"How much?" Alana asked, a worried expression on her face.
"Not enough." John B replied, solemnly recounting the dollar bills that sat on the table before them.
They were counting out their money from the last month, all of it. And, while you'd think that two part-time jobs each would be enough to pay for food and basic necessities, you would be wrong.
"It'll be okay," Alana reassured him whilst subconsciously doing the same to herself. "We still have like, a month of summer left so we just need to pick up some jobs." She explained, feeling slight more confident in their money troubles.
John B nodded, leaning forwards and ruffling his sisters hair. "Yo, guys!" JJ exclaimed, jogging into the room with Pope behind him.
JJ started babbling about something while Pope wiped the sweat off his forehead and drank from the water fountain.
"Party behind the docks, kooks, pouges, tourons, everyone's gonna be there!" JJ shouted in a tone that made Alana smile.
John B nodded, "I'm in." Pope glanced at Alana momentary. "Lana B, you comin'?" He asked, directing all eyes in the room to Lana.
She thought for a moment. "Sure," she paused to fiddle with her straw. "What's the worst that could happen?"
A lot of things could happen.
She could get murdered
Rafe could try kiss her again
JJ could get shitfaced and start a fight
_________________________________
"Sarah!" Lana exclaimed, running to her friend with open arms.
"Lana B!" Sarah replied with matching enthusiasm and engulfing her friend into a hug.
"Sarah." John B mocked, jokingly extending his arms out to Sarah before letting them fall again. "Agh, unnecessary." She tutted, slapping his arm and walking closer to the bonfire.
Lana was sitting next to JJ, left leg resting on his right while he gently ran a hand up her thigh. Sarah, who was on the other side of her was chatting with Pope about something.
Lana looked up and noticed Kie walking up to the fire, her face slowly getting clearer as Lana nodded her head in acknowledgement, Kie returning this gesture to her.
"Hey." Kiara greeted the group of teenagers and took a seat close to the fire, warming up her hands and rubbing her legs in an attempt to stay heated.
A little while later, the group had began to drift away. JJ going towards the drinks while John B and Sarah snuck off somewhere.
"Lana! You want?" JJ jogged up to her, offering her his cup which she downed. "My girl." JJ praised her as they both ran back to get more.
"Hey, JJ.." Lana muttered, climbing into JJ's lap who brought his hands around the back of her thighs, helping her sit. "Hi." He slurred, lazily brushing a piece of hair out of her face, frowning when it jumped back.
Lana began to leave gentle kisses up and down his neck, causing him to rub her thighs gently.
"JJ"
Lana remembered, seagulls cawing.
"JJ you wanna go home?"
"We'll just walk then."
"My bedrooms this way silly."
...
_________________________________
Lana B groaned at the pain in her head, holding it as some form of comfort. She rolled to the right, jumping back when she felt a body next to her.
It was JJ. He was lying on his back, one arm extended to where her head had previously been laying, the other draped comfortably across his forehead.
"G' morning ma." He mumbled, gently lifting up a finger and pointing at her as he spoke. He looked her up and down, causing her to self-consciously throw on his t-shirt from the night before, which had been thrown over a chair in the corner.
Lana studied him. His hair was a little greasy and his breath somehow still smelled like alcohol. "You been drinking?" She asked from her spot in the room. He shook his head. "Smoked a joint at like, three." He groaned, rolling over and rubbing his eyes.
"So what do we do now?" Lana B asked him, sitting on the bed across from where he was watching her intensely. "Hope that we were safe?" JJ offered, chuckling at his own joke.
"Not funny." Alana whispered, causing his laughter to die out. "I'm sure we were, right?" She asked him quietly.
"Aren't you on birth control?" He asked with furrowed brows, making her jaw drop. "We can hardly afford to put food on the table and you want me to waste money on birth control? With the expenses on this island? There's like, no way it'll happen to us anyway!" She exclaimed in annoyance at how dense he could be sometimes. It was true. Feminine products on the island were ridiculously expensive, there were some months when Lana worried if she would be able to afford tampons.
"Okay, okay." He teased, raising his arms in a mock manner. "You stink, go shower." Lana muttered, pushing his arms down.
"Come with me." JJ whined jokingly, gently running his hands over her arms. "Don't try me." She warned him yet still smiling when he continued to rub her arms. "Kay, see you ma." JJ smirked, kissing her gently before leaving the room.
Lana threw on a pair of shorts before leaving her bedroom and wandering into the main room, where John B and Sarah were discussing something that she probably couldn't give two shits about.
"Morning." Her brother muttered, not looking up from the bottle of water that Sarah was trying to convince him to drink. "Hey." Lana B replied in a similar tone, drinking straight from the water fountain after deciding that she didn't want to wash any dishes.
She grabbed a bowl and threw some random cereal in it, faintly hearing talking come from somewhere further away in the house. She furrowed her brows, "someone else here?" Lana asked John B who finally looked up at her to nod.
"Pope and Kie stayed the night." Sarah further elaborated. "Ah." Lana muttered, raising her brows. "Cute shirt." Sarah said, her eyes wandering down to clothing that sat on her.
Pope and Kie walked in, Kie wearing Popes shirt and him only wearing a pair of shorts. "Everyone really was boning everyone last night, huh." Lana B laughed, making the girls shoot angry glances at her while the boys looked down with flustered faces.
"Morning guys." JJ walked in at the perfect moment, making everyone in the room look pointedly at Lana. "You look hot in that shirt." He whispered, walking closer to her and kissing her, a little less gently than earlier that morning.
"'Kay guys, well I should be getting home before my dad worries." Sarah spoke up, glancing around at them and kissing John B on the cheek. "Oh yeah, Lana B, my brother wants to see you." She added, making Lana's brother shoot her a look.
"Ah." Lana whispered, taking Sarah's hand and leading her to the door. "I'll come with, get it over with." She decided, leaving the boys and Kie a slight wave.
