Magnetic - JJ Maybank

29 - The homeless man

"JJ?"

I had no idea what to say. I knew this looked bad. JJ saw us laughing and didn't know why we were hanging out. He knew who Charlie was. The last time these two had talked, it didn't go well.

"I think I'm gonna go..." Char told me starting to pack his things.

"No! No, don't let me interrupt." The blonde said. His jaw hardened when he looked back at me.

"JJ, please-" My voice broke as soon as I saw him turn around and leave.

I quickly got up and passed through the patio, pushing all the chairs away from my path. When I made it out, JJ was walking towards his motorcycle.

"JJ!" I yelled.

"Fuck off, Maya." He shook his head.

I was scared of losing him. Again. The worst part was that there wasn't even a reason to fight. He was just wrong about what he saw.

I ran to him and stopped in front of him, breathless.

"You know what? No! Last time we fought, I promised myself to communicate more. So we are going to talk and fix this!" I told him.

He looked at me with so much emotion I couldn't even comprehend how he was feeling.

"Maya, I can't with you right now."

"It's not what it looks like! We were just doing a school work!" I threw my arms in the air.

"And why did you choose him to be your partner?"

"I-" I didn't know what to say. This was beginning to be unfair. "So I can't be friends with other guys?"

"That's not what I'm saying!"

I raised my eyebrows and gave him a skeptical look.

"Okay, forget it. I'm going. We'll talk later." He got on his motorcycle.

"No!" I pleased.

"Fuck, just give me time." He said brutally, starting the engine. He was mad which made my head burn. He had no right to not listen to me.

"Fine, just walk away! You seem to be an expert at that!" I yelled as he drove off. "Fuck you!"

As I watched him get further and further, I catched my breath and put my hands in my hair.

I walked back fast to the house and saw Charlie still standing in the patio.

"I'm sorry." I tilted my head back.

"It's fine. Take care of yourself. I'm gonna finish it tonight." He walked towards me and softlty kissed my forehead. I closed my eyes and smiled.

"See you tomorrow!" He said walking away.

I sighed, replaying what happened in the last five minutes.

---

"Hello?" I heard on the other side of the phone. The familiar voice made me want to cry more. My cheeks were already soaked and my heart hurt because of the thought of losing JJ.

"John B," I sobbed.

"Maya, hey. What's wrong?" he asked. I could hear the worry in his voice. " What happened?"

"Is JJ at the Chateau?" I asked.

"No, I haven't seen him since yesterday." My friend answered. "Why?"

I sighed in relief. JJ said he needed time, so going after him would only make things worse.

"I just need someone to talk to. Can I come?" I tried not to show to sadness as I spoke. My throat hurt from holding back the tears and my head hurt like hell.

"Yes, of course."

I thanked him and hung up. I wanted to ask John B some advices. He knew my boyfriend since kindergarten, so I hoped he could help me. Sometimes, JJ isn't easy to comprehend and it's in those times that he needs up the most.

The busiest street in the city is Oak Street. I would not frequently take this way to the Chateau, but I needed to this time. I wanted to go to the pharmacy to pick up something that would ease my excruciating headache.

There were a ton of people. There were certain people that were bumping my shoulder without even noticing, making me angrier each time.

I wasn't sure if I would be able to survive, and I was barely five minutes away from the drugstore. Hell, with all the people around, no one would even notice if I was getting stabbed.

"Sorry, miss?" I heard a voice next to me. I turned around to look at a stranger.

It was a homeless man. I was unable to see his face because of his hooded robe. His hands gave me an impression that he was in his forties.

"Would you happen to have some money, by any chance?" With his hands pressed together between us, the man asked. He checked my hand.

I looked down and saw the five dollar bill I took out for my pill.

Shit.

I had no reason not to give it to him. He didn't have a house; I was living in an estate. I shut my eyes.

"Sure, here you go."

He took the five bucks from my hand and opened the side of his robe.

There was a gun.

The stranger took it in his hand after putting to bill in one of his pocket and slowly showed it to me.

"You are going to come with me." he said.

I was afraid of how to react. I was feeling my heart pounding from the top of my head to my feet, and each muscle in my body was stiff. Why would they want me? My body wasn't moving at all, but my head was racing.

The man took my arm and guided me to a black van. I followed him, looking around if anybody was seeing what was currently happening. Everyone was walking, heads down on their cellphones or looking at the street.

A tear fell down my cheek as I walked besides the stranger for what felt like one hour. I could feel us walking in slow motion, wondering how I managed to get there.

To get to the point where I was either about to be starved to death, simply be killed or be tortured.

He threw me in the back of the van and closed the door. I looked around. There was nothing here that could help me.

There was nothing except a small gray cylinder. My brows frowned as I got closer to it. And when I understood what it was, I knew I wouldn't make it out the van by myself.

It was releasing air.

Poisonous air.

I quickly got as I far from it as possible, but it was still too late. The dizziness came quickly and every part of my body felt like weights of two thousands pounds.

And everything slowly faded away.

A.N. Hi! Sorry, the chapter isn't really long because I wanted it to end with that cliffhanger. Don't worry if you still don't understand what happened in the street. Everything will make sense in chapter 30. I will try to get the next part as soon as possible, but it's a long chapter that contains... a lot! Thanks for reading, take care:)

Charlie waiting in the patio while JJ and Maya are arguing: