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CHAPTER ELEVEN: A SCARY NIGHT
Emma found John B standing with Kiara, Pope and JJ as they were looking for her. She took a deep breath before walking towards them at a fast pace. The first one to meet her gaze was John B and a relieved smile formed on his face. She also smiled, her expression matching his. He looked fine and he did not look like how she imagined him earlier. She thought he would've been in pain or just not okay. But here he was, looking as normal as normal could be. She ran towards her brother, engulfing him in a tight hug.
"You need to stop disappearing on me, JB." The girl whispered with a chuckle of relief, still hugging him.
"I'm sorry." He laughed, hugging her back and then letting go. The others stared at them, surprised by Emma's sudden reappearance.
"Where were you?" Kiara asked, making the girl's smile turn into a look of nervousness.
She couldn't just tell them she was kissing Rafe Cameron, could she? They'd probably kill her if she did. Especially Kiara. She hated having to keep this a secret. The Pogues had a rule. They didn't keep secrets from each other.
"Uh... me?" Emma asked, pointing at herself and looking around.
"Yeah, who else?" Pope intervened.
"Funny." She chuckled awkwardly. "I was—uh—in the bathroom. There was this girl, she's a Kook, actually." She began, hoping her lie starts to add up.
"Uh huh." They all looked at her intently, eyebrows furrowed.
"And she had too much to drink. She was throwing up and crying about her boyfriend... what was his name? Joh—no, Joe. She was crying about him so I was comforting her and all. That's why I took some time to get here." Emma told them, nodding slowly so they could believe her.
JJ eyes narrowed, but he didn't say anything. He felt like she was hiding something. He knew Emma was a terrible liar, actually, everyone knew. It was always obvious because of her facical expressions. But he didn't want to call her out on it.
"Right, right." Kiara said, nodding too. Though, she also felt suspicious. But she decided to trust the girl's word for it. John B and Pope said nothing. They had a feeling this wasn't the whole story, but they decided to let it go.
"Alright." JJ cleared his throat, "Let's go, Y'all. We have a mandatory meeting!" His tone was playful as usual as he tried to brush the situation off.
Emma grinned in response. They got on the Twinkie and drove it away, into an isolated area that was still close to the Midsummers venue but not out in the open. They set a fire and all sat on some logs.
"Guys, so my dad's already going to kill me. So, what's this mandatory meeting about?" Pope spoke up while they all settled down.
John B and JJ exchanged knowing glances, both debating on who should answer. The latter spoke, "Might as well tell them, man. Before we're gaffed."
