Work Text:
Five.
JJ could have drunk at least five cans of ice-cold beer in the amount of time they have now spent standing outside the party, impatiently waiting for Kiara to join them.
"We have to go in all together, or it'll look weird!" Sarah insisted on their way here, in the back of the Twinkie that's been decorated specifically for tonight.
"Right, as if we don't already look ridiculous."
And John B was correct there. Leaning side by side against the decorated Twinkie, all dressed up in their coordinated Scooby Gang costumes, they do look pretty silly. Especially Pope, who insisted on dressing as Velma, because, like he said, "We're both the brains of our groups."
"She's not even answering her phone." John B groans from JJ's left side as he tries to fix the orange tie around his neck so he can breathe a little bit.
"I'm gonna kick her ass. She's supposed to bring me my mask!"
Cleo sighs impatiently from JJ's right side as she fixes the dark robes around her. Since she had grown up with no television and no knowledge of Scooby Doo, she refused to entertain their goofy idea. Instead, she put her foot down and decided to dress up as the killer from her newest favorite horror movie that JJ had shown to her.
"Yeah, you better hope she does, cause right now you just look like a cult member."
From the other side of Cleo, JJ can hear Sarah lightly chuckle at his playful jab. It takes everything in him not to lean forward to take another look at her current outfit. He's done enough admiring for the entire night on their way over here. The moment she announced in the group chat that she'll be dressing up as Daphne, he was excited to see how she was going to pull it off. He knew immediately that seeing her dressed as his childhood crush was going to awaken something in him. He just didn't expect it to make his heart go this crazy.
They are yet to even enter the Halloween party happening behind them, but this night has already created so many questions in JJ's mind. The most important one being, why is it that their Daphne has been keeping her distance from their Fred for days now? It was her own idea to make John B dress up as him so they could have a proper couple's costume while still maintaining the group one as well. But, as far as JJ noticed, they haven't spoken a single word to each other since the moment she got into their "Mystery Machine."
All the waiting and the terrible party music blasting from the house behind them make JJ antsy. So much so that he absolutely cannot wait anymore. He reaches into the pocket of his brown pants and takes out a joint.
"Can't you at least wait till we're inside?"
"Aw, c'mon, it's not like it's out of character." He winks and flicks Pope's plastic glasses before lighting up the sweet escape between his lips.
"Yes, give me some of that."
Sarah moves to stand before him, already looking up at him with those pleading, big eyes of hers. The ones he could never say no to, but still, he likes to play with.
"I don't think Daphne is a stoner, princess."
"She is tonight." She pokes his ribs to distract him before quickly snatching the joint from his mouth to hers. To continue their little banter, he dramatically bends and gasps, acting like he's been stabbed. It makes Cleo laugh loud enough that he almost misses Pope mumble about how childish they're acting, but who is he to talk? He's wearing a bob wig for God's sake!
After a couple of passes of the joint, they all get startled by the strong, loud voice that could only be coming from Kiara.
"What the hell?!"
The sight of her makes everyone freeze in silence, except for JJ, who has to cover his mouth to stop himself from laughing out loud. Because right there before them, there's Kiara, dressed up in an orange turtleneck with a bob wig on her head and glasses. A perfect mirror of Pope's Velma, except for the skirt.
"Why the hell are you Velma?!" She comes up and lightly pushes Pope against the Twinkie, ignoring his arms raised up in surrender.
"Hey, it's not my fault you don't read the group chat!"
"You were supposed to be Scooby!"
"No, JJ was supposed to be Scooby!"
"Hey, fuck you guys, I was obviously not dressing as a damn dog."
"Well, that's just great. Now we're the Scooby Gang with no Scooby, two Velmas, and a Ghostface." John B summarizes with an annoyed and defeated sigh.
Ignoring the sudden tension, Cleo and Sarah giggle against each other, finding this situation as hilarious as JJ does. They should have seen this coming. Their plans never work out the way they intend them to, even when it's regarding a dumb Halloween party.
In the end, all that really matters is that they're finally all there, and they can enter the house. JJ follows right behind Sarah, his eyes following the swing of her long, golden hair on her back. It triggers an impulsive thought, and before he can think about it, he reaches out and pulls on it playfully. A habit he's picked up ever since her hair has grown past her waist. It was simply too irresistible.
"You know, you should've worn a ginger wig."
Sarah groans, giving him a playfully annoyed look over her shoulder. "Any other complaints about my costume, expert?"
"I'm just saying… I was kinda looking forward to seeing you all fire-haired." He winks, bluntly flirting, despite John B walking right next to him.
But to his surprise, it doesn't earn him the typical harsh nudge in the ribs from him. Instead, his best friend is entirely focused on the party ahead, unbothered at all by the exchange. Weird.
They're both acting so weird tonight.
Maybe it's just a case of the full moon.
There is only one house party a year, where it's agreed upon that everyone is welcome. Kook or Pogue, it doesn't matter. Every Halloween, Kelce opens his big fancy house's doors to anybody who gets dressed up. How generous of him to let the dirty rats inside his palace once in a while. The guy must pat himself on the back for it.
As always, the place is filled to the brim with teenagers and college kids in costumes. The music is loud and obnoxious, the air smells of the nastiest, sweetest vape flavors, and the alcohol is disgusting. Because for an all-inclusive party, the host chooses quantity over quality.
Still, each year, everyone finds something fun to do in the place. Like two years before, when JJ and Pope sneaked off to the game room in the basement and played Mortal Kombat for 3 hours until Topper found them and kicked their asses out of there.
This time, JJ keeps himself busy playing ping pong with a bunch of other Pogues he knows from school, and out of everyone from the crew… Sarah. Who turns out to be a hidden champion of the game.
When they play doubles on the same team, she's the one getting them all the points. Making sure to high-five him after each perfect serve. However, when he plays against her, she doesn't hesitate to beat his ass, embarrassing his skills in a 10-4 match.
"Oh, what is it, Shaggy? Your hand fall asleep?" She cockily laughs, high-fiving other girls who stood by her side, cheering her on.
"I went easy on you!" He responds, uncontrollably grinning from ear to ear. He absolutely loves seeing her like this—cocky, competitive, and having a hell of a good time. God help him, it makes him want to just grab her full cheeks and kiss her stupid.
"That's exactly what every sore loser says."
The smug smile on her face as she circles the table to stand in front of him only makes his thoughts worse.
“You’re having a lot of fun tonight, huh?”
“Yeah, I am. And the party’s just getting started.” She winks at him, finishing the drink in her hand before reaching up to ruffle his already messy hair.
Now, hold on. Did she just bluntly flirt with him?
Before he can think of an equally smooth response, Sarah puts her hand on his shoulder, firmly squeezing it as she walks past him. It's such a brief touch, yet enough to linger. It's more than enough to catch him off guard so noticeably that all the guys around the table start to jokingly whistle.
"Alright, shut up, guys, who’s next?"
Once JJ is done boosting his ping pong confidence back up after three winning matches, he heads back inside the house. Through the chaos of music and the crowd, he does his best to look for John B, knowing he should have more weed stashed in his pockets.
He passes by people drinking, dancing, or trying their best to talk over the loud music. He even spots Cleo in her costume, taking pictures with Topper dressed as Ken, but with a knife stuck to his head. Figures, this is what those parties are all about. Pogues blending in with the Kooks.
It's why it's not that surprising when JJ eventually finds John B sitting on the couch, talking to some Kook girl dressed in a latex catsuit. What's more alarming is how close the girl was sitting to him before he approached.
"John B! Come here for a minute."
"I'm a little busy here, bud." John B chuckles with a cigarette between his lips and his knee still pressed against the girl's thigh. Their body language quickly makes JJ uncomfortable.
"Yeah, I see that. C'mon, man, just one second."
He doesn't let him protest further before grabbing his arm and pulling to drag him to a slightly less busy part of the house.
"What, what is so urgent?"
When John B leans back against the wall, JJ finally gets a closer look at the state of his best friend. His orange tie is completely undone, and there's a smudge of lipstick on his blue collar. The sight of it immediately makes him harshly grab it. That's definitely not Sarah's shade.
"What the fuck is that?!"
John B scoffs and pushes him away with as much strength as he can in his current wasted state.
"None of your business."
"You better not be doing some stupid shit."
It's the most he can say without actually saying what he really wants to. You better not be doing anything that would hurt her.
"I don't need you babysitting me, alright?"
And just like that, with only a harsh shoulder bump, he walks away from him. No explanation, no conversation, nothing. It wasn't like him to do that, not with him. Hell, JJ thought they were doing better at this communication bullshit lately. But perhaps he misunderstood it.
John B has been acting strange for a few days now, but tonight seems to be the culmination of it. And as it usually does, not knowing what is going on frustrates the hell out of JJ. So, he takes off into the party looking for the one Pogue that always has all the answers.
Pushing past all the people and cringing at the loudspeakers blasting a hyperpop track, JJ spots an orange turtleneck in the distance. The closer he gets, the clearer his view becomes through all the flashing lights, until finally, it turns out he's been approaching the wrong Velma. Leaning against the wall, with a plastic cup in her hand, stands Kiara, looking disinterested in whatever all-suited-up Rafe is saying to her.
"Everything all right here?" JJ comes up in front of them, making sure Rafe isn't causing any trouble or bothering her.
"We're fine, JJ. Why don't you go look for your dog best friend instead?"
"Aww, you know your cartoons! That's adorable."
JJ teasingly wipes his hand on the jacket of Rafe's fancy suit, which gets his hand slapped away.
"Watch it."
The offense is so clear in Rafe's voice that it only makes JJ laugh. He takes an up-and-down look at his dark blue suit, red tie, and slicked-back, gelled hair. Patrick Bateman. How ironic.
"What did you want?" Kiara taps JJ's arm to gain his attention back.
"Have you seen Pope?"
"I think he took his chances and tried the game room again."
"Of course he did." JJ nods, looking around for the entrance to the basement. The entire place is so chaotic, he can hardly tell which part of the house he's currently in.
"You can go now!" Rafe shouts over the music, despite JJ's ear being right in front of him. Dick.
"Relax! I'm going!" JJ takes one more look between them but decides not to start interrogating them in the moment. He's got more important shit to worry about right now. "Just try not to end up in his freezer."
"Very funny!" Kiara shouts back to him, but he's already making his way to where his best guess about the basement door is.
Just as he's about to grab the door handle, somebody takes JJ's arm and tugs him to the side. Right away, he looks to the left, ready to argue with whatever wasted asshole grabbed him, but to his pleasant surprise, it's only Sarah, or rather Daphne. He focuses immediately on the way the lights flash out her perfect purple outfit. It fits her so perfectly, he wouldn't even call it a costume anymore.
Tugging harshly on his arm again, she snaps him out of checking her out. But still, she smiles, almost like she had noticed his look, yet doesn't mind it at all.
"Come dance with me!"
He laughs at her sudden boldness, feeling his cheeks embarrassingly turn red. Now, he's a little bit thankful for all the lights in this place.
"Are you drunk?"
"No! No, I'm just having fun!"
She says it with such ease and confidence in her step; he knows she's telling the truth. It was just rare to see her look as free as she's been acting tonight. It's such a beautiful look on her.
“Come join me.”
"Oh, no, I gotta go find—“ Right, maybe he didn’t need to find Pope after all. He can find out what’s going on with John B, straight from the person who should know it the best. “Actually, I gotta ask you something.”
“I'll only answer if you give me a dance.”
And God help him, he once again can’t bring himself to say no to her. Not with the way she pulls on his arm, already dragging him to where all the people are dancing. Once they're surrounded by everyone jumping or drunkenly swaying to the rhythm, singing along to the song playing, all JJ can do is watch her.
She's got the same look on her face as during the ping pong games. She's so excited, having pure, uncontrollable fun. Shaking her long hair from side to side, she looks as free as she does whenever they're forced to run away from some bad guys.
It hits him right as the music drops to the chorus. Sarah never spends parties like this. She's always stuck to John B's side, making sure he doesn't drink too much. He's never seen her actually dance like this, but he knows immediately that it's a sight he wants to see way more of.
So, he grabs her hand in his and humors her a little, spinning her around to the beat. He doesn't stop after one spin, no. Not when it makes her laugh so loud like that. He spins her round and round until they're both dizzy, all because he can. Because she's letting him.
Because for some unknown reason, she wants to spend this party by his side instead of her boyfriend's.
JJ lets her stumble into him as the song comes to the end, and his arm gets tired from spinning her around. But as she leans into him, her hands land on his shoulders for balance, squeezing his oversized green t-shirt, causing him to freeze in his step. Suddenly, they're both very aware of the distance, or lack of it, between them. But still, Sarah lifts her face up without moving away. Instead, she looks straight up at him, allowing him to see the room's lights reflect in her brown eyes.
In that very moment, they're not at a party surrounded by all these people. With her this close and looking at him the way she is, JJ feels like they're anywhere he can imagine they could be. They're alone, on a beach under the stars. It's just him and her. JJ and Sarah. No, John B, no consequences. No reason why he shouldn't kiss her right now.
The look on his face is intense enough for her to read his mind. He swears, for a second there, he was sure she was going to make her move. But she doesn't. And it makes him exhale, a mix of relief and disappointment.
They're not in his dream world; this is reality. He can't want her here.
But she shouldn't look at him like this either. It makes his mind play dirty tricks on him. Tricks like, what if she wants him back?
"So what did you wanna ask me?" She drops her hands from his shoulders with such speed you'd think she got burned.
Right. He needs to know what's going on. Not only with John B, but with her too. They have both been acting strangely, but in two entirely different ways. John B is distant and brooding; meanwhile, she's… at ease. She glows brighter than he's ever seen her.
He just hopes bringing his questions won't burn out that spark.
JJ guides Sarah by the hand to a further part of the house's backyard. Usually, people go out here to either make out or smoke weed in secret, but not them. No, they're only here to have a serious conversation. Something you probably shouldn't be having at a silly Halloween party. They stop once they can lean against the fence, with a perfect view of the water. The way the moon reflects in the sea is like the lights inside reflecting in her eyes.
"Okay, stop stalling. I'm getting impatient." Sarah sighs and unwraps the green scarf from her neck, having gotten way too hot for it back at the dance floor. It helps him notice that the necklace John B had gotten her for her birthday is gone.
"You never take off your necklace." He can't stop himself from voicing his thoughts out loud.
Just as he feared, addressing the elephant in the room makes her smile slowly disappear, and the light in her eyes starts to get replaced with a stone wall.
"I didn't feel like wearing it anymore."
JJ frowns, confused at the vagueness of her response. "Why?"
She takes a deep breath and leans her back against the railing before finally focusing her eyes on him again. There's a lot of hesitance in her look, but he can tell she's trying to fight against it.
"What's going on?" He asks, but his tone isn't demanding. It's encouraging and full of understanding. He needs her to know that no matter what she's got to say, he's here to hear her out.
“Nothing—“
“No, don’t bullshit me. You and John B have been acting weird for days now. You two fighting or something? Do I gotta give him another pep talk?”
Sarah chuckles, shaking her head, finding the thought of JJ giving relationship advice to anyone, let alone John B, hilarious.
"No pep talk is going to fix this."
"So it's something unfixable? Did he do something? I swear to god—"
"We broke up."
Those three words hit JJ like an electric shock, freezing him in place. It feels like he's been waiting to hear them forever, yet now that they're out, he can't believe them. He shifts to face her entirely, carefully scanning her face for any sign that she's just messing with him. But there's nothing. Her eyes are deadly serious.
"When?"
"On Monday."
She shrugs, like she has no clue about the bomb she has just dropped under his feet. They've been broken up for 4 days, and they didn't tell anybody? Why would John B hide something like that, especially from him?
"Why the hell didn't you say anything?"
"We agreed to wait."
"Wait for what? Christmas?" He scoffs, but there's a hint of bitterness in it.
Dammit, it's selfish, but he can't help but feel like he should've been told right away. What a terrible friend he is. Standing by and wishing for the downfall of the relationship of two of his best friends. But sue him; now that the moment is here, he doesn't feel like acting noble anymore.
"Do I have to explain it to you?"
"Why didn't he tell me? He always tells me every goddamn thing. Even shit I don't wanna hear." JJ can't help but cringe, briefly remembering how chatty John B gets when drunk. When he can never shut up about how lucky he is to have Sarah, how amazing her body is, and how soft her lips are. It always makes him want to break something, a chair, or maybe even his best friend's jaw.
"I wanted to be the one to tell you." She says much more quietly, almost like she had hoped he wouldn't hear. But he did, of course. His hearing is better than ever whenever it's time to listen to her speak.
Sarah can't stand the intensity that his eyes carry after that admission; she looks down at her hands, but JJ doesn't want to let her hide. He steps closer and gently takes hold of her chin to lift her face back up to face him. His fingers feel so warm against her cold skin; she can't help but lean into his touch.
The look in her brown eyes, her words, and the way she leans into him—it all fills his heart with the kind of hope he buried deep inside him long ago.
"Why's that…?" His eyes can't help but flicker between her eyes and her lips. His thumb is so close to them; just one swipe to the right and he'd feel them. "Why did you break up?"
He dares to ask because the look in her eyes already spoils the answer about to be told.
"John B thought that I wasn't giving him enough attention…" She tilts her face a bit back, but not away from his touch. Just enough so she can see his entire face better.
"Enough attention? What, did you stop massaging his feet?" He snorts, which makes her narrow her eyes at him. Without a doubt, it's one of his favorite looks she gives him.
"Shut up, I'd never do that."
Finally, JJ laughs. Wholeheartedly and honestly. The way only the closest to his heart can make him laugh. He lets go of her chin to lean back on the railing, but he doesn't take his eyes off of her for a second. In this moment, she's got him wrapped around her finger. Desperately waiting for her to say what he's been secretly dreaming of.
"So, what did he mean, exactly?"
"That I'm distracted."
"Distracted by what? Murder mysteries?" JJ smirks, playfully referring to their costumes for tonight.
He knows that he's pushing it. That he must be already looking smug as hell, anticipating what she's about to say, but she doesn't seem to mind so much. If anything, it makes her match his wicked smile. As if they're in on a secret together, before it's officially uttered.
"He said that I seemed too focused on someone else."
There it is. The confirmation he's been dreaming of. It's nearly enough to make his heart burst, but he doesn't want to get too ahead of the moment. Still, the smile on his face is uncontrollable, making his dimple all too distracting to Sarah.
"Huh, really… And who might be the lucky one?"
Before answering him, Sarah steps closer and takes both of his hands in hers, intertwining their fingers together. Her small, cold, delicate hands in his big, warm, calloused ones.
"Shaggy." She whispers, with a big smile on her face, feeling so proud of herself.
JJ doesn't waste a single second. The moment she confirms it, so playfully so, but still, his wishes have come true. And he claims what he's wanted for months immediately. He uses their joined hands to pull her into him and leans down to press his lips on hers in a hard, sure kiss.
The moment Sarah feels his lips on her, she lets go of his hands, only to wrap her arms around his neck, pulling him down closer.
It doesn't feel strange or wrong, like JJ has always feared it would. He was sure that the moment he would get to do this, he'd feel enormous guilt. That his loyalty to John B would overpower his feelings for Sarah. But there's none of that right now. Not when it's confirmed that he's not coming between them.
Sure, he might have indirectly caused their breakup, but he can't exactly blame himself for getting into her heart, can he? That's all on her.
The moment his tongue pushes past her lips to taste her, Sarah unexpectedly pulls away, laughing, resting her forehead on his.
"Alright, not exactly the reaction I was looking for." He chuckles, gently caressing her cheek with his thumb.
"No, it's just… Shaggy and Daphne are not supposed to be making out."
"They are tonight."
JJ repeats her words from earlier on purpose, and it earns him her classic eye roll, but this time it's followed by another kiss. And if the first one was a dream come true, this one is a wake-up call. A reassurance that this is reality. He's really here, with the girl of his dreams tangled in his arms, kissing him like she's wanted it as much as he had.
In the back of the loud party, there are no worries surrounding them here. There's just JJ and Sarah, being free. Free, doing what they both wanted to for a long time.
And if somebody outside the party sees Daphne and Shaggy enter the Mystery Machine to make out? Fuck 'em.