"You don't have to come in, i'll be quick." Joey nodded her head, the pair stopping at Joeys house for her to get a change of clothes for the night.

"It's cool." Topper shook his head, not realizing she was hoping he'd stay in the car. He crawled out, pulling the keys and locking the doors. Joeys house was small, a little cabin made out of pale blue wood, up on stilts from the ground. The porch squeaked when they walked up onto it. Joey unlocked the door quickly, walking in. Just as he suspect it to be, the house was so clean it didn't even seem like anyone lived here. "Jesus, it's like a hospital."

Joey smiled. "Thank you."

She suspected him to wait in the tiny kitchen or even in the living room, instead following her toward her room. The hallways was snug, two doors leading to small bedrooms, and one that was a bathroom. Joeys room wasn't even half the size of Toppers, he had no choice but to sit on her bed or they'd run right into each other. It was a twin size mattress, he couldn't help but imagine her and John B smooshed together on it, he wondered if she liked it like that or not.

"It's small." Joey laughed to ease her embarrassment.

"Comfortable." he corrected her, looking at her pillows and seeing the silky green ones that looked nice against the brown comforter. Her closet was longways, having to pull two doors. She had a nightstand right beside her bed that had a jewelry box, a few pair of shoes spread across her wall, and a vase of flowers in the window ceil. The same orchids that he left her when he got his mom irises. "You can hear the ocean."

Joey nodded her head. "Helps me sleep."

"You guys didn't get any damage from the hurricane?" Topper asked her, figuring she would with how close to the ocean she was. "A little bit. But because we're on stilts it didn't really hurt anything too bad."

She grabbed a pair of shorts and a striped shirt that she liked to wear over her baiting suit. Turning, she headed to grab a bag by her bed, walking over as soon as Topper stood up. Because of how close the bed was to the wall, it wasn't meant for two people to stand at the same time. They bumped into each other, Joey seemingly being stronger then Topper was, taking him down as they both tumbled down onto the bed.

"What was that?" Topper asked in disbelief. Joey began to laugh ontop of him, making him give a crazy look. "Something is under your bed."

"I tripped you, it was my foot." she laughed, her entire body shaking on top of him. Topper realized that it was her foot, sighing in relief as he threw his head back. She leaned up, her hands pressing down on either side of his body. She leaned up some, looking down at him. Topper looked up at her, long curls falling down the side of her face. He never though she was ugly, but he never thought she was as pretty as she was now. Joey spoke softly. "We should go."

He didn't say anything, his hands holding her thighs to avoid her falling off the bed. "Yeah, probably."

She didn't move either, waiting for a moment before sitting up, throwing her leg over to crawl off of him.

Yet again, she used a different shower. Topper definitely figured she'd get through each one by the end of summer, giving her his body wash and shampoo and conditioner again. She didn't take long this time, mainly because she wasn't covered in mud or pool water that too many people had been in. As she came down the steps, she gave a grin, giving a little spin to show off her outfit that she clearly had been proud of.

"Look at you." Topper laughed, her curls pulled up to avoid dripping all over her shirt. "I've got the grill going in the back."

"What time are they gonna be here?" Joey asked, walking over. She still smelt like he did, the third time she had in less then a month. Joey felt weird being here, she felt weird being excited to meet Lonny, felt weird that she liked this.

"About an hour." Topper nodded, grabbing the pork chops. "Can you grab that?"

Joey grabbed the glass bowl, it seemed vintage, of salad, grasping the three different dressings. As she followed him out back, she realized how pretty his back yard was when the lights were on. A picnic table was under the large tree, circular lights hanging above it. The back porch had comfortable furniture, the grill clean and nice. Joey liked how clean Toppers house was, how clean he was. "Jesus, Topper. This is so nice."

"Yeah?" he asked her, stopping at the grill. "We rarely use it either."

"You know what me and you should do? This is, if we continue not to hate each other." Joey pointed out, laying the salad on the table, lining up the dressings perfectly. Topper laughed at her words, laying one of the pork chops on the grill as the fire burned beneath it. "We should use the backyard just once a week. Like, Kelce can come too if he's okay, then it gives you an excuse to show off this beautiful yard."

"This is all I know how to cook." Topped pointed out to her.

"I'll bring one of my moms cook books." Joey shrugged, heading back over to sit down on the little swing that was facing him. "Say yes."

"It's a maybe." he pointed out to her.

"Say yes." she repeated with an eyebrow raise.

"If I say yes will you leave me alone?" he gave a knowing look, earning a nod. "Fine, yes."

"Yes." she grinned, leaning on the cushions and watching him flip the pork chop. "Do you need me to help?"

"No." he shook his head. "You want a drink?"

"No." she stood up, walking over to stand by his side, looking down at the grill. "What if it burns?"

"It won't." he shook his head, using the tongs to flip it. "See."

"You're chicken flippers." she nodded to the tongs. "That's what my mom called them."

"Chicken flippers." he hummed with a snort. "Has a good ring to it."

"I can do this if you have something else to do." she nodded, looking at the grill. "When do I flip?"

"You'll feel it." he nodded his head, passing them to her. "I'm gonna go get the glasses. Do you like wine?"

"Never had wine." she shook her head. "Or any alcohol out of a glass."

"Well, this one's really old." Topper gave her a knowing point. "I'll bring a beer too."

She was left outside in the back alone now, giving a small flip to the pork chop after a second. Topper put the steamed vegetables in a casserole dish, grasping the four wine glasses, the wine under his arm, the corkscrew in his mouth. As he walked back outside, he looked at the back of her. Joeys head was moving side to side a little, flipping the next pork chop. He placed them on the table, coming up behind her. "You're flipping too soon."

She expected for him to be by her side, instead standing behind her, his arm going under hers, around her waist, hand placed ontop of her own to hold the tonks. "Watch, you'll know."

She wanted to pay attention to what he was talking about, but the way he was so close to her was throwing her off big time. The fire gave a small sizzle, then he flipped it. Joey blinked. "Wait for the sizzle?"

"Wait for the sizzle." he agreed, pulling his hands back. When he did, his hands grazed her waist. "Come here, i'll let you try this before they get here."

Joey laid her chicken flippers to the side, taking a breath to follow him over. She felt anxious. Feeling like he was doing something, planning something, like her being here was about to be some big joke. She could see Kelce showing up, laughing as Topper humiliates her into thinking he was into her. Why was a Kook asking a Pogue to a dinner with his Kook friends? It didn't make sense.

"Here, I like it." Topper turned to give her the glass, catching her looking around. "Hear something?"

"What?" she faced him again. Her eyes seemed sad, and he knew something was up.

"Did you hear something?" he repeated himself, nodding to the way she was looking around. "Are you al-"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Kelces obnoxious voice rung as he grinned, dancing through the doors. A boy was behind him, tanned skin and green eyes, looking like an entire model. Joey took the glass from Topper, downing the shot of wine on the inside.

"Hey, man." Topper grinned at his friend, doing the bro hug thing. "This is Lonny?"

"Hi." the boy smiled, shaking Toppers hand. Joey heard the french accent on his lips when he spoke. "You have a nice house."

"Lonny's from France." Kelce wiggled his eyebrows. "He's also a model."

"You know how to pick 'em." Topper slapped Kelces shoulder with a laugh. He turned back to Joey, finding she hadn't moved. "You guys have met, haven't you?"

"Not exactly." Kelce gave an alarming look, Joey walked forward. "I've just heard a lot of yelling coming from your director."

"Seems to follow me." Joey joked slightly, forcing a tight lipped smile. "I like that color."

He looked at his coral shirt. "Oh, yeah? It was a gift from my Nan. She's got good taste for an old lady."

Like Topper said, he was a weird dude.

"Hello, Joey." Lonny out reached his hand to shake hers. "Glad i'm not the only new one tonight."

"Oh, nice to meet you." she shook his hand. She was trying hard not to be awkward or come off mean, but she was still panicking slightly in the back of her mind. She didn't want to seem too happy to be here, didn't want to give them a chance to humiliate her if they got the chance to. Topper grazed her hand with his, sensing she was uncomfortable with all of this.

"Can we eat? I've been fasting all day long." Kelce announced, walking toward the picnic table. "Top, you got the good lettuce!"

"It was Joeys idea." he nodded his head, calling her Joey, being so comfortable with her here.

"You've got good taste for a pogue." Kelce said, Joey walked over. "No offense."

"You'll be surprised to know we aren't wild animals over there." she said it nicely, but it was meant to be snarky, and it definitely was. It made Kelce and Lonny laugh, Topper was practically sprinting back toward the table with the plate of pork chops.

"Okay." he laughed loudly to change the subject. "They're right off the grill so be carful."

He sat down, nodding for Joey to sit next to him. She did, inhaling. He noticed how different she started to act with more people around instead of when it was just him. Kelce put a pork chop on Lonny's plate for him. "Do they make you guys take french at your school?"

"Uh, I think we can. I did Spanish though." Joey nodded her head, her fingers digging into her thighs.

"Do you guys do all four subject too? Or do you have different ones?" Kelce went on, cutting into the pork chop.

"Do we do the same four subjects that every single school in the U.S does?" Joey laughed slightly at his question, but it was clear she didn't laugh because she found it funny. "Yeah, last time I checked."

"What about extra curriculars?" Kelce went on.

"Uh, Lonny, you said you were a m-" Topper began toward the green eyes boy, being cut off.

"I mean, our school is smaller so we don't do all the same ones you guys do but it's pretty close." Joey answered Kelce with a raise of her eyebrows. "We don't have water polo and professional artist for art teachers if that's what you're wondering."

"It's just fascinating." Kelce hummed, swallowing his bite. "Just figured everything was, like, sooo different over on The Cut. How'd you and Topper even become friends?"

"Dance lessons." Topper cleared his throat with a nod. "She taught me how to dance for Midsummers."

"Oh, seriously? I didn't know Pogues knew how to dance." Kelce gave a questionable look. "Did you learn it before moving here?"

Joey didn't think Kelce was purposely being so rude, but she realized that's how Kooks were. They judged the Pogues, they thought they were so much better in every way possible. Sure, he could have just been saying what he's been told or taught, but it didn't stop Joey from feeling like she was being interrogated and like this was some big joke.

"Not a fan of your wine, Top." Joey spoke, staring at Kelce as she spoke to the blonde. "I'm gonna go grab a water."

Before he could even point out that he'd brought her a coke, she was on her feet and heading toward her house. Topper nodded at Kelce and Lonny. "Yeah, i'm gonna get one too."

He was following after her quickly. As he got inside, he expected to see her in the kitchen, instead seeing her grabbing her bag from the hallway. "Joey, Joey, Joey. Don't go. Hey, don't leave. Kelce- i'm sorry about him."

"I shouldn't be here, Topper. This isn't me, i'm not a Kook." she shook her head, staring at him with an inhale. "I'm not just gonna sit outside and let your friend interrogate me and act like he's so much better then I am."

"I know, I know that's how he's coming off. But you gotta understand-" he began, being cut off.

"No, I don't have to understand that he was taught that people from The Cut are some kind of different breed just because we don't get four bathrooms and a huge backyard where we grill pork chops on." she cut him off with a shake of his head. "I haven't acted that way toward him at all and he's twenty-questioned me since he showed up. Either I go, or I stay and act like an asshole the entire time."

"I'll tell him to go." Topper shook his head quickly. "I'll tell him and Lonny to go home, that we need to reschedule. Just, don't leave."

"Why?" she gave him a crazy look.

"Because I feel like I can just talk to you, and you get it." Topper huffed as he looked at her, latching onto Joeys arm. "No one else gets what i'm feeling right now. With Sarah. And if they do they just act like they don't."

Joey rolled her eyes. "I'm not just gonna stick around because you need to talk about Sarah without having to put up with Toxic Masculinity."

"It's not just that. It's not." he held into her arm tighter, scared she'd try and go. "I like talking to you. And I like being around you. That's why I invited you to meet my friends, to come to my house. I just like having you around."

She stared at him. It was silent a second and he was expecting her to say it back. But when she opened her mouth, the complete opposite came out. "You're such a liar."

Toppers face fell. "What?"

"You don't like me being around, you just want to talk to me because my ex boyfriend is dating your ex girlfriend. You introduced me to your friends so they can make fun of me and it can be some huge joke that the dirty Pogue fell at the Kooks feet just to have a good meal and a nice house." her being paranoid got to her and she was talking out loud now, despite maybe not totally thinking that, a little part of her was saying that's what was going on. "I'm so stupid, Jesus."

"Woah, woah, hey." Topper followed her to the door as she escaped his hold. "I don't- that's not what this is at all. Why would I do that to you? Joey! Joey, listen to me."

But she didn't want to listen, because she was getting scared, hurrying out of his drive way. She wasn't scared of him, she was far from scared of Topper, she was just scared of what she was starting to feel. It happened the second he leaned behind her to teach her how to watch before flipping, so close, so not a causal friend thing. That's when it happened, that's when she started to fear the pain of liking someone and then having her heart ripped out of her chest.

Because it's happened once before, and she never wanted to go through that pain again. So, like she always did when she got scared or upset, she was running right back to the boy that made her this way in the first place.

•

kylie speaks

not me projecting my
own problems into joeys
character.