MARLBORO NIGHTS [JJ MAYBANK]

she likes my pecker

"THIS IS THE NORTH DRAIN," JJ told them all, squinting into the sunlight that reflected off the stale water. "It should've gotten washed into the gully."

Karolina's nose wrinkled as the sour smell of all the garbage in the water filled the air around her. It was the next morning, and JJ, for once, had come up with a decent plan to help them find the gun Rafe used to kill Peterkin.

"So, if it got flushed out from this drain, it would've been pushed out to, like-" He dragged his finger from the drain to the water before them.

"Somewhere in this trash..." muttered Pope. JJ nodded. "Correct."

Kiara huffed, rolling her eyes. "Oh, my God... People who use plastic should be shot."

JJ started to rummage through a hoard of fishing-line on the shore in front of him. "Okay, personally, I love plastic- use it every day," he grinned. "Love the stuff." He dripped water onto Karolina's leg and she stumbled back, muttering, "Ew."

"Well, hopefully you recycle it and don't let it flush into the ocean..."

"Yeah, I thought you'd say something like that, so..." Pope pulled a wad of black bags from his pocket. "Trash bags."

Karolina shared a look with JJ, the two blondes sighing. They did not sign up for community service.

Kie was gushing however, a smile tugging on her lips. "Did you just proactively protect the environment?"

Pope was smiling right back, then he looked away shyly. "Maybe..."

"Should we leave you two alone...?" asked JJ, amidst their lovey-dovey looks. Karolina laughed, raising her eyebrows when the sexual tension snapped instantly. "I mean, go ahead you guys- get it on in the trash water," she added, snickering. "Sooo romantic."

In an instant, the trash bags Pope threw smacked Karolina in the face and ricocheted into JJ's neck, sending him scrambling to catch them. Kie giggled, and Pope grinned goofily at his funny joke.

"Get to work, delinquents," Kie grinned. Karolina muttered to herself, picking up an empty trash bag dejectedly. "Trash bags are plastic too, ya know..."

JJ shoved her in the shoulder jokingly, nearly sending her face first into an old pizza box, to which she scrambled for a foot hold, splashing her hightop converse into the nearest puddle and getting the water all over his shorts.

Forty-five minutes later, they'd accumulated five trash bags full of plastic, cardboard, fishing line, et cetera- but no gun. "Well that was fun," said JJ, slinging the last bag onto the bank. Karolina peered down at her once only slightly brown sneakers, noting that they were nearly the color of Kie's hair now.

Pope planted his hands on his hips. "If its not in the trash, then it's gotta be in the storm drain." JJ nodded in agreement.

Karolina groaned, wiping sweat from her forehead. "Course it is..."

"Good thing I brought the crow!" cheered JJ, starting to dig through his bag. Kiara crossed her arms. "So, are we gonna do, like, rock, paper, scissors? Or alphabetically?"

"Nah," said JJ, wedging the crow bar at the top of the grate, "On three, Pope. One, two, three-"

They grunted, pulling it out and letting the metal clang to the ground as Kie suggested, "Or like, oldest goes?"

"How about lowest IQ? JJ, you're up," said Karolina with a teasing gleam in her eye, poking him in the side of the face.

He gave her a playful glare, then his gaze turned serious very quickly.