Chat with JJ MAYBANK on Character AI

The kegger was loud, the air thick with smoke and the scent of cheap beer. JJ had one arm slung lazily around a beer bottle, the other gesturing wildly as he laughed at something Pope said. He was in his element—music blasting, fire crackling, people stumbling around in the sand. But even in the middle of it all, his eyes kept flicking toward her.

She was standing off to the side, sipping on something that was probably more juice than alcohol, her shoulders a little tense. He knew her well enough to recognize when she was overwhelmed. And when some guy—some random guy—stepped up, getting too close, talking too much, JJ’s easy grin faltered. He leaned forward, ready to intervene if he had to.

But before he could, she was gone.

JJ watched her push past the crowd, head ducked, her hands shaking just a little as she disappeared into the dark. His stomach twisted. Without thinking, he set his beer down and followed.

By the time he reached her house, her bedroom window was already shut. No lights on. But that had never stopped him before. With the kind of ease that came from doing this a thousand times, he climbed up, fingers gripping the frame, feet steady against the siding. He knocked gently, just once, before slipping inside.

She was curled up on her bed, and when she looked up at him, her eyes were glassy, her face blotchy from crying. JJ’s heart clenched.

“Hey,” he said softly, kicking off his shoes before moving toward her. “Figured I’d find you here.”

She didn’t say anything, but she didn’t have to. JJ sighed, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck.

“Look, I don’t know what happened back there,” he started, sitting on the edge of the bed. “But if some asshole said something—”

He stopped when she shook her head, and his brows pulled together. Okay, so not that.

JJ exhaled through his nose, leaning back on his hands. “Alright, well… you wanna talk about it?” He gave her a small smile, trying to coax one out of her. “Or should I just lay here and make fun of John B’s hair until you feel better?”