[21] ʙᴜᴛ ʜᴇ's ᴍʏ ʙᴇsᴛғʀɪᴇɴᴅ, I ᴄᴀɴ'ᴛ ʙᴇ ɪɴ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʜɪᴍ!
*requested by: savetheturtles08

Your flips flops lightly tapped the sparkling water, creating small ripples. The sun was beating onto the back of neck as you sat on the dock, hunched over, and book in hand. Laughter could be heard in the distance, most likely belonging to your friends.

"Hey Y/n!"

You shake your head, a light smile etching on your face as you placed the tattered piece of paper you used as a bookmark to save your spot.

"Took you guys long enough!" you exclaimed, reaching out to grab JJ's hand, who helped you climb onto the boat. He places a quick peck on your cheek before heading back to his spot, next to Kiara.

Clambering to the back of the boat, you sprawl out next to John b, laughing as he playfully pushes you away from him.

You stick your tongue out, watching as the brunette rolls his eyes.

"So what have you guys been up to?" eyeing Pope curiously, his posture tense and eyes strained to stare ahead, and his hand clenching the wheel tightly.

"He's jealous." John b whispered taking a sip of his white claw before handing you one as well.

"Why?" you asked, fumbling with the tab of the can. "Those two have been-"
John b's interrupted as laughter swims through the air. You watch the two infront of the boat carefully, when did that happen?

"Here man," John b stands, pushing Pope out of the way playfully, "Lemme drive"

Pope sighs, collapsing onto the seat next to you and laying his head on your lap. "You like her don't you?" you ask softly, taking a sip of the refreshing beer.

"And you like him." he whispers back quietly. Your body tenses, and you feel your nerves settling into the pit of your stomach, but you manage to scoff out, "of-course not"

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Hours passed and what Pope had said never left your mind for a second. With that, you couldn't help but watch JJ and Kiara, feeling weird every time Kiara's hand lingered on his bicep or whenever his gaze wouldn't leave her figure.

You knew you were being immature, but when Kiara waltzed over to you and JJ, and took him away from you for what felt like the 100th time, you broke.

"Hey guys, I think I'm gonna head out" you say, glancing out your phone as it lit up with another text from your mom, perfect timing.

"Bye y/n!" says JJ as he pulls you into another hug, and places a kiss on your cheek.

✌︎︎✌︎︎✌︎︎

Overtime, you found yourself hanging out with jj less and less as he hung out with kiara more and more.
How it even happened baffled you, you went from him always being on your side, to you struggling to stay on his.

It frustrated you, not because you were angry that he hung out with Kiara more, someone who is as much your best friend as she is his, but because you missed him.

You missed his touch, and the way his lips would feel against your cheek.
You missed the lighthearted banter and the way he would whisper jokes into your ear every now and then.
And most of all, you missed being the one he stuck to at all times.

With horror, you realized, you liked him. And a part of you thought that all along, maybe he liked you back.

But then Kiara came out of no where and that whole idea went to hell.

Now you were just the girl in love with her best friend.
But this wasn't some cliche movie where you would end up getting the guy, after all he liked someone else.

So you found yourself hanging out with the group less, opting instead to visit John b and Pope when the other two were busy.

"Why don't you just tell him?" Pope asks one day, making you snicker, "Yeah right, and you'll just tell Kiara"

"She's got you there dude" John b laughs, his eyes widening and laugh disappearing as JJ walks into the chateau, his head down staring at the phone in his hand. "Hey man I just came here to grab my sweatshirt, you got any-"

JJ's eyes land on yours and you shrink back into the couch. Shit. He's mad.

JJ's scoffs, "So this is where you've been these past two weeks, huh? Avoiding me at all costs."

Pope clears his throat, "John b and I have somewhere to be" pulling John b up by the shoulder.

"What we don't have to-oh" you watch as Pope pushes John b out the backdoor, before glancing back at the fuming blonde in front of you.

He crosses his arms, glaring down at you, "you know i thought we were really close, we're supposed to tell eachother everything, but then one day you just stop talking to me randomly. What's with that?"

You shake your head, not wanting to get into this, fearing you'd let something slip, "I don't want to have this conversation right now J" walking towards the front door, and grabbing your keys off of the table.

"No I'm not letting you leave" JJ remarks, blocking your path by standing in front of the door.

"JJ it's nothing, please move." you sigh, trying to push past the tall teen. He doesn't budge and you glare up at him, his hands reaches down to caress your cheek, "did I do something?"

You pull your head back, " It's just, I-i don't know how i can keep pretending everything's okay."

"What do you mean?" JJ whispers, his gaze falling onto your sullen figure.

Silence fills the air as your mind reels. Should I tell him? Or keep it to myself and think of some shitty excuse?
Sighing, you decide to go with the first, hoping that there was a slight sliver of possibility that he shared your feelings.

"We pretend to be just friends, but we both know that's not true. And then you start hanging out with Kiara more, and I'm starting to think that I was wrong."

"Y/n," JJ murmurs, a quiet chuckle slipping past his lips, "I've only been hanging out with Kiara because I didn't think I had a chance with you. I thought you didn't feel the same way I did, so I backed off."

You feel yourself holding back a smile, he actually likes me back.

Once again, JJ reaches down caress your cheek, but this time you don't pull away.

"I like you a lot" whispers JJ into your ear.

With his hand, JJ softly nudges you closer to him, before placing a sweet and gentle kiss on your lips. Your arms wrap around his waist, pulling him in closer as you smile into his chest.

"I guess it's a good thing I ignored you then, hmm?"

"Hell no!" JJ groans, making his chest vibrate against your head, "I was miserable."

"Aww" you giggle, "Did little JJ miss me?" kissing his blushing cheek.

"I'm literally taller than you!"

"Yes but you have the mental age of a 3 year old!"

"You know what, maybe i'll just go hang out with Kiara again!"

"No!" you shriek, squeezing your arms around his abdomen as lets out a loud laugh.

Turns out, life can be pretty cliche sometimes, but you definitely weren't one to argue.

Word Count: 1242
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