other rested at her hip, his fingers feeling the material of her shirt.

He looked down at it and sniffled, "Shirt's all wet."

Her gaze followed his and fully registered the feeling of the shirt sticking to her skin. She chuckled, grabbed his hand that was occupying her hip, and squeezed it. "I'll change... Is it okay if I check you with a first aid kit?"

He didn't say anything at first, just staring into her eyes. She refused to overstep any boundaries, so she had to ask. Maybe he preferred the help of someone else. Or rather, no one at all.

As he nodded, Kiara and Pope emerged from the porch with a few towels. Once Emelina got ahold of one, she wrapped it around JJ's body after exiting the hot tub.

Pope led JJ back inside, but Emelina stayed behind with Kiara to dry herself up. The tears refused to stop forming. Seeing him like that left a heavy place in her heart.

"Hey, thanks. Not sure if he said anything, but he appreciates it." Kiara said as she began to pick up the empty champagne bottles.

Emelina stood there. "I didn't know it was this bad, Kie."

"Nobody ever does. It still shocks me every time. He'll get through it, though. He always does."

Emelina helped clean up a little before claiming she was heading inside and would bring Pope out to replace her.

JJ was sitting on the edge of the mattress from the pull-out couch, staring out the window as Pope grabbed some pillows from John B's room.

"Hey, Kiara wants you out there. I can handle it from here," she told him, and he nodded, dumping the pillows on the bed.

JJ shook his head from side to side, "Tell Kie not to worry 'bout it. I'll take care of it in the morning."

"It's fine, man," Pope said and left the living room to continue his task outside. Emelina looked at JJ and softly rubbed his shoulder from behind.

She left for the bathroom to fetch the kit. When she returned, she found JJ staring at the floor below him. She turned on the lamp next to them, which was not bright but dim enough to let her see any injuries.

Her fingers lightly grabbed his chin and pointed it to a specific angle for observation. His eyes looked everywhere but hers.

Emelina moved down to his chest, mostly looking for any bleeders, which, thankfully, there were none. She cleaned the various minor cuts and then stepped away into the kitchen.

She initially went into the freezer to find some ice cubes, but the tray was empty and ready to be refilled. She pulled out a bag of frozen vegetables and wrapped a thin cloth over it before returning to JJ.

"Here. I heard putting ice on bruises helps. This is the best we've got." she told him. He quietly thanked her and took it from her hand.

She stood there, watching him. So many thoughts were going through her head, mindlessly unaware of the tears running down her cheeks. When she noticed, she wiped them away immediately. He saw, though.

"Sorry. Trying to stay strong for you," she said softly and breathed in sharply, giving him a tight smile.

JJ shook his head and set the cold bag on the bed beside him. Without looking at her, he whispered, "You're doing so much for me. You have no idea."

Emelina sat beside him, and to her surprise, he leaned his head on her shoulder. In her mind, the next plausible thing to do was to interlock her fingers with his. He squeezed it.

They sat silently for a few minutes before she got up and gave him some space.

§

Emelina walked into the bedroom as quietly as she could and closed the door after her. JJ sat on his bed staring into nothing with a joint in his hand.

"Hi," Emelina spoke softly, and he turned his attention to her, blowing smoke from his lips. "How are you doing?" she asked.

"Muy bien," he replied and wiggled the joint between his fingertips. He then raised it to offer it to her. She accepted and settled down next to him on the bed, taking a long hit.

The smoke escaped her mouth, and she gave it back to JJ, watching him repeat the process. Emelina's eyes studied the room; it looked exactly how it did the night she slept there. It was dark outside still. She gave him about an hour to cool off before making her presence known.

They sat in silence for a few moments until Emelina spoke up. "Look, I know I can't prevent you from seeing your dad again or stop him from doing..." Her voice fades, "but please try to be careful around him? Today was just..."

"Just, what?" JJ inquired.

She sighed, "I was really worried for you today. I knew you had no place left to go so you went home." That word felt wrong to say out loud. "And after what you told me what your father has done in the past. I..." she paused for a second, "Anyway, I'm glad you're okay."

JJ gave her a genuine smile, but no words were exchanged after that.

"I wanna say thanks," he said suddenly, handing the joint back to her, and she inhaled it. "For what?" she asked, exhaling the smoke.

"For chasin' after me when no one else did."

"Well, someone had to do it." Emelina laughed, leaning her back against the wall, and gave him back the joint. JJ got up from the bed and went to the window to emit his smoke.

She cleared her throat, "In all seriousness, are you okay?"

His back was faced her way, so she couldn't see his expression when he shrugged. "I'll live."

A frown appeared on her lips, and she stood up, walking over to him. She placed her hand on his shoulder and sighed, "Come here."

Emelina lured him into an embrace. Her arms wrapped around his neck and his stayed secured around her waist. Like before, she was careful not to touch his bruises. She inhaled, taking in his scent that was nothing but faint champagne and weed.

JJ closed his eyes to take in this moment. She has a pull on him and he doesn't know why... there's a deep feeling inside of him that he never felt before when she does movements like this.

They released themselves and pull away, but stay still for a moment. Their faces were inches apart, so close to one another that they can feel the air of their breath.

Subconsciously, she tilted her head to grant him access. His eyes were set on her lips and hers with his. The space between them kept growing smaller and smaller.

Suddenly, Emelina separated herself from him once loud footsteps from outside the room were clambering down the hall. JJ let out a deep sigh. The door opens and there stood Pope.

"Yo, have you seen Emelina—Oh!" he said. The room's tension was thick and wasn't hard to miss. "Uh, Kiara wants a late dinner at The Wreck to cheer JJ up. We're leaving, like, now."

"Yeah," Emelina cleared her throat, "That's a good idea. We'll be out in a minute," she told him with a small smile.

Pope nodded slowly and left the room quickly. Emelina turned her body back around and JJ hadn't taken his eyes off of her despite Pope being in the room.

She opened her mouth to speak, but JJ grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer to his body. She didn't get time to register his swift movement when her lips locked with his. It took her a second to process this, but then she relaxed at his touch, giving into the kiss.

Her fingers travel up to his hair, tugging on it slightly. He sighed in her mouth at that gesture, causing them to deepen the kiss. He let go of her wrist and captured her waist instead, bringing her to his chest.

Emelina pulled away from his lips to catch a breath. With her eyes closed, she said his name. "JJ?"

"Mhm?" he hummed.

"They're waiting on us." Emelina reminded him, finally locking her hazel eyes with his in the dark room.

"Nah, they can wait a few more minutes." JJ replied and dived in for another kiss. Their lips meet again, feeling just as captivating as the first.

Emelina hadn't realize how much she long for his touch and caught herself wishing she had done this sooner. She never felt this way, not even with Topper. JJ brought a new type of excitement that she craved to explore.

As his hands were about to slide underneath her shirt, the loud honking from outside startled her and she jumped backward. "Holy shit."

Annoyed, she moved the blinds from the window and spotted Kiara honking the wheel from the passenger seat of the truck. Pope looked just as annoyed sitting in his seat, letting her create the blaring noises in the night.

Emelina turned back to JJ, "I don't think they can wait a few more minutes."

She caught a glimpse of his clenched jaw, but nonetheless, he burned out his joint and motioned her to leave the room with him. "Wait," she stopped him.

He stood in front of her with a look of confusion and she ran her fingers through his hair to fix it. He studied her eyes, watching her concentrate on his head. She pulled her hand away in satisfaction and smiled when she finished. "There, all better."

The two exit the Chateau and enter the back of Pope's truck in silence.

"What were you two doing in there?" Kiara asked, annoyance lingering in her voice as Pope started to drive away. Emelina shrugged and put her seatbelt on.

JJ leaned back and mimicked inhaling a joint without bothering to put on his seatbelt. Kiara rolled her eyes, "You got high, seriously?"

"Yes," Emelina replied, "and I'm hungry."

"God," Kiara turned her body back around to face the road ahead of her, "If you guys didn't hate each other so much, I'd think you're meant to be."

An unexpected tiny smile formed on Emelina's lips and she looked over at JJ, who also had the same reaction as her. Kiara and Pope went back to discussing the plan for tomorrow's adventure but all Emelina could think about was the boy next to her.