𝟎𝟏𝟐.          𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐠𝐮𝐧

fight for this love ────      cheryl

☀︎ 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐥𝐲𝐧'𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐯

𝖪𝖨𝖠𝖱𝖠 𝖮𝖥𝖥𝖤𝖱𝖲 𝖴𝖲 𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖡𝖤𝖲𝖳 𝖣𝖨𝖲𝖳𝖱𝖠𝖢𝖳𝖨𝖮𝖭．She drags us to an outdoor cinema. The boys don't seem too excited, but they need a distraction── we all do. John B hasn't called yet, so I won't lie and say I'm not worried. He said he'd call, so all kinds of scenarios are running through my head as he hasn't called yet.

If DCS caught up with him, I'd know, right?

"I'm so glad that they're still doing this," Kiara says, moving us through the crowd of people to find a primal spot. "Keep calm. Carry on. Back to the OBX life. You know? Aren't you glad I made you come?"

We place down our deckchairs alongside the cooler Kiara brought.

"My couch was pretty comfy, I'll be honest."

Kiara steps away, leaving us to get some more drinks.

"We're out of the green zone, guys." Pope whispers as we haven't told Kiara about the situation. Pope begged us not to tell her or John B, and we didn't.

"Dude, tranquilo, okay?"

"We're in the middle of Kooklandia. This is the last place I want to be." While a distraction is nice, Kiara did bring us to the centre of Figure Eight where we are absolutely not welcome.

"Shut up, Pope." Pope throws himself down onto the chair.

Kiara comes back, and she hands off a Diet Coke to me. "Just saw Rafe." Our eyes widen, surprised that he's here and that he'd speak to Kiara. "He said, and I quote, "Tell your boy that we know what he did". What is that?"

Pope looks to JJ for guidance. "Where is he?"

"Right there."

Pope turns around in his chair, and the movement is anything but swift. He makes it painfully obvious that he's looking at Rafe, Topper, and their friend, Kelce. "Great, the whole death squad." JJ smacks the back of his head, forcing him to face the right way.

"Don't stare, idiot."

"Just warning you, bro. If they corner me, I'm coming out swinging, okay? Slice and dicin'." I gaze at Kiara, finding her to be confused. "I'm on edge right now." Oh, my God.

"Yeah, yeah."

"If that doesn't work, I got this right here." JJ lifts his bag which I know has the gun inside. I tried to push him not to bring it, but I know better than to argue against him when he has his mind set on something. He brought that gun for our protection, but I hope we don't have to use it.

"So, we just gotta stay in the group," Pope says, nodding vigorously. "They can't get us in the group."

"Like a school of fish."

"Stay in school. Can't leave the school."

While I know what they're talking about, I don't know what they're talking about, if that makes sense.

"I'm sorry, JJ..." Kiara leans forward, lowering her voice. "Please tell me that you did not bring a gun here." JJ scoffs, but I know, and Pope knows that he brought the gun. "JJ, there are kids."

"No! Kie, I did not bring the gun." He's lying, but I'm not about to correct him. "Everything's fine, okay?"

"Wow, thank you. That's really convincing. I love that, JJ." Kiara and JJ glare at one another for a quick second before JJ turns his head away. She ain't happy, and I can't say I blame her. "Founding principle, you guys." I look to her, knowing all about this founding principle. "No secrets amongst Pogues. What is Rafe talking about?"

Pope leans close to her and whispers, "Kie, it might go down tonight."

Pope rears his head back, and Kiara doesn't look anything but more lost on what's going on. "What does that mean? "Might do down tonight". What did y'all do?"

"Deny, deny, deny," JJ whispers, taking a sip of his drink and keeping his eyes off Kiara.

I glance at Kiara, and she looks right back at me. I want to tell her so badly, but I promised Pope── a fellow Pogue── that I wouldn't tell his secret. While we can't have secrets, we also can't break promises. It's a very skewed principle, I realise that. I know Kiara would be pissed to learn what we did yesterday with sinking Topper's boat, but I also think she'd understand.

I peer over my shoulder because, well, let's face it, I'm nosey. Rafe Cameron leans back in his seat, beer in hand. His eyes bore right into mine while he drinks his beer. He's got a look about him that I can't quite describe, but I force myself to pull my eyes off him, needing to look straight ahead.

JJ nudges me, stealing my attention.

He steals my drink, taking a long sip. He often steals my food, my drinks, my whatever, and I just let him. I press my head into his arm, snatching the drink back from him.

"You okay?"

"John B hasn't called," I say, my voice low so only he can hear me. "He said he'd called, b-but he hasn't. What if DCS caught up with him? What if he's not safe? What if he needs──"

"Brooke." JJ's hand rests upon my knee, and that touch calms me. I don't know how he's capable of soothing me so easily. "He's okay." His hand squeezes my knee reassuringly, and if anyone can assure me about anything, JJ can. "He'll call, Sunshine. He's probably just... busy."

I nod, teeth sinking into my bottom lip anxiously. "Right." He'll be fine. He's just busy.

The movie starts when the sun sets, but I'm hardly paying any attention. I can practically feel eyes on me from Rafe, Topper and Kelce, but I don't satisfy them by turning around. I stay seated, trying my hardest to focus on the screen.

Also, it's hard to focus when I'm sat a little too close to JJ. There was a moment earlier that I keep replaying in my head, wondering what would've happened if Pope hadn't burst in. It was a moment, right? I mean, we were close, my hands were on his chest, our breathing was heavy, and we were just staring at one another. I think there was something there, and if Pope hadn't rushed over when he did, perhaps it would've become progressed into something more.

Then again, nothing can happen between us. I mean, something could happen, but giving in to my urges could ruin our friendship, and his friendship means the world to me. I'd hate to lose him as a friend if I stepped over that line and crossed into uncharted territory.

For eight years, I've longed for more with JJ, but I know that it would be foolish given that we're the best of friends.

Every time his knee nudges mine, or his arm brushes mine, or his fingers touch mine for even just second, my entire body feels as if it's on fire, and I have no way of putting myself out. I'm just stood there, burning and sweating in the flames, my face bright red, and my stomach overturning in an exciting yet uneasy way due to the flapping of butterfly wings.

I don't know if he knows how he makes me feel, but I often wonder if he could ever feel the same way, or if he'd be absolutely mortified to learn that I have such strong feelings for him.

I'm not sure I want to know.

JJ pushes the Diet Coke into my hand, his fingers brushing mine. My smile is tight-lipped as I take the coke from him, quickly finishing it off because my throat appears to be dry.

I "subtly" glance over my shoulder, seeing that The Death Squad── as Pope called them earlier── are watching the movie, but I know that they're obviously keeping their eyes on us too. If we get up, they'll get up. They want to fight us, that much I know.

"Everything okay?" JJ's voice is low and it sends shivers down my spine, I swear to God.

I nod, pressing my cheek against his arm. "Yeah." He's comfortable. He always has been. I lean on him because he is the most comforting person I know. He doesn't have to say anything, or wrap his arm around me── him just being here is enough for me.

"What are they doing?"

"Watching the film," I whisper back, and JJ nods.

Sitting here, leaning on him and whispering to one another seems very natural and normal for us. It feels romantic in a way that I can't quite explain. I want more days like these. I want to sit with him everyday, head against his arm, hands close to touching. I want to be this close to him everyday even if it's wrong.

I peer up at him, gazing at his face. He's beautiful, but I've always thought so. I'd even go as far as saying that he's ethereal in the way he looks with his fragile skin, his soft lips, and his cloudy blue eyes. He is, and will always be, indescribably gorgeous.

He catches me staring, and my cheeks redden. "See something you like?" Yeah, everything.

I press my face against his arm, embarrassed that I was caught for some totally innocent staring. I hear him chuckle, and I breathe out a laugh of my own. I don't answer him because he can see that, from me just looking at him, I'm a mumbling, incoherent mess of a person. I think, in some ways, he knows the impact he has on me.

JJ's hand rests on my knee, his palm open, almost like he's inviting me to take his hand but I don't move my arms. I just stare at his hand, eyes looking to each ring that adorns his fingers, and now I want to know why he wears them, and where he got each one. My eyes then move down, looking to his wrist where that familiar homemade bracelet rests.

JJ peers at me, a soft smile on his face. "You have that..." My face lifts, eyes meeting his, and the moment our eyes clash, I regret lifting my head. We're close, inches away from leaning forward and doing something utterly ridiculous for two best friends. "Your face is red."

I exhale, pulling my bottom lip between my teeth. "I-I──"

"Guys." I love Pope, I really do, but can he just── I turn my head to Pope, forcing a smile on my face like I'm not secretly plotting ways to harm him. "I gotta take a piss."

Really? That's what he interrupted for?

"Hold it," we both say, knowing full well that he can't get up without being cornered by The Death Squad a few rows back.

"I can't hold it. I drank too much soda."

I stop myself from groaning out loud.

"Pope, it's too exposed. They'll totally see us."

"I gotta go." We each look behind us to see that they're sitting very close to the bathrooms── too close for Pope to just sneak off to the bathroom. "They're blocking the bathrooms."

JJ sighs, moving away from my side. "Come here. I know where." JJ stands up, and Pope follows after him.

"Hey, where y'all going?" Kiara asks, and I slide off my seat to join Kiara's side, not in a rush to join them.

"We gotta wring it out."

"What? Are you gonna hold it for each other?"

I snicker, hiding my laugh behind my hand as the boys rush off to go behind the screen. Smart. I turn my attention back to the screen, but I can't focus this time because of a certain brunette staring at me in my peripheral vision.

I clear my throat, and I glance at Kiara. "What?"

"What's going on?"

"Well, JJ and Pope are pissing. You and I are watching this film which, by the way, is shit," I comment, but Kiara doesn't look amused.

"Brooke." Kiara ain't happy, and I hate that I'm the one agitating her. "No secrets amongst Pogues── especially between you and me."

"Kiara, nothing is going on."

"You're lying. What have the boys done?"

I look away from Kiara, my eyes catching onto JJ's bag. He didn't take the bag with him── the bag that holds the gun. Perhaps he doesn't need it. I mean, they're just going to piss, it's not like──

I look past my shoulder, and when I don't find Rafe, Topper and Kelce, I know they're in trouble. "Shit," I utter, lunging forward to snatch JJ's bag.

"What?"

I turn to Kiara, pushing the bag into her hands. "Okay. Fine. I lied. Pope sunk Topper's boat, alright?" She opens her mouth to argue, but I don't let her talk, "Rafe and Topper hit him, and we hit them back, okay? Now they're here, and we need to go and help them."

I stand up, moving away from Kiara before she argues with me over what I just admitted. I know she's following me, and we quicken our pace to round the corner to stand behind the screen.

We stop, staring for a long moment because we haven't got a damn clue what to do. Kelce has JJ in a headlock, holding him tightly as Rafe sends several punches to his face. Topper is fighting Pope, and it's very obvious who's winning, and no offence to Pope but his fighting ability is lacking.

I peer at Kiara, finding her to be shaking her head. "I'm sorry?"

"Yeah, I'm sure you are."

"You go for Topper, I go for Rafe?"

Kiara nods, holding her hand up, and I smack mine against hers, doing the usual Pogue handshake we always do. "What would they do without us, huh?" Amen.

We rush forward, Kiara heading straight for Topper. I hear her yell, "Let go of him, Topper! Fascist asshole!" while smacking JJ's bag against his back. You gotta love Kie and her attempts, haven't you?

I move forward, heading straight for Rafe. Thankfully, he doesn't see me coming── not yet anyway. He sends a punch to JJ's face, and if I wasn't here on a mission to fight, I'd be very concerned. "Hey, Rafe," I say, and when he turns around, surprised to see me, I raise my fist, knocking it into the side of his face.

He stumbles ever so slightly, but the impact of my punch doesn't send him toppling to unconsciousness. I didn't think it would, but it felt very satisfying to punch Rafe Cameron in his annoyingly attractive face.

Kiara is trying to fight with Topper, hoping to get him off Pope, and Rafe is laughing. That's right, he's laughing. The corner of his lip bleeds, so I am pretty pleased that I did a tiny bit of damage── more than JJ, no offence to him. Speaking of JJ, he's doing his damn hardest to squirm free from Kelce's hold.

Kelce looks unsure. He doesn't know if he should free JJ and help "his boy", or if he should keep holding him, but my beef isn't with Kelce. No, it's with Rafe, and he knows it.

"Brooklyn Routledge." He spits onto the ground, and then he looks directly at me. "Nice punch."

I nod, smiling innocently. "Oh, thank you. Would you like another?"

A grin touches his lips, and I think this sick bastard is actually finding this to be fun. "This doesn't concern you, Brooke." He steps forward, but I don't step back like he probably suspects.

"Yeah?" I breathe out a laugh. "Well, this doesn't concern you either."

"Your boy sunk Topper's boat."

I glance over at Pope who is still being punched by Topper, but I see Kiara trying to fight with him. "My boy didn't do shit── what proof do you have?"

Rafe shrugs. "He's a Pogue."

"Ah, right." I sidestep him, looking to JJ who is still trying to fight against Kelce's hold. "Let him go, Rafe."

"Or what?"

I don't answer him, I just lift my fist once again, but he sees this one coming which I didn't anticipate. His hand snatches my closed fist, and he bends my arm back, but I don't flinch, I just stare at him as he leans closer to me.

"Brooke!" JJ fights, hands squeezing at Kelce's arm to break himself free, but it's useless.

Topper is yelling at Pope, Kiara is yelling at Topper, and Rafe is squeezing my fist, pulling my arm as far as it'll go. "Like I said, this doesn't concern you, Brooke. How about you just walk away?"

"I'll walk away when you let them go."

"No, can do." I glare at him, trying to push my fist against his hand, but he's much stronger than me. "You see, your boys need to accept a little bit of responsibility, you understand that, don't you?"

"Oh, yeah." I spit in his face which, from the looks of it, doesn't go over well with him.

He pushes me down to the ground, wipes his face. "I always liked you, Brooke." He steps past me, his foot standing on my hand for a quick second, but a second long enough for me to involuntarily yelp because being stood on ain't exactly pain free, let me tell you.

I glance at JJ, and he stares right back at me, and an idea springs to mind. I scurry away, moving away just as Rafe pulls Kiara off Topper, pushing her down to the ground.

Topper is in a headlock, trying to suffocate Pope. I only catch some of what he's saying as I'm rushing to JJ's bag, searching for something I can use to distract them. Pope cries out, and I stare at the two options in JJ's bag. I then grab the one that is most suited for this occasion.

I stand, and I charge forward.

The barrel of the gun presses against the back of Topper's head.

I turn the safety off, and it clicks.

Perhaps I've gone insane, but I am not letting Topper kill Pope. I'll kill him before he even gets the chance to harm Pope.

This feels all too familiar, and to Topper this is basically some sick joke.

The barrel of the same gun pressed against his head on two separate occasions by two separate people. You can't make this shit up.

"Brooke!" Kiara yells, standing up on wobbly legs.

"Yeah, you know what that is, Topper." He's loosening his grip on Pope's neck, very familiar with the barrel of this gun. "Let him go." In my peripheral I see Rafe charging towards me, but I just raise the gun, pointing it over at him. "Don't you even think about it, asshole."

Rafe breathes out a laugh, shaking his head as I press the barrel of the gun against Topper's head. "You wouldn't dare." Rafe is testing me, wanting to see if I have the guts, and for Pope and JJ, I'll do just about anything.

"I won't ask again, let them go!"

When nobody moves, I take it upon myself to raise the gun above my head, pulling the trigger twice which earns me the understandable screams and cries from those watching the film on the other side of this screen.

Topper drops Pope, and I hear him suck in a sharp breath. Thank God he's alive.

I keep the gun trained on Topper as he backs away from me, hands in the air. Bastard.

I direct the gun towards Rafe and Kelce. "Let him go!" Kelce frees JJ, and he drops to the floor, clutching his throat.

"You're crazy," Kelce utters, rushing to Rafe.

I stare straight at Rafe, lowering the gun as he, Topper and Kelce begin to walk away. Screaming continues behind me, but I keep staring straight ahead at Rafe, silently telling him that he isn't to mess with us ever again.

Nobody messes with us── especially not Kooks.

Kiara is helping Pope off the ground, and I'm moving towards JJ, placing the gun down and turning the safety on so I don't accidentally shoot something or somebody.

He lifts his head, and he cracks me that smile I love so much. "Hey," I say, pressing my hand against his face. His lip is cut, and he's sporting a soon-to-be black eye. We need to get him somewhere so we can clean him up. "You look like shit."

"You shot a gun, Sunny."

"Yeah, well..." He places his arm around my shoulders, and we stand up. "Nobody messes with my boys," I toy, sliding my arm around his back while my hand holds his that is resting over my shoulders.

"That was crazy," he breathes out, leaning into me as I pick up the gun, tucking it into my pocket. "But it was also..."

He pauses, and I glance at him. "What?"

"Very hot."

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𝖪𝖨𝖠𝖱𝖠 𝖡𝖱𝖨𝖭𝖦𝖲 𝖴𝖲 𝖡𝖠𝖢𝖪 𝖳𝖮 𝖧𝖤𝖱 𝖧𝖮𝖴𝖲𝖤 𝖩𝖴𝖲𝖳 𝖲𝖮 𝖶𝖤 𝖢𝖠𝖭 𝖦𝖤𝖳 𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖡𝖮𝖸𝖲 𝖢𝖫𝖤𝖠𝖭𝖤𝖣 𝖴𝖯．Mike and Anna are still at The Wreck, and Kiara's already called and asked them if I can sleep over. I'm not going back to the Chateau for the time being, so I need as much accommodation as I can get. Right now, we just need to clean the boys up and send them back to their respective houses as Anna and Mike cannot find them under this roof, not looking like this anyway.

I pull JJ into the bathroom next to Kiara's bedroom, and I sit him down on the edge of the bathtub as I clean my hands under the tap. I wipe my hands, pull open the cabinet above the sink and pull out the necessary items I'll need to clean his face so nothing gets infected.

I grab a hand towel, push it under the tap to wet it, and then I turn around and walk back to JJ. I step into his open legs, and I look to him for silent consent. When he nods, I press my hand against his cheek, tilting his face to one side.

I press the cloth against his cheek, wiping a mark there. I move the cloth down, sliding it across his chin, and moving it back up to his other cheek. I push his hair up, my fingers lingering for longer than necessary, but I can't help it when I've had literal dreams of touching this hair. I wipe the wet cloth across his forehead, bringing it down his nose. His eyes come to a close as I move the cloth over his eyebrows and eyelids.

The wet cloth then presses against his lip, soaking the blood that's dried from the cut on his mouth. His eyes blink open, but I don't dare meet his gaze as I gently move the cloth across his bottom lip, my fingers now against his jaw.

I feel his pulse in his neck against my fingertips, and I find it to be beating fast and strong. Good. He swallows, his Adam's apple moving with his throat, but I try to ignore that too.

We've been too close lately── trapped in our own bubble. Touches have lingered, eye contact has stayed, and words have carried more meaning. Right now, he's watching me with giant, tired eyes, but I can't meet his eyes, not when he's this close to me and I'm touching his face like this. 

I press my finger against his eyebrow, pushing the hair from his forehead, and his eyes flutter to a close for a quick second. In that moment he takes to close his eyes is the exact moment I decide to look at him, and I mean really look at him.

My knuckles brush against his cheek, gliding across the bone. I find him leaning into my touch, so I continue to press my fingers against the side of his face, soothing him in a way that a best friend absolutely shouldn't.

When his eyes do open, and he finds me staring right at him, neither of us can look away. "Is it bad, Doc?"

I shake my head, my eyes still holding his. "No. You'll make a full recovery," I say, playing into the lighthearted joke. "But I recommend you don't fight for the foreseeable future."

"And I recommend you don't hold a gun for the foreseeable future."

I feel his knuckles brush against my thigh. His legs are pressed into mine, holding me in place, and his fingers trace the skin of my legs so softly that I nearly moan.

JJ's teeth bite into his bottom lip for a fraction of a second before he realises there's a cut. I huff out a laugh, instinctively reaching my fingers out to touch the wound on his lip. "D-Don't do..." Like I suspected, his lips are soft, and knowing that fact is dangerous. "Don't do that."

His mouth remains slightly open, and my thumb presses against his lip gently, my throat bobbing as I swallow down this feeling I've never, ever felt before. This burning inside me── as opposed to the butterfly feeling── is new and... hot. Every inch of me feels warm and fuzzy, and if I don't step back from him, I'll do something stupid like kiss him right here in Kiara's bathroom.

I pull my finger back, but it instead drops to rest against his chin. "Your face is red," he says as a matter-of-fact, and my face only turns redder upon him realising.

"I, uh..." I shake my head. "I don't know why."

He hums, but I know he doesn't believe that. However, he doesn't press. He instead says, "You could've used the lighter." At first, I don't understand, but then I think back to the two choices I was faced with less than an hour ago when I opened JJ's face to see the gun. And a lighter.

I chose to gun when I could've chosen the lighter, burned the movie screen and set everything aflame. Instead, I chose an option that could've easily killed me because I saw danger── because I saw Pope and JJ in danger, and I couldn't stand to let anything bad happen.

"Yeah. I-I could've, but I didn't want to."

"Well, you saved us." I nod, trying to justify why I used the gun rather than the lighter. "Thanks."

"Topper was going to kill him." Hearing him cry and choke out while Topper strangled him── it's freaking haunting. "I was pissed. I mean, neither of you deserved that. They're lucky I didn't shoot them." I know I'd feel better shooting them in the short term, but then I'd be in prison so it's probably a good thing I didn't actually harm them, I just threatened them.

"Would you have shot them?"

I shrug, resting my palms on JJ's shoulders, and his legs squeeze mine. "For you and Pope... maybe, yeah, but I don't think I would've killed them. I would've just made it real painful."

JJ huffs out a laugh, fingers brushing against the skin of my legs again. "You saved us."

"I-I just didn't want you to get hurt, that's all."

"We didn't."

"You did." My fingers glide up his neck, sliding against his chin. "Does it hurt?"

A grin brightens his face. "Not so much anymore." My fingers gently touch one corner of his smiling mouth, tugging at it gently. He leans into my touch once again, eyes shutting for a quick second as I press my thumb against his bottom lip, touching the wound.

He winces, eyes squeezing. "Sorry."

He shakes his head, hand touching my leg. "Your skin is soft," he breathes out, knuckles brushing along the skin of my thigh.

"Your skin is..." I pull my finger away from his lip, dragging it across his cheekbone. "rough, but not in a bad way."

His eyes open, staring forward at mine. "Rough can be good sometimes."

That intense burning enters my gut once again. "So can soft," I choke out, voice surprisingly hoarse.

We stare at each other, silently daring the other to make a move, and this feels so wrong, but also so right. I want to crash my lips against his, push my hands into his hair while he wraps his arms around me, lifts me up, and presses me into the wall. I'd let him do absolutely anything to me, even in the small space of this bathroom.

My body tingles, sending shivers right down my spine as JJ's hand brushes against my legs. They're warm and hot and sore. If he were to move his hand up any further, we'd be crossing over a dangerous, deadly line, but I'm all for that.

My hand moves against his cheekbone, sliding up past his ear to rest in his hair because, well, I've always loved his hair. I've always wanted to touch it, run my fingers through it, and grip it tight. He stares up at me, a soft expression on his face that I adore.

His fingers slide around the backs of my legs, touching the bare skin just below my shorts. I press my hand to the back of his head, gliding my fingers along the base of his skull. His hums softly from my touch, and I hum back from his touch.

I stare at him, breathing heavily, and all words die in my mouth as I feel myself inching just a tiny bit closer. I swear he moves closer too, but my imagination could just be running wild.

He opens his mouth, ready to speak, when somebody pounds on the bathroom door, breaking our moment and popping the bubble. "Hey, JJ, we need to get going."

Pope.

I step away, my legs feeling like jelly. "Yeah."

Our moment has passed, the bubble has popped.

Best friends don't do this.

I shouldn't feel this way.

But I really, really can't help it.

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❀ soph speaks

originally, brooke & jj's first kiss was during this final scene but i chose not to have them kiss, i kinda wanna prolong it :) i'm wicked, i know

anyway, thank you for reading!!!