"Look, it was right there, and this is where the manic claimed his next victim." Kie explained as they now stood in the constructing sight yet again, though Shoupe was with them with half the police force outside.

"Ugh-Huh. His next victim? How long ago did you say this happened?" Shoupe asked in a unbelievably tone.

"Are you mocking us?" Bali asked in disbelief.

"Forty-Five minutes ago, Shoupe." JJ cut in, looking up from where he was on the floor, looking for any sight of blood.

"Okay. So, Ward Cameron just popped one off and shot him. Execution style?" Shoupe asked them, his large ,but well groomed, eyebrows raised in suspicion.

"We filmed the entire thing." Kie cut in as he looked over quickly, "But we can't show it to you because I stepped on JJ's hand, and then he kicked Pope in the face after Pope dropped his binoculars on Bali, and then they all fell, making Pope drop the camera and it broke."

"We're not lying. Look at this mark on my face." Bali showed the faint red gash in her forehead from where the binoculars hit her, "You see?"

"This is a telephoto, and we needed it for long distance image, and- and I fell, and it broke, so the video is basically unusable." Pope frowned as he held the broken video camera in his palms.

"So the dog ate your homework?" Shoupe questioned them with a long sigh.

"Shoupe, I use to babysit your dog, man." Bali went along with his words, "I'm sorry he ran away. But if this is my punishment-"

"Bali, no." Shoupe rose his hand to her.

"Shoupe, I know it sounds-" Kie began to try and explained.

"Look, I don't know what you kids expect me to do with this. You drag me out here in the middle of the night for a whole lot of nothing." he explained, looking around the constitution area, "Except for some crazy story about how Ward Cameron's out on a killing spree."

"We're not making this up!" JJ shouted at him.

"It's not a random killing spree." Pope added in as he cut in over JJ, "Gavin was his pilot. Okay, he was paying him hush money because he was on the tarmac that day."

"Gavin was blackmailing Ward because he had the gun that Rafe used to kill Peterkin." Kie was close after with her statement. Bali rocked on her heels as she looked around at the construction sight, wondering if her mother was truly wanting to turn it into a small hotel.

"Then he called him here and tried to pay him off. But it wasn't enough so then he shot him!" JJ was next to rant, turning and noticed Bali wondering off, grabbing her shoulders to pull her back into the group.

"Bali?" Shoupe asked with a questionable look, "You're quiet."

Bali hesitated with a shrug, "They're telling you the truth. What else am I suppose to say? I was here. It happened."

"How do you know about Gavin?" Shoupe questioned them again as he became annoyed.

"Pope did this thing with his phone, he like, put it in his car-" Kie fumbled over her words.

"I heard the whole conversation!" Pope added in with blown eyes.

"You wiretapped him?" Shoupe asked in shock with wide eyes.

"Is that bad?" Pope panicked.

"Stop. I've heard enough." he said and began walked away.

"What are you talking about?" Kie followed close after. JJ went to do the same before realizing Bali wasn't following, turning and finding her glancing around.

"Bal, what are you doing?" JJ asked suddenly, snapping her gaze back to him, "Cmon."

"Sorry, I was just-" she began, looking around again, "Nothing, I don't know."

JJ held her hand as they went down the stairs.

"All right. There's nothing up there. False alarm. Let's all go home." Shoupe announced to the multiple deputies parked infront.

"No. No, please don't go home. Why would we make this up?" Kie cried in disbelief as she looked at Shoupe, "Can you just do your job for twenty minutes!"

"Hey. I know- I know you're upset. And I know you think your friend was innocent." the shorter man spoke as he held a hand out.

"He is!" Kie defended John B.

"But you weren't there." Shoupe shook his head.

"But John B was and no one believed  him." Bali cut in suddenly, avoiding saying much but stepping up, "And then you drove him and my best friend away because of it. That's on you, not us, not them."

"Bali, the only actual witnesses, that are above ground, say the exact opposite." Shoupe shook his head as he looked at her, "And both of them have a hell of a lot more credibility then any of you right now. I saw your little art project on Wards wall. Do not do that again."

Kie scoffed as Shoupe got back into his car and looked at Bali, "Go home. Especially you before your parents call and you get yourself in trouble again."

"I told you this would happen." JJ threw his arms up in disbelief, "Like, you're the one that had to drop the camera."

"It was your fault!" Kie yelled at him.

"Oh, that was my fault?" JJ asked in disbelief her way, "Why do you always take his side? Why do you never take mine?"

"Shut up!" Kie shouted at him.

"Hey! Hey! We're not out of this yet." Pope said as he turned to look at the pair. Bali stood awkwardly a few feet away, biting the inside of the mouth as the pizza she had earlier still burnt the top of it, "We can still go get the gun."

Kie took her eyes off the drain as she looked at Bali, "Why are you so quiet? You could have seriously helped us back there."

Bali gave a look of disbelief, "I backed you up."

"Yeah, when you were asked individually." Kie said back with a huff, "You just sat there."

"Hard to talk with you screaming the entire time." Bali snapped at her suddenly, taking them off guard.

"Hey, hey, both of you." JJ spoke up as he tried to put a hand between them, yet Bali had been the one to shove it away, "Bal? What the hell? What's the matter?"

She ignored him though, walking away.

JJ started staying with Bali after Luke got arrested. Dante and Cassandra didn't mind, they had the room and they were attempting to show Bali they supported her decisions on dating a pogue. JJ stayed at the end of the hall while Bali was on the completely other side, though he'd sneak over in the middle of the night to get to her.

When the pair got home, Dante and Cassandra were asleep to their knowledge. JJ was tempted to walk into her room with her, but after the sudden annoyance and anger she had, he thought it was best to leave her alone. Though, after he got out of the shower, he found her waiting in his bed.

"I'm sorry." she whispered, fiddling her fingers, "I didn't mean to be mean to you."

JJ walked over and sat with her, his hair still dripping wet as beads of water were still on his chest and collar bones, "I know Kie can get aggressive at times, she didn't mean to get mad at you. She just always needs to have someone to blame."

Bali shook her head, "She was right there. I didn't say anything."

"B-" JJ began.

"I didn't say anything because I got scared of what could happen if I did." Bali explained as she met JJ's eye, "Do you understand?"

"No." he said honestly, "You think Shoupe was gonna tell your parents-"

"No." Bali said back, taking the small towel he held in his hands, "I don't know what I mean. I'm tired and tonight was a lot."

Usually he could catch her white lies, but this one was too believable to really get. Tonight was a lot and he knew she was tired. JJ leaned down as Bali rubbed his head with the towel, hoping to dry it as much as possible. When she let it go and tossed it to the side, JJ pushed his forehead into her neck. Bali leaned on his head as a sad sigh left her lips, rubbing the back of his head as sudden breaths left her mouth.

"What's going on with you?" JJ whispered, feeling the way her chest heaved, indicating that she was avoiding crying.

"I don't know." Bali said honestly, though she could list plenty of things right now, "Can we go to sleep?"

JJ pulled back and cupped her face, staring into the glossy eyes that she was holding back horribly, "You'd tell me, wouldn't you? You'd tell me what was wrong so I can fix it for you?"

Bali nodded, "I know."

Though there was a lot JJ couldn't fix.

Bali laid back first as JJ came after, curling up into her side and twisting one of the curls slightly. He pressed a kiss to her shoulder, so use to her returning affection that it took him surprise when she didn't. Bali rolled over, her back to him as his heart hurt.

"JJ." Bali whispered into the darkness as he laid on his back, "Hold me."

He gave a small smile, turning over and pulling her back into him, kissing her shoulder as he laid behind her, rubbing her arms slightly.

•

kylie speaks

:((( bali:(((

i'm not gonna draw
this out long, i'll have
bali open up to someone soon
and you guys will understand
why she had all this
emotion so suddenly and why
she won't tell jj about it.