Joey knocked harshly on JJ's front door, the shouting from inside coming to a hault. Joey backed up as the front door swung open, Luke Maybank staring at her, "I'll be damn."

"Is JJ here?" Joey asked, hearing about how he'd gotten arrested.

"He ain't sitting in jail, that's for sure." Luke commented as he pushed the door wide open, "Sure hope you aren't his piece."

Joey gave him a disgusted look, she was tempted to ask why it mattered but stopped as she looked around the house. The judgment in her eyes was clearly laced around the amount of germs, "Ain't good enough for you?"

Joey ignored him, walking in as she used one of her baby whips, she'd gotten all new supplies last night after leaving Toppers.

"Can't knock?" JJ asked her in disbelief. Joey shut the door back as she looked at him, black eyes and cut across his lip, "Something I can do for you?"

"Maybe." Joey spoke before looking him over, "You alright?"

"Fine." he snapped at her quickly. It wasn't that JJ didn't like Joey, it was more so the fact that she did everything in her power to constantly knock John B down a peg and that pissed him off, "What do you want?"

"Heard from John B?" Joey asked him, keeping her distance as she hear Luke rummaging the house, "I went by the chat, wasn't there."

JJ stood up with a sigh, "Sure he's off doing a John B thing. Why do you care?"

Joey gave him a look, "Why are you being so mean?"

"Me?" JJ asked her with a laugh, "Funny coming from you."

Joey rolled her eyes, digging in her bag and throwing a small tub on his bed, "It'll heal those bruises up a bit."

She walked out the door, mumbling an "asshole" under her breath.

"You look just like your mama." Luke said from the couch, smacking his lips loudly after taking a long sip of beer, "You know that?"

Joey gave him a stupid look, "You're stupid."

"Am I?" Luke asked as Joey pulled the door open quickly to leave, "I miss that mama of yours! Really missing her!"

"Rot in hell!" Joey yelled back to him. She didn't get far, grabbing the handles of her moped before a voice called, turning, she saw JJ jump out his window, "What the hell are you doing?"

He shhed he quickly, clutched a bag on his back, "Let's go."

"Where we going?" she gave him a crazy look as he hopped on the back of the moped, "I have to get ready for Midsummers!"

"I've got a good eye, cmon." JJ hit her shoulders as Joey flipped the moped on, driving out of the dirt driveway with JJ on the back.

JJ had no intension on actually helping Joey get ready, having her drop him off at the chateau where he'd wait for John B. Joey didn't mind, secretly glad he wasn't he the house with Luke's crazy ass. Her uncle had already headed to Midsummers, leaving Joey alone in her house to get ready.

She went with her mothers pearls, they weren't real but they were hers, and a dark green dress. It was simple, but the flower crown all the girls at Midsummers got would make her less plain feeling. Joey, hoping no one would notice, put on a pair of flats rather then heels. She found they were too hard to walk in and would always give her terrible blisters on her toes, sticking with the nude flats.

Her uncle, trying to impress an ass load of kooks, sent her a boat across the island to pick her up and take her to Midsummers. When Joey arrived, she took notice as to how many people had been there. She'd hoped it would be smaller, not so close together. Apart of her wanted to pull a thing of gloves on and slap a mask on her face, but that would only pull more attention to her.

"Oh, Josephine." her uncle greeted loudly, looking away from a crowd of Kooks. He never called her by her full name, no one did. No one except Topper, anyways. She hoped he'd just leave her alone for the night. But of course, just to win a few extra points, he had to show off what a lovely guardian he was, "Have any of you met my niece?"

"We're so sorry to hear about your mother." Cassandra, Kelces aunt, gave her a fake look of sympathy.

Joey forced herself to smile, "Oh, thanks."

"You're so lucky to have your uncle." Raymond, a owned of a church, nodded at her, "God really blessed you."

Her attempt to bite her tongue was gone by now, "Blessed? You think me loosing my mom was a blessing?"

"Joey." her uncle tried gently, placing a hand on her elbow.

She inhaled sharply, the vein in her neck popping, "What a joy it was to meet all of you."

Then she turned away, leaving before she had an even bigger chance to ruin this for her uncle.

"Not your crowd, are they?" a new voice came, Joey turned her head at the sight of Topper. "Josephine."

She rose an eyebrow, "Not particularly."

Topper turned to the bar to order another drink, "You should let your uncle know that Raymond isn't gonna budge on selling his church. He just likes people to beg."

Topper held the drink out to her as Joey took it from his hand, "Probably better if I just stay out of his way for the night."

Topper took an eye at her rather quickly, hoping she didn't notice. She did, "I'd offer you some company but-"

"Hard pass." Joey commented as she saw Rafe and Kelce lingering around, seemingly searching for him, "Make sure to wish Bonnie and Clyde a good evening for me though. Thanks for the drink."

Then she was gone again.

Pope gave Joey all the free sodas until Hayward came over and knocked them both upside the head, making her head off. Kie ran to the bathroom, causing Molly to wonder around out side for a moment while she waited for her. It didn't take long for her eyes to become occupied with a couple making out not too far from her, ready to yell at how unsanitary it was to lean on the railings like that. That was, until she saw the familiar brown curls.

John B had been making out with Sarah Cameron.

"Sarah!" Toppers voice saved the day as the two pulled apart, ducking down. Joey swore if she had to see them kiss for any longer she'd throw up, start to sob, or throw the both of them over the side of the docks. "That you?"

Joey backed up some so Topper wouldn't see her, pressed against the side of the country club. Thankful, Sarah went the other way to go to Topper, giving Joey time to scoot across the small wall before being completely shielded. John B had been standing there, staring at her as Joey gasped. "Spying on me?"

Before she could think of what she was doing, she gave a harsh shove to his chest. John B stumbled backwards quickly. "Hey, hey, wow, chill out."

"You make me so sick." Joey threw a finger into his face with a harsh glare. "I don't want anything to do with you anymore. Keep your stupid gold, I don't fucking care!"

He shhed her quickly when she rose her voice, trying to put a hand on her shoulder but she'd slapped it away. "Why are you doing this?"

"That's the problem! You don't know!" Joey shoved a finger at him again. Angry tears rolled down her face, angry more then upset really. "That's why i'm mad! Because you-"

She shoved him again. "Don't know!"

"Joey." John B gave her wide eyes, grabbing her wrist to stop her from hitting him again. "Oh my god, what? What? Stop it. Just stop."

"I hate you!" she cried while looking up at him. It hurt him to see her cry, she didn't cry often but every time she did, it hurt him. "I hate you for still making me love you after everything."

There it was.

John B's face fell as he looked at her. Months and months of wanting her back, being pushed away and yelled at, now he'd known she felt the same the entire time. A million thoughts hit his head. Yesterday, before he went to Charleston, he would have fallen at her feet once again, taken her back so quickly, had still been so crazy in love with her just less then twenty-four hours ago, before he knew Sarah. "Why do you tell me this now? Oh my god."

He ran his hands down his face with a long sigh. Joey sniffled as she stared at him. John B squeezed the bridge of his nose. "Do you have any- oh my god. You can't just say that to me."

"Clearly not. Since you're off making out with Sarah Freaking Cameron." Joey laughed. She didn't have anything against Sarah, aside from her own personal loyalty to Kie, it wasn't Sarah she was mad at. It wasn't even John B she truly was seeing red for. It was herself, so angry at herself for waiting until he moved on completely to act this way. "I can't do this with you, with your friends. It's too much."

"Joey, Jo." John B caught her arm before she could walk off. Clear stress was all over his face. God, did he still love her the way she said she did him? Could that have just gone away in the past twenty-four hours? No, it couldn't, but could it have weaken by the power of Sarah now? "Why didn't-if you told me this before-"

"Yeah, that's the problem." Joey stared at him, her lip trembled as her glossy eyes shined in the moonlight over the country club. "I couldn't accept it until I saw you with her."

She tried to walk away again, but he held her in place. "You don't love me."

"No." Joey stared at him. "I don't love you, I hate you. But i'm still in love with you, and that makes it all so much worse. After you breaking up with me-"

"God, Joey! I waited for you! For a year, and now you wanna tell me this? Right when I think I've move on?" John B asked her in disbelief with wide eyes, running a hand over his face again. "If you told me yesterday-"

"I know!" she yelled back at him. "I know! I'm the problem, John B! It's my fault, not yours! I know this already. But I can't just parade around the island with you, searching for your dads gold, having to pretend like-"

But she stopped, because she didn't know what she could say next. Having to pretend she hated him? She did hate him. Hated him so much that she loved him.

"I'm not doing this without you." John B stared at her intensely. "You wanna know what I think?"

Joey rolled her eyes. "You're gonna tell me anyways."

"I fought so hard for you when you came back to the island. You hated me, I hated myself, but I stilled loved the hell out of you. Up until yesterday, I would have given anything for us to get back together." John B matched her tone so perfectly. Angry and upset all at once, but angry trumped it tremendously. "And then I met another girl, and I feel that connection with someone for the first time since you, and then you lay all this on me and fuck with my mind. It's not fair, it's not."

"I know it's not." she rolled her eyes. "But if I just walked away from the gold, you'd ask me anyways. And i'm done lying, I don't wanna lie to you anymore. To anyone."

"So you just wanted me to know the truth, and what? Act like it's nothing? Act like the girl i've been been trying to get back for a year didn't tell me she was in love with me? Are you kidding me?" John B gave her an insane look.

"I didn't know-" Joey began.

"You did know! How could you not?" he argued quickly with her.

Joey huffed, looking down as her tears dropped to the grass below her. She looked back up at John B with a minor shake to her head. "Guess it doesn't matter anymore. We could never work out again and Sarah's good for you. Better then I ever could be. I'm sorry I laid all that on you, I shouldn't have, I was just upset and angry. I'm gonna go, and hopefully we never have to talk again."

And this time, he let her go.

•

kylie speaks

ugh my angsty ex's
omfg.