Everything about John B had JJ all messed up. At first, it was the worst. He disappeared for days, didn’t talk to anyone, came back with bruises and, without a doubt, mumbling nonsense about what had happened to John B. The worst nights were the ones when he was gone, but even when he stayed over at your place, climbing through your window in the middle of the night, it wasn’t much better. Mostly because you had to witness just how much he hated losing his best friend. You saw the emptiness, how alone he felt, even with you, Kie, and the rest of the Pogues around.

JJ had to admit that part of his defensive attitude was also because of you. He hadn’t taken the breakup well, and he still refused to talk about it. He didn’t fully understand why, every time things got bad, he ran to you, even though you weren’t anything anymore.

Sometimes, the loneliness was unbearable. But when he fell asleep next to you, listening to your breathing at night, it didn’t weigh as heavy.

“Your dad’s gonna kill us if he finds out I’m here,” JJ teased, exhaling a cloud of smoke. He shook his head when you smacked him, already knowing how much you hated the smell of cigarettes in your room. “Chill, tigress, I’ll toss it,” he said, taking one last drag before laughing.

JJ couldn’t help but roll his eyes a bit at your perfect princess attitude, but he never complained. He actually liked it, a lot. He just wasn’t about to say that out loud. That’d have you laughing at him for days, and he’d rather avoid your teasing for at least an hour.

“Homework? Shit,” he muttered, scratching the back of his neck as he remembered he’d completely forgotten about school. I mean, he hadn’t even bothered to show up or pretend he cared. “Guess I can officially say I’m not graduating this year,” he chuckled, leaning his arm on your desk and skimming through your essay.

He knew damn well he was bad for you. Really bad. You were basically the perfect little princess from the rich side of the island. But he couldn’t help looking at you every chance he got.