GLITCH.
001 | don't flatter yourself

"THATS WHAT? A THREE STORY FALL TO THE DECK?"Pope queried, mocking John B further with a small laugh " I give you a...one in three chance of survival."

" oh, it's not looking good for you Johnny boy." Renee hummed, her lips spreading as a small laugh exits from her lips.

Earning a deathly glare from the boy who was currently  demonstrating his apparent death wish by standing on the edge of the roof  ( of a building which may I add was still under construction).

The mocking silence the brunette gave her made a small laugh escaped from the shiny, red tinted colour of Renee's lips as she leant back casually, using JJ's shoulder to support her.

Holding a beer that was surprisingly still cold when considering the heat of the Carolina summer which was now in its peak and even more when taking into account how long Renee had been drinking it and how firmly she held it in her hands. The back of head sat in the crook of JJ's neck whilst she was fixating on spectating the scene unfolding in front of her.

Finding herself becoming both amused and surprised at John B's idiocy and lack of concern for the possible consequences of his actions.

A pair of sunglasses sitting on her face.
the minuscule Chanel brand logo on the side of them that was not enough justice to accommodate the price of them. Although Renee was the only one who didn't seem to notice it.

The three amused teenagers all continued watching as their best friend balanced his worn, dirty, white conversed covered foot off the edge of the currently ghosted construction building that they were trespassing on for the third or fourth time in the passing week.

This is what summer was to them, them being the pogues. A pogue summer consisted of endless days filled to its brim with petty, harmless crime and drinking beers with the occasional smoking of weed if JJ hadn't smoked it all by the time their plans rolled around. Being in each other's company almost twenty- four seven.

Just the way that they all liked it.

They had already been made aware that the news of their inevitable reappearance back to the clearly restricted zone had been leaked to the mainland authorities purely by the judging looks of neighbours who could tell by the look of them and the van with tacky surf stickers stuck to the back mirror and peeling, patchy brown paint they drove here in that they didn't belong there.

In a few minutes the fun would be ruined and they'd be running from the security that they all couldn't help but have a love-hate relationship with. Gary, the security guard.

They were the love, whilst Gary was most certainly the hate.

The sun was setting serenely over the soon to be built beachside home, Renee felt the slight tinge of the sun falling on her skin from the decrease in warmth dancing on her shoulders.

" should I do it?" he asked before shifting his gaze to the blonde girl, who shifted her eyes back to John B from gazing almost lovingly at the fading of the sun.

" hey Ren , watcha' think about nursing me back to health if I fall?" His question directed at the blonde girl consequented in a casual roll of the eyes from Renee who just shook her head, lifting the can of beer back to hover over the rim on her lips, replying before taking a sip.

" oh you really do wish, don't you Routledge?" She scoffed ever so slightly. John B humming as he watched the girl who was sat down below him.

" every single birthday." He chimed in, imitating blowing out candles before sending her a wink. once again causing Renee to shake her head and let her eyes roll back to show her inamusement.

The curly headed brunette couldn't help but smirk at the girl. He felt as if he were being let off easily without any  indication he was about to receive her other response of the middle finger being pointed in his general direction.

Which Renee seemed to use as a reflex to any sort of annoying or pestering comment which she didn't verbally want to reply to.

" yeah jump, I'll shoot on the way down." Pope continued to tease their friend, who was probably considering it at this moment— only to see Renee's reaction since she would be the only one responsible enough to take care of him.

The reaction being wide eyes as the beer in her mouth pooled in her cheeks as she pondered whether Pope was being serious or not.

" you'll shoot me ?" JohnB quizzed, a fake sense of betrayal in his voice.

Using his free hand to curl a number of his fingers in order to imitate a finger gun before shooting it in the direction of Pope which had turned his head away from the two blonde haired teenagers who had deferred their attention to the sunset.

Pope looking at John B who imitated a vomiting action at the two do them — it made a small laugh leave Pope's mouth.

" we should move here one day." JJ told her after swallowing the beer in his mouth. Renee turned her head and widened her lips into a smile and cocking her eyebrows into a surprising look.

"what the five of us? That would be hell." Renee asked, JJ shaking his head "hell no, just me and you."

" me and you, live here together?" she asked , still shocked the words had left his mouth, " how exactly are we planning to afford it?"

" well aside from your massive ass trust fund." he said snarkily " I'd run a surf shop and teach tourons how to surf in the summer."

" but maybe not live here, maybe yucatan or-"

" Hawaii?" Renee pitched in, JJ rolled his eyes and hummed thinking about the location of his hypothetical world of leisure and luxury. " I went there on vacation once and I loved it!"

JJ watched her with this awe that he didn't even realise he looked at her with — the light in her eyes when she spoke of things that she liked. He didn't notice the small curving of his lips as Renee enjoyed the small silence which settled between them.

JJ hummed softly " sure, we can go Hawaii." Taking a sip of his drink to hide the way his smile widened as she clapped her hands together.

" it'a final, we're moving to Hawaii." she told him with zero hesitation.

" just—in a nice place where trees don't block the sunset like it does in the cut, you know?" JJ hadn't taken notice of Renee's gaping grin poorly hidden by the beer bottle stem pressed to her lips and didn't get the chance too as Renee turned her head back and nodded her head.

" yeah, I'll think about it J." she spoke, fixating her eyes onto the sun again, " maybe we should slow down, moving in together and we haven't even made it official." she teased.

He looked down to her, watching hopelessly as her teasing made her smirk but so much so trying to conceal it her top row of perfectly aligned teeth bit into her bottom lip, waiting for his response.

" don't flatter yourself." is all he replied, burying the hatched of his feelings for her deeper in his stomach as Renee let out a small chuckle and turned back to the view.

It was easier when she was a kook. He saw her at parties or in passing — he could admire and fantasise about her from across the room. But now, she was a pogue and his friend. Arguably his best friend, and yet a year and a half later and he still couldn't control the way his eyes wandered down to her lips.

He couldn't help but think about how it would feel to taste the chapstick he had watched her apply in the rear view mirror in the van on the way here.

The familiar scruffiness of the worn out sneakers rustling against the floor boards below them forced the teenagers to fixate their eyes on the edge of the house.

Renee felt a smile tug at her lips watching the frizzy haired brunette resurface after walking off a few minutes prior to investigate the soon to be house.

" they're going to have Japanese toilets with towel warmers." Kiara spoke in an almost disgusted tone but was clearly in anguish as she stepped out, her head looking up to John B who was still on the roof.

" of course they are, why wouldn't they?"JJ Inputted as if luxury appliances weren't already an obvious factor of living in a neighbourhood like this.

Renee shuffled slightly, leaning her arms against the railing to get a better look at her friend who was now entering some sort of angry rant about the lack of need for the towel warmers, especially when people on the cut barely had running water.

"this use to be a turtle habitat" She mumbles to herself in slight heart ache. Renee felt her natural uplifting smile falter slightly.

She remembered the days of her and Kie volunteering at the then habitat when they were younger so vividly, especially since it was both of their first jobs at the age of fourteen along with helping Kiara's dad at the wreck.

" the good old days of working here." Kiara let her arm rise to grab the hand of her friend in exchange of the hug she would have gotten if they were both stood on the decking.

" you guys should know that I can't have cold towels." JJ seemingly ruined the sweet and sentimental moment, Kiara scoffed in unison with Renee as they let go of the small touch they shared.

The blonde turned her head to look at him, letting a small chuckle leave her lips but low enough for Kie not to notice.

" I know you can't, that's why you're always showering at my house." She used her now free hand to slide smoothly over JJ's bare and slightly sun burnt shoulder (that was not the reason he had been showering at Renee's house)

The boy smirked to himself before hiding it by taking another chug of his alcoholic drink.

Renee turned her head back around, sending a soft yet tired smile to pope who had joined them on the decking area, he returned it briefly.

"Can you not try to kill yourself?" Kiara asked, now looking up to John B who didn't seem have any intentions of coming down soon or even place his foot securely on the roof.

" yeah. I'm with Kie on this one, that's definitely not a mess I want to be cleaning up." Renee hummed, pointing to John B.

" oh- and don't spill that beer, I'm not giving you another one." JJ told him sternly, although he had an entire full pack in the cooler that were currently sat in the van parked slightly up the road.

A small gust of  the eastern wind took John B by surprise who exchange the handling of his alcoholic drinks to keep his balance from falling off the roof.

The blonde couldn't help but laugh at the fate of the beer as the can landed onto the deck, spilling out its contents on the freshly painted duck egg wooden beams.

" of course you did, right when I told you not to." JJ's tone of voice was annoyed but not shocked as Ren just grinned at her friend.

" I'm barely surprised." Renee's nose scrunched as she shared a look with John B who wasn't amused by her comment.

" smooth." Kie couldn't help but join in, her eyes lingered to the wasted drink now dribbling by her feet.

a larger amount of words were spoken by the group, mocking John B and his stupidity that they were all use to by now.

" uh, hey securities here!" Pope informed, dropping the nail gun finally and deterring everyone's attention.

" let's wrap it up." Pope continued, wondering to small corner where all their bags collected in.

A sigh escaped Ren's lips as she knew she'd have to move from her comfortable spot, her comfortable spot being the front of JJ's body.

Glancing to her phone as she exhales," they're not meant to be here for another 20 minutes, you guys know I can't run with my beer!" she spoke in distress.

" goddamn men can never be on time." JJ  faked an offended look as he took the glass bottle from her and quickly chugged the remaining liquid. Renee's lips had parted yet she couldn't speak.

pushing him slightly " I can't believe you just did that!" she spoke in annoyance, JJ furrowed his eyebrows " what? you said you couldn't run with your beer."

" boys are early today." John B spoke, earning a  heavy groan from the other blonde lips, she hated them being early.

"Al'right lets roll." JJ announced, moving around the blonde who sat between his legs. sliding his body under the metal bar of the scaffolding.

" Gary is that you?" JJ's tauntings of the guard had officially commenced.

Renee knew too well that if she didn't follow behind, which she didn't want to. She would most likely be forced to spend the night at her own home after being picked up from the police station, something she also did not want to do.

Renee gripped her now sweating palm onto the railing, pulling herself up since JJ was too distracted to help her up himself.

" hey, get down from there!" Gary's voice began to pick up more aggravation, only fuelling the large Cheshire Cat resemblance of a grin on JJ's lips.

Renee felt a large clad also known as John B's entire body weight clatter onto the same piece of wood she stood on. Her arm reached for the small khaki coloured backpack JJ had been using all day as a cushion to sleep on.

John B pressed his hand on Ren's shoulder sending her a smooth grin whilst she looked back up to looping the holes of her backpack ontop her bare arms

" hey, you staying over tonight?" He asked as a passing comment, moving to climb off of the railing .

"only if you don't mind." Renee's choice of words broke a small turning of the corners of John B's lips " I don't feel like dealing with my brother and mom today

" when do you ever feel like that?" he said "but..there's only so many shirts JJ leaves at my house for you to sleep in." He teases.

winking before landing back onto the decking, closely catching up with Kiara and Pope.

" ha ha!" she exaggerated her words with a clear sarcasm "you should be a comedian JB."

JJ harshly planted his worker boots onto the floor, finally jumping off the platform letting out a few 'whoops' indicating the slight adrenaline mixing with his alcohol buzz crawling through him.

Twisting his body to still notice the only other girl still climbing over the railing just like John B did a few moments prior.

" ugh! I don't wanna go-" she grumbled, hating the idea of having to leave this area of the island in general, where the sun was still scattered amongst her body.

JJ noticed the pout on his friends lip. arching his head up slightly to look at her from her unusually higher level.

" hey, come on, I'll give you a blunt at the chateau if you don't get us caught." JJ winked, Renee sighed, admitting her own defeat.

She hesitated before launching off the platform of the scaffolding also, it would've been a lie if JJ hadn't enjoy the view as she did so.

" oh mr maybank, you really do know the way to my heart." She teased, placing her lips on his cheek briefly before moving to the small huddle the group had unintentionally made — Kiara throwing Renee had backpack that she slickly slid her arms through.

" come on let's go guys." Kiara ushered the two blonde love birds, taking Renee by her shoulders whilst the boys turned back to the bannister  teasing  the older security guards.

" Gary, good to see you man."  JJ spoke, looking once again over  the metal bars, flashing his signature devilish grin at the two men.

Renee frowned tilting her body slightly  to her blonde friend, grabbing his hand in her own, naturally intertwining their fingers at the normality that came with either of them holding the others hand.

" oh come on, you're just asking for it now." She told him, dragging him away from the railing.

" let's go guys!" Kiara announced,

Renee pushed off her feet, following what her friends were doing.The group began to sprint through the building site, adrenaline pulsed through the veins as the wild goose chase soon began to start.

The usual silence of the street was shattered by the attempted wolf whistles and whooping leaving all five of their mouths mixed with laughter and heavy breaths.

Renee couldn't recall when, but at some time John B and Kiara split from the original group of five, leaving the two blondes and Pope to their own devices to get themselves out of the sticky situation.

Renee felt her lack for breath catch up to her, her sneaker covered left foot bounced against the abandoned nail sticking out from the cement ground.

Before she could fully understand what was happening, she felt her rosy red cheek hit the gravelled flooring make a slight jitter hit her teeth on that side of her mouth aswell as her single knee further forward as it scraped against the harsh and rugged  concrete flooring, surely letting blood spill.

Renee couldn't help but curse whilst grunting as pain and the shock of the fall filled her entire body. she mentally scolded herself, turning her head briefly noticing Gary and JJ catching up to her. Briefly wiping the visible dirt off of her new cut.

As he approached, JJ bent down slightly helping her up, the throbbing in her ankle as she continued to run was more evident and even more painful with each step she took.

Gary lunged  at the two young teenagers, Renee swiftly pulled JJ away from where the mans arms were aiming — her body able to slide between two concrete pillars which Gary would not have been able to if he tried.

" not much of a hugger man!" JJ managed to swerve the arms of the man by twisting his body to fit through the gap of the two pillars Renee had just slid through moments prior.

" you gonna be okay for the last bit alone?" JJ rushed his words as they approached the staple white picket fence.

Renee nodded, letting go of his hand for the second time as Pope reached out his own for the  girl, who had a concern-able amount of blood trickling down her knee.

She pressed her foot which now felt like it had its own heartbeat in the loose gap of the wooden beam, hopping over in what seemed like a blink of her eye.

She gave Pope a  brief thank you before continuing towards the Twinkie.

" hurry, the bus is leaving!" John B hollered , honking the horn to his friends who were still trying to race to the escape vehicle which was being chased itself.

Kiara noticed Renee running towards them,  grabbing her by the arm and pulling her in first as the first chorus of curse words began to leave her mouth.

" fuck, I think I twisted my ankle when I fell." she grunted, perching down watching as the two boys soon jumped into the van also. 

Kiara inspected the ankle which was becoming slightly discoloured from the rest of Renee's leg "Kie do you thinks it's gonna swell?"

" we'll ice it at the chateau." she told her, reassuring Renee who nodded " what even happened?" she asked, Renee still slightly breathless " stupid nail in the ground and I tripped."

The wolf whistles continued as John B urgently stepped on the gas pedal as the van moved away from the curb.

Both Renee  and Kiara rolled their eyes as the boys who began their post-chase antics of teasing Gary, who had the worked up the extreme courage but also idiocy to try and continue chasing after them...in a moving vehicle.

" check our Gary, gunning up for a raise." Pope mocked the balding man, it only took a few moments for JJ to join in as well, naturally.

" hey, slow down." JJ turned his head to look at John B who couldn't help but smirk as he released his foot slightly off the accelerator, slowing down.

JJ soon poked his entire body out the open door, holding a unopened beer in his hand.

" you're gonna give him a heart attack!"  Kiara slid her body around to look at the wavy haired brunette through the mirror.

" come on Gary, you're so close." JJ waved the ice cold beverage in front of Gary who looked seconds from fainting but still continued to run after the van, his patience wearing loose with everyone,JJ especially.

" there you go!" He finally threw the beer at the man who's body slowed down, pain most likely pulsating through his feet.

" they don't pay you enough bro." Everyone except the two girls seemed amused by his mocking behaviour, Pope looked almost in admiration at JJ, for the confidence he had.

" JJ, stop. Stop!" Kiara nudged his shoulder, bringing him back slightly. Making him turn to look away, the blonde boys eyes almost immediately flickered from Kiara to Renee, she just shook her head as her tears soon dried out but were still noticeable as she held a half-opened bandaid she had found in her backpack on her finger.

" oh come on girls, this sort of initiative is just begging to be punished." JJ tried to explain his actions whilst the laughter continued to tumble out his lips.

Renee just shook her head and rested her body weight on the backs of the leather seats up front. The ache in her body becoming more pronounced with the passing moments.

" can we just go back to the chateau already." Ren grumbled, rubbing her fingers against her slightly busted lip " I need to clean this cut before one of you idiots is left to amputate it."

John B nodded pressing his foot against the accelerator picking up the speed.

JJ fixed his gaze on Renee who had closed her eyes, clearly in discomfort and the one knee huddled to her chest with a hand holding a cold beer can from the cooler next to her onto the swelling skin of her ankle until they got back to the chateau.

He edged around everyone to place himself by the blonde who almost immediately rested her head on his shoulder. taking the can of beer from her but continued to hold it against her ankle. Closing the space between them as he rested his cheek on the top of her head.

" if you want me to, I'll amputate it " JJ spoke lowly, using his free hand to brush it over the mangled locks of her hair in an attempt to smooth it out.

Renee let out a laugh, looking at JJ as they entered their own small orbit. It wasn't a new thing — even in the past when they'd look at each other from across the room at a party. They'd lose theirselves to each other slightly.

But it didn't matter like it did now. It wasn't a thing that could happen now — so JJ pretended not to feel that feeling spread over  his body when she smiles at him. Instead he gaslights himself into believing it's platonic — that he would feel the same if it was Kiara looking at him, or even Pope or John B.

But it isn't, nothing with the way he feels about Renee Lowe is anything like the way he feels for anyone else. Yet, he won't admit it yet.

—