•STOCKHOLM SYNDROME• [obx3]

Chapter 38: The pogues reunite... kinda

JJ presses his finger to his lips and gently twists the handle, pushing the door open.

He jolts and lets out half a scream.

'Shit!', JJ brushes a hand through his hair 'you guys scared the fuck out of me'

Sarah, John B and Cleo sit on the beds, pausing their conversation. They're supposed to be asleep.

'Kie? Oh my god Kie!', Sarah leaps up and pulls Kie into her arms. The other pogues join, all wrapping her in their warm arms. Eventually they fall apart and John B eyes the blood shred between them.

'What the hell happened?'

Pope fills them in while JJ takes Kie aside. He lead her over to the drinks fridge and pulls out an ice pack. He wraps it in a cloth and presses it against the gash on her cheek.

'There, just hold it there'

'What are you doing? I don't need this JJ', Kie takes it into her hand instead. She looks at it, then her eye rise. She stares up at his face, no doubt inspecting the aftermath of messing with a psycho. She looks like she's on the verge of tears.

'It's just a few scratches I'll be fine', JJ jokes, tossing his head to the side.

'You're gonna need some of this', Cleo says passing him a bottle of straight liquor.

'Grazie Bella', JJs face brightens with a try hard smile.

He unscrews the bottle and presses it to his lips, knocking his head back. Kie snatches it from him.

'That's not for drinking dumbass'

JJs forefinger scans over the label as he mutters it out loud.

Kie rolls her eyes, 'It's for your face'

'Right...',

JJ stalks over to the sink by the edge of the room and mentally braces himself. Then he pours the liquor over his face, letting out a pained breath through his clenched teeth. It stings like hell but he's been through worse.

The liquor slips from his face painting the sink red. The bloodied liquor runs down the silver drain, some of the miscolored liquid remains stagnant at the sides. JJ curses as he pours more over himself, it burns like acid against his wounds.

Once hes used up the entire bottle, he rinses his face. JJ turns off the tap and slicks his hair back with a sigh. He grabs a towel close by and dabs it over his face. The once white towel is left in a mess of liquor and blood. He disregards it by the sink. When JJ finally turns around, everyone's eyes are on him.

'What?', he shrugs at their piercing gazes.

'Lets go, I'm taking you to hospital', Kie says

'No need, I'll just sleep it off, ya know... Just need some beauty sleep, yeah. I'll wake up looking better than Snow White'

'I doubt that', Pope mutters

JJ shrugs off their concerns with the flip of his wrist. He climbs into one of the beds, not bothering with getting changed. He just lays down on top of the covers and shuts his eyes. He's crawled up on his side, his face carefully placed against the pillow, yet the pressure still pains him.

There's a weight beside him, someone presses the ice pack against his cheek. He knows it's Kie. Her presence makes him want to smile like a little kid but he keeps his eyes closed.

-

JJ wakes with a pounding headache. The pillow is covered in sweat and dried blood. He sits up, tugging back the covers someone must've put over him. JJ presses his hand against his forehead then removes it quickly with a pained groan.