{ LIVING THE POGUE LIFE }

{24}

Brie held JJ's hand the entire time as she waited for him to wake up. She knew that he was fine, that his brain just shut off from the lack of oxygen, but she couldn't help but worry about him.

After he passed out, it took her, Pope and Kiara a good twenty minutes to carry him back to Kiara's car. He was bigger and heavier than each of them, and so was pretty hard to move.

Brie has stayed in the back of the car with JJ, his head in her lap as he lay across the backseat. She brushed her finger across the faint cuts and scars on his skin, smoothing his hair down with her hand.

"Should we take him home?" Kiara asked, worry clear across her face.

"No," Brie said quickly, "No, we'll take him back to John B's so I can keep an eye on him."

For one thing, Brie had promised JJ that she would never go to his house. And two, there was no way she was leaving him alone eight now. Especially considering how defensive he was whenever she asked him about his home life.

Now, hours later, Brie still sat beside him as she waited for him to wake up, his hand lay limp in her's as he lay on the sofa.

As if she wasn't stressed enough, John B hadn't come home last night. He hadn't left a note, and she had no way of contacting him. She tried telling herself that she was just being paranoid, that he was probably just looking into something to do with his dad, but it was useless. Of course she was going to worry about him.

She was glad that she had taken so many freaking naps yesterday, because it meant that she was now able to stay awake and watch over JJ. She looked out of the window and saw that the sun was already beginning to rise, turning the sky a deep pink.

Brie sighed and rested her head in her hands, digging her palms into her eyes. She once again found herself thinking about the boat incident, and what Rafe and Topper had said. God, this was a mess.

She felt a hand brush against the side of her head and jumped, quickly looking up. JJ winced and smiled at her, his hand sliding down the side of her face.

"Hey, princess," he said, voice raspy and tired, "You worrying about little old me?"

She laughed and grabbed his hand again, kissing his knuckles softly. He laughed under his breath, squeezing her hand in return.

"You wish," she fired back. "How are you feeling?"

"My head hurts," he frowned, rubbing a hand over his forehead. "Throat too, but I'm good. How long was I out for?"

"I don't know," she replied truthfully. She honestly had no idea how long they had been sat like this. "It's probably around five am. We got back here around eleven last night, I think."

He nodded slowly before his face settled into a frown. "Wait, you haven't slept?"

She shook her head with a tight smile and his frown deepened.

"Brie," he sighed, sitting up a little. "Aren't you tired?"

"No," she reassured him, raking her tangled hair back into a ponytail, "I got more than enough sleep yesterday."

"You should probably get some sleep, you know," he told her, clearly trying to mask the worry in his tone. "A lot has gone down in the last twenty-four hours."

"Its fine, Jay," she said, squeezing his hand again. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

He smiled and pulled her down by her hand so that he could kiss her. She sighed and took his face in her hands, kissing him back. She could feel him smiling, which only made her smile too.