june and the blond boy

June + James

ᴊᴜɴᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ʙʟᴏɴᴅ ʙᴏʏ

i ran down the stairs and went into the kitchen where my aunt was, waiting for the microwave to finish. i pulled out a coke from the fridge and checked the time on the oven. it read 12:34 am. i widened my eyes as i made my way back to the living room. our house was never this active at this time of night, but i guess considering the circumstances, it made sense.

i plopped down on the couch next to james and grabbed his right hand, dabbing the wet towel on his bloodied knuckles. he sucked in air and flinched a bit but didn't pull back as he dropped his hand to rest just above my knee. i don't think he realized how close his hand was to my thigh as he kept his attention on the blocky tv ahead of him.

"stupid..." i muttered, shaking my head and grabbing the coke. james raised an eyebrow at me. "don't raise your eyebrow at me." i made my annoyance with him clear.

he chuckled and shook his head as i placed the can just above his eye where there was a dark bruise. "you're dramatic."

i scoffed. "no i'm not."

"you are." he hid an intimidating grin.

"not." i shook my head, moving my eyes to the ceiling.

i could feel his eyes burning into me as i paid my attention to the tv, but i couldn't actually hear a word the people were saying.

i whipped my head around to glare at him. "quit staring." he stayed silent but didn't take his eyes off me.

james' pov

i continued studying june as she sat awkwardly under my intense stare. when i jumped through her window unannounced after watching her through the window for a minute, (purely to make sure she wasn't gonna hit me in the head with a bat) she'd been acting different— of course after sobbing in my arms for half an hour, but even after that. the way she'd avoid eye contact, sit a certain distance away, and let her hair hang down to cover her face— it was weird. but i couldn't figure out what it was.

i placed my hand over hers for extra support on the can and i could feel her hand tense. we held eye contact then she eventually let go of the coke can. i felt the absence of her touch on mine and slumped my shoulders a bit.

"quit staring." she shot her eyes over to me. i squinted my eyes at her but didn't look away— now i noticed the pink tint that washed over her cheeks.

"oh, james! when did you get here?" june's aunt smiled as she entered the room with a plate. "hey tracy, what's up? i just drove june home, i was getting ready to leave." i lied.

she chuckled and i could tell she saw right through my transparent lie. the purple bruises on my face probably didn't help.

"okay.. i'll go get you a plate then... and something you can take for those bruises." she raised an eyebrow as she placed the plate on the coffee table in front of june.

"oh, okay. thanks." i chuckled nervously.

june looked at me with furrowed brows. "you drove me home?"

"yeah i drove you home." i cleared my throat as her uncle entered the room, plopping onto the recliner a few feet away.

"hope you weren't the reason she was crying like that when she came in. if you were, i hope she's the reason for those bruises." he grunted. i widened my eyes and looked over at june for some support, but she just shrugged and ate her food.

"no sir. it was actually russell." i straightened my shoulders out. june whipped her head around and stared at me with wide eyes but i continued. "russell was the reason for her crying— and these bruises here." i pointed to my face, muttering the last part.

"what'd russell do?" he asked.

june sighed, dropping her plate onto the table with a clink.

"he and his friends made a bet on me." she said bluntly.

taylor's eyes widened a bit and his head cocked back. "and what are the bruises from?" he said half-knowingly.

"three guesses." she deadpanned.

taylor nodded in understanding then shared a look with me. a look that i took as a thank you.

june's p.o.v, the next day

i flipped through the boring tv channels that mostly consisted of news channels and infomercials as i twirled my fingers through james' hair while he lay on the carpet, resting his head in my lap.

i shook my head and dropped the remote, settling for a random nature channel as i grabbed my bowl of ice cream, taking a big bite.

i could feel his eyes on me as i kept my gaze locked on the tv screen, paying no mind to him.

"i'm gonna marry you one day." he blurted randomly, bringing his hand up and resting it on my cheek.

i couldn't fight the blush creeping up on my face as i chuckled softly. "alright, rockstar." i looked down into his deep blue eyes. the sunset leaking through the windows cast a soft glow onto his features.

"seriously..." he began. "one day, when i make it big and get a shit load of money, i'm gonna buy us a huge mansion in L.A with ten bedrooms and five bathrooms, and four garages for our eight cars." he dreamily coaxed.

"mhm, and what're we gonna do with all those rooms?" i raised my eyebrows at him.

"kids. we'll have tons of 'em." he grinned brightly.

that smile is gonna kill me one day.

"and a dog." he added with a dumb smile on his face.

"me and you? having kids?" i pointed a finger between the both of us.

"hell yeah. what, you don't like it?" he crossed his arms over his chest.

"no, no. i like it. it's a solid plan." i shrugged.

"plan?" he knit his brows together.

"we make a pact that if neither of us are married by forty, we'll marry each other." i said.

"sweetheart, you'll already be married long before then." he shook his head. "what?" i chuckled.

"you'll be married to me. by..." he squinted up at the ceiling as he pondered on it. "eh, let's say by... twenty one?"

"yeah right," i snorted. he scoffed, holding a hand to his heart. "i won't be married to anyone by twenty one."

"we'll see about that." he shrugged, getting comfortable and closing his eyes as i returned to playing with his hair.

"what'll we call it? the pact?"

he opened his eyes again, pondering on it for a moment. "double... double-j pact..." he mumbled.

i threw my head back in laughter. "what?"

"yeah! june plus james..." he shrugged. "double-j..."

"june plus james, 1981." i said firmly, nodding.

vote, comment, follow <3