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Estrella hadn't heard from anyone since JJ got taken to jail. Everyone was too worried about him to try and speak to one another.
Midsummers was the next day and Estrella had taken liberty in preoccupying herself with helping her mom. They had arrived at the country club dressed up as they brought food in along with some of her Mom's employees.
Estrella was dressed in a periwinkle colored dress that came just above her knee. Her hair cascaded down her back and shoulders in loose curls. Her makeup and accessories matched perfectly along with her heels.
"Mija, can you bring this to Mr. Heyward ? He agreed to cook them for me." Her mom asks
"Yeah, sure," She says taking the container from her
"Thank you, sweetie." Her mom says as Estrella makes her way outside.
She quickly makes her way over to the Heyward's who were already starting to cook other food. Kie stood off to the side with Pope.
"Hey, Mr. Heyward." Estrella smiles
"Hey," He smiles back at her, "How you been ?"
"I've been okay. My mom asked me to bring these to you." She says handing him the container
"Of course, of course." He says before he turns away with it. Estrella then walks over to Kie and Pope.
"Hey," Kie says
"Hey," Estrella says. Pope looks to her. "You okay ?"
"Yeah," He says, "Have you heard from JJ ?"
"No," She sighs, "Hoping he's okay."
"He's fine. It's JJ we're talking about." Kie says
Estrella nods, "Yeah,"
The teens turn as they hear clapping. The Cameron's walk out with big smiles on their faces.
"Here come Lord Capital and the Exploiters." Kie says. Sarah's step mom, Rose, waves to people in the crowd. She has on a headband with sticks coming out of it.
"She's gonna poke somebody's eye out with that." Pope says
"No question." Estrella says shaking her head.
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The party was now in full swing as the night went on. Everyone having fun as they drank and danced the night away. Estrella had spent most of her time going back and forth between her mom and where Pope and his dad were.
She was walking back to her mom when someone spins her around. She almost screams until she realizes it's JJ.
"Jesus," She says before her brows furrow, "JJ,"
"Well, don't look too happy to see me," He chuckles, "You look beautiful by the way."
He's almost knocked down when Estrella hugs him. He wraps his arms around her waist as she sighs.
"Thank god you're okay." She says as she pulls back.
"Duh. Of course I'm okay." He says.
Estrella frowns as she looks around his face. He had bruises and cuts littering his face. "What happened ?"
"It's nothing. Just my dad."
Her eyes go wide, "Your dad ? JJ."
"Don't worry about it. I'm fine."
"You're not fine."
"I'm fine, Star." He says firmly. He places his hands on her cheeks, "I'm okay."
"You're not okay." She mutters. JJ sighs as he lets his hands fall at his side.
"Okay, look, I can't talk much right now, but I wanted to tell you that we're back in the g-game."
"G-game ? What g-game ?"
"The gold, Star. We've got it all figured out, alright ?"
"What do you mean ? I thought that was out the window."
"Yeah, well we got it back." He shrugs with a smile. "I'll explain everything later, though. I promise."
"What-" She's cut off by JJ kissing her cheek and running off. She's left confused as she watches him disappear into the crowd. She steps back before turning around and proceeding on to her Mom.
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It didn't take long for chaos to ensue as JJ was being pulled away by a security guard.
"Look... look, man, I can walk myself. I got legs. Can you see that, brother ?" He says
"Come on."
"What the hell ?" Estrella says as she and her Mom sit up
"I really appreciate what you did back there. Let me just walk out by myself. Mr. Dunleavy, I see you got your drink. Good, that's really nice of you. I'm actually gonna down that." He says as he takes his drink.
"Aah ! Whoo ! I really appreciate the discretion, Daryl, you know ? It's okay, everybody ! Do not panic. Leave it to the men and women in uniform. Let's hear it for them." He claps
"Rose ! You look like Lady Liberty. It's good to see you again. Hey, buddy, can I have one of those ?" He says as a waiter passes with a tray full of food.
"Let go of him ! You can't just boot him !" Kie says
"Excuse me, ma'am ?" The security guard says
"Really ?" Her dad says
"I invited him here."
"Kiara, stop it."
"I'm a member of this club."
JJ pushes the guard back into a waiter. "Sorry about that. Hey, mandatory power hour at Rixon's, Kie. Pope, you as well, all right ?" He says
"Where's Star ?" He says looking around before he points. "There she is. Rixon's Cove, baby. Let's roll." He says
"All right, Kie, come on. Workers of the world unite. Throw off your chains !" He yells as he walks through the crowd.
Estrella looks to her mom who looks unsure.
"Mom."
"Do what you think is right, Estrella. But remember, you don't have it as lucky as everyone else here."
Estrella furrows her brows slightly as she looks at her mom. Usually, her mom supports the things she does and lets her learn from whatever mistakes she makes. Now, she seemed like what Kie would describe her parents as. Estrella didn't know how she truly felt about it.
Before she could even give herself a chance to think about it, she walks around the table and runs toward JJ.
JJ smiles as she runs into his arms. He picks her up by her waist and spins her before letting her down as the five of them run off together.
