"ALL RIGHT, JJ. PIN IT HERE."

Tatum and Kiara couldn't stop staring at each other today. The group finally all woke up together after the first good night in a long time. Everything in their lives was a mess right now, yes, but that was okay, because they had each other. Kiara didn't bring up the burns or the puffy eyes Tatum brought home with her the night before; she wasn't going to push her into telling her anything. Tatum had her own mind, and Kiara trusted that if she was in any sort of trouble, she'd tell people when she was ready.

"Rodger that!" said JJ, twisting the wheel. "X marks the spot."

But today was even more exciting for the small group of teenagers. Because today they were going to find the Royal Merchant. Tatum was finally able to listen to the tape, and - after torturing the life out of John B for his nickname - she agreed that they should follow the map to find the coordinates of the old ship wreck. They weren't going to make any group decisions without hearing her opinion first anymore. But even with all the fun and the drugs and the teasing, Tatum still never exploded into the sweet sound everybody missed the most. It had been a while since anybody had heard her giggle. But the pouges were convinced they were close - close to getting their girl back.

"All right, ladies and gentlemen," said John B, holding the drone up in the air beside Pope, who was quickly double-checking everything. "To going full kook."

"And getting the hell out of this shithole," added Tatum, holding up her beer. Beside her, Kiara frowned a little. She understood why Tatum wanted to leave OBX - her life was the equivalent to Satan's dungeon - but she honestly couldn't imagine her life without this girl. Only a week without Tatum kept her awake at night and unable to consume any sort of food. She couldn't imagine being old and wrinkly without Tatum Quinn by her side.

John B dipped the drone in the water, and the two girls took hold of the tether, pulling it under little by little, inch by inch. The whole group was mildly shocked when Tatum didn't impulsively decide to go swimming with the drone. They wanted that part of her back - the wild, bubbly girl they took for granted too many times. They missed the way she would to the most dangerous things, giggle about it and earn a scolding by Kiara. They missed the way she would go to the end of the Earth to prove herself good to the girl she was so clearly in love with. But nobody knew what she was thinking anymore. Nobody knew if she would even listen to Kie anymore. They didn't care, though - they were just glad to have some of her back, even if it was just a small piece.

"All right, JJ, we're right over it," John B announced, looking down at the ipad. "Ten seconds northwest."

"Got it! Ten seconds northwest," repeated JJ obediently, from behind the wheel.

Kiara and Tatum kept looking at each other as they pulled the drone down further. Everytime one of them would gaze at the other, the other would look away. Like giddy children. Like the teens they were supposed to be. Almost as if everything in their lives were normal.

"One hundred feet," the two girls said simultaneously. Kiara giggled sweetly, the way Tatum usually would've. But she didn't. She smiled instead, and that made all the difference. Kie almost melted under her gaze. She missed this. She really fucking did. Tatum marked their first goal with one dash of chalk over the wall, and they continued to keep dropping it down slowly.

There was a gasp from behind them. Everyone turned to look at Pope, who was never normally surprised by anything.

"What? What, what?" asked John B quickly, desperate to find something.

Pope shook his head. "It was nothing."

John B threw his head back and groaned in disappointment.

"Sorry, I thought -"

"Don't do that to me, man," said JJ, repositioning the boat.

Pope muttered another apology as the others went back to doing their job. Tatum's hands were hurting, and she was holding in a hiss everytime the tether collided with her burn blisters.

"Four hundred feet," the girls said five minutes later, growing tired now as they added their fourth dash on the wall.

Thunder roared and the sky was darkening. Tatum took a large breath of the shaky air. She loved this weather. She loved the soul it had. Its anger and personality. It didn't give a shit about who it might hurt, and she respected that. A thunder storm would be the ideal child for her father. Her father, who was going to kill her for staying out all night. She didn't have a bedtime, but Tatum always had to be home as seven for him getting home from work. Once he was done getting rid of stress in the most hurtful way possible, she could go back out. But she always had to be home at seven. It was a strict rule only she had to follow. And last night was the first time she ever dared to break it. She couldn't imagine the consequences - not even in her worst nightmares.

"The tide's turning," Kie stated, ready to start panicking.

John B didn't respond. He looked down at the ipad - the monitor was beeping. They were close. "Hey, JJ?"

"Yup?"

"Ten seconds easy. Right, south southeast, all right?"

"Copy that."

The weather was only getting worse as they went on. Kiara was quietly planning her funeral in her head, and going over every single person she had unresolved problems with. Tatum was growing impatient with herself, desperately trying to find the thrill she lived for. It was there - she knew it was - but it wasn't coming out to play today.

"JJ, twenty seconds mid-speed, all right? South."

"Copy that! Aye-aye. Come on."

"Keep the tether out of the prop!" John B told the girls.

"We're trying," said Kiara frustratedly, bearly able to stand on the boat anymore.

"We're gonna be flying to fucking mars at this rate," huffed Tatum, pulling back tether as much as she could.

"JJ, keep going!"

"John B, is that good?"

"We're good! We're good!"

"Seven hundred feet," the girls announced, drawing their seventh dash. If Big John was right, they were so close. But the rampaging weather was making it a huge problem.

"JJ, hold it steady!"

The girls lost control of the tether, and metres of it flew into the water. Tatum turned to Kie, who was almost in cardiac arrest with panic, and huffed. She peeled off Joe's old oversized shirt, leaving her in nothing but a red bikini, and jumped into the freezing water.

"Tate!" screamed the girl above her.

Why the hell was she risking her life for these people again? She mentally cursed herself and grabbed hold of the strong tether, which pulled her under the water. Minutes flew by. She gasped for her breath. She waited. But there was no ounce of adrenaline in her blood. For the first time ever, dying felt terrible.

Tatum dragged herself above the water with as much force as she could, gripping the tether in her hands as she pulled herself onto the boat with Kiara's help. "Nine hundred feet!" she called, taking the chalk in her hand and passing Kie the rubber rope. She was done saving them for the day. She needed some boundaries.

"JJ, we'll turtle in this storm, man."

With one last sad look at Kiara, Tatum swallowed her guilt and wrapped herself around a warm towel. She felt terrible for leaving Kie to do it by herself, but it was nothing they hadn't done to her before. It wasn't her responsibility to save everyone. If she kept doing it, she'd lose her mind. Again. And she refused to let herself turn back into that person. Especially when she was finally seeing the light in herself again.

"920!" called Kiara, looking back at Tatum with a soft smile. She was proud of her. She deserved to sit down and let everyone else sort it out for once. And it didn't hurt that she looked amazing in that smoky red bikini, with her dark hair soaking wet, and - Kiara tightly gripped the tether before she lost it again. Tatum was officially her biggest distraction. Oh, how the tables have turned...

"Crank it north by northwest! Ten seconds!"

Tatum leaned back on the chair behind JJ, trying to stop herself before she went to help anyone. It was hard trying to fight against her greatest instincts. Even when they were kids, she always protected and risked herself for her friends. It was just the way she was programed. She never had anyone to protect her, so she took it upon herself to protect others. "Pope, how we doing?"

"Almost there." Nobody was mad at her for stopping. She had just almost drowned for them, after all. She deserved a break.

"John B, there's too much current!"

But that was when Tatum gave up trying to sit on the sidelines. She sprinted towards Kiara without a thought, and helped her pull on the tether. The waves were too heavy. They were going to collapse and fall in with it." We're gonna lose it! "

"South southwest, JJ! Hard!"

A mixture of waves and thunder crashed, causing Tatum to protectively push Kiara away as she took over all the work.

"Half speed! Steady at this bearing, JJ!"

Kiara shook her head, dropping her palms softly over Tatum's. "Together," she told her quietly, and they heaved the tether towards them.

"What you got, Pope? Come on, man, what do you see?"

"Nothin'. A whole lot of nothin'."

"I swear to God, if I wasted my time, I'm unleashing Thomas on you, JB," warned Tatum, reminding the boy of the threat her brother made after her breakdown. And unlike his twin sister, Thomas Quinn really was a Quinn, so nobody took his promises lightly.

"You should be right above it, brother."

"Girls!"

"960!" the two shouted back, close to falling in the water as they released more rope to it. "970!..." They shared a panicked look as they lost control again. Kiara quickly grabbed it back, causing the corner of Tatum's lips to twitch a little at their reversed roles. "980!"

"I'm at the bottom! I'm at the bottom!"

"Okay, steady here, JJ! Steady here! Quarter speed, all right?" John B was finally beginning to panic now. He needed this. He needed his dad to be right. Or he had nothing. "You should be seeing something, man."

"I know, I know!"

The two girls left their station and joined Pope and John B to see the drone's camera.

"Wait."

Their eyes all settled in awe as they seen the wrecked shop lying at the ground.

"Oh, good God."

"See anything?" asked JJ.

John B chuckled. "It's the Royal Merchant."

The teenagers spend the next half hour searching the ship for the gold. But it wasn't there. It was empty and clear. Leaving the group of kids with mixed emotions. JJ was angry, Pope was exhausted, Kiara was hopeful, Tatum was bored and John B was crushed.

A/n: i edited this at the airport so please correct me if i made any mistakes