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"I swear to God do not get blood in my dads truck, JJ." Kie voice was laced with both concern and anguish at the current situation. She glanced over to her woozy passenger.
"Keep it on there! Stop touching it, your making it worse." Kie ground out. She took one hand off the wheel and used the other to slap JJ's hand away from the towel. The towel in question was slowly being soaked red with blood. The blood for a lack of a less dramatic word was pouring out of JJ's arm. Kie hadn't witnessed the original wound. She'd be told in short sharp sentences by John B and Pope that it involved a fish hook and field first aid with a knife that had made it a lot worse.
She did know, however, that when she found the boys huddled around JJ's forearm on the back porch of the Chateau, that it was bleeding way to much for just a plaster. There had been an argument an intense one were the words 'overbearing' and 'reckless' were thrown around frequently. Logic had won out when JJ went to stand to make his next point and faltered to the point Pope's reflexes saved him hitting John B's decking.
What she didn't quite know was how she had been given the task of driving JJ to the Urgent Care. She remembered the phase 'it was your bright idea' and 'the Twinkies out of gas' but she couldn't explain the empty back seats. Vaguely, there was conversation about plans that had been made and excuses. But Kie knew deep down it was because it was cold and miserable looking evening and neither of the boys wanted to be saddled with a pissed off JJ in a waiting room for hours to get stitches that he didn't think he needed.
"Its fine, Kie! Just turn back around and we can put a plaster on it." JJ pulled out of her reach. Although, he did as he was told pressed the towel back down on his arm.
"A plaster?" Kie's sarcasm was thick in her voice. "You want to put a plaster on cut so deep you can see white. Real bright idea. I'm sure that will work."
"Fucking glue then. I don't need to see some prick with a clipboard."
"I am not entertaining this anymore. Argue with yourself were going to get it checked out." Kie kept her eyes locked on the road and gripped the steering wheel harder to keep her tongue in check. JJ huffed and pushed himself further into the door of the truck. As far as way from her as possible.
"Don't be angry at me." Kie's temper beat any moral high ground she wanted to have and she snapped after a few minutes of tense silence. "I am just trying to look out for you. I'd rather you didn't go into shock or loose an arm from gangrene."
"You're always so over dramatic. Its a scratch, Kiara." Oh her full name, JJ was beyond pissed if he was playing that card out.
"Me? Over dramatic?" Kie was sure despite it being a cold night for the OBX her blood was boiling.
"Yes, you!" JJ shifted the towel round again to keep the saturated side away from the leather seats.
"Oh fuck off!" Kie glanced over to drive home her point. "Next time I'm going to mind my business. Let John B and Pope deal with the fall out for once."
"Good. I could be back at the Chateau nursing a blunt instead of freezing my ass in your dads truck." The small part of Kie that wasn't seething right now was tempted to remind him he had a spare hoodie on the back seat from when they went surfing yesterday but given the tone of their current conversation she had other uses for his hoodie.
"Only reason I am not pulling over and pushing you out of the truck right now is because I know that's exactly what you want." Kie didn't add that maybe one more smart ass comment and she was considering doing it anyway. "So out of spite, not care, you're going to get stitches, Maybank."
The rest of the journey was done in complete silence. At one point Kie had even made a show of angrily turning off the radio that had been playing in the background. She caught JJ out of the corner of her eye considering turning it back on and was glad he didn't. If she was honest she didn't really like arguing with JJ. Well, she liked bickering and teasing each other. But genuine arguments she hated. It was like arguing with a really angry puppy. Even the way he sulked now slumped against the door avoiding looking at her. Kie considered whether she should have had a bit more sympathy but her mind wondered to the over dramatic comment and she was white knuckling the steering wheel again.
She also didn't need to break as harshly as she did when she parked up in the urgent care car park and smirked when JJ swore and grabbed the dash in front of him. It was painfully silent without the engine running.
"Let me guess you're going to make me go by myself out of spite too?" JJ voice had lost some of its earlier anger and if Kie wasn't mistaken he sounded nervous. Kie paused before answering on purpose. There was no way in hell she was letting him go by himself partly because she thought he might walk straight past it and not go in. But bigger part of her just plainly didn't want to leave him alone.
"No, I am not that dramatic." Kie made a point to emphasis the word.
"Sorry for getting pissed at you." Kie was a little startled. JJ's apologises usually took three to five days and a disappearing act.
"Sorry for raising my voice and swearing." Kie mumbled back. Hers sounding slightly less genuine than JJ's. It worked though because he smiled up at her and shifted closer in his sit. He used the arm unattached to the bleeding wrist to rub warmth into his bare arms. Wearing just a signature vest in November in the late evening was another classic clever move from JJ. She considered scolding him for it but he'd already probably tolerated enough of her berating for one evening it would most likely fall on deaf ears.
As a peace offering of sorts she undid her seat belt and climbed half into the back and grabbed his old grey hoodie. She held it out with a slight smile.
"Stealing my property as well as kidnapping me. True Pogue aren't you Carrera." JJ took the hoodie from her gladly with his good hand laying it out of his lap. Kie watched his every move as he managed to hook his head and good arm through the holes. He swore loudly and explicitly when he tried to move the bleeding arm.
"You okay?" Kie asked.
"Fucking hurts. Stupid Pope and John B." He grumbled trying again.
"Thought it was just a scratch." Kie teased she shifted closer and took the arm sleeve and helped to gently ease it over his towel wrapped arm.
"Scratch? I can see the bone!"
Kie thought she should be annoyed after he had spent the entire car ride chewing her out and now was admitting it was bad but for some reason she found herself laughing. Kie was still laughing slightly as she made her way round to JJ's side of the truck. She offered him up a hand and relaxed when he didn't bat her away and took it gladly heaving himself out. She didn't miss the way his shoulder lent against the side of the truck to help him balance.
Kie didn't let go of his hand and JJ made no effort to make her as walked into the urgent care waiting room. Kie blew out a breathe at the sight of some many people waiting around. She placed a guiding hand on JJ's back and steered him into one of the few vacant plastic chairs at the end of the row and next a half asleep middle aged couple. By the time she returned after checking him and speaking to the triage nurse her enthusiasm for the trip had decidedly dipped. She'd got a gentle reminder that if he wasn't haemorrhaging right now he might be in for a wait for stitches tonight. When she returned to JJ she might have kept that part to herself. She stood awkwardly in front of his knees her eyes wondering around the waiting room at everyone's misery.
"Want to sit on my lap?" Kie balked for a second in case it was middle aged man currently snoring that had asked her. It was JJ that had asked cause he was looking up at her with tired blue eyes. She considered for a second. Her legs did ache from serving food all morning at the Wreck and she might be standing for a while. Did sitting on someone's lap cross a friendship boundary? She was affectionate with all the Pogues and they were her. Hell, she'd shared bed before them each of them many times. So why did JJ question almost make her blush?
"Or you can, you know, stand for two hours, if you want." JJ said as if she was mad for hesitating. Kie rolled her eyes and gestured for him to move then. He shifted back against the chair opened his good arm for her to slot herself in. "Kie. I only cut my arm. Just sit." Kie was grateful he chalked her hesitating up to not wanting to hurt him rather than her overthinking. She moved quickly and settled herself on his lap. Her back rested against the arm rest and his shoulder. She hooked her legs over JJ's thighs so they were hanging over the side and she guided his bad arm onto her lap and used her hands to apply pressure even when JJ groaned.
"Want to play a game?" JJ asked her.
"Sure as long as it doesn't involve stripping."
JJ snorted. "This a lot more PG." She felt his hand rest on her back and she did very best to not act like he hadn't given her butterflies. When the hell did JJ touching her make her feel anyway other than wanting a tetanus shot?
"Guess the letter I am writing, okay?" Kie furrowed her eyebrows but then she felt JJ tracing his fingers across her back and she quickly understood. They passed the time playing that first on Kie's back and then she made him close his eyes and did it on his shoulder. Then they had excelled themselves and gone all the way up to guessing whole words by the time a nurse finally called JJ's name.
Another hour later, they walked out the urgent care with JJ's non bandaged and stitched arm slung around her shoulders and Kie carrying an arm full of vending machine snacks. The journey back the Chateau was considerably less tense. The radio played loudly and Kie got JJ to feed her a snickers bar piece by piece as she drove. When she pulled up outside the porch she applied an appropriate amount of force to the break peddle. She switched off the engine just as she swallowed the last bite and she felt JJ's eyes on her straight away. The air inside was suddenly tense again but not angry like earlier.
"Thanks, Kie." JJ's voice was soft to her ears and her knees knocked into his as she turned in the drivers seat.
"I won't tell the others you cried when they stitched your arm if you let me have the diary milk bar." Kie didn't like being serious with JJ ever.
"That's a complete no considering you had to leave the room." Kie looked away feeling a little embarrassed that she had felt a bit faint at the sight of his arm in the florescent lights of the urgent care room.
"What about if we split it and take both being wussy's to the grave?" Kie offered.
"I wasn't a wuss. You could see the bone and I was just going to sleep it off!" JJ exclaimed.
"Oh yeah. That should be mine for driving your ass in the dark and the cold to prevent you getting gangrene." Kie raised her eyebrows triumphantly.
"I don't even know what that word means so I might have liked it."
"You might have liked getting gangrene." Kie said it slowly on purpose "keep the chocolate just get out my truck, idiot."
"What happened to be careful its my dad's truck." JJ put on high pitched voice.
"Get out! Out! Now!" Kie was half serious and half laughing as she pushed him from his seat.
"Let me know you get home safe, Kie." JJ said as he lent on the door of the truck and Kie gave him him a salute. She watched him walk up to the Chateau porch. He'd nearly made it to the door by the time she noticed.
"Asshole! You didn't shut the pasenger door!" Kie grumbled undoing her seat belt. She watched him laugh at her from the doorway as she was forced to get out and shut it herself. She made a point to flip him off as she backed out the Chateau drive way.