Chapter 2: Pinky Promise

"Morning, girls." 

"Morning." CJ answered groggily while Kie grumbled unintelligibly from her spot beside her. Both laid out on the pull-out mattress, CJ was quickly checking her few phone notifications, Kie's arm wrapped around her as she tried to get more sleep. Kie was nursing a mild hangover, but CJ as usual could handle her liquor better. "Is my brother still hogging your bedroom?" 

Scoffing lightly, John B turned to her with an eyebrow raised as he grabbed a glass for water. "What d' you think? I'm pretty sure they didn't even sleep last night." 

"Ech." CJ cringed, shivering at the thought. She did not, under any circumstances, need to know more than she already did about her twin's sex life. "God, don't tell me any more. That's just gross." 

John B chuckled, filling up his glass before taking a few sips. Filling the glass back up, he brought it over to the blonde girl, sitting down gently next to her. With a small 'thanks,' CJ set her phone down and took the cup from him delicately before taking a drink. The two were silent for a moment, CJ just drinking her water. She almost spit some out when Kie's arm randomly tightened around her stomach, tugging her closer. It made small smiles grow on their faces at the peacefully sleeping girl. 

"Is Pope still passed out on the porch?" 

"Dunno. Haven't made it out there yet. Probably." He told her, stealing the water back to take a drink. CJ narrowed her eyes at him playfully until he gave the cup back. "You fell asleep with the guitar again." 

Reaching above the girls' heads, John B carefully pulled the old guitar off the mattress. Keeping it on his lap, he lazily strummed out a couple chords while CJ watched him. It was often that one of them fell asleep without properly putting the instrument away. It was part of the family and every one of them had fallen asleep with it at least once. Hell, Pope drunkenly cuddled with it one night. This time, Kie had been trying to build some type of random melody with her limited musical knowledge when the girls set it aside and passed out. 

"What time you work today?" 

"Ten. Mike needs extra prep done for some big tourist thing. We should be off by two or three." She told him, continuing to watch as he played seemingly random notes on the guitar. To anyone but the two of them, they would be, but she knew better. They were being plucked slower, but they were the notes to the first song they wrote together. "If Agatha gets any closer, we'll need to do storm prep." 

John B groaned, his head thrown back as he moved the guitar to lean against the wall. His first attempt to speak was cut off by giggles from the other room, something the two shook their heads at. "What's the point?"

"Umm, we're dirt poor and don't need to lose anything else." CJ presented the obvious with a sass-filled look. "I mean, I don't know about you, but I like that hammock. And I enjoy actually having windows-" CJ cut herself off, looking around at the different places teenagers resided before dropping her voice to a whisper. "In both of our homes. Not to mention, I don't think anyone wants the grill flying through the chicken coop." 

"Fine, fine." He groaned, standing up to grab a beer from the fridge. "You want one?" 

"Nope, we've gotta get ready for work." CJ sighed, turning slightly to see Kie. She frowned lightly, not wanting to wake the girl up. "Do we have any ibuprofen, she might need some." 

Tilting his head curiously, John B walked back to the bathroom, ignoring the noises coming from his room. Walking back, he tipped the bottle, holding two orange pills in his hand. "Last two. Who's buying the next bottle?" 

"I can do it. Actually, JJ can do it. Kie and I get paid in a few days, I'll buy some groceries." 

"If you buy meals, I can get snacks and drinks." 

"Deal." CJ smiled, holding John B's gaze for a moment before turning back to Kie. With a dejected sigh, she reached over, shaking the girl lightly. "Kie, get up. We've got work in thirty." 

The only response CJ got was a lengthy groan and Kie's hand slapped to her face. Expression scrunched up, CJ reached up and pulled the hand off and continued to shake her. It took a few more grumbles and words of encouragement for Kie's eyes to pop open. Once that step was achieved, she reached up to rub the sleep from her eyes and turned to CJ who was already holding out the glass of water to her. Taking it, she took a much needed drink before grabbing the pain meds John B held out for her. 

"What time is it?" 

Turning to the microwave, John B read the barely illuminated time. "9:36." 

Eyes widening, Kie looked between the two for a second before abruptly jumping from the bed. A little bit of water spilled as she got caught on the comforter laying underneath them on her way to the bathroom. Chuckling lightly, John B turned to CJ who had a small grin on her face as she carefully got up. While she stretched, John B looked her over for a second before averting his eyes, trying to respect her privacy. 

From there, the two went along with their day. John B went outside with his beer, greeting a groggy but awake Pope, and CJ got ready for work. While Kie showered, CJ brushed her hair and teeth in the bathroom, the girls sharing a small conversation about the day's activities. Like CJ had told John B they should do, Kie figured her parents would need her to storm prep with them for the day. Knowing Heyward would need Pope to do the same, that left The J's to do their own. Which was perfect seeing as they now wouldn't need an excuse to slip away and prep the treehouse. 

Once CJ was done, she let out a loud huff, her eyes sealing shut for a moment before she opened the door. Not bothering to leave the bathroom, she slammed her fist against the bedroom door. "JJ, quit your shit for a second and grab me some clothes." 

CJ waited for a moment before the door opened, clothes being thrown in her face before the door was harshly shut once more. "Fuck you, JJ!" She shouted, shutting the door as she started to change. 

"Fuck you, CJ!" She heard exclaimed through the walls, coming from none other than her twin brother. Shaking her head at the boy, a new pair of jean shorts were slid over her tan legs. With a small smile, she switched out shirts, the new red cut off hanging nicely over her figure. She was grateful JJ still remembered to grab her flannel as it was tied around her waist. 

Five minutes later, Kiara was out of the shower, dressed, and brushing her own hair and teeth. The two left the bathroom together, Kie grabbing her backpack from the living room. While the girls walked for the door, CJ unzipped the bag, slipping in a few dollars she snagged from JJ's boot to buy ibuprofen. She'd need to jack some sandbags if possible as well. No one wanted the water reaching The Chateau. 

On their way out, CJ shook Pope to alertness and tossed his shirt over. "Want a ride?" 

"Yeah. Yeah, sure." 

Staggering to a stand, Pope stretched out his limbs and pulled on his shirt. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he followed the girls to Kie's car. First making sure they all had their seat belts on, Kie started the engine. Followed by CJ immediately pulling her seatbelt away from her body to stick herself out the window. 

"Bye, Johnny!" She yelled, waving to a starstruck John B lounging on his hammock. With a small wave back, the SUV drifted away until it was gone. 

⎈⎈⎈⎈⎈⎈⎈⎈⎈⎈

As the girls suspected, Kie and Pope's parents pulled them away for the day for storm prep. Like most days, John B drove into town, picking up CJ with a smoking JJ in the passenger seat. Together, they ran through the housing development, grabbing as many sandbags as they could find and lots of tarps. CJ made sure to jump in the front before JJ, causing the boy to huff at his sister. He tried futilely to pull her out of the passenger side, but John B's arms wrapped around her, keeping her in place. 

"Oh, yeah." CJ randomly spoke, cutting off JJ's rambling about the system. She didn't catch the dirty look he sent her, but she knew it was there. "Here." 

Tossed over to the Routledge boy was a bottle of ibuprofen. It was one of the big ones as they needed the pain meds quite often. "JJ pay?" 

"Yep." 

"Wait, what is this 'JJ paid' business? I do not remember paying." 

"Yeah, that's 'cause I stole your money, dinkus." CJ told him, rolling her head to look at where he was situated between the seats. 

JJ huffed, a hand raised to his chest in mock exasperation. "Ceej, I worked hard for that money. How would you feel if I took your money?" 

"JJ, you found that money on the boat. It probably is my money." 

"Oh, yeah." With that, the Maybank boy sat back, contentedly hitting his Juul. 

The rest of the ride home was silent, CJ reaching back to take the Juul from her brother once. After that, he passed it to her every once in a while. As soon as her feet touched the ground, CJ took off, wanting to get everything done as soon as possible. The first step was setting up the limited sandbags. Pulling them from the van two by two, the teenagers set them up to try and keep the rising water from reaching the Chateau. 

Listening to music, the three walked around the house, nailing tarps over the windows. CJ just hoped the wind wouldn't catch under them and rip off the siding. They normally had plywood. Pleased with their work, CJ took a quick break to find the big ice box. Unsurprisingly, it was on the dock. Bringing it inside, she set it in the kitchen. 

The next step was to bring everything possible inside. While the twins got to work throwing everything on the porch onto the couches, John B pulled down the hammock and the string lights. Once they finished, the three shoved the couches from the wrap-around porch into the house. 

There were a few things left; random bottles and cups that CJ threw out and chairs from the porch and yard. CJ made sure to bring in everything from the wharf, including the camping chair. Not that there was much out there. The last thing brought inside was their surfboards; pulled from the holders on the patio ceiling. John B peered at the outdoor ceiling fan, wondering if it would make it through another storm. 

Next was everything that needed to go into the shed. It was a rinky little thing; a small hut with a covered outdoor area. The open area was partially enclosed with barn style doors but would need tarps to be put up around the other sides. It was where they often hung out and worked on their boards, boat, and bike. The tables and bigger chairs from the yard were brought over, along with the grill and the wheelbarrow. The canoe was thrown on top of the stacked tables. 

Locking the shed up, the twins covered the outdoor area with tarps while John B pulled the HMS Pogue out of the water. The boat was easily moved over by the shed and tied down to its trailer. It's how Big John always had them do it in previous years. 

"Are we done yet?" 

Huffing, CJ threw her hammer into her left hand as her brother complained. "Yeah. Here at least. We've still gotta do the treehouse."

JJ groaned, his head thrown back exaggeratedly. CJ just stared at him with a raised eyebrow, waiting for him to stop the dramatics. "And then we're done?" 

"Yes, JJ. Then we're done. Go pull the tarp over the chicken coop and we can leave." Walking away, CJ made her way into the house, maneuvering around the now extremely crowded sitting area. One living room was never made to hold three couches, let alone the multitude of chairs. 

Finally making it to the kitchen, CJ drank some water before running back outside. Jumping in the already started van, John B peeled out, heading to their second home. 

⎈⎈⎈⎈⎈⎈⎈⎈⎈⎈

Finished up with prep, CJ was almost certain everything would get through the storm. All the windows were covered, the tire swing was brought inside, and their empty bottles were rolled in the comforter. The filing cabinet was already bolted to the wall; something the kids did right after they got it for this exact reason. 

Food was made, the three leisurely drinking in the kitchen while CJ cooked. The girl made John B clean some of the dirty dishes while they were there and Pope showed up right before dinner was done. The four ate together, the small amount of leftovers thrown in the fridge before Pope told them Mike needed one of the boys' help. JJ drew the short straw, pulling out of the driveway on his dirtbike. That's how they ended up on the beach, ready to surf the surge, with no JJ in sight. 

"It's a double overhead out there, bro." John B said exuberantly, followed by a giggle to his right. There was CJ, running through the rain in a red bikini and wetsuit shorts. "Almost triple for you." 

"Double overhead?" 

Pope's question wasn't answered. Not only because a response wasn't necessary, but because they could now see a giant sign on the beach reading 'BEACH CLOSED DUE TO HURRICANE.' The three stood there, looking over the violent waves with varying reactions. Pope made his obvious through his words. 

"Those aren't surfable waves, bro." 

John B laughed boisterously, CJ's enthused giggles barely heard over all the noise. "Says who?" 

"Yeah, watch me." 

With that, the two ran out to sea, their actions seeming completely impulsive. Even their friends might not realize John B would never risk CJ getting seriously injured and vice versa. John B had thought about the limited rocks in this area and CJ had gone over the distance between waves. And lightning shouldn't strike that far inland. They might get hurt, but at the end of the day, they were skilled enough to come out safely. Especially if they were together. 

Surfing was something the Pogues could never understand people not enjoying. It was something that brought them together and one of the first reasons Kie knew she was meant to be with them. It calmed them while simultaneously making them feel alive. It brought smiles to their faces, pulled laughs from their bellies, and rushed their systems with adrenaline and dopamine. Surfing in a hurricane was the high of the century. CJ knew JJ would hate missing it. 

The two spent a good twenty minutes expertly flopping waves and actually landing others. There were multiple 'oh shit's and 'fuck's heard from the teenagers' mouths. They found themselves spitting out water on numerous occasions until they decided to sit and rest for a moment. 

"What the hell?" CJ questioned, having thought she saw something out in the water. Pushing her hair out of her face, John B did the same, trying to get a better look. When they saw a boat, they shared a look before turning back to the object. 

"Woah." 

"Damn, they must be dumber than we are." CJ said softly, John B barely hearing her. At that point, watching the boat roll over the waves, they decided to stop for the night. Soon, it would really become too dangerous and they needed to get inside. 

Gathering Pope who was watching his friends carefully from the beach, the three made their way back to the van. There, the teenagers loaded up, all of them shaking out their wet hair. Pope was dropped off first, waving from his door, before the two headed home. JJ pulled up on the dirtbike at the same time. Quickly parking the van against the house, John B rolled the bike inside the shed. They were hoping for the least amount of damage possible. 

Once inside, CJ took her phone off the charger and turned it off. Most hurricane's brought power surges and outages and she didn't want a dead or destroyed phone. After that, she unplugged anything that wasn't on the single surge protector in the living room and flipped off all the light switches. She wasn't gonna take the risk of the microwave or the lights being blown out. She was also gonna take every precaution to try and keep the last of the groceries edible. Which is why the contents of the fridge were all pressed together, CJ throwing bags of ice in around them. 

With one lamp left on and flashlights in the living room and bedroom, CJ grabbed some beers and threw them in a blue ice chest. Bringing it to the living room, she flopped down on the pull-out mattress and pulled out her knife. Quickly using the bottle opener on the end, she passed it over to her brother to do the same. 

"How long you think the power will be out this time?" JJ asked, taking a swig of his drink as he passed the knife back to CJ. John B had already opened his beer with a lighter. 

"I dunno." CJ answered, rolling her head on the pillow beneath her. "Four days. Maybe five. We'll have to wait on groceries." She said, turning her head to face John B. The boy nodded his head, sipping his beer. "We'll have to move the food to the ice chest tomorrow. Get more ice." 

"We're good to use ice from Mike's ice machine still, right?"

"Yeah, he said it was fine." She answered, thinking over all the times they'd had to do this exact thing. Of course, back then things were a lot simpler with Big John around. One year they even got their hands on a generator. The only way they'd ever get a generator now is if they stole one. 

After that, the kids were quiet. They drank their beers and at some point, CJ's legs draped over JJ's while her head rested on John B's chest. With one hand holding his beer, he used the other to play with her hair while the girl hit a joint. This one was rolled by JJ, made obvious by how thin it was. CJ would never understand his obsession with rolling smaller joints just so they could smoke more. It wasted paper. 

The three shared a few conversations, laughing at old stories while they relaxed into the couch. Any sane person would call them crazy for having no fear of the hurricane raging outside. But what was the point when they had storms every year? So instead of being afraid, John B spent every moment appreciating the sound of CJ's laughter and the way her nose wrinkled when she accidentally got smoke in it. 

Eventually, JJ passed out, an almost empty bottle still clung between his fingers. CJ, of course, grabbed it; quickly downing the last sip before throwing it in the trash. Just a bit tipsy, she giggled when she stumbled and John B grabbed her by the waist to keep her up. Walking without any more issues, the two meandered back to the secondary bedroom and plopped down on the bed. Already knowing what she would want, John B handed over the joint rolling materials and the dazzling smile she sent in return made his heart skip a beat. 

"Hey, star?" 

"Yeah, moony?" 

"You think he'll come back?" 

Having just finished her rolling job, CJ abruptly moved everything to the side as she rolled to face John B. Lifting a hand to his face, her smile was small but her eyes were filled with warmth. "Of course he will. Your father is one of the strongest people I've ever met. And he loves you. He'll fight tooth a nail to get back here, no matter what." 

"What if he can't?" He asked quietly, his intoxicated mind speaking the thing he hadn't allowed himself to think about. What if his dad was actually dead?

"Then we'll take care of you. We will never leave you alone, not even if you try to run a thousand miles away. You're our family, Johnny, and you always will be. We take care of each other. Always." 

"Pinky promise?" 

"Pinky promise." With that, their pinkies intertwined and a singular tear slid from John B's eye. He hoped beyond everything that his father was still out there somewhere, but he was more than grateful for who was still here. Without them, without her, he wasn't sure what he'd be doing with himself. 

Wrapping his arm around her shoulder, John B pulled CJ into his side appreciatively. There, she snuggled into him, her head resting on his chest. The joint in her hand was taken, no words exchanged as she grabbed the lighter that was now behind her and handed it over. 

Ash hit the wood floor, every now and again hitting the dirty rug that desperately needed to be cleaned. The joint was passed back and forth while CJ listened to the sound of John B's heartbeat. It was soothing, and he was comfortable, and they both laid there peacefully long after the weed was gone. And that's where they fell asleep. Wrapped in each other's arms. 

⎈⎈⎈⎈⎈⎈⎈⎈⎈⎈

This chapter kinda sucks, sorry :( 

Also, what do you guys think John B and CJ's ship name should be? Joker or Routbank?

~SiriusCatBennett