𝟎𝟎𝟗.                     𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞, 𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞

can't take my eyes off you ──── andy williams

☀︎ 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐥𝐲𝐧'𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐯

𝖶𝖤 𝖠𝖱𝖱𝖨𝖵𝖤 𝖠𝖳 𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖶𝖱𝖤𝖢𝖪．

Stealing drones apparently makes people hungry, so Kiara is going to try and swing us some free food off her dad. I want some beer and shrimp. I just want food. I haven't had a decent meal in months, so I think I could eat for an entire year.

"Stealing drones makes me hungry."

I raise my hand, stepping out of the van. "Amen."

It was late, so The Wreck wasn't busy. It was buzzing with a few night-owls, but there is enough room for us. I walk behind the boys, stepping past Kiara who moves towards her father, wrapping him into a hug.

I wave to Kiara's dad, smiling kindly. I'm not sure how he feels about me, but I do think he prefers me over my brother and my friends. I've stayed over at Kiara's house before so Mike Carrera is familiar with me, so is Kiara's mother, Anna, but I'm still unsure how they truly feel about me.

Mike smiles back at me, and then turns his head back to his daughter, listening to her as Kiara tries to debate with him, hoping he'll provide us── her poor, starving friends── with free food. We stand by a table we hope to sit at if he agrees, and we watch as Kiara and her father talk quietly.

When Mike peers over at us, the boys wave, and I can hear the eye roll from all the way over here.
Kiara hugs her father again, wide smile on her face, and then she turns to us to say, "Sit down."

Yes! Now we eat, and I mean we eat.

It's not attractive, that much I'll say, but chomping down on food usually isn't. I'm not on a date, I'm not trying to impress anyone. I'm simply too hungry, and the second a plate of food lands in front of me, I'm eating like a woman starved which I wholeheartedly am.

We don't have much food in Chateau. Actually, we don't have any food in the Chateau, so to eat food like this is just, well, the best thing in the world and that's not an exaggeration.

I didn't bat an eyelid to the couple who walked in, glaring at me like I was filth. I've since pulled by hair back into a low ponytail, my shirt is tied at my waist, and my shorts are so short that I'm starting to think they're not mine but a child's.

Kiara pushes a drink towards me, and I thank her, needing to "cleanse my palate" or whatever. She walks away, and my eyes inadvertently follow her, watching as she walks past the Pope, behind the counter and into the kitchen. She is beyond beautiful, and she somehow has me locked in a trance. I think she always has.

My attention is then snatched from the boy sitting next to me. He's hunched over, eating a burger as quickly as possible, and I watch with amused eyes, loving that he has no shame. He doesn't care who sees him eat like this. He's hungry and he wants to eat── just like me. He wipes the back of his hand against his mouth, leaning back in his chair to take a sip of his drink. He swallows, and he must catch me staring in his peripheral because he grins against the rim of his glass, and I immediately look away, feeling a little flustered.

I wish all my nights could be like this── us sitting here, laughing and talking and eating around a giant table. I want to stay in this moment forever, trapped with my favourite people in the world.

I lean back in my chair, blowing out an exhausted puff of air, feeling as if I've just eaten a horse or something. My eyes move again, catching onto the boy next to me, and I watch him pull the tips of his fingers into his mouth, ridding the salt on his fingers. Warmth creeps up my neck, and I swallow down the lump forming in my throat. Something of a smile touches his lips, so I know he can see me staring, so I look away again, still incredibly flustered. I need to stop looking at him.

Music begins to play, and I look to the counter to see Kiara is stepping out of the kitchen, waving her arms in the air. She moves her hips, gliding across the floor towards us. I stare, smiling as she points her finger towards John B, pushing him to come to a stand.

He shakes his head, but Kiara won't take no for an answer. She snatches his hand, he places his plate down, and he lets Kiara pull her up and off the chair he's sitting on.

John B takes her hand and twirls her around. They dance, moving carefully and to the thrum of the music. I watch, smiling softly. My brother isn't much of a dancer── not at all, actually, but I guess you do whatever for people you're secretly harbouring a crush for.

Speaking of "harbouring a crush", I look to Pope who has his eyes laser focused on the couple dancing in the middle of the restaurant. I stand up, pushing my chair away, and I move over to Pope.

I sit next to him, offering him a slanted smile. "Now, you either have feelings for John B which, if so, I completely support." He huffs out a laugh, glancing at me. "Or you have feelings for Kie, and if so, I completely support."

"I..." He looks away from me, pulling his focus back to Kiara and John B.

I shake my head, pulling myself off the chair. "Not acceptable," I say, slapping my hand on his shoulder which nearly makes him choke on the pudding he's eating. "Sorry." He puts the bowl down. "We are..." I hold my hand out. "...going to dance, Pope."

He shakes his head. "No. No, we──"

"Oh, don't break my heart, Pope." I place my hand into his. "Dance with me."

He stands, hand in mine, and I pull him towards me, laughing at his reluctance. He likes Kiara, and while that's absolutely fine, I'm going to distract him from the dancing happening behind us by forcing him to dance with me── I'm a real friend, aren't I?

I turn us around so Pope won't look past my shoulder to look at Kiara and John B. I smile at him, holding both his hands as we dance poorly, moving side to side to the upbeat-ish pop song playing. "I know what you're doing."

I scoff, acting dumbfounded. "What?"

"You're trying to distract me and yourself."

We stop moving and I stare at him with wide eyes. "What?"

"JJ," he answers, his voice low. "You──"

"Will hurt you if you finish that sentence." I squeeze his hands threateningly, and his face scrunches up, obviously discomforted which makes me smile── I'm cruel now.

Pope chuckles uncomfortably, trying to free his hands from my grasp. "Brooke."

"Ooh! Spin me around."

"What?"

"Spin. Me." I try to spin myself around, ducking under his arm in an attempt to twirl. "Around." I stumble, and I find our arms to be tangled. Pope tugs his arm free, and I fall forward, head nearly hitting the counter.

A hand grasps mine, yanking me back. I peer over my shoulder to find JJ holding my hand, being the one who saved me before I smacked my face. I breathe out a laugh, and I catch the grin on JJ's face as I regain composure. I look to Pope, my back crashing with JJ's chest. "Sorry," Pope says, but I don't believe him.

"Pope." I bow my head, pulling my hand from JJ's. "You can retire for the night, okay?"

"Thank God," he utters, moving to sit back down.

I spin around, now facing JJ who has reached his hands out to rest on my hips. John B and Kiara are still moving to the music, talking quietly. I place my hands over his, looking away from him because my face is probably red.

"What are you doing?"

He pulls me towards him, my hips pressing against his which, if I'm being honest, is too close for two friends. However, I am not opposed to how close we are── I actually welcome it── and I wrap my arms around his neck.

"We..." He pushes me away, grasping my hand and spinning me properly── sorry, Pope. "are..." I fall back into him, completely caught off guard. "dancing, Sunshine."

I peer up at him, lip caught between my teeth as I smile up at him.

JJ's hands tighten on my ribs, and my body jerks forward, somehow much closer to him than before. "I don't..." I shake my head, wishing I hadn't chosen to dance whatsoever. "I don't dance."

He frowns. "You were dancing with Pope."

"Yes, but──"

"So you can dance with me."

He spins me again, and I nearly fall into the table. I swear, I have two left feet or I'm just flustered because the person spinning me is him. I'm pulled into him once again, and I force myself to look away from his face, needing to look anywhere and everywhere to avoid meeting his gaze. I don't know what it is, but his eyes have a stupid way of drawing me in and keeping me.

His rough hand slides against the skin of my hip, and I inhale sharply. I now wish I hadn't tied my shirt because his bare skin is touching mine, and I feel hot. It's not warm in here either, and if JJ continues to watch me, he'll likely see the red in my cheeks and think I need help which I think I do need.

We aren't dancing, we're just standing still with him holding my hips, and my hands grasping his shoulders tightly, needing to stay grounded. If he lets go of me, I think I'll fold onto the floor.

JJ moves a hand from my waist, pressing his knuckles against my warm cheek. "You're..." I pull back, needing him not to touch me. "Do I make you nervous, Sunshine?"

I scoff, shaking my head, but he doesn't hear me disagree. I can't open my mouth to say a damn word, I just shake my head and laugh it off, but that just makes JJ's smile widen because he knows exactly how he makes me feel, he just wants to hear me say it.

"Cat got your tongue?"

"No," I breathe out, continuing to shake my head but if it were physically impossible, yes, a cat has got my tongue.

JJ peers over his shoulder, looking to John B and Kiara who are now sat down, eating again. "Hey, you wanna go outside?" He faces me again, slipping his hand into mine.

I glance at Pope who seems to have started up a conversation with one of the waitresses. Well, he seems like he's going to be fine. I nod, turning to JJ. "Okay."

We step outside, and I drag him away from The Wreck, down the dock, and we take a seat. It's colder than I thought it would be, but it's still warm, if that makes sense. There's never really a cold day in the Outer Banks── not in the summer anyway. My shoes skim the water, and I lean back on my hands, just embracing the night. The sun has long disappeared, and now the moon is hanging above us.

This scene right here is something I would draw. I'd pick up my pencil, drag it across my page and draw this. I'd detail the dock, marking every wooden dent and mark. I'd dot the lights that hang behind us, keeping light on the dock for any late comers. I'd draw me and JJ, sitting here with our feet nearly touching the water and our eyes on the moon above. Our pinkie fingers nearly meet, and that's something I'd touch upon when drawing. It would be quite a romantic drawing, now that I've drawn it in my head.

"I'd draw this," I blurt out, and he looks over at me, surprised that I said something real. Something I've come to realise is that I don't really talk about art with anyone but him. He always seems interested, so it feels right to tell him even though we were sat in comfortable silence.

"You'd draw what?"

"This." I lean forward, and I raise my hands to emphasise that I would draw all of this── the scenery, the company. "I'd draw the water, the moon, the..." I clear my throat. "company, you know?"

He nods, hearing me. "Oh."

"Yeah," I confirm.

"Hey." JJ's pinkie finger swipes over my knuckle, and sparks fly down my spine. "I still want that tattoo. Do you know what you'll draw?"

"On you?" He nods. "No, I don't know yet. I don't know where you want it."

"I told you." He places a hand over his heart, and I roll my eyes, but he appears to be dead serious. He's giving me a lot of room to work with── too much room. While he wants a tattoo right there, over his heart of all places, I'm still unsure on what to draw.

"You're serious?"

"Dead serious, Sunshine."

His tattoo comes to mind, and I smile knowingly, now certain on what I should draw, but I don't say it. He would probably hate the idea, so I don't say a damn thing, but I keep the idea locked in my head... you know, just in case I ever do tell him what I have in mind.

"I'll think of something." To be given the opportunity to draw something permanent on JJ's skin is, well, rewarding, so if I don't follow through with my original tattoo idea, I will think of something else more to his taste. "I still can't believe you're letting me draw a tattoo design for you. You do know that tattoos are permanent?"

He gasps. "What? You're kidding. I had no idea." I glare at him, not amused. "Yes, I know tattoos are permanent, Sunny, that's exactly why I want you to do it."

"B-But it'll be on your skin forever, JJ."

"Yep."

"I could mess it up."

He shrugs, acting like that's not a possibility. "Okay."

"But──"

"Brooke," he interrupts, and my mouth closes, surprised that he used my actual name rather than my nickname. "I trust you."

I know he trusts me. I've known it for eight years, but hearing it is far better than simply just knowing that fact. Second to my brother, JJ is somebody I trust wholeheartedly. I would trust him with my life, with my soul, and with my body. He is, and has always been, loyal to me, to his friends, and even to his family although it can definitely be argued that his family── his asshole of a father── don't deserve his loyalty.

I shuffle closer, deciding right there and then to place my head on his shoulder. "I'll think of something," I say in reference to the tattoo, even though I have a selfish idea tucked away in my head── one that would indicate that he, like myself, have strong, non-platonic feelings.

"Hey." His voice is so soft that I hardly hear it due to the howl of the wind.

I hum, letting him know that I heard him.

"Truths?" I pull my head away from his shoulder, a smile touching my lips. He looks to me, shining me with that soft, familiar smile of his.

"Really?" I scoff, laughing softly. "Truths?"

"Come on. It'll be fun."

Truths is a game that we'd play whenever we needed to keep the conversation flowing. We both get to ask the other one question, and we have to answer honestly. We can't ask any follow-up questions or question the other's truth, we just ask the question and await the answer.

We haven't played it in a while, last playing it when JJ had an eruption with his father and we sat quietly on the dock, not saying a word to each other until I proposed a game of truths.

I sigh loudly. "Fine. You first."

JJ hums, satisfied, and he looks away from me, thinking for a few seconds before he asks, "What's the strangest dream you've ever had?" Well, I hadn't expected him to ask me that of all questions, but I do like that question.

I look out to the water, and I think for a long moment. JJ has asked me the oddest of questions in the past, but this one is really weird. I mean, I often don't remember my dreams── who really does, right? However, there was one dream that I do recall, and while it's not all that strange, I think it's strange enough to warrant a truth.

"I was trapped at sea," I begin, and JJ huffs out a laugh, already knowing it's going to be good. "A storm was brewing, and I was all alone, stuck on this boat. I then saw something in the water so I walked to the bow of the boat, peered down into the ocean and saw four sharks." I look over at JJ, and he looks to me as I finish my story by saying, "Each shark looked like each of you."

He laughs. "What?"

"There was a shark with your face, one shark with John B's face, one shark with Kiara's face, and one shark with Pope's face," I explain, a laugh bubbling out of me. "It was freaky."

"Yeah, I wouldn't suit being a shark."

"What would you suit being?"

"Is that your question?"

I shake my head, not wanting to waste it. "No."

"Well, what's the question, Sunshine?"

"Why is that my nickname?" I choose to ask. Even after eight years of knowing each other, and even after years of him calling me Sunshine, I have never asked him why he's called me that because, if I'm being honest, I've never questioned it, but now I'm curious.

"It's simple." He shrugs. "You are Sunshine." I can't ask any follow up questions, so I just stare at him, hoping he'll continue. He catches my gaze, and he cracks the most lovely smile. "You're the happiest person I know, Brooke. You're..." He reaches a hand out, brushing a loose hair past my ear. "Well, you're beautiful── inside and out. You are Sunshine, it's that simple."

His knuckles brush against my cheek, and I feel warmth creep up my neck, brightening my cheeks, but thank God it's dark. "I──"

"You're doing it again," he says, eyes skimming over my face.

I swallow, and I try to look away but he gently pushes my face back to look at him. "I'm doing what?"

"You're..." A slanted smile touches his lips. "nervous, aren't you?"

I scoff, shaking my head, trying to wriggle away from the bubble of tension he's created in the space of two minutes. His hand slides against my cheek, his fingers touching my hair, and I find that we are far too close now. We're friends── this isn't what friends do, right? I need to get away from him before I do something unbelievably stupid like kiss him because I would do that.

"I'm not nervous," I breathe out, sounding flustered. God, I hate what he does to me, and I don't think he truly realises the impact he has on me. "I just think that's sweet, what you just said."

He slides a hand down from my cheek and he squeezes the side of my neck before his touch disappears, and I immediately find myself longing for him to put his hand on me again. "Well, I meant it..." He tips his head towards me. "Sunshine." He winks, and if it was physically possible, I think I'd disintegrate into a puddle.

"Thanks," I whisper, crossing my arms over my chest, and leaning forward.

"Hey, guys!" We look over our shoulders to John B who's now standing at the door to The Wreck, waving a hand. "We're gonna get going. You ready?"

JJ and I share a look, disappointed that we have to leave this bubble we've created, but we do need to get going. I don't fancy walking back to the Chateau, so we tell John B we'll be right there, and JJ stands up first.

He holds out his hand, I take his, and he pulls me up and off the dock. "Truths?" he asks again, and I raise a brow, confused, and before I can protest that he's already asked one question, he speaks first, "Do you really want to leave?"

Oh. I shake my head. "No. Do you?"

He's still holding my hand, his thumb moving over my knuckle slowly. "No, I don't. I like being around you."

I bite back a smile. "I like being around you." I want to say, I like you. A lot. More than a friend. But I don't, I just squeeze his hand. "But we should go. We spend too much time together anyway, don't we?"

He breathes out a laugh, nodding. "Right."

I'm mentally punching myself for not telling him that I want to stay right here, locked on this dock with him next to me.

I just want him. I think I always will.

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❀ soph speaks

brooke & jj were my first couple i created, and i just adore them . . . they'll always be special to me :')