One of the Boys...Right?

*Bam*

She was showing me where her parents were buried. She was letting me into the part of her life she had always kept hidden.

"JJ, I-" I began.

"Wait. There's something else." she took my hand without thinking and led me deeper into the cemetery. The stones were getting smaller and smaller, with more flowers and pictures surrounding them.

JJ stopped next to a giant willow tree, by one of these smaller stones. A ragged stuffed animal was sitting next to the stones.

"JJ? Who's this?" I asked. She looked up at me.

"Bam, this is Angel." She gave me a small smile.

"Angel?" I asked.

"My little sister." she explained.

"You had a sister?" I knew my eyes must've been the size of saucers.

"My mom was seven months pregnant when she died. They tried to save the baby, but she only lived for an hour. Since I was the closest family member, they let me pick the name. She looked so much like an angel that I picked 'Angel' as her name." she cleared the snow away from the tiny stone.

"Oh my god." I said. It was the only thing I knew how to say right now.

"What?" she shot back up.

"Nothing, it's just...I didnt know you lost your whole family." I admitted.

"I didn't. I have you guys." she said.

"Does anyone else know about...Angel?" I managed to say.

"You and Kelsey." she dusted the snow off of the stuffed animal.

"JJ, I'm sorry." I knelt down next to her.

"That's life, Bam Bam. You live. And nobody knows when you die. Obviously, someone up there wanted my mom, dad, and little sister. They arent ready for me yet, and I'm content to stay down here." she said. I couldnt believe I was hearing this from her. This didnt sound like the JJ I knew.

"When did you become so...wise?" I asked.

"I had to grow up really fast, since I didnt have a 'normal' family. I used to spend my time thinking 'why was I left behind?'. And then I met you guys. I remembered how to have fun and...and be a kid and then a teenager. You guys and your families are the closest thing to a normal family I know. We fight, we laugh, we rely on each other...everything I know a family does." she smiled.

"Our families as well?" I asked.

"Of course. I ask your mom and Kelsey's mom for advice all the time. And I seem to get along with the rest of our friends' families too." she nodded. We walked back up to her parents' stones. I noticed a picture frame in between them. The picture was of JJ, in a small red dress. She was smiling at the camera, and she was missing one of her bottom teeth.

"Christmas when I was seven." she explained, opening the back. I saw multiple pictures of JJ, each one getting more and more recent. Then I came across a picture of all of us that I remembered from last summer. We were all by the fire pit in my backyard. JJ, Kelsey, Dico, and Novak were all sword fighting with marshmallow sticks, I was blowing out a marshmallow that I had set on fire, Dunn was watching the sword fight, and Raab was eating a smore.

"You put one of us in here?" I asked her.

"Definitely! These are the pictures that matter most." she took the picture back from me and put it back in its spot. I shivered as the wind suddenly picked up. JJ continued to crouch in front of the stones. The breeze ruffled her hair around her face and she broke into a smile.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Fine, actually. Come on. I'm in the mood for hot chocolate." she stood up straight and we left the cemetery. We stopped into a small cafe for hot chocolate before continuing on to my house.

"JJ?" I asked.

"Yeah?" she replied after taking a sip of her drink.

"Thanks." I looked down at her. She simply smiled at me, and then looked up at the sky. As we walked I could hear her softly humming 'Hey Santa'.