Pilot.

chapter one , Hot Pockets & Chill

a/n : LETS GOOOOO

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The summer morning was humid, but chill; unlike last night. After the Pogues were done getting chased around by those security guards, they made their way back to John B's house and did the usual. Drink and Dance until everything started to spin. The five best friends were used to hanging out in The Cut (since four of them lived there). But, John B's Chateau was the one place besides the boat where they could all meet up and have a good time with just the five of them.

Leah Peterkin loved being a Pogue. She didn't want to brag (she definitely did brag about this at some point), but she's pretty great at being a Pogue. One of the steps to being a great Pogue was loyalty. It's also one of the steps to being an amazing friend. Leah was loyal to a fault when it came to the people she cared about.

And she wouldn't find that out until later...

Leah softly laughs when she feels the boy's ring finger trace her soft brown skin. Goosebumps form in her wake.

"How 'bout here?" He then moves a finger over to her side and lightly taps his finger against her.

Leah sucks in a sharp breath. She turns her head to the boy with sandy-blonde hair. "I'm not gonna get your name tattooed on my ribs."

He pouts his lower lip, "Why not?"

"One, because the ribs hurt and two, you're my..." she trails off her sentence, already saying too much. She shakes her head and looks away from him.

"I'm your...what?" He grins.

Leah's face gets hot. She turns back to him, "Screw you, J."

Leah lightly shoves his chest, but JJ wraps his fingers around her wrist; keeping her hand against him. Leah's eyes burn into his and her heart starts to flutter. JJ leans forward until his nose brushes against hers. Leah's fluttering heart quickly begins to pound against her ribcage. Her lips part and she moves to connect their lips, but the doorknob rattles.

Out of nowhere, JJ quickly sits up and accidentally shoves Leah off the bed. She then lands hard on her back and groans, despite that she covers her mouth to keep quiet. The door opens and John B peaks into the room.

JJ props himself on his elbow and holds up a hand. "Yo."

John B nods, "Yo, yo." he looks around the room and pulls his brows together. "You don't have anyone in here?"

JJ slightly opens his mouth, "Uh, I did. But she left." he waves a hand.

John B nods, "Cool, we're gonna get breakfast soon. If you see Leah, tell her to get up."

JJ nods his head and holds a thumbs up "Will do, man."

John B closes the door. JJ exhales a sharp breath, he crawls over to the edge of the bed. "Leah, are you--"

The girl touches the back of JJ's neck and smashes her lips onto his, not wanting to be away from him any longer. JJ inhales a soft breath and his gut twists. He grips the side of Leah's neck and kisses her back. Leah sits up with her knees on the hardwood floor. JJ snakes an arm around Leah's waist and pulls her onto the bed. They both were sitting on their knees, with their lips tangled into one another. Leah slides a hand into JJ's hair as her breathing heavies. JJ fiddles with the button on Leah's shorts. She presses a hand against his chest and pushes him against the mattress.

JJ softly grunts then he chuckles as Leah straddles his waist. She pushes her black hair behind her shoulders and bites her lower lip with a smile. Leah leans down and kisses JJ's neck. JJ's hands grip Leah's thighs and he tilts his head back with his breathing heavying. An idea then pops into his head.

"What about..."

Leah lets out a small laugh and pulls her lips away from his neck. She flops her back against the mattress and lays beside the boy. JJ hooks a hand under her knee and pulls her leg over his body. She slightly turns her head to stare at him.

"What's up?" Leah softly speaks.

JJ keeps his eyes on the ceiling. "What if you got P4L?"

Leah knits her brows together, "Pogues for life?"

JJ chuckles softly, he turns his head and meets Leah's dark brown eyes that were filled with a certain kind of admiration. JJ didn't believe it was for him. But it was. Leah upside down smiles and raises her brows. "Not bad."

She goes to reach a hand up and move some of his hair out of his face, but she stops. That's something that couples would do. And JJ and Leah were not that. So, she clears her throat and chuckles. "Finally using that brain of yours, aren't you, J?"

JJ shrugs a shoulder, "Someone has to in this relationship."

Leah laughs as JJ crawls over her. But she then pulls her brows together, registering what he said. "Wh...relationship?"

JJ's jaw goes slack, realizing what he said. Leah then smirks, "Someone's blushing..." she sings.

"You wish, Peterkin." JJ scoffs, looking away from her. He hopes his face would lose some redness when he looks back at her.

Leah places a finger under JJ's chin and gently moves his head to look back at her. JJ's heart begins to pick up in speed from the soft gaze Leah was looking at him with. He wanted nothing more than to confess his true feelings. But he knew that even though, they were both from The Cut; they were still from completely different worlds. He wasn't good for her.

"I didn't mean it like that," JJ lies.

Leah blinks, "Oh." the giddiness in her body quickly falls flat and she's left feeling embarrassed.

"Lee, I'm sorry--"

"Nah, nope. You have nothing to be sorry for..." Leah sits up and so does JJ. She manages a small smile and shrugs. "...we both agreed to this." she points between them. "And besides, why would we want to burden ourselves with all of the baggage that comes with dating?"

JJ holds his hands up, agreeing with her. "Right? This is fun."

"So fun." Leah insists.

"So...why ruin it?" JJ nods.

Leah presses her lips into a firm line and she looks at the pattern of the duvet on the bed. JJ glances at Leah and notices her staring off into space. Guilt rises in the boy.

"Leah--"

The doorknob jiggles again. This time, Leah shoves JJ off the bed and he falls off. Kie pokes her head in, "I was just looking for you..." she squints her eyes. "You seen JJ?"

Leah tangles a hand in her hair and inhales a deep breath. She pretends to think hard, Leah then ends up shaking her head. "No--nope."

Kie frowns, "Well, once we find him we were gonna get something to eat. You coming?"

Leah sputters, "You even have to ask?"

Kie chuckles and she motions her head out of the room. Leah stands up and goes to follow her. As soon as Kie disappears down the hall, Leah runs back over to the other side of the bed.

"Are you okay?" She looks down at him.

JJ's eyes connect with hers. "I-I'm good." he groans. "I've had worse."

Leah's eyes soften and she crouches down beside him.

"Even though the relationship thing is off the table, we can still have this, right?" JJ asks, hope in his eyes.

Leah presses her lips into a soft smile. "I thought that went without saying." she leans down and kisses JJ's lips. Leah stands up, "I'll see you out there." she whispers on his lips.

JJ opens and closes his mouth. "Yeah...see ya."

The boy watches Leah walk away. He lays his head back on the floor and exhales a breath.

This girl had his heart in knots. He just wishes he knew that she was feeling the same way.

☆

Emilia Perez never cared for Kooks. She was fine with things just the way they were. She liked being a Pogue, she liked being with her friends. But her home life wasn't the best it could've been. Having two drug addicts for parents was not only difficult but exhausting. They would sell everything for an ounce of any drug they could think of. Even if it was their own child.

The Perez's met the Wilsons and knew right away that they would be the best people to give their child to. So, the Wilsons paid the Perezs enough for them to leave their daughter with zero hesitation. Then at the age of 9, Emilia Perez became Emilia Wilson.

Emilia was forced to become many things the day she was brought into the Wilson household. She was forced to dye her hair blonde in order to hide her Cuban features. She took accent reduction classes and her adoptive mom, Aubrey Wilson, started calling Emilia Emily.

Emilia didn't see any point in adopting a Cuban child if you were just going to change everything about who they were. Emilia was then forced to live amongst the Kooks. It took Emilia a couple of years to get a grip on things, but when she did she was unrecognizable at first glance. She had lost contact with her close-knit group of friends. It was like she dropped off the face of the planet. That is until they saw her one day hanging out with Sarah Cameron and the Pogues knew that Emilia had left them behind for her new friends. It hit each Pogue hard.

The Wilson girl still felt alone on the Figure Eight with a greedy mother and non-confrontational father. That was until she was forced to join her parents to brunch with the Camerons. That was when Emilia first met Sarah and they immediately hit it off. Emilia had met Rafe that same day, but she was distant from him. How could she not be? 'The Prince' of the Kooks. Why would she want to associate with anyone like that? Although Sarah Cameron was known as 'The Princess', at least she was humble and kind about it.

But Rafe...

He was something else. And Emilia hated it.

At least that's how she felt at the beginning.

A gentle finger pokes at Emilia's face. She quietly whines and squeezes her eyes shut. She turns on her side and starts to doze off again.

A hand brushes some of her hair out of her face and she sighs. "No..."

The side of the bed dips and she groans. The curtains open and her eyelids burn with light.

Emilia quickly sits up and opens her eyes, "Rafe..." She trails off her sentence when she sees the blonde standing at the window.

"You're not...Rafe..."

The blonde shakes her head, "Nope. I'm someone much better..."

Emilia lets a small huff as the blonde kisses her cheek. Emilia sits up and stretches, "So, where's Rafe?"

Sarah giggles and scratches the inner corner of her eye. "Guess."

Emilia purses her lips, "He's hanging out with Topper—"

"He's hanging out with Topper!" Sarah holds her arms out.

Emilia tilts her head to the ceiling and stares at the smooth appearance. Normally all ceilings in The Cut were either broken, wooden planks, or popcorn ceilings. She really enjoyed the popcorn ceilings. There was one time, she tried to count as many bumps as she could until her parents came barging into the room to take her piggy bank.

Emilia shifts her eyes to her watch and raises her brows. "I've gotta get home." She sputters her lips. Emilia hops off the bed and grabs her shoes.

Sarah wrinkles her nose, "Hey, you and Rafe didn't...you know?" She motions to the bed.

Emilia looks at Sarah then the at the bed. She frowns and looks at Sarah, "Mm no."

Sarah's mouth opens, "Oh, gross!" She quickly jumps onto her feet. "Dude!"

"What?! You asked."

"And you lied."

"It was a lie you saw right through." Emilia smiles and bunches her shoulders. "Because you know me so well." She beams a smile.

Sarah tries her best not to smile but seeing Emilia's cheesy expression made her shake her head and laugh.

"I hate you." Sarah walks away.

"And I hate you," Emilia replies. "Hey, tell Rafe I'll see him later?"

Sarah rolls her eyes, "Did I ever tell you how much I love being yours and my brother's messenger?"

Emilia grabs her bag and makes her way over to the window. "You tell me all the time." She blows a kiss to Sarah and climbs out the window. She plants her vans against the brick roof of the house and cautiously stands up. Emilia holds her arms out and starts to walk across the roof. She passes a window and hears a shout.

"See ya, Emi!"

Emilia giggles and turns to the youngest Cameron. "Bye, Wheeze!" She wiggles her fingers. The Wilson girl gets to the edge of the roof and plants her feet against the ladder beside her. She climbs down the ladder and comes in contact with the mulch below her. Emilia lets out a sharp breath and runs a hand over her dyed blonde hair. She grabs her bike from in the bush and rides down the street toward her house. As she makes her way to her house, Emilia waves at the familiar people walking up and down the streets. Her eyes flit to her watch and her eyes widen.

"Shit!"

Emilia shifts her gaze up and sees the familiar rose bushes. As her bike was still moving, Emilia hops off and stumbles forward. She gains momentum to run forward with her bike and she plants her feet, making sure she doesn't fall. Emilia pushes her bike around the house and leans the bike against the side of the white ceramic wall. She looks at the ladder that leads to the patio outside her room. Emilia never used to sneak out, she was always known as stingy and careful (she still was stingy and careful, she was just more lenient). Apart from the reason she wasn't anymore was that she met Sarah. There would be times when Emilia would try and makes excuses so she wouldn't have to sneak out, but one day something changed in her house and she didn't want to spend any more time than she had to there.

Emilia sputters her lips, "This is exhausting..." she climbs up the ladder. Her phone starts to vibrate from her daily alarm to wake up and she curses. The Wilson girl gets to the top of the ladder and makes her way over the banister. Emilia looks into the glass window and no one was waiting for her in her room, which caused her to let out a sigh of relief. She opens the door and quietly closes it behind her. The blonde hastily takes her bag off and tosses it onto the chair. She then takes her jacket off and throws it into her closet. Emilia kicks her shoes off and pats her hair down. Footsteps ar heard coming up the stairs.

They were heavy but you could hear that they were trying their best to be quiet.

Dad.

Emilia hops into her bed and slips under her covers. She squeezes her eyes shut and her room door opens.

"Emilia."

The blonde keeps her eyes closed. A small chuckle leaves her father's lips. He steps into the room and walks over to the blonde. Emilia feels a hand on her shoulder and she inhales. She slowly flutters her eyes open and then squints them. "Dad, hey...I was just gonna get up." she sits up and rubs her eyes.

"Your mom made breakfast. Get dressed." Jake gives Emilia a small smile and he touches the top of her head before walking out of the room.

As soon as her door closed, Emilia flops her head onto her pillow and sighs.

☆

"Hurricane Agatha, huh?"

"Yes--Yes!" Emilia unwraps her Hot Pocket. "I heard the waves are supposed to be double overhead."

"Double overhead?"

"Yes!" Emilia exclaims, she takes a bite out of her Hot Pocket. "How do you not know about this? I have been talking about it for weeks..." she trails off her sentence when she notices Sarah staring at her phone.

"You're not listening." Emilia deadpans.

Sarah shifts her gaze to her best friend. "What? No, I'm listening." she sets her phone down.

Emilia squints her eyes, "Y'know, I traveled to your house when there is a dangerous hurricane on its way?"

Sarah slowly nods her head, a smile on her lips. "I know, Em."

"And I'm gonna have to go back to my house." Emilia states.

"You can stay here." Sarah shrugs.

Emilia sighs, "I really can't." she slumps her shoulders. "My mom wants me back soon..." she looks at her watch. "Emilia taps the counter, "I should get back home and start prepping. And you can go back to testing your boyfriend."

Sarah rolls her eyes, "Shut up."

"I wasn't teasing." Emilia holds her hands up. "I was just saying you would rather text Topper than listen to me educate you about Hurricane safety."

Sarah raises her brows, "Well, Topper, doesn't bug me and when he does. It's about how good I look."

Emilia scoffs and bunches her shoulders with an incredulous expression across her face. "I do that."

Sarah smirks, "Yes, you do."

Emilia chuckles, "Be safe. And Make sure you--"

"Latch the cabin on the Druthers." Sarah finishes. "I know, you remind me every year."

"And why do you think that is?" Emilia tilts her head while slipping her bag on.

Sarah slaps her hands against the marble counter. "I forget one year--one!"

Emilia opens her mouth, but someone else speaks.

"That one year, could've been our last, y'know?"

A smile forms on Emilia's lips, she turns and her eyes land on her boyfriend. "What he said." she voices.

Sarah rolls her eyes when Rafe walks closer to Emilia.

"Hey." Emilia tilts her head up to him.

"Hey." Rafe touches the back of his neck. "I'm sorry, I wasn't there when you woke up. I just had a few things to take care of."

Emilia shakes her head, "It's all right. I had to leave early anyway." she leans her back against the counter.

Sarah looks between Rafe and Emilia. "Just like how you want to leave now...?"

Emilia and Rafe look at the blonde and Sarah presses her lips together.

"Agatha?" Sarah tries to jog Emilia's memory.

Sarah knew that once Emilia's eyes landed on Rafe, all her other worries and thoughts were gonna slip from her mind. And she was right.

Emilia's eyes widen, catching her thoughts once again. "Agatha!" she points at Sarah. She then turns to Rafe and sees he entertained expression on his face.

"Prep is always important," Emilia says. "If you guys need any tips, text me before we lose service."

"How do you know we'll lose service?" Sarah inquires with a smirk, already knowing the answer.

"We lose it every year, Sarah." Emilia looks back at Sarah.

"Just like how you give us the same tips every year?" Sarah says, making a point.

Emilia sightly opens her mouth, "Fair point." she looks back at Rafe. "Walk me out?" she arches a brow and makes her way to the front door.

Rafw raises his brows, "Yeah, I'm right behind you." he follows her.

Sarah wrinkles her nose, "You guys aren't subtle!" she looks back at her phone.

Emilia steps outside and spins on her heel toward Rafe. He quickly leans down and connects his lips with hers. Emilia stumbles back from the kiss and Rafe touches her lower back to keep her from falling. Emilia softly giggles, she places a hand on Rafe's chest and kisses him back. Rafe cups Emilia's face with his other hand and a chill runs down her spine as he traces her jawline. Emilia slides her arms around Rafe's neck and she stands on her toes to deepen the kiss. Rafe pulls Emilia closer until her chest was pressed against his. Emilia's lungs tighten and she reluctantly pulls her lips away from his to catch her breath.

Emilia lightly cups his neck and chuckles. Rafe's eyes shifts to Emilia's lips then her eyes. "Do you want to go to my room?"

Emilia raises her brows and chuckles. "Seriously?"

Rafe shrugs a shoulder and he tucks a strand of Emilia's hair behind her ear. Emilia's stomach tightens and her breathing heavies. She swipes her tongue across her lower lip and chuckles. "As tempting as that is. I've gotta get home before my mom drives down here and drags me back home by my hair."

Rafe's eyes soften, "You don't have to do everything she says, y'know?"

Emilia pulls her brows together. "She's my mom...I owe her that much."

"I mean, you should just be able to do what you want every now and then, y'know?" Rafe touches the side of her face and she leans into his hand.

Emilia notices Rafe's expression sadden and she raises her brows. "Hey, I'll see you tomorrow." she grips the hem of his Polo shirt.

Rafe burns his blue eyes into Emilia's emerald green ones and he nods his head. Emilia smiles softly and kisses Rafe's cheek before walking past him. "I love you."

Rafe turns to watch Emilia walk away and his heart jumps into his throat. "I love you too."

☆

As soon as Emilia got home, her mom had so much to say. Per usual...

"Mom, I swear. I have my priorities in order." Emilia says. "I-I've been working at the cafe non-stop, I've been looking through all the college pamphlets that you and dad have given me..."

Aubrey turns away from the cutting board with the chef's knife still in her hand. Emilia's jaw tightens and her back straightens. She swallows as Aubrey taps the knife against the counter. The mother burns her cold eyes into Emilia's shaky ones. She sets the knife down and grabs the paper out of her pocket. She sets the piece of paper in front of Emilia.

"Why don't you take a look at that?"

Emilia's hands start to shake, she curls her fingers into fists and opens them. The blonde grabs the paper and unfolds it. Her eyes examine the resignation letter she had thrown away yesterday. Emilia's eyes widen, "Mom--"

"Are you stupid?"

Emilia pinches her brows together and looks at her mom whose left brow was arched. "Wh-what?--"

"Are you stupid?" Aubrey repeats with her tone more impatient. She takes an intimidating step toward her daughter.

"N-No..."

"What?"

Emilia's jaw tightens, "No, ma'am." she answers with more certainty.

Aubrey slightly tilts her chin up. "Then why do you think anything but an acceptance letter is okay in this house?"

Emilia opens and closes her mouth. "It's not. I know it's not."

"And to hide it from me..." Aubrey shakes her head.

Emilia chews the inside of her cheek. Aubrey quietly scoffs and rubs her forehead. "We raised you better than this." she seethes. "We raised you to be the best of the best."

"We didn't bring you into our house just to be..."

Emilia's throat tightens and tears start to burn in her eyes as she waits for the familiar words.

"...street trash." Aubrey squints her eyes. "You're not a pogue anymore, Emilia. You're a Perez anymore either." she hisses. "You're a Kook. You're a Wilson. So, act like one."

Emilia swallows the lump in her throat. "Yes, ma'am. It won't happen again."

"I know it won't." Aubrey exhales sharply.

Emilia keeps her teary eyes on the piece of paper. "I'm sorry."

"I know you are." Aubrey grabs the knife once again and goes back to cutting the cucumbers. "Now, get everything secured before the storm gets here."

Emilia nods her head, "Yes, ma'am." she grabs the paper and quickly walks over to the stairs.

"Oh, and Emily."

Emilia quickly stops in her tracks. It wasn't even in question. Aubrey was always so sure about how to talk. Everything she said always sounded like an order. She turns back to her mother. Aubrey's stone-cold expression twisted into a gentle one. It was the expression that a mother should look at her daughter with. "I love you."

Emilia wanted to cry right then and there. How could someone so cruel and cold smile and show love to someone she hated with all her heart? The girl's jaw tightens and she plasters a smile onto her face. "I love you too, mom."

Emila makes her way up the stairs and tears blur her vision. As soon as she got into her room and closed the door behind her the tears in her eyes quickly rolled down her cheeks. Emilia has tried to live up to her mother's expectations. They took her in. The least she could do was make them proud, right?

There was always a part of Emilia that wished she could be the best for her parents, but there was another part of her that begs to go back to living in The Cut. Even though, her biological parents weren't the best; she had people over there that made her feel loved.

...

Leah wasn't the type of person to have attention drawn to her unless she wanted it. She never had anyone else worry about her. She was the person who could put a smile on anyone else's face. All her life, she's just wanted to make people smile and feel good about themselves.

But sitting at the table and staring at her phone, waiting for JJ to send her any kind of text...

She knew just how hurt she really was from their conversation earlier. Leah gnaws on her lower lip and exhales through her nose. For once, Leah wanted someone's attention. And it pissed her off that she wanted a boy's attention. Her frustration and impatience began to rise.

"Boy trouble?"

Leah turns her phone off and sets it face down on the counter. She looks at her mom and frowns. "No, why would you ask that?"

Susan raises her brows, "You've been staring at JJ's contact name for 20 minutes."

Leah raises her brows, "You've been standing there for that long?"

"Why not just text him first?" Susan asks, sitting next to her daughter.

Leah rubs her eyebrow. "I don't want to be overbearing and clingy. We're not exactly in a relationship."

Susan groans, "I don't even want to ask what you guys are then."

Leah presses her lips into a tight line. She was glad her mom didn't pry into it. Susan and Leah had a very trusting relationship. As long as Leah kept up passing grades and didn't get into trouble, she was able to go out and have fun. Their relationship thrived on communication. And even though, Leah was non-confrontational; she knows that communication is key for any kind of relationship. So, why is she having such a hard time communicating how she feels to JJ?

"My advice?"

Leah looks at her mom once again.

"If this...non-relationship thing isn't fulfilling for you and he doesn't want to take it any further..." Susan takes a sip of coffee for a dramatic pause.

Leah rolls her eyes with a smile tugging at her lips.

"...drop his ass."

Leah softly chuckles then that chuckle becomes a laugh. "Thank you for the advice, mom." she says. "And you shouldn't be drinking coffee this late. You'll be up all night."

"I'm actually getting ready to head back out." Susan stands up.

Leah pulls her brows together and stands up. "To the station? But the storm--"

"That's exactly why I have to go." Susan sets her cup down. She touches her daughter's shoulders. "I've gotta make sure everyone is inside. I'll be back as soon as I can. I promise."

Leah chews the inside of her cheek. She exhales through her nose, knowing there was no way she was gonna convince her mom to stay home. She slowly nods her head. "Yeah, okay. I love you." she wrap her arms around her mom's neck.

Susan hugs Leah back, "I love you more."

Leah shakes her head, "I don't think that's possible..."

"Oh, it is." Susan pulls away from her daughter. She moves some of Leah's hair out of her eye and the teen laughs softly. Susan grabs her jacket off the couch and makes her way over to the door. She leaves the house and walks over to the door to lock it.

Not long before Big John disappeared, Leah's father up and left. He quit on both Leah and Susan. That's when Susan started picking up more shifts at the station. Leah's relationship with her mom was still strong, they just never hung out like they used to. Susan had to pick up the weight that her father dropped on the two of them. She was carrying so much weight because she didn't want Leah to carry any. She just wanted her daughter to be a kid.

When Leah's dad left, for some reason, Leah couldn't bring herself to talk to the boys. She wanted to talk to Kiara. That was something she and Kie always used to do, they were 'Lee and Kie'. At least that was before she left for school in Figure Eight.

A knock is heard at the door and Leah slightly jumps. She opens the door and meets blue eyes. Her eyes widen, "JJ, what the hell?"

JJ sheepish smiles, but he blinks a lot from all the rain in his eyes. His hair was laying flat over his face and he could barely see. JJ was soaked from the heavy rainfall.

Leah steps aside, "Get in!"

JJ enters the house, water starts to leave his clothes, which causes a puddle to form on the hardwood floor. Leah closes the door and JJ shakes his hair. The Peterkin girl groans from the water hitting her.

"Watch it!"

JJ stops shaking his hair and winces, "My bad."

Leah grabs a towel from the linen closet and makes her way over to the boy. JJ reaches for the towel, "Oh, thank..."

Leah drops the towel onto the puddle of water on the floor. JJ looks at the towel soaking up the water. "...you."

Leah raises her brows, "Oh, you assumed that was for you?" she points at the towel.

JJ presses his lips together and nods his head. "I deserve that."

Leah chuckles and walks back over to the closet. She grabs another towel and tosses it to the boy. JJ catches it and places it over his head.

"So..." Leah walks back over to JJ and leans against the front door.

"What are you doing here?" She places her hands behind her back. JJ takes a moment to look at Leah. She changed since he saw her earlier. Now, she was wearing a pair of denim high-waisted shorts with a black crop top that had white stars sprinkled across it.

"I just...came to see you." JJ says, he pulls the towel off his head and runs a hand through his damp hair. "See how you were feeling after earlier."

"Earlier as in when you said you accidentally said we were in a relationship?" Leah tilts her head and smirks.

JJ winces, "Yeah..."

"Well, it's no biggie." Leah chuckles with a shrug. She tries to laugh off her embarrassment, but JJ could see right through it. He always did.

"Well, it's a biggie to me." JJ shrugs a shoulder. "I don't want you to think that I don't want you." he walks toward her. Leah tenses as JJ stands close to her. They were both close in height, so all Leah had to do was slightly tilt her chin up to stare at him.

"I just feel like being in a relationship would complicate a lot of things," JJ says.

Leah bites the inside of her cheek and nods her head. "I get it. Believe me." she inhales. "I've never...been in a relationship and you're known for not being so great at keeping relationships—no offense."

JJ hangs his head low and quietly laughs. Leah smiles softly as JJ's laugh warms her heart.

"J..."

JJ's heart jumps in his throat from the yearning in Leah's voice. He looks back at her and she holds her hand out to him. JJ smirks and they do their handshake.

"We're good." She smiles at him.

JJ's face gets hot and Leah looks at the floor. "You wanna stay over?" she looks back at him. "We could watch a movie and..."

JJ raises a brow, "And...?" he raises a and grips her waist. A chill shoots down Leah's spine. She runs her tongue over her teeth and smiles. "And eat some Hot Pockets." she presses her pointer against his chest. "That's it."

JJ nods his head, "Well, then. I'd love to just watch a movie and eat Hot Pockets with you."

Leah smirks and chuckles, "Cool."

JJ moves her hair behind her ear. "Cool."

Leah inhales a softly breath from JJ's close proximity. She pushes the giddiness down, hopefully forever (yeah right). Leah slips her hand into JJ's forcing a chill to rush down his spine, and she tugs him toward the stairs.

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authors note.

Hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter! Currently working on the second chapter! <3

words : 5617