just wanted to let you know guys that i am not a native and english is not my first language. it's also my first story written in english, so please if you see any mistakes, messed up tenses or sth, let me know and i'll fix it!

The sun was high. He was staring at it for the whole morning, for so long that he thought he was going to go blind eventually. It was so bright. Brighter than his eyes, brighter than his golden skin, brighter even than his all hopes and dreams. Ball of fire hanging somewhere so far away in an infinite universe.

The wind softly ran its fingers through his hair, tangling and making it messy. He didn't care though. He never bothered with styling it. It just lived its life, just as he did. Always so peppy and vibrant, reminding everyone how it is to feel truly alive.

Birds were singing cheerful melodies only they knew. Sitting on the lambs of the trees they were so happy. They didn't even need to have a listener. Singing at the top of their little lungs they were the happiest creatures in the world.

Summer was in the air.

He woke up early this morning, without any specific reason. Just after he opened his eyes he didn't move at all, just laid still and listened to John B's easy breathing. His friend muttered something JJ wasn't able to hear and rolled over, almost falling out of the colorful, frayed hummock. JJ looked at him for a while from the uncomfortable bench he was sleeping on. Faint smile lightened his face up when he thought about all the carefree adventures that were yet to come during these holidays. He and John B were so excited about having a little fun just on their own. The vocation was supposed to be filled with cool, bracing water, bitter taste of weed and sweet entertainment flavor.

He just couldn't wait.

John B suddenly sat up, looking around with baffled eyes.

"Hey princess. Ready for an adventure?" JJ asked with a puckish grin on his face.

"Every day is an adventure with you" he muttered with a sleepy voice, at the same time trying to get up of the hummock instead of falling out of it. He rubbed his eyes, half awake, half asleep.

"Why are you saying it like I was some kind of wild, dotty quirk?"

"Have you met you?" John B gave him a meaningful glare just before hitting the ground accompanied with his stifled grunt. He quickly got up and brushed grass straws off of his tan, bare chest.

"You just earned yourself a huge..." JJ reached out to his friend, who started running away from him immediately with a loud laugh cutting through the morning silence.

"Last one at the harbor is a wild, dotty quirk!"

Teenagers, acting more like kids though, ran towards the docks, screaming at each other loudly, probably waking up the whole neighbourhood. They were so lighthearted and chirpy. Their souls were so light. Without any worries weighing on them, they were rising high beneath the sky, just under the blinding sun.

John B and JJ reached the harbor both at the same time, but this didn't prevent them from arguing about who was first. Their persistent screams traveled through the marina. It was John B who finally let go. He smirked cockily as he jumped on the deck, looking down at his friend.

"Doesn't change the fact that you're a wild, dotty quirk" he teased.

Blonde boy rolled his eyes. He untied the bowline keeping the boat from drifting away and following in his friend's footsteps he jumped on the board, ready to float away. John B started the engine, heading to the other side of the island, to pick up Pope and Kiara. They had to celebrate beginning of the summer the right way. With their family. With the Pouges.

The wind flowed through their hair softly, playing with it. The day was already coming to life as they left the harbor. JJ blinked, when few drops of cool water splashed on his flushed skin. The rays of sunshine looked at themselves curiously in the glistening surface. He leaned out of the board to look at the peaceful ocean.

The engine growled as the boat bumped into wooden bridge coming out of the marina. Pope was already there, looking at them with a little twinkle in his eyes, a red baseball cap on his head. Without hesitation he jumped on the deck, even though John B didn't slow down even a little. As Pope made it on board, his landing a bit shaky and tenuous, he saluted, greeting with two other boys.

"Anchors aweigh!" he shouted, pointing his finger out at the horizon.

JJ headed towards the bow, just to stay at the front of the boat and spread his arms wide apart. "Ay ay, captain" he saluted back, nodding at Pope as though he really were the head of their little crew. With his cap he kind of looked like a captain, especially when he placed his fingers on the visor and motioned to JJ, who was still standing on the bow just like did Rose on the Titanic.

John B gave him a weird glare, trying to watch his friend's silly antics and steer the watercraft at the same time. "What, you're trying to pretend a mast or something?"

"Well, he is sort of an old stick, right?" Pope chuckled as he sat at the back of the boat, shrinking his legs and hugging them with his forearms. He pouted at the blonde boy scoffingly, squinting his eyes because of the sun blinding him savagely.

"Way to go, that's right! Keep this up. Wondering how Kie's gonna call me. She'll come up with something good, I can tell" JJ whinged, trying to pretend angry and upset as he gave his friends an evil, vindictive eye.

"She's half Kook after all" John B shrugged.

They all burst into laughter because of how ridiculous it sounded.

Kiara lived on the other side of the island with her rich parents, in a large, beautiful house. The residence was so oversized that all of the Pouges could easily live in there as well, building a one, huge family. Her mom and dad owned a fancy restaurant, where she helped with work from time to time. She attended to the Kook's school with the wealthy kids confident about their superiority, who usually looked down at the teenagers from 'the worse' half of the Outer Banks. Yet there she was, proving everyone wrong, charting her own way.

"Do not tell her that, she'll either tear you into pieces or never talk to you again." Pope laughed as he saw the girl already waiting for their arrival, with her long hair blowing in the wind and arms crossed, as though she knew exactly what they were talking about and wasn't very happy about it.

JJ snorted. "Never talk to us again and start to hang out with Kooks?" He came closer to the rail and smiled charmingly at Kiara, holding out his hand to help her get onto the deck. She took his arm and hopped on the boat, smirking gleefully, her dark eyes shining with excitement. She jumped inattentively to seat at the guard rail, lost her balance and almost fell into the water as they sped up. She gasped with fear, trying to keep herself on the gliddery, metal railing. JJ quickly got a hold of her, rescuing her from unwanted soak. "Watch out, you're going to fall" he shoved her arm slightly, pretending to push her off the boat. Kiara clutched at his arm, squealing panicky.

"Stop it, JJ!" she screamed franticly as he kept teasing with her. Her heart skipped a bit at the thought of JJ letting her go. He laughed maliciously as she struggled to maintain her balance. "I mean it! Let go of me!" she demanded with a pleading look in her eyes. Her body was whole tense as she held completely still, afraid that even the slightest move can be the difference between falling into the water and staying safe on the boat. Blonde boy finally gave her a break and stepped back, letting her stand on the board, her legs little shaky. Kiara hit him angrily in his chest with an open palm. "You're a total ass, you know that?" the girl gave him a nasty glare and turned her back to him to get on the other side of the boat, away from him.

"C'mon, I had it under control. I had got you" he reached out to her as an attempt to appease her. His hand gently laid on her lap and he tried to put his arm around her shoulders. She pushed him away blankly.

"Don't be mad, Kie. It was just a little joke."

She didn't even look at him, too busy with fastening her gaze on the peaceful surface. The sunshines swept water with a barely perceptible golden blush. She forced herself not to look at the boys still laughing at JJ's stupid gag.

"Don't talk to me."

Pope chuckled lightly and lifted his eyebrows at JJ eloquently.

"And she's not talking to us anyway" he shrugged. His brown eyes hooked up on Kie's back as he was staring at her with amusement.

She was sitting at the bow, just at the edge of the boat and because of that JJ felt even stronger urge to walk up to her and push her off of the deck. He smiled evilly at the thought but didn't make any move, not wanting to push Kie even more over the edge. She was clearly upset about something that hadn't much in common with his silly teasing. The joke was just the last straw that broke the camel's back.

He sighed, wondering whether he should apologize to her, even though he wasn't sorry at all. He approached her carefully, trying not to rattle her just with him being there. He stopped just behind her, his shadow falling on hers. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Pope observing them piercingly, his dark eyes drilling into their silhouettes. JJ gave him a questioning look, frowning softly. Pope just shrugged. He pouted his lips and pointed out at Kie with his head to encourage his friend. Blonde boy nodded with an impish grin lightening his whole face up. He kneeled beside the girl who still didn't give him a single look, put his hands on her shoulders and squeezed them as she flinched under his touch.

"What do you want?" she asked, her voice calm and empty. She finally looked at him frowning, not upset but still little disappointed. Her arms crossed, as though she was trying to lock out, keep the distance between them.

A wide smile came out on his face, his eyes shone as his grip on her shoulders grew stronger. He came even closer to her and helped her up. Kiara cocked her head to a side and squinted her eyes as she noticed his gleeful mindset. She went to get away from him, but JJ smirked mischievously as she helplessly tried to break away. Her eyes winded when she saw the well-known, wicked smile that always shown up when he was up to something.

"Whatever it is, stop it n-" she was cut off when he pushed her off of the boat unexpectedly. Her shocked, angry scream sunk under the surface along with her, just a loud splash heard as her body fell into the cold water.

The boat stopped immediately, engine growling quietly when John B broke HMS.

All three boys leaned out over the rail and stared at the murky water, where Kiara had fallen. Pope countenance expressed pure astonishment and fear. He looked at JJ with wide eyes and accusation written all over his face. His hand flew in the air in surrender. John B didn't take his eyes off the water not even for a second, squeezing the rail, waiting for Kiara to break the surface.

"Dude, what the fuck?!" he yelled confused.

JJ shrugged unfazed, smiling innocently.

"She was angry. Just wanted to take her mind off whatever she was upset about and cheer her up a little."

"By shoving her into the water?" Pope raised his eyebrow and crossed his arms reproachfully.

"I figured out it will, you know, cool her down."

Kiara emerged abruptly, her long hair now dunked and drenched, her glare throwing thunderbolts at JJ pretending nothing had happened. He was whistling some jolly melody, leaning against the rail with a wide, smug grin on his face, his bright blue eyes shining with hilarity. He turned towards the water and emptied his pockets of his phone and some trinkets. The stuff landed on the floor with a clank as he dropped it on the deck.

"Good weather for taking a swim?" he asked goofily just before jumping above the rail straight into the water, not far from Kie. He didn't even trouble with taking his clothes off. Kiara screamed indignant when water splashed on her. Her wrung out hair was soaking-wet again. JJ resurfaced, layer of water streaming down his face. He shook off like a wet dog, causing more drops to spatter on his friend. Damp strands of hair fell across his eyes, clouding his vision. He shook his head, trying to throw them off, but they just stuck back on his moist forehead. He went to brush them off with his hand but before he was able to look around, something heavy landed on his shoulders, pushing him under the surface. He had time to catch just a short of breath before the water covered him.

He struggled to break free of the unexpected weight pushing him down, deeper under the water. Trying to swim up was utterly fruitless, as well as an attempt to release himself from the load on his arms with force. He was running out of time, the need of taking a breath growing in him more and more. He was strong. Under the usual circumstances he would be able to easily get rid of the body on top of him, but here, in the water, where there wasn't a ground to stay and support on, it didn't matter.

He had to think. The liquid around him was pressing harder on his chest, calling for him to inhale. His airway burnt, but he knew that water wouldn't put out the fire engulfing his lungs.

His grip tightened around a limb he grabbed, as his hand moved down to the foot. He held it firmly in one place and tickled it slightly. The leg kicked, trying to break away from his fingers, but he wouldn't let go. He passed his fingertips across the sole of the foot one more time and finally, the weight keeping him under water was gone.

He broke the surface, coughing and snorting, almost choking on the voraciously breathed in air. His throat was sore and dry, but oxygen coming smoothly through his windpipe alleviated the aching. JJ looked around, blinking fast to snap out of little shock that took hard grip of him.

"You almost killed me" he gasped.

Kiara looked at him innocently and floated away from him, just in case.

"Not like you didn't deserve that. But it's okay JJ, I had it under control" she winked. She climbed up the boat ladder, water dripping from her wet hair and skin, not even bothering with checking out if her friend was fine. JJ coughed a couple more times, still little dizzy and shocked, adrenaline in his system starting to die down. He swam up to HMS slowly.

"I've made you feel better though" a cheeky grin appeared on his face. Kiara rolled her eyes but smiled slightly, her gaze a bit brighter than before, as though water rubbed away all evidences of the storm clouds dimming it.

"A regular person can usually spend two minutes breathless, so you were perilously close to crossing the line" Pope looked at Kie, his gaze a mix of reproach and slight admiration.

"You counted?" John B raised his eyebrows.

"Karma is a bitch" scoffed Kiara shrugging her shoulders. She didn't bother with wrapping herself in a towel, leaving the job to be done by sun. She reached out to help JJ on the deck, his silly joke already forgotten and forgiven.

"Justice served, your honor" blonde boy smiled, his voice still little gravelly and weak. He didn't let go of her hand though, instead turning her so she would face him.

Their skin was wet and cold and he squeezed her fingers, worried about his friend even though he hadn't really showed it. "What is it? What's going on? You okay?"

She knew he wasn't talking about the quick swim. A scowl came across her face.

"It's nothing" she turned away, but met John B and Pope looking at her with raised eyebrows and curiosity. Kie rolled her eyes, not willing to go on with the subject. She probably didn't want to kill the mood and just enjoy the beginning of the summer, forgetting all troubles. But she couldn't just stop her feelings, and there's this thing about feelings that they always come in from the cold, no matter how fiercely we try to keep them just for ourselves. "It's about my parents" she sighed, finally giving in.

Pope blinked surprised. "What 'bout them?"

Two other boys seemed just as astonished as him.

"They don't like that I spend so much time with you" she clarified reluctantly. She didn't want them to know what her parents thought about them, even though they usually told each other everything.

JJ seemed unfazed. "It's not like they are gonna forbid you seeing with us or something" he shrugged.

"And your spending most of your time with us, so you don't even have to talk about it with them since you don't see them" Pope tried to add something of himself in his own, weird way.

Kie laughed softly. "Woah, Pope, maybe you should consider becoming a guidance counselor. You've got an incredible gift for seeing things very optimistically."

John B remained silent. Not saying anything, he turned the engine back on and they started to sail again, the ride little slower and calmer this time. His face, fully seen due to the wind that blew his hair back like a ponytail, looked like a mask, as though he didn't even care about what she was saying earlier. He watched the horizon, not looking at his friends gathered at the bow. Just his tightened lips showed the real emotions messing him up on the inside, but he wouldn't let them out. A tough mask covered his face well.

Pope on the other hand seemed to be really upset, his hands tugging at the corner of his shirt nervously. He chewed his cheek observing Kiara sitting right next to him, his shoulder rubbing up against hers.

JJ muttered something under his breath and turned around to join John B at the wheel. He regretted bringing up the subject. He should've pretended nothing had happened, just like he always did. It was easier for everyone, forgetting about bad things, focusing on the good ones. This way he survived things he couldn't bring himself to speak of. Pretending it never happened, forgetting about it, pushing his memories somewhere deep so they won't ever escape, and finally replacing them with the happy and joyful ones. And that's how he has slowly become numb, little by little, hiding his anger, his pride and his chaos inside. Even though he was beautiful on the outside, on the inside he was a different man. Ruined, devastated, destroyed to the core. A total mess. As a day and night are an opposition to theother, yet inseperable, it was just the same for his bright exterior and darkinterior.

He took a joint out of his pocket thoughtfully and lit it. A tip burnt brightly as he inhaled, the smoke clouded his mind and shrouded his lungs with a poison.

"Want a hit? You look like you could use one". He looked at John B, question in his eyes.

Dark haired boy was quiet for a few seconds, watching his friend enjoying a feeling of sudden carelessness.

"Yeah, I could". He nodded and JJ smirked.

And even though it was different, at the same time it was exactly as it was supposed to be. Summer, weed, his friends and freeness.

The sluggish pace made it seem like the time had stopped. They were alone, out on the water. No responsibilities, no obligations, not even a plan to stick to. Just their needs, their desires to satisfy. And a whole lot of living to live.

But it ended as soon as they felt comfortable with it.

At first they saw just a little figure of the boat getting closer with every minute. Then they heard a distant sound of the engine. Finally, they were able to recognize the passengers. Topper Thornton was standing at the bow of his parents' impressive yacht, and right next to him was Sarah Cameron, Kook princess. Their bright hair were blown by the fast pace of the boat. When they saw Pouges staring at them with curiosity they smirked slightly, with some irony on their lips. Sarah smiled and beckoned at John B, who's worked for her dad, Ward Cameron, and then looked away, not wanting to get involved with the rest of the Pouges. Kiara's eyes were cold as she noticed her, but she didn't say a word. Topper grabbed a metal rail and turned around as one more person suddenly arrived on the deck. Willow Powell showed up, her chin high as she looked down at the crew.

The yacht slowed down severely until it stopped right next to HMS. It looked kind of ridiculous, brand new, incredibly expensive vessel shining like all coins spent on it and a tiny, old, battered boat. It only stressed the differences between two groups. A line between them suddenly grew thicker because of it.

They all kept silent for a while, just staring at one another. Kiara crossed her arms, Topper smiled wryly, John B squinted and Pope raised his eyebrows. JJ seemed unfazed and Willow just pouted, amused.

"Pouges in their natural habitat, huh?" Topper tried to break the ice.

JJ forced a laugh.

"And Kooks swimming out on deep water. Careful not to drown"

Topper frowned, baffled because of the aggression in JJ's words.

"Like Big John did?" a sharp, yet sweet voice spoke up. All heads turned towards Willow, who smiled charmingly. Sarah's eyes went wide at the mention of John B's father, MIA for whole nine months. He didn't leave anything behind him, no message, no clue, no trace. Almost like he had disappeared, like the ocean had quietly swallowed him.

John B clenched his fists, but said nothing. He pretended like nothing had happened and instead of answering Willow back, he took off his shirt, exposing his tan, flat chest and walked to the edge of the boat. His eyes met impenetrable depth of the water. It was Kiara who stepped forward, her eyes shining with anger and persistence.

"You planning a stop here or you going further?" she gave them a provocative glare, her arms crossed.

Topper abashed a little, but didn't let her to floor him. He shrugged. "We're not stopping here. Are you?"

His answer was John B jumping into the water with a loud splash. Pouges watched young Routledge, concerned when he seemed not to even notice any mention about his father. They knew him too well to think it did nothing for him. They saw his clenched teeth, tense muscles dripping with water.

"We're fine here" JJ forced a smirk again, anger bubbling inside of him. He looked at John B floating on the surface and at Kooks.

Willow flipped her long hair. She rose her eyebrow at John B and gave him a ravenous grin.

"You look pretty comfortable in the water, JB. Maybe you should stay there for good, just like your poor daddy".

Her laugh was still ringing in their ears, even when Kooks left, Sarah and Topper shooting Willow a shocked, vituperative glares. John B tried to extinguish a burning fury in the cool water. Pope was silent, thinking God only knows about what. Kiara was biting her lip so hard it started bleeding, negative emotions extruding with blood and pain.

But JJ, he kept his anger untouched, buried deep in his soul. The violence grew bigger inside of him, cumulating through the years, waiting to be let out one day.

And that day was drawing near.