body language - JJ Maybank

FIVE.

the previous summer

— "WHAT are you guys doing?" Evelyn asked the boys. She sat on the couch, her legs pressed against her chest.
Kelce and Topper had just arrived at Rafe's place, ready to hang out with him.

"We're crashing a pogue party." Rafe explained, standing up and grabbing his jacket off the arm of the couch. "You should come." He told her, throwing his jacket over his shoulders and sliding his arms into the holes.

"Yeah, sure. I guess." Evelyn shrugged, she had nothing better to do so why not. She stood up, she hadn't brought a jacket to Rafe's so she had nothing to put on.

The party was down at the boneyard, a common place for the pogues to throw parties; Evelyn had many there when she was friends with them.

She was worried about seeing her old friends, not quite sure how it might go down if she did; but she wasn't going to let that stop her from having fun.

"Did you bring it?" Rafe asked Kelce who reached into his pocket, pulling out a hip flask.
"What's in there?" Evelyn asked pointing to it, Kelce didn't reply, instead he passed the flask to Evelyn. She took it from him hesitantly, she twisted open the cap, pulling the flask to her lips.

As she took a sip she was met with the strong, burning taste of vodka, causing her to wince.
"Just pure vodka?" She asked between coughs. Rafe nodded, laughing at her reaction. She hadn't quite prepared herself to take a sip of pure vodka so it was unexpected.

Rafe drove the four to the boneyard, it was quite a long drive from figure eight; Evelyn wasn't sure how they would get back home as she knew all of them would want to drink, but she didn't question that right now.

The beach was packed, they could barely even see the sand because of the large crowds of people. Evelyn took Rafe's hand, wanting to stay close to him.

Kelce and Topper went off, shortly coming back with red solo cups and mixers. Topper poured them all a drink, handing the flask back to Kelce once he was done.

"Come on, let's go party!" Kelce called, throwing his cup up in the air. The others laughed as they made their way onto the beach, joining the large crowds of people.

Music was blasting through speakers, making it difficult for them all to hear each other. This also meant Evelyn couldn't quite hear the voices of her old friends around her.
She was yet to notice that they had all spotted her, questioning what she was doing there.

"Hey!" A voice called from behind them, causing the four to turn around. "This is a pogue only party." Evelyn spotted the person who was calling to them, none other than JJ Maybank.
"JJ?" She wasn't quite sure why she was questioning the fact he was there, as they were most likely the ones hosting the party.

"Oh wow, guys she remembers my name!" He joked, chuckling to the others. Evelyn frowned.
"Of course I remember your name, what do you mean?" She asked, looking at him confused. He looked around at John B, Pope and Kiara, still laughing. The others weren't joining in, instead they just watched JJ's outburst.

"Well you've really taken a liking in avoiding us recently." He rolled his eyes. "Are we not good enough for your little kook friends?" He scoffed, gesturing to Rafe and his friends.
"Why are you being like this? You're the one who pushed me away." Evelyn's voice cracked slightly as she spoke, becoming increasingly upset.