Chapter Text
The first domino fell in the middle of the night.
Pope had fallen asleep a few hours prior around midnight– he had been trying (largely unsuccessfully) to make it a point to get to sleep as early as possible on school nights, and though there were just a few days left in the year, he wanted to try to continue the habit to make it easier for next year.
Not long after falling asleep,he was woken with a jolt by the loud ringing of his phone– something that was strange for two reasons.
Reason one was the fact that his ringer was, like always, off.
He had changed his settings so that only the people on his favorites list could call him, which led him into reason two: that meant that either one of his friends or one of his parents was calling him in the middle of the night, and something told him it wasn’t his parents.
Groaning, he flipped the phone over, squinting for a second in the light.
JJ.
Immediately, his heart picked up in speed– though it wasn’t necessarily unusual for JJ to call him, it was unlike the boy to call so late.
Worried, he quickly answered, sitting up in his bed.
“Jayje? What’s going on?” He asked, his voice rough with sleep.
On the other end of the line, there was a sharp inhale, but nothing else.
Pope waited for a second, half-expecting JJ to find a way to fill the silence.
When he didn’t, Pope began to worry.
“Okay, seriously, are you okay? Are you at the chateau?” He asked, silently praying that the boy would respond, that intoxicating half-smile evident in his voice, and tell Pope that he had accidentally dialed in his sleep.
Of course, Pope knew that wouldn't happen.
And if it did, it would be a lie.
Because JJ hadn’t been at the chateau in weeks , according to John B.
Apparently, one day, he and Sarah got back from a date and JJ, along with his stuff was just… gone.
They had all tried to talk to him about it, to ask why he left, but he evaded every attempt.
So no, Pope knew his hopes wouldn’t come to fruition.
He knew JJ was at home.
With Luke.
And god, was that why he had called?
Had something happened?
Suddenly in a full-blown panic, Pope gave up on waiting for JJ to say something first.
“Okay, I swear to god, JJ, if you don’t say anything in the next two seconds, I’m coming down there myself.”
And he would.
Because the thought of JJ in that house, possibly injured and all alone, sent such a heavy wave of fear through Pope’s chest that he knew that he would do whatever it took to get him out, even if it meant–
“Don’t say that. Don’t you dare–”
For a single second, Pope was relieved.
JJ had spoken, meaning that he was at least fucking concious .
But then he processed the rest of it– the way the boy’s voice shook, the fact that it sounded like he had forced out the words through an unwilling mouth.
Neither of those things were what truly got to Pope.
No, what concerned him the most was how terrified JJ sounded.
See, the one thing Pope spent almost as much time studying as he did his textbooks was JJ.
And JJ was a lot of things.
But he had never, ever, been one to openly show fear.
In fact, prying almost emotion out of the boy was like pulling teeth.
But now, he wasn’t putting forth a smile or a laugh to cover up his fear.
No jokes were made, no distractions thrown.
And it terrified Pope.
“Okay, well then you need to come here. I don’t know what’s going on, but clearly--”
“Promise me,” JJ interrupted.
“What?” Pope asked, unsure exactly what he meant.
“Promise me you won’t come here.”
And that stopped Pope dead in his tracks.
JJ had moved past fear, and now, he almost sounded pleading.
And if it were up to Pope, he would give JJ anything and everything he wanted.
Whatever it took to make him happy.
But this?
This wasn’t a promise he was sure he could make.
Because what if one day shit really hit the fan?
What if it were life or death?
Could he really keep his promise?
“Jayje, you know I can’t–” he started, only to get cut off again.
“Yes, you can. Listen to me, Pope, I need you to promise me right fucking now that no matter what happens, tonight or ever, that you will never come here.”
The words were harsh, and if Pope didn’t know better, he would almost think that JJ wasn’t banning him out of fear, but out of contempt.
But he knew that wasn’t the case– JJ was loyal to a fault, and Pope trusted him more than anyone.
He thought of everything JJ had done for him– forcing him out of his shell when it was necessary, but also always being there when he needed someone he could just be with.
Maybe he could do one thing in return.
“Okay, JJ. I promise,” he conceded, hoping he wouldn’t come to regret it.
Over the line, a single, broken sob.
Fear struck through his heart like lightning.
“Jesus, Jayje, are you crying? What the fuck is going on?” he asked, the words coming out just as frantic as he felt.
“It’s nothing, Pope. I shouldn’t have called you. I’m sorry,” JJ replied, voice in fractures.
And Pope would be damned if he let that happen.
If he was in any sort of danger right now, and Pope let him hang up, he would never forgive himself.
JJ had called Pope for a reason, and he intended to figure out what that reason was.
“Oh hell no, JJ. You do NOT get to call me at fucking–”
He turned quickly, looking at the clock over his shoulder.
“--Three in the morning, be creepily silent for half the call before making me promise I won’t come to your house fucking… ever, and then break down crying and then hang up. If you really fucking think that I’ll let you just go dark when you could be actively fucking dying, you have another thing coming. Now tell me what’s going on before I freak out and do something stupid like–”
Like march over there myself, like calling John B and telling him to go over there, like beating the shit out of Luke the next time I see him.
“Before I do something stupid,” he awkwardly concluded, hoping JJ didn’t pick up on the way he had faltered.
Over the phone, another breath.
A beat.
“I had a nightmare, okay?”
Pope blinked.
What?
“A nightmare,” he repeated, unable to keep the disbelief out of his voice.
Over the line, another sigh.
“Yes. A nightmare.”
Was he lying?
Pope didn’t want to think he was– but in all honesty, he couldn’t tell.
If he were able to see JJ, he was sure he would know; see, every time JJ lied, he looked just above the head of whoever he was talking to, as if he couldn’t look into the face of whoever he was lying to.
It had actually taken Pope a while to figure it out, and if he hadn’t studied the other boy so religiously, he might never have.
It didn’t seem like anyone else had.
“Okay, let’s say I believe you. About what?”
Another second of silence– time spent making something up? Or maybe he was just bracing himself to speak, Pope couldn’t tell.
“Do you remember when you got stung by that wasp?”
Another unexpected response.
“...Yeah, Jayje. I remember.”
And he did.
Vividly.
One doesn’t really forget their own near-death experience.
“Sometimes, I. I just need proof that you turned out okay. I didn’t mean to call you, really. Usually, I can remind myself of what’s real before it gets that far, but I guess tonight was. Different.”
Pope’s heart sank, the implication in the statement catching his breath in his lungs.
Had JJ had this happen before?
How often did he wake from a nightmare, afraid and alone?
“Usually?” Pope questioned, fearing the answer.
“Yeah, most of the time I can–”
“No, I heard you. It’s just. This has happened before?”
He couldn’t help the guilt in his voice.
He hated the fact that he had, in any way, caused JJ fear.
“I mean… that shit was fucking terrifying, man. So. Yeah.”
“Oh.”
The response was dull, but what was he supposed to say?
He wanted to push further– how many times, why didn’t you call me then, what changed now?
But pushing further could push JJ away, and that would never be worth it.
“Yeah.”
He again found himself unsure of how to respond, so he said the only thing he could think of that would lighten the mood.
“Well, I’m alive, I guess.”
A moment of silence.
And then, a laugh.
“Yeah, man, I gathered that,” JJ giggled.
The sound was like the clouds parting on a rainy day– the entire room around him immediately felt like it had lightened, and it wasn’t long until Pope found himself laughing too.
For a moment, they laughed together, and everything felt right.
Eventually, though, the laughter died out, and Pope was left feeling like the conversation was unfinished.
He had spent what felt like forever trying desperately to show JJ he wasn’t alone, but it was obvious that he had failed, and he needed to fix that as soon as possible.
“JJ, you know you always can–”
“Listen, Pope, you really don’t have to–”
Another small laugh from JJ, sending another small smile across Pope’s face.
“You go first.”
Pope took a breath, searching for the right words.
“I was just gonna say. You know you can always call me if you need to? Shit, that sounded like a question. I just mean… I hate the idea of you freaking out alone in that house, Jayje. So if you need a reminder that I'm alive– or anything, really, you can call me.”
The words were clumsy, but the offer was serious.
Pope never minded talking to JJ.
In fact, he looked forward to it, and if JJ was going to be awake in the middle of the night, Pope would rather he at least not be alone.
“Pope, that’s nice and all, but seriously, it’s not a big deal.”
The words were like knives through Pope’s chest.
He almost laughed at the irony of it all– here was JJ, insisting that it didn’t matter that he wasn’t sleeping, that he was struggling.
But to Pope, nothing mattered more.
JJ was important– not just to Pope, but generally, and it suddenly felt dire that Pope reminded him of that.
“I know you think that, but it is. You are.”
An extended silence.
Had he said something wrong?
“Listen, man, I’m really tired, okay? Thank you for… this. I’m gonna try to sleep now, okay?”
Panic clenched his chest– clearly, something had changed on the other end of the line, but what?
Was it what Pope had said?
Or was it a more immediate threat?
“JJ, wait–”
“Goodnight, Pope. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
The boy’s voice was distant, as if he was already moving the phone away.
Pope opened his mouth one more time, trying to speak, but was met instead with the dial tone.
Suddenly desperate, he dialed the number again.
Straight to voicemail.
Despite wanting to believe JJ more than anything, he suddenly wasn’t so sure.
To hang up so suddenly made no sense without a true reason, and the only one Pope could imagine was some sort of danger.
As he lay there, trying without avail to get back to sleep, he made a decision.
JJ needed to know he had choices.
He already had the chateau available to him as a backup, but clearly, he was uninterested in living there.
So maybe he needed another option.
Somewhere he wasn’t in danger.
Somewhere he wouldn’t be rooming with a disgustingly-in-love pair of teenagers.
Somewhere like Pope’s house.
Right then, Pope silently made another promise to JJ:
He would do everything in his power to make sure he always knew he was welcome with Pope, even if he didn’t want it right away.
Even if he never wanted it.