𝚋𝚘𝚛𝚗 𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚘𝚌𝚎𝚗𝚝 {𝚓𝚓 𝚖𝚊𝚢𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚔}

𝚜.𝟷 𝚎𝚙.𝟸 -𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚝𝚠𝚘-

"so don't be fooled, no don't get lied to / love was always cruel / and don't act strange, don't be a stranger / it happened to me, now it's happening to you"

~

Tate didn't speak much on the ride back to John B's house. She sat in the back of the van again, trying to get her hands to stop shaking. JJ was the exact opposite. When he was stressed, he talked even more. He kept turning around in his seat to face Tate and then turning back to the windshield. It was kind of cute, Tate thought. How he never seemed to know exactly what to do with himself, how he was always moving, always had to be doing something.

Stop it, she told herself. Now is not the time.

"What do you think that was all about, bro?" JJ asked, sticking his hand out the window. Tate watched the strings of his bracelets whip around in the summer air.

"We would've found out if you hadn't made us leave," said John B.

"Dude." It was the first time Tate had spoken since they'd gotten in the van. "She was literally screaming at us to get out. We weren't getting anything else out of her."

"Thank you, Tate," JJ said, twisting in his seat to point to her. "We were doing her a favor by leaving."

John B shook his head adamantly. "She could've given us more! We would've gotten it out of her."

Tate let her head fall back against the wall of the van. She felt exhausted. "No, JB. That's not how people in those situations work. Trust me, I know," she said, sounding almost bored. 

John B let out a frustrated sigh. "Still."

"Look, I know you want information on your dad," JJ said, kicking his feet up onto the dashboard, "but harassing some crazy lady isn't the way to do it."

When they got back to John B's house, Kiara and Pope joined them on the porch and listened to the retelling of the events of the afternoon. JJ told most of the story, pacing back and forth and talking over the incessant rooster crowing coming from the yard.

"And we were right outside like this-" JJ leaned against the wall, mimicking how they'd hid at Ms. Lana's house. "-And all we hear is just, Bam! Bam! Bam!" he shouted, pumping his fist in the air. "Knocking paint off the wall, G! From the inside, all right?" They all stared at him blankly. He kept going in a dramatic voice. "-And I'm just looking at him, like... Wait, first off, look at this shit. Look at it." He stepped into the middle of their grouping of chairs and tipped his head forward, shaking his hair so little white flakes fell out. "All from the house."

Tate pulled her legs up onto the couch and wrinkled her nose at him. "Dude that's..." 

"That's dandruff- disgusting," said Kiara, wearing a similar expression to Tate's.

"Okay- thank you." Pope pushed JJ lightly and he straightened, letting his hair fall over his forehead in a messy blonde mop. Tate's mouth opened ever so slightly, watching the way he slouched slightly when he walked and how his hair was all over the place, always tousled and untidy. Oh my god, you can't do this. She looked away and kept listening to what JJ was saying.

"Look at all that. All right? That's paint."

She couldn't have feelings for JJ. She'd known the boy since third grade, when he started hanging out with John B. He'd always been insane. He was always nice to her, but always unpredictable, full of bad ideas. Even Tate's mom talked about how "that Maybank kid" was a bad influence on her and John B. No. She couldn't think about her mom. Keep moving forward. Don't think about it. Let things be okay right now.