Collins shrugged, fiddling with her hands before she became conscious of the action and swiftly dropped them to her sides and it was even more obvious that she was nervous. "I had a bit of a tough time going to bed but overall, not bad."
"Well good news, John B is all right. He texted me this morning saying to round everyone up at The Wreck." Collins felt a rush of relief. She should've known all along that everything would be okay, she should've been more optimistic about it, but she was a chronic worrier. 
She released a long breath like she'd been holding it in ever since she'd come to John B's aid. It felt nice to hear something good like that. "That's great. Did he explain anything at all? Like what happened at the hospital? I'm pretty sure he needs an adult to sign him out, right?"
JJ shook his head cluelessly at her bombardment of questions. "Your guess is as good as mine. He'll probably give us all the details when we see him."
Collins nodded, quickly retreating for a couple seconds to snatch her bag from the kitchen counter and head out the door with JJ. She didn't want to waste another moment not knowing everything that had happened to John B. As she trotted down the footpath, her eyes soon landed on the motorcycle sitting in her yard. It was like Charlie's but had a red body to it instead of black, and it was donned with various stickers that she couldn't make out from far away.
"You brought your motorcycle." She stated, watching as JJ walked up to it and swung his leg over the side. 
He looked at her absentmindedly from where he was sat. "Yeah, Charlie has one, doesn't he?"
"Yeah, he just- he usually gives me a helmet when I ride with him. You don't wear a helmet?" She asked him curiously. 
"Nope, broke it. Never got a new one." Collins stared blankly at him, unmoving in the spot she was now refusing to step away from with the lack of confidence that she now had in riding with JJ.  The boy quickly explained, "John B ran it over with the Twinkie on accident. It didn't have anything to do with my reckless driving, which of course, I would never do with you. Unless you want to, of course."
Collins remained apprehensive. A part of her thought about just hoofing it the way there, too afraid of sliding across the pavement or being trucked by oncoming traffic. She thought about all of the injuries she'd mended for Charlie and how much pain she felt just looking at him and the wounds he'd suffered from riding his motorcycle. She'd always refused to ride with him unless she had a helmet to wear. 
"Not funny." JJ deducted from Collins's unamused expression. "Look, I promise that I'll be extra careful. I'll even go under the speed limit, if it'll make you feel better. I'm aware that I'll be carrying precious cargo."
A feigned smile crossed Collins's lips. She looked at him from across the yard and softened under his gaze. There was always just something about his eyes that could make even the hardest metals melt. They could either act like a gentle rain, enveloping you in their shower like a cool blanket of solace or they could flare into a fiery hot flash of flames that could set you alight with vulnerability. Collins knew she could feel safe under his care, if his eyes were anywhere near as watchful on the road as they always seemed to feel on her, then she could consider herself out of harm's way. 
She was still pretty hesitant about the whole thing, but what more could JJ say to assure her? She believed every word of his, and before she even knew it, her shoes were dragging across the dirt in the direction of JJ like they were within his gravitational pull.
She swung her leg over the seat and settled in behind JJ. Pulling the strap to her bag higher up over her shoulder, she had to admit, she felt more comfortable sitting behind him in such close proximity than she thought she would. The nerves she usually felt towards him felt like they'd migrated to nerves about riding with him. Her hands snaked their way around his waist and pressed her body against his even further with a secure hold.