——

A smile formed on Emelina's lips when her eyes caught a glimpse of JJ's bike parked outside the Chateau. After she parked her car, she made her way over to the locked door and used the code to release the key.

"Finally logged into my mom's account to get the code. 4623." Emelina smiled happily, raising the key in her hand as she stumbled inside. There was no response, so she walked further into the home to find JJ hovering over the sink.

"No more breaking in through windows... JJ?" Emelina wasn't able to finish her sentence and instead stepped closer to the blonde boy, placing her hand on his shoulder.

He turned around, and she brought her hand to his face to inspect the fresh cuts and injuries forming on his skin. Dark red substance dripped from his nose, desperately being soaked by a hand towel that must've been laying around. His bright blue eyes weren't so bright anymore. All the light was drained from the event he endured today.

"Is this Luke's doing?" Emelina asked, her voice soft and delicate. Pain consumed her body, her eyes darting from skin to skin. A cut was on his lips, and she could assume bruises laid freshly on his lower body.

"Mhm," JJ nodded and a humorous grin stretched on his lips, "He gave me a special treatment."

She shook her head, pulling the hand towel away from his fingertips. "What happened?"

"You know, the usual. Thinking 'bout my mom... blaming it on me... It's all the same, really. Oh, and he likes to bring up the Phantom."

"Are you okay?" she asked and he looked almost offended that she even asked. He reclaimed the hand towel to wipe away the remaining blood from his nose.

A sigh escaped her lips and scanned the countertop with her eyes. She picked up a half-empty whiskey bottle, "Where did you get this?"

JJ grabbed it from her, taking a swig in the process. "Stole it from daddy dearest."

Emelina pulled it away like he was a child holding something he should not have. "No more. He won't be happy you stole it," she told him, thinking about the consequences he might experience.

"Who cares?" JJ shrugged, "By the time I get back he would've forgotten everything."

She frowned. He didn't deserve this. "You're not going back," she stated and set down the whiskey bottle on the countertop. "Why are you drinking it?"

"Gotta ease the pain somehow, right?" JJ laughed, but his hand soon covers his nose as he hissed in pain. "Ow."

"Follow me," Emelina said and grabbed his hand. While she wasn't looking, JJ used his free hand to get ahold of the bottle and hid it behind his back because stealing things was like a natural tendency to him.

"To the bedroom? Of course." JJ grinned, his words almost slurring but he did a decent job hiding it. Emelina rolled her eyes and pulled him into the bathroom, and he frowned. "This is not the bedroom."

"Sit."

"Yes, ma'am." JJ obliged, sneaking the bottle next to the toilet bowl before her eyes could catch it. He watched as she grabbed a spare hand towel, turning the faucet on to let the warm water heat up.

Emelina felt his stare glued to her skin and a rushing feeling surged through her, but she ignored it and continued her task by dipping the towel in water.

She kneeled to his level once she turned off the sink and brought the damp cloth to his face, wiping away the blood.

His bloodshot eyes bore into hers, watching carefully as she concentrated on him. Goosebumps rose on her arms and silently she wished he still didn't have this effect on her. A simple stare made her grow weak. His next words didn't help either.

JJ looked through all her features, taking in everything he admired. "You're beautiful," he said softly. Even drunk, his words were true.

Emelina froze, her eyes stuck on anything but him. Quickly, she pulled the cloth away from his face and took a breath in. "You shouldn't be saying this to me."

"Why not?"

"You know why."

"Am I forbidden from telling the truth?" he asked, his voice lingering in sarcasm.

"I have a boyfriend." she reminded him, flipping the cloth around to find a blank canvas.

"And my heart is yours. There, we both said truths." JJ told her, a small smile curving upwards. Usually, he would keep his mouth shut and tolerate the pain of the unavailability of her status, but the alcohol running through his system made it easier to confess. 

She looked at him, finding a loss of words. Every moment she spends with him makes it harder to let go. "JJ..."

"End it with Topper."

"Why?"

"Because you want to."

Emelina shook her head softly, turning her gaze away. "You don't know what I want," she replied, her voice barely coming out as a whisper.

"Then look me in the eye..." Those words were too familiar, something she once said to him, "and tell me you love him."

She couldn't. Saying simple words wasn't as hard as it was now. JJ had her right under his nose, just how he liked it. "...You've had too much to drink," she said after a minute of silence.

A grin tugged on his lips as he got the answer he was waiting for. She gulped, not liking the way his eyes continued to read right through her.

Emelina got up from her kneeling position and tossed the cloth in the sink. She opened the mirror cupboard to fetch the first-aid kit before going back down to the blonde boy to clean his cuts. "This might sting a little," she warned, hoping to sway the previous conversation away.

"I feel a sting when I see you with Topper." JJ quipped, which earned an eye roll from Emelina. She wiped the alcohol pad on his cut and he dramatically winced in pain. "Yup. Definitely feels like that."

"How immature can you get?" she asked him, moving onto the cut on his lips.

"I think coming to terms with my feelings is pretty mature to me, yeah." JJ nodded to himself.

The guy she longed for, craved for, was right in front of her begging for the same energy back, and she could give it if she didn't refuse. She could count how many times she wanted to kiss him to express how she feels, but her mistake of getting back with Topper will constantly prevent it.

It is not easy as it seems, to go up to her boyfriend and end the useless relationship, and she wished it was. Their relationship, to her, was more than others might think it is because her mother's opinion mattered so much, and disappointing her was not on the table to grab.

"You shouldn't wait on me, JJ. Other girls want you and—"

"There's no one better for me than you." he cut her off, grabbing her hands and forcing their eyes to lock.

She shook her head. "How would you know that? We kissed three times, okay? And you're drunk... you don't know what you're saying."

JJ squeezed her hands, "I do. You understand me better than anyone and I've realized I shouldn't have pushed you away," he said and let go of her hands to run his own through his hair. "That month without you was—"

"Look, we were all alone. You're confusing me with everyone else." she corrected, but he shook his own head. "You don't get it. I was so used to having you around... One day you were here and then you weren't. I figured you'd come back." he said.

Emelina had never seen him so vulnerable, laying out all his emotions in front of her, and it was hard seeing him like this. "I did," she told him.

"It was too late. I was too late."

"I can't give you what you want," she said, her breathing shaky.

"You can't or you won't?" he asked.

"I'm sorry," Emelina whispered, but inside it was more to herself. She created this problem. She created her current unhappiness and now it was a constant reminder of the black hole she dove in.

JJ furrowed his eyebrows, "What're you saying sorry for?"

"Never mind," she muttered, unable to say what's on her mind, and thankfully he didn't push her.

"You and Topper..." he started and she froze to listen. "You can't tell me you love him, but if you really want to be with him then I'll stay... and I'll watch."

Emelina remained still for a moment to take it all in. He was her true awakening and she knew it.

She stood up to walk back over to the sink and put the kit back to its original spot. While she recollected her thoughts, JJ snuck another sip of the whiskey bottle, making sure his back was turned on her.

When he hid the bottle again, she turned around with a small smile to pretend his words weren't giving her a wake-up call. "You're all cleaned up. I don't think your nose is broken, but you should get that checked out."

"This?" JJ pointed to his injuries, "I can handle this. Trust me, I've been through a lot worse." he said like it truly meant nothing to him.

He got off of the toilet to walk closer to the door and when he reached there, he extended his arm on the doorframe. Leaning on it, he hovered over Emelina. "Thank you," he whispered as his alcoholic breath fanned over her face.

JJ stepped away from her and entered back into the main room, leaving a stunned Emelina to take in their proximity. When she registered the smell, she looked over to the toilet to find his hidden treasure.

"I said not to drink this," she said after fetching the bottle and meeting him back in the living room. "You know, sooner or later the alcohol will catch up and your liver won't like it. God, I sound like Pope."

The joke hadn't earned a laugh from either one of them as she entered the room. There he was, sitting on the couch with his eyes glued to the ground below him. She noticed his hand clenching his chest, aiming for his heart.

The mood had changed drastically and she knew he was thinking of his last encounter with his father. Her eyes softened at the view and quickly set the bottle down to join him on the couch and comfort him.

She looked at him, "Talk to me."

It was quiet for a minute. "No matter what I do... He... He hurts me. I can't deal with it anymore, Emelina. I can't." His voice cracked at every word spoken and fresh tears slipped from his eyes.

Emelina's hatred for Luke Maybank grew every day, even if she hadn't met him personally. She had her own fair shares with her mother, but nothing compared to what JJ goes through. She wanted to make his pain go away, and right now comfort is what he needs.

"You're safe here, JJ. With me," she told him and pulled his body closer to hers. He leaned onto her and her chin rest on his shoulder from behind, wrapping her arm across his chest. His hand holds onto hers and clutched it as if he would leave her again. The tears continue to fall, finally feeling safe in someone's arms. Her arms.

——

a/n: jj is a little ooc here i think idk i just know this man would never say forbidden but whateva