𝟎𝟕𝟖.               𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐟 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐟

make you feel my love ──── adele

( just pure sappy, lovesick brooke & jj )

☀︎ 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐥𝐲𝐧'𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐯

𝖲𝖮 𝖡𝖠𝖱𝖱𝖠𝖢𝖴𝖣𝖠 𝖬𝖨𝖪𝖤 𝖦𝖠𝖵𝖤 𝖴𝖲 𝖠 𝖡𝖮𝖠𝖳－𝖭𝖮𝖳 𝖠 𝖦𝖮𝖮𝖣 𝖮𝖭𝖤 𝖨𝖭 𝖠𝖭𝖸 𝖲𝖤𝖭𝖲𝖤 𝖮𝖥 𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖶𝖮𝖱𝖣 𝖡𝖴𝖳 𝖠 𝖡𝖮𝖠𝖳 𝖭𝖮𝖭𝖳𝖧𝖤𝖫𝖤𝖲𝖲．Although the cost of the boat is another sum of money that we have to pay for when we find the gold── if we find the gold, that is.

God, I really hope we find the treasure. We need to find the treasure otherwise JJ and I are very, very dead. And when I think of dying── obviously, because naturally people do think of their death── I would like to think that I won't die at the hands of Mike much less anybody else.

No, we need to get him that money. We will get him that money if it's the last thing we do.

Alongside the rig Mike offered us, he gave us machetes which I was a little too excited about. I mean, come on, it's not everyday you get to use a freaking machete. JJ was definitely questioning my buzzing excitement over violence and a giant knife, probably trying to figure out what he sees in me.

Himself, probably. Was that inappropriate?

Mike has been really nice to me because, well, I'm me, but he's been a little harsher towards JJ. I guess my smile is more captivating than JJ's. With that captivating smile of mine, I was also able to convince Mike to get us a map that would hopefully point us in the right direction towards our friends that were split from, one of those friends being my brother who could be in danger as we speak.

Naturally, I'm worried about him and Sarah. They split from Pope and Cleo, on an adventure of their own to find Dad. I'm unsure if they found him, and if they did, what kind of state was he in and is he still hellbent on getting the treasure? What am I saying? He's absolutely still hellbent on finding the treasure. It's my father after all. I have a lot of questions, most of which that cannot be answered as Dad isn't here which doesn't help my overactive brain from skyrocketing into every painful, gut wrenching scenario.

I've even gone to the extreme of imagining my family dead.

"Hey, Sunshine."

I felt his presence behind me before he said those words and came to join me on this lonely log by the fire we started earlier when we reached land.

We were on the water for what felt like hours, and when the sun began to set, we knew we were better moving to find land. We had been following a boat carrying two of Singh's guards as Pope and Cleo recognised them as such. We stayed far enough away so that it didn't look suspicious but the minute we noticed that the guards were pulling up to a resting point, we thought it was only fair to also take a break.

Once we arrived at safe, dry land, we sat together around a fire that Pope and Kiara started. We talked for some time, just catching up with one another── Kiara telling her tales about this freaky camp she was sent to while Pope and Cleo shared their tales from the painful, awkward plane journey that included the Ward Cameron.

Thinking of Ward Cameron being on this island with my father is making me feel more anxious, more sick, and more afraid of what will happen. I'm worried that we're going to be screwed over by the bastard who tried to murder who father── who we thought murdered our father for so long.

I wish we were all together right now. I hate being separated, it feels all too familiar to when John B and Sarah "died", and we spent eighteen days separated. John B and I nearly spent our birthday away from each other but a wish on a dandelion brought him right to me.

Wish I could wish on a damn dandelion again.

"Hey, JJ."

His hand slides across my back, knee brushing against mine. "Why's my Sunshine down?"

"Because it's dark," I deadpan.

His sigh sounds defeated yet amused. "Sunny."

"I'm just worried about the others," I say, knowing I can speak freely about this as our friends have moved from us, either sleeping or talking in their own space.

We've formed duos, much like every group does if you really think about it. There's Pope and Cleo, there's JJ and I, and now there's Kiara and Emory. While Emory is new, whatever is going on between her and Kiara certainly isn't, that much is obvious from how much they've talked tonight, whispering to themselves around the fire while the rest of us talked. From what I assumed, Kiara didn't like Emory but something absolutely changed, and she never told me which is odd.

Annoyingly and surprisingly, Emory has fit into our circle easily even if our circle is currently incomplete due to the lack of John B and Sarah. From what I can tell, Emory definitely prefers Pope and Cleo over JJ and I. Should I be offended? Probably, but I know one person who definitely prefers me and he's currently twirling strands of my hair in his fingers.

"They're gonna be okay," he tells, his voice being one of the only things that can put my mind at ease. I could never tire from hearing him talk in my ear even if his words are simple and obvious. "I'm sure they've found your dad and they're... fine." He sounds distracted, his voice appearing faraway as he continues to pull and spin strands of my hair, completely fascinated.

I lean into him, eyes fluttering to a close at how sweetly he touches my hair. "You enjoying yourself?" I ask, a subtle tease in my tone.

He hums in agreement. "Very much."

He pushes a strand of hair behind my ear, thumb brushing over my cheekbone. He touches me in a way that, if it were possible, I'd melt into a puddle on the floor. His touch isn't rough, not in the way people would assume when looking at JJ. No, he touches me in a gentle, calculated way that has all of me feeling very warm.

"Your hair's pretty. Wavy." He is distracted by my damn hair. Who knew it could ever be distracting? I mean, JJ's always loved my hair, that much I've always known from the way he would tug and pull on it whenever it was in a ponytail. Now that I don't wear my hair up so often, he's still obsessed with the curls that hang down to the middle of my back. "Long."

"I need it cut," I say, pulling at another strand of hair and cringing at the split, charred ends. Dad used to cut my hair, not often like John B and JJ's, but he attempted to cut my hair whenever he could as we obviously couldn't afford to get someone to professionally cut my hair. I'd love nothing more than to have it all chopped off, if I'm being entirely honest.

JJ's fingers move to dig into the base of my skull, forcing me to tilt my head back slightly. "Never cut your hair, Sunny."

"You can't tell me what to do," I bite back, hoping he never, ever stops touching my hair.

His head dips, chin resting on my shoulder as his fingers press harder into my hair. "Don't cut your hair," he says again, speaking softly. "I like it. I love it." His lips touch the side of my neck, offering me the sweetest of kisses in such a sensitive spot.

Hearing him utter that word of love gives me a small reminder of what I wanted to talk to him about before we were pulled into a whirlwind that involved saving our friend from a hellish camp.

When his fingers loosen in my hair, I cock my head to one side, gazing at the boy who is lit by the moonlight. Sun or moon, rain or shine, he looks ethereal. "Hey, JJ." He hums, and I think he hears me but he still appears to be distracted by his fingers getting lost in my hair. "You know, we barely got to talk after the fire."

"Why did we need to talk?"

"First of all, you ran into a burning building," I argue, still recalling all the pain that came with knowing he── the love of my life── ran back into a fire just for me.

"I had to get your sketchbook."

"You didn't need to." I love that he did, don't get me wrong, but he could've died and I would've not only lost my house but him in the process.

"I did need to. Your art is gonna take you somewhere one day, Sunny. I couldn't just let that burn. How is that fair?" I love that he believes in me and my art, believing that I have a talent that's worth showing to the world. I love that he's one of the only people who have such faith in me and my ability. I love him, that's it, and I nearly lost him── my inspiration and muse.

"You could've died."

"I didn't."

"But you could've." I don't want to argue, not when he did such a selflessly generous thing for me that I'll never ever be able to repay him for. Although, for as long as I look at my sketchbook, I'll see it as the thing that nearly snatched him away from me. "I'd rather have you over a book, JJ."

"It's not just a book, Brooke, it's you." My eyebrows pinch, confusion etched on my face. "That sketchbook is all you── all your blood, sweat and tears. It's all the happiness, all the sadness, all the pain that you have gone through. All that art you've created is yours, so I couldn't just let that burn. I'd do it again and again and again, Sunshine, alright?"

There's a sense of finality in that last comment, but this is far from being discussed. How many times is he going to risk his life to protect me? How many times will I nearly lose him until he's out of reach for good?

I feel sick even thinking of him not beside me. I feel so ill thinking of not having him be apart of my life, of him not existing in my circle and my world. As ridiculous as it may seem, there's no Sunshine without JJ, much like JJ would say that there's no JJ without Sunshine. We need each other like we need oxygen. We need to breathe the other in, keep the other alive, keep the other from doing crazy shit like storming into fires.

"You'd run back into fire for me again and again?"

"And again," he adds, tipping his head to me, a faint smile pulling at his lips and at my heartstrings.

"You need to stop," I whisper, lifting my hand, letting it drag across the side of his face. "You need to stop risking your life for me. It's dangerous, JJ, do you not realise that?"

He stares at me, his eyes an intense sea of blue. "Right back at ya, Sunshine."

"No. We are not even, not in any way."

"Says the girl who fell overboard to protect me." His head shakes, eyes still holding mine captive in the strongest possible way. No, his eyes are far more captivating than mine, how did Barracuda Mike not realise that?

Am I seriously thinking of Barracuda Mike?

I shake that thought away, needing to fight JJ on his recklessness. "You fell off a bridge after crashing your motorcycle to protect me," I start, listing his heroic behaviour in my head. "And now you can tick walking into a burning building off your list of things you've done to protect me."

"I'm not sorry about it, Sunny. Like I said, I'd do it again and again and──"

"Again," I finish, sighing. "Yeah, I heard you, JJ, but I cannot be the reason you nearly get yourself killed. I love that you saved my sketchbook, I do, but I love you even more, alright? I'd be willing to let every piece of artwork burn── Hell, I'd be willing to let my house burn down all over again if it meant having you over anything else."

He exhales a laugh. "That's a little strange."

"Yeah, it sounded a little insane," I chuckle, leaning forehead to press my forehead to his. His eyes close, our hands now becoming intertwined as we relax into one another.

"I love you, JJ, and I have for nine years." I hear the crack in my voice but I ignore it, continuing to speak. "You have done a lot of stupid things, but the reason you do most of those stupid things is because of me, and I can't be the reason you get yourself hurt. I just... I don't even want to think about..." My mind turns black, overwhelmed with horrid thoughts of losing the boy breathing into me. "I can't..."

"Hey." The urgency in his voice has my eyes blinking open again. "I'm sorry, okay, but I'm not going to stop protecting you, Brooke. It's my job."

"It's not your job. It's nobody's job to protect me."

"I like keeping you safe, that'll never change, so I'm sorry that I scare you with the stupid shit I do, but I'm never going to stop, Sunny, because I meant what I said earlier." His hand lifts from mine, taking my face instead. "I love you."

I don't think, not for the rest of my life, I will ever truly get used to hearing such beautiful words come from his mouth. Forever, anytime he says those three words and eight letters, I will be warmed in a way I never have before. I didn't realise just how long I've been longing to hear those words from him, but now I want him to say the words everyday for the rest of our lives.

"I'm kind of mad you said it first," I say, breathing out a laugh to stop myself from breaking down at the possibility of ever losing him. I need to move on from that fact as it's never, not in any lifetime, going to happen.

His head rears back, his hand sliding down to cup the side of my neck. "You're mad I said it first?" There's a hint of amusement in his tone, a trace of a smile on his lips as those words leave him.

"I just wish that I hadn't chickened out because, hello, I've been, like, stupid in love with you for years." His features soften, his ears now hearing warming words instead of such forceful ones. "There's been so many times when I wanted to tell you, to just blurt it out."

He grins, teeth biting into his bottom lip. "Yeah?"

I turn my face from him, red warming my body. "Yes, you jackass."

He laughs softly. "When?"

My eyes bulge, surprised by the question. "When what?"

"When did you want to tell me?"

"Loads of times, like I just said."

"Yeah, name those times, angel. Truths"

A exasperated laugh ripples out of me. "Did you just pull the truths card on me?" He nods, grinning like a damn fool. He wants me to── I clear my throat, deciding to entertain the game we always fall back on whenever we need to. I lean back, taking both his hands again. "Okay."

I inhale a sharp breath, meeting his gaze. "The first time I wanted to tell you was only a few days after I met you," I admit, having never actually told anyone this before, not even you people who entertain me on a daily basis. "We were in class, I was trying to guess your name even though you kept telling me that you didn't know what JJ stood for."

He nods along. "I remember."

"As I was guessing, I looked into your eyes and I just..." I sigh, meeting that same blue I met all those years ago for the first time. "I loved your eyes── I still do── so when I was eight, I truly thought I was supposed to tell you that I loved you because I loved your eyes, but I obviously didn't because that would've been stupid. Besides, at the time, I thought I just had a crush."

He doesn't say anything, just listens to me, so I allow myself to continue. I may be embarrassing myself with this information, but he's still looking at me with such content, such love, that I don't feel so afraid of spilling my secrets.

"I wanted to tell you again when we were ten and you made me this." I bob my head towards the yellow friendship bracelet that adorns my wrist── matching the one that resides on his wrist. A sun charm dangles from it, rusted from the seven years of wear, but it's still one of the most beautiful things in the world. "I loved it, and in turn, I loved the boy who made it for me."

He's no longer looking at where our bracelets meet, instead watching me as I lift my head so my gaze can clash with his. Our eyes always find solace in each other's, and have been finding solace for nine years now.

I continue when a beat of silence passes by us. "I then wanted to tell you again when you kissed me at thirteen to prove to every girl in our class that I deserved a kiss just as much as they did." I smile at the memory of his lips on mine at thirteen-years-old, at the memory of him being my first kiss.

"Now since I kissed you that very first time when it was quarter past midnight, I've wanted to tell you literally every single day," I tell, my chest constricting as I attempt to get the words out without feeling emotional. "I love you, JJ, and I have for a very, very long time, and I am going to love you for as long as you'll let me."

Another beat passes, more silence echoing between us, and just as I worry that I've terrified with him with all that knowledge, JJ leans forward and pushes his mouth over mine. The kiss is featherlight, so fleeting and soft that I can barely feel the push his lips offer mine.

He's pulling away before I have a chance to react, his forehead brushes mine as he retreats. We breathe heavily, keeping ourselves close for a moment. He then speaks, not saying what I thought he'd say in response to my heck of a confession. "So you really have been obsessed with me for nine years, huh?"

I retreat, hitting my hand against his knee gently. "You bastard." He's laughing, his whole body shaking as he takes great amusement in knowing that for nine years, he's been the one who's held my heart in a tight grip.

"Hey." His hands reach for mine. I attempt to pull them back but he only snatches them in his, pulling me back to him. "I love you too."

"Yeah, idiot, I know that."

"Wanna know when I realised?"

I can't deny that I want to know when he first realised. I mean, did I do something a certain way? Did I say something? How did he come to the conclusion that he loved me, and how did it come to be that he said it first? I should stop asking myself these questions and let him speak.

I nod slowly. "Yeah."

"Well, I think for longer than I ever thought possible I've loved you," he starts, telling me something that has the back of my eyes burning already. "I think that all those times you mentioned, part of me probably felt the same way but I didn't know how to, I don't know, accept it."

A frown touches my lips, knowing JJ barely felt love before he met John B and I. He was alone, stuck with a father who abused him as an act of love. He then met John B and I, and I think he slowly started to believe that he could be loved. He has no idea just how much, does he?

"Although, the moment I truly realised that I had to tell you that I loved you was the night we broke into the school."

I can't hold back the laugh, no matter how hard I try── I don't try that hard, if I'm being honest. "What? You realised you loved me when we had sex in school?"

"It's not like that." I raise a brow, questioning him but he just shakes his head. "Yes, I loved what we did, but I don't know, I just looked at you and..." Our eyes greet each other home, getting lost in each other like they always do. "I looked at you and I just knew what was already there── love."

The laugh resides, becoming a genuine, full blown smile as he offers me his final words. "I love you, Sunny, and maybe I didn't realise it when you did, but I promise I'll love you for the rest of my life── for the rest of our lives."

Well, if I were to die tomorrow, I'd die happy because never has something sounded so romantic and so perfect in all my life. He is quite literally the definition of all that is right with my life, and I'll stand by that comment for the rest of my life.

"We're starting our lives off pretty good, don't you think?"

"Oh, yeah. Trapped in South America with a debt to Barracuda Mike hanging over our heads."

"We both have more to pay than what we owe Barracuda Mike," I say, jogging his memory. JJ and I have outstanding debts to pay off to the bastard police── mine for the assault on a police officer (that I still don't regret, by the way) and his for property destruction.

We make a great couple, don't we?

"Well, aren't we a great couple, Sunny." He reads my mind flawlessly. "Both have to pay off the fucking police for crimes that were deserved."

"I agree with you there, Maybank."

"Well, if we get the gold, we can do whatever the hell we want, right?"

"After we pay off our debts," I add.

"We could just leave with the gold, leave the country and never return. We won't have to pay the debts, we'll just run." A brazen grin brightens his face at the thought of abandoning our friends, our town. "We'll send postcards every couple of years, letting the family know we're alive, and then we'll just live wherever the waves take us."

"You've really thought about it, haven't you?"

"Technically, this is our first holiday destination minus the surfing."

I press my lips together, humming. "Yeah, I guess so." I shuffle close to him, choosing to lay my head on his shoulder. "I guess we could run away if we get the gold," I say, sliding my hand around his arm and pulling until his open hand rests over my thigh.

His chin rests on my head, and I feel him smile against my hair. "Go all over the world, letting your art take us wherever," he continues, adding to the dream we already have. "We'll live in shacks and eat food with our bare hands.

"Visit every beach possible so we can go skinny dipping and lay under the stars every single night," I add, peering up at the swarm of stars that collect above our heads. "We can drink margaritas and have sex every night too."

"Holiday us sound like they have a lot of stamina."

"You do have a lot of stamina," I comment.

He kisses the side of my head. "Don't forget it."

I laugh. "It's hard to forget it."

"There is one thing I'm doing before we run away with all the gold." I turn my head away from the stars, looking at him with a raised brow. "Taking you on a date── a real one."

"With caviar, champagne, and one of those desserts that explode when you pour chocolate on it?" I ask, recalling the date I want when we find ourselves to be rich.

"Yep." His nose touches mine as he leans in to push his lips over mine briefly, sealing that deal of him taking me on a date once we have that gold. "Crazy expensive, crazy stupid date, Sunny. We'll then buy a boat, leave OBX and take for the seas, you hear me?"

"What about my treehouse?"

"I'll build you one in every country we visit," he tells like he actually has the ability to do that, but I actually have faith that he'll have some crazy JJ way of doing that for me because he's, well, him. "That sound good to you?"

"That sounds perfect."

That's what I'd wish on if I had a dandelion── us having a future like that.

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❀ soph speaks

yeah just a lot of happiness bcos i plan to destroy them in season four

i'm kidding, i'm not that forward
or am i kidding???

sorry for pulling at heartstrings in this one with all the "afraid of losing each other" talk,, i just love being a tease

anyway,, thankyou so much for reading

i'm so close to being done with act three that i'm hoping to publish the final two parts tomorrow if i can finish them and edit them fast enough
wish me luck :)