“I just can't come between 'em, they got their own thing”

⋅˚₊‧౨ৎ ‧₊˚ ⋅

you and jj had always been something. not quite together, not just friends—something lingering in the in-between, caught in moments neither of you were brave enough to name. it had always been easy, the way you fit into each other’s lives. he was the one who made you laugh when you wanted to cry, who looked at you like you were the only thing that made sense in a world that never did. y’all knew each other like no one else.

but lately, something had changed. his gaze lingered a little too long. his touch stayed when he brushed the hair from your face. his voice softened when he spoke to you, like he was saying things no one else was allowed to hear.

and you felt it too. the way your chest tightened when he threw an arm over your shoulders like it was second nature. the way you memorized every detail—the hitch in his laugh when he was really happy, the way his knuckles were always scraped from some stupid fight, the way his blue eyes always, always found yours first.

something. that was all you ever were.

tonight, the air was thick with summer heat, the ocean stretching endlessly beyond the dock where you sat beside him. the others were inside, music spilling from the chateau, but here—here, it was just the two of you , legs dangling off the side of the dock, swaying gently through the water as a soft breeze ruffled your hair, the two of you talking in quiet moments between..