She couldn't have pictured it any better.
"We're in the lion's den." Kie then stated, and Collins was inclined to follow her gaze until her eyes landed on Topper and Kelce, standing together in well-fitted suits, adjusting each other's ties.
Collins shifted uneasily where she stood. They looked so immaculate. Not a bruise or scratch in sight. It was like they'd never gotten in a fight in their lives. And they looked so guiltless, too. Apparently their ties were more worthy of their care and attention than basic human decency. It made Collins sick with disbelief. 
"Hey, you wouldn't happen to have heard from JJ, have you, Collins?" Pope suddenly questioned her, tearing her focus away from the two boys. 
Furrowing her brows, Collins shook her head. "Not since I saw him last night." 
It wasn't like he hadn't been in her thoughts. In actuality, he was all that she thought about as she tried to fall asleep in bed the night before. She'd pondered over his motives for a good while; his motives with her in particular. She couldn't seem to figure out why he was so fixated on her, and the thoughts she'd previously had about how he probably looked at her like she was a present waiting to be unwrapped was stuck on her mind. She had a lot of 'firsts', and JJ didn't. That thought alone was scary enough.
And after her conversation with Charlie, in which she'd come to the strange epiphany that she didn't think she and JJ even knew each other well enough to be exchanging kisses, Collins was torn between what she felt and what she thought was right. You don't kiss someone unless you think it will lead to something bigger, and you don't kiss someone if you're already having second guesses about them. So far, she hadn't figured out how to resolve either one of them. But all she knew was that something about JJ made her think that a second was all it would take for her to throw all logic out of her head and act without reason. 
"He'll be alright. He's got the survival instincts of a cockroach." Kie joked with a meek smile. 
Pope just shook his head. "It's all my fault. He should've never taken the blame for me."
"Taken the blame for what?" Collins asked in confusion.
Kie and Pope both turned to her with equally puzzled expressions. "Did Charlie not tell you?" Kie asked surprisedly. "JJ was arrested this morning for sinking Topper's boat."
Collins felt like she'd just been ambushed by this new information. How was she just finding out about this now? Charlie had finished his shift long ago, and he'd had plenty of opportunities to tell her, yet failed to seize any one of them. How could he not tell her that JJ had taken the blame for Pope for sinking the unbelievably expensive boat that they had gawked at a couple mornings before? She wasn't even shocked. It was exactly the sort of thing that JJ would do for his friend, he'd do anything for them. 
"Charlie knew about this?" Collins looked to Kie and Pope for clarification. They each nodded solemnly. "Unbelievable." She muttered. She picked up the serving tray that was now crammed with bite-sized appetizers, and carried it close to her shoulder. "I'll see you guys around."
As she turned to begin making her rounds throughout the gathering, Collins tried to put on a mask of total tranquility to hide all of the other mood-killing emotions that were bubbling underneath. Deep down she wanted to march over to Charlie and tell him off for keeping her in the dark. But that would not be a good look for her at such a posh party and she was not going to screw up her first paying job. She had to be professional, carry on with the night as if nothing was wrong. 
Except everything was one big giant mess that had somehow spiraled out of her control. 
How could JJ have been arrested? It felt like just hours ago since she'd sat across from him on her bed and somehow, so much had happened in between then and now. Collins felt a twisted feeling in her chest out of worry. She wasn't quite familiar with the punishment for property damage, so she had no clue what his arrest exactly meant. Was he going to jail for real and be forced to join a gang and be completely changed forever? Or best case scenario, he had to serve a couple weeks of community service?