Skates Out // a Luis Mendoza Fan Fic

26. Year book pictures

Luis.

I didn't have time to catch up with JJ until after the mandatory daily toruture routine Ida called a workout. She and Viola were joint at the hip again although I doubted there was anything I could tell say now that Viola hadn't already heard from JJ. So it didn't matter that they were together.

To my utter shock she smiled when she saw me, a real, geninue smile. Usually her face twisted into a scowl the moment I stepped into her field of vision but today JJ must have been in an exceptional mood.

Not that I was complaining. She could smile at me all day long if she wanted it was intoxicating I'd discovered last night. She was intoxicating, the smell of her perfume, the way her hair seemed to float around her like magic, the way she radiated confidence. Oh for the love of fucking god, here I was doing it again, I needed to get a grip. Clearly sleeping on it hadn't done much for my new found infatuation with her.

"You were right yesterday by the way, about the guy being a track runner, Terry ran track at school." She told me brightly.

A smile and admitting I was right. Was I having an aneurysm or did JJ suddenly get amnesia and forget that we weren't on good terms?

I frowned, "why are you being so nice to me?"

She frowned, "what?"

"You're being uncharacteristically friendly to me Jerome, it's creeping me out." I told her, she was throwing me way off kilter.

"Oh." JJ shrugged amused, "well if it helps I told Viola you look like an idiot walking around in your gear with trainers on before you got here."

That did actually help. "Yeah. Keep that up." I told her sitting down at the table with them.

Viola shook her head inspecting us, "the two of you are so weird."

"Let's get back to Terry." I said drawing focus to the real reason I was standing here.

"Doesn't he look exactly like Jaige?" Viola asked sliding me a picture of him.

I nodded "that's what I said yesterday!"

JJ grimaced, "ew. Why does this keep happening to me? First Oliver now Terry, I mean can I catch a break?"

"Why do you think he came to find you?" Viola asked curiously.

"Could be any number of reasons really." JJ replied, "he's scouting me out, he knwos something about Jess and I or he's just a freaking creep. He was always hard to read at school and I don't know if he's gotten much better."

"I bet he's easier to find than your sister though. If we find him it might be easier to get to her." I interjected.

JJ nodded, "your probably right about that. He's not the sharpest tool in the shed, we might be able to find him quite easily if we put our minds to it."

I put my arm around her instinctively as Igor walked in, "looking for who Julia?"

She shot him a scathing look leaning into the crook of my arm, "not you, that's for sure."

"Don't lie Julia, one of these days I know you'll give up this little game and come to your senses." He told her smugly.

JJ leaned over to me pressing a kiss to my cheek that had my heart fucking soaring before turning back to him, "you seem to have forgotten there's a new player Igor. A better player. I'd get out of the game if I were you, there's no point in playing when you don't have a shot in hell at winning."

Even though what she was saying was just bullshit to keep Igor off her case it really did a number on me.

"Liar." Igor spat at her faltering.

She rolled her eyes, "loser. Now get lost."

"This is a public area I can go where ever I like." He snapped hotly.

"Well then can you go ogle me from another table?" Jerome asked slowly as if speaking to a child, "because this one is full."

Jesus this girl.

My god, could I keep it together? This was getting ridiculous.

"What are you looking at?" Igor snapped as he started to walk off.

"Nothing." I drawled narrowing my eyes at him, he shot me a withering look knowing exactly what I was implying.

JJ grinned, "well put."

"Bye Igor." Viola promoted waving him away with her hand.

His face twisted into an expression of pure rage, it wasn't hard to see that he despised Viola above all else maybe even above me. JJ had told me Viola had been the one to get JJ to pull away from him so it made sense that he hated her.

"Stay out of this." He hissed at her. "I'll make you regret your meddling."
Viola snorted, "yeah I'm shaking man, truly. Now clear off."
He stalked off to the next table sitting down his eyes not leaving JJ. "And they say girls are the dramatic ones." She muttered, "that idiot could win an award for his tantrums."

I grinned, "I have a hockey stick in the locker room if you feel like doing some real damage."
JJ laughed, "as enticing as that sounds I might have to wait until I get him alone again, I don't want to get kicked off the team for fighting."

"Yeah it would a waste of your talent." I told her before I realised the words had left my mouth.

She shot me a surprise look, "that it would Mendoza, that it would." JJ replied clapping me on the leg.

We turned our attention back to Terry before I blurted out anymore ingenious compliments. We still needed to figure out a way to find him, JJ probably had the most luck with that considering she knew him best of all of us.

"Any ideas?" Viola asked her sipping on the smoothie she'd gotten from the juice bar.

JJ nodded a smirk growing on her face, "I know just the place to look."