Unrequited Love

012, The Office

Not even an hour later, John B, JJ, Kie, Pope, and I were sprawled out on the porch of the Chateau. Since Kie, Pope, and I had missed this morning's events, we had all decided to meet to get filled in. The drive home from work had been silent except for JJ's frequent glances at me through the rearview mirror. Because of the tense mood in the car, I decided not to pry until they were ready to talk. When we got back to the chateau, I showered and changed into the spare clothes I had there, trying to ignore my nagging anticipation.

When Kie and Pope showed up, I wasted no time in ushering them outside toward where JJ and JB were seated. I was eager to find out what happened during this morning's events. 

"And we were right outside like this," JJ said, leaning against a wall attached to the porch, with all of us watching intently. "And all we could hear was just, 'Bam! Bam! Bam!'—knocking paint off the wall from the inside," JJ shouted excitedly, mimicking punches in the air. His disheveled hair and flushed cheeks hinted at the intensity of the moment. JJ had a way of telling stories; even when he was likely recounting the truth, he had a way of exaggerating to the point that nobody took him seriously. I refrained from immediately dismissing it as nonsense because John B sat there, expressionless, unfazed by JJ's chaotic storytelling. While I nodded along, pretending to follow the wild events, I knew I'd later turn to John B for clarification on everything.

"All right?" JJ continued. "And I'm just looking at him, like..." He said before cutting himself off. "Wait, first off, look at this shit." He began shaking his head, causing white flakes to fall. I shot a disgusted look at Kie, who let out a laugh.

"JJ, that's dandruff. Disgusting," I said, moving my legs from where JJ had just shaken his head. JJ continued to shake his head at Pope.

"Okay, thank you," Pope said sarcastically, shoving the blonde boy's head away.

"Look at all that. All right? That's paint!" JJ exclaimed. "At that point, I was just, like... I'm waiting for death." I rolled my eyes, suppressing a smirk that was playing at my lips. 

"Oh, okay, so you saw the guys that shot at us, right?" Pope said, trying to get more information out of the distressed blonde boy.

"Yeah," JJ responded, still trying to catch his breath.

"Did you get a good description of them? What did they look like?"

"Yeah, anything," Kie added.

"Anything we can bring to a police report?" Pope continued.

JJ shook his head and paced around the porch, his cheeks pink, clearly overwhelmed. Just as I opened my mouth to suggest something, the blonde boy spoke, turning back to the Pogues.

"Burly." A moment of silence followed his statement as Pope shot a confused look at JJ and then at me, who had to refrain from bursting out laughing.

"Burly?" Pope restated.

"Like the type of guy at your dad's garage?" I asked, trying to understand what he meant.

"Yes!" JJ explained, pointing a finger at me to show the others my description was accurate.

"Still not very helpful." Kiara stated.

I watched JJ get work himself up again as he continued to pace back and forth on the old wood, until he settled against a wall, his cheeks even more tinted then before and his hair damp from sweat. "I can tell you with full confidence, these boys, these killers... they're square groupers." He said, taking out an old cigarette from his pocket and bringing it to his lips, letting the smoke exit his mouth.