Flicking her gaze up at him for a brief second, Kie rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Girl code, JJ. Respect it like Pogue rules."
So they did talk about him. JJ tried not to act too giddy. "Okay, but if I did that, I'd have to abide by the actual Pogue rule, which is the no Pogue-on-Pogue macking rule, and I very well can't do that. Not to mention, if we're gonna start citing the book here, what about the no secrets amongst Pogues rule?" 
 Kie stared blankly ahead, already done with this conversation. "I think you're being a lit-tle overdramatic."
"No, I'm not." JJ protested, throwing his head back in exasperation. "Can't you just do me a solid and help me out? Please, Kie. I'm begging now. Is that what you want?"
Pretending to think for a moment, Kie said, "Not really, have you tried that tactic on Collins yet?" A small smirk tugged on her lips. She was taking the piss out of him. She was enjoying every second of watching him squirm for answers. He forgot how evil Kie could be. 
"You know what? Forget it." He threw his hands up in defeat. "Thanks for the help, Kie, really."
As he got up, turned his back on her, and started to walk away, Kie was suddenly flooded with a rare wave of sympathy for the boy. He really was helpless, wasn't he? He'd been pulling the same moves and tricks on Collins as he had with any other girl, only now, the one girl that he actually did want more than anything, was harder to pull than a ton of bricks. Or gold, in their situation. She had to give him at least a little bit of credit for being brave enough to ask for help. 
"Wait," she huffed as she said it, her eyes rolled and her arms crossed indignantly over her chest. JJ stopped in his tracks and glanced back at her like a kicked puppy. It was sad really, but not really in the heartbreaking kind of way, pathetic was more like it. Kie figured that since she loved animals so much, she should show some compassion and throw him a bone. "Just, take things slow. She likes to read so maybe, I don't know- do things by the book."
"What the hell does that mean?" JJ frowned at her. Do it by the book?
"That's all I'm giving you." Kie replied, holding her hands up defensively. She'd already tested the boundaries of Pogue rules and girl code far too much. "It's not my fault if you don't understand it." With that, she turned away and left him with her words of advice to ruminate on and try to crack like a coded puzzle. 
JJ wiped the confusion off of his face once he saw that everyone was making their way over to them to watch the gold melt down. A small smile replaced the previous expression as Collins walked up to him looking as beautiful as ever. "Hey." She said, clearly in a good mood based on the cheerfulness in her voice. Of course she was happy, she was about to be financially stable for once.
"Long time no see." JJ replied with almost as much enthusiasm. He probably would've matched up to hers if it hadn't been curbed by his nerves so much. God, being around Collins with so much pent-up desire and uncertainty was eating away at him. He needed to figure out what Kie meant when she said 'by the book' and figure it out fast if he wanted to get anywhere with Collins. Being a nervous wreck when he was around her wasn't cutting it.
"Do you think I could get a front-row seat to this meltdown?" She raised her brows at him inquisitively and with an eagerness akin to a little kid's. What an adorable little pyromaniac.
Dropping down right where he had been standing, which was only a couple of feet in front of the pot holding their gold that Kie was going to heat up, JJ patted the spot next to him for Collins to sit down on. 
Collins wasted not another moment to settle down, watching intently while Kie slid on a pair of safety goggles and started up the blow torch so that a strong flame was produced. JJ had his arms wrapped comfortably around his knees, holding each of his hands in the other while slowly rocking back and forth on the ground. The first time he could remember sitting this close next to her was in her room the day they'd escaped from those raiders that had broken into the Chateau. It was kissing distance close, not like how they'd been at the kegger in the Boneyard and he'd first acknowledged her, they'd kept a respectable amount of space between them then.