─☼☼☼─

THE AIR INSIDE town hall was heavy as Rafe and Charlotte stepped inside. 

It seemed that half the island was in attendance, a clear divide down the middle. On one side sat the Pogues...on the other, the Kooks. 

Charlotte scanned the Kook side, her skin prickling at the sight of her former classmates, former friends. She knew none of them were there to support her. No, they were all there to watch her and her friends fail. 

One Kook was staring back at her, eyebrows pushed together in a scowl, nose bandaged and bruised. Charlotte couldn't help but smirk at the appearance of Ruthie Benson, knowing it was her who had caused the pain. 

Ruthie rolled her eyes at Charlotte's smirk, turning her back to her before muttering something to Topper. 

"Bitch," Charlotte whispered under her breath, wishing more than anything that the Pogues' victory was going to be definite. She couldn't bear the thought of them losing Pogulandia 2.0 and having something Ruthie could taunt them with. 

"Look who it is," Drawled a voice, approaching Rafe and Charlotte from behind. "The golden couple is together again." Charlotte and Rafe both turned, eyes landing on the dark haired boy who was regarding them with a grin. "You two are just gluttons for punishment."

Rafe rolled his eyes, hand subconsciously planting itself on the small of Charlotte's back, as if staking his claim. "What do you want, Koffer?"

It had been well over a year since Charlotte had seen Caden Koffer. Last she'd heard he'd finally went to college, pre-law Willa told her.

Not swayed by Rafe's attitude, and rather amused as always, Caden focused on Charlotte. "I actually need to talk to your lady, Cameron," he swivelled his attention toward Rafe. "I mean, if that's fine by you, boss."

Charlotte bristled slightly, feeling like an object rather than a person. "It's perfectly fine," she assured before Rafe could say anything. "But make it quick, Cade."

Rafe clenched and unclenched his jaw three times before he finally conceded. "I'm gonna go find a seat," he said to Charlotte, all but ignoring Caden's presence. 

Relieved that she wasn't about to be forced to witness a pissing contest, Charlotte gave him a small nod. "I'll catch up with you when this thing's done."

With a final glare in Caden's direction, Rafe wordless made his leave, taking a seat toward the back of the room. It wasn't lost on Charlotte that he sat on the Pogue side. 

"So," she breathed, raising her brows at Caden who had ditched the mocking grin, "What's so important that it couldn't wait until this nightmare is over, Cade?"

He clucked his tongue, giving her an empathetic expression. "It's actually about this whole nightmare, so I'll make this quick." He glanced over his shoulder for a moment, as if ensuring no one was listening. "I overheard my dad talking to Judge Thornton earlier today..." he paused, glancing around again. 

Charlotte felt like someone was squeezing all of the air out of her lungs as she waited in suspense. "Spit it out," she hissed, unable to wait any longer. 

Cade refocused on her, giving a small shake of his head. "This thing's already decided...you guys have already lost."

"What?" Charlotte questioned. She could feel the blood rush from her face at his words. "How?"

"Dunno," Caden shrugged before softening his expression. "Look, for what it's worth, Charlotte, I am sorry for you and your friends. But there's nothing you guys can do anymore."

Like hell, Charlotte thought. They weren't cowering away from this. That's exactly what the Kooks were expecting them to do. 

"Thanks, Cade," She breathed, her attention not on him, but rather on the pew where her friends sat, all of them unaware of the fact that they were walking into what she deemed as a trap. 

Caden was saying something else, but Charlotte had already begun to make her way toward her friends. Her whole body buzzed with anxiety as she slipped into the pew next to John B. JJ had yet to join them, she could only imagine what he was doing. 

"What'd he want?" John B wondered, nodding toward where Caden was still watching them.

Charlotte stared at the knot in the wood of the pew in front of her, unable to look at John B for a moment. "He said it's already been voted on...this is all for show."

When she forced herself to look up, all of her friends were staring back at her with incredulous expressions. "What?" Kiara demanded from the other end of the bench. "How is that possible?" She asked the same question her sister had earlier. 

Shaking her head, Charlotte's face pinched slightly. "I have no idea."

"Fucking bullshit," John B muttered.

"We still have to try," Charlotte affirmed, looking to each of them. "We have to put up some kind of fight."

As if on cue, a gavel was struck from the front of the room, causing the chatter in the town hall to cease. "It's 6pm," one of the mayor announced. "Let's begin."

Charlotte let out a shaky breath just as JJ slipped into the pew next to her. He didn't say anything to her as he sat down, his shoulders already slumped in a defeat he didn't know they'd met yet. 

"Before we move on with the rest of our agenda, I'd like to remind everyone to maintain civility and decorum throughout the rest of these proceedings. We're one island, why don't we try to act like it..." The mayor continued, his words causing Charlotte to literally scoff out loud. 

Kooks didn't know civility, no matter how much they pretended they did. 

"...Any interruption will warrant explusion and potential charges. Understood?"

Charlotte turned her head slightly, looking to JJ who refused to meet her eye. He was too busy carving 3 characters into the wooden pew... P4L.

Exhaling quietly, Charlotte shook her head, she knew if any of them were going to cause a scene, it'd be him. 

"Without further ado, we'll go onto the reports from our council members, starting with our council member Lawrence." The mayor concluded, stepping away from the podium. 

Council member Lawrence read from the paper in front of him. "Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Agenda 8A, Ordinance 31, zoning for property located at the end of Roger's Point Road. Uh, Mr. Mayor, we have a resolution from the Town of Pelican expressing support for the rezoning of multi-use land on the east side of the island, including the aforementioned Roger's Point property."

JJ froze, his hand falling away from his current act of vandalism to look over at Charlotte. "What did he just say?"

Charlotte kept her angry eyes on the councilman. "They already made up their minds," she explained. "Caden Koffer said it was decided before we even stepped foot in here today."

The blonde boy next to her tensed, his breathing giving way to to anger coursing through him. 

Lawrence continued, "The council is voting to recommend allocating the amount of $60,000 to begin to transition said property and moving forward with the rezoning request. And with that I turn it over to councilman Chet."

Chet, who looked like he'd never made a decision on his own in his pathetic life, addressed Dale Zeasy, the man behind all of this. "I'd like to to say, uh, we are lucky to have the help of Mr. Zeasy, who has been active with developing the island and has been a resource for us."

A smattering of applause came from the Kook side of the room. Topper had a particularly smug look on his face, causing Charlotte to clench her fist in her lap. 

"Bet you wish we had a lawyer now," Pope muttered from down the pew. 

Charlotte shot him a look as JJ shook his head, "Nah, I wish I had a fish bat, more like."

The mayor retook the stand, "But before we move on we're scheduled to hear from member of the community beginning with a representative from the occupants of the Roger's Point property which used to be the Maybank property."

"Anybody feeling brave?" Kiara wondered. 

JJ was already on his feet. "I am. I got this."

As quickly as he had stood, Charlotte had a hold of his hoodie, pulling him back into the pew. "Absolutely not," she argued as John B and Pope reflected her sentiment. 

"Somebody else has to go up," Pope whispered, looking at the other six. 

Sarah shook her head, "Who?"

Kiara wore a deer in headlights expression. "Pope."

"Oh, no," he argued, "I hate public speaking."

"Charlotte!" Kiara fired back, way to willing to throw her sister under the bus.

Charlotte leaned forward to shoot her a look, "Are you kidding me?"

"Yes," John B whispered, nodding his head fervently. "You're the oldest."

"Are you kidding me?" She balked, "What does that have to do with this?"

Sarah nodded in agreement with Kiara and John B, "You're also the most educated. And prettiest!" She added as if that would be what convinced Charlotte to stand up. 

But what really convinced her was the look her best friend to the right was giving her. He was begging her. 

"Okay," she whispered, to the whole group, but really to JJ. "Okay, fine."

She could already feel herself shaking with nerves as she raised her hand, signalling to the mayor that it would be her who would represent them. Cheers filled the room as Charlotte stood, but she couldn't really tell why. 

"Charlotte Carrera," the mayor announced as the cheers continued. 

Charlotte stood, trying to steady her breathing as she stepped past JJ into the aisle. She could feel the dozens of eyes on her as she approached the stand, entire body buzzing. 

"Quiet, please." The mayor ordered the crowd. "Quiet."

As the rumblings died down, he addressed the terrified girl in front of him. "Please state your full name for the record."

Her grip on the podium was so tight she was sure her fingers would be bruised tomorrow as Charlotte leaned forward slightly to speak into the microphone in front of her. "Uh, my name is Charlotte Anne Carrera." She turned her head slightly looking back to her friends who were all giving her nods of encouragement. She then looked toward the back, where a pair of blue eyes were watching her with complete pride. 

One look at Rafe had her nerves diminishing ten fold. He was her anchor in this shit storm. 

Looking back to the front, Charlotte cleared her throat. "Look, I'm no lawyer, and I'm no real estate expert, but this doesn't make any sense." There were some mutterings in the crowd. "We brought the property at auction, and we have a fully functioning business and have for some time. My friends have poured everything into this place...we built it with our own hands. How could you just...how could it just be taken away from us like that?"

The crowd was mumbling again, but Charlotte was only getting started. "If this request for zoning passes, we lose our business...our livelihood, our home."

"This is some bullshit!" Someone called from the crowd, and she knew it was JJ without looking. 

"The fix is in!" Someone else yelled, followed by another yell. "This is not law!"

Voices toppled on each other, the heat in the room rising as people became more and more agitated. The mayor struck his gavel as Shoupe bristled slightly, preparing for chaos. 

"Sit the hell down and let her speak!" Charlotte knew it was her dad who had said that, and despite everything she felt a flare of appreciation.

The mayor nodded at her, "Miss. Carrera, you may continue."

"All they--we-- " she corrected, "are trying to do is to rebuild a home. After everything they've all been through, they deserve a home." She looked back at her friends, her heart clenching. "A home is all we want...not some stupid club."

Cheers sounded again.

"How is this legal? This isn't law!" Charlotte announced, voice as calm as she could manage. "You all know what this is, it's corruption." She grit out. 

The mayor fixed his eyes on her, "That's a steep claim, young lady."

"Is it?" Charlotte shot back. "Then how do you explain the fact that Mr. Zeasy and Judge Holden, the judge signing the rezoning order, have personal and familial connections, a clear conflict of interest as far as I'm concerned."

"Excuse me, Mayor?" Dale Sleazy...sorry Zeasy interjected. "May I speak?"

Charlotte rolled her eyes as the mayor nodded. 

"There seems to be a misunderstanding," Zeasy declared, looking to Charlotte, "And I'd like to clarify."

"Oh, my God!" JJ exasperated from the crowd. 

"Miss. Carrera, you have the floor. Are you willing to let Mr. Zeasy speak? "The mayor asked. 

Charlotte leaned against the podium, shoving the microphone in Zeasy's direction. "Well, Dale, I would actually love to hear your explanation here."

Any of Charlotte's nerves had been replaced with surging hot anger. 

Zeasy rose his brows in contempt. "Excuse me, young lady. You can stand over here," he mentioned to a spot next to the podium. 

"Of course, Dale." Charlotte mocked with a sweetly sick smile, "Let me just get out of your way."

He'd barely taken her spot by the time he was running his mouth. "So, what the uh, current occupants of the land don't seem to understand is that there is an injunction to invalidate the most recent sale."

Charlotte screwed up her face as she shook her head, not believing a word that came out of his mouth. They'd bought that land legally. 

Zeasy continued despite the mutterings from the audience. "There was a pre-existing promissory note from the original owner that was in the process of being finalized when the sale took place. The bank wasn't legally allowed to go to sale."

"Bullshit," Charlotte argued, despite her better judgement. 

"We have a promissory note right here, from the original owner, signed before the auction and finalized by Judge Holden. " Zeasy declared, holding up a piece of paper. Slowly, Charlotte could feel the dread wash over her. 

Charlotte scoffed, "Don't you see?" She argued. "This is all corrupt...premeditated!"

The mayor silence her with one look. "Miss. Carrera, that is not the matter at hand." He refocused on Zeasy. "Where is the original owner, and can he validate the authenticity of this document?"

There was no way Zeasy had an out for this one. Because the original owner was none other than Luke Maybank, and there was no way he'd risk arrest just to bury JJ and the Pogues. 

Unless there was.

"Yes, he can." Zeasy smirked, eyes on Charlotte for a moment before looking into the crowd. "He's right here."

All eyes, including Charlotte's, swivelled to the back of the room where a man with a baseball cap sat in the final pew. He stood slowly, removing his cap as people began making exclamations. 

"That's JJ's dad!" Someone announced, as if to drive the knife even deeper. 

Charlotte felt her heart fall to her feet as she stared at Luke Maybank, an equal feeling of heartbreak for JJ, and pure hot anger coursed through her every vein. 

She hated that man. Hated him with every fibre of her being. 

And to top it all off, he had the gaul to address his son. "I'm sorry, J."

"You son of a bitch!" Charlotte snapped, her anger getting the better of her. She didn't care if she was supposed to be professional or reserved. Her anger was too strong.

Dale Zeasy was having the time of his life. "Now, hold on. Unless I'm mistaken, when all of this shakes out, you young people will be compensated of course."

The crowd roared in complaint.

"And, and, hold on!" Zeasy appealed. "The land will be a club for all!"

Of course, the Kook side of the room broke into cheer. "Hurrah, Kooks!" Someone yelled. "We won, we got it!"

We won. 

Of course they did. They always did. 

"How can you say that?" Kiara yelled over the rumbles. "After they do it to us, they're going to do it to all of you! This is theft!" She cried.

Charlotte turned back toward Luke Maybank. "You didn't deserve an ounce of the love JJ gave you. You should be ashamed," she scoffed as she turned to the Kooks. "All of you, every single one should be ashamed, too! This is ridiculous!"

"Bailiff, clear this room!" The mayor pleaded, trying, and failing, to bring order to the room. 

Shoupe and his officers moved in on Charlotte. 

"Get away from me," she snapped, her anger so strong she didn't care about much at that point. "I'm not done!"

"Hey!" Yelled Mike Carrera from the crowd, "Don't touch my daughter! Get away from her!"

She wasn't sure how'd he reached her so quickly, but somehow Rafe had made it through the crowd, and was next to her in an instant. "Back off," he snapped at the officers, a protective arm encircling Charlotte. 

Charlotte shoved away from the officer's grasps. "Let me speak!" She yelled over the noise. "I wasn't done!"

The mayor continued to smack his gavel as if that would stop the chaos that was ensuing. "Order!"

The noise in the courtroom only continued to raise as every person in there seemed to have something to say. 

The Pogues were trying to get to Charlotte, Mike and Anna doing the same. Mr. and Mrs. Heyward were calling for her release as well, while every other Pogue and Kook seemed to be volleying insults back at each other. 

Rafe and Charlotte were harshly grabbed the officers, being shoved further and further away from the front where the council members and mayor sat, watching the order crumble more and more. 

"Get the fuck off of us!" Rafe demanded, shoving the officers hands away from them. He knew if he did anymore he'd end up in a jail cell for the night. 

As if to prove the point that they weren't messing around, one of the officers handcuffed Rafe, yanking him away from Charlotte. 

"Hey!" She snapped, trying to get back to him as they pulled her closer and closer to the door. "He didn't do anything!"

The sound of shattering glass split through the noise, but only for a moment before the arguing ensued again. Charlotte didn't know what had caused the noise, but when she didn't see JJ amongst her friends she felt her heart in her throat. 

The officer continued to pull her down the aisle, bringing into view the altercation happening at the back of the room. 

It was JJ...and he was fighting off two officers. Of course he was. 

"JJ!" She screamed, bewilderment in her eyes. "JJ, go!" She demanded, knowing he needed to run. "Get out!" She managed to latch onto him, pulling him by his hood until he was on his feet. "Run!"

Her officer pulled her back, trying to restrain her while getting to JJ. He had no such luck, but another officer did. 

He went running after the blonde boy, tackling him and sending them both tumbling down the front steps.

Charlotte let out a gasp as she finally managed to free herself from the grasp of the officer. He had bigger things to worry about clearly. 

More patrol cars sped into the drive as everyone poured out of the town hall. Kiara, who had finally caught up to Charlotte, was yelling as the officers slammed JJ against one of the cruisers.

"Shoupe!" Charlotte tried to appeal to the sheriff. "Shoupe, come on, don't do this!"

He ignored her, and honestly for good reason. After all, JJ had just assaulted at least two officers and vandalized town hall in the matter of two minutes. 

JJ was thrown into the back of the car as the Pogues pressed their faces to the window, letting him know they still had him. The rest of the crowd had funnelled out, all of them surrounding the police cars. Hell, a few of them were even on top of the cars. 

For the second time that evening, the sound of glass shattering over cut the sound of yelling. But this time it was the back windshield of the police cruiser JJ was in. 

Someone had kicked the window in...which means JJ could get out. 

Pope and John B wasted no time in pulling him out, helping him to his feet before shoving him toward the road. "Go!" John B ordered, "Run!"

The four girls fought through the crowd, joining the boys just as JJ seemed to register what he had to do.

"Run!" Charlotte yelled, her calls melding with those of her friends. They were all saying the same thing. 

Run, JJ. Run. 

─☼☼☼─

happy valentine's day, my loves!

-maddy xoxox