Loving from afar - JJPope

15

"JJ Maybank? Has anyone seen JJ Maybank?"

That's all Pope heard in every class he sat in for the next week. There was absolutely no sign of the blonde headed male, not messages or calls or any sign that he was still alive or even in OuterBanks.

The teachers would scoff and roll their eyes, missing his name in the roll call and moving onto the next student, not even caring to try and figure out if he had called in sick or not. Nobody seemed to care. Absolutely fucking no one.

Topper, on the other hand, seemed perfectly fucking fine. He came into school with a proud smirk on his lips and his head held high, not having a single care in the world as to where his boyfriend was. Pope would watch him. Would watch as that same goddamn smirk would paint across his face as soon as JJ's name was called out in class, snickering with his friends and shrugging when a teacher would gaze over at him. "Haven't seen him." Was his response to everything.

"I want to kill Topper." Pope mutters, watching said male from his locker across the hall, the gaze held within his eyes borderline murderous. Everything he did, everything he said, aggravated Pope to the point he had to stop himself from walking over and attacking Topper any chance that he got. "I'm gonna fucking kill him."

"We're all in the same boat with that." Cleo responds, slamming their own locker shut and leaning against it angrily. Kiara is tucked into their side, frowning sadly. "Look at how highly he's acting. He deserves everything that's coming to him."

Cutting through the murderous chatting, Kiara stands up straight, tucking her arm into Cleo's. "Have you heard anything from JJ?" She asks, appointing her gaze over at Pope.

Pope shakes his head. "Nothing. He hasn't even seen my messages."

"I'm sure he's okay." Kiara says, as if she were trying to convince herself of the words that leave her lips. "He must just need some time to heal."

Gritting his teeth to stop from lurching himself at Topper as he walks past, Pope digs his nails into the palms of his hands, screwing his face up. "Yeah." He whispers. "Hopefully."

The amount of anxiety and rage pooling inside his gut was unimaginable. Fucking painful, even. JJ had always worried Pope, but never to this extent. For he was part of the reason as to why JJ wasn't at school. He was part of the reason as to why JJ hadn't responded to any of his texts or calls. He was. Not anyone else. Pope. Him.

What the fuck is wrong with me? Pope thinks to himself on his way to his first class of the day. Why am I like this?

When Friday rolls around and JJ still hadn't shown up to school, Pope made a plan. As soon as that last bell of the day rung, as soon as he was free, he would zip past Cleo and Kiara and bike as fast as fucking possible to JJ's home. He should've done this from the very start, but deep down he knew it was for the best to keep some amount of distance between them. For who knows what could have happened if pope had shown up and Topper was there.

JJ's house comes into sight in the distance, and Pope fastens his pace as much as humanly possible, before leaping off of the bike and throwing it to the dirt, almost falling right beside it himself at the sight in front of him. "JJ?" He whispers, voice catching in the back of his throat.

Two large bags hang from JJ's shoulders, along with lightened bruises on his skin. He looks so tired, so fucking exhausted and sorrowful that Pope almost breaks into tears. "Pope?" JJ pauses mid step, breaths gasping and eyes widening. "What- what are you doing here?"

For a few moments, Pope can't speak. And neither can JJ, as it seems. They both stand there, completely and utterly silent, staring into one another's eyes with uncertainty and sadness. What was Pope meant to say now? Did he tell JJ how terrified he had been, how little he has slept at nor hearing from the other male. How heartbroken he felt.