body language - JJ Maybank

ELEVEN.

  — "DON'T let it get in your head bro. Three of them and two of us." JJ shrugged. They were all down at Heyward's shop helping out. "That's some typical kook shit right there." JJ scoffed.
   "Hell, yeah." Kie agreed.

  "Yeah that's one thing you'll learn about Rafe. He never does things fairly." Evelyn explained.
   "What was your thought process, using your head?" JJ asked.
  "I don't know man. I just kind of acted off instinct." Pope admitted. " I was a cornered animal."

  "Hey, Pope, someone here to see you." Heyward made his way into the shop, an Officer following closely behind.
  "Evening, Officer." Pope said, panic in his voice.
  "I have an arrest warrant for felony destruction of property." The Officer said. Pope turned to JJ in panic.

     The fear in his eyes as recognisable. Evelyn assumed he hadn't really thought things would go this far when he trashed Topper's boat.
    That was unusual for Pope, as he as always a thinker.

   "Hands where I can see them." The Officer continued. "Young lady, out of my way." He said to Kiara, using his hand to usher her out of the way.

  "Whoa. Shoupe, what'd he do?" Heyward asked confused. The whole of the shop was looking around confused, it was unusual to see an officer in Heyward's shop.
  "Look at the warrant." Was all the Officer said.
  "You're arresting him?" Kiara gasped.

"Look there's been a misunderstanding, you can't arrest him!" Evelyn yelled. All four of them began to yell in protest, the Officer wasn't listening to any of them.
   He put Pope in handcuffs, and explained what was happening to him.

   They all continued to protest, yelling at the Officer but no matter how hard they tried, there wasn't anything they could do.
  The Officer led Pope out of the shop and towards the police car.

   "It wasn't him!" JJ shouted just before they put Pope into the cop car. "It was me." He said. "He tried to talk me out of it, but I was mad because he'd just been been beaten up." JJ explained. "I was so sick of those assholes on Figure Eight that I lost my shit." JJ turned to look at the cop, and then at Pope. "I can't let you take the blame for something I did."

  The Officer believed JJ's story taking the handcuffs off Pope and putting them on him instead. JJ was put into the cop car and they drove off.

   "What the fuck are we gonna do?" Evelyn ran her fingers through her hair pacing back and fourth.
  "I have no idea." Pope sighed, Evelyn knew he felt guilty for letting JJ take the blame. He took his hat off, throwing it on the floor before running off.

   ——————————————————————

  Evelyn was awoken by a knock at her front door. Her parents weren't home so she left her room, jogging down the stairs to get to the door.
    When she opened it she saw JJ on the other side, looking battered and bruised.
   "Oh my God, JJ." Evelyn pulled him into a hug, squeezing him tightly causing him to gasp. When she pulled away she got a proper look at him. "What happened to you?" She asked, scanning over all the cuts and bruises across his face.
"My dad happened." JJ sighed. "Can I stay the night?" He then asked.

   Evelyn nodded, leading him into the house and up to her room.
   "Now tell me what happened." She said, as her and JJ made themselves comfy on her bed.
  "Well my dad obviously had to come bail me out, and he has to pay restitution for the damage so he wasn't happy. And then this happened." JJ signalled to his face.

"J, you know you could've come to me for the money, I would've helped pay for it." JJ cut Evelyn off.
  "No I couldn't ask you to do that, I would forever be in debt to you and I don't want that."
  "I wouldn't care about you paying me back, I would you be glad that your dad wasn't beating you."