𝟎𝟔𝟗. 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫

pov ──── ariana grande

( i had a wild idea for this chapter
one word: school )

warning: mature content,
mention of abuse

☀︎ 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐥𝐲𝐧'𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐯

𝖩𝖮𝖧𝖭 𝖡 𝖠𝖭𝖣 𝖨 𝖯𝖴𝖫𝖫 𝖴𝖯 𝖳𝖮 𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖢𝖧𝖠𝖳𝖤𝖠𝖴 𝖳𝖮 𝖥𝖨𝖭𝖣 𝖩𝖩 𝖶𝖠𝖨𝖳𝖨𝖭𝖦 𝖥𝖮𝖱 𝖴𝖲．I've never been so glad to see his face, and while John B is still trying to wrap his head around the fact that his best friend and sister are dating, I don't care right now. I need to be in his arms more than I need to breathe.

The moment I'm out of the Twinkie, JJ steps right up to me and pulls me flush against him, embracing me tightly. The impact at which he hugs me has me laughing, but I close my arms around him nonetheless, beyond relieved to have him this close to me. It's only been a couple hours but I've missed him a lot.

I really, really missed him.

I lean my face into his shoulder, practically melting into his touch. "Hi."

I feel him press his lips against the top of my head. "Hey, Sunshine. Are you okay?" He pulls away from me, grasping my face with his hands. I'm just about ready to kiss him when he swipes his thumb under my eye. "Have you──" He snaps his head over to John B as he rounds the Twinkie to reach us. "Why is she crying?"

I scoff, leaning my head into his hand. "JJ."

"Why are you crying?" he asks, not giving me the chance to answer before he asks my brother the same question. "Why is she crying, John B?"

"Hey." John B steps up beside me, holding his hands up defensively. "I didn't make her cry."

I gaze up at the boy I get to call mine in complete admiration. "JJ, he didn't make me cry. I'm okay, I promise. We just..." I shrug. "...talked."

"Talked?" JJ nods, not appearing to be convinced. His hands drop from my face, sliding down my arms before he pulls me into him. "He spill the beans? Tell you the truth about what's going on?"

John B shares a glance with me, and I nod, reassuring him that he can confide in JJ. He is his best friend after all. "I know I've been a little shady," John B starts. "Stretched the truth a little bit."

"Yeah, that's called lying," JJ jabs, and I hit my hand against his chest gently, needing him not to get mad at John B right now.

"Let him talk," I insist, leaning my head into his shoulder.

"What's going on?" JJ asks, firmness in his tone.

"My dad killed two guys," John B tells, and JJ's mouth gapes, much like mine did when he told me. After we confided in one another, John B told me more of the details, leaving me with so much shock and anxiety. I now just hope he can confide in JJ too as he is absolutely on our side, no doubt in my mind. "He was trying to protect me."

"You serious?" He glances down at me, and I force myself to smile despite feeling this raging anxiety I feel right now. JJ is the only reason I'm not completely freaking out right about now. I've already had my breakdown, I can't have another.

"Yes. It was the guys from the Coastal Venture," John B explains, much like he did with me, and I joked about not caring if he killed the bastard that had me falling over the edge of the ship. "They came here looking for Denmark's diary."

"Your dad capped them for that?" JJ's arm tightens around my back.

"Yes, and then Singh showed up. They took our dad, and then they tried to kill me. Brooke saved me." JJ glances down at me, and I silently assure him that I'll explain that part later. Maybe he'll be proud that I shot a gun and saved my brother, I don't know, we'll see later.

John B continues, speaking what he already told me on the way here. "They took him to South America."

JJ looks more and more confused. "South America?"

"Yes. They're on their way to South America."

JJ's head shakes as he attempts to wrap his head around this information. "Hold on."

"Then they're gonna what? Off him? I don't know what to do." John B is panicking while JJ is trying to speak over him and get him to stop. I slide away from JJ, moving towards my brother who looks to be on the verge of his own mental breakdown.

"John B, stop!" JJ snaps, bringing John B out of his head as I reach him, placing my hand on his arm to try and comfort him. "You need to breathe for a second." JJ takes a step back. "I need to think."

He moves to sit on the porch steps, his head hung low. JJ then hits both hands against the step he's sitting on. We move towards JJ, sitting on either side of him. I instinctively lean my head into his arm, seeking comfort.

"I don't know what to do," John B speaks, repeating similar words he said to me. "How the hell are we getting to South America?"

I had no idea, and I told him that. JJ, however, is a little more reckless than me so I figure he'll find a way to get us there.

JJ exhales, head shaking in disbelief. "No clue. But..." He lifts one arm to lay it over John B's shoulders and lifts his other arm to lay over mine. He pulls John B into him. "We're gonna figure it out," JJ assures, and I choose to believe him.

"Yeah," John B replies.

"We're Pogues, man. We always do."

I smile against JJ's arm. "Damn straight."

We stay like that for some time, just sitting in blissful silence, letting ourselves pretend for one moment that all is going to be okay as we have each other. We always have each other, that's what we can always count on.

John B is the first to pull away and step off into the Chateau, claiming that he's going to try and get some sleep. We're going to come up with a plan tomorrow once we've, you know, slept on it and the weight of what's gone on. All we need to do is take a second to think. We're gonna figure it all out, that much I know.

But right now, sitting in the darkness that surrounds the Chateau, I lean into JJ and press my lips against his cheek. "Hi."

His arm moves, lying over my lap where his hand squeezes my thigh. "Hi, baby." His head turns, and his lips meet mine briefly. "You wanna tell me why you were crying?"

"It's nothing, just..." I shake my head, placing my hand over his. "John B and I talked, cleared the air between us and..." I press my lips together in a tight smile, hoping I can convince him that I am fine. "Yeah. Anyway, I missed you." I lean forward, wanting to kiss him again but he rears his head back, taking his lips with him. "Hello?"

He peers at me, a knowing look in his eyes. "You're avoiding talking about something."

Damn him for knowing me.

I sigh loudly. "No. I'm just trying to kiss you."

"To avoid talking to me," he adds, squeezing my leg again. "As somebody who has kissed you many times in the past to stop talking about shit, I know it well, so talk to me." I remain silent, just staring at him with a soft expression, hoping my puppy-dog look will be enough for him to leave me alone. "Oh, don't do that shit with me. Talk to me, Sunny."

I pout, leaning in again, really wanting to kiss him. "Don't you wanna kiss me?"

"I always wanna kiss you, Sunshine."

"Then why won't you?"

He narrows his eyes. "Talk, Brooke."

I pull back, admitting defeat. "I don't wanna talk, JJ. Not about this."

"What is this, angel?" he asks, emphasising my comment, but I just look away from him as I don't want to answer. I don't know how to answer. Talking about it will make it real, and I don't think I'm truly ready to face what happened a year ago with Dad. If I can't talk to my own brother about it, how can I talk to JJ about it?

My continued silence has JJ speaking again. "Okay, how about we play truths?"

I snap my head back to him. "Truths?"

We haven't played in some time as I think we've basically exhausted all possible questions to ask one another. We played it a lot when we were stuck on the island as we needed something to do, and we even played our game with the others which was certainly entertaining. However, since being home, we haven't played it.

"Yep. One question each."

"We never just ask one question though."

"Well, this time we only get one so make it a good one, alright?"

"But I don't want to talk about why I was crying."

"You don't have to," he assures.

"But you will ask that question." I know he wants the answer to that question, but I don't know if I can bring myself to mention why I'm upset to him of all people. I'm scared. Really scared.

I'm scared he'll be the one to understand it the most, more than my brother or friends.

"I won't ask if you don't want me to, Sunny." His forefinger and thumb take my chin, forcing me to look directly at him, and I'm pulled right into the swirl of blue the moment our eyes meet. My lips twitch upwards as I look at him, mesmerised by how beautiful he truly is. In the dark or light, he looks ethereal, it's almost unfair.

And he's all mine.

I press my lips together, deciding to go along with whatever he wants. "Okay, JJ."

"Also, I promise..." He leans in, his nose brushing against mine. "...if you're good and you play along, I'll kiss you." I push my teeth into my bottom lip, trying to suppress the red creeping up my neck as my nose skims his.

I exhale a long breath. "Okay. Can I go first?"

He pulls his head back slightly. "Course you can."

I have a very simple question── a question that we never really get to ask each other as we usually spend every single day together. However, today, for the first time in a while, JJ and I have spent the entire day apart.

"How was your day?"

A laugh ripples out of him, obviously surprised by that question as I've never asked before. Am I bad girlfriend for not asking about his day in the past? I just never asked because we always spent our days together. "That's the question?"

"Yes." I push my fingers against his, taking his hand. "I haven't seen you all day so I wanna know how your day was."

"It was... not great." I squeeze his hand in assurance. "Rafe... melted down the cross," he tells, and my mouth gapes, not expecting that to be what he dealt with today.

"What? Does Pope know?"

"Yeah, I told him." I hate that I wasn't there for Pope when he heard the news. I hate that I wasn't there for any of them, in fact. I mean, they each went through something today and I was just stuck chasing after my brother and father, and for what? For my father to be taken? Great.

"God. I'm sorry." I press my chin into his shoulder, leaning into him. "I wish I had been there."

"I wish I had been with you." He can say that all he wants, but I know that he was much better off here rather than with John B and I. I wouldn't have been able to protect both of them so I'm glad he stayed here even if it wasn't so great.

"Is Pope okay?" I ask, making a mental note to check on him when I see him.

"He will be," JJ assures. "Cleo checked on him."

I see a romance in their future but I won't say it out loud in case I jinx it. Pope deserves a great love story, don't you think? And I really like Cleo. I think they suit one another. They definitely did whilst we were on the island, that's for sure.

With our hands intertwined, he brushes his knuckles against my thigh, tilting his head into mine. I feel his lips press against the side of my head, bringing me an enormous amount of comfort, he has no idea. "Hey." I lift our hands, pressing my lips to his knuckles. "You know what I really want right now?"

He grins, saying the first thing that comes to mind. "Me?"

"Well, yes, I always want you, but what I want right now is a steaming hot shower, like..." I exhale a longer breath, imagining myself in a shower right now. God I'd literally kill somebody for hot water. "I want a scolding hot shower. So hot that my skin just burns, you know?"

JJ hums. "That sounds really nice."

"But we have no water," I say, frowning.

Staying silent, I glance to JJ who looks like he's got some kind of idea. He's got that wild look in his eye, like he's prepared to do something a insane just to get me hot water. I squeeze his hand, bringing his attention back to me. "You've got that look in your eye. What?"

He glances at me, his bottom lip pulled between his teeth as he smiles. "I've got an idea."

He pulls himself up, taking his warmth away. "What? What do──"

He begins to make his way to the Twinkie, walking backwards so he can talk to me. "Grab shampoo, conditioner, whatever the hell, alright? Meet me in the Twinkie. I've got an idea." He's rushing off, moving to get in the van, leaving me completely confused on the steps to the Chateau.

"JJ! What──"

"Come on, Sunny!"

──────────────────────────

✩ 𝐣𝐣'𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐯

𝖨𝖥 𝖬𝖸 𝖦𝖨𝖱𝖫 𝖶𝖠𝖭𝖳𝖲 𝖠 𝖧𝖮𝖳 𝖲𝖧𝖮𝖶𝖤𝖱，𝖬𝖸 𝖦𝖨𝖱𝖫 𝖨𝖲 𝖦𝖮𝖭𝖭𝖠 𝖦𝖤𝖳 𝖠 𝖧𝖮𝖳 𝖲𝖧𝖮𝖶𝖤𝖱．The Chateau doesn't have any water, neither does my house, so I thought of the next best thing. It's a little... wild and completely insane, but I wouldn't be me if I didn't do something a little stupid to impress the girl I like.

She's never been more confused in her life, but she'll figure it out once we get to our location. She's just sitting in the passenger seat of the Twinkie, as beautiful as ever, with bottles of shampoo, conditioner and body wash.

"Seriously, where are we going?"

I just smile at her and she just rolls her eyes. I laugh, taking a right turn down a familiar road that leads to a... kind of familiar place, I guess. Based off the look on her face, she hasn't got a clue where we're going, but that's okay. She'll know soon enough, and I think she'll be very surprised by the idea I have.

Something is bothering her, and she isn't quite ready to tell me which is okay, but I really hate that she's put this barrier up. She can talk to me about anything, no matter what is. I suspect it has something to do with her dad but I didn't pry. She can talk to me when she's ready, if she's ready.

I hated to see that she had cried. I hated that I wasn't there when she cried. I guess it was okay that John B was there with her, but he could've been part of the reason why she was crying in the first place, so it should've been me that was holding her and checking in our her. Instead, I was dealing with the fact that we had officially lost the cross to Rafe again. I should've stayed by Brooke.

Yeah, something is bothering her, but I intend to take her mind off all that until she's ready to talk to me. Now, I'm playing the role of the perfect boyfriend and giving her whatever she wants. She wanted a shower, and she's going to get one.

My idea will work out no matter how wild it is.

"Oh, my God." Now she knows where we are. "Please tell me you're kidding."

"Not kidding, Sunshine."

I pull the Twinkie up to a sign that reads, Kildare County High School.

I pat my hand against her leg gently, urging her to get out of the van. "Come on, Sunny." I push open my door, rushing around to her door so I can let her out as she's just staring at the building ahead, stunned that I brought her to our high school.

I lean against the passenger door. "You okay?"

She glances at me. "What are we doing here?"

"They have locker rooms," I state, knowing that from the very few occasions I actually attended my classes. "Those lockers rooms have showers── hot ones, Sunshine. That's what you wanted, right? A hot shower?"

Her mouth gapes, her head still trying to wrap around the fact that I brought her here. "Yes, but──"

"But nothing," I interrupt, snatching her hand. "You're getting your shower, Sunny."

Like I said, whatever my girl wants, my girl gets.

With little to no fighting, I pull Brooke out of the van and towards the school. She's still revelling in the fact that brought her here. I can see it in the way she looks at this building like she's never stepped foot in it before. Sure, we have probably less than ten thousand steps in this school, but I know this place very, very well.

More specifically, I know how to sneak in and out without being caught, not that I think we'll get caught in the middle of the night. As far as I know, they can't afford guards to keep watch of the school grounds. Besides, what kid would ever want to break in?

Well, we want to break in but not to steal test scores or anything. No, we just want a shower.

Of course, we can't just walk up to the door and walk in as it's locked. But luckily for us, I happen to know another way in as I've snuck out of class many times.

"What are we doing?" She's laughing, clearly excited about the thought of breaking into the school we haven't attended in months.

Around the back of the building, there's the door to the gym. It has a faulty lock. I know that because I was the one who broke the lock in the first place when trying to get out of gym with John B. I'm not sure Brooke knows about it.

As far as I know, they haven't fixed the lock, and even if they have, it'll be an easy break. Just gotta knock a rock against it, trust me. This school is cheap. They don't care about paying for better security or equipment. All that money goes into the Kook Academy.

I reach the door, noticing that they've wrapped the chain around the handle, but I still give it a single tug.

It opens immediately.

Well, I appreciate their attempt to pretend it's locked.

I hold open the door for the girl beside me. "After you, m'lady." She stares at me for a beat, probably trying to figure out what she sees in me.

"We're breaking into the school, JJ."

"Yes, we are." I place a hand on her back, giving her a gentle push to get inside. "You're very observant, aren't you?"

"I'm just saying," she mumbles, a hint of amusement in that voice of hers. She's got a little thrill with breaking into the school, I can tell.

I pull the door shut behind us once we're inside the gym. We're, of course, engulfed in darkness the moment I close the door. Yeah, being inside the school after hours definitely is on some level of creepy but the locker room is only around the corner. I reach out, finding Brooke's hand in the darkness and I tug her just an inch closer.

I ain't losing her in the dark, creepy school, thank you. I pull her along, barely able to see, but I think I'm heading towards the door that leads to the locker rooms. The only source of light are the tiny windows that line the top edges of the gym but they barely offer any kind of light.

It's dark, much darker than I thought it would be.

"So..."

I flinch, surprised to hear her voice whilst not being able to see her. "Fuck, Sunny." She laughs softly, and all that previous fear I had disappears the moment she produces one of my favourite sounds. "Sorry. What's up?"

"You won't come to school in the day but you're fine breaking in at night?"

"Well, isn't this more fun?"

"Oh, yeah. I love not being able to see you."

I love when she's sarcastic. I can practically hear those pretty eyes of hers rolling as she talks back at me. I don't even need to see her face to know how she's looking at me.

"Do you have any idea where you're going?"

"Of course I do," I scoff, but I know she's not entirely convinced. I have some idea where I'm going, and while it's darker than I thought, I'm pretty sure I'm at the door to the boy's locker room.

"You didn't bring a torch?"

"I didn't think it would be this dark," I reply, placing my hand on the wall I know I'm standing in front of. Pulling Brooke along, I drag my hand across the wall until I feel a handle. "Hey!"

"Wow. You found a door. Congrats."

"You know, you're gonna be thanking me in about two minutes, Sunshine, alright?"

I push on the handle, not surprised when it gives way and opens. Teachers were often too lazy to actually lock these doors. The moment the door opens, I feel around to check for the light switch that I know is on the wall beside the door.

I feel Brooke's hand slip from mine as I search for this switch. "I swear its──"

The lights turn on without me flicking the switch. Confused, I peer over my shoulder at Brooke who's standing beside the light switch. "Here?"

"Yeah, you're real cute, you know that?"

She beams. "Yes, I'm adorable."

She pushes the shampoo, conditioner and body wash into my hands before stepping around me, turning the corner into the locker room where a row of shower heads hang from the ceiling. Nobody ever actually used these showers, not when I attended school anyway. Nobody wanted to undress in front of each other and shower, you know, so we just avoided showering. Besides, we never did enough work to actually reason having a shower.

This is the first time I'll be using the showers at school and there's a girl in here with me.

I've got a girl in the boy's locker room.

"Have you broken in before?"

I watch as she bends down to untie her shoes. "No. Why?"

"Well, you knew where to break in."

"Oh, because I've snuck out a lot, you know, to smoke pot or some shit, whatever." I push my own shoes off, mirroring her movements. "There's a lot ways in and out of this school, Sunny."

"You're a bad influence, Maybank."

She steps towards me, taking the products from me, and placing them down on the floor. "Well, I like making you bad," I say, letting her grab the hem of my t-shirt. She pulls it up, bringing my shirt over my head, and I help her in disregarding it.

She drags her eyes up my body before our eyes meet. There's a dot of red on her cheeks, a little speck of green in her eyes, and a little bit of pink in her smile. She's so many colours at once, but the colour that shines the brightest on her is yellow. She's beautiful, but I've always known that. I mean, the first thing I ever said about her was that she's pretty, and I still think that more and more every single day. I notice her, I hope she knows that. I'll always notice her.

"You never got to ask your question," she says.

That's right, I never did. I shrug it off, really not caring at this moment. I step close to her, placing my hands upon her hips and dragging my thumbs across the hem of her shirt. "Do you want to take a shower?"

"Is that your question?"

"Sure." It wasn't the question I had in mind before I decided to bring her here, but now I just want to make her feel comfortable. I want to give her what she asked for as she's always given me everything I've ever wanted.

Slowly and carefully, we remove the rest of our clothes── me removing hers, and her removing mine. With each piece of disregarded clothing, the closer we get to one another until we're stepping towards the row of showers, deciding to turn each shower on just because we can.

Brooke laughs the minute hot water hits us, her hands squeezing my arms as she tries to get used to the unfamiliar feeling of actually having hot water. I swear, I've had more cold showers in my lifetime than I've had warm.

Her back hits the wall, the water running between us as I lean into her, waiting to hear another sound I love now that I've heard whilst having her underneath me. She sighs, bringing her head forward and off the wall so the water can run over her hair and down her neck.

I'm mesmerised. Indescribably mesmerised by this girl I get to call mine. Seriously, I don't know how I got this lucky.

"Thank you for doing this," she whispers, pressing her palm over the steady beating of my heart. "I definitely wasn't expecting it."

"Well, I'm full of surprises."

Her fingernails drag up, scaling the width of my collarbone. I let my eyes close, just letting myself lose all sense of control as she touches me so delicately. She's so gentle, so caring and loving with the way she moves her fingers. Her just being here is all I could ever want.

My eyes open and they search for that place they call home. Our eyes clash, brown meeting blue like always, and I feel my heart spike as I look into her.

I think I'm in love with her.

I think, for a long time, I've had much stronger feelings towards her instead of just simply liking her more than friends. I think, for longer than I thought possible, I've loved her, and not in the way a friend does.

I think I love her in the simple way a boyfriend loves his girlfriend.

I'm in love with her.

Staring at her now, looking into the swirls of brown and green that make up her eyes, I find that I'm in love with her.

I'm in love with my best friend. 

However, instead of saying the words because, and I hate to admit it, I'm a little afraid, I decide to kiss her. I've never, ever felt such a way towards somebody in my whole life. I never imagined what being in love could feel like but now I think I do, and I'm fucking scared, alright, so I just drop my head and kiss her.

Her lips mould to mine perfectly, and she falls into steady rhythm with me as I press her into the wall and kiss her like my life depends on it. Her arms lift, looping around my neck and I lean down, hooking my hands under her thighs to hoist her up.

Gasping delightfully, my teeth bite down on her bottom lip as her legs come to hang around my hips. She tries to match the unrelenting pace at which I'm kissing her but she struggles, instead choosing to smile and enjoy the way I let myself get high off her taste.

She sighs, fingers pushing into my hair. The water continues to cascade down us, keeping us warm in the arms of each other. I press her into the wall a little harder, unsurprised if we find the tile to have dug into her back later. I detach my lips from hers, dragging them down her neck and revelling in the sweet sounds that fall from her open mouth.

She holds on tighter, body seeking friction with mine which has guttural noises coming from me. "JJ," she whines, tugging at my hair and forcing me to bring my head back from her neck.

Without saying anything, she nods, leaning forward to rest her forehead against mine. "You sure?" I clear my throat, my voice hoarse.

She hums, nodding eagerly. "Please."

I seal my mouth over hers, holding onto her as I give us both what we want and need. I hold her body to mine, and in one swift movement, I push myself into her. Her mouth falls open against mine as we both take a second to adjust to this new feeling of us all over again.

Just a couple days ago, we pretended to be in Paris while I laid her down on my bed and had her in a way that nobody ever has. I held her, I kissed her, I loved and took care of her. She clung onto me, much like she's doing now, and we both brought each other to the sun as she had said. Yeah, with her, it was beyond special. It was perfect, if you will.

I move my mouth over hers, matching the rhythm our mouths to the rhythm of us moving together as I pull out and push back in, earning the loudest groan in response. Her fingernails dig into my shoulders, bringing a fusion of pain and pleasure to me. I grin against her collarbone, loving each and every noise she gives me as her body fits mine flawlessly.

She consumes my whole being, I swear.

I hike her up higher, earning another moan as I reach a spot inside her that has the balls of her feet pressing into my lower back. "JJ." She takes my face in her hands, forcing my eyes back on hers as I keep moving, knowing I can't stop now. She's shaking, unable to keep her mouth from stuttering open as I push in harder and faster, wanting her to lose it. "JJ, please."

With my eyes focused on hers, I hold onto her thighs, keeping her in place against the wall as I continue to move inside her with as much strength as I can muster. "Let go for me, baby." I move my hand, bringing it between her legs.

She jerks upwards, crying out. "JJ."

I catch her bottom lip between my teeth before my mouth covers hers. I kiss her passionately, our teeth clashing. "Let go for me," I whisper against her mouth.

I feel her squeeze around me, her body shaking as a wave of pleasure hits her, bringing her right over the edge. I keep a tight hold on her as she puts all her weight into me. I pull myself out of her just as I'm dragged down that cliff with her.

I lower her back to her feet, letting her stand upright. She stumbles, leaning back against the wall as I kiss her again just because I can.

I then bend down to retrieve the body wash, wishing we had brought some kind of towel or something, but of course we had to forget something otherwise all this would've been a little too perfect.

Without saying a word, I lather my hands in the coconut body wash before I scrub down her neck, chest and stomach. I then bring my hands back up, lifting one arm and scrubbing that before I do the other. She just stands there, dazed but as beautiful as ever as she watches me with such ease.

I lower myself down, getting on my knees and grabbing more body wash so I can lather her hips, legs and feet. I feel one of her hands push into my hair as I work on getting her clean as I did promise her a shower, and while I don't think the warm water will disappear, I don't want to take any chances.

I straighten my back, pressing a kiss against her hipbone. She whimpers, fingers digging into my scalp as I move my lotion-covered hands over the back of her thighs. I kiss her hip again, gliding my mouth towards her stomach. She just watches in admiration as I stay on my knees, practically worshiping her.

The water washes away the body wash quickly and I come back to stand in front of her, my hands taking her face. She peers up at me, a lazy smile gracing those lips I get the pleasure in kissing. "You okay?"

"Did we just..." A quiet laugh ripples out of her. "Did we just have sex in school?"

I grin, finding her to be the most adorable person in the world. "Yes, Sunshine."

"Miss. Driscoll would be so disappointed in us." My laugh comes out loudly as I think about our ninth grade sex-ed teacher who told us that sex was a horrible, horrible thing that should never be done. I don't think she still works here, but yes, she would be disappointed in us.

"Baby, I think every teacher would be disappointed in us," I speak against her neck.

I press a couple of open-mouthed kisses to her neck, letting myself get lost in her all over again. Instantaneously, she moans, wrapping her arms around my neck. The hot water runs down her back, warming her hair that she's been wearing down a lot lately. I love her hair.

I could tell her now. I could blurt it out.

I'm in love with you.

It would be so easy to say, wouldn't it? I could say it, kiss her, and hope that she says it back to me. Does she feel the same way? Does she love me?

"Hey, JJ." I lift my head, looking at her. "I..." I stare, waiting to see if those words will fall from her lips. If they do, maybe I'll have more courage to tell her how I feel. "I'm really happy I have you. Thank you for being mine."

I lean into her, relaxing. "I'm happy I have you too," I tell her, kissing her once again. "Thank you for being mine, Sunshine."

Yeah. I'm in love with her.

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𝖠𝖱𝖱𝖨𝖵𝖨𝖭𝖦 𝖡𝖠𝖢𝖪 𝖠𝖳 𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖢𝖧𝖠𝖳𝖤𝖠𝖴，𝖶𝖤 𝖫𝖠𝖸 𝖮𝖴𝖱𝖲𝖤𝖫𝖵𝖤𝖲 𝖮𝖭 𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖣𝖮𝖢𝖪－ 𝖮𝖭 𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖣𝖮𝖢𝖪 𝖳𝖧𝖠𝖳'𝖲 𝖲𝖤𝖤𝖭 𝖠 𝖫𝖮𝖳．We're staring up at the starry sky, our arms pressed together with our hands intertwined. Our legs hang off the dock, hovering above the surface of the water.

We showered, washed each other's hair and bodies. We then fell back into each other, kissing and touching and reaching which forced us to shower again. Afterwards, I dressed her, she dressed me, and then we walked the halls of our high school in the middle of the night.

We walked in and out of classrooms, laughing about the small memories we have in each room. The entire time, my hand remained in hers while I allowed her to drag me through the school until we decided we should leave and head back to the Twinkie before the sun lifts and John B starts to question where we've disappeared to.

Honestly, if we could just disappear, I'd take her away right now. Put us on a boat, take us away from this island and to our own paradise because she deserves to get out of here. We deserve to get out of here together. One day, I hope we will. However, we have too many problems to deal with as of now.

We have to get Big John back from South America. I guess that'll be our first big trip as partners── South America to save her dad. Romantic, no?

Brooke's forehead leans into my arm. "I feel good." A laugh ripples out of her, and God, I love that sound a lot. "I feel really good."

"I think you're a little dazed, Sunny."

"I think you're really, really good." She presses her lips against my shoulder. "Like, freaky good. So good that I saw the sun again." Another laugh, much louder than before, falls from her mouth but she covers that with her hand. She should never cover those laughs, not in front of me.

I gaze at her. "You saw the sun, huh?"

"I like you a lot, JJ. I like you." Her arm lifts, laying over my middle. "I like you, JJ, so much. Do you like me?"

I tilt my chin into her hair. "Yeah, I guess you're okay."

Her hand taps my chest lightly. "Shut up."

"I like you a lot too, Sunny." I more than like her, but I don't think I've got any balls to admit that just yet as I'm not sure how she feels. I'd like to think she feels the same way though. I hope she feels the same way, that is.

She inhales sharply. "Hey, JJ."

I smile against her hair, bringing my arm over her back. "Hey, Sunshine."

"He hit me."

I freeze, questioning if I heard her correctly. He hit me, that's what she said, right? I'm not imagining that. She remains in place, her hold seeming to tighten around me as I hold the weight of her words in my hands. He hit me, that's what she said.

My head shakes, struggling to comprehend that. "Uh, what?"

"He hit me," she repeats, her voice firmer and louder so I don't misjudge what I hear this time. No, she definitely said that he── whoever this bastard is── hit her. I can't fathom that. I can't understand that. I can't understand how somebody could hurt her.

Slowly, she sits herself up, keeping her hand on my chest. I lean up on my elbows, watching her as she looks away from me. "Baby, what? Who, uh..." I place my hand over hers, knowing I can comfort her in this way. "Who hit you?"

I have a suspicion but if I say it, it'll be true.

She sniffles, indicating that she's crying. Fuck.

I sit myself up, placing a hand on her back. "Hey." She's continuing to look ahead at the water, and I hate that she's not looking at me. I need her to look at me, tears or not. "Sunny, hey. Talk to me. Tell me."

"My dad hit me."

I rear my head back, feeling as if I've been hit by the weight of those words. "What?" I don't mean to let my voice raise, it just does in response. I don't want to be angry, not when she's confiding in me, but I have to be angry, right? For her, I need to be angry. For her, I am angry. I'm pissed. That had been my suspicion, but I never thought it could be true. "Your dad hit you?"

She nods, wiping her hand across her face to try and rid the tears. "Sunny." I squeeze the back of her neck, forcing her to turn her head. She fights, doing her best to look anywhere but in my direction. "Baby, look at me, please."

She casts a glance over her shoulder, her eyes meeting mine. The eyes I love are glistened in tears, and all I want to do is wipe those tears away. I want to take all that pain away from her and beat the shit out of it for her. "I'm sorry." She wipes her eyes. "I'm sorry. We... We were having a good night, and I..."

"Hey." I squeeze the back of her neck in reassurance. "It's okay. Talk to me, angel."

"That's why... That's why I was crying earlier," she clarifies. "I, uh, wanted to tell John B but I couldn't." I push my hand into her hair, fingers pressing into the base of her skull. I feel her unravel, her body no longer tense. "I didn't want John B to think of Dad in a bad way, not when he's, you know, stuck in the middle of the ocean with a man that's probably going to kill him."

She's so considerate, almost too considerate. She cares so much, so much so that she wanted to protect her brother from knowing that their dad did something so horrible to her. I mean, even I look up to this guy as my father wasn't the greatest, not in any way, but it turns out I've been looking up to a guy who would hit his own kid, much like my father would.

I bite back the anger crawling up my throat as I don't want to make her more upset after the night we had tonight. "When did this happen?"

"It was just a one time thing. H-He was angry. He was──"

She's trying to justify it, much like I used to do whenever my father would hit me. I used to believe that those hits he sent my way would be a one time thing, that it would never happen again after that, but then he'd hit me again and again. I'd make up excuses for him, much like she is.

"I don't care if it was a one time thing, Brooke. I don't care if he was angry, baby, he should've never touched you." A sob catches in her throat as she brings her eyes off me. I might've been a little brutal, but I need her to hear me. "Tell me when it happened."

"The night before he disappeared," she confirms, swallowing the emotion. "John B had stormed off in the Twinkie and I-I wanted to go after him but Dad stopped me. We fought a lot. We both said things, and I snapped back at him which he didn't like because he..."

"He hit you?" Her chin trembles as she nods, confirming a nightmare she's probably tried to forget over the past year. "He hit you," I repeat, saying it more to myself than to her.

Never did I ever think somebody could hurt Brooke like that. Somebody who is supposed to love her unconditionally hurt her. Would he have continued to hurt her had he not disappeared? Sadly, I know the answer to that. It would never stop at one hit, not with a man who is angry at the world all the time much like John is.

I take her face in my hands, and she doesn't fight me as I look at my girl. Looking at her, even in the dark, I find that she's beautiful. I find that she's intelligent. I find that she's incredible. She's a great daughter, a wonderful sister, a perfect friend. How can anybody hurt her?

"Where'd he hit you?" I ask, emotion swelling in my throat as I stare at this girl I get to call my own. Her eyes squeeze shut, tears falling. "Brooke, where'd he hit you?"

"He..." She sucks in a sharp breath. "He, uh, slapped me."

I pull her into me, letting her drop her head to my shoulder. I press my lips to her forehead, feeling her relax against me as she cries loudly. I feel my own eyes start to sting as I think about her from a year ago, before she and I were together. I can picture her yelling and crying at her father, and how he responds to her upset is by hitting her. If I had known then, I would've hurt him. Hell, I think if John B had known, he would've hurt their father. He'd protect his sister. I'd protect her.

I rub her back in gentle circles. "I'm sorry."

"You can't tell anyone, okay?" I rest my chin on her head, hearing her but not understanding. "John B absolutely can't know, not about this."

"But──"

"No." She pulls back from me, hands holding my arms tightly. "John B can't know. Promise me you will never, ever tell him."

Do I think John B should know? Yes. Will I respect her choice? Of course I will, I'm not an idiot. If she doesn't want her brother to know, I won't tell him even if I think he should know about this.

"Thank you for telling me," I say, taking her hand.

"It feels right to have you know because you..." She meets my gaze, not completing her sentence but she doesn't need to. I know what she wants to say.

I nod slowly. "I understand the most."

"I'm sorry," she chuckles. "We were having a good time and──"

"Are, baby. We are having a good time, okay?" I swipe my thumb across her knuckles. "Thank you for telling me, and I promise I won't tell John B, but I do think you should one day because, one way or another, we're gonna bring your dad back home and..."

"You think it wasn't a one time thing?"

"Oh, he'll never touch you again, trust me." Hell, I won't even let him yell at his daughter, not ever again. He ain't hurting her. "But as somebody who thought it was, you know, just a one time thing, look at where that got me."

She tilts her head, reaching her hand out to place against my cheek. "I think you're incredible, JJ. What happened to you── it doesn't define you."

"And neither does what happened to you," I tell her, hoping she knows that. "I'm so sorry."

"I'm just glad I said it, I guess. I feel... better."

"Good." I offer her a smile, she offers one back. "Turn around, come here." She obeys, turning around and bringing her back to lay against my front. I wrap my arms around her middle, resting my chin upon her head. "I'm sorry."

"Stop apologising," she insists, placing her hands over mine. "Just... stay here. Please."

"I'm not letting go, alright?"

She relaxes into me, her eyes closing. "Okay."

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❀ soph speaks

hehe chapter sixty nine
okay i'm a child

we all say in unison, "we hate big john" !!!

but don't we love brooke & jj :') my couple <3

hope you enjoyed!