𝟎𝟏𝟒.                                                𝐣𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐝

jailhouse rock          ──── elvis presley

☀︎ 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐥𝐲𝐧'𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐯

𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖭𝖤𝖷𝖳 𝖬𝖮𝖱𝖭𝖨𝖭𝖦，𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖤𝖵𝖤𝖭𝖳𝖲 𝖳𝖧𝖠𝖳 𝖲𝖯𝖨𝖱𝖠𝖫𝖤𝖣 𝖫𝖠𝖲𝖳 𝖭𝖨𝖦𝖧𝖳 𝖧𝖨𝖳 𝖬𝖤 𝖫𝖨𝖪𝖤 𝖠 𝖳𝖮𝖭 𝖮𝖥 𝖡𝖱𝖨𝖢𝖪𝖲．Kiara isn't beside me anymore, so I suspect she's either downstairs or in the bathroom. I sit up, moving my hands across my sleepy eyes, fingers brushing over my mouth, acting as a subtle reminder of what happened last night.

Kiara kissed me, and I kissed back.

She kissed me, and if her parents hadn't knocked on the door when they had, I think it would've progressed into more. I don't think I would've pushed her away, not when I nodded my head silently. I know I didn't want to push her away last night, and I don't think she wanted to either.

I push the covers off me, shuffling across the bed and kicking my legs off. After laughing about the situation last night, we decided to just go sleep, knowing we couldn't do anything more with her parents just downstairs. So we simply laid back down, closed our eyes and fell asleep like nothing had happened. Asleep, it's easy to drift off into a deep slumber and forget that anything did happen, but now that I'm awake, I have all those sensations and feelings I had the night before when she was kissing me.

I can feel her lips on mine, and on my neck. I can feel her hips pushing into mine, making every nerve in my body tingle. I can feel her hands pressing into mine, holding me captive. I can feel her everywhere, and my entire body aches for just a little bit more this morning.

I stand up, moving to her dresser drawers. My eyes catch onto several pictures I've drawn and painted over the years, and a smile touches my lips. Kiara has all the artwork I've given her on the walls of her bedroom, right next to pictures of us through our years of friendship. Because I've never had much money, I always gifted Kiara, Pope, and even JJ drawings and artwork because it was the cheapest option and, in more ways than one, it was much more sentimental than gifting an expensive, meaningless gift.

I think back to the words JJ said the night I heard my dad's voice after nine months.

"I'm going to have a whole room dedicated to your art."

Kiara displays my art, and one day, he may too. I shouldn't compare them── not when I shared something life altering with Kiara, but I'm yet to have any kind of meaningful moment with JJ. They both care about me in their own way, and I feel for them in entirely different ways, I just can't really understand it, that's all.

"Oh." I flinch, surprised to hear her voice even though this is her room. "Hey. Sorry," she huffs, stepping into her bedroom with two glasses of orange juice.

She pushes the juice into my hands, and our fingertips brush for the shortest second, sending a tickle up my arm. We kissed last night and it was electric, burning, and passionate── I'd even go as far as saying it was life changing── but now I feel almost embarrassed from a single brush of our fingertips. "Thanks." I clear my throat.

She steps back, drinking the orange juice in harsh gulps as she moves to sit down on the edge of her bed. "Uh, you can have a shower... i-if you want?" She's also a little flushed, that much I can tell from the way her cheeks redden.

I can understand why things feel a little tense between us, but I don't want that moment last night to ruin our friendship. She's my best friend, and I'd hate to have that crushed by a single soulful, fleeting moment. I don't regret what happened for a single second because she cracked something open from deep within me last night. She changed me, as ridiculous as that sounds.

I nod, sipping the juice. "Okay. Yeah." I can't turn down a steaming hot shower, especially since it'll be my last hot shower for a long ass time. I place the glass of juice down, and I move to pick up my backpack from the floor, pulling out the clothes I would've taken with me to foster care if John B and I had stuck it out.

Speaking of John B, he sent me a message, while I was... occupied, which read, "Out of town. Explain later". I don't know why he'd be out of town, or where he actually is, but I didn't ask any questions. He'll explain later like he said, so I just have to wait.

I move to leave Kiara's bedroom but I stop, needing to clear this tense air. I turn around, clothes tucked under my arm. "No bullshit..." I propose, and I catch that faint smile on Kiara's lips. Last night spiralled from the simple no bullshit rule, and while repeating those events wouldn't be so terrible, I actually have something else I need to clarify.

Kiara peers over at me, waiting to hear my next words. "I don't regret anything that happened last night," I begin, staring straight at her so she knows I'm serious. "However, I don't want things to be awkward between us because you're one of my best friends, so I hope that we can... okay. If you really want to forget──" I don't want her to forget, but it might be easier. "that's fine, but──"

"I don't want to forget, Brooke." Her words slice through mine, and I'm stunned to silence because part of me truly believed she'd want to forget. "I-I don't regret it," she clarifies, speaking clearly and slowly. "and I don't want things to be awkward between us. But..." Her head drops, and I wait for the rejection. "you like JJ, Brooke. I-I knew that, but I still wanted to and──" She shakes her head. "You like JJ, so us being anything would be..."

I swallow, nodding, a little disappointed but she isn't wrong. I do like JJ. No, I don't just like him── I love him. I have loved him for eight years, and those feelings can't just go away. I will say that Kiara blocked him from my mind last night, but now he lingers there again just like he always does. I can't get rid of him.

It isn't fair to Kiara, especially if she feels something towards me.

I know I feel this pull towards her, but will that pull ever be as strong as the pull I have for JJ? Well, I'm not sure. I don't think so, and that's the reality of the situation. While last night was pure and real in more ways than one, I don't think Kiara and I could ever be anything other than this── best friends.

It would be hard for us to have any kind of relationship giving that I hold very strong, very non-platonic feelings towards another.

"I'm glad you kissed me, Kie," I add, feeling like I need to emphasise that I did enjoy last night, and I absolutely would not trade it in for anything in the world. I think that experience we shared together last night cracked us both open, unleashing all those raw and desperate feelings we hold deep within.

She definitely taught me something. She showed me parts of myself that I never thought I'd see, and for that, I'm grateful in more ways than one.

She looks down at her hands, sucking in a breath. "I'm glad I kissed you too," she mutters.

That's the single greatest thing one can hear the morning after.

I shower── best shower of my life, by the way── and then Kiara and I get ready, and head over to Heyward's Seafood to see Pope and JJ who called Kiara while I was showering. We're going to hang out for a few hours, maybe speak quietly about the previous night of crime, and wait to hear from John B. While we talk, we help Heyward with stacking his shelves.

Kiara and I work close together, our arms often touching, and our hands reaching out for the same equipment. We keep sharing glimpses and silent smiles that say a lot. I believe that whatever is sparking between us is not over── not in any kind of way. Despite how I feel towards JJ, Kiara and I enjoyed each other's company in a more passionate and intimate way.

I genuinely wonder what would've happened if her parents hadn't come home.

I wouldn't be opposed to something with Kiara── even if that something is minor and fling like. Sure, we both want that burning type of love, but we're young, and we're both attracted to each other, so why can't we have some harmless fun? I could do the hookup thing without getting attached... I think. I've never tried the hookup thing because I've never been interested in that, but Kiara is here and I really, really feel this push towards her, so we could try it── only if she wanted to, of course.

I can't deny that we have chemistry. I mean, last night definitely showed that.

JJ's hand brushes against mine as he passes, and every feeling I didn't feel last night comes rushing back to me, and part of me hates it── especially with Kiara standing next to me. I shake it off, trying to regain focus, but it's hard when he's in my peripheral talking to Pope.

"Don't let it get in your head." He slaps his hand on Pope's back. "Three of them and two of us. That's typical Kook shit right there."

"Hell, yeah."

"And Brooklyn with the save." JJ flashes me a grin, and I can't help but smile back. I will say that, while I don't regret standing up for Pope and JJ, I probably could've approached the situation differently. However, I chose to be reckless, and I could've gotten myself seriously hurt. Regardless, it was kind of cool, wasn't it?

"I can't believe you shot a gun." Pope speaks at a whisper as his father is nearby, and if Heyward discovered that I── his favourite, sorry everybody else── was shooting a gun, I think he'd kill me. However, I was shooting the gun to protect his son, so maybe... Oh, who am I kidding, Heyward would not forgive me.

Speaking of Heyward, he steps back into the shop with Shoupe behind him. "Hey, Pope, someone here to see you."

I look from Heyward to Shoupe, confused why he is here. "Morning, Officer."

I have a sinking feeling in my stomach that Shoupe isn't here for anything polite, and my suspicions are proved right when Shoupe steps forward, handcuffs in hand as he says, "I have an arrest warrant for felony destruction of property. Hands where I can see 'em."

My jaw slacks, shocked.

Now I'm wishing that I'd shot Topper, but how would that solve anything?

"Whoa. Shoupe, what'd he do?"

Handcuffs are slapped on Pope's wrists, and I find there to be so many things wrong with this image. Pope── the golden boy── being arrested for something that is so minor compared to what they did to him.

"Look at the warrant," is all Shoupe says in response to Heyward's nagging.

I can't speak. I'm just staring at this image, wishing to wake up from whatever nightmare I crawled into.

"You're just arresting my boy?" Shoupe ignores Heyward, he ignores JJ and Kiara who are yelling and waving their hands, obviously annoyed. He starts to pull Pope out of the shop, and my heart pounds in my chest as I follow pursuit. "Shoupe, are you listening?"

"Anything you say can and will be held against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney," Shoupe speaks calmly, ignoring us as we plead for him to get off Pope.

As I watch them inch closer to the police car, every part of me numbs. I stare, mouth still agape and eyes still wide as I can't quite figure out why this scenario is playing out. Pope shouldn't be getting arrested── not him. Voices fade into one, and my ears feel fuzzy as I focus on Pope's face. He's upset, that much I can see, and I want to take away all that pain.

I feel guilty. I pushed him to seek revenge, and he did because when the Kooks hit us, we hit back. Not only that, I shot a gun in a public place where there were children. I could've harmed somebody. Did nobody give a shit about that? Surely the police knew, but maybe they just assumed it was a one-off.

Regardless, I should be getting arrested.

Not Pope.

I step forward, clear my throat, and say, "Wait, it──"

"It wasn't him!"

Somehow, those words that I had planned to say do not leave my mouth, but somebody else's. That somebody else stands on one side of me, standing tall and unfazed. I was ready to take the blame, and shift this entire situation, but now those words have been uttered by him.

My jaw is slack for a whole new reason now, and the shock of Pope's arrest is no longer the biggest thing to happen.

No, JJ taking the blame is the biggest thing to happen now.

I turn my head, staring at him with guilty eyes. He doesn't turn to look at me, knowing full well that I'm looking right at him. I think he knew I was fully prepared to take the blame, but he snatched the opportunity from me.

"It was me."

Words can't fathom how I feel right now. Anything I say will not be enough, so I just stand in utter shock. I always knew JJ was loyal to a fault, but I can't believe he's doing this. This is big. This is life-altering. This is jail.

JJ steps forward, ignoring our shocked faces. "He tried to talk me out of it." He tilts his head towards Pope. "But I was mad because he'd just been beaten up. I was so sick of those assholes from Figure Eight that I lost my shit." Pope glances at me past JJ's shoulder, but I can't look back. I just stare at JJ's back. JJ peers at Pope as he speaks, "I can't let you take the blame for somethin' I did. You've got too much to lose."

"JJ, what are you doing?" Pope asks, a hint of agitation in his voice.

"I'm tellin' the truth. For once in my goddamn life, I'm gonna tell the truth," JJ says, shifting his gaze back to Shoupe who will absolutely believe JJ's story. "I took his old man's boat, too."

"What the hell?" Heyward snaps.

"JJ, come on."

"Just shut up, Pope! Just shut up." JJ shakes his head, and Pope clamps his mouth shut. "He's a good kid. You know where I'm from." I frown, knowing that would be enough to convince Shoupe to arrest JJ over Pope. After all, people only ever looked at JJ as his father's son when he was nothing like that man.

"This was all me," he finishes, and my chest tightens. Damn him.

Shoupe turns away from JJ, looking to Pope. "That's the whole truth?"

"Whole truth, swear to God," JJ says.

"I know what you think, damn it, I'm asking Pope," Shoupe snarls.

Pope stares at JJ, and JJ stares back. Kiara and I stand back, looking at the boys as they silently talk── much like John B and I do whenever we're in a sticky situation. I can see Pope hesitating. Some part of me wishes that this didn't have to be the solution, and another part of me wants to rush forward and plead with Shoupe to take me instead of either of the boys, but I don't move. I'm frozen to the ground.

Pope drops his head, and I listen to him say, "Yeah, that about covers it."

Shit.

The handcuffs are transferred from Pope's wrists to JJ's. Just as Shoupe pushes him to the door of the police car, JJ looks over his shoulder, something of a grin touching his lips as he stares right at me. That's right, that bastard is grinning at me. Not only is he smirking at me, he's winking at me, quietly assuring me that it'll all be okay, but his little wink and smile that I love does nothing to ease the tension in my chest.

When he is driven off, I make a run for it.

I have to get to him.

──────────────────────────

𝖬𝖸 𝖫𝖤𝖦𝖲 𝖡𝖴𝖱𝖭，𝖬𝖸 𝖵𝖨𝖲𝖨𝖮𝖭 𝖡𝖫𝖴𝖱𝖲，𝖠𝖭𝖣 𝖬𝖸 𝖢𝖧𝖤𝖲𝖳 𝖧𝖤𝖠𝖵𝖤𝖲．I hate running. There's a reason I don't run, and this is the reason. I've come to a stop, my hands on my knees as I try to catch my breath. I wish I could just go back to the Chateau, grab the Twinkie and drive, but DCS might be there and I'm almost at the police station.

I'll be fine. I just need to keep breathing.

Oh, and not only am I running, but it's started to rain, so I'm running in the rain── how poetic.

I stand up, swiping my hand across my forehead. I'm sweating, and all I want is a shower. A hot, steaming shower── that's what I want.

But I need to get to the station to see JJ. I need to get him out of there before his dad does. His dad might already be there. God, I don't know. I just know that I can't take a second to stop running. I need to get to JJ.

I'm at the dock where the large ships leave every morning, taking people out of town. I'm close to the station... I think. I haven't got a clue. All I know is that I've been running in the right direction, and my entire body is aching, screaming at me to stop.

I choose to walk, needing to slow down my breathing before I set off in a run again. I place my hands on my hips, scowling at the people who stare at me, obviously disturbed.

I look to the dock, seeing a lot of people leaving the ship that just docked. My eyes skim over a few people, and then I look away, my steps staggering as I double back because right there, in the midst of the crowd is my brother.

My brother, not on his own, but with Sarah.

Sarah Cameron.

I come to a standstill, eyes wide and mouth agape. I have no words── not to describe this, not to describe why, and not to describe how. My brother is there, kissing Sarah Cameron in the freaking rain like he's in some kind of cheesy rom-com.

"Oh, my God." I step forward, charging towards the couple who are in the middle of kissing.

I, being the very, very annoying sister, jab my finger into John B's shoulder, catching him off guard. He and Sarah part, and they turn to me with slack jaws and wide eyes. I smile innocently, flicking my gaze from John B to Sarah. "Hi!"

"B, I-I, uh──" He clears his throat, rubbing the back of his neck, a little embarrassed that I had to catch him. "Y-You're──" I stare at him, still smiling which doesn't do anything to make him feel better. "Hi," he forces out.

"Hello." I nod my head, peering at Sarah. "And hello to you."

Sarah chuckles. "Hi, Brooke."

"So, I have, like, a thousand questions about this." I wave my hand in between them. "But I really need to get to the station. JJ's been arrested."

"What? Why?"

"I'll explain later. I just need to──" I start to back away, feeling a little awkward now. I just interrupted their kiss, and now I have no idea what to say.

"I can drive you."

John B and I snap our heads over to Sarah. "What? No, y-you don't have to take her. S-She can walk or..." John B eyes me. "run."

Bastard.

He's afraid of me saying something stupid to Sarah who he supposedly likes now. I knew he had gone out of town, but I did not expect him to have company. I especially didn't expect his company to be Sarah freaking Cameron.

I do have a thousand questions, and I absolutely will be pestering Sarah and John B, so I turn away from John B to say, "A lift would be great." I glare at my brother.

Sarah looks from me to John B. "Uh, yeah. I-I can do that." She smiles. "W-We should go."

God, I'm especially good at making tense situations more tense.

If someone had told me this morning that I'd be sitting in Sarah Cameron's car, I would've laughed in their face. I mean, Sarah and I aren't the kind of people who become friends. We're on different ends of the social ladder with me right at the bottom, and her right at the top. I'm not saying she's not a nice person── she's giving me a lift to station without asking any questions, so she can't be that bad of a person.

I have no idea what to say to her given that I just caught her kissing my brother. Perhaps she and Topper broke up, I don't know. It's none of my business, but I do find it strange. Where had John B and Sarah gone? Why were they kissing? Too many questions, too many thoughts.

Because of my friendship with Kiara, I've never sought to form any kind of friendship with Sarah. In a way, I now feel as if I should because if she and my brother are going to── Well, maybe that kiss was a one off, who knows. There's no point in getting wound up about it, but I know for a fact that I cannot remain silent in this car, not when my thoughts are bouncing around my head, begging to be released.

"So," I begin, voice squeaking. "You and John B, huh?" I feel like I should nudge her or something, but she's driving, and we are talking about my brother.

"Uh, yeah. I-I guess, I──"

"I think it's great," I interrupt, words flying out of my mouth before I can stop them.

She looks surprised. "What,"

"My brother is kind of a hermit, so you know, it's nice that you..." I pause, letting her fill in the blank however she chooses. "Uh, anyway, I-I think it's great!" I know I don't sound so convincing, but I really do think it's... great. "Where did you guys go?"

John B never actually told me, but I assume it couldn't have been far. It was only a one day thing.

"We went to Chapel Hill to look at the archives on Denmark Tanny who created Tannyhill," she explains, and I nod, understanding that Tannyhill is the home she and her family live in.

"Why, though?"

"He was the only survivor of that Merchant shipwreck."

Now it makes sense, but I still can't believe he and Sarah Cameron spent the entire day together, and it ended in a── Well, you all know how it ended. "Oh."

"Yeah. You guys are on a... treasure hunt?"

"Did he say that?" She nods, and I huff out a laugh. "That makes us sound like children, but yeah, we're on a treasure hunt."

"It sounds fun."

"That's one way to put it," I say, peering out the window to see we're getting closer to the station. I could've never run to the station, not when it's much further than I realised. "Did, uh, you guys find what you were looking for?"

"I think so," she replies, offering me a smile.

"Good."

I continue to stare out the window at the passing buildings, but I can feel Sarah looking at me. She wants to talk, probably about the whole John B thing, but I don't know what I can say. I'm not somebody who can provide any advice in that area. Until last night with Kiara, I've never done anything remotely close to... yeah, you get it. I can't offer any advice, and if I'm being honest, I don't want to offer any advice on how to saddle my own brother. Okay, I definitely could've worded that better.

"Thank you for driving me," I say, turning to give her my most genuine smile. "I appreciate it."

We pull up in front of the station. "It's no problem. I'll wait out here."

"Oh, you don't──"

"I'll wait out here," she repeats, voice sterner, and I don't deny her this time. I just thank her again, push open the car door, shut it behind me and walk towards the station.

Sarah Cameron is kind. To be honest, I personally don't have any reason to detest her. We've shared minimal interactions over the years, so I have no opinion on her except one── Sarah Cameron is pretty nice. She didn't have to drive me to the station, but she offered and now she's waiting outside for me.

I still have a thousand questions, but all of them can be answered by John B.

I walk into the station, walk to the front desk and ask for JJ Maybank. With one shake of her head, the woman behind the desk dismisses me, telling me that his father has already collected him. Dread fills my stomach, and I feel bile crawling up my throat at the idea of what could happen to JJ now that his father has him. I can't go to his house, that would be careless and stupid so I sulk back to the car.

I begrudgingly yank on the door, pull myself into her car and sit in, still soaked from the stupid rain. All I want to do is clear this day off the calendar, have another warm shower, and sleep. Everything about today sucks, and I wish I could just go back to last night because that was where everything was good and safe and warm.

"He not in there?"

I shake my head. "No, he's..." I sigh, rubbing my hand across my forehead. "Can you drop me off at the, uh..." I realise there and then that I don't have anywhere to go. "God, I don't know."

DCS might be at my house. I could go back to Kiara's but she'll be getting ready for that ridiculous Kook party that's tonight. Her dress was hanging up in the bathroom earlier, and to say that it wasn't something Kiara would wear is an understatement. I could go and see Pope but his parents were likely berating him. JJ is... well, at home, but I can't go there, and John B is God knows where now that I've stolen Sarah from him. Maybe he'll go and find JJ.

"Why don't you come with me to Midsummers?" Sarah asks, snatching all my attention. "You can be my date," she adds, and that makes me laugh. Midsummers? I'd rather hang myself than show up at that thing. Being Sarah's date── again, something that I shouldn't do as a literal Pogue.

"What about Topper?" is what I ask because I can't figure out what else to say, and if I'm going to be Sarah's date, I need to ask about Topper── I'm not a home wrecker, although John B might be.

"I would much rather go with you," she insists, offering me a very warm smile. "Please. It'll be fun."

"Yeah. Right." These parties are the same every year, and every year, they look boring as shit. Also, a people there will know that I don't belong in that scene and I'll immediately be graced with dirty looks. Oh, how I can't wait.

"I don't have a dress." I'm grasping at straws because I don't want to go, but what else do I actually have to do?

"I have the dresses, Brooke. I'll sugar mama ya."

I bite my tongue, not wanting to say what I really want to say, and I swallow my pride as I utter the words, "Okay. Fine."

Oh, how I'm going to regret saying that.

──────────────────────────

❀ soph speaks

the start of brooke & sarah's everlasting friendship<3